Tuesday, December 20, 2022
Friday, December 9, 2022
Happy Holidays and a FANTASTIC New Years!!!
Ah, yes, the year is winding down. December just started and it is already a third gone. Lots of our friends are having a holiday season unlike any they have had in the past, and after the past three years, that says a LOT. Our hearts go out to you folks in that position.
Please, everyone, help each other find the peace of the season and spread around as much love as possible. We can all do that. And, in most cases, the more we each put out, the more that comes back around.
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And, something to help us!!! Marilyn is rewriting our intro materials both for listeners and for venues we hope to play. Some questions:
How would you describe our music/sound? What do you like about it? Genre?
Do we remind you of any other artists (some folks are creative with that question, like a friend once said, "a cross between Mary Travers and Jimi Hendrix", lol)
Please, just hit reply and send us your thoughts... often, just off the top of your head is best. We SO appreciate ANY help with this.
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I am still hoping to put together an upgraded video of my Christmas Night tune this year!!! Maybe next time Rick and Marilyn get together to practice, I will think of it and turn on the camera!
In the meantime, consider coming to the live stream, at 1 pm est on Sundays. It is on Facebook and YouTube at the same time. I will post the links below. You can also see the video after we finish in either place. I am thinking of adding our stream to Twitch, as I hear the music community there is growing and very active. Whichever URL you go to, please keep refreshing the page until you see us. Sorry, the stream will not just start for you when we come on if you are just waiting at the URL, and that is how it works, nothing we can do but ask you to refresh your browser (in Chrome, it is a little circle arrow immediately to the left of the address bar, click it). Somewhere on the page while you are watching, there will appear 'Click here to get notified of future live streams by this artist' or something like that, and you can try that to also find us easier.
And we have FUN! You are welcome to chat with the folks in the stream, it does not affect us playing at all!!! And if you prefer to peak in, WE can not see when you come or go (ever), so come and see what it is about. If you want to let us know you are present, post!
please email music @ Rickand Marilyn. com (take out the spaces), respond below in 'comments' or you got this as an email, just hit reply. We appreciate ANY help with this.
Oh, yeah, and here are the live-stream URLs. Hope to see you there!
Saturday, November 19, 2022
Marilyn says:
Time for new beginnings!
Rick has been fully retired now for a while, but I am just starting this journey. Afraid of returning to poverty, I am still working half-time as a medical person, but I am identifying more and more with RETIRED.
It is strange to have time... I can rearrange my files, my rooms, my life. I have time to actually THINK instead of just MOVE (yep, it IS harder to get my 10K steps every day!).
I tend to spend a lot of time 'getting ready' to do things. Like, I know I want to spend significant time practicing and improving my vocals, guitar playing, and songwriting. So what do I tend to do? I read ABOUT practice, vocalizing, writing. I realize that is an excuse to not DO those things, while FEELING like I am advancing my knowledge, lol. Something I struggle with... the DOING as opposed to the PLANNING.
You may know that there are books about procrastination. LOTS of them. I have procrastinated some time away by reading some of those books. The ones that are specifically about the creative process talk about procrastination being actually RESISTANCE. That is a concept that does help me move forward because it gets my back up. You know, I am gonna stand up to anything that gets in the way of my doing what I want to do, so I resist RESISTANCE.
And that is why I am making this blog entry. It is something that has been on my To Do List now for months. So, I decided to blog (again) about not blogging. Yep.
Another thing I tend to procrastinate on is booking shows. Well, that backfires when I have no shows to look forward to doing. I LOVE playing for you, face to face, in person. Covid still makes it a little scary to be inside singing, but Rick and Marilyn will be contacting your favorite places to see acoustic music and try to line some stuff up. Watch the calendar!!!
We are also going to start Live Streaming, Brunch with Rick and Marilyn on November 20, 2022 (tomorrow), barring any technical difficulties!
Otherwise, my plan is to get some more songs, both covers, and new originals. I think I have already written enough for the next record, but Rick and I have to learn them and work on them before settling down to record. I will do this one completely differently from my last two records and make them more artistically MINE. I got the time now. But I also have lots of pieces of lyrics and melodies and guitar parts that need to be worked into standing pieces of MUSIC. And once in a while, a whole song wants to have some life!
So those are my plans for the upcoming winter months, now that I have an 'extra' 20 hours a week to work on MUSIC!!! I hope that you all also have a reason to get up every morning that makes your life interesting, fun, and meaningful!
Sunday, August 7, 2022
Checking in
It has been a while, hasn't it?
I hope you have caught us this summer! Our gig schedule is quite full, and that makes us HAPPY! Now, though, it is heading towards fall, and things start to be quieter. We will be starting up Brunch with Rick and Marilyn, most likely in mid-September. And, I am hoping to find some local gigs as the festivals and markets stop from the cold.
So look for us!!! We also do our best at following up on leads given to us by our friends. Chester Common Table and Hometown Diner were two of those! So... if you know of any, please pass on that info.
Also, and I know we don't like to think of it, but the holiday season approaches. Rick and Marilyn have a couple hours of holiday songs they do and would love to entertain your party (including office parties!!!). Let us know!! We are both fully vaccinated.
Again, hope to see you down the road!!!!
Thursday, March 31, 2022
Valatie Open Mic
Last night, Rick and Marilyn went to an open mic in Valatie. Open mics are interesting. You never know what to expect. Last night we had two young people, both of whom showed a real ability to sing. It was lovely listening to them. We had a gentleman who played a Martin travel guitar with a slide with a drum machine. Interesting combo of equipment. Rick and Marilyn, who sound.... well, you guys should know, right??? LOL. Our hosts also showed some fine skill. A good friend of mine who sings lovely quiet ballads (as opposed to Rick and Marilyn's loud boisterous ones!)
It was a good time.
If you play, visit your local open mic. You may be surprised. It is not only the newbies that show up to play. AND you get to make some friends out of the other musicians who come to share.
If you don't play, visit your local open mic. You will also be surprised. You are bound to find some music that you enjoy and the atmosphere is generally open and laid back and it is easy for you to get to know the players.
Visting open mics. It is a thing to do with your time. 😁
Monday, March 21, 2022
What is it?
Rick and Marilyn
a piece of live stream
from our Sunday, 1 pm est
Brunch with Rick and Marilyn
(The guitars. Yes.)