Naomi Sommers: News

Naomi Sommers to perform July 12th, 2008 at the Grammy Foundation Starry Night benefit honoring legendary Beatles producer Sir George Martin. Also performing: Natalie Cole, Dave Grusin, Jeff Beck, Steven Tyler, John Fogherty, and America.

Naomi just completed filming with folk legend Jean Ritchie for the upcoming eight part PBS television series On Record: The Soundtrack of our Lives, coming Fall 2010.

Gentle as the Sun, Naomi’s new CD is due Summer 2008. Produced by legendary Grammy winning producer Jim Rooney, best known for his work with John Prine, Tom Paxton, Iris DeMent, and Nancy Griffith.

My first new year's spent outside the United States. I was surprised by the way the Germans celebrate. Rather than describe it myself, I'll share the words of my companion, Greg Bewley:

The city of Goettingen in the first hours of new year,
however, is another story.
out the window, we noticed a building stream of
people heading toward the center of town,
and an increase in the frequency of explosions,
so headed outside ourselves to explore.
we were met by the stench of gun powder smoke,
drifting by in dense clouds.
the first thing i saw was a man with a mad grin
holding a cartoonish rocket, with the wick fizzing,
aimed at the church across the street.
fsshhh for a direct hit, but it was interrupted by a tree.
more scenes of unsupervised pandemonium ensued,
on the same ground that the civil scenes of the
chistmas market had unfolded a week before.
the sides of the streets were thick with young people
and their arsenal in the midst of celebratory warfare.
the centers of the streets were impassable for the
ferocious detonations of firecrackers on the ground,
and sporadic rockets launching at wild angles and
leaving trees of fire before us and over our heads.
there was a constant sprinkle of debris and the
occasional spend rocket shell falling on our heads.
all of the stately old town was littered with bottles,
many broken, resonated with a deafening staccato,
and the street light was smudged by gun smoke into
red, green, and blue clouds.
at 7am, an army of street cleaning trucks invaded
like armored mine sweepers, and throughout the
first day of the new year the crackle continued as
the punks discovered unexploded ordinance.

I cannot express how thrilled I am to announce that I recorded an album this May in Nashville, with the incredible producer Jim Rooney. This is literally a childhood dream come true. Jim has produced albums which shaped my musical development: As a teenager I listened endlessly to Nanci Griffith's "Other Voices Other Rooms", and to Iris Dement's "Infamous Angel". He's also worked with numerous other fantastic musicians, including more favorites of mine, John Prine, and Bonnie Raitt.

I had a wonderful time making this record and especially want to thank Jim, and David Ferguson the engineer for their inspiring professionalism and skill. I can't believe how good the songs sound. And the musicians were all incredible. It was sometimes difficult to concentrate on what I was playing because I was so distracted by how good everyone else sounded!

Here's who you can hear joining me on this album. (I'll tell you later when the record will be available...we're still working on that part.)

Naomi Sommers:
vocals, harmony vocals, guitar
Mark Howard:
guitar
Tim Crouch:
fiddle, mandolin
Al Perkins:
dobro
Pat McInerney:
drums
Dave Pomeroy:
bass
Pete Wasner:
piano, Hammond B-3
Noam Weinstein:
electric guitar, piano
Lisa Bastoni:
harmony vocals
Daniel Rosenthal:
trumpet
Phil Rosenthal:
harmony vocals
Jellyroll Johnson:
harmonica
Richard Bailey:
banjo
and Jim Rooney sang some
harmonies too

Guess what? I finally got a working record player!!! I've been waiting for YEARS to play some of my favorite albums ever. I've been collecting records for decades but haven't had a record player or stereo until this week. I bought a used stereo system with huge old speakers and then was given a record player by a friend. My life has changed...Everything is rose-colored and romantic when there's a record player in the living room.
I thought I'd share with you some of my favorite vinyl albums, ones I've never seen on CD but maybe if you look hard enough you can find them....Here are some records you must hear:

Roberta Flack, Chapter Two
Pheobe Snow, (self-titled)
Aretha Franklin, The First 12 Sides
Georgia Brown Loves Gershwin
The Everly Brothers, 24 Original Classics

Oh, yes! Lisa and I also published our first cookbook together. It's filled with some of our favorite recipes, ones we made up and some from our families. Each recipe is illustrated with an original drawing by the Gray Sky Girl who contributed it. There are also top ten album lists for cooking and driving, and some road travel tips.

Email us if you'd like to buy a copy, just $8....it's well worth it!
info@grayskygirls.com

Gray Sky Girls, my first official album release with a duo is now in existence and available for sale at shows or through American Melody.

Lisa Bastoni and I are very pleased to share this recording with you and will be spending the colder months ahead promoting, booking, and generally trying to get ourselves to your town to play some tunes and pawn our wares.

To order a copy of the record, call 1-800-220-5557, or check www.americanmelody.com
To hear sound samples, go to
www.grayskygirls.com