May 16, 5-7 PM Redding City Hall 777 Cypress Ave Redding, CA We are celebrating in Redding this week -- It's Rodeo Week --Yeehaw!!  This week also marks the opening of the Summer Art Exhibit at Redding City Hall.   The CIty of Redding will host a reception o

Nick Ciampi has gathered a boatload of local folk musicians to share their tunes at Going Local this Saturday night.  Still Married will play at 7.  Other folkies on the bill include:  Nick Ciampi, Jim Dyar, Bryce Goldstein, Daniel Horton,  Hayden Ball, 

Over on Redding.com, blogger Marc Beauchamp posed a challenge --  ".....a contest to come up with a telling or funny acronym that spells R-E-D-D-I-N-G." I call it a Dream Assignment for a songwriter who lo

If you're looking for a sweet, sentimental love song to celebrate this day of romance,  keep looking.  But if you like your Valentine's Day tunes with a dose heartbreak and twist of revenge, then go ahead and help yourself to "Heart Shaped Stones."

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Fifteen years ago, we sold our house, packed up our kids and left the suburbs of San Jose for a place we'd only passed through a couple of times on vacation.  We landed in the cowboy town of Cottonwood, put down roots and never looked back.   This song has been trying to write itself ever since we fel

C'mon down to Cottonwood - enjoy the art, the wine and the music in this charming Old West Town.  Craig and I are looking forward to playing some new tunes at this local event coming up on January 19th. The details: The Cottonwood Art Wine and Music Festival at The Community Center on January

Still Married wishes you a Joyful Christmas with two free downloads on our website. Click here.

Redding City Hall will be the scene for the Fall Art Reception on Thursday, September 20th, from 5-7. Enjoy complimentary refreshments and meet the artists who have work on display through January, 2013.  We'll be there, sharing original Shasta County Country Folk tunes, along with Nick Ciampi and Paul How

The barbecue and the entertainment are free. The town is quaint, the skies are clearing and fall is in the air. All good reasons to head to Cottonwood this Saturday, September 15th. I'll be running (ok - slow jogging) in the 5K race at 8 AM at North Cottonwood School. (Want to join me? Contact: Carri Longnecker

Local trio Manzanita will bring their folk and light rock tunes -- standards and originals -- to the Post Office Saloon this coming Wednesday, June 6th, from 6:30 - 9:30. Manzanita is Dick Sorensen, Bruce Webb and Dennis Ferrell and these three have a grand time sharing tunes wit

If you want to leave Redding by train - and you're not hopping a freight car --  you are limited to a late-night departure.  It's the price we pay for our geography --  we're far away from....well.... just about everywhere. Worth it, if you ask me. Our son had to catch a train a few weeks ago, an

...Yes, I'm a sucker for all things Irish -- including bad jokes. In celebration of Saint Patrick's Day, we are giving away free downloads of our cover of an old Irish tune: The Parting Glass.  It will be the final track on our upcoming CD, Whiskeytown Roadhouse.  

Murder and mayhem.... It's the kind of thing Still Married serves up in a Valentine's Day song. We're giving it away on our website - please help yourself at the link below: Heart Shaped Stones Free Download.

I have pineapple on my mind. Craig and I spent a luscious week in Hawaii for our 27th wedding anniversary --  and we enjoyed (among other things) pineapple in all sorts of dishes. Our favorite, of course, was a wedge tucked on the top of tropical cocktail. But back to real life....sigh.  I was looking

Redding City Hall was buzzing with art fans last Friday evening. They were enjoying a fun stop on the 2012 Cultural Cruise, where artwork is displayed on all three floors.  There was much oohing and aahing over a variety of works - paintings, photographs and sculptures. It took me awhile snap a picture of this amazing

A city-wide event celebrating art and culture -- it's a Redding tradition and we love being part of it. Craig and I will be joined by several other North State songwriters at Redding City Hall on Friday, January 27th. On the bill are:  5:00  Nick Ciampi        

Last year, I took Christine Kane's advice regarding New Year's Resolutions. Kane is a singer-songwriter and "Mentor to Women Who are Changing the World."  She explains her philosophy on her blog: "Choose a word for the year and let it guide you to take action." You can read the whole piece on her website:

It's that time, again....a post from last year -- and the year before -- but cookie recipes are ageless. AIn't life grand? I make about 70 pounds of this shortbread dough in December -- we give away most of the cookies - to customers, friends, roving bands of neighborhood teens. It's my favorite holiday rec

I completely flaked out in 2010 (and still feel guilty about it)  but this year I managed to put  together a Friedman Family video Christmas Card for 2011. It comes with wishes of joy for your Holiday Season and all throughout the New Year. or click

It's true. Christmas is just 51 frantic fun-filled days away. If you're thinking lists, gifts and oh-my-where-did-the-year-go? Don't worry, because local artists are here to help get

Celebrating the brilliant Paul Simon on his 70th birthday. This is my favorite version of my favorite Paul Simon tune: Kathy's Song, performed by Eva Cassidy. Enjoy:

I'm thrilled that Forbes Magazine has named the Sundial Bridge "One of the World's Most Incredible Brid

Come out for the opening of abstract artist Lita Couhart's show on Wednesday evening, 5 - 7, at the Bohemian Art Loft. Her work is colorful and exciting and she uses textures and shapes in wonderfully imaginative ways. Lita is celebrating her first solo show here in Redding - come out and enjoy music and refreshments and m

Out little town of Cottonwood is pulling together this weekend. The mission? Raise $14,000 to fix the weather-damaged roof on the Community Center. The building is dear to my heart -- it's where my kids first learned to dance - and they ALL live to dance now. Cottonwood is dear to my heart because we fell in love with

My word for 2011 is "FORGE" (see New Year's blog post) and when I picked that word, I made a few promises to myself. One thing I vowed to do was participate in more Open Mic events. Sharing songs in a casual setting is perfect for network

We're very excited that our song The Hour of the Outlaw received an Honorable Mention in the Folk category of the West Coast Songwriters International Song Contest. I wrote the song in response to a challenge on the Songwriting Scene blog: "Write

Bob Dylan celebrates his 70th birthday this Tuesday, so singer-songwriter (and devoted Dylan fan) Nick Ciampi has organized a party. May 24th, 5:30 PM Ultimate Pizza 1730 Pleasant Street

He's a mix of Jack Johnson and John Lennon with a dash of Ralph Stanley and he's coming to town on Thursday. You can catch Saul T. 's acoustic folk show at The Bohemian Art Loft - doors open at 8.The

Several years ago when we had baby chicks, we cobbled together some plywood bins and called it a chicken house. Amazingly, the chickens thrived - produced many years of eggs, though their offerings were not always easy to find. We are older and wiser, now, and one of us has obsessive-compulsive tendencies whe

According to family legend, my great-great grandfather, George Convy, brought a piece of sod from the homeland when he emigrated from Ireland in 1866. Now and then, when he was feeling particularly homesick, he would take it out and have a good cry.The Irish, who fled their country by the thousands, did not have

Our dear friend and musical mentor, Nick Ciampi, will be rocking Vintage in Downtown Redding this Saturday night, at the ArtHop After-Party. Nick plays the folk rock tunes you know by heart and a huge selection of his original tunes. In addition to being an all-around wonderful guy, Nick is also an inventor, music

The Business That Pays the Bills (Wrap-N-Pack) has demanded our undivided attention for the past year. We've managed some songwriting and recording, and we play occasional gigs, but mostly we've been busy helping our customers. We probably should have stepped into this musician thing back when we were young and bull

The Cultural Cruise - a city-wide celebration of the arts - gets underway on January 28th at 4 PM. From the Turtle Bay website: Join the Turtle Bay Museum, Shasta County Arts Council’s Old City Hall Gallery, Redding City Hall, Redding Library, First United Methodist Church, Shasta State Historic Park, Shasta

This year I'm taking Christine Kane's advice. Kane is a singer-songwriter, and, according to her website: "Mentor to Women who are Changing the World." Kane suggests that instead of making (and breaking) resolutions, we choose a single word for the year - a "word that can guide you to take action." She explains it eloquen

It's unique, it's local, it's inexpensive. And heck, we've arrived at Countdown Time and those stockings simply must be stuffed. Why not stuff them with local music and support our local art community, too?

It's that time, again....a post from last year:The freezer is cleared out in preparation for my annual holiday ritual: The Stockpiling of the Cookie Dough. I make about 70 pounds of this shortbread dough in December -- we give away most of the cookies - to customers, friends, roving bands of neigh

These years are starting to run together a bit...tonight is Christmas Movie and Latke Night at our house.It's about this time each year that we prescribe a little R & R for ourselves. It involves champagne and movie-watching. The movie is always the Frank Capra classic It's a Wonderful Life.It

Our family will gather, count our blessings and celebrate Hanukkah this week -- with piles of latkes and mounds of applesauce. All together we'll plow headlong into our busy Christmas shipping season. In our business (Wrap-N-Pack) we meet a lot of folks whose loved ones are far from home and this song was written with t

Just in time for the holidays - our new CD - Storms and Other Blessed Burdens -- is available in Redding at Wrap-N-Pack (2205 Hilltop Drive) and on CDBaby.com.The 10-song collection was inspired by the Shasta County landscape, and it pays tribute to the po

Singer-songwriter Chuck McCabe endeared himself to local audiences with his clever song "I'd Rather Be in Redding." He endeared himself to me with his enthusiastic support of the local songwriting communit

Our new CD, Storms and Other Blessed Burdens, will be finished and ready for sale any day now. The release coincides with our uber-busy time of year (we run Wrap-N-Pack in Redding, where "Shipping's a Snap") so any CD release celebration will have to wait until after the first of the year.I'm looking fo

Singer-songwriter Rita Hosking grew up in Eastern Shasta County and she'll return to her roots on November 19th when she and her band, Cousin Jack, perform at Bernie's. The last time they played h

What I have NOT been doing: Blogging, cleaning my house, organizing my nightmare of a closet, dealing with garage vermin.....What I have been doing is listening. Intently. I'm wrapping up the mixing and mastering of ten songs for our CD. I can see the finish line from here, and I'm ready to sprint for

Did you know that October is National Arts and Humanities month? I didn't. But now I do, and Craig and I will celebrate with a great group of local artists, musicians and performers at the Shasta Arts Council's

He's been compared to Jason Mraz and plays gigs all over the West Coast. On Wednesday, singer- songwriter Chris Parreira will bring his considerable talent to The Vintage Wine Bar in downtown Redding.The sho

The technical term for this new song is a "Musical Do-Over." Several years ago, I wrote a song called "A Kiss Beneath the Sundial Bridge." I liked the story, loved the inspiration, and felt the

The new Jewish year has begun and we're celebrating the arrival of 5771 with some glorious fall weather here in the North State. Our family will be feasting tonight, when we finally gather all the kiddos together - not an easy feat, between dancing, classes and work.Apples are traditional for Rosh Hashana, so I'

As a veteran home school mom and a leader in the local home schooling community, I'm often asked "What's the best curriculum for my kids?" My answer? "Seek Joy - everything else will follow."