2nd
January
2009
Rose + friends playing tomorrow at Atwoods = New Poster
Just thought I’d share this poster with you all because it took me so long to make it!
9th
December
2008
Polecats
Hey there.
I just finished editing a new video: Rose Cousins, Jennifer Kimball, Anne Heaton and I singing “lonesome polecat”, which is one of my favorite songs of all time. Here is the video:
In all the time I’ve known this song (from when I was a wee little girl), I did not know what a polecat was. I guess I always thought a Polecat was a kind of really street-wise cat. Oh my gosh it’s a weasel. Read the Wikipedia Entry on Polecats if you don’t believe me.
Here is a gorgeous picture of a polecat (I used this picture to make my polecat puppet):
So it’s originally in the musical “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” which I watched loads when I was young (I never would be saying “loads” if it weren’t for H.Potter). Anyway, the scene where “Lonesome Polecat” is sung used to send my mother and me into ecstasies. We just shoved the popcorn into our mouths and sighed for those axe-swinging, jazz-ballet dancing brothers. Here’s the original, courtesy of YouTube:
Also, a few years back, a boyfriend of mine put the Bobby Darin/Johnny Mathis version on a mixtape for me. It’s totally great, makes you want to get down on the carpeted floor and do a Bob Fosse Dance number. But I missed the melancholy melody on the “ooh” part…
9th
December
2008
Happy Holidays from Rose Polenzani & Rose Cousins!
Rose Cousins and I got together last week for a load of rehearsing (we had a wonderful show with Jennifer Kimball & Anne Heaton last Thursday), and ended up messing about with videos as well. We made you a holiday video! Here it is:
And here is the blooper reel!
Tags: Christmas, Rose Cousins, Rose Polenzani
14th
October
2008
Rose named a winner in 2008 Mountain Stage NewSong Contest!
This last weekend, October 11th, 2008, Rose Polenzani competed in the 2008 Mountain Stage NewSong Contest. 12 songwriters were picked from over 1,200 entries and through a variety of methods: regional finals, internet early bird contests, and an international “general round” through Sonicbids. 5 of the 12 were named “co-winners” of the contest, and Rose was one of them!
Rose’s song “You Were Drunk” also tied for “Best New Song” at the contest! See Mountain Stage’s official NewSong results.
Tags: awards, mountain stage
6th
October
2008
Rose and Session in “Army of Fun” Video
I just got back from my weekend with Session Americana; We celebrated the new record, “When the River Meets the Sea” with a fabulous (ahem) FOUR-DAY TOUR!!! I love these tiny tours I’m doing. Four shows at a time. Brilliant.
In Cambridge, we played Thursday night at Lizard Lounge with special guest Jennifer Kimball - It was amazing!!!! Jenn sat next to me in the circle and just killed me with every note - she added a new element to “Married Man,” singing “18 Wheels on an old tin can” an octave up, like we were in the BeeJees or something, it just slayed me. Here is the set list from Thursday:
Also, local music indie-critic Sooz reviewed the show and posted a handful of photos on ExploitBoston.com.
Friday night, we were joined by Dan Kellar on fiddle - He’s one of the best fiddle players I’ve ever met - he just feels his way through songs like no one else (if you never caught him playing on my cover of Pooka’s “This River”, it’s on YouTube. He’d never heard the song before. He’s a genius!). About halfway through, we inherited Jennifer Kimball from Anne Heaton’s early show at Club Passim and Laura Cortese from the NKOTB reunion concert. Fabulous times! Here is Friday’s Set List:
On to Montpelier! This show was part of an AMAZING street festival thrown by the Langdon Street Cafe - what a wonderful place. I took a whole bunch of photos there - check it out on my smugmug page. I had a few tagged photos sent my way from this event, you can see them on my myspace page.
And this is my favorite pic of the event, the cardboard Samurai (sp?):
You can also catch a fun video of the event - Billy Beard of Session Americana is quoted often! It’s on the Seven Days website. (you may have to do a search, but currently it’s on the front page… “army of fun.”
New York City was our last stop. My parents came in from Illinois to see this show, which was really wonderful. I almost can’t believe it was their first time seeing me with Session Americana: The band is such a big part of my musical life. Anyway: The crowd was so good to us - incredibly quiet and focused during my set, and totally spirited during Session’s - what a blast! The sound was great at the Living Room, too - Session only had to use one mic, I think. In the end, while it took a lot for the whole company to get our asses down to NYC, all of us were excited to try and come back to the Living Room really soon. Thanks, New York. You are beautiful.
One last funny moment: we gave my parents a ride back to my brother’s house late that night, and Sean Staples treated them to his Merle Haggard-rendition of my song, “Song of the Stars” - pester him for it - it’s priceless!
love,
rose p
Tags: Photos, session americana montpelier nyc, When the River Meets the Sea
24th
September
2008
Boston Music News - “Notes on Rose Polenzani”
by Michael Brodeur
Published September 24, 2008.
It’s been a big year for local singer-songwriter ROSE POLENZANI — and rightly so. She spent a week this summer opening shows for the INDIGO GIRLS (she even got to belt out a third harmony she’d been nursing for “Closer to Fine”), she’s delighted Lizard Lounge audiences with her Tuesday-residency performances, and she’s recorded one hell of an album in When the River Meets the Sea, which will see national release on October 1 — and which, I’m sorry to report, does not feature any singing otters. The album, her fifth, is a collaboration with local rag-jug-jam juggernaut SESSION AMERICANA, and it may well be the one that finally gets her the attention her sly, swoonworthy singing voice and delicate compositional skills deserve. It captures the intimate folksy charm both acts offer live, so pick up a copy at one of their two release shows at Lizard Lounge tonight and tomorrow (September 25-26). And show up early — you (and everyone else) will want a good seat for this.
See this article on the Boston Music News website.
Tags: Indigo Girls, Session Americana When the River Meets the Sea
25th
July
2008
One of the Five Trombones
I know I should be filling you in in the Indigo Girls tour, but it was just too amazing. I would ruin it trying to tell you about it. I also pretty much forgot to take pictures. I returned the rental car. It’s like it never happened. Oh, but I still have my backstage pass.
I geeked out about that pass. Also the catering room each night: free dinner? come on. Also the wonderful crowds. Also having my friend Nicole help me sell cds. Also the three-part harmony my friends Sean Staples and Kimon Kirk rolled out during “Queen Anne’s Lace” and “When the River Meets the Sea”. The way the audience screamed through Sean’s mandolin solos. The chills I got when Kimon sang on “The Lawn and the Sky”…. But probably the biggest thrill was how MASSIVE the sound is in these places - just the littlest little peep from me sounded powerful and huge in those rooms. As a singer, I can just relax.
No no wait. the biggest thrill: Singing on “Closer to Fine”!!!! I can’t even count how many times I’ve belted out a third-part harmony to that song, as a teenager, as a college kid, in my first apartment, in my first car… What a thrill to get to sing it on stage with them! Emily invited me to sing the third verse every night, and more than one IG fan came up to me at the merch table and told me I’d lived out their dearest fantasy - OMG I KNOW! It was just so fun.
So when I got home, I went quickly back into my Tuesday residency at the Lizard Lounge, and I couldn’t help asking Dan Cardinal, sound engineer, to make me louder in the house - seven days of booming voice are hard to get over.
The Tuesdays have all been so different - I’ve played residencies where you have a set band, and over the course of the nights, you get tighter and better as a band - this is a whole different theory - we have a different lineup each week, and each week, I think we get looser and better. This last week, I looked around me and couldn’t believe the lineup: guitar, banjo, accordion, glockenspiel, and trombone. Has that ever happened before?
In other news, I’m spending my idle hours making a pinata and mexican paper flowers. Photos on facebook.
Tags: Indigo Girls
19th
May
2008
Rose opening for Indigo Girls this summer!
Rose is thrilled to be opening for the Indigo Girls at the following shows:
Friday, 7/11/08 – Lowell, MA – Boarding House Park
Saturday, 7/12/08 – Newport, RI – Newport Sunset Music Fest
Sunday, 7/13/08 – Concord, NH – Capitol Center for the Arts
Tuesday, 7/15/08 – Rutland, VT – Paramount Theatre
Wednesday, 7/16/08 – Hyannis, MA – Cape Cod Melody Tent
Friday, 7/18/08 – Wilmington DE – Grand Opera House
Saturday, 7/19/08 – Peekskill, NY - Paramount Ctr for Arts
14th
May
2008
“When the River Meets the Sea”
“When the River Meets the Sea”
Rose Polenzani with Session Americana
Local Release Date: May 14, 2008
National Release Date: Oct 1, 2008
“When the River Meets the Sea” is a collaboration between Rose Polenzani and the Boston phenomenon Session Americana. Recorded live-in-studio in Summer ‘06 at Hi-n-Dry, Cambridge, MA, this record was made simultaneously with Session Americana’s “Beertown” e.p., and features guest vocalists Jordan Caress, Jennifer Kimball, and Ana Egge. The title track is a Paul Williams tune (he wrote “the rainbow connection”), and was originally recorded by John Denver and… I think Gonzo.
Track List:
- Queen Anne’s Lace
- Song of the Stars
- Some Way
- Sarsaparilla
- The Soft Parts
- When the River Meets the Sea (by Paul Williams)
- If I Could Hit You
- Push Me If I Snore
- Paying a Visit
- You Were Drunk
- She is a Rainbow (by Sharon Lewis)
21st
April
2008
“Book of Love” Official Recording
January, 2008
Home Recording on Analog 8-Track
This is a cute story: Eleanor and Al, from Australia, were getting married and wanted to have this song played as their “song” (!!!) - and they wanted our version (Rose Cousins and mine). However, the audio on our youtube video is really low quality, so Eleanor secretly contacted me and arranged for us to make a quality audio recording.
I received an email last week from their friend Kate in London:
“Hi there,
Just saw your website and wanted to drop you a line to say thanks.
I live in London, UK and recently went to Melbourne, Australia, to see my great friend Eleanor Donelan get married.
As you must know, Elle and her husband Al played your specially recorded version of Book of Love for their first dance at the wedding. I’m not normally soppy but it was so amazing and beautiful it had everyone in tears. It was a great day and I know she was so honoured that you put so much effort into the recording that you made for them.”
I’m so excited! Eleanor said we could share this mp3 with you once the wedding was over: Here it is.
