Virtual Gallery | July 2020
Hey Friends!
In light of this new unknown living, we are all in now, and in an effort to try and keep some consistency in my life, I’m taking my weekly residency into the Virtual Gallery! Every week I will have a new virtual friend join me and Stephanie via the interwebs, and this time at a more reasonable time frame of 8:30pm to 10pm. For those who haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Stephanie Marlar, you have no idea how lucky you are about to become!! She’s the ringleader, the hero, the rebel, and the sass to every gallery show I do and she’s also a helluva bartender. She’ll be my copilot on these shows as long as her country ass internet works!
So here's how it's gonna work: Contributions = a number that reflects the combined amount of what you would pay at the door + Stephanie’s Tip Jars. Right now, we’re using RSVPify to sell General Admission tickets for the low, low price of $7. You’ll notice at check-out that there is an option to add a donation to your GA ticket. Each week, the contributions will be shared between my guest, our virtual bartender Stephanie, and me. After your ticket is purchased, you will receive an email with instructions on how to access the Virtual Gallery via ZOOM. Here you will get to see, chat, and listen to all your favorite songs by me and my friends! We are asking for you not share the access link with others. This is one of the many ways we are trying to avoid losing our homes over the next few months and to be able to keep you entertained during these uncertain times!
I’ll also share the info and etiquette tips of these new spaces. Much like the Continental Gallery, this is still a live room in which we all share it together. So for example, if you un-mute yourself and speak, you will be interrupting the show for every single person watching! We’ll also include tips on how to optimize your viewing experience, and any other details you'll need in order to log-in and enjoy the show. This platform we’re using is free to sign up for, AND there is also an option to watch within your browser in case you can’t download the app. We will also welcome your feedback and know we will be working out the kinks as best as possible. We want to make this the best experience we can.
Previous July 2020 Virtual Gallery Guests
July 2nd - Kim Richey
Through it all, Richey has worn her heart on her lyrical sleeve, revealing herself time and again. “I started writing songs because of Joni Mitchell, probably like most women songwriters of a certain age,” Richey confesses. “I loved being able to write songs because I was really super-shy. I couldn’t say things to people that I wanted to say. If I put it in a song, there was the deniability. If I ever got called on it, I could say, ‘Oh, heavens no, that’s just a song! I made that up.’”
Thursday, July 9th - Total Request Live Stream
Due to unforeseen circumstances, Terri Hendrix will have to reschedule for July 30th. Since Terri can not be replaced, I’ll be holding down the Virtual Gallery alone with a very special Total Request Live Stream!
Thursday, June 16th - Barbara Nesbitt and Andrea Magee
This week, my friends Barbara Nesbitt and Andrea Magee take over the Virtual Gallery. It’ll be great, so please stop by! I’ll see you next week. - Bonnie
July 23rd - Lisa Morales
Like many singer-songwriters, Lisa Morales started penning tunes as a way to express her emotions addressing the complex landscape of relationships through music and verse. Her perspective now is that of a woman who’s gone through many storms and witnessed their sometimes-beautiful aftermaths as well.
With Luna Negra and the Daughter of the Sun, Morales sought to reach even more deeply into her soul. Drawing from a creative palette informed by the rhythms, colors and flavors of the Southwest — from the painted-desert skies of her native Tucson, Arizona, where she and cousin Linda Ronstadt grew up, to the sea-salted air of Houston, where she moved at 18, and the history-filled city of San Antonio, where she now lives — she’s crafted an album of maturity, sensitivity and strength. On each of its 11 tracks — all but one of which were written or co-written by Morales — she confirms that she is a woman in touch with her emotions and inner power. Lyrics, sung in English, Spanish and Spanglish, also convey the promise of new beginnings.
The album is produced by Michael Ramos (the BoDeans, Patty Griffin, John Mellencamp) who plays accordion and keyboards. The album features guitarists Charlie Sexton (Bob Dylan), Adrian Quesada (Grupo Fantasma, Prince) and David Garza (Juliana Hatfield, Fiona Apple). Los Lonely Boys bassist Jojo Garza and Los Lobos drummer Cougar Estrada round out the core band. Both Garzas also provide backing vocals. On “Avalanche,” a standout duet with the late Jimmy LaFave. and on “Strong Enough,” folk icon Eliza Gilkyson helps lift up the inspiring anthem of female empowerment with backing vocals.
On the album’s sole cover, “Pena, Penita, Pena” Morales taps into the pain of losing her mother, whose poetic influence permeates every song — especially those Morales sings in her mother’s native language. The song features lead guitar by David Pulkingham with Morales on classical guitar and Michael “Cornbread” Traylor on bass. Though Morales, who discovered the song while her mother was dying of cancer, imbues it with sadness, she makes it sound like a gentle sunset serenade — and reports proudly that when she played it for her cousin, Ronstadt responded, “I would have definitely recorded that!”
Morales recorded six albums as one-half of the duo Sisters Morales before releasing her solo debut, Beautiful Mistake, in 2012
Lisa has also worn producers hat with highly acclaimed production on Hayes Carlls’ “Flowers & Liquor; co-wrote “Waiting For the Stars to Fall” with Hayes Carll on his CD “Trouble in Mind".
Thursday, July 30th - Terri Hendrix
Terri Hendrix is a pioneering independent Texas songwriter who spins sorrow into joy and wrings wisdom from the blues with a poetic grace and engaging melodic flair that has endeared her to three generations of fans around the globe. Recognized by “Acoustic Guitar” Magazine as one of Texas’ 20 essential contemporary singer-songwriters, Hendrix has released 18 albums since her 1996 debut, “Two Dollar Shoes," all on her own Wilory Records label. As the owner of the masters to every album she's ever made, "Terri is truly a self-made woman" (as music legend Al Kooper observed). That autonomy has allowed her the freedom to dodge musical pigeonholes her entire career by weaving folk, pop, country, blues and jazz into an eclectic style all her own, which makes for an energetic and spiritually uplifting live show in any setting, from listening rooms and house concerts to theaters to outdoor festivals. Along the way, she’s also co-written a Grammy-winning instrumental (the Dixie Chicks’ “Lil’ Jack Slade”), and garnered such honors as a star on the South Texas Music Walk of Fame, the Art of Peace Award by Saint Mary’s University in San Antonio, the Distinguished Alumni Award at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, and a 2015 induction into the Women’s Hall of Fame in San Marcos, Texas. But her proudest achievement to date is the OYOU ("Own Your Own Universe"), the 501 C3 non-profit she founded in 2013. Based in Martindale and San Marcos, Texas, the OYOU's mission is to make the arts accessible to everyone, regardless of age, income, social, or mobility issues, through a variety of workshops, concerts, and retreats.
As busy as the OYOU keeps her, though, Terri is as productive on the writing and recording end of her career as ever — as evidenced by the recent completion of her most ambitious release yet: "Project 5," a suite of four albums and a memoir exploring the shared themes of love, faith, and resilience. The first two albums, "Love You Strong" and "The Slaughterhouse Sessions," were both released in 2016, followed by "Talk to a Human" and "Who Is Ann?" (a self-produced EP exploring her love of electronica) in 2019. Texas legend Terry Allen called Terri's collection "a war cry, her gift with a vengeance to all of us," while fellow songwriter Eliza Gilkyson noted the "undeniable authenticity" and "tangible, joyful, healing power" of the music. Terri brings all of those qualities to the page and wraps up Project 5 with her book, "The Girl with the Exploding Brain," a deeply personal account of her lifelong battle with epilepsy and the path she’s braved not just to wellness, but to making her "Own Your Own Universe" dream a reality.