I've been rather quiet lately, but lots of good stuff has been going on.

I've been playing bass guitar and loving it. Here's a shot of the Two Johns and a Nancy show where I debuted on Ashbory bass. 

I've also started accompanying local group of ukulele enthusiasts known as MAUI. These folks have a mind-boggling repertoire and a great attitude. Join us if you're into it, or come see us in the park in New Glarus in August (and possibly popping up in your neighborhood -- check my calendar dates for details.)

On the songwriting side, I had a fruitful February Album Writing Month, finishing 19 songs, including collaborations with Stephen Wort, John Das Binky, Phil Norman, Paul Dreifus, Scott Martin, Aaron Nathans, Tim Budziszewski, Helen Robertson and Paul Hoopshank Turrell.

I'm big in New Zealand! The aforementioned Stephen Wort, of Wellington, NZ, is including our co-write, "Trying On An Alphabet" on his forthcoming album. (And previous NZ collaborator Rose Duxfield has been including our co-write "When The Fire" in her set for five years now.)

Speaking of albums, I'm starting to plan for one of my own. If you have any suggestions for songs you'd like to hear included, I'm all ears.

Summer plans include teaching keyboard classes and being a band coach for Girls Rock Camp, teaching two sessions of Songwriting 101 for Middle School U, doing the 50 Songs in 90 days challenge, and attending Fawmstock IV in Pennsylvania, among other things. And updating this website more faithfully!

 

 

 

 

This summer, I wrote songs at a retreat in Dodgeville, with my friends the Two Johns, and with my middle-school-aged Songwriting 101 students. Lyrical highlights are here:

http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/5802773/Nancy_5090_2012_lyrics

Or maybe just a misdemeanor? I'm working my squeezebox on "My Country 'Tis of Me", the opening track of Das Binky's forthcoming debut album, Divide The Storm. I also play piano on the title track. And yell my head off on the closing track. I'll probably be doing all that and more in support of Mr. Binky's album release in January. To stay in the loop, go here: http://www.dasbinky.com/

Autumn is coming, and with it comes a new piano teaching schedule. I'm accepting new students now.

I work with a wide variety of ages, musical tastes and learning styles, with special attention to creativity and enjoyment in playing. Individual lesson plans include repertoire, technique, theory, ear training, reading and improvisation as appropriate.  Lessons take place at Madison Music Foundry, which also offers some great group classes and performance opportunities as part of your lesson fee.  If you or your child are interested in learning piano with me, you may contact me directly - nancyrost@nancyrost.com - or via MMF to discuss scheduling a trial lesson.

In four hours I'll begin my now-annual three-month songwriting marathon. Want to watch my progress, or perhaps join me in the challenge?

http://www.fiftyninety.fawmers.org/

In Banned Wagon news, we now have a Reverb Nation page. Do stop by and check it out from time to time.

http://www.reverbnation.com/bannedwagon

 

No World Tour of Iowa this summer, but Banned Wagon is getting around in 2011, playing anything from the local VFW fish fry to the big Midwest Renewable Energy Fair up north. We'll be doing our first studio recording this July and stepping up our booking. Check the band dates on my page - come see us if you can and suggest other places we should play. If you're too far away, check my YouTube channel for some videos. Here's a photo from Tyler and Adrienne Applegate's farewell party at Talula. Wish you were there.

I'm taking part in February Album Writing Month, the annual challenge to write 14 songs in 28 days. If you're interested in songwriting and aren't already fawming, come check it out! http://www.fawm.org

(Making a video with fellow fawmers in 2008 - like the hairbrush microphone?)

I'm honored to be included in Phil Norman's fantastic new album "Four Februarys"  with our co-written song "Changed My Name". 

You can download the album at http://rockstarphil.com/fourfebruarys/.  If you like, there's a handy donation link there for February Album Writing Month, our songwriting home.

I've been adding some videos from the "Two Johns and a Nancy" show we did on December 10, 2010. You can check some of them out on my YouTube page: http://www.youtube.com/user/nancyrost.

Yes, the Banned Wagon tour happened, and it was great fun. For now I'm going to link you to this blog: http://www.msa-ps.com/?pid=273 More to come soon, I hope -- including some awesome video we shot around Iowa. We have a couple of parties coming up on the autumn calendar, and are in the process of figuring out what's next for local gigs and future tour dreams.

 

I'm also rediscovering the joy of being a singer-songwriter, and after returning to solo performing, it's also time to get back to writing. Look for some new music here on this website and working its way into performances as soon as I can ....

Thanks to the initiative of my friend Andrew Nath, I've joined a band. We've been calling ourselves Bandwagon, or, more recently, Banned Wagon. It's a six-piece, performing a variety of covers (Americana, reggae, pop and rock) and originals by several of the band members. We're playing every other Thursday at the Washington Hotel Coffee Room, and sharing the stage with a bunch of musical friends. This is in preparation for our July tour of Iowa, which we'll undertake on a flat-rack pulled by an old-fashioned tractor from Andy's dad's farm. The Washington Hotel gig itself has been fun and suitably quirky. This week mandolinist Huck Gent accompanied one of my songs on banjo while a conga line of young children danced across the room; bassist Dan Higgs led guitarist Jeremy Higgins and me in a yodeling song; and drummer Chris Marr brought some fantastic Caribbean rhythms to our rendition of "When Doves Cry". I'm looking forward to the next one already.

I had a blast at my guest appearance on Mad Toast Live on November 10. Chris Wagoner and Mary Gaines were fantastic hosts, fun to talk with and to jam with! I got to try out a couple new songs and play some older ones with a new ensemble. The podcast of the show is now streaming at http://www.madtoastlive.com. It will remain in the archives, and can be downloaded, at http://madtoastlive.podbean.com/page/9/

You never know where you're going to find yourself online. New Music Express has posted a video of my song "I Fell Into a Giant Brain" in their very special Giant Brain edition. Context, such as it is, here: http://www.nme.com/artists/giant-brain

By Dan MacIntosh The Likely Stories trio makes intriguing chamber folk music. Surprisingly, there is a lot of variety contained within this relatively limited genre categorization. Although Dave Schindele sings lead on "A Matter of Time", this is mostly a female-led outfit. Chimes, however, make Schindele's rare vocal track a memorable one. Sonic moods range from dramatic, with "American Gothic", to gently contemplative, as on "Yellow Bike" with its acoustic piano and guitar. "My Own History" even incorporates blues elements. Obviously, chamber pop and blues are at opposite sides of the musical spectrum. Therefore, Likely Stories are brave enough to throw in a few relatively unlikely aural elements, which makes them a story well worth the telling.

Details here! http://www.womensradio.com/content/templates/?a=4111&z=8

Isthmus is running this review of the Likely Stories CD in tomorrow's edition:

Likely Stories: Self-Titled
(Porch String)
Rich Albertoni on Friday 08/21/2009

Tracy Jane Comer, Dave Schindele and Nancy Rost have teamed up to make the most creative concept album to come out of Madison so far this year.

Likely Stories is a collection of nine musical tales making up three rounds of sonic turn-taking by the songwriters. It's a structure that highlights the stylistic breadth of the record.

Schindele's acoustic piano is dreamy, rumbling with restlessness on "A Matter of Time." Later, he employs Comer's brooding cello on "Nicole." That track is an odd but gorgeous prayer for Nicole Kidman: "Hope there's a there for you Nicole / Without a role, it's just you and your soul cast together."

Rost's jazzy arrangements are featured in "Golden Gate," about San Francisco suicide jumpers. Comer's "Yellow Bike" is pure folk charm, looking back on a poor but happy childhood in a seaside town.

The album's execution ultimately fulfills the ambitious concept, making Stories a local release to be reckoned with.

http://www.thedailypage.com/isthmus/article.php?article=26696

I've added some new songs to the music page. Included are:
- The Nancy Rot EP, my "compost punk" project
- The Misusing Telekinesis EP, an acoustic journey with frequent collaborator Helen Robertson
- Cardinal Tetra, a 5/4 harmonized Gregorian chant cum fish tale, co-written with New Zealand lyricist Stephen Wort
- Alas, Poor Gidget, a jazz/metal collaboration with Peter Watkinson of Holland and John Argentiero of Madison
I'm writing and posting regularly these days, so check back for frequent updates!

Wrote 51 songs in 24 hours with a couple of friends. Check out the results of our marathon at
http://5090.fawm.org/fawmers/rondofeast/

Fellow fawmer Matt Pierce has been kind enough to videotape a couple of my coffeehouse shows. I'm starting to post excerpts as they get edited. The latest is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJpPsiYNfFU

Two of my songs, "Artichokes and Emeralds" and "Welcome to Boscobel" are charting well in the Vocal Jazz and Alternative Country categories, respectively, of Songvault.fm. If the songs continue to do well, they will earn a permanent place on this internet radio station's rotation. If you'd like to help, then go to songvault.fm and sign up for an account, then put my name in the search engine to find and vote on my songs. Thanks in advance for your help!

The Likely Stories CD just had its radio debut (to my knowledge) on LG73 in Vancouver, on the program "21st Century Schizoid". http://www.lg73.ca/ Watch this space for more radio and internet play, as we've begun receiving requests for the CD from stations in Australia, Germany, and around the U.S.

Our CD is now available at the following Madison, Wisconsin retailers:

A Room of One's Own Bookstore
B-Side Records
The Exclusive Company

and more to come!

The Likely Stories CD is now available in physical and digital formats at CDBaby.com. Go to http://cdbaby.com/cd/likelystories to order.

The Likely Stories CD is coming out this week! It's now available for order at http://www.likelystories.us/audio.htm If you're in the Madison area, come join us for a CD release concert and celebration at Prairie Coffeehouse, at the intersection of Highways C and DM in Keyeser (near DeForest.)

COMING SOON! Three years in the making! Mad City
Chickens on DVD with over 60
minutes of extras. RELEASE DATE MARCH 24TH 2009!

This is an informative and very entertaining multi-genre film about urban chickens and their people. Part fact, part fiction, all fascinating. I play the part of a Chaplinesque ragtime piano player. This is my cinematic debut!
For more details: http://www.tarazod.com/blog