7.06.2011

Michelle Amador's Heartland Tour (and Me)

I'm honored to be a part of this thing. 

Michelle Amador and her husband Tim Bulkley are friends of mine from way back. Now based in New York, Michelle has valiantly advanced her career in the non-profit arts world, while continuing to grow and gain recognition as a singer-songwriter. Her roots are in the jazz tradition, but her sound goes well beyond that. Tim is a drummer beyond compare - he has a jazz background as well.
 

Michelle Amador
This summer, Michelle is touring the nation with a grassroots angle. Each stop on her Heartland tour will entail some combination of exploration, communication with other creative people (artists and non-artists), and performance with local artists working in a variety of disciplines. The concept was developed by Erin Coppin, Michelle's close friend, and whose "Love is All Around" photo project provided a lot of the inspiration behind the tour (http://www.inheartlandia.com/)

Erin and Michelle's goal is to foster an ongoing dialogue that bridges national regions, creative goals, and modes of expression. In Michelle's words, it's "a collaborative, cross-medium artist/non-artist search for what's at the center, for what's in our hearts - our own, and those we encounter."

Barbara Gray
Tim Bulkley
Goh Nakamura
I am excited to be participating (reading from my own work) in two of the Heartland events: one in Los Angeles on Sunday, July 17th, and one in San Jose, CA, on Tuesday, July 19th.  

In Los Angeles, we'll be joined by comedian Barbara Gray, and in San Jose we'll have singer/songwriter/actor Goh Nakamura with us.  At each event, Michelle will perform her own work and that of others with a small combo featuring Tim on drums.

The Heartland tour is being funded by a Kickstarter-style campaign, launched recently by Michelle and Erin, and which has already raised nearly half of the tour's budget. Admission to Heartland tour events is open to the public at the price of a very modest suggested donation to the tour. Donations to the Heartland campaign - which I strongly encourage! - can be made here:

 
http://theheartlandtour.bandzoogle.com

Info on the dates I'll be joining Heartland are below. For the full tour schedule, check the link above.


Heartland in Los Angeles
Michelle Amador and Tim Bulkley, with comedian Barbara Gray and readings by Casey Burchby
Location TBA
7:00 p.m.
$10.00 suggested donation

Heartland in San Jose
Michelle Amador and Tim Bulkley, with singer/songwriter Goh Nakamura and readings by Casey Burchby
The Ronco Home
1651 Campbell Avenue
7:00 p.m.
$10.00 suggested donation