http://pattiecker.com/news.html Patti Ecker - singer/songwriter/entertainer: News Jannis' PHPRss class - http://www.jannis.to/ Tue, 07 Sep 2010 02:40:08 -0700 http://pattiecker.com/news.html#27
What a season it's been for music! Beginning with the triumphant
return of The Shameless Hussies at a *packed* Fitzgerald's, the two
Midwest mini-tours with Louise Brodie, the front page of the Daily
Herald, children's concerts and the Incredible Train Gig with L.J.,
it's been a surprising and wonderful time for me and my music.

Best of the summer:
* The D.A.F.T Folk Fest, Escanaba MI. Louise and I shared the stage
with the wonderful Claudia Schmidt! Inbetween some violent storms, I
joined Claudia and charming Escanaba chanteuse, Almudena Aguirre in an
impromptu, three part "Sentimental Journey." Then Claudia provided a
groovy scat/kazoo solo to "The Cat That's Walkin' the Dog." We had a
blast, and met some great folks.

* The Incredible Train Gig. L.J. and I really didn't know what to
expect when we were called to play on an 11-hour gig on a train from
Union Station to Minneapolis. It turned out that this Scottish-themed
surprise birthday party was on the fancy schmancy Patrick Henry
Private Cars. We *immediately* made friends with the gourmet chef, and
played everything from bossa novas at dinner to "City of New Orleans"
in the observation car, with everyone singing along. Then we drove
back home the next day on Hwy 61!

* Wisconsin Mini-Tour. Louise and I played at the delighful Harmony
Cafe in Appleton on Friday and got a standing ovation (!!) at the
Black Hawk Concert Series in Mount Morris. Talk about a warm welcome!

I'm shifting gears again to begin Global Roots Outreach for the Old
Town School and attend the FARM Gathering next week. I've got some
senior gigs and some kids' gigs coming up, too.

I hope I see you all down the road soon!]]> http://pattiecker.com/news.html#27 Fri, 03 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700 - Patti Ecker - singer/songwriter/entertainer - News http://pattiecker.com/news.html#26
Two songs from "Gypsy Lover's Eyes." "Elsie" and "Indifferent Love" were noted for Honorable Mention status in this years' competition.

I'm entering a few more contests this month as the deadlines approach.]]> http://pattiecker.com/news.html#26 Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700 - Patti Ecker - singer/songwriter/entertainer - News http://pattiecker.com/news.html#25
To my delight, been doing a bunch with L.J. Slavin They've ranged from summer concert series all over Chi-land to marching in the Hoffman Estates 4th of July parade to playing at the Berwyn Police Station with Gus Friedlander. It's all good!

The big news, of course is that Louise Brodie and I have done one mini tour to Michigan, and are getting ready for a nice little weekend tour September 12th and 13th in Wisconsin-- first in Appleton at the Harmony Cafe and then in Mount Morris for the Black Hawk concert series.

Check the calendar page for updates!]]> http://pattiecker.com/news.html#25 Wed, 16 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700 - Patti Ecker - singer/songwriter/entertainer - News http://pattiecker.com/news.html#24
Go to the "Raves" page and read it. It's a goodun. :D

I am pretty darn tickled! Yaaaay!]]> http://pattiecker.com/news.html#24 Fri, 21 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0700 - Patti Ecker - singer/songwriter/entertainer - News http://pattiecker.com/news.html#23
Many of you know that I started playing guitar when I was about 15, but you may not know that because I wrote poetry and enjoyed singing as a child, I developed a burning desire to write songs as an adolescent. Artistic self-expression was always encouraged and nurtured in the Ecker household (Mother being a published author and Daddy being a fine singer), so as soon as I learned my first three chords, I hit the ground running.

Just like any young writer/performer, I fumbled around a lot the first few years before I found my style — or rather, styles. For the first few years, I kicked around ideas, first writing protest songs, and then the typical angst-filled singer/songwriter tunes. Sometimes I wrote songs just to get a reaction. I soon developed what Rusty (the engineer and co-producer of “Gypsy Lover’s Eyes”) calls my “Slice of Life” songs -- you know, the quirky little ones that tell a short story (usually about love) but with a little edge, and a bit of saucy humor. At NIU, I snuck backstage at a Steve Goodman concert and played him one of my first funny songs (inspired by John Hartford), called “Influenza Blues.” He liked it, and he offered to help me, but I think I just wasn’t ready yet. It was enough just to know that Steve Goodman thought that I had written a good song.

I sang and played and I wrote more songs. In 1978, I followed Sarah to South Florida, and within about a year, I was playing in bars in Fort Lauderdale. I joined the band October Road and learned how to front a band with confidence, I hung out at the Musician’s Exchange with Gaye Levine as The Ecktones, I joined Top Forty and wedding bands and I wrote some more songs. The oldest song on “Gypsy” is “Okay For You”, written that first year in South Florida, and “Indifferent Love,” “Too Close, Too Soon” and of course, “Shine” are all from that period. I spent a lot of time in recording studios, mostly singing other people’s music, but I learned a lot about the process from those sessions. I was always trying to find the perfect recording situation for myself ; great musicians and supportive fellow songwriters surrounded me. People were constantly pestering me to “get your stuff out there, dammit!” Somehow, I could never find the right musicians to play what I was hearing in my head for my songs. Besides, I had rent to pay, groceries to buy and crappy cars to keep running. And so, more years went by.

Coming back to Chicago set up a whole new set of challenges for me. Of course, I thought I would plug in my sassy South Florida style here and take the town by storm. That didn’t happen. Even with my husband Don’s help, and the friendship of another great bunch of musicians, I never felt like my songs or my eclectic style fit in here. I didn’t think anyone was listening. So I put them away for years and did kids’ shows to get my music fix. I decided that I really wasn’t much of a songwriter, after all. I didn’t write a single word for nine years.

Then something unexpected happened. As I was finishing “Prairieland”, I decided to have Rusty master the CD at his basement studio. When he was working on the song “El-A-Noy,” he looked at me and said, “That’s the kind of vocal I like to hear you do—as if you’re singing just to me.” I knew then that he was the right guy to engineer and co-produce “Gypsy.” He asked me to put down reference tracks of all the songs I thought I’d like to do, and we took some time picking the best of the best. In the meantime, I started writing again, and a couple newer songs are on “Gypsy.” “The Grace of a Song” has little hints of what the studio process is like. Almost four years after we started, and after working with seventeen musicians in the studio, we finished what amounts to my Great American Novel, “Gypsy Lover’s Eyes.” With Rusty’s help, and the help of all of the talented people who helped produce my music, I was able to make this recording sound like a cross between an intimate live concert and a movie soundtrack—everything I have dreamed about for more than thirty years.

This CD tells my story -- not necessarily the "real" me, but the best, strongest part of who I am and who I hope to be. You can hear all of the influences that have shaped my creative life over the years, and the amazing way the songs still stand up, after so much time. I am very happy with the result, and even the beautiful cover design is a bonus. I’m not sure what will happen to these songs. I am hoping to sell them on gigs,through my website and wherever I can. I will be sending them to radio stations and using them as demos. I hope you will buy one, and if you love it, I’m hoping you’ll tell other people about it.]]> http://pattiecker.com/news.html#23 Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 -0800 - Patti Ecker - singer/songwriter/entertainer - News http://pattiecker.com/news.html#22
We each did 2 short sets to a pretty nice crowd of as many as one hundred folks in the Mayslake Peabody mansion. We set up in a huge chapel-- great acoustics! We even got to jam a bit. :-)

The best news was that we helped to raise $4000 for a new exhibit for a pair of Sandhill Cranes who were surrogates for Whooping Cranes.

Roger Kotecki put the whole shebang together. And rumor has it, we may now have a new cool venue for acoustic music!]]> http://pattiecker.com/news.html#22 Sun, 18 Nov 2007 00:00:00 -0800 - Patti Ecker - singer/songwriter/entertainer - News http://pattiecker.com/news.html#21
Lilli did me a very great honor by taking my suggestion and making the entire show a "Gypsy" theme. It was a complete coincidence that the first song on the playlist for the evening was "Who Let That Django Jazz Into the Room?" by friend David Williams!

She played 3 cuts from the CD and I got to play 3 songs live! What a treat! I even gave away a CD on-air to a very nice man who enjoyed hearing "Elsie."

Thanks to Lilli Kuzma and all of the Folk Festival listeners!]]> http://pattiecker.com/news.html#21 Wed, 07 Nov 2007 00:00:00 -0800 - Patti Ecker - singer/songwriter/entertainer - News http://pattiecker.com/news.html#20
I'll be the featured guest on 90.9 FM WDCB’s "Folk Festival" hosted by Lilli Kuzma. I'll be playing some live tunes from "Gypsy Lover's Eyes" and promoting the upcoming CD release concert.

You can also hear streaming audio on WDCB.org
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11/10/2007 03:00 PM - CD Release Concert and Party!!
U.U. Church of Elgin - Highland Avenue, 3 miles west of Randall
Elgin, 60120
US
Cost:$5.00
Gypsy Lover’s Eyes" CD release concert and party! Featuring Rocco Phipps, Mike O’ Connell, Peg Lehman, Louise Brodie, Rick Veras and more!
patti@pattiecker.com for more info
Reception to follow. :-)
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11/17/2007 02:00 PM - Concert for the Cranes
Peabody Mansion, Mayslake Forest Preserve
Oak Brook, Illinois
US
Benefit for Sandhill Cranes! With Andrew Calhoun, Mike O’Connell and Mark Andel, Pete Norman and Dave "D.K." Kolars

Call Roger Kotecki 630-393-1890]]> http://pattiecker.com/news.html#20 Fri, 19 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0700 - Patti Ecker - singer/songwriter/entertainer - News http://pattiecker.com/news.html#19 Time and day TBA...

Yipppeee!]]> http://pattiecker.com/news.html#19 Tue, 04 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0700 - Patti Ecker - singer/songwriter/entertainer - News http://pattiecker.com/news.html#18 www.myspace.com.pattiecker.


It's got some new, almost-final mixes of "Indifferent Love" and "Okay For You, " featuring the fabulous John Otto on clarinet.]]> http://pattiecker.com/news.html#18 Thu, 21 Jun 2007 00:00:00 -0700 - Patti Ecker - singer/songwriter/entertainer - News