Tanya Donelly & Friends: Live Photos from Joe's Pub, NYC June 13, 2010

"It smells like beer and children in here" -- Jenny Owens Young

Yesterday, American Laundromat Records hosted an all-ages benefit show for The Valerie Fund at Joe's Pub which featured Tanya Donelly, Jenny Owen Youngs and Julie Peel.

The Valerie Fund is a NYC-based charity that supports the comprehensive care of children with cancer and blood disorders. Established in 1976 in memory of nine-year-old Valerie Goldstein, The Valerie Fund Children’s Centers, located at 7 major hospitals, comprise one of the nation’s largest networks of health care facilities for children with cancer and blood disorders.



It was a great show for a great cause. It was also refreshing that none of the artists "dumbed down" their set to play to the kids in the audience. (Any adult who has every sat through a kid's show will know exactly what I mean.) Julie Peel kicked off the afternoon with a five song set that concluded with The Little Mermaid's "Under the Sea". After some face painting for the kids, Jenny Owens Young took the stage. She seemed a bit surprised to see so many small faces right at the edge of the stage looking up at her and made a crack about not playing songs about divorce and cancer. After her set, American Laundromat Records gave away prizes to all the kids. (It made my 6-year-old's day to get a pack of Silly Bands and a Webkinz Warthog.)

Tanya Donelly wrapped up the afternoon with a set that included duets with her daughter and friends and Julie Peel.

Here is the set list:
- Two songs that Tanya said she wrote for her kids (Titles unknown)
- Moon River
- Fly Me to the Moon
- Laluna The Loon
- Everythings Gonna Be Alright
- Heart of Gold (Neil Young cover with Julie Peel)
- Days of Grace

Links:
Tanya Donelly
Julie Peel
Jenny Owen Youngs
American Laundromat Records

Tanya Donelly & Friends Play Joe's Pub on June 13, 2010 // Pre-Show Interview

“This is a rare no-brainer tribute LP. Not only do the proceeds enrich the Valerie Fund, benefiting kids with cancer and rare blood disorders, but also musically it glows like a night-light.” – Jack Rabid (The Big Takeover)

Last night I had the pleasure of talking with one of my musical heroes - Tanya Donelly. She is coming to town on Sunday, June 13th to play a show at Joe's Pub which benefits the Valerie Fund. This show also marks the release of the CD Sing Me To Sleep; a disc of lullabies from a diverse range of artists that include Tanya Donelly, Julie Peel, Dean and Britta, Stars, The Leisure Society, Jenny Owen Youngs and more.

Here is a link to the MP3 of the interview with Tanya Donelly.

Please join us for a very special day of music to celebrate the release of Sing Me To Sleep on Sunday, June 13th (noon-2:30pm) at Joe’s Pub in NYC. During this child-friendly show, Tanya Donelly, Jenny Owen Youngs, and Julie Peel will perform their lullabies alongside many original favorites. We'll have special door prizes, and lots of fun stuff for everyone. All proceeds from this wonderful project are donated to The Valerie Fund, a non-profit organization that provides for the comprehensive health care of children with cancer and blood disorders. Buy tickets today! This is a rare musical experience for the whole family... and all for a very worthy cause. We hope to see you there!
- American Laundromat Records

Links:
Tanya Donelly
Joe's Pub
American Laundromat Records

Sing Me To Sleep - Tanya Donelly, Jenny Owen Youngs, and Julie Peel perform at Joe’s Pub on June 13th to Launch New Children’s Charity CD

American Laundromat Records (ALR) is hosting a CD release party at Joe's Pub on June 13th to celebrate the release of ALR’s new charity CD Sing Me To Sleep - Indie Lullabies. The show features performances from Tanya Donelly, Jenny Owen Youngs, and Julie Peel, along with face-painting, balloons, crafts and more.

Sing Me To Sleep - Indie Lullabies features whimsical adaptations of popular songs and lullabies by various independent artists, including: Stars, Tanya Donelly, Neil Halstead, Dean & Britta, Telekinesis, and many more. American Laundromat’s goal with this album is not only to raise awareness and support for The Valerie Fund, but also to provide something of beauty for indie music appreciators to share with their kids.

100% of proceeds from the sale of Sing Me To Sleep are donated to The Valerie Fund, a NYC-based charity that supports the comprehensive care of children with cancer and blood disorders. Established in 1976 in memory of nine-year-old Valerie Goldstein, The Valerie Fund Children’s Centers, located at 7 major hospitals, comprise one of the nation’s largest networks of health care facilities for children with cancer and blood disorders.

This is an all-ages matinee show that runs from 12:00PM - 2:30PM. Tickets are $20 for adults and $12 for children under 12.

Tanya Donelly - Legal Music Download

Who says that you can't go home again? When I lived in DC, Belly was one of the staples on WHFS during the mid-90s. I hadn't heard anything from Donnelly after 1997's Lovesongs for Underdogs and had (incorrectly) assumed that she had left the music business.

I just ran across Donnelly's website and she has some great mp3s posted for downloading (please notice and use the 'tip jar' on the site). I downloaded the 10-track Star demos (which became Belly's first CD) and have had them playing on my iPod non-stop. Very simply - this is a "must have"! This is Tanya playing mostly by herself and the songs take on different arrangements than what ended up on the final CD. It is fascinating to hear these work-in-progress demos.

Here are Tanya's comments on these demos (as posted on her website):

A mere 16 years later, here are the demos for Star (Belly's first), recorded with Joe Harvard at Fort Apache. (Thank you, Ivo, for having the original mixes on cd so I didn't have to mess with the tapes.) They were originally meant to be the second Breeders album, so Kim plays on a couple. She plays the high solo on White Belly and the counter-lead stuff on Feed the Tree. That's what I recall.

White Belly was co-written with Fred Abong, but for some reason he didn't play on it. I think possibly because it was intended for the Breeders, and we weren't planning to start a post-Muses band together at that time. It wasn't long after these demos were recorded that I decided to start my own thing and form Belly, and Fred came along. To be honest, I'm very fuzzy on my own chronology and some details.

Some of the vocals are oddly low -- I think that was my taste at the time, which is too bad. And I was very self-conscious about my voice, sometimes justifiably. And it is all extremely spare, mostly just electric guitar and vocal. But I think in general, these are pretty good, and at least interesting if you liked Star.

Re: Slow Dog -- Mariah Carey hadn't surfaced yet when I wrote this song. This is a very old song that I sat on for a while. The first time I heard her name was when a couple of the Pavement guys (who got the demo from someone who worked at 4ad at the time) said they liked the song I wrote about Mariah Carey. So Mariah became Maria. I always missed Mariah.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy these demos. I'm taking my sister's lead (copying her, in fact) and leaving a virtual tip jar. I'm also planning on putting up an additional live Windham set of mostly old songs that we did on one of the Hungry Life nights. Hopefully in a few months, a song or two at a time. That will be fun.