Art Is You, Calling All Crows and a free download
Posted on July 11th 2011
Hi everyone!
I’m writing to you from Savannah, GA. Just finished the first few shows with Adrianne Gonzalez on what we’re calling our Art is Song Tour. It’s been an incredible journey so far sharing our paintings based on our songs with you!
Check out an amazing video our friend Bryan Mir made for us (Bryan can also be heard playing bass on Brand New Frame and Gas Station Roses):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1gTm9rpd80
We’ve started a really fun offshoot of Art is Song at our shows. We’ve printed out lyrics we used in our paintings and had people pose with them. The results have been so gorgeous that is became a new project we’re calling Art is You! If you can make it to a show, please come pose for a photo. At some point, we’ll have all of them online to view. We’ll also have an online store set up soon so you can see and buy all our prints and paintings!
In addition to all our paintings, Adrianne and I also recorded an EP called “Dust and Stars” that is available only at these shows. To thank you for all your support we want to give you a song to download for free from the EP. It’s a song we wrote together called “Flesh and Bone.” We hope you enjoy it!
Here’s the link to download the song:
http://bit.ly/pbL2aT
In other news, I’m thrilled to announce I’ll be playing bass with Susan Werner at two festivals this month. The incredible Gail Ann Dorsey, who has been playing bass with Susan regularly, is now on tour with Lenny Kravitz. Congratulations to Gail Ann! We wish her all the best and I’m so honored to fill for her for a few dates this summer and into the fall. Check my website for tour dates with Art is Song, Susan Werner and more!
And one last important bit of news:
Adrianne and I are really excited to be working with a great organization called Calling All Crows. At all of our shows, we are collecting donations as part of CAC’s program called Bringing Change to Women. Your change will help bring shelter and learning opportunities to Afghan women in need. We also created a painting that is being auctioned off for a few more days on eBay. Go check it out and place a bid!
Art Is Song with Adrianne Gonzalez
Posted on June 13th 2011
Hi everyone!
June Gloom has its dark and misty claws around the neck of this city but that’s been a good thing! I’m writing to you from Los Angeles where I’ve been indoors for a little over a week painting and writing up a storm with my great friend Adrianne Gonzalez! We’re getting ready to start our first ever inter-disciplinary tour that we’re calling Art is Song.
Here’s a little video about what we’re doing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Be0VrUz7q2k
Many of you know that besides being a musician, I’m also a painter. Some of you didn’t know that til right now. So here’s my big announcement:
I LOVE PAINTING and for the first time ever, I’m embarking on a new way to tour where I get to combine the two things I love the most. Adrianne and I are having an amazing time creating all the work for this tour. We’ll have the originals and prints from the originals at all our shows. Come early to see the paintings, stay for the music!
Have a great summer and we’ll see you out there, paint splattered and psyched to hear what you think!
With so much love and thanks,
nz
Susan Werner, Tom Paxton, Janis Ian, Garrison Starr
Posted on May 6th 2011
Hey kids!
Just got back to Brooklyn from a swing of dates on the west coast with Susan Werner and the midwest with Tom Paxton and Janis Ian. Thank you to all the new folks who signed up on this list!
I’m really excited to meet up with the mighty Garrison Starr again and do a couple more CD release shows before winding down my tour schedule for a minute mid-May. It’s been a crazy year of touring so far. I’ve circled the globe. Literally. My carbon footprint needs a pedicure and I need a break but wow has it been amazing! I can’t believe how many places I’ve been, all the beautiful people I’ve met, the weird hotels I’ve stayed in, the food I’ve eaten- good and unmentionable – and the amazing musicians I’ve gotten to play with. I truly am blessed.
I’ll be back on the road again in July with my great friend Adrianne Gonzalez for a special tour we’re calling “Art is Song.” We’re co-writing some songs together and get this- we’re Co-Painting! Ever heard of such a thing? Well, me neither but I’ve always dreamed of it! So we start with a lyric and/or an image from one of our songs and then we pass a painting back and forth til it’s done. It’s been so inspiring to me and I can’t wait for you to hear and SEE the results. More info on that soon.
And look out in June when I make my debut as a bass player at the Boston Folk Festival with Susan Werner. WHAT?! Thanks to Gail Ann Dorsey for loaning me a bass for the occasion. I just hope some of her amazing skill rubs off through the instrument! Wouldn’t THAT be a trick?
So here’s where I’ll be this month. Looking forward to seeing your beautiful faces as always.
with love and endless thanks,
nz
Songs, Guitars, Guitar Slides
Posted on April 6th 2011
Hi Everybody!
Spent the morning getting new brake pads and routers, an oil change and an overall tune up on my little Honda That Could (Can and Does!) That car took me and Garrison Starr all over the place this last month. Thank you so much to everyone who came to a CD Release Show. Gas Station Roses was released on March 8th and it’s been getting great reviews from publications, blogs, magazines and most importantly from YOU! Thank you so much for all your support and kind words. It means the world to me.
I started out April in Florida opening shows for Janis Ian. I’m meeting up with Ms. Ian again this and next weekend to play in MA, CT, Brooklyn and upstate NY where we’ll be joined by Mr. Tom Paxton. It truly is an honor to share a stage with such incredible legends.
TWO JANIS IAN SONGS TO BENEFIT JAPAN
I had the great opportunity to play with Janis in Japan in January. A few of our shows were recorded and we’ve put up two of the songs at NataliaZukerman.com for download as a benefit for CNIC, Citizens’ Nuclear Information Center. Based in Tokyo, CNIC is an anti-nuclear public interest organization dedicated to securing a safe, nuclear-free world. The Center was formed to provide reliable information and public education on all aspects of nuclear power. Data gathered, compiled, and analyzed by the Center is condensed into forms useful to the media, citizens’ groups, policy makers, and the general public. The Center is independent from government and industry and is supported by membership fees, donations, and sales of publications. This is an issue that is very near and dear to me personally and I am so happy that Janis and I can donate a little bit of financial support. Our thoughts and prayers are with all our friends in Japan.
In other news about upcoming shows, this month I also get to play with my good friends Vance Gilbert, Erin McKeown and Susan Werner! Susan has been teaming up with Gail Ann Dorsey and Trina Hamlin of late so I can’t wait to join in the musical mayhem and make some noise with that powerhouse of women!
ZLIDES and GUITARS, OH MY!
I am so excited to let you know about two new partnerships.
The first is with the incredible artist Brenton Sadreameli, AKA Mr. B. He makes beautiful, hand-made glass slides and he’s started making a signature model for me that we’re calling the Zlide, as in The Zukerman Slide. You can buy them at my shows and soon they will also be available for purchase on the website.
The second partnership is with the wonderful folks at Guild Guitars! I am excited to announce that I’ll be playing one (or a few!) of their guitars from now on. I will still play my beautiful Goodall but since my run in with the TSA this Fall, the poor thing is in retirement. This endorsement couldn’t have come at a better time and I am so happy to be aligned with such a great company and the incredible craftsmen and women who make these instruments. I spent the day at the factory yesterday in Connecticut and I can tell you that each guitar is made by hand with the utmost care and attention to detail. I’m honored to play such gorgeous instruments. Thank you to Dave Gonzalez and Frank Untermyer for showing us the factory from top to bottom, inside and out. Come to a show soon to see and hear these instruments in action!
Here’s where I’ll be this month, Zlide and Guild Guitar in hand. Sure hope to see you!
With love and thanks,
nz
Garrison Starr, Shawn Colvin and Release Day in PGH!
Posted on March 5th 2011
Hi kids!
Well, I got back from a tour with Janis Ian in Japan and immediately started CD release shows with my great friend Garrison Starr on the west coast. We played eleven shows together in February with a slew of radio interviews and a music festival in Memphis thrown in there too. I gotta tell you, the shows are so fun. We’re sharing the night, backing each other up on guitars and vocals, trading songs and just having a blast. It’s been a really special collaboration so far and we’re psyched for all the shows we have coming up in March.
A lot of folks have been asking how they can be a part of the ZukerStarr team and help on out on the promotional end of things. If you want more information please email us at info@nataliazukerman.com. We’ll be happy to send you posters and goodies and you and a guest will be OUR guest at the show in your town. WOOHOO!
First, I’m heading down to Annapolis on Monday to open for Shawn Colvin at The Ram’s Head. I can’t even tell you how many times I listened to the record “Steady On” when I was in High School. I got to open for Shawn a few years ago and it was something I’ll remember forever. I can’t believe I get to do it again, and at one of my favorite venues to boot! An embarrassment of riches, really.
Then I’ll drive on to pick up Garrison in Pittsburgh on the 8th, THE OFFICIAL RELEASE DAY FOR GAS STATION ROSES. To everyone that pre-ordered and are still waiting for your packages- thank you so much for your patience and understanding. We’re working our little Indie butts off to get everything done and I apologize that this has taken longer than anticipated. I assure you, we’ll get you everything you ordered plus our limitless thanks asap.
So here’s where we’ll be this month. I hope you can make it to a show. I’m having the best time of my life making music these days and I can’t wait to share that joy with you.
With so much love and thanks,
nz
New site, pre-order GSR, books, Winterbloom, Japan
Posted on December 2nd 2010
Hi everyone!
Fancy email, huh? Well, guess what?! I have a brand new, big girl, all growed up website! It’s beautiful and it heralds the arrival of my new record, Gas Station Roses! Go check it out and let us know what you think! There’s still some kinks being worked out but hot damn does it look good! Thanks to Stump’d, Michelle Conceison, Rachel Klein and Kate Gilbert for all your hard work!
And what about the record? Well, it’s all done and at the printer right NOW getting copied and dressed up real pretty in cardboard jackets and sleeves. You can pre-order your copy TODAY!
You can simply pre-order a signed copy of the record that you’ll get before the official release date in February or you can order one of the other packages (all named after philanthropists who’ve supported art and music throughout history) that include gifts (free downloads, tickets) and prints of paintings I’ve done based on some of the songs on the record. If you preorder this month, you’ll also receive a signed copy of my 2006 release Only One as a special holiday thank you from me to you!
And speaking of these paintings, one of them is featured in a beautiful new book called “Signs,” the sixth edition in a series put out by The Blue Rock Review. Launched at Blue Rock Artist Ranch and Studio on November 27th, the book features work from artists including Sam Baker, Jon Dee Graham, Jimmy Webb, Bill Worrell, David Wilcox, Gretchen Peters, Danny Schmidt and many more!
So I’ve been a busy bee! But hang on cuz the rest of the year and the new year is gonna be unprecedent busy bee-ness over in Zukerland. First, I am so excited to hit the road again as Winterbloom with my pals Antje Duvekot, Meg Hutchinson and Anne Heaton. We’ve got some great shows in the northeast starting this Saturday at Circle of Friends in Franklin, MA and Sunday at The Ironhorse in Northampton. Then next weekend we’re in NY, NJ and CT before we’re off to The Netherlands and Germany, Antje’s homeland! Winterbloom ist Wunderbar! YAH!
In the brand new New Year, I’m going to Japan with the great Janis Ian accompanying her on guitar, lap steel, dobro and vocals in Osaka and Tokyo! Check out the shows page for more info….
And when I get back to the States, CD Release shows begin right away on the West Coast (February 3rd at Hotel Cafe in Los Angeles!) with shows all through February and March across the whole country! I’m so excited to be teaming up with my great friend Garrison Starr for almost all of the CD release shows. She just put out a brilliant new live record and she also sang her butt off on my record. She’s got one of the most incredible voices I’ve ever heard and she makes me laugh til I pee. Really. Ya gotta see it. It’s gross but it’s funny.
So here’s a list of the last shows of the year. I hope to see you all very soon.
Be well, stay warm, love each other and be good to yourselves.
Thank you so much for all the love and support you’ve given me this year and always. It means more than I know how to say.
xo
nz
A letter about Gas Station Roses & Art
Posted on November 1st 2010
I’ve played music my whole life. It was required in my house growing up. Like doing your homework, making your bed, doing the dishes, you practiced your instrument. I was also severely dyslexic. I couldn’t read or write a note but I tricked everyone, including my violin teacher, by learning by ear and pretending to read along. Until, of course, I got caught…
“We’re going to sight read this piece today,” my teacher said.
At this point in the past I would always say, “Can you play it first?”
To which she would always reply, “Sure.”
But this day, for some reason, she said, “No, not today. You play it first.”
So I did what you do when you’ve been found out: freeze, try to come up with a quick escape (“Uh…can I just go to the bathroom first?”), lie, cheat, steal (kidding!)…and then, cry. My secret was revealed.
I started seeing a tutor and working with my teachers at school for my dyslexia. One of the exercises we used was to copy what I saw- shapes, objects, images. I learned how to replicate lines and soon I was reading and writing with almost no problems. I was reading music too!
Through the repetition of copying lines and shapes, letters and numbers, I learned to draw. I don’t know if this was the beginning of the way music and art have been inextricably linked for me. It might have been the visual way I’ve always experienced music or the lyrical quality I find in the images I’m attracted to. Whatever the genesis, music and art have been my dual passions for as long as I can remember. But they’ve been separate. Music has been emotional for me. Drawing and painting, more intellectual. They’ve fed each other, informed one another but they’ve remained in different compartments of my brain and heart, often battling it out for attention!
In the last few years, I’ve started combining music and art a little more by painting some album covers- first Willy Porter’s last release (How To Rob A Bank) and then the cover of the first Winterbloom EP (Winterbloom: Traditions Rearranged.) But I still haven’t completely merged the two disciplines. Until now!
My amazing team at Market Monkeys and I have come up with a way to fundraise for my new record, Gas Station Roses. Instead of simply pre-ordering the record and receiving a signed copy before its official release (which you can also still do), you can also purchase a piece of art. I’ve created a series of paintings based on the title song and you can order a print, an original or even custom order something for me to create for you. There’s levels of involvement and you can choose which you’re able to do. Each rung of the ladder is named after a famous patron of the arts and this time that patron is YOU.
After the record is out, this combination of music and art will continue through a virtual gallery on my new website. As I continue to paint, I’ll put images up in the gallery for browsing and purchase. (I hope to eventually invite my visual artist friends to be guests in my gallery too!) It’ll be an ever changing and growing space that will speak to and about the music I continue to create and vice versa.
I’ve never been more excited about my creative endeavors nor found a way to merge the two that feels as relevant and cohesive. I invite you to take a look at what we’ve created and I hope you’ll tell me what you think.
At this point, the music is done. The artwork for the record is designed, waiting for little discs to be popped into place, covers to be signed and sent to you! I can not wait to share this record with you all. It is, by far, the best one I’ve made. How could I go wrong with musicians like Willy Porter (who also produced the record) on vocals, guitar and banjo, Dave Schoepke on drums, Bryan Mir and Todd Sickafoose on bass, Meghan Toohey on guitar, Ray Bonneville on harmonica, Aaron Gardner on sax, Sara Milonovich on fiddle, and guests Adrianne Gonzales, Garrison Starr and Patty Larkin on background vocals? It’s a collection of songs filled with images. Now it’s also a collection of paintings filled with lyrical imagery and soaring color.
Thank you so much for your continued support and love.
Nz
INSTRUCTIONS:
The great folks at NIMBIT have made it easy to choose your level of involvement and contribution and order safely online.
To check out all your pre-order options go here: http://nataliazukerman.com/music/pre-order-new-album/
