COMING UP: Hope to see you in Florida / New York / New Jersey / North Carolina in June, or Charlotte / Vermont / Pennsylvania in July!

RE-ENTRY:
Well, it's been a magnificently morpho-genic re-entry to the world of touring: We were a trio at the New Jersey Folk Project Festival (Don Porterfield on bass and harmony, Ashley Farmer on harmony); then it was Billy solo in Vancouver, B.C.; then we were a spontaneous sextet for the Kerrville Folk Festival in the Texas hill country (Don Porterfield on bass and harmony, Eric Schwartz and Stephanie Corby on harmony, Jagoda on percussion, and Michael Rubin on harmonica!); and finally Louis Cato joined me on bass and harmony back in Alberta, Canada.... Magic!

Wonderful inspirations surfaced amidst these festivals: check out the fantastic dances and musical sound sculptures of Ela and Lela link; the transcendent action-drumming of Bill Wallace and Swarm link; and the ancient, spiritual drum-dance from Manipur, India, of Ranganiketan link.

There were tons of other inspirational vitamins from Mongolia, Australia, Israel, Canada, and beyond. Mongolian throat-singing lessons over bagels at breakfast; Texas two-step lessons in a trash bag during a rainstorm; hybrid Hindu-Jewish ("Hinju") rituals backstage with a man named Ajit Das; Shavuot dinner in a West Edmonton motel.... Someday it will all be a song, I'm sure.

VARIATIONS ON "VARIATIONS ON A THEME":
All I can say is "wow...." The responses to the removal of the song "Variations on a Theme" from the Get Real CD have been powerful and heartfelt (the song deals with conflicts in the Middle East between Israelis and Palestinians, and is the subject of a discussion board on the website: link). Many have requested I explain the reasoning behind removing the song. Please visit the discussion board to see the original lyrics, a glossary, plus specific reasons for making changes.

I will say here that my original inspiration for writing the song was to illuminate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with heart and understanding, curiosity and question. Subsequently, I hoped it would facilitate dialogue, and it has done that.

Do let us know what you think!

VOLUNTEERS:
If you are going to be at an upcoming show and would be willing to help with staffing the merchandise table (or something else), please email Shifra (office@billyjonas.com).

Thanks to those who volunteered to help with transcriptions for the upcoming songbook - we're still open to hearing from you if you have a music transcription computer program, or know someone willing and able....

S.M.O.O.V.E.:
The Spontaneous Movement Orchestra and Open Vocal Ensemble continues to grow. Some members even met without me while I was on tour - this is cool! Make sure you email us to let us know if you have a talent for harmony, percussion, or something else, especially if you (and others you know) will be attending a concert and might want to participate! Please note: if you send us an email just a few days before a concert, we probably will not read it in time. A week or two is helpful.

See you at a show!
~Billy