My 2008 Japan Tour!

Submitted by alicia on Sun, 2008-03-16 06:21. blog

Rainbow7-ABL Fusan Daichan.jpg

Alicia headlines at the Rainbow Festival, Aso Mountain, Kyushu Island, May 2007. That's Futaro on lead guitar, and Daisuke on bass. 

I’m heading back to Japan April 9 for my third tour in less than 18 months. This time I’m having an art show of the original drawings from Living on the Earth, including the cover layout, displayed in handmade frames of sliced driftwood, crafted by Yuji Kamioka, who created the wooden signs at Kurkku Environmental Arts Center in Shibuya, Tokyo, where the exhibit will be held, May 10 to June 1. At the gallery opening May 9th, the beautiful women working at Kurkku will model the spring fashion line illustrated with drawings from Being of the Sun created by Aya Noguchi for Balcony and Bed.  Other Tokyo locations where the drawings will be shown and sold will be the Balcony and Bed main store in the Daikanyama fashion district of Shibuya, and at Utrecht, a bookstore in Ginza.  Hiroshi Eguchi, the owner of Utrecht, will be creating and publishing a catalog of the show.

Here's the invitation to the Kurkku event:

invitation to Kurkku.jpg

I’ll be making music at the art opening, as well as at ten other occasions during my tour, and I'll be leading two art workshops, one on the island of Oshima and the other on the island of Okinawa (two of my favorite places on earth).  I'll also be recording two songs by Donto for my next CD with his widow, Sachiho Kudomi, and her band Amana in Okinawa, where I will be their guest. (For those of you not familiar with Shuntaro Tanikawa's works, here is a sample.)

Here is my schedule:

April 13 Rock on the Rock Festival in Hazu, just outside Nagoya, on the beach!
April 20 Earth Day Festival in Saku, Nagano Prefecture. Festival site is near Sakudaira Station and adjacent to the Jusco Shopping Center.
April 21 Cafe Gonza concert in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, at 6:30 PM. 2000 yen.
April 25 House concert in Ide, Nagano Prefecture, at 2 PM. 1000 yen. For more information, please call Kyoko and Ta-Bou at 0267-77-2485.
April 26 3 PM Concert at Kuraya Greens in Kobuchizawa, Yamanashi prefecture. 1500 yen. For more info, phone 0551-36-4789 or call Asako Fujito at 080-6684-4477.
May 3 and 4 Oshima Island Spirit dream shirt workshop co-lead with En Ando at Alohana Gardens
May 3 Solo concert on Oshima, 5 PM at Alohana Gardens.
May 9 Art opening party and concert 7 PM to 9 PM at Kurkku, Shibuya, Tokyo. Art show runs May 10 to June 1, 2008 in the Jingumae Lab at Kurkku.
May 12 to 15 Okinawa, recording session for two Donto songs for new CD
May 16 to 18 in Hakkakudo, Okinawa, spiritual, art and music retreat, co-lead by Sachiho Kudomi.  Concert by Alicia and Amana on May 17.
May 23 7 PM Solo concert, including my telling the story (with translation) of the creation of Living on the Earth, illustrated with projected photographs. Matsumoto Performing Arts Centre, Small Hall, 3-10-1 Fukashi, Matsumoto, Nagano 390-0815 Japan. Tickets 2500 yen pre-sale, 3000 yen at door.  For tickets and information, please call Mayu at 0261-61-1833 or see the website she made for the event.
May 30 9:30 PM, Yukotopia Dead Heads Land Night Club Adachi, Tokyo. Four acts:

18:30~19:30 RaBiRaBi (avant garde/tribal stomp with great singer)
19:30~20:30 ha-za-ma (rock band of club owner)
20:30~21:30 satocough (Sato, singer-songwriter from Big Frog band)
21:30~22:30 Alicia Bay Laurel (solo psych folk, Hawaiian, blues and jazz)

May 31 9:30 PM Yukotopia Dead Heads Land Night Club, Adachi, Tokyo. Four acts:

18:30~19:30 Blue Moonstruck (haven`t heard them yet)
19:30~20:30 Electric Building (husband/wife folk/rock band. Fun!)
20:30~21:30 The Great Rolling Flower (not sure what genre)

21:30~22:30 Alicia Bay Laurel (solo psych folk, Hawaiian, blues and jazz) 

I will fill in the exact times and locations of the events as I receive this information. My three CDs and two books will be available at all events, and I'll sign (almost) anything you put in front of me, whether you bought it from me or not.

Here are the front and back of the flier for the concert on May 23! 

MAPC flier for blog-front.jpgMAPC flier for blog-bk.jpg Nagano events flier.jpg

Flier for Nagano events, created by Satomi Yanagisawa, who is organizing the first four Nagano events for me. 

Oshima flier-web.jpg

Flier for Dream Spirit Shirt making workshop and solo concert on Oshima Island, created by En Ando, my co-leader in the workshop.  The drawing is from Being of the Sun. 

Tags: lote music earthday aliciabaylaurel artist beingofthesun art recording amana sachihokudomi japan livingontheearth yukotopia tour concert okinawa ohshima kurkku ayanoguchi 2008 nagano nagoya shuntarotanikawa

» alicia's blog | login or register to post comments | 327 reads

Welcome to My Home Page!

Submitted by alicia on Thu, 2007-08-02 09:06. living on the WWW

Japanese mags-ABL Aya's.jpg

So, who is Alicia Bay Laurel?  What does she do, anyway? 

I currently tour as a singer/songwriter/guitarist with three critically acclaimed, self-produced CDs, one psych folk, one world (Hawaiian), and one jazz/blues.  I also wrote, illustrated and designed Living on the Earth, a boho sustainable living guide, that was the first paperback book on the New York Times Bestseller List, in spring 1971, and launched a graphic art and drawing style that is still widely emulated to this day.

This site is about my art, music, writing, tours, friends, projects, and activism. Just below is a list of available books, CDs and other luscious Alicia originals for sale, and below that, a blog including my tour diary, healthful recipes, lots of political and environmental heads-ups, and lots of arts and lifestyle articles, in no particular order.

In the upper left corner of the site is a menu with quick links to my press kit (bio, high res photo, press releases) and easy links to the online shopping cart.

Further down the left column you’ll find a Search by Tags link. If, for example, you want to see everything posted so far about my Japan tours, click on “tags” and then click on “Japan.” You’ll get all of those posts, but in reverse chronological order, so you might want to read the last post in the list first and work your way toward the top of the list. If I learn how to reverse the order of the blog posts in a tag list, I'll let you know here.

Thanks for visiting!

Tags: environment music welcome aliciabaylaurel politics books art activism environmentalism website tags lifestyle

» alicia's blog | login or register to post comments | 601 reads

The Alicia Bay Laurel Store

Submitted by alicia on Thu, 2006-11-23 09:37. where to buy Alicia's music

Peace Girl Poster 11" x 17" $10 plus $5 shipping in a tube (in USA, please email me for postage to other countries.)


SHIPPING CHARGES in the USA: The shipping charge of $5 per book in the online store robot is incorrect.  Soon it will be fixed. For now, here's shipping within the USA: Book or T-shirt (priority mail) $6, CD (first class mail) $3, Print (first class mail) $10, Poster (first class mail) $5. 

 
HOW TO PAY ME: Click on the "Purchase" button in the Shortcuts Menu in the upper left of this website, then select the item you want from the menu, and that will take you to a page with the item on it and the word "Buy" at the bottom on the page.  Click on "Buy." 

If you don't see the item you want in the "Purchase" Menu, please email me (using the CONTACT button, third item down on the menu on the left below the two CD covers) and I'll direct you to my Paypal account email to which you can pay with a credit card.

If you don't want to pay via Paypal with a credit card, email me and I'll send you my snail mail address, so you can send me a postal money order.

EXPRESS SHIPPING AND SHIPPING OUTSIDE THE USA: For Express Mail, UPS or shipping orders outside the USA, please email me and I'll figure out the amount for shipping (use the CONTACT button in the list on the left below the CD covers).  Outside the USA, shipping for most books and T-shirts will be $11, CDs $6, Print or Poster $20.

SHIPPING ADDRESS: I will need the shipping address to send the item.

INSCRIPTION: Autographing of all items is FREE.  Please tell me to whom, if anyone, you'd like the item inscribed.

Books:


Living on the Earth, beautiful new 4th edition, (2003) $19 Read reviews.


Living on the Earth, 30th anniversary edition (2000), $15 Read Reviews.

Written, illustrated and designed by Alicia Bay Laurel in 1969, and the first paperback book ever on the New York Times Bestseller List (spring 1971), Living on the Earth is an encyclopedia of primitive living skills created while Alicia was living at Wheeler Ranch, a hippie commune in Sonoma County, California.   


Being of the Sun, co-written by Alicia Bay Laurel and Ramon Sender, illustrated and designed by Alicia Bay Laurel, mint condition first edition, signed by BOTH authors! (1973) $50.  Being of the Sun has been re-published in Japanese as of March 2007!  This book orignally appeared as the spiritual sequel and companion to Living on the Earth.  It's about creating your own personal religion, using elements from previously existing spiritual paths as well as your own direct connection to the divine.  Ramon Sender, one of the pioneers of avant garde music, shares his insights on music and spirituality, and he created sheet music for some of the songs in Music From Living on the Earth, plus a number of his own spiritual and nature chants.


The Earth Mass, mint condition, first edition, and signed to you by the illustrator/designer! (1973) $50. A nature worship version of the Catholic mass, written by reknowned poet/playwright/former Catholic priest Joe Pintauro, designed and richly illustrated on every page by Alicia Bay Laurel. Blessings, Ceremonies, Counter-phobic Incantations, Rituals, Recipes for Ceremonial Foods. Wiccans and Pagans will delight! "An oldie, hard to find, and worth its weight in emeralds." Dama, Onelist.com


William Shakespeare’s The Tempest: A New Age Version, by Michael Fleck, illustrated by Alicia Bay Laurel, mint condition first edition (1978) $35.  A mulit-media theatre piece created by Michael Fleck and presented in 1976 by the Maui Community Theatre, using Shakespeare's masterpiece as a vehicle to dramatize the battle between Industry and Environmentalism.  The cover drawing originally graced the cover of the program notes for the piece, and later Alicia drew a dozen illustrations for the publication of the script.

Music CDs:


Music From Living on the Earth (all original psych folk, solo vocal/guitar) $15.  An Album Pick on All Music.com. You can buy individual tracks on Apple iTunes here.  Or from Great Indie Music here.  Read reviews.


Living in Hawaii Style (historic and original Hawaiian songs, slack key, hula & jazz) $15.  Played on KAPA Radio in Hawaii, Ports of Paradise in California, and Aloha Joe's on the Internet. You can buy individual tracks from this CD on Apple iTunes here. Or from Great Indie Music here.  Read reviews.


What Living’s All About (jazz, blues, & gospel, 10 original, 2 standards) $15.  An Editor's Pick in the May 2007 Issue of Performing Songwriter Magazine. You can buy individual tracks from this CD on Apple iTunes here.  Or from Great Indie Music here. Read reviews. Read listener comments.

Matted Art Prints:


Zephyr (double matte, fits in a standard 16” x 20” frame) $35 plus shipping

 
Clothing:


Living on the Earth t-shirt (organic cotton, size XL only) SALE $10

Easy to make into a kewl little dress:

Cut a neckline and trim the sleeves.

Use the sleeve fabric to make a waist tie in the back.  Made and modeled by Hisae, who works at Kurkku Arts and Environmental Center in Tokyo.

Tags: lote wlaa aliciabaylaurel beingofthesun books livingontheearth mflote lihs earthmass tempest cds tshirt zephyr artprint gifts

» alicia's blog | login or register to post comments | 1565 reads

Granny D's Gettysburg Address

Submitted by alicia on Sat, 2008-04-05 01:01. blog

“Here’s something you may not know or may have forgotten: Saddam Hussein, several weeks before our attack, invited our military to come in and look at anything they wanted to look at. They were invited to come in, fully armed, and look wherever they wanted. Our administration said no thank you. The incredible Mr. Richard Perle, who used to live next door to my late daughter in Washington and who didn’t like my support van parked on the street when I arrived after my long walk, evidently, according to the New York Times of November 6, 2003, went to London to meet on behalf of Mr. Bush with a representative of Iraq who made this offer. No thanks, was the silent response. How is that not treason against this nation and all who have died?”

Read the entire Doris “Granny D” Haddock April 2, 2008 speech here.

“For those of you who don’t know – Granny D (Doris Haddock) is a 97 year old woman who: After the defeat of Senator McCain and Senator Feingold’s first attempt to remove unregulated “soft” money from campaigns in 1995, Doris became interested in campaign reform and led a petition movement. On January 1, 1999–at the age of 89–she began a 3,200–mile walk across the country to demonstrate her concern for the issue . . .

”. . .In 2003, Doris had her eyes on the upcoming election, and so she drove around the country on a 22,000 mile voter registration effort targeting working women and minorities. This trek was cut short in June 2004, when Doris heard that the presumed Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in NH had dropped out of the race days before the filing deadline. 94 years old and still eager to ‘raise a little hell,’ Doris surprised everyone by deciding to challenge the Republican incumbent. Her insurgent, grassroots campaign defied all expectations.” Mary O’Kiersey

“The problem with Granny D…is that she makes the rest of us look like such schlumps.” Molly Ivins

Tags: politics democracy dorishaddock grannyd iraqwar mollyivins peacemovement richardperle saddamhussein

» alicia's blog | login or register to post comments | 81 reads

Morningstar, the Musical

Submitted by alicia on Thu, 2008-04-03 08:38. music from living on the earth | blog

While I’m touring in Japan, I’ll be missing the entire run of Nick Alva’s, Morningstar, an original musical play based on the story of Lou Gottlieb’s pioneering open land commune, which gave rise to nearby Wheeler Ranch commune, where I wrote and illustrated Living on the Earth. I’m so sorry I will miss it, for this will be the first time my songs have been incorporated into a stage production.  They’ll be sung by a dancing ensemble in full hippie regalia! I saw a work-in-progress version of the show (photo above) in September 2006 at the Communal Studies Association Conference. I hope someone videos it this time.

If you are within striking distance of Cotati, in Sonoma County, California (60 miles north of San Francisco, just off Highway 101) in May 2008, do catch one of their shows!  Below is a photo of some of the current cast:

morningstar musical photo.jpg

Tags: music hippie hippies csa aliciabaylaurel ramonsender livingontheearth mflote musicalcomedy wheelerranch communalstudiesassociation california diggers morningstarcommune nickalva lougottlieb openland cotati sonomacounty

» alicia's blog | login or register to post comments | 96 reads

Al Gore vs. Nuclear Energy, Al Gore plus Barack Obama

Submitted by alicia on Wed, 2008-04-02 21:26. blog

Will Al Gore help shut the nuke power loophole?
Harvey Wasserman
The Free Press
April 2, 2008

Today Al Gore is unveiling a massive campaign to fight climate chaos.

But the hugely funded atomic power industry has jumped on global warming with the Big Lie that its failed reactors can somehow help. It’s a sorry replay of the 1950s promise that atomic power would be “too cheap to meter.”

Read more.

Obama Would Consider Gore for Major Post
Devlin Barrett
Associated Press
April 2, 2008

WALLINGFORD, Pa. (AP) — Sen. Barack Obama said Wednesday he would give Al Gore, a Nobel prize winner, a major role in an Obama administration to address the problem of global warming.

At a town-hall meeting, Obama was asked if he would tap the former vice president for his Cabinet, or an even higher level office, to handle global warming.

“I would,” Obama said. “Not only will I, but I will make a commitment that Al Gore will be at the table and play a central part in us figuring out how we solve this problem. He’s somebody I talk to on a regular basis. I’m already consulting with him in terms of these issues, but climate change is real. It is something we have to deal with now, not 10 years from now, not 20 years from now.”

Read more.

Tags: environment politics democracy economy environmentalism globalwarming algore harveywasserman green barackobama climatechange nuclearenergy atomicenergy greenhousegases

» alicia's blog | login or register to post comments | 97 reads

The Smart Way Out of a Foolish War

Submitted by alicia on Mon, 2008-03-31 00:45. blog

By Zbigniew Brzezinski
Washington Post
Sunday, March 30, 2008

[Mr. Brzezninski, for those of you don't know of him, is no peacenik.  He's a powerful Washington insider and foreign policy academic who served as national security adviser to President Jimmy Carter, and, in the 1990s, wrote a book, The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy and Its Geostrategic Imperatives, that was said to have inspired the neocons and the PNAC, those authors of the disasterous Bush foreign policy. However, he is now a foreign policy advisor to the Barack Obama presidential campaign, and he's all for ending the US occupation of Iraq. His most recent book is Second Chance: Three Presidents and the Crisis of American Superpower. ~ABL]

Both Democratic presidential candidates agree that the United States should end its combat mission in Iraq within 12 to 16 months of their possible inauguration. The Republican candidate has spoken of continuing the war, even for a hundred years, until “victory.” The core issue of this campaign is thus a basic disagreement over the merits of the war and the benefits and costs of continuing it.

The case for U.S. disengagement from combat is compelling in its own right. But it must be matched by a comprehensive political and diplomatic effort to mitigate the destabilizing regional consequences of a war that the outgoing Bush administration started deliberately, justified demagogically and waged badly. (I write, of course, as a Democrat; while I prefer Sen. Barack Obama, I speak here for myself.)

The contrast between the Democratic argument for ending the war and the Republican argument for continuing is sharp and dramatic. The case for terminating the war is based on its prohibitive and tangible costs, while the case for “staying the course” draws heavily on shadowy fears of the unknown and relies on worst-case scenarios. President Bush’s and Sen. John McCain’s forecasts of regional catastrophe are quite reminiscent of the predictions of “falling dominoes” that were used to justify continued U.S. involvement in Vietnam. Neither has provided any real evidence that ending the war would mean disaster, but their fear-mongering makes prolonging it easier.

Nonetheless, if the American people had been asked more than five years ago whether Bush’s obsession with the removal of Saddam Hussein was worth 4,000 American lives, almost 30,000 wounded Americans and several trillion dollars—not to mention the less precisely measurable damage to the United States’ world-wide credibility, legitimacy and moral standing—the answer almost certainly would have been an unequivocal “no.”

Read more.

Tags: peace politics democracy georgewbush middleeast iraqwar foreignpolicy neocons barackobama pnac johnmccain zbigniewbrzezinski

» alicia's blog | login or register to post comments | 76 reads

Much More Than Race: What Makes a Great Speech Great

Submitted by alicia on Wed, 2008-03-26 06:16. blog

by George Lakoff

We are on the cusp of a new politics in America. It should be dated from March 18, 2008, the date of Barack Obama’s landmark speech, A More Perfect Union. The usual pundits have looked mainly at the speech’s surface theme: race. They weren’t wrong. It was indeed the most important statement about race in recent history.

But it was much more. It was a general call to a new politics and an outline for what it needs to be. Just as Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address was about much more than the war dead on that battlefield, so Obama’s speech-widely hailed as in the same ballpark as Lincoln’s-went beyond race to the nature of America, its ideals, and its future.

To get an appreciation for the greatness of Obama’s speech, we have to start with its context: What were the problems Obama faced in writing it, and what were the constraints on him?

Read more.

George Lakoff is Goldman Distinguished Professor of Cognitive Science Linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley, Senior Fellow at the Rockridge Institute, and author of the forthcoming “The Political Mind: Why You Can’t Understand 21st Century Politics with an 18th Century Brain,” available June 2, 2008, Viking/Penguin.

Tags: politics democracy progressive election democraticparty racism unity georgelakoff liberal barackobama hillaryclinton ushistory geraldineferraro blackhistory 2008presidentialelection

» alicia's blog | login or register to post comments | 92 reads

The New Deal in the 21st Century

Submitted by alicia on Sun, 2008-03-23 23:52. blog

by HOWARD ZINN
The Nation
April 7, 2008 issue

We might wonder why no Democratic Party contender for the presidency has invoked the memory of the New Deal and its unprecedented series of laws aimed at helping people in need. The New Deal was tentative, cautious, bold enough to shake the pillars of the system but not to replace them. It created many jobs but left 9 million unemployed. It built public housing but not nearly enough. It helped large commercial farmers but not tenant farmers. Excluded from its programs were the poorest of the poor, especially blacks. As farm laborers, migrants or domestic workers, they didn’t qualify for unemployment insurance, a minimum wage, Social Security or farm subsidies.

Still, in today’s climate of endless war and uncontrolled greed, drawing upon the heritage of the 1930s would be a huge step forward. Perhaps the momentum of such a project could carry the nation past the limits of FDR’s reforms, especially if there were a popular upsurge that demanded it. A candidate who points to the New Deal as a model for innovative legislation would be drawing on the huge reputation Franklin Roosevelt and his policies enjoy in this country, an admiration matched by no President since Lincoln. Imagine the response a Democratic candidate would get from the electorate if he or she spoke as follows:

“Our nation is in crisis, just as it was when Roosevelt took office. At that time, people desperately needed help, they needed jobs, decent housing, protection in old age. They needed to know that the government was for them and not just for the wealthy classes. This is what the American people need today.”

Read more.

Tags: politics democracy economy howardzinn franklindroosevelt corporatemedia greatdepression newdeal singlepayerhealthinsurance nationalhealthinsurance ccc civilianconservationcorps wpa publicfunding reforms socialsecurity gibill

» alicia's blog | login or register to post comments | 106 reads

Senator Barack Obama's Speech on Race

Submitted by alicia on Tue, 2008-03-18 22:09. blog

March 18, 2008 

If you have not listened to or read Barack Obama’s speech today on race in the United States, here is a page where you can. I am simply awed by his eloquence, common sense and humility.  I think this speech will be remembered as one of the unforgettable speeches of US history, along with King's "I have a dream," Kennedy's "Ask not what your country can do..." and Lincoln's Gettysburg address.

Tags: politics democracy populism election imperialism democraticparty immigration civilrights lobbyists corruption corporatemedia barackobama hillaryclinton ushistory geraldineferraro race slavery blackhistory

» alicia's blog | login or register to post comments | 141 reads