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Welcome to My Home Page!
Submitted by alicia on Thu, 2007-08-02 09:06 
So, who is Alicia Bay Laurel? What does she do, anyway?
I currently tour as a singer/songwriter/guitarist/storyteller, with four critically acclaimed, self-produced music CDs, one all-original psych folk, one Hawaiian (half original, half historic), one jazz/blues (10 original and 2 standards) and one Americana/world music (eleven songs and medleys, of which I wrote 2).
I also wrote, illustrated and designed Living on the Earth, a legendary 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. It's still in print in English, Japanese and Korean. You can buy it on this website, signed by me. I've illustrated eight other books, five of which I also wrote or co-wrote.
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!
P.S. Wanna be friends on Facebook? Click here.
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The Alicia Bay Laurel Store
Submitted by alicia on Thu, 2006-11-23 09:37
Peace Girl Poster 11" x 17" $20 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 a 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 renowned 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.
Beyond Living: Fingerpicked Ruminations on the Hereafter and Its Messengers Americana, folk and world music songs about the mystery of death and the miracle of love. Relaxing, joyous, spiritually uplifting music, including two original songs by Alicia Bay Laurel, two songs by Japan’s legendary singer/songwriter Donto (one translated into Hawaiian by Kaliko Beamer-Trapp), an original song each by two of Alicia’s singer/songwriter friends since their commune days, Joe Dolce and Steve McGee, two songs by Auntie Nona Beamer as part of Alicia’s tribute to her, a Hawaiian chant composed and performed by Reid Kapo Ku, and lots of wonderful Hawaiian slack key guitar performed by James Kimo West. Featured on Radio Free Phoenix. You can buy it from CD Baby here. Or on Apple iTunes here. Or email Alicia at the link at the top of this page and buy one directly from her for $15 plus shipping and handling, inscribed to you by Alicia. Read listener comments.
Matted Art Prints:
Zephyr (double matte, fits in a standard 16” x 20” frame) $35 plus shipping
Fun and Games:
My four-decade friend Gloria Blum, besides being the Janice Joplin of klezmer, spent a great portion of her life teaching self-esteem to young people with serious disabilities. She realized that there are certain questions people enjoy answering, and the process of coming up with an answer fosters self-esteem. So, she made flash cards of these questions for her work with the kids. The kids enjoyed it and grew from it, which made the game popular with other professionals in her field. Eventually people outside of her work began requesting the cards from her. For the second edition of her cards, she commissioned a set of color drawings from me for the box and for the backs of the cards. I am happy to be offering the cards from my website. They cost $15 per set, plus shipping and handling, which is $5 inside the USA and $8 elsewhere. To order them, please email me from the "Contact" link at the top of the page. You can pay via Paypal or send me a postal money order.
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.
Legendary songstress Gwendolyn found that the Living on the Earth t-shirt makes an exemplary maternity frock.
Jeanine Austin, PhD, life coach and hypnotherapist wears her Living on the Earth t-shirt at the Living on the Earth Celebration presented by Phoenix Body Mind and Soul at the Arizona Biltmore, May 8, 2010.
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John Perkins interview on Democracy Now
Submitted by alicia on Thu, 2010-09-02 09:44John Perkins is astonishing: a former planner and participant in the crimes of multinational corporations who now calls for global social justice and sustainability as the requirements for corporate charters.
In this 15-minute interview (on 2 YouTubes) with Amy Goodman, John Perkins shares what he learned during his service to the cause of global empire, and how he sees the world since his epiphany.
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Why Stewart Brand is wrong on nukes---and is losing
Submitted by alicia on Wed, 2010-07-28 18:49By Harvey Wasserman
Senior Editor
The Free Press
July 25, 2010
(this is a segment from the middle of the article)
Stewart Brand now seems to equate “science” with a tragic and dangerous corporate agenda. The technologies for which he argues – nuclear power, “clean” coal, genetically modified crops, etc. – can be very profitable for big corporations, but carry huge risks for the rest of us. In too many instances, tangible damage has already been done, and more is clearly threatened.
If there is a warning light for what Stewart advocates, it is the Deepwater Horizon disaster, which much of the oil industry said (like Three Mile Island and Chernobyl) was “impossible.” Then it happened. The $75 million liability limit protecting BP should be ample warning that any technology with a legal liability limit (like nuclear power) cannot be tolerated.
Thankfully, there is good news: We have true green alternatives to these failed 20th-century ideas. They’re cheaper, safer, cleaner, more reliable and more job-producing than the old ways Stewart advocates.
Note from Alicia: I post this with some sadness. In early spring 1970, I brought Living on the Earth to Stewart Brand at the Whole Earth Catalog, when it was an unfinished manuscript with illustrations. Stewart directed me to Whole Earth Catalog's distributor Book People to help me find a publisher for it, and offered to review it in the Catalog once it was published. This one act of kindness changed my entire life as an artist. I am astonished that his clear voice for the preservation of the Earth has come to carry the messages for the nuclear power, coal and biotech industries.
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My Second Interview on Art With Enyart
Submitted by alicia on Wed, 2010-06-23 10:24On June 21, 2010, Jack Enyart interviewed me for a second time on Art with Enyart, his twice-monthly webcast about artists and their ways and means.
This time I sang my song Rinpoche at the end, accompanied by my friend Larry Karush, a wonderful jazz pianist.
Here’s the link where you can see both of my interviews, as well as other very interesting shows that Jack Enyart has hosted.
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In Which I Illustrate a Tour T-shirt for a Major Japanese Pop Star
Submitted by alicia on Wed, 2010-06-23 09:02
Singer/songwriter Yuki, a Sony Japan label artist, released an album this year called The Present, and I was hired to draw and letter a design proscribed by the singer herself, for her 2010 tour t-shirts.
The t-shirts have just been released, and, as of today, June 22, are the second item from the top on Yuki’s blog. Yuki and her staff chose the colors of the drawing and lettering as well as the shirt. (There's a super punk design t-shirt for the same tour just above mine. I like it.) What I found amazing about the this t-shirt is that the design is not printed - it is machine embroidered onto the t-shirt. Even the handwriting!
Next month Yuki’s staff will release a shawl and matching pouch I illustrated and lettered per their design, also to be offered on Yuki’s tour. I'll let you know when they are posted.
The lettering is the lyrics to Yuki’s lovely song in which a man and a woman describe what they do over the course of 24 hours, which contrast interestingly and become confluent at the end. My illustrations feature images from Yuki’s lyrics, including frogs, braids, and roses.
Yuki specifically requested that the drawing for the back of her t-shirt look like the illustration on the back cover of my book Living on the Earth, only with braids, roses and frogs.
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Another World, a novel by Banana Yoshimoto with drawings by Alicia Bay Laurel
Submitted by alicia on Tue, 2010-06-15 09:06
When I met Banana Yoshimoto in September 2009, I asked her if she’d like my illustrations for her next book. It turned out, she did. Here it is, published on May 30th, 2010, with one of my drawings on the cover and one opposite the title page (the drawing below).
The assignment was this: an ink line drawing of a woman, a cat and a plant. I made nine of them and send them all for consideration. Banana-san and her publisher chose two. Here are some of the out-takes.
The novel is not translated into English yet, but gist of the story, as I understand it, is this:
A young woman falls in love with an artist who is grieving his departed wife. The artist keeps drawing pictures of the wife, who was not really a human, but a cat in human form. His wife cared only about other cats, and thought the kind of things cats think. Eventually, though, he does come to appreciate the young woman and return her love. Along the way we also get an environmental message about making a better world. The title of the work is “Another World.”
Banana-san wrote in the afterword of her book:
It is my feeling that the difficult times we are facing now will continue for a while.
We should trust in our intuitions and instincts and not lose sight of ourselves. Otherwise, we’ll find it too hard to keep living in this world. In such times, I hope this novel of mine will stay close to the reader as a useful tool to overcome such difficulties, even if for a little while. You don’t have to follow the same lifestyle as the characters in the novel. It’s just my wish that you will at least read and feel their emotions that constantly vibrate in sympathy with Nature.
This series of novels titled “Kingdom” has been written during a peculiar period of my life. It has been hard work, but I do adore my characters.
Also, this is going to be the last novel that my father had read with his own declining eyes, because he has lost his eyesight now. He has seen the sceneries of this novel with his heart; I will hold this fact in my arms for the rest of my life.
Since my childhood, I have admired Alicia Bay Laurel, the author of “Living on the Earth”. I always wished that someday I would also be living in a forest like she does. The reality is that I am still living in Tokyo as an author. Even so, that wish is still there, just like in those long ago days.
When I met Alicia, she told me once that she could draw a picture for the cover of my book. I was so overwhelmed with joy, I didn’t know what to say. In my mind I was pinching my cheek to make sure that I was not dreaming.
She has no equal when it comes to drawing the most appropriate picture for this novel. She is the person who has cast a most beautiful spell on this novel. And I thank her for that.
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Tofu Pate
Submitted by alicia on Mon, 2010-06-14 09:42
Cool vegan protein for hot days.
Place together in a food processor:
10 oz extra firm organic tofu, cubed
4 T Red Star nutritional yeast flakes
4 T extra virgin olive oil
1 T dulse flakes
1 tsp. dried or fresh dill weed
2 tsp. ume vinegar
Blend well and turn out into a festive dish. Serve with whole grain crackers and/or bite-sized raw vegetables.
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Taping the interview for LA Artstream
Submitted by alicia on Tue, 2010-05-18 09:20
Tonight Jack and Kay Enyart brought me to the Downtown Artists Space in the Los Angeles Downtown Arts District to record a webcast interview for Art With Enyart, Jack’s bi-monthly show for LA Artstream.
Meet Jack Enyart, animation artist/writer/agent/consultant, my friend since junior high school, and host of the show, and Jonathan Jerald, producer of LA Artstream, Mark Walsh, our director, and Kay Enyart, soon to be head of the pattern-making department at the Pacific Design Center’s Academy of Couture. Jonathan turns out to have visited or lived almost every place I have visited or lived in the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 60s and early 70s. Amazing that we never met before.
Twilight in the first floor of the Downtown Artists Space.
DAS’ classic artist loft kitchen
I sit with Jack on the set for soundcheck. I am wearing the Living on the Earth illustration print dress that Tokyo fashion designer Aya Noguchi made for her autumn line in 2007. The interview was fun, and, at the end, I played on guitar and sang “Sometimes It Takes A Long Time,” one of my original songs from my CD What Living’s All About. You can see the show HERE.
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Webcast Interview on Art with Enyart
Submitted by alicia on Mon, 2010-05-17 02:55On May 17, 2010, I will be interviewed by my friend Jack Enyart, renowned animation artist, writer, agent, consultant, and teacher, overall "man about 'toon" in Hollywood, on his bi-monthly webcast "Art With Enyart." Jack will focus on my art career and art methods ("the things other artists want to know"). At the end I will perform one of my songs. The webcast will be posted for, well, a long time afterward, at LA Art Stream, or at this page, where Jack's previous interview programs are also posted.
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