Free CD's

You want a free CD, you got it!

Sign up 5 friends on my email list and I will mail you one of my original EPs. Collectors edition, out of print, limited availability.

Sorry to repeat this post but some people didn't read all of the last one.

Here's the fine print: The people you sign up, have to actually sign up. I've received two emails from people saying they've signed up 5 friends but only 3 total people have signed up up since I started this. Sooo...it's not enough just to enter your friends email address. They have to open an email, which is sent to every address that is entered and actually complete the sign up.

Tips:

1) Tell them you've entered they're email on to my list and that they'll be getting an email confirmation (which they must click).

2) Have them do it themselves! (it's easy and doesn't take much time)

3) Post the email sign up form on your blog, website or in an email. Click here to get the email sign up form:




Here's what it looks like:






Happy hunting.

More Winners!

Ok, I promised to send out copies of my old EP to five people at the beginning of October. Well...I forgot, so I'm doing it now. Here are the next five winners:

Aimee
MasonJar
fhaolan
Old Folkie
Georgia


Woohooo, congrats. Now all you have to do is claim your prize by emailing me at:

chris@chrisobrienmusic.com

tell me where to send the CD and it's yours!


For the next round of "Win Chris O'Brien's old EP" Contest (catchy, isn't it?). Anyone can win. All you have to is sign up 5 of your friends on my email list. That's it. I will send a free CD to anyone who signs up 5 friends. Until they're gone.

You can have them enter their email (or enter it for them, be sure to get their permission first) here:






We have to use the honor system on this, because I can't really keep track of where everyone who signs up comes from. Just email me when you've signed up 5 people with your address and I'll send you a cd.

Face Lift

Hey everyone, check it out! My blog got a face lift. You can now listen to music, sign up for the email list (which will notify you when I'm playing in your area) subscribe to the blog or follow the blog (don't ask me what the difference is, I have no idea). Check it out. I've also fixed it so that anyone can leave comments now. Sweet.

New video player

Check out this new video player from Reverbnation.com. You can watch many of my videos from youtube.com in one easy to browse player.

New Video of "Hey Love"

New video of "Hey Love" filmed the other night at the Driftwood in Plymouth, MA. (Thanks Kathy!) I've been playing with Austin Nevins again after almost 2 years. Austin plays in Josh Ritter's band, but since they're not touring for a while, he's been available to play with me. We just finished two weeks on the road in the Midwest and this is from our first show back home this past Saturday night (11/1/08). I hope you enjoy it!

Sooo Tired...

So here I am in Ashland VA. I'm opening for Ellis Paul in about 5 hours. Ellis Paul is one of my favorite singer/songwriters. I remember seeing Ellis often when I waited tables at Club Passim. I remember the admiration, near idolization I felt watching him play. This will be my fifth or sixth time opening for Ellis and I'll be opening for him the next three nights. I wish I wasn't so tired.

I've been on the road for nearly two weeks and I'm exhausted. It's been a whirlwind of cities, states and incessant politics. We've been in Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Virginia and Pennsylvania. You literally cannot watch ten minutes of TV with out five political adds. I'm getting so tired of the campaigns. I can't wait until the November 4th, and I want Barrack Obama to win so badly that it hurts. Every time I hear John McCain mention Joe the fucking Plumber, or Sarah Palin say...anything, I die a little. I'm not usually this candid in my blogs but I'm tired and fed up. I'm not a religious person but I'm sure as hell praying now.

Good luck, America.

Campfire Sessions

Hey folks,

In July I went to the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival in upstate NY. For those of you who haven't been, it's four days of amazing music and fun on a huge farm (hmmm sound familiar?) Most of the fun occurs after hours in the many song circles. As it turns out one of those circles was recording and they captured a late night, half drunk version of Cigarettes and Rain. Several of my friends joined in including Anthony Da Costa, Abby Gardner, Eric Lee, Ethan Baird and others. Check it out on MySpace for free, listen to it as much as you want. If you'd like to own it, it's available for purchase on my snocap store here:

New song available for download!!

Hey folks, people have asked if there is any way to hear some of my new songs. I thought it would be helpful to me to start selling rough cuts from the upcoming record as a way to help pay for the new record. I'm trying to be in the studio by February and need all the help I can get. There is also a live version of Ocean Stone from an in-studio performance at WERS in Boston. Hope you like it!

And the winners are....

Here are the five people I picked as this months winners. The catch is that now you have to email me your address so that I can send the CD to you. Send you address to chris@chrisobrienmusic.com. Congrats. I'm a little embarrassed about the quality of these CDs, but you asked for it.


Mark David Gerson
Andrea from Chicago
Daniel from Denver
The Matt In The Hat
Meredith L. (From VT)


I'll pick 5 more people next month who respond to this post or email me (yes, one of the winners from this month emailed me instead of posting to the blog).

Iron Horse this Thursday night!

I'll be playing at the Iron Horse in Northampton MA this Thursday night at 7PM. Tickets are still available: Click here.

Brook Brown Saracino will open the show. Brook is fantastic, and was one of this years Emerging Artists at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival.

The Iron Horse is one of my favorite places to play. Come early for dinner and drinks.

Don't miss this show!

Last Night at Club Passim

Thanks to everyone who came out to Club Passim last night. What a blast it was for me. I had planned to play the show with a full band, but schedule conflicts and broken automobiles turned it in to a duo show with Lyle Brewer. I'm so glad it worked out the way it did. We had such a great time and I think it turned out great.

My friend Danny Schmidt, from Austin, TX opened the show and was fantastic. I first met Danny at the Folk Alliance conference in Memphis, TN in February. I was blown away by him then and so when he told me he would be in town this week I jumped at the chance to have him on the bill. Danny was joined by singer/songwriter Carrie Elkin, who sang beautiful harmonies on Danny's songs. The two are up here for the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival in Hillsdale, NY this weekend. Both of them have been chosen to participate in the Emerging Artists showcase at the festival. Here's a picture of us, taken after a few drinks following the show :)

Thanks again to anyone who came out last night!

Free CD's

I found a spool of 100 copies of my old CD. Before I recorded Lighthouse I had a 5 song ep that I would sell at shows for $5. I don't think it's very good, but maybe you're interested in hearing it. It has a couple old songs that I don't play anymore. It has the old version of Rosa, which I completely rewrote before recording it for Lighthouse. It has a live version of Hey Love, a duet with singer/songwriter Kate Klim. Anyway, I thought maybe a good way to get people to keep checking my blog was to give something away.

Here's the deal. post a comment on this blog entry saying that you want a cd. On August 27th, which is the day after I get home from the west coast, I'll pick 5 people to send a free cd to. I'll even pay the shipping. You'll have to check back on the 27th, if you're a winner you'll email me with your address and I'll send you a cd.

These are literally the last copies of this cd that will ever exist. So, if you're interested in collectibles, act now ;)

We'll keep doing this until they're all gone. Sweet.

P.S. - It appears that you can't post a comment without a gmail account. Super lame. You can email me, if you don't have an account, at chris@chrisobrienmusic.com and you'll still be in the running for the free CD. Thanks

Video of Ocean Stone

I found this video of Ocean Stone from when I played at Boccelli's, in Bellows Falls Vermont, last year. Enjoy!

New Shows Added!

We've been adding a bunch of new shows recently and we're working on more (obviously). We're putting together a short mid-west tour for the beginning of October. Stay tuned for more info on that.

It looks like I'll be doing a string of shows with Ellis Paul in October, which is great because I love playing with Ellis. I will FINALLY be playing at the Tin Angel in Philadelphia on October 25th. I've wanted to play there forever.

Then, the follow day, I'll be appearing on Gene Shay's show on WXPN in Philly. Gene Shay is incredible. He's a music god in Philadelphia and has been presenting music and DJ-ing for over 40 years. He helped to found the Philadelphia Folk Festival and introduced Philly to a young songwriter named Bob Dylan. I am incredibly honored to be appearing on his show.

We recently added another show to my August West Coast Tour. On August 22nd I'll be playing in Kelso, WA at the Kelso Theater Pub. I'm extremely excited to be doing a second show in Washington.

As always, keep checking the website and myspace page, shows are being added every day.

See you soon!

http://www.chrisobrienmusic.com
http://www.myspace.com/chrisobrien

Tonight's NY show rescheduled

Hey all, I was supposed to play tonight in Millerton NY tonight, but it has been postponed until September 19th. We had a miscommunication with the venue and, while we're all bummed, we're happy to be able to reschedule for a date so soon.

For all of you in the Hudson Valley Region, I'll be appearing live on WKZE in Red Hook at around 4pm on September 19th. Then at around 9:30pm I'll be playing at Manna Dew in Millerton.

Sorry for any inconvenience, hope to see you in September!

-Chris

Running up in Telluride

Well, I'm home now. I just had five of the most amazing days of my life. Telluride Colorado is by far the most beautiful place I've ever seen.

I met my friend Rose Cousins in Denver on June 18th. After wandering around the Denver airport for a good hour, trying to figure out which rental car agency I booked our car with, Rose and I were on our way. I'll post pictures soon, they were all taken with Rose's camera, so I don't have them yet. We got some crazy pictures.

Rose and I arrived in Telluride around 7PM just in time for the Troubadour competition's meet and greet. The party was hosted by local Telluride Real Estate Agents, David and Mike Zutler. David and Mike are two of the nicest guys you could ever meet and throughout the weekend they were constantly taking care of us. Not only are they Real Estate agents but they've created a bottle, for bottled water, made entirely of corn. The bottles won't leak chemicals into the water and when they're empty they completely and safely decompose in the compost. Check out what they're doing at http://www.biotaspringwater.com/.

The competition was broken up in to two rounds. Everyone participated in the first round, then the judges picked five to continue to the second. In the first round I played Rosa and a new song called Little Red Wagon. I made the cut and in the second round I played Carnival and Ocean Stone. The judges deliberated and about an hour later we were all called to the stage. They announced 5th place, 4th, 3rd... it was down to me and one other person. Then my name got called, 2nd place.

It was a great experience. I got to play on the main stage in front of 13,000. I sold a ton of CD's and made some new fans. I got to spend five days in the most beautiful place on earth. I wish I had won, but I'm very happy with second place. Nathan Moore, who won, was great and totally deserved to win.

I can't wait to get back to Colorado.

Pictures from the trip are on their way. Rose is on tour now with my other Rosie friend, Rose Polenzani so she hasn't been able to send them to me. As soon as I get them I'll post them.

Fox Run

Last night Lyle and I played at the Fox Run House Concert series in Sudbury MA. We opened for Karen Savoca and Pete Heitzman, who are a fabulous duo from upstate NY. I had never seen them before, but they came highly recommended by my friend Rose Cousins. They were most excellent.

Neale and Lori Eckstein have been presenting house concerts for many years and they have it down. They have turned their house in to one of the nicest venues around. Neale is also an incredible photographer, so I'm sure I will be able to post pictures soon. Here's our setlist:

Hey Love
I Don't Know You
Lighthouse
Little Red Wagon
Ocean Stone
Rosa


Neale and I also discussed the possibility of doing some recording. He has built a beautiful recording studio in his basement and has recorded some amazing musicians. It was the first time I had really started to think about my next record. It's not too far off.

Last night at Atwoods

We had a great show last night at Atwoods Tavern in Cambridge. Despite the Celtics game, which had hurt us the week before we had a nice turnout and a full band. I am absolutely addicted to playing with the band. The sound is incredible and we have a blast together on stage. The band last night was Lyle Brewer on guitar, Mike Piehl on Drums and Andy Dow on the Bass. Here's the setlist:

First Set
Lighthouse
Hey Love
Blue Skies
Black Leather Boots
Apt. 4
If I had a Boat (Lyle Lovitt)
Melissa
Can't Stop Thinking About You (Martin Sexton)

Second Set
I Don't Know You
Little Red Wagon
Better Than This
Cigarettes and Rain
Carnival
Ocean Stone
Black Tornado (Dan Bern)
Rosa

Encore
You Don't Know How It Feels (Tom Petty)

I keep meaning to bring my camera to these shows so I can post pictures. I'll remember one of these days. Imagine four guys on stage, in a bar, playing music. That's what it looked like.

We have one more Atwoods Show in two weeks, as part of our partial residency. I had to cancel next weeks show because I'll be in Colorado for the Telluride Bluegrass festival. I will definitely post a blog with pictures of that.

Our last June Atwoods show will be on Thursday June 26th at 10PM.

The Celtics are killing me

I love the Celtics and I'm as caught up in all of this as anyone. BUT... they're killing my shows. It used to just be that you didn't play in Boston in October. Now there's another month to avoid. Yikes. I'm just going to have to start playing exclusively in cities whose sports teams suck. If you're around Thursday night in the Boston area I encourage you to boycott the Celtics and come to the show at Atwoods. I'll be giving updates on the score (worst boycott ever) and it'll be a blast.

Stay cool

New YouTube videos

I just found these videos from when Chuck and I played in Knoxville TN. The Blue Plate special is a fantastic live radio show on WDVX. We had a blast playing and I just found a few videos that were taken of the performance. Hope you enjoy them.

Back Porch Session at Kerrville

Hey Folks,

WDBX in Carbondale IL, taped a back porch song circle that I was a part of down here in Kerrville. The circle was Me, Datri Bean, Robby Hecht, Hans York, Devon Sproule, Chuck E Costa, Rebecca Loebe and Melissa Greener. We're all pretty drunk and having a grand ol' time. It's broken up in to four segments. Check it out:

http://www.chandlerimages.com/music/052808_Segment01.mp3
http://www.chandlerimages.com/music/052808_Segment02.mp3
http://www.chandlerimages.com/music/052808_Segment03.mp3
http://www.chandlerimages.com/music/052808_Segment04.mp3

Kerr-mazing

Greetings from the Kerrville Folk Festival!

Hey folks, I'm writing from my tent at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Kerrville TX. How crazy to have internet access from a tent. This festival is absolutely incredible. People have been telling me for years about this place and how great it is, but it has exceeded all of my expectations.

It started with the New Folk contest, which I participated in. Although I didn't win, I made some great connections and even better new friends. The winners, Hans York, Betty Soo, Devon Sproule, RJ Cowdery, CJ Watson and Robby Hecht are all great and you should check them out.

On Sunday night we saw an amazing set by 17 year old singer/songwriter and my good friend Anthony Da Costa, who will blow your mind. It's been great to meet so many new people as well as seeing some of the friends I've made this past year. I've been on tour with Chuck E Costa since May 15th and I've been posting pictures from the trip on my MySpace Page so check it out.

We had some rough shows at the beginning but starting in Knoxville TN, our luck began to change. We played an amazing radio show in Knoxville called The Blue Plate Special, which was an absolute blast and exactly what we needed. It can be tough when you're playing in coffee shops to find some purpose in being a traveling musician. It all started to feel like a huge waste of time. The Blue Plate restored our faith that people out there are interested in what we're doing.

After the Blue Plate we traveled to Nashville where we stayed with Buddy Mondlock, who is one of the greatest songwriters you'll ever hear. That was really a thrill. Buddy came with Chuck and I to our gig in Nashville, which was not a great show but it was really fun to spend some time with him. My uncle, Craig showed up unexpectedly and the four of us watched the Celtics game in the back until it was time for us to play. They won, by the way.

We woke up and drove 10 and a half hours to Oklahoma City, where we played our best gig of the tour at the Blue Door. We opened for Brian Vander Ark, who was pretty incredible. Brian is the lead singer of the band The Verve Pipe. I remember when I was in 10th grade The Verve Pipe had a hit with the song, The Freshman. I remember that time vividly and that song was an essential part of the soundtrack of my life at that time. He played it, I teared up.

Greg, who runs the Blue Door is possibly the nicest man I've ever met. He runs the place with the sole purpose of presenting good music. He's definitely not in it for the money. He works hard, he does an amazing job and every musician I know who plays there loves him. For those of you familiar with Club Passim, this place could so easily be just as great. Greg doesn't get any attention from the local press in OKC. The papers don't list his shows, and they never do features on the people who are coming there to play. It's frustrating that, for the most part, the city doesn't know what an amazing place they have right in their back yard. Still he busts his butt and presents great shows every night. If you know people in OKC, send them to the Blue Door.

We left Oklahoma around 11pm and drove to Dallas TX. I like seeing the "Welcome To" signs when I enter a state I've never been to. I fell asleep and missed the Texas sign.

I stayed with my southern family, The Elberts. Emily Elbert is an amazing singer/songwriter and Berklee school of music student. I've become close with her family in the past year. I had caught a cold somewhere in North Carolina and wasn't feeling well so I spent two whole days being mothered by Jennifer who nursed me back to health. It was great.

Chuck and I woke up Friday morning and drove down here to Kerrville. It's been a week of camping, drinking and staying up way too late, it's too bad it has to end.


Hey Chris O'Brien fans, this is raina rose, and i just wanted to add that Chris is a stand-up guy.

-that message was brought to you with underwriting support from Raina Rose



I am committed to keeping up on this blog. really. this time i mean it.

feel free to contact me at any time with questions, comments, suggestions, requests.

chris@chrisobrienmusic.com

www.chrisobrienmusic.com

peace and love