Got the first real rough mixes of our first 9 songs (including bass, fiddle, & mandolin) and they're ALREADY sounding better than anything either of us had previously commercially released, individually or collectively. I'm dying to share them with you, but we swore a near-blood oath not to leak them to the public till they're done. (Gary is a genius--his roughs are better than most engineers' mastered cuts). We're headed back down to Sparta the 14th-18th to (we hope) finish up our end of the recording and hopefully give some of our "input" (non-sonic) to the mixing process. FARM is fast approaching, and the big news is that the Thursday night Concerts In Your Home showcase is being thrown open to nominations by all talent presenters & media, as well as applications by all FARM attendee artists, not just CIYH members. The registrations are rolling in (and the Performing Lane slots filling up--when they're gone, they're gone). We have a KILLER lineup of juried showcasers this year from all over North America! And we're about to begin the Fox Valley Folk Music and Storytelling Festival this weekend, on lovely (and sunny, high-and-dry!) Island Park in the middle of the Fox River in the heart of downtown Geneva, IL. There's a special pre-fest songwriting master class with Peggy Seeger Sat. afternoon 9/5 (check www.foxvalleyfolk.com to see if spots are still available)--I'd go if I didn't have to attend the funeral of a dear friend's mom that day. Sunday morning 9/6 at 11 am the Festival kicks off. Where will you find me? Sunday: 11 a.m., emceeing Chicago Songwriters' Collective Writers' Round, Workshop Stage 2 (n. end of island across the river from the Mill Race Inn). Open mic follows IMMEDIATELY from noon-1 pm--get those slots while they're hot! Come see us at the CSC's booth during the day--buy member CDs, find out more about us, and join us! 6:30 p.m., running sound for the evening Festival open mic in a downtown Geneva club--location TBA, but it'll be indoors, with PA and sustenance available. Check the HQ at the Pavilion for details. Monday: 11 a.m., performing in the CSC's Writers' Round, Stage 2--again, followed by an open mic (sign up EARLY). 3 p.m. I have the honor of appearing with the great David Massengill and Dan & Donna Benkert in the Taking the "Dull" out of Mt. Dulcimer workshop--in the acoustically perfect Teaching stage in the covered, cool and shaded open-sided brick Pavilion (plenty of chairs!). Bring a dulcimer if you have one--we may have some tips for you to try as well as songs you might never have expected to hear on a dulcimer. 5 p.m. Cooper & Nelson and Andrew Calhoun wrap up with their notoriously racy "Songs of Love & Lust" workshop, and as last year, I may get in a song or two. And Friday? First Friday Songwriters' Exchange at the Old Town School of Folk Music, starting 6:30 pm. Be the first to hear some songs so new we'll still be wiping 'em off and slapping their little bottoms.