This last weekend we made some great strides on the recording of the new album. We are now 8 out of 12 - three quarters of the way done with the album. The songs are changing pace a little bit as they usually do halfway through.
You see, we go about recording and producing an album in quite a different way than most studio musicians. Most musicians have their entire album mapped out and written before they set foot in a studio. We are coming up with the music as we go. This allows us to explore many different moods and feel the album out as we're recording it to see what it needs more or less of. So when we get to the halfway point, as we did a few weeks ago, the album could go in basically any direction, musically. I think we're starting to get a much better glimpse of what the whole picture of the new album is going to be and we LOVE it!! And we think that you will, too.
Stay tuned now for faster updates as we reach the end of the recording process and begin post-production. We should know within a few weeks now about the potential release date and much more exciting stuff that we have planned for the release of the new album!
Again, THANK YOU to all of you who visit our site, follow us on facebook, read our newsletters and support us by spreading our music around the internet or sharing it with your friends. We have the best fans. You are all wonderful! And we can't wait to share this new music with YOU!!
The winner of the February contest is John Olson! Here is his wonderful story about his experience at one of our Christmas shows, which happened on a tragically significant day in December.
___________________ John Olson:
Any show by The Gothard Sisters is joyous and memorable and I loved all nine shows I saw in 2012. Their first Christmas show a week earlier in Seattle was beautiful and wonderful in every way and would otherwise be my entry. However, though essentially the same show, the Celtic Christmas Concert in Carnation, WA on December 14th was extra special. This concert was on a day that will live in American history. Earlier that morning the lives of twenty precious children and six brave educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, as well as the mother of the shooter and the shooter himself were tragically lost. The spirits of people arriving for this concert were saddened and we needed to be uplifted. We had come to the right place. The venue, the Tolt Congregational United Church of Christ, resembled a rugged stone Celtic chapel with its arching outside bell tower, stunning stained glass windows, and an ornately carved wooden altarpiece. A month earlier the Gothards filmed their music video Greensleeves / What Child is This? at this church and they were invited back to entertain for the church’s Good Neighbor Fund. The audience - largely a mix of townspeople and church members - were there to support their community and to enjoy Christmas music with Celtic energy. While the performance area was tiny and the lighting was dim compared to some of their venues, the girls lovingly choreographed every detail perfectly and made the small church glow like a warm blazing fireplace.
Fittingly, the program began with a time of silence and prayer for the Newtown victims followed by the lighting of a Candle of Peace. Then Willow, Solana, and Greta took the floor. And, quicker than a broken shoelace, their opening fiddle number, Jeannette, and Irish dancing to Greta’s exuberant Celebration Reel moved us from sadness to happiness. The joy kept rolling in with Silver Bells, Ballybrolly, David’s Jig, and the most spirited version of Hark the Herald Angels you will ever hear. Treble Jig showcased their amazing competition-level footwork. Next were their arrangements of Midsummer Jigs and the old Christmas songs, Pat-a-Pan and God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. Then Solana and Willow thundered away delightfully on Double Drums and danced us off to intermission with Christmas Reel. The chatter at break had a warm community feel to it - friends greeting friends; introductions being made; home baked goodies being sampled; and many remarking about the lovely Gothard sisters and all their talents . . . and about how nice it was to be there after the bad news of the day. At least two people talked reflectively about these three young ladies being the same age as the Newtown children when they began violin training.
The concert resumed with the girls adding white satin shirts for their performances of Carol of the Bells; Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, Trepak, and The Friendly Beasts. Then it was back to their blue, gold, and red costumes for Here We Come a Caroling ending with Solana doing a yellow ribbon slip dance to Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring. Next were the lively Coventry, A Capella, Willow’s Fairy Dance Jig and Music for a Found Harmonium and a lovely version of O Holy Night.Then Solana sang a lovely rendition of Silent Night. When Solana concluded the last phrases of the song; “Sleep in Heavenly peace. Sleep in Heavenly peace.” she stood peacefully and motionless for several moments with a loving empathetic expression on her face. Suddenly, for those of us there, these words about the wish of rest for newborn Jesus seemed to transform into a prayer of Heavenly peace for the victims in Newtown. We could not have a more comforting and sweet message and tears came.
Willow introduced the finale song with “Merry Christmas and good night. Good night and Joy be to you all” and the girls sweetly harmonized the chorus from the Celtic song Parting Joy. On this particular night it was more like a benediction of peace and consolation for an evening of togetherness that we all needed. We did, indeed, feel joy. As I drove home in the thick fog that night I thought how much the world would be missing if Greta, Willow, and Solana had missed their chance to grow up and to bloom into talented performers and, more importantly, wonderful role models of good behavior and joy.
There is a new contest up for the month of February! Check it out right here.
Hey all - I just wanted to let you know that we just reached a significant milestone on FB (5,000 likes) and we'd like to take a moment to thank YOU - every one of you who has ever shared a video, told another person about us, given one of our CDs away as a gift, suggested our music, come to a live show, brought someone else along to a live show or sent us a friendly email. We feel so very grateful, and that is why we are constantly working on new music and performance numbers to live up to all of your support.
THANK YOU - now here we go towards 10,000! You all are integral to the next part here and we're excited to get there together! :)
This page has just barely gotten started, but our new page (" Resources") is an exciting new addition to the site. Here I've started compiling what I hope to be a thorough list of some Celtic music, dance and culture resources for you. Right now I have a bare bones list of other Celtic music bands, sibling bands, our favorite recording artists, Celtic festivals, Irish dance schools, homeschooling links and much more. I'll be adding to the list as time goes on, and if you have some links to suggest, please send them along to the team at thegothardsisters@hotmail.com. In the meantime, enjoy the new resources page! Also, the members-only page is now up and running for those of you on the mailing list. It is password protected and only available for mailing list subscribers. If you are on the mailing list, the password is in the latest newsletter for the month of January and will be included in any email that you get from us. Enjoy the exclusive videos and other fun stuff included in the members-only section! Recent photos added:
We had a great time ringing in the new year in Eastern Washington last night with all you fine Tri-Cities folks. Thanks for being with us for YEAR SIX at First Night Tri-Cities.
Now we go forth into a brand new year - fresh, with no mistakes in it. Let's make the most of it!
Here's to a year full of new shows, new songs, new people and new experiences plus plenty and plenty of the old gold. Thanks so much for your amazing support and a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Our arrangement of Greensleeves can be found on the album Christmas.
With one week to go until Thanksgiving and the holiday season, I spent all day yesterday updating our website store with some new fun gift items. You can browse through the new things right here! My favorite new things are the logo mug (I got a test version of it a few months ago and just love it! I use it all the time, but that may just be because I drink coffee and tea practically all day, lol!), the white logo t-shirt (very soft and comfy!), and the new 2013 calendar. The new calendar is really pretty and I hope you'll reserve one soon - I have a limited number available. There are also a few other kinds of t-shirts, including a kids' version in white and pink, as well as a khaki baseball cap which my dad has been sporting at the merchandise table for the last few months, but is now available to the public. Any of these items are great gifts! Also, don't forget about our coloring book... that's a great present for kids and even adults who like to draw! Anyway, I hope you enjoy the new items. Leave a note in the comments to let me know which one is your favorite.
This month's contest was for the best live show photograph from one of our shows! We got eight great entries. Based on all the votes from you guys, the winner of the contest is.... Tommy Gleason! Congratulations to him, he will get the first copy of the 2013 Gothard Sisters calendar, and his winning photograph (see below!) will be featured in the calendar as well.
The tickets are on sale! This is going to be our first-ever Christmas show that we've put on and produced ourselves, and we'd love for you to join us! There will be limited seats available, as the church only has 300 seats. Please buy your tickets in advance if you and your family plan on attending! Buy Tickets Now! ($10 for adults, kids under 13 get in free!)
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