Annie Wenz~ Wandering Gypsy Update Hello Everyone! Contents: 1~Hurricane Relief~ AMERICAN RED CROSS 2~ Old Newz~ FL To ME on a Harley/Naked Folk/FRFF/RMFF 3~ New Newz~ NEW WEBSITE! 4~ NEW INSTRUMENTAL CD~ WINDS OF THE WORLD!!! 5~ DAFT-Tour 1~ Hurricane Relief~ First of all, I know all of our hearts are breaking as we watch the disaster of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. I have many personal thoughts about the situation, but I think the most helpful thing I can do is to urge all of you to consider sending a donation to the Red Cross http://www.redcross.org/ As a Red Cross volunteer myself, I can personally attest to their reliability. If not the Red Cross, I know there are other fundraisers & organizations in need. If we all give what we can, we can make a difference. Thank You! 2~ Old Newz ~ It has been a wonderful few months. Hopefully many new songs will be born. The bike (motorcycle) trip from Florida to Maine was just an AMAZING journey! 3000 miles, 19 days, 2 of us, 2 bikes, 1 guitar, all back roads. Highlights were Neals Gap, GA & Deals Gap NC where bikers come from all over the US to twirl about the most technical hairpin turns I have ever seen or ridden. The Tail of the Dragon in Deals Gap has 318 turns in 11 mi! It was quite intimidating maneuvering a 750 lb bike, but now I have the T-shirt to prove I rode the dragon (twice!) From NC & TN, it was off to my old stomping grounds- Harlan KY. THAT was an emotional experience. In all of my travels, I have yet to see a town so changed by technology. I moved there because after a huge flood (23 feet above flood stage) in the 70s they needed nurses. It was there that I first lived away from home, delivered about a dozen babies, & got to see life in the hollers first hand. Returning to find the small town with so much history & 1 tiny restaurant literally cut in half by a strip malled, walmarted ,cvsed, fast-food lined 4 lane hwy which was then lined by a 24 foot wall built by the Army Corp of engineers, totally blew my mind. Fortunately the heart of Harlan was still there- people never change, & I was able to find my old landlady Moverine sitting in her little hillside house still sucking a cigarette butt inside out. We flashed back. I cried, & rewrote my 2 Harlan songs plus I’m now working on a song about why we are so drawn to return to places we lived long ago. After Harlan, on to Forksville, PA so photo goddess Jayne Toohey could take my photo for the Naked Folk Calendar 2006! http://www.nakedfolkcalendar.com Yes- you read it right. Me, my Harley, & a smile! Others so far on the 2006 calendar will be Susan Werner, SONiA, Utah Phillips, Tom Prasada Rao & Cary Cooper & more. Falcon Ridge Folk Fest was next. My buddy Rik Paleri joined me on the family stages, I did a few workshop stages and my highlight was playing percussion with Lowen & Navarro and Eddie from Ohio. Eddie’s mom was ill & he couldn’t be there, so it was a huge honor to attempt to somewhat fill Eddies bodacious shoes. I also participated in the tribute concert to my dear late musical sister Rachel Bissex. She so would have loved hearing her beautiful music sung by those who cherished her. The compilation CD of her music, Remembering Rachel is still available at; http://cdbaby.com/cd/rachelbissex5 After FRFF, I returned to teach at Rocky Mt Folks Festival song school for the 9th year. As always it SO filled my cup. I learn so much from the students & faculty as well. New teachers this year were Lisa Loeb, Joe Craven & Willy Porter who are not only amazing musicians, but also wonderful people! New Newz~ NEW WEBSITE! As some of you know, I FINALLY totally overhauled my website! YAAAAY! I signed on with http://www.hostbaby.com and I LOVE them. I now have the ability to write frequent updates in the news/blog section; add photos when I travel & you all can still write your thoughts in the guestbook for the world to see. Please check out the site & let me know what you think! NEW INSTRUMENTAL CD~ WINDS OF THE WORLD!!! After all these years of you all urging me to record my Native American flute/piano compositions, I finally took your advice! I also decided to bring in other world influences & textures & included Slovakian flute, Balinese flute. Bamboo & Drone flutes. Each song features a flute, plus I am playing piano, soft percussion, guitar, gongs, bells, didgeridoo, or steel drum. I was joined on percussion by Glen Velez, known to be the best frame drummer in the world, as well as wizard Vernon David on haunting cello, & Tom Prasada Rao blows me away on violin AND sitar! Part of the CD was recorded by Grammy Award winning producer Norman Blain, and Tom Prasada Rao co produces 4 songs with me. Per the request of massage folks, the CD is an hour long (plus a few seconds). I must say, I am so incredibly proud of this CD & so far everyone who has heard it says they love it. It will be for sale via the link at my new website. The cover art & info are there now, & I was told it should be available about 2 weeks from now, So please rock my world & return to the site in mid September; & if you know of anyone who is stressed & could benefit from the gift of relaxing/zenfull music- please spread the word! The DAFT- Tour~ Last November I was invited to be part of an amazing collaboration between artists from the US & Germany, touring throughout the Northeast US & culminating in one of the most outstanding musical experiences of my life, performing on Veterans Day at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC with my new friends! And now the tour will continue in Germany from September 28th thru October 12th. I leave this very Thursday, 9/8 so that I can first travel to the birthplaces of my maternal grandparents in Bialystock, Poland & what was Vilna Poland, but is now Vilneus, Lithuania. I am also planning to go to Slovakia for another Fujara (flute) as well as Hungary, Austria & Slovenia. I will be writing in the news blog when I am able to find internet joints, so please join me in my travels if you are interested! The German magazine Folker honored my work by doing an article about me, so if you can read German http://www.folker.de/ TATA and THANKS~ As always, I am incredibly grateful to each & every one of you who have been the wind beneath my wings. Without you, I feel as if my music would fall silent. So THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU Peace & Nasdorovia Annie (Hanulka;) http://www.anniewenz.com