MYSPACE PAGE: On 7/11/07, I created www.myspace.com/stevezarate ... and four Steve Zarate songs are available to listen to there: "Such A Gift," "Invisible Campfires," "Jewel Of The Hocking" and "Cell Phone Song." I'll rotate other songs through there in the future, and add more photos and comments and such, but my bio, gig schedule and those four songs are available there for perusal this very moment. I've also begun to turn this new myspace site into a virtual storefront, and all 45 tracks on my previous CDs are presently available for download at 99 cents per track both there and, now, on this site (the "Buy Steve's Songs" page).
NEWSONG CONTEST FUN: On Saturday, July 21, 2007, I appeared as a Regional Finalist in the Mountain Stage NewSong Contest Ohio River Valley Regional Concert, which took place at the Blennerhassett Hotel in Parkersburg WV. One of 11 performers on the bill (www.newsongfestival.com/2007/contest/regional_finalists.htm), each doing two original songs, I played the two original Steve Zarate songs I entered in the contest, "Invisible Campfires" and "Cell Phone Song." Thanks to Helen G. for coming from Athens to be my cheering section!
We played before about 100 people in the hotel's ballroom, and in the end the judges chose Ellery, a very talented couple/duo from northern Kentucky, to represent the region in the NewSong finals in NYC this September. It was great meeting both of them and also the other nine co-finalists, all of whom had great music to share...one of whom, Vincent Trocchia (www.myspace,com/vincenttrocchia), played at Donkey Coffee (www.donkeycoffee.com) with me on August 10.
As for my set, "Invisible Campfires" seemed to go over okay, but then "Cell Phone Song" got folks laughing a bit, and I think many enjoyed it. I'm very grateful to the Mountain Stage NewSong contest for the opportunity to be part of that concert, interact with those artists and be part of the NewSong community.
OTHER 2007 EVENTS: I performed at The Blennerhassett Hotel in Parkersburg WV on Saturday, April 14, 2007, as part of the "Blennerhassett Songwriter Invitational." The show featured a dozen Ohio & West Virginia songwriters doing three songs each before a live ballroom audience. My set--"Cell Phone Song," "Living In Alaska" & "Invisible Campfires"--seemed to go over pretty well, and I met a lot of nice people at this event, presented by the popular and talented singer-songwriter Todd Burge (www.toddburge.com). Big thanks to Todd for inviting me across the river!
On April 11 I taped a new video for Athens Public Access Channel 23...It's called "Just Below The Surface with Steve Zarate"...pretty much just me performing 19 of my original songs and telling tales of their origins while displaying my CDs and my T-shirt showing the Alaska Marine Highway's ferry route through Southeast Alaska. Thanks to Stephen Rounthwaite for helping with cameras and such. This video will be shown on Channel 23 in May 2007 and beyond...and I will try to get it online if possible.
I played at The Piano Works, a music store at 48 W. Main St. in Logan, Ohio, as part of the Late Night Logan series on Saturday, March 3, 2007. I performed originals and took requests for three hours that night. It was very enjoyable and I hope to play more engagements in the Logan area soon. A sort of gallery hop event on each month's first Saturday, Late Night Logan is a new part of Southeastern Ohio's growing arts scene. For more info, please call Bruce at The Piano Works, 740-380-6683.
