On Sunday I was delighted to play a short set at the National Down Syndrome Society's annual event in New York's Central Park, called the Buddy Walk. It's a fundraiser/awareness-creating/awesome celebration for all things and people connected to Down Syndrome. J. D. Samson of Le Tigre was there to serve as the official event DJ, and I have to say I am quite impressed with this girl--not only is she quite talented, but she's an absolute sweetheart in person, and after perusing her MySpace page, I see she's quite generous with her time for other causes as well! Inspirational in many unique ways, for sure!

She had brought with her her friend Sia, and what a pleasure it was to meet her too--such a warm person, I gratefully felt like we were insta-friends. Some people have the gift of drawing in anybody through artful conversation, and I think this girl has that talent--that, plus she was completely humble and down-to-earth in her anonimity here, wow.

It was raining heavily during the entire event, but Sia is especially adept at making trash bag raincots (which she did for me) and so, undaunted by the rain, I believe she and I and several small children had a hand in convincing Buddy Walk attendees that, in fact, it was pretty fun to dance with raindrops falling on your head (and running in rivulets down your neck, back... soaking your underwear and socks... ah, good times. )

I really hope that somewhere, video footage exists of this event--ok, here goes, my best attempt at a description of it: picture that awesome 90s video "No Rain" from Blind Melon, the one with the girl in the bumblebee costume... except WITH lots of rain, ha! That was kind of the scene. Everywhere, kids eating cotton candy while the rain melted it almost instantly, families huddled together under umbrellas with big ol' smiles on their faces and feet shuffling to the music, EVERYONE drenched to their eyeballs... and having a great time. Pretty great when people just DECIDE to have a great time, you know?

Anyhoo, I played "My Friend to the End" and "Pop Song" (shortened set, due to everything being delayed by, you guessed it, the rain) and I had a ton of fun, as you may have guessed by now. Here's to more selfless celebrities (and regular people too) who are willing to anonymously donate their energy, enthusiasm, talent and time! Cheers.

So, lately I've been doing a bit of radio this and that, getting some airplay, making some in-station appearances, etc. It's a real thrill, to broadcast your music (live and/or recorded) to unsuspecting ears! Yesterday I was a guest on the show Second Saturday on WPKN in Connecticut, with hosts Jo Williamson and Bob Johnson. I shared the airspace with another band, The Low Anthem, who were fresh from their appearance at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival and sounded really great. They were a three-piece band but I believe it's safe to say none of the members played the same instrument twice! They switched around on a dizzying array of random instruments stuffed into the studio--made me feel rather lonely when it was just little ol' me at my turn at the mic! But I think my music came out all right. I did mostly all new material, in preparation of the live acoustic trio CD I'll be recording this Saturday, Aug. 16 at a space in Mt. Holly, NJ of all new material. Wish me and the Sugar Bowls luck!

On Sept. 5 I'll be a guest on another live radio show, this for KBBN in Broken Bow, Nebraska. Broken Bow is about 20 miles from my hometown, and this station is not only an amazing little station (its mix of music is truly incredible, arty even--and this in a small farming town in the Sandhills of Nebraska!) but it's also been a great friend to me, playing some of my music on occasion, having me give over-the-phone interviews and such. I've never played for them live, in-studio, so I think it's high time.

In fact I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that the folks at KBBN gave me one of my first (if not THE first) professional music gigs! Back in high school, they asked me to sing for the concert held every year at the Custer County Fair, this particular year they were hiring a big-time professional band from Nashville (sure wish I could remember their name) and showcasing local talent to front the band. I was asked to duet with a gentleman by the name of Tim Holcomb on the song, "The Battle Hymn of Love" (hahahahahahaha, that title still gets me) by the country duo The Sweethearts of the Rodeo, and then I could pick my own solo to sing with the band. I picked "Leaving on a Jet Plane" by John Denver. I also just remembered that I opened the concert by singing the national anthem, though I believe that was a cappella.

The concert was held outside on the Custer County Fairgrounds, the audience sat in grandstands and a stage was set up in front of the stands. I remember it was QUITE a thrill, it was a rather large audience and besides that, it was my first time in front of a band like that. I believe I was paid $50 for the performance (but honestly, I would have totally done it for free. )

Anyway, that's a pretty great memory, and it's all due to Bob Bowles and Doug Birnie at KBBN. Looking forward to seeing them again on Sept. 5! I believe you can listen to their station online if you'd like to check it out, at www.kbbn.com.

About a week and a half ago I participated in this second annual festival here in NYC called the Make Music New York Festival. It's modeled after a festival in France that has existed for years: on every first day of summer, people get outside, wherever they are, and make music. I love the concept! The flower child in me wants nothing but peace, love and music for as far as the eye can see and the ear can hear.

I was scheduled for two concerts that day, which was a bit of an honor in itself. The first concert took place, COMPLETELY UNAMPLIFIED, at Verdi Park, which is right outside of the 72nd Street stop on the 1-2-3 subway lines, it's a lovely park in an island at the intersection of 73rd and Broadway. Given its location, there are obvious noise issues with the subway and the traffic.

There's no electricity in this park, which is why a concert there had to be unamplified. The classical singer in me was completely undaunted by this aspect; I'm a purist sometimes and I believe that unamplified singing is not only a lost technique (I think it takes certain chops to be able to sing well unamplified that most of today's singers simply don't have) but also a bit of a lost art form (I think audiences have grown so accustomed to amplification that, in a sense, they forget what a "live" singer sounds like!) That, plus I think nobody's created a microphone that correctly captures my voice. That's a whole different paranoia which I'm not going to discuss in this forum, but I'M RIGHT! ha.

So anyway, I was ready for the unamplified challenge. My friend Tamara Hey shared the set with me, and we took turns being courageous folkie girls, armed with only acoustic guitars, and sang for the masses of New Yorkers who emerged from the subway.

I loved it, actually, and Tamara said she was ready to do it again, too. I think people were alternately freaked out and fascinated by us, mixed with feelings of pity for the poor girls in the cute summer dresses who were singing into the face of the wind of the industrialized world! People stopped and listen (CHILDREN were the biggest stoppers, and they were also the most fun to watch tip us), some picked up show fliers and bought CDs, and of course, others kept right on walking, unfazed. It wouldn't have felt like New York if it had been otherwise!

Some of my friends who have children and aren't up for regular nightlife shows came to hear us, it was such a lovely sky-blue type of day that I really think everyone had a great time. Of course, you had to be no farther than 10-15 feet away from us or you'd only see our lips move and our hands noiselessly strum (in my case, FINGERS PLUCK! Though my voice is up to the unamplified challenge, I fear my delicately picked guitar accompaniments are not! Oh well.)

The second show I did was outside of an Irish pub in Soho called Mr. Dennehy's. There was a sound system at this gig provided by another act--actually, it was a GREAT sound system, which was fun too! Completely different set of acoustic circumstances. I sang there to the imagined former occupants of the tenement buildings of yore, my songs bouncing off of the old-style buildings across the narrow street from where I stood. Once again, people were receptive at this gig, stopping and listening for awhile and then continuing on their way. One particularly ardent admirer snuck a beer from the pub out to me on the sidewalk (it's illegal to have an open container of alcohol on the street in NYC. Laws are made for breaking, I always say, ha. You all don't realize what a rebel I am, in spite of the nicety of my music. I'm a rebel in a way that society hasn't yet learned to recognize. But I digress...)

Anyway, the point is, it was an absolutely lovely day and I'm so glad to have been able to take part in it. I have some pictures from the day posted on www.myspace.com/kathyzimmer, I'd upload them here but my computer crashed last night and I lost them, that's no lie! Ah technology. Sometimes it's more fun to be no wires attached.

Awhile back I was asked to complete a "list" for this magazine named Fingermag, based out of Zurich. The whole magazine is a series of lists from a variety of artists, each artist answers their preferences to a set of questions that mostly revolve around musical tastes. In a roundabout way, it gives you a glimpse into the psyche of each artist.

One of the questions asked was, "Favorite Beatles Song?" I responded, "In My Life", which is a fabulous song, well crafted and nicely hard-to-pin-down, as far as style and intent, etc. I do love it. However, I'd like to change my answer.

About two weeks ago I feel in love, HARD, with "Happiness Is a Warm Gun". Just thinking about it now, I turn all mushy and gooey and warm-feeling inside, ha! Though I'd previously heard the song, I'd never owned a copy of the White Album until now, and the song had never hit me--and then, POW, right between the eyes.

I'm still trying to get to the bottom of the song, actually, so I'm probably not ripe to talk about it, but... I mean, the form, the imagery, the way it just, with no warning, yawns into this twistedly sexy chorus that's so smart and witty and... perfect. The song doesn't make sense, structurally, it's not your typical pop song verse-chorus thing (which especially endears it to me, because sometimes my own forms are, um, imaginitive! Off the beaten path, shall we say.) but IT WORKS so well... HOW does it work so well?? How did that happen??!!

How did they get the right sound for John Lennon's vocals in the chorus? Aurally, it sounds like red wine momentarily dripping somewhere and then being licked off, ha! IT DOES! And... of course, I'm a sucker for sensual religious references, god knows why (no pun intended ) so "Mother Superior jumped the gun" is... such a ripe and obtuse phrase, deliciously so. And don't even get me started on, "She's not a girl who misses much--she's well acquainted with the touch of a velvet hand like a lizard on a window pane." I mean, (... inarticulatable pause... )

(*shakes head and comes back to present moment*) Sorry, language seduces me! And all these pictures conjured up behind my eyelids are as intoxicating as all that red wine in the chorus.

Last thing I'll mention and then I'll stop swooning here--if nothing else at least you are being made aware of how my honest reaction to music I love is visceral as well as intellectual!--I just want to know: how is it possible that we travel such a great distance between each short section of the song? Seconds pass as the sections collide into each other, and there is different sonic landscapes set for each section, but even so--nothing seems inappropriately disjointed, it all works together... oh man, I gotta stop typing. Steam is pouring out of my ears as my brain is working overtime, much like the man in the song's hands are working overtime as he's lying with his eyes. Too much greatness for me.

One of the first days after I'd fallen in love with "Happiness Is a Warm Gun", I stumbled by accident into Strawberry Fields in Central Park as I was listening to the White Album on my headphones. I left a show flier there in memory of and in thanks to Mr. John Lennon.