Going to Indie Week Indie Week Indie Week !!!

Dulcimerhead is thrilled to be taking the stage on October 8, 2009, around 9:15pm at the Free Times Cafe to take part in Round One of the Indie Week 2009 Showcase!!!



Dulcimerhead is putting the call out to all their fans to spread the word far and wide -- Free Times Cafe is a great venue, it's a reasonable time slot and Dave, Fernando and Daniela are ready to show their stuff to the industry and the Toronto scene.

Street teams will be mobilized -- so if you want to pick up the coolest band swag you ever saw (these ARE professional artists, you recall) and be part of a triumphant evening of awesome music, be sure to email dulcimerhead@gmail.com -- and git on board. This is a tangible and concrete way to Assist The Breakthrough that we all know is going to happen...

Details about Indie Week can be found at indieweek.com and we'll be passing them on via Twitter twitter.com/dulcimerhead and Myspace www.myspace.com/dulcimerhead1 and heck, probably Facebook too, why not?

Can barely wait. All these fantastic bands playing Toronto the same week. This is THE festival for up-and-coming indie outfits to try to convince industry judges that they are The Next Big Thing. Bound to be high-energy, envelope-pushing music. For those lucky enough to witness Dulcimerhead's latest gig in Newmarket July 29, there is no doubt that this is a band ready to play large, loud, INTENSE gigs.

Video unfortunately failed to capture the surprise hits of the evening -- one after another, old favourites reworked into concentrated burst of energy and melody -- outrageous drum solo by Fernando -- ringing dulcimer riffs by Dave -- and the evocative lyrics and voice of Daniela -- one particular song called "Try So Hard" is a solid hit, and all the more astounding because it comes from a band that hardly has had time to play together yet! So no wonder their gigs are totally fresh; their approach to the music is somehow relaxed and intense at the same time, with total communication onstage.

Spontaneous and totally seamless, this is a band of three awesome musicians who are creating alchemy and new magic every time they play.

Check out this fan video for one of their slower, more reflective songs, Invocation of the Norns: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sqy_cbur7HE

On October 8, you have the chance to see it happen. And on October 9th, you'll be able to say "I was there, the night when Dulcimerhead broke through!"

PS: Thanks to SonicBids, too -- all submissions went through them and certainly be proved to be worth the membership. :)

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July 29! Catch the next underground Dulcimerhead gig with NEW lineup!

Newsflash: here is a chance to catch Dulcimerhead performing awesome new material, now with the addition of the vocals and lyrics of newest member, chant poet Daniela Godina.

Since their amazing collaboration on the Western Voyage, Eastern Shore CD (available now at www.davidrankineart.com), all three Dulcimerhead members are eager to play their experimental material onstage at Theatre on Main, Newmarket, on July 29, 2009. Tickets are $20 each, or $30 a pair if you want to bring a friend!

Audiences at the June 13 & 14 Windfall Ecology Festival in Newmarket were astounded to hear what sounded like a contemporary Jefferson Airplane take the stage with the triumphant anthem "Cup of Plenty." Since then, Godina has used her poetry to bring the right words to the haunting melodies and mystical rhythms of bandmates David Rankine and Fernando Villalobos.

Godina has also done solo gigs in the area and collaborated on creativity workshops with Rankine and Villalobos. She is consciously aware of her use of music, sound, word and voice as healing modality and intuitive process. Her drum circles are legendary events for community music and myth-making.

Her words about working with Dulcimerhead:

"Thoughts on songwriting …performance…Dulcimerhead

The wise sleep with open eyes-
enhancing the creative void…

Songwriting began with an insomnia driven quest at times
connecting with other imaginative surrealistic souls here…
to maintain a flow of the psychic juices
or just staring at the wall till something happened-
and heard the words that struck an internal cord

The words resonate on an abstract soul level
then thankfully get traced back to automatic writing

A process which saves me"


This band is constantly extending itself creatively and taking its listeners through a portal, into a space where they can access authentic meaning. Don't take my word for it though. Visit this gig July 29th and experience it for yourself!


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Ushering in the Summer Solstice -- Music, Dance, Dulcimerhead!

Join Dulcimerhead and a group of dedicated Viking cultural re-enactors as they co-create music, dance and ritual to celebrate the coming of the Summer Solstice!

Festival coordinator Nesrin Meral is hosting the Vinland Viking Market and Summer Solstice Celebration event and decided Dulcimerhead music would add a new dimension to the ceremonies. In ancient European pagan cultures, this was the most important day of the calendar.

Dulcimerhead -- David Rankine, Fernando Villalobos and Daniela Godina -- were inspired to launch a musical project that would capture the spirit of Viking exploration, their strong connection to the spirit world, and the importance of HOME to these seafaring adventurers. You can hear more of this haunting and melodic music at www.myspace.com/dulcimerhead1

The June 2009 CD entitled "Eastern Voyage, Western Shore" is meant to evoke a sense memory of Viking emigration and settlement in North America. Click below to view the first live performance of their anthem "Cup of Plenty" -- a song about the triumph of creativity in adversity, and the celebration of homecoming. (Performed at Windfall Ecology Festival, Newmarket, 2009!)



You can take part in the festivities this weekend! June 20th, come visit the Vinland Viking Market, see artisans at work and their authentic handicrafts, battles, food, entertainment -- then stay the evening for the magic of the Solstice Celebration! Dulcimerhead brings exciting new music to accompany traditional Belarusian dance in celebrating the longest night of the year.



For more details about the event -- which takes place in Wainfleet, Ontario on private land -- please visit www.vinlandvikingmarketandsummersolsticecelebration.com/


See you at the Viking Village!

See Dulcimerhead at the Windfall Ecology Festival, Newmarket!

OK, Folks!

Dulcimerhead's latest incarnation opens Windfall Ecology Festival in Newmarket at 10am, June 13 & 14, 2009 on the Solar Powered World Music Stage. They have an exciting new CD full of triumphantly rocking anthems, totally in sync with the forward-looking positive energy of this fantastic festival. David Rankine, Fernando Villalobos and new bandmate Daniela Godina will be rocking out with their "Western Voyage, Eastern Shore" material.

YOUR task is to take a blanket and a picnic and prepare to bask in the grooviness of the Windfall Ecology Festival, in Newmarket's Fairy Lake Park. It is a well-organized, eclectic gathering of musicians, exciting presentations, all-natural and organic treats, geese (they come with the park), and everything you might want to know about technology available to reduce your carbon footprint and live more sustainably.

There's just too much to tell you about, so get complete details of the events in store for you, at: http://www.windfallcentre.ca/index.php?st=2&s=Home&p=Homepage
Want to try the hot new "instant-networking-for-the-environment" initiative -- Green Drinks?? Mike Nickerson -- activist, educator and author of "Life, Money and Illusion: living on earth as if we want to stay" -- will be hosting one Saturday Night. For a sneak preview of his fascinating work, check out http://www.flora.org/sustain/book_open.html


To hear Dulcimerhead's new powerhouse track "Cup of Plenty" -- which contains my new personal mantra and a powerful antidote to our current Recession Panic -- you could visit Dulcimerhead's press kit on Sonicbids.


View Dulcimerhead's EPK

Imagine starting every day by looking in the mirror and saying "If you can make something out of nothing, you're already there!" A gathering like Windfall is the same kind of encouragement. It's good to get out there and see each other, doing our best to make the world a better place. And Daniela Godina's powerful voice and lyrics are the best Feng Shui for your brain. :)

So, we'll see you out there! And be sure to get some henna from Dave Rankine, while you're there!!!

Super-Secret Semi-Century Gig

Musical Co-Conspirators David Rankine, Fernando Villalobos, Jason Pfeiffer and Daniela Godina; photo graciously provided by D. Draper; thanks!

Dulcimerhead's David Rankine was celebrated in word and music by his friends and co-conspirators in a secret location in Newmarket. Mayhem ensued: including a high-energy drum circle, new music composed in his honour by bandmate Fernando Villalobos, the haunting intuitive vocals of Daniela Godina, and being joined for an all-out jam with flutist extraordinaire Jason Pfeiffer. And then there was cake!



Dave's nearest and dearest were treated to an evening of new music, improvisation and song, plus his now-legendary rendition of "Frank Sinatra sings Dark Side of the Moon" -- a rare treat considering no alcohol was served at the event. Then they returned the favour by standing up to tell the whole crowd about what a low, objectionable character he is.

No, really, as usual for a Dulcimerhead gig, there was a lot of positive energy and love in the room, and this was a suitable occasion to express it toward a man who has made it his mission to use music to create community for the lost creatives among us, giving us all a feeling of "home" during turbulent times.

Thanks Dave, and we're all looking forward to the next adventures!!!


View Dulcimerhead's EPK

A utopian vision of intentional community!

Thanks to D. Draper for the photos!

Oh, we were dreaming in technicolour THAT day -- wow, what an amazing event. The energy was awesome. Dulcimerhead had the Old Town Hall rented anyway for their triumphant "Dark Mandala" CD Launch Party and Concert -- so, there was this big ol' space just asking to be filled with art, music, energy work, networking with great people, stories, food --

So it was an intentional community today, to encourage us all to stay creative and keep the focus on what's really important. These were all people who know how to make things: the skill to take materials and impose a vision on them, and to create something that didn't exist before. THAT is much more real than a fixation on the electronic ebb and flow of cycling financial data around the world. When people connect, it strikes a blow against the anomie of the modern age. Opportunity spaces pop up where none were before. And we are creative enough to SOLVE the problems we have generated ourselves.

That is why Dulcimerhead spent time during this event to raise awareness of and funds for the York Region Food Network. Those people are raising the alarm in this affluent area, and using creativity to increase the healthy food available to food banks. They do this via community gardens where people can be mentored in the lost art of vegetable growing, or if they are already good gardeners, they plant an extra row for the Food Pantry. YRFN also runs cooking classes in their new offices on Penrose Avenue. They fill backpacks with school supplies in September, knowing that it is almost impossible for some families to find the money to do it for their kids. In this day and age of instant food and separation from the land, it is wonderful to go to a community garden, to see a vacant lot turned into a place where people can create food with knowledge and their own efforts, connecting with the soil again, and with each other.

Then, after a day of meeting folks and talking ideas and looking at art and hearing stories and drumming and eating and just generally feeling that our neighbours, friends and kids were MUCH more interesting than we'd ever have believed -- it was time for the BIG CONCERT!



After an electrifying performance by opening artist Daniela Godina, Dulcimerhead rocked the stage with their new "Dark Mandala" tunes -- using full drum kit for many of them.

Fernando's solo piece "Why Not" was so perfect, a jazz fusion number that almost sounded like a drum machine in its precision, except no WAY could that sound be automated.




The beautiful, spiralling "Deep Blue Star" featured an awesome flute improvisation by guest artist Jason Pfeiffer. There were hard-hitting tracks that showed Dulcimerhead fully at home with their progressive rock sound, such as the brilliantly reworked "Persian Trance." In contrast to the driving energy of the drum kit tracks, was the slow and lovely "From a Hill" with Dave's solo dulcimer. Both Daniela and Jason joined Dulcimerhead later in the show for a joyful improvisational jam -- honestly, this is why you have to see this band live. :)

At the end of the evening, we knew this thing was not over.

"Dark Mandala" was properly launched and celebrated, and we had built our intentional community -- what adventure would be next?


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Spiritfest is NOT over!

Still feeling the resonance -- the Dulcimerhead Spiritfest is NOT over! We weren't 100% sure what we were doing with that festival, but WOW -- now it's clear. It was a one-day intentional community start-up. Some of our exhibitors have put it into the words we did not have: that now we have connected, we remain connected and that space can be re-opened any time. There will be other Spiritfests. For Sure.

Wherever people gather in little pockets with the intention of opening a space for each other's talents and creativity -- it stopped being a craft show, or an art show, or a concert or a non-profit organization fundraiser. It became a big home, a mini-utopia, a transpersonal experience. But it wasn't a participation mystique -- we didn't at any point lose ourselves. We all became MORE our own sweet selves.

I was permanently changed by it.

I can barely wait to tell you more about it. :)

And there will be photos!!