Kim Baker: News & Journal

Greetings everyone~

The weather has been so warm on the coast lately, that I am constantly yearning to go to the beach! :) Unfortunately, I've been so busy that I've only found my way
over there once or twice. However, I did find some time over this past weekend to do some more recording in the studio. I've been writing a lot these days, and I am
always grateful for the opportunity to get to record in any fashion. I recorded three songs (live ~ piano and vocals only), but mostly focused on my newest one, entitled "Reach Out." You can check out a rough mix on the music page:
http://www.kimbaker.com/music.html I also had a chance to upload a few photos from the session: http://www.kimbaker.com/photos.html I just love the internet age because I can interact with all of you, even on the days I'm not performing.

I've been thinking a lot lately about how important it is in life to reach out to one another, especially during difficult times, and that is what my new song is about. I am constantly amazed by the stories I hear, on almost a daily basis, about what is happening in people's lives right now. Just last week I was talking with someone I work with about how her son has completed two tours of duty in Iraq. On
his second tour of duty, he was injured during an explosion (shrapnel in the leg) and has had to have several surgeries to repair the damage, but some of it is irreversible. He is only 20 years old. She simply feels grateful that her son is alive. And this is just one story of many, as you all know... So, I guess a lot of my grief about what is happening in the world is coming out in my songwriting right
now. I think that sending out love to one another is so important during times like these. I hope that you enjoy the new song.

In any case, I hope this note finds you all well, and I will certainly keep you
posted as to when the next live shows will be. I am working on several things right now.

Thanks for listening,
~Kim

Please sign the guestbook if you have a chance. I would love to hear from you! :)

http://www.kimbaker.com/guestbook.html

Greetings everyone~

The sun is finally shining here in the Bay Area! I think everyone is
breathing a heavy sigh of relief after all of the rain, and the impact it
has had on our different communities. My little town was very much
affected by the closure of devil's slide, the road which used to happily
lead us all into downtown San Francisco. Unfortunately we now all have to
come and go from the coastside on the same road, and the traffic has been
horrendous. Fortunately, I always use that time I am stuck in traffic to
sing, listen to some of my favorite indie artists, or appreciate the
details of the beautiful green scenery just outside my window.

This past weekend I was thrilled to be able to perform down in Long Beach,
CA. And I was equally elated to be joined on stage at the last minute by
my good friend Janelle Boatright. I have uploaded some photos from the
performance, so please stop by the photo gallery when you have a chance:
http://www.kimbaker.com/photos.html We had such a good time down at the
festival, and were blown away by the diversity of artists and musicians
who took part in the festivities. I certainly hope to be back there next
year with the full band!

In other news, we are just days away now from the official launch of the
Rising Tide "Expression Sessions" CD on-line. It will be featured
exclusively in my new BurnLounge music store, which can be found at:
http://www.burnlounge.com/kimbaker. Right now, while they are finishing
the licensing and upload process, I have been featuring some other artists
who I admire there, so please stop by in the meantime and take a look.
And, I will be sure to let you all know the moment that our CDs are
featured in the store, and available for download.

Lastly, just as a reminder, Rising Tide will be performing a week from
tonight down in Santa Cruz at the Crepe Place. Below are all of the
details. We haven't been able to do many shows on the coastside since the
slide went out, so we certainly hope that you all can make this one:

Wednesday, May 31st @ 7pm
The Crepe Place
1134 Soquel Avenue
Santa Cruz, CA 95062
(831) 429-6994 ~ phone

Thank you so much for your continued support!
All the best,
~Kim


Please sign the guestbook:
http://www.kimbaker.com/guestbook.html
Listen to the latest MP3s:
http://www.kimbaker.com/music.html
Browse the photo gallery:
http://www.kimbaker.com/photos.html
Buy a CD and pass it along to a friend:
http://www.cdbaby.com/all/kimbaker
Pay a visit to the MySpace.com page:
http://www.myspace.com/kimbakermusic

Greetings to all! I hope that this newsletter finds you well. This will be a quick note, but I just wanted to share my good news with all of you. I was finally able to find time in the recording studio this past month to record some of my new piano pieces!

I did three new songs, recorded live to 2 inch analog tape, at OTR Studios in Belmont, CA. It was SO much fun! I'd like to extend a big thanks to Andy and Cookie for all of their help! You can read more about the studio at: http://www.otrstudios.com
I will officially be releasing a special version of the single "Before" next month, once the final touches are complete, but for now, you can listen to a two minute sample of what we did by clicking on the following link:

http://www.kimbaker.com/music.html
We also took some photos that day with a digital camera. It was one of those magical afternoons where the weather was perfect, and we even had deer roaming outside of the studio while we were recording. So make sure you take a quick peek at the photo gallery too:

http://www.kimbaker.com/photos.html
Also, I am very excited to announce that I was selected to play at the Long Beach Pride Festival next month. I am very enthusiastic about it because I have heard already that they are anticipating around 90,000 people to attend! I am sure that it will be quite a magnificent weekend. If you'd like more specific information on that event, please visit:

http://www.longbeachpride.com I will be performing Sunday, May 21st at 1pm.

The next Bay Area show will be in Santa Cruz, at the Crepe Place from 7-10pm:

The Crepe Place
1134 Soquel Avenue
Santa Cruz, CA 95062
(831) 429-6994

Thanks so much for all of your continued support, and thanks too for taking the time to listen to my new piano song! It has literally been a joy for me to work on it, and equally so, to now be able to share it with you.

All the best,
~Kim


------------------------------------------------------
On MySpace.com:
http://www.myspace.com/kimbakermusic
Record Label:
http://www.earthwaterrecords.com
Kim Baker:
http://www.kimbaker.com ------------------------------------------------------

I am very excited to tell you all about a special concert we're doing on March 18th in Sausalito. I've been looking forward to this show for quite a long time because I will be debuting six new songs, including three that I just recently wrote on the
piano. For those of you who don't remember, my keyboard was stolen a few years back when someone broke into our rehearsal studio. This unfortunately has made it close to impossible for me to perform live on the piano.

So suffice it to say, I am really looking forward to performing on the piano again after a long hiatus. I so hope that you can make it out for this show. Krista will be there as well to both play guitar and sing. I am really excited to be doing this and am deeply gratfeul to Jim Burklo for all of his support surrounding this
concert! Here are all of the specific details about the show:

WHERE: Sausalito Presbyterian Church
WHEN: Saturday, March 18th at 8pm
LOCATION: 112 Bulkley Avenue, Sausalito
COVER: $8 ($5 for students/seniors)
VENUE WEBSITE: http://www.sausalitopresbyterian.com PARKING: Parking in Sausalito can be a little tricky, so you might want to allow a little extra time to get there.
Advanced tickets available by emailing: info@kimbaker.com

OTHER HAPPENINGS:

Music Musketeers Spotlight:
A few weeks ago, I was selected by the local Bay Area company Music Muskateers, as one of their featured artists. You can read all about it at the link below. Thanks
Lisa! http://www.charityadvantage.com/musicmusketeers/KimBaker.asp
The New MySpace.com Page:
Please stop by for a visit and say hello.
http://www.myspace.com/kimbakermusic
Solstice's Ten Year Anniversay Concert:
Krista's group "Solstice" will be holding their Ten Year Anniversary Concert on March 25th in San Francisco. For additional info, you can check out their website at: http://www.solsticesings.com
Julia's New Band:
Julia Harrell, a great drummer and friend, is rocking out with a new band by the name of Slapback. You can read more about them and their upcoming shows at:
http://www.slapback.net
News on the Expression CDs:
And finally, I just wanted to extend my deepest thanks to Rico Macalma, the amazing rock-god guitarist and engineer, for all of the hard work he has done, and continues to do, on mixing and mastering the songs we recorded last year at Expression Center for New Media. He should be done soon, and then they'll be off to the duplication plant. In the meantime, I'm sure Rico would love it too if you stopped by his website to say hello: http://www.ricomacalma.com
Well, that's all the news I can think of for now. We hope to see you all at the
show on March 18th. If you'd like to save a dollar and order an advanced ticket, just email: info@kimbaker.com

Thanks again for all of your support.
Take care,
~Kim

Check out Kim's new MySpace.com page: http://www.myspace.com/kimbakermusic

Just a quick note to let you all know the good news I was alerted to this weekend. I was officially selected today, by local Bay Area company Music Muskateers, as one of their featured artists. You can read all about it at: http://www.charityadvantage.com/musicmusketeers/KimBaker.asp
A very special thanks to Lisa for all she is doing with this organization, which is dedicated to bringing music back into the lives of children. She was recently written up in the Mercury News, as well as interviewed on Live 105 radio about her work with Music Muskateers. So make sure you check out her "press" page when you are there.

In other news, I've been writing a lot of new songs lately and plan on heading back into the recording studio to work on them. For now, you can read the lyrics and stories on my website: http://www.kimbaker.com/music.html
Oh, and Happy Chinese New Year! Apparently today is the first day of the Year of the Dog, which is an incredibly good thing for humanity. :)

All the best,
~Kim


To order a CD on-line:
http://www.cdbaby.com/all/kimbaker
To check out the photo gallery:
http://www.kimbaker.com/photos.html
To just say hello:
http://www.kimbaker.com/guestbook.html

Happy New Year everyone! I hope that you all had a wonderful holiday season. I've been readjusting to the cold and rainy weather of Northern California after my wonderful little hiatus in the warm waters of Maui. Since returning, I have been working on some new songs, which I wrote while I was in Hawaii, as well as preparing to release the Expression Sessions CDs, which we recorded last year.

In the live concert department, we will be starting our bi-monthly performance schedule at Cafe Classique in El Granada the first and third Saturdays of the month, starting on February 4th. Hope to see you there. We will also be performing up in Sausalito at the Sausalito Presbyterian Church on March 18th, as a part of a concert series I am creating to raise awareness for the Center for Progressive Christianity (http://www.tcpc.org), a wonderful organization I have come to know thanks to my good friend Jim Burklo. So, I hope that you can make it out to that performance as well.

This Spring I will also be hosting my first benefit concert here on the coast, the proceeds of which will be supporting The Matthew Shepard Foundation (http://www.matthewshepard.org) a wonderful organization based in Wyoming dedicated to replacing hate with understanding, compassion and acceptance. So please stay tuned for more information about that concert as well.

I hope this newsletter finds you all well.

All the best,
~Kim


Upcoming Concert Calendar:

Cafe Classique
Sat. February 4th and 14th, 2006
107 Avenue Sevilla, El Granada, CA
(650) 726-9775
11am-1pm

Cafe Classique
Sat. March 4th and 18th, 2006
107 Avenue Sevilla, El Granada, CA
(650) 726-9775
11am-1pm

Sausalito Presbyterian Church
Sat. March 18th, 2006
112 Bulkley Avenue, Sausalito, CA
(415) 332-3790
8pm-10pm

Happy Holidays~

I wanted to take this opportunity to extend my deepest thanks to all of you who have supported me during this past year. It has been quite a journey for me, and I am grateful to everyone who has been there to help me along the way. I just returned from my trip to Maui. It was truly a life transforming experience, and I am thrilled to report that I wrote five new songs while I was there, which I hope to record sometime in 2006.

Speaking of which, after the first of the year we will finally be releasing the
"Expression Sessions" CDs, which I know a lot of you have been eagerly awaiting for some time. We were blessed with the opportunity to try out recording some of the newer material this past year at the Expression Center for New Media in Emeryville, CA, and we have put together a couple of demo CDs from those sessions which will be available in limited quantities for a short time after the first of the year.

There will be two CDs released, one under the name "Kim Baker," which will feature acoustic numbers and band numbers, as well as one under the name "Rising Tide," which will focus entirely on the more rockin' numbers. For more info, you can visit our websites at: http://www.kimbaker.com and http://www.risingtideband.com. I am really excited about them both, and wanted to say a special thanks to all those who contributed, especially Krista Enos, Rico Macalma, Julia Harrell and Ariane Cap, as well as all of the students and teachers over at Expression who were a part of this project. In my January newsletter, I will be sending out a free podcast song from each of the CDs, so please stay tuned...

I hope that you all have a wonderful holiday season and I look forward to seeing you at the live shows after the first of the year.

All the best,
~Kim

To read about the new songs:
http://www.kimbaker.com/music.html
To order a CD on-line:
http://www.cdbaby.com/all/kimbaker
To check out the photo gallery:
http://www.kimbaker.com/photos.html
To just say hello:
http://www.kimbaker.com/guestbook.html

Greetings from the island of Maui~

I am so blessed to be here in Hawaii, and have had so many adventures that I'm not really sure where to begin. :) I am currently at a local wireless internet cafe on the island listening to another great singer-songwriter I discovered when I first arrived here, Erin Smith: http://www.erinsmith.ca. Check out her music if you have a chance. I particulary love her song "One of the Boys." This island is literally
swimming with wonderful artists, both musical and otherwise. I have taken lots of pictures, and plan on taking a lot more. I'll be publishing some of them in my photo gallery: http://www.kimbaker.com/photos.html, so please drop by for a visit.

Today I went to the Iao Valley. It was one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen in my entire life. There was just something incredibly spiritual about the
place ~ almost indescribable. Many people died there in a battle years ago, so I am sure that that has something to do with how powerful a place it is today. The feeling in the air is practically tangible. I have also been swimming in the ocean every day, and appreciating what a truly magical place this is. It has been deeply
creatively inspiring as well. I have already written two new songs, and am working on several more.

When I return to California in December, I will have several concert events to tell you all about, but I shall save that for the next newsletter. In any case, I hope this note finds you all well, and that you have a wonderful Thanksgiving next week. There is much to be thankful for, isn't there? Please keep in touch. I would love to hear from you.

Aloha Nui,
~Kim

http://www.kimbaker.com/photos.html (to check out photos from Maui)
http://www.kimbaker.com/music.html (to hear sound clips and read lyrics)
http://www.kimbaker.com/guestbook.html (to just say hello :))

It is finally sunny out here on the beautiful coast after the overcast skies of summer. I am grateful to be able to live here, especially on the days when it is quiet and the water is still. I also wanted to let you know about this last upcoming performance before I head out of state until early December. This Saturday, Krista and I will be performing for Pumpkin Festival weekend at Cafe Classique in El Granada. It's a free, outdoor show with lots of good food and hopefully sunshine. Hope you can join us.

Sunday, October 16th, 2005
Cafe Classique
11am-1pm
107 Sevilla Avenue
El Granada, CA 94019
(650) 726-9775

When I return from my trip, there will be lots of events happening and I will be sure to keep you up to date on all of them. For now, I shall leave you with a poem that a friend of mine forwarded me today:

"I will not die an unlived life.
I will not live in fear of falling or catching fire.
I chose to inhabit my days, to allow my living
to open me,
to make me less afraid, more accessible,
to loosen my heart until it becomes a wing,
a torch, a promise.
I choose to risk my significance;
to live so that which came to me as seed
goes to the next as blossom,
and that which came to me as blossom,
goes on as fruit."

~Dawna Markova

Thanks again for supporting independent music!

All the best,
~Kim


To read about the new songs:
http://www.kimbaker.com/music.html
To order a CD on-line (all proceeds going to the Red Cross):
http://www.cdbaby.com/all/kimbaker
To check out the photo gallery:
http://www.kimbaker.com/photos.html
To just say hello:
http://www.kimbaker.com/guestbook.html

------------------------------------
Kim Baker
P.O. Box 883
Moss Beach, CA 94038
http://www.kimbaker.com kim@kimbaker.com
------------------------------------

The fall is finally upon us here on the Coastside. It is definitely the best season of the whole year in my opinion. It is typically when the sun finally comes out after a long, summertime hiatus. Sounds backwards I know, but it is definitely a beautiful place to call home. The pumpkins are already popping up alongside the road in preparation for our annual Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival. I love seeing all of the fresh fall colors.

I just have a few things to report this month on the musical front. I had a wonderful time on tour a couple of weeks ago, especially performing down in Savannah, GA with Jennifer Daniels. The weather was absolutely beautiful and I was able to walk around Savannah with my friends and see all of the wonderful history. My favorite part was the cobblestone streets by the waterfront. It had such a sense of history there. Our concert was right after the hurricane hit, and it was difficult for me to focus on anything other than the fact that so many people were suffering such a short distance from where we all were. I was therefore grateful when the President of CD Baby (the company which distributes our CDs online) sent out an email asking all of the artists if they would be willing to forward all proceeds from their CD sales to the relief efforts going out to support those who were affected by Hurricane Katrina. I signed up all three of our CDs immediately, so if you were thinking of buying a copy, now would be a great time because 100% of the proceeds will go directly to the hurricane relief efforts. Here's the link if you're interested: http://www.cdbaby.com/all/kimbaker
I've been working on some new songs as well over the past few weeks, and have just posted all of the lyrics in the "Music" section of my website: http://www.kimbaker.com/music.html
And for you Bay Area folks, here is a listing of some of the upcoming shows:

Sat. September 24th (band show)
Sun Microsystems ~ 8pm-10pm
Santa Clara, CA

Sun. October 2nd (duo show)
Cafe Classique ~ 11am-1pm
107 Sevilla Avenue
El Granada, CA
(650) 726-9775

Wed. October 5th (duo show)
The Crepe Place ~ 7pm-9pm
1134 Soquel Avenue
Santa Cruz CA 95062
(831) 429-6994

Thanks so much for all of your support!
Hope to see you at one of the shows.
Take care,
~Kim

Hello everyone,

What a wonderful experience it was to play in the Southeast again last month. I was thrilled to be able to come out and do some shows with Tennessee-based artist, Jennifer Daniels and her husband Jeff. They are both such wonderful people and amazing musicians too. I can't seem to say enough good things about them and their music. My favorite part of the whole trip was when we got to perform together on stage at Eddie's Attic (my old stomping ground in Atlanta, GA). There are some photos from the show in my website photo gallery: http://www.kimbaker.com/photos.html
Sharing the experience of music on stage with other artists is always one of my favorite things in the world to do. You can read more about Jennifer's music on her website: http://www.jenniferdaniels.com. She and Jeff will be joining me for some dates out in California in the near future, so please stay tuned for more details. And as fate would have it, I will be heading back out to Georgia on tour again this September to perform in Savannah, and I am very excited about that opportunity as well (a big thanks to Mary and Flash for inviting Jennifer, Jeff and I down for the show!):

Sat. September 3, 2005
House Concert at Mary's
Kim Baker & Jennifer Daniels
108 Talahi Island Place
Savannah, GA 31410
Time: 8pm
Cost: $10-$20, sliding scale
(beverages and snacks will be provided)

When I return from my trip back east, I will be doing some more local Bay Area shows (more details on the website) and then preparing for my month-long exodus to Maui in November. I'm really looking forward to dwelling in a creative, nurturing environment for awhile, and am deeply grateful to my friend Linda for having me out. When I'm not splashing around in the warm water, my plan is to hole up with my guitar and sing, sing sing! In fact, my hope is to come home with a whole list of new songs in my pocket! :)

I hope you are all having a wonderful summer and I look forward to seeing you at one of the upcoming shows. Thanks so much again for supporting independent music.

All the best,
~Kim

RAPTURE
Words and music by Kim Baker
08/14/05

An angel, she told me, of your wounds so deep
Makes me want to carry you down to the ocean’s keep
And sit with you there as the waves rush in
The ocean’s spirit will heal us within

Because my friend, I too have been hurt
Beyond measure or words, I yearn to revert
To a place inside, where we all swim free
Nothing left but rapture for you and me

The love I feel, it’s strong and it’s pure
With no expectation for anything more
So I wait with a smile I’ve barely known before
And hope inside for a knock at my door

Because my friend, I too have been hurt
Beyond measure or words, I yearn to revert
To a place inside, where we all swim free
Nothing left but rapture for you and me

An angel, she told me that much remains unseen
To have patience and understanding, so true love can glean
So I lay down all assumptions and reach out my hand
To you, my friend, at this promised land

Because my friend, I too have been hurt
Beyond measure or words, I yearn to revert
To a place inside, where we all swim free
Nothing left but rapture for you and me

Nothing left but rapture for you and me

~

Rapture:
1) The state of being transported by a lofty emotion; ecstasy.
2) An expression of ecstatic feeling. Often used in the plural.
3) The transporting of a person from one place to another, especially to heaven.

KIM BAKER NEWSLETTER
July 2005

A Note From Kim:
I am sitting here, looking out the window of my house at the beautiful blue ocean. It is so incredibly peaceful. I can't help but think about the hurricane that just passed through the Southeast, where I am scheduled to tour later this week. I hope that all of the people there are okay and are recovering in one piece. It's ironic because I was just practicing a new song I wrote entitled "Hurricane" a few days ago for my show in Atlanta, and now it seems particularly serendipitous, considering that I will actually be needing to fly through the aftermath of a real hurricane to get there.

Earlier this morning I was playing the piano. I feel as if I am reconnecting with an old friend everytime I sit down to play, and I am loving every minute of it. It reminds me of my early days in high school when playing the piano everyday after school was the only thing that got me through. I'm sure a lot of you can relate to that story. :) I started to play and sing "Imagine" by John Lennon ~ what an amazing song, so simple and so good. It got me to thinking about how we are all so connected on this tiny little planet of ours, and how I wish that we could
all find a sense of peace together during our short visit here...

Below is a listing of all of the current news and events going on in my world. I hope to see you soon at one of the live shows. Please stop by the new website and sign the guestbook because I would love to hear from you: http://www.kimbaker.com/guestbook.html.

And thank you so much for supporting my music all of these years. ~Kim


HEADLINES:

UPCOMING TOUR
*I will be traveling through the Southeast later this week, playing shows in
Atlanta, GA and Chattanooga, TN with fellow artist Jennifer Daniels. I am really
excited about returning to my old stomping ground, even if it means traveling though a hurricane to get there. :)

UPCOMING SCHEDULE:
*THU. JULY 14TH: RHYTHM & BREWS ~ CHATTANOOGA, TN
*SAT. JULY 16TH: EDDIE'S ATTIC ~ DECATUR, GA
*THU. JULY 21ST: EXPRESSION CENTER FOR NEW MEDIA
*FRI. JULY 22ND: PIONEER SALOON ~ WOODSIDE, CA

For more specific information, please visit:
http://www.kimbaker.com/calendar.html
Also, Maria Camacho is now handling all of my booking inquiries and can be reached at: booking@kimbaker.com, or by calling: (408) 910-7599

NEW CD AVAILABLE
*The new "Little Fox Theater CD" is now available for purchase on-line (via CD Baby). This was the CD I released the night of my concert at the Little Fox Theater in Redwood City with the Heather Combs Band. To view the complete on-line catalog,
visit: http://www.cdbaby.com/all/kimbaker
LIVE PERFORMANCE DVD
*This Fall I will be releasing a DVD with excerpts from some of my recent
performances, including my show at the Little Fox Theater and appearance on the Bruce Latimer TV Show. By the way, a big thanks to Bruce Latimer, who just celebrated his 700th show here in the Bay Area! :) If you're interested in pre-ordering a copy of the DVD, please email: info@kimbaker.com

RISING TIDE DEMO CD
*After finishing our recording at Expression Center for New Media this past Winter, the band (Krista, Julia, Rico and Ariane) and I have been busy preparing some mixes for a special demo CD, which we will be releasing later this summer. We will also be planning some shows around its release. You can read more about it at: http://www.risingtideband.com
BLUE COAST RECORDS
*I am currently honored to be doing some work with Bay Area record label Blue Coast Records, founded by my producer and friend, Cookie Marenco. Blue Coast just released its first compilation CD this month, and you can read all about it at: http://www.bluecoastrecords.com
Thanks again for supporting independent music!

Thanks so much to all of you who made it out for the show at the Little Fox Theater! It was such a great time. And thanks too to Heather Combs and her band. If you haven't already, be sure to stop by their website too at: www.heathercombs.com. For those of you who weren't able to make it out to the show, but would like to buy a copy of the Little Fox CD Sampler released that night, it is now being distributed on CD Baby: www.cdbaby.com/cd/kimbaker2
And finally, we just finished uploading some photos from the concert, so be sure to stop by the photo gallery before you leave. Look forward to seeing you all at the next show! Thanks again for coming out.

Please come out to the show at the Little Fox Theater on March 19th because we will be releasing a limited edition CD that night featuring four special mixes of the material that we just recorded in the studio. Also included on the CD will be specially selected tracks from previous albums. There will be a limited amount available, and they will all be hand signed and numbered. Hope to see you at the show!