Mela celebrates the summer solstice!

What an amazing weekend of Mela and festivities!
Thursday night, the summer solstice, we had a wonderful celebration playing with The Cowies and all the songwriting elves of PS 8, who were lending some interpretive dance to our Mela performance on Montague street.

And then, from one Montague to another- Mela took her solo act to Montague, MA for Mutton and Mead Medieval Festival. She sang with the faeries, danced with the gypsies, played and serenaded patrons, knights, wenches and children, in rain, sunshine, woods and in the tavern.
She let the sounds of bagpipes and fiddles infuse her, as well as the transformative smell and spell of the forest.

Now on to more seafaring adventures! Besides working on grant research and lesson planning for Green Theatre Collective, Mela is off on a journey to beaches and oceans of the East Coast, teaching her original music to the cast of The Tempest in the Hamptons, and taking a retreat in Fire Island and Florida, working on writing songs for her summer conceptual project called Bruja Del Mar- Sea Witch.
I must away now, I can no longer tarry...

Upcoming Mela Events

July 14-15th, 20-22nd
Green Theatre Collective presents The Tempest, featuring music by MelaShelter Island and Amagansett, Long Island, NY

July 24th
10pm- Spike Hill

 August 25th
1pm- Laura Dunn!
3pm- The Waterfront Museum, Red Hook

EP is released and ready for purchase and download!

Friends and fans-
Mela has finally released their first ever EP entitled Red Dust! You can get your download here:

http://melamusic.bandcamp.com/album/red-dust

Or if you come to a show or see me in person, you can buy a physical CD, each one labeled by hand, and stamped by a stone hand-carved stamp from China, with my name in Chinese.
The release party was so much fun, and I think everyone's favorite part was singing along with the new song my students wrote about a gust of wind that steals your money.

Upcoming shows:

Saturday, May 5th
2-4pm @ the Waterfront Museum
Hudson River Park, Pier 25 in Tribeca at the foot of N. Moore St

Thursday June 21st
Make Music New York
Sidewalk of Grand Canyon Restaurant
Montague St. Brooklyn Heights
time TBA

Looking forward to some awesome Mela music making this summer!
love,
Mela

Mela EP release party March 26th!

If you ordered an EP from the Red Dust Kickstarter, now is your chance to come on out, hear some music, eat some FREE FOOD, and pick up your album or Polaroid! We worked hard making some musical magic with the amazing talents of:
Robert Cowie (in addition to the other members of his Jazz Flophouse- Otto and Ella, and Mama Medina :)
Not to mention the amazing:
Cody "The Anvil" Rahn,
Charlie "The Blanket" Rauh,
Concetta Abbate (we're still working on her nickname- any ideas?)
Nidia "Mama" Medina
Cydney McQuillan-Grace.

ALSO obviously if you haven't pre-ordered an album, this is your big chance to come by and buy one! The album includes such mystical seaside hits as:
By The Sea
Chiarascura (that's the weird one with the singing bowl)
Goodnight Baby
These Are the Days (mixed and mastered by Aaron Cohen)
Red Dust

So come on out, eat some of the FREE BUFFET (Did I mention the free food yet?), hear some great music, and get your album or artwork from Scott Walsh!

WHERE: LIC Bar,
45-58 Vernon Blvd, Long Island City, NY 11101
(That's Queens everyone. It feels farther away than it really is- take the 7 or G train it's easy I swear.)

WHEN: March 26th, 9-10pm.
(Also, another talented singer songwriter Kelly Ash will be performing at 8 if anyone wants to hang out with me and listen to her beforehand :)

WHAT? THERE'S MORE?: Yes! Not only will you hear lots of great music and pick up the album and eat, but you will hear some NEW songs, including music for Green Theatre Collective's summer production of The Tempest, a song set to Lyrics by Kickstarter Backer (and talented singer and novelist) Lee Harrington, and other treats!

Please let me know if you will be coming to pick up your EP or artwork so I can put your name on a list!

CAN'T WAIT!!!

in musical love and harmony and worldly instruments-
Mela

Kickstarter funded, recording sessions done, EP release coming soon!

Hi friends! Our Kickstarter for the EP "Red Dust" and a photography project by Scott Walsh has been fully funded! Thank you so much for your support and love!
Last week we had four fantastic recording sessions for the EP. Now Robert Cowie is doing his magic mastering, and we're hoping to be able to release the EP by the end of the month.

We'll be playing a show with the full band on March 26th at LIC Bar in Long Island City. Hopefully we'll be able to give out EPs and prints that were pre-ordered with the Kickstarter, and if not they won't be far behind!

Hope to see you on the 26th, and look out for out of town gigs and touring this summer!
love,
Mela

RED DUST: Kickstarter launch!

In February, we'll be recording our first 5-track EP titled Red Dust. My dear friend, and also our Ukulele player's husband, will be engineering the album from his home studio, with the assistance of Otto and Ella (the best dogs ever.) The album will feature percussion by Cody Rahn, guitar by Charlie Rauh, Viola/Violin by Concetta Abbate, vocals and Uke by Nidia Medina, vocals by Cydney McQuillan-Grace, and myself (voice, piano, guitar, marimachu)

In order to make this recording happen, we have just launched a Kickstarter, which is a fun new way of fund raising for creative projects. I'm collaborating with photographer Scott Walsh, who will be working on a series of Black and White photos of the subway and coney island. His artwork will eventually become the album artwork, but for now we are exploring the ideas of anthropology in music and photography; how culture influences landscape and human relationships.

How does Kickstarter work? For the increasing amounts that you donate, you always get something in return. For example, for $10 you will get a hard CD of our EP. For $150, you get an 8x10 original Black and White print from Scott, in addition to the CD.

To check out our Kickstarter page and make a donation, copy and paste the link below into your browser:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1472973675/red-dust-mela-and-scott-make-an-ep-and-a-photo-ser

AND check us out on January 30th in Long Island City:
Opening for Inti and the Moon
8pm
LIC Bar
45-58 Vernon Blvd. Long Island City, NY 11101

Happy New Year and thanks for all of your support in 2011!

January Events and updates

Dearest MELA fans!

Check here VERY soon (hopefully in the next day or so) for an update about our Kickstarter to raise money for the first Mela EP!

Melanie Closs will be teaming up with photographer Scott Walsh to create this debut EP titled Red Dust, plus a photo series by Scott exploring what transient traces we leave behind, whether human connection in Mela’s travels, impressions of a natural environment, or a mark of graffitti on a subway station wall.

We'll be posting soon about how to donate, and what you get in return.

Also, check us out on January 30th, opening for Inti and the Moon.

30 January
8pm
Free (plus Free buffet!)
LIC Bar (Long Island City)

Happy New Year! It's going to be a good one!
Mela