Well, the seven of us are off to Germany tomorrow!  I'm more anxious than excited at this point because I live in fear of forgetting something unrecoverable.  I think I've got it all covered however.  I'm looking forward to being on the plane and being able to relax into the reality of the trip.  We've all worked so hard to raise the money to cover the costs of this and the project kept growing!  What was originally to be performing at an international music festival (Festival Maritim in Vegesack, Bremen, Germany) grew into entertaining our wounded troops at the largest American military hospital outside of the US and two American airbases for airmen and their families.  PLUS three radio interview, PLUS Armed Forces Television covering our show at the miitary hospital.  PLUS the whole Operation Share the Shanties project of giving CDs with personal notes from everyone who could get involved to the military personnel we encounter.  

Simply amazing.  This group is the best, the absolute best company of friends I've ever associated with.

I will miss my dear wife, Richelle, of course.  She has four fuzzy kids to keep her company, but I will only have a plate of wienerschnitzel and sauerkraut to keep me warm at night.  Sigh.

So, we're keeping a blog of the trip:  please visit it and say hello?  http://bounding.wohlershome.net/blog/

Have fun everyone! 

Tags: a capella, bounding main, festival maritim, germany, sea shanties
Current Location: Home Office
Current Music: Maine Songs by Schooner Fare

Hello to the Mainiacs, and welcome to our new friends!

Well.  Two weeks from today, Bounding Main will be onstage at the Festival Maritim, and prepping to make our tour of Amsterdam and the US armed force populace of southern Germany.  Wowow.  It's hard to believe that we six shanty singers are on our way to such a remarkable set of gigs.  We are so very grateful to all of you for your support.  This trip would literally not be happening if not for our loyal Mainiacs.

Jon has designed a greeting card for you folks.  Please check out this link, and watch until the end.  http://deport.boundingmain.com/   

Some new news, it looks like our performance at Landstuhl Hospital is going to be picked up by Armed Forces TV network.  Also, we will be interviewed live on Armed Forces radio.  Neato!!!

Question for you creative Mainiacs.  Do you have suggestions for a photo pose that the six of us could do, in various places we visit? (the airport, onstage, in a hotel, flirting with troops, in front of sign posts, at a castle etc etc).  Think big! Think uncomfortable! Think impossible!! Or you know, just fun and easy.  Harrrrrr

Next week, I'll send you a link to a trip blog which we will update fairly often from Europe, if our techno-geek friend Wohlers has anything to say about it.

~ Gunner Maggie
http://www.boundingmain.com

Tags: bounding main, festival maritim, folk music, maritime music, sea shanties
Current Location: Secret Hideout
Current Mood: indescribable

So, many of you know we're going to Festival Maritim in the suburb of Bremen called Vegesack.  Big multi-year maritime music festival.  We're totally honored to have been asked to attend.

We're not just attending, of course we're performing.  Excellent!  Such an exciting opportunity!

They posted the stage schedules recently.  We were in for a bit of a surprise.

We're the opening act for the entire festival.

Holy crap!

I am so pleased and speechless I'm running in circles and falling over.  Well, not so much now, as I've had some time to absorb this, but - holy moley!  So amazingly cool!

Tags: festival maritim
Current Location: Home Office
Current Mood: crazy
Current Music: Bilgemunky Radio

Oh, hey, did you see the press release for our trip to Germany?  I sent it out at the beginning of July so the August magazines could publish the information.  It might have been too early for the newspapers to not LOSE the info, but the the rep at PRWEB thought this was the way to go, so we did.  Check it out:  http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/07/prweb1060614.htm

Tags: bounding main, festival maritim, germany, landstuhl, press release, tour
Current Location: Secret Lair
Current Mood: happy