Steven Alvarado: News

Hi friends,

Well it's been quite a winter here in New York City. We've had record snow fall and I can tell you that I am ready for summer. I think we are about done with the snow after this last storm and I am very much looking forward to the warmer weather of Spring. The good thing about winter is that I am forced to stay in a lot and there is not much else to do but write songs, so that's what I've been doing!!

More news later...

Steven

Hi everyone,

Happy New Year!! It's a new decade, can you believe it? And what a great start I'm off to! I wrote two songs last night!

I guess it's official, I'm writing a new album. I usually like to keep that to myself for a while until I have most of it written, but what the hell... I figure I may as well tell everyone since I'm so excited about it.

Well, the songs are pretty damn good (if I do say so myself). I get the feeling this is going to be a really good album. The songs are from the heart, as always. I can't wait to share them with you. I hope to be in the studio by this summer.

As you know, once I get in the groove, I usually write pretty fast, two or three songs a day. Maybe a new album out by 2011? That sounds like pretty realistic to me.

Also, hope you like the minor website update we did. Changed the color and the cover page.

More news later,

Steven

Hi All,

I was fooling around with my camcorder and made this little music video of "Get This Far" for you. I shot it in my living room here in my New York apartment. It's by no means professional, it's just for fun.

I had fun making it so I hope you enjoy it. Go to YouTube and give it a bunch of stars!

-Steven

Hi friends,

I posted this last year and it was a big hit so I thought I'd do it again. It's "A Charlie Brown Christmas". Hope you enjoy it.

Happy Christmas & New Years everyone.

Steven


a charlie brown christmas

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Hi Everyone,

Just a quick note. It’s holiday season. Many in America will be celebrating Thanksgiving this weekend and then comes Christmas around the world. As most of you know, I’m not exactly religious, so giving thanks to some sort of god, seems a little silly to me and celebrating the birth of Christ is just plain vulgar. Especially since Christianity has such a violent and bloody history. I’m mean really—they hate and discriminate against EVERYONE!!

With that said, on the brighter side, I hope all of you spend this time of year enjoying the people, friends & family that you love and that mean the most to you. That’s all we really have in this life I think.

And may we have peace on earth, someday… (because as it turns out, Obama is going to continue both Bush wars.) I guess Lying politicians come in every package.

-Steven

Hi everyone,

So I’ve been considering something really cool. Launching a World-Tour via the internet.

Let me explain. What I’m talking about is a city-by-city tour web-cast from my New York City apartment. You would email me, we would schedule a date, you would gather your friends together at your place, and I would play a show in your living room right over the internet! I would play a different city each night and keep “touring” indefinitely.

You’ll need video-chat capability at home, but that’s easy enough. If you have a web-cam on your computer we could use Skype or Apple iChat/video.

I have always embraced technology and the internet has been an wonderful instrument for me distributing my music around the world. I’ve used it to book tours and sell CD’s & downloads, so it only makes sense that I would do an internet-tour.

Are you intrigued? I know I am! If you want to host an “Internet House Concert” at your place, email me and lets talk about it! You can be located anywhere in the world as long as you have an internet connection with video-chat capability.

This is an experiment, so if I get enough inquiries I’ll go forward. These shows will be free, so don’t be shy, send me an email!

I look forward to your emails.

stevenalvarado@yahoo.com

Steven

Hi All,

Let It Go got a really great review in LimeWire!  As most of you know, the new album has been out for over a year now.  It's nice knowing that it's still getting reviewed!

Have a look HERE

"On his third album, Let It Go, New York City singer-songwriter Steven Alvarado plumbs the emotional depths to come up with perhaps his most intimate, affecting offering yet. If there's one thing Alvarado seems to have learned over the years, it's the value of concision — Let It Go's ten songs take up less than half an hour. Quality trumps quantity, though, as Alvarado employs his rough-edged, emotive voice on a batch of tunes that dig way down into the dark underbelly of human emotions. The truths he comes up with aren't always pretty, but the sounds with which he frames them are consistently compelling. With a sort of post-Elvis Costello power-pop/folk-rock songwriting aesthetic, he offers indelible melodies to match every emotional sucker punch here. And while much of the album features little beyond Alvarado's own acoustic guitar and incisive singing to put the song across, when he does add other colors, he doesn't mess around: accompanists include Tom Waits' guitar genius Marc Ribot and quirky, inventive drummer-to-the-stars Kenny Wolleson."

 

-By Jim Allen, LimeWire Store

Hi everyone,

Well after just a little over a month I’m bored with that new blog I started and have decided to drop it. I’m not getting much traffic on it anyway, so I don’t feel like doing the extra work to maintain it. I love having my main website and would rather put the energy here where I know I get a ton of traffic from all of you. Anything more seems a bit redundant. I was starting to neglect this site and I don’t want to do that. I was giving away free downloads on that blog so maybe what I’ll do is give away a free download here every now and then.

In other news…

So as it turns out I ended up not touring this summer. I think I needed the break and sort of took an unofficial extended holiday. However, I have been writing new songs and working on getting more television placements so it wasn’t a complete wash. I’ll let you know if I get something new.

Hope you all had a great summer. More news later!

-Steven

Hi Friends!

I just got a great review from a popular music blog based in Newfoundland called The Next Big Thing. Check it out below.

Also, there’s a new post on my Song A Week blog:
http://stevenalvarado.blogspot.com/

Keep sending me those emails, I love hearing from you!

More news later…

-Steven


Steven Alvarado’s “Let It Go” is his fifth album. On Mott St. Records, it has a crack team of players on it and it’s quite latterday Springsteen although I’d have to say that the songs are better. Maybe it’s closer to Greg Trooper now that I think about it a little more. I don’t see this so much as Americana, it’s more electricity-fused acoustic. Not really pop but courting certain elements of that. Essentially these are stories set in very able arrangements that deserve to be heard. But where? As the planet continues to disappear up its own hind-end, there are less and less places to connect with good, honest music like this. Check it out in the confines of wherever you may be accessing this via the wonders of not-so modern technology.


-Lindsay Hutton

Hi Friends,

So I should be writing songs for a new album. I should be out on the road touring. But what am I doing? I’m headed to the beach again! It’s summer time, so give me a break!!

I’m usually the one working harder than anyone else, so I decided to give myself a break and have some fun for once and goof off all summer long.

I promise that I’ll get back to work soon and start writing some songs and playing some live shows. But for now, let’s all go to the beach!

In the meantime, I hope you have had a chance to check out my new “Song a Week” blog:

http://stevenalvarado.blogspot.com/
Drop by and say hi.

Cheers,

Steven

Hi Everyone,

I have a new posting on my new blog. Hope you are enjoying it each week. Drop by and say hi and don't forget to leave a comment!

-Steven

http://stevenalvarado.blogspot.com/

Hello everyone!

I am very excited to announce my new Blog! This is a new venture that I am very excited about because I am trying something completely new that I’ve never done before.

I’ve heard about a few songwriters out there that decided to post a song every week on their website or Blog and let people download it for free, with the option to buy it.

I like the idea of giving music away for free in order to introduce people to my music that may have never heard of me.

Fortunately, I own the rights to all of my music. I feel that if I let you know that the money goes straight to me every time you buy my music, it will make you feel good about supporting independent artists. So please, download the free song, and then if you like it buy my music! This of course helps me to continue to make music for all the world to enjoy.

Any postings on my new Blog will also be posted here, so don’t worry, you won’t miss anything if you don’t make it over to the Blog.

Please go check it out!

http://stevenalvarado.blogspot.com/
-Steven Alvarado

Hello my friends,

Just a quick update. Not a lot going on at the moment, just enjoying some summer time here in New York City. I took a little holiday and went to the beach for a week. Us New Yorkers go to Fire Island in the summer. It’s a quiet little paradise, as you can see in the photo. I’m going back for more in another week or so.

I’m starting to work on some new songs. I’ll keep you posted on any new plans for recording. I’m just now starting to gather the band together. My friend Kenny Wollesen will be playing drums again and hopefully Marc Ribot will be available again for electric guitar. I’m still working on some more tour dates this year but nothing to announce yet. I can at least tell you that they will be American dates. I don’t tour enough here, so I’m working on trying to fix that.

Thanks for checking in. That’s all I have for now but keep checking back!

-Steven

Hi Friends,

A great radio show in Skopje, Macedonia called Mojo Alt Fridays on National FM Radio is playing songs from Let It Go. Skopje is the capitol of the Republic of Macedonia, a small European country. Skopje is a city of rich cultural history and ancient origins and is located near Belgrade and Athens. Among other things, Skopje is known for being the birthplace of Mother Teresa, and is home of one of the most important jazz festivals in Europe, The Skopje Jazz Fesitval.

More news later!

-Steven

Mojo Alt Fridays 10PM-12PM
94.1 FM Radio 2
Skopje, Macedonia

Producer & Host: Vasja Ivanovski
http://www.myspace.com/440600242
Currently playing:

Steven Alvarado “New York”
Steven Alvarado “It’s Alright”
(CD Let It Go – Mott Street Records)

Hi Friends,

Fausto Fernos & Marc Felion of the very famous website & podcast Feast of Fools featured my song Burning Bridges on their show today. It’s their Cinco De Mayo show. They were off a bit on my heritage (my family origins are from Spain, not Mexico) but that’s OK. I’m just happy they played my song.

The podcast is a comedy show and Fausto & Marc are very funny. Visit the website here:

http://www.feastoffools.net/gay-fun-show/2009/05/07/fof-981-siete-de-mayo-050709/
Play the show here:


The song comes on near the very end.

More news later!

-Steven

Hi Friends,

A great radio show in The Netherlands called Radio Girl added my song "It's For You" to their playlist.  The album is still going strong!

You can click here to listen to the March 28th show, which is what I'm on: http://www.rootsparadise.nl/radiogirl/files/radiogirl.mp3

More news later!

-Steven

 

 

Partial Playlist March 28th, 2009:
The Coal Porters, "Final Wild Son"; Turn The Water On, Boy! (Prima Records, www.myspace.com/thecoalporters)

The Coal Porters, "Idiot Wind"; How Dark This Earth Will Shine (Prima Records, www.myspace.com/thecoalporters)

Mark Boulle and The Haba Dudes, "Wasted"; Music Will Make You Go Insane (Self-Released/Hemifran, www.myspace.com/markboulle)

Sarah Blackwood, "Bad Job Jesus"; Way Back Home (Wolverine Records, www.myspace.com/sarahblackwood)

Luke Powers, "W Road Ghost"; Texasee (Phoebe Claire Publishing/Hemifran, www.texasee.com)

Joe Moe w/ Paul Lacques, "Car On A Hill"; Mainland (Puluphonic Records/Hemifran, www.gojoemoe.com)

Vanessa Peters & Ice Cream On Mondays, "Drowning In Amsterdam"; Sweetheart, Keep Your Chin Up (Little Sandwich Music, www.vanessapeters.com)

Saul Broudy, "Starlight On The Rails"; Various Artists - Singing Through The Hard Times - A Tribute To Utah Phillips (Righteous Babe/Hemifran)

Mickey Clark w/ Jerry Jeff Walker, Robin & Linda Williams, "Goodnight Loving Trail"; Winding Highways (Ear X-tacy Records/Sonic RendezVous)

Chelsea Hotel w/ Ellen ten Damme, "Cherry Red Car"; Don Quijote (Rossinant Records/Sonic RendezVous)

Chris Laterzo and Buffalo Robe, "Holiday Inn"; Juniper And Piñon (Yampa Records/Hemifran, www.chrislaterzo.com)

Steven Alvarado, "It's For You"; Let It Go (Mott St Records/Hemifran, www.stevenalvarado.com)
Ben Lee, "Sing"; The Rebirth Of Venus (New West Records/Sonic RendezVous)

My Brave Love, "Another Souvenir"; Heaven In Your Arms (Self-Released, www.mybravelove.com)

Hi everyone,

My friend Cariad Harmon has her first album coming out and did a show here in New York to celebrate it. I shot some video for her and wanted to share it with you. I think you'll enjoy it!

-Steven

..

Hi friends,

Let it Go has been out now 11 months, and still the reviews keep coming in from around the world. It's pretty exciting that the new album has done so well and garnered so much interest.

Here are a couple of new reviews to share:

Steven Alvarado - Let It Go (Mott Street)

Met ‘The Howl Sessions’ raakte Alvarado drie jaar geleden uit de obscuriteit. De singer-songwriter die opgroeide in Los Angeles was in 2001 via Nashville in New York City beland en had voordien in eigen beheer al twee langspelers uitgebracht. ‘Let It Go’ is een wat somber klinkend werkstuk waarin Alvarado zijn zielenroerselen blootlegt met rauwe klagelijke zang.

Dat gebeurt meestal op een rustige manier, met uitzondering van de forse opener waarin percussief akoestisch snarenwerk van Alvarado het gezelschap krijgt van de rinkelende elektrische gitaar van Marc Ribot, bekend van zijn werk met Elvis Costello en Tom Waits. Naast een percussionist uit het entourage van Tom Waits is er een ritmesectie met connecties bij Rufus Wainwright, Rickie Lee Jones en Shaw Colvin. Pianist Rob Burger kennen we van zijn recente samenwerking met Lucinda Williams. Deze gereputeerde muzikanten vervullen hun werk meer dan voortreffelijk en het puike songwerk krijgt nog meer glans met subtiele accenten. In het treurige New York herinnert de stem van Alvarado enigszins aan de rasp van Waits, maar dan in een soort light versie, evenals bij ’It’s Allright’, dat op sloom twangend snarenwerk drijft en waarin Steven terugblikt naar zijn verblijf in Nashville. Het vroegere werk heb ik even fragmentarisch beluisterd op het net. Niet onverdienstelijk, vooral ‘The Howling Sessions’. De tien nummers van ‘Let It Go’ klinken ongetwijfeld stuk voor stuk meer beklijvend. Ongetwijfeld het beste dat we tot dusver van deze getalenteerde songwriter gehoord hebben.

-Cis Van Looy, Keys & Chords Magazine

Google Translate:

With The Howl Sessions Alvarado was three years ago from the obscurity.

The singer-songwriter who grew up in Los Angeles in 2001 by Nashville in New York City and brings in his own administration had previously been given two long-players. Let It Go is a rather gloomy sounding piece which Alvarado his soul stirring principles exposed complainant to establish a raw vocals.

This is usually done in a peaceful way, with the exception of the strong opener which percussief acoustic strings work of Alvarado the company receives from the tinkling electric guitar of Marc Ribot, known for his work with Elvis Costello and Tom Waits. In addition to a percussionist from the entourage of Tom Waits is a rhythm section with links to Rufus Wainwright, Rickie Lee Jones and Shaw Colvin. Pianist Rob Burger, we know of his recent collaboration with Lucinda Williams. This renowned musicians perform their work more than excellent song and a very fine piece of work gets even more shine with subtle accents. In New York, the sad voice of Alvarado slightly to the rasp of Waits, but in a kind of light version, as in 'It's Allright ", which slow Twan ing strings work drives and Steven looks back to his residence in Nashville. The former work, I just listened to patchy on the net. Not full service, especially 'The Howling Sessions. The ten songs of "Let It Go 'sound certainly all more persistent. Undoubtedly the best we have so far heard this talented songwriter.

-Cis Van Looy, Keys & Chords Magazine


Steven Alvarado – Let It Go
Ook Steven Alvarado heeft op Let It Go een paar prima gasten, waar Marc Ribot de opvallendste van is. Ribot voegt met zijn electrische gitaar op elke plaat waar hij op meespeelt iets toe, hij zet de boel op scherp, zorgt voor het ruwe randje en zorgt ervoor dat de andere muzikanten wakker blijven. Zo ook hier. De tien zelfgeschreven nummers zijn vrijwel allemaal droevige liefdesliedjes, al worden ze soms in een swingende rockversie gebracht. De cd is alleen wat aan de korte kant - een krap half uurtje.

-Moors Magazine

Hi all,

My music is now available through BMI/You License for music licensing! If you are a music supervisor and need music for film or television you can now get my music very easy with just a few clicks. No headaches, and no endless red-tape!

Check it out:



-Steven

Hi everyone,

I have some good news! My single “Its For You" from the Let It Go album just got picked up to use in a new TV show on MTV Networks called Chris & John to the Rescue. Actually, it's not that new, they are starting their third season! I don’t know much about the show other than Chris & John answer viewers calls for help and show up at their door to lend a hand and help solve whatever the problem.

Sounds like a fun quirky show. I’ll be sure to let you know air-dates. Just keep checking back.

More news later!

Hi all,

I met Conan O’Brien in the studio the other day. He’s very nice, just as you would expect and NOT an asshole as often is the case. He let me snap a photo to share with you.

On A Break...
I’ve been on a little break, taking care of regular life. I moved into a new apartment (still in Manhattan) and had to spend time putting it together. You know how it is.

New Tour?
I’m starting to work on more tour dates. After my last European tour was so abruptly cancelled, I’m still a little apprehensive. For now I’m working on American dates. Nothing to tell you yet, but I’ll keep you posted.

Booking Agent?
As many of you know, I handle most of my booking myself. However, I thought I’d put the feelers out there and see if I can find an up-and-coming booking agent. Someone who is just starting out, and full of ambition. If you are interested just send me an email.

More news later ...

-Steven

Hi everyone,

I got another really great album review from a magazine in Germany. I've posted it below for you to read.

More news later!

-Steven


Steven Alvarado “Let it Go”
Singer songwriter Steven Alvarado is een artiest die onder gebracht is bij Hemifran records, en is een mix van rock, blues, folk qua muziek.

De man zet prachtige songs neer, die doen denken aan Springsteen, JJ Cale, roots-blues, en meer van dit soort dingen. De tracks zijn erg gevarieerd naar mijn menig, en de man speelt prima gitaar en zingt erg prettig, en de songs hebben een lekkere sfeer.
Ook de meerstemmige dingen mogen er wezen. Als je misschien denkt dat dit een saai album is, kan ik je meteen gerust stellen want het ligt erg lekker in het gehoor. Zijn stem is ook elke keer anders. Vele rootsy invloeden, en ook new-orleans klanken zijn de man niet vreemd. Uitstekende begeleiders maken dit album tot een zeer genietbare schijf, die heerlijk wegluisterd.

Mooie voorbeelden zijn Its allright en Burning bridges. Laat je verassen door alweer zo een mooie release uit de stal die singer-songwriter, maar net zo gemakkelijk ook blues-rootsy en folk invloeden zeer hoog in het vaandel hebben staan, en elke keer weer voor een zeer prettige verassing zorgen op muziek gebied.

-Mayor Tona
Translation
Steven Alvarado "Let it Go"
Singer songwriter Steven Alvarado is an artist who was brought to us from Hemifran records (Netherlands), and is a mix of rock, blues, and folk music.
Alvarado’s beautiful songs are reminiscent of Springsteen, JJ Cale, roots-blues, and more of this sort. The tracks are very diverse in my view and this noble artist plays guitar and sings wonderfully, and the songs have nice ambiance.

The recording is stripped to the essential, but don’t think this album is bleak. I can reassure you that it is worth consideration. Alvarado’s voice is distinctive each time with many roots and New-Orleans influences with a sound out of the ordinary. His excellent choice in musicians, contribute to making this album a very enjoyable disc. It is simply delicious.

Some beautiful morsels include It 's Alright and Burning Bridges. Let yourself be surprised by this album. Alvarado is a hardly-known, nicely-established, singer-songwriter, made of easy-blues, and folk-influenced roots and is of the highest priority for your must-have CD’s. A very pleasant surprise.

-Mayor Tona

Hi all,

I spent my New Years Eve here in New York City the best way I could think of, at the Patti Smith concert. She played at the Bowery Ballroom. My friend Emery is her sound mixer & producer and invited me and a friend to the show.

I snapped a few pics from my iPhone to share with you.

-Steven

Hi Friends,

2008 has been quite a year and I have had so many good things come my way I can only be grateful. The year has had its ups and downs, that’s for sure. On the down side, my European tour came to a crashing halt and was canceled unexpectedly. It left me very disappointed and a little depressed. I also had a death in the family, which was very difficult and heart breaking.

On the upside after much hard work and a long time in the studio in 2007, I recorded Let it Go, my new album and released it in April this year. I was able to ask some of my most favorite musicians in the world to play on it. Guys like Marc Ribot and Kenny Wollesen who have played with everyone from Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, T-Bone Burnett, & Sam Phillips, to Norah Jones, Rufus Wainright, & Rickie Lee Jones. The album received a staggering amount of good reviews and I did a bunch of interviews for features in a bunch of major magazines, which was all very exciting. My music video for the single Its For You made the top 10 on MTV’s LOGO channel. The video also got picked up by MTV, VH1, LOGO & SPIKE TV among others for regular rotation. USA Today picked the album in their Top 10 Picks and I was asked to do a live performance for my album release at The Living Room here in New York City that was broadcast live on Serious Satellite Radio. Let It Go has passed The Howl Sessions in sales and has only been out for 9 months as of this writing. The Howl Sessions has been out since 2005! All I can say is I am very proud of this album and am thankful to all of you and the press for such a positive reception.

To wrap it all up I have some nice year-end news! Both The Howl Sessions and my new album Let It Go made the top 200 best sellers in the Folk-Alternative category at CDBaby (my distributor). That’s quite an accomplishment!

And finally, what better way to end the year than another great review. This one comes from Italy in a magazine called Il Popolo del Blues.

Thanks everyone and see you out there! Keep checking back for tour dates!

-Steven




After the critically acclaimed The Howl Sessions, Steven Alvarado comes back with a new album titled Let It Go, that features ten tracks where he sings about himself and his personal experiences. Marc Ribot appears as special guest in all tracks.

1 Get This Far
2 It's For You
3 Nobody Knows
4 Burning Bridges
5 New York
6 Blue
7 Gone, Gone, Gone
8 See You Again
9 It's Alright
10 Reasons

Steven Alvarado si è segnalato negl’ultimi anni come un onesto cantautore con buoni numeri che gli hanno permesso di togliersi qualche soddisfazione come nel caso del bel disco inciso nel 2005, The Howl Sessions. Oggi ci riprova, alzando la posta, con Let It Go disco che raccoglie dieci nuovi brani incisi con una band eccellente nella quale spiccano Marc Ribot alla chitarra, Kenny Wollesen alla batteria, Rob Burger al piano e Joe Quigley al basso. Lo stile rispetto al passato ha perso quella riflessività che lo contraddistingueva ma non la capacità di toccare le corde del cuore dell’ascoltatore, il songwriting ora è più maturo e sembra strizzare l’occhio ora a John Mellencamp ora a Springsteen, senza dimenticare il suo nume tutelare Bob Dylan, che fa capolino qua e là durante il disco. Nelle canzoni di Alvarado ritroviamo lo spirito del blue collar, delle polverose strade della provincia americana ma anche un spaccati di vita quotidiana come la difficoltà di vivere un rapporto di coppia e la delusione per un amore finito. All’ascolto il disco sorprende per gli arrangiamenti e per le ottime parti di chitarra di cui si fa carico Marc Ribot e che impreziosiscono non poco ogni singolo brano. Si passa così dal Dylan evocato in Gone, Gone, Gone al Van Morrison di Get This Far fino ma è con brani come It’s For You e Nobody Knows che emerge quel pizzico di originalità che fa di Alvarado una sicura promessa. Godibilissime sono anche la cantautorale See You Again, il country di Burning Bridges e i due rock strada ioli New York e It’s All Right. Chiude il disco quella perla che è la pianistica Reason, un brano intenso ed emozionante che evidenzia tutte le potenzialità del songwriting di Alvarado. Let It Go è senza dubbio una bella sorpresa ma solo il futuro ci dirà qual è il valore reale del suo autore.

-Salvatore Esposito

Google Translation

Steven Alvarado was reported negl'ultimi years as an honest singer with good numbers that enabled him to shed some satisfaction as with the beautiful disc recorded in 2005, The Howl Sessions. Today we try again, raising the post, with Let It Go disc that collects ten new songs engraved with an excellent band in which stand out Marc Ribot on guitar, Kenny Wollesen on drums, Rob Burger of the plan and Joe Quigley on bass. The style than in the past that has lost reflexivity that distinguishes it but not the ability to touch the strings of the heart of the audience, the songwriting is now more mature and seems to squeeze the eye now John Mellencamp Springsteen now, without forgetting his nume protect Bob Dylan, who is head here and there throughout the disc. The songs of Alvarado find the spirit of blue collar, the dusty roads of the province but also an American snapshots of daily life such as the difficulty of living a relationship of the couple and a love for disappointment over. Listening to the disc surprises for the arrangement and for the good parts of the guitar which is being Marc Ribot and not just embellish each song. We move so touched by Dylan in Gone, Gone, Gone to Van Morrison to Get This Far up but with songs like It's For You and Nobody Knows emerging that hint of originality that makes Alvarado definite promise. Godibilissime are also cantautorale See You Again, the country of Burning Bridges and the two rock road IOLI New York and It's All Right. That closes the disc which is the pearl piano Reason, an intense and emotional song that highlights the potential of songwriting to Alvarado. Let It Go is certainly a surprise but only the future will tell us what is the real value of its author.

-Salvatore Esposito

Hi Friends,

Sorry for the long pause between posts. I had a death in the family and that has taken a bit of a toll on me. I was in California for a few days to go to the funeral, and that was really hard and stressful and exhausting. I also just moved into a new apartment here in New York and getting unpacked and putting my new place together has been taking up all my time. I’m still not done. Not to worry, all is well and I’m feeling a little better.

I’ll post again in a few days but for now I wanted to share a video hot-off-the-press that I just found. It cheered me up and I hope it does the same for you.

Bush made an unannounced trip to Iraq on Sunday and an Iraqi reporter threw his shoes at him, the highest form of disgrace in that country. The man hurled an insult at Bush along with the shoes: “This is a farewell kiss, you dog!" You gotta love that!

-Steven