Left on Red

POEM FOR THE CHOCOLATE REVOLUTION

2011-10-20T16:32:00.000-07:00

This is Liah writing from an Amtrak train

we are back out on the road again

singing the messages of Chocolate Revolution

bringing a socially conscious substitution

for Hershey's, Nestle, Cadbury and Mars

because there's teardrops in those chocolate bars;

Blood and sweat of child slaves

stolen from home at a tender age

to work all day till their days are gone

we know it's true and we know it's wrong

So it's up to us to come to their aid

by buying chocolate that says Fair-trade

October is Fair-trade month and that means that LEFT ON RED is hitting the road with THE CHOCOLATE REVOLUTION TOUR! THE CHOCOLATE REVOLUTION TOUR is an interactively sweet experience focused around Fair-Trade chocolate, music and education. LEFT ON RED will be going into high-schools and venues throughout the NorthEast performing their high-energy, hopeful music and message that Fair Trade chocolate helps build a better world. We are excited to be touring with singer-songwriter GRACE STUMBERG and working in collaboration with TUNES FOR FOOD, GREEN AMERICA and EQUAL EXCHANGE. See above for info on all our shows and stay tuned for updates from the proverbial fair-trade road.

Can't make it out to the shows but want to learn more? Check out THECHOCOLATEREVOLUTION.COM or visit www.reversetrickortreating.org to learn how you can help end slavery in the cocoa industry this Halloween and forever after. Did this e-mail make you mad? Write to Hershey's now and tell them to end the exploitation of children in the cocoa plantations they use to make their chocolate bars: DO SOMETHING. Did this message make you want to buy fair-trade? Get the goodness here: BUY

"Be the change" - Shine on,

your friends,

Liah and Kelly

Life on the farm and other meanderings from the road

2011-08-24T05:57:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends, Fans and Red-light-runners everywhere!
 
We are in nature right now and I am writing from a farm house in beautiful Upstate NY. Here, the sounds of crickets and cicadas serenade me as I keep the rhythm on these computer keys. This is our 7th or 8th trip up North and it's great to be surrounded by such natural beauty and to be greeted by friends and an ever-growing community of musicians and music appreciators each time we visit.

 So far on the tour, I rode a tractor and saw a groundhog bigger than most dogs typically seen in NYC, Kelly befriended a cow named Patty, learned 3 new songs on the ukulele and made really good quinoa. Together, we rocked The Churchville County fair like two rogue buskers on a mission, got to go see Steve Earle in concert, and recorded some tracks with our friends in band Woody Dodge. It's been a great time and we look forward to more with you at our upcoming show:) Below is a brief outline of our performances for this next week. More details at the bottom of this email. Tour pictures on the facebook fanpage: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Left-on-Red/150591290738  Thanks for reading and keeping in touch:)  Shine On!  

Liah and Kelly SHOWS: 
-Thurs. Aug 25th @ 9:15AM: ROCHESTER - Radio Interview WRUR
-Fri. Aug 26th @ 6PM: GATES, NEW YORK - Benefit Concert for Water For Sudan
 -Sat. Aug 27th @ 4PM Kidsstage and 6:15PM Mainstage: BUFFALO, NY
-Wed. September 7th @ 8PM: BROOKLYN, NY: Senorita Summer at Southpaw

Thurs., Aug 25th @ 9:15AM: ROCHESTER - Radio Interview WRUR: Open Tunings with Scott Regan Listen or call-in on the radio show if you are in Rochester 88.5FM or participate on-line at this link, it will be fun with you there: http://wxxi.org/radio/wrur/ot/

Fri. Aug 26th @ 6PM: GATES, NEW YORK - Benefit Concert for Water For Sudan
Doors open at 6 pm, food and beverages will be available for purchase, and music starts at 7 pm (Performing bands are Left On Red and This Other Life). Tickets can be purchased on-line here at a $5.00 discount rate or at the door for $15. All proceeds go to helping the people of Sudan survive through the simple digging of wells in their villages. To learn more or give to this great organization: http://www.waterforsudan.org/

WHERE: Church of the Epiphany Episcopal Church, 3285 Buffalo Rd. in Gates. Directions are pretty simple: 490 West to Exit 7B, Buffalo Road (33W). Church will be on the left, about 1.5 miles on up the road!

Sat. Aug 27th @ 4PM Kidsstage and 6:15PM Mainstage: BUFFALO, NY -
The Elmwood Avenue Festival of The Arts

It's our third year performing at this awesome, artistic and environmentally-friendly festival! See Left On Red rock the main-stage with a full band at 6:15 or join us in a kid-centered sing-along on the kid’s stage at 4PM. http://eafa.techriver.net/

Wed. September 7th @ 8PM: BROOKLYN, NY: Senorita Summer at Southpaw
125 Fifth Ave. (St Johns + Sterling) Brooklyn, NY

Watch as 4 female-fronted bands take over one of the rockin'ist, most sticker-covered venues in Brooklyn: SOUTHPAW! Come get silly with us because the Summer can't really be over and because the line-up is SUPER-SWEET! Doors at 7, Left On Red perform at 8PM, Tali at 9, Claire Reilly-Roe and the Boys at 10 and Andi Rae Healy at 11.

Busking Log 6: YOUR MOST REQUESTED FIDDLE SONG IS HERE!

2011-05-31T12:46:00.000-07:00

Date: Sun May 29
Time: 3PM-5PM
Place: 14th St. Union Square near N&R

Notes:
Here it is! You're most requested song! As a fiddle player I can't even tell you how many times this song gets requested every day I perform..2? 5? 8? I don't even know...3x a day is probably the average. So here it is - hope you enjoy!

CLICK HERE TO ENJOY!

Busking Log 5: Albert Bouchard

2011-05-29T19:25:00.000-07:00

Date: Fri May 27
Time: 3PM-5PM
Place: Long Island Rail Road Penn Station

Notes:
Remember that awesome SNL skit when the Blue Oyster Cult rock band is in the studio recording "Don't Fear the Reaper" and their producer, Christopher Walken, comes out asking relentlessly for more cowbell? (Cowbells played/performed by an enthusiastic Will Farrell) Well, our friend Albert Bouchard knows the skit quite well because he's the original drummer of Blue Oyster Cult. I wonder how many times a week he gets asked for more cowbell. haha. Albert, it was so nice to catch you on your commute in the subway on Friday! Thanks for hangin for a few tunes!

See the SNL Vid:
http://www.livevideo.com/video/4B1CD4B7032349C49C3D031426D06E7C/snl-cowbell.aspx

Busking Log 4: Wall Street Shout Out

2011-05-27T11:35:00.000-07:00

Date: Thurs. May 26

Time: 5PM-8PM
Place: Wall St. 2/3 Train

Shout Out!:
Special thanks to the guy who swiped Liah through yesterday when we realized we didn't have enough on the metrocard!

Busking yesterday at Wall St. was awesome.. It's so nice to see familiar faces. Liah's voice got really tired because she sang a lot and also sang for three hours the day before at Herald Square. She pulled through, though, and we put in a good high energy couple hours for the business men and women commuters of the downtown financial district.

"Pre-Left On Red" busking at Wall St. Winter '07

RIP Michael Meldrum: A Man Full of Love and Music

2011-05-09T06:01:00.001-07:00

We were so privileged to know and work with our friend Michael Meldrum who co-produced and performed in the first Chocolate Revolution show at Ani DiFranco's venue Babeville, booked us at the famous open mic at Nietzche's, gave us a bicycle tour of Buffalo, booked and invited us as special guests with him at Elmwood Avenue Festival of the Arts, and was an inspiring and encouraging friend.
RIP Michael Meldrum, we will miss you.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH OUR VIDEO DEDICATION TO MICHAEL MELDRUM (Performance of Spirit in the Sky by Norman Greenbaum)

CLICK HERE TO READ MICHAEL MELDRUM TRIBUTE IN THE BUFFALO NEWS

Busking Log 3: Dancin' in the Subway Streets

2011-04-25T18:13:00.000-07:00

Date/Time: Sat 4/16/11, 12-3PM
Location: 14th St. Union Square N&R Train
Traffic: High
Quote of the Busking Day:
We're fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance. ~Japanese Proverb

Thanks for rockin with us Ron!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR (highlights of 2010)

2010-12-31T12:35:00.000-08:00

The Year in Review: All the highlights and none of the calories

* For more in depth stories and images visit the Left On Red blog.

Notable Accomplishments:

- Writing and creating our first full length record, TRACKS:)

- Left On Red was written about in several big publications and cool blogs including Black Book, GO Magazine, Lucid Culture and The Buffalo News and received mention in TimeOutNY.

- We went to SXSW and performed at The Red Gorilla Stage on 6th Street and had fun adventures!

- Performing at The Bitter End for CMJ in NYC and being listed by Black book as one of the top bands of the festival.

The CRAZIEST Subway Performance of the year:

Third Place: The Man who believed he was Spiderman and crawled out from the subway tracks on 23rd street while Kelly and I were singing "Sweet Child Of Mine".

Second Place: Stripper Girl at Penn Station - She appeared to be just another normal passerby but as we continued to play "Joy to the world" for a large crowd of morning commuters, the lady with the fur became the lady with no top.

First Place: Stripper Girl Steals the Mic Umm..well, weeks and months went by and Kelly and I continued to busk and tour and work on the new record and we almost forgot about stripper girl; until one crazy Winter morning..

The BEST "We are moving up in the world Gig":

Third Place: Playing The River To River Music Festival in NYC

Second Place: Performing on the Main stage at The Elmwood Avenue Festival of The Arts

First Place: Co-producing and performing for a packed house at The Chocolate Revolution Show with our friends and awesome musicians in Buffalo at Ani DiFranco's Babeville.

Close Runner-ups in this category:

The Grand Central Holiday Fair, Being hired by Brookefield Properties this Winter to play in some of the fanciest office bulidings in the city while wearing Santa hats and singing multi-religiously festive ditties, opening for Rachael Sage at Babeville, Playing at Cafe Lena in Saratoga Springs and recording at World Class Studio "The Carriage House" in Stamford CT with amazing players and peoples:)

THE BEST NUMBERS of 2010:

158 Radio Stations that played our self-titled, Left On Red EP

9 the number of musicians on TRACKS

117 The number of gig we think we may have played both above ground and below - but we will keep better track next year;)

1 dream to make music that is true and beautiful and share it with the world..to take our own direction and make a Left On Red always!

BIG NEWS: We're almost finished with our first full length record!

2010-12-09T11:46:00.001-08:00

Dear Friends:)

We are writing to share an exciting milestone in our career as Left on Red..We're almost finished with our first full length and a full band record! We call it "TRACKS" and can't wait to share it with you! The 13 songs on the album were recorded and produced by Ethan Allen who has worked with such esteemed artists as Ani DiFranco, Better than Ezra, and Patty Griffin. The band we put together to play our songs features good friends who have played and toured with people who are pretty famous (Moby, Coldplay, Regina Spektor).

Since we started Left on Red we've been supporting the band through busking in the subways of NYC. Many of the songs on TRACKS were inspired by, developed in, or written in the subways. The songs are interwoven with sound samples we collected underground. TRACKS includes songs like "The Extra Mile" about being determined to move past the challenges of life, "Subletter's Lament" a funny song about our experiences subletting in NYC, and "Set Me Free" an inspiring song about individual strength. Other songs on the record you've heard us perform live include "The Way of the Zebra", "Gone, Long Gone", and "Breath".

The album is sounding amazing but it is not finished yet! Unfortunately, we've run out of savings so we are giving friends, family, and fans the opportunity to help us finish and release the record into the world by pre-ordering it. Through Indiegogo, we've put together a bunch of sweet perks and package prizes. If you would like to be the first to order a 1st edition copy of TRACKS or know someone who is or are just curious how the heck we are going to make this happen!!!..VISIT THIS PAGE AND SEE. Thank you for your support! We hope to see you soon on our CD Release tour in the Spring.

Liah and Kelly

LOR Presents: Holiday Songs: Feliz Navidad!

2010-12-02T15:28:00.001-08:00

Left On Red's Holiday Song Videos begin now with "Feliz Navidad"!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viVZ5fLS25w

Busking Log 2: Shut Down at Penn Station

2010-10-25T14:22:00.001-07:00

Date/Time: Mon 10/25/2010 3PM-4ish?
Location: LONG ISLAND RAIL ROAD (Penn Station)
Traffic: High

Report:
Today we were shut down almost an hour into our set. Long Island Railroad is a "MUNY" Spot (see busking page at www.leftonredmusic.com for more info). It was in the middle of our cover of "Shook Me All Night Long" - Kelly was blasting Jimmy Page-style licks on the violin while Liah did backflips off some amplifiers..and a tall man wearing a laminate approached us..

"Do you guys know any 'Yes'?"

..oh, no wait that was the policeman making requests earlier....THIS guy (with the laminate) proceeded to tell us a train derailed and they had to shut down the music because of massive announcements about train schedule changes. Everyone was okay - a NJ transit train derailed while going 15mph and is blocking 8 other tracks.
So that's the report for the day. Sorry penn station we will see you again soon!

Busking Log 1: Shout Out to visitor Friends

2010-09-22T12:34:00.000-07:00

Date/Time: Tues 9/21/2010 12PM-3PM
Location: 14th ST. UNION SQUARE N&R Trains NY,NY
Traffic: Mild

Report:
This day was special for 3 reasons: 1)International Peace Day 2)Last day of Summer and 3)We had a few unexpected friends pop in to say hey and listen for a while. Before I get into that I'll also mention there weren't any weird characters or events except for the one guy nodding off. He slipped down to the floor from the bench and lay motionless on the floor for about 10 minutes until the cops showed up. They just nudged him, he woke up, got up and walked away. Alright so International Peace Day moved us to play a lot of "Imagine": John Lennon, 3 Little Birds: Bob Marley and our newest Left on Red peace song called "Uncle Sam". That was all very cool but there's really nothing like having a friend stop in and say hey!! So shout out to you guys!

Nick Miscusi: ukulele player extraordinaire - he got there in the beginning and warmed up the floor for us with a little "If I had a hammer" Thanks Nick you ROCK!

Kristin Hoffmann: Incredible singer/songwriter. Check out "Song for the Ocean" The song and video are both incredible.

Ali Blank: Stylist for Left on Red's latest photoshoot (stay tuned for that) and designer of really cool T's and clothes on her own site: http://ablankexpression.com/
(As if all that's not cool enough, she is also a world champion figure skater)

and Heth and Jed: fellow busker friends arrived to take over the spot promptly at 3 and it's always nice to see those guys! These guys ROCK. Unfortunately we couldn't hang and listen that day.

Immediate Release: Left On Red CMJ Showcase at The Bitter End

2010-09-20T21:47:00.000-07:00

Announcing Left On Red's next NYC performance:
Left On Red at The Bitter End (CMJ Showcase)!!

C'mon down for a great show at the biggest week for music in NYC! Tickets are $5.00 without a CMJ badge and free for badge holders. This will be a magical night and we will be showcasing our Left On Red jams for you and lot's of music industry folks. Kelly and I (Liah) will be playing song from the upcoming record with a full band and we would love you to be the first to hear them at this special show:)

Lots of love- shine on!

Liah

What is CMJ Anyway?

College Music Journal, commonly known as CMJ, is a music events/publishing company most famous for its annual festival in New York City, the CMJ Music Marathon, as well as a weekly magazine of and for the music industry and college radio stations in the United States and Canada. It publishes top 30 lists sent by stations which subscribe at a cost of a few hundred dollars a year. It is also sent to record companies and their public relations and publicity representatives as well as record stores. CMJ also formerly published CMJ New Music Monthly, which was a magazine with interviews, reviews, and special features. Each magazine came with a CD of 15-24 songs by well-established bands, unsigned bands and everything in between. The staff puts together CMJ Music Marathon, a famous convention and music festival, each autumn, in New York. (Wikipedia)

LONGEST RECESSION SINCE WORLD WAR II

2010-09-20T21:43:00.000-07:00

(AP, JEANNINE AVERSA) It’s official: The longest recession the country has endured since World War II ended in June 2009, according to a group that dates the beginning and end of recessions.

The National Bureau of Economic Research, a panel of academic economists based in Cambridge, Mass., says the recession lasted 18 months. It started in December 2007 and ended in June 2009. That was the longest of any recession since World War II. Previously the longest postwar downturns were those in 1973-1975 and in 1981-1982. Both of those lasted 16 months.

The decision makes official what many economists have believed for some time, that the recession ended in the summer of 2009. The economy started growing again in the July-to-September quarter of 2009, after a record four straight quarters of declines.

Read More..

How To Keep Track of Your Life's Energy!

2010-05-09T20:23:00.000-07:00

How to Keep Track of Your Life's Energy - Why We Vlog

Do you ever say at the end of the day "What did I even DO today!?" Do you ever forget where you went last week? Last month, Liah and I noticed that we were forgetting and saying these things to each other. I'd say "Hey, remember that time last week we went to that place?" And Liah would say "No." It's strange how the tasks and events that we care most about about, and spend most of our time and life's energy doing can be easily forgotten. We examined this concept further with some of our friends and found that many other people felt the same way. We decided to consult some experts..

Authors, Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin write in their national bestseller "Your Money or Your Life" that "Life energy is all we have. It is precious because it is limited and irretrievable and because our choices about how we use it express the meaning and purpose of our time here on earth". So really, who we are is determined by how we spend our lives and everyday we have here on this planet is an opportunity to use our time and energy to express what matters to us. We both recognized that while we were doing what we loved by busking, songwriting, teaching etc. we still needed a method to remember our shared experiences as Left On Red and to track the allocation of all this life's energy. So we started experimenting with a couple ideas.

First, we made time charts to track our every day tasks. Wow, this alone was pretty amazing. We tracked what we were doing down to the MINUTE and the result, there was a lot less of "hmm..what the &^@$ am I even doing right now?" and more accomplishments. However, it's hard to maintain down-to-the-minute time charts every day because things would come up…you know, like growling tummies or important phone calls.

Next, we would set weekly goals and make out schedules to go with the goals. This is called " Liah's Super-Duper Time-Blocking Thingy System". This method ensures that time is set aside for work as well as personal important things distinct to both of us. For Liah it's working out and for me it's doing mensa puzzles..This worked pretty well but we found that our days lacked balance sometimes and we weren't getting enough sleep or enough practice time or personal time..

So we tried yet another method and this has been pretty effective. We attempted to base our schedules around 8/8/8 day. The 8/8/8 day was recommended to us by our friend Jesse who say's "A balanced day consists of 8 hrs sleep, 8 hrs work, and 8hrs play". *NOTE: This only works if you actually DO IT!! When you are working, you are working. When you are playing, you are playing and you MUST get the 8 hrs of sleep! This doesn't mean you need to work for 8 hrs straight. You can divi up the work time and the play time depending on what is most productive and comfortable for you: 3 hrs work, 4 hrs play, 2 hrs work, 1 hr play, 3 hrs work, 3 hrs play, 8 hrs sleep = 1 day. etc.

The 8/8/8 day works great, thanks Jesse! We will continue to have 8/8/8 days….but we still have to find a way to keep track of where we put the time??

Enter the VLOG! (THE LEFT ON RED LIFE ENERGY TRACKER):

So now that we had an effective way to plan allocate our precious life energy we still needed a tangible way to create meaning out our experiences.

Liah and I have been filming much of our travels since we started Left On Red and we decided that creating a VLOG to share our stories would be a fun way to keep track of it all and to share our adventures with our friends and fam..that's you:)

So we invite you to check out the first ever: LEFT ON RED VIDEO BLOG (VLOG)!

Yes, we've just put out April's Vlog which basically sums up everything we did in the month of April 2010 in under 10 minutes!

It works! Here's what we've found…

1. If we forget what we did, we just watch the video! (Kind of like 50 first dates…but not)

2. We have an immediate concrete way to view our accomplishments of the month

3. We feel accomplished and that feels good and motivating

4. We can share it with you!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7y9iMkv0NQ

5. During the month/vlogging process, we were very aware of what we were doing and when because of filming everything. Previously, if we weren't fully utilizing our time, it was hard to really see that. Now, the video camera and the end of every month's summary holds each day accountable.

In conclusion, the Vlog thing might not be your thing. Your thing might be keeping a monthly journal or weekly or even daily. Whatever your passion, writing, drawing, creating comics or painting- you might want to keep notes during the month in order to inspire a painting depicting your month's memories and life energy. The point is, choose a way to track your precious life's energy and have it be something you really enjoy doing. Take the last couple days of the month or first days of the next month to organize/create your tracking system! Every month can be different!

We will continue to share our monthly life's energy with you and would love to see your creations as well! Whether they are blogs, vlogs, drawings, paintings, collages, photo journals…we'd love to see! And we'll continue to create and share ours.

Love,

Kelly and Liah

"Time is the only commodity that matters." Randy Pausch (The Last Lecture)

2010-05-03T09:12:00.000-07:00

The news from Austin, TX

2010-03-16T11:51:00.000-07:00

1. WE ARE IN AUSTIN, TEXAS!!

So there's this big music festival where 20 million bands (slight exaggeration) go to Austin, TX and DOMINATE. At any given moment there's countless concerts going on all at the same time in all the venues which are packed to the back with music lovers, fans, and industry people. woah.

It's so big, chances are you have friends down here! Obviously we are your friends and you know us and we're here but probably any of your other musically inclined friends also jumped on the bandwagon down to Texas this weekend. So if you'd like us all to pow-wow and talk about how great you are - feel free to have your friends email us! (leftonredmusic@gmail.com) We are here to make friends, play music, and have fun!

LEFT ON RED PLAYS:

WEDNESDAY MARCH 17th 8PM

@ THE DIZZY ROOSTER (306 E. 6th St. Austin, TX)

2. I JUST WANNA SHOP!

We've launched the official Left on Red SHOP (e-store) featuring organic, ethically made, designer T-Shirts.

CHECK OUT THE SHOP!

3.THANKS FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT AND ENJOYING THE MUSIC!

Hope ya'll are well and sending smiles and sunshine from Texas!

Liah and Kelly

February Re-cap and a lil' bit of news

2010-03-03T16:59:00.000-08:00

Greetings friends:)

The next Left on Red Show will be March 10th at Caffe Vivaldi 7:15PM. We will be opening the night and followed us will be master cellist, Mike Block. Mike has performed with Yo Yo Ma and Lincoln Center and his band is fantastic. We are psyched to share the night with you and with them next Wednesday:)

This Sunday night Kelly will be performing Jazz tunes with International fingerstyle champion guitarist Pete Huttlinger at Memorial Hall in her hometown of Shelburn Falls. Get tickets here:

http://www.petehuttlinger.com/tickets.cfm

And now for the news:

March is here and February flew, and was full of challenges and triumphs for these two musical adventuresses. Below are some highlights that we would like to share with you. Thanks for reading and supporting LOR:)

xo,

Liah and Kelly

Kelly Hallaron and Liah Alonso at The Chocolate Revolution Show - Ani DiFranco's Babeville The Ninth Ward, Buffalo, NY (Photo by Eric Halloran)

- The Chocolate Revolution show at Babeville was a great success! We spent a week in Buffalo with our good friends at Planet Love who were a huge support and helped us out tremendously. Not only did they house and feed us with amazing vegetarian food, but they also promoted the event to all their friends. We are so thankful to them and to all of our friends in Buffalo who helped us to get the message out there.

Collectively, The Chocolate Revolution brought an increased awareness about the issues surrounding the production of many chocolate brands. The story was covered largely in the local press, even making it to the business section of The Buffalo News! The actual show was packed to capacity and attendees enjoyed free fair-trade chocolate samples from Equal Exchange and from the local Lexington Food Co-op.We also sipped chocolate stout and chocolate martinis as we rocked into the night with drummer Sean Sullivan of Woody Dodge and John Nau.

- Left on Red Furthers Green Initiatives: We recently launched the new and improved “Green Page” at leftonredmusic.com. Also, our Green Book Club finished and discussed "Living Green" and chose the next book. If you would like to join in the discussion please e-mail us and we will add you to the group. The next book is called Mountains beyond mountains.

- I (Liah) drove in a blizzard for the first time and survived! Seriously a scary experience for those of you who have never done it. I only got our little rental car stuck once! Granted, we had to abandon the car in the snow and shovel it out in the morning but still...one time is pretty good! I will tell you one thing, after spending one week of Winter in Buffalo, NYC winter seems like Springtime. I loved that about Buffalonians, even when the weather is bad they still go out and have a blast.

Kelly and Joe getting ready to shovel out our brave rental car

- Dream it Do it: We performed and spent some time with some very talented teenagers from the Bronx as part of the "Dream it Do it" Program. This program works with Bronx teens outside of the classroom. It focusses on inspiring these kids by introducing them to new activities through speakers and performers in different fields. It encourages them to set goals and dream big. It was so much fun to speak with them and talk about their dreams while sharing our story and music with them.

MARCH MADNESS:

- New "Busker's Around The World" Video on Youtube

- First episode of "The View From The Treehouse" launches this month. This wiill be a monthly web series featuring four fanstastic females chatting about health and being green.

-LOR travels to Mexico st the end of March to plan their South of The Border Tour!

Left on Red's next NYC show: Thursday, 2.25 @ Caffe Vivaldi

2010-02-23T11:02:00.000-08:00

We look forward to seeing you this Thursday at Caffe Vivaldi!

Left on Red will be performing from 8-9:30

NO COVER

Please note that Reservations are recommended for parties above 4
212-691-7538
http://www.caffevivaldi.com/
32 Jones Street off/Bleeker

You are invited to see what we have been up too @ www.leftonredmusic.com.
May smiles and songs fill your heart each day:)

Liah and Kelly

Finding Farmer's Markets in NYC has never been easier!

2010-02-16T13:53:00.000-08:00

I love buying local food at the New York farmer's markets!

It's fun to get to know the farmers by name and to chat with them while admiring the rows of fresh produce and apple cider. I like knowing the person who grew my food because it makes me feel safe. There are so many additives and pesticides in commercially produced foods and the more I can know about what I am eating and preparing for friends and family the better.

Eating locally grown fruits and veggies helps me eat the foods in alignment with the current season. Doing this makes me feel connected to the earth and it brings me joy to know that in this small way I am helping to conserve resources. Farmer's markets also give me an opportunity to break out my high fashion, super-bad-ass, brightly colored 95% recycled woven polypropylene shopping bag (plastic bags are so 90's!) and this bag from BlueQ is soooo cute and always draws conversation and compliments;)

Here is an easy and quick way to keep in the loop on where the closest Green Market is.
Bon apetite and thanks for reading!

http://whatisfresh.com/

Babeville concert will be sweet : Business : The Buffalo News

2010-02-12T10:07:00.000-08:00

Babeville concert will be sweet : Business : The Buffalo News

Thank you Buffalo News and Mark Sommer for covering this critical issue!

Jan.2010 FEATURE GROUP: ISLIP BREAST CANCER COALITION

2010-01-25T13:13:00.000-08:00

January 2010 Islip, Long Island
by: Kelly Halloran

Last Saturday, January 23rd, we had the honor of playing at a fundraiser in Long Island, NY for a grassroots group of women volunteers: IBCC.

They provide 3 services to women in the Islip, Long Island community:

1. Lending a Helping Hand: Provide financial support to procure services such as house cleaning, childcare, massage therapy, salon services, transportation and financial assistance with medication, wigs, prostheses, etc.

2. CanSurvive: CanSurvive first responders (volunteers from the Coalition) visit patients admitted to the community hospitals. The volunteer spends time with the patient, allowing them the opportunity to talk openly about their experiences, needs, and concerns. The volunteer also brings to them a "Carry-On tapestry suitcase filled with a variety of personal items such as an exercise "squeezy" ball, temporary prosthesis, resource information, A Breast Cancer Journey Book, meditation tapes, etc."

3. Support Groups: led by either a Nurse Practicioner or a Social Worker the support groups run 10-week sessions allowing patients a safe space to share their experiences and gives coping skills.

-They also provide online resources and organize/are involved in various community activities to bring awareness and education of breast cancer, early detection etc.

I feel they also provide a 4th service of inspiration and hope to everyone who learns of their deeds. They are a small group of women making a BIG difference in peoples' lives...ALL volunteers...ALL grassroots. The $800 they spend on services for each client is raised not with the support of a political party, but with the involvement and mobilization of the community. What a beautiful synergy to witness.
IBCC, we applaud YOU.

*Special shout out to Bob Schlageter and his team for organizing the event*

LEFT ON RED to headline THE CHOCOLATE REVOLUTION

2010-01-25T11:47:00.000-08:00

"Like Music for Chocolate - Now that's a Fair-Trade"!

The Chocolate Revolution will happen Friday, February 12th in Buffalo, NY - just two days before Valentine's Day at Ani DiFranco's venue Babeville - The Ninth Ward. Tickets are $8.00 in advance/$10.00 at the door and are available January 30 through all Tickets.com outlets including Tops Markets, Babeville box office (M – F, 11am – 5pm), charge by phone 888-223-6000 and online at Tickets.com.

The event will feature the music of Michael Meldrum and Left on Red and is presented by Mike Meldrum and The Buffalo Song Project and co-sponsored by Righteous Babe Records, The Elwood Avenue Festival of the Arts and Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center.

The Chocolate Revolution will celebrate love and friendship while also serving as a platform to promote the importance and deliciousness of fair-trade chocolate. NYC female folk-rock duo, Left on Red (You know,us!) will headline The Chocolate Revolution with the high-energy sound and catchy melodies that are creating a sweet buzz all around the world.

The idea to center the show around fair-trade chocolate was inspired by our friend Tanya, artist, designer and co-owner of Planet Love in Buffalo, NY. We realized that the timing of the show was super-close to Valentine's Day and that everyone would be thinking about Love and buying chocolate. It dawned on us then that we could sing and talk about chocolate, as we all LOVE chocolate soooooo much! But not all chocolates are created equal. Unfortunately, unless the chocolate we buy is fair-trade certified, it is most likely sourced from slave labor, primarily forced child labor on the West Coast of Africa.

The West African nation of Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) is the leading supplier of cocoa, accounting for more than 40% of global production. Low cocoa prices and thus the need for lower labor costs drive farmers to employ children as a means to survive.

The US Department of State estimates that more than 109,000 children in Cote d’Ivoire’s cocoa industry work under “the worst forms of child labor,” and that some 10,000 are victims of human trafficking or enslavement. These child workers labor for long, punishing hours, using dangerous tools and facing frequent exposure to dangerous pesticides as they travel great distances in the grueling heat. Those who labor as slaves must also suffer frequent beatings and other cruel treatment. (Labor Rights, Cocoa Campaign)

We have the power to change the world through our choices. When we purchase fair-trade chocolate we support farmers and co-operatives around the world. We support their families and their communities and help them to survive. It is up to us show powerful corporations like Hershey, M&M/Mars and Nestle that it is unacceptable to profit off of child and trafficked labor in any industry.

Check out Globalexchange.com for yummy fair-trade options this Valentine's day:)

Here is a short video that introduces the topic of chocolate slavery: Please watch and pass on.
Thank you:) Liah

Pete List beatboxing with Said El Artist

2009-12-22T09:20:00.001-08:00

This is amazing! The body as an instrument is taken to a new level here. Enjoy:)

December News from Liah and Kelly

2009-12-14T20:09:00.000-08:00

Left on Red's last NYC Show of 2009 will be on Thursday, December 17th at Caffe Vivaldi at 8PM.
Left on Red will be joined by the lovely and super talented Kirsten "KK" Kairos on percussion and harmonies and Sir Chris Aycox will bring his songs and bass ba-booming-ness to the party too! Show starts at 8:) No cover, 32 Jones Street Off Bleeker.

note: If your party is over 5, please let us know so we can assure you get a good table.
Many thanks and happy holidays! xo, Liah

LOR NEWS:
> Congratulations to the Fan of the Month, Bob Schlageter! Bob is awesome; a music fan and a generous helper of street busking duo’s and non-profit organizations right here in New York. Thank you Bob:)

> Check out this holiday busking video of Left on Red performing at The Staten Island Ferry Terminal: http://videos.silive.com/2009/12/scenes_from_the_ferry.html

> Left on Red’s performance at World March For Peace fundraiser brings about new friendships and the awareness of great organizations you can get involved it too! Like this one for PHOTOGRAPHERS of ALL levels: Shoot for change

2 Cats+Valerian Tea=

2009-12-11T11:03:00.000-08:00

As I walked to the treehouse kitchen to start a pot of tea, I noticed torn papers and tea bags were strewn about the entire kitchen floor and parts of the dining room and our cats "Boots" and "Jelly" (can you tell who is who?) were literally jumping off walls. hm. The tea was definitely Valerian root herbal tea (a natural way to go to sleep when you can't). The internet informed us that for cats, Valerian is not a sedative...it's a stimulent! Comparable to catnip!! So remember...try to keep your sleepy tea out of cat's-reach unless you want your kitty to get high.

love,
Kelly

The First Left on Red T-SHIRTS!

2009-12-03T14:28:00.000-08:00

We are so excited to have in our possession, the first edition Left on Red t-shirts!

They are made of all organic cotton from Alternative Apparel; Super soft and stylish for the most discerning t-shirt lover. Designed by Liah and hand silk-screen printed by our friends Tanya and Joe at Planet Love in Buffalo, NY.

Now available at Left on Red Shows or through www.leftonredmusic.com

December happiness and other ponderings..oh and a show or two as well:)

2009-12-03T13:47:00.000-08:00

Is it really December my friends and dear sisters and brothers?

If this month has left you wondering like Eva Cassidy/Sandy Denny "Where does the time go", you are definitely not alone. It seems to be the realization of this duo of gypsy street singers that the time passes and who we ultimately become emerges from what actually do rather than what we're "planning" to do. So with thought we thank you humbly for being a part of this living of dreams. We sing our songs for you:)

Lots of great chances to share in the music in the next few weeks, both above and below ground.

Wishing you warmth and joy always:)
Liah and Kelly

SHOWS:

THE BITTER END - Thursday December 10th at 9PM
147 Bleecker Street (between Thompson and LaGuardia)
Tickets $10.00
Join us for a fun and frolic-y evening! Left on Red shares the famous stage with special guests at NYC's most historic venues! Opening the evening at 8 will be our good friend and subway guru Kathleen Mock. Voted "Best Subway Musician " by New York Magazine, Kathleen Mock has been stopping passersby in their tracks with the sound of her voice for over 20 years. http://www.kathleenmock.com - $10.00 Door

THE WORLD MARCH FOR PEACE - Friday, December 11th:
A Very Special Evening with Extraordinary Women :
A fundraising effort in support of the World March for Peace and Nonviolence  AT: Crudo, 235 West 35th St bet. 8th & 9th Aves, NYC

 Take your pick for this event, Come early for dinner and keynote speaker, New York Times Best selling author, Naomi Wolf or come late to see Left on Red and singer/songwriter Gabriella Callender at 9PM!

7 PM Dinner – Ticket $45 (drink not included) – Buy your ticket(s) now 
9 PM Live Performances – Ticket $10 (+ 2 drinks minimum) – Buy your ticket(s) now

SUBWAY PERFORMANCES:
December 4th from 6-9PM - UNION SQUARE - N/R Mezzanine
December 7th from 9-12AM - Long Island Railroad @ Penn Station (by the flower guy)
December 8th from 3-7pm - White Hall Terminal Ferry (Staten Island Ferry)

LEFT ON RED PROFILE : COLIN GARLAND

2009-12-02T11:00:00.000-08:00

COLIN GARLAND:

In 1989 Colin sold everything he owned, gave away the rest and traveled for nearly two years on an "around the world" adventure, visiting nearly 30 countries on a meager budget of $800. During this travel odyssey he lived with Australian aborigines, Tibetan monks, Iraqi farmers, Sikhs, Muslims and Buddhists, living fully immersed in many foreign cultures. He is the founder and leader of Global Classroom a nonprofit organization that brings high school students to remote parts of the world to donate time and materials to the native people and the much needed conservation work to help preserve the wildlife.

KELLY'S INTERVIEW WITH COLIN:

So at the moment, you have three main environmentalism focuses - Whales in Baja, Mexico, Snow Leopards in Siberia, and Jaguars in Costa Rica!

Cats are a major indicator species...meaning they have such a complex life cycle and pattern of feeding that when you have a healthy population of cats, you have a healthy forest and a healthy ecosystem because they are so high up on the chain. With the whales, I don't think it's as immediate...but it still holds true...if you have a healthy population of whales that are reproducing in healthy numbers it generally means there is some kind of a balance. Unfortunately with the whales there are only a handful of species that are making a robust comback. Many species are still threatened or in decline.

What happened? When did this decline start and who caused it?

(For the whales? yes)

I'm no expert but it's been proven that the whaling industry was DEVASTATING. For whale oil, less so for meat...there was a time when it was not unusual for 30-40 thousand whales to be slaughtered in one season. The whales would come to Baja, Mexico for two or three months to give birth and raise their young before returning back to the Arctic and that is the time in which the whaling industry would be most active in Baja, Mexico. And of course there was whaling going on around the world with as large an impact. In present day, even though whaling has declined dramatically, it does still have an impact. And of course, toxins - The other major factor is the amount of toxins contained within the blubber of these animals.

Toxins?

If a beluga whale dies of old age and washes up on the shore it can actually be considered hazardous because of the extraordinarily high levels of toxins within the blubber.

Where do the toxins come from?

Everything from PCBs to paper mills, fire retardants and other industrial wastes. All around the world. The third major hazard for whales is being struck by large ships. I heard there were three blue whales killed just in the last months in California by large ships. The northern right whales are so close to extinction their numbers are in the hundreds...they are still being struck and killed by ships off the east coast in North America.

What are you doing to help the whales?

The first thing I began doing, while I was still in high school...and I say this because I'm a firm believer that everything is connected. I stopped eating seafood and tuna especially. At that point it was because of the millions of dolphins being killed every year in the Tuna industry. And now I realize how linked everything is and if we overfish or kill excessive amounts of one thing it affects the entire ecosystem and that includes whales of course. That concern opened up the door to my interest in whales, ocean ecology what have you. Now I'm working so closely with whales down in Baja Mexico every year and witnessing the effect of propeller scars and I am hearing stories of whales with internal injuries suspected by a new high powered military sonar testing...There have been clusters of strandings and dead whales found in the proximity of these new high powered sonar tests off the west coast of America. There is just so much we do not know about some of the largest creatures that have ever lived on the planet. And to see them up close and personal to have this experience with a hundred and fifty ton animal...breaking the surface and gliding along ten feet from you with the grace and agility that they have is breathtaking and it will change your attitude right then and there.

And you cannot separate the whales and other marine life from the people who live immediately along the coastline that depend on the ocean for their subsistence and well being. This in turn brought me in close proximity to these remote villagers and I realized the value of introducing the High School students I'd been volunteering with for years to these families and letting these students experience what it is like to live day to day in a world where there is no electricity, no internet, no video games etc. For many years now hundreds of students have become "one of the family" and have been welcomed into the households and community. An intrinsic part of every trip that I lead is the integration of conservation, cultural awareness, and self empowerment. It was inevitable that my students would return home and many would contact me a month later with a sense of despair and concern for their adopted family and wanted to do something positive so we began collecting medical and school supplies, clothing and tools to deliver to these communities each year. To date we've delivered over 12 tons of supplies, built non-polluting composting toilets, repaired schools from hurricane damage, and in exchange, my students have learned to make goat cheese, read the ocean, many learning a second language, and being so inspired that they change their majors in college to reflect their new found interest and passion to make a difference in the world. Because conservation and tourism has become more widespread...fisherman who have poached turtles are now tour operators for whale watching and other activities that enable them to make a living with far less impact on the ecosystem. I firmly believe this is a critical component of all conservation efforts globally if the local community is going to lose their ability to feed their families with the creation of a new park or conservation area...they must feel empowered and take ownership or allowed ownership of these new conservation efforts and a way to generate an income to feed their families.

Down in Baja, Mexico where I spend most of my time with whales, I have been volunteering for a grassroots environmental organization called GEA (Grupos Ecologistas Antares).

What does GEA do?

GEA was founded by an incredibly dedicated Mexican named Fernando Arcas. His love for whales and all things ocean is so contagious that one cannot help but fall in love with these beautiful creatures. He is so passionate about educating local and visitors and protecting the creatures of the Sea of Cortez. Fernando has been an inspiration to many, including myself due to his persistence and ability to work with so little resources and make the best of what he does have access to. I'll never forget the day I arrived with two boxes of donated snorkels and masks and we handed them out to the local Mexican children whose fathers had been living and dying on the Sea of Cortez eking out a living as small-scale fisherman and they took their first plunge into the ocean to witness what lies below for the first time in their lives. The sounds and images of their eyes so huge behind those masks as they witnessed starfish and barracuda and turtles was so life-changing for me. Many of them have gone on to focus their studies on marine ecology and conservation because of something so simple as a donation of two boxes of snorkeling gear from a small company in Florida. We all have that power, that capability, to change people so deeply and it does not take...it doesn't always take thousands or millions of dollars. It takes a willingness to stop what we're doing, to look around us, or to break out onto some new adventure and be willing to share what we know and love with those who have not had that opportunity. A guiding principal of the Global Classroom is that we are inundated with information and I warn all of my students that this information is just that it is information. Learning firsthand and witnessing for oneself moves that information into an entirely new category called knowledge. That is a powerful thing.

See GLOBAL CLASSROOM - www.globalclassroom.net

The video below of new friend Kristin Hoffmann (www.kristinhoffmann.com)

was produced by Colin was mostly shot by him in Baja, Mexico.

Also check out - www.songfortheocean.com

ON the Road in Rochester NY - Tour Highlights

2009-11-16T07:17:00.000-08:00

TONIGHT (11/16) LEFT ON RED at NIETZSCHE'S @ 9PM

Buffalo, NY (248 Allen St.

Please stay and hang after for the awesome open mic hosted by Michael Meldrum!

PLEASE NOTE: We are also at Neitzche's on Thursday for the John Lennon Tribute show but will only perform 2 songs at the event. Tonight's show will be a full set featuring Chris Aycox and possibly the new guitar too!!

WE are having SO MUCH FUN in UPSTATE NY!!

Tour highlights:

- Getting a free "Traveling Musician's Discount" on the rental from Dollar!

- House of Guitars in Rochester

- Playing at the YWCA

- Opening for Carol and The Impala's on Satuday night at RIT's Lovin' Cup

- Hangin with Kelly's family eating greens and beans and singing songs in Rochester, NY

We are so excited to be back in Rochester and Buffalo!! Next time we come around, it will be in our bio-diesel converted van....probably in February. We're in the upstate area until Saturday and there are a few opportunities to come say hey!

Hope everybody is well with everyone and we love hearing from you!!

Peace, Love and RockNRoll,

Liah and Kelly

LOR's 2nd UPSTATE NY TOUR BEGINS NOW!

2009-11-10T23:25:00.001-08:00

This week we are bringing the Left on Red LOVE to Rochester, Buffalo, Schenectady, Saratoga Springs, and Syracuse! We are psyched to re-unite with friends from last Summer's tour and pay visits to DJs at the radio stations that are now playing Left on Red in upstate NY!

Expect to hear rockin' (but pretty sounding) new songs, shredding violin and a hippie-chicky anthem that will make your heart sing. We will also be handing out some free download seed cards that you can plant! Oh and we have a special guest performing with us, songwriter/guitarist Chris Aycox!

Oh, and Ladies..he's available ;)

Look at me pimping my friend to get girls to come to the show..

SHAME on ME!!

No, but seriously..HE IS!!

So Let's get together and feel alright:)*

With love,

Liah and Kelly

*Quote from Bob Marly (One Love)

**Unfortunately, not our car but wish it was!

Searching for the Happy Bus In Nashville

2009-11-04T11:37:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7HpFzw6qlI

Watch Left on Red test drive an old red-cross bus in Nashville..Is it the right vehicle for their Green Tour?

Caffe Vivaldi Show Saturday 10/10 and LOR NEWS

2009-10-07T11:53:00.000-07:00

if your itching to know when we’ve got our next show
Its at Caffe Vivaldi and we hope you can go..
Left on Red’s gonna play at 7:30 PM
there’s no cover to come so its cheap to bring friends
when the economies tight and times seem so tough
of friendship and music there is always enough.

CAFFE VIVALDI
Saturday October 10th, 7:30 - 8:30 - No Cover
32 Jones Street (Off Bleecker near 7th Ave) NYC 10014

Get there easy:
A, C, E, F trains:
Get Off on West 4 St. and take the West 3 Street exit. You will now be on Avenues of the Americas (6th Ave.) Walk to West 4 St. West 4 St. is one way. Walk against the traffic on West 4 St. Make a left on Jones St. We are on 32 Jones St.

What we are up to:

We have been home for almost two weeks now from a fantastic trip in Europe. It was a great experience to see Paris and Spain, to meet new friends and share in their cultures . We played and wrote a lot of music along the way..the most unlikely place being on the airplane while people were boarding.

Now back in NYC, we have hit the ground running. We are getting ready to leave for Nashville soon and then pretty soon we will start The Green Tour across America. But first:

- National Radio Campaign: 3 weeks ago we launched a national college/indy radio campaign with Tinderbox Music. If you have a favorite station please let us know and we will send them our album. We will be posting the radio station adds on our website as the campaign reports come it.

- The Search for Green Wheels: Part of preparing for our upcoming Green Tour is finding the right vehicle. We are looking for a conversion van that can be easily converted to bio-diesel. Left on Red will be touring across the country and living in it for the next year or so it has to be cute.

- New Videos up on YouTube: We just posted a live video of “The Extra Mile” from our last show at Webster Hall Studio. Special thanks to Eric Halloran who did wonders with our dinky-non zoom camera! Also up are some clips from Paris. If you like the videos, please RATE THEM as doing that really helps Left on Red be seen be more people across the world.

- Must see: “Michael Moore’s new film “Capitalism, A love story”. It affirmed more that only we can change the future of this country and this world, together. Power to the people!

THANK YOU for reading and THANK YOU for being our friend.
Your support encourages us to continue to make music and share it with the world..

Shine on, Liah and Kelly

Top Ten Reasons to see Left On Red at The Bitter End this Thursday 9/3:

2009-09-03T04:52:00.000-07:00

10. Since 1961, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, and many legends have launched their careers in front of The Bitter End's famous brick wall.

9. It’s still warm enough out to walk around Greenwich Village people watching people watching you..

8. Thursday is the official start of the weekend in many parts of the world..the trolls of Balogna have a legend that predicts “she/he who starts the weekend with music on Thursday will have long awesome weekend and long life filled with love and happiness”.

7. Because Liah and Kelly would love to party with you before they leave for their busking adventures in Europe this Sunday.

6. Because Saturday is The Big Brazilian Day Festival in NYC and Left on Red has nothing really to do with this (except for the fact that they like Caipirinhas).

5. It’s far less expensive than going to see the US Open.

4. Left on Red will perform with legendary rock guitar god Mark Bosch and womder-woman’s defender of all that is good and in tempo, percussionist, Kirsten Kairos.

3. The next LOR NY show is October 10th...sooooo looonnnggg in the future

2. Although LOR cannot provide National Healthcare, they DO provide healing music...*General Announcement: use LOR (or just music in general) for cuts, minor aches and pains, broken hearts, and bad days*

1. Every time you say “I’m too tired to go out”...somewhere a little fairy dies :( and that’s really sad...)

So please come party with us this Thursday night at The Bitter End! Not only because we love you and not only because it's gonna be a great show, but because you can also do your part to save the fairies and that my friend is an honorable way to spend a Thursday night.

xoxo, Liah and Kelly

LOR Show starts at 9:00 PM - $10.00

The Bitter End Located at:
147 Bleecker Street (between Thompson and LaGuardia) New York City, NY 10012

The New Old City of Warsaw

2009-08-16T11:04:00.000-07:00

Being in Warsaw sort of feels like being in Disneyland..

Everything is really pretty and the streets are clean and cobblestoned; horses clippety-clop throughout the town pulling smiling people all around. There are street performers and brightly colored things to buy and the restauraunts are beautifully decorated with an abundance of flowers and greenery. But like Disneyland, everything you in Warsaw is a replica of something that existed before..in some other distant land and time.

Warsaw is, despite the 1600th century facades and cobblestone streets, only about 65 years old. The town was rebuilt by referencing paintings and photographs of the city that was destroyed and burnt to the ground in WWII (1940). All that was left standing then was an old church and a couple stone walls. The Polish people dug Warsaw out of the ashes and re-created what it was before, leaving no detail to spare. They did all this without foreign aid as a testament to the will and endurance of the Polish spirit.

Now, looking up at these buildings that appear old and worn, but are in fact no older than my dad I start to wonder about history. How important is to hold on to the past to understand and explain who we are? Some cities, Berlin for example, was destroyed in WWII as well but went on to rebuild itself as a modern city. The Polish on the other hand wanted things just the same as they had been before the war. How do these different responses explain these two cultures and what can I learn from this?

Woman reading around the old city wall.

This warrior mermaid is the symbol of Warsaw,
here she is in the old town square. Burnt to the ground by the Nazi's everything you see here is a replica of what the town looked like in the 1600's.

The Mermaid stands as a symbol of strength and abundance for the Warsovian.
It is said that she was very good to the people of Warsaw and lived in the bordering River and brought them bounty and protected them from farm. Her face was caste from a young nurse who later went on to write a famous Polish song and then became a National hero when she died in the Warsaw Uprising.

The giant brick wall around the old city, inspired my those that bordered cities all around Eastern Europe in Midieval times.
These walls were usually doubled for extra protection against invaders.

Warsaw old Square at night

I am here to understand a bit about my Polish, Jewish roots.
So far I have learned that Warsaw, once one of the most important and largest Jewish Center in Eastern Europe, now only has 10-15 thousand Jews left. Most of my people were exterminated by the Nazi's in the Ghettos and concentration camps while the lucky ones escaped as refugees to foreign lands..It's almost impossible to imagine.

Today we will go to what is left of the Jewish heritage here in Poland.
We will visit the Warsaw Ghetto, the place where Jews were forced to live when the Nazi's invaded. From one day to the next Jews were forced to leave their homes and belongings, to be confined into tight quarters without the Freedom to leave.

Looking forward to writing more later as I gain a greater perspective on things as I see more.
Peace to all, Liah

Upstate Adventures: Schenectady, NY

2009-07-27T15:49:00.000-07:00

In Schenectady,
in less than 24 hours we played a gig at The Moon and River Cafe, did a TV show perfomance on "Schenectady Today with Richard Genest" and played a show for the women of the YWCA (Shelter that aids victims of domestic violence).

"They don't take any crap in Schenectady!"

"The Doggy in The Window"

"Sun-rays through Sun-shine"

"Birthday Cake for sale at Moon and River Cafe..yum"

"Left on Red hits the road in their trusty Peace-Mobile"

CHESS in CT

2009-07-22T10:27:00.001-07:00

CHESS IN CT

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.

Nelson Mandela

We are in CT with an amazing group of school teachers. They are a non-profit organization called "Communities for Learning" and this week they're involved in an intense conference, learning how to improve their school communities.

We haven't JUST been hanging out, being heady, and playing chess, though... every morning, Liah gives the teachers a 6AM "Boot Camp" work-out and a 7AM Yoga class. We've performed for the teachers and tonight we'll MC a challenging game of "Name that Tune."

*Note: The baby in the foreground was not used as a chess piece*

Upstate NY: Planet Love

2009-07-21T14:30:00.000-07:00

PLANET LOVE: Printed Clothing with Positive Vision

(www.planetlovedesigns.com)

We met Planet Love at the Corn Hill Festival in Rochester....and we've been wearing Planet Love ever since! These T-Shirts are so cool.

Liah and I chose two of the "guitar" design shirts (in different colors and styles - liah the tank and I the T) but our other favorites included the "plant", "compost", "bike - way to go" and "pickle" designs!

Tanya - the owner and creator of Planet Love (pictured above with us) is sporting "plant":)

These designs are printed with environmentally friendly water-based ink on 100% cotton!

Upstate NY: Tour Day 1

2009-07-10T13:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we woke at The Moon and River Cafe. It is a cozy, artsy restaurant and music venue in the Historic Section of Schenectady. I asked Richard, the owner of the cafe, what the name meant and he said “It means skin, neck and titty” and we laughed and then he said, “just kidding, It means, ‘beautiful place on the other side of the pine forests’ in Mohawk”. I had wondered what it meant since we rolled into town yesterday and thought that I could never live in a place that didn’t have a cute name, which was kind of a bummer because it seems pretty quaint and friendly here. Guess that’s how it goes sometimes...

The name of our car is "The Peace-mobile" because it has a big blue peace-sign magnet that we purchased after our show last night at Moon and River.

It was so much fun to play in Schenectady..Great crowd, awesome musical line-up, yummy veg food. Opening the night was local guitarist/songwriter Tom Mercoglan who performed a stirring version of Eddie Vedder's "Society". Tom was accompanied by Leen on the Irish Bodhran. We also enjoyed playing with Anna Dagmar who I (Liah) had met a couple months ago at the ASCAP songwriting EXPO in Los Angeles. She is a wonderful piano player and songwriter and we jammed on a couple tunes with her. Hope to play with her again soon.

Hightlights from Tour Day 1:
-walking around the river in the Historic section of town, doing yoga with Kelly and petting dogs.
-Visiting the YWCA and learning about the challenges facing the women of the community here. We want to organize a show for the shelter. More on that in a future blog.
-rockin out and meeting new friends:)

Can't wait to see what else is in store..next stop: Rochester, NY

Here are some movies that Richard "the owner of moon and river" reccomended we all see:

-Dog Fight (1991) Winner of Sundance Film Festival. Set in 1963, America distilled into two people... A young marine recruit meets a young woman who thinks folk music can change the world.

-Rocket Science (2007) About a kid who stutters and his struggles with life and love.

Favorite Chunks of Energy

2009-06-27T08:06:00.000-07:00

Yeaaahh we like Cliff bars, Luna bars, "GREENS+" bars etc...BUT our absolute favorite type of energy bar, winning by a HUGE lead is...CHUNKS OF ENERGY!

These little chunks of heavenly hippy-chicky/chico goodness can be found in health food stores ALL accross the United States (usually found in the bulk foods section). They have been a "dedicated Green, Family Managed Business serving and supporting organic and healthy food stores since 1991!" - AND might I add have hardly upped their prices during those years of service.

So thank you, Chunks of Energy, for being so yummy, healthy, environmental, and AFFORDABLE! My personal favorite flavor is the "Chocolate Almoond Chip" (with "High Country Gorp" at a close second) and Liah's is the "Carob Spirulina" (the original flavor which started the business off!).

Using Chunks of Energy as a lifesaver energy source on tours, trips, busy days, and as an easy, healthy snack in between meals, has helped us stay healthy and energized and we hope it does the same for you!
Love,
Kelly and Liah
www.leftonredmusic.com

Generation Sustain

2009-06-25T12:07:00.000-07:00

Shout out to Generation Sustain.

On our trip to my hometown Shelburne Falls, MA last weekend we had the opportunity to check out "Generation Sustain" at it's headquarters. GS is a group of innovative, young entrepreneurs in the area who've taken a huge, beautiful space and turned it into offices for themselves and other businesses. Although most of the businesses currently using the space differ in their field, (from computer repair to creative marketing to the New England Farmer's Union) they have something way cool in common - they operate using sustainable and environmentally sound methods.

GS is making a statement that businesses can operate sucessfully without causing massive harm to the environment. I am excited to learn more about the techniques each company uses and how they progress. It is also my hope that our generation and generations to come will inherit this sustainable model with compassion for the planet and our future as a species.

Love and sustainability to all businesses and persons,
Kelly
www.leftonredmusic.com

Left on Red, White and Blue: July 4th Kick off Party!!

2009-06-22T07:33:00.000-07:00

We are so happy to announce and invite you to our second show at The Bitter End.. the world famous Bleecker Street club where so many musical greats were discovered!!

Thank you to all our wonderful friends who came out on a rainy Monday night for our last Bitter End show..We played and partied and filled that place with so much sunshine:) Because of you we've been asked back next Thursday night at 9 to kick off 4th of July Weekend Left on Red style!

We will be performing songs from our latest album as well as inviting some beautiful and talented guests to join us on stage! You are also invited to the after-party at a very secret location that you will only find out about if you ask me or Kelly:)

We are offering our friends $5 Advance tickets at www.leftonredmusic.com.

See you at the show!

xo, Liah and Kelly

Left on Red goes from 2 to 7 at Ace of Clubs!

2009-06-04T09:29:00.000-07:00

Thank you friends for coming out
on a rainy Wednesday night to see Left on Red at Ace of Clubs!

Here is the re-cap:

-We got to the venue and it smelled a bit like a musty sock so I ran out to buy some Indian nagchampa incense while Kelly set up the sound and got the band situated. I think the incense totally brought up the vibration of the club and set the tone for an awesome night. We will do this at every show where we can from now on.

-It was the first time we played with this full band configuration: Mark Bosch on lead guitar, Ippei Ichimaru on Bass, Nick "Yuki" Miscusi on percussion and uke and Jessica Mease singing harmonies on "Shine" and "I can look at the Sun". The songs translated amazingly with a full band and it was so freeing to play with such amazing musicians!

-Surprise guest drummer, our friend Albert Bouchard (original drummer for Blue Oyster Cult) showed up with some friends and hopped on stage for the whole show and made the songs sound huge and AMAZING! We never even rehearsed with him but he is a long time friend of Kelly's and mine and is the sweetest most down to earth person. We love you Albert!

-The after party was a blast. I am still not sure how we organized 20 people to walk across town to the East Village to Yaffa Cafe. If you haven't been there yet you MUST go!!! I love the artsy, laid back atmosphere and Yaffa has excellent people watching, the food is so yummy and it comes out so super fast that it appears the chef's must have psychic abilities. The Sangria is pretty sneaky so watch out..as Kelly observed after getting buzzed off one glass "It's not juice, but it pretends to be".

Ace of Clubs: Set List

Shine
Left on Red
Jack and Jill
Ma Grand-mere Charmante
Spanish Song (instrumental)
High Heel Blues
Shakira
Joy to the World
I Can Look at the Sun
Gone Long Gone
Crash and Burn
Smile/When your smiling

NEXT LOR SHOW:

Next show is this Monday, June 8th at 9PM at the world famous "Bitter End".
147 Bleecker Street (between Thompson and LaGuardia)
New York City, NY 10012
$10.00 door/$5.00 RSVP

Since 1961, many legends have launched their careers in front of The Bitter End's famous brick wall..come see Left on Red's Bitter End debut this Monday!

RSVP @ leftonredmusic@gmail.com

A Happy Sort of Rock Show this Wednesday (6.03.09)!!!

2009-06-02T08:11:00.000-07:00

LEFT ON RED @ ACE OF CLUBS

9 Great Jones Street - NYC
btw. Broadway and Lafayette - 6 Train to Bleeker or R to 8th St.
Showtime 7:30 - 8:30 - $7.00 cover

Joining Left on Red will be Special guests Mark Bosch on lead guitar, Ippei Ichimaru on Bass and Nick "Yuki" Miscusi on Percussion and uke!
It will be a happy sort of rock show and we are psyched to share it with you:)

xo, Liah and Kelly

www.leftonredmusic.com
www.aceofclubsnyc.com
www.myspace.com/leftonredtheband

Busking Photos from Roy

2009-05-17T11:46:00.000-07:00

Halo,

So we were out one day at 23rd St. busking and Roy Cohen happens to walk through the station! So he started snapping. Thanks Roy! Check him out!

We've got a busking video from this same day here!

And of course, remember to visit our web site(www.leftonredmusic.com) for cool stuff...

Love,

LOR

Shelburne Falls Senior Center

2009-05-06T15:35:00.000-07:00

Hey Blogosphere,
I just would like to say thank you to the Universe and everyone else who made my concert at the Shelburne Falls Senior Center possible! It was a blast!

"There is wisdom in a multitude of counselors."

Here are some things I learned:
1. A nice run through of Orange Blossom Special appeals to everyone!
2. Helping others keeps you young: There was a very inspiring women who happens to be one of the oldest seniors at the center...sharp as an arrow and happy as a buddha. She told me she has a huge pile of hand crocheted blankets she made herself that she donates to the handicapped. Apparently there's a group that comes and picks them up from her every week or so...they'd missed a week or two so she was hoping they'd come today because she had a huge pile of them! Isn't that awesome!
3. Apples to Apple Juice to Apple Cider to Hard Apple Cider to Apple Cider Vinegar
4. When you sing, well that's alright, but when everyone else sings along with you, that's bliss.
I will be sure to go back to the Shelburne Falls Senior Center soon!

Love,
Kelly
www.leftonredmusic.com

Love from Nashvillias

2009-03-31T10:59:00.000-07:00

Hey Y'all!

I am writing to you from Nashville, TN where we have been traveling to write, record and perform every few months since early 2008. I love coming here for many reasons and one day could even see myself living in the outskirts of this inspiring place, which I've now affectionately named, "Nashvillias".

Things I love about Nashvillias and it's surrounding areas (in no particular order):
-The friends we have made here who have truly shown us the meaning of "Southern Hospitality".
-Amazing musicians and songwriters are everywhere!
-Working with those some of those Amazing musicians and songwriters everyday:)
-Time is slower here..really!!!
-Everyone always seems to be going out to see live- music.
-The Musicians on Call program at Vanderbilt Hospital.
-Fido: a cool and yummy coffee shop with tasty treats for vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike.
-last night on the way home to the ranch where we are staying there was a cow hanging out in the middle of the road.
-there a lot of horses and cows everywhere.
-people stop for those white lines in the street. They call it a "crosswalk" here but I'm not sure what it's called in New York..I thought it was just some OCD graffiti.
-big skies, southern accents, vintage stores, morning runs outside with dogs, hearing birds in the morning...

That's all for now but I'm sure I'll add more later.
We are on our way to record with our friend and co-writer Stuart Mathis. We wrote Shop with him on our last visit and are super-excited to jam with him again..he's a genius!

xoxo, Liah

Left on Red Album Gets the Green Light!!!

2009-01-04T09:17:00.000-08:00

-entry by Liah

It's amazing to think that not even one year ago, Kelly and I were just two girls playing and writing songs in the Subway. We created Left on Red in March because we wanted to spread love through music and write songs that were fun and relevant. In 9 months we have had the pleasure of traveling across the US playing shows, making friends and working with awesome people who have inspired us and helped us to realize our dream...Left on Red's First EP is finally Mastered and will be ready to roll out at the end of January 09!!!

Liah--->Nashville (a photo journal by kelly halloran)

2009-01-03T15:28:00.000-08:00

I thought it might be fun to post a visual synopsis of Liah traveling to Nashville last year to record the album (photography: me). Special shout outs to Liah, Nashville, American Airlines, Scotty D, Andy D, Taxi driver, Toll booth operator, Tourist 1, Policeman 1, Policeman 2, Stewardess, Gerald, The millionare and his wife, and Extras.

Hailing a taxi downtown on a saturday morning: rough

Taxi Cab to the Airport: 50 bucks

Plane Tickets: $217 each

Cowgirl Hat: $20

Recording your first EP: Priceless

A day off in Nashville

2008-09-29T07:55:00.000-07:00

After 4 awesome days in the studio we had a day off to explore Nashville. Our Curiosity and love of all things animal, led us to A Cowboy Town for a Horseback riding adventure!

Our red rental car rolled up the long and windy dirt road through Cowboy Town. We parked and walked up to a big red barn where a man in a cowboy hat was saddling an Appaloosa (the spotted horses). We asked him where we had to go for the 10:45 trail-ride and he pointed us to the saloon. As we walked through the creaky wooden doors, the kind that have been seen in countless cowboy movie, it was as if we stepped through a time-portal into the wild, wild west.

There was nobody inside the saloon so we looked around and waited on the bar stools which were cleverly made of saddles.
After a few minutes Denise, the owner of cowboy town came out to greet us. We filled out a couple of forms and then were on our way. We even got to pick the kind of horse we wanted to ride. Liah opted for the native breed, the Tennessee Walker, while Kelly having less riding experience just opted for a horse that could walk.

We walked outside with Denise and she led us to a mounting block where we waited for our horses, "Express" and "Miss Kitty". Both horses were beautiful and they looked in great health. Our wrangler, Caleb soon followed and we set off into the forest for our trail-ride.

It was an hour long trip that wound around kick-a-poo lake, through lush green forest and up and down rocky hills. We walked and trotted up and down the beautiful trails and had a blast.

After our ride was through we fed our horses apples and thanks the cow-people for a lovely morning. Next time we are back in Nashville we will surely go back for a visit..only this time Im bringing a cowboy hat because I've never felt to under-dressed!

A Cowboy Town
3665 Knight Drive
Whites Creek, TN 37189
Phone: (615) 242-6201
www.acowboytown.com

Wine Tasting in the North of Spain

2008-09-23T16:16:00.001-07:00

We visited the wine village of Ribadavia. Here is where grapes like tempranillo and alvarino really thrive in the warm Galician micro-climate. We sampled the delicious wine in a stone tavern with friends.

Wine tasting 1-2-3:

APPEARANCE-Examine the color by holding the glass up to the light and swishing it around. (also, this is a good time to thank the heavens for the elixir you are about to enjoy). The thicker the residue on the glass, the higher the alcohol content.

BOUQUET-Put your nose delicately into the glass and inhale. Professional wine-tasters and wine fans everywhere have a great time using adjectives common to daily life to describe the aroma of the wine; i.e. oaky, fruity, perky. I described this wine as having a complex aroma of deciduous rain blossom berries and sensuous Costa Rican beach sand. The longer the description, the more it seems you know what you are talking about.

TASTE-Sip the wine and let it flow over your tongue, from one side of your mouth to the other. Wine-tasters do this is because the tongue perceives tastes in sections. The after-taste of the wine is also noted by connoisseurs.

Cheers! Salud! Nastrovia! Le Chaim!

No Gas in Nashville

2008-09-23T16:03:00.000-07:00

They are fresh out of gas in Nashville.

Lines stretch out 30 cars long.
Is this our future?

2 Articles about the Nashville gas shortage of 2008:

CNN Article
AAA Article

Kelly "When will the government make alternative energy a priority?"
Liah "Kelly, weve got to come up with our own Left on Red solution!"

Much thanks to Rosinante*, our faithful Spanish steed.
Rosinante, the horse that once was ordinary from Cervantes' Don Quijote.

The Manhattan Sisters!

2008-06-13T08:45:00.000-07:00

In an enormous ice cave in a covert area of Southern Antarctica, scientists have been working for the past 300 years on what has now become the most celebrated, in demand, technological accomplishment in the history of mankind...

THE MANHATTAN SISTERS: Two female musician phenomena. Liah, the guitarist and singer, and Kelly, violinist and singer were designed specifically to play ANY requested song. Except the ones they don’t yet know.

Immediately following world press coverage of their historical release in June of 2008, The Manhattan Sisters were booked for every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights at the pristine Italian restaurant Trattoria Romana on Staten Island. At Trattoria Romana, they stroll around tables taking requests while happy audiences enjoy the amazing Italian cuisine.

WWW.MANHATTANSISTERS.COM

HOURS OF OPERATION @ TRATTORIA ROMANA-
Thursday: 8-11PM
Friday: 9PM-Midnight
Saturday: 9PM-Midnight

The Best Way to Get to Trattoria Romana from Manhattan:
1.Take the 1 train to the Staten Island Ferry ($2)
2.Take the Staten Island Ferry to Staten Island (Free, they leave every 20min.)
3. Take a cab to 1476 Hylan ave. ($15)

We Love You 110th Street!

2008-05-29T18:02:00.001-07:00

5.29.08

“It’s a beautiful day, hey, hey the skies are blue. It’s a beautiful day, hey, hey, to be with you. “

Our new song “Beautiful Day” (which we wrote at the beginning of the week) was a hit today in the subway. I would say right now it’s got the #4 slot on the SUBWAY’S TOP HITS charts…

We originally planned to play at 103rd st. but fortunately an awesome classical violinist was there and we befriended him. He was one of the nicest other subway buskers I’ve ever met. He even offered to give us the station because he knows how frustrating it is to get to a favorite spot and find somebody else occupying it. He tipped us about another great station one stop away on the uptown train – 110th st. So we took the tip and in turn discovered a NEW favorite station! Always a treat. It’s sometimes just as much a pleasure to meet and play for new people than it is to see and play for regulars at old stations. In both scenarios they are welcoming and happy.

Shout out and special thanks to the 110th st. subway commuters! We will be back…

Much peace and love to you,
Kelly

EWB

2008-05-23T15:00:00.000-07:00

We rocked out at a benefit concert last night for Engineers Without Borders (EWB). It was awesome to meet these generous new friends who give their expertise and time to help our brothers and sisters of the world's developing nations. This particular event was a fund-raiser to support a trip to Kenya. The folks of EWB are designing and building a new water system for a maternity ward for the people of a small village there called Matunda.

Saving the planet, one salad at time

2008-05-13T12:39:00.000-07:00

Today Kelleanor and I figured out a new way for us to conserve resources while eating lunch at Doppio, the greatest Ma and Pop Soup and Salad Shop in the Financial District. We were enjoying one of their delicious, homemade vegetarian soups and a salad when the conversation turned to the ecological footprint. “Ecological footprint (EF) analysis is a measure of human demand on the Earth's ecosystems and natural resources. It compares human consumption of natural resources with planet Earth's ecological capacity to regenerate them.” Wikepedia.

The United States has the largest ecological footprint in the world and we can’t just blame this on the corporations and industry because we can all do little things each day to help our planet. Today, instead of throwing out the clear plastic containers that our yummy salads came in, we took them home and washed them. Next time we head to Doppio to get our green fix we will be helping the planet stay greener as well by bringing our own salad containers..henceforth "saving the planet one salad at a time".

Hotel Cafe Show last night

2008-04-03T16:44:00.001-07:00

Testing this out now..blog Numero Uno for Left on Red.

We are in Hollywood this morning, working out of our improvised office (a table at this beautiful restaurant, an organic oasis called Bloom). We came for the coconut, hemp, smoothies and have stayed for the hospitality and high speed internet:)

Last night we played at Hotel Cafe as part of Tom Morello’s showcase for Axis of Justice. It was an amazing evening of music and activism! All proceeds of the show went to benefit Axis of Justice and Food not Bombs..an organization that helps feed families in the Los Angeles area.

Hotel Cafe Line-up:

The Night Watchman with the Freedom Fighter Orchestra
Boots Reily (The Coup and Galactic)
Dhani Harrison
The Billionaires
Left on Red
Wayne Kramer of MC-5
Zacharia
G-Love and West Indian Girl
Sen Dog (Cypress Hill)

The night kicked off with the Nightwatchman, who played 4 songs, "Battle Hymns" from the Body of War soundtrack and his own kick ass adaptation of ACDC’s Dirty Deeds. For his last song he brought out his band, "The Freedom Fighter Orchestra" and Kelly joined in too with her sweet violin licks! Then Boots Riley got up on stage and performed an inspiring set of revolutionary rhymes. After Boots, Danny Harrison got up and performed a tune with two beautiful Norwegian back-up singers. I won’t say son of Beatle but shit..SON OF A BEATLE!

After Danny came the Billionaires with beautiful 3 part harmonies and a sweet tune called ’I love Mother nature". And then it was our turn to rock the stage with "Left on Red" and "Momma Momma"! The Hollywood crowd was warm and welcoming and we had so much fun playing and meeting the musicians that have inspired us. Revolutionary rocker, Wayne Kramer graced the stage right after us while we collected our brains in the green room. It was then that our new friend Heidi turned to us and said, "Welcome to Hollywood girls, strange things happen here".

Check out some reviews of the show:

Welcome

2008-02-20T06:53:00.000-08:00

This is the blog of Left on Red. Here we will document our experiences for our own amusement and that of whoever else wants to join in on the ride. This is the beginning.

To those who love, time is eternity...