Some Thoughts from Annette Dietz

Annette's an artist, poet, and Three Penny fan. The following is a great meditation/manifesto on what the Three Penny can become:

Dear Songwriters,

I have enjoyed attending your performances for a year now and just wanted to make some friendly suggestions on possibly increasing your audience.

In this past Sunday’s PG, Lawrence Ferlinghetti said, “today poetry is more or less restricted to poetry journals. I think the real poetry today is with music. Bob Dylan was a real poet. There’s the poetry of folk singers, bluegrass, and country western...”

Ferlinghetti is confirming a belief some of us hold that poets and songwriters have much in common. Yet as I move in the circles of poetry, art, and music in Pittsburgh, I am continually surprised at how insular creative folks can be. And while most poets know and love Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen, few know of Gram Parsons or John Prine – let alone any of you!

More's the pity because the few poets that I have introduced to Pgh. songwriters have loved them and now follow their performances.

Poets and other writers appreciate a well-turned phrase, the passion, humor and seriousness of good songwriting but they do not know what is going on right here in the songwriting community of Pgh.

With the release of the Pgh. Songwriters’ cd compilation, I would suggest you tap into your inner matchmaker and clearly spell out the similarities between these two
groups, hopefully bringing them together for mutual appreciation and collaboration. Hey, maybe a few creative babies, as well.

Please remember that people are busy these days, they need things clearly explained – what should they expect at a concert? The tiny mention of your name under ‘acoustic’ in the newspaper is not enough in most cases.

I will give you a concrete example: some time ago Dennis Candy and Karl Mullen had a performance called Confluence at the Pgh. Center for the Arts. It alternated fiction and poetry readings with music. The readers were from Pitt and the acoustic musicians played in a circle format. The room was filled even with a cover fee – and it brought together the followers of the various performers – gently introducing them to something new – either the craft of acoustic songwriting, or the spoken word.

The advertising and the flyers clearly explained their vision and what to expect, with bios of each reader and performer on the back.

Some of the groups that I think would enjoy your work if they would attend just one time are: The Pittsburgh Poetry Society, the Pittsburgh Poetry Exchange, Mad Women of the Attic, the Squirrel Hill Poets, and the Monroeville Poets. Their meetings and info. can be found on the web. But some of you already know one person in these groups that could deliver flyers and introduce you.

Reading spots that have standing room only would be great places to pass out flyers, introduce yourselves. (not merely advertise – but explain what is happening in the songwriters circles.) Many of them are connected to or have members in the University communities. The Slaughterhouse Choice Cuts reading series, the Gist Building reading series, Paper Street readings in Mt. Lebanon. The Brewhouse artists’collective also hosts readings. Your flyers should be there, in my opinion.

I wonder how much any of these places charge to use their cool spaces? More than one CD release party with various performers would be great. Poets often have multiple readings when they release a new book. Why does there only have to be one CD release party?

I think you should spread flyers in all the book shops, coffee shops and at the universities. There are folks among you who are in these circles and enlisting their help might be valuable. The initial foot work is worth it till you build a regular audience.

Once these folks understand and attend, sign your email list, all the foot work isn’t as necessary.

I think the various papers should do an article about what is happening at the Starlite, and esp. seizing the release of the CD. Don’t overlook the Valley, the Gateway Presses.

One last possible audience that I have found, are those folks in senior communities. They prefer their music acoustic. Hearing aids can’t handle loud venues and these folks would love a night out if they only knew about it. Many of them were involved in the arts and we forget them. They have transportation available money to attend. These communities have staff people that are more than willing to post a flyer and encourage it.

Thanks for listening! Keep shining!

Love,

Annette