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JK McKnight
The Vixen Red
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“Spring - An experience in immortality.” ~ Henry D. Thoreau
Greetings cadets.
Enter. Sit. Welcome.
We are now over THREE HUNDRED people strong representing 39 cities, 19 states, and 5 countries on 3 continents.
Special thanks to the following people who have joined up since last newsletter:
MARCH
Kelly Krause (Louisville, KY)
John Witaker (Washington, DC)
Ashley Canup (Louisville, KY)
Gszerszan (Louisville, KY)
APRIL
Kristen Brehle (Louisville, KY)
JMovie Guy 811 (Washington, DC)
Jacob Drake (Flyods Knob, IN)
Steve Ross (Los Angeles, CA)
MAY
David Levine (Louisville, KY)
Bill Bornshein (Louisville, KY)
Jesse Hargis (Flyods Knob, IN)
Ryan Nett (somewhere in Iraq)
Greetings to all our new red army cadets. Thanks for joining us, and growing the coalition of support for myself, the vixen red, and my latest craze, "The Forecastle Festival." With Kentucky air thickenin’, and Palmetto dreams stickin', I look back on a productive spring season. The 4th year of an up-and-coming, national festival is in the works, the first vixen red show in nearly two years is scheduled, and the writing for the next red record is complete. Before I go into detail about this and everything else new and exciting, a constant reminder to send me your mailing address if you haven't done so. Everyone who has will be getting a hand-made, hard ver. of this in the mail, perfect for your favorite coffee table or chair! And if you're already on the mailing list and you're getting ready to move, E-MAIL ME YOUR NEW ADDRESS (same for e-mail addys!). Allright, trekking forth, onto the good stuff. Here's what's fueling my insomnia:
+ RECORDING: As discussed in the winter newsletter, the writing process for the next Vixen Red record ~ "Amazing Places" ~ is complete, with 25 new songs finished. Ranging from acoustic to loud, it’s completely different from “Sunrise and Nightfall” – lighter and brighter to say the least, but equally "large, broad and expansive" sounding. It's very poetic, lots of cathartic stories set in broad landscapes. There's big drums and guitars (a vixen red staple), but no more screaming or adolescent anger. Those days are buried. To prove it, I posted the "Amazing" lyrics online last December, and recently updated them @ http://www.thevixenred.com/amazing_places.htm In addition, after two and a half months of being controlling and obsessive, I finally completed acoustic demos of the new record. Still talking to people about filling out the line-up, so.....
If you know a good, dedicated:
DRUMMER, BASSIST or KEYBOARD PLAYER out there, send them my way!
+ SHOWS: The biggest news here is the first vixen red performance in nearly two years. And where will that occur? At the biggest music festival in the world: Summerfest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Other performers include: Santana, Galactic, Death Cab for Cutie, Rusted Root, Tom Petty, Story of the Year, The Allman Brothers, and more. I'll be doing a 1-hour solo set in the afternoon, and a set w/ the vixen red later that night. I'm still looking for additional musicians, so e-mail me if interested. While you're thinking about that, here are some upcoming solo dates:
06.08.05 - Louisville, KY @ The Portland Festival
06.09.05 - Louisville, KY @ The Portland Festival
06.30.05 -> 07.10.05 - Milwaukee, WI @ Summerfest (solo + vixen red)
09.09.05 - South Park, CO @ The South Park Music Festival
09.10.05 - South Park, CO @ The South Park Music Festival
09.11.05 - South Park, CO @ The South Park Music Festival
Speaking of large, summer festivals, time to talk FORECASTLE. As many know, for the past four years I have dedicated myself to organizing a non-profit festival showcasing music, art, and activism equally in a scenic, outdoor environment. It's called "FORECASTLE" and this year will be largest to date, taking place July 30th in Cherokee Park, Louisville, Ky. As of today, we've booked 22 of the best Midwest bands, 40 of the finest local artists, and 30 activist groups from three states. Scroll all the way to the right, and check out the event poster: http://www.gaithergraphix.com/forecastle/ship.jpg This year’s festival will be historic in many ways. It will be the first festival held in ten years @ the famous, 409-acre, Olmstead-designed “Cherokee Park.” It will also be one of the largest concerts, art shows, and activist gatherings in the city. Combine it all together and you see my vision. I’ve dedicated everything I have to this year’s event, raising over $35,000 in cash and service contributions over the past four months. I’ll be launching a 10-city promotional tour in June, so be on the lookout for the giant pirate ship posters. The official website will launch next week, in the meantime, you can read the festival guide here: http://www.jkmcknight.com/forecastle_festival_poster.htm
+ WEB STUFF: The official FORECASTLE FESTIVAL website: www.forecastlefestival.com, is slated to launch next week. I’ll send out a massive red army memo when that happens. As far as the dual jk and vixen red sites, I've removed most of the sound files from "Sunrise and Nightfall..." in the wake of having written "Amazing Places." A few people have written asking what I think of the "Myspace" craze and why I'm not signed up to it. Well, cadets, here's my official response: I don't like it. It's nothing against Myspace, but I wholeheartedly believe my "Red Book" concept (world's first book-designed, 4-chapter, user-interactive lyric, poetry, short story, and message board site) is much more personal and meaningful than Myspace could ever hope to be. So needless to say, I'll pursue that avenue until another genius idea comes my way.
+ STREET TEAM: The JK McKnight / Vixen Red Street Team has transformed itself into “The Forecastle Festival Street Team” until the next record is ready to roll. We really need people right now, to help promote this historic event!! It can be as little as replying back to this e-mail with your mailing address, so I can send you a roll of posters to hang in your hometown. If you want to get more involved, you can e-mail me @ forecastle5@yahoo.com There are going to be a ton of jobs available in the days leading up to July 30th, and we can use all the help we can get. It’s going to be an amazing time and you'll be contributing to an experience you’ll remember for the rest of your life. So don't be afraid, E-MAIL ME!!!
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This is it for now, hard copies of the newsletters will go out next week, so be on the lookout for a mysterious red package. As always, when important news breaks and catastrophic global events occur within the world of myself, the vixen red, and The Forecastle Festival, I will continue to update. I want to say thanks to everyone who has joined this community, your spirit lifts me. As more join and make their presence heard, the greater our swell will rise.
nell 'amore e spirito (in love and spirit) ~ JKM
http://www.forecastlefestival.com (launching soon!)
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FORECASTLE 2005 is an outdoor, festival-like experience in Cherokee Park / Louisville KY, which is based upon a Music.Art.Activism format, where each group is showcased equally. Saturday, July 30th, 2005 will mark the fourth year for the annual summer festival, and will feature performances from twenty-five regional musical groups, artwork displays by fifty local and regional visual artists, and over two dozen social activist organizations. Last year's show brought in a record attendance of over seventeen-hundred people over a ten hour day in Tyler Park.