CLOCKWORKBIRD: design, animation, illustration » songwriting

Bone & Bell @ The Ace Bar- February 3rd, 9pm

hey hey — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 23:17:24 +0000

Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/230259077055616/

Chasing Shade: Fantastic 3-piece leaving Iowa City to come serenade the Windy City for one night.
www.chasingshade.bandcamp.com

Shiloh: A 7 piece of people who enjoy American Music.
www.shilohchicago.bandcamp.com

$5 – - – 21+

Show tonight at Schubas!!!

hey hey — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 15:42:38 +0000

Bone & Bell is getting to play the SongCircle Showcase (http://www.songcirclemusic.com/) at Schubas tonight. There are some really great songwriters lined up, so be sure to come on down.

$10, 18 +
Show starts at 8:00pm sharp

The lineup:
Bone & Bell (around 9pm)
Tyler James Beach (of Leaf Bird)
Ryan Anderson (of Go Long Mule)
Ashley Brooke Toussant
Anna Vogelzang
Steve Leaf

http://schubas.com/Shows/03-15-2011+SongCircle

Bone & Bell on NPR! (848 / WBEZ)

hey hey — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 19:56:30 +0000

I was featured this morning on the fabulous WBEZ morning show, Eight Forty Eight. You can listen to the entire performance and download here:
http://www.wbez.org/episode-segments/bone-bells-heather-smith-plucks-ukulele

I also have two very exciting shows coming up this week. Come if you can!!!

Thursday, Jan. 13th, 8pm @ Schubas – Opening for Marketa Irglova (of the Swell Season) for the Tomorrow Never Knows Festival

This show is currently sold out for individual tickets, but you can purchase a 5 day pass to the festival and get in.
Friday, Jan. 14th, 10pm @ Uncommon Ground on Clark
$5 suggested donation, food and beverages will be available for purchase

PRF Songwriting Challenge: Armageddon (week 117)

hey hey — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 06:45:05 +0000

So, I threw together a quick song for the PRF Songwriting Challenge. This week’s challenge (Armageddon) was issued by last week’s winner, my dear friend, Butternut. My interpretation incorporates a bunch of found sounds tells the brief story of a couple survivors. It represents the aftermath… and the optimistic shock that often accompanies such intense overhauls.

My submission is “The Survivors”:
http://www.purevolume.com/PRFWeek117Armageddon/albums/Armageddon

Bone & Bell EP – LOO*M

hey hey — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 21:30:56 +0000

Well, it took a bit longer than expected, but I finally finished my baritone ukulele EP, Loom. It’s a collection of some of my earliest songs… The majority of them are 7 years old at this point. Needless to say, it’s been a long time coming. One million thank yous to my lovely boyfriend for recording and mixing it for me.

You can download it for FREE for a limited time, so get it while the gettin’s good.

http://boneandbell.com

PRF Songwriting Challenge – Week 71 – I Win!

hey hey — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 15:30:00 +0000

So, it’s 11pm last Sunday. I’m watching a Dr. Who episode I’ve seen before and it suddenly strikes me that the PRF songwriting challenge is due in one hour.

So, I whipped out the ‘ol baritone uke and wrote a simple, little ditty in about 20 minutes, recorded in 2 takes , with 1 mic and ended up tying for first place. Woo hoo! I’m kind of a winner!

The challenge was the write a song that somehow has to do with vegetables. Here is a link to the whole week’s entries:
http://www.purevolume.com/PRFWeek71/albums/Call+Any+Vegetable

Mine is titled: Iamnotavegetable

Song Collection

hey hey — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 17:50:04 +0000

So, I’ve had it requested from a couple of folks that I post the songs that I’ve been writing and submitting to the PRF Song Challenge. Basically, Jason and I (and in one case Rick) all wrote and recorded these songs in a few of hours. Fast and furious but lots of fun.

For those of you who don’t know, the PRF Songwriting Challenge is a weekly competition where songwriters from around the globe submit songs based on a theme or challenge. It all started on the Electrical Audio forum: READ ABOUT IT HERE

CHALLENGE: Write a song about cats / bonus points for a cappella
An Animal – Just me this time, although J did the engineering and the snapping. It sure is nice to have an audio engineer as a boyfriend.

CHALLENGE: Write a holiday song
I Don’t Believe in Santa Claus – J and I – a light-hearted Christmas romp

CHALLENGE: Write a song based on this painting
King for a Day - J and I – I really do want a collection of mini-moos.

CHALLENGE: Write a Sci-fi song
Invasion Trilogy – Jason, Rick and I – Three way song writing trilogy / Does that mean it’s cubed? Sidenote: we are expanding this and trying to work it into a piece we can perform live.

Jeff Mangum come back. We miss you.

hey hey — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 18:44:29 +0000

I’ve been kicking myself for missing the Elephant 6 Orchestra reunion tour that came to Chicago this fall. What was I thinking??!?!??!!
The truth is, I didn’t know about it…
But that’s NO excuse, damn it.

Thankfully, NPR did a recording of the show and I’ve been able live vicariously through that.
Here is a link to the goods.

On a side note: Julian Koster just gets weirder and weirder-in a good way. He makes me wanna get my saw, bow and resin out again.

Sci-Fi Invasion Trilogy

hey hey — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 03:40:01 +0000

So, Jason, Rick and I wrote a Sci-Fi trilogy for the PRF Songwriting challenge.

Yes, we were ambitious. The theme was inspiring (sci-fi) and there was fresh snow impeding travel.

It’s little rough around the edges… but not bad for a few hours work.

LISTEN TO IT HERE:

OR HERE:

http://www.purevolume.com/PRFWeek23/albums/99587454

It’s called Invasion Trilogy.

Ukulele Cabaret – Valentine’s Day style

hey hey — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 00:55:03 +0000

I’m gonna go join the rest of the freaks in the ukulele circuit and play some tunes tonight. Thankfully, I’ve got a lot of songs on the chosen theme. Come if you get a chance.