Hey, Everybody! Guess what—thanks to you all, I was nominated for a Houston Press Music Award. Now, all I need is a couple more minutes of your time to vote at www.houstonpress.com. The Music Awards icon is a slim banner that spans from left to right at the top of the home page. When you click on it, you will see a voting icon that will lead you to the ballot. Just scroll down to the Folk category, and select Glenna Bell. (By the way, before you click the “submit” button, you might want to uncheck the three boxes near the beginning that are offers to receive Houston Press advertising unless you want to get updates about events that are going on in town.)
And I’m excited to say that my new album, Perfectly Legal: Songs of Sex, Love and Murder, is hot off the press. It will be released in September through Burnside, but I delivered some advance copies to KPFT 90.1 FM here in Houston about a week ago, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised to hear almost all of the songs on one program or another so far. This morning, it was The Cougar Anthem on the Blues on the Move show, hosted by Mr. and Mrs. V and their sidekick, Nancy. I really love to listen online at kpft.org on Sundays while I drink my coffee, but I didn’t expect to hear myself today when Mrs. V said there was a song going out to the Houston-based music writer, Roger Wood—a song by one of his colleagues. That caught my attention because I myself happen to be one of Roger’s colleagues, and I was thinking, “now, who could that song be by?” When I heard the first strains of The Cougar Anthem emanating through my speakers, it was quickly revealed to me that it was ME! Hah! It’s a lot of fun to tune in to community radio. There’s so much great music to discover that you would never hear on mainstream stations. If you’d like to preview the new songs from Perfectly Legal, you can call and request them at the KPFT studio: 713-526-5738.
I’ve also been spending some time posting new photos and the first new song installment at http://www.glennabell.com/. The first thing that you will see is the gorgeous album cover by Theo Anderson (photography) and Natali Leduc (design). And the first thing that you will hear is my rendition of the American folk song, Frankie and Johnny, which is the first track on Perfectly Legal. Frankie and Johnny is the initial installment of the full album, which I will post one song at a time until the release in September. And there’s a hidden surprise that you can unveil by clicking the title, Frankie and Johnny, on my Music page: it’s a little write up that I posted about the song’s history and what I like best about performing it. Perfectly Legal will be available in retail outlets and through digital download this Fall, but there are a limited number of pre-release copies for sale for fifteen dollars, plus tax, at Sig’s Lagoon record store in Houston, right next door to the Continental Club on Main Street at Alabama. Autographed advance copies are also available for fifteen dollars, plus two dollars’ postage, by emailing me at Glenna@glennabell.com
I’m busy packing for a big month-long trip to New York where I’ll be staying somewhere that was described to me as a “fantastic apartment in a great location.” It’s in Manhattan, a block or so from Central Park, and I can hardly wait to have the time to focus on my writing while I’m there. I’ll also be doing some radio appearances and live shows, debuting the new songs from Perfectly Legal up East. I dedicated this new record to Edward Albee, who was my mentor when I was in the Creative Writing Program at the University of Houston. Mr. Albee wrote Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and won the Pulitzer three times. He has been such an inspiration to me in so many ways. I’m looking forward to seeing him while I’m in New York.
I’m sure that there are many more adventures ahead on this road less traveled, and I thank you again for joining me. Before I close, I want to let you know about a very special show that I’m doing here in Houston at McGonigel’s Mucky Duck on Tuesday, July 20, the night before I fly to Newark. A few months ago, I received an invitation to perform with someone whose song writing I’ve admired since I was a teenager: Shake Russell! Shake wrote the haunting duet, Deep in the West, which was recorded by Waylon Jennings and his wife, Jessi Colter. Shake also penned another one of my all-time favorites, You've Got a Lover, which Ricky Skaggs took to the top of the Country Music Chart in the 1980s. And Shake has composed a solid body of work over the course of a career in music that spans several decades. A genuine troubadour—I’m honored to share a stage and a song swap with Shake and award-winning Texas singer-songwriter, Kelly McGuire. Check out the details at the Mucky Duck Web site: http://www.mcgonigels.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=229&catid=32
And y'all come!