Jane Godfrey: News

If you're interested in hearing about my recent travels and gigs, read on!

March 6 - 11
Coffeyville, Kansas

I spent a week in Coffeyville, KS, gigging for the Coffeyville Community College Humanities Program. Performing primarily for retirement communities and nursing homes, with a dash of college and high school programs thrown in for good measure; it was a fun and rewarding, albeit exhausting, week. The theme of my particular program was, “Rhythm in the Ritual – family heritage, traditions, and the ordinary rituals of growing up”…or something like that. (Next time I’m going to have to pick a shorter title.) I always get so much out of performing for the older folks...it was a real joy! So a shout out to Coffeyville! And I had some free time to familiarize myself with the town and its history. What do you want to know about the Dalton Gang and the brave citizens of Coffeyville, “The Dalton Defenders”? For now let’s just say, becoming famous outlaws and then robbing two banks at once in the town you grew up in is not the brightest of ideas.



March 13th - 16th
Chicago/Milwaukee

My friend, Sue Fink, invited me to share a gig with her at Uncommon Ground, a coffeehouse/restaurant/bar just a few blocks from Wrigley Field. Although, getting back in the car and driving to Chicago after only a day-and-a-half at home post-Coffeyville wasn't ideal timing; it was so much fun. The highlight was having Chicago family show up at my gig and afterward staying up most of the night talking songwriting and such with Sue. I spent the next day walking around Sue's wonderful city neighborhood. Took a mini-tour of the Old Town School of Folk Music and concluded the visit with fish and chips at The Grafton Pub and Grill. Then, since I was so close, and was jonesing for a fix of my grandchildren, I had to swing up to Milwaukee. No gigs there, just lots a love.



March 19th - 23rd
St. Louis/Nashville

I had a couple of days to rest, and then a terrific gig on the 19th at Focal Point (KDHX Birthday Bash and Benefit.) It was so much fun to see and hear so many local songwriters! Here's a link to a little Youtube clip:

http://youtu.be/MrpClPbvKCI


The next day I drove to Nashville for my Sunday Writers Night gig at the Bluebird Cafe - always fun. The day after that, Fran E. joined me for our meeting at ASCAP. While we were in Nashville we stayed with Fran's cousin, and chief technical engineer at Ocean Way Studios, Sal Greco, who gave us a tour of the studio. Amazing place! It's housed in an old church on Music Row. Nothing like stained glass windows for an inspirational recording session! I know there are at least a few recording geeks who get this newsletter so here's a link to the cover article about Ocean Way in Mix Magazine from April 2010:

http://mixonline.com/studios/profiles/on_cover_ocean_way_nashville/
March 29 - April 3rd
Nashville/Memphis

I've been a member of NSAI (Nashville Songwriters Association International) since 2002. One of our local coordinators is moving out of town so I'm stepping up to co-lead our St. Louis chapter. The training for new coordinators cooincides with Tin Pan South, Nashville's week-long celebration of songwriters. Besides the training days, I got to go to some great songwriters-in-the-round shows. Then on to Memphis - no music business there...just snuck in a quick visit with my daughter before heading home.

March was all fun, but, wow, too bad everything fell into one month! Things are pretty quiet from here on out, and I plan to stay put for a while.

Bouquet Toss Song news -

Our "Show Me St. Louis" taping at EARStudios was a blast. All but one of our band members were able to make the faux-recording session and interview. The show aired on Friday, February 25th. You can view the segment on KSDK's website. Here is the link:

http://www.ksdk.com/news/article/249370/78/New-wedding-song
Hear the entire song and view The Bouquet Toss Song slideshow video here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhqC6AywPxY
My co-writer, Fran Ellison, and I had a meeting at ASCAP in Nashville to talk about The Bouquet Toss Song. We learned what we have to do: market, market, market! So, please, mention our song to anyone and everyone you know! Visit our website, www.bouquettosssong.com

On January 8th and 9th, my co-writer, Fran Ellison, and I debuted our song, “The Bouquet Toss Song” at the St. Louis Wedding Show. We had a blast, and the song received enthusiastic responses from many brides-to-be. The Bouquet Toss Song is a song we wrote specifically for DJ’s or bands to play when it is time to toss the bouquet at wedding receptions (thus, the title of the songWink) It features the all-St. Louis musicianship of Justin Branum, Brian Casserly, Billy Engel, Jon Ferber, Bill Murphy, and the magnificent vocal styling of Angela (Nicholson) Ampleman. If you haven’t heard it yet, visit our website at www.BouquetTossSong.com
If you have a Facebook account, visit and “like” our Facebook page “The Bouquet Toss Song.” Also, please pass the word on to anyone you know who is planning a wedding. Many thanks!

It was such a thrill to see and hear my song, "I'm Proud to be a Cowgirl" performed in the play, "Make Me a Cowboy", at the Theatre Guild of Webster Groves in St. Louis. This is a new musical comedy by Don B. Bailey and Shannon Bryant. "I'm Proud to be a Cowgirl" is an altered version of my song, "I Wish I Were a Cowgirl". You can hear the song at http://makemeacowboy.org Click on "Cast Recording".
And while your there, listen to more songs from the play written by my friend, Fran Ellison.

Last fall (2007) I went to Northern Wisconsin to say goodbye to my daughter-in-law’s mother, and my friend, who was dying of cancer. She asked me to sing a bluegrass song at her funeral; an assignment which I was honored to take on, but was concerned that I might not find the right song to sing for her. Throughout the course of the weekend, as I drew inspiration from the Northwoods environment which was such an integral part of Pam’s life, I realized I needed to write the song. A week later, on the drive back to Wisconsin for the funeral, I was working on the final draft of, “Though I Lay My Paddle Down”.

Pam and her family had planned a home funeral. Keeping funeral rites among family and friends is how death was handled in most of the pre-twentieth century America and there is currently a trend to bring it back home. Everything about Pam’s funeral was meaningful in a way that would not have been possible within the constraints of typical modern funeral rites. Where there is grief like this, there is a strong desire to help, a longing to contribute something, a need to do something concrete. I think the thing that impressed me the most about Pam arranging for her own home funeral was that in parting; Pam was able to give so many friends and family members a great gift. Because it is healing to help. It is a privilege to be one who labors: digging the grave, building the casket, sewing the quilt, pitching the tents, hauling the straw bales, building the bonfires, cooking the food, arranging the flowers, making the music, singing the songs. These are just some of the tasks lovingly performed for Pam by grieving friends and family. The spirit of community was both powerful and humbling; and the working and grieving together was a soul-soothing first step toward healing.

These are some excerpts from Pam’s obituary, to give you an idea of the kind of person she was:

“Pamela Sue Troxell, 48, paddled peacefully to her Creator on November 9th, 2007, at her home in Mason, Wisconsin.”

“Between all her commitments, Pam filled her life. She enjoyed writing, dancing, and cooking, but she especially loved to paddle, spending countless hours in canoes and kayaks in waters throughout the United States and Canada, with her special love being Lake Superior. In July 2007, she fulfilled a long-held dream by organizing and leading a group of six, including husband John, on a 400-mile wilderness canoe trip down the Horton River in the Northwest Territories of Canada, ending on the Arctic Ocean.”

“As this part of Pam’s journey comes to an end, the multitude of people blessed to have known her will miss her humor, kindness, incredibly giving nature, and strong faith in family, friends, and community. Pam quietly showed her love for the land by the way she lived her life, and she powerfully showed her love of humanity by the way she treated us all.”

“To honor her contributions to our community and the region, friends of Pam are accepting donations for a memorial project including a native plant garden with a sculpture of a howling wolf, to be displayed at Northland College.”

You can listen to “Though I Lay My Paddle Down” on the mp3 player on my MySpace page and my website. All proceeds from purchases of downloads of the song will go to the Pam Troxell Memorial Fund.