Carrie Newcomer: A mother of music

Carrie Newcomer will be performing on Feb. 7 at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater, celebrating the release of her latest album, Betty's Diner: The Best of Carrie Newcomer. From the timeless singer/songwriter tradition, Newcomer uses her personal touch of storytelling for the benefit of her audience and community. Her total love, compassion for and emersion in her work is not solely for her pleasure, but for those she has the opportunity to reach. \nNewcomer says the studio process of selecting tracks for a "best-of album" made creating this record stand out to her. \n"(It was) an interesting period, to go back and listen to the last eight albums to find representation, seeing what songs have become and what holds up over that time and those that balance throughout the new album," she says. \nBetty's Diner, the latest of nine albums spanning Newcomer's 10-year recording career with Rounder/Philo Records, is a compilation of sorts with three new tracks added to what she refers to as "the old friends."\n"The three new cuts added to the 'old-friend' tracks form short stories of characters within the diner," Newcomer explains. "Each song represents a character at the diner, where their viewpoints and lives within the community are shared through the song."\nNewcomer speaks about her music as one would describe the happenings of a loved one; a mother filling you in on the latest developments of her children with a fulfilling sense of security about what she has surrounded herself with. She believes it is her vision and purpose to relate beauty onto her "canvas:" her listeners. \nNewcomer stresses the importance of incorporating one's self into loved work.\n"It is so important to follow what you love and allow it to guide you," she says. "For me, songwriting allows for relating spiritual life toward operation in the real world."\nNewcomer preaches this practice through workshops she offers across the country as she tours. The Sacred Ordinary: Writing from the Center, she says, is the core of her tutorials on using songwriting and creative writing throughout daily life, allowing for exploration of the individual. In student workshops she stresses vocational topics and the fulfillment and gratification of pursuing one's true desire. She teaches "love and passion are of most importance when pursuing a career." \n"I encourage writers and all people of the arts to follow their passion wherever it takes them," she says.\nAlthough she will not be offering a workshop in Bloomington, one is scheduled in Indianapolis later in March. \nNewcomer's performance next week will feature complete band accompaniment, something she has never enjoyed in Bloomington, though she has lived here since 1991. \n"This stop in Bloomington with a full band will offer the intimacy and interaction of instruments that is both different and a new challenge that I am always looking for," she says.\nIU music professor Glenn Gass recognizes how valuable Newcomer is to the Bloomington community.\n"She seems to be involved with every good thing that happens in Bloomington," says Gass.\nGass says he admires Newcomer for her approach to music, her dedication to making a difference in her community and her astonishing ability to express such genuine feeling with each endeavor. \n"Carrie is a composite of all the images of the singer/songwriter," he says. "She is a living embodiment of the true songwriter, like Joni Mitchell, people that I really admire."\nAt the December dedication of the Stone Age Institute, Newcomer made herself available for the ceremonies, offering her songs and presence to an audience of more than 100 members. Nicholas Toth and Kathy Schick, co-founders of the institute, say they were especially grateful for Newcomer's involvement.\n"Carrie performed at a very special ceremony and, with her voice ringing through the building, made it so much more of an occasion," Schick says. \nToth says her personality stands out even more so than her songs or community support.\n"Carrie's involvement is inspirational, which heightens our awareness of these things as well," he says. \nThe Soup Bowl Benefit, the largest annual fund-raiser benefiting the Hoosier Hills Food Bank of Bloomington, is a cause that Newcomer not only participates in, but is a co-founder, along with Robert Meitus. Inspired by their travels as musicians, the benefit brings together members of the Bloomington art, business and restaurant communities to raise funds for the hungry. In addition to the performance, a ticket buys a handmade soup bowl from a donating Bloomington artist, with soups and breads donated by local restaurants. The Bloomington Convention Center will host the event's 10th anniversary on Feb. 22.\nWith such community involvement, appreciation and admiration from those Newcomer has touched through her songwriting, teachings and performances, her next show is a highly awaited homecoming performance. Above all, as illustrated by those who have collaborated with her in the past, she will continue to be genuine; sharing a little bit of herself with everyone.