Rosanne Cash (daughter of Johnny) is married to John Leventhal who produced most of Shawn Colvin's records except for the one that Larry Klein produced (one-time husband of Joni). How is that for five degrees of seperation?
Anyhow I found myself at her website looking for information about a songwriting workshop I have heard that she teaches every summer in NY state...She lives in NYC & I thought I would post her recent reflections of life for anyone who is interested. Hello Friends of Autumn, This is my favorite time of year. I love the temperature, the colors, the smell (not of Manhattan, but I do get out occasionally to smell wood smoke and other Fall scents), and the preparation to hibernate. Even though I never hibernate. But I like the whole idea. New York is a somewhat unsettling place to live these days. Everyone I know, including myself, has the background noise of trauma and apprehension scratching at our subconcious daily. Disturbing dreams, both day and night, surface just when you think you are over them. The smell from ground zero still wafts up to Chelsea, where I live, and to the West Village, where my kids attend school, and a terrible sadness lingers with it. To glance in the direction of where the towers stood is an invitation to step fully into the sense of overwhelming loss. We go on with our lives, but some changes have taken place. Everyone has their own threshold of comfort, and everyone seems to have re-evaluated where their particular line is. I am not paralyzed with fear, by any means, but I can no longer bring myself to ride the subway. And lately, since anthrax was discovered at a postal sorting station a few blocks from my house, I am hesitant to actually go into the post office. Making these adjustments is not pleasant, particularly the choice to not ride the subway, because it gets expensive and very slow moving up on the surface in taxis. But I don't feel like a victim. I don't feel like 'they' have dismantled my life. The deeper changes are what interest me most. The events of September and afterward have prompted a re-evaluation of so many things in my life. My goals and anxieties and desires before 9.11 have refined themselves, have revealed the inner core of themselves and shed the superfluous outer layer of fear and nonsense. My private longings and my work have gained intense focus. The parts of my personality that revealed themselves in broken ways in the moment of catastrophe have reassembled in a better, clearer way. I feel stronger. I also feel concerned for all of us. We must find the absolute best parts of ourselves, and let that part respond to what is going on in the world. Hatred is too base, too much of a burden to carry in ourselves. The desire for revenge is exhausting and irresolvable. I think, for myself at least, that some very long-term thinking and planning is in order, as well as an enlarged spiritual dimension. I have no control over what is happening but I do have control over my own responses and beliefs. Truly, we have enemies. But I do not believe that massive bombing is the answer. The heartbreaking stories here of 10,000 orphans created by the destruction of the WTC is enough for any sensitive person to say, this should not ever happen to another child anywhere in the world. It is too much pain. It should never happen to any parent in the world, either, or sister, brother or friend. I hope for more specificity in our retaliation. I hope for retaliation with utmost honor, and with the highest principles of our Constitution held dear as we respond to those who would destroy us. I don't know exactly what form that response should take, but I believe if we start with the principles and our best selves that we will be led in the right direction. For a few weeks after 9.11, I had absolutely no desire to work. But, as I said, a new intensity of focus has developed, and I am enthused and passionate about all the projects I am working on. I have recently signed a contract with Viking to write a memoir, of sorts, of my early career; the time I spent in Nashville, and a bit before and after. It seemed to be an awkward subject to approach, partly because I don't feel old enough or detached enough to write a memoir, but as we narrowed the chronology and I began to write it, I have come to understand it differently. It is not linear, it connects to the past and future, and I think there are interesting stories to tell. Give me time, it may take me a year, but it is a satisfying beginning. For those of you who think I have been leading you on about releasing a record soon, I should tell you that we are at the end of the recording process and about to go into post-production, and that I sincerely hope to have it in the stores by early Spring. This record should really have my name and John's on the cover (John Leventhal, producer and husband) as he has contributed so, so much in production, arrangement, and musicianship, but he'll hear none of that. But I thought I should tell you anyway. This time of year makes me think of the song "Days of Wine and Roses" for some reason. Dig it up and listen to it and see if you feel the same. With love and respect, Rosanne Cash ******************************************** Kate Bennett www.katebennett.com sponsored by Polysonics www.polysonics.com Discover the Indies at Taylor Guitars: http://www.taylorguitars.com/artists/awp/indies/bennett.html ********************************************
