Venus on stage at Lubber Run Ampitheater, courtesy Ed Spitzberg
Well we sure had fun singing to a packed crowd at our favorite outdoor ampitheater in Virginia. We appreciate the invite from our friends The Tone Rangers. Next up, Venus sings the Star Spangled Banner on Monday, July 20th to open a college league Big Train baseball game at Cabin John Park in North Bethesda. Join us for another fun evening under the stars!
Well THAT was fun! Thanks to all our fans–and fans of The Tone Rangers and The Chromatics–for coming out on a chilly evening to hear us sing at Jammin’ Java. Let us know if you have a birthday party, retirement party, divorce party, or any other happening which requires a dash of a cappella!
Venus will feature arrangements old and new when we appear on Friday, January 24th at the Noon Concert Series at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church. 3001 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20016. Join us for a fun-filled program! CDs will also be available for purchase. Details and directions here.
Apparently Lady Gaga plans to sing in outer space.She’ll be transported on Virgin Galactic (insert joke here, but this is a family-friendly blog…). Apparently, she told US Weekly that she has to do a special month of vocal training “because of the atmosphere.”
We know just what she means. Sometimes the atmosphere at the parties where we sing can get downright difficult. All that laughing and eating and drinking. So we are taking a page from Lady Gaga and doing a month of preparations for our next gig. It’s not in outer space, but it is outside the Beltway, which is almost the same thing in terms of travel time. We’ll be singing at the Blueberry Hill annual Holiday Party Extravaganza in mid-December.
If you’d like Venus to sing on your space ship or party, please ping us at venusdminor@gmail.com.
It was great to make ABC TV’s Good Morning America host laugh (in a good way) during our set this past Saturday for the 21st Annual Sing Out for Shelter Concert. Shipman was the MC for the event for an audience of 250, where Venus rocked the house…well, the church…with our melifluous tones and slightly off-beat humor to benefit three local organizations that serve the more than 30,000 individuals who experience homelessness each year in the nation’s capital. Organized by the Augmented Eight, a men’s a cappella group which has performed for Washington audiences for over 50 years, the SOS concerts have raised approximately $180,000 over the past twenty years. Venus and the Aug 8 were also joined by The George Washington University Troubadors and Eat at Joe’s from the Georgetown Day School, who reminded us 1) that we have been singing since before they were born and 2) that the future of a cappella is bright!
Venus is thrilled to be asked back to sing at the annual Sing Out for Shelter concert this year. Join us for great music in support of a great cause (several local organizations that support the homeless) at 8:00 PM at the Metropolitan Memorial United Methodist Church (MMUMC) 3401 Nebraska Avenue in Washington DC.
What’s better than the gift of song? OUR songs, that’s what. Yes, we are shamelessly promoting our new CD, Digital Redemption. So if you are old-fashioned, consider purchasing a physical CD. Or you can download the whole shebang or selected mp3’s from Amazon or iTunes. Hey, did you know that you can also Hire Venus to Sing for Your Favorite Holiday Event? Yup. We’re probably the only Washington DC area group who can say we’ve sung for Janet Reno AND Condoleeza Rice. These days, who can find such bi-partisanship? Again, shameless self-promotion. At our age, the gloves have come off. Well, figuratively anyway.
When she’s not practicing law or vocal music, long time Venus member Betsy Erickson finds she has become a professional driver of teens. Here’s a recent view from the road:
Having just returned from two trips with my teenaged daughter (to attend sports tournaments in Pennsylvania and Florida), I was reflecting on the difference between traveling with the kids now and when they were younger. Before, we used to listen to lots of tapes (remember cassette tapes?) or, later, CDs – mostly songs, storytellers, or even recorded books. (Harry Potter was a favorite.) My oldest son (now 21) fondly recalls many of those silly songs and stories that we listened to over and over. The kids managed to stay interested most of the time, we sang together and talked, and even survived the drive to North Dakota one summer. But now, it’s a whole new world. We might as well be on separate trips. The teenagers are completely absorbed with their electronic devices, and any interruption by a parent is viewed as a HUGE irritation. If Eye-Rolling and Exasperated Sighing were Olympic sports, my daughter would be a champion! -Betsy
Venus d Minor Altos Robin Sloan Kristin Bass
A summer wine review from Venus member Robin Sloan (on the left in blue in this lovely photo).
We’ve all heard about 2 Buck Chuck and given the state of the economy, we thought we’d try some. Well it cost a little over 3 Bucks and it wasn’t very good and we had to cross the river to buy it. However, during our discussion with the Trader Joe’s wine guy – he may have thought it was flirting, but it was merely a discussion about wine – we (I) discovered several tasty and very inexpensive wines. Given that I prefer sauvignon blanc from the Marlboro region of New Zealand or some place in Chile, I focused my attention on sauvignon blanc. The wine guy’s favorite is Bay Moon, 2011 from Monterey, California. Go figure! At a mere $5.99 a bottle, I decided to take one for a test drive. It passed with flying colors. Very smooth and light, not too citrusy – although, I do enjoy the citrusy stuff. He also suggested Vinas Chilenas Reserve, 2011 from Chile. Very crisp, lots of citrus, and WAIT . . . is that $3.99 price tag for real???? The only thing that would make this wine better is a twist off top. So there you have it, two great, inexpensive wines from Trader Joe’s. Cheers! -Robin
Join Venus for our CD
Release Concert at the Garrett Park Town Hall 10814 Kenilworth Avenue, Garrett Park, MD on Saturday, June 23rd at 7:30PM. Wine and other refreshments available for purchase, along with Venus’s brand new CD. The concert is brought to you by the Women’s Club of Garrett Park, and a portion of the proceeds will benefit the Betsy White Emergency Fund, created in 1969 for families who find themselves in urgent financial need due to fire, health or other family emergencies.
Tickets are on sale for $10 in advance ($12 at the door). Seating is limited (only 75!) so order now while supplies last. Email us at venusdminor@gmail.com with the number of tickets you need and a contact name and phone number. We’ll be in touch to gather your credit card info (by email or phone). We take Visa or Mastercard. How fabulous is that?
Venus d Minor 