Music Friends
Birch Beer Records is the brainchild/heartchild of two amazing friends of mine, Dan Cloutier and Kim Jennings, and is an expression of their joyous love of local music. Thank you Dan and Kim!
Lori Diamond...when you take two innately talented, extremely hard working lifelong musicians (Lori Diamond and Fred Abataelli), and put them together, the result is...pure magic!
Intense, deeply poetic, heart-centered, and enigmatic: my friend Hewitt Huntwork
Ellen Schmidt: No one I know has done more for local musicians (nor with more panache) than this beautiful, compassionate individual who I am blessed to call friend.
Kevin So is probably the most hard working, funky, eclectic, and gifted singer-songwriter-multi-instrumentalist-producer-exceptional performer I know.
Libby Kirkpatrick dear friend and a totally unique and depthful individual and joy-fountain with endless blue sky around her.
Sam Bayer is another remarkable friend who is the perfect combination of eccentricity and groundedness. His website has long provided a comprehensive open mike list for the boston area and beyond. Sam thinks outside the box.
Tara Greenblatt is a Djembe dynamo singer songmaker (the best Djembe player EVER) and my nature-sister, and the only person I know who feels what I feel toward trees and frogs.
Eric Kilburn of Wellspring Soundis a dear friend, generous human being, and talented musician who happens to also be a killer recording engineer. I recorded my latest record--I Praise You--and my third record--Slow Food--at Wellspring, and feel blessed that there is such a great studio so nearby.
Seth Connelly probably has the BEST EARS of any musician I know personally, and is equally gifted as a multi-instrumentalist, recording engineer, and soaring love warrior. I recorded my first CD--Aluminum Green--with Seth, and will always be thankful to the universe for introducing me to him.
Guitar Heroes
I wish I’d known Ted Greene! His videos on baroque music are mind boggling, and he has such an aura of gentleness.
Stevie Ray Vaughanis, to me, the best guitarist ever.
Shawn Lanewas a prodigy who died young and was SO out there!
Nature
Mass Audubon: My favorite part of this website is the bird sighting list, but Mass Audubon has done so much to protect habitat and species in Massachusetts, and has great educational programs for kids!
E. O Wilsonis one of my all time heroes, still making huge contributions to understanding the natural world and the importance of taking care of our Earth.
Jane Goodallis another hero of mine. Could anyone be more committed to caring for non-human species?
Stephen Jay Gouldwas a brilliant scientist who’s writings have been a source of so much learning for me over the years. He is someone I deeply admire.
Kakapo Recovery:A website devoted to the only flightless (and heaviest) parrot in the world, of which there are only 131 left on the planet (up from 86 just a few years ago). I find Kakapos utterly enchanting.
Family
Bela Lyon Pratt is my great grandfather, my mom's mom's dad. He died young (age 49) but in his lifetime he created many amazing sculptures and taught many students about art. This website, created by my mom Cynthia Kennedy Sam and my brother in law Tom Bodie, has an almost complete archive of Bela's work.