This Thursday, the 10th, Farmer’s Market in SLO at 6:30, you should come, I’ll be pouring out my heart on Morro Street.

Then Wednesday the 23rd, I’m playing in Templeton (this one’s for you, North County fans!) at Veris Cellars Winery for their happy hour starting at 5pm, it’s gonna be awesome!

I’ve got another farmer’s show in June, and more exciting prospects on the horizon, I’ll keep you posted, eh?

Thanks for reading, see you soon,

-loren

“Brighten A Corner” is the name of a local charity group.  Their goal is somewhat unique; they help out families who find themselves in overwhelming situations.  This usually takes the form of doing construction on homes or outdoor projects to make an unfortunate living situation more bearable for those affected.  One project in 2010 was for a wife and husband living in Nipomo.  The wife works for the county with battered women and the husband was diagnosed with ALS (commonly called Lou Gherig’s disease).

Effectively, the husband’s body is slowly shutting down as motor neurons die off.  He will slowly grow more and more immobile to the point of paralyzation, and eventually die.  There’s nothing anyone can do to take this couple out of this situation.  Brighten A Corner did what they could to help ease their burden though, by re-modeling their entire house, adding a wheelchair ramp and other improvements to make it more wheelchair-accessible, as well as improving the heating and insulation, giving them a completely new kitchen, new bathrooms, hardwood floors, the list of improvements goes on and on.  Pictures, being worth a thousand words, are included below.

Their kitchen used to look like this.

Now it looks like this :

One bathroom used to be this :

Now it’s this :

Craft Room Before :                                 Craft Room After :                          

Garage Before :

And After :

And the volunteers, work in progress :

Brighten a Corner does these kinds of projects about 3 to 4 times per year.  The ministry is managed by volunteers, the bulk of the work is performed by volunteers, and the money to pay for materials and contractors is donated or paid by the management themselves.  The estimated value of the projects they’ve performed so far is 750,000 dollars.  No one involved with Brighten a Corner makes a penny off of any of this work, their reward is helping the members of their community.

Money is an inevitable necessity in everything we do, and Brighten A Corner’s projects are no exception.  Make no mistake, these projects are expensive, and they rely entirely on donations. 

To that end, they’re hosting a bold fund-raiser Saturday the 28^th (That’s tomorrow) with a live music competition, a raffle, silent auction, food, all kinds of good stuff.  It cost’s 20 dollars per person and when you consider what their cause is all about, it’s really a small price to pay to help out these people who are genuinely doing good each and every day right here in our community, with no thought of reward. 

If you can’t come to the concert this Saturday then please consider going to their website anyway at www.brightenacorner.com and making a donation, or consider lending your time to work on a project in the future.  So few people really put the needs of others first in such a dramatic way as Brighten A Corner, I believe they deserve our support and I hope you feel the same.

If you can come, the concert is at 710 Aero Vista Drive by the airport in SLO.  It’s an all day event, from 12 to 8pm, coming at any time for any length would be such a great help to them… and I’m playing at 2:30.  Thanks for your time.

 -loren

This is going to be really fun no matter what, and it’s such a good cause that they’re raising money for, but it would be super cool to win it too, and I need your help to do that!  The winner is determined by votes, each person who buys a ticket gets three votes, so I need as many of you as can make it to come out and 1) support this cause and 2) vote for me!  The winner gets a chance to open for a major Christian band this Summer, how cool would that be?

To see the full lineup or get other details on the event check out the dedicated Band Together Section.  See you there,

-loren christopher radis

First, the big news.  I’m playing in a fund-raiser/battle of the bands on April 28th called Band Together! 

It’s purpose is to a) be an awesome concert/competition featuring all the most talented local musicians and b) raise money to support Brighten A Corner, a group who I happen to volunteer for that does home improvement projects for people who are facing overwhelming situations.  I can’t say enough good things about Brigthen a Corner, I’ve seen them plant a garden at a half-way house, re-model an entire home for a woman who recently lost her husband, put in ramps and other changes for a man who recently became disabled, and they do it all for free.  It’s amazing to see local businesses and people pull together to support them but the work they do isn’t free, and this fund-raiser is one way to make sure they get to keep doing good all over the central coast.

Now for the bigger news.  We’ve all heard that pictures are worth a thousand words and… I could easily use a thousand words and more to talk about this, so I’ll let a picture do the talking instead, to save you some time.

That’s right!  My wife and I are about to become a trio!  This event is taking priority over just about anything else in my life right now, I can’t even explain how excited I am for the day we get to meet our little one…

So now you know the news, thanks for reading!  Come to my Farmer’s Show, the Band Together Competition, and keep us and our baby in your prayes!  Thanks,

-loren

Yup, I covered You Can Call Me Al (Video on my youtube) at Farmer’s a few weeks back and here’s the proof!

Enjoy, I’ve still got a few more up my sleeve, don’t forget about shows coming up too! (www.lorenradis.com/shows)

Thanks, talk to you later,

-loren

Oh hey, I uploaded another video we shot at my last Farmer’s Show, it’s a new cover song this time around, Paul Simon’s “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes“.  I’ve embedded it here for your convenience.

Paul Simon’s album, “Graceland” is one of my all-time favorites and this song in particular is so good.  Seldom have real artistic integrity and commercial viability been fused so completely as they were in that album and in this song.  It’s a joy to play, I hope you like listening   Don’t forget to check out the other videos on my YouTube page you may not have seen yet (like this one).

Thanks for reading, see you next Sunday!  If not then, check out the rest of the shows on my calendar!

-loren

Anywho, that’s about all I’ve got, don’t forget I’m playing this thursday on Morro Street in SLO at the Farmer’s Market.  6:30 to 8:30, Thursday, March 1st, see you there!

-loren

I want to be able to spend my days in leisure with my wife, our friends and family.  I want to never worry about money again.  I want a Great Dane.  I want to see my extended family more often.  I want to hang out with my friends more often.  I want to finish recording my new album.  I want to play a ton of shows.  I want to re-design this website.  I want to design t-shirts and stickers for sale.

I need to do a lot of things too, as all of us do.  I need to eat, drink, and provide shelter for myself and my family.  To do this I need to work at a good job.  I need to clean house, I need to shop.  I need to get my oil changed.  I need to do the laundry.  I need to finish school.

Somewhere between these two things, between the Wants and the Needs, are the things I actually get done.  I will never have everything I want and that’s fine, I don’t think I or anyone else should ever have everything they want, it’s not healthy or fair.  I get to do a great deal of things I want to, and one of those things right this moment is working on a new album.  A lot of work is already done but there’s still a lot more to do.  I’m also playing a few shows here and there, I know it’s sparse, but one only has so much time.

I hope to keep you in the loop about the recording process, I’m really excited about some of the stuff that’s going on and I hope you will be too.  Thanks for the continued support you give me by coming to shows, listening to my music online, telling your friends about my music, and just sending happy thoughts my way.  Hope you’re all having a wonderful 2012 so far, see you soon,

-loren

-loren

Or maybe people were right when they told me as a kid that time seems to slip by faster the older you get!  And I am getting older.

Either way, I’ve got just enough time for one more show before the New Year hits us, it’s tonight the 29th in fact!  I’m playing at the San Luis Obispo Farmer’s Market tonight on Chorro Street from 6:30 to 8:30 pm.  It’s free, fun, and unseasonably warm, should be a good night!  Thanks a lot for checking in, see you tonight,

-loren