AUGUST NEWSLETTER
I have always liked the month August due to the definition of that word as an adjective: inspiring reverence or admiration; of supreme dignity or grandeur; majestic. And so it is with great reverence and grandeur, Copus greets you!
1. COPUS MUSIC - INDEPENDENT LABEL
2. POETS + COMPOSERS
3. UPCOMING GIGS
4. CAFÉ PRESS
5. POETRY SECTION1. COPUS MUSIC - INDEPENDENT LABEL
Step by step we are building an empire of artists who bring intelligent, socially conscious lyrics and beautiful, sophisticated melodies to the spiritually-hungry world. The new website, copusmusic.com, will be launched very soon and will include mp3s and film clips by members of the label including the aptly-named Wiseproof, R+B wizard Stevie Harris, Copus, and many more. Stay tuned for details!As press representatives of Copus Music, Royal, Monica and Wendy will be privy to backstage interviews of some of the many incredible talents performing at Reggae on the River this year. The roster of performers includes folks like Bunny Wailer, Luciano, Andrew Tosh, Steel Pulse. Hope you have your tickets, because it's sold out - August 6-8 n French's Camp, CA (www.reggaeontheriver.com). If you miss it, however, you can always tune in to our Internet radio show - "Poets + Composers" - in September and October to hear lots of great material!
2. POETS + COMPOSERS
Speaking of "Poets + Composers" - make sure you check in every 2nd + 4th Fridays of the month at 8pm PST (www.artistfirst.com) to hear the latest thoughtful interviews and CD cuts by the Bay Area's finest independent artists. We are averaging 8,000 listeners worldwide per 'airing', so if you haven't listened yet it is definitely time. If you want to recommend a poet, composer, or singer/songwriter to be on a future show, please let us know.
3. UPCOMING GIGS
Copus will be returning to perform at The Cannery on SUNDAY, AUGUST 15th. It's a wonderful opportunity to hear Copus for free at a lovely, outside venue. There are lots of cool places around to grab something to eat or drink while sitting in the beautiful courtyard. We will have a very special guest joining us, Wiseproof. If you haven't had the pleasure yet of hearing his rhythmic incantations and spiritual hip hop, you'd better stop by! 11am-2pm. 2801 Leavenworth. www.thecannery.com.Copus will be performing a very special service on SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 26th, at the Episcopal church on Union Street. Wendy was recently hired as the part-time music director of the Sunday evening 'unplugged' service. Minister Lily deYoung is a recent East Coast transplant and she brings all that dynamic, Boston and New Jersey energy to her great messages. On the 26th we'll jointly presenting the idea of 'The Many Faces of God'. Included in the mix will be lovely Monica Williams on flute, powerhouse Greg McRay on drums, prophetic poets Royal Kent and Wiseproof on the spoken mic, and yours truly at the piano. If you haven't been in a church lately, perhaps now is the moment to dip your feet in the water and see how much has changed since then. St. Mary the Virgin Episcopal Church, 2325 Union Street @ Steiner. 5:15pm. Free (donations accepted). www.smvsf.org.
4. CAFÉ PRESS
You now have access to some beautifully-designed items such as Copus Music ballcaps (soon to be collector's items on EBay!), T-shirts, lunchboxes, and even a wall clock. The lush logo was designed by none other than the famous Peter Greco who counts among his credits the logos for Santana, TV show Cheers, and The New York Times. In the 'Poetic License' section of our store, we are featuring products with designs by San Francisco wizard ramu aki. The bold colors and swirling patterns of power that are his trademarks work perfectly with lyrics by Royal Kent on the 'haves have' blank journal, tote bag, and postcards. I just purchased a spaghetti strap T-shirt with the Copus logo on it (white with black letters) - and I love it! Perfect on those days when the sun emerges! Secure and protected orders at: www.cafeshops.com/copusmusic.5. POETRY SECTION
Courtesy of the great group, poetrymission@yahoo.com, our selection for this month is a wonderful poem by Donna Masini. Enjoy!The Sky Could Send You
Tonight in the shadow of alien green,
the dark around us breathing,
a man points out the obvious
stars. I stand beside him under the cosmic mess.
Clutter, I whisper, you could connect anything,
join any dots to form a dipper or belt.
My eyes cannot find any cluster twice.
What I want to say is that it frightens me
this wide sky with its litter of stars.
What I want to say is you could lose yourself
in a sky like this. Looking into the flicker
of history, already dead to somewhere else.
There is so much time in a sky like this,
in our silence and the strangeness
of these ancient stars. Islands of light.
They remind me of my dead friends, my infidelities.
This night with its shadows and monsters
is too big for me. Random, irrational
as love, no matter what pictures we pretend to find.
Is this why we make a dipper or a belt?
To contain it, make it familiar?
Where are the gods in a sky like this?
It is very clear, the man beside me is saying,
but I am lost. I see nothing.
Night looks like a broken thing,
as though an enormous lamp had shattered
scattering pieces of itself throughout the dark.
Is this why lovers reach to touch one another
beneath the night sky, filled with its dead stars
and fusions? Why they turn and orbit
about one another when the sky could send you
so far into yourself you would become
someone else. The moon is beautiful,
I read somewhere, but dead.
I look up into the cavey dark, the silence.
I have never understood the position of stars,
never seen either dipper, never traced Orion's
belt, seen a bull, a bear,
an arching centaur in the sky.
Patternless as measles the stars are.
Oh how I have wanted things to be clear:
Love, promises, the random dark.
Beneath the curved horn of a dead moon
I think, listen to him, watch, this might be faith,
that the names name. This might be hope
or delusion, and maybe I do begin to see the beginnings
of a handle, there, just there,
where the lights are slightly brighter.© 2004 Donna Masini
Thank you for continuing to believe.Peace,
Wendy + Royal
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Voicemail: 415/289-2097
* Email: copusqueen@earthlink.net
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