Bill Kostelec - vocals, guitar, harmonica; Kathy Kostelec - vocals, mandolin, guitar, fiddle, autoharp; Shawn Kostelec - bass.... And thanks to the many talented fellow musicians and family members who have joined us for guest performances and/or recordings. Including Sara "Ash" Brooks (aka fingersmith), Lisa Brooks, Markus Kostelec, George Fenton, Brad Keeler, Mike Janes, Jerry Cartwright, Jenny Edgren, Rick Singer, Dave McRae, Claude Weadon, poet Zan Agzigian, Kevin Hiller, and John Brennan.
When I met Bill in the year 2000 he spent a lot of time playing guitar and writing songs - a book full - but he never played in public. So I pushed him. Then he pushed me back. He bought me a mandolin and said he needed a backup singer. Now we both perform and write, and Bill’s son Shawn has joined us on electric bass. Many of our songs are steeped in social commentary and fall into the folk, folk/rock, or blues categories, but we sometimes surprise our followers with a soothing instrumental. Around 30 of our original songs have had airplay on public and community radio stations in the Pacific Northwest, and we have performed several live radio shows on both KPBX Spokane Public Radio and KYRS Thin Air Community Radio stations (See pics for press reviews). Bill, “The Blue Collar PhD” is a photographer and college professor at Gonzaga University, but he has never forgotten his Illinois factory town roots. His songs in support of workers earned us the honor of being invited to perform at the 2005 Seattle Folklife Festival’s Labor Show (past Labor Show performers include the likes of Pete Seeger and Utah Phillips). While original music is our main focus, Bill is also a virtual walking, or shall I say singing, library of American roots music and was invited to perform a set of Woody Guthrie songs at a tribute concert sponsored by Spokane Public Radio at the Met (now the Bing Crosby) Theater in 2006. The podcast can be heard at http://odeo.com/episodes/1445851-Live-from-the-Studio-Blue-Ribbon-Tea-Company-sings-Woody-Guthrie. We perform regularly around the region and are also heavily involved in organizing and promoting local “Brick & Mortar” songwriter shows. The shows, now in the 4th season, highlight 2 or 3 performers each month and provide a venue for local songwriters to share their work. We have produced 4 cds (available on cdbaby.com) and are working on our 5th. With so many songs still on paper and yet to be recorded you can be sure that The Blue Ribbon Tea Company won’t be folding anytime soon! Kathy
The Blue Ribbon Tea Company's Friend Space (Top 15)
Wanna see a great show? August 21st at The Knitting Factory Colleen Rice (me), Portrait of a Gentleman and Karli Fairbanks!!! I am also going to have a drummer for the first time... It is a local singer/songwriter night and is worth coming out to see:) I have tickets avaliable, $5 ea. If you are interested please let me know and I will get you some tickets!
Please come check out our June Showcase featuring some fantastic local female musicians. Proceeds of the concert go to Transitions for Women at www.help4women.com.
Hey guys! I have posted the new and improved version on "Movin' On". Please take a listen and let me know what you think! I am super excited about it....
Thank you for posting your upcoming flier on our Myspace. I've added your show to our Upcoming list of shows and will add it to the calendar as the date nears. Which would be really soon. :) Thanks. -Robert Hammett | themeetingnw.com
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