Lara Herscovitch: links

Lara on MySpace
Lara live (you tube clips)
Lara's SonicBids Electronic Press Kit (EPK)
Michael Benson Photography

Great Artist Stuff

The Artist's Way: Exercises and reflection to help the reader connect more strongly to their creativity, artistry, and vision; for all backgrounds / levels.
Effortless Mastery by Kenny Werner: An incredibly helpful book about connecting to the joy of art, through the lens of jazz music. Earth shaking. In a good way.
Purple Cow: A terrific book - filed in the marketing section, but translating to just about everything else. "Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable."
Bird By Bird by Anne Lamott: A great, funny, and practical book about writing.

Great music resources

North American Folk Music & Dance Alliance: Since 1989, Folk Alliance has served as the headquarters for Folk Music and Dance. Over 2,000 members and an annual conference that is one of the 5 largest music conferences in North America. 6 regional affiliates. Members include record companies, publishers, presenters, agents, managers, music support services, manufacturers and artists that work in the folk world.
CD Baby: Independent music resources (and sales) extraordinairre
HostBaby: Musician web-hosting, brought to you by the same wonder-team that runs CD Baby.
Folk Alley: Works to bring folk music to the world via the Internet, reaching across the miles and the generations to provide global exposure for an art form with long-standing tradition and a loyal fan community (Lara Open Mic Artist of the Month October 07 - "the place for unsigned, undiscovered or otherwise under-exposed artists to take Folk Alley's online corner stage").
Tribes Hill - Westchester County NY: A great community of independent musicians from the tri-state NY/NJ/CT region; joint showcases, festivals, and concerts; the more the merrier!
Acoustic Live! magazine: A fantastic resource of acoustic venues and upcoming performances in the New York City and quad-state area. Lara featured artist Nov. 2007.
Concerts In Your Home: A fantastic resource and guide on how to host concerts in your home - a cutting-edge trend of live music in the 21st century. Links to fantastic performers you can present, including - of course - Lara!
New Haven Folk (CT): Not only the great music happening in New Haven including the September Connecticut Folk Festival, but also links to other folk presenters in Connecticut...
Rhode Island Songwriters Association
Second Strings Project: Collects and distributes used guitar strings to needy musicians throughout the world. Founded/run by singer-songwriter Darryl Purpose and activist Kevin Deame.
Songwriters Association of Washington: Established in 1979 to benefit aspiring and professional songwriters.
AcousticMusicScene.com: News & Commentary for the Folk, Roots & Singer-Songwriter Communities - performers, presenters, and fans alike.
Folk and Acoustic Music Exchange: Promoting acoustic music performers, recordings and venues online.
Singer-Songwriter Sessions - NYC: Regularly holds showcases for singer-songwriters in great NYC venues including CBGBs (off to Vegas...) and the Bitter End. Run by Larry Oakes.

Extraordinary musicians

Bobby McFerrin
Ruben Blades
Cliff Eberhardt
John Gorka
Patty Griffin
Eliza Gilkyson
Michael Franti & Spearhead
Steve Earle
Shawn Colvin

Other

Baraka: Created by Ron Fricke and Mark Magidson, Baraka is an incredible film, dialogue-free, that travels through 6 continents and 24 countries, shot on 70mm film.

Baraka is an ancient Sufi word, translated as "a blessing, or as the breath, or essence of life from which the evolutionary process unfolds." Breathtaking shots from around the world show the beauty and destruction of nature and humans. Coupled with an incredible soundtrack including work by Michael Stearns and on-site recordings of The Monks Of The Dip Tse Chok Ling Monastery.
Andy Goldsworthy: Sculpture and land art situated in natural settings, using natural and found objects. One of the most creative - and patient - artists around...
The Onion: Witty commentary on just about everything...
Daily Show w/ Jon Stewart: If only the real "news" were as smart and awake as this fabulous "fake news" show...
Cute Overload

Environment

Catalog Choice: free / easy service to opt-out of catalog mailing lists
Ecological Footprint: Estimates how much land and water people need to support what they use, absorb and discard. The Footprint Quiz figures out your individual footprint, and then lets you compare it to what other people use and what is available on the planet. Eye opening to say the least...
Eating Green: A greener diet won't stop all the glaciers from melting, but it protects health, cuts air and water pollution, and reduces animal suffering.
Ocean's Alive: Guide to the environmentally best and worst seafood, by region... project of Environmental Defense
Global warming information and action steps
Organic Valley Farm CoOp: Member-owned company made up of independent farms whose combined size make them able to compete against the giants... organic and a life-line to struggling family farms. (from Plenty Magazine, Feb/Mar 07)
Pesticide-free lawn care: Better for you, your kids, pets, drinking and other water, and the environment.
Green building resources
Connecticut Fund for the Environment: Works to protect and improve the natural resources in Connecticut and Long Island Sound.
Natural Resources Defense Council: "The earth's best defense": working in the courts, connecting citizens to our legislators, and educating the public about living a green life...
Environmental Defense: "Finding the ways that work"
Vanquish junk mail: In order to protect the environment from being ground up into junk mail none of us want (ok most of us, um, many of us?) 41 Pounds.org and Greendimes.com (for a small fee) will contact direct marketers and other companies on your behalf and have them remove your name from their lists. Greendimes plants one tree/month/member, and 41 pounds donates 50% of its profits to enviro groups, schools, youth groups.
Free Mesa: Not sure which came first, Free Mesa or Free Cycle - but the idea is the same. Re-Using. Giving. Getting. Free.
FreeCycle: Remember those good old hand-me-downs? Here's an organized, community-wide system to keep stuff out of landfills. Like having thousands of new siblings to trade with...
Garbage mapping: Trash or treasure? You decide... and pick it up if the latter.

Great radio

WSHU Public Radio (Fairfield CT): Home of Steve Winters' Profiles in Folk (Fridays at 10pm)
WPKN Community Radio (Bridgeport CT and Montauk NY): 100% listener-supported and (therefore) 100% wonderfully unpredictable... Featuring great programmers Pam Smith (Amazon Radio), Michael Benson, Valerie Richardson, Ken Best, Ruben Abreo, Edwin Muniz, Ruth Eddy, Mike Horyczun, Ray Tarlaga, Pete Stewart, the Singer's Circle and so many more...
WUMB - U Mass. Boston: The one and only - at Lara's alma mater!
The Midnight Special and WFMT: Rich Warren's great show out of WFMT / Chicago, 50 years and going strong... syndicated nationwide and on XM's The Village Channel 15.
WFUV - Fordham University, Bronx NY: Hear John Platt's weekly City Folk Sunday Breakfast from 8-11am.
WXPN - Philadelphia PA: Featuring Gene Shay's Folk Show (geneshay.com) and David Dye's World Cafe (worldcafe.npr.org)
WFHB - Bloomington IN: Including co-host Carolyn Vande-Wiele's "Womenspace"
WNUR - Northwestern U., Chicago IL: Sue Kessell and The Folk Show, wnur.org/folk
KZSC 88.1FM Santa Cruz, CA: Including Clytia Fuller's "Heaven's Bar'n Grill" Fri 9-noon
KPFT - Houston TX
KVMR - Grass Valley CA: Shout out to Mark Ostrov and Lovey.
KPR - University of Kansas, Lawrence KS
KAOS - Evergreen State College, Olympia WA
KBCS - Seattle WA: John Sincock's Friday Lunch with Folks
WTBQ - Florida NY: Jon Stein's Hootenany Café airs Fri 6p/Sat 11a.
WRIU - University of Rhode Island, Kingston RI: Including Jane Falvey's The Kingston Coffeehouse
WYEP - Pittsburgh PA: Including Ken Batista's "An American Sampler"
XM Satellite Radio: Including Mary Sue Twohy's "Songs to Hang Stars On", Rich Warren's The Midnight Special, Meg Griffin and The Village Channel.
Grassy Hill internet radio: Streaming 24/7 out of Lyme, CT.
Whole Wheat Radio: The one and only, broadcasting out of Talkeetna, Alaska.
(Internet) Radio Crystal Blue: Dan Herman's internet station and broadcast, incredibly supportive of independent singer-songwriters. (Lara was a "Best of 2006" artist)
WRKF - Baton Rouge, LA
WPSU - Penn State Public Broadcasting
WJFF - Jeffersonville NY: Hydro-powered radio! Props to Bill Jumper.
WKZE - Southfield MA: Off the Beat-n-Track with Todd Mack
WJCU - John Carroll U., Sagamore Hills OH: Visiting the Folks weekly / Sunday nights with Uncle Fred and Aunt Jill.
WUWF Public Radio, Pensacola FL: Home of the great "Radio Live" monthly concert series benefiting local hunger-focused nonprofits, and John Macdonnell's Acoustic Interlude (wuwf.org/aclude/aclude).
WNHU Radio (University of New Haven, CT): Including John Mazza and The Folk Show
WWUH - University of Hartford, CT: Public Alternative Radio based at the University of Hartford, also affiliated with the great Music For A Change concert series.
WFDU - Fairleigh Dickinson U., Teaneck NJ
WBCR - Great Barrington MA