House on Christmas Street in Columbus, OH

Yes, I know, Halloween is still about three weeks away but decorating enthusiasts all over the country and the world are already thinking about Christmas....getting out their blow molds and blow-ups, untangling lights and checking wires and bulbs and more.
One of those folks, a guy named Joe, sent me an email to let me know that he's going to be synchronizing his display to "The House on Christmas Street" this year, and he personally made a REALLY cool sign to go with it. He sent me a picture of it and I just had to share it with you.
So if you are roaming through Columbus, Ohio during December be sure to look for The House on Christmas Street and say "hi" to Joe!

If You're a Grown-up Who Likes My Music....

....then you will probably love the music of Mike Viola. Even if you don't know his name, you have heard his voice and songwriting talents in the movie "That Thing You Do" for which he wrote the title song and provided the voice. He has written music for other movies, too, including "Walk Hard, " which stunk as a movie but had good music.
I saw Mike in concert last night in Cambridge and he was so great and it was so much fun! It was the first time I've walked into a bar alone since 1985 and I was feeling a little awkward but it was well worth it because he was just so fantastic. He was so down-to-earth and every single song was incredible. He talked about how he was influenced by the pop music of the 70s and right then I knew we were soul-mates because that's my main influence too.
Check out Mike and his music at : www.mikeviola.com

He also recently produced, wrote songs for and sings on Mandy Moore's newest album. There's one song, "Merrimack River," which is the most gorgeous thing I've ever heard. http://www.last.fm/music/Mandy+Moore/_/Merrimack+River

That's Mandy & Mike doing it live. You'll love it!

HUGE AMAZING ANNOUNCEMENT

Next month, my song "The House on Christmas Street" will be featured on a CD compilation called “The Sounds of Christmas 2009”. Proceeds from this CD will go to William Shatner’s Hollywood Charity Horse Show, which benefits disabled, disadvantaged and special needs children (and you can find out more about them at http://www.horseshow.org ).
The CD will also feature these songs and artists:
Lis Soderberg “All I Need”
Huey Lewis and the News “Winter Wonderland”
Lisa Kessler “Christmas Vacation”
Pete Hopkins “Home For Christmas”
Stephen Bishop “Rock Little Reindeer”
Tina Lambert “O Christmas Tree”
Roy Holliday “Christmastime On The Beach”
Hayseed Dixie “Misty Wonderland Hop”
Dennis DeYoung “When I Hear A Christmas Song”
Annie Pattison “Love For Christmas”
Tey “Silver Bells”
Richard Marx “Santa Claus Is Back In Town”
DJ Icy-Ice and the Fresh Elf “The Night Before Christmas”
William Shatner “Good King Wenceslas” (yes, I'm going to share CD space with CAPTAIN KIRK!!!!!)

Lis Soderberg is a singer/songwriter from Toronto. Her song “All I Need” finished 3rd in Billboard’s World Song Contest, and you can hear it right now on her MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/lissoderberg
Huey Lewis and the News originally sent copies of “Winter Wonderland” to their fan club (they were mailed out on pretty green cassettes). This was in December of 1984. It has never been available on CD.
Lisa Kessler is a gifted Soprano whose first CD, A New Life, has songs that continue to appear on iTunes and Amazon‘s best-seller lists. You‘ll be able to hear “Christmas Vacation” on her MySpace page soon at http://www.myspace.com/lisakesslervocalist
Pete Hopkins is a singer/songwriter from L.A., and was recently a semifinalist in the Shure National Songwriting Contest. You can hear “Home For Christmas” on his MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/petehopkins
Stephen Bishop has been nominated for Grammys and Oscars, and appeared in “Animal House“ and “The Blues Brothers“! He also released his own Christmas CD through his website a few years ago (it‘s now sold out). His original song “Rock Little Reindeer” has been freshly re-mixed for this compilation!
Tina Lambert is releasing her second Christmas CD next month, and both feature her a cappella, singing all the parts, and then mixing them together , with the result being a beautiful chorus of Tina‘s! You can hear her Christmas songs on her MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/tinalambertmusic
Roy Holliday describes himself as “Vegas meets the beach for a unique, yet classic, blend of original Christmas music.” Check out his MySpace page to hear this song and you’ll get exactly what he means at http://www.myspace.com/royholliday
Hayseed Dixie has made a career out of their very original bluegrass interpretation of rock artists like AC/DC (a style they call Rockgrass)! Their song here is a unique blend of “Winter Wonderland” sung to the music of Led Zeppelin’s “Misty Mountain Hop”. You can hear samples of their other songs on their MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/hsdx
Dennis DeYoung, former lead singer for Styx, released “When I Hear A Christmas Song” a couple years ago through his website. This marks its first national release!
Annie Pattison is a nine-year-old singer who was recently a finalist on Calgary Junior Idol! You can hear her original song “Love For Christmas” on her website at http://www.scorecreative.com/anniesings/
Tey is an L.A. singer/songwriter, who was recently described by Music Connection Magazine as a “gifted songwriter and vocalist who sets herself apart with a raw sexuality and palpable soulful influence." You can hear more from Tey on her MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/teypunsalan
Richard Marx has had so many hits, that he actually holds a record as he first solo artist to have his first seven singles hit the Top 5 on the US charts! While he doesn’t have his Christmas song up right now, you can hear a lot of his music on his MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/officialrichardmarx
DJ Icy-Ice and the Fresh Elf are a pair of rappers that you probably know. At this time, though, we can’t reveal any other info about them.
William Shatner. James T. Kirk. T.J. Hooker. Denny Crane. The Big Giant Head. The Priceline Negotiator. You know who he is. He originally recorded this song for KROQ (Kevin and the Bean), as a part of one of their annual Christmas cassettes (yes, cassettes!). This is its first appearance on CD!
You can hear a clip of William Shatner on the label's website at http://www.socmusic.net (and you can pre-order the CD, too)!
This is one of the most exciting developments ever to happen in my career, and I have Ken Kessler, the owner of Sounds of Christmas Music and the mastermind behind Sounds of Christmas Radio, to thank for it! And of course, you....for supporting my songs and me all these years.Merry Christmas!

Decorating Madness

The leaves are just beginning to turn color here in New Hampshire, and I saw some folks putting out harvest and Halloween decorations on their lawns when I went for a walk this afternoon. Not me! I have a rule that no Halloween decorations go up until October 1st, and then I go to town.
But believe it or not, there are people out there (some of you reading this) who have been working on their Christmas yard displays for weeks....some even months! These are the totally wacky decorating enthusiasts world-wide who have made "The House on Christmas Street" an "underground" hit that is probably playing at a decorated house near you this holiday season.
I just want to take a minute to give kudos to those folks who are hard at work planning where the next 20 strings of LED lights are going to go, how to get Santa to pop out of the chimney this year, or where to put their 5th mega-tree. They do it with a jolly, joyful spirit just to cheer the young and the young at heart.
If you've thought about getting into 'extreme" decorating, and perhaps learning how to synchronize your lights to music, there are a couple of websites I want to recommend to you. The first is www.planetchristmas.com . Chuck Smith and the folks at PC will help a newbie every step of the way until you, too, can be planning your holiday display year round. You can find the folks from Texas (and other places too) over at www.lonestarholidays.com where they also specialize in decorating madness and all things Christmas (and other holidays too). There are many other sites online that can help you get started if you want to create your own "House on Christmas Street" this year. Oh, and be sure to stop by www.lightorama.com too. You'll want to peruse the many gadgets and gizmos they offer to make the job easier. They've got a software sequence for "The House on Christmas Street" too.
Hope to hear my song playing at YOUR house this year!

Weird Things Are Everywhere

You can now PRE-ORDER "Weird Things Are Everywhere" on the Judy's Tune Room Store page. http://judypancoast.com/tune_room_store.htm

I believe this is my finest and funnest work!!

I hope you like it too!
It will be on sale to the general public November 9.

My Book Case

In the immortal words of Kip, Napoleon Dynamite's brother, "You know I love technology". Without it I could not be writing to you right now. But I think sometimes we get so excited about technology and its convenience that we forget how special it was sometimes just to wait for something.

For example: waiting for that one night in December when Charlie Brown's Christmas Special would be on TV, and we'd all gather around the set to see it that ONE TIME. If you missed it, you'd have to wait a whole year! That's what made it so special! Ditto for that yearly showing of "The Wizard of Oz."
Or waiting the half hour for my Swanson TV dinner to be ready to eat. Yum. The anticipation was half of what made it so delicious when it finally came out. You just can't microwave fried chicken and mashed potatoes properly.

But there are other technological "advances" that I'm cautious about. The privacy issue, for one. When I was a teen, there were many times I just wanted to be alone. Today's kids are NEVER alone...someone always has access to them through their cell phone or computer. They never have the excuse that "My father was waiting for a call so I couldn't use the phone, that's why I didn't call you last night." It seems sometimes they don't even know what privacy IS. But lately I have noticed my daughter turning off her phone more often...maybe the need for solace has finally appeared.

There's one technological development that we have so far resisted in the Pancoast family: The Kindle or other e-book reader. I know, I know....you can carry around a million books in your purse and take it to the pool or beach or blah blah blah. Well, guess what? I carry around a paperback in my purse, and when I finish it, I replace it with another. I keep a book or two of short stories in the car at all times, too. If I had a million books in my e-reader I may not ever finish any of them!

Also, I'm really attached to my book cases. I still remember the year my brother and I both got book cases for our rooms for Christmas. It was one of my favorite gifts ever. I used to love rearranging my books in that bookcase.
The first pieces of real furniture my husband and I purchased after getting married were a big bookcase and a smaller one from This End Up. You could take away my sofa, coffee table, even my bed...but I'm never giving up those book cases. I like looking at them and seeing the books I've read, some I've had since childhood.....the ones that are too dear to me to give to the annual library book sale. There are a milion happy memories of the places I've been and the stories I've been part of while reading those books...in addition to the memories of where I was in my life when I read them.
When I broke my ankle and was housebound a couple of years ago I went kind of crazy rearranging those books over and over. And I re-read more than a few of them. If I'd gotten all of those books on an e-reader, all of that fun would be gone.

I've already lost the joy of reading the liner notes and staring at the artwork on album covers. It doesn't help that I can barely read the small print on a CD insert...since beginning to download music we don't even get that anymore. (in fact, I've been wondering why I'm spending so much time designing my new CD cover when most people who buy it will probably get it by downloading!)

I can't bear the thought of losing my books, too.

So keep your e-reader; I'll keep my Mystery Guild membership, thank you very much!

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!!

My brand new CD, WEIRD THINGS ARE EVERYWHERE, will be going on sale to the general public on my website on November 9 and shortly thereafter on CDBaby.com and on iTunes.com.

Pre-order it now and it will ship to you in late October, before anyone else has it!
WEIRD THINGS ARE EVERYWHERE
is a road trip with Judy that takes you across the United States, with stops along the way to visit interesting sites related to children's literature. It's jam-packed with geographical and historical facts, and lots and lots of WEIRD THINGS, along with brand new songs!
Featuring:
Reading Our Way Across the U.S.A.
Yucky
Bum de Bo
Superman Can
Take Me to Your Reader
Once Upon a Time
The Dog Did It
I Can't Go Surfin'
A Little Bit of Elvis
Weird Things are Everywhere
Where I Live

Special Note to Teachers and Home Schooling Parents: This CD is filled with fun songs and information that will enhance your US Geography, Literacy, History and Music programs. Your students will ask to hear it over and over again....and they'll be learning while having fun!

Pre-order today by sending check or money order in the amount of $15 (includes shipping and handling) to:
Judy Pancoast
43 Pinehill Avenue
Manchester, NH 03102
Pre-order today and enjoy WEIRD THINGS ARE EVERYWHERE before anyone else can buy it!

For those of you who prefer to buy online, a PayPal link will be available on my website soon. Watch here for news on that!