Announcement: Calling all Mountain Musicians
Aurora Lights is currently working on a new CD about Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. This CD will be similar to the Moving Mountains CD produced in 2004 which is still available at Falling Mountain Music, if you do not already have a copy, but will have the addition of an interactive map of the Coal River Mountain area in Boone and Raleigh counties in southern West Virginia.Sam McCreery, Aurora Lights' summer intern in 2007, is working on the CD full time. She recently put out a call for music submissions by artists in West Virginia with songs about Mountaintop Removal or the Coal River Valley. She has also started taking photographs that will be used in the CD booklet.
The final product, with tentative release date set at September 30, 2008, will have between 12-15 songs and 5-7 interviews. This is the first part of a larger cultural mapping project based around the Coal River Mountain. Sam McCreery and Jen Osha, founder of Aurora Lights and producer of the Moving Mountains CD, worked from May to August of 2007 on the cultural map that will accompany the new music CD.
This music CD, along with the cultural map will be a tool for legislators, teachers and historians interested in the human geography of the region. This project will reveal to a larger demographic the coal industry's practices and give the people affected by mountaintop removal the chance to tell their stories and show that this area is rich in culture. This project will be a record of time and place in the area as well as support local lifestyle and culture by bringing to light the true stories and experiences of people in the coal field communities.
Anyone interested in submitting a song with a copy of the lyrics can send it to:
Sam McCreery
200 Cherry St
Morgantown, WV
26501
They are also looking for suggestions for the title of this project.
E-mail any questions, suggestions, or concerns to Sam McCreery.
See what Aurora Lights has to say about the new CD
And tell your friends!!!!!