Hello Folks,

Just a reminder that tomorrow, February 5th, Jubal and I will be
playing in
Durham.
Hope you can make it out.

Saturday, February 5th
Mad Hatter
2200 W. Main Street
8 - 10 pm

For those of you not familiar with where this is, get on W. Main, and
head
west. Just past 9th Street, there is a really tall building. In the
bottom
of this building there is the Mad Hatter's Bake Shop. I believe
Parasades
(?) is also located around there.

~~~~~~~~~
UPCOMING EVENTS

Next week I am off to Cleveland for the International Folk Alliance
Conference for about a week, and Jubal will be focusing on the play
Romeo &
Juliet that is performing in Raleigh, NC. This should be an interesting
rendition of this Shakespeare classic. From my understanding, the only
music in the play is percussion, and it is played throughout the entire
play. This is one I surely won't miss, and if you want any additional
information about it, please email me and I will send you everything I
know.

Wednesday, February 16,
The Open Eye -
8 - 10 pm
Part of the NC songwriters co-op mini tour, featuring 5 women
songwriters.
Also performing are Rebekah Crisp, Heather Russell, Dottie B. and Diane
Winger.

Friday, February 25,
North Raleigh Borders Books & Music
Six Forks & Strickland, Raleigh NC
8 - 10 pm
I'll be going solo since Jubal will be in Romeo and Juliet, so come
keep me
company.

MARCH looks like another busy month, but I will keep you posted as it
approaches.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I saw this article posted on the net, and I thought I would post it for
all
to see. I know how much music positively effects my life, and have been
curious as of late what type of healing powers it actually has. Well,
here
is just one answer.


Music therapy helps Alzheimer's patients

January 28, 2000

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) -- A month-long course of music therapy
improved
behavior and sleeping problems in a group of Alzheimer's patients,
report US
researchers. They credit these improvements to increased levels of
secretion
of the hormone melatonin, which "may have contributed to patients'
relaxed
and calm mood."

Since ancient times, music has been recognized as a calming agent and an
antidote to stress and tension. The new study indicates that listening
to
music affects the release of powerful brain chemicals that can regulate
mood, reduce aggression and depression, and improve sleep.

"Many patients with Alzheimer's disease have behavior problems of
aggression
and agitation," said Dr. Ardash Kumar, study co-author and research
associate professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral
sciences
at the University of Miami School of Medicine in Florida. He told
Reuters
Health "we wanted to test the theory that a structured music therapy
program
has a calming effect, and we thought that agitated or aggressive
patients
with (Alzheimer's disease) might benefit from this natural therapy."

Kumar and colleagues studied the effect of music therapy on the levels
of
five brain chemicals (melatonin, norepinephrine, epinephrine,
serotonin, and
prolactin) that work in combination to influence mental state.
"Different
areas of the brain are stimulated by certain situations and release
chemicals into the blood. We can measure the levels of those chemicals
to
see which situations promote a sense of well-being," said Kumar.

The study was conducted at the Miami Veterans Administration Medical
Center.
Twenty male patients with Alzheimer's disease participated in a music
therapy program for 30 to 40 minutes five times a week for 4 weeks. As
the
program progressed, patients became more able to identify with the
songs and
could request their music preferences.

Blood samples from the group were obtained before the program began, at
the
end of 4 weeks of therapy, and 6 weeks after the therapy ended.

Blood analyses indicated that a significant increase in blood melatonin
levels occurred after participation in music therapy sessions and that
the
increase continued even after the therapy had been discontinued for 6
weeks.
Levels of epinephrine and norepinephrine increased significantly after
the
music therapy sessions but had returned to pretherapy levels 6 weeks
after
the sessions had been stopped. Levels of serotonin and prolactin were
not
influenced by music therapy.

Perhaps because of the increased levels of melatonin, the patients who
participated in music therapy became more active, slept better, and were
more cooperative with nurses.

The study results, which were published in a recent issue of Alternative
Therapies, may have broader applications too. "Relaxation with the type
of
music that calms you down is very beneficial," said Kumar. "To promote a
sense of calm and well-being, you can listen to your favorite soothing
music
when you eat, before you sleep, and when you want to relax. Music
therapy
might be a safer and more effective alternative to many psychotropic
medications. Like meditation and yoga, it can help us maintain our
hormonal
and emotional balance, even during periods of stress or disease."



to quote Jubal's answering machine . . .
"MAY YOUR LIFE BE FILLED WITH BEAUTIFUL MUSIC!"

See you soon,
Kim
kim@...
www.kimbuchanan.com