Why am I doing this? – Eve Fleishman

“I’m not famous. I’m not Bruce Springsteen. So why should you care about this small collection of songs and images?”

So starts my new book, Peace or Drama, A Journey Through Music and Art. And why should you care? What do I want you to know about me? about these artists?

This project began about a year ago. I started looking for visual artists after I released my first solo album, Peace or Drama. Each song soon became painting, interpreted by 13 different artists from 7 states. You can read more about the beginnings of this journey here.

I recently started my tour – I now have three shows under my belt. And so far it has been everything I hoped for. This is what I tell the audience: “I’m doing this to promote these local artists, build community through music and art, and then collectively we can help artists around the globe to do the same.” I’m selling the book along with postcards of the images to benefit PeaceTones, a charity that helps artists in developing nations. People are also able to bid on the art (at concerts and online) until the end of the tour, when it will be auctioned off for PeaceTones.

I’m so excited to bring meaning to my work in this way! My first show attracted 100 people in a small town with a strong community. They listened to the stories, they sang along, they took in the music and the art. The local winery donated wine, the women’s guild made desserts from their cookbook, and the coffee shop brought coffees and teas. They bought the books, CDs and postcards; they bid on the art. Later in the week, one of the artists in my project, Libby Smart, came to town to lead an all-day artist workshop (I attended and painted my very first painting). The next day I led a songwriting workshop.

This is just the kind of active involvement I’m looking for. I’m sharing my life’s journey along the way because I think we all have stories that connect us to the rest of humanity. My story is rather ordinary. My songs follow the usual ponderings: love, loss, hope. The art, however, is extraordinary, and I’m thrilled to be able to present these paintings and these artists in the context of music and storytelling.

I’m doing this because I am passionate about art in all its many forms. Art has the power to move us in ways that we cannot always define. I hope you will be moved by this project and find a way to support it (spread the word, bring the show to your town, buy the book, buy the art). Contact me and we’ll make something happen!

Concert dates in 2010:

9/25/10 Storytelling Arts Center, Laurinburg NC