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Dear Candice,
I was getting new songs on my Itunes, and I accidentally got the "Ghost of a rose" song. I was going to throw it away, but I stopped to listen to it. And I honestly fell in love with your voice. Wasting no time, I bought many more of your songs. I love them all! My friend and I have this passion for Renaissance times and constantly wish for chances to dress up and sing to the music and just live that life for a day. I told her about your songs and she fell in love with them as well!
I was wondering, have you ever performed in Los Angeles? Will you ever perform here?
Also, how did your passion for Renaissance times begin? When did you first open your mind to their ways?
I remember my parents took me to the Renaissance faire as a child and I was dressed in regular jeans and a shirt. And I saw all their beautiful dresses and ornate flowers sewn into their hair. I saw everyones joy and careless happiness, and, that was it. I wanted to live that life!

Thank you so much for giving me this chance to listen to these beautiful songs :)

-Meghri Sarkissian

Hello Meghri,
I am so glad you stumbled across our music. Being not commercially acceptable it is almost by pure luck that you find our songs! But we wouldn't have it any other way....
We have played in LA, though it has been a few years since we were there...
I have always loved the fantasy of the Renaissance...the escape into a more magical and simpler time. Though when I met Ritchie, he introduced me to the music of those days and it became the sound track to my life, to nature, to the world that I wanted to be part of. So we started taking the aires of that time and weaving new music, new words and new arrangements into them, leaving the spirit of the songs their but also giving them our own flavor. We often dress in the garb of that time period, whether on stage or at home. Have bonfire gatherings with friends and acoustic instruments, all of us in costume and singing beneath the moon. A very different world than the cyber reality many choose to live in these days. We prefer candlelight to ambient light. Silence to traffic noise. And nature to the grey of big cities.
Keep wearing those flowers in your hair!
Much love,
Candice

 

Hi Candice,
I hope that you get this. i saw blackmores night in concert in charlotte, nc. it was my first time seeing yall and it was wonderful. i hope you return soon. i was looking at your web page and i see that you listed stevie nicks as one of your favorites. yes, she is one of mine too. interesting because you reminded me of her with your gypsy style. i also got the fairie magazine with you on the cover. i was also pleased that you asked for donations to the humane society there. i have found all of your music to be uplifting and i am fixing to order the new dvd. i only have one question. do you allow people to take photos with you after the concert? i saw you were doing some autographs, but i didnt think about photos until later. thanks for your lovely light being.
goddess bless,
jean whatley

Hi Jean,
Glad you liked the show! Yes of course its fine with me if people take photos of me after the show. But, of course I can only speak for myself and not anyone else who may be walking with me to the car at the time.
So next time we come to Charlotte, don't be afraid to ask!
Love and light,
Candice
 

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Hi Candice
Would just like to thank you and Ritchie for the great night in Glenrothes (Scotland) i was really happy that you played my favourite Blackmores Night song Now and Then, I was shouting my head off to get it played, and i was positive Ritchie acknowledged me but then again maybe it was just wishful thinking. Would love to know what you and Ritchies favourite Blackmores Night song is,and when will we see the great Blackmores Night back in Bonnie Scotland . P.S. Just got my Ritchie Blackmore tattoo last week.
Cheers John.

Dear John,
Oh I am sure he heard you! :) Actually that is a huge compliment for me that Now and Then is your favorite songs as it was one of the 1st songs I wrote solo for our band- do it hold a very dear place in my heart. I actually re-recorded it for my solo cd with the original middle part included. That had been taken out by the powers that be when we recorded it originally, so you will be able to hear it in its complete form when my cd is released.
Ritchie always goes back to the very renaissancy tunes like Renaissance Faire and Clock Ticks on for his favorite BN songs whereas I tend to be drawn to the story songs like Windmills or Hanging Tree or even the Circle.
To find out more about Ritchie's personal favorites you can click here
 or for mine click here
We do love magical Scotland and hope to see you back there again soon!
Love and light,
Candice

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Dear Candice,

I have a question but first must pass on my thanks for the concert at the Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham, England on the 17th June. After 35 years of concerts that the best I have seen, everything seemed to be right. Your singing was out of this world and Ritchie just excelled. The passion was tangible and I was moved close to tears by your vocals on The Village Lantern and the sincerity of Dandelion Wine. And when you came back for that added bonus of Ghost of a Rose, just unbelievable and fantastic. Cannot wait until 2009 for the next time you are over here. Do you feel the concert was special. My question is; how does the band decide on the set list for the tour, particularly when such classics such as the Way to Mandaley, All because of you, Once in a million years, Times are a changin, Wish you were here etc, etc have to be left out. It must be very difficult.
Once again thank you for a great concert, it will live with me and wife for ever.
Steve Hanson
Mansfield, England.

Hello Steve,
So glad you enjoyed the show! Thank you for all your kind words.
Yes it is very difficult to keep leaving songs off the list and change them for new ones. If it was up to us we would just play them all hand be there for hours and hours! The worst part of putting a new cd out is figuring out which songs must get cut out of the list to make way for the new songs. But luckily the band doesn't have to make those decisions, it really all comes down to which songs Ritchie feels works best in a live situation. As it is we all know over 60 songs and we can pull anyone of them out during the concert. Which keeps all the band members on edge but is also why people keep coming to see more than one show in a row. Will never see the same show 2ice in a row. We change the list each night depending on the mood, the ambience of the hall and the sound, the energy level and many other factors.
So don't despair! If you are wanting to hear a song - it usually isn't off the list for good...There is a good chance it will be played at another show coming up! It is rare that we completely retire a song for good.
Kisses to your wife!
Love and light,
Candice

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