Dear Candice,
I cannot say how sad it was to hear of your
illness that is keeping you from performing
at the most beautiful of theaters-Muskegon's
pride and joy-the Frauenthal. My sincere
hope is that you will soon regain your
health. Be well and do think about coming
back to perform in West Michigan. I assure
you that you've established quite the
following here! Besides, it's a shame to
miss Michigan in the fall-we posses one of
the best autumn seasons in the country!
Warmly,
Elizabeth
Hello Elizabeth,
Actually it was Ritchie who came down with a
terrible upper respiratory infection. I had
to rush him home to the doctor and get him
started on antibiotics immediately.
Something like that you really can't do
anything about but medicine, bed rest and
time. It was just bad timing because we were
all looking forward to coming and playing
for you all in Michigan. I had heard so much
about the theater from the interviewers in
that area. It was a shame, but couldn't be
helped.
I do look forward to being able to come back
and experience the theater, the autumn there
and the fans !
Thanks for your concern.
Love and light,
Candice
Dear Candice,
I hope you do not mind me asking you this
question, but have you changed your surname
to "Night" officially, or is it a stage /
professional name ?
Also is it true that your Mother Carole was
a teacher before becoming your and Ritchie's
Manager ? This transition must have been
rather daunting for her if she had no
previous experience of the music business ?
Thank you.
Diane
xxx
Hello Diane,
It is my stagename and the one I am most
commonly known by these days. My 1st name
being Candice which means 'shining white
light' in Greek- I thought Night would be
the best balance of dark and light.
besides my connection with the nighttime,
anyway.
Yes Carole was a teacher for many years and
in many capacities before becoming our
manager. Actually, I think the fact that she
had to deal with so many children and the
politics of the teaching industry actually
prepared her in many ways for the
personalities that she would have to deal
with in the music industry.
Then again, no one was born a manager,
everyone had a different job that they
started out in before entering into this
field.
And truthfully, although it started simply
and innocently, making a few return phone
calls, planning a few things on our behalf,
she is one person in this world who we knew
we could rely on and trust. She is much more
than our manager, she is our protector, our
guardian,our accountant, our contract
writer, our tour planner, our liaison, and
most importantly our friend.
Love and light,
Candice
Candice,
I just had to e-mail you to let you how much I enjoyed the concert last
Friday at the Ridgefield Playhouse. I drove
nearly 100 miles from New Jersey with my
girlfriend to attend but it was worth it.
This was the first Blackmore's Night show I
have attended and I had more fun at the
concert than any other I have been to, and I
have been to quite a few. The audience was
very enthusiastic and your performance
matched the one on the Castles and Dreams
DVD. We enjoyed it so much that we decided
to go to the Lakewood, NJ show on the 30th.
See you there. We'll be in the second row on
the right aisle.
As we were leaving the Ridgefield show, we bumped into Sir Robert of
Normandie in the lobby. I referred to him as
your former bass player but I was wondering
what the circumstances were regarding his
not performing with group but attending the
performance. I also miss the Sisters of the
Moon. Are they out of the group permanently?
You mentioned at the show that you met Joan Baez in Istanbul and told her
that you covered "Diamonds and Rust", which
surprised her. There are a couple other
songs by her that I think you would do well,
"Barbara Allen", an old folk song, and "The
Lady Came From Baltimore", a Tim Hardin
song. Another song I would like to see you
record is "Wild Mountain Thyme" which was on
Maryann Faithfull's first album. If you want
some musical inspiration, you should listen
to the soundtracks to two Medieval movies,
"A Walk With Love And Death" with music by
George Delerue and starring a very young
Anjelica Huston, directed by her father, and
"Flesh + Blood" with music by Basil
Poledorus and starring Rutger Hauer and
Jennifer Jason Leigh. These soundtracks are
very hard to find though. Just some
suggestions.
I guess you can tell I'm a folk music and movie music fan but I'm also a
big rock fan. I love Deep Purple and Rainbow
and I love your versions of "Child in Time"
and "Street of Dreams". Are you planning to
record any more of their songs? I have six
of your CDs and each new one is better than
the last. My current favorite is "Village
Lanterne". I also have the DVD, which I play
often, and I'm anxiously awaiting the
release of the new DVD.
I guess I should cut this off now. I hope to hear from you. One last
thing, thank you for keeping the ticket
prices of you concerts so reasonable
Mike Gallagher (a Jersey boy)
Hi Mike,
So glad you liked the shows. Yes, we had a
wonderful time this past month on the USA
run. Its always nice to be able to play your
home country. Sir Robert actually lives down
the road from that theater that you saw us
in while in Connecticut. So, I suppose he
felt the neighborly thing to do was to come
see his old band mates perform. He was
unable to tour anymore as he had family
obligations, but we still remain in contact
and actually shared drinks after that show
till the wee hours of the morning at the
Redding Roadhouse after the show. We still
miss him, but , as they say, onwards an
upwards! The show must go on!
It was a similar situation for the Sisters
of the Moon. As they put it, they "no longer
had the support of their husbands to
continue touring" so they will not be
performing with us. However, we are pleased
to have Lady Rraine who actually was in the
band years prior, as our returning harmony
singer/percussionist. She is a great talent
and she really embodies the songs and the
whole vibe of the band so we were excited to
have her return!
Funny you mention Joan Baez, she just wrote
into our fanzine, Black Night, for our 10th
anniversary issue wishing us a happy
anniversary and complimenting us on our
rendition of Diamonds and Rust. What an
honor!
Interesting choices in recommended songs as
well. Ritchie happens to really like both
Barbara Allen , which he used to sing at
school -growing up, and he also often
mentions Lady Came From Baltimore as a song
we should consider doing. But I have to run
the other song by him and also see if those
movies you recommended are on Netflix so I
can check them out as well. Thanks for the
ideas...
We are considering doing some more of
Ritchie's back catalog songs...actually we
have a list of songs we are trying to narrow
down for the new album! So it will be a
surprise for us all which ones actually make
the cut...
Ah ticket prices...you're welcome! yes, that
tends to drive the promoters a bit nutty
when they book us as it is one of our
demands to make sure the tickets are
reasonable. Of course, we wind up paying the
price so we never make money on tour...but
to come and play for you all...its worth it!
Hope that by now you are enjoying Paris
Moon!
Love and light,
Candice
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Dear Candice,
I have been a big fan of Blackmore’s Night since a friend insisted that I
buy your CD many years ago. I was also a big
fan of the original Deep Purple (with Rod
Evans) but soon stopped buying them,
(ironically, I was starting to get into
English folk and Renaissance music and
didn’t need to buy any hard rock). I can’t
even name one Rainbow song. I love every
Blackmore’s Night CD and even got to see you
a few years back.
Anyway, I am at a turning point in my life. I was laid off at my job
where I was employed for 35 years. I was
very dedicated to my job and I have just
learned that dedication and loyalty means
nothing in this life. I’ve been left very
disillusioned. At my age, finding another
job is next to impossible. I’ve thought
about ending it all, or after my
unemployment and what ever my savings I have
are gone, to then end it. I also own a condo
which I could sell which could give me four
or five more years after that. It really
doesn’t matter. Besides, there isn’t anybody
that depends on me.
I haven’t told anybody about my thoughts so I thought that I would tell
them to you. Your music and especially your
voice has made a large impact on my life.
Thank you for all of your great music so far
and for the next few years to come.
WAYNE
Dear Wayne,
I am so sad to hear that you are going
through so much pain right now. Please don't
let anyone or anything steal the wonderful
things that life has to offer from you. It
would be giving the wrong ones power over
your life and although you may not feel that
strong right now...I promise you will be
again. There is so much to experience, even
if after 35 years you have to start anew.
Instead of an ending, try to see it as a new
beginning. Life will always have peaks and
valleys...but there is always light
somewhere in the darkness. I promise you the
dawn will come again. Its almost as if its
not how many times you get knocked down in
this lifetime- its how many times you get
back up again. And you dont have to take it
a year at a time or a day at a time, just
one minute at a time is enough. You can get
through the next minute, can't you? That's
all you have to do. No pressures. And when
you find people you can trust again, and you
will, it will be a reward in itself. Just
take one step at a time, but please, keep
stepping...
Think of all the things that you would miss
in this lifetime...the sunsets, the crickets
singing, the trees waving in the wind, the
1st snow fall every year, the sound of the
rain on your roof.... Those are the things
that remind you whats important. Its the
simple beauties that you have to try to
enjoy...and then ...take another step...
you're not alone...
Much love, healing and strength,
Candice
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