Shirin Delsooz

My Life Adventures and Thoughts

I got listed on the Mandolin Cafe!

My song is up for listening for other mandolin enthusiasts on mandolincafe.com.

Folks, I am so happy to announce that my song, “Trip to Tehran” is listed in one of my favourite websites, mandolincafe.com.

Please check out the link at http://www.mandolincafe.com/mp3/

The Mandolin Cafe is an excellent resource for all mandolin players. It was where I got all my information when I started out. There are information on builders, teachers, workshops, jams and a forum and much much more. I highly l recommend the website for anyone interested in the mandolin.

 

 

On iTunes! Officially For Sale!

Guess what folks? My songs are available… to buy. And to sweeten the deal, I added a never before heard bonus track!

The songs can be bought on iTunes.

iTunes is a great alternative to buying physical CD’s! Save money and save the environment!

Last time I checked, the entire 7 song EP is priced at $6.93. Thats the cost of a round trip bus fare! The cost of a sandwhich! The cost of a beer! The cost of a coffee at Starbucks! It doesn’t take much to support musicians these days! For your purchase, you will have my eternal gratitude, and that’s priceless!

Bluegrass Jam at Barfly, Montreal

A cool thing to do on a Sunday evening is to hang out with the gang at the Barfly for the bluegrass jam. It’s all you could ask for in a jam, the people are friendly, good vibes, cheap beer, and most of all, the music is great!

I’ve been there for the last while now to perform my favourites and jammed with cool people along the way and got the good old fashion southern hospitality. Not all of them have websites, but here are a few of the ones I managed to get. Check out their songs and buy them!:

Terry Joe – Multi-instrumentalist, banjo, mandolin, guitar and so much more.

The Bombadils – Their band has an interesting mix of Celtic and Bluegrass. Be sure to “like” them on facebook!

I will continue to add on to the list of musicians, so keep on coming back, or send over recommendations for anyone I may have missed!

 

Ethical Dilemma – Should I have opened my door?

This ethical dilemma came to me right outside Barfly last night. Two well-groomed teenage girls were holding up a sheet of bright white paper with Crayola markers writing, “Need place to stay”.

If someone legitimately had absolutely nowhere safe to spend the night, I don’t see the harm in letting them stay over my house. But I had the feeling these girls didn’t fit that profile.

“Where are you guys from?” I asked.

“Toronto,”

“Oh, where in Toronto?”

“Well, actually outside of Toronto,”

“Okay, where?”

“London,”

Then came the story…

“We are going to study at Concordia, and our rent starts on Sept. 1.”

It was late, but a flood of questions came to mind. You are only looking for a place to stay now at 2 am? What were you doing all day? Why didn’t you come to Montreal on Sept. 1 instead? Or at least arrange a place to stay before? Heard of couchsurfing.com? Why didn’t you call your parents and ask them to wire money? Did you tell them you were going to Montreal to beg strangers for a couch to crash on? Heard of human trafficking? You don’t even have $30 for a hostel? Can’t you sleep in the park, if it’s just a matter of ‘one night’? Before I could say anything, a sketchy slouching older man coming outside the bar enters the scene, gladly offering his friends house. The girls were ecstatic

I went back inside thinking about if I should do anything. All my friends there said not to get involved, but no matter what they say, a part of me will always feel like I should have.

Thanks to the following people…

A HUGE thanks to my cousin Anahita. She has worked so hard to get my music out there. No strings attached and no questions asked! I owe any regonition to her and only her! When she comes to Canada, I will be sure to take her to all the VIP rooms in every nightclub that exists in Montreal! And also, thanks to Tam for her hardwork and support!

Thanks to Bibliotheque National for their uncensored and speedy (and free) internet connection. Thanks to you, I was able to manage my online marketing campaign without worrying about how much gigabytes were transferring had I was running it at home. This library is a modern and nice working space that is quiet and equipped with a cheerful staff! Who needs an office when there are libraries like bibliotheque national? And on this subject, if you ever want to come by, say hi (or even help), I can be usually found on the second floor. Honourable mention: Second cup. On Mondays the library is closed, and I need to transfer a lot of data, they were there. I sat in the cafe for hours just doing that for the low cost of green tea, at $1.88.

Thanks to my former employers. Had it not been for their pay, I wouldn’t have been able to pay for music lessons, instruments, and recording!

Thanks to Charles Moffat for his support and insight to the online marketing world. He also took some photos of me in my Toronto days. He never turned me down when I asked him a favour! Never! Charles Moffat is an artist and activist. Check out his website.

Thanks to Mirage. The motivational quotes are better than the silly ones I found on my app. He said “life decisions are far better reached on own merits”.

Thanks to Reza. His encouragement boosted my confidence during a low point in life. He introduced me to an awesome photographer and coordinated the whole thing.

Thanks to Mojtaba for taking the pictures!

Thanks to the gang at the Black Swan and Mullins in Toronto, Ontario. I love playing Irish tunes, and having all those laughs! They were always interested in the weird stories of my personal life! I truly feel at home there!

Thanks to my cousin Reza Y. for being my first facebook fan!

Thanks to Seratone Studio. Many sound engineers I have worked on in the past tried to find clever ways to screw me over for money, never answer my phone calls or emails, and were not friendly what-so-ever, and the recording studios were on the sketchy side. I thought it was a sound engineering thing, or just bad luck. But then I met Simon and my perception has changed. That being said, if you ever need a sound engineer, you should check out Seratone Studio in Montreal!!!

Thanks to all the musicians who participated in the project and their commitment and creative input!

Thanks to all my music teachers, Ed Bernard, Gretchen H., Patrick O., and David B. I also like to thank Emory Lester for his great mandolin workshop at Goderich Celtic Roots Festival 2010.

I’m sure I have forgotten others, so I will regularly update this post with many more thanks!