Beyond ‘The Gate’

(Photo: Courtesy) Candy Lee will appear at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 22 at Nightbird Books in Fayetteville for the monthly Ozark Poets & Writers Collective gathering.

Candy Lee to give life to lyrics

By Ginny Masullo

TFW Contributing Writer

The subject matter in Candy Lee’s debut CD “The Gate” is difficult to explain. The lyrics — read without the music — may seem deceptively simple. When mixed with Lee’s original musical compositions, the essence of her message expands.
“The Gate” is more than a CD. In Lee’s words, it is a “project that explores the progress of human consciousness as experienced by Candy Lee.” Lee arranges the songs in an order that conveys a growing awareness. Influenced by the writings of Ken Wilber, one of today’s prominent philosophers, Lee says the CD represents her own struggles that took her to the “gate of realizing all is impermanent, all is without self.” All the songs were written, arranged, performed and recorded by Lee. Included with the CD is a remarkable booklet of Lee’s artwork coupled with the song lyrics. Lee wanted it to have a storybook quality. She definitely met that mark with her artful and whimsical color illustrations.
With a strong background in orchestra, Lee says of her musical compositions, “It is important to me to create movements in my songs. I want the music to change as the feeling in the song changes.” On “The Gate,” Lee is accompanied by Jennifer Graham, Dan Dean, Warren Dietzel and Miles Ralston. Collectively, they’re known about town as Candy Lee & The Sweets. This May, however, she’ll begin a solo tour in Florida and along the East Coast, and this Tuesday she’ll give a sneak preview at the Ozark Poets & Writers Collective monthly reading, where her performance will be an intimate acoustical set with her lyric driven songs. Lee will be performing some of her newer songs, which she describes as “less heady and more gritty than the songs found on ‘The Gate.’”
OPWC has offered, for the last
17 years, a monthly scene for local, regional and national wordsmiths. An open mic is always included in the evening with a four minute time limit for each participant. With the grace of place, Nightbird Books, the evening is a warm and welcome environment in which to share one’s writing. Adding to the inviting ambiance is the Brick House Kitchen Kafé with coffees, teas, beer, wine and all manner of sweet and sustaining foods.
Take your writin’ out of the drawer, get out of the house and shout it out at
7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 22 at Nightbird Books in Fayetteville.