Shaky Tree Song Writer's Circle

Got Songs?

Well, here is a chance to share them, work on them, get feedback on them... and hear where others are at in their song-writing process. We are calling this the Shaky Tree Song Writer's Circle, and our first evening will be Thursday Feb. 1 (and hopefully each first Thursday of the month).

This will happen after hours at the Tree (7:30pm), so it will just be songwriters, and those passionate about song-writing that want to contribute positive energy to the group. We want to build a safe environment to explore song-writing, and create a community that values the sharing of those songs. All levels are welcome, from those who have a few scribbles in a notebook (and maybe aren't even sure if they could be songs) to those who have been selling CDs for years... we all can benefit from sharing the process.

Chad Elliott and I (micah- TreeBed Music) will be providing some of the structure for the group, but this will be an organic process that goes where the group takes it.

If you have any questions feel free to e-mail us at shakytree@mac.com

Please share this information with anyone you might now that would be interested.

Shaky Tree News

Shaky Tree
Originally uploaded by TreeBed.

We had a great article in the Discover! magazine this week... it can be a little scary when you have SO much information you want to get out to people, but this well crafted piece made for a nice introduction to Shaky Tree Coffee.

Barista Competition

Shaky Tree attended our first Midwest Regional Barista Competition (MWRBC) hosted by the Roasterie, in the awesome space at Boulevard Brewery. This was a great weekend for meeting other crazy coffee folks, learning lots, and having fun. From a competitive standpoint, it was a "go through the motions" shot in the dark for me (micah)... with most of the competitors training for months or even since last years competition, 3 weeks was not going to be good enough. You can check out more of my personal thoughts on my blog. However, in the bigger picture... everything that we set out to accomplish, we did. Shaky Tree helped the event happen by volunteering in several different capacities, and we gained valuable experience for future competitions.

The Barista competition is a great way to raise the bar of excellence in your shop. I have already felt the tug of judges comments today as I have made coffee for customers. For a quick explanation of the competition take a look at my post on our MySpace page blog. We met others who are working towards excellence, and initiated many bonds to create community around that passion. The Shaky Tree crew is better than we were last week... and we'll continue to push to get even better.