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New recordings 2010

UNLIKELY HEROES AND LIKELY SONGS

Michael Parent performing live

at the 2009 Mariposa Storytelling Festival

In this live CD, Michael performs his original stories " My Semi-fictional Cousin Artie" "The Geno Maneuver" "Geriatric Lock Ward" "The Garbage Hero" "Uncle Joe Fournier."

Songs include French songs (and quick French "lesson"), and favorites such as "Side by Side," Frère Jacques," and "Short'nin Bread."

Available for purchase October 2010

A BEAUTIFUL GAME

THE MOSTLY TRUE STORY OF MY LONGTIME PASSION FOR HOCKEY

Written and performed by Michael Parent

A live DVD of Maine native, longtime hockey player, and internationally acclaimed storyteller and author Michael Parent performing his one-man show. "A Beautiful Game" tells a humorous, emotional and historically important sports story that's about much more than just the game.

What goes on inside the people who play the games and those who cheer them on?

When factories close down and good workers lose their jobs, what holds communities together?

How does a son get his father's attention when Pa is preoccupied with his own troubles?

How do the people in these struggling towns keep their spirits up?

Michael Parent grew up in such a town ( Lewiston , Maine ) when the textile mills and shoe shops were closing down, and admired the pluck and spirit of the people there. Their allegiances to their sports teams were a part of that sometimes quirky, sometimes desperate, sometimes heroic spirit.

"Michael Parent tells the story of his family, of his city ( Lewiston , a once-thriving mill town), of the early 1960s, and of his ethnic group, Franco-Americans. … the result is a rich, entertaining show that manages to be humorous, sympathetic, entertaining, and just plain exciting. This funny, humane show will appeal to those who are not Franco-Americans and who are not sports fans. Parent has taken a time, a place, characters, and an event and has brought them vividly to life."

-- Laurie Meunier-Graves, Wolf Moon Press Journal

Available for purchase October 2010

SONGS FROM GRANDMA'S KITCHEN

(Chansons de la cuisine à Memère)

FRENCH-CANADIAN TOE-TAPPERS (AND A FEW STORIES)

Storyteller Michael Parent live in concert with fiddler Greg Boardman

This live DVD of a Johnson Hall concert features a variety of songs in the French-Canadian tradition, plus a few instrumental medleys with fiddle and guitar, and Hank Williams' "Jambalaya." Stories include Michael's bi-lingual, comic version of "The French Truck Driver," and Greg Boardman telling the story behind the "Hangman's Reel" and fiddling the tune.

Song titles include:

Lewiston Factory Girls (Les Filles du Moulin)

Monter Sur Un Eléphant (To Climb on an Elephant)

Mon Papa (My Daddy)

Dodo P'tit Bébé (Sleep, Sleep Little One)

Bonsoir, Mes Amis (Good Night, My Friends)

Du Nanane (A Little Candy)

Si Mon Moine Voulait Danser (If My Monk Wanted to Dance)

Le Coq est Mort (The Rooster's Dead)

The French-Canadians who became "Franco-Americans" have been torn between the need to assimilate for survival and a fervent longing to retain their unique culture. Many people have lost the language of their ancestors, and many of their traditions have fallen by the wayside. The songs are often the last link to what they once knew on a daily basis.

One of the great joys of my childhood was the constant presence of songs and stories. I've spent a good deal of my time and energy as a performer preserving what I can by telling the stories and singing the songs that help me remember not only where I came from, but also the people who have known and loved me all my life.

-- Michael Parent

Available for purchase October 2010

Purchase previous recordings:

"Chantons -- Let's Sing" Bilingual CD!

"Sundays at Grandma's"
CD

Listen to audio samples:

Monter sur un éléphant

Michaud est tombé

Du nanane

Upcoming Performances

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