Spunky PR / Spunky Scribbles

To my past and current clients:

I want to thank ALL of you for your support over the years. Some of you may know if you’ve been following me; after years of doing marketing, public relations and business development for artists and nonprofits, I realized, through my volunteerism at MaxFund, that I was ready for a change. Therefore, I have left the rat race of promoting awesome people and projects and have been working at a dog daycare for the last few months. I recently began a training program through Animal Behavior College to become a certified dog trainer; in spring, I will also be doing their veterinary assistant program.

The domain for Spunky PR will be active until it expires in spring but I am no longer taking on any new projects or clients so I am letting everyone know ASAP about this change. You can contact me at my email, lauramc719@gmail.com, and through my blog at http://spunkylife.wordpress.com/. My phone will remain the same, 303-550-5652. In 2012, I will be officially launching my new business, Delightful Doggies, offering pet sitting and dog walking services, and ultimately dog training services.

I do still plan to promote my husband’s work; I am also committed to helping market the film on which I have worked in other capacities, “Walk-ins Welcome.” But other than these commitments, my new business and my work as a volunteer with MaxFund, I do not plan to take on any new clients or projects in the foreseeable future under the Spunky PR banner.

If you have marketing/PR needs down the road, I am happy to try and find resources for you. I really value the relationship we have had and your support of my talent and abilities. I have really been fortunate to work with people and projects in which I really have a lot of passion and love, and all of you are very talented and wonderful people! I wish you all the best moving forward. Don’t hesitate to contact me for any help, regardless of the status of my former business!

All best and much love to all of you,
Laura, your Spunky One

All my life I have loved animals. One of the best things about my childhood is that I grew up in a place where I could connect with so many. One of my uncles in particular always had different animals on his farm and I always had a cat or dog, or a combination thereof. When I was a child I aspired to be a veterinarian.

As I grew older, my life took other directions. I have been blessed to be able to have done a lot of things I always wanted to do–travel, promote great art, music and causes, and work on projects that create community impact. Since last fall I have volunteered time with MaxFund No-Kill Animal Shelter and Adoption Center. I admit I was a bit timid to do this but I felt it was the right thing to do. I am sensitive about animals and it is sometimes challenging to be at a shelter, to wish for a better life for these homeless and “unwanted” souls among us, but it has been far more enriching than saddening, and it has really inspired a new path for me.

Therefore, Spunky PR is on hold…in a sense. I am no longer accepting new clients and I have taken a job at–of all places–a dog daycare facility! It’s a huge change of pace for me and it’s another step to developing a career working with animals to hopefully make an impact on their welfare and educate people for a more humane world.

FOUR MILLION cats and dogs–about one every eight seconds–are euthanized EVERY YEAR in shelters across the U.S. That’s a terrible statistic. We buy and sell animals as commodities and then toss them aside. This is wrong and while I know I won’t solve the problem overnight, I do want to try to be part of the solution. A dog daycare doesn’t directly equate to solving pet overpopulation but it does give me some experience dealing with dogs and learning more about their behavior. It is my goal to enter a training program this fall or winter to obtain certification as a dog trainer and veterinary assistant so that I can work with people who would otherwise relinquish pets to shelters to solve behavioral issues, as well as have a strong foundational knowledge to help with physical problems. Besides working with animals and their people, I would use these added skills to help area shelters and rescues.

This is my dream–and we all need to try and pursue our dreams. While I am not completely opposed to helping artists and nonprofits under the Spunky PR banner as I have for several years now, it has definitely taken a back seat to these pursuits. It’s been a pleasure working with so many to promote such great music, art and causes. Thank you and keep in touch–I’m not completely gone, just gone to the dogs!

All best,
Laura “Spunky” McGaughey
Spunky PR / Spunky Scribbles

Spunky and Jasper, Bear Valley Park, Memorial Day 2011

Spunky PR is exhibiting at the upcoming Create Denver Expo, part of Create Denver Week, on Saturday May 14! Please come visit us and take advantage of all the great presentations and programming for only 5 bucks. It’s a great way to learn and connect with other artists and people who are involved in Denver’s creative community! You can connect with Create Denver on Facebook and more information is below, from their official press release. See you there!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Denver Office of Cultural Affairs Presents 6th Annual Create Denver Expo Saturday, May 14, 2011
Part of Create Denver Week May 12-15

DENVER, CO – APRIL 28, 2011 – On Saturday, May 14, the Denver Office of Cultural Affairs (DOCA) will present its 6th annual Create Denver Expo. The program will be held at the Wellington E. Webb Municipal Office Building, 201 W. Colfax Ave., from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The Webb Building will be open for registration at 9:00 a.m. with welcoming remarks at 9:30 by Kent Rice, Director of Arts & Venues Denver. The Expo is a program of Create Denver Week, May 12 – 15.

The Expo is a day-long event that provides creative individuals and business owners a “one-stop” opportunity to learn of various small business services and programs that can help stabilize their creative enterprise and plan for the future.

Registration for the Create Denver Expo and other events and programs associated with Create Denver Week is available online at http://bit.ly/CDWeekExpoRSVP. Registration is $5 (with lunch option from Mad Greens) and allows for access to an unlimited number of workshops. Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis, as capacity is limited. Those wishing to visit only the exhibition hall need not register. Advance registration closes May 11. Registration will also be available at the door on the day of the program (cash only). For complete details on the various activities taking place as part of Create Denver Week, visit www.denvergov.org/CreateDenver.

A sample of workshop titles includes:

• Grant writing for Artists
• Branding Your Online Identity
• The Artist’s Survival Guide (Fractured Atlas)
• Financial Literacy for Creatives
• DIA Art & Culture Master Plan Update & Round Table
• Working with the City: Building Code, Zoning & Permits
• Artist Portfolio Discussion & Individual Reviews (DADA)
• Introduction to Fiscal Sponsorship and Fundraising
• Media’s Role in the Thriving Music Community (DP REVERB)
• Public Art 101: From Application to Installation

More than 60 organizations will be participating as exhibitors and/or workshop presenters at the Create Denver Expo, including: Art District on Santa Fe; Artists Creative Agency; Boulder Digital Arts; City and County of Denver/Development Services; College In Colorado; Colorado Artist Network (CAN); Colorado Creative Industries; COMBO; Communication Training Consultants; Creative Connections; Creatives and Business; Denver Art Dealers Association (DADA); Denver Art Museum/Untitled; Denver Arts Society; Denver ComicFest; Denver Design Incubator; Denver Handmade Alliance; Denver Metro Small Business Development Center; Denver Musicians Association; Denver Office of Cultural Affairs; Denver Post/Reverb; Denver Public Library; Denver Writers Meet up; DOCA-Public Art; Fashion Denver; Fractured Atlas; Get Known, Get Big Marketing; Indie Arsenal; Jacqueline Webster Photography; Kickstand Magazine & The Denver Cruiser Ride; Leanne Goebel-Art Writer; Mod Space; New York Life; Parker Arts Culture & Events Center; Public Art Group; Public Art Programs; Reed Photo-Imaging; Replin, Rhoades & Ratner, LLC; Rocky Mountain Cultural Exchange; Rocky Mountain MicroFinance Institute; Silo Workshop; South Westminster Arts Group; Spunky PR; Stjamesmedia; The Art Institute of Colorado; The Creative Farm; The Other Side Arts; Thriving Artist Alliance; University of Colorado Denver; ZOArchitects.

Create Denver is an initiative of the Denver Office of Cultural Affairs (DOCA). Create Denver seeks to strengthen the overall health and vitality of Denver by supporting the growth and development of the creative sector, including creative enterprises such as film, music, art galleries, art districts, fashion and graphic design and individual artists.

* * *

Many thanks to the following sponsors for their support of the Create Denver Expo:
Westword; Mad Greens; Thriving Artist Alliance; Art District on Santa Fe

Special thanks to:
Coffee Etcetera Espresso Bar
Public Office Buildings, City of Denver
Technology Services, City of Denver

# # #

PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release
For more information, contact:
Laura “Spunky” McGaughey
Spunky PR
spunky@spunkypr.com
303-550-5652

(DENVER, Colo., February 10, 2011) — Denver-based recording artist Wil Key and Larimar Records have teamed up with GRAMMY-nominated engineer Ryan West (Beyonce, Dr. Dre, Jay-Z) to produce and record a new CD celebrating women in several different roles. Themes include mothers, daughters and lovers of all kinds.

“I wanted to do something musically that would allow me to share and explore my fascination with the female spirit – not just in a sexual sense – but to try to get next to a piece of the inspiration and compassion that they bring to this life,” reflects Wil Key on the new project, which is due out in mid-2011.

The upcoming project, entitled But A Woman, will enlist the GRAMMY-nominated talents of West for a second time and also feature a host of guest artists and musicians from New York, California and Italy.

In addition to writing and performing new music for the CD, artist Wil Key and company held a city-wide model search for a female model to appear on the cover on the fem-focused project. Response to the search was tremendous with more than 120 entries from models wanting to pose for the cover. A show featuring the top 15 entrants was held at the Crossroads Theater in Denver, Colo., on January 7, 2011 and three top models were selected that evening by audience text vote.

Larimar Records is officially announcing today that actor and model Bernadette Niblo has been selected as the cover model. The winner was flown to New York City this past weekend for an all-expense-paid award package that included a professional model shoot in Times Square and a visit to a Manhattan recording studio session with Ryan West and Wil Key.

More information can be found at www.wil-key.com.

Video available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FwnS66nv_Y.

# # #

Spunky PR will have presence at the upcoming Colorado Music Swap, presented by Marquee Magazine, sharing booth space with Citrus / Pipe Circle Music. Citrus will also be among the master musicians offering clinics, with a sitar clinic at 2 p.m. We’ll have some gear/equipment, CDs, brochures and a chance to win a FREE lesson of any style/type from Citrus at our booth, along with information about and music from other Spunky PR clients.

This NAMM-style event is Colorado’s biggest music gear trade show and swap meet! Featuring numerous manufacturers, music stores, and a huge selection of new, used, and vintage music gear items from a to z, there will also be master musician clinics and product demos on the main stage throughout the day.

Proceeds also benefit KGNU radio, a GREAT public radio station that supports local arts and music.

It all goes down at Cervantes on Sunday, January 23 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

See you there!

The First Annual Colorado Music Swap will be at Cervantes on Jan. 23, 2011

Sinners & Saints, the latest album from Halden Wofford and the Hi-Beams, got a great, glowing review in the latest issue of Westword – check it out here:

http://www.westword.com/2010-10-07/music/halden-wofford-and-the-hi-beams

Don’t forget to join us on October 30 for the Halloween Honky Tonk & food drive with FightWithFood.org – and bring all your friends! You can get your copy of Sinners & Saints at this show.

On Friday, August 20 at Bender’s Tavern we’ll be releasing the book and the soundtrack CD for The Red Fire Fly project!

Doors are at 7 p.m. and tickets are available in advance and at the door for just 7 bucks to see all these bands performing:

• Tequila Mockingbird
• Trailer Park Playboys
• Andy Ard
• Ricky and the Radios

featuring emcee Hash runner Chuck E. Cheeks!

The Red Fire Fly is written by Colorado author Michael G. Wallace. It’s the story of a two guys and a girl, a briefcase full of money, a time machine, a salad spinner and a small red fly. You know, “that old story.”

The book has references to the accompanying soundtrack songs, adding another dimension to the reader’s experience. Press play, open the book, sit back and enjoy!

Other bands on the soundtrack:

• Union Remains
• Fulcrum
• Glass Delirium
• Pairadeux
• Rexway

Available soon digitally – as well as in hard copies beginning at this release party!

For media inquiries and more information about the project, contact Spunky PR.

The Red Fire Fly Book/Soundtrack CD Release Party Poster

Hi everyone!

If you have been trying to visit my site here or have been trying to send me an email at spunky@spunkypr.com over the last 36 hours or thereabouts, I’ve been having some technical issues with my domain so I wasn’t getting emails nor was the site working.

I believe, however, that everything should be fixed and back to normal.

If you were experiencing problems communicating with me, I am very sorry!

Thanks for your patience and understanding,
Laura aka Spunky

–SPUNKY PRESENTS GRANT GORDY, HILLBILLY INFERNO AND ROBERT ELDRIDGE AT THE DNOTE, APRIL 23–

(Denver, Colo., March 16, 2010) — Spunky is pleased to present her first show at historic Olde Town Arvada’s DNote, known for great pizza, music, art and friends, on Friday, April 23 at 7:30 p.m. with Grant Gordy‘s Jazz Project, Hillbilly Inferno and Robert Eldridge. Tickets are $8 at the door.

GRANT GORDY, guitarist for the legendary David Grisman, will be joined by friends to deliver some of his original jazz music. Gordy is a long-time collaborator with many talented musicians across the country and will be releasing his self-titled solo debut album this June, featuring some of these up-and-coming collaborators: Alex Hargreaves, Paul Kowert, Jayme Stone and David Grisman himself. Preview copies are available for the media.

Gordy “belongs to the new elite family of American acoustic practitioners who are pushing the ever-expanding envelope of a musical frontier, incorporating many of the forms developed here in the last century,” writes Grisman in the album notes. “Mr. Gordy’s musical cohorts are among the creme de la creme of this new crop of string innovators.”

While Gordy is widely known for his bluegrass/new acoustic ventures, sharing the stage with luminaries such as Mike Marshall, Edgar Meyer, Béla Fleck, Darol Anger and, of course, David Grisman, this evening will showcase his jazz inclinations and he will be playing electric guitar. A rising star who hails originally from Portland, Ore., he now calls Denver home, but travels internationally to showcase his burgeoning talent. This March and early April, he will be recording with Jayme Stone in Toronto, Canada, before jetting off to St. Petersburg, Russia for appearances with the Expedition Quartet.

Supporting Grant Gordy and his Jazz Band will be HILLBILLY INFERNO, a new collaborative project in the Mile High City featuring three consummate performers in the acoustic scene and beyond: Keith Frankel on banjo, Chris “Citrus” Sauthoff on guitar and Julie Gussaroff on mandolin and vocals. A mixture of old-time, newgrass, folk and even funk and Hindustani, this is their debut show.

All three are on the faculty for the esteemed Swallow Hill Julie Davis School of Music in south Denver. Frankel, a protege of Tony Trischka, is one of Colorado’s brightest banjo players. Citrus is most widely known as a former touring member of George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic, as well as his own funk/hip hop/rock band, U.S. Pipe and the famous ’90s-era funk band, Lord of Word and the Disciples of Bass. Gussaroff grew up in New York, surrounded by a musical family, and has worked with and learned from some of the best in the business, like Mike Marshall.

Opening the evening is ROBERT ELDRIDGE, the eclectic and mental guitarist, who has opened for the likes of Arlo Guthrie, Buddy Miles, Big Head Todd and the Monsters, Opie Gone Bad, Kathy Mattea, and many more. He’s performed with myriad bands over his span of 20 years of playing, and is the current lead guitarist for the band Zeut. Eldridge has also been featured on NPR, PBS and various CD samplers throughout the world.

Tickets to see these amazing performers all in one evening are just $8 at the door. The DNote is a friendly, all-ages venue located at 7519 Grandview Avenue in Arvada, phone 303-463-6683. The show begins at 7:30 p.m.

Happy 2010!

The blue moon shone over us last night, including my home state of KY, a movable feast that no doubt influenced people to party even more than they’d ordinarily would, regardless of whether the moon really had anything to do with it or not. It was a beautiful moon, a beautiful night.

Today is the first day of 2010 and with the first of any new year, resolutions are made. One of the funniest quotes about this tradition is from none other than the great humorist Mark Twain: “New Year’s Day: Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual.”

I Googled “new year resolutions” and found some interesting stuff, including this listing the U.S. government has of top resolutions in our country. No doubt a few of mine are there, like paying past debts and finding better work. Volunteerism is also on my list, as I’ve decided to undergo training for hospice work.

The origins of this traditional stronghold vary and there are many ways cultures throughout time have rang out the old, rang in the new. When Julius Caesar established our modern calendar, January 1 became the beginning of the new year. January was named for Janus, the god of beginnings and guardian of entrances. Janus had two faces: one looking back and one ahead.

As you reflect on 2009, and even the entire decade, what lessons have you learned? What feelings do you experience? It’s been some rough times out there for many and I am no exception. The new year, even the “new decade,” is notorious for giving all of us hope for something better, inspiration to do better and aspire for growth and positive change. The trick is to move forward. As they also say, “Old habits die hard.” The struggle between who we think we are based on who we’ve been and our desire to change for the better can be difficult.

As I reflect on 2009 and the ’00s as a whole, I can see a lot of work I’ve done and many accomplishments. I feel proud of what I’ve done yet I can never fully shake that feeling that I should have and ought to be doing more. I get held back at times by my own self, my own disbelief that I have the talent or connections or whatever it may be to bring me to a place I aspire. My resolution is to simply see things for what they are, to believe in myself fully and to not hold on to feelings of negativity that cause me to stop taking steps forward.

My friends, I wish you all the best in 2010. Keep putting one foot out in front of the other!