Coretta Sellars

Boston Pride Kicks Off at Faneuil Hall With a Whimper • Posted 06/09/08

by Jeremy Goodman

Boston's Pride Week kicked off with day of music and dance at Faneuil Hall on Saturday. But let’s face it...it wasn't exactly a rousing success. I'm not quite sure when Pride became a week instead of a parade and a night at the bars; apparently, I'm not the only one. When a friend and I arrived, the only gays in sight were the Moving Violations Motor Cycle club, which is strictly for the ladies and I'm sure you can develop a mental picture for yourself.

A sad, broken arch of balloons over the stage was perhaps briefly a proud rainbow, but intense sun and over-inflated balloons are not a good mix – first the greens, then the blues and purples deflated in a series of pathetic little pops. Perhaps that should have shaped our expectations for the afternoon. Those who came out to see a big gay spectacle of the kind that makes Fox News commentators wet their pants were surely disappointed.

Coretta Sellars was the euphonic highlight of the afternoon. We listened to nearly her entire set, with only a quick stop into the Starbucks for a bit of refreshment. As I listened to her music, I commented to my friend that her tunes had a sound that was familiar. Eventually, I realized that musically Sellars evokes the sound of the Indigo Girls, but with a vocal quality that softened the harder edges. Her performance was nothing short of stellar, despite a blazing sun sure to blister the skin. We were impressed enough to walk away with two of her CDs.

The Dejas, on the other hand, left us cold. A cover of a Sting song (or maybe The Police) roused a bit of interest, but the idea of finding something to eat and drink proved more attractive, as evidenced by the fact that I can't remember which song. We settled on Dick's Last Resort, the only Faneuil Hall vendor that seemed to recognize that the marketplace was hosting a Pride event, marking the restaurant with a rainbow arch faring much better than that on the mainstage. Our server Renee provided us with enough entertainment to make up for the lack of fun on the stage, regaling us with tales of her desire to go to Provincetown with her boyfriend and cluing us into the fact that her daughter has two grandmas (okay, most of us do, but I think you get what she meant). She proudly claimed responsibility for the rainbow arch on the restaurant and sent us on our way with souvenir glasses.

Refreshed, we set out back to the stage. The emcee, whose name I never got, surprised us with her rousing version of a couple pop songs. Though she was clearly vamping until the next act was ready, the stunning quality of her renditions truly surprised us. She belted out Gnarls Barkley’s Crazy and Alicia Keys’s No One and brought a crowd back to the stage area with her infectious energy.

Gays for Patsy may have been high point of the day. A small troupe of men mounted the stage and taught the crowd to line dance and two-step to the strains of country tunes that one just doesn't associate with the gay world. While they did a few exhibition numbers, it was the teaching that really got the crowd involved, using numbers such as Paula Cole's Where Have All the Cowboys Gone? and Garth Brooks's We Shall Be Free. The line dancing was fun and attracted a (mostly straight) crowd willing to jump in and learn where to put their feet. Later, while teaching volunteers to two-step, a couple of straight boys from the suburbs who jumped in to mock the celebration got their comeuppance, to the amusement of many. The boys didn't realize that the dance they were learning would require them to change partners constantly. To give those boys some credit, though, they didn't leave the floor until the dance ended.

In the end, the afternoon's success as a gay pride event remained questionable, even though it did provide a few flashes of good entertainment. The crowd consisted mostly of confused, middle-aged, straight couples and tourists out for a day's shopping with a few gay teens and older couples sprinkled throughout. Perhaps, though, the day's lack of flamboyance served to show a quieter side of gay life than most of those spectators have seen in media representations, reminding them that your average gay person is simply your average person. - Smart Remarx Jeremy Goodman

March 21. 2008 12:28AM

Give singer some ‘Space’
SOUNDS

Do not cross Coretta Sellars. The North County singer-songwriter is pretty good at eviscerating through song. Several tracks on her new “Keeping the Space” CD take aim at men who treat women awfully, and the singer supplies empowering anthems such as “Pink Lemonade” and “Want Me To.” Sellars, who brings a rocking sensibility to her word-rich songs, can also spin off brassy narrations as heard on “Boston by Now” and “One Night.”

Sellars’ latest will likely appeal to fans of old-school Indigo Girls. The one-time local opener for national acts playing at The Bull Run is now headlining the venue herself tonight to release “Keeping the Space.” Sellars’ show begins at 8 with opener Julie Sweeney. Tickets are $10.

— Scott McLennan - Scott McLennan Telegram and Gazette

11.4.2008
Urban Angel Music of Belfast, Ireland/UK is putting together a compilation CD called "Walk the Line." They have chosen my song "Best Of Me" for the CD. Urban Angel Music is one of the fastest growing Music Production Companies, Record Label and Music Publishers in all the UK and Ireland. Distribution of the compilation will start in January 2009 all throughout Europe and the US. - urban angel

There are numerous newspaper interviews over the last 13 years, but here is the latest........



Sun, The (Lowell, MA)

March 21, 2008
Section: Local

News

Lunenburg singer-songwriter debuts CD at Bull Run tonight
The Lowell Sun
By Kate Czaplinski kczaplinski@sentinelandenterprise.com

SHIRLEY -- Singer/songwriter Coretta Sellars always carries a guitar pick in the pocket of her bluejeans. The plastic ties on loaves of bread also work in a pinch, Sellars said.
The desire to play might come up at any time or anyplace.
Sellars, a Lunenburg High School graduate, explained her passion for music and performed one of her new songs "Best of Me" at the Bull Run Restaurant in Shirley yesterday. "Best of Me" is the second track off her fourth compact disc Keeping the Space.
Yesterday, she recalled weddings she used to attend at the Bull Run when she was a child. Tonight, she'll be back at the restaurant for her own CD-release party and live performance.
This CD is like a new start, she said.
She started writing and performing at 15, and now at 31, she's trying to make things happen in her music career.
"I think it's really up to me," she said of her success. "I have to stop procrastinating. I wish I had promoted myself more when I was younger."
Sellars grew up in Lunenburg and remembers performing some of her original music at the Lunenburg High School Talent Show in 1995.
Sellars works with Derek Butler on drums and John McKusick on bass and lead guitar in a variety of live performances in the Boston area and central Massachusetts.
Her fourth CD has been eight years in the making. Sellars writes many songs but chose 14 of them for the new CD.
Her music mixes many genres.
"I have three biggest influences," she said. "I love Jim Croce, the Indigo Girls and The Eagles."
She enjoys writing songs everyone can relate to, like "Pink Lemonade." The song focuses on difficulty in a marriage.
She also uses her own experiences in her songs. "Boston By Now" details her first love experience growing up in Lunenburg.
Her song "One Night" is one of the most upbeat tracks on her album.
"It's a mischievous song. It's just fun," Sellars said. "It's actually my mom's favorite song."
Sellars now lives in Templeton, but her family and friends will be in attendance at the Bull Run tonight.
"It's going to be a lot of people I haven't seen in ages," Sellars said. "It might be a big Lunenburg reunion."
The release party is also a chance for Sellars to focus on playing her own work.
Bar audiences often request more cover songs than originals, she said.
"I hate playing 'Sweet Home Alabama,'" Sellars said. "Every band plays it, and it's so overdone."
Sellars' CD release party starts at 8 p.m.; Julie Sweeney of Somerville will open. Tickets are $10, and CDs will be available for sale.
Sellars hopes she can master the music world and make it her full-time job.
"I just want to play," she said. "I don't really understand the business of it."

(c) 2008 The Sun (Lowell, MA). All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Media NewsGroup, Inc. by NewsBank, Inc. - The Lowell Sun March 21, 2008