Friday, June 24, 2005

Radio play, more on the way, good thrift store day

The official release date for "Moments of Wonder" is still a few days away, and it is already getting airplay all over the country (including Hawaii). It's very exciting to get this kind of reaction from folk radio before we have even begun any promotional efforts. Thanks very much to all of you who are playing it and showing us the LOVE!

Went to my favorite thrift store yesterday to find a good gig bag that would house my pedal board, cables and all the various items that I carry to the stage with me at shows - I have gone through lots of different arrangements and still am not happy with what I've been using. I found the PERFECT bag yesterday, for only 4.99. God, I love that. Not to mention, I told Bob the other night that I really needed an 8X8 or 9X9 square baking pan (you know, for brownies) and what did I find at the dang thrift store? Yup. I also picked out about 6 paperbooks that I actually want to read...and just as I was finishing shopping, they announced that everything sporting a yellow price tag was 1/2 off! All of my books and the baking pan were marked with yellow tags, so I got out of there for under 10.00.

I am stunned by how much space I allotted to the thrift store adventure, and I greatly admire anyone who has made it this far in this post. I think I should find a picture of some sort to reward your tenacity.

Okay - here's your "reward". A picture of me, Bob, and Gary at my CD Release party - I was leaving for Kerrville the very next morning and so Gary the Gnome, a Camp Singkerrnicity icon who travels around the country between festivals, living in the homes of various Singkerrnicity-ites, was along for the party and anxiously looking forward to the Texas trip. (Look how anxious he is!):



and I can't resist one more, also from the CD release party:



Bob Mater (husband, producer, drummer), Dan Schaefer (songwriter, pal, guest vocalist), Kathy, Jim Savarino ("Sing My Memory" co-writer)

until next time! -Kathy

Wednesday, June 15, 2005

Back in Nashville, where the talent convenes

I drove home from Steamboat Springs (21 hours), arriving late Monday afternoon, in time to drop in on my parents and see them off as they head to upstate NY for the summer. It's hard to get us all in the same place, so I take every opportunity to visit with them.

I listened to a Jimmy Carter audiobook on the trip "Sharing Good Times"...the basic premise is that he has learned over the years that experiences gain added value when you share them with people - either directly, by experiencing them together, or indirectly by recounting them and sharing stories. That's exactly the sort of impulse that made me want to start this blog, and I'm grateful and a little surprised by how many of you seem to be enjoying sharing these experiences with me!

Nashville has spent the last 2 days proving to me [again] that there is magic here - it takes a couple weeks away to see that with fresh eyes...that may be just another good excuse for my endless wandering? I had been home for a mere 2 hours on Monday night when Bob and I headed out to a housewarming party, here in the 'Hood (Sylvan Park). Gail Davies and Rob Price have been busy renovating a place and we went to oooh and aaah over all their hard work. It was bound to be a great gathering of folks - Gail's son Chris is a multi-instrumentalist, and for this occasion he had brought the pedal steel - Rob Price is a wonderful bass player, and of course Gail is incomparable as a singer and a songwriter. The three of them started off playing a few songs, and over the course of the evening every talented human in the room had contributed a song or a vocal or picked a little on their instrument of choice. It was mostly classic country, and I can't get enough of that...another fun element to the evening was Kathy Chiavola shuttling musicians from all over the world back and forth to the party - she brought a young woman from Japan, Mari, who has moved here to Nashville recently to pursue her songwriting - next she arrived with a nice fellow from Germany, and later two guys from Holland, one of whom played one of his songs for us...it could have been a country radio hit in the 70's and his Dutch accent completely disappeared when he sang. We got to hear and visit with Pete Huttlinger, which is always a treat...what a great player.

As if all that wasn't enough, my weekly Tuesday writers night at Wilhagans last night turned into a reunion of this year's Kerrville New Folk competition...along with some of my favorite regular attendees (Dan Schaefer, Alan Oatley, David Llewellyn, Doc West, Steve Taylor, etc) we also had the pleasure of hearing Tony Laiolo, Treva Blomquist, and "Ilyaimy" a duo from the Baltimore area who had simply blown me away in Texas a couple weeks ago. We did a campfire circle format last night, which is quickly becoming my favorite way to do the show. Aside from the obvious ease of not having to set up the PA, it allows us all to focus on each other and chat in-between songs. It's very intimate and warm...I may never set up the PA again, until we are forced back inside the bar by cold weather - that's a long way off, according to today's 90+ degrees.

I am going to post a few belated Kerrville pictures here...the first week was punctuated with some major thunderstorms (as usual) and after the biggest of those, I captured these kids playing in the "swamp" formerly known as the "road" in front of our camp:


and here's a lovely portrait of me having a post-storm measuring cup of wine:



That's all for now - I'll be home in Nashville for over a month, but there are plenty of interesting things coming up to report on...stay tuned.

-Kathy

Tuesday, June 07, 2005

from Colorado...

I made it to Steamboat Springs where I am teaching songwriting to kids at Perry-Mansfield...one of my favorite things to do all year. I have a couple days of classes under my belt and so far there are two songs happening, one called "Tossing and Turning", the other called "Grizzly River". The latter involves 3 characters: Little Creek, a native american boy, and his two pals Peek-a-Bear, an adult female bear, and her baby, Honey Cub. Too cute.

It was snowing like crazy when I drove over the Continental Divide on Saturday morning. It felt just like winter. I have never seen it do that out here in June, but apparently it is possible. Continued rainy and cold all that day and night, but otherwise has been pleasantly cool and sunny - more what I expect out here this time of year.

The new CD should be going out to radio right about now - I left Kari Estrin back in Nashville with a huge mountain of CDs to send out this week while I'm away. Hopefully, you'll be hearing your favorites on your local folk radio station very soon. Be sure to call and request it!

I'm enjoying seeing friends that I have worked with out here for the past seven years...there's always a lot of catching up to do with this motley crew of artsy, vagabond, life-loving folks. Looking forward to getting out into the mountains either on horseback or on foot sometime in the next couple days. If I get any good pics, I'll post them.

-Kathy

Wednesday, June 01, 2005

from Texas...

Well hey there. Writing a quick note from Kerrville - have been living in the tent for a week and haven't had a chance to write or to gather up any good pictures to show you, but will post some as soon as possible. It has been a lot of fun down here at the festival - lots of song swapping and laughter, interspersed with moments of weather-induced terror. Hail and wind and lightning - unbearable heat...then more fun and music.

I am lucky enough to be in the hotel room of a friend right now, checking email, showering, and lying still on a COOL soft surface. It's the little things, no?

I'm off to Steamboat Springs tomorrow (or the next day, depending on energy level) to teach the annual song workshop at Perry-Mansfield. I can hardly wait to get to Colorado where it is unlikely to be hot and muggy - the workshop is for young kids (8-11 yrs) and is one of my favorite things to do. They write with a fresh perspective and a lack of inhibition that is always an inspiration to me.

I'll write more soon and post pictures as soon as I can get my camera and my computer in the same place at the same time.

Peace, love and air-conditioning,
Kathy