3.24.12
CEDAR HILL, TX
***CD RELEASE SHOW***
Walk the Light Festival
5-10pm (please see the Walk the Light site for set time)
Free Admission

3.30.12
ORLANDO, FL
Harvest Church
Private Event

4.3.12
GREENVILLE, SC
Coffee Underground
(presented by Walking Shadows Improv)
Click here for the Facebook event
with support from Hannah Clayton
8 pm
$5 admission

4.6.12
SUNSET, SC
House Show
(Private event)

4.7.12
CHARLOTTE, NC
House Show
7 pm
Sponsored by Saint Thomas Church
(please check their site for more info)
Free Admission

4.8.12
FORT MILL, SC
Saint Thomas Church
10 am
Easter Sunday morning service – all are welcome!

4.10.12
ANNAPOLIS, MD
The Whiskey
Open Mic Night – short set at 9 pm
Free Admission

4.13.12
BALTIMORE, MD
Bohemian Coffee
6 pm
Free Admission

4.20.12
BANGOR, PA
Red Thread Cafe
8 pm
Free Admission

4.21.12
BETHLEHEM, PA
Benefit Show for The VAST Coalition
3400 Bath Pike, Suite 110
Bethlehem, PA 18017
with support from Kailian Bayer
8 pm
Free Admission ($5 suggested donation to benefit VAST)

The first time I heard “The Book of Love” was in the “Shall We Dance” movie (you remember, with Richard Gere & JLo?) and subsequently fell in love with Peter Gabriel’s cover of this Magnetic Fields song.  And so when I was asked to cover it for a Kickstarter backer, I was THRILLED!

Here’s my home-grown take on “The Book of Love”:

Welp, today was the last day of recording for the new album!  It’s hard to believe…we’ve worked on this record for the past 7 months, and finally finally FINALLY everything is recorded.  It was a little bittersweet when we ended…but mostly SWEET.

We ended our recording sessions with the cello…one of my favorite instruments.  As I sat in the studio listening to my friend Cynthia play her cello, my mind flashed back to how different things were even a year ago.  At that point, Randy and I were in the verrry early stages of planning to record (I hadn’t even laid down demo tracks yet).  Back then, I could only dream about what my ideal album might sound like…and now it’s actually happening.  Wow.  And as that thought sunk into my brain, I could only be amazed and thankful at this whole journey that has been the year 2011.  Sometimes dreams really do come true.

I am beyond excited to get this album into your hands and ears and hearts.  Now on to mixing and mastering, and then the actual pressing of the CD can begin!  Thank you to all you wonderful Kickstarter backers for making the release of this album possible.  Words can’t express the gratitude I feel towards you for all your kindness, love, and generosity…your support blows me away.  (And if you want to get in on the action before the campaign ends on Christmas Day, check out the Kickstarter Campaign page and the various rewards!)

And that’s a wrap! (for recording, at least!)

Ok, let’s clear the air first: I am SO SORRY for neglecting this blog!!  I could say I’ve been busy, that I’ve been saving my updates for Facebook and Twitter, that I’ve been working on the prep, launch and execution of the Kickstarter Campaign…and while all that is very true, it’s still not a good excuse for me to leave this blog to collect cobwebs.

I’m sorry.

Alright, I feel better.  And nooooow…onto some exciting stuff!  In case you haven’t heard, I launched a Kickstarter Campaign to support my soon-to-be-released album (”Wanderlust”):

Basically, Kickstarter.com is an online fundraising platform for artistic and creative projects.  People can pledge money to support different projects, and in return, they receive rewards depending on the level at which they pledge.  (And if you haven’t checked out the rewards on my page yet, please do…they are pretty awesome if I do say so myself!)  The original goal was to raise $800 to cover the costs of the graphic design for the album artwork and also to cover the manufacturing of 150 CDs in jewel cases.  Truth be told, I wasn’t very confident that we would reach the goal…and if we did, I figured it would take the entire 30 day time limit to do so.

WELL.

We hit the $800 mark in 5 hours!  I was blown away.  And over the past 2 weeks, I’ve continued to be blown away as the pledges have climbed higher and higher…and as of this writing, we’re at $3,816!!  The new goal is to raise $5,000, which will cover just about everything (including a tour!).  I am so grateful for all the support, the encouraging words, the Facebook posts, everything…I am so grateful for YOU.

If you haven’t gotten in on the Kickstarter action yet, please check it out!  There are a lot of cool, affordable rewards, not to mention that it’s an easy (and cheaper) way to pre-order the new album.  The campaign lasts until December 25th (Christmas Day), so get in on it while you can!

10 years ago today, it was a Tuesday and I was a freshman in high school in Pennsylvania, not even 2 hours from New York City.  I remember being in history class when I heard that a plane had struck one of the Twin Towers.  I remember the girl sitting behind me whose father was a pilot, a pilot scheduled to fly out from New York that morning.  I remember the tension in her as she tried to concentrate on her work, and the relief with tears when the principal came in the room to tell her that her dad was okay.

I remember being picked up early and watching the news unfold.  I remember the shock and the fear, the chaos and confusion, the mourning and the tears.  I remember the stories of families who couldn’t find their loved ones, the stories of the Pentagon being hit and a plane crashing in a Pennsylvania field.  I remember receiving a call from a friend who asked for prayers for her sister…because her sister worked in the North Tower of the WTC that day (and was miraculously one of the handful of survivors pulled from the rubble in the aftermath).

I remember the heroism of the servicepeople, the New Yorkers covered in dust, the smoking skyline of the city.  I remember the prayers for the families of lost loved ones, the prayers for wisdom for Rudy Guiliani, the prayers for the country and the world in general.

And today, 10 years later, I still remember.  Peace, hope, love, and grace to all affected by the events of that day in 2001.

…yes, we’re still working on the album.

Sorry the music updates have been few and far between lately. Randy, who is a champ and various people’s audio-engineer-in-shining-armor, has been traversing the globe for the past month and a half on various other music projects. (What can you do…when you’re one of the best in the business, you’re going to be in demand!)  Thus, it’s been a little slow going these past few weeks.

BUT. But but but. But some fun news is that during that time, I finished up a new song, wrote a cello part for it, and we’re adding it to the album – so 12 songs total! It’s a song that I had been sitting on for the past few months and there were a lot of things I wanted to say in it, but I was lacking the motivation to work on it.  And then Art House Dallas held a Songwriting Feedback event (you bring one of your songs to the table and fellow songwriters critique it – an initially slightly-intimidating but incredibly helpful experience), and it just was the kick in the pants I needed to finish it.   And I’m glad I did…it might end up being my favorite song on the album.

Anyway, last night I went into the studio (first time in several weeks) to help with some of the mixing and cleaning up of the tracks.  All I can say is that I’m pretty excited about how things are coming along (especially the strings!  They are sounding sweeeet.) and can hardly wait to share the finished product with you.  It may be slow going, but let’s think of it more as a marinade…like a sonic roast beef that is on slow-cook all day until it practically falls apart on your fork.  So by the time you hear these songs, hopefully they will be saturated with juicy melodic goodness and you will want heaping seconds and thirds of it.

Like I said…I just can hardly wait for you to hear it. I really hope you all like the goth/screamo/baroque-with-banjos vibe we’re going for on this record.  I’m pretty proud of it.

KIDDING, I’m just kidding.  There’s only 1 banjo on this album.