Live Interview - November 17, 2009I will be doing a live interview on the "Indie Showcase" with Shashona, who is a DJ located in Sydney, Australia. She will be playing music from my cd "Lately..." as well as chatting with me (via SKYPE). You are all invited to join us and even participate by way of the station's "chatroom". Mark Your calenders - it will begin at 9:00 pm (EST) on Tuesday - Nov 17, 2009 You can hear the program live on the internet by going to either You can also join us in the "chatroom" while you listen. I hope you get a chance to listen live and participate with us through the "chatroom" or go back later to hear the podcast. Thanks so much for all your support!! Middle-Aged Songwriters That Are Better Than Ever
Notes on the "Amplified" Songwriters-in-the-Round Show
Bluebird Café, May 5th, 2009 Too bad if you missed this show. It was a classic in my book. Mary Gauthier(Go-Shay), David Olney, Cam King, Jon Langford and Robbie Fulks, supported by a couple of mighty fine guitar pickers whose names I never could catch. I liked the other three writers but I was there for Gauthier and Olney so that’s where my attention focused. Tommy Womack, an artist I have only discovered in the last couple of months (shame on me), was attending the show, and I was fortunate enough to meet him afterwards. I include a little info about that meeting. FYI, I made the notes below after riding back home that night from Nashville, arriving at 4:00 a.m. I didn’t want to lose the vibe. Hope I captured a little of what the night was like for you. Here goes: Mary Gauthier has a light that pulses from within her. If I could read auras, hers would be blinding. Here we are in this tiny listening room, packed to the gills with people, seven singer-songwriters and supporting musicians in the round, and Mary just shines. Her ability to command a room is no small thing. I wonder if it’s strange how much pride I feel. It’s as though I was her older sibling in another life, and now I get to see her blossom and grow into this incredible, incredible artist. I think she at her best when it is just Mary playing that blue Taylor, little bit of support from another musician or two, and that’s it. Mary’s work is so good on it’s own that trying to dress it with too many accoutrements is akin to screwing up a good basic recipe with fussy additions. Leave her work unadulterated, and you have something classic and beautiful. She amazes me with her insight, her ability to condense a plethora of words and images into a single line. Yes, I am biased. I am a huge fan and hope to bring many people who fall within my six degrees into the circle of Mary’s gift of song. My favorite Gauthier song of the night: "Sideshow". David Olney is the master craftsman. No song is an ordinary ditty. Every piece is special, and you can’t help but feel privileged when you hear David perform his songs live. He is the consummate showman, knowing just where to go in a songwriter’s round, although later on he said it wasn’t easy to follow Mary. As I told him, he danced with beautiful elegance and grace, playing songs that tell their stories with their symbolic hands around your throat. You don’t go to the bathroom if David Olney is playing; you know you dare not miss a syllable. He never disappoints and, apparently, he doesn’t slow down. He has so many new projects coming up that I can’t keep track. It’s as thought he has actually thrown a saddle on the little mustang and taken off on a wild ride, leaving those of us who want to experience it to try to keep up. Good luck keeping up with David Olney. Personally, I don’t think it can be done. My favorite Olney song of the night: "Jerusalem Tomorrow". Tommy Womack is one cool person: brutally honest songwriter at times, published author, and lifetime learner. He’s big stuff, Peeps, really big stuff. I kept hoping if I stood close enough, some of that mega-creativity would rub off on me. We’re chatting outside when I have a moment a realization. By the time I’m talking with Tommy, I’ve had four, five cups of caffeine, and I’m not used to it. My brain catches up to the fact that my mouth has been running amuck for who knows how long. By then, it’s too late to shut it up. The mouth has grabbed the proverbial bit and is galloping at a dangerous pace. The brain does it's best to slow it down by making a big circle. That works. Hallelujah. Lord only knows how much I blabbered, and about what scintillating topic(s). Anyway, I’m listening to his music every chance I get these days. Can’t listen to it in the background. I have to be able to tune in and absorb it. He’s the real deal, worth any investment you can make, be it time, money or both. What a night! What a perfect, perfect birthday present.  New CD "Lately" Now Available!
I'm so pleased to tell you that my new cd is hot off the press and ready to be shipped. We hope you will agree that it is reasonably priced at $9.75 U.S.
When your cd arrives, I hope you will set aside about 45 minutes to just sit and listen. The songs have been arranged to provide you with a listening experience akin to a performance; I think you'll enjoy the ride if you set aside some "me" time for yourself to just "be" with the music. If you enjoy "Lately...", please come on back to my website and post your thoughts in my guestbook. Your comment might be just what somebody needs to hear in order to become a new fan! Feel free to tell your friends about me, too. I'm always glad to meet new people who are fans and supporters of indie music. As always, I sincerely thank you for your encouragement and support. I wouldn't be anywhere without you in my corner. Happy trails! UnfamiliarityAh, me. Where to begin? I am a singer/songwriter, a composer of songs about love and life, written from a mature point of view, primarily mature by nature of the number of my winters. I draw from all the music I've ever heard and held inside my heart. How do I stick that in a box and put a label on it? Someone said that Americana is the genre of every type of music that doesn't fit anywhere else, so I guess that's my label (I understand that having one helps people quickly draw a bead on where my music lies in the spectrum but that doesn't mean I like it).
I feel like I'm "lost in the middle ages" because people look at me and see a gal who is on her way down the other side of the hill, and I see myself standing on top of that hill planting a victory flag. I see the world as my oyster, and marketing people see the world, particularly the world of entertainment, as a domain belonging to artists whose sexuality is wrapped in dewy youthfulness, not people who are sporting wrinkles and the beginnings of those blasted age spots. These folks seem to think, "You haven't made it to stardom by now, shouldn't you just stay home and play for your family? After all, you're old, and the world isn't interested in hearing the kinds of songs you're writing." Gotta tell you, People, I am NOT the kind of person who can be content to write a batch of songs just to sit on them, and I'm happy to say that there are a ton of excellent, talented artists who feel the same. We're all out there, doing our thing the best we can, some of us more noticed than other, but all of us pursuing our bliss. Why would I want to hide my light under a bushel just because I'm over thirty years old?? Why would you?? Why should you?!! What if you're a late bloomer, and all your best efforts are still in front of you? People, we need to keep following whatever dreams we have, whatever our passions are, to the best of our abilities for as long as we can, no matter how unfamiliar this middle-age landscape is. Who knows when we're really through shinin' our little lights? Maybe part of the answer to coping with the unfamiliar is to shine the light brighter than ever. Sure, it gets tougher the older we get, but haven't you heard? Old age ain't for sissies. I'll leave you with this quote from Brenda Ueland, who left a legacy of inspiration to people of all ilk and age: "This is what I learned: that everybody is talented, original and has something important to say."  Thanks to Those Who Were There, Recap for Those Who Couldn't Make It
Just want to thank everyone who made it to the Friday night show at Dalton Little Theater. It was not officially a sell-out because we had two chairs at the ends of the front row empty :) I enjoyed speaking with many of you after the show and hope to see you again in the not-too-distant future.
I have to say that I enjoyed this concert to the max. Lisa, Linda and Louisa put on one heck of a high-spirited show full of fantastic original songs and some excellent musicianship. These three ladies know how to accentuate the strengths of each member which makes for an almost overwhelmingly beautiful experience for the listener. Earl and David did a great job, again, although I have a bone to pick with David because one of his songs remains stuck in my head even now!! Betsy Blankenship(upright bass) and John Boulware (fiddle) provided mighty fine musical support. Once again, my song "Little Mama" (upcoming CD cut) elicited shouts from the women in the audience and laughter from everybody. It's so fun for me to perform that song live because I never thought I could do it. You'll understand once you hear it. Guess that's it for now. Still working on getting the CD mastered so it's looking like mid-March for release. We may try to do a little CD release show somewhere in Chattanooga. Sign up for my email list if you haven't already because I'll be letting the list know all the details as things come together. Thanks again for being there, supporting me and supporting quality concerts in a listening environment. As always, happy trails! Learning How to Use Windows Movie MakerLast week, I decided to try my hand at learning to use Windows Movie Maker. Making a video slideshow as a backdrop for my song "Lovers In Love' was my goal. Surprisingly, at least I surprised myself, this slideshow has turned out to be quite complimentary to the music. I was attempting to make something beautiful that would accentuate the quality of the music, but leave the listener free to interpret the images as they wished. Of course, my photo choices are all subjective; I picked what I liked, but I think most people will like these pictures, too. All of the photographers graciously allowed use of their photos from the website www.sxc.hu . These photographers are located from all parts of the world, which makes them even more special to me, because love is something experienced worldwide on our little blue planet. This makes my little love song seem like more of a universal story than just an American tale to me. Bluefolkacana
As the new cd gets closer to actually being released, I am finding that most marketing outlets want me specify a genre for this particular project. This attitude totally dismisses the fact that many artists today cross the lines of more than a couple of genres, making it difficult to put their music into a specifically labeled little box. With that in mind, I have come up with a genre for my music on the upcoming cd.....Bluefolkacana. I hope you enjoy it. You'll get the chance to find out sometime in March!
Happy trails, Bluefolkacanites! What's Going On Lately
The radio interview went great and the response so far has been good. The mixing of the CD tracks is almost complete. We expect for the mastering process to be completed sometime this week, so there is a good chance the CD will be available around the second week of March. Stay tuned and stay in touch! I love to hear from you folks.
Happy Trails! Check It Out Feb. 22
I'm one of three people who took part in the "Wintersong Songwriter Workshop and Concert Series" interview hosted by Richard Winham. These interviews were recorded last week and will air TONIGHT on www.wutc.org between 9:00 and 9:30 pm EST. If you're not totally captivated by the Oscars, tune in to hear some good dialogue and good music. Jessica Reagan, an up and coming young songwriter from Chattanooga, performs two of her wonderful songs and I perform two of mine. Try not to miss this show because I am sure you will enjoy it. Richard plays some great music and offers his observations and background knowledge to listeners every Sunday night from 8:00 until 10:00 pm. He also handles the music you hear on WUTC in the afternoons from 2:30 until 4:00. Richard's show is always musically enriching and soul-satisfying so give a listen whenever you can. Happy trails!
Last TracksIt is looking like tomorrow is going to be the last day of recording tracks for the cd. Two fantastically accomplished musicians are coming in to record their parts: Tim Starnes, who I call "The Man", will be recording fiddle, harmonica and lap steel parts, while Dennis Brown, only one of the very, very best guitar players I've ever had the priviledge to hear, much less share a stage with, will be adding some hot and tasty guitar leads. This is exciting stuff! And I'm supposed to get a good night's sleep tonight. Sleep! How can I sleep when I know these guys are going to be adding gorgeous layers to my songs tomorrow?? Say a little prayer that it all goes well. I appreciate it 
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