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!

It 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

 

In the dark of night, when things should be quiet, things should be still, my mind is reeling, chattering at me like a possessed bitty that will not shut up. Lately, the ol’ bitty has been in a very good humor, which is directly related to my current cd project. Maybe I ought to be tossing and turning, going over all the things that remain to be done, trying to solve problems or troubleshoot before Trouble even shows up. I guess I am not one that always does everything I should do because I just lay there thinking about how great everything is coming together.

This is new. On my last CD, "Simply", it was mostly me, my voice, my guitar, and my songs, with a couple of exceptions. This time round, I am able to add more layers. Layers of sound are wonderful things, aren't they? The feeling of being able to take the initial creation beyond a simple construction is positively electric. So thrilling, but I find it’s important not to overdo it. The temptation to go nuts with production is certainly there but I think I’ve kept that under control. Each song on the upcoming cd has been accented with solid instrumentation, but just enough to compliment the song, and fine engineering and production. Wolf Den Studios knows what they’re doing.

When will the cd be available? Good question! There are a couple of jam-up musicians who are going to lay down some tracks for me but we haven’t been able to coordinate recording sessions with them just yet. Close, but it hasn’t happened. After that, there will be some clean up and fine tuning, then the mixing, then the all-important step of mastering. The final piece, the actual pressing of the cd, won’t take all that long. I’m guessing the cd will be available sometime between the end of February and the end of March, 2009. Good Lord willin’ and the creek don’t rise. Those of you on my email list will be the first to know about availability so, if you’re not on that list, you might want to sign up.

Thanks for stopping by and spending some time. I know your time is valuable and I appreciate that you devote some of yours to me and my music.

Happy trails!

Here's a great opportunity to get fired-up over your songwriting again. Wintersong Songwriters Workshop will kick off with a concert on Friday, February 27th, at the Dalton Little Theater (GREAT listening room) in Dalton, GA. Yours truly will humbly share the stage with some amazing songwriters for a show that starts at 8:00 p.m. Saturday is the day of the workshop which will have a closing concert Saturday night, also at DLT. As of this writing, I'm still showing up as a Saturday night performer but we had to make a switch to help out another performer who needed to change things around, so I am a FRIDAY performer. You can read all the details here, www.wintersongworkshop.com , and register to attend, too. If you can't make the workshop, at least come to the Friday night show and say hello! I'm hoping to see lots of familiar faces. Got some new tunes to share, y'all. 

I'll see you soon, but until then,

Happy trails!

There were two coinciding events that made me want to write this song. The first was hearing Rascal Flatt’s “Bob Your Head” before the SEC games every Saturday. I wanted the Dawgs to have a song of their own that could be played before the game to get everybody excited. I kept talking about it until my husband finally challenged me to either write the song or be quiet.

The second was the realization that my brother Steve’s birthday was just a little over a month away. My brother is one of those people who doesn’t need anything and doesn’t want much of anything except to be surrounded by family and friends as often as possible. Finding a gift for him is an exercise in frustration. Writing a song about the Dawgs in honor of Steve’s birthday seemed like a win-win idea since my brother and I are both UGA alums and big fans of the Georgia Bulldogs.

As I began the writing process, I wanted the song to have three elements: It had to be a rocker, it had to be a song that everybody could sing, and it had to be positive. It took me about five weeks to write, but the end result met all of my goals.

I hope that my Bulldogs will ALWAYS walk proud and tall. What an accomplishment to become an athlete in any of the sports represented at the University of Georgia! The people that make up the entire team of the Georgia Bulldogs present themselves not only as people of skill and athletic prowess, but as people of the highest character. My Georgia Bulldogs – the athletes, the coaches, everyone involved from the athletic director to the water girl – are people who believe in the importance of teamwork, self-discipline, personal honor, community spirit, and unwavering perseverance in the achievement of goals. I am proud to be a UGA Alumna and a supporter of the Georgia Bulldogs.

I hope that fans of the Dawgs will enjoy this song and will take every opportunity to crank it up in support of our teams.

Go Dawgs!