FARM
Posted on September 26, 2011
FARM - stands for Folk Alliance Regional Midwest - held in Bolingbrook, IL this past weekend, it was 3 days of hob-nobbing, pickin' and singing with 200 other folk artists from around the country. The earliest I made it to bed every night was 2am. I know I saw 3 am on the last night of the conference. Exhausting, but so fun! Got to hang out and listen to my talented pals and songwriters: RJ Cowdery, The Twangtown Paramours, Jamie Michaels, Bill & Kate Isles, Jan Seides, Sally Spring, Adler & Hearne, Sarah McQuaid, Jayne Toohey, Sigrid Christiansen, Kira Small, the YaYa's, Ben Hassenger, Joe Jencks, Andy Cohen, John Batdorf, Derek Daniel and that's just a smattering.
One of the highlights was a songwriting workshop with the legendary folk songwriter, Michael Smith. He's got me fired up to write some new songs!
I love my Folk Alliance friends. They are my tribe and extended family! <Group hug>
What a great weekend Anna D. and I had in Jacksonville, FL! It was my first time there and the journey began by driving to Chattanooga to pick up Anna (my talented "side player") at the airport where she parked her car. We loaded her things into Beverly Buick and she went to park. I attempted to start the car and ....nothing. Silence is not good when starting a car. Dead. Kaput. Nada. I assumed it was the alternator since the battery was quite new (replaced while in Houston last Fall). I called AAA and waited in front of the airport terminal...on 9/11 weekend...waiting for security to come read me the riot act for sitting there. No one ever said a word though, which was kind of weird. After only 20 minutes or less, a very nice tow truck operator by the name of Charles (I know because it was sewn onto his grease covered shirt) came along and asked to take a look under the hood (of my car! Get your mind out of the gutter...oh wait, that's my mind...) Anyway, he jiggled the battery cable and [...]
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I know...I know...I'm an artist so I'm supposed to blog, right?! I'm supposed to tell you all whatever I'm thinking on a particular day and be all pithy, funny and such. Well, I've been falling down on the job! So, I'm attempting to commit myself to more regular blogging....
The most interesting thing happening at the moment is that I'm being considered to sing the national anthem for the Nashville Predators - our NHL team. My dear friend, Gene, who is a rabid Preds fan emailed me and harangued me about submitting an audition tape to them. So I did. They were only taking the first 50 entries and I figure that in a town full of singers, I had no chance...not that I'm not a singer...I just mean that there are SO many incredible singers here in Nashville. Well, I don't know what the hell happened...the stars lined up right or something...because I got a call yesterday from the Preds saying that I am in the top 3! BUT now I have to ask all my fans to vote for me so I can sing. SO, I went onto [...]
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Hey guys,
Wow - what a week it's been. A week ago, my beloved city of Nashville was half under water from 18 inches of rain in two days and reeling from the death and destruction - and the threat of both water treatment plants shutting down. 32 people have died and some are still missing. I saw whole neighborhoods completely inundated by the rushing flood waters. There was no warning. Some older folks were found drowned in their living rooms or in their cars. Families were literally ripped apart by the currents. The Grand Ole Opry stage was engulfed by the Cumberland River. Thousands of musical instruments - some irreplaceable vintage pieces - lost forever. One of my favorite places to play - dark and divey Norm's River Roadhouse - had about 15 feet of water in it. All the music equipment was ruined and our friend Norm is salvaging whatever he can and starting over.
We had relatively no damage at our house. We were some of the lucky ones.
In a world SEEMINGLY full of cynicism - amazingly [...]
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