Valentine's show

I've been wanting to put together another concert at the Noni auditorium for a while now. I loved playing there at my CD Release concert. So...without further ado...I'm doing it. Two days after Valentine's Day, I will be performing a "low lights and love songs" themed concert with the band at the Tahitian Noni Auditorium. That's Brandon Cummings on the drums, Trevor Gorton on the bass, and John Kovalenko the violin. (Those of you who haven't seen John play with me yet are in for a major treat.)

We'll be giving away "romance prizes" throughout the evening to concert goers. We'll have drawings for multiples prizes, including a dinner for two at Magleby's restaurant, a Swedish massage, European facial, and cut/color from Katumba's salon in Orem, and other great prizes. Buy your tickets right here online and you'll get one free for every one you buy. Tickets won't be shipped to you. You can pick them up the night of the show at Will Call.

And, as a long-time veteran of Singles Awareness Day, I can empathize with the Singles among us. I will play some just for you.

I'm also very excited to have the amazing Russ Dixon (of the band Colors) joining us for the evening. Russ is one of my favorite people. You don't want to miss him.

a new year

Well, it's time to bid adieu to one heck of a fantastic year. 2007 will go down in history as one of the best on record. But I am looking forward to 2008. I'm already doing more songwriting than usual because I've made the commitment to write at least one a month. So far I've done quite well. I'm working on a new idea right now that I'm quite excited about. I'm looking forward to exploring the possibilities.

Right now it's bleak midwinter in Utah and it's snowing. To quote Christina Rossetti, "Snow on snow. Snow on snow." I think I whined about snow in my last entry...but I'm not finished. I wouldn't mind snow so much if I didn't have to drive in it. My boyfriend tells me that if I had an Audi Quattro, my driving in the snow woes would be over. I can dream. I won't tell my Chevy Cavalier because he'd get jealous and start complaining about all his battle scars and snooty German engineering.

I'm looking forward to my show in February. It's at the Tahitian Noni auditorium where I held my CD Release concert. (Some people get confused and think it's the Noni building off I-15 near American Fork. Nope, that is their factory. This is in their corporate building in Provo near the Riverwoods.) The show is on the 16th, two days after Valentines. I planned it that way on purpose...because guys...you need to take your girls to a concert. Seriously. And singles...what better way to forget than to immerse yourself in music.

More on the show later.

december

Happy Holidays! It snowed here in Utah somethin' fierce this weekend. I went to a concert at Temple Square on Friday with some friends... and the snow was INSANE. I'm glad I wasn't driving. Last year Stephanie Smith and I had to drive home from a gig in SLC in white-out blizzard. I couldn't see the road; I couldn't see the median; I couldn't see the signs. Yeah, I thought I was going to drive off the edge of the mountain and die in one terrific fireball. By the time we reached home (safely) I was visibly, physically shaking and I had to pry my hands off the steering wheel.

But snow signifies other things besides instant death...Christmas! To ring in the holidays, I posted a recording of my arrangement of Good King Wenceslas on my Myspace profile (which you can access from the Links section). I will be posting a new Christmas arrangement every week until Christmas! I've also posted a demo recording of my newest song, Subtraction. I recorded these tunes in my closet on my MacBook so don't expect any stunning sonic wonders. Also, you may want to check the Calendar page. I've added some new gig dates. Merry Christmas!

november

November is upon us. I can't believe Thanksgiving is next week. How time flies. I'm trying to have a goal to write a song a month for the next little while. That doesn't sound like much, but considering how long I agonize over lyrics...that sounds like a huge, daunting commitment for me. It shouldn't be. So I've got October down. November is already half over. I better get crackin'.

I was in the studio last week recording a duet with the talented Benton Paul for his new album. A few of you may have seen Benton and I perform this at a show or two. It's a really sparse heart-breaker ballad with just the piano and two voices. Benton's album will likely be released at the first of next year. I'm sure it will be fantastic.

finished

I finished my new song yesterday. Although technically it's not 100% "new." I wrote the original version of this song many years ago. I liked the lyrical and musical idea, but hated the finished product. So, having a new and poignant inspiration and reason to rewrite this particular song, I dusted it off, opened it up, and revised it. It's called Subtraction. Some of you may have heard it or remember me playing it once or twice. Now it's brand spankin' new and I'm finally satisfied with it. That's the best feeling in the world. Why don't I write more often? I will tell you why. Because I'm lazy.

Can you believe that after all of the insane traveling I did this summer, I'm already itchin' to go somewhere? I believe they call this malady wanderlust. I've got a serious case of it.

october, new song, and charlie

It's the first day of October! This is a momentous day. Why? Uh...just because I like it. It's getting much colder here in Utah. Saturday was ridiculously cold and now I have to actually scrape the frost off my car windows when I get up early in the morning. This I could do without...both the scraping and the early mornings.

I started writing a song on Saturday. It's been a LONG time since I've written. Way too long, in fact. I read somewhere (I think it was on the blog of one of my fav. bands and friends, Raining Jane) that if you have writer's block it's simply because you're not writing. This was true in my case. I'd sit down for a few minutes, come up with some ideas, and then abandon them. So I resolved on Saturday to stick it out no matter what. And now I'm actually getting somewhere and I'm pleased with the lyrical direction, which is what I usually struggle with the longest.

Last night I was forceably awakened at around four in the morning by a raging charlie horse in my calf muscle. It lasted for longer than I care to remember. Now my whole leg is sore. I would like to know what causes these atrocities. I have a theory that it's because I wore heels all weekend which I don't always do. Cursed heels.

portland and pumpkin bread

This weekend I had the opportunity to fly to Portland to open for the wonderful Sam Payne at PSU. I'll be honest, after the hassle of last month's flight experiences, I was not looking forward to stepping foot in the airport again. Fortunately, the flights were very uneventful and smooth...and the security lines were short. We were graciously taken care of by the sponsor of the show, the founder of Jim Band Music, Dave Andersen. For the past couple years, Dave and his crew have worked relentlessly and sometimes thanklessly to put together wonderful family-friendly shows in the Portland area. It was an honor to be included with this one, especially on the same bill with Sam Payne. Sam is the ultimate performer. I love watching his shows and I especially love listening to him preface the songs with stories. He's has one of those voices that was born for telling stories, that soothes and entertains all at once. I always walk away from Sam's shows edified and inspired to write.

Sunday was the autumnal equinox. Stephanie Smith and I are somewhat fanatical about the fall season, so we had been planning our autumnal equinox celebration weeks in advance. We couldn't have planned better autumnal weather...overcast and cool. We inaugurated the celebration by lighting a pumpkin spice candle which was almost unnecessary since we made pumpkin bread from scratch and soon filled Steph's kitchen with the natural scent of pumpkin and spices. Then, in the company of her family, we enjoyed different breads, imported cheeses...gouda, swiss, portsalut, and fruit. Could one ask for a better fall celebration? I submit that one could not.