Good morning!
Hope everyone is enjoying July so far and staying somewhat cool (albeit a sweaty ‘cool’).
Just wanted to thank you for all of the support behind the B-sides I recently released – the response has been amazing. And your emails regarding the songs couldn’t be more appreciated!
We just got home from a fun week of shows and it was great to see people come out and have a good time.
Not only were the shows really fun, but we got to check out Chicago’s Taste of Chicago right on Lake Michigan, the incredible St. Louis Art Museum, and Memphis’s famous Beale Street.
Also loved the tattoo with “go easy little doves…” lyrics that showed up the night we were in St. Louis:
But I must confess, it’s nice to be home to hang out with this guy:
…best present ever that my kind husband purchased for my birthday last month!
In other music news…I wanna say a special thanks to Micah Haley and the team at Scene Magazine based in Louisiana for the great article that came out this month. Many thanks!
And much gratitude goes out to the people at ABC Family’s “Pretty Little Liars” for using “Fresh Pair of Eyes” in their episode that aired June 15, 2010.
Stay tuned for updates on pre-order specials and the official release date of And the World Opened Up – live concert dvd/art piece!
B-side #4 is also a familiar tune from the “Fresh Pair of Eyes” ep. But this particular recording of it is much older. It’s the original demo of the song recorded a few days after I wrote it (spring of 2006). I was still in college at the time and my buddy had landed a new job working at the small studio in the music department on our campus. We snuck in late one night and recorded this bad boy in one take. I love recording songs after they’re newly written – there’s a freshness to the whole feel of the final product. I used to put this song along with a few other demos I had at the time on homemade CDs (with cardboard, yarn, and stamp packaging) and sell them at shows before I ever made a real release…diy!
B-side #3 is a song that will be familiar to a lot of you – if you’ve ever listened to my first release (“Fresh Pair of Eyes” ep) there is an acoustic guitar song on the record called “I Am Mine.” I wanted to revamp this song live so a few years ago I came up with a fun little twist on the tune that changes the rhythm and timbre. It’s what I like to call my “remix” version (with metaphorical turntables spinning in the background as I say that) Enjoy!
*photography by Steven Taylor
*design by Jason Travis (J-Trav)
B-side #2 is a really fun song I wrote a few years ago for a potential Valentine’s Day compilation that never really got off the ground. I wanted to use lots of colorful “love-themed” descriptions and the fun gifts we give and receive during Valentine’s Day.
B-side #1 is a tune I wrote 4 years ago – It’s the fictitious story of what would happen if Little Red Riding Hood and Robin Hood ever got married (I mean, they already have the same last name, so that part’s taken care of…). This recording was done during the making of my “Heal for the Honey” record during the winter of 2008. I opted to keep it off that particular project for it felt out of place at the time… still a song that’s very dear to me and I’m excited for you to hear it!
I do love this season – it feels like everyone chills out a little bit and enjoys being outside, and sweating, and getting some sun, and bbqs, and road trips, and camping with the family… it’s great!
So, in celebration of those things, I’m releasing 4 new ‘B-sides’ (I also inserted that word into www.thesaurus.com)…
Synonyms:
‘contraposition’
‘other side of the coin’
‘flip side’
Starting on Tuesday, June 15, 2010 I will release the first one on iTunes. The following 3 Tuesdays will have a new song as well.
Song descriptions and individual artwork will go out each week in a newsblast I’ll send out to remind everyone.
I’ll be heading out for Cornerstone (get tickets here) July 1 in Marietta, IL and will continue for the following week to play some shows as well as one or two of these new tunes.
So the Rocky Votolato tour was a real success. Thanks to all who came out and said hello and bought things and sang along!
There are more shows coming up this summer as well! Officially playing Cornerstone again July 1 and will then head out for a week’s worth of shows with my Dignan friends.
Please check back for official dates/venues.
In other summer doings, I’m producing The Champion and His Burning Flame’s new full-length record. Currently getting our hands dirty with this stuff and it’s gonna sound oh so good…
Also, I’d like to thank Lifetime’s Army Wives for featuring “Heal for the Honey” on last Sunday night’s episode 3, Season 4.
And last but not least, I wanna show you a little something….
I’ve been working on a live dvd/art piece for awhile now and am getting much closer to announcing a release date for it. Here’s just a taste of what’s coming:
Hope everyone has a great weekend!
Here’s a goodbye-rabbit-face from me to you:
*photo and hairpiece by Colleen Wandel. Check out her lovely designs and lookbook / shop here.
My good friend Timbre and I set out today for the next few weeks – hitting the road to play some really fun shows with Rocky Votolato. We’re gonna try a combo of piano, harp, and vocals — with the addition of our friend Ben coming out to play guitar and lap steel later on in the tour…hope it sounds enjoyable
We start tonight (Thursday) in Minneapolis and make our way all over the east coast hitting Toronto in the middle and ending in Chicago. It’ll be good to see old friends and meet new ones.
And, wanted to put in a little word for the East Lansing, MI show — you can get fee free tickets at www.fusionshows.com. Hope to see you all there!
In a couple of weeks, I’ll be heading off on another tour from April 1st to April 16! This time, I’ll be supporting the amazing Rocky Votolato! We’ll be all over the eastern half of the US, and I hope to see all of you there! Dates can be seen in the shows section along with ticket info.
Hi all, just an fyi that the show on Mountain Stage this weekend has been cancelled due to weather conditions. We are working to reschedule the show and will keep you all posted on it’s future date. So sorry for any inconvenience!
