Frankly My Dear Watson...

WHAT A TRIP!!!

From our second chance to play Main Stage at Kerrville Folk Festival, to running through the streets of London in a rain storm, what a trip this first half of 2011 has been!

Best quotes from the road:

"It's time to grace the red velvet."

"Would you like a crumpet?"

"You should look  in the mirror and start singing like a white girl." (yeah, I don't get that one)

"Excuse me Miss, is this your backpack? Your gonna have to come with me..."

"Let me wire you up, we're just gonna sit and interview you for 10 minutes." 

"It's not the size of your paddle, it's what you do with it."

"See that rock? They call it poison rock;one drop and it will kill ya!"

"Sure, tell another joke..." (don't worry, I didn't!)

Highlights from the road:

1. FRIENDS- from the mini paddle ping pong matches in the mountains of Truchas, NM and long talks in the forest of Floyd, VA to cruising in the "VAN" with our buds the Roselly's in the UK...and all the friends we saw and made inbetween...you all are a huge highlight of our adventures!

2. My new shiny Taylor 816CE...it is my new best friend, and yes I kiss this guitar in public too! I know it may be dorky, but thank you Taylor for endorsing me so I can have this beautiful instrument. It's already made me a better player knowing you guys are backing me!

3. The Royal Academy Workshop- I learned so much about singing it truly blew my mind.  It has helped me really start thinking about my sound and how to ensure longevity. Thank you Mary King!

4. Reconnecting- This summer's tour really helped Stuart and I reconnect after 5 years of working to build our family and our music. Having so many new adventures together, as well as time to just enjoy each day and new city has been wonderful.

5. Inspiration- so many people had bits of inspiration and advice to share on the road. It was like as we turned each new corner there was a bit of wisdom waiting to find us!

Thank you to all of the venues, festivals, friends, and fans who have spread the word and come out to make all of our shows such a blast. It is an honor to get to share our music with so many wonderful people.

It truly means more to you then I can put into words!!!

Note the wonderful double chin addition to my look...we definitely enjoyed ourselves playing music, and tasting the local flavors!  Now time to find those running shows again!!!

THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS

THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS

It's all a choice...seeing things in shades of blue or rose colored clarity?

Watching CBS news lately has been NUTS!  Natural disasters, peaceful protests crushed by violence, mass murders, drug wars, floods, droughts, fires, melt downs, recessions, budget cuts...

...sometimes I can't help but get the blues listening to all of the insanity going on around us. 

I have been spending a lot of time working through issues on the home front as well as taking in all this madness that seems to be unraveling around us.  

Luckily the new album has been a breath of fresh air this year, and really helped us when we have needed most amongst the financial crisis and madness...thank you to everyone who has picked up a copy or downloaded a song!  But, with two step kids and a household to maintain, on top of the music, this year has stretched us both on and off the stage.

I have been hearing those annoying voices in my head screaming "What if...? How will you...?  Are you gonna...?" and letting my nerves unravel feeding on anxieties built on negativity, worry and all in all just plain stupidity that I've let sink into my psyche. 

My good friend Irene said it best...be careful who's voice you're "giving free rent to in your head"!
She hit the nail on the head (pun totally intended), I've been letting the wrong things manifest in this little head of mine.
 (True confession- I actually do have a small head...I wear a bike helmet size meant for an 8yr old, but my dad promises me that is no reflection of IQ!)

So lately I find myself  fighting to keep my head in the positive reality of our lives.

 Throughout my life I've been accused of seeing things through "rose colored glasses" and I'll be honest about it...often I choose to see things on the positive side. Lately the weight of the blues have been settling in, and I'm not entirely sure why. I think I have been letting my mind buy into the "stresses" of life when in reality those "stresses" I catch myself worrying on are just the "what if's" instead of the "what is"!  

So today I am choosing to put my rose colored shades back on, and start focusing on what is going right. 

The list starts with great friends, great family, great opportunities to explore and share our music, great travels ahead, and a beautiful sun that seems to shine bright every day no matter what shades I choose!  

Perspective is a choice, and today I commit to choosing the sunny side of life through my favorite pair of rose colored glasses. Want to join me?

WILD RIDE

SXSW is in full swing, and we’ve already made so many wonderful new friends as well as old friends in town with us. From our friends in film and internet marketing world, to fellow musicians streaming into town for the end of the week...Austin is NUTS!

The last 4 days have flown by, and things are just gonna get crazier. I look around and see a life I’ve worked hard to build these past 7 years with Stuart, and life before all this just seems like a dream I am glad to forget.   I finally feel like my world has healed and my heart is open to new heights of love and laughter.  

With the documentary crew in the picture they’ve been asking a lot of questions about my past and the challenges I’ve faced. It’s been hard to admit out loud some of the scary moments from my first marriage. It’s funny, I catch myself thinking about it more like a movie myself, it just doesn’t seem real compared to this world full of so many wonderful people and experiences. 

It’s seems hokey, but I really sincerely wish those from my “other” life well in the end.  I hope they are finding the same place in their life that is peace filled. 

Some people consider themselves lifelong “survivors” of their experiences, and I can respect that. I must say, my take on my life is a bit different.  I think in my life, while yes, I did survive a horrific marriage and some pretty nutty experiences along the way, they are just experiences...memories can haunt me in dreams at times...but over time I’ve noticed the more positive memories I fill my mind with, the less room there seems to be for the ones I am glad to leave in the dust. Plus, a lot of great songs have come out of those less then pleasant experiences. There are a couple of songs on the new album that I was told “wouldn’t ever amount to anything....” and some of those very songs are getting play on airwaves around the world.  I must admit, it’s a sweet little taste of success that makes me smile a little wider. That kind of “revenge” sure feels good!

It’s the ups and downs of this crazy ride that keeps it interesting and keeps me growing. I finally feel like my life is on the right track, and sometimes I can’t believe the love that my friends in both music and life share with me every day.  

HILARY HIT MUTE...IS THAT POSSIBLE????

Jan. 9, 2011

A TECHNO-FREAK OUT!!!

No pictures, no beeps...no nothing...I put technology on MUTE!!!!!

I took a full 4 days and purged myself of all technology from Dec. 27-30, and I

hate to admit it, but it TOTALY ROCKED!

Now, in the same breath I admit one way we make it as “Indie” artists is our web presence and following. Thank you to all of you cats out there that find us, “follow” us, check out our live unedited video on youtube and then buy our music and come to shows!

This is a crazy time we live in. It seems like at all times I have at least one little apparatus with me that beeps every 23 seconds with something I need to know. I hear that I can be tracked by satellite at any given moment if I have the wrong “app” on...and God forbid I miss a new Facebook feature...I am told that all my personal laundry will be hangin’ out in a matter of seconds to the whole world!

Well, here is some news for you guys:

#1. I ALWAYS wear shorts under my dresses and skirts...ALWAYS.

#2. I am as pale in person as online and that is by choice!

#3.Really people, not everything has to get posted for the world to see...can we just have a fun moment without “Big Brother”?

#4. Okay, well if I look really “hot” in a place that is cool, and people might like me more because of that...then go ahead and post it...(yeah, shallow I know BUT ONLY IF I DON’T LOOK FAT!!!!)

#5. Haaaa...Haaaa.....Haaaa....let’s all agree to quit taking ourselves so dag nabbit seriously and just enjoy each beautiful sun that rises, and try and add one act of kindness 

to the world within a 24 hour period!

#6. Confused yet....MMMMEEEE TOOOO????

#7. I think I’ll stick with #5 and just call it a day...or a year...or whatever!

NOTE: This post is not a reflection of any type of reflective anything and therefore no longer subject to the general or specific rules of reflectivity as noted or therefore projected by law or any other type of celestial rule or being as of date or any date to come.

OFF the couch!

Here I sit on the couch trying to get myself in gear.  Green tea- check, computer- check, ideas-check, dog in my lap with his butt on my computer- NOOOOO!

Talk about persistence, Conway Cole is one to never give up easily.  Something that is so frustrating, but something I have always found inspiring too. You can tell this little fuzzy bugger "no" 10 times, and he will still jump up on the couch and try to claim your lap...where the lap top is supposed to be.

Not to long ago someone mentioned to me that I should blog about the journey Stuart and I are taking to be independent musicians and our journey as a couple more directly. I've tried to stay away from too much of the nitty gritty...but sure, I'm willing to give anything a try...here goes...

So, OFF the couch has more meanings today than just a command for my dog Conway Cole. I've been fighting the couch potato blues for a while now. So much to do, so little time, only so much energy...and balance? well I gave up on that a long time ago.  In the past year Stuart has quit his job teaching full time, and we are putting our energies into our music. This was a long time goal of ours, but the transition isn't one we've made without a few bumps in the road, and then there are those 3 am wrestling matches with worry...so much fun!  There are so many bases to cover, and it takes time to get the ball rolling when you make such a big change. That's what my head tells me, but my heart and soul want all the ducks to be in a row NOW!!!!

At a show recently someone asked if music is all we do. I felt a bit of pride as I shared "yes", and realized music is all I've done for my whole adult life. Sometimes teaching it, sometimes recording it, sometimes writing it and always singing it (even if at times it was just to my dog or best friends late at night).  Stuart has been the jack of many trades, always playing music along side other projects, and it is an exciting chapter for him to be in music so deep these days...but in the same breath I have to admit it is a challenge. Almost anything worth it in this world doesn't come easy, and this is no different. It is a blast to perform, a gift to share our hearts through song, and a joy to feel the audience connect...and we are working hard to put all those pieces together on and off stage.

The new album is almost ready, the gigs are starting to come fast and furiously, the audiences have been receptive and enthusiastic for the new stuff, and the new material is sinking in.  Still, sometimes I feel like I am that little duck at the end of the line. I am paddling so hard underwater, while doing my best to look like I'm not breaking a sweat on the surface.  But here you go friend, I'm sweating it a lot.  I feel like I push it as hard as I can...and then hit a wall hard and here I sit on the couch trying to regain my energy and focus for the next push.

OFF the couch...keep the faith, keep paddling, sweat it, paddle harder, take a rest, and then paddle some more...OFF the couch...make the phone calls, create the artwork, order the t-shirts, play the show....OFF the couch...go to Nashville, have the meetings, take the notes, write the song, learn the song....OFF the couch!

So here I am, on the couch...getting ready for the next push.  Conway Cole  is defiantly nestled in (I'm gonna tell him the 10th time in a second), and I am sharing what our journey is really like. Right now, I'm getting OFF the couch for the next push...I promise to write about exactly what that is...once I figure it out!

FOR RICHER OR POORER

FOR RICHER OR POORER

The latest reports on the news say the recession is over, but I'll bet we all know more people now out of work than we did 2 years ago when this madness started.

We've had a close to a month home and have been catching up on all those things we left untouched while on the road. A month to catch our breath has given us time to think through where we stand as musicians, partners, spirits as well as members of our beloved Texas family.

On the road we talked to so many people in transition, whether it be from a job loss or a change in geography; I can't help but think we are in the middle of major cultural shift.

With the new album coming out as an independent release we are buckling down to make sure we can do it right. We are eating rice and beans, riding our bikes around town whenever possible rather than in the car, and focusing more and more on time doing things instead of time spending things.

As I look around at the world that surrounds me I look at my generation that are now in their early and mid thirties I realize that while we are breaking the "standard of living" on the low side of the income bracket, we are coming out on the high side as far as quality of life goes if you ask me.

As we gear up for a new set of Texas shows, I feel an excited tingle in my stomach for what lies ahead. There are so many friends in music we haven't seen since we've been gone, and so many new friends to make. We all know that money can only buy you so many friends, and they are usually bought on credit...and as we are realizing here in the US that credit can only get you so far.

So rice and beans it is, biking in the beautiful fall breezes of Austin, and many wonderful memories are waiting for us to make with friends and family in the months ahead.

Oh yeah, and that new album to release in January.

Life is good.

FOR RICHER OR POORER?

I think in life and love we're on the rich end, even if the Flying A Productions bank account doesn't make the "Fortune 500" list.

Top Ten List after 3 months on the road!

We are spending our last week on the road in Nashville making phone calls, meeting with people, making phone calls, meeting with more people, smiling, thanking, and making new friends!

My smile muscles are fatigued, my taco bell belly is full, and while it has been a full out blast across this beautiful country...that Texas Border is calling our names. Here are the top ten highlights of our tour:

10. Discovering McDonald's serves pretty darn good coffee on a musician's budget.

9. Realizing that the sun comes up at 4 a.m. in Minnesota this time of the year, and

being thankful there is plenty of time left to snooooooze till coffee time.

8. The look on John Jennings face when we surprised in Minneapolis at his show with Mary Chapin

Carpenter.

6. Meeting "Humpy" the security guard at the MCC Concert and almost getting tackled b/c he didn't see

John wave me over! (yep, that's his real name!)

5. Laughing at the phrase "...I need something healthy, let's go to Taco Bell."

4. Meeting Keith Urban and having him introduce himself to me as "Keith"...crazy.

3. Laughing for 20 minutes strait after hearing myself say the phrase "...I need something healthy, let's go to Taco Bell."

2. Hearing my husband say..."It's ten more pounds to love."

1. Having new and old friends come out to see us, and even some that loved us enough to let us stay

extra 2-4 days because you landed a last minute gig/radio show/meeting when we least expected it!

(You know who you are...and we LOVE YOU!!!)