I’m really excited to hear that my brother Dave is heading back into town! He has been on a bit of a personal sabbatical for about 8 months now, reinventing himself down in Honduras. He has been writing a lot of material down there and I can’t wait to hear the new songs, poetry and amazing travel stories. Also I am very happy that he will be here while I am still cutting the record. He has given me the awesome chance to record backups on his records, and it would mean a tremendous amount to me if he could be on mine. I can’t wait to see what he will think of it! He has always been my hero- first because of that fact he’s my brother-and all my brothers are my heroes – but secondly he has led his life as a true artist. Constantly searching and inventing in his mind. Not just talking about it, being about it. Living the life that he believes is the only life worth living.
If you want to take some time to step into his world check out
http://www.hauntedrock.com
For those of you that don’t know this, I recently had a fairly gnarly car accident. Not the kind where you are seriously injured, but the kind where you are shaken up so bad you are slobbering and drooling on some strangers shoulder on the side of the 405 freeway. Thankfully, neither my daughter or I were hurt, but it has taken a bit of a toll on me physically , emotionally and financially.
The good news though, is everything worked out in such a way, that I am moving forward with the record. I am going to be heading back into the studio in the next few weeks and finishing all the background vocals, Lord willing. I guess it is a not so subtle reminder that we only have today. A chance to appreciate small things such as working legs, cars that still drive-even if they do look banged up, and my girl’s little voice singing the ABC song to herself while she is in the bathtub tonight. I don’t mean to sound like a Hallmark card, but hey life is good, and I look forward to the opportunity to keep singin about it.
I just got back from the show tonight at Viento Y Agua. I have to admit, I was a feeling kind of nervous heading over to the show- if fact- I felt like a total basket case. I was trying to get my daughter fed and she was jumping up and down on me like a rabid monkey on a jungle gym while I was trying to eat. That in turn made me run late, which is one of my least favorite things to be, then I felt frazzled and unfocused so ultimately the last place I felt like being- was up on stage- which was were I was expected to be in less than half an hour.
Never-the-less, walking into the space immediately cleared my head and by the time our first song was over, the music took me far away from the craziness of the day and into the joy of playing with Steve and Jon. The amazing thing about music is how it can shift my mood and put me right back into the moment, with all the other worries and frustrations of the day left where they should be – in the past.
We got the show recorded tonight, so I will post a tune or two up in the next few days. I hope you enjoyed your evening as much as I did mine.
After holding the benefit for Heifer International, I thought about the power of an individual or a community coming together for a certain cause, and what an enormous amount of help that can be done with such a small amount of money and effort. I think it’s typical to see the world as a place that has so many problems, it’s impossible to do anything about them all, so we tend to do nothing. Of course, there is no way to abolish all the suffering in this world, but their is an opportunity to make a difference in a person’s life, not knowing how they can impact another and another.
One awesome way to do that is through an organization called Malaria No More. They hope to significantly reduce the amount of unnecessary deaths caused by the spread of Malaria through mosquitoes. For about 20 bucks you can purchase a mosquito net to to protect a person while they are sleeping. Malaria is a disease that claims thousands of lives, even though it can be eradicated through vaccination. Check out their website and see what they are doing.
http://www.malarianomore.org/
Just a fun side note- I joined a garage band about 6 months ago called Obscure Glory. The great thing about being apart of this band is that I am learning a new instrument, the bass. It’s funny how sometimes you almost invite opportunities into your life. I had just recorded many of my songs on a small hand held digital recorder and for the first time , actually considered what a good bass line for one of my tunes would be. I sat down and started plunking around with a line, and was instantly having a good time. I thought to myself, maybe one day I’ll learn more about the bass… Not but a week later I got a call and an invitation to be apart of The Glory. I was a little nervous, but felt like giving it a shot. Fortunately , the current bass player was still in the band, he was moving into the position of lead guitar, so he was available to help me get started.
We do a lot of Social Distortion covers, Pennywise, Green Day, The Adolecsents, Face to Face, and other stuff like that. It’s so much fun to play with them because they have been jamming for five years, so I get to sit in and enjoy the fruits of their labor and rock out. I’ll keep you posted on that project , you never know we could be playing at a kegger near you sometime soon.
Just heard a song that keeps playing over and over in my head. It’s Beth Orton Sisters of Mercy. It just reminded me of what an amazing talent she is. I guess people get brought to your attention for a bit and sometimes they fade away. It’s always nice to have them come back into your mind- stop in and say hello.
Looks like Beth is still doing her thing and playing festivals in her homeland. Check out what she is up to and hear what she has been up to lately- I’m glad I did.
http://www.myspace.com/bethorton
Just a quick note to let you know that we will be performing at Viento Y Agua in Long Beach. We will be playing Thursday July 16th at 7:30 pm. It’s a great venue to play at with a cool vibe , lots of great local art on the walls, yummy drinks and treats, and two bands playing after us. It’s a fun way to spend a Thursday night
Just have to give it up once again for the city of Long Beach for putting on free concert series on Pine and Broadway this summer. It’s called the SAM ( summer and music ) festival, and though I know a lot of cities do this type of thing, I have yet to come across one that this good. I know they are out there so let me know… But this past Sunday they hosted ALO, Money Mark, The High Fidelity DJ Dennis ( whoop whoop) and a really fun kickin band The Boogaloo Assassins! Talk about gettin the party started! I had sooo much fun spinning my 2 year old in the street and dancin to that latin beat as the sun set behind the street.
http://www.myspace.com/theboogalooassassins
I just love that shows like this are around to bring attention to the talent that is in a cities backstreets, neighborhoods and alleys. Another jem is Deep Sea Diver, I through a clip of a very scaled down version of the song “Hangin On”, which I just love. Reminds me of the ol buskin days… if you like that check out their studio stuff. Can’t argue a voice like hers…
http://www.myspace.com/deepseadivermusic
You can also check out more upcoming FREE shows in downtown LBC
http://www.summerandmusic.com
“Spanning from June to August, and running the gamut from jazz to funk to pop, Summer And Music (SAM) will be the first to feature local musicians and a variety of creative curricula for free on the streets of downtown Long Beach.”
Bands I love | christa | 
July 31, 2009 10:22 pm | 
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