03.31.06
Posted in Uncategorized at 2:02 am by Deb
I’m not sure if surreality is a real word, but it should be. Today was a day of funerals and parties - a very surreal day. Funeral days often feel that way. Nothing is normal. I wonder how many other people feel that way. Everything has a different tone to it. Today started out pretty normal. My 2 year old grandsweetie woke me at about 8 am, and things went along pretty normally until getting ready for the funeral. It felt like a weekend day since we didn’t go off to work, but was actually a Thursday. (I know it’s actually the next day as I’m writing this, but my days run from the time I get up to the time I go to bed.) After the service at the funeral home, we ended up in a funeral procession of about 30 or so cars all going to the cemetary, then home to cook food and make sure sweetie had a nap before going to the “celebration of L.’s life” gathering. Right after the gathering, we dropped sweetie off with her aunt and went to one of the wildest, largest and best parties I’ve ever been to. It’s now almost 2 am, and I will be lucky to get about 6 hours of sleep. I danced all night to a great funk band and could have danced all night. I’ll be in great shape for our gig tomorrow night. Hopefully I can nap when sweetie does. I always thought I wanted to learn to juggle and I’ve actually known how all along.
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03.29.06
Posted in Uncategorized at 10:22 pm by Deb
Life is so tenuous. We have experienced two deaths this week. One of the young men who was shot in Seattle is the son of an old friend. Another friend, L., died the next day of breast cancer. My daughter reminded me today that each year for the past three years we have had a young adult in our family or family of friends die a sudden and tragic death, one of them being my granddaughter’s mother last year. Hopefully that trend will stop now. We are also awaiting the birth of a new soul who will be arriving to very close friends within the month. What an odd thing to be celebrating births and experiencing deaths at the same time, but how appropriate. Years ago I wrote a song about that. Maybe it’s time to pull it out again. One of the hardest things about getting older is having the people around you die. Sure, I’ve experienced deaths throughout my life, but as I get older more of us leave and the inevitability of our own deaths hits a little harder. I think about it from time to time, especially now that I have another sweet one to care for in my older age. My little grandsweetie and I are very close and together all the time. She depends on me to be her mom. Who knows how long I will be able to do that for her. Hopefully a good long time, but there’s always that inevitability. I wonder how many of us think about the connection of birth and death and the necessity of both. I wonder how many of us appreciate our lives while we live them. L. certainly lived her life to its fullest, refusing to give up even when it looked like she was beaten. The fact is, she was never beaten because of her incredibly good attitude all the way through. One thing she did was to write while she went through her battle. What a wonderful gift both to her and to us. It’s late; I’m tired, so maybe more tomorrow…
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03.25.06
Posted in Uncategorized, poetry at 8:58 am by Deb
I’m tired but there’s so much more to do
I’m hungry but there’s no time to eat
I’m happy but I’ve forgotten how to laugh,
or cry, or eat, or sleep…
I’ve forgotten me.
Who am I?
What do I want?
Where am I?
How did I get here?
Who am I?
Who … Uh, oh … I’ve forgotten.
I wrote this a long time ago, before my last child was born. Now he is 15 and I have a 2 year old at home, too. At least now I definitely know who I am and am doing the things I want to do, making time for myself and them.
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03.24.06
Posted in Uncategorized, music news at 8:55 am by Deb
I was browsing other blogs last night and came across one called Diapers and Music. It was wonderful for me to read about another woman’s perspective on trying to be a musician and raising a family. I’ve been actively parenting for 30 years now and trying to be a full time musician for some of that time. My oldest child is 30, my youngest is 15 and my grandaughter, who is being raised by me, is 2. This creates quite a challenge to songwriting and performing. The blog I mentioned raises some great questions about what makes someone a “real” musician and balancing your work and life, all things that are often part of my own struggle. I am truly a “real” musician doing laundry, changing diapers, cooking, cleaning, and still squeezing in time to write, though not everyday. I sing at home to my family about going potty, doing chores, and whatever we’re doing at the time - a “real” songwriter. I went to a songwriting workshop given by Janis Ian who spoke of the importance of writing about everyday things and writing every day to hone your skills and train yourself to write on command. What great advice! I also browsed through some of my old journals and found quite a few entries, including poetry, that address those issues. I will post one of them here later today.
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03.20.06
Posted in Uncategorized, music news at 11:32 pm by Dick
Yesterday I stumbled upon one of the most beautiful tunes ever written…Planxty George Brabazon by Turlough O’Carolan. I have known of this tune for years, however I never learned it. So, that’s my next project on the guitar. O’Carolan was a blind Celtic Harper who lived from 1670-1738. There is much written about O’Carolan, so if you like, check Glenn Weiser’s site at: http://www.celticguitarmusic.com/carolan.htm or Google O’Carolan. You’ll find much to be loved in the Planxty Collection. There is a copy of this tune in the Fiddler’s Fake Book by David Brody, Oak Publications, New York, NY. Hopefully by this Saturday I will have learned it well enough to play at Slow Jed’s Mud House in Averill Park, NY. Perhaps in time I can learn it finger style, but for now it will just be flat picked with Deb playing guitar back up. This tune being one of many in the Planxty Collection opens the door for many hours of fun learning. O’Carolan wrote enough material to keep me busy for a long time if I choose.
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Posted in Uncategorized, music news at 12:52 am by Deb
Dick and I each have our own account now and can write separately. Keep checking back for updates on what we’re doing, poetry or interesting tidbits of musical trivia. Also, don’t forget to check out our new website @ http://www.cavandkav.com
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03.18.06
Posted in Uncategorized, music news at 12:37 pm by admin
Yes, finally we’re up and running - and running is what we’ve been doing a lot of lately. With gigs every weekend in March under our belts and new venues to play, we can barely catch our breath enough to continue to learn and write new material. We will have new material for the next few gigs, though. This month has brought a new website, thanks to our new webmaster, Dan Rain. It also brought an amazing gig for me (Deb) in Kingston this past weekend. I was part of a recreation of the Women’s Orchestra of Birchenbau concentration camp. I played 4 classical pieces on mandolin with this small orchestra made up of 2 mandolins, a cello, 3 violins, and accordion, piano, flute, and recorder. There was a wonderful Chorale doing vocal pieces and readers reading pieces from the women’s journals. We did two performances and were drained by the end. It was quite a gift to be a part of it. Dick had the opportunity to do a gig without me at Moon & River with the help of our friend, Kevin Smith. I heard it was wonderful and well attended. We also have two more gigs coming up at 2 new places: Slow Jed’s in Averill Park next Saturday, March 25th 8 - 10pm, and Samuel’s in Alplaus (outside of Schenectady) the following Friday, March 31st 7 - 9pm.
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