08.26.07
Posted in Uncategorized, music news at 12:12 pm by Deb
We had a very fun gig last night in a new venue. We shared the show with two other musicians, Steve Grogan and Molly Durnin. We all did two alternating short sets. Although it was a minor annoyance having to bring our equipment and do all the set-up and break-down by ourselves, we still had a good time. For one thing, it was nice sharing a show with younger people. Also, there were a fair amount of people who came specifically to see us. That was a nice change. We’ve actually had a gradual increase over the last few months of people who return to see us or hear about us from friends. The down side was there was no publicity in the paper. Oh well, it was a chance to break into a new place. Molly was very good. She did two songs that she had written the night before. They were both good, but I was very impressed with the second one. I felt inspired to write and discouraged at the same time. After the show, we chatted with Mr. Math for a while. I mentioned my dilemma about not having a secluded place where I could go to compose my songs. He told me about a famous artist who painted on someone else’s back porch because he didn’t have studio, yet. My reaction to this was to dismiss it and tell him about having too many distractions from Grandsweetie when trying to write or play music. He then told me about some great mathematician who did much of his important work “with his grandchildren on his knee.” At that point, I decided to give up. He just didn’t understand. Later last night, after unwinding at home for a couple of hours, I decided to read before going to sleep. I remembered Molly’s two songs and the things that Mr. Math had told me. At 3:30 am, I had a wonderful new song that I plan to debut at our next show. It’s called “A Brand New Day.” It’s a new style for me and is fun and light. The lesson I have learned from all of this is a lesson I should have learned a long time ago: If I want something, I need to go out and grab it rather than waiting for it to find me. I’m sure I’ve learned it many times. I just get caught up in the struggle and forget. Thanks to Mr. Math for the encouragement and to Molly for the inspiration.
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08.23.07
Posted in Uncategorized, babble at 10:59 pm by Deb
It’s hard to believe that it’s been so long since I’ve written anything. A friend commented on a post from back in March. That inspired me to write this tonight. I actually forgot about it, that’s how crazy things have been. At least I’ve been writing in my journal every day. I even managed to write a song the other day, and though it wasn’t great, at least I wrote it. I had a dream the other night about getting ready for a gig with X, who is gone - maybe to another life by now. I wonder how long before you jump into another go around. Anyway, we had everything set-up, so I went off to find a quiet place to tune-up and warm-up with my lap dulcimer. I found an empty dining room and started playing an old traditional song, “The Water is Wide.” As I was playing it, I realized that I had never played it on dulcimer before and really liked how it sounded. I usually play guitar and like that version very much, but this was even better with beautiful harmonies. Now I am working it out on dulcimer for future shows. I’ve never had a dream that gave me inspiration for music before this, or at least I haven’t noticed. I have been dreaming tons lately. I think it may have something to do with the medication I’m taking. I’m certainly not complaining. I love remembering my dreams and writing them down. A couple of years ago, I read quite a few dream books. They were all encouraged about writing down dreams as soon as you wake up. I’ve found that it helps me remember them longer, helps me remember more about them as I write and seems to help me continue to be able to remember them as the days go on. I still go through phases of not remembering, but usually remember at least little snippets. It makes it hard to get out of bed in the morning, though. I just want to stay in bed and dream all morning. No chance of that actually happening these days. Grandsweetie’s been home most of the summer. Between work, taking care of her, housework and chores, and doing all the gigs we’ve been getting it’s a wonder I can still stand. So much for getting lots of rest to cure the Graves. School starts in a few weeks. That will help a lot. I’ll also get more work at that time which, though it will keep me a little busier, will relieve the stress around money. Meanwhile, we are entering the big birthday marathon. First comes my birthday on Wednesday, followed by FyreGoddess on Friday, then my youngest son, RC2, on Saturday. Whew! It makes my head spin just thinking about it. Hopefully, I can get back on track in so many ways toward the middle of September. Look for more then.
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