Scott found this nice little write up the other day.

I haven’t had much time for music, what with starting grad school this semester.  But there has been some progress on the album, and hopefully there will be more in the coming weeks.  As of now there are no shows scheduled.  I was really good all year about playing once a month– except for August, but I played two shows in September, so I think I made up for that.  So maybe there will be one in January.  And maybe the album will be done soon!

In the meantime, I posted some pictures from the JB’s show that include our new guitarist, Justin Wolf (of Lux Perpetua).  Justin is a good friend and massively awesome musician, and I feel extra special to have him playing alongside me (the general feeling towards the other musicians who I am lucky enough to play with).  I added him to the biographies page but I haven’t actually written a bio for him, so that’s kind of anti-climactic.

Here’s one to tempt you.  They are all taken by local Philly musician and photographer Brian Gille.

Photo by Brian Gille (c) 2010.

My hair looked super awesome that night.

Oh man, I am so relieved that the whole Joaquin Phoenix thing was a performance art piece.

Anyway, I’ve been a bad blogger and a bad musician, really.  I haven’t been writing much lately.  To make up for it, here’s a rough demo of the most recent song I have written (which is saying something, because I think I wrote this about 3 months ago.  OY!)  It is called ‘Checking In’.

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It’s kind of a boring one.  I sat down to write something more exciting and this is what came out, so what can you do?  Some things just need to be said.

Anyway, I hope everyone who hears this song wonders if I wrote it for them, and I hope it makes them feel thought-of.

Enjoy.

I should be a lot better about updating this webpage, seeing as I pay for it and whatnot.

BUT– please come celebrate my 25th birthday with me!  Doors at 8pm, music at 9pm.  My set is second, but believe me, you do not want to miss Pinkstone, who is first.

See you there!

i’d like to listen to this all day.  just lie in an open field, with my eyes closed in mid october at four pm when the sky is starting to get a little gray, and listen.

Mountain Man “Mouthwings” [part 1 of 3] from Yours Truly on Vimeo.

Just a quick update…

The aforementioned show on June 25th has been canceled and replaced by a show on July 11th at the Fire, at 8pm.  I’m pretty excited for this one– it will be full band (drums, two guits and bass) and we’re opening for Kate Tucker, who is awesome.  The show is only $8 for some really great music.  Come check it out!

The next show I have scheduled will be on my 25th birthday!  That means: September 10th at Johnny Brenda’s.  This will be an awesome show, with Swedeland, Papertrees (I think– not sure if that’s confirmed) and Wes Mattheu and the New Way Down.

See you then!

Congratulations to Tania Alexandra, The Fleeting Ends, Ryan Tennis and Johnny Miles for winning the PSP 2010 Contest!  Damon Hamilton and Julie Clark were chosen as alternates.

I did not win, but it was a fun afternoon with a lot of great music, and I had a great time regardless.  Yeah, it was fun to play in front of an audience that wasn’t comprised of only my friends, for sure.  But the real highlight of the night for me was having the three best musicians I know standing behind me supporting me.  Thanks to Phil Pardell (aka my future husband), Scott Churchman, and Brian Manser.  I cannot wait to finish the album with them this summer — I am pumped!

Thanks to Dena Marchiony and Jay Levin for putting on the event.  A lot of their hard work went into it, and it was a tremendous success.

Also a BIG thanks to my very supportive family and fellow band mates from Second Floor Stories for all driving over an hour and a half from their respective homes (nj, ny, baltimore and dc!) to see us play.  It’s always hard to get Philly-folk to leave the city and come to the burbs for a show (sometimes impossible, in yesterdays case), so it was especially touching that the people who did make it out traveled so far to do so.

Check out the Philadelphia Songwriters Project sometime!  They just gave four very deserving artists a wonderful opportunity.

My next show is June 25th at the Fire.  Recording will begin again very soon.  More shows will be booked.  And maybe I’ll start writing music again someday.

In late March I submitted two songs– ‘Smile’, and ‘By The Bending Creek’– to the Philadelphia Songwriters Project’s annual competition.  Last year my friend Kelly Musser, from Kelly and the Ruths, won the prize package along with a few other musicians, and it seemed like a pretty sweet deal.

So the good news is that my song, ‘Smile’, has made it into the finalist competition along with 13 other artists.  What’s cool is that there were 600 submissions!  The four winners of the night get a pretty cool tour package for this summer, which is something obviously I would looovvve to have.  I haven’t been playing out this past year much, and this would be a great opportunity to start performing again.

Tickets will be available for purchase online around May 5th, so I’ll keep everyone updated.  Mark your calendars, though!  I need all the support I can get!

(Yes, I really did give this entry such a stupid title.)

Surprise!  I love Tom Waits.  Oh, wait– I think we already knew that, since I tell everyone I see once I get a single beer in me.  It’s okay, just roll your eyes at me.  I won’t go away, but we don’t have to pretend I’m not obnoxious or anything.

Through a string of Google searches sparked by a weekly curiousity involving Tom Waits lyrics, I stumbled across this cool website.  Alice is my favorite Waits album for a multitude of reasons (all of which I’ve probably told everyone already after having the aforementioned drink), but I haven’t heard or seen the play that the music was written for, so I’ve felt pretty left out.  It was cool to get to read the script or whatever you call this.  It seems like a pretty cool interpretation, and this is probably the closest I’ll ever get to seeing it.

The premise closely follows the general outline of what we all remember from Alice In Wonderland, but there’s a kind of creepy subplot about a grown man, a photographer named Charles Dodgeson, who is in love with and obsessed with Alice Liddell, the young girl for whom Alice In Wonderland was written.  Obviously Dodgeson is based on Lewis Carroll (although there’s no evidence that Lewis Carroll ever had “inappropriate” feelings for Alice Liddell, or thought of her as anything but a young friend).

The story in this version is pretty fascinating, and creepy in a way that no other interpretation has managed before, since it touches on pedaphilia.  If you like the album, I suggest giving it a read.  It’s pretty quick, and has a neat/sad twist at the end.

With a little more searching, I found that Waits is working on another play.  This would be his fourth collaboration with director Robert Wilson, following Alice, Blood Money (based on Woyzeck) and The Black Rider (based on Der Freischütz).  I’m not sure what this one will be, but here’s a bit of information.

Alright.  When I decided back in July to take a break, I’m not sure I thought it would ever be so hard to stop taking the break.  But it turns out it’s practically impossible.  It’s always been difficult for me to identify as a “performer”.  I write music, I play music, and oh, I love it.  But the act of selling myself is a terrible one (to me), and at times it seems an impossible feat.

But, the time has come.  I will begin playing live again, I hope, because I really miss it even if I hate the process of booking.  So, stay tuned for shows in the future!