May 2012
10 posts
8 tags
Last Big Show in Austin! Friday 5/18! With the...
Top: The Doras - Connie, Mariana, Heather Bottom: Emily Shirley, Katie Lessley
I’m pretty excited for this, I’ll be playing a full set with the ladies I’ve been working with at Rubicon Artist Development all year. We’ll have Robert Galindo with us on bass. After we play, the lovely and talented Emily Shirley and Katie Lessley will also do sets of their awesome music!...
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146 - Thrice
Thom Worldpoet and Michele Solberg at Thrice
I hadn’t been to Thrice in quiet a while, I hadn’t been since Michele Solberg started hosting it, and that plus the thought of going to an early night, close by (one bus, maybe 10 minutes), with some good tables to sit and and sew whales all made my Wednesday night decision pretty easy. (If you don’t know Michele, go read her bio on...
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145 - Rusty's
Tuesday I decided to try out a new open mic that’s both new to me and also fairly new to Austin, at Rusty’s. A few stops down the line on the bus, a guy with a guitar got on. We traded our guitar stats and struck up a conversation. His name was Landon and he was just finishing a rehearsal, I told him I was on my way to an open mic and he decided to come along as well. He had...
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Recording with Rose
I realize I haven’t really said anything on my blog yet about my recording process. It feels rather intimate somehow. Probably some things are the same for everyone, and some things are very individual. But I had somehow gotten the impression that it was going to be intense and stressful, or at least something that I really had to gear myself up for in a big way. I think it can be like...
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144 - Backroads
(pic of Raul at Backroads a couple months ago, before they put up the new wall)
Today is Raul’s birthday, so last night was his birthday open mic. They’ve put up a new slat type wall that helps divide the stage area from the billiards area without closing stuff off too much, I like that.
Raul’s guitar pickup was wonky so I let him play mine. Always fun to hear what she can...
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143 - OPA!
Billboard outside Opa’s that cracked me up. Says “Es Bud Light con un twist” Spanglish FTW!
I managed to catch the right bus to get to OPA early instead of late, and Tom Harvey walked in a few moments after. He reminded me that there was a song of mine he wanted to harmonize on and we decided to go out in the courtyard and see if we could figure out which one it was. After...
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142 - House Wine
I’ve heard good things about the House Wine open mic for a while, but since I always had rehearsal on Monday nights, I was never able to go. So when I finally had a free Monday I jumped on the chance.
It’s a pretty sweet little set up, an intimate courtyard with a small stage area on the porch above. Justin & Tiffany who also host Baker Street on Sundays are the hosts and they...
April 2012
8 posts
6 tags
141 - Fair Bean
Photo by Amy Zamarripa
Hadn’t been to Fair Bean in a while so it was good to be back. It started off a little bit of a slow night but several folks showed up midway through and it ended up being a pretty full list by the end, though those of us left still got to squeeze in another song or two.
One lady in the audience told me after my set that she liked my voice and would love to hear...
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140 - Red Shed
Photo by Amy Zamarripa
The weather was pretty perfect for being outside in the awesome courtyard. Connie and Robert picked me up to check out the stage since we were supposed to play there the next week as part of a songwriter’s showcase. Unfortunately the showcases were cancelled, I guess they weren’t bringing enough people in or something. It’s a bummer but luckily I found...
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139 - Whip In
On my way to Whip In on Tuesday I pulled up my blog on my phone to remember what songs I had played there last, but I couldn’t find the entry. After looking a few times, I finally ended up Googling myself and did find it, way back in February! Had it really been that long? I guess it had, I’ve just been to the Whip In a couple times since to see shows, and at one of those shows I...
“Don’t compare yourself to others. Compare yourself to yourself. How about that...”
– Henry Rollins, Smile, You’re Traveling (via anaees)
This is a good thing to remember whether or not the very existence of Lena Dunham gives you low-grade panic attacks.
Cc: Pick It Up Mert
(via brendanmc)
yep yep, re-blogging this!!!
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138 - Kick Butt Coffee
MT Hellton, Kick Butt Coffee Open Mic Host, and his 12-string Seagull
At about an hour away by bus, the trek to Kick Butt Coffee on Airport is not one I make often. But I had a hankering to play and though I do love Flipnotics, I wasn’t feeling up to fighting the crowd for a spot on the list tonight. And actually, I’d never been out to the Thursday night open mic at Kick Butt yet!...
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137 - Rubicon Artist Development Spring 2012...
There are a few things that are a little hard to believe when I sit down to write this post:
1. I’ve played my songs and solos on other people’s songs in a band. 2. I’ve been doing that for almost a year now 3. That year is almost up! 4. I forgot to get pictures of our final Rubicon Showcase! I did get some videos, which need a bit of editing and my iMovie is acting up. As in,...
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March 2012
21 posts
6 tags
136 - OPA!
Ana & Josh at OPA!
Another Tuesday, another awesome open mic at OPA! Ana and Josh did some tunes they’d been working on together. The list was short enough we got to do four songs. Ana sang some secret harmonies with me from the audience, and there were good listeners tuned in, which is always nice. The only bummer was since I was on a routine to get to bed early during recording...
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135 - Red Shed
Photo by Amy Zamarripa
I really wasn’t supposed to go out on Wednesday night. I was recording basics on Thursday - getting the bass and drum tracks down, the foundation for the rest of my recording, my first day in the studio, what I’d been working towards the whole year!
That afternoon, I finished my prep session with Dan where we played through some songs, made corrections to...
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134 - OPA!
Jannie Funster & the beer she bought me (thanks Jannie!!). We both have blue TUNEers. HAAAAA!
When Jannie asked me if I was going out to any open mics this week I told her that Tuesday would be the night, because I thought I should probably stay in and rest on Wednesday before I started my recording on Thursday! (squeeee!). So we decided to go to OPA. It was a pretty quiet evening, I...
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133 - Fair Bean - Unofficial SXSW Showcase
Photo by Amy Zamarripa
Saturday was fun. In the morning I took the bus downtown to check out the MPress Records party at the SoHo lounge, which really deserves a post to itself! I got to stay for the first few acts and then hopped on the bus to get to Fair Bean in time to see The Lovely Brigade’s set.
Things were running a little late but Amy said I could go ahead and do my full set,...
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Food Imitating Iconic Design →
heartnstomach:
Gummy “bearskin” rugs and cocktail weenie blow up chairs- see Mom, playing with your food isn’t so bad.
So cool!
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132 - Fair Bean
Photo by Amy Zamarripa
It was a pretty mellow and sweet night at Fair Bean, so we got to play two rounds. It was also a good thing because Amy had a gig at Flipnotics later that night, so I think she was able to take it easier before that show!
I headed straight to Flips after Fair Bean and caught Rod Picott doing a set. I hadn’t heard of him, but I HAD heard one of his songs that he...
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131 - Backroads
This is one of my open mic friends, Buddy. He’s really tall! He had me come up and sing an Eagle’s song with him for his set and I couldn’t reaaaaally reach the mic, and I’m not sure that I actually harmonized, it was more like unison up an octave, but that’s ok, it was still fun!
He works at a food truck downtown and they were already prepping like crazy for...
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130 - Freddie's Place
Photo by Frank Hipchen
Believe it or not, it’s definitely possible to do 129 open mics in Austin in less than a year, and not hit all of them for one reason or another! Wednesday night was 130th open mic and my first time at Freddie’s Place. I think it was their 2nd week of the season. Warm as Austin is, for a few months in the winter, most of the outdoor open mics either move...
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129 - Waterloo Icehouse 38th
Ana B at Waterloo Icehouse on 38th
So after the OPA! open mic, Ana B & I decided to head up North to Julie Nolen’s late night Tuesday open mic up at Waterloo Icehouse on 38th. It’s relatively new but going really well, so we got there at maybe 10:15 (after a bit of a detour because I forgot which way it was!) and the list was already pretty full. We decided to order some food...
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128 - OPA!
Greek Knick Knacks at OPA!
I headed down to OPA! early on Tuesday so I could do a bit of the coffee-shop-office thing beforehand and actually got on such a roll that I was sorta late to sign up on the list!
It was a sweet night though, there were several gals there from the Girl Guitar group and Ana fit them in between the regular sign-ups so they could get a chance to practice for their big...
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127 - Baker Street Pub
I had a rehearsal with my Rubicon group late on Sunday afternoon, so I already had my guitar with me, but I also had a homework assignment due that night. I decided to stop by Baker Street, sign up, and run home for my laptop. I usually like to pay attention to the other performers, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do! The timing all worked out pretty well.
Coming from rehearsal and...
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126 - Bouldin Creek Food Park
Photo by Nancy Hellton Friday was really fun. It was the first time that I played for a whole hour, and I only did one cover! MT and Nancy Hellton host the open mic on Wednesday nights at Kick Butt Coffee and they started having songwriters perform at Bouldin Creek Food Park last year before it got too cold, and just started up again for March. And yes, that is me playing outdoors in a tank...
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125 - Flipnotics
I hadn’t been to Flipnotics in a while! I guess there kept being shows and stuff on Thursday nights that kept me from it. It was definitely an intense sign-up, the energy is always palpable and ramps up between about 7:35 and 7:45 when Lisa actually puts out the sheet. She was just a couple minutes late that night though, so the energy was even more anxious!
I didn’t have much of a...
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123 - Kick Butt Coffee & 124 - Waterloo Ice House
Photo by Nancy Hellton
Wednesday I dropped my roommate Jana off for a tour and she said I could borrow her car while she was gone, so I decided to go to two open mics I don’t usually get to all that often. Kick Butt Coffee is pretty far North, and Waterloo Ice House in Southpark Meadows is pretty far South, as well as pretty late - from 10pm-2am! But with a car, it’s very do-able...
February 2012
19 posts
4 tags
122 - Baker Street
We were a little later getting to Baker Street than I intended and the list fills up quickly, so I got a slot on the list that wouldn’t be till about 10:30. Gilberto was a good sport, and he had his iPad, so we decided to stay till my slot for sure. It had been a gorgeous day and they were set up on the deck and it was just on that edge of chilly with the sun down but between some hot tea...
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121 - Fair Bean
Photo by Amy Zamarripa
It was fun to bring Gilberto back to Fair Bean. He came with me back in August and really likes the Spanish Tortilla they have there. He discovered them on a business trip to Spain last year and actually introduced them to me at Fair Bean, I’d never tried them before! They are kind of more in the realm of quiche than the flat bread you wrap around a burrito, but...
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120 - Backroads and Whip In
Wednesday was an awesome day. Gilberto came to visit me! I took the bus to meet him at the airport, and when we walked out of baggage claim, the bus was right there again, so we just took the bus home. He came with me to Rubicon where we had a nice catching up with Dan and realized that it had been pretty close to exactly a year since the first time we came down to visit and check out the...
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Folk Music - Jonathan Byrd, Whitney Houston and...
I’ve mentioned Jonathan Byrd on my blog before. He’s one of those folk artists of today that I really think is doing things right. He’s a damn good storyteller both in song and in prose. Right now he’s touring through Europe and chronicling his adventures over on his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/jonathanbyrdmusic
You’ll have to scroll down a bit and...
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Today we practiced for 4 hours. The top layer of my calluses peeled off. I think that’s pretty bad ass for folk music. Happy camper.
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119 - Backroads
Back at Backroads! And to think that I was once rather scared to go! I love it there now. Raul is funny and supportive. The sound system is good. You get at least four songs, sometimes five (though it’s getting more popular these days, so I wonder how long that will last…) Not everyone there is paying attention but the ones who are, are friendly. You get a free drink for playing....
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118 - OPA!
Valentine’s Day!
My Valentine is coming to visit me next week and I’m sure we’ll go out to dinner then, but I still felt like dressing up for Valentine’s Day, so I put on some super sparkly earrings and some red lipstick before heading out to OPA! The host Ana Bee encouraged us to do love songs, and gave all the performers a little box of chocolates. Say what you want...
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117 - Fair Bean and Blame Sally!
My Friday evening, February 10th, in two parts!
PART 1: Fair Bean
I felt pretty lucky when I checked out the bus schedules for Friday night and realized I could get to all but the last 30 minutes of the Fair Bean open mic AND to the Blame Sally concert at Skinny’s Ballroom afterward. The only trick was, I didn’t want to cart my guitar downtown to a show that I was there to watch!...
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The Lovely Brigade at Whole Foods, What's in a...
Thursday night I took the bus down to Whole Foods to see The Lovely Brigade. I had some yummy tomato-zucchini soup and raspberry chia seed kombucha. They were supposed to play outside but it was chilly so they set up in the corner of the food court inside.
Seeing as it was a grocery store and folks were mostly in and out, the gals actually did a set, took a break and then did a second set of...
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116 - Backroads
The last time I was at Backroads two weeks ago, Raul (the host) challenged me to have a new song by the time I came back, and I took him up on it. I needed my notebook to get through it, and I think there may still be a few tweaks to make, but it was good enough for open mic, and felt good to have something new. :-)
Another new thing at Backroads was a massage therapist had her chair set up in...
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115 - Whip In
The open mic at Whip In is on Odd Tuesdays. That means the 1st, 3rd, and if there is one, the 5th Tuesday of each month. Which means sometimes you’ll have two weeks in a row, when there’s a 5th Tuesday the week before a first Tuesday of the next month. It’s really not that confusing, it’s just a little odd. Which fits the Whip In.
But some people mistakenly think of...