New Music

I've decided that this year, 2013, is the year that I am going to learn some new music.

First on the list is "River's Jig" from Firefly. It's an actual trad tune, and how lucky am I that one of my dear's already knew the tune and taught it to me!  I'm a very happy camper about this.

Second on the list is Music from Tolkein. I have a book of Tolkein's songs and they are so lovely. I think they will translate really well to fiddle as well as voice.  I'm going to pick 3 tunes/songs to work on.

Third on the list are 10 tunes (generic Celtic) that people keep asking me to play.

Fourth on the list are Gypsy tunes. I am not going to go crazy (hahahh, too late ;>). I'm going to pick 4 tunes and work on them.

I think the next step will be to write down the names of the tunes/songs.... I guess I'd best do that before I pack all the books before we actually get on the road to AZRF, huh...

*crossposted at Fiddlemama on Tumblr.

AZRF, here we come!

New post up at Fiddlemama on Tumblr!

Go check it out! :D

When did it become July?

Finally getting my shit together and I realize that I've not posted here since February. 5 months ago.  This is what happens when I don't have reliable internet & feel like I can't take the time to write.  I had gotten very good at writing several times a week so I'd have things in the hopper to post.  Time to start that again, me'thinks.

Dear Gods, did I just say "me'thinks"? *sigh*  Lets recap and then look to the future....

Arizona was fantastic in a lot of ways and a little sucktastic in some ways.  There was a bit of a "come to Jesus" experience that I'll be writing about later. Suffice to say, there was a lot that I learned at AZRF.

DB and I spent 3 weeks in Texas at 4Winds.  It's a really sweet little faire, key word being little.  The faire has a ton of potential, and I'm hoping that the changes management is making for next year really help it turn the corner. I really enjoyed re-connecting with folks I'd not seen in close to 5 years.  I think DB had fun being able to spend all day, every day, with me.  Big learning experience for me at 4Winds was not having a nanny.  I'd not had my girl with me for a full festival day, while working, in a *long* time.  It was actually a lot harder now that she's older and far more mobile.

After Texas we were at VARF in Spotsylvania, VA. VARF is close enough to Itown that we went back and forth most every weekend. VARF was a blast.  I hadn't worked a full season at VARF since DB was born.  I took what I learned at AZRF, applied it to VARF and things went smashingly well.

Celtic Fling happened after VARF, and it was a BLAST.  Celtic Fling is a huge event at the PARF site, and I was thrilled to be in the company of some amazing bands (Barleyjuice, Tartanic, and Albannach to name a few). Fling is one of the few events I perform at where I'm not in garb, don't have an accent, and am not doing improv in the lanes. It's such an odd feeling for me being there, but I have a terrific time. I'm one of two bands that are listed as "Traditional", and I got a ton of complements from folks who were looking for trad music, not Celtic Rock, Celtic Punk, Celtic Not Traditional. It made me feel pretty good.

Since Fling I've played some private functions and weddings. SLO faire is in 3 weeks, then PARF hits in full force in August. The new show for this year is CRF  in October & November, and then I head to LARF in December.  I may have a few gigs in CT later this month, but I've not got confirmation of them yet.

What else is going on.
Lets see, DB is 3. I'm realizing how much I do not love this age. My sweet, mostly well behaved child, doesn't really have tantrums, doesn't scream or bite daughter is now a pod-person. OK, not really, but this is the first time she is actually being somewhat textbook with her behaviour. I really don't care for it. Seriously, Do.Not.Like.

We are now owned by 2 kitties.  Lyric and Mishka. Lyric, as some of you may know, was born at PARF. She's pudging out a bit, but I think that's because she's eating the "senior" food. Mishka is our new "baby".  After some debate, we think she's about 12. She was a stray found in AZ. She is a pure white Turkish Angora with one green eye and one blue eye.  She was found severely underweight (near skeletal). Through some odd turn of events she ended up with us.  She is an incredibly loving and tolerant kitty.  She and Lyric get along pretty well, and she is a great traveler. We really did luck out in that aspect. With as much traveling as we do, having 2 cats that are good travelers is amazing.

Kickstarter is on a slight hiatus. *sigh* Between my schedule and lack of internet, things are at a standstill.  My hope is to have everything up and running by August. Along that line, I'm shooting to have my Bandcamp up at the same time.  Fingers crossed...

NEW and SHINY, I have an account at Reverbnation  I am learning how to use it, but please check it out. :)  I've also got a new music project in the works, but it's Super Sekret right now!

My friend Hel introduced me to unfuck your habitat and my friend Becca introduced me to nirvanahq. Both sites have been increasingly helpful with managing my ADD. I highly recommend the sites to anyone looking for some help with organisation, ADD is not required. ;> I'm so late to the game with so many things. Today I made an account on Tumblr. I've linked this blog to that one, so now I'm on two platforms. Yeah, I'm technologically slow.

I just looked at the clock. It's way past pumpkin time, and I'm still awake.  Why am I still awake? This does not please me.  OTOH, lookit me making a long-ass blog post, and posting on multiple platforms. Go me.  Go me, right to bed. G'night, Moon.

Placeholder... really...

Yup, just a placeholder.  Why?  'Cause this week is busy as all get out!  

Quick recap: DB and I got to AZRF and survived opening weekend. Survived really isn't a good word.  Opening weekend was made of awesomesauce.  The weather was wonderful, the crowds were really sweet and welcoming, and we had a ton of fun. This week we have student days, followed by a three-day-weekend as we're open on President's day.  Did I mention the being busy as all get out?

Yesterday was Lupercalia/Valentine's/Tuesday.  All in all it was a good day.  There were cards in the mail, food shopping with friends after work, and loads of music and camaraderie as we all played in the rain for most of the Student day.  

As for now, I need to do the last of the unpacking, put the pork chops in the oven, and get ready for our next Student day (tomorrow).

Check this space soon for updates! ;>

Love, 

Mel

Stuff and Life on the Road

I wrote this on January 2, 2012.  What makes it more relevant now, as opposed to 15 days ago, is that I'm leaving for AZRF in 10 days. 

2011 was an interesting year for me, and don't get me started on how interesting is a terrible descriptor. I know, I know, I know. Moving on, 2011 was definitely interesting. When I was in Arizona last year I found a Winnebago. For those of you new here, I've been a performer on the Renaissance festival circuit for several years, but I went closer to being full time on the road last year. Being on the road this year was eye opening. I worked new shows, met a lot of wonderful people, and had some incredible experiences. In 2011 my daughter and I traveled to Arizona, Virginia, California, Pennsylvania and Louisiana. In 2012 I'm looking to expand our travels to Carolina, Texas, Maryland and Wisconsin.

Going back to the Winnebago, or as I call her, the 'Bagel. Living in a 23 foot RV is a very different experience, especially when you're a pack rat. Oh, and living with a 2 year old and a cat. Space is, in a word, limited.

Most of my friends who live on the road have reached a point where stuff is just stuff, and they really don't need a lot of stuff. I'm not there. Don't get me wrong, I want to be there, I'm just not there yet. I have stuff. I have a LOT of stuff. I did a huge purge of stuff when I moved from Groton to Ithaca last September, but there's still so much left. I've been pretty good about not replacing the stuff I got rid of with new stuff, but the stuff I still have just seems to have increased in size. Stuff that isn't necessarily important or necessary, but it has an emotional attachment. The stuff I need to get rid of doesn't need emotional attachment.

I need to get over this sense of emotional attachment to stuff. Some things are important, like my grandmother's sewing box. Some things are less-so, like the board games I never play. Looking around my house, I see stuff. I see stuff EVERYWHERE! Stuff in crates, tubs/totes and boxes. Part of me wants to take everything that's in boxes or tubs/totes and just bring them to Salvo. Not open them, just bring them. The problem with that is I'd wonder what was in there. Then I'd fret. Then I'd obsess. Then the ADD would really kick in and I'd be forever wondering what it was that I'd gotten rid of. I'd probably go back down to Salvo and try to find my stuff. That leaves the next option of sorting through each tub/tote and box. This option is not fabulous as I get lost in the minutia. Seriously, I can look through 1 tote and hours will by and I still won't be done. Just thinking about this is making me twitchy. Bottom line, whether or not I go full time on the road, the sheer amount of stuff in my life needs to decrease.

One of the folks I met this year was Anika. She is a sweet wonderful person with a ready smile. She's relatively new to life on the road, and she's loving it. She's adapted to it quickly and I think she really gets what it's about. To quote her,and this is from her blog, "When I made the decision to leave, I packed everything I owned into my Jeep.  I got rid of all my nick-nacks, which really serve no purpose but to remind you of fond memories, donated most of my books and clothes to the library and goodwill, and drove to Pennsylvania.  While living there for three months, Kurt and I basically reconstructed my house (a small pop-up trailer) from scratch. I lived in this new house for 7 weeks in Louisiana, and now it travels with me everywhere I go. After living in Oklahoma for a few weeks, I will then be traveling to Arizona and next, Texas. 

It sounds too corny to say that the "home is where the heart is", so how about "home is where my Jeep is"? Every day I am amazed by all the wonderful people I have met and things I have seen that I would not have gotten to otherwise."

Being on the road is amazing. Every place we go we make new friends, new family. There's community. There are things I get to see and show my daughter, that we wouldn't see if we didn't travel. And each time I've gotten rid of things, of clutter, it's been incredibly freeing. It felt good. It definitely soothed some of my ADD triggers. It made life easier.

The next question, what do I really need vs. what do I think I need.   As of January 17, I have 10 days to figure it out.

A little bit of blather

I had a pretty good weekend. It finally felt like Winter for more than a few hours or even for one day. I got some snippets of things written, but nothing really flowed the way I was hoping for.  I think I have too many thoughts bouncing around in my brain for things to really come together.  Iinstead of trying to force the words out I picked Lily up and practiced for an hour. I picked 4 Irish tunes, 2 Cantigas, 2 classical pieces and the Csardas, which I've wanted to work on for years.  I took two hours for a break and then went back to it. I practiced for one more hour and then stopped. Most of what I picked to play had very little shifting, so my wrist didn't ache to much.  I worked on my posture so my right shoulder wasn't too stiff.  After practice I stretched for a while, and all told I feel pretty good  I don't think I can practice for two hours every day, but I can certainly shoot for one hour a few days a week.

The AZRF cross-country trip is looming. LOOMING!  Seriously, I leave in 11 days. What can someone do in 11 days? Well, y'all are about to find out.  Are you ready?  Good!

*long pause*

Well, not right now. Right now I have to eat. Right now I have to work on uploading tunes to my Bandcamp account. Right now I have to stop worrying about leaving for AZRF in 11 days.  Right now...

Cue the VanHagar!

I so miss Pop Up Video.  And in case you don't know the lyrics to "Right Now", here ya go.

Don't wanna wait 'til tomorrow
Why put it off another day?
One by one, little problems
Build up, and stand in our way. Oh

One step ahead, one step behind it
Now ya gotta runt o get even
Make future plans I'll dream about yesterday, hey!
Come on turn, turn this thing around

(Right Now) Hey! It's your tomorrow
(Right Now) Come on, it's everything
(Right Now) Catch your magic moment
Do it right here and now
It means everything

Miss a beat, you lose a rhythm
An nothin' falls into place. No!
Only missed by a fraction
Slipped a little off your pace. Oh!

The more things you get, the more you want
Just trade in one for another
Workin' o hard to make it easy
Whoa, got to turn. Come on, turn this thing around

(Right Now) Hey! It's your tomorrow

(Right Now) Come on, it's everything
(Right Now) Catch your magic moment
Do it right here and now
It means everything

Said a lie to me
Right now
What ar ya waitin' for? Oh! Yeah!
Right Now

(Guitar Solo)


(Right Now) Hey! It's your tomorrow
(Right Now) Come on, it's everything
(Right Now) Catch your magic moment
Do it right here and now
It means everything

It's what's happening
Right here and now
Right now, it's right now
Right now, it's right now
Oh!
Tell me, what are ya waitin' for?
Turn this thing around