International fan mail is extra awesome!!

Reminder- Spark festival next week. I’m playing at the Bedlam Theatre in Minneapolis starting at 9:30 on Wednesday night!

Flux down in Rochester was super fun!! A whole Minneapolis crew came down for the show, which was awesome. The art exhibits were also really good (I especially enjoyed the huge found-object pendulums of local artist John Ready), and the DJ’s Scott and David played really fun dance music to round out the night. There was a small but dedicated group of folks dancing to club beats with frenetic ballroom dance moves, punctuated with the occasional breakdance. Thanks to everyone who came out and who put the event together; I would do it all again in a heartbeat!

One of my favorite things about spending time in a new city is checking out new restaurants. We stayed overnight before heading back up to St. Paul, which gave us time to wander around and get lunch and poke around some antique stores. So I looked somewhat longingly at really cool antique Edison players and a broken-but-still-awesome-sounding toy player piano. I’d never seen a toy player piano before! I also learned that the best portobello mushroom sandwich in the whole world can be had at Jasper’s Alsatian Bistro, which is a nice thing to know, going forward. It might be worth the 1.5 hour drive just to go get that sandwich. It’s rare to find vegetarian-friendly French food at all, let alone stuff that’s so yummy, so Jasper’s was a treat.

The awesome Chris O. called me last night saying he’d wheedled a ticket for me to see an hour long presentation by Bobby McFerrin at McNally Smith College of Music today. Neat! So, I took lunch early and went up into downtown to see him. The last time I saw Bobby McFerrin, it was as the conductor of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra at the UofM; he conducted two symphonies and did a solo vocal set in between, a retelling of the Wizard of Oz, which he ended by throwing a glass of water on himself and “melting”. It was fantastic. It was as much a theatre piece as a musical one. I didn’t realize until about halfway through one of the symphonies (Beethoven’s 3rd, I think), that he was conducting without a score. I know pretty little about conducting, I only took one class on it and it’s not my thing, but I know enough to know that that’s pretty badass. He’s a really amazing musician. I wouldn’t hesitate to call him a genius. And from what I can tell, he’s an amazing person as well.

I didn’t quite know what the event was going to be, as going was such a last minute thing, but it turned out to be very informal. He’d sing a little bit, and then have a Q and A session, and often questions would lead into musical examples and another little spate of performance and then back into questions. It was really really great, very inspirational right before my show next weekend too. His ideas and approach to performance and especially improvisation resonate with me a lot. I don’t begrudge him any of his popular success, but I doubt that a lot of people who know Don’t Worry, Be Happy know about the other work he’s done, his experience with all these other kinds of genres of music or as an orchestral conductor, or the thoughtful development of his completely distinctive singing style. His thoughts on improvisation spoke to me the most because it’s inherent in what I do, but the thoughts on how he developed his style, how he uses a microphone and room tone as instruments in and of themselves, how he uses his hands and chest and breath as percussion, how he developed his technique to imply incredibly complex harmonies with just solo voice. Super, super interesting.

Sorry I’ve been so quiet here, lately! Post album release was eaten by the holidays. February is going to be a busy music making month, looks like. I’m gearing up for the Flux show in Rochester next week- can’t wait! Soon on its heels is the Spark Festival, and then I’ll be performing as part of a Spoken Word event later in the month. Yeah!

Today is an important day! It’s the most important election day of my life so far, and it’s also the release date of my very first album. The fact that my release day coincided with election day is sort of coincidental, but I rather enjoy it.

I voted today. I hope all of you who are able did so as well. In many ways, I’m excited to see what the future brings.

All of This Is Temporary has been getting some radio play! Thanks to the folks at MN Soundtrack, KFAI and Chris Roberts at The Local Show on the Current.

It’s always a nice day when the new issue of MAKE shows up. This issue shows you how to make one of theeeese. I had to shove it excitedly in front of the face of my favorite vj when he got home.

Video of a portion of my set from Bent fest! Not a bad snip, once I got comfy with the tech. 🙂 This was snagged from Talking Computron over at http://www.getlofi.com – great blog roundups of the whole festival and really great collections of vids and photos.

I have some more thoughtful/less promo-based blogs brewing- thoughts on bein’ a lady in a sub-sub-culture dominated by dudes (I’m curious what Beatrix and other ladies have to say about it, too!), as well as one with classical music training- and how that informs what I do as part of such a DIY, experimentation-driven scene; thoughts on the music business and rise of the indies, the explosion of music in the world of the internet and what it means for artists, labels, and copyright… It is a brave, new, ever-interesting world, and I’ve been thinking it’d be fun to talk about it a little more.

later gators

April and May have been crazytown in Caly-land. It seems I have hit the magic time in my life when nearly everyone I know is getting married, so weddings are big on the scene. So are art events. I’m a bit overdue on the ol’ updates. I just came back from another wedding celebration tonight. It was held in a boxing gym, which made a lovelier reception venue than one might anticipate. Pinatas, brownie sundaes, fireworks… good times. Spring has finally sprung in MN, and it’s about time. I am enjoying the weather and hoping I get around to getting my motorcycle fixed sometime soon.

Anyway, on the musics- Bent Fest Mpls was really fantastic. I had a great time, I met some great folks, and got really great feedback on my set. I’m hearing rumblings about Bent Fest UK, which would be fantastic!! Huge thanks to Beatrix*Jar, Intermedia Arts, and everyone who played or led a workshop or showed up for concerts and everything, it was really great all around.

I know I’ve been saying it for a long time, but I’m really very close to completing my album. I’m really excited about that. And a little bit terrified. In a good way. I think.

The Twin Cities arm of the Bent Festival is coming up! I’ve heard really good stuff about what happened in LA. The festival kicks off on Thursday, May 1st. I’m playing at 9pm at Intermedia Arts in Uptown:
2822 Lyndale Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55408

More details here: http://www.intermediaarts.org/bent/

This weekend is the St. Paul Art Crawl. This is the first time we’ve opened our studio, which is simultaneously exciting and daunting. I don’t have any specific performances, but I will probably play a live set or two during the weekend if the mood strikes, or set up my new theremin and let people make some goofy noises. 😉

But you should definitely come and say hi and check out S4’s fantastic new work!

Lowertown Lofts
Studio 501
255 East Kellogg Blvd #501

Friday 6-10
Saturday 2-10
Sunday 12-5

More information and maps of the Crawl are here:
http://www.stpaulartcrawl.org/pdf/catalog_spring08.pdf

MN Spin, a local music contest put together by the folks at mnartists.org, have selected TWO of my tracks for their upcoming compilation cd! I’m extra disappointed that I can’t make it to the listening party, as it’s the same night I’m playing roller derby.

The last round Dessa Darling of the Doomtree crew chose my track “Unexpected”. This round Kate Galloway chose “A Long Time”.

Thank you, ladies, I’m honored!

link: http://www.mnartists.org/article.do?rid=183816