And now...

2010 started with a nice relaxing brake. I have had the chance to rest, schedule a few things, and sell my car to buy a cargo van. Rest was badly needed after three months in Texas staying with friends or camping at the festival.

In the scheduling department, there are some very exciting things coming up. I'm playing for four out of six weekends of a brand new Medieval Faire near Austin, TX called Sherwood Forest Faire. They have done a lot of very good publicity, they have an amazing array of vendors and a fabulous list of performers. I totally encourage everyone to come out and support this fair.

One of the weekends I won't be at Sherwood, I will be performing and teaching at NORTH TEXAS IRISH FESTIVAL in Dallas, TX. The all caps are there for a reason. I am very very excited and honored to be performing at the second largest Irish festival in the states, second only to Milwaukee. Only a week ago, I was asked to present a short workshop on Irish Gaelic song. I'm teaching it from the perspective of a non-native speaker, and I'm really looking forward to it.

The other weekend of the six goes to San Antonio Highland Games. San Antonio is a smaller festival, but they bring in some really great musicians. I went as a patron last year and found plenty to entertain me.

When 2010 began, I set a goal to do more Celtic festivals. These two really help kick off that goal very well. I hope to catch a couple more this year. The year is still young, so I don't know what I will be doing the rest of the year, but I'm hopeful about a few Renaissance festivals as well.

Please check out my calendar for the specific dates... and the websites of the festivals for locations, etc.

Oh, the van! I am converting a Cargo Sprinter Van into a small RV. I will post some photos of my conversion work soon.

Happy Holidays!

I hope everyone is safe, happy, well fed and loved this holiday season. 2009 was a wonderful year, and 2010 promises more of the same!!!

Christmas Revels

It was an honor and absolute pleasure to play for Revels Houston. Revels is difficult to describe if you've never seen a production, but the bottom line is that this is a celebration. There is audience participation, choral numbers, a story line with some amazing characters. This year the theme or story was "The King and the Fool". With a heavy Medieval theme, I got to participate in the band and as a vocal soloist. We performed the show 7 times over two weekends.
We played many numbers on the stage as part of the action.
The band - Slobodan, Nikola, myself & Brady. 3 very funny guys each trying to have the best tights and hats.
We also played from our balcony.
Me with lauta and Brady with gamba.

Sure was fun, Revels Houston.... hint hint :-)

Texas

I have not written one single thing about the Renaissance Festival here in Texas. This past weekend, Paul, the photographer, caught a few funny shots of me. I went through and found a couple of group shots as well.
This must be Sunday of weekend one... my dress is soggy on the bottom and Heather is wearing her cool leather Mexican hat.
This is me singing to Bacchus, god of wine and stuff like that.
Must be Al's solo. We seem to be waiting for him to finish already!!

Here at TX Ren Fest, I do double duty. I play with Istanpitta and I also play solo in the lanes with my wee amp in my wonderful wooden cart - the amp is in the cart, not me. This photo is quite possibly when I had a back up "singer"... He was an otherwise completely ordinary looking patron who was with a small quiet group of people. We joked around and I told him I was auditioning back up singers for my act. A couple songs later, we continued to joke and I reminded him of the audition. The next song he did little backup lines just like the Bob Wills songs... I was probably waiting for his line... and trying to keep a straight face.

Triumph

So... 2009. 2009 was supposed to be my year on the road, the year that I just try to get a few fairs and see what it's like to be a traveling homeless musician. It's the beginning of November, and I'm feeling pretty triumphant about 2009. I sent out gabillions of publicity packages and CDs. I filled 29 weekends with festivals. I met so many new friends. I learned so much about performing, purchased an amplification system, and built myself a cart for the fairs. I can't imagine how many miles I've added to my car. I have performed literally from coast to coast. And, I know this one is going to be a shocker, I made a living decent enough to eat! All of these things are so much more than I expected. When I started 2009, I knew had a couple of gigs with Istanpitta and an 8 week fair in Arizona. The rest was a wait and see kind of thing. I've taken a lot of risks. I've had more than a few anxiety attacks. I've worried, but mostly, I've been very very happy. I've been so happy to be able to go out and drive around the country singing and playing and learning. I've been so happy to be able to make all of these choices. I've been very happy to feel supported. Friends have offered beds or couches, food, margaritas. Life has been so good. Between hard work and a little luck, this year has exceeded all expectations. I am so grateful to all who played a part in this... that means YOU! :-)

Houston House Concert

This was a fantastic experience. I had a feeling that this format would be just the thing for me. Sharing my favorite music, feeling casual and surrounded by friends (brand new and long standing)... it was just the thing, and even though the weather turned nasty, we had a pretty full house!

Michelle Levy joined in with her fabulous fiddling and improvisation skills. It is such a pleasure to provide a supporting rhythm for her tunes and I love the way she fills in my songs.

Things Celtic

I've always loved Things Celtic - lovely Celtic gifts and treasures. The store also hosts Irish classes, St. Patrick's day celebrations and small concerts. I've played there several times. This time I brought Michelle Levy. We had a lovely informal sharing of songs and tunes with friends and folks who stopped for a little Monday happy hour. My friend JoAnn Grant took lots of photos.

Live on the radio!

Michelle Levy and I performed on KOOP 91.7 in Austin on the show What's a Girl To Do hosted by Lisa Schneider. Part of the broadcast can be found here on the show's MySpace page.
It was exciting and fun and a total honor... and it was scary!!! She took these photos of us. Thank you, Lisa, for everything!!

Recording

My friend and singing buddy, Ceridwyn, and I sang on a CD project for John Ross a few years ago. He loves us so much he invited us back to harmonize a couple tracks on his upcoming CD. He is an eclectic song writer musician who puts his heart into music for all the right reasons. He is awesome to work with and an inspiration... for sure!
Abby & Ceridwyn.... Awwwwww.
Serious Abby.
Glorious Ceridwyn!

Boxes

I've been making stuff again - boxes. They are made to be instrument cases, but I suppose you could use them for other things. These are the very first wooden boxes I made. I have another one almost done. I am hoping to be able to sell them in coordination with an instrument maker friend of mine. The boxes are 24 X 6 X 9.

Green leather, copper rivets. Experimental style. Cool, but it was pretty hard to get this look. This may be a one of a kind.
Black leather, copper rivets. Future cases will likely use a heavy green leather, silver rivets/snaps, and fasteners like this box. Price tag: $150.

Irish weekend at MD Ren Fest

My second weekend at Maryland was Irish weekend and it could not have been more perfect in every way. The high for both days was about 72. People were friendly and in the Irish mood. This photo comes from Hilton. I liked it because most of my mic stand blends into the trees in the background! Using the amplifier was wonderful, by the way. It gave just enough that I could relax and offer the music rather than push the music. I think people noticed the difference.

Maryland weekend one

Maryland is beautiful! The fair is adorable and packed with music and entertainment for all ages. This is the first major event for the amplifier and cart. I think they did pretty well. I still need to learn how to sing into a microphone more consistently, but lots more people could hear me. I entertained a herd of little girls who danced and danced. My friend, Russell, took this photo and dragged my cart for me a few times. I am eternally grateful for Russell's help!

Next weekend is IRISH weekend! I just checked the weather and it looks like it will be positively perfect!!!!

New cart

I have needed some sort of CD cart for a while. I've had a couple of different bags and bags or baskets seem to work for a lot of solo musician types. I have felt like I need to get things up off of the ground and have a way to move things around a fair without tons of set up involved. I also need to be able to eventually pack it down small for car travel. During Silver Leaf, I decided to experiment. I bought this little plastic fold up cart at the local big mart store. It turned out to be a whole lot sturdier than I expected. I did cover it with fabric, and there were things that worked, but a LOT of things that did not. The fabric would shift and fall off when rolling around. Setting up the tray on top for CDs and then getting into the cart for the capo I forgot was all a big hassle. Also during Silver Leaf, I made the decision to purchase an amplifier. If / when I made this purchase, I knew I would definitely need something to make moving the amp and my CDs around a fair easier, and I would prefer to make the amp as invisible as possible. Still, I would like to pack everything down small for travel.

The wooden cart was born. I used the plastic version as my model. The sides fold in and make the whole thing flat. The shelves push the sides out to keep everything expanded and strong. The bottom portion with the curtain is big enough for the amp. If I am at a fair where the CD sales need to be in one place and the amp in another nearer to me, I can take the amp out of the cart... hence the curtain. I considered making it more of a carved wooden face but that would mean the amp would have to stay in the cart and with fairs, you never know what the set up will be. Flexibility is crucial to survival. I am very happy with the results. It's sturdy, the wheels roll very well, and there is lots of space for CDs and supplies... and there is room on the front for a sign. I get to try it out for two weekends in Maryland starting Sept. 12!

On the Radio!!

Ceridwyn called me this afternoon to tell me I was on the radio! KOOP 91.7 in Austin has a show on Mondays 11-12 called "What's a Girl to Do?" Lisa, the host, focuses on female musicians. Today's show featured a cappella artists and so she played my Bheir Mi O track. I wish there was a podcast to share with you, but alas. You'll have to start tuning in just in case she plays me again! By the way, you don't have to be in Austin to listen. You can listen to the radio on the internet... fancy, huh? For future reference this was show number 38.

Silver Leaf Renaissance Festival

Two weeks done here in Michigan with three more to go. The setting is beautiful, the weather has been amazing. Everybody has been wonderful. I have an insanely fantastic camping area. There are a few mosquitoes to keep you on your toes and the berry tree above my car is going to make the car polka dotted before I leave here, but I suppose it's time for a new look.

My stage is by the beer. I am sharing my stage with the Limeybirds. I've shared a stage with them before when Istanpitta played at Greater St. Louis Renaissance Festival. They are a hoot and make the day go by with a few extra laughs.