Hi Folks,

I’ve decided to revamp how I’m going to post about these shows – turns out, it’s hard to get to a wi-fi spot after each and every show amidst driving, playing, eating, sleeping, catching up with old friends and taking care of other on-tour-tasks (email list, posters, etc). So…I’m going to treat this like a journal and update it with things I find interesting, at the times I find them interesting.

Today’s topic: More, more Midwest! (and silly signage)

So…after spending the night in Madison, KFO and I woke up to find ourselves with a daytime of exploring to lend to south-central Wisconsin. KFO was impressed with the name “Oshkosh,” so, we decided to stop. As we were walking in “downtown” (?) Oshkosh, I noticed this building on the side of the street.

Nice sense of humor, Oshkosh.

As it turns out, Oshkosh isn’t that big, so, after about 30min, we decided to head on up to Appleton, WI, (the town of our Maritime Tavern gig that night) and find some cheap bowling.

Score!

We eventually made it to the Maritime Tavern to make friends with Ben, the bartender, and John, the owner, who fed us sausage and mushroom pizza (mmm!) and kept us company before our gig. Thanks guys!

Today we’re headed up to Minneapolis to play at the 331 Club with local Chastity Brown. I’m especially excited for this stop because I’ll get to reconnect with some friends I don’t get to see very often! I love that part of touring!

OK…I’m drawing weary of journaling here, but I musn’t pass over Ames, IA. (Another stop in which I got to reconnect with friends!! – AND play Balderdash…whoa! What a great night!) Here’s a photo of Zeke’s from the stage.

Coolest part – if you look close enough you can see our sound engineer (Scott) and our lighting engineer (Alden) – that’s right…we had LIGHTS! I felt pretty fancy. Local opener Ryan Seiler brought out a very friendly crowd and let me play violin with him (woo!!)

Alright, kids. I think I’m off for now. The Harmony Cafe in Appleton, WI, and I say “farewell for now!”

Until again.
k

Hi Folks!

This night marked our first double header of the tour! We played an early show (7:30pm) at Homolatte (at Tweet) and a late show (10:30pm) at Jerry’s Sandwiches. Whew! We were fortunate enough to be graced by the beautiful words of poet, Simaya, between our sets at Homolatte and equally graced by the musical musings of Shelley Miller and Mark Gill during our sets at Jerry’s! This whole Chicago run made me smile a lot for sake of great creative company. I may also have experienced the most delicious chocolate cake of my life at Tweet (the venue for Homolatte) and that generally trumps any other experience I have…I mean, I love music and all…but give me a divine piece of cake?…Oooo eee! Here are some photos to document our travels to these two fine midwestern establishments. The Alice in Wonderland type door is located at Tweet…

Until again,
~k

Hi Folks,

Well, I’ve decided to take a detour here. I got a little behind on these posts due to infrequent/unreliable internet-access in Chicago, and I have a LOT to catch you up on…but it seems a little overwhelming to do it all NOW, so, I’m going to start with the most recent and work backward slowly until I’m all caught up! So…here we are, our last (and first unintended) show in Chicago!

The low-down: We played Jerry’s Sandwiches (1938 W. Division), a deceptively lovely establishment, on Sept. 20th and had such a grand ole time that they asked us back for a second show on Sept. 21st! How could we resist? Awesome vibe, amazing sound, great engineer (mad props to Trey! Yay!) and convenient locale…and a slew of special guests including Chicago’s own Shelley Miller and Mark Gill! Wowee. Needless to say, I had a great time at this show and highly recommend you check out this spot, Chicago!

Cool moment: I went to the bar to order a drink and the gal next to me says, “Hey..I know you!” – turns out this gal was an old friend from high school who’d seen my post on facebook and decided to come on down – thank you modern technology!! And thank you, Jerry’s!

Until again.
k

Kasbah Gardens

Wowee! What a hidden gem this turned out to be! I’m sorry I don’t have a photograph to share with you. This place has a beautiful outdoor space with an abundance of vegetation and patio seating. Employees are very nice and food was said to be great! Woo!

Next stop: Pittsburgh, PA

Until again,
k

Hi Folks!

It was great to return to The Rendezvous in western Massachusetts on the 9th. This place has a great vibe and luckily, with the major help of Kristen Ford, a “built-in” crowd (e.g. all of her fans and friends)! It’s always nice to share my music with people who are not yet familiar. We stayed with Kristen’s friend, Ally, who was kind enough to host a house concert the next night in her awesome attic – equipped with toddler’s dancing to my rendition of “Shake Your Sillies Out” – what fun! This photograph is from a hike we took the morning of the 10th – Western Mass is just beautiful, isn’t it?

Next stop: New Haven, CT.

Until again,
k

The Middle East Upstairs

Thanks to all who came out to see us off at The Middle East! What a spectacular show with outstanding opening performances by Audrey Ryan and Left Hand Does! Thanks to Ariel Bernstein (drums), Kirsten Lamb (upright bass) and Kristen Ford (guitar/vox) for backing me up and creating an exciting band experience! I shall definitely need to do this again.

Next stop, Turners Falls, MA!

Until again,
k

Hi Folks!

Welcome to the first edition of the 2011 National Tour Journal! In these posts you’ll find pictures and stories from the road that shall take myself and fellow singer/songwriter, Kristen Ford, across the United States of America and back in two months!

First stop: Winooski, VT – The Monkey House.

I couldn’t narrow it down to just one picture, so, I’ll tell you the story for both. We arrived in Burlington, VT, just a couple of hours before our show at The Monkey House. We met up with Kristen’s friend, Eric, and shared some conversation and a drink at a local bar…what was the name of it? Oh my. Well, it was cool, anyway. The show went well – got Dan to snap this photo of me in action, on violin. We stayed with Dan and Nancy (parents of one of Kristen’s former Chicago roommies) and enjoyed a most splendid breakfast of hand-made waffles and this stupendous syrup in the morning! Dan made sure to send us off with this mini-me sized bottle for the road – it was just so cute I had to include it’s picture. Well done, Vermont!

Until again,
k

Hi Folks!

Thanks for tuning in – this is my first attempt at posting a photo from the road. Hope it comes out alright! This is Kristen and I on day 1 (Sept. 9th) of our 2-month national tour; we’re all packed up and ready to depart Somerville, MA. And so the journey begins…

until again,
~k

Hi Friends!

Well…it’s nearly here – the beginning of a 9-week trek around the United States of America! 51 shows in 63 days…all accompanied by my fine-feathered friend, musical genius, and all around excellent human being, Kristen Ford! Whoa! I’m excited. So, how’s about coming down to central square and sending us off? Tickets are only $10 for a fantastic night of music! Left Hand Does will start the night off at 8pm, the multi-instrumentalist-multi-talented Audrey Ryan will share her sweet songs at 9pm, I shall take the stage with full band in tote at 10pm and Kristen Ford Band shall close the night by rocking your socks off if they’re still on your feet…which, they probably won’t be because you will have already rocked them off to all of the other amazing music that night!!! That’s $2.50 per band!! I shall also have the much-anticipated (provided UPS doesn’t “miss” the package on the truck again…) first copies of my album, The Water’s Edge, in hand!! This is sure going to be a night to remember! See you out there.

~k

p.s. Thank you to all who came to see me at Club Passim’s Campfire Festival this past weekend! What an amazing experience that was!! I’m glad I could share it with you – and thanks to those who tuned into your hi-tech boxes and watched the webcast!

Hi Folks,

Just a quick note to let you know that even if you’re far from Boston, you can still catch my show this Friday at Club Passim. It will be webcast live through ConcertWindow.com, so, be sure to tune in at 6:45pm on Friday, September 2nd!! Happy Labor Day Weekend!!

Peace,
Kara