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5/29/06
Wow it's been a while since I've blogged. Well before I say anything about the shows I was at in Detroit and Buffalo I need to say.........I will be seeing Soul2Soul2 again in MILWAUKEE!! I can't wait...booked the flight, bought my ticket and July can't come fast enough!
Now Detroit was awesome!! Except for the rude woman behind us in the merch line who is obviously raising her daughter to be just as rude.....she stood behind us the whole time and B*tched that it was taking so long.....when I buy a $70 sweater I'd like to try it on to make sure it fits!! Sheesh...anyway after that fun...we headed to our seats. I can not for the life of me spot people across the stadium from me so if I go to a show with you and you are sitting on the other side you can wave like nuts....I still ain't gonna see you, unless someone is beside me telling me where you are.
The show was awesome! From the minute Black Betty came on the energy was huge!!! Faith popped up and then Tim popped up and the magic began! The whole night I didn't wanna sit (I only did once the daggar-glares got too piercing from my neighbours) and I danced and sang at the top of my lungs.
The highlights of the first night were Angry All the Time, No Woman No Cry, My Little Girl and There Will Come A Day.
The second night I had PRE-PARTY!! What an awesome experience! I was right in front of Faith and I got to ask a question! I asked 'If she and Tim could cover one of each other's songs, which ones would they chose?' Tim answered for Faith and thought she would pick 'Please Remember Me' but she said she'd rather do 'My Best Friend'. Tim said he would do one of her's off of Fireflies....the one that starts 'TV flashes down the hall, painting pictures on the wall.'...but he couldn't remember the name, Faith couldn't either! So I had to help them out and remind them of it ;) That was funny and so awesome! Tim sang 'Without You' and Faith sang 'Stronger'.
I had floor seats two chairs from the catwalk. I got another Timmy touch but missed out on touching Faith. The show was new again being from a different vantage point than the lowers the night before. Faith took out Stealing Kisses and did an AMAZING rendition of Bridge Over Troubled Water. The entire show was just fabulous and I didn't have to sit for any of it!!!
Buffalo was yet another awesome show. I had seats in the lowers again, right about where they had been in Detroit the first night. I was just thrilled to be there again and get to hear those two live again! WOW!!
One of the most touching things from all the shows is just how humbled Tim is by the cheers from the fans. He really appreciates it and lets you know it. I love singing 'Don't Take the Girl' when he lets the crowd sing.
Faith is so funny and genuine when she chats with the crowd! I loved her little story about Gracie and Tammy Wynette! She is such a proud Mama and it is so special she shared that with us.
Of course the highlight of my concert excursions is meeting all the ZONERS!!! Kim, Lori, Becca, Matt, Lori, Laura, Jen, Alesha and everyone else who I am sure I am forgetting....I really had a blast meeting you and I can't wait to see you all again!!
See you in Milwaukee!!!
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4/20/06
Hello all! I am procrastinating from my writing my two final papers (due next week) and I thought I would add a new entry since it has been a while.
I have purchased several new cds recently (in addition to GH2 which is by far the best!). SheDaisy's latest, Little Big Town's cd and Jason Aldean's debut have all joined my collection. I have really been impressed with Rascal Flatts new cd. Besides the first heart-wrenching single 'What Hurts the Most' (I love this video) my favs on the album have to be the last two songs. 'Ellsworth' is one of those nostalgic songs about old folks whose love has lasted through years of trials and circumstances. It reminds me of my paternal grandparents. My Dad's dad passed away over ten years ago from cancer when I was really too young to appreciate him for the awesome person he was. Well recently I was able to spend some quality time with my Grandmother and she showed me the scrapbooks she had put together about her life and my Grandfather's and by extension my Father's. My Grandparents met when Papa (my name for both my grandfather's) went out west from Ontario to Saskatchewan to work the farms instead of fighting in World War II. Well he just happened to end up on the Holstein farm in Runnymeade Saskatchewan. There he met and fell in love with Laura Lee. I even got to read the letters he wrote home to his mother and his sister about his time working the farms out west and in particular about meeting my grandmother. In fact, the first time they met was when he and the friend he had travelled out there with took out two young ladies to a picture on a weekend off. Papa described his date as a bit of a dimwit, but thought the date his friend had was quite nice.....so nice in fact he stole her away and married her, and brought her back to his family's farm in Strathaven Ontario. I also had the priviledge of reading letters they exchanged on the occasions when my grandmother travelled home to Saskatchewan and Manitoba to visit her family. To read the sentiments and love of a man who DID NOT express emotion or say 'I love you' out loud was just so special and treasured to me. I only wish I would have gotten to know him as an adult and been able to appreciate him more. Miss you, Papa. And I will save the other song I love for next time....because I need to stop procrastinating!!
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4/2/06
So I went to the songwriting seminar and it was really great! Very informative, and I learned alot about thinking about songwriting and not just feeling songwriting. I discovered that where I suffer in my songwriting process is that I get to the stage where I write the song completely but then I don't do well with evaluating it and tweaking it to polish it to the best it can be. So now I am excited to go back and work on some of the songs I've written and make them better.
In the afternoon they gave us an opportunity to play one of our songs for the group and have it critiqued by Carolyn Arends, the singer who was giving the seminar. Well I chickened out!! I didn't play one of mine. Part of it was because I could recognize some of the weaknesses she had mentioned in her seminar in my songs and the other part is because I have the worst case of stagefright ever!!!! So I didn't do it, and now of course I kind of wish I had after seeing how encouraging she was to all of the people who did have the courage to sing one of their songs. Oh well, it's my own fault! ;)
But I had brought two of my youth with me and Michelle, who is a beautiful singer and just all-around creative genius, was brave enough to sing one of her songs. She was by far the youngest person there and she did so great! I was so nervous for her and so proud of her! She got some great encouragement and some great feedback and I think it will encourage her to continue to express herself through songwriting.
It really was a wonderful experience that I learned a lot from.
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3/29/06
This Saturday I am going to a songwriting forum put on at my school by Canadian Christian singer/songwriter Carolyn Arrends. I have heard of her, but never listened to her music. I am kind of nervous because we are supposed to bring the songs we have written or are in process. I have rarely ever played ANY of my own songs for ANYONE so I am scared out of my mind that they will ask me to!
My songs are a mix of mostly country songs and a couple Christian songs and they sound good while I'm working on them, but then I come back to them later and I think 'yuck! what was I thinking?'. Of course I am my worst critic but it's hard to let them go out into the world because it's like baring your soul to the world and waiting to have it stomped on. Especially since alot of my songs are about my parents, and my feelings about losing them, and they are pretty raw. There are some pretty strong feelings in them, ones that I don't know that other people would understand if they heard them. There are a few that I would never play for my family, talking about how I felt utterly alone after losing my parents and then I sort of carry that on through to talking about how I just need to get away to where no one knows me cause I already feel like I'm living that. I know they are there for me, but it's real easy to forget that, so the songs are an expression of that moment in time and I think it might hurt them to hear. It's just so much easier to keep them to myself.
Anyway, I'm nervous but excited......so wish me luck!!
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3/25/06
I host and maintain an online blog for the youth group I lead at my church. I don't want to disable comments in case people have real spiritual questions. However today I received an email notification that someone had made a comment and I went to check it out. The comment they made said they chose to SPAM my site offering free porn where they do not verify age, including info on how to contact them. Within the body of the comment it said they had an express purpose of stealing my youth's pure minds and corrupting them.
How sick and wrong is it that there are predators like that in this world? It just makes me sick!
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