Just a few great stories for you...having to do with pianos of course!
Story #1 Three years ago, when Bryan and I moved to Fairfield, I got a phone call from a friend. We had just settled into our new place, I had a great music corner in the cottage we were renting at the time, and we were living on the beach...life was good. Anyway, this friend called, asking me if I was looking for a piano. I didn't have any money for a piano, and started to reply, when he kindly said, "no, you misunderstand, I have a piano to give to you." WHAT?! I freaked out, did a little dance, said "YES", and two hours later a moving truck pulled up and brought me a piano. I've written a lot of songs on that little guy...
Story #2 Two weeks ago, I got an e-mail from a woman asking if I wanted a piano in my office (I teach the church choirs in here, as well as my lessons). She had gotten a piano as a gift when she and her family invited their neighbors to live with them after a fire made their home unlivable. As a 'thank you' for their hospitality, the neighbors bought them a piano so their children could take lessons. Now that the kids are grown and have moved out, no one plays the piano, so she wanted someone to be able to use it. After reading her e-mail, again, I found myself doing a little dance, replied "YES", and the next day some wonderful friends helped me move the piano into my office. (I carried the bench).
Seriously...how have I had two pianos given to me?! And what great karma these instruments are carrying! I should buy a lottery ticket...
I know, I know. When you put yourself out there - you're opening yourself up to judgement. I understand that. I know that not everyone is going to love my music, just like I don't love all styles of music. It's fine! With that said, there's no need to be mean when you're telling someone that you're not a fan.
Here's an e-mail I received this week:
_________________
Hi,
We listened to your music. Your songs are very much the same theme. To our 30-year-old daughter, they seemed too depressing and whinny. We were brought up in a house full of music from all over the world. We are also involved with The Sounding Board in Hartford for 30 years (www.folknotes.org). We were involved in hiring many artist such as Sally Rogers and Howie Berson, Bill Staines, Utah Phillips, Steve Gillette and Cindy Mangsen, Christine Lavin, John McCutcheon, Si Kahn, and Pete Sutherland and Bluegrass and Old String Band Music. For our group, we need more cheerful songs with a style similar to these artists. If you want, I will forward your cd to Radio Station WWUH 91.3 FM in West Hartford.
You are welcome to any future group gatherings.
Mr. X
_________________
Ouch.
There are so many things wrong with this e-mail! First of all - the grammar. But everyone deserves a freebee when it comes to typos, so no worries. Second of all, why be rude? What could he possibly accomplish by insulting me? Third...it's always interesting when people insult my music but then offer to send it along somewhere else. I don't think that would be a shining endorsement!
Friends, there are a lot of small people out there who try to make themselves feel better by being rude, arrogant, or insulting. I know we all thought we were out of middle school, but that same mentality still exists for some people. Please don't let them get to you - you're much better than that!!
So here was my response:
_________________
Mr. X,
Please just get rid of my CD. I'll send it in to WWUH on my own.
In the future, when dealing with other artists who are looking to help your organization, please don't insult them. If you don't like their style there are professional ways to decline an offer.
Good luck with your gatherings, and I hope you enjoy the holiday season.
Take care, Kristen Graves
_________________
Much love to you all, and keep your heads held high!
It's no secret that New England is beautiful in the fall, and this weekend I got to enjoy it with some shows in East Greenwich, Rhode Island! The drive from Connecticut was very colorful.
I played at The Greenwich Hotel two nights in a row, and had a great time. The first night was a split show with Gamblin' Hands, and the second night, I was the open mic hostess to a fabulous evening of talent.
This was Chip's intro into his new life as a dog roadie - and I think he enjoyed it. Also, thanks to Joann at The Greenwich Hotel and her love for dogs...he made a bunch of friends since he got to hang out in the bar the entire weekend!
I'm trying to book more mini-tour weekends like this one - so be ready. I just might be heading your way!!
It all started on Friday night, with an amazing New CD Party. I could not have asked for anything more, and I thank all of you who were there to support me! (I know this means some of you were there in spirit...) It was a great night!
Here's one of my favorite shots from the evening - it's pretty easy to see that I was really into it.
Then on Saturday morning, Bryan was presented with a humanitarian award from the United Church of Christ Conference. It was an award celebrating all that he and Simply Smiles have accomplished. I was so proud!
And to end our amazing weekend...we adopted a little dog from a rescue! He's a lab mix, and his name is Chip. You'll be meeting him on tour!
I'm so excited to be celebrating my new CD. I got to spend time singing these songs all summer, and I'm having so much fun with it. Upon returning home from my tour this summer, I immediately started to plan a New CD Party here in Connecticut. I'll have video and photos after this weekend!
As a thank you - I wanted to record a video of me singing another cover song...so here you have it: Imagine, by John Lennon.
This summer I had an incredible tour. Great venues, fun shows, amazing people...you get the idea. It was so easy for me to write my blog every day because I was so grateful and inspired! I knew that there were people reading, I had so many stories from the road, and I enjoyed hearing from everyone. And...to be honest...I got to pretend I was a rock star just for a moment.
Here I am signing a "Singing for Hope" t-shirt!
As soon as I returned home, I got a little bored. I was also a little bummed that all of you weren't there with me. I was just home alone and back to normal. It was great for a few days, but then what?
I needed to get out of the house. So where did I head off to? I know you'll be shocked...Mexico! I spent two weeks helping to build a school, and it was SO much fun. I got to hike in the mountains, hang out with some great kids, and meet new friends that were volunteering as well!
Here I am hiking some support boards up to make the walls of the school.
I even got to give away a few cds. I'm not sure what the kids will do with this one, but it should make a good frisbee...
After returning home from Mexico (Bryan had been there all summer...) it was time for a break. So we took almost two weeks off to hang out, sleep, build bonfires, eat, etc. at my parents' cottage. It was excellent!
Now I'm back in the swing of things. Ready to work, sing, and play, which is good timing because I have a HUGE show coming up! On October 22, I'm going to be hosting a new CD party to celebrate the release of "Singing for Hope." If you live in the CT area, I really hope you can make it! It will be at 7 p.m. at the Southport Galleries on Pequot Ave. Come one and all!
To help promote the show, and just for fun, I'm going to be making weekly videos of songs that I love to sing. If you have a suggestion, e-mail me! It can be one of my songs, or a cover. I'm always up for a challenge! This first week is "Wildflowers" by Tom Petty.
As always, many thanks for your support. Enjoy the video, come to a show, and as always, let me know how you're doing as well! I hope it's no surprise - I love hearing from you!
Well, I must admit, I've been a bit lazy this week. I had a GREAT time in NYC last Saturday night, because I loooove playing at Googie's. Here's a photo my friend Abby took while I was singing...
As soon as I was done with the show, I came home and crashed.
I went through the things in my car a few days later, and read some books and slept a lot this past week.
Here are some of the things that I collected throughout this journey...
I have MANY people to thank, and I know this list is incomplete and missing people, so first of all a huge THANK YOU to all of you. You are amazing, and I'm the luckiest girl in the world. Thank you so much for your support, it means the world to me.
Here's my list, and after this I'm off to bed because tomorrow I'm heading back down to Mexico. I'll get you some photos from that trip in a few weeks.
Much love, Kristen
THANK YOU!!!! My Fabulous Friends and Family for coming to each show and clapping!! Acadia Cafe (Tim!) Alanna Fugate All Young Girls Are Machine Guns (a.k.a. Becky) Alternative Fuel (Michele!) Andy Berkhout Ashley and Brittany Thomas Aunt LaDonna, Uncle Jim, Amanda and Chris Benjamin Olson Benjamin Stockwell & Jen Dotson Benson Grind (Alan!) Beth Bombara Bob Bobby Klein Brooke Annibale Calvary Lutheran Carrie and Josh Holloran Cathsaigh Club Cafe (Dave!) Coffee Corners (Carmen!) Frecon's Hard Bean Gaby and Emma Googie's (Sarah!) Greens Farms Youth Group Heatherlyn Jan at Cup O Joy Java Joe's (Amy and Keith!) Justin Lewis Kara Bellavia Kari and Nancy Kent Paulsen Kris Kehr Kyle Knapp (and Gail!) Leslie Sanazaro Liza Day Luke and Julia Magnolia's Margie and Matthew Uses the Knife Mark Brink Mead Street Station My amazing mom and dad My awesome brother My friends from the Cheyenne River Reservation My Molly My super cute husband who made a surprise visit Phil Stahl and Vince Rachel Pearl Rebecca Sayre Rob Lumbard Schlafly Tap Room Shannon, Bruce and Liam Sharon and Andy! Stevie Ray's Stone Spiral (Dan!) Taj Mahal The Brink Lounge (Elizabeth!) The Crimson Frog The Lucas Cates Band Tom Evanchuck Ty Kellog Ugly Mugs Uncle Paul & Aunt Marilyn Uncle Sonny and Aunt Ardie Uncommon Ground (Rachelle!) My Fabulous Friends and Family for coming to each show and clapping!!
Again, one million thanks...I couldn't do any of this without you.
I know I'm a little behind on posts from the last few days, but so much has happened! So here we go:
First of all, on Wednesday, I left Columbus, OH, and made the big drive to Boyertown, PA. I didn't realize that I had booked another long day for myself, so I was a little disappointed to be in the car all day, but I arrived in Boyertown at Frecon's Hard Bean, and was so pleased with what I found!
It's a great coffee shop (a local chain) that I had played at last year, in West Reading. This room had the same feel...nice big room, great sound, beautiful old hard wood floors. It was really nice. I shared the show with my friend Kris Kehr and we had a lot of fun! Attendance was a little low, which was too bad, but that's the only show on the tour that I can say that about - so not too shabby!
Here's the video from that night...
Later that night, I drove to my aunt and uncle's house so that I could squeeze in another visit with them. I spent most of the morning sleeping though (sorry guys!)...which I took as a sign that tour needed to wrap up.
Thursday, I drove to Schnecksville, PA (crazy name, right?) and sang on The Phil Stahl Show. It was a great experience! We talked and I played for an hour on the air. I know a lot of you tuned in live, but I'll get a copy and figure out how to post it somewhere so that you can listen to it for those of you who missed it. I don't think I said anything too embarrassing, but I'll have to give it a listen and then let you know...
Besides a great show on the air, I got to sing later on that evening at Magnolia's Vineyard in Orefield, PA (just up the road) and had a great time! It was yet another gem of a night, where I got to sing for a whole new group of people, sell CDs and hear some talented local musicians.
I left feeling SO encouraged.
This led to the twist in my tour. I tried to figure out how this was going to work out...I had found a couple of open mic nights in Princeton that I could play at on Friday night, but a perfect storm of things had occurred, so I was going to need to stay in a hotel (boo) or drive home in between shows. So I decided, I'd rather come back to Princeton in the fall when the city is full of students, and not push my luck on finding another gem of a night, since I'd already had so much good luck on this tour. I figured my good luck might run out at some point!
So on Thursday night, I braved the late night construction traffic, knowing that sleeping in my own bed would be worth it...and it was.
Yesterday I spent hanging out in my house with the fan pointed directly on my face (our air conditioning is broken) did a bunch of booking for the fall, did some grocery shopping and started unloading my car. Back to normal boring life, I guess.
But tonight, I'm off to NYC where I'll be playing at Googie's Lounge with my friend Brooke. I can't wait, and it's going to be a great way to end my tour!
Thanks in advance to all of you who made this tour so amazing for me. It keeps getting better each year!
After a rough hotel stay in Louisville (do NOT stay at a Knight's Inn...not clean, and very stressful) I was feeling a little discouraged on my drive to Columbus, and the rain that fell all day long didn't really help.
But then...
I stumbled upon a little gem of a night by visiting the open mic at the Taj Mahal. I got to play a bunch of songs for a group of friendly, talented, supportive young people - and I had a FANTASTIC time. I can't wait to go back.
I am typing as I listen to my friend Kris play (I'm at the Hard Bean in Boyertown) so I'm off for the night, but I'll have a video from tonight for you tomorrow!
I had a great time checking out Louisville yesterday - what an interesting city. Before I left Nashville, though, I had to drive by the legendary Bluebird Cafe. Now, I know that people "need to go there" when they visit Nashville, but I had it on good authority, that I would be disappointed. That couldn't have been more accurate...the cafe is part of a strip mall, and is next to a cleaner and a hair salon or something like that. The best part of the visit was that there was a Trader Joe's across the street, so I got my snacks for my drive to Louisville!
Don't get me wrong, if I ever have the chance to play there I'll do it...but I'm glad that I didn't spend time waiting in line or cramming to a table with strangers just so I could say I was there.
But here's the photo for you!
I made it to Louisville in just a few hours, and had a great time driving around and exploring the city. There is a lot to do in Louisville. One of the things that I didn't even think about...the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory! It was really cool. I've never seen so many bats in one place in my life! Plus they have a huge bat in front of the museum...I couldn't even fit it in one photo...but I used my amazing photo editing skills to fix that up for you...
Anyway, I had fun looking through parts of the museum, seeing the bat vault, and of course visiting the gift shop. I picked up some mini-bats for myself!
I also drove to the Thomas Edison house, which, I will admit, the location seemed a little sketchy at first, but I was happy that I went (even though it was closed). So here it is...if you plan on going there, get there before 2 p.m., just so you know. I had no idea, but apparently Thomas Edison lived here when he was 19 years old, and worked as a Telegraph Key Operator. He only stayed for a year or two, but he worked on some of his first inventions in this residence.
Another cool thing that they have going on throughout Louisville are these painted horses. I thought they were really nice. They had them in downtown Louisville, as well as some of the suburbs like Crescent Hill where I hung out for a few hours at a coffee shop called Heine Brothers. They have great food!
One more photo, and then I'll get you to the video...but I just wanted to show you. On the way to Stevie Ray's (which is downtown) I passed a blind printing house. How crazy is that? My favorite part of it...the front sign is in braille. Amazing.
Anyway, I made my way back to downtown Louisville to play at Stevie Ray's as the open mic feature. It was a lot of fun, I got to hear some really talented musicians, and I made some new friends! Gotta love that.
So, here's the video!
Now tonight, I'm playing at the Taj Mahal in Columbus, OH. I already scoped out the venue, met the bar manager, etc, so I'm ready to play!
So after a few busy days, I know I'm a little behind on my posts. This one is going to be a biggie, so be prepared!
First of all, on Friday, I got a chance to go to my grandmother's old house in Missouri. Now I know this is a little personal, and definitely was a nostalgic trip that meant most to me, but I thought you might like to see a place that means a lot to me. If not, just skip ahead. No hard feelings, I promise!
When I pulled up the driveway, I was so excited! I took a quick photo of the sky, because I thought it was so beautiful. It also smelled exactly as I remember...that humid country smell. I just love it.
And here's the video.
Later on that evening, I drove up to downtown St. Louis, and of course, had to snap a little photo of the arch!
I played that night with three other talented singer/songwriters, Beth Bombara, Andy Berkhout and Leslie Sanazaro. Here's the video from the evening.
Then yesterday (Saturday) I made the drive from St. Louis to Nashville. It was a pretty easy drive, but I did have to pull over for a few minutes so that I could rest a bit. This driving and singing is fun, but it can sure make me sleepy! Also, a huge milestone for this trip, I reached the 5,000 mile mark! I arrived in Nashville to Ugly Mugs, a coffee shop in East Nashville where I shared the night with my friend Benjamin Olson (we went to high school together!) and my new friends Rebecca Sayre and Rachel Pearl (part of a group called Sugarbeat). It was a lot of fun, so here's the video from the night.
After the show, I went out on the town with my friend, Ben.
We met some nice people, ate some good food, and had a lot of fun! Then today (my day off...thank goodness!) we went to Titan Stadium because they had opened it to show the final of the World Cup. We had a great time hanging out in the sun and watching some soccer.
Tomorrow, I'm off to Louisville, another new place for me, so I'm pretty excited to get there and check it out!
I'll leave you with this "artsy" photo of Nashville.
I'm so happy to be in Missouri! I got to play in St. Louis last year, and had a great time visiting family (my dad's family lives here), so this year I decided to come and stay for two days!
Thanks for putting up with me, everyone. :)
Anyway, as I left Iowa and pulled into Missouri yesterday, I had to take a picture of the sky. I have seen some of the most beautiful skies on this tour, and yesterday was no exception. Thought you'd like to see the picture!
The other funny photo I have...I saw a sign pointing to both Louisiana (that is not a tour stop) and to Mexico (I'll be heading there after the tour is over.) Thought that was kind of a funny sign combo. So there you go.
Last night I played at Stone Spiral in Maplewood, MO (just outside of St. Louis) and through a little luck, got to play with two other acts. It was a little women's music festival we ended up having! Anyway, I got to play with My Molly and Kara Bellavia, and we had a great time. I have the video to prove it!
Tonight I'm in downtown St. Louis at the Schlafly Tap Room with a bunch of other great acts. You won't want to miss this one!
This tour just keeps getting better and better! Each day I laugh more than the next.
Anyway, last night I played at Java Joe's in Des Moines with a great blues singer/songwriter, Rob Lumbard. I had a lot of fun hearing his songs and talking with him about the music biz. He's been a musician all of his life, and has lived off of his music for the past 30 years! Not a bad guy to talk to.
Here's some video for you to check out...
Then last night I got to stay with my two friends Shannon and Bruce (actually Shannon used to be my babysitter when I was little, and I sang at their wedding, so we've known each other forever!) and I got to meet their cute son, Liam. He was so cute when he came to hear me sing, and he didn't want to be rude while Rob was singing, so if I asked him a little question, he would only whisper back the answers. It was awesome!
After walking Liam to school this morning, having a great conversation about the oil spill with Shannon (Quite enlightening actually since she's a Microbiology professor at Grinnell - the government should really call her. I think she could fix it.) I took off for St. Louis. I'll be there for two days singing and visiting family, and I can't wait!
See you there. K
ps...I drove around the campus...it's really nice!
Yesterday was a big driving day for me. I went from Denver to Omaha, and had to take a lot of breaks! I was a little bummed to be leaving Colorado because I had such a good time being back there and reconnecting with the place and my friends, so I took a parting shot of the Rockies through my window.
After a LONG drive, lots of phone calls, and lots of breaks to get snacks, I arrived in Omaha at the Benson Grind! I played a show with my friends Kyle (www.KyleKnapp.com) and Becky, a.k.a. All Young Girls Are Machine Guns (www.myspace.com/aygamg) and we had a great night!
I took some video, so here it is:
I stayed with Kyle and his wife Gale last night, and after a great night of rest, this morning we went out to breakfast at Harold's, a local Omaha diner.
It's pretty well known because they shot a scene from "About Schmidt" in this diner. So we sat in the booth that Jack Nicholson sat in. Cool huh?
Anyway, today I have a shorter drive to Des Moines (only a few hours) and I'm playing at Java Joe's tonight. Can't wait!
A quick post tonight, as I'm feeling a little sleepy. So no video...I don't feel like editing!
Anyway, I left my cozy post at the West Winds Motel this morning, and hit the road for Denver.
I passed through Cheyenne, WY, and decided to stop in and drive around, because I don't know when I'll ever get the chance again! Plus, I really needed an oil change, so it was good timing. I found the capital building, which was really nice, so it was worth the stop.
Now, I love Colorado. I lived out here for a few months after college, and it's such a beautiful place. I was really excited to come back!
As soon as I pulled into the state I stopped at the welcome center. At the CO welcome center in Fort Collins they give you a free hat for stopping in. So, I wore that baby all day long!
An hour later, I was in Boulder, which is the town that I actually lived in, so I took a stroll down Pearl Street, listened to some buskers, stopped in a few cool shops, and took a little break to do some e-mails. After my work was done, I took a tiny drive over to the Colorado University - Boulder campus, which is where Bryan studied history! I couldn't find the history building, but I did find this cool license plate, so that will have to do.
After visiting Boulder, I went down to Denver, checked out the area I was going to be playing in (which was really cute) and then made a mandatory stop at the HUGE REI in Denver. It was great! And I bought myself some Chaco's for hiking around in the jungle. Flip-flops just aren't cutting it anymore.
After all of that I played for a short set at the Mead Street Station. It was a lot of fun seeing some old friends, and I was so happy to play some of my new songs for them. Thanks to Anthony, Raquel, Carrie and Josh for coming out! And thanks to Tony, a great host for the evening.
I'm actually in Carrie and Josh's house right now, so I'm headed off to bed, as I have an 8 HOUR DRIVE TOMORROW THROUGH NEBRASKA. If any of you want to avoid some work - tomorrow would be a great day to call me.
I have a video and a written blog today...they're pretty much the same, but there are a few differences, so watch, read, or do both!
Here's my video...
Today, I had to drop off Emma and Gaby at the airport so they could head home, and I could continue on my tour after our incredible week in Eagle Butte. Before leaving South Dakota, I thought it would be great to stop in at Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse...after all they were both right there!
So I drove up to Mount Rushmore...it was raining a lot, so there weren't too many people there, and it made the presidents look like they were sweating, which I found kind of funny.
Then I went to Crazy Horse, which felt really great after spending this week on a Lakota reservation. Learning more about one of the great Lakota chiefs was a perfect driving break. Plus they let you have parts of the mountain, which I just think is cool!
This is what Crazy Horse looks like:
This is what it will look like:
And these are the rocks:
I didn't do much atlas checking before heading out this morning, so I was a little surprised when I crossed into Wyoming, but it was worth it. What a beautiful drive! You can see so far, and the sky was just amazing.
I sand a lot of "Home, Home on the Range".
I drove for as long as I could, but I started getting a little sleepy, so I pulled off in a small town called Wheatland. I found a great hotel, the owner told me the main streets for exploring, and I set out on a small Wheatland adventure. What did I come across? A dirt bike race! It was pretty cool. I actually got kind of into it.
Look at how high this guy went!
They had different heats for all different age groups, etc, and look at this little girl...she has a pink helmet with a mohawk on it! Everyone was cheering for her. She was just 9 years old!
I ended the evening by going back to the dirt bike grounds because they hosted the town fireworks there. It was really cold though, so I had to watch them from my car, but I was so glad that I got to catch a fireworks show!
Hope everyone had a great holiday, and I'll see you tomorrow in Denver.
Emma, Gaby and I cleaned up after the group - which as you can imagine, cleaning up after 41 people takes a few minutes...but the Boys and Girls Club looks as good as new, and as we were pulling away and drove down Dupree Street, we were all so pleased with how great it looks!
Not only that, but we were also told by multiple people that this group brought a positive energy to this area of town, a much needed energy, and they (and I) are so excited to see how that is going to affect these children on the reservation in the long run.
So we left feeling pretty great - and a little squished since all three of us were packed up with all of my stuff in the little Corolla!
We arrived at Alternative Fuel, a coffee house in Rapid City a few hours later, where the owner was kind enough to let me play even though it was a holiday weekend. It was pretty cool. People took a lot of cards, were very generous in the tip jar, and I sold some stuff...so glad I could play there!
It was great to strum some chords and play some of my songs, but I was so tired! After hour one of playing...I was toast. Gaby happened to catch the sleepiness in a photo.
After I was finished, Emma, Gaby and I went out for dinner, came back to our hotel and crashed for the night. We had all day and evening to reflect and talk about the trip. The strides that were made to develop a relationship between Simply Smiles and our friends on the Cheyenne River Reservation were huge! I'm so glad that I could be a part of it.
Enjoy your 4th of July celebrations! The girls and I are heading to Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, and then the airport. Later on this afternoon I leave for Denver, and I play there tomorrow night. I'll keep you posted!
Well, I know I've been talking a lot about my trip here in South Dakota, so I just wanted to close up with a quick reflection on the week. The Green's Farms youth group ran a great camp for the kids on the reservation, and 62 kids came throughout the week. It was so much fun getting to know all of them, and getting to spend time with them!
I'm not sure who had more fun - me or the campers - but I know that we all enjoyed spending time together! Bringing joy and encouragement to deserving children is a worthwhile mission, and I'm so glad that I could be a part of it.
Our camp ended with a talent show, cookout, and movie, so of course, I decided to make a little video about it...
Then yesterday (Friday) we organized a community giveaway, meal and concert. We gave away a bag of much needed household and personal items to 50 families, and shared a meal of Indian Tacos with those who came. We hosted the event at the Eagle Butte Pow Wow Grounds, and I was the musician that ended the night with a mini-concert.
In order to truly explain the significance of this performance, I need to give you a bit of history. Last year, I came out to Eagle Butte for the first time to help work on repairing the Boys and Girls Club. We didn't get to run a children's camp, but we did get to meet a few kids that would come around and talk with us every day.
One of the boys that we met was, Daryn.
One glance at this kid, and you know that he's a piece of work. He has a LOT of personality, and we got a kick out of him at the work site last year. At the same time we were getting to know Daryn, we received news that on the other side of town, a boy his same age, had just attempted suicide.
I don't know if you remember being six, but I do. Mrs. La Plant was my 1st grade teacher, it was the year I started piano lessons, I went to my first music concert (New Kids on the Block), and I had the lead in our class play. I had a great childhood. So, it was impossible for me to understand that a 6-year-old could ever be sad enough and hopeless enough to try and end his own life.
I left South Dakota last year with an overwhelmingly heavy heart.
Then last fall, my friend, Amy, asked me if I would lead her youth group during their volunteer week in South Dakota. I agreed, and started to get more and more excited as we discussed the week and our plans. One of the things that we discussed was a concert on the reservation, and we were thrilled to find out that the tribe was going to grant us permission to use their pow wow grounds to host the event.
As the year progressed, we (Simply Smiles) started working on a challenging new project in Mexico, the earthquake in Haiti hit, the economy continued to disappoint, and that heavy-hearted feeling that I had experienced when leaving South Dakota last July returned. So I decided to create my own joy...and write some songs about hope.
The first song that came about was, "Keep Hope Alive", and it has a verse about a 'little boy living on the prairie'. As I'm sure you can imagine, every time I sing that line, I picture Daryn's goofy grin staring at me, and each time I sing the song, I sing that verse as a prayer to keep him hopeful, and keep his spirit light.
This past week, when I returned to the reservation, I was so happy to see Daryn a year older and a year wiser, and with the same amount of joy as last year! My full circle moment, however, arrived last night when I sang "Keep Hope Alive" to the very people (and boy!) that I wrote the song about, in their beautiful pow wow grounds. It is a moment that I will never forget.
As you can see in the photo, I couldn't even open my eyes! For one, I couldn't believe that the moment was real, and second, I didn't think that I'd be able to keep it together.
I am so honored to have been able to have this experience, and I am so grateful to all of the people that made it possible. It was a beautiful night - one that I'll never forget.
This year, I am leaving South Dakota with a happy heart, and I can't wait to come back.
It's been a LONG time since I've posted something, and I'm so sorry. I've been crazy busy during this week with these 41 hard-working volunteers. If only I were working with a lazy group I may have had a little time to myself...
Anyway, here are my video clips from this past week. I played in Minneapolis with some new friends: Heatherlyn and Benjamin Stockwell...it was great! I got to see so many Oles! (St. Olaf grads, for those of you who don't know.)
As for the work week out here in South Dakota, it has been going really well. We've been doing some home repairs in the neighborhood that we've been staying in, and we've been using the Boys & Girls Club to host a summer camp all week long. We've gotten to hang out with over 60 kids, which I've been told is pretty great! So, we're feeling pretty good about that.
Enjoy the video...
We've also been working VERY hard, as I already mentioned, on some of the homes in the neighborhood. It's been cool to get to know who our friends are along Dupree Street, and it's always fun to get a project or two done in the process.
Here are our work crews!
It was a great work week, and it was a great grounding week for myself. I don't want to take any chances of getting big-headed while on the road, so taking a week off to work for someone else was a great plan!
I'll have a special performance video for you soon!
Coming home is always so great! I had a lot of fun hanging out with my family, playing all of my new songs for them, singing at my favorite listening room (Cup O Joy), and spending some time at my parents' cottage relaxing.
I had a great show at the Cup O Joy, and SURPRISE, Bryan showed up in Madison on Friday night so that he could be there for my Cup O Joy show. What a good boy. He took a lot of great video, which you'll see below.
Besides singing on this tour. I love getting to connect with friends and family along the way. This includes my 18-year-old frog, George. (There's a bit more about him in the video.)
As I mentioned before...as a family, we went out to my parents' cottage to have a father's day cookout.
And at the end of the night...we saw this.
It was so great to have an afternoon and evening off! Enjoy the video, and I'll see you in Minneapolis!
Tonight was no exception to the rule of this being an awesome tour! I played at Uncommon Grounds in Chicago (right by Wrigley Field during a Cubs game!) with two local songwriters, Mark Brink and Liza Day.
Check it all out!
I also got a chance to catch up with some old friends. We stayed until close...couldn't help it! (Luke, me, Heather & Ben)
And congratulations to Heather who just graduated from law school! I am so lucky to know so many great people.
Thanks again, and I'll see you tomorrow in Madison! Kristen
Kristen Graves is a folk/pop singer & songwriter with a voice that commands attention, lyrics that catch your heart, and melodies that stay with the listener long after the evening ends. Kristen’s songs have a coziness to them like a well-worn winter blanket, but don’t underestimate her; she can pack a serious emotional punch at a moment’s notice. Picture an energetic Sarah McLachlan, or Tracy Chapman with a pop edge, and you’ve found Kristen Graves. For more information, please visit: www.kristengraves.com.
