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!
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.
