Summer tour 2010 - Day 21: Travel Day

Hi there!

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.

Summer Tour 2010 - Day 20: Rapid City

Just a quick post for you about yesterday...

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

Summer Tour 2010 - Days 18 & 19: Eagle Butte

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.

Summer Tour 2010 - Days 8-16: Minneapolis & Eagle Butte!

Hi there!

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!

Summer Tour 2010 - Day 6 & 7: Green Bay

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!

Summer Tour 2010 - Day 5: Madison

Here's my Day 5 video...Madison!

Summer Tour 2010 - Day 4: Chicago, IL

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

Summer Tour 2010 - Day 3: Burton, OH

I had a great day yesterday (as you saw from my Amish video). I really love driving through country roads, and that's what I got to do. Lucky for me, that's what a lot of this tour is...good thing I enjoy it!

Anyway, I shared the show last night with my friend Tom Evanchuck and had a great time!



We played at Coffee Corners , which is in Burton's downtown. At the end of the night, we even shared a few songs...just messing around. I wanted to post this next photo though...it's hilarious. Don't I look annoyed at Tom?



Anyway...here's the video recap, and some songs!



As I mentioned. I stayed in an old farm house last night. I didn't take a picture of the house, but I did take a picture of the front yard...it was too beautiful not to!



See you tonight in Chicago with Mark Brink and Liza Day at Uncommon Ground!

Summer Tour 2010 Day 3 - Burton (Part 1)

As I've mentioned a time or two...I had a great night last night in Pittsburgh, and really enjoyed getting to know my new friends, the Thomas family. (Including their cute dog, Taffy.)



On the drive from Pennsylvania to Ohio, I ended up driving through an Amish community! Some of you may remember from years past, that I love the Amish. So you can imagine that I was pretty much freaking out as I was driving through.



Then I pulled into the town of Burton where I saw two vans full of Amish dudes...



I parked, got settled, and met everyone at Coffee Corners (this places is great!) Then I went for a walk around the town. I saw where the first Burton telephone was posted.



Then I saw a honey bee tree...I didn't even know that existed! I didn't get too close though, I was a little scared.



Then I got to the log cabin where they sell maple syrup, candy, butter, etc. I got to sample a lot of stuff (the worker's name is Nina, she was very willing to share!) Here's the outside...



What a great day! And I'm just going to start unloading stuff for tonight's show, which is going to be another good one. I can feel it! I'll post some more videos soon!

Summer Tour 2010: Day 2 - Pittsburgh!

I have had a great start to this tour! Let's hope the momentum continues as I head to Benson today. I had a great show last night at Club Cafe. The staff was great, the sound was amazing, the other acts were excellent...so rather than type about it, I thought I'd talk and show you about it. Check out the video that I made of our great night.

See you soon!
Kristen
ps...you should check out these people and buy their stuff:
Cathasaigh
Ash & Brit Thomas

Summer Tour 2010: Day 1 - Harrisburg!

I had a great day yesterday, and wanted to try my hand at making a video to capture the day! I'll give you a written version tomorrow. Anyway...

Here it is:

Summer Tour!

Don't miss me on my summer tour!

A lot of good goin' on!

To celebrate Earth Day, I thought I'd pass on a few things in an earth themed blog.

First of all, I'm playing this Sunday at the Fairfield University Earth Week Fair, and I'm so excited! The concert starts around 4 p.m. and it's going to be held outside on the campus center patio. I go on around 5:30 p.m. Should be a great evening!

More news...I've been in the studio recording some new songs, and it's going really well. One of them is a song that I'll be performing this Sunday for the first time. Most of the recording will be done by the end of the next week, which means that I'm actually sticking to a timeline for this project. Amazing!

As I've told you before, my new CD is based on and inspired by hope. Because of this, it's been easy to talk about. It's already been featured on the SuperForest blog as a part of Sunday Sunshine.

Of course, I've also been looking at t-shirt designs (organic cotton, of course!) and will be seeing a rough version of the CD cover on Friday. I'll keep you posted as the project continues, and hopefully I can post another new song soon!

With all of this great stuff going on in my professional life, I want to add to that by telling you about a few things that I've been watching and reading in my spare time. I've never been a meat-lover, and after watching Food Inc. (which is long over due, Blockbuster has already called me twice), reading Harvest for Hope (Jane Goodall) and The Kind Diet (Alicia Silverstone), I'm not sure I'll ever go back. I was a vegetarian for years during high school and college, but didn't do enough research or diet planning. These books provide delicious recipes (it's been dangerous - I've been cooking!) and I've been doing a lot of reading on a balanced plant-based diet.

I know that a vegan lifestyle isn't for everyone, but during my reading and research I came across a website that talks about people going vegetarian one day a week. If you're interested in the effects that this would have on animals, the earth, and your health, then visit wannaveg.com. If this isn't for you, no worries, just please be careful. Read labels and ask questions, and if you're up for it - try a veggie day once a week. Who knows...you might love it!

The other thing I started to do - compost! Now, we live in a city and don't have even one plant, but it's still pretty fun to play with dirt. If you're looking for an easy way to start composting, look here.

I think that's all of the preaching that I have for today. Happy, happy earth day! Go for a walk, hug a tree, or if you're stuck inside in front of a computer for a little while - put this video on in the background. I promise it will make you smile.

Have a great day,
Kristen

Buddy Jones

We can all learn something from dogs. They are loyal, funny, open-minded, and really enjoy the simple things (read: food!) in life. This week we had to say good-bye to our dear friend Buddy, and we miss him so much.

I know it's a sappy thing to write about, but I don't care. I know there are enough dog-lovers out there who can relate. To keep myself from getting too mushy, I'll stick to photos. If you feel like thinking a little happy thought for him as you look at them, it will definitely be appreciated.

Buddy loved people, and his tail would go in circles the moment you walked through a door. He was very protective, and also a little jealous, so he wasn't a huge fan of other dogs. For some reason, last summer when he met Marley, the two of them clicked. I think it was because Marley left him alone most of the time.



Buddy was an athlete. Just kidding. But seriously, one of his favorite summer past-times? Swimming! And he was good. Here's an action shot of him tracking down a tennis ball.



Buddy was a chill dude, but every once in a while he liked a good party. (Seriously, we did give this dog a hard time!)



And of course when Buddy had a little down time, he really enjoyed checking in on his portfolio and other business affairs.



Thank you for giving me a moment to celebrate the life of a great dog.

I'll leave you with the words of a great bumper sticker...

Bark less, wag more,
Kristen

Happy Thoughts...

Hi Everyone,

I just wanted to post a quick blog on this rainy Tuesday (we're having some dampness here in CT) about having some good thoughts. First thought...I'm posting some details on my tour today, so scroll through my shows on KristenGraves.com and keep track of when I'll be in your town! I still have some work to do, but I should be able to get all of the details wrapped up pretty soon.

Actually, just now as I was typing, I got a phone call from Java Joe's in Des Moines, IA confirming my show on July 7. So things are working out!

Besides my tour, I have some more news. Recently I was introduced to a few positive blogs by my friend Matt. Since I'm working so much on this recording project it's pretty much all that I can talk or think about. As many of you know, it's based on hope. Having hope, giving hope, inspiring hope...because I think that's what the world needs right now. Anyway, as we were talking about happy things, Matt mentioned his own blog: The Sun Shines On, and one that he reads regularly: Super Forest.

I highly recommend visiting both blogs, especially for that kumbayah feeling that I so enjoy. Both blogs are great, and post interesting and positive entries with videos, photos, poetry, etc. Here's an example for you. Check out 13-year-old, Sunha Jung, playing Come Together. He will blow you away!



Amazing, right? Would I lie to you?

Have a great day,
KG

Two cool things.

I love a lot of things, but I will focus on just two things for tonight because it is late, and I'm reading a book that I really want to finish.

1. I love having my name/photo in the paper. It always leads to good things. Here I am in the Middletown Press as a part of the promotion that they put on for the 5Arts2010. Thanks, Middletown Press!



2. I love cool jewelry, especially when it's old or has a story. Bryan gave me a cool ring today, just because he thought I would like it (awww....) it's not old, but it does have a story, and it's cool, so there you have it.



Just wanted to keep you in the love loop. Oh yes, and I have many loving feelings for all of you. I'm hitting the studio tomorrow, and I'll definitely let you know how everything goes!

Sleep tight,
K

Tour planning, and more Mexico pics!

Hey everyone,

I know I wrote so much about my trip to Mexico in the last blog, but I just can't help it. Before I get into the work that we did this past week, let me just tell you that I have some amazing tour plans coming together. I am so excited!

I've been booking some great rooms (Uncommon Ground in Chicago, Club Cafe in Pittsburgh, The Brink Lounge in Madison, The Walnut Room in Denver, and the list goes on and on!) and I've been setting up some shows with great people. I'm going to announce the final details sometime this week or next, so stay tuned.

Of course, all of this is subject to change, but so far, here is a city itinerary:

6/14 ~ Harrisburg, PA
6/15 ~ Pittsburgh, PA
6/16 ~ Cleveland, OH
6/17 ~ Chicago, IL
6/18 ~ Madison, WI
6/19 ~ Green Bay, WI
6/20 ~ Green Bay, WI
6/21 ~ Minneapolis, MN
7/1 ~ Eagle Butte, SD
7/4 ~ Rapid City, SD
7/5 ~ Denver, CO
7/6 ~ Lincoln, NE
7/7 ~ Des Moines, IA
7/8 ~ St. Louis, MO
7/9 ~ St. Louis, MO
7/10 ~ Nashville, TN
7/11 ~ Nashville, TN
7/12 ~ Louisville, KY
7/13 ~ Columbus, OH
7/14 ~ Reading, PA
7/15 ~ Philadelphia, PA
7/16 ~ Princeton, NJ
7/17 ~ New York, NY

How great is that going to be?! I'm getting really excited about it, and I'll be keeping you all in the loop as things continue to work out. Not to mention, I've been spending some time in the studio, and it looks like I'm going to have a new EP to help promote the tour as well...what's next - t-shirts? I think so!

As for this last trip to Mexico, we spent some time in the city of Oaxaca visiting friends from past projects, and spent the second half of the week in the jungle, hosting a food distribution party. It was amazing, and 2,963 people came through the line to receive food for the month. It was pretty incredible. Below are some pictures, since I'm sure you're dying to check it out. For more info, you can visit the Simply Smiles website.

Talk to you again soon - and stay tuned for summer tour details. I'm coming your way!
Kristen




That's a whole lotta food.




Who wouldn't want to work hard to help feed this little cutie pie?




I had the best job. I was the one who got to let everyone through the door when it was there turn. Of course, I was supplied with a microphone, so I sang a few little songs as well. Too bad I only know one Spanish song, and most of the people there didn't know it...




We caught this little grandma grabbing a balloon to bring home...we all need to have some fun!




Everyone was so happy to be going through the line...there were a lot of hand shakes, and a lot of smiles!!

Thanks again for checking in...I'll be in touch again soon about my tour, and I'll definitely keep you posted on how the new CD is turning out.

Take care,
K

5Arts2010

I just got to be a part of a really cool thing that I wanted to tell you about! This past weekend, I sang at The Buttonwood Tree in Middletown, as a part of an arts evening hosted by the Middle City Stage Company.



The evenings included, one-act plays, a short film, music (by me!), poetry, and there was awesome art hanging on the walls. It was a great experience and I had so much fun. To find out about it, you can visit: Middle City's website and read up. Please google everyone, and check out their stuff. You won't be disappointed!

I'll definitely be getting in touch with you next year for 5Arts2011, whether I'm invited back or not, because it's such a great event. Really, where else can you go and have 'every taste tickled?'

An Epic Journey…and lots o’ CT shows!

By now, you all know that it took me 68.5 hours, and more vodka tonics than I’d care to admit, to get to Oaxaca last week. I want to let you know – it was completely worth it!

I had a fantastic week, got to get to know a group of volunteers & friends really well, learned a few more words in Zapotec, got to hang out with great kids, and got a dog! (Her name is Negra, she’s scruffy and soooo cute.)



The last week made me think a lot about what it’s like to be one of the “haves” of this world. Even on days when our electric bill comes a bit earlier than I’d like, or when I am working on saving up for a new run of CDs, it’s important for me to remember how lucky I am. Just wanted to pass that along to all of you – we are so lucky, and should be so grateful and happy to live in our shoes!

We had an incredibly successful trip to Oaxaca, and got a lot of work done. The first part of the week was spent constructing the first building for Simply Smiles’ Center of Operations in Oaxaca City. It looks great, and I’m excited to have a place to land every time. (Plus, I can keep my clothes in a drawer rather than in Rubbermaid bins to keep them from the rats…)



This part of the week was also spent reconnecting with the kids at Casa Hogar, and our friends in the dump. It was really nice to see everyone and check in. I even found out that one of our friends is getting married – TODAY! Congratulations, Madai!

The second part of the trip was spent in the jungle – a six-hour car ride from our Center of Operations – to host a food distribution party in the village of Santa Maria Tepexipana.

The drive was beautiful…



The people are beautiful… (is there any question as to how Bryan came up with the name Simply Smiles??)



And we got to pass out food to 1,897 people!



My favorite attendee, is the little girl who inspired my song, Keep Hope Alive. I affectionately call her “No Name” because she doesn’t have one yet. She’s four-years-old, and doesn’t yet have an official way to introduce herself.



Doesn’t matter - I was really happy when she showed up! We spent some time chatting, but since she speaks Zapotec and I speak Spanish, we didn’t understand each other much. But we did have a good time laughing, making faces, and playing in the dirt! Really, what more do you need?

Rather than driving the 6 hours back to Oaxaca City, we all flew out of Huatulco, which happens to be an airport in a beach town…so we just needed to spend a few hours in the ocean! I think everyone enjoyed having a nice shower and a clean bed before heading home. I know I did!



We even brought Negra to the beach with us…maybe so we could take a family photo? If only Gaby had been there!

I returned home and jumped right in to a very busy week of shows.

First, I started off in Hartford, CT at Trinity College on Thursday night in the Underground Coffeehouse. It was crazy weather, so most kids stayed in their dorms, but the ones that did come out – thank you!

Last night, I hosted another Singing for Hope Concert at Southport Congregational Church. Now that I’ve given a name to this concert series things have really taken off. And we’ve raised over $3,800 to support the work of Simply Smiles! It was a great night, with music from my friends P.J. Pacifico and Glenn Roth, and the pastor of the church did a few covers as well!

Tonight, I’ll be hosting ANOTHER Singing for Hope event in Watertown at Caffe Napoli to benefit the Shepaug High School/Roxbury Church service trip with Simply Smiles. This one starts at 6:00 p.m. and I’ll be playing with some really talented kids – Callie Huber and Sarah Paisley & James Donovan. I’m so excited!

Tomorrow night (Sunday), I’ll be playing at the Stafford Arts Commission Coffee House, which is held in Stafford Springs. We start at 7 p.m. and I’ll be co-billing with Jared Polens.

Next Wednesday, I’ll be at The Space in Hamden, CT (9 p.m.) and next weekend (3/11-3/13 @ 7:30 p.m.) I’ll be performing as a part of the 5Arts 2010 Series at The Buttonwood Tree in Middletown, CT. Not a dull moment booked in the calendar!

For more information and details, please visit the shows section of my website.

I am so happy to be home and I’m ready to share all of my new stories and songs with you, so I hope you can make it to one or all of my upcoming shows!!

Much love,
Kristen

An Epic Jouney…One Musician’s (Attempted) Trip to Mexico

Status:
Hours Traveling: 50
Number of Outfits: 1
Pairs of Clean Underwear Left: 1
Vodka Tonics Consumed: 4 (over the course of 3 days…)
Number of Planes boarded: 2
Number of Cities Visited: 4 (Fairfield, New York, Nashville, & Chicago, I’m including where I started, but it counts!)

This travel story is worth telling, so here we go...

Everything started at midnight on Tuesday night when I received a phone call that my flight to Mexico had been cancelled due to the snowstorm in New York. I spent some time on the phone with an unhelpful American Airlines employee. Tried a few other options and called back hoping to get a different worker…and did! I got a flight with an extra connection (through Nashville) but was only going to be delayed one day. I was so happy. Little did I know…

My journey officially started at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday (EST – noon CST) when I loaded two 65-pound tents (a.k.a. my luggage) into the car to drive down to LaGuardia Airport. I made it easily and with no traffic. However, after arriving and parking in long-term parking, I realized that they had no luggage carts available. So I tried to carry two tents at once. I made it about 100 feet, and then started carrying the tents one at a time. I would move one about 10 feet, then go back and continue. Rinse and repeat - you get the picture.

At some point a guy came up behind me and offered to help me carry a tent. I was so grateful! We made it out of the long term parking, but realized we still had a lot of distance to cover, so we tried to get a cab to give us a ride. Well, the cabs were in line to pick up arriving passengers, so none of them really wanted to give up their spot in the line to give us a ride (read: less $$) to the departures. We found one willing cab driver, so James* (*name changed to protect his identity) and I piled in with the tents. We dropped James* off, I thanked him profusely, and I headed to the American Airlines drop off.

When I arrived, I was greeted by a very friendly gate attendant. You can check your bags in at the curb at LaGuardia, which is really nice, and was especially nice for me because of my heavy tents. To make this part of the story shorter…the guy at the gate wanted a bribe so that I wouldn’t have to pay American a fee for overweight baggage. I declined the bribe, he yelled at me, I paid the money, and moved on. Be aware of this! And American should know that some employees are trying to steal from them.

Anyway, I got on my flight, sat next to a very sweet lady (she had been interviewing a woman whose husband had died in Haiti) who had been stranded in New York for a few days, arrived in Nashville, got my tents, and got a shuttle to the hotel that I had reserved…the Drury Inn. It was fantastic! When I arrived, they were having a complimentary dinner (I chose chicken fingers, a baked potato, and some vegetables) and they offered you drinks with dinners. (That accounts for the majority of the vodka tonics.)

I spent the rest of the night in my room working and surfing the TV for my new favorite show, Criminal Minds, and had a great (though short) night’s sleep.

The next morning, I was on the shuttle by 4:15 a.m. and arrived at the airport with plenty of time. Unfortunately, all flights to Dallas had been cancelled due to the foot of snow they had received. (I guess snow has been following me around lately?) So me, and a lot of other people were going to be stranded in Nashville for no less than one day. I would have appreciated a phone call the night before, American!

After being on the phone for 45 minutes and being “cut off” and then speaking with an unhelpful and semi-rude agent in person, (I didn’t really blame him…I would have hated his job that day – but I was being really polite!) I decided to buy a one-way ticket to anywhere and try to get some different flights. So yesterday (Friday) morning I bought a ticket from Southwest Airlines to Minneapolis (with a connection in Chicago) knowing that one of the two cities had to be able to help me.

At 6:00 a.m. I started texting Bryan to wake him up so that he could help me solve my ticket crisis while I was in the air, and he did. He found that the best options were in Chicago, so I gave up my connecting flight to Minneapolis, knowing that if something didn’t work out, I could just get back on a different flight later. Southwest tracked down my stupid tents, and I talked with Bryan about getting on a flight out of Chicago. While flight after flight was disappearing before his eyes, he had a woman through American Express Travel start looking as well. Together, they figured out that I could only get on a flight the following day (today - Saturday) so he reserved me a room at the Hilton attached to O’Hare’s Terminal 2.

Since I’ve had a cold this entire time I’ve been traveling (by the way…cold or not…my vodka tonic ticker just clicked to 5…) he got me a nice big king-size bed. But - before I would let myself check into the hotel, I decided it couldn’t hurt to try and get on that flight out of Chicago as a standby passenger. After sitting around for 3 hours, seeing people with tickets turned away from the flight (it was oversold), I accepted my fate, went to the hotel, checked in, and promptly fell asleep.

After a dinner, working, more Criminal Minds, and a great night of sleep (thanks Tylenol Cold PM!), I arrived to the airport today with plenty of time to spare. You can imagine why I was nervous. Anyway, I was in a huge line, when I remembered that Bryan had used points to get me a Business Class upgrade (did I mention how helpful he’s been?) and I scooted up to the first class line. I checked in, said good-bye to the tents for the final time (I hope?), and headed off to the gate.

Upon arriving at the gate, I saw that something was up as soon as I saw a group of people huddled around the ticket counter. That would be because there is no plane here for us! Why? There was weather in Monterrey…did I mention that snow (weather in this case) has been following me around?! We won’t have a plane until 4:30 at the earliest, and by then…my connecting flight will most likely be gone…and the epic traveling saga will continue. I’ll certainly keep you posted!!

Never take for granted flights that are on time, or that happen at all. Apparently it’s very rare!! (P.S. Vodka Tonic #6 will be happening very soon. Don’t worry – I’m not making them very strong…)

Much love and safe travels to you all!

Another snowy weekend…

I guess the snow is following me around! I was supposed to be on a plane tomorrow morning heading down to sunny Mexico, but those plans have changed. Instead, I’m going to be snowed in for a day, which gives me time to get rid of my little cold, catch up on e-mails, finish my taxes, post a new blog, and hang out with this awesome old dog, Buddy.

Isn’t he the cutest?

I have a few things going on that I want to let you know about…first thing, I’ve been featured on a few blogs recently! Blog feature #1; my book review of Seth Godin’s, Small is the New Big, was featured on Derek Siver’s (founder, CD Baby) blog. You can read my review and a bunch of others here

The other blog feature was an entry written by my good friend, Joy Ike, who manages her own independent marketing blog called, Grassrootsy. She wrote a post about me after we shared a show in Pittsburgh with Heather Kropf. You can read that blog by visiting her site.

I’m so flattered!

Second, I wanted to let you know that I have a new song posted on my website. I think I’ve mentioned this already, so I’ll just remind you that you can download my new song, Keep Hope, by visiting my homepage (KristenGraves.com) and entering in your e-mail address. It will help us stay connected, and give you a sneak peak of my new recording project!

Last, I wanted to let you know that I’m heading down to Mexico to work with Bryan’s non-profit, Simply Smiles, for an amazing project. I’ll have blog entries and photos to follow!

For now I’ll leave you with a video that my friend Joy posted on youtube. She, Heather and I had a great show at Club Café in Pittsburgh, and here’s a small bit of the night so you can enjoy it too! Talk to you soon.

SNOW!

Ahhh the snow. Unfortunately, it’s the thing that I can’t really compete with. It snowed about a foot here in Reading last night, and it’s still going strong. The Corolla is good, but I’m not sure it’s that good!



I’m not going to make it to Harrisburg tonight, and I’m really sorry about that - but I hope everyone stays home, warm and safe. Enjoy a cozy night in your own house, and I’ll set something up again at the Crimson Frog soon.

Don’t worry. I haven’t let the day go to waste…I posted a new song, Keep Hope, as a free download on the homepage of kristengraves.com, so go get it now! All you need to do is join my mailing list and you’re set. If you’re already on my mailing list, you can just enter your e-mail address and you’ll get the song. It’s a preview of the project I’m working on, so I hope you like it! I’m hoping it will be done sometime this summer – I’ll definitely keep you posted.

Talk to you soon, everyone.

On the road again...

It’s so good to be back on the road! Pulling onto the PA turnpike yesterday with a full tank of gas and my guitar on the back seat…seriously, the song almost writes itself.

I meant to post something last night, but I ended up hanging out with my friend Joy for a while, and her very kind roommate (thanks girls, for letting me crash at your house!) and we had a lot of fun talking about music, songwriting, recording, etc. It was great to reconnect and talk shop. As a matter of fact, Joy, Heather and I all have new recording projects in the works, so it’s a very exciting time!

I apologize for the lack of photos, but I forgot my camera cord (shocker, since I’m usually sooo organized) and Joy took some video from last night, so I’ll post it a little later once I have it!

Forgetting things like my camera, and face cream (at least I remembered my toothbrush) just reminds me that there are always pros and cons to everything, so touring during the winter is no exception.

A few cons for this trip…
1. It’s cold, and I hate the cold.
2. It’s snowing, which makes me have to stop to give my eyes a break.
3. There are too many tolls and they are annoying.
4. It’s difficult to eat healthy on the road. In this rest stop I’m looking around at a Starbucks, Hershey’s Ice Cream Shop, Burger King, Famiglia Pizzeria, and Popeye’s Chicken & Biscuits. What’s a girl to do? The first group traveling down to Mexico with Simply Smiles is next week, and we spend the last day on the beach! Am I ready for swimsuit season to begin?? And can someone please tell Burger King that a handful of iceburg lettuce and a few sad shriveled tomatoes…well, it does not a salad make, my friends.

On the other hand…this trip rules, and I’ll tell you why (ps…this is why I will always keep traveling and touring!!)
1. I get to see friends and family that I usually only speak to via e-mail.
2. I get to play in great listening rooms, to a fantastic audience like at Club Café last night!
3. It’s snowing and looks really beautiful as I’m driving, plus less people are out on the road today, so I am cruising. (Don’t worry, I’m not reckless or anything.)
4. It’s cold, so I get to wear nice cozy sweaters.
5. There are too many tolls, so I finally got an EZ Pass and tolls have become EZ!
6. It’s difficult to eat healthy, so to compliment my lonely salad, I ordered some BK french fries and THEY ARE DELICIOUS. Bikini, be damned.
7. This little tour gets me so excited and motivated for what’s to come.

To let you in on my future plans - I am working on a new recording project, which will be called “Singing for Hope,” my Singing for Hope Concert Series has already raised more than $3,000, and my tour this summer is going to be bigger than ever! I’m coming as far as Colorado, so I’ll see you soon! I’ll have a list of dates and cities in the next few weeks, so stay tuned.

Certainly you’ll agree that the pros definitely outweigh the cons!! I’d be crazy if I didn’t think so. Love you all, and see you soon!

ps...here was one extra thought I had...

Marketing…a musician’s foe (but it doesn’t have to be!) - Part 1

It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of Seth Godin (marketing guru). I read his daily blog, I have copies of his books, and I’ve gotten to hear him speak (through a lucky invitation…I have a separate entry about that! You can visit www.kristengraves.com anytime for a story session.) Through a chain of events, Derek Sivers, CD Baby founder, invited me to review one of Seth’s books, Small is the New Big, on my blog. By the way...it's a signed copy, and on the front cover I am referred to as a "rock starlet"... Just thought you'd want to know!



So, here we go.

To start off, I love books that come in small manageable chapters, so this is the perfect book for someone like me with a short attention span. This book is a collection of blog entries that took 8 years to write (he picked the best ones for us!) so get to the store, pick up a copy and start reading. You can read the first chapter in the parking lot!

Since the book should not be read in one sitting, but rather enjoyed in small doses, I’ve been taking my time, and plan on continuing to enjoy the book for a while rather than cramming through the second half of it while I’m on vacation. That’s how good this book is - it’s vacation good. I don’t feel like I’m working as I’m reading this book, and taking naps in front of the fireplace up here in Vermont…and now in Maine…

One warning: if you don’t plan on doing anything to change your current situation (your career, your promoting, your creativity – this isn’t just for musicians you know!) don’t bother reading the book. You’ll end up motivated, you’ll make changes you never wanted to make, and then you’ll be mad at me.

So here are a few highlights from the book…in no particular order.

1. You’re always marketing. To use myself as an example – if I perform somewhere and sound great – only to finish the show and behave rudely, that’s not going to sell many CDs. Another story: the last time Bryan flew with AeroMexico airlines he had a terrible experience with an idiot flight attendant (that’s not me being rude, she was really terrible…if you want to know the full story send me an e-mail at kristen@kristengraves.com and I’ll tell you the entire thing), do you think we’ll be back? She was the head of marketing for that flight, so to speak, and she failed.

2. In the face of change, the competent are helpless. Being competent means that you are steady and reliable, but it doesn’t mean that you’re FANTASTIC! AMAZING! THE BEST SHOW EVER! It just means you delivered what was expected of you. I had my oil changed a few weeks ago…not only did the guys change my oil (competence), but they were friendly, moved efficiently, checked my car’s other fluids, brake lights, etc, and finished everything within 15 minutes and with a smile! Now, that’s a place that I’ll definitely recommend to a friend. Bob Dylan, is not someone who we’d describe as competent…you don’t always know what you’re going to get if you go see him in concert because he’s always changing how he performs. One friend of mine saw him, but he played with his back to the audience tapping out his songs on a small Casio keyboard, while another friend caught an amazing full band performance. He’s not competent - he’s brilliant.

3. Ignore everybody. This is a title of another book that has been recommended to me, written by Hugh MacLeod. But to stick to this book…have you heard of Elizabeth Gilbert? She wrote the popular book Eat, Pray, Love. I watched a talk that she gave about a year ago before her second book came out. Basically, her talk focused on the potential future ‘failure’ of her upcoming book. She knew that it was going to be nearly impossible to match the success she had found with her first novel, so she decided to write her next book knowing that it probably wouldn’t measure up. She accepted this fact, wrote the book anyway, and ignored anyone who only wanted to offer fear. I like that idea!

4. Turn strangers into friends, friends into fans, and fans into a sales force! I have lived this. How many people have I gotten to sign up for Seth Godin’s blog? How many books of his have I loaned out to friends? I’ve even gotten a friend to go and hear him speak! All because I believe in what he’s selling. So come up with an idea, a song, or a product, and get your fans to believe you!

5. Doing a ‘good job’ does not make you remarkable. On page 110 of the book, Seth describes a visit to Hershey Park, and calls it ‘good’. As I child, I remember going to Hershey Park, and I remember going to Disney World. Which place do you think I talked about the most when I was little? One of them is ‘good’ and at the other you get to meet Mickey.

6. No one’s perfect, so cut yourself some slack when you make a mistake and keep working! There’s a typo on page 54 of this book. If you find it, I’ll send you a free CD.

Those are my lessons so far in this “book review” of mine. Enjoy them…musicians, marketers, teachers and everyone; let’s talk about these ideas! We can all use some idea sharing – especially when they’re good ones.

Haiti...

Last night I could not stop crying about Haiti. I was watching coverage on CNN and the tears just kept coming. I turned off the TV to put on Star Wars IV, (obviously it was Bryan’s choice!) I still couldn’t stop – and I’m pretty sure I don’t care that much about wookies and sand people. The stories of the children, families and workers in Haiti are haunting and heartbreaking.

The only consolation is that we didn’t do this to each other. This devastation isn’t a result of war or human violence; it’s due to a natural disaster. There’s no one to blame, so we don’t need to waste any time pointing fingers, we can just jump right in and help.

Bryan’s organization, Simply Smiles, has fantastic programs in Mexico and South Dakota, so we did our research carefully to find a program to support in Haiti. I encourage you to do the same. Read through the administration costs and percentages of whatever organization you decide to use, because we want to make sure that as much of your contribution goes directly to our friends in Haiti as possible!

There are plenty of great organizations out there, and we chose to send our money through the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund. If you’re still looking for an organization to use, visit www.clintonbushhaitifund.org to see if it’s a good fit for you. There is a list of other organizations on their website as well, but please, find one that fits for you and give what you can as soon as you can.

Together we can give hope and save lives.

O Holy Night

Hi there!

I wanted to make sure and wish you all a beautiful season of peace and love! Here's a video for you, and you can download my version of "O Holy Night" for free from my website, KristenGraves.com.

Enjoy!
Kristen

Getting some press.

I just wanted to send out this article that one of my students, my grandma-in-law and my co-worker all cut out for me. Turns out, the press releases I've been sending out to promote shows are making a difference. Always good to know!



And stay tuned...I should have a little Christmas tune available for you soon!

Birthdays rule.

I love my birthday! It's a chance to reflect on the year past, a chance to set new goals, and a chance to be excited and have a good day - just because. Maybe I'll feel differently once I'm a little bit older, but until then - I wish I could have a birthday every week!

Because I love my birthday so much, for the last few years I have invented a special practice - the Birthday Month. It may not be new, it may not bring world peace, but it does allow you to have a great month. For the entire month of November I try to do only things that make me happy. It may sound selfish, but hear me out. If there's something that I don't feel like doing - I try really hard to make it fun. For example, I teach music lessons to a bunch of cool kids. I like everything about teaching lessons except sending out my monthly invoices. I hate having to go through my calendar and figure out how many lessons the kids have during the upcoming month, how much it will cost, how much their new books were, etc...

So this month I decided to listen to the CD Baby DIY podcast (any musicians out there, you should definitely subscribe to this - they have tons of great ideas, and non-musicians if you're looking for some new music, you'll really enjoy a lot of the episodes) as I was working on my invoices. Sure, I was much less efficient and it took me a little longer (the invoices were three weeks late) BUT I enjoyed doing them! What a breakthrough! I will of course be continuing this practice forever, because now invoices are a chance for me to listen to a really interesting interview.

Obviously, the trick is self-control, and only letting myself listen to the podcast while I'm working on invoices. This makes the invoices exciting - I'm trying not to focus on the part of this system where I could just listen to the podcast at any time. We'll see how long I can go before the system breaks down...

Also, I wanted to post a flyer for a very cool show I have coming up in December. Friday, December 11 at 7 p.m., I'll be playing at The Buttonwood Tree in Middletown (605 Main St.) as a fundraiser and awareness event for Simply Smiles. It is one of my favorite venues of all time - and I'm really looking forward to the evening. So, please - copy this flyer, e-mail it to your friends, get the word out. It's going to be a cool show (I'm working on a few surprise covers and new arrangements of old songs) and it's for an amazing project. Please take a moment and help get the word out!



With all of that said...I thought you'd want to see the cool birthday presents I've received. Last night at midnight I got a great Patagonia sweater from Bryan, and this morning I woke up to a gift card and some funky earrings from Gaby. I have the best family ever!



Start celebrating your birthday month a.s.a.p. and have a great Thanksgiving!