I went to my first house concert of the year down at a friend's in Oklahoma City. A lovely house with open doors, beautiful art, an inviting backyard, and an intimate setting to sit and listen to some good music sung right there to you and fellow music lovers. Last night's concert was Brine Webb and Samantha Crain.
I'd heard Samantha play at the Conservatory just a week ago for Ali Harter's CD Release Party. I hadn't heard Brine Webb before, and I sure was glad to get a peek at some of his songs last night! His style has a little melancholy lilt that meanders through a meadow, a forest path, a city street at dusk. I managed to get there in time to hear about 5 or 6 of his songs, including a lullaby. I became entranced at his finger-picking style for "The Ghost Family" song, one had said he's written a long time ago. Check out an interview with him by Sophie Zine and don't miss this video and this video, both from his song "Cigarette Tree."
Brine Webb, House Concert, OKC, OK, March 26, 2010
Samantha Crain played some of her well-known tunes and also some new songs, opening up her last set with "Lions" and closing with "Scissor Tales." She has an openness to the audience, joking about brown and pink-red koozies and how they were ordered with a real customer service rep named Gregg. Her song lyrics are full of emotion and no matter how many times she has sung the song, it still sounds poignant with fresh feelings and stories. I think of sunny days with big fluffy clouds drifting along and midnight walks under constellations and meteor showers when I hear Sam's songs. Check out some videos on youtube.
Samantha Crain, House Concert, OKC, OK, March 26, 2010
Having seen Samantha with a backing band and now flying solo for a small audience, I'm appreciative of the house concert venue. I missed the first hour because I got lost (as usual) in downtown Oklahoma City looking for the main mail sorting post office to drop off some bills; By the way, that post office doesn't have a mail drop after hours. So I was finally relieved to get to the Feuerborn house for the concert of the night. Such a warm setting, potluck, a little wine and beer, and of course, plenty of other people who appreciate good music. What a wonderful way to spend a Friday evening.
Today is the first day of spring, or so we thought. During the night a winter storm came through with a few inches of snow, some slushy rain, and a lot of gusty wind. I'm tired of winter and ready to plant some seeds in the four huge planters in my front yard and probably some spinach in my backyard. But it was a beautiful sight to see the white reflection of snow through the windows behind my daisies in wine bottle vases.
I realized I was out of coffee, so I had to walk to the nearest store and purchase some so I wouldn't have one of those painful headaches I tend to get when lacking caffeine. On the way there and back the big-breasted robins were hopping quickly from snow-covered parking spot to sidewalk and back again. I managed to get a picture of one.
Here's to hoping that this is winter's last hurrah this season. May spring arrive in its full glory and thrust of seedlings, birdsong, and bloom. And spring breaking ground makes me think of a quote I cannot find, one that says something about the violence of spring, but this one by Whitman will do:
"The violets in the mountains have broken the rocks." - Tennessee Williams
Last night's Concert at the Cowboy was a pretty good success and I managed to get quite a few snappy photos of Brandon Jackson while he performed under the End of the Trail sculpture. I also recorded one of his songs, so take a peek at this Red Dirt musician from Stillwater, Oklahoma. By the way, he is recording an album in May, so be on the lookout for one hot off the press this Summer.
I'm a silly aunt and haven't mailed your birthday present yet! I hope that you're feeling better and had some cookies for your birthday! So you're nine years old! Did you know that in China the number nine is a lucky number? The Emperor's robes would often have nine dragons on it because nine meant that he would rule the empire for a long time and the dragons meant that he would have a lot of power, strength, and good luck as Emperor. :) So you will have a very long and lucky ninth year, I'm sure!
Happy Birthday, Ryland, and I am sending you get well wishes and lots of love!
I ran around town a little bit last night after work. Edgar Cruz was playing at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum as part of their Concert at the Cowboy music series. I'd never heard him before. I wasn't disappointed. I had intended to stay for an hour, but I stayed two hours instead. Talented musician, and he had such great charisma with the audience. I've seen and heard a harp guitar before, but many people had not heard of it before and were all awed by his talent on that lovely instrument. He also played a C.F. Martin guitar, which I adore their sound. I tried taking a few pictures without my flash because I don't like paparazzi-ing musicians with my non-stop photography. Here's one of my favorites, plus a few more in my Flickr album.
Afterwards, I headed down to Coffy's Cafe in the Plaza District to hear my friend Justin Witte play for a little while. Once I got down 16th, I heard some music that sounded very familiar and it wasn't coming from the coffee shop. It was outside No Regrets Tattoo; A couple of guys on guitar and fiddle, Tom VandenAvond and Seabass were playing a Leonard Cohen song, and then soon after played "Wagon Wheel." So I stuck around for a few songs and a few more pictures.
I finally made it over to Coffy's Cafe and got a little mocha, two peanut butter cookies, and a little Justin Witte music for the evening. My camera began to not cooperate, so this is the only decent photo that I shot that I like, though I fooled around with it in a picture editor; Originally the flash tried to wash him out. So hearing his song "Babylon" (listen to it on his MySpace music page) wrapped up my evening and I went home. It is Saturday morning and I am going to drive out to one of the city's hiking trails and explore. Pictures later.
Photo of Southern Red Oak was taken in August 2008, Berea, Kentucky. It is the one with the lightning scar down its trunk. I came across the poem tonight. It is appropriate.
Last night I posted a link to a music video by The Swell Season on facebook, which promptly turned into a discussion of movies a friend would probably like to see. I realized that there are some similarities of emotion in some of my favorite films, a kind of drama that is honest and real, based on real complications and problems, not silly scenarios. So here's a list of some of my favorite films, and maybe some of the songs that continually make me fall in love with the musician or movie or story or life! I'll try to list them in order I have discovered them, if I can remember!
Sidenote: I have links to Wikipedia articles, IMDB pages, and Amazon or iTunes soundtracks solely for informational purposes. Wikipedia is by far not the end-all, be-all authority on accurate information, but it is a quick and easy enough starting place. Reference the external links and citations at the end of their articles.
Orlando Orlando is based on the book of the same name by Virginia Woolf. I had already read the book, the only one I have yet read by Woolf. I liked the odd story of a person over centuries of time. It is a kind of fantasy, but Woolf was likely trying to show there's a history to each person who connects them centuries back and that there are also people we meet whom we instantly know we know. A kind of intuition, kindred spirit, connection unexplained between two people that should just be trusted, be it that they are lovers or lifelong friends of like-mindedness and curiosities. I know I watched this sometime when I was in community college, 1995-1997, and likewise read the book only months before. I am sure it was summer. Here I have a link to the trailer for the film:
More info: Wikipedia article for novel. Wikipedia article for film. IMDB for film info and trailers.
The Secret of Roan Inish
I think I stumbled across this movie while I was at the University of Mississippi, probably in 1997 or 1998. I quickly bought the soundtrack for it and played it whenever I had essays to write for my Irish Literature class. I recall sitting at a picnic table in The Grove listening to it while writing those first essays. I played that CD all the time! The story is both sad and mythical.
"[The plot] is centered on the Irish and Orcadian folklores of selkies—seals that can shed their skins to become human. The story, set on the west coast of Ireland, is about Fiona, a young girl who is sent to live with her grandparents near the island of Roan Inish, where the selkies are rumored to reside. It is an old family legend that her younger brother was swept away in his infancy and raised by a selkie. Part of the film takes place in Donegal."
The soundtrack's song "Fiona's Lullaby" had such an impact on me that I wrote a poem incorporating the Gaelic lullaby and its English translation into it. This video plays "Fiona's Lullaby" first and the lyrics, in Gaelic and English, are located to the right "more info" section. "Piper's Lullaby" is second and instrumental.
More info: Wikipedia article for film. IMDB for film info and trailers. Info for soundtrack. Listen to or purchase soundtrack on Amazon or iTunes.
Love Song for Bobby Long
I could go on forever about this movie. One, I love New Orleans and it is the central landscape and culture of the film. Two, the dialogue interests me because there's plenty of literary references to Moliere, Dickens, Twain, Auden, etc. That tugs at my literature heart. There's a character whom you both love and are confused by because of his mistakes and how he has complicated his life by them. You want to smack him while at the same time just sit on the porch enjoying a glass of whiskey or bourbon and talk about literature, society, the city.
This movie also includes the Carson McCullers novel The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, a paperback book that Purselane reads while waiting to get on the train but upon finishing it, changes her mind and stays in New Orleans. I finally read The Heart is a Lonely Hunter last summer, and it was a very good read.
Also, the movie's screenplay is based on the Ronald Everett Capps novel Off Magazine Street. I should read it someday.
The soundtrack features several songs written and performed by Grayson Capps, plus a few old traditional songs like "Barbara Allen" being performed by John Travolta while sitting outside with friends for a cookout. By the way, there are many versions of "The Ballad of Barbara Allen." A Myspace music profile was created by someone to feature several songs most loved from the film; Give it a listen. Or enjoy this video of Grayson Capps still performing his song "A Love Song for Bobby Long":
More info: Wikipedia article for film. IMDB for film info and trailers. Info for soundtrack. Listen to or purchase soundtrack on Amazon .
Frida
Let me count the ways in which I love Frida. Colorful, passionate, artistic, humorous, humbling, honest, full of conflict, history, and music. The acting demonstrates both the strength of the actors and actresses, and definitely the strength of those they portray. The human relationships, her strong will, her trust, his conflict with himself and with desiring to meet the common ground they share, but also failing. Her forgiveness and resilience. The story moves forward at a pace one can feel comfortable with, and it covers some historical moments and movements in Mexico. It demonstrates the cultural differences in the art worlds between Mexico City and New York City. The motivations that drive artists, expression and statement standing in the face of politicos and funders. Finding the honest venue for one's art.
I know I watched it while I was living in Hattiesburg, MS, working at a used bookstore, and attending my last graduate level classes in Library & Information Science at the University of Southern Mississippi. So this was probably September 2003. I also know that when I finished watching it I hit play again. Yes, I watched it twice in one evening I loved it so much.
Love the soundtrack, but one of the songs that always made me grin was Salma Hayek singing "La Bruja" in this bar scene. The translation of the lyrics are probably not that accurate, or just don't translate culturally very well into English.
More info: Wikipedia article for film. Wikipedia article for the artist Frida Kahlo. IMDB for film info and trailers. Wikipedia info for soundtrack. Listen to or purchase soundtrack on Amazon.
The Hours
I know I was working at a central Mississippi private school in 2002 when I saw The Hours one weekend. And I saw it three times in the movie theatre that weekend because I loved it so much. I've never done that before with any other movie. I already knew I loved something about Virginia Woolf, though I had only read one of her books and some of her letters. The idea of showing the author writing the book, another woman's life being impacted by the book, and then later a woman being the epitome of the character, I loved it. This is how literature spreads itself across people's lives. The score was somber, and it didn't leave a desire to listen to it without the film, but it definitely tugs at your emotions while watching the film whether you notice it or not.
This scene is one of the strongest ones depicting the struggles Virginia faced, continually, as herself and as a writer. And she asks so much patience from her husband, Leonard, and he makes sacrifices often to keep some kind of happiness and peace for her and their marriage. And one of my favorite quotes comes from this scene: "You cannot find peace by avoiding life, Leonard."
Once
I've only seen the film once, and I was in Kentucky at the time. I had only moved to Berea about 4 or 5 months earlier and was settling into my first house and first real 8-5 job. I moved to a small town where I knew no one but those whom I worked with and the students on campus. Thankfully everyone I met were warm people and creative individuals. It wasn't long before I met some great writerly people I still love and know. But when I first moved there I watched a lot of movies and read a lot. I tried working on my writing and never felt good enough at it. I listened to local bands and never really got to know them. I was reserved. And this film Once kinda touched me one evening and probably helped push me forward to meeting and getting to know people more. Plus it has a fantastic soundtrack. Follow The Swell Season, very talented musicians.
This video has incorporated clips from the film to the song "Falling Slowly" by The Swell Season.
More info: Wikipedia article for film and soundtrack. Wikipedia article for The Swell Season. IMDB for film info and trailers. Listen to or purchase soundtrack on Amazon.
Crazy Heart
This last one was a recent recommendation from a friend who knows my taste in music and film and likes much of the same himself. So when he mentioned he liked this movie and the theme song, "The Weary Kind" written by Ryan Bingham, I followed through and gave it a watch and listen. Immediately I fell into it. The film has a strong plot and dialogue that pulled on the same strings that let me love Love Song for Bobby Long so much. The theme song pulls the film together, and some familiar personalities I know might relate to the lyrics in a small way. I tend to be drawn to movies that have a central character who copes with alcohol problems and usually comes out on top, even there's some sacrifices or mistakes along the way. This is that movie, and Jeff Bridges is an exceptional actor.
I listened to "The Weary Kind" and loved it, and then decided to find other songs by Ryan Bingham. I have one of his earlier albums now, Dead Horses, on which I love "Southside of Heaven" and "Don't Wait For Me" especially. (These links are to YouTube videos for the songs or to the musician's website.)
Since the film just came out in 2009 and may still be in theatres, I can only find the trailer for showing, but it is a good one nonetheless.
More info: Wikipedia article for film and soundtrack. Wikipedia article for Ryan Bingham. IMDB for film info and trailers. Listen to or purchase soundtrack on Amazon.
Reboot. My blog was just not conforming to the appearance I wanted it to be, so I just deleted the whole thing. Of course, I exported it and saved all the entries since 2007, but it was time to start anew completely. This blog has moved from one persona to the next, one mission to another. Now it will be whatever interests me, whatever I want to share. It will be the eclectic me.
And hopefully I will gain a few followers! Don't be shy!
So I came across a post on ReadyMade where they converted a suitcase into a rolling bar. I love it. It is cute, reuses something that would either end up in the dump or in someone's attic, and it serves a purpose: fun! So I posted my interest in making one of these on my facebook profile and promptly got a response from my mom that we have a steamer trunk in the barn. Next time she visits me she'll try packing it in the car so I can have it and do this conversion. Awesome news! I like to drink a bit of wine and would love to have a specific place to store unopened bottles, glasses, corkscrews, and other items. Plus, I keep a few bottles of bourbon and this would be the ideal place to store those as well.
I couldn't remember what the steamer trunk looked like. Mom described it to refresh my memory: "The steamer trunk is meant to stand on end and opens up -- drawers on one side and the other side is where you hang clothes. People used these years ago when they would travel on ocean liners to Europe, etc. It served as a moveable wardrobe (closet)." So we have one with drawers! OH fun! I can't wait for her to visit sometime in the summer or late spring! Maybe I will convert it to look more like this one:
I was tired of bags and boxes in my pantry all jumbled up together. I've also become a little more sensitive and/or annoyed at advertising everywhere I look, so emptying my pantry of most of that "product placement" feeling makes it feel downright me. I also have this new-found love of mason jars. So I decided to do something about the mess and make looking in my pantry/cabinet a little more exciting to me. As a photographer, I love to see bright colors and patterns in nature, so seeing the grains, pastas, beans, etc., through clear jars instead of hidden in rolled up bags and crushed boxes makes me happy.
I also picked up a couple brightly colored baskets from a department store. These have little packets of spices I got at farmers' markets and soup mixes. I still have to get some more jars; I bought 24 and I still need some for the flour and sugar.
I hate to say it, but every time I am listening to the radio in my car -- that doesn't have a CD player -- I hear that song by Lady Antebellum, "Need You Now", and I actually like it. It's not a song that will go down in my top 100 best songs ever written. That list is reserved for Patty Griffin, Neko Case, Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen, Ryan Adams, Gillian Welch, and plenty of others that I love. But there's a few of the lyrics in that song that tug at something in me that I just won't let go. I guess the heart doesn't want to give up on something it feels is true, one day, if not now. Or else I'm a fool. Both, or neither, is possible, surely.
"Picture perfect memories scattered all around the floor,
Reachin' for the phone cause I can't fight it anymore,
And I wonder if I ever crossed your mind.
For me, it happens all the time.
Its a quarter after one, I'm all alone and I need you now.
Said I wouldn't call but I lost all control and I need you now.
And I don't know how I can do without.
I just need you now."
Now, what I relate to in the song is the memories of conversation, smiles, laughter, and how we have managed to keep it up over the phone from time to time. I was just thinking a little while ago about a conversation in June and it almost felt like that was just a few weeks ago. That was over 8 months ago! And yes, I know I think of this person quite often, but one cannot help but wonder if another thinks of them. It is nice to receive a message, sent with such person as if we were sitting across a table from each other, and it opens with I was just thinking of you...
Today I attended for the first time a group of crafty people who meet, socialize, and craft on their projects at the same time. Some were crocheting, others weaving, some making papers flowers, others collaging. I brought fabric and paper stencils to cut out birds, turtles, butterflies, bees, and flowers. I plan to use the spray-starch method of application to the cabinet doors in my kitchen. For nearly a year I have had this idea in my head and I am finally getting around to doing it. This nature-in-fabric-on-the-walls idea all started when I decided to put a tree in my living room:
Since I rent, I didn't want to actually try painting a tree on the wall only to have to repaint the walls before leaving this house, if I choose to move any time soon. By the way, I just put a brown slipcover on the loveseat. It looks much better now.
I have seen adhesive vinyl decals of really neat designs online, but they all were out of my budget range. Then I learned of a friend who couldn't paint the walls in her bathroom in her rental apartment, so she applied a light-weight cotton fabric to the walls with spray starch. Voila! Wallpaper without the hassle, and when you move out simply spray with water, peel off the fabric, clean the walls of the residue and you're done! So I thought, I can do this instead of purchasing vinyl decals!
Looking for some tutorials on how to do this? Try here. Someone tried out a mod design on a door. Or check out ohdeedoh's How To: Make Fabric Wall Silhouettes. Strange how I didn't see these pages back in December 2008 when I created the tree in my living room.
