July 2012 Tour: Day 16

David likes to make composite pictures of my shows sometimes.

Day 16


The last day of the tour was spent in Little Rock at a house show put on by Argenta Productions. My friend Brian, who I met through playing with Andrew Koji (an excellent musician), hooked me up with this show. Another musician friend of mine from Orlando, Austin Miller, was passing through Little Rock on the same day, so he also played the house show. Besides us, Brian and his girlfriend, collectively known as She's a Sheba, played a few tunes, and Cliff Hutchison, also accompanied by a friend, played as well. It was a great night of music. Each performer was very talented.


We played outside. The weather and the set up was very nice. It was explained that it was a neighborhood effort to put together the show. The neighborhood kids fixed up the yard, and other members pitched in to help set things up. It's nice to see a community come together on a project like this. It was a family friendly event and everyone had a good time :)

July 2012 Tour: Days 14 & 15

Days 14 & 15


Unfortunately, both of my gigs on these days fell through, and I was unable to find replacement gigs on such short notice. So, David and I decided to make the best of it, and take Mr. Buddy swimming and camping. We didn't take any photos of that, so here are some random photos from the trip.

Mr. Buddy want to eat Indian food too!

Crochet

July 2012: Days 12 & 13

Days 12 & 13

We returned once again to Tallahassee for the next few days. The first night I played at Mockingbird Cafe again, and it was probably one of the most fun shows I played on this tour. This time I opened for a local band called Drunken Cartographer. I was excited to see them play live because I had listened to some of their music online. I was also looking forward to this performance because I had been trying to get a gig at Mockingbird for a while, but the only night they book local acts is Thursday nights, so the timing was never right...     until now!



This night was also mine and David's 9th wedding anniversary. In honor of the date, I dedicated the last two songs I played to him. They were my two love songs, "Euphoria", and "Home." "Euphoria" was written during and about the beginning of our relationship, and the giddy feelings that went along with that. "Home" was written around our 6th anniversary, and is a more mature song that talks about the progression of the relationship, and also goes along with the old saying, "Home is where the heart is."



Drunken Cartographer was excellent. I really like their music and am now a fan! It was great to sit back and listen to a great band for a bit.

All Saints Hop Yard

The next night, I performed at the All Saints Hop Yard in Tallahassee. We almost passed this place when we arrived. It's kind of hidden, as you have to walk down from the street to get there. The Hop Yard is an outside venue, serving a variety of bottled beers. It's set up kind of like a courtyard, with picnic tables to sit and eat at. On the weekends, food trucks come and park next to the venue. 


When I arrived at the venue, a stage was already set up, with a projector screen in behind it. There were lights, and a nice PA set up as well. 


It was a pretty chill night. The worst part was the heat, but even that wasn't too bad. The crowd was really respectful and seemed to enjoy the music. I sold a lot of CDs and received a lot of good feedback. David took some cool pics this night too. My friend, Ray, also came over from Jacksonville to hang out in Tallahassee and watch me play the past two nights! It's so awesome when you're friends come out to support you :)

From the Roof

Singing "Mad Tom of Bedlam" A capela 

David may have tagged something...

July 2012 Tour: Day 11

Day 11

I returned again to Jacksonville to play one more show at Island Girl Cigar Bar. I had played there once before. I would like to say it was a positive experience, but it was probably, my most awkward show so far on this tour. The last time I played at the cigar bar, I brought out a group of people to watch me play. This time, my friends didn't show up until late into the night. I played the first few hours to about 10 or so people in the bar, none of whom seemed to care that there was live music. There was a man in front of me, who I could tell by his attire, was probably in opposition to most of my lyrics. He did not seem impressed.  I sold no CDs and made no tips. The saving grace of the evening was when my friend, Jay arrived with his friend- they listened, clapped, and appreciated.


Reflecting upon this experience, I realized just how important it is to have some kind of positive crowd response, even if it's just a few people. I can tell when the audience is not into my music. I can feel it, and it brings down my energy and my performance. I just want to crawl inside myself. I want it to be over. I've played quite a few gigs like that- mostly restaurant and bar gigs. I have been trying to book more shows in a listening room, or performance oriented venue where people come to listen to the music. I'm on my way, though, weeding out less appropriate venues here and there, and making connections to better ones.

July 2012 Tour: Day 10

Day 10

Sweet Pea Cafe

The next day, we went to a local vegan restaurant called Sweet Pea Café. It’s a small place, with about 6 entrée items, a few sides, and a special. They have a patio outside with a few picnic tables, which is where we sat with Mr. Buddy. They also have a bowl on the patio for dog water. The place is run by young people, around our age, and they play cool music on the inside. They few times I went inside, I believe I heard Joanna Newsom and Neutral Milk Hotel.

Buffalo Tofu Sandwich

To eat, I had the buffalo tofu sandwich with hand cut sweet potatoes fries. It was delicious. Even more delicious though, was the special, which David ordered. It was a peppered tempeh stir fry over brown rice. Mmmm mmmm!!! To drink, we had homemade iced tea. We’ll definitely be coming back to eat at Sweet Pea Café again when we return to Tallahassee in a few days.

We drove to The Bull  in Gainesville. This was a nice, short trip, in comparison to our other driving distances/times so far. The Bull is located in downtown Gainesville, which appears to be really nice. The manager/bar tender was very nice and accommodating. He offered to let us bring Mr. Buddy inside, which we did. They had some pretty good beers and wines that I recognized. I had the Santa Julia Pinot Noir. It was very nice :)

I played in front of a piano stashed into the back corner of the restaurant. They had a small, but high quality bose system for me to plug into. It’s always nice when I don’t have to lug in all of my own equipment. A few friends I met through facebook came to watch me play and support. That was really neat. The locals seemed to dig the music too, and the manager said he’d like to have me come play again. It’s nice to finally have a good gig in Gainesville!

July 2012 Tour: Days 3-9

NOTE: THERE AREN'T MANY SHOW PICS FROM THE FIRST PORTION OF THE TOUR, AS MR. BUDDY HAS KEPT DAVID PRETTY PREOCCUPIED .  SO, TO KEEP IT INTERESTING, I'M ALSO POSTING RANDOM PICS TAKEN ON TOUR!


Days 3 -5

For this portion of the tour, I returned to Jacksonville, FL. My first Jacksonville show was at Dos Gatos downtown. Dos Gatos is a hip, swanky martini bar and lounge. What I like most about Dos Gatos, other than it’s great location, is that the venue is sectioned into two parts. The bar is at the front of the venue as you walk in, and in the back, is a listening room and lounge with comfy couches and booths to sit in as you enjoy the music. I think because of this, Dos Gatos is my favorite venue in Jacksonville for acoustic music. They just started having acoustic music on Tuesday nights a few months back and I hope it continues!!!

David chilling with Kevin's
rescue dog, Sydney.

The fourth day of my tour was July 4^th.  I tried to coordinate some kind of 4^th of July show, but there was already so much going on, that I couldn’t get it to work out. There was an art walk scheduled downtown for the 4^th of July, but it probably got rained out. Though we had planned to attend, the rain kept us indoors. It was nice though, to have a night off to lounge, eat vegan food made by our old roommate, Kevin (whose place we stayed at for this portion of the tour), and work on my crochet piece.

The 5^th day of tour was spent at Engine 15 on Jacksonville Beach. I have played there a few times before and have always enjoyed it. Engine 15 is a microbrewery with many amazing beers to choose from. The bar tenders there are always incredibly nice and accommodating.

Days 6 & 7

David took a pic of the church where my cousin got
married. He was in the balcony video taping.

This is the portion of the tour that was spent visiting my family in Fort Myers, FL. It was so nice to see my parents and sister again, and get to hang out with them a bit. We went down to the art walk downtown in Fort Myers. It was nice to see such an event. It’s fairly new, I think just a few years old. Art walk happens once a month, along with music walk, which is on a different day, but also happens once a month. Growing up in Fort Myers, there was a small indie music scene, but not many venues to play at, and not much local art being showcased. It’s nice to see the scene has been growing and evolving. This art walk was much like others I’ve been to, wherein local galleries, bars, and shops open their doors, host live music, and showcase art. There are also street performers and artists creating on the sidewalks.

Double rainbow action outside the wedding reception.

The 6^th day of the tour was spent at my cousin, Brittany’s, wedding. It was such a beautiful wedding, and so nice to see family that I haven’t seen in a really long time, some that I haven’t seen in over 10 years. It’s pretty crazy to see all of my cousins all grown up, graduating college, and getting married. Life is amazing and bazaar! After the ceremony, we danced the night away at the reception, as we Hogrefe’s often do, Polka included!

Day 8

My sister, her boyfriend, David and I headed up to Tampa for this next gig at Mellow Mushroom. Unfortunately, as awesome and useful as iPhones may be, they also lead you astray with directions sometimes. I have learned my lesson to be careful and make sure that the destination matches up with the address I need to arrive at. Thought I typed in “Mellow Mushroom Tampa” into the google maps, it sent me to the Mellow Mushroom in Brandon (about a half hour south of the one in Tampa). Though I thought I would be early, I ended up being a little late, but it turned out okay in the end. Though I strive to be on time to every gig, venue owners have the understanding that musicians are not the most punctual people, 
especially when they have to drive long distances.

Mr. Buddy chilled with us often as we ate, usually sitting
in a chair like a person.

I have a long history with Mellow Mushroom, as I have performed numerous times at the locations in Fayetteville and Rogers, AR. Also, David has been working there for a while. I love Mellow Mushroom because they have good options for vegan pizza. David and I switch it up between a BBQ based pizza with Daiya cheese and tempheh, and a Mediterranean pizza with a hummus base (and loaded up with veggies, of course).

This show went really well. I got a good audience response, sold a few CDs and made some much needed mula for the road. If they keep hosting music in the future, it will be a great place for me to stop on my way out of Fort Myers and up the coast. We didn't have anywhere to leave Mr. Buddy during this show, so David, my sister and her boyfriend all sat outside and ate pizza on the patio, and hung out with Mr. Buddy while I played. I was hooked up to the speakers outside, so they could still hear me :)

We spent the night at my sister’s boyfriend’s place. It’s a cool pad with lots of animals, including corn snakes, which I love (I worked with corn snakes when I interned at a nature center in college)! The host of the house made us vegan popcorn as we chilled and watched one of the craziest movies ever made, From Dusk Till Dawn. Overall, this was a really great day!

Day 9

We drove 5 hours up Florida’s west coast to arrive in Tallahassee, FL. Here, we visited some old friends we haven’t seen in a while, and I performed at the Songwriter Showcase at Mockingbird Café. I’ve played at this event at Mockingbird before, when I lived in Jacksonville. Mockingbird Café is a nice little restaurant with a small stage near the bar area. There were quite a few musicians performing this time, so we each had 15 minutes play and speak about our songs.

I quickly noticed that I was most likely the youngest of the performers at this Showcase, though there were two guys who played a few country break up songs that might have been a few years older than I. Though primarily, I would like to perform for an audience of my peers, I often enjoy playing for an older crowd. It seems like the older crowds listen better. Part of it may be out of respect (something lost to my generation), or the wisdom that comes with age in which you appreciate and listen to the lyrics that others have put so much time and effort into.

I’ve always considered myself a good listener when it comes to music. I love music of all kinds, but especially music that has something to say. It seems like most of the music born from my generation consists of love songs, break up songs, and of course, the mainstream songs about sex and money. I don’t know how it got to this point. I know people have always written love songs, but at least some of the classics I listen to had more to say on top of that. I’m not sure what the reason is for this. It could be a combination of factors. Did past generations care more about what was going on in the world around them? Did they feel more of a sense of conviction to use their music to create change? Has mass media so hypnotized us to buy into pop culture that we only care about the superficial? Have we become disillusioned so that we think our voices will not be heard or taken seriously? Maybe we don’t want to think about the state of the world because it’s too depressing. In any case, I could do with a lot more conscious music.

At the showcase, one of my favorite acts was a husband and wife duo from Oklahoma. He is a Florida state finger picking champion, she is a Native American Indian who sings politically charged songs. She said, “I’m a folk singer. I write a lot of controversial songs. But that’s my job, to rustle some feathers.” I loved that! Though her singing was not the best I’ve ever heard, the stories she told through her songs, and the sign language she motioned during them moved me. I thought in my head, “Right on! Why don’t more people do this?” Then I learned that she grew up in foster care, not really knowing her tribe heritage. She sang a song about it, and said that she finally found out through DNA testing after 61 years of wondering. Learning about her hardship, it makes sense that she would sing about these songs. It seems that a lot of the time, it takes some kind of tragedy or hardship to get us to really think introspectively, and to write about what is on our minds and what we would like to change. It makes me think of the old slave and gospel songs of the early African Americans, as well as the revolutionary songs of the Civil Rights Movement. I think of the revolutionary songs of the 60s and Woodstock. Since then, it seems, we have lost our voice. I hope someday day soon to get it back.

July 2012 Tour: Days 1 & 2

July 1st and 2nd, 2012


Starting out on another tour, this time down to Florida! I'm excited about the shows I have lined up, especially the ones at Eddie's Attic (the Songwriter Showcase/competition) in Atlanta, Mockingbird Cafe with a local band called Drunken Cartographer in Tallahassee, and a house show put on by my friend, Brian Papaladro and Argenta Productions in Little Rock, AR. I'm playing many more great places, but those, I think, will be the highlight. I had originally planned to play a show in Memphis on the first night of my tour, but it didn't end up working out. I knew I had to be all the way to Atlanta by day 2, so we decided to camp the first night at Chewalla Lake National Park in Holly Springs, Mississipi, which is pretty much the half way point between Fayetteville and Atlanta. 

Mr. Buddy really wanted to come!

This was our first attempt at bringing Mr. Buddy on the road with us. He's traveled with us before, but not to this magnitude. But he's getting older now, having more health issues, and often experiences separation anxiety, so we decided to bring him along. Two weeks is a long time for a little beagle. David cleared a spot for him in the back seat of our car, and put his little doggy bed in it. He seems really happy just to come along. I hope it all goes well!

Asleep in my suitcase, getting my
clothes smelling like a Mr. Buddy.

Coming into the campsite, we didn't really know what to expect. I had checked out the campground online, and it looked pretty nice. It said the camping was first come, first serve, which I was a bit worried about- it being summer and the week of the 4th of July. Getting close to the campground destination, I tried calling to see if there were any campsites still available, but the organization who handles the reservations isn't even on site, and couldn't tell me. The kind receptionist gave me the phone number for the office at Chewalla Lake, which I called, but did not reach anyone. David and I decided that we'd go the the campground, and if the campground was full, we'd wing it, park on some back road and camp in the woods. 

I like how the only one in this pic who
looks happy is Mr. Buddy. It was a hot, sunny day.

CL t-shirts all made up and ready to
be sold on tour!

As we approached the general vicinity of the campground, evident by signs for Chewalla Lake, we got a little worried. We drove past trailers and ill-kept country houses, down a winding back road. I had thought this was supposed to be a National Park. Why were there houses all around? We continued on, and finally it began to look more and more forest-like. We reached the front gate, which had no attendant; just a sign that said something like, "Fill out form. Put payment in envelope. Drop envelope in mail slot." So we did. We must have been one of the only groups of campers at the whole site. The only other person I saw was a man playing disc golf as we entered. I also saw a motor home near the bathrooms, which I later found out belonged to the groundskeeper. 


Camping was pretty great. No one around- just me, David, and Mr. Buddy. We set up camp, made a fire, and cooked some dinner. The heat hindered our sleep a bit, and it was a hard ground to sleep on, but we made the best of it, got as much sleep as we could, and woke up extra early the next morning to make another fire, cook breakfast, and head out on another 6 hour drive.

David and Mr. Buddy getting some much needed rest at
Connie's after the sleepless night of camping.

In Atlanta, we stayed with our friend, Connie. When we arrived in Atlanta, we had just enough time to say a quick hello, take a shower, and head over to Eddie's Attic for the Songwriter Showcase competition. I love playing at Eddie's Attic (I've probably mentioned it in my blog before). What I love most about the venue is the encouragement by the host for the audience to stay quiet during the performances. "If you'd like to talk, there is a nice patio area outside. Otherwise please be respectful and quiet during the music," he'll say, if the crowd is getting too noisy in between acts.




I've played at Eddie's Attic before, twice. The first time, it was my first tour and I came down with the most awful sinus infection that not only made me feel like crap, but also severely brought down my confidence level, as I wasn't even sure all of the notes that I sang would come out right. The second time, I made it into the top 3, but two sisters from Athens (GA), the Skiperdees, came in and stole the gold. So, I was nervous this time, to see who my competition would be.




I arrived at Eddie's Attic just in time to see the 2 acts before me, and then it was my turn. I looked around at all of the people in the audience (which was as packed as I've ever seen it), and said to them in my head, "You are going to feel me. With my voice, guitar, and energy I'm going to create a sacred space for us to connect." For this performance, I chose to play "Music Flows" and "Worst Enemy." I poured my heart and soul out on that stage. I gave it everything I had, and in return, received a huge applause. Now I just had to wait. 




I watched so many talented musicians share their songs and musical abilities, and grew more and more nervous. After each musician had their turn, the host began to call up the top 3. A very talented young lady who had played guitar on her previous songs was called up, and this time played piano as she sang. She was very good, and I realized that I had seen her poster up in the Women's Room that night, and that she would be performing at Eddie's Attic later on in the week. "Oh great," I thought, "this girl's gonna win it for sure." Then they called up a young man who had a growly, southern type voice, which at times reminded me of the lead singer for the Black Crows. He was an amazing guitarist and performer. 




So at this time, my heart was pounding out of my chest. "Please call my name," I thought to myself, over and over. Then I heard the host say, "And the final musician in the top 3 is.........Candy Lee." 


Woo hoo!!!! I ran and got my guitar so fast, and nearly lept onto that stage. I played "Time," a definite crowd pleaser. Though I felt like I could have performed it better in places, I felt like the quietness of the room really allowed me to play with the dynamics, and playing "Time," there are some quieter parts that I was able to almost whisper. It felt amazing. "Even if I don't win," I thought, "I gave it my all and put on one of my best performances so far." As I was putting away my guitar, the host kindly thanked all of the musicians, and audience, and said, "...and the winner for tonight is..." then he pulled out the slip of paper from the chest pocket of his shirt, unfolded it and said...CANDY LEE"!!! 


It felt so great to win. Now that I have, I get to compete in the Songwriter Shootout, which is a bi-anual competition comprised of all of the winners from the Songwriter Showcase open-mics. This is more of a tournament, where each songwriter goes head to head with another. The winner will go on to compete again with another winner from the same round, and so on, until one final contestant wins. The prize is $1,000 plus more goodies such as opening slots at major festivals, and some free recording too. I'm thinking it's going to be a really tough competition, but I am very excited about it and looking forward to it!