« September 2004 | Main | November 2004 »

October 29, 2004

Six String Cafe & Music Hall

Cary, NC
I am sitting on a couch facing the stage here at The Six String Cafe & Music Hall. I have not been here in almost exactly two years, when Mark Erelli and I did a split show while the baseball playoff raged forward without the Yankees (2002). I feel infused with baseball, happy for all of you Red Sox fans while simultaneously sad to realize that the end of summer is now truly upon us.
Amelia White has just entered the building and I am psyched to get the chance to hear her perform. We shared an afternoon last Spring at WPLN in Nashville and I was floored by her voice and her songs.
I had a great conversation today with the head flight attendent, Frank, on my flight from Houston to Raleigh. There were a gaggle of women on the flight who were traveling to North Carolina as part of a Bush campaign push. They were impeccably coiffed and spackled and when I tried to engage them to find out what had brought them to the conclusion that Bush was the man for the job, they shut me down with infantile insults meant to degrade and foul John Kerry. Here I go on stage...the story will continue...

Posted by bethamsel at 5:11 PM

October 26, 2004

Logan International Airport

It's finished! I'll be damned, but The Reverie is finally finished. I am sitting in the airport, waiting for my 5:25 flight back to Denver, listening to the mixed tracks, making last minute adjustments to the song order. I could not be more pleased with how it has turned out, full of joy, a raw unabashed beating heart, sly approach, unbuttoned and unapologetic...a little bit of everything (rock, pop, swing, country) cooked up by Dave with a wink and a nod. Here is the song order as of today:

•Michigan
•End Of July
•Come Up
•Hello Baby
•Swing
•Inman's Lament
•Maybelline
•Untitled Waltz
•The Chauffeur
•Loneliest Night
•Time

Dave and I were able to put down, in one final session, the new song, Maybelline, and I am thrilled that we could get it on the record. I have not yet even performed that puppy live, but it is one of those tunes that hurts, in such a deliciously fantastic way, to sing.

We're a single week away from the presidential election and I am heartened to see Bill Clinton out and about stumping for Kerry (though his appearance, post quadriple by-pass, does lead one to wonder if he is pushing his rehabilitation schedule). 80,000 people turned out in Philadelphia yesterday, a crowd stretching 12 blocks long, to welcome Clinton's return to public appearances. I am hoping that his presence will give the push that Kerry needs to motivate some otherwise apathetic voters. Had Gore accepted the assistance of his boss, perhaps we would not be in the current shape which we now find ourselves. One can only wonder.

Posted by bethamsel at 1:09 PM

October 15, 2004

Conway, MA

Waking up at Dave and Katryna's house is a quiet, slow affair and I am like taffy on a long pull. I slept with the window open so that I could hear the rain fall through the night to the snapping protests of the surrounding elm, maple, oak, and the lone, immense ginko. In Colorado, it is a rare event, indeed, to sleep to rain and while it was a cool, wet summer, "wet" is more like damp compared to these torrents.

Dave is hard at work mixing The Reverie and I am so proud to say that it sounds incredible! Sonically it is lusher than Kindling, but a perfect companion to the last record. There is a little bit of everything on it, musically speaking...my writing, as ever, never taking one course. I've got a little something special planned for you pre-order people!
xo
BA

Posted by bethamsel at 10:26 AM