Sunday, June 19, 2005

Just to prove that we've been everywhere, here are three digital moments from the last month.  The first is the 1794 Meetinghouse in New Salem, MA.  It's such a beautiful, quiet little town we wanted to move in immediately.

  Then we found ourselves in Texas again, and had a wonderful few days at Kerrville, playing our set at the Threadgill stage and hanging out at the all-night campfires.  Our arms got very hammy from toting guitars all over the site, and we saw a Walking Stick on the car and a huge black snake on one of the roads.

We also got to hear some very inspiring music, and you can visit Anais Mitchell's website to see what she's about.   We came away with her album and have been playing it with rather annoying repetition ever since. 

Anais was the winner of the 2003 New Folk competition.       

Then we got to see our friends at Neverlandia very briefly -- long enough for a dinner.   They find faces everywhere.  It's one of our games to leave faces all over the house.  So when my dinner arrived in almost this exact configuration, I was thrilled:

            Okay, I stuck the rosemary on the top and added the eyebrows.  But c'mon, the hen was just lying there, lolling about on her hemisphere of stuffing, waiting for the photo op.

Philly Thursday (with Freebo & Jim Photoglo!) and then PA and NH.  Come on out if you're in the area.

Cheers,
The Mads



Monday, May 30, 2005

Those of you who receive our newsletter may have detected a hint of secrecy surrounding a new project.  This would refer to the phrase, "secret project" towards the end of the newsletter.  Well, it's no secret really, we just wanted you to dig around and find the answers in our Road Notes!  But before I tell you about it, here are some images from our recent tour to Wisconsin.

  This is the Cedarburg Cultural Center, on the rainy day when we arrived.  It's a great gallery and nice room to play in.  On exhibit were a couple of artists, one of whom is named Michael Santini.  I'm not sure I'm allowed to use any images of his paintings, but you can find some of his work at http://www.spxyxx.com/visit-gallery.asp?Artist=Visitor1&ArtistName=Santini&VisitorFlg=Yes .
His themes are quite bizarre, and bright and beautifully rendered, and each piece tells a long story.

Anyway here's the stage inside the Center:

                           ... and it was a cool Spring in Wisconsin, so when we went to the kite festival in Milwaukee that weekend, we were almost blown out of our jackets.  I'm hoping Mark will be able to put a little kite footage here somewhere, but meanwhile, here's a buggy we almost rented:

  Everybody has to pedal, but only the designated driver can actually steer.   The right steering wheel is just for play.

The kites were amazing!!  Just hundreds of them at once, and a big frog and a big fish and things whirling and spinning and diving... and the stunt kites were breathtaking.

Somehow I didn't take any pictures in North Carolina, but we did play there, and it was warmer and lovely.  Then we drove about thirteen hours home in one day.  Do not try this if you are not a professional!  However, the trip was made easier by this great book on tape called, "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time," by Mark Haddon and narrated by Jeff Woodman.  It was one of the best we've ever heard and we highly recommend it.  I'm sure reading the book yourself would be good, but this reader is SO excellent, you should try to find the audio book.

(Incidentally, we've had a recent recommendation to go see The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which historically has been one of my favorite book series.  But, who offered us this tip?  Who could it be?  Is it possible it's connected to the... Secret Project??!)

Oh, come on, it's not secret!  You're just playing with us!  Stop acting all coy and just tell us what it is!!

Okay.  It's all about the next CD, which is underway.  We've done some work in our own studio, but last Thursday we went to Signature Sounds in Pomfret, CT to lay down a few tracks with a certain drummer named Dave Mattacks.  Present were:

      

Mark S. and Mark Thayer, our engineer; myself (Adrienne), aaaaaaaand...         Margo,

                                    

Our hired gun, Tyler...                 Mark again, and what are you wearing, Mk?              Oh, FISHPANTS!
 
I don't want to embarrass Mr. M. because he might read this, but it was a very cool, very happening dream come true to work with him on these songs.  I've only been admiring his drumming for a couple of decades.  True to our tradition, we couldn't let him get away without the smooch photo, so here it is:

                 

The session really fired us up because it got us out of our normal recording routine.   We're newly excited about the songs.  Look for more album info in the JULY newsletter.

We're looking forward to our gigs in MA and VT this coming week, and of course to playing at Kerrville on the 8th.  I'm sure we'll have more to post when we get back midmonth.   Meanwhile, play nicely, because you never know who's watching!

                                                  

Cheers,

Adrienne (for MeMargoMark)

More Road Notes