Life/Times

Writing Retreat

2009-05-26T17:05:00.001-05:00

i lack the discipline to quarantine myself away from wonderful people and things to do, even for a short while, when they are right outside my door. in the city, there's more psychic clutter that comes with all the movement of people and cars and ideas... sometimes it makes me numb and i am less scared of the ringing in my ears than of never being able to hear it.

so, i split my intentions for this writing retreat into three categories:
-feed the muse (write, listen, study, move, etc.)
-create (songs, poems, letters)
-document (photos, video, blogging)

having not been alone with myself in a long time, it took about a week to notice a decrescendo of restlessness. the first few days, i cleaned and slept a lot. i conquered a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle, listened to great music, and made friends with a robin who nested on the front porch and taps at the kitchen window. (at first, that was sweet. now, it's annoying as hell and i swear she's going to come right through the window, tapping on it and throwing herself into it as she does. crazy bird. i can do nothing to stop her.) i also watched the sunset with a dead fox carcass on the beach. its skin was almost gone, but its teeth were bright white. i took pictures. i love a morbidly-beautiful juxtaposition.

there's an antique clawfoot tub here, so i take a lot of epsom salt baths. not being one to commit, i am reading Willa Cather's Death Comes for the Archbishop, Jack Kerouac's On the Road, and AW Tozer's The Pursuit of God.

not that it always happens this way, but the best way i've found to try to organize my day is to write in the morning as soon as i wake up (like it says in The Artist's Way, before the inner critic wakes up). i brew tea and sit at my makeshift workspace and see what comes up, or finish something i have already been working on. i write and play and record until hunger sets in and then usually come back to that workspace before the end of the day with new ideas from walks in the woods or reading, sunsets, dead foxes, etc.

i am still caught up in some of the things i wanted to leave in Austin, but as superfluous things fall away, these hangers-on are so much fewer and actually more important than they had seemed.

hooray for clarity!

workspace

2009-05-25T15:59:00.005-05:00

except for the chair and guitar, all that stuff fits into this bag:

i take it on airplanes because i like getting searched at all TSA "welcome centers." we have such a good time.

Rhodri getting "all Oprah on your ass"

2009-05-23T22:38:00.003-05:00

Below is an excerpt from this article by Rhodri Marsden:

"The internet has entirely switched the focus from making music to sales and marketing. While some might say that this is just the harsh reality, it's what you have to do to survive, I say bollocks. I'm not just being romantic about this. There's a choice: play gigs, experience that peculiar bonding you get with fellow band members, feel that curious mixture of love and antipathy you get from an audience – and make no money. Or obsess about selling mp3s – and make no money. My children, and my children's children, certainly won't want to hear about my tedious marketing efforts to secure a song that I wrote 250,000 views on YouTube. (Note that I sold barely 100 MP3s as a result of this colossal and unexpected exposure – which certainly made it an interesting experiment, but also a fairly solitary and unfulfilling one.)

What would have made a better story would have been to wangle a gig in a Parisian squat where the electrics are dodgy, suffer a massive electric shock off a mike stand, get carried from the building while everyone cheers loudly, be left rubbing your head while slumped against the side of your van, the promoter takes advantage of the confusion by running off with the mixing desk which he's holding ransom because he claims that the PA company owe him money, at which point you realise that you're not going to get paid, and you look at your fellow band members, and then you start to cry. That's the story I'd rather tell, and frankly it's the story I'd rather hear.

Music's biggest function, from time immemorial, has never been its capacity to make money. It's its powerful social glue. Without wishing to get all Oprah on your ass, it may be an expensive hobby, but it brings people together in an utterly unique fashion."

This many

2009-05-16T16:45:00.003-05:00

I want to bring home this many albums from my writing hibernation. So far, i just sing forlornly into a handheld recorder that AJ bought for me during my Flipnotics residency many moons ago.

But, one can see why i might be destracted...

Sonny Rollins

2009-05-05T16:58:00.007-05:00

Sonny Rollins knows what's up. i saw him interviewed yesterday on the Austin City Limits soundstage in studio 6A. he is the glowing figure on the right.

Mr. Rollins is 78 years old and doesn't like being called a legend because he says he is still working toward a sound he hasn't achieved. in response to a question from Waterloo Records owner John Kunz, Mr. Rollins was quick to mention a guy he always thought was better than he was (Percy France), but shied away from mentioning who he himself had gotten the better of along the way.

when asked what he thought about women in jazz, he said he believed it was possible.

he doesn't use set lists and tries to at least have the first song of the night decided by the time he leaves his dressing room for the stage. he tours more since he lost his wife in 2004. his passion for music keeps him going. he doesn't listen to much recorded music, because he spends so much time creating it.

he has a mystical view of music. why would you need drugs when you could have the most incredible out-of-body experiences with music? he mentioned that when asked by a jazz student what advice he wishes he had gotten when he was younger. he also said that if you're in the music business for fame and riches, you will never be fulfilled. creation has to be an end in itself, something you would do even if the pay sucks. being focused on anything but the passionate pursuit of music will only put limits on your experience.

sonny rollins is wholly unscripted. constantly challenging himself to evolve. another one who calls it like he sees it and inspires other to do the same. we're all just trying to get through.

Chaka

2009-05-02T01:34:00.000-05:00

Chaka Khan Funk This EPK

Thank you

2009-04-28T22:57:00.007-05:00

for helping me to come this far, wherever this is. it's nice to be here.

-erin

April 30 at The Parish with Jon Dee Graham

2009-04-28T02:52:00.000-05:00

What the rain makes

2009-04-20T00:59:00.002-05:00

It's all for the kids...

2009-03-24T23:23:00.006-05:00

i'm HUGE with the toddler set...

BTW, bibs can be had (while they last) at my WEBSTORE!

Last, but not least, a whole thread about the Austin Lullabies (available for FREE at www.AustinLullabies.com, by the way):
HERE'S THE THREAD

Not Fade Away

2009-03-24T17:52:00.005-05:00

i have a terrible memory except for quick moments that are for some reason indelibly emblazoned in my mind. one is of walking across RFK stadium in D.C. while the Grateful Dead played "Not Fade Away" before the sun went down.

i still have that poster in a box somewhere.

with The Finest Kind at Antone's

2009-03-09T14:06:00.004-05:00

The Finest Kind is Rolf Ordahl on a M3 organ, Ross Alexander on bass, and Chris Trafton on drums.

Thanks to Rick Kent (endurophoto) for the great photos!

Hideout Performance Series: Part 2

2009-03-05T18:24:00.017-05:00

ONLY ONE NIGHT LEFT!
GET TICKETS AND INFORMATION HERE FOR MARCH 11.

Little John Oliver Hobizal helps out with the soundcheck. There are good views of the theatre in this clip:

Eddy Hobizal on upright and Rhodes pianos:

Hideout Performance Series: Part 1

2009-02-28T16:14:00.011-05:00

we're getting great feedback about the first show. hope you'll come out to see the next two! GET DETAILS HERE

"Wow,SUCH a good show!I brought a few of my friends along and they were blown away.You and everyone else were AMAZING!I hope I can make the next show:)"

"hello erin! a couple of friends and i went out to the hideout last nite and fell in love with your music =] your awesome!! see you nxt wednesday!"

Thank you to Michael Harris for the performance pix!

"Amelia" lyrics & chords

2009-02-19T18:50:00.007-05:00

my 7-year-old sister has to make a presentation about a famous historical figure. she has chosen Amelia Earhart and wants to sing my song "Amelia" for her classmates. this, of course, is the highest honor. so, i put together the words and chords for her and want to offer them to you, too!

right click, Save As...
"Amelia" lyrics & chords

download "Amelia"

Dub Chocolate

2009-02-17T10:46:00.006-05:00

this is a shot from last night's rehearsal with The Finest Kind. it's a reggae/dub/r&b trio that i'm lucky to have as my band for a night at Antone's on March 8.

The secret to everlasting true love...

2009-02-16T01:24:00.003-05:00

My side-project 1920's jazz duo, GRAND HOTEL, played a Valentine's Day party at The French Legation Museum. One couple there had been married for 37 years and another for 43 years. I asked them what the secret was.

The first couple replied: "Wine."

The second couple replied: "Lots of wine."

how to make a set list

2009-02-09T17:49:00.005-05:00

JB and Sandy... and Alex (and me)

2009-02-03T22:52:00.002-05:00

HERE is the mp3 of this morning's Mix94.7FM radio show.

A Song

2009-01-27T16:13:00.005-05:00

james' comment on my last post encouraged me to share something i would normally keep to myself, for pride and privacy.

it's a snapshot of conception. kinks intact. working it out, just getting it out.

www.erinivey.com/demosbabydemos/seasons.mp3

the Reid's girl

2009-01-23T20:43:00.014-05:00

i sold my soul to the sultans of clean. haven't actually seen the ad yet, but i had a blast recording the jingle (written by the brilliant John Mills) and taping the tv commercial in Austin. i kept a video blog through the whole process and will post that here soon. thanks for all your texts and emails about it.

xox
erin

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HAPPY NEW YEAR! and recipe

2009-01-11T20:49:00.008-05:00

hope your holidays were merry and bright! i'm determined to get back to my once-regular blog posts. i don't really make new year's resolutions, but i think i just did.

while i am by NO means accomplished in the kitchen, the holidays really inspired me to be more... crafty. with all this Cedar Fever going around in Austin, i decided to make a garlic chicken thing, with spinach in apple cider vinegar. (Hyde Park Bar and Grill does the best collard greens with bacon in apple cider vinegar, so that's where i got the idea.)

garlic is a great anti-inflammatory and apple cider vinegar is alkalizing.

preheat oven to 400 degrees
oil up chicken, sprinkle with sea salt and fresh pepper
bake for 30 minutes
sautee 3 or 4 cloves of garlic in olive oil
add spinach (3 cups?) and about 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
lower heat and cover
when the spinach is wilted pour the whole thing over the baking chicken
after the initial 30 minutes, i turned the heat down to 350 and continued baking for 15 minutes (i saw it in a baked chicken recipe online and the chicken was perfect, so... i guess it's the thing to do)

in lieu of rice or any other accompaniment, i chose red wine. which was delicious. drink something that can stand up to the strong flavors of the dish - i had pinot noir around the house, but this could easily handle a cabernet.

pungent amazingness.

We SOLD OUT the Rollins Theater!!

2008-10-28T23:09:00.004-05:00

THANK YOU THANK YOU for packing the Rollins Theater in the Long Center last Saturday night!!!

Here are some PHOTOS from the show.

We also need YOUR pictures and short reviews! You can leave comments here or please email them to me:
erin (at) erinivey (dot) com

Thanks again so much for a wonderful night.

erin

Feeding on the meaty bones of ignorance

2008-10-14T12:32:00.003-05:00

Santa's like "No, no, I can't look!"

Gainsbourg- Mr William

2008-10-09T23:39:00.002-05:00

the best part of this might be the dancer (front and center) at 1:35. but it could also be the riding mowers.