More from Mexico, my upcoming events, and a night of poetry you shouldn't miss Photo by me from Guanajuato, Mexico Hey everyone. I'm still in Mexico! Coming into the last week here. I can't believe it! I will be happy to come home to Atlanta, but sad to leave San Miguel. It's really beautiful here. And I'm definitely changing and growing. As a writer, as a person. I'm finding myself. Finding myself on the rooftops and the terraces with the mountains on the horizon, among the mariachi bands in the Jardin of San Miguel, in the silence of the Catholic churches, in the cleansing waters of the hot springs, climbing the pyramids, in the dancers on the streets of Guanajuato, in my Form and Idea class where our final project involves plaster elbows, listening to the other students read their work, in late night chats at the hostel - drinking wine on the terrace, in the workshops of my playwriting class, in the margaritas at La Cucaracha, on the buses to excursions riding through the rural parts of Mexico, in the markets where a language I don't know buzzes all around me...This has truly been an amazing experience. I've met so many incredible people, so many talented poets, playwrights, screenwriters, non-fiction, and fiction writers. I've learned so much about writing, about art, about another culture, about myself. And I'm incredibly grateful for that. Well, I'm definitely going to be jumping right back into my crazy busy life when I get home, and I'm really excited about that! I have a lot of exciting upcoming events:
So that's what's going on with me. I hope all of you back in Atlanta are having a great summer full of good times and wonderful art of all kinds! :-) And I thought I'd pass this onto you, from Kyle McCord (who was featured in my Poem of the Week back in September). For those of you in Atlanta, you should definitely check it out! Sunday, July 25th come hear Dream Horse Press authors Kyle McCord and Keith Montesano read from their recently released books. They will be joined by special guest Kara Candito. The event will be at 6:00 p.m. at Beep Beep Gallery at 696 Charles Allen Drive, Atlanta. The event is part of the DHP First Book Tour, with readings in seventeen different locations across fourteen states. For any questions about times or directions, contact: kfmccord@gmail.com, or find us on Facebook. Kyle McCord's book, Galley of the Beloved in Torment, was the winner of the 2008 Orphic Prize. He’s received awards or grants from the Academy of American Poets, the Vermont Studio Center, and the Iowa Poetry Society. He has work forthcoming or published from Boston Review, Cimarron Review, Columbia: a Journal of Art and Literature, Cream City Review, Gulf Coast, Volt and elsewhere. He currently lives and teaches in Des Moines, Iowa. Keith Montesano’s, Ghost Lights, was published this year by Dream Horse Press. Other poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Hayden’s Ferry Review, American Literary Review, Third Coast, River Styx, Crab Orchard Review, Sonora Review, Ninth Letter, and elsewhere. He currently lives with his wife in New York, where he is a PhD Candidate in English and Creative Writing at Binghamton University. Kara Candito is the author of Taste of Cherry (University of Nebraska Press), winner of the 2008 Prairie Schooner Book Prize. Her poems and reviews have appeared or will appear in such journals as Blackbird, AGNI, Prairie Schooner, The Kenyon Review, Gulf Coast, Sycamore Review, Nimrod, Contrary Magazine, The Rumpus, Best New Poets 2007, Diode, New South, and The Florida Review. She has received awards for her poetry, including an Academy of American Poets Prize and scholarships from the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference. So there you go. Make sure you check that out! It should be a great event. I hope all is well back in the USA. Update from San Miguel de Allende Hola! I'm writing from San Miguel de Allende, Mexico! (I thought I'd take a break from school work to update my blog!) I'm here for my first semester of my MFA Low Residency Program in Playwriting. I am completely loving this town. Everything is so beautiful here! This is my first time traveling out of the country (aside from Canada), and it's been an incredible experience so far. San Miguel is such an interesting town. It was founded in 1542, and there are so many old buildings and churches everywhere. The streets are all cobblestone, and the town is so vibrant, colorful, and alive. It's such an inspirational place to be for me as an artist. My head is exploding with ideas for songs and poems and plays. It's great to be around so many other writers, too. I've met so many incredible people and artists here, and all of the work that I've read or heard so far from the other students has been unique and thought-provoking. Our faculty all has pretty impressive resumes as well. They all have books published or films that were produced based on their work. I'm really grateful to be in a program with so many talented students and teachers. I have already learned so much, and I've only been here for a week! I've had many incredible spiritual experiences since I've been here as well. The other day, I wandered around town by myself and ended up in the big Catholic church (the one in the photo above). I just sat in the church and meditated, absorbing the spiritual energy. I'm not Catholic by any means, but I appreciate all religions, and it was a very moving experience. Also, I got to see the pyramids at Teotihuacan last Friday, and I even got to climb some of them. That was undescribable. They say they were built sometime around 200 BC. I don't think I've ever seen a structure that old in my life. It was a little overwhelming. I'm having a blast here! Artistically and personally. And I can't wait to see how my art grows and changes from this whole experience! I hope everything is well back in the USA! :-) June/July events! Summer - Oil on canvas - by Bisat from DeviantArt It's summertime! Oh, how I love Georgia summers. :-) So, if you are a new reader to my blog/website, here's the story. A few years ago, I started a Facebook group called Atlanta Bohemians, a group for any and all kinds of artists in the Atlanta metro area to promote their events, post about auditions/calls for entries, or where art supporters can find information about independent and local musicians, actors, playwrights, screenwriters, film makers, painters, sculptors, poets, authors, and any other kind of artist you can think of. I started sending out monthly lists of different artistic events around the city, and I got a great response. When I started this website, I thought I would move those lists over to my blog. Because I wanted the website to not only be about me promoting my own artistic projects, but I also wanted to promote and support other local and/or independent artists. I try to do that in other ways too, sharing poetry that I like in my "Poem of the Week," posting photography and art pieces from independent artists on my blog entries, posting music sharing podcasts where I share independent music, etc. I just love art so much. And I think there is nothing more powerful than going to that show where the band plays a song that reaches out to you or going to a play that just completely speaks to you or hearing a poem that just sucks you in or staring at a painting and being incredibly overwhelmed by the complex beauty in life. Art is a reflection of life, art helps us appreciate life, the good, the bad, everything becomes beautiful. I know nothing has helped me more in my own life to really be in the moment, to have real spiritual experiences, to really feel a universal love for everyone and everything than a perfect piece of art at the perfect time. And actually, you don't have to sit in the audience of a hugely popular Broadway musical or go see paintings by artists who have been dead for centuries or turn on the radio to find this art. It's everywhere. It's all around you. And there are tons of living, breathing artists who are writing songs, painting paintings, taking photographs, writing screenplays, making films, performing spoken word, etc. in spite of their 9 to 5 day jobs or their waitressing jobs or their bartending jobs or their low-paying non-profit jobs. And these artists truly inspire me. Working at places like The Georgia Ballet or Horizon Theatre and seeing these people work 60 hours a week for very little pay just because they love art. And if I can inspire one person to go out there and see an original, new play or see a local, unknown band or see an art exhibit from a living Atlanta artist or see an independent film made by a local filmmaker, then it's completely worth it to me. SO! With that in mind, here are a bunch of awesome things you can do in June and July to support the local artists! And of course, if I have forgotten anything, please leave a comment. Visual Arts  June 5th - 27th - Young Blood Gallery - "Interior/Posterior" with 6 women artists Megan Kimber, Merrilee Challis, Daisy Winfrey, Chrystal Chan, Jennifer Davis & Lesley Reppeteaux  June 12th - July 4th - Beep Beep Gallery - "The Big Bang" a solo exhibit of new work by Matt Relkin  Friday, June 18th - ASI Gallery - works by Laura Rubio - Opening reception June 18 , 2010 - 7 - 9:30pm - Free admission - Exhibition will run from June 18 - July 18, 2010  July 9th - September 19th - Atlanta Contemporary Art Center - Amy Myers: Feminine Space Friday, July 16th - Art Party. 30+ artists showing. No theme. Its an art show that morphs into a party with Bands & DJs. Free drinks, $10 donation. 21+. More artists are always welcome. Visit www.dooGallery.com for more information. Music Saturday, June 19th - Five Spot - Wade in the Rhythm, Cloudeater, Dan Marshall Project with special guests including Dre-Money - 21+ - 9PM - Advanced Tickets: 7$ Saturday, June 26th - Star Bar - Howlies - Coathangers - Balkans - Mermaids - 21+ - 8$ - 9 PM Thursday, July 1st - Star Bar - FREE THURSDAY SHOW! - Abby GoGo - Carnivores - Grenadines - 21+ - FREE - 9PM Wednesday, July 7th - Smith's Olde Bar - James David Carter- Glen Pridgen Band - Brandon Perry - 21+ - 8PM Saturday, July 10th - Wonderroot - Littlefoot, Cloudmouth, Revo - 9PM Saturday, July 17th - Star Bar - The Selmanaires - with special guest, Adron - 21+ - 8$ - 9PM Theatre Tuesday, June 15th - WORKING TITLE PLAYWRIGHTS Presents Theroun D'arcy Patterson's SEMBLANCES - Staged Reading - Academy Theatre 119 Center St., Avondale Estates, Ga. - 7:30 PM - FREE to WTP members / $5 suggested donation all others at door. June 12th and 13th - Harvest 2010 The Backyard Plays - Onion Man Productions - A new collection of nine 10-Minute plays by local playwrights! June 11th - June 27th - A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum - Atlanta Lyric Theatre June 9th - June 27th - Reasons to be pretty by Neil LaBute - Pinch n' Ouch Theatre July 7th - August 7th - 12th Annual Essential Play Festival - Featuring three plays, Qualities of Starlight by Gabriel Jason Dean, directed by Peter Hardy, Darker Face of the Earth by Rita Dove, directed by Betty Hart, Sally and Glen at the Palace by Peter Hardy, directed by Ellen McQueen Call for Entries/Submissions Seeking bands and artists! Children's Restoration Network is trying to break the Guinness World Record for the longest concert by multiple artists at the Red Rabbit in Johns Creek. They are still looking for bands and artists who want to participate, people who want to volunteer to be witnesses, and just people who want to come out and enjoy it all. It will take place from July 10th - July 24th. Learn more at www.worldslongestconcert.com or email Richie Tyre at richie@childrn.org. Other Java Monkey Speaks - Open Mic Poetry - Every Sunday at 8:00 pm - Java Monkey coffee shop - Decatur Friday, July 2nd - DODEKAPUS PRESENTS: CARNIVAL FUNDRAISER FOR LIVING WALLS - A carnival themed event with games, prizes, food, booze, bands, kiddi pools, a kissing booth, tarot booth, giant twister, screenprinting on site, and much much more - 5:00 PM There you go, guys. Lots of awesome events to make your summer fun :-) And I'll leave you with a poem. It's sort of my ode to summers in Georgia. Georgia June Outside of a Coffee Shop by Sara Crawford Thursday night in Georgia June, outside sitting, sipping on hot coffee, with a splash of hazelnut. Everyone around me sweats bullets, slurping on smoothies and iced lattes. To me, the night air is a warm blanket covered in stars and fireflies that twinkle through the sheets. My bones are growing as we all rotate through space, but I don’t feel any older than the teenager sitting next to me, her bare feet propped on the chair in front of her, toenails painted neon green, her flip-flops (practically made of straw) are scattered lazily on the ground beside her. She laughs, and I laugh with her as if I am a part of the conversation, peering at her feet from behind my magazine. A couple exits the coffee shop, opening the door behind me. The air conditioning escapes from inside, whispers to my skin. Goosebumps rising, I shiver. The door closes. I sigh with relief and wrap myself up in the night, sinking into Georgia June. A music blog
I'd like to share these awesome songs with you.
(My events blog is coming soon!) "Lately" by The Helio Sequence (this song kind of makes me cry) "Bright Bright Bright" by Dark Dark Dark (I'm in love with her voice) "Postcards from Italy" by Beirut "Midnight Radio" from Hedwig and the Angry Inch (written by Stephen Trask) (this is my favorite song in the whole show) New videos from my first show with The Cult Following at Lenny's Bar - 5.14.10
All videos by Chris Fuller
"Hipster Haircut" "You Told Me" "Victoria" "Tangled" Pass them along if you like them! Hedwig and the Angry Inch, June shows with the Cult Following, preparing for grad school! Turtle Party by Beverly Crawford (Look at the turtles!) Well, I have a TON of stuff going on right now, and it's getting all crazy! I'm going to try to write a blog in a few days listing all of the awesome artistic events going on in June and July. I know there is a lot going on and a lot of artists who need your support :-) (I decided to combine the two months since I will be in Mexico in July.) Here's what's going on with me! Hedwig and the Angry Inch - I'm playing Yitzhak in my favorite play ever, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and I've been rehearsing like crazy lately with the band! They are all really awesome, though! We've got Valerie Pool on piano, Monica Nicole on lead guitar, Colin Freeman on bass, and Jason Sokášlic on drums. As Yitzhak, I'm mostly singing backup and playing a little rhythm guitar. The show is shaping up to be a really good one, especially with Matthew Gordon as Hedwig. If you are in the Augusta area, June 18th and 19th, stop by Sky City and check out the show! Here is a little commercial! :-) The Cult Following - We're just trucking along in the band, and I'm having the best time with these guys. They are really incredible musicians and just awesome guys to be around. We have a couple of shows coming up in June!
Other than that, I'm getting ready to begin the University of New Orleans Low Residency MFA in Playwriting in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico! I'm so incredibly excited about this! First of all, I'm really starting to miss being in school. It will nice to have classes again. I'm taking a Playwriting Workshop and a class called Form and Idea. I've already started on the reading, and they both seem like they will be really interesting classes. And I'm excited to get back into playwright mode after taking a few months off. Also, we have all of these really amazing excursions planned (like going to see the pyramids!), and there are tango classes, film screenings, student readings, and a ton of other awesome activities planned. Now I just need to work on my Spanish, which is severely lacking for the time being. Haha. So I may be sort of inactive here on the website while I'm San Miguel, but I'm sure I'll post a few travel-related blogs. And I'm definitely going to be involved in a lot of artistic activities in Mexico, so I'm sure I'll write about those, too. :-) I'm hoping to be much more involved in playwriting and theatre when I get back from Mexico. I'm sure that I will as I'll be writing a lot for my grad school classes (which I will be doing online in the fall). I'd like to be more involved with Working Title Playwrights, for example, as they have had a lot of really exciting events going on recently. There are just so many incredible things going on in the Atlanta theatre scene, the Atlanta music scene, the Atlanta visual arts scene...it's hard to get to everything! That's the best problem you can have, though, I think. Having so many incredible opportunities to share, create, and experience art that you simply can't cram them all into your life. Haha. But as always, I will try! Maybe if I cut out other things like sleep. Who needs that, right? Music/theatre/art is so much more important! :-p I hope everyone is having an amazing summer so far! I know I am! It's really busy, but I absolutely love everything that I'm doing, so I can't complain. :-) Well, I'm off to Java Monkey for poetry night! Thank you for the support with the new backing band! And with life, in general. :-) Sara Crawford and the Cult Following...and the ZomB Nation...5.20.10 Smith's Olde Bar - photo by Kyndal Foshee Hey everyone!! First of all, thank you SOOO much for all of the awesome support for the first two shows with my new backing band, the Cult Following. Both the show at Lenny's last weekend and the show last night at Smith's Olde Bar in the Atlanta Room were definitely successful, and we all had a blast!! I am so grateful to have so many people in my life who are so supportive of new and local music. I try really hard to thank everyone individually for coming to the show, but there is always so much going on at shows that sometimes I miss people. And I'm really sorry for that! I never do it intentionally. So if you're at one of my shows, make sure you come say hi to me if I don't say hi to you! I'm not trying to ignore anyone. I just get REALLY distracted by everything that I have to do at shows, and sometimes I need people to be like "HEY! SARA! I'M HERE!" for me to notice them. Haha. I'm slow, what can I say? Anyway, though, I just want to say thank you so, so, so much to all of you who take the time to make it out to my shows. I appreciate that more than any of you will ever know. It's not easy to be a local original musician sometimes, and we definitely need all of the support we can get. So thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. One day I will make cookies for all of you! (Haha. And special thanks to the ZomB Nation. ZOM-BIES! ZOM-BIES! ZOM-BIES!) I put photos up from both shows on the photos/videos page for those of you who want to check those out. (Photos taken by the awesome Kyndal Foshee.) Also, there are three tracks from the Smith's show (courtesy of Z-Man!) on my music page if you want to check those out! And there will be a couple of videos up in the near future as well so stay tuned for that. Also, if you haven't gotten a chance to see us, we will be be playing another show at Cool Beans in the Marietta Square, Saturday, May 29th at 9:00 pm. This show is FREE, all ages, and Goodland and Strangelove will be playing as well! Music starts at 7:00 so get there early, drink some coffee, and have a fun night :-) I have a lot going on lately! I recently got some news about some upcoming poetry publications! My poem "Coffee Roaster" will be in the fall issue of Aries, the literary journal from Texas Wesleyan University, and my poems "For Frank" and "Visiting" will be in the fall issue of Illogical Muse. This is very exciting to me, especially with my first ever book of poems, Coiled and Swallowed, coming out on September 7, 2010 from Virgogray Press. I'm also thinking about doing some sort of poetry night event at Cool Beans or somewhere for my book release. Have the first half of the evening be "open mic" with various poets reading their work, and then I'd read some of my poems from the book and have copies available. And also, I'd encourage all of my awesome poet friends to bring their books, too. In other news, I was listening to this Wayne Dyer tape the other day, and he was talking about how one day, he received two letters from two different readers talking about one of his books. The first guy was just going on and on about how great it was and how it saved his life. The second guy told him it was the worst book he ever read and he wanted his money back. So he mailed the positive letter to the negative guy and the negative letter to the positive guy and just wrote them both back with, "You might be right." I really loved that story. Because other people's opinions are just other people's opinions. That's definitely something you should be fully aware of as an artist. I'm faced with harsh criticism and rejection quite often, but I'm also showered with compliments and have quite a bit of artistic success. It's completely subjective. I've been told that sometimes I "beat my readers over the head" with my message, but I just think it's so important! And it's worth repeating. Create art, express yourself! And support other artists! Or even just support other people in their endeavors. Even for non-artists, I just think it's really, really important to believe in yourself. I think it's important to not let your music die inside of you. Everyone is here for a reason. You all have some gift, some talent, something to offer to the world. So find it and do it! That's really all I'm trying to say. I just want to encourage people to live the lives that they've always wanted to live, ecourage people to be kind to each other, encourage people to be happy. It's a message of love. And I'll say it over and over and over again and use 18,000 exclamation points because I'm just so passionate about love and life and happiness and art!!!! And if other people have a different opinion, well, that's just their opinion. They own that, not me. And often, criticism/judgments have far more to do with the person criticizing that the person receiving the criticism. That's a good thing to remember, too. I feel like I'm just at a point in my life where I'm really growing spiritually, and I'm really figuring things out. It's a constant journey, and obviously, there's still a lot I don't know, there are still many mistakes that I've made along the way. But I try to own up to my mistakes and learn from them. Even negative situations, feelings, thoughts, etc. have within them something you can learn. Every situation offers personal growth if only you can see it! And I guess I'm just really excited about my own journey and the growth that I've been experiencing. I've gone through a lot so far this year, with the ending of a very long relationship, shifting of artistic projects, getting ready to begin grad school, and I feel like it's caused this huge shift in my perception, in the way I think about things. And once again, I am SO grateful for all of the people around me who encourage that growth, people who support me and love me no matter what crazy mistakes I make. I can never tell you how much I appreciate you. And I think that's worth repeating myself over and over again! Because I love you guys. Everyone who is reading this. I love you! Now, here, listen to some Tom Petty! Hippie rants! Out by Beverly Crawford So I needed to write a blog. ( And you're thinking, "Oh, God, here comes Sara gushing about all of the AWESOME music again!") Haha. And...that is true. My life is overflowing with good music. Right here in Atlanta! First of all, Monday night, I went to play at the Open Mic Night at Eddie's Attic. Now, typically, I'm not really a fan of making music a competition, and the Eddie's Attic Open Mic is a competitive event. At the end of the night, there is a top 3, and they all get to play an extra song. Then one person wins, and there's prize money, and they get to go on to the big Open Mic tournament they have twice a year. Usually, when music becomes a competition, I feel like the atmosphere is a lot more judgmental and critical, and there's not as much support for your fellow musician, but I think Eddie's Attic is just the opposite. Yes, it's a competition, but I think all of the musicians are really supportive of each other. Everyone actually listens to you while you're playing there, which is not true of many other venues. And I think they've done a great job at setting up a really cool atmosphere where musicians can really share their art. I saw tons of great artists Monday night! The most memorable for me was a group called Momentary Prophets. You should definitely check out their music! I really loved their whole energy and their songs are very well-crafted. Then, Wednesday, I went out to Smith's Olde Bar for the 500 Songs for Kids benefit. What a great show! They spend a week counting down the 500 greatest era-defining songs, with 500 artists covering each song! And all of the money goes towards the Songs for Kids Foundation, which is a really, really great cause. Check out some of the things they do on their website! 500 Songs for Kids is still going on tonight and tomorrow night, so make it out if you can! Or just stop by the website and donate! I saw some really great musicians on Wednesday! Drivin' N' Cryin' actually stopped by to ROCK out Tom Petty's "American Girl." There were tons of other amazing musicians playing that night, all coming together to support a great cause. It was actually really cool. And I thought my cover of Dolly's "9 to 5" went really well. I might even break that one out at future shows sometime! There is just SO MUCH GOOD MUSIC! Everywhere!!! On the internet, on independent and college radio stations, in local venues and bars, everywhere!! It's so exciting! Sometimes I feel like I'm going to explode, like I'm just going to bubble over from all of the SPECTACULAR music! I think I'm going to post another music sharing podcast coming up, too! Mostly local music, I think. So look for that! You'll see more of what I'm talking about when you can listen to it! There are a lot of really great things going on in my life right now. First of all, I'm completely STOKED about the backing band!! We finally have a new name by the way, Sara Crawford and the Cult Following. Our set for the Lenny's show is sounding awesome! We're playing the full band versions of a bunch of my Unsent Letters songs, bringing back a few of my favorite Novo Luna songs (I sang with both Adrian and Geoff in Novo Luna), playing some new songs (I have a new 50's-sounding piano tune called "Hipster Haircut" which I'm particularly excited about) and a kickass cover! And Goodland, Strangelove, and Wade in the Rhythm will all be playing, too! I can't WAIT! Also, I'm turning 25 this Sunday! I'm pretty excited. 24 was cool, but I am really looking forward to 25. I love New Years and birthdays! It feels like you get a chance to start over. I mean, you get a chance to start over every single day, really, but those two holidays seem to be symbolic of that. If you feel like getting me a birthday present, all I really want is for you to come see me and the backing band on May 14th at Lennys, May 20th at Smith's Olde Bar, and/or May 29th at Cool Beans! :-) And I'm gearing up for two really exciting things. Hedwig and the Angry Inch and my first semester of graduate school in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico! As most of you know, I'm starting graduate school this summer. I'm doing the University of New Orlean's low residency MFA in creative writing with a focus in playwriting. I opted to do this program because summer semesters are in person doing a study abroad, and fall/spring semesters are online. I thought it'd be ideal because I can travel and have new experiences but also stay in Atlanta and continue to be a part of the wonderful music and theatre scenes that are here, which I've fallen in love with. So, this July, I'll be starting the grad school experience! I'll be in Mexico from July 3rd to July 31st, and I could not be more PSYCHED ! I feel like everything is just flowing effortlessly. I made some health decisions recently, and I've been surrounding myself with amazing, positive, loving people. Sometimes I'm just completely giddy. I'll just go on random laughing fits over seemingly nothing because there's just so much joy! I've also been doing a lot of self-work, spiritually and otherwise, making a lot of self-discoveries. I feel like I'm starting to find the love within myself, which makes it so much easier to love others because it's a more pure love, it's not a love based on needing approval or co-dependency. It's a constant journey though, a process! I just feel like finally my eyes have been opened and I can actually appreciate and see my growth, my journey, the lessons I am learning, and that's a really amazing thing. It definitely helps to have so many incredible people in my life who inspire me every day. Now that I've gone on a total hippie rant. Haha. It's okay. I can accept my hippiness. I still have a job and take showers, so I'm not a COMPLETE hippie, right? Well, guys, the weather outside is gorgeous, everything is beautiful, and on any given day, there are at least ten incredible things to do here in Atlanta. Go see a play! Go to an art gallery! Go see a band! Go see an independent film! Go try a new beer! Go for a walk in the park! Go read a book of poems! Go tell someone you appreciate then! Go make a mixy for someone! Draw someone a picture! Drive around aimlessly just to listen to good music! There is SO much to do, so much beauty in the world, so much love, so much to be happy about! So go be happy. :-) Asheville, SO MUCH GOOD MUSIC, shows with my new backing band, other May events! MAY IS HERE!!! May is always one of my favorite months of the year (and not just because my birthday is May 9th!). I have had the opportunity to see SO many incredible musicians live recently! I recently saw Beach House (who I'm currently totally obsessing over) in Asheville, North Carolina. What a wonderful experience! First of all, I'm totally in love with Asheville. It's a beautiful town in the middle of the mountains, there are tons of really friendly, laid back people, and the music/arts scene is completely thriving. Thursday night, my little brother and I went up to check out an open mic night at the Courtyard Gallery. That was one of the most diverse and unique open mic nights I've ever been to! I had a great time. Afterwards, we just wandered around Asheville where TONS of bands were playing in several different bars/venues. We finally stumbled across a bluegrass band called The Blooms. They were totally ROCKING IT OUT! They had so much energy and passion! It was contagious! People were dancing and having a great time. Needless to say, the Beach House show was completely amazing, totally worth driving four hours. (They actually played in Atlanta at The Earl the night before they played Asheville, but that show sold out in like five minutes and I couldn't get a ticket! And besides. Any excuse for a road trip!) I just love everything about them, their stage presence, the way Alex Scally's guitar parts intertwine with the organ and the vocals so well, Victoria Legrande's passionate vocals, the overwhelming longing and emotion in every single note. They played every song from their latest album, Teen Dream, which I was thrilled about because I'm completely in love with the album. I loved being in Asheville. The whole town just seemed to be in love with music the way that I am and everyone seemed so supportive of local and independent musicians. I would love to live in a place like Asheville someday. And I plan on going back and playing a show there sometime in the near future, hopefully with my backing band. Speaking of the backing band and my music, May is going to be a HUGE month for me/us. - Monday, May 3rd - 7:00 pm - I will be playing Open Mic Night at Eddie's Attic in Decatur. This is a pretty big Open Mic Night. It's a competition, and the winners win prizes and get a chance to compete in the Open Mic Tournament! Musicians come from all around to play here. You have to sign up for it months in advance! One of the judging criteria is audience response so if you aren't doing anything tomorrow night (er...tonight?), come down and cheer me on :-) - Wednesday, May 5th - 11:00 pm - I will be playing "9 to 5" by Dolly Parton for 500 Songs for Kids at Smith's Olde Bar. This should be SO much fun!! And it's for a great cause. 500 Songs for Kids is going on all week, so check it out at some point! - Friday, May 14th - 9:00 pm - Lenny's Bar - FIRST SHOW WITH BACKING BAND - First of all, I'm ecstatic to be playing with these guys. I always leave band practice with a huge smile on my face. They're giving my solo songs so much ENERGY! And they're all such solid musicians. I absolutely love playing music with these guys. And I'm REALLY excited about the Lenny's show because Goodland and Wade in the Rhythm will be joining us!! So make sure you come check that out! - Thursday, May 20th - 10:00 pm - Smith's Olde Bar - Atlanta Room - We are playing another show (me and the backing band). The Atlanta Room is one of my favorite places to play, and I'm just so excited to be getting out there with the new band!!! So come out and support local music :-) - Saturday, May 29th - 7:00 pm - Cool Beans - Marietta, GA - We'll be playing outside of Cool Beans, my favorite coffee shop ever. This show is free and all ages, so for those of you who can't get into Lenny's or Smith's, make sure you come check this show out!!! Of course, we all know this blog definitely isn't just about me and my artistic projects. I just want to share art with people!!! I can't say that enough. I'm just so excited about it all! So here are a few really cool events coming up in May where you can support local/independent artists!!! MUSIC - May 5 - Krog Jam - Electric Duane - The Ruination - Invisible Circus - May 15 - Star Bar - A Fight to the Death (CD release) - Adron - May 21-22 - Freedom Fest at The Lake Claire Community Land Trust - Wade in the Rhythm - Selmanaires - Charlie Wooten Project - Carnivores - The Nice Guise - The Jason Allbright Band - Invisible Circus - Abby GoGo and many, many more! - May 25 - The Earl - Tealights - The Sour Notes - Little Tybee THEATRE - Jitney - True Colors Theatre Company - May 2 - 30 - A boisterous gypsy cab station offers a poetic thrill ride look into the vitality of life in Pittsburgh’s Hill District in 1977. A son returns home after twenty years imprisoned to face his father whose station is threatened with demolition. Battling the forces of urban redevelopment, the motley crew of drivers plan, dream and muse in this rich blooded humorous testament to August Wilson’s enduring legacy. - The Nerd - The Rosewater Theatre - April 23 - May 22 - One of the funniest plays ever written, this extraordinarily inventive, side-splitting comedy was first presented by the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, then produced in Great Britain, then went on to Broadway. The action centers on the hilarious dilemma of a young architect who is visited by a man he's never met but who saved his life in Vietnam—the visitor turning out to be an incredibly inept, hopelessly stupid "nerd" who outstays his welcome with a vengeance. VISUAL ARTS - Disaster Planning - May 1 - 30 - Young Blood Gallery - with Atlanta artists Steven Dixey, Stenvik Mostrom, & Kenn TwoFour We're bloggin' and I hope you like bloggin' too... Hedwig logo by Melanie Rivera Well, ladies and gentleman (whether you like it or not), I've been cast as Yitzhak in my absolute favorite play ever, Hedwig and the Angry Inch. I'm so, so, SO excited. I have such a history with this play! When they did the play in 2003 at Actor's Express a couple of my friends and I were the official groupies for the show. I think we saw it like 30 times. We'd dress up and make signs and virtually be a part of the show. I've always absolutely loved this play and the film. John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask are totally brilliant. (Especially Stephen Trask! I love the music!) I could talk forever about the show, but I won't....right now... I also booked another gig at Smith's Olde Bar in the Atlanta Room recently! I'll be playing there Thursday, May 20th. Hopefully with my new backing band! So far, the backing band consists of Geoff Goodwin on bass (of Novo Luna, Night Eve, Goodland, 18,000 other bands that have played around Atlanta - haha) and Brian Teague on drums (check out his solo stuff, Eat the Sun - it's badass), and we're adding Adrian Rhetts on lead guitar (Novo Luna, The Dali Standard). I'm really, really excited! These guys are all really solid musicians but laid back and fun to be around and play music with. So far, it's been really fun, and I love adding a fuller sound to my songs! Speaking of awesome, I've realized lately how many friends I have that are creating incredible art, whether it's visual, theatre, music, film, literature, etc. I know I sound like a broken record with that, but it really makes me happy! So stay tuned. I plan on doing more promoting other people's art in the near future, in any way that I can! Looking forward to an awesome weekend! Tonight, it's off to the con for Rocky Horror! Tomorrow, show hopping at Smith's Olde Bar and the Five Spot! And Sunday, Easter with my awesome family followed by practice with the groovy backing band. Plus, it has returned to FLIP FLOP WEATHER. Life is good, people. 
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