I'm staying home tonight.
It's New Year's Eve and I want to make sure I'm paying attention at the exact moment that the year changes over. I take this sort of thing seriously, ask any of my friends. I'm the girl who, on the night before her own birthday, lights candles and says little wishes aloud for a good year of growth and learning. So, you can just imagine how I get when it's a brand new year for all of us. Forget about it, full-on arson.
I was just away from home for a full week, in Boston and then New York. Good lord, it was an action-packed week. My sweetheart and I went to spend the holiday with my side of the family in New England. My ten thousand year old hand-me-down minivan chose that particular road trip to retire from duty for good. There we were, stranded on the side of the road outside Kingsport, TN with nothing but a AAA card and a waning morale. Five hours in. We ended up renting one of those straight-to-rental cars that bit the PT Cruiser's rhymes: the Chevy HHR. Nothing short of limited visibility and an awkward amount of room for your crap. Whatever. We crammed the contents of the abandoned van into said vehicle and continued North.
Here's the good news:
1. We now got better gas mileage and had one of those "AUX" hook-ups for the old i-pod. My former ride would maybe play a CD if the weather was between 65 and 82 degrees. Otherwise, you could kiss it's Honda ass. Truth.
2. Both of us arrived to Boston (albeit a full day late) with all of our limbs and a percentage of our wits, however dwindling.
3. Rental cars are always nicer and cleaner than any car I ever seem to own, so that was a plus.
Once in Boston, we had a really nice holiday at my brother's house with his tiny legion of pets. He has two Staffies that just had eight puppies a couple of weeks ago... So, literally Christmas and puppies. Not too shabby. My brother rules, and we hadn't spent this season together in three years, for a collection of reasons, so I'm grateful that we were able to do so this year. Boston, in typical form, went ahead and had a blizzard while we were there, which limited our mobility quite a bit, but, hey. If you've see it once, you're good. The raddest thing I have to report from that chapter of the trip, is the show that I played with my pals and brother. Holy crap, was that great. Back in my days of plotting murders and wearing warpaint, I was in a band called 33 Slade. We all converged at this funky little restaurant/venue called ZuZu in Cambridge, on December 27th, and had a complete and total success story.
My brother Bo, who is my all-time favorite drummer, has been writing music for the past few years. I've heard it in bits and pieces, here and there... But, man, he has gotten GOOD. His project is called Fortune Teller, and features a Classical style guitar player, an electric lead guitarist, an electric bassist and a drummer. Bo sings. At this particular show, Jerry Roe played drums, and was pretty amazing, if I might put my thirty-three cents in. The songs are smart, musical, interesting, and full of twists that you don't expect. Bo's voice is beautiful and honest, and leaves you wanting more. I got to sing harmonies on a couple of songs, which made me a very happy big sister.
I played next, and did a couple songs alone, and then was joined by my family for a handful of songs. Bo played drums, Levi Fuller played bass, Jerry Roe and Dave Walsh took turns on electric guitar, and harmonies were sung by Seth Bodie and my mom, Catherine Huebsch. What a treat. I usually play alone, so to have all of that wonderful energy around me while I sang was a real gift.
Levi played after me, and did a super cool job, with all of his magical pedals and tricks. He's a great songwriter, and presents his song with exactly the right amount of sentiment and technical know-how. I'm a fan, and I'm not just saying that because he's my oldest friend. For real. We all jumped up with him for two of his songs, like you probably figured we might. Bo played drums, Jerry played bass (he's pretty multi-talented, eh?), and I sang along. I also sang on the most recent record, which I will now plug right here: Colossal by Levi Fuller... http://www.levifuller.com/ I highly recommend it; it's excellent.
The mind reels that the evening held even more, but, it did. At the very end, after we all showed our stuff as individual songwriters and singers, Levi, Bo and I got up and played three songs as our old band, and it ROCKED. What a fun, face-melting time. It really made me think about how much I loved to play like that, and need to again very soon. While I am super happy writing and producing my solo stuff, there really is nothing like being part of a proper band of peers. Not to mention, the three of us have that crazy chemistry that made it feel like we'd just played together last week, instead of seven years ago. I know all too well how rare that is, having joined forces with all kinds of folks since those days. Magic is magic. In conclusion, the night was pretty epic. Thanks to everyone who played, helped out, and attended the show. You contributed to one of my favorite nights of being a music-maker so far.
Sadly, that was our last night in B-Town. I had to haul ass to New York the next day (and by "haul ass", I mean drive for six hours in gross snow and sludge and stop fifty times for coffee and bathroom breaks), to play a solo show at Rockwood Music Hall. We literally pulled into town about 35 minutes before I had to be on stage, which had me feeling pretty frantic, I'm not going to lie to you. I'm a stickler for punctuality, and being late for my own show seems impossibly lame. To my shock and awe, New York had actually either:
A. Had more snow fall than Boston, or
B. Done a much worse job of clearing the snow than Boston.
It was mayhem. Driving and parking alike, forget it. But, we got to the show, and I played my songs which always glues me back together, somehow. I had some friends and strangers in attendance and it was lovely to see them all. Thank you to my pals who braved the mountains of snow to hear me sing.
Special thanks to Chad for not only showing up, but wearing his Singer shirt and at least three Swarovski crystal accessories. Positively Divine.
The final frontier of the road trip involved going to Madison Square Garden to see the greatest living performer on Earth: Prince. That's right, I said it. Any disputes can be sent to: Kiss My Butt, Nashville, TN. The man rules all, and still manages to elicit sentimentalism, envy, worship, laughter, tears and booty-shaking from me, with almost every song he plays. I got tickets for my mom and bro for Christmas, so the four of us went together. A great time was had by all, for sure. After that, our brains were officially fried, and we headed back towards Nashville, where we are now, gratefully mellowing out for the weekend.
So, tomorrow is the start of a brand new year. It has big shoes to fill, as this year has been pretty major for me, all around.
I don't know if I've ever really said this aloud to y'all, but I won my first two Grammys this year. Yes I did.
I finished an album that took me three years to make, which will be out on February 22nd. And, I did it without the help of my long-time collaborator, Mario Quintero, which was huge. Moving right along.
I started to work with new people, which I loved and can't wait to do more of.
I got engaged to a wonderful man, which is so lovely and happy-making.
I played shows with some of my favorite people in the world, which will happen in spades next year.
I took some risks, and acted out of bravery more than fear, which is the daily struggle for me.
If I can be accountable to you, and to myself here, I aim to be better, going forward. A better friend, partner, daughter, sister, musician... Better.
We all have our reasons to hold still in life, and they are often valid.
Sometimes being still is safer than flailing around, which is the only kind of movement some of us know.
However, movement is growth, and I'm all for it.
So, tonight, when I sprinkle the fairy dust and ask Freddie Mercury and Divine to guide me gracefully through the next year, I will also ask for the strength to outgrow old patterns, cultivate news ones, and call just call Rick Rubin already,
once and for all.
May you all soar to the heights you dream of.
I'm cheering for you.
Happy New Year.
xoxo, bu
P.S. Here are song lists and photo links:
(Both of my dresses are made from tablecloths and handkerchiefs.)
12.27 (as Buick Audra)
rainbow road
the worst of me
simply said
true story
brilliant mistakes
strong as you think
younger all the time
12.27 (as 33 Slade)
mourning Rush
in lieu of the assembly
shit for friends
http://www.flickr.com/photos/buickaudra/sets/72157625591375703/
12.28
rainbow road
the worst of me
between ocean and sea
brilliant mistakes
true story
brand new lie
younger all the time
http://www.flickr.com/photos/buickaudra/sets/72157625716906232/
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