Noel

A couple years ago I did a little tinkering with "The First Noel". It has always been one of my favorite carols. I changed the melody, messed with the rhythm, went modal. Then added 2 violins and a cello, tom drum and shaker, and performed it with a bunch of friends at Christmas time. Audiences seemed to like it, and I've always thought I should do something more with it. Maybe find some different poetry so I could play it year round. Maybe record it as a holiday single. Or maybe re-score it for choir?

I have the privilege of being the accompanist for an incredible choir, the Oregon Repertory Singers. So in many hours spent with make-me-crazy Finale computer software, I set "Noel" for choir, and hoped it would be good enough for them. And this Christmas, ORS is singing the "world premier" of my piece.

Last week we rehearsed it for the first time. To hear 60+ singers sing something I wrote was truly exhilarating. It sounded so much better than me plunking out the parts at home on my piano. I did my best to hold myself together, while I improvised my part. I'll probably write something for the piano eventually, so other choirs can perform it. But for now it's my little gift to ORS, and their gift to me in singing it. Thank you ORS!

Recording session: Piano

We just recorded over half of the piano tracks for the new CD!

I love recording sessions. They are so intense in focus and creativity. And to finally be the one on the instrument, creating tracks on my own songs, was truly exciting.

Dead Aunt Thelma's Recording Studio in Portland, Oregon is a great place to record piano, because it has a nice 7-foot Steinway piano. I got some sweet sounds out of that thing: resonant bass tones, clear mid section, singing but not-too bright high notes, an even action throughout, and a lovely soft pedal effect. It did everything I needed it to. That makes a pianist happy.

Dean Baskerville was there serving as producer and engineer. It's nice having one person that can do both jobs! It's like a two-for-one deal. And he is SUCH a perfectionist, which I am so thankful for. I need someone picky. Someone that would hear if I wasn't quite in the pocket or if the piano pedal squeaked. Or any strange minute little thing that could happen while recording that you would hear later and say "What was that?"

When Dean is listening intently, he covers his eyes. I caught him in one of his regular poses:

Such an intense artist!

Dean mic'd the piano just right to capture everything. For one song, "Hey Yeah," he added this old-school ribbon mic, which made the piano sound a bit vintage. Very cool.

Jeramy Burchett came to part of the session to co-produce with Dean on the song "Words or not". Get those two together and the creative ideas really start flying. They had me try a bunch of different ideas, and we ended up with some great sounds. Different rhythms between my left and right hands, cluster chords, Coldplay-esque driving eighth notes.... the song has been transformed! It was like watching my baby grow up in fast forward.

All of my other recording projects up to this point have been "live", in that all the musicians plug in at the same time and record all at once. They are charming and raw with their flaws and group inspiration. But this project is different. It's being produced. Each instrument is tracked and recorded separately. So each player can take the time to make it right.

Which means multiple takes, punch-ins, edits... all part of the trade. As the night went long, though, the performer in me was itching to get one song in one take. And then it happened. The last song of the night, Joni Mitchell's "Both sides now". I sat down, played through it one time, and Dean said, "I think that's it." Ahhhh. I went home feeling good.

Next up - strings. Tim Ellis on guitar. Wahoo! Stay tuned.

Gigging with Michele Van Kleef

Crazy story how I met Michele... we've actually lived a 2 minute walk from each other for awhile now, but met just in this last year because our kids attend the same preschool. At one of the first parent/teacher gatherings, it was very cool to meet another performing musician in such a small group of parents.

Then, come to find out, Michele was the real deal - she was the girl lead singer in the band Calobo! When I was in college at the University of Puget Sound, I was a Calobo groupie. And Michele remembered the packed concerts at the UPS Student Union Building.....I was a little star struck for a sec there.....

So we became friends, our kids became friends (actually, her daughter has already decided that my son will be her husband someday), and we got some gigs on the calendar.

Rehearsing was a bit of an issue because of having children around all the time, but we made it work. With one child napping upstairs and 2 children dancing around us at most of the rehearsals, we got 14 songs ready! With background vocals and all. Her songs, my songs, some covers, jazz standards, it was quite the mix.

We played 2 shows: the Heathman Oct 8 and The Allison in Newberg Oct 9. Bill Athens joined us on upright bass. There was quite a crowd! It was so fun playing for such an enthusiastic and supportive audience.

Michele has an amazing voice, and harmonizing with a good vocalist is so much more fun than singing solo! She also brought her guitar and added some really nice layers to the instrumentation.

A few of my favorite moments from the gigs:

- Michele's song "Paint you red". What a beautiful song! Very cool chord changes. And the blend of piano, bass, and guitar was magical.

- My song "Love on a rainy day". Michele added a lovely low duet part to the choruses and bridge.

- During the song "Lucy in the sky with diamonds," this strange guy got up in front, sang it with me at the top of his lungs, and twirled his girlfriend around in front of the piano. The whole room was cracking up, and by the final chorus everyone was singing along.

We hope to get more duo gigs on the calendar.... stay tuned!

My first music video. Ha ha, not really!

My friend Michele caught me on video at my last gig -

"My Superman" - Live performance at the Allison Inn, October 9, 2010.

A vibey drum session

After months of pre-production, I'm so excited to say some official tracks have been recorded. Stuff you will actually hear on the album is finally on tape! Well, saved in a computer file - you get what I mean.

Jackpot Recording Studio in Portland, OR, is a great place for recording drums. Good and plentiful gear, nice acoustics, vibey.

And most of the sound panels are covered with either Barney purple or bright orange fabric, on bright green walls. So retro, you can't help but feel creative there.

I hired Jeramy Burchett, a fantastic session player and producer as well. The set-up of microphones and drum equipment was quite extensive.

There were mics next to the drums, in the drums, over the drums, under the drums, around the room. I'm so glad Dean (producer and engineer extraordinaire) can keep it all straight.

Dean and Jeramy collaborate regularly, so their communication was all dialed in. Dean is also a drummer, so he had a lot of ideas going into the session.

I followed most of their "drum session speak" and really enjoyed watching their creative process.

Jeramy brought a ton of gear. I think I saw around 10 snare drums! He is very committed to getting the right sound. Even with all he brought, he even went to a nearby music shop that day and bought more gear to get the right effects on one of the tunes: a cymbal sizzler and this white pillowy bass drum beater. Instead of calling him the drummer with "all the bells and whistles", I coined a phrase: "the drummer with all the sizzles and pillows."

For one of the tunes, a tom drum groove was front and center in the mix, so Jeramy spent a good chunk of time tuning them in octaves. I was really glad he was such a perfectionist about it. It took awhile but it was worth it for the song.

We had 8 tunes on the docket for the day - which is a lot, usually Dean and Jeramy do only 5-6 in a day. As the day went long, Dean had to tease Jeramy: "We'd be so much faster if you didn't have to tune your toms in octaves on each song."

It was a session full of vibe. We actually used the word "vibey" to describe many things that day. You can use it for almost anything! The urban dictionary defines vibey as: to describe a feeling, a place or atmosphere. Try it. You will feel so vibey saying "vibey".

Thank you to Dean and Jeramy for all the artistry, perfectionism, and commitment to the best sounds possible for each song.

In the studio with drummer Jeramy Burchett and producer Dean Baskerville

A sunny day for the photo shoot... finally!

"Those sunny days, with their sunny rays, can sometimes seem few and far between...."

A line from one of my songs, "Hey Yeah", was so true this September in Portland, Oregon. September also happened to be the month for the outdoor photo shoot for the new album. We wanted summertime photos, but had to wait because Annie Schilperoort, the amazing photographer I just HAD to use, was on maternity leave through August. September hit and then it was just rain, rain, rain every day! Luckily we had a few days to choose from, and as they always say, 3rd time was the charm. Day 3 of all of the possible day options the stars aligned: clouds parted, the sun shone, all the clothing made it in the car, and childcare was lined up for all the women involved (hair stylist, makeup artist, photographer, and myself).

I was so excited when I left my house that morning, because I had put so much prep into the day. A few months ago I asked myself, how do you create images that mirror the music on the album? How does auditory art transfer to visual art? What is the setting, what are the clothes, what is the style, what kind of piano should I play on? First I spent a lot of time thinking about the music. What are the main themes in my lyrics? What musical styles are represented? It came down to 4 elements:

1. nature

2. romance

3. vintage

4. current

Okay if you've read this far, surely you'll keep going!

Nature: I refer to beauty in the natural world over and over again in my lyrics. It's so inspiring! I love being outside. I wish it was summer all the time. All I want for Christmas is a mountain bike and a couple days to ride on the Deschutes River Trail...

Romance: a jazz-influenced album just has to be romantic. Plus I have a few songs inspired by my marriage in the line-up.

Vintage: yeah, I'm a little old-fashioned. I bake sourdough bread and am trying my hand at pickling. Plus I spent all my college years studying classical music, which is vintage and timeless and so lovely - of course there will be elements of classical music on the album, my hands can't help it when they're at the piano. Oooh, and a string quartet!

Current: It feels like I'm finally standing in my own shoes with this album. Mostly original tunes performed in a unique blend of musical styles that is brand new - I hope!

Once I had these 4 elements clear, planning this shoot became really fun. My friends Emily, Stephanie, and Tiffany leant me clothes from their closets. I emailed a local designer, Kate Towers, and borrowed some of her one-of-a-kind pieces. I collected dozens of pictures online for reference. I hoofed around Sauvie Island with my kids and mom, scoping out the best spots.

Finally when the day came, it was like pushing the GO button. First stop, hair and makeup. I didn't want to look like a glamour girl. Just romantic, natural, outdoorsy. My professional stylist friends Tiffany and Bri spent nearly 2 hours covering me in makeup, curls and hair spray. It's amazing how much product and time goes into creating a "natural" look.

I put on the first outfit, picked up Annie, and headed over to the first photo setting: my friend Shirley's house. She has this cool vintage piano in a craftsman style house. And Shirley is a total groupie. She rarely ever misses a show and has supported me in my music and personal life for over 10 years. It was so special to take the "piano" shots at her house. And when we left, of course she sent us out the door with homemade gingersnaps. Love her.

Then Annie and I were off to Sauvie Island. First stop, a little pond. I changed in the open air to outfit #2 (an amazing Kate Towers dress!) next to my car (luckily there was no one there!) and pretty much walked into the pond. I love the water, so why not have some shots IN the water?

Then we headed to a wild Oak Tree area. Nothing made by humans in these settings, like orchards, fences, or barns. Just wild old trees and grasses. We did have to shoo away some insects and watch out for deer droppings, but that's just part of it all, right? I actually climbed an oak tree at one point. Then clothing change number 2 right there in the trees. Luckily no hikers ambling by.

Final stop, the Sauvie Island beach. Right at sunset - Annie said the light was perfect! We found some old driftwood to pose on, sat in the sand, stuck our toes in the water. Annie had brought these pink dalias that added just the right touch of romance.

Annie was just amazing the whole time - the few shots she showed me in the viewer on her camera were so artistic. And she kept me laughing by acting silly. I was so thankful to have a good friend for my photographer, because it's honestly quite a challenge for me to not feel like a total dork when I'm posing for a camera.

I haven't seen the official proofs yet, but I'm excited for them. Just to give you an idea of the look, here is a snapshot from my camera, taken just before we headed out to the beach:

So now the rain can fall and I won't be mad at it anymore. I'll grab my coffee, my kids, a blanket, and curl up on the couch with "The tawny scrawny lion". My kids will pick out which bunny they want to be on the carrot soup page. I'll still wish it was summer, but I'll accept the fall. The photo shoot is done!