stomp along

When I was touring through Seattle a few weeks ago,
my sis (also a songwriter, who lives in seattle) took me
to her neighborhood open mic at Conor Byrne. She has
been going to this open mic for several years now.













photo by Eratosthenes Fackenthall
The place was packed that sunday night and I swear she knew everyone
by first name. It really did feel like a neighborhood pub
should feel. This open mic is especially a hot spot because it
is run by a member of The Head & The Heart--a really cool
new band that is taking the music scene by storm. Several
members of the band met at the open mic last year and soon
after formed the band. They were just recently signed by sub-pop records.
I love stories like this. I think I read Josh Ritter met Glen Hansard
at an open mic. Synchronicites like this are rad.











Photo by Eratosthenes Fackenthall


Buy the album here:

This band loves to stomp, and clap, and shout and involve the audience.
When they got up to play, the crowd got quiet, everyone pushed in close,
then the whole audience started stomping together...it was great to be
in a room where every member of the audience was invested in what was
going on. They had a few friends who grabbed attention on the stage, one being
a cool cat named Bryan John Appleby.

On another note, I participated in an event called The Song Bomb today.
My friend Tim organizes it each year, and every day of the month a
guest songwriter is assigned a topic and they write a song in a day. Tim then
also writes a song on the same topic that day. Today was my day.
My song is posted here. Having to write a song in a day takes away some
of the preciousness that sometimes comes with the territory. It is about
writing, but also about letting go of expectations and taking fear out
of the equation. I have some dear friends involved as well,
like Chuck E. Costa, Christopher Smith, and Mai Bloomfield.
Tune into all month.

xoxo
s