So sleepy

I'm rather tired this morning, but last night was worth the heartache. Another fabulous evening at Mayslacks in Northeast Minneapolis. That place is wonderful...the Twin Cities in a nutshell actually. Energetic, appreciative patrons, tasty food and fabulous jack & gingers : )

I arrived a bit late as I was finishing the whole beer bottling at Vine Park...nasty business, but I'm sure I'll recover. Rena Haus had just hit the stage when I arrived so I was able to hear most of her set. She's full of heart. A true folk/blues songstress who plays from her soul...I loved every single song. Mary Cutrufello was next....Bruce Springstein's long lost sister. Straight rock and roll. You have to see it to believe it. Molly Maher was absolutley charming and I have to say she's probably the most knowledgable guitar goddess in the whole damn state. I adore playing Mayslacks and I want to thank Paul Metsa for putting the whole Chick's Rule Series together. Thank you also to Jessica and Rick who brought down a slew of friends to check out some new music. You guys made my night!

Have a safe ad happy new year...I'll be at First Ave...

None

Mr. Manager and I went out to eat for his birthday last night...I had the most delicious meal since...uhm...Christmas dinner I guess : ) We browsed some web sites to get ideas for reformatting mine. Best Buy is probably going to part with a digital camcorder soon, because they're too neat not to buy one! Could be fun making my own video too...

I'm off to CD shop ... : )

still vacationing...

Miss Kitty is no longer traumatized after driving all over the midwest. She was surprisingly well behaved but every once in a while let out a miew of distress. She's so cute : )

Lots of cash, lots of gifts and lots of family...all in all a very good Christmas.

I hope to see everyone at Mayslacks on Monday night for the Chick's Rule show...should be a fun and lively show.

Bye for now - Anne

Chicks to Check Out

Hattie, MJ Kroll & Tracey Johnson. Now the story...Last night I was asked to fill in at a benefit, the Rainbow Families Toy Drive. Of course I agreed, you know me, anything for the kiddies (ha!). Anyway, Boom hosted the event so I walked into music, dance videos and some fabulous Christmas decorations. We started a bit late but I was able to sing my short set to an attentive and joyful crowd, followed by MJ Kroll, Hattie then Tracey. MJ has this Joni Mitchell thing going on; her songs are stories, the suck you in, carry you along and 3 minutes later you find yourself at the end of a beautiful fairy-tale. Her songs are real and earthy; presented with heart and more often than not, a smile. I was rather taken with her narrative : )Hattie was next. Fun, fun, fun! It's so refreshing to see an artist with intensity. She's leathal when she gets going. Her voice is powerful but she only unleashes it occasionally. During her set I was leaning forward on the couch to catch every single word; Hattie wasn't quiet, I simply wasn't going to miss a moment of the music. She covered Sinead O'Connor and "Killing Me Softly" (can't remember who wrote that one). The songs flowed from one to the next and we ended up trading CD's after the show to listen a bit more this morning.

Tracey was the energy for the evening. She's well loved by the audience and had to turn down requests due to time constraints and the fact that she wanted all of us to come up and sing some x-mas carols for the crowd. She's not afraid of emoting and her vocals energy can knock you over. Her delivery is hysterical and I walked away knowing that we all had fun.

I'm feeling a sense of discovery with these women. When I left the Robert Randolph show at the Cedar this winter I was blown away; a new variety of music exploded right before my very eyes. After playing and listening last night, I feel that same unearthing. The fantastic part about all of this, is that it's my music! This is what I do! We play, we love, we hurt and we present it to anyone who will listen with just voice and guitar. Our weapons are few, but strong and honest. For me, I was enlivened, rejuvenated. To clarify, our styles and personalities are glaringly different, but our hearts seem to be aligned with the desire and dedication to perform.

I could go on and on and on about it, but I'll just finish off with the fact that I will see these women again, we have plans to play again sometime in the near future and had I known what I was in for last night - I would have paid for the pleasure.

Charity

I was called this morning and asked to sing, last minute, for a benefit taking place tonight at Boom in Northeast Minneapolis. Should be short and sweet...and probably a lot of fun. One of my favorite dance clubs is right next door (Ground Zero).

I don't have any toys to bring so I'll just sing for my supper. Good thing I was in a Christmas mood last night; I played carols on the guitar well past dark. I should be good and ready to party by 7:30 tonight.

Cheers!

Stuff

Kitty opened some of my presents yesterday. Long story, but I like what I got : )

I made beer last night at the Vine Park Brewery in St. Paul...it's about as close to gross as I can get. Not a beer drinker myself so you can imagine my delight at making 16 gallons of it. The idea is fabulous, the place is welcoming and the staff is very friendly. However, I just spent the entire evening wearing heat gloves and holding my breathe to stop the nausea ....hops isn't a pleasant scent.

I hope the giftee enjoys the beer because this is the most difficult present I've ever been a part of. Ugh. I spent the remainder of the evening in bed taking deep breaths and drinking herbal tea. I'm such a wuss.

I'll have another Riverview Cafe date for the music calendar shortly. Also, don't forget about Mayslacks on December 30th.

Random

I ordered one box of chocolates to give as a gift and FIVE boxes arrived instead! How fabulous is that!

I fell in love with a little kitten named Minneapolis last night at the Humane Society (She looks more like a Bella or Anastasia or something though)

Amy at Collected Sounds.com mentioned that Imogen Heap came out with a new album clled Frou Frou...I must pick that up!

Still knee deep in Anne Rice. It's a good day...

Sorry

I forgot to post yesterday. I'm not sick, not tired, just busy. I finished "Pandora", moved onto "The Witching Hour" and cleaned up after Miss Kitty who was a little sick last night (probably eating too much tree bark)

Boring week in music (for me)...internet stuff, e-mails and phone calls...but at least it's about music : )

Oh and open mic is tonight at the Cedar Cultural Center...might be fun to check out...

Show

This weekend was rather enjoyable. Susan Tedeschi's show at the Fineline was a bunch of fun...I just can't get enough blues! Then off to the Riverview Cafe on Saturday; nice crowd...thank you for coming and buying some stocking stuffer CD's ; )

I finished Anne Rice's Blackwood Farm - amazing, fabulous, wonderful and unbelievable. I'm reading "Pandora" right now and then I'll have to re-read "The Witching Hour".

Art always inspires more art.

Uhm, I lied. Looks like I'll be playing at Mayslacks on December 30th in NorthEast Minneapolis. The famous neighborhood bar is hosting Chicks Rule IV and I'm pretty excited to be on the bill again.

Hope to see everyone on Saturday at the Riverview...8pm sharp.

Later-Anne

Show

Well, I hope many of you can join me this Saturday at the Riverview Cafe, 3753 42nd Avenue South, Mpls, MN 55406. Their phone number is 612-722-7234 in case you need more detailed directions. The food is great, the patrons are friendly and the atmosphere is low key and receptive. (They have really cool t-shirts as well) I'll be playing two 45-minute sets between 8-10pm; I have a load of new stuff I've been dying to play live and this is the perfect opportunity. Stop by if you can!

I just uploaded another song on MP3.com/annedeming if you want to go check it out. (Go do it...right now!) The song is entitled "For You" and I've played it live for a while and even recorded it but I can't seem to decide where to put it. Looks like it'll have to go on "Mulligan"...my next CD.

I'm getting antsy and I want to travel again. Hey, I've got an idea! Anybody want to host a house concert?! Send me an e-mail or post a comment if you're interested. I'd love to come and play to you and your friends!!! Let me know....this could be a great way to book a tour - you guys pick the date and time and I show up.

Chicago

Today I heard from a friend in Chicago that I haven't seen in years...it was the best e-mail I've received in ages. I'm reading Anne Rice's new book "Blackwood Farm"....it's very similar to her earlier books, but I still derive an enourmous amount of pleasure from reading her stories. I did some crazy shopping over the weekend...I think I survived the madness. I'm contemplating posting some more stuff on MP3.com but I can't decide on which song. Anybody want to hear anything particular...angry? sad? funky?

Suggestions?