Lady Blue, sing your song across the mountains
With the angels all around you on the climb
Lady Blue, spill your life in flowing fountains
Spin that water into springs of midnight wine
Only truth can set you free
Only love can see you through
Only you can do the magic you were always born to do
Cause heaven's heart belongs to you, Lady Blue
(from "Lady Blue" )
and this new little tribute lyric
And it's time to go up yonder
Before this fire inside turns cold
Absence makes the heart grow fonder
As we ride down this sweet sorrow road
(from "Sweet Sorrow Road" )
Seems like only yesterday when in 2005, a newly-married pair of wacky musicians decided to embark on what would eventually become one of the great musical adventures of their journey. Brandon had this little "private-eye" riff, and I added the slightly esoteric, but ever-so-sincere lyric, based on Brandon's frequent encouragements to my in-need-of-healing heart. Kind of an unlikely ditty for the bar crowds, but as I've certainly discovered at places like our own wonderful Blues On Grand, the scene at times isn't that different from a church...a church of the ragamuffins if you will. Sprinkle a little poetically meaningful "fairydust" between some Janis Joplin and Led Zeppelin and good old Leadbelly, and it gets surprisingly positive reception.
Lady Blue, do your dance in dark pavilions
Underneath the broken world above your head (that referred to our basement bedroom)
Lady Blue, send the message to the millions
That they can make the choice to be alive or dead...
That's one of the best things the Lady Blue journey has meant to me, letting the music and the musicians beside me, overtake me and make me come alive, in hopes of this "aliveness" spilling onto those listening and watching. Now we will do our best to carry that same spirit into our future musical endeavors, with a fond reverence for "the good old days".
What makes you come alive, lights you up inside like a Christmas tree and makes your soul cry out in rapturous delight (geez, the fairydust is a little thick today--sorry!)? Whatever that is, that is what your life should be filled with, surrounded with, consumed with, in order for that "aliveness" to burst forth to the maximum. Life is short, and we all have way too many "good" and even "better" things that are subtle gates blocking out the "best".
Bye-bye, sayonara, see you later, and once again above all...THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH for the support you given this band and these songs. Take care, try not to forget us, and hope to see you all again soon. We'll keep blogging here for a while to give updates on everyone's musical future and progress.
peace, tina
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
LIVE at the fork of sweet sorrow road--Farewell for now!
Parting is such sweet sorrow...at this fork in the road...so how do we cope with this? Head to B.O.G. and go out with a bluesified bang!
One of my all-time favorite movies is "A Star Is Born" with Judy Garland (I do like the Janet and Babs versions also). There's a scene where they talk about knowing when it's time to bring an end to the little dream so you can go on to the big one. Sweet friends and fans of Lady Blue, I hereby declare that now is that time.
It's bittersweet indeed to close the curtain on something that has been so rewarding and brought such satisfying moments. But it is nice to be going out on a high that has included headlining The Des Moines Arts, The Des Moines Wine, and most recently, The Wells Fargo Food Festivals. Since the Lady Blue journey began shortly after Brandon and I got married in January of 2005, we've been so blessed to share many wonderful stages playing many wonderful songs with gentlemen who have meant so much to us. Ben Williams, Randy Raemakers, and Kevin McGinnis, (as well as Todd Stevens and Derrick Ogden--our two bass playing alumni) Brandon and I want to thank you from the bottom of our souls for sharing your heads, hearts, and hands with us, and for sacrificially infusing your spirits into our lyrics and melodies. Please, lovely fans, continue to follow these special guys in their musical exploits in the bands Truth Be Told (Ben and Randy) and Mid-Life Crisis (Kevin). See links section on the sidebar to keep tabs on them.
As for Brandon and I, we are busy at work laying the foundation for new musical dreams involving both our performance life and our business--Kaleidoscope CreatiVEntures (see more about this at www.wearekaleidoscope.blogspot.com). We've become involved with a new management and investor team behind the scenes, and rest assured, lots of new music is on the way from us, both our own, and our production of other artists.
As some of you know, the last few months have been a rather long painful haul, from closing our recording studio location in Urbandale, to moving into our beautiful new home in the Highland/Oak Park area (enormously blessing but also enormously stressing), and undoubtedly most painful of all, my unexpected detour caused by a highest-level severity foot sprain which set me back flat on my bed for days of excruciating pain that I thought would never end, and that Vicodin didn't even help at all! Between all of these things, my score on the stress index skyrocketed into the danger zone. (By the way, while onstage at the Wells Food Festival this past weekend, I triumphantly returned to my leaping, hopping self, so there's finally some light at the end of this tunnel.)
Anyway, Brandon and I thank all of you for all you have invested in our music and in us personally. We would like to invite as many of you as possible to be sure and attend THE GRAND FINALE of our charmed and charming group of musicians, an evening I've entitled..
"LIVE at the Fork of Sweet Sorrow Road"
Lady Blue at Blues On Grand
Des Moines Music Coalition (DMMC)--October CONCERT CORPS featured event
Friday, October 24
9:30 pm
(Special reception at 8 pm--VIP mailing list friends cordially invited!)
$5.00
15th and Grand downtown
I say with conviction, this is one unforgettable evening you will not want to miss, a fabulous fun-loving fond farewell, with both laughter and tears. I'm laughing and tearing up even as I type this. (Also see www.desmoinesmc.com and www.bluesongrand.com for more info about this event.)
PS--The next night at B.O.Grand, Saturday, October 25, one of our favorite artists, Bruce Katz, is coming to perform. Check out Brandon's fascinating interview with Bruce at Brandon's blog (www.midnightwine.blogspot.com) and at the Des Moines Music Coalition site listed above. Let's continue the weekend celebration at the Blues on Grand on Saturday as well as Friday--trust us, he's awesome and inspiring, we're talking world class blues/jazz organ artistry with his amazing band!
One of my all-time favorite movies is "A Star Is Born" with Judy Garland (I do like the Janet and Babs versions also). There's a scene where they talk about knowing when it's time to bring an end to the little dream so you can go on to the big one. Sweet friends and fans of Lady Blue, I hereby declare that now is that time.
It's bittersweet indeed to close the curtain on something that has been so rewarding and brought such satisfying moments. But it is nice to be going out on a high that has included headlining The Des Moines Arts, The Des Moines Wine, and most recently, The Wells Fargo Food Festivals. Since the Lady Blue journey began shortly after Brandon and I got married in January of 2005, we've been so blessed to share many wonderful stages playing many wonderful songs with gentlemen who have meant so much to us. Ben Williams, Randy Raemakers, and Kevin McGinnis, (as well as Todd Stevens and Derrick Ogden--our two bass playing alumni) Brandon and I want to thank you from the bottom of our souls for sharing your heads, hearts, and hands with us, and for sacrificially infusing your spirits into our lyrics and melodies. Please, lovely fans, continue to follow these special guys in their musical exploits in the bands Truth Be Told (Ben and Randy) and Mid-Life Crisis (Kevin). See links section on the sidebar to keep tabs on them.
As for Brandon and I, we are busy at work laying the foundation for new musical dreams involving both our performance life and our business--Kaleidoscope CreatiVEntures (see more about this at www.wearekaleidoscope.blogspot.com). We've become involved with a new management and investor team behind the scenes, and rest assured, lots of new music is on the way from us, both our own, and our production of other artists.
As some of you know, the last few months have been a rather long painful haul, from closing our recording studio location in Urbandale, to moving into our beautiful new home in the Highland/Oak Park area (enormously blessing but also enormously stressing), and undoubtedly most painful of all, my unexpected detour caused by a highest-level severity foot sprain which set me back flat on my bed for days of excruciating pain that I thought would never end, and that Vicodin didn't even help at all! Between all of these things, my score on the stress index skyrocketed into the danger zone. (By the way, while onstage at the Wells Food Festival this past weekend, I triumphantly returned to my leaping, hopping self, so there's finally some light at the end of this tunnel.)
Anyway, Brandon and I thank all of you for all you have invested in our music and in us personally. We would like to invite as many of you as possible to be sure and attend THE GRAND FINALE of our charmed and charming group of musicians, an evening I've entitled..
"LIVE at the Fork of Sweet Sorrow Road"
Lady Blue at Blues On Grand
Des Moines Music Coalition (DMMC)--October CONCERT CORPS featured event
Friday, October 24
9:30 pm
(Special reception at 8 pm--VIP mailing list friends cordially invited!)
$5.00
15th and Grand downtown
I say with conviction, this is one unforgettable evening you will not want to miss, a fabulous fun-loving fond farewell, with both laughter and tears. I'm laughing and tearing up even as I type this. (Also see www.desmoinesmc.com and www.bluesongrand.com for more info about this event.)
PS--The next night at B.O.Grand, Saturday, October 25, one of our favorite artists, Bruce Katz, is coming to perform. Check out Brandon's fascinating interview with Bruce at Brandon's blog (www.midnightwine.blogspot.com) and at the Des Moines Music Coalition site listed above. Let's continue the weekend celebration at the Blues on Grand on Saturday as well as Friday--trust us, he's awesome and inspiring, we're talking world class blues/jazz organ artistry with his amazing band!
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