Monday morning, y'all. Entirely because of the title, here's a video of Adam Holmes with me on accordion and backup vocals before he released his first album. We're doing a live thing on the BBC, recorded on the Hebredian Isle of Lewis, just before we played HebCelt Music Festival.
Monday is particularly difficult this week, as I'm just returned from a week in Nashville. The AmericanaFest is one of my favorite weeks of the year, a time when I get to catch up with industry friends from around the globe and see music. This year I didn't get to see as much music because I had my babies with me. Not ideal, but I brought a babysitter with me to manage times when I was at panels or lunches or interviews. She was wonderful and made the conference possible, but I still wish I could have gone solo to the event -- it's really hard for me to clock out of parenting and into music-ing. Re-entry is easier because I'm happy to see the boys, but leaving them without anxiety and list-managing? SO HARD.
Anyhoo, I'm off to edit a little interview that Michael Young did with Joan Osborne that I got some video off. Will share in a bit! She's a hometown hero, and wow, is she smart.
Photos from Nashville:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY FROM THE WESTIN!
Good morning from AmericanaFest! I'm in Nashville (MY HOUSE IS GUARDED BY THREE BIG STRONG HOUSESITTERS/HOUSEGUESTS, SO STAY AWAY STALKERS!), and I'm a nervous mess because I have to be social. The stage is just so much safer.
Here are some thoughts as I stare out at the Nashville skyline from a swanky hotel couch. My coffee table is made of a tree trunk spray painted gold because it's Westin-hip I guess.
In Nashville for the week for work — catching up with industry friends and trying to figure out how this business has changed since I squeezed out my babies. The music business is not kind to mothers, as I found out last night attempting to go to a free show in the penthouse at 8pm when I was told it was 21 and up, despite a sleeping baby on my back and a well-behaved almost-5-year-old at my side. Sigh. Good thing I was tired anyway.
This morning I left the kids in my hotel room with a babysitter and a pile of puzzles and have camped out in the Westin Club Lounge to try to sort out my day and the hours i need childcare depending on which panels and shows I’m attending. I sat down with a cup of coffee, put my red boots on the window sill, and stared out at the ever-changing skyline of Nashville.
The first building to catch my eye is the old train station at 10th & Broadway. It’s in the middle of Nashville, a busy area right next to an Art museum. Oddly, there is a matching building at 10th & Broadway in Louisville because, I believe it was the buildings that connected the L&N railroad line.
The second building I’m staring down at is this wide red building directing below the hotel. It was my first stop in Nashville for my first real trip down here — back in 2006 for the semi-finals of a TV show on the USA Network called Nashville Star. It was in this building where I had my production interviews and band rehearsals for the show taping. This area of town sure has changed in 10 years, as have I. What a weird business I’m in.
It’s funny, but all I really care about is traveling and performing for people. I hate recording. I love writing songs and sharing them with people. I love making people smile and making people think and forging connections that are real-world instead of Twitter-world and reminding people that we are all in it together, even though it seems like maybe we’re all on some weird reality show.
Deep breaths and music, I guess.
The Wee Boy is so surprised!
I've been quiet on the blog, but I've had four zillion things flying around in my head. Mostly because I've been withholding a big secret from you for many months now: David and I are having another baby. Like, soon. Like, in a month or two.
Partly, I didn't share the news because I wanted to make sure all was well. Then, I didn't really show until around 6 months along. And I've just been holding on to the secret because it seemed anti-climactic at that point. BUT...
The biggest reason for not sharing this exciting (and, yes, it was on purpose) news is because I work in an incredibly sexist industry. A longer essay is in the works, but know that I also learned this lesson last time:
The music business is not interested in pregnant women unless you are massively famous. Otherwise, promoters, bands, even fellow musicians you've known for years just assume you won't want to or won't be able to gig.
I don't believe anyone is being purposefully sexist or exclusive. I had one promoter, upon seeing my belly, actually apologize for booking me, as in: Oh, I'm sorry! I would never have booked you if I'd known.
Yep. And that's exactly why I didn't say anything. I mean, I don't get any paid maternity leave (Yay, America!), so I need to hang on to all the gigs I can get.
When I was pregnant with The Wee Boy, I went on a 6 week tour during my second trimester, before I was showing. I did not tell my tourmate, even though she was a woman, because I did not want to be treated differently. I did not want to create resentment or other issues.
A few weeks into the tour, I had to fess up. We were in Bath, England, at the geothermal pools, and a big sign warned that pregnant women could not go in a particular pool. At that point, I just couldn't lie. Also at that point, the tour changed. My tourmate insisted on carrying all the gear. Insisted on me getting the bed every night. It was incredibly kind of her, but it did lead to resentment that I wasn't pulling my share and that I got the good sleeping arrangements every night.
Anyway, as I've said all along: I'm not sick; I'm pregnant. But check out me, seven months pregnant with the Wee Boy, playing at a BBC station on the remote Isle of Lewis with Scottish singer Adam Holmes:
I'm already worried that this announcement will have a devastating impact on getting bookings for Derby Week and summer festivals. But know that I am 100% capable of doing my job both while pregnant and with a newborn. AND I WANT TO PLAY FOR YOU! I can bring a nanny and a newborn if the gig is in Europe. I can also do that if the gig is down the street. I am pretty good at my job, and I intend on keeping it after this baby comes.
So there we go. Now I can exhale and write the occasional blog about that one time when I sewed a knock-off Boppy made out of the innards of Marianne-the-Crafty-Granny's couch. And how completely messed up maternity care is in America (remember how The Wee Boy was born in Europe? Sigh.) I'll save it, but know that it weighs on me.
Apologies to dear friends who were in the dark on this secret. I swear, I'll let you know when it's born.
Other news:
I'm co-hosting a house concert for the wonderfully-talentedJason Wilber, whom you know as John Prine's guitar/mandolin/multi-instrumentalist/sideman. The show is Friday March 25. It's at the beautiful home of some friends, so the tickets are limited.
I admit I feel a bit guilty describing Jason as John Prine's guitarist, when he's an incredible singer-songwriter in his own right. But I'm also kind of a John Prine superfan, so ... also, looking at his 2016 tour schedule, you can see that he's playing places like the Ryman in Nashville in the weeks before he's playing a HOUSE CONCERT IN LOUISVILLE. He's also sharing the stage with people like Iris Dement and of course John Prine and... well, I babble...
Anyway, if you'd like to come, please email me: brigid @ brigidkaelin.com so I can get you the information.
Last night I cooked a dinner, and two of the dishes had only one ingredient. It was completely amazing. Don't get me wrong, I like Thanksgiving food. I like it a lot. It's comfort food (i.e. the Kids' menu in adult portions), and it tastes delicious. We ate Thanksgiving food or road trip food or takeout-because-we-didn't-want-to-mess-up-our-kitchen-for-the-Airbnbers food for at least week. Macaroni and Cheese is amazing, but it is not a vegetable. Last night we had curried quinoa, roasted butternut squash, and Brussels sprouts. I could feel every cell in my body thanking me with each bite.
Anyone else still hungover from Thanksgiving? We had a fun holiday. We traveled to Arkansas and spent 5 days with David's family in a condo. My introvert self was a little freaked out by the close quarters, but the company was good. The Wee Boy had an absolutely blast playing non-stop with his cousins, yelling to wake everyone up as early as possible, and eating sugar all week. He also pet an alligator, which you've already seen if you follow me on Instagram:
We also learned that he inherited our weak stomachs for car rides. The boy is an amazing traveler on planes and trains, but take this boy on a car trip and yikes! I lifted my screen-time rules and let him watch the iPad about 30 minutes into our journey, and he puked EVERYWHERE shortly thereafter. I ended up reading The Wonderful Wizard of Oz aloud to him to kill time, which was, honestly, mostly delightful. He really liked it, particularly the Winged Monkeys and "the soldier with the green whiskers."
I got a little accidental down time yesterday, when the horrendous driving weather forced our hand. We stopped for the evening in Nashville, exhausted and ready for bed. After a swim in the hotel pool and a little alone time, I felt reinvigorated and wanted to show the Wee Boy a honky tonk. I had never even thought about it, but it turns out that most of the honky tonks on Lower Broadway are all ages before 6pm. We wandered to the Second Fiddle, danced, clapped, tipped, and eventually settled in at Robert's Western World for some comfort food and some comfort music. The Wee Boy, of course, is no stranger to live music, but he was still mesmerized. We left just before it turned 21+ and pretty much went straight to bed.
I'm now plotting the next time we can get down to Nashville for an entire day of honky-tonkin' with the Wee Boy. I don't know why I had never thought of that before.
Speaking of country music, it's time again to start forcing you to listen to my Hanukkah music. Here's a free download or listen to "Blue Dreidel No. 9" from a Christmas Compilation (I know, I know, ironic?):
Also: Louisville parents: Bring your kiddo to Mama's Hip on Wednesday morning for Family Music Jam! 10:30am, drop-in, lots of fun. $10/family. Pretty please?? We have so much fun there.
Don Henley at the Ryman. This one's for my dad.
It's been a week. Some sad family things that I'm not going to write about on the blog (believe it or not, I don't actually tell you everything that is going on in my life). Some happy family things. Some things that have compelled me to be contemplative and keep to myself. It's not particularly good timing, but then when is it ever?
I'm down in Nashville for the first time in so many years. Five maybe? I can't recall. I used to come down here once a week, do session work, write songs with people, play utility man in bands, go to Loser's at 2pm and find accordion work. Nashville (and 90% of the people here) seems to have had its teeth whitened a few times since then, and I barely recognize the place. Buildings and storefronts have come and gone since the 2007 era (remember that season of Nashville Star when I was a semi-finalist? Ha ha, I had forgotten too! Hey, lookie at that list, Kacey Musgraves was a semi-finalist too that year.).
But Noshville still has challah french toast, and it's still worth the 175 mile drive from my house.
Challah french toast, a Kindle, a blank notebook. Solo time.
The Americana Music Association conference has also changed quite a bit since the days when I was a regular delegate. The enthusiasm is still there, but the music has enjoyed such mainstream success that the conference seems huge now.
I'm not one to roll my eyes at anyone or anything who has success. But popularity, combined with difficulty in flipping on the extrovert switch (I swear, I used to be able to just take that deep breath and introduce myself to strangers), has made this year's conference somewhat uncomfortable for me.
Part of me feels irrelevant. Part of me feels like I've been doing it right all along. Like, the panels are about self-releasing and how you don't need labels anymore, which is, um, what I've been saying for a hundred years? Because labels rarely do any of the work for you any more, so then why would you share the profits? Especially in an time when there ARE no profits? So unless you have a trust fund, or you're living with your girlfriend rent-free, then you kind of need to pay the bills.
Anyway, it's funny when I go to a panel that suggests doing things that aren't related to music in order to stay engaged with your audience. "Start a blog! Post pictures of your pets or breakfast on Instagram!"
I still haven't been able to answer the question I came down here with, however, which is: how does an indie artist do a self-release in 2015? I knew how to do it in 2008. I knew how to do it with small EPs designed only for small tours in Europe. But I'm working on a full-length recording that I hope to finish very, very soon. What do I do with it? Specifically, what are the steps? Do I bother hiring radio promoters? I had tons of "adds" on the last album, but none of those adds translated into sales. Do I just hire a booking agent and tour like crazy? That means hiring a tour nanny because no way can I leave my kiddo for long periods of time.
Anyway, I start babbling about the music industry on my blog, and that means my loyal blog readers flip over to their Pinterest pages ... so I shall stop here.
Houndmouth at the Ryman.
Keb Mo at the Ryman. With Lucille, BB King's guitar.
I went to a lot of AMA UK events because I am obsessed with the UK. As you know. But this is an American band, the Wild Ponies. How do I get on the AMA UK roster???? I loved seeing this band because it was the only time at the conference I saw an unestablished woman artist who was over thirty performing. She was awesome.
A panel at the AMA conference. Singer Amy Black, on the right, offers excellent advice.
Buffy St. Marie singing "Universal Soldier" at the Ryman.
