My New Favorite Blog

It's such a shame that in all my days chasing around music boys in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, I never ran into Bon Iver. He was probably busy hanging out with cool guys while we band geeks were lucky to mix with the "jazzers." 


Perhaps that allows me to like him more from afar, with the new discovery of Boniverotica. The humor blog was dreamt up by a trio of friends Alice Warren-Gregory, Anna Sawyer and Alex Finkel from Boulder, Colorado, and went viral within a couple days of launching. Here's what happens when hipster girls imagine the perfect dude with comedic genius.


Some of my faves:

 "I am out back by the shed, tending to our chickens - Clara and Jack, and little Myron, who is lame. Bon Iver is waiting patiently for my return. While he waits, he is darning my socks."

"Bon Iver is sitting cross-legged on the floor, his brow furrowed. It seems he and the jigsaw puzzle have come to an impasse. We’d bought it secondhand, and the box had been lost, so we were left to guess what shape the pieces would take. We weren’t even sure they were all there. I suggest he take a break for a bit and clear his head. ‘I can’t,’ he says, ‘I need to make something whole today.’"

"Our trip to Eagle River took twice as long as the map said: because Bon Iver begged me to pull over for the apricot stand, the Indian village, the typewriter museum."

Just when I thought it couldn't get any better than Feminist Ryan Gosling's Hey Girl Meme. 

An Afternoon at the Opera

When living in New York and constantly surrounded by people, I believe it's especially crucial to carve out time to do things reserved just for you. It might be going to a museum once a month or spending time in the morning doing a crossword at a neighborhood coffee shop. 

For me, that thing was always opera. I've tried taking family and close friends with me, but when I resented having to chit chat during intermission, or looking over to see my opera date falling asleep, I decided it was best to keep it to myself, since I love it so much I can't bear to be with anyone who loves it less.

I was thrilled, not only to have the time to squeeze one in this last trip, but to see one that rarely gets performed in the west. The piece was Khovanshchina, the unfinished masterpiece of Modest Mussorgsky, best known for Pictures at an Exhibition.

If I only get to go to the opera once this year, this was the one to see. Six acts and nearly five hours long, full of the usual Russian themes of political protest and bitter relationships, this was exactly what I was in the mood for to satisfy my opera fix. A melodramatic ending of the hundred plus chorus locking themselves in a church and setting it on fire was the icing on the cake. This piece was completed and revised in different versions by several composers, including Shostokovich, Ravel, Stravinsky and Rimsky-Korsakov. This was the Shostokovich version, who was not known for cheerful themes.

When I lived in Brooklyn, tickets in the nosebleed section of the Met were so affordable, they were a few dollars more than going to see a movie. They're still reasonable now, given that any performance is going to be the best in the world, at the most exquisite opera house. I even saw a few operas in Europe during several months of travel, and nothing was quite like the Met.

Correction, nothing is quite like the Met.

Just Jazz

I'll be the first to admit that my alma mater spoiled me with good music. After four years being surrounded by musicians in one of the best jazz programs in the country (at a time when there wasn't even a jazz studies major, per se), you would be, too.

The great thing about being a music dork is that there are always people around giving you the hookup  to the best gigs. So when I was in St. Paul, Mitch's hubby just happened to have a gig at the underground club, Jazz Central Studios in Minneapolis.

This tucked away, basement performance space was created as a co-op for musicians to get together for impromptu jam sessions and collaborating. With a bass, piano, drum set, and a surprise vocalist, this was the perfect venue for an intimate evening of great music.

Though I was literally surrounded by close friends, I am sure anyone there would have felt the same. When musicians have the perfect chemistry, it's only natural for the audience to be drawn into that circle of familiarity.

Like them on Facebook!

At the door, admission is by donation only.

The highlight was hearing Nichola Miller sing a couple torch songs from the deep end of the standard pool- I wish I learned their names, but they were new ones for me.

Her voice= soul, edge, and sass smoothed out with butter. This gal is going places.

As if I needed more incentive to plan my next trip here!

Some Lessons from Whitney Houston

Love will save the day.

Say a prayer with every heartbeat.

Never walk in anyone's shadow.

Sometimes broken hearts can find their way home.

Don't change all your colors for another.

Be every woman.

Take a chance on loving, no matter the price.

Find hope in your heart, and know your own strength.

If that special place you've been dreaming of leads you to a lonely place, find your strength in love.

It's best to dance with somebody who loves you.

Look a little further, and there are even more ....

I Wanna Dance With Somebody

Yesterday, a good friend told me the sad news that Whitney Houston died in her hotel. My heart broke. I immediately burst into tears and am still fighting them. I'm devastated that such an incredible woman's life had to end so abruptly and tragically. She meant a lot to me as a musician from when I was a little girl- my first purchased CD was her debut album, my first slow dance was to her version of "I Will Always Love You." I don't remember the guy, but I definitely remember swaying to the song.

I never tune in to the Grammy's, but tonight I have to pay tribute to the artist who continues to inspire me. I've had a Lessons from Whitney post brewing in my head for weeks that I plan to publish soon.

In the meantime, one of my all-time favorite songs, from one of my all-time favorite people ever:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eH3giaIzONA

35 by 35, part 1

I have this friend.  She's a go-getter working on her phD in ecology, driven by personal challenges and accomplishments.  She's a fan of the popular 30 by 30 lists common for motivated people in their 20s to try to fulfill 30 goals by the time they turn 30.  I have a few friends with these lists and I always scoffed at them. 

Why set a timeline for pursuing dreams?  Why is there so much pressure to get things done by the time we're 30?  Why do we feel the need to put the pressure on ourselves?

She said that as you get older and get through landmarks like getting a degree, traveling independently and settling into stability (all important), it can be easy to become apathetic and lazy.  This, for her, is a good way to stay engaged and keep focused. 

I've always believed in setting goals for myself.  I had to agree, there is something to giving yourself a deadline, or those very things can fall by the wayside.

So with much hesitation, I am trying to open myself to crossing some of those things-I-want-to-do-one-day off my list.  Thus begins my 35 by 35.

I'm going to start with some easy ones, just to make sure I get them done.  The first thing is learning to change the strings on my guitar.  That one broken E string has left my poor neglected guitar crammed in the corner of my room.

My fave site for guitar basics has been guitar.about.com.  This is a straightforward tutorial on changing strings- and they also have the most approachable guides to learning chords and basic tuning.

In a perfect world, the strings are coiled neatly around the peg.  Mine came out pretty sloppy, but hey, it's my first time.  (This is also why I would strongly recommend buying a very cheap guitar for your first one, so it can take some abuse until you get your bearings.)

Not the prettiest, but once I sat down, I did it!  It took about an hour, including a very tedious tuning session (as the strings stretched and settled into their new positions).  Now she's ready to jam again!

 

I'm glad my friend sold me on the idea, and what better opportunity to get some things done that I've been procrastinating on?  I don't have a full list compiled yet, but here is the start of my list:

-change guitar strings

-quit smoking

-camp by myself

-learn to sail

-finish my book (and self publish)

-kill a chicken (there will be lots of weird back-to-the-land goals)

-skin a rabbit

-see Pacific Northwest (I've never gone farther north than Arcada)

-learn to lead climb

-use a chainsaw

-learn to sew

-explore manual photography and take better photos

-travel to Africa

 -read Ulysses (and study it so I understand it)

-learn to butcher (break down a side, and become familiar with all the cuts)

-go salmon fishing

That's it for now, but that's enough to keep me busy for a while.  What's on your list?

A Perfect Day Off

It's been the summer that won't seem to warm up.  Until today.  It was also one of my first days off in a while.  (This will change- I've decided I need a day off every week.)

Fewer days off means they're that much sweeter when they do come.  A chilly morning sent me to my favorite coffee shop with the girls.  Some coffee, a little gossip and a great book was more than enough to make today perfect.  

But they brought kayaks!

They launched the boats and we drove ahead to the end of the river to meet them.  Then the sun came out.

We swapped places and Lisa and I took a turn paddling.  We checked out the local real estate and checked out the birds coasting inches over the surface.  My river cabin of choice is the charming fixer on the right.

When we got back to shore, the Jen Tucker Band started playing on an open-air stage.  Gorgeous day, great live music, friends, dogs to pet, wine, and a tuna sandwich.  Does life get any better?