Life got the best of me over the past few months. For those of you who usually check the blog (and haven't given up on me yet) I hope this brief update will serve as my apology to all of you.
I recently moved across the US, from Missouri back to Seattle. Although the move was mostly for personal reasons, sad personal reasons, I am also looking forward to a wide array of new musical opportunities, and so far haven't seemed to miss a beat.
Before leaving Columbia, me and my second family, The Hilary Scott Band, had the opportunity to play Fire in the Sky for our second time. Performing in a football stadium is certainly fun! We had to dodge a couple of fleeting rainshowers, but it was a beautiful, and blessedly cool night (by Missouri standards!)
Since arriving back in Seattle, I have taken a couple of trips, mostly for personal reasons. I visited an old friend of mine, Shannon, on the east coast, and it was an enjoyable, whirlwind ten days that included dinner in Baltimore, several days in rural Pennsylvania, a day in New York City, several days in New Haven (recognized a few of the landmarks from when I went to Yale summer school) and several wonderfully relaxing days in another rural Pennsylvanian town near Pittsburgh. It was great to see Shannon - whom I met when we both studied abroad in Milan, Italy.
This weekend, I went to visit my dad and stepmom in Idaho on Pend O'Reille lake. Sandpoint is the site of the Festival at Sandpoint (which I played last year as the opener for Tanya Tucker) and this year I was able to attend Jonny Lang and Lyle Lovett's shows, and last year after performing, I stayed an extra few days to see David Grey. What a beautiful festival it is....and what awesome musical performances I have seen there.
I have several projects going on right now, all of which are exciting. Here in Seattle, I have begun collaborating with Robert Parks, who produced one of my first albums, 'Hypothermia,' (a die-hard fan favorite). We will be performing here on the 18th of August, and I have another solo show on the 22nd of August. After that, I fly back to Columbia, thrilled to see friends whom I miss like crazy already, and ready to play with the band again, for 5 or 6 wonderful dates packed into a couple of weeks. All show dates will be available on the various websites.
I have almost completed a project I started working on a while ago, with Keith Colley, songwriter and recording artist out of LA, who wrote several hits, with heavy exposure in the '60's. He has started a couple of awesome projects, one called Can Do! to help raise self-esteem in children, and now the Salute Amerca project, of which I will be a part. I have written a song called 'America's Song' for the project, which at some point I will record with Keith in either his LA or Seattle-based studio, and possibly I will record a couple of other songs which Keith has written for the project. The project is directed toward re-invigorating positive feelings about this country, and will serve the dual purpose of promoting some artists, such as myself.
It looks like there is a good chance I will be touring abroad, in Italy, this fall and winter, with a band of italian musicians. I have also befriended a musician in France who has done booking in the past and is looking to help book me more extensively abroad. I am very excited for these opportunities!
Recently, the Kansas City Rockers for Life project I was part of was released. We hope to get extensive promotion for this project, as it benefits the very important cause of raising awareness about, and against, drunk driving. My song 'Sugar Bomb' was included on this compilation CD of Kansas City-area artists. Links to purchase and for more information should be on the website.
I also was recently contacted by a company out of LA, Hitt Street Music, which will hopefully be instrumental in shopping my songs to various TV, Film, Label, and review opportunities.
All in all, these coming few months are going to be busy, filled with travel and music. I want to say, to my band members, friends, and family: THANK YOU for all you have done over the past 8 months to support and love me. There are not words enough....
To fans - please keep coming back! No matter where I live, I can't do this without you, and there are so many exciting developments I hope you will be a part of. Stay with me on the road to hope, I need you....