Me and the Mafia

I have performed and toured in a lot of places. Much of my travels have been in the United States. They have involved hopping into our trusty fifteen-passenger van (which hasn't always been so trusty); dodging bottles thrown by crazy people; accidentally hitting a turkey, hydro planing and fearing for our lives on our way into Denver during recent floods, and many more near misses that have left us feeling thankful for our lives and thinking, "I just want to play music!" I have also traveled to Asia and the UK and Europe for my music. Out of all the mishaps that could make for an interesting road story, nothing compares to the show where I met the mafia.

I lived in Italy for a while. I learned the language. I ate the food, walked the streets, rode the trains, loved its people. Connections I made there are still strong and to this day it is the second home of my heart. I met several musicians while I was there, and they invite me back from time to time to tour and perform with them. Having lived in Milan and visited a majority of northern Italy but never having gone much father south than Rome, I was thrilled to learn, on one such tour, that we would be performing in Naples. I knew all the horror stories of pickpockets and liars, but I also knew of the rich history, the best pizza in the land of pizza, and I was looking forward to seeing yet another new city in this country I adored.

I wasn't really told much about the venue before we arrived, other than that it was a "family owned business." I knew that could mean something vastly different in Italy than it does in the states, but I have never felt unsafe in Italy, despite knowing full well that while some people may think the mafia is no longer thriving in Italy, it very much so is. Upon our arrival, there was a huge table laid out for us before we even sound-checked. White linen, amazing pasta, flowing wine, and lots of jolly conversation - the kind of sudden intimacy to which I was accustomed. Italians absolutely adore a foreigner that takes the time to learn and use their language. I will admit, I wasn't quite so used to such "royal" treatment, especially as a working musician, but I was soon to find out why I was being treated so well.

The "family" explained to me that people had paid good money and were coming from far and near to see the "American artist"! They complimented my Italian speaking skills, but then proceeded to "request," (in retrospect, there was definitely an implied warning) that I speak no Italian from the stage or people may think the venue had lied about me being from America. I couldn't imagine that people would look at me and hear my accent and confuse me as being a native Italian or even from somewhere other than America, and speaking Italian in Italy was second nature to me. But I promised to do my best, even though I already had an uneasy feeling about being asked to do something that seemed so false and strange.

We had three sets to perform that night, and I was already fighting vocal fatigue due to having come down with a virus of some kind earlier in the week. My voice sounded great during the first two sets, and held up until nearly the end of the third. But strangely, when we had only two songs left, it completely vanished. I could only get out a croak. I felt so horrible, and also so foolish trying to let the audience know what had happened, that I immediately did what felt most natural: I apologized to them in Italian. You see, I am fluent in Italian, I dream in Italian, it actually feels very unnatural to me to speak English while I am there. My brain didn't recall what the venue owners had said, I just reacted instinctively.

Suddenly, my friends were yanking me off the stage, throwing instruments into cases, and hustling me out to the car. As we sped away, I tried to get some information as to what was happening. Despite being promised a nice paycheck that night, apparently the venue was not only withholding our money, but they had landed our manager in the nearest hospital by "roughing him up," let's just say.  I admit I was scared, never quite having believed it would go that far, and never having intended to make the mistake I quite naturally made.

I will never forget that night. My love of Italy and everything about it has not diminished one iota. It makes for a good story. But everyone loves a story with a happy ending. The happy ending to this story is that a few years after this incident, I entered one of my songs into the Festival Degli Autori songwriter competition that took place in Sanremo. They had an international section with songwriters represented from several different countries. I flew to Italy to perform my song live in several rounds of the competition, and ended up winning the International section. My prize was having my song produced by Euro Ferrari, who has worked with some amazing artists. Even better ending to the story? They let me speak Italian when I accepted my award.

Cancer is Evil but People are Angels

Last week, we were blown away by the kindness and selflessness displayed by friends and loved ones of a brave woman named Ann Pendley, who has been fighting cancer for over a decade.

We have toured in Colorado several times, and started building a nice fan base there. Many of our devoted listeners know my sister, who lives in Fort Collins and is a woman with many friends and a huge heart. For some time, people in the area have mentioned that I should try to share a show with local legend Liz Barnez, a fantastic performer who tours extensively and is quite well known. One day, Diana (also a friend of my sister) asked if we would consider flying to CO to play for a benefit for Ann, sharing the night with Liz Barnez. Although we knew it would be quite a financial investment for us, Diana sweetly offered us some help, we booked another show to make up some money, and saw it as a great chance to help someone out. Besides, we always love visiting family in Fort Collins and Denver (where we now have two more sisters living)!

We didn't know that we were about to walk into a room filled with the best examples of all humanity, and so much love. The crowd listened attentively as we played, interacting, appreciating, make US feel loved with two standing ovations. I had never met Ann, but I found myself tearing up as I listened to testimonies about how precious  and inspirational she is to so many people.

I hate cancer. I hate what it does to people's bodies  and lives and families. But if there is one sliver of hope that comes from this disease, it is that it brings people together and brings out the best in them. I believe the total raised that night with the show, dinner and auction was over $12,000. It brought to mind a recent benefit we did for my dear longtime friend Debra Hardin at The Blue Note in Columbia, MO. There was a performance and auction that night as well and the total raised was over $10,000. We can't erase the pain and hardship cancer brings these beloved people, but we can make a difference and help let them know they are not alone.

I am lucky beyond measure to get to do this with my music.

Crazy Story of Me "Going Viral"!

A couple of weeks ago, my mom tags me in a post on Facebook. She says my music is used in the soundtrack to this video she randomly watched on a popular site that collects good news, Animal stories, science articles, etc. She explains that as she started watching this video of the rescue of an abandoned pit bull, she thought the piano sounded familiar. Then she thought the voice sounded familiar. Then she realized: "this is Hilary!"

At first, I was thinking no biggie, as many people on You Tube have stolen my music as the soundtrack to their home videos or whatnot and never asked permission, paid me, or even given me name credit. It completely sucks when this is how I am trying to make my living - ! - but it is unfortunately nothing new. However, that complacent feeling turned to angst when I was informed that the video had already gotten over 750,000 views! I started thinking about how if even only a percentage of those viewers had known it was my song and decided to download it from iTunes that I would make a decent chunk of change and gain some exposure. The song was my version of John Hiatt's "Have a Little Faith in Me." My covers tend to get a lot of hits on iTunes, and then they lead people to discover my original music, so covering other peoples' work is an important piece in the songwriter's arsenal. I made some noise on my Facebook pages and immediately my loyal family, friends and fans started reposting the video and then mentioning that I was one of the uncredited musicians on the soundtrack. A photographer friend of mine, who has had her intellectual property stolen and knows how hurtful and frustrating it can be, sent me a link to the Facebook page of the video's creator. At this point, I had no clue that this is one of the most esteemed and reputable dog rescue organizations in existence: The Bill Foundation. My friend told me she was posting on the creator's page and encouraged me and others who knew me to do the same.

I posted something to the effect of: I am touched and honored that you chose my song as part of the soundtrack for something so important as the cause of pit bull rescue. I think music is definitely an important aspect of how effective this video is in getting views and donations, and as an independent artist, credit for my work is very important to me as well. I said it differently, but you get the gist. ;)

Well, within minutes, Annie Hart - the video's creator - had friended me, messaged me, asked for my phone number, and personally called me. The amazing story unfolded:

Annie loves music. Annie also loves dogs. When Annie got involved in filming the dog rescues she is involved in and sharing them with the world, she said music was always the most vital part of The editing process for her, because music sets the mood and brings the stories to life. Most of her videos had major label artists' music in them. Major label artists are easy to track down and gain permission from if the they support your cause, and luckily most people are for animal rescue and adoption. One day Annie was watching a You Tube video of a young girl doing ballet, and someone had set it to my version of "Have a Little Faith in Me". She said the song greatly affected her and stayed with her. She knew she would likely want to  use it in a rescue video one day, but there was no credit given to the performer of the song. She started to search, enlisted the help of friends, but searching for one recorded version of a very popular song of which there are hundred of versions, is not that simple. Add into the mix that the internet doesn't help with the Hillary Scott/Hilary Scott spelling differential between me and Lady Antebellum's lead singer, and always shuffles people towards her rather than me, and it gets more convoluted. (But Annie knew this wasn't her voice, yet she couldn't find me). She saved the song for 18 months, but she knew when Gideon's story was being made that my song had to be part of it. She could have gotten permission to use many other artists' versions of this song, but she wanted mine.

We chatted for about 20 minutes, and Annie immediately edited the video to include my name and website and purchase points for my song. Since the video was still going strong (and we now have over 1,000,000 views) it was on Huffington Post, had write-ups in the L.A. Times and many
international news sites, was on the front page of Yahoo and so much more, her quick action really helped get some awareness of my music out to some more people. We have talked about future collaboration, which I hope we get to do, because I believe so strongly in educating the public about pit bulls and making the world a better place for these loving animals that are too often abused and abandoned. How fortune smiled on me and paired me with this great cause through one woman's love of my music is just phenomenal. For the past several weeks, we have been running a campaign to
donate a portion of proceeds from downloads of song and my album Indigo to The Bill Foundation. Amazing things have come out of this, and I think more wonderful things are to come.

Folk Alliance and Steve Poltz

AJ and I have recently entered the world of music conferences. We attended the Americana Music Association conference in Nashville last fall, and this spring we went to the international Folk Alliance conference in Kansas City. Both were great, but they could not be more different. Where the AMAs were geared toward labels, lawyers and listening to famous people offsite from the conference  - smile - the FAI Conference was jam-packed with real people making real music in just about every room of three floors of two hotels, and the famous people were a bit more accessible, just wandering about, doing their thing too. It was a focused, jam packed and intense experience. It was a great networking opportunity and we had some wonderful showcases as well. But the experience I am going to relate here is my chance encounter with Steve Poltz. Steve may be best known for co-writing  with and dating, Jewel. He is, however, an inspirational speaker, weaves a great 12-minute story in the middle of a live set, and he led a conference called, "Letting Your Freak Flag Fly". Afterwards, since we are friends with another friend of Steve's and they were all grabbing dinner, we had the chance to eat with him, and the conversations was fun: Performing musicians everywhere are dealing with the same trials and tribulations at every level. Later that night, we went to Steve's showcase and as he performed "You Were Meant For Me" (yeah, that one he wrote with Jewel), and told he most hilarious story I have ever heard, I piped up at one point and started singing harmonies. A new friend, Rob Hanning, caught it on video. So now I can say I sang with Steve Poltz. That is the kind of conference Folk Alliance international is. I do believe we will be returning.

My Real Identity, My Lost Brother, My Story

.
My name is not really Hilary Scott. I thought that might catch your
attention. You see, back in 1998, my older brother Scott died of
complications due to epilepsy. It was the most devastating thing to happen
in my life to date. Scott (and also my sister, Heather) shaped a huge part
of my involvement in, and appreciation of, music. It was part of his every
day life, as it was for my entire family, and Scott introduced me to the
more "rebellious" side of music, which I think ultimately helped lead to my
desire to create my own songs. When Scott died 16 years ago, I adopted his
first name as my performance name, because then he would be with me, and my
music, wherever we went. It was the best personal tribute I could think of.

I had no idea that around 2005 or so, when I had already been Hilary Scott
for 7 years, had a web presence, and a large Midwest following, and was
gaining exposure everywhere with 4 or 5 albums to my name...that Hillary
Scott with "2 L's" would start cropping up in a soon-to-be quite popular
country group called Lady Antebellum. I had no idea people would ever
confuse us, but eh...it happens. Our music and styles are completely
different, but whether the public and/or industry's confusion over the "two
Hilary Scotts" has ultimately been a help or a hindrance to my career, is
quite frankly, irrelevant. Because my name was chosen to honor someone I
love nearly two decades ago.

The path my music has led me on has been winding and hilly and always
exciting. Europe and Asia and the UK and the US, songwriting competition
wins, opening for some amazing legends like Tanya Tucker, Chuck Berry and
Little Feat, developing a fan base of some of the most wonderful and loyal
listeners ever...these are a few highlights so far.

And now...what now? Being the "indie" Hilary Scott has been costly. It has
been a labor of love and has often meant sacrificing other things people
take for granted. But this is not a complaint-far from it! With the help of
my independent label, Belltown Records, some amazing musicians that have
propelled me, challenged me, and inspired me, family and friends and fans
that give me the energy to carry on...I have done SO much without millions
of dollars and a major label. And now this "team" behind me has increased
the monetary investment with a recording project in Los Angeles with
grammy-winning players. You cannot just make a record and expect it to move
mountains. The independent artist has to push the sometimes seemingly
immovable mountain by getting press, reviews, radio play, tours, sales...and
that all takes money.

I sincerely tell you I have never taken your belief in me for granted. Every
face at every show is like a small miracle to me. Every time someone tells me
how much a song of mine means to them, my heart flutters. Every dollar you
may ever have spent to go to one of my shows or purchase my merchandise
literally went back into improving my craft, recording more songs, buying
another tank of gas on tour, and making more music for you.

I thought now was the right time to open up and share my personal story with
you, because I think you deserve to know that part of the impetus that keeps
me onstage and in the studio is honoring my brother. In all honesty, I never
thought I would be a performer (stage fright!) or get to do the amazing
things I have done. When I think back on the faraway and seemingly
impossible dreams I had as a little girl, I realize I am to a large degree,
living that dream. Every little success I have gives me the satisfaction of
knowing it would have brought a smile to Scott's face. And with my latest
record, I plan to invest as much time and energy as possible into getting my
music out there, reaching more people, taking Scott with me just a little
further on down this road.

Soon, AJ and I will launch an Indie Go Go campaign to help raise
funds to get this record into more people's ears. A comprehensive publicity
campaign, help with targeted radio and reviews, and maybe even a small
coffer for touring expenses, will really help us do more.

Thank you so much for being on this journey with me. If you took the time to
read this, you have already given me a wonderful gift.

And...I love you Scott

Love,
The Hilary Scott "with one L".

Slugs, Road Food, Paul McCartney, and My Green Face"

Well, the return of cold and flu season and the big, nasty viruses floating around have caused me to miss two shows this week. Right now, while lying in bed like a lethargic lump, I am thinking of the show Fringe, when a bloated bio-engineered cold virus ends up killing people through suffocation. The virus resembles a huge, pale slug, with random spikes all over its hideous body. I kind of feel like that slug.

Speaking of slugs, we have a few in our garden that love to kill our beautiful flowers. So, I guess what I am saying here is: I welcome cold remedies and death-to-slug remedies alike! Send in your remedy with a S.A.S.E. (does anyone know what those are anymore?) and you will get back an envelope likely carrying a nice bit of cold virus, and a hand-written thank you. ;)

OK, bad idea? How about what I think is a pretty good idea: a new blog thread I am starting in October featuring musicians I admire. Five Degrees of Inspiration will likely introduce you to some music you have never heard, and will delve deeply into the lives of great artists with probing questions like...wait for it..."what's your favorite road food?"

In other useless trains of thought, I suppose I could let you know I am very excited to return to LA in early November to finish recording with producer Michael O'Neill at the studio of Johnny Lee Schell. One of the musicians on the record just today was rehearsing with Paul McCartney, and my entire face turned instantly green. I adore these guys who are, quite literally, the best in the biz and have no matching egos to go with that fact.

So, my blog is going to be different than what I was trying to make it before. By writing when I had "news" or a bunch of music-related experiences built up to talk about, all I did was get overwhelmed and end up writing what might sometimes kind of have seemed like a school book report. Now, it's going to be a crazy thought train I ride on typewriter tracks.

And that is precisely why this blog is entitled "Slugs, Road Food, Paul McCartney, and Green Face."

Smooth, I know. ;)

Hello from England!

Hilary Scott and AJ Gennaro performing at The Old Queens Head, London

Hello from England! This tour, in support of our new vinyl "Flowers on Mars," has been an incredible adventure. All told, we will have done 15 appearances (venues and radio) and we have seen a good portion of southern England in our travels from place to place. I have been thrilled to meet and share the stage with some amazing artists, including but not limited to: Hatful of Rain, The Rosellys, Pete Greenwood, and George Frakes. We definitely will be coming back this way, and likely expanding to include other countries in the next tour.

And what is on my mind? Well, quite literally what is on my head! I curled my hair today. Ridiculous to mention? It is surprising how being constantly on the go and making do with dressing rooms and touring van make-up stops, etc. will make you appreciate those days when you can do something of your normal routine, frivolous and silly as that sounds.

If I had to pick a favorite experience on this trip, it would be non-musical, as we met two great friends here who followed us to 7 of our shows, trekking around quite a bit to do so, and making us feel quite loved (and well-watered) at each stop. They also made us some lovely souvenirs to take home. Cheers, N and M! My favorite musical memory may be the night we performed at the Old Queen's Head in London, (pictured here) as the venue was THE coolest place, and the artists we met and heard that night were incredible. It has been so cool to see how England does "Americana."

There are so many stories I would love to recount, and we all know (if you are reading this) how terrible I am at keeping up with blogs. I have made it my resolution to improve. Facebook updates and tweets are just not enough, and one can get pretty lazy with those abbreviated forms of communication. Be sure to e-mail me if you have specific questions about my music or our travels. Telling the stories you want to hear is the best!

Telephonic Poetry Silliness

So, AJ and I had a wee bit of time to kill before the show this past Friday night when we performed at Morso's Americana Music Series (hosted by Michael O'Neill) in Gig Harbor, Washington. When we weren't busy eating seafood salad and drinking fabulous wine, we decided to pass a piece of paper back and forth, trading off phrases and see what came of it. Well, it's truly awful, so why not share it with the world? :)

Before I post that, I do want to say a few things about our experience with Michael O'Neill. He interviewed us in his studio on "the Ranch" the Tuesday before the show, and we had a hilarious time chatting with him for an hour, and performing four live tracks. His syndicated radio show "Who's Bad Now?" is linked with No Depression, and we will also be hosting the link when the interview is ready, so that you all can listen in. Getting the opportunity to chat with him right before the show was also an amazing experience - he is very connected to all aspects of the music business, and the best part of his experience is that he has been on both sides of the coin - working in the major label world, and also achieving great success independently, so he has a wealth of knowledge for us, and we look forward to working with him in the future. As for the show - The Americana Music Series at Morso attracts the best artists and the greatest listeners. I cannot extol its virtues enough! We were treated so kindly, the sound and stage and environment were beautiful and alluring, the crowd was attentive to our every word and note. We will have lots of video and pictures posted soon. I wish we could play 365 dates like this every year! A special memory from the show was when Michael got up onstage, asked me to keep playing a refrain from "That Kind of Woman," and then proceeded to whip the crowd up into a social-media-posting frenzy. He talked about the importance of supporting artists by blogging or tweeting about them, posting their pictures and tagging it, liking their pages, etc. It really does make a difference for artists, and we appreciate it so very much. Again - thanks Michael, Morso, and the friends and fans at the show!

Now, for the bad part:

There once was a man who lived above the land
His home was a bouncy cloud of fun, a million miles from the sun
Upon the cloud, sang a woman aloud, a very beautiful song
Sometimes precipitation would halt their communication, but still he impatiently waited for her voice
Sometimes sun, sometimes rain, the result of fun and pain, the latter never kept them far apart
If you recognize the refrain, you may have heard the same, winging from the strains
of your own love's heart
She would go singing, and humming, and chumming around on the cloud that she too called home
Though she loved her fluffy home, and she never felt alone, she sometimes wondered
about the world below
And one day the cloud they both called home, hardened and thickened and turned into stone,
and from the sky they both fell, no longer alone
They fell to the knowledge of darkness and cold, to the slow steady march towards growing quite old,
but they also could always see, hear and touch,
without the billowing cloud interfering too much
The couple lived on for 'bout fifty more years, and though one day they did disappear,
they wished never to return to their life without fear,
for on earth they had found...

Wine and Whiskey and Beer!!!!

I had to throw on the surprise ending or it all would have just been too tragic. :)

Chuck Berry and Morso and Interviews, oh my!

I left off some eons ago, after promising to talk about the process of recording "Still"  at Sawhorse Studios with Hilary Scott and the New County Line. But, most of my creative writing energy these days goes into writing songs - I need to figure out this whole discipline thing, of sitting down and writing a blog once a week or so to keep you all updated. The release of "Still" has kept us fairly busy, and we have gotten some great radio response from it over the past year. I also entered into a heavy writing phase of my creative cycle, which always keeps me preoccupied, and somewhat neglectful of other things. I hope you will forgive me when you hear the new material!

 As the band settles into a groove that is really resonating with audiences, we have gotten some fantastic performance opportunities, the most recent being a chance to open for Chuck Berry in the Duck Room at Blueberry Hill in Saint Louis. Chuck Berry is of course known as the "Grandfather of Rock and Roll," but he has also garnered a reputation for being somewhat elusive and difficult to approach. However, our experience opening for him last month was something I will never forget, and about which I cannot say enough positive things. First of all, seeing Mr.Berry perform live was something I am so thrilled to have had the opportunity to do - he is 86 years old, and the show we played with him was on his "birthday eve." He would change the lyrics to his songs, make up new rhymes, riff jokes in the middle of a song, and banter with his daughter, who sang and played harmonica with him and the band that night.

The venue was packed with his loyal fans, and the great thing about them was that they embraced us with open arms - we made new fans that night and the adrenaline high helped us play one of the best shows we ever have as a band. After the show, we were ushered right up to his dressing room door, and despite a long line of avid (and I must say, pushy) fans, Chuck Berry greeted us first. He grabbed my hand and asked if I had a good time. I told him it was wonderful and such an honor to open for him, and I said, "Happy Birthday!" He responded, "Happy New Year!" (I guess for him, it WAS the start of a new year!) He even allowed us a much-coveted photo opportunity, something I am told very few bands or individuals get the opportunity to capture.

Also of note recently: AJ Gennaro and I headed to Colorado for a "Just Us Two" tour in September, returning to Avogadro's Number (one of our favorite venues in Fort Collins) and the astoundingly intimate Bellevue Bean - where the owners are bigger music fans than even the patrons. We had a liquor sponsor (Spring 44 Vodka) and made some new fans we hope to see again soon.

Currently, I write this from a house tucked away in the rain-forest-y woods of western Washington, overlooking the Puget Sound. AJ and I are here for the holiday, and also for two amazing musical opportunities. Last year, when Hilary Scott and the New County Line toured in the northwest, we had been asked to appear on Michael O Neill's syndicated americana radio show, "Who's Bad Now?" but circumstances prevented that from happening. During our week here this time, we not only get to appear on Mr. O'Neill's radio show, but we will be part of his Morso Americana Music Series at Morso in Gig Harbor. This music series features one performance each month, usually artists of some serious renown, so we feel blessed to be part of it. Michael O'Neill has written, toured, and performed with just about everyone you can think of, and is a much-lauded singer-songwriter. He also hosts his Americana Series of shows for hand-picked artists that can tour the west coast, and now also in the UK. We are pleased to begin this beautiful friendship! We will keep you updated on the newsletter, Facebook, Twitter, and all that jazz as to when the show (interview and live performance) will air.

Along similar lines, Indie Showcase will be interviewing me on Sunday, December 9th via Skype. The interview will last for two hours and fans can log in to the chat room and ask me questions, hear some of my music, and interact - I just might answer your most pressing questions!! Links to all the programs are available in my newsletter, and will be on my website and FB pages as well.

Well, if I start thinking about all the things I should have written about recently and failed to, this will become a novel. I had better sign off now before this puts you to sleep...but thank you, once again, for reading, for listening, for tuning in.

Love to you all!

As I go through the daily motions of life, trying to keep my head above water in all respects creative, personal, and career-wise, I find myself often forgetting to do those things I enjoy most, one of which is write about experiences in my daily life and musical adventures here in this blog. I look back over past posts and realize I wanted to blog more about recording "Still" (my latest release with Hilary Scott and The New County Line) and the tour we did in the northwest US, to name just a couple of things I've neglected. But the trade-off of all this introversion and retrospection and lack of direct voicing of my experiences is that I've been incubating so much new material which is going to explode soon! I recall once reading something Sarah McLachlan said when asked if she felt she ever had writer's block: she said she never thought of it as a block - she just found that sometimes she would go through periods where her well was dry and needed to be re-filled. Well - I think my well is overflowing! And I apologize for what seems my "blog block," I just was taking so many trips to other wells! :)

I recently asked people on my Facebook page to submit questions for me to answer. I want to thank Vicki and Alex for submitting the two questions I am going to respond to tonight:

Vicki: "What are your aspirations for 2012?" Well, Vicki, (and anyone else reading this right now) I think my biggest goal for this year is to follow avenues of exposure for my music that I have not explored as heavily before. For the past decade, my primary career focus has been on recording and live performance, touring, and record sales. While I do not intend to neglect these things, I also intend to heavily pursue more songwriting contests, TV and film licensing, and different levels of legal representation and radio promotion.

There is an exciting confluence of things going on right now in my personal and musical life. Recently we added a fourth member to The New County Line, and I am feeling a re-birth and explosion of creativity as old songs become new and new songs take shape out of the ether. With all of this novelty around me, I am extremely open to different possibilities and "newness" in other areas as well. I have also been teaching at a conservatory, and I am finding that in my drive to infect my students with the contagious love of music and passion to do things in ways that stretch boundaries, I have been pushing myself much more creatively. A few specific examples of this are that I am giving myself "songwriting challenges" where I will discipline myself to tell a certain story (rather than writing autobiographically, say) or to write within a certain musical genre, explore a new tuning, (I have added some strange ones many people say 'don't exist!' haha) or try changing meters within songs. I also am getting more exploratory with instrumentation. These are just some examples of what is going on right now. While still trying to get my songs "out there," I have concurrently turned inward to focus on the craft more. It is an exciting time for me.


Alex: "Your life has changed in oh so many ways in the past 10 years...you have evolved through all of it as well as your music. Do you have a song or two that reflects how far you've come? Also, when are you going to be back in Columbia?" Thanks for asking, Alex. I would say that one of the things that has most affected my musical journey has been my personal journey, and I have reached new levels of personal happiness in the past few years, which I do think is seeping through the cracks (and bars, and notes, and lyrics) of my music. The song with which I won the Festival Degli Autori songwriting competition in Sanremo Italy, "And Just," is probably most indicative of where I have been versus where I am now. I also do not think I could have had the courage to enter a contest like that and do the traveling I've done, (Vietnam, France, Italy, Korea, Japan) without some of the trials and tribulations that have happened to me recently. Here are the lyrics to And Just:

AND JUST copyright 2010 Hilary Scott

And Just so you know each year I'm enchanted
By snow in winter and blooms in spring
But you're the newest, most unexpected
Thing that I may ever have seen

The city's pushing me around
It's making me feel like something used
Been wanting to leave for what feels like forever
But now I want to stay because of you

One sure way to get through the day
Breathe in, breathe out and breathe in
One sure way to get over, and get out -
Just fall in again

Better to be loved from afar, I've said
They never want you once they know who you are
But you see me laid out like a ruin in the dark
And you stay even when the sunrise starts

One sure way to get through the day
Breathe in, breathe out and breathe in
One sure way to get over and get out -
Just fall in again

Gonna say too much but don't you stop me
Until there's nothing more to say
You'll never know how close I hold you
But it's better that way, it's better that way, it's better that way...

One sure way to get through the day
Breathe in, breathe out and breathe in
One sure way to get over and get out
Just fall in again

One sure way to get through the day
Breathe in, breathe out and breathe in
Just accept that there's no more to say
And just fall in

I would say that anyone who comes to a show of Hilary Scott and The New County Line of late will still get a good does of my moody sad songs, but I do think people familiar with my catalogue will notice a significant increase in up-tempo and "up mood" songs. And since you asked about Columbia dates, here are a few:

Saturday, April 7th at The Bridge in Columbia, 8pm
Saturday, June 9th at Cooper's Landing 6-9pm
Saturday, September 15th, EcoArtsFest, details TBA

Hope to see all of you at shows in the near future - we will be out and about more with new songs and plenty of energy to spare. Hope we can share some of it with you!

Recording my EP "Still," (to be officially released 11/1/11) with my new band - Hilary Scott and The New County Line - was a fantastic, frenetic experience. We chose the oft-praised Sawhorse Studios in St. Louis with engineer Jason MacEntire. (Recently voted Best Recording Studio by the Riverfront Times). Every good thing I had heard or read about Jason and his studio was proven true a hundred times over.

On this EP, I play a lot more piano than on previous records, where I mainly composed and performed on acoustic guitar. To have access to the same Baldwin baby grand that Ike and Tina recorded their first hit on was fabulous - it has a sharp, cut-through, driving sound that is perfect for the indie-folk direction my music has taken in its newest incarnation with my fellow musicians AJ Gennaro and Josh Schilling. I also had the chance to record organ tracks on Jason's studio Hammond - could there be a cooler sound on earth?

We booked two back-to-back days in the studio and managed to get all bass, drum, piano, and acoustic guitar tracks in one day, and all electric guitar, organ, main vocals, harmony vocals and additional "sounds" on day 2. Spending ten hours in the studio at a stretch is like being in purgatory and heaven at the same time. Recording is one of my favorite things to do - songs take shape, sometimes get pushed in an entirely different direction, and pull you to your limits in the studio. You hear everything through the best microphones and speakers, you use the best equipment. That is the heaven...But having a strict time limit makes you ever-conscious of the deadline, a pressure that adds increasing weight to your shoulders as each minute ticks by. Will we get everything done we planned and wanted to? That is the purgatory...

But the answer to that question is we accomplished all we wanted, and more, due in large part to Jason MacEntire's professionalism and speed. Some of the "additional sounds" on the record were incredibly fun to perform. After getting large chunks of main tracks laid down, we'd break for pizza or cheap mexican food, shovel it in, then play around with hand claps, stomping on a piece of wood, and even using the sound of an anvil being dropped.

Side note now that I typed the word pizza: the pizza delivery guy, wondering what kind of place it was when I opened the door to him, was a bit awestruck when I told him it was a recording studio. He started nervously rambling about how he did some graphic work if the owner ever needed help with anything like that. I responded I wasn't too sure, but... I handed him the money for the pizzas, and he laughed nervously and turned to go. He was still holding all three of our pizzas. I had to ask him if I could maybe keep the pizza in exchange for the cash. Poor guy...

In a future blog I will relate the story of our photography session with Corey Woodruff - replete with mosquitoes, sandy lake bottoms and rock climbing, but for now, suffice it to say once we got the graphics and mastering done, we were excited to see the finished product, which just shipped a few days ago. I am so proud of this project I am bursting at the seams for everyone to hear it!

We are pre-releasing "Still" in Columbia, Missouri on Friday October 14th at The Bridge, for the special fans who have been with me since the beginning of my journey in 2001. Then, in November, we will start the first leg of our US tour, beginning in Seattle and heading back down through Colorado. We have many great shows planned, including a couple of performances with Darren Smith, a show with CA's Megan Slankard, and one with Seattle's Altin Jimbiz. We will even hit up my hometown, Pullman, WA, for a show we will hopefully share with Charlie Sutton, who has been featured on NPR's "A Prairie Home Companion". Please join us somewhere along the road if you can - dates are on the website and more are possibly being added so do check back.

See you out there - bring some noisemakers - we need your help on Labor of Love, it's a crowd-participation type of song!!

Goodbye France - it's been a wonderful two weeks! I want to use this entry to thank all my friends here, and the new fans I met at shows. It was really a cool surprise to have someone come up to me at the merch table and point to a disc here and there and say "I already have this one, so...." and choose another title. It's great when you're in another part of the world and someone has already discovered your music.

After a change in recording plans in Italy to health issues of one of the parties involved, I'm flying home tomorrow. I wrote extensively about the Cock Robin shows, and wanted to elaborate briefly on the show at La Bamboche. The venue was quite full, and I played two long sets, with my friend and agent Agnes translating for me so that I could communicate the meaning of the songs to the audience. I even spent some time telling jokes at the beginning of the show and was pleased when the humor translated. A couple of days after the show, my friend Sophie forwarded me a message her friend Said had posted on his Facebook page after seeing me perform that night. Here is the translation of what he said:

"A marvellous voice and a few guitar notes played in a remarkable way can make you forget all the rough things in life for a while. Music brings sweetness to your mind, but the talent of an artist brings you much greater happiness. I experienced some wonderful moments last night."

Well, France, I experienced some wonderful moments with you as well. I look forward to the next adventure. (Thanks Agnes, Sophie, Claude and Lisa, my family in France!)

I seem to be in some sort of waking dream. I flew to Europe last Sunday not sure what this experience would be like. My French agent had earlier planned a longer tour for me, but due to visa restrictions we were limited on performances this time. I was very excited about opening for the legendary American band Cock Robin, but could not have imagined, in my wildest hopes, all the wonderful experiences I would have, and all the possiblities this short trip would open for me. I am not even sure where to begin, as the last two days have been an endless string of fabulous anecdotes and amazing surprises.

I was very nervous for my first performance of the two openers I would do for Cock Robin at La 2Deuche, a very nice theater venue in the Auvergne region of France. Agnes (my agent) and I drove to the venue with plenty of time to spare and I waited anxiously to meet Peter and Anna of Cock Robin. I could hear their sound check reverberating through the venue. I started recognizing some of the songs Agnes and I had been listening to during the day. Not only are Peter and Anna (the two founding members of Cock Robin) amazingly talented, but the French musicians they are touring with to promote their new album are also some of the finest I've heard. Their performances left me with goosebumps, and tons of energy - those two things do not always go hand in hand, but with this band, it does. I would be thrilled to see them live again and again. Their songs are different each night, oozing with creativity and complexity. I was so honored to share the stage with them these two nights. Peter Kingsberry has written some of the best songs I've ever heard - and even with the fame Cock Robin has achieved, more people need to hear these songs! Everyone needs to hear these songs!

As for my performances, I was nervous on a number of levels. I always am more nervous for solo shows than I am for shows with a full band, or even just one other musician supporting me. Carrying the entire show by yourself makes you hyper-aware of every note, every sound, every whisper, every breath. You can't escape the sensations your mind is throwing at you even while you try to focus on the music. I was also nervous because it would be only my third time presenting to the French audience, an audience that had come there for the main act, a band that has been famous in Europe (Agnes compared their fame in Europe to that of Elvis Costello, or Sheryl Crow to give just a couple of examples from the French perspective) for about thirty years. And I was to be the unknown quantity, not speaking their language, and hoping they would accept my orginal music, which they had never heard before. With all of these things working on my nerves, I came out onstage and in my limited French was able to say "Good evening La2Deuche, how's it going? My name is Hilary Scott! Let's go!" Their positive response gave me a second's thrill, and then I immediately plunged into my song And Just which won the international division of the Festival Degli Autori songwriting competition in Sanremo, Italy this past June. (I will be heading to Rome on Tuesday to record the album I was awarded for my win with producer Euro Ferrari). The audience response was incredible. Not only were they paying absolute attention but they were laughing at my lame attempts at humor with a bastardized mix of English and French, and whistling and applauding and motivating me more and more with each song. The set list was: 1. And Just 2. Help (brand new song!) 3. Loser Blues 4. My Friend 5. Calls From Springfield 6. People on a Train

After the set, I was flooded by kind words from so many people working on the technical side of things, from the stage manager to the tour manager for Cock Robin, to the sound technicians, to the proprietors of the venue. Some of the truly kind things they said were, "your voice is incredible, so warm," and "you are superb, just voice and guitar, absolutely stunning," and receiving comparisons to Rickie Lee Jones, Emmylou Harris, and Joan Baez certainly didn't hurt my feelings at all. :) (I hope it doesn't sound incredibly snobbish to write those compliments down here, but I'm afraid I will forget them if I don't record them, and they really meant so much to me). I also couldn't believe how many people, while purchasing CDs and asking for autographs came forward to offer contact names to my agent Agnes for press, TV, etc. The proprietor was so pleased with how things went, he wants to bring me back to La 2Deuche in the future, perhaps for a double-headlining show with another singer-songwriter. I am very excited about that.

I've played some big shows and had some amazing experiences, even been treated a little like a rock star before, but this venue really has it together! Nice rooms and great spread for the artists, which was full of fruit, wine, chocolate, cookies, and more! (If this was Cock Robin's rider, I give them massive cred for the Twix and the peanut M&M's, right on!) I also thank CR for the pre-show-calm-your-jitters-sip of whiskey, and the venue for the amazing catered dinners we ate two nights in a row. Woo! Good stuff. I also send a special thank you to Cock Robin's crew, their stage manager treated me like I was one of them, although he had no obligation to even say hello to me - he could have just made sure I didn't step on any of the band's cables! :) He actually took care of placing and removing my guitar, un-plugging and plugging it, and tuning it right before my set. I enjoyed not having to worry about the technicalities so I was free to think about the music I was about to present. Made my job a lot easier! Most of all though I must thank Cock Robin, Peter and Anna, and all the musicians for embracing me (literally and figuratively) and my music. I know we will have more adventures in the future, and the experiences with this band created memories I will carry with me forever. And the sound tech offered to record my show the second night so I will have recorded memories to share with all of you, as well!!

Upon our arrival for the second night of opening for Cock Robin, the proprietor of La2Deuche gave us a copy of a newspaper article that was released that day, reviewing the show the night before. We had never spoken to a journalist, never sought out any press, and yet there was this brief, but incredible quote: "after an astounding opening performance by Hilary Scott - (what a voice!!!!)" and then the continuation of the review of Cock Robin's show. Agnes was thrilled since opening acts usually don't get press and often not positive press, so it was really a boost. After the show, I had the chance to talk with Anna and Peter and the other musicians and crew - and everyone was absolutely wonderful. I especially appreciated the fact that Anna and Peter have an incredible wealth of experience and have had the kind of heady success that might turn many people into divas, but are two of the kindest and most grounded people I've met. I felt a kinship with them in terms of how they are approaching their music now - touring a new album, which was produced independently, and mixing up the performances each night with the sort of attitude that "we can't rest on our laurels - there is always more to discover!" I was inspired.

A fun story from the second night is that when Peter thanked me for my opening set from the stage, he also noticed one empty seat in the front row, and asked what that was about. The man sitting beside the empty seat yelled out, "this is for Hilary!" The entire crowd laughed and applauded and I stood up and walked across the front row to the open seat. This kind of bantering continued throughout the show, and the crowd warmed up and became more and more enthusiastic. About halfway through the show, Agnes and I got up to dance right in front of the stage. When performers see people dancing, their energy increases, and the audience feels this. When the audience sees that people are not shy and are getting up, they follow, and the reciprocal energy in the room is increased exponentially. It was just a fabulous experience. It was also Anna's birthday and they gave her a cake onstage, and afterwards we celebrated with some champagne Agnes brought. All in all, two truly fabulous shows, and the kind of experiences that were even better than I could have wished for.

This blog has grown very long, so I will write about La Bamboche in my next installment. Thanks for reading!

When it rains it pours....this is true on a number of levels. On a quite literal level, the weather here in Fukuoka this winter has been Seattle-like: lots of rain. But today I felt the sun on my face for a few minutes when it broke through the clouds.

On a metaphorical level, good fortune has rained down on me for my last week here. I've recently been featured on BARKS, a popular Japanese entertainment website. Apparently my artist page will remain there and be udpated with a news feed from time to time. I also am fortunate to have an interview lined up for January 7th, at Japan's LOVE FM, on a show called Natural Woman. I find this fortuitous not only because it's international radio and that is ALWAYS a good thing, but also because the show is named after a Carol King song, and one of the biggest compliments I've ever received was to be compared to her by a Chicago DJ. I also am fortunate enough to get to meet a new friend of mine, a Japanese woman who has been in PR and worked in conjunction with some VERY famous artists in the past. She is coming to my last two performances here, and hopefully we will discuss a direction for furthering my original music career here in Japan.

On the European front, I'm going to be the solo opener for two Cock Robin shows in late January in France, which is a very cool thing as they have had hit songs in Europe and been popular there for several decades. I then head down to Italy for 7 intense days of recording, a possible meeting with a professional photographer for an album shoot, and to meet up with publicists and managers with the goal of finding representation for Italy and beyond.

Heading back to the US in only 6 days, I look forward to a midwestern show or two with my new band, The New County Line. I'm excited about this band because it's a fusion of different styles based on the musical backgrounds of its members. We have a drummer who comes from a punk background, a bassist who's heavily influenced by jazz and soul, and a guitarist who loves classic rock. We morph this into our alt-country-pop-folk sound, and we're going to start experimenting with changing up instruments between members since we're multi-instrumentalists. I also plan on re-uniting with the Hilary Scott Band for some shows - the feeling when we play together is unparalleled as it can only be with a band that's been together as long as we have (nearly 10 years!) and we anticipate each other's moves and balance each other so well.

I'm missing everyone back home so much, and grateful for the short stop I'm making in Seattle on the way back to St. Louis. I will go wedding dress shopping with my mom, see some family members I haven't seen in quite a while, and celebrate a late Christmas. Then, when I get to St. Louis, my fiance and I plan another late Christmas with family on his side. I have a lot of catching up to do, and many friends to see in the short 10 days I am there before heading to France. The first half of 2011 is going to be busy with travel and wedding plans. And I do mean it when I say I hope I see you all at shows this year. Many of my closest friends started out as fans who came to shows....and so I count myself blessed to have friends all over the US, and now scattered all over the world as well.

Happy New Year to you all!!!!!!

I have been a BAD BLOGGER for the past handful of weeks, sorry! November saw me quite happy as AJ visited and we truly "Did Fukuoka" in the ten days he was here - we hit a couple of nightspots that were very fun (one a country bar that had hundreds of beers and more American country music and beer paraphenalia than I've ever even seen in the states, and played only old-style - i.e. REAL - country music on the jukebox) and one a cool little traditional Japanese restaurant/bar where we had our own secret hut to hide inside as we drank. We saw many temples and shrines, walked all over the city, went to visit the beautiful beach, Yahoo Dome and Fukuoka Tower, the Fukuoka Castle ruins, and much more. I had saved all my sightseeing for his visit, and am pleased to say we hit up everything I wanted to see, except the brewery. :)

In terms of my performances, I'm down to 20 remaining, in a total of 89 I will have done in my time here. Things are getting busier and busier as the hotel gears up for Christmas and New Year's Eve, and there are decorations decorating, dressed-up dancers dancing, fake snow a-blowing, and recorded carols a-caroling, all over Canal City. I may be spending Christmas alone over here, but it is hard not to feel the 'spirit' when around here everyone else definitely celebrates the season.

I have been asked to do two sets of piano/vocal and one set of guitar/vocal on New Year's Eve, so I'm preparing for that, and excited to mix it up. The crowd will be full of people coming from Tokyo to visit family for the first part of the year, I'm told, lots of young couples ready to party.

To sum up my performance experiences here in Japan, I have a couple of anecdotes. A couple of weeks ago, a couple came and sat right in the front of the audience. They were obviously really engaged, and right before the last song of my second set, the gentleman approached the stage. As the staff does not allow anyone onstage, someone came to escort him off and tell him 'no requests.' He had started to tell me how much he loved my voice and music, and to ask me to play a song, but didn't get to finish his thought before the staff started to pull him offstage, so he held out his hand to shake mine, I thought, and there was a piece of paper in it. I thought maybe he had written a request on it, but instead he had given me the yen equivalent of $125. I had to speak to him and see if I could do anything to fulfil his request, especially since he had given me the tip even without being able to ask for what he wanted. On my break I went to his table, thanked him profusely and asked him what song he had wanted. He actually hadn't been asking even for a specific song, just one song dedicated to his lovely wife on her birthday. (He was wanting to surprise her, and was asking me this while she was in the restroom). He wanted me to pick any song and just mention her birthday. It was so touching. When I got back for my next set, I wished his wife happy birthday and dedicated 'The Way You Look Tonight' to her. They were so thrilled. I approached them afterward to thank them again and wish her another Happy Birthday, and expected to either shake hands or just bow in recognition, but the wife grabbed me and gave me a huge hug. I was absolutely astounded and touched by this rare display of warmth. It has never happened to me here, before, or since. And it let me know just how important what I had done was, for them. It was a reminder of the power of music, and its ability to cross any boundary. Then, a far shorter and simpler example of what has made this job so enjoyable for me: last night a table of three, as I was leaving the stage for the night, stopped me and said: "your voice makes us so happy." These things happen frequently, and give me back the energy I put out, ten fold. I love playing music for a living!

Looking forward, I depart in late January for France and Italy - several shows in France and recording the album with Euro Ferrari in Italy. Then it's back to the U.S. for full-speed-ahead wedding planning! I also will be performing with The New County Line during that time, and hopefully reuniting with the Hilary Scott Band for shows as well. And I will do my best to keep up with all of you through this blog. Thanks for reading, and thanks for your patience!

Officially feeling "settled in" in Fukuoka as I've been here just about four weeks, but now that I'm settled, I just wanna shake it up a bit! Getting to know some people that work in the hotel and meeting some guests has put me on the right track for getting out and about more, and experiencing more of the city and culture. On Halloween I will be heading out with a new Canadian friend I met, the wife of the executive chef here, so I'm really looking forward to that. Everyone I've spoken to has said that Fukuoka is a very nice city to live in if you speak the language fluently, but that it is a tough nut to crack for foreigners. Well - give me the nutcracker - I'm up to the challenge!

Last Sunday I took a little walk in the opposite direction of where I'd been exploring previously, my destination being a department store - not because I seriously wanted to shop, but because it would be a big eyesore on the horizon that I could easily identify. As soon as I stepped in and saw the Tiffany store, right next to Louis Vuitton, I knew I was most certainly in the WRONG place. :) It was kind of fun going up and down the escalators seeing how the other half lives while scandalizing the upper crust in my jeans and cowboy boots. OK - not really....everyone was very welcoming to me even though I surely didn't scream, "I can afford this stuff!"

But the walk there was far more interesting than the destination...I crossed over the river, which was shallow and dirty but nonetheless had several older men in waders fly-fishing in it....though what they might catch was a mystery I wasn't sure I wished to uncover. When I left the immediate environs of the hotel and Canal City I felt much more like the "foreigner" and my different appearance got more stares on "this" side of the river.

I saw a great example of teenage fashion I don't ever want to forget: lumberjack plaid shirt with micro-mini black schoolgirl skirt, thigh-high tites with pink lace on the top, and gold heels. I guess even in an ultra-fashion-forward place like Japan, teenagers still struggle to find their identity. :)

For the first two days of my work week, the national baseball play-offs were happening. Fukuoka apparently has a pretty hot team, so Canal City set up a public viewing on a huge screen projector right outside Bar Fizz's windows. While I was entertaining bar guests, the people watching the game outside were entertaining me. I could see the back of the screen and get a basic, mirror-image idea of what was going on in the game, but the reactions of the viewers were what really let me know. I'd be in a quiet moment of some song like "Summertime," and suddenly there's an "Oh no" type exasperated sigh coming from the crowd.....or during the romantic refrain of "Wonderful Tonight" I might hear a big "Yeah!" type cheer, and smile to myself, "yeah I really like how Eric Clatpon said that, too....oh wait!" :)

Then the night before last, a regular patron of the bar handed me some Halloween candy out of the blue. Almost brought tears to my eyes, as it was a perfect example of random kindness. She had no idea her little gift would make me feel so much better. I've been extra homesick since I'm missing my three favorite holidays back home this year, and that's always tough. The wrappers on the candy are great: along with a cute picture of a vampiric ghost or a knife-wielding pumpkin it says: "HORROR TIME!" (the beginning of MC Hammer's song goes through my head at this point) and then across the bottom it says: "Good Taste." Well, it's good to know that the person who eats the candy can interpret that as meaning the candy will be good, and also that the eater has "good taste" in having chosen that particular brand. Too funny.

My rehearsal experience this week was one I hope never to relive, however. They had me in a banquet room that had been shut all day with lights blazing (we're talking chandeliers and stage lights and every hot type of bulb you can possibly imagine) without air con. It was, no exaggeration, at least 90 degrees. I was sweating just sitting there, and after 90 minutes of playing piano and singing felt literally sick. A staff member came in at one point and apologized and started turning down lights, but it was already too late....whew. I hope next time they turn off the lights a few hours before my scheduled rehearsal time. I mean, not to complain too much - I want to learn "At Last" and all - it's one of my all-time favorite songs, but not sure it's worth dying for! LOL

My fiance comes to visit in three weeks and I am full-throttle thrilled! I plan on getting lots of video and pics while he is here since that is when I will do a lot of sight-seeing.

More soon! Thanks for coming along on this journey with me....

Almost a week has passed since I took my first exploratory walk around the immediate area where I live in Fukuoka. I posted the pictures I took of my adventure on my Hilary Scott Facebook page. There was a lot of activity going on last Sunday as I walked through Canal City. There had been concerts going on all day on a stage near the hotel, and when I started out on my walk there was what appeared to be a game show going on. Black or White by Michael Jackson was blasting out of the speakers, three women were standing in the center of the stage clapping and cheering and trying to get the crowd involved, and about twelve young men were walking around the outer edges of the stage in a circle. I had no clue what was going on - some version of musical chairs? When the music stopped, however, the men lined up across the back of the stage, then one by one stepped forward to introduce themselves and, I suppose, to say a little about who they were, etc. I figured perhaps it was some sort of "bachelor" style game. Not understanding the language sure takes the fun out of a game show, though, so I continued on my way.

Amidst all the Japanese brand stores, I ran into a Barbie store and a KFC next door to each other and was curious if I had been transported back to America somehow. :) I've noticed that in Asia, the main fast food brand is KFC, not McDonald's, and some Asian countries also have Pizza Hut. I haven't, nor am I planning, to try any of them, though!

I found a veritable "kareoke palace" across the street from the Canal City, and it's on my list of things to do. Also on my list of sight-seeing must-do's: Japanese temples, the highest building in Fukuoka, the famous baseball stadium, a club that is apparently quite the rage called Infinity, and if possible, taking the high speed train to Hiroshima.

The Japanese do everything with attention to detail, and they do it well. While I usually appreciate this very much, when it comes to Halloween decorations, I wish they weren't quite so creative! :) I took a series of photos of the "pumpkin-head men" that stand outside the hotel along the canals, and they just scare me! I know it's because of my traumatic childhood experience with horror movies, but, really....They also have some very cool light statues of skeletons that are poised over the water right next to where the dancing fountains go off.

Work this week was fun - although I caught a little bug and felt sick for a few days. The staff was wonderful to me, made me a ginger tea that has now become my favorite and they have ready for me every night (the bartender said it is his special recipe just for me - apparently he had not made it before) and continually ask after how I am doing or if I need anything. The crowds were bigger this week, and will continue to grow as we near the holidays. An interesting difference between American and Japanese culture is that whereas Christmas in America is usually a family holiday, in Japan it is considered one of the foremost nights each year for couples to go out on the town, very romantic and celebratory. And whereas in America New Year's is seen as a go out and party night, in Japan it is a stay-at-home holiday with family.

AJ comes to visit me in less than 5 weeks, and I'm really excited! For now I'm mostly buckling down working on original songs for the recording in Italy next year, and constantly trying to learn new songs to perform here at shows. One nice side-effect of having a lot of time on my hands is that it usually means lots of time to be creative...we will see what songs come out of this time!

At Bar Fizz, each performance is more fun than the last. This is definitely one of the hippest stages I've ever performed on. Across the venue from the stage, the bartop is made of a material that looks like blocks of ice covered in glass....hence the clear glass-like piano to retain the "ice" theme. The floor of the stage also mimics this ice-block pattern, and the blocks at the bar as well as on the music stage, are lit from within. The lights rotate through colors ranging from snow white to teal blue, to grass green, to royal purple, to fuschia, to red. As the bar fades from one color to the next, the stage soon follows the same pattern. Behind me on the stage is a running water feature, in fact the entire venue feels almost as though it is suspended in water, as the tables and chairs butt right up against these pools of water, and the huge windows looking out onto Canal City show the viewer dancing water fountains and decorative pools. At the beginning of each of my sets, at the top of the hour, the water fountains begin their dance, and the dance lasts for about as long as it takes me to complete my first one or two songs. One can imagine why it is called Bar Fizz.....an effervescent drop of color and movement in the midst of all this water.

I am looking forward to my day off on Sunday in order to explore more of the city. The only walking around I have done so far was to register at city hall, pop into a photo booth to get passport pics, and head to the convenience store for bottled water. Canal City is a little incubator of activity, where you can find all you need in one place, but I am anxious to move beyond its walls. First on the agenda is to find an English bookstore. I can survive without English television and movies, but I cannot thrive without books. I am struggling to remember some of the Japanese I learned years ago and to learn more, but my mind seems too tired to retain it right now. I am surprised to learn that fewer people speak English here than did in Korea and Vietnam, so the language barrier is a bit isolating. But I've already made some friends, especially with my co-workers, who have promised to show me around a bit. Hopefully my next installment will include more information about the city itself, and some photos of the area I am in!

I am sitting here in my room at the Grand Hyatt Fukuoka, Japan, which overlooks a similar but smaller version of the choreographed water fountain one can see at the Bellaggio in Vegas. Neon lights are everywhere, as well as impeccably manicured floral gardens and greenery exhibits. The Grand Hyatt is part of a place called Canal City, which is a conglomeration of the hotel, shopping, art, movie theaters, entertainment, and more all in one small "city within the city." Bar Fiz, my venue for the next few months, overlooks all of the activity. When I arrived late last night to be met by the Japanese agent, Hiro, I immediately went to meet the performer who left today, and check out the venue. The stage is beautiful, a lighted floor, a clear glass-like piano, bamboo and water features surrounding you as you play. The bar creates a "signature drink" for each performer, and I am waiting to see what mine will be made of, and what they will call it. I watched some of the drinks being carried out from the bar, and every detail is seen to, including lighted ice cubes inside the drinks that are different colors depending on what you ordered.

Saying goodbye (twice!) back in the states was very difficult. When I left St. Louis and my fiance AJ, I kept looking back over my shoulder as I headed to security, wishing I could turn around. I absolutely am going to love this job and the people here and the adventure, but leaving home and the people I love for months at a time has always been difficult for me, even more so now that I am trying to plan a wedding! Ater St. Louis, I visited family in Seattle for a couple of days and it was again difficult to leave my mom and stepdad and grandma and get on that long flight to the land of the rising sun. However, now that I am here, I am ready to begin performing and learning about this place and the culture, which so far, is beautiful and inviting.

I am thrilled to report my guitar made it through the two flights here, so I must give kudos to United Airlines and Asian Airlines. The only casualty was a broken high E string when I was trying to tune it after opening the case. And that isn't their fault; the nut seems to have a sharp spot that often causes the high E to break. So, even without a heavy-duty flight case, my guitar survived the trip! And I survived the trip, being pleasantly surprised that all the flight attendants were very kind and helpful, and everything in the Tokyo airport was easy and efficient. I've had some rough trips lately where attendants were more than rude, (or where EVERYTHING went wrong, like it did on my last trip to Italy) but this one gave me back a bit of hope for the airline industry. I heard on the news that they are doing really well for the first time in a long time - making a big profit again. So, now I guess they can start giving us free peanuts again on domestic flights? Or how about NOT charging one hundred dollars for an extra domestic-flight bag anymore? One can dream....

So, I've decided technology and I aren't the best of friends. My room here is great - but everything runs on automatic switches. You come near the bathroom, the fan kicks on in anticipation; you walk by the closet, a light switches on even if you weren't planning on opening the doors; and there are no light switches, just a multi-button "console" (for want of a better word) near the bed that controls all the lights in the room and which I still haven't fully figured out. I'm not even going to go into detail about the bidet that can give your bum a wash and blow-dry! OK, maybe that was more detail than was necessary, but I'm thinking I will steer clear of that!

I start performing tomorrow evening after registering and getting my ID card, and sound-checking at the venue. I'm always a little nervous before a new job begins, but this one seems like it will be great in every way. I get to perform a nice mix of my original music and my choice of covers ranging from standards to modern pop and everything in-between. It keeps it interesting. While putting together my song list the other day, I realized that through these jobs I've learned nearly 150 new songs I had never played before! I will also be selling CD's, and here you must sell them for $20 or more....they actually view a higher price as a sign of better value. So I guess I've been spoiled by the music prices in America, which so many of us think of as high, but which are quite low in comparison to here. Also, after meeting the F&B director here today, I learned I will be doing different types of performance while here, such as guitar/vocal, and performances outside of the regular venue.

I hope to write blogs often, as I don't have a movie channel on my TV - therefore lots of time on my hands, haha!