Snow is a Four Letter Word

Slush is the word of the day as we enjoy the first day in many that the temperature is not below zero.  It's funny how 15 degrees can feel like a tropical warm spell after 10 below.  Our home has a wonderful, cozy feeling with the hum of the washing machine and the crackle of the fire.  There is no green grass or sunshine to lull us outside, it's just us in this little house against the cold world outside.

I have almost romantic feelings for the wool socks I got for Christmas and they are my favorite companion as I work on songs for the next CD.  Next to my desk is a mason jar of sharpened #2 pencils that smell of my elementary school days.  I am merciless on the erasers as I work and rework lyrics.  Next week will mark the beginning of the studio work for the new CD. 

Brad and I play tag team on the phone as we work on booking new tours and shows for the upcoming year.  I told Brad that booking a tight tour is like trying to put a puzzle together when the pieces keep changing shape.  It's a challenge, but it's nice to be in it together.  I am reminded that behind every successful independent artist, there are hours of work behind the scenes.

In many ways, I live in a home full of artists.  I somehow don't notice how inventive and creative the kids are in the warm months of the year.  Being in close quarters gives me a chance to help them thread needles to make doll dresses, compose poetry for school, and happen upon a teddy bear tea party set up in the middle of the upstairs hallway.  We have a candlelit dinner every night and gather around the wood stove for family prayer.   So, for as much I could complain about snow being a four letter word, I can also sing  praises to the white stuff.  It gives us a welcome break from the world outside...for a while longer at least.

Cowboy Christmas

The 3rd Annual Cowboy Christmas was magical.  I don't think I've ever felt more honored to share the stage with other performers as I did that night with Ken Stevens singing my favorite "Corn, Water and Wood" and JoLynne Kirkwood and CR Wood reciting their poetry.  That room glowed with the true spirit of Christmas.  The whole committee involved with the event made it a reality and a lot of money was raised for our local Jensen's Angel Tree.

I made a busy week even busier by composing a new song on Tuesday that I sang on Saturday.  It is called "It all Began in a Barn" and the chorus is as follows...

Why would God in his glory choose to start His son's story in a stable with a manger of hay?

He could've saved all the hassle and crafted a castle 

for the Christchild on that first Christmas Day.

But I think I understand why it all began in a barn.

Somewhere warm, somewhere safe, somewhere far away from the human race...

yes, I think I understand why it all began in a barn.

My friend, Teresa, drove in from Nevada to be part of Cowboy Christmas.  Also the Dunn family braved the weather to be there from Idaho and Northern Utah.  My friend and photographer, Anita Crane, drove in from Park City, Utah with her husband to be our official photographer.  We all laughed, shared meals and music and I even put my friends to work with the event.  One of my children said, "Mom, you have really cool friends."  I thought to myself, "Yep.  I do."

Little CeCe began Christmas morning by exclaiming " I feel so happy inside!!"

Isn't this what the Christmas season is all about? 

Thou Shalt Think Big!

The kids will be home soon and I am still in my pajamas and wool socks.  It's a perfect jammie day with a drizzly gray rain falling outside and my poor washer and dryer humming non-stop in the background.  My incredibly sweet mother is visiting and we are enjoying our quiet time together.

I will be lecturing at a music business class tomorrow at Snow College before my concert at Convocation.  Lecturing comes natural to a mother of ten and I look forward to sharing my thoughts on the topic of "What Every Independent Artist Needs to Know."

Although I still feel like a bun in the oven when it comes to my career in music, I have learned some hard lessons that I hope can help these music industry hopefuls.  Here is my bucket list of beatitudes for music business beginners.

Thou Shalt Not Please Everyone...because even if you want to, you can't.  A good third of those you share your music with will love you,  a third will be ambivelent and a third will dislike you despite your best efforts.  It is the third who love you who you are there to bless.

Blessed are the Artists who find a Niche...for they shall find success.  Find a musical home and then fill a need in that musical community with your own unique talent.

Thou Shalt be Your True Authentic Self...by not getting stomach ulcers over trying to fit a mold.  Your job is to create your own mold and then break it a few times trying to get it right.

Blessed are the Artists who Produce Great Music...for they shall not be embarrassed by half-hearted work.  If you know from the tip of your head to your red-painted toes that you have produced a great CD, then that confidence will transfer into sales and success.  

Thou Must be Present to Win...because the only way to reach people is to reach them.  Get ready to put some miles on your car and some hours connecting to those new fans via the internet.

Thou Shalt Love thy Fans as Thyself...by remembering names and being real, giving consistently great live performances, and keeping in touch in a meaningful, genuine way.

Blessed are the Artists who Continue to Grow...for they will never become jaded with what they do.  It is sad for me to see professional groups and soloists who just go through the motions of their performances with the same jokes and the same songs as they think about what they are going to have for dinner.  I once saw a fiddle player yawn in the middle of a performance.  Stay fresh, my friends!

Thou Shalt Only Work with People you Like and Trust...because life is too short to work with mean or untrustworthy people.  You have to trust your inner BS detector to make the hard decisions about who to trust and love and who to let go. One of the great perks of being an independent artists is that you can make these choices.

Thou Shalt Think Big!...and turn a deaf ear to the naysayers who tell you what can and can't happen for you in your life.  Be prepared for great things, pray for great things and then let go of your expectations of how those great things will come about...that's God's business, not yours.

Well, although this list is for a group of college students tomorrow, I think it has some carry over merit in all of our lives.  Now, I am going to go make a nice mug of hot chocolate and rotate the laundry...again.

My love to you all!

The Muscles of Your Soul

Between horse-back riding and new zumba classes I have muscles sore that I didn't even know existed.  My children can attest to the fact that I have spent my entire adult life devoted to almost daily exercise, but it always amazes me that you can never "arrive" at being physically fit.  At most, you hit as high as you can on the scale that ranges from "couch potato" to "muscle-bound goddess."

Exercise makes me feel 6 feet tall and bullet-proof and it has been my secret weapon against the Kryptonite of my life which is depression.  Is it alright to talk about depression?  I hope so, because I'm fixin' to talk about it.  Maybe what I have to say may help someone else who has felt the weight of this dark blanket over their lives.

Last night, when I prayed, I thanked God for giving me a heart that can break and a soul that can suffer depression.  It is the depth of emotion that I can feel and the care I take in not falling into the depression pit that are the fuel for the intense joy I experience.  I choose to not take prescription meds because I found the meds dull the "highs" of my life as well as the "lows."  Instead, I run, I pray, I religiously take vitamins and supplements, I write music, I strive to be fully present in each moment.

Today when Brad called he said, "Are you OK?" I said, "yes."  He then said, "Are you REALLY OK?"  It's like he can tell from a distance that depression is knocking at my door.  I love that my loved ones are as aware of my needs as I try to be of theirs. The best thing a loved one can do is to show love and give big bear hugs, but not encourage long days of nothingness.  Depression requires ACTION to overcome.

It seems to me that there is a lovely push and pull to life that creates momentum and motion.  It is when the momentum stops for me that it suddenly feels like I am wearing concrete shoes and all I want to do is crawl into bed for a few days.  I recognize these crisis moments and ask God for grace to get out of the mire.  Often it is a run up the canyon or a good booty-shake at an aerobics class that help.  Sometimes God sends me to someone else who might need a visit or a call.  Occasionally, God sends a song.

The last thing I would want to do is make depression sound like an easy state to overcome.  I have been knocked on my back by it enough times to realize how real and sticky it is.  If the object of our design as a child of God is to experience joy, then God can get us to a state of joy.  All we have to do is want joy, ask for it and move toward it.  Just like being physically fit, you can never "arrive" at "joy."  It's a daily process and sometimes the muscles of your soul will be sore, but good golly, aren't we so lucky to be alive?

Keep Calm and Mary Kaye On

I finally have the last of campfire smell out of my hair just in time to head out on my Oregon Tour.  Our family goes on an annual backpacking trip that for many years I had an excused absence from due to pregnancy or nursing babies, but now feel obligated to take part in.  Even our grown children come home now for our big adventure on the mountain.

I have a love-hate relationship with the great outdoors.  I love the time with my family, the roasted marshmallows, the campfire camaraderie, being cacooned with Brad in our tent, but I hate the rain when it's time to make breakfast, the spiders that end up in my hair, squirrels in my pack, and ashes in my hot chocolate.

One year, a terrible storm came over the mountain and the wind howled over the pines like waves crashing on the shore.  I woke to the sound of trees blowing over and my little girls crying in their tent.  I shook Brad and said, "The tree's are falling!"  He said, "God will protect us.  There is nothing we can do but wait it out."

 Isn't that how life is.  We become gripped with fear at the sound of our world crashing down around us only to realize that the only plan of action that makes any sense is to wait out the storm.  They say that fear is simply misplaced faith. I laughed when I was reading through my journal last night and saw these words that I had penned when storms raged in my own life...I had written, "Keep Calm and Mary Kaye On."

My heart is bursting with gratitude for God's tender mercies.  Great things are happening in my family and in my music career.  I am the Featured Performer of the Week on the Texaco Country Music Showdown website and the song "Fringe" is up for Song of the Month.  I also look forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones on my tour through Oregon this weekend.

So...to all of my family, friends and fans I want to give you my love and encouragement.  I know some of your struggles and I am glad to be connected to you.  Music makes a circle of us all. May the circle be unbroken.  Keep calm and carry on!!

If you would like to vote for "Fringe" at the Texaco Country Music Showdown site just follow the link below. You are allowed one vote a day.

 http://www.countryshowdown.com/songwriting_contestant_list.php

I so appreciate your enthusiasm and help!

Here's Your Hat, Whats Your Hurry?

 Out here in our corner of the West we have more fresh fruits and vegetables that even our huge family can consume.  It's the back-to-school time filled with football practices and papers to sign and those pesky dive-bombing flies in the kitchen that seem to be having a last hoorah before the cold season.  I just came home from running Millie to dance class.  I was held up by two little cowboys herding sheep down the road.  They grinned at me from their horse-back thrones as the sheep poured around my car like a wooly river.  Our town has transformed from it's sleepy summer rhythm to the upbeat tempo of county fair time.

I am feeling lucky today to have such a fine and varied life.  Women today, especially women who live out in the never-nevers have more opportunities than ever before to wear as many hats as they wish in their lifetimes.  The "mom hat" is my favorite hat and is made even better with a smart phone to text college kids.  I can look up recipe's and advice about pesky flies on my computer when I have on my "domestic diva hat."  This morning I quietly loaded the washing machine while I did a radio interview to promote my concert for Trout and Berry Days tomorrow in Cache Valley.  My "Mary Kaye the Singer Hat" is made possible with daily publicity emails and digital downloads.

My Grandmother Pauline raised her family on an Indiana farm and didn't get her drivers license until she was in her 40's.  Women today living in rural America are driving at 15 and the world is only a gas tank away.  My concert tours have made me quite the road warrior and I can't imagine not feeling confident that I could drive wherever in the world I need to go.  Of course my GPS whose name is "Tess" (a gift from fellow entertainer, Belinda Gail) is a definite plus when I have to wear my "Where the Heck am I Navigator Hat."

 

The real trick of living for me is to joyfully and artfully sport the many hats God has given me to wear.  Of course I wish I had a real hat to wear as I attend Back-to-School night tonight.

  I'm having a bit of a bad hair day. 

Behind the Scenes

My brain is about to explode.  I've got dinner to make (cornbread and zucchini), music to get ready for my studio time tomorrow, a workout to squeeze in and a daughter to take school shopping.  I know that everyone is busy, but being busy is like being sick.  It feels like you're the only person on the planet suffering.

My husband and best friend, Brad, has been helping me with the booking side of my music biz, which became a necessity as things got crazy busy with touring.  We have fun hitting the open road together and also enjoy the thrill of adding new and exciting dates to my schedule.

The kids all kick in with helping around our house and property.  Just today the children did laundry, mowed the lawn, collected eggs, watered and trimmed flowers, vacuumed and cleaned windows.  CeCe even made a flower arrangement for the kitchen window sill.  My boys tease us by saying we should put a sign on their door that says, "Slave Quarters."

I spent time today working on current music projects.  Brad and I are producing a new CD that is a compilation of some of my older recordings.  We are calling it "Mary Kaye...Classics from the Vault."  It will have favorites such as "Crazy", "Moon River" and "Stand by Your Man."  It will also include a recording that I did for my high school Jr Miss Pageant called "Hit Me With a Hot Note."

The idea came to us when a friend and fan from CA mentioned some older recordings of mine that he had heard about.  I found them and dusted them off and we are now mixing and mastering and getting them ready for distribution.  I am still kicking around ideas for cover photography ideas.  Maybe a pic of me emerging from a bank vault?  No...that's dumb.  Maybe I should just focus on frying up that zucchini for now.