Wow! The last time I looked, my new video "In Winter" had 573 views, and now "Norwegian Wood" is climbing as well. It's only been two weeks, and already it's surpassed my other videos. Thanks go out to everyone who has watched and shared it with family and friends.
The only thing I've ever wanted to do with my life was pursue my music. My parents always said that I sang my first words. I know that music kept me alive during the worst of my struggles. Now, after a lifetime of raising children and living in poverty, I am finally able to live my dream. And, I know that I can embrace all of the hardships because they led me here. It doesn't matter how long it took. I've finally arrived. I have a couple of fun gigs coming up. One of them is at The Altamont Free Library on March 9th. It's for their "Songteller" sessions. It will be quite challenging, but inspiring, too. There are ten questions asked of each songwriter, and we base our set list on the answers to those questions. The questions are as follows. *What is a song your parents loved? That one's easy but hard to choose just one. *What was the first album you bought with your own money? Oooh, I definitely know the answer to that. *What was the first song you learned to play? On what instrument? My first instrument was piano. I'm not sure I want to dredge that up. *What’s the first bad song you wrote? That one's tough because I don't tend to hold on to those. *What’s the first good song you wrote? I've written so many songs, and hopefully, most of them are good. *If you could have written any song, what would it be? Hmmm ... I have to think hard about that one. *What song do you love that other people seem to dislike? What? People don't share my taste in songs? *What’s a traditional/folk/children’s/church song that you like? There are just too many to choose from. *What’s a song that reminds you of home? I guess it would have to be an early childhood one, or maybe one of my own. *What song of yours would you like to be remembered by? This seems impossible to decide. As you can see, I have a lot of homework to do. Want to know the answers? You'll just have to come to the show. I think I'll be working on these up to the last minute. But, it's been a lot of fun sorting through old notebooks and stacks of papers and tripping down memory lane. I did another similar show once at Pompanuck Farm Institute in Cambridge, NY. That show was about the songwriting process. I shared the stage with Bob Warren and Tom Keller. We would play a song then answer questions about the song or the process from audience members. There was no opportunity to prepare answers, and the questions were fascinating. It was challenging but invigorating and one of the most fun times I've had on a stage, not only answering the questions myself but also listening to answers from the other performers. I also performed at a nursing home for retired nuns once, and they had tons of questions, too. A lot of them had been former music teachers and asked the most intelligent questions. I loved it! That said, I've been asking families what topics they would like covered in the Family Blog and have gotten some great suggestions. For me, the most challenging thing is choosing the topics. So, what would you like to know from me in this blog? Do you want opinion pieces? My personal history? Tales of adventure? Stories about my songs? If you let me know, I will address each thing. If you leave me to my own devices, well ... you'll have to be surprised. But thanks and more thanks for the support you've given me. I look forward to sharing more with you soon.
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