25 Years (September 29, 2008)

I sit here at the laundromat on the eve of my twenty-fifth birthday and as I watch my clothes swirl in a frothy pool before me, I feel like this is the perfect metaphor for the past year: whirling, full of color, transformative… purifying. After traveling through four countries and forty states playing nearly one hundred shows I feel like a well-loved pair of jeans. Now that I am finally still – watching the cycle churn behind glass like a personal observation tank – I have the opportunity to revisit my experiences in a new form. As distant memories move to the foreground of my bubbly brain the delight is akin to discovering a favorite t-shirt after a prolonged laundry hiatus. Isn’t it exciting when you’re folding your clean clothes and you’re surprised by an old friend? For me it was just Kentucky – completely forgot that I played in Kentucky. It’s amazing how many episodes have already escaped me… lost socks. But we manage to keep the memories we need: the teddy bear has never been misplaced in over two decades… I’ll be thinking about Telluride* for years to come.

I decided to do laundry today as a birthday present to myself because I can think of no greater gift than waking up to a fresh start, a new cycle of life. (Plus, you all know I have a thing for water….) Life seems to get better with each rotation – for those of us who entered the world as ancient souls, it feels good to fade out a bit. The repetition nurtures clarity. Those dark jeans get a little softer and less rigid with every year. And while new clothes are nice, there’s something valuable about renewing what you already have. Our clothes act as our skin, our shell, and our buffer between our inner and outer worlds. They hold our history – how we orient ourselves on our journeys. Our memories are no different. A little girl sits beside me in her bright pink flower skirt with her bright pink Play-Doh, and I recognize her in this soggy Panda bear that is waiting to go home to dry out in the sweet September sun. To her I’m probably just an old lady, but as I inhale that familiar doughy smell I can’t help think “Ah, but I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now.”

And with that, I am going to go home and fold along to “Old Man,” as this is the last day that I’ll be able to sing “Twenty-four and there’s so much more” from inside Neil’s lyric. I have spent so many years singing that line, wondering what twenty-four would be like… had I known it would be such a joyful, inspiring, creative time those old jeans would’ve lightened up a long time ago.

Thanks for reading and happy laundering

Laura

* I just posted a new tune about Telluride called “Back in New York,” oddly enough – I’ll be posting new songs at this site throughout the fall… more on that later

25 Years (September 29, 2008)

I sit here at the laundromat on the eve of my twenty-fifth birthday and as I watch my clothes swirl in a frothy pool before me, I feel like this is the perfect metaphor for the past year: whirling, full of color, transformative… purifying. After traveling through four countries and forty states playing nearly one hundred shows I feel like a well-loved pair of jeans. Now that I am finally still – watching the cycle churn behind glass like a personal observation tank – I have the opportunity to revisit my experiences in a new form. As distant memories move to the foreground of my bubbly brain the delight is akin to discovering a favorite t-shirt after a prolonged laundry hiatus. Isn’t it exciting when you’re folding your clean clothes and you’re surprised by an old friend? For me it was just Kentucky – completely forgot that I played in Kentucky. It’s amazing how many episodes have already escaped me… lost socks. But we manage to keep the memories we need: the teddy bear has never been misplaced in over two decades… I’ll be thinking about Telluride* for years to come.

I decided to do laundry today as a birthday present to myself because I can think of no greater gift than waking up to a fresh start, a new cycle of life. (Plus, you all know I have a thing for water….) Life seems to get better with each rotation – for those of us who entered the world as ancient souls, it feels good to fade out a bit. The repetition nurtures clarity. Those dark jeans get a little softer and less rigid with every year. And while new clothes are nice, there’s something valuable about renewing what you already have. Our clothes act as our skin, our shell, and our buffer between our inner and outer worlds. They hold our history – how we orient ourselves on our journeys. Our memories are no different. A little girl sits beside me in her bright pink flower skirt with her bright pink Play-Doh, and I recognize her in this soggy Panda bear that is waiting to go home to dry out in the sweet September sun. To her I’m probably just an old lady, but as I inhale that familiar doughy smell I can’t help think “Ah, but I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now.”

And with that, I am going to go home and fold along to “Old Man,” as this is the last day that I’ll be able to sing “Twenty-four and there’s so much more” from inside Neil’s lyric. I have spent so many years singing that line, wondering what twenty-four would be like… had I known it would be such a joyful, inspiring, creative time those old jeans would’ve lightened up a long time ago.

Thanks for reading and happy laundering

Laura

* I just posted a new tune about Telluride called “Back in New York,” oddly enough – I’ll be posting new songs at this site throughout the fall… more on that later

Hello, Autumn (September 22, 2008)

Yesterday I made some seitan in beet broth – my first autumnal meal – and it looked a lot like Spiral Jetty as it simmered. This made me really happy.

And speaking of art which inspires me – I went to the new exhibit at the MOMA, Van Gogh and the Colors of the Night. It’s a wonderful collection that traces the emergence of his voice through nighttime paintings. The colors are so alive I could still feel their wetness. I think I saw one of them breathe.

And speaking of colors of the night – wouldn’t it be cool if the moon was really that big? (As big as the droplet on my lens, that is). When I was in high school there was one night when I was driving North on good old I-95 and the moon popped out from a billboard and it was so close that it appeared to be nearly as big as this. Well, from my perspective, obviously. I’ve heard that the moon is quite large. (Anyone else thinking of Cosmo’s moon?)

(Near the MOMA on 53rd there are these Hello Kitty fountains. I told the audience at the Utica show last week that I’d post a picture of it for them here. I, too, have cried outside of Citibank…)

And speaking of the Utica show – check out these Mountain Dew bottles in the booth. Is that not nasty? The thing that the picture doesn’t show is that this is one corner of a rather large room… so multiply those bottles by four corners, two counters, and a few garbage cans. The green room, which I should’ve taken a picture of, is painted the exact color of Mountain Dew, too! Craziness. Mountain Dew aside, it was a fantastic show and I’m hoping (fingers crossed) to be back up to MVCC this winter.

You can see on my calendar that I’m taking a break from touring to work behind the scenes for a while…. I was really excited when I read last week’s horoscope:

“You come onstage to greet an adoring audience, do a riveting song and dance, then announce you won’t be doing any more shows for a while because you’re about to go off and create your next big splash.”

Ha! I don’t know about “adoring audience,” but the Free Will Astrology in the Village Voice tends to be very accurate, which makes me excited about my present splashing about. Check the link for fun. Happy Autumn!

Hello, Autumn (September 22, 2008)

Yesterday I made some seitan in beet broth – my first autumnal meal – and it looked a lot like Spiral Jetty as it simmered. This made me really happy.

And speaking of art which inspires me – I went to the new exhibit at the MOMA, Van Gogh and the Colors of the Night. It’s a wonderful collection that traces the emergence of his voice through nighttime paintings. The colors are so alive I could still feel their wetness. I think I saw one of them breathe.

And speaking of colors of the night – wouldn’t it be cool if the moon was really that big? (As big as the droplet on my lens, that is). When I was in high school there was one night when I was driving North on good old I-95 and the moon popped out from a billboard and it was so close that it appeared to be nearly as big as this. Well, from my perspective, obviously. I’ve heard that the moon is quite large. (Anyone else thinking of Cosmo’s moon?)

(Near the MOMA on 53rd there are these Hello Kitty fountains. I told the audience at the Utica show last week that I’d post a picture of it for them here. I, too, have cried outside of Citibank…)

And speaking of the Utica show – check out these Mountain Dew bottles in the booth. Is that not nasty? The thing that the picture doesn’t show is that this is one corner of a rather large room… so multiply those bottles by four corners, two counters, and a few garbage cans. The green room, which I should’ve taken a picture of, is painted the exact color of Mountain Dew, too! Craziness. Mountain Dew aside, it was a fantastic show and I’m hoping (fingers crossed) to be back up to MVCC this winter.

You can see on my calendar that I’m taking a break from touring to work behind the scenes for a while…. I was really excited when I read last week’s horoscope:

“You come onstage to greet an adoring audience, do a riveting song and dance, then announce you won’t be doing any more shows for a while because you’re about to go off and create your next big splash.”

Ha! I don’t know about “adoring audience,” but the Free Will Astrology in the Village Voice tends to be very accurate, which makes me excited about my present splashing about. Check the link for fun. Happy Autumn!

One month (September 15, 2008)

This receipt has been resting in the stairwell of my building for exactly one month. It was here to greet me upon my return from Colorado and it has come to serve as a sort of welcome mat. I’ve actually grown rather attached to it – not the object so much as the familiarity. I hope no one sweeps.

Speaking of one month, tomorrow it will be one month since I last played a show. That’s a record for 08. Good thing I’m playing tomorrow night:

Mohawk Valley Community College
Alumni College Center, 116
1101 Sherman Drive, Utica, NY

Candice Jarrett is at 8PM and I play at 9PM. There will be new songs.

P.S. The receipt has traveled from the third step to the fourth. Evidently someone else has taken note. And as there are seven steps to the landing this makes me think there is some heart chakra-opening going on

One month (September 15, 2008)

This receipt has been resting in the stairwell of my building for exactly one month. It was here to greet me upon my return from Colorado and it has come to serve as a sort of welcome mat. I’ve actually grown rather attached to it – not the object so much as the familiarity. I hope no one sweeps.

Speaking of one month, tomorrow it will be one month since I last played a show. That’s a record for 08. Good thing I’m playing tomorrow night:

Mohawk Valley Community College
Alumni College Center, 116
1101 Sherman Drive, Utica, NY

Candice Jarrett is at 8PM and I play at 9PM. There will be new songs.

P.S. The receipt has traveled from the third step to the fourth. Evidently someone else has taken note. And as there are seven steps to the landing this makes me think there is some heart chakra-opening going on