My Bluebird Blog (try saying THAT out loud)

Like any good starving artist, I have been trying to play as many shows as I can. This includes the ever-interesting "Open Mic Nights." As one can imagine, open mic nights are GREAT people-watching. It's kinda like the DMV of the music industry, if you get my drift.... I kidnapped my husband last night, and we drove down to the historic Bluebird Café in Nashville. I've decided that's why God made marriage. So people don't have to go to awkward Open Mic Nights alone. Among other things.

I knew it was going to be a bit crazy, as the Bluebird is quite the tourist attraction, and it's probably tinier than any other bar or restaurant ever, in the history of ever. But alas, this is what people do if they wanna be a singer/songwriter, so I better get in line.

We walked up to the  unassuming line with a smile on our faces. We were ready to OWN this thang.

But as a few hours passed, standing in line in the cold, our attitudes got a little cold, too. We tried to entertain ourselves, and as the line grew, it worked for a little while.

But we quickly got cranky. Like, super cranky. I'm not posting pictures of that.

We finally got inside. Yessssss. We signed in, got a hot chocolate and prepared for a long night. They then called out by random drawing, who was playing when. By the time they got to #30, they said, "The following people MAY be able to play 1 song tonight, but it's not guaranteed: JESSIE SMITH...."

"AW H*LL NAW," I yelled. "YOU GONNA LET ME PLAY, SON!"

Just kidding. I didn't say that. I just made this face.

I was fading FAST. Then, the announcer guy said, "If you want, you can take a number and come back next week and have the opportunity to play in the first hour, because this is a big pain my @$$." (That was a loose translation.)

So we took our number and happily got outta dodge.

Maybe next time we will ACTUALLY get to perform.

Hear, Hear

 

Bullying in schools is getting a lot of press these days. Thank goodness. But bullying one's self is just as detrimental.

May this be my mantra, always.

Last Two Songs

Oops, forgot to post the song yesterday on the blog! I posted it everywhere else but here. So I'm doubling up. Here are the next songs! Sticks and Stones, and I'm Not Made That Way. I even rap in one. Well, I attempt to rap. I would love your feedback! [youtube=http://youtu.be/ubJjdosfLZ0]

[youtube=http://youtu.be/mU4yFs0dxPY]

That Frozen Man

Yesterday, the hubs and I took our Sunday to record 3 swampy new songs (acoustic versions) I've written for my album (the album that is being funded by the most wonderful lil' buddies in the world, via our successful Kickstarter campaign!). So, I've written a few more songs to add to the consideration list. Today, I posted song #1. Tomorrow I'll post #2 and Wednesday I'll post song #3. Then, I'll post some bloopers, but that's not 100% guaranteed as of yet. They're pretty humiliating bloopers. I'm sure you would find them funny, because let's face it, humiliating things are hilarious. So, without further adieux, here's song #1 - Frozen Man

[youtube=http://youtu.be/BKI7tLXPFmQ]

I would love to know what you think of it. Especially if you like it. :P

And if you're interested, here are the lyrics!

Frozen Man

Music by Jessie Smith Minnigan Lyrics by Simone Simonton and Jessie Smith Minnigan

Cold hands, cold heart

you used to melt me in your arms

where has all of your passion gone

i need that fire back, make me burn

I Can’t seem to leave, don’t wanna stay 

held together by just this pain

can you convince me you wanna change?

is this worth enough to save?

CHORUS

Never gonna be satisfied

Never gonna be satisfied

Never gonna be satisfied

With a frozen man

i’m not saying it’s all your fault

i plead guilty to building walls

i wanna love you, but it’s so damn hard

you won’t see me beg or crawl

Teaching That Guy A Lesson

I did something awful today. I have certainly never done this before. And I don't regret it for a second. I like to stay out of drama. I like being an "upstanding citizen" (at least in public, ha). I am quite a people-pleaser at heart. But today, that all went out the window with one single, disgusting comment.

While walking into Macy's today, a trio of sorely misguided thugs walked past me in the parking lot. One of the fools pipes up and says, "heeey babyyy, you got a nice body."

Strike 1.

I started walking faster and pretending like I didn't hear him. Then, he says something so vile, so disgusting, so disrespectful, I refuse to say or type what it was. Right there in front of a crowd of people.

Strike 2 and 3. And 4 and 5 and 6 and infinity.

My blood was boiling. I began walking towards him. "HEY!" I yelled. Then I flipped him off, called him an a-hole and ran inside.

hehe. I'm so proud of myself.

A Most Peculiar Concert

Before I begin this, I want to say, I am in no way "above" performing for small crowds. I've played many-sized concerts, large crowds and small. However, playing for small crowds is kind of the norm for a starving artist like myself. That being said...

My band and I performed a show yesterday at the Putnam County Fairgrounds in Cookeville, TN called the Upper Cumberland Music Festival. Now, before I continue, I must say 1. the music festival apologized to us, and 2. it's a pretty small town. They were very nice about the whole thing.

THAT being said...

We pulled up in our packed-out Suburban to the fairgrounds around 1:30 PM. We would go on at 3:30 PM. The festival had food vendors, games, little animal rides, a small stage, and a really big main stage (where we were to perform). The only problem was...

There were ZERO people in the parking lot. And when I say ZERO, I mean ZERO attenders. There were lots of workers buzzing around, trying to find something to do. Keep in mind, this was the 3rd day of the festival, and it had begun earlier that morning. And it was now the afternoon.

Imagine going to your local county fair. Now imagine not a SOUL is there but you. Funnel cakes, corn, and fried beef sticks, and only you, walking awkwardly around them, not knowing quite what to do with yourself. That was us.

"This sounds kind of weird, Jessie, but not THAT weird," you say. "Oh really?" I ask.

"Take a look at the stage..."

Or this angle...

Or... this one.

(Note the sound booth there in the middle).

Like I said, not a soul. Plus, the grandness of stage size (and fairgrounds size) created a slightly eerie, never-come-here-by-yourself-at-night kind of feel.

Lucky for me, I have a built-in travel fan-base.

Everyone, meet my in-laws!

They parked their travelin' chairs right down in front of the stage, the perfect place for doing "The Wave." They helped triple our fan base that day.

This embarrassing humbling experience, however, did not get our spirits down! (Ok, it got my drummer's spirits down a little, but he's almost through the anger stage of the grief process, so he'll be fine...eventually.) We put our stompin' boots on and performed the crap outta that empty  ghost town fairground! And that's kind of what it's all about right? Besides, you know, actually making money.

[slideshow]

Writing Trip

A couple weeks ago, I escaped to an aunt's beautiful mountain "cabin" (more like mansion!) deep in the North Georgia Blue Ridge mountains. I needed to buckle down and finish some songs with little distraction, and my mom, aunt, and grandmother joined me, with the promise of letting me write and only "bothering" me sometimes. They are QUITE the energetic trio, so I had my doubts. However, I am happy to report that they were well-behaved. :) And a whole lot of fun! I enjoyed the quiet, not having to clean, escaping Nashville, not wearing a bra, and breathing mountain air. I got a lot of writing and work-related things accomplished, and my phone wouldn't get service so I was forced to check out completely. It was glorious and kind of annoying.

Here are some pictures of the house's beautiful views:

At one point in my stay, though, I got a bit frustrated by the lack of Internet and phone service (addict), so I ventured off into "town," via typing in "Downtown" into my GPS device. It landed me in this booming metropolis:

It's not always that busy, but I caught it during rush hour.

So, with backpack on and disheveled hair and no bra, I made my way to what seemed like a quaint little outdoorsy cheap-but-not-mcdonalds-cheap local restaurant. I sat down at an adorable little spot where people were a little more dressed up than I had initially realized and were looking at me strangely. Just kidding about that bra thing.

The waiter then gave me a menu and I FLIPPED. The prices were WAAAAYYY higher than I had expected. In fact, this place was a RESERVATION ONLY restaurant that happened to have a loser one-person table in the back free that they let me sit at! I then felt that I couldn't leave, so I began to sit up straighter, act like "I was on business" (which I kind of am, but um, I'm not exactly The Beatles over here), and ordered the cheapest thing on the menu. A bruschetta appetizer.

The bruschetta is somewhere down in there... took me awhile to get to it.

After I paid for my $30 toast and cheese appetizer with a water, I drove back to the house to start writing. I plugged in my piano in this super cool outside area where I could see the creek and sit on the porch swing.

But alas... the outlet did not work, thus forcing me to place my piano against the wall in the basement.

Could I have written songs against a wall in my small apartment in Nashville? Well, yes. But this wall is way cooler.

I leave you with a quote to ponder. As I was wandering through a quilt store in the thriving downtown metropolis (that I actually do really love, but don't tell anyone), I came across a very meaningful quote that I think MANY can relate to. Try not to tear up when you read this.

WOW!! SO RELATABLE!! I think this ALL the time!!

:P

Pinterest FAIL

I, like the rest of the American female population, am OBSESSED with Pinterest. I feel so motivated, inspired, moved... Who am I kidding... I just zone out and pin things I know I'll never cook, wear, decorate with, or make.

But ONCE in a blue moon, I do try something, and it's usually some sort of recipe.

This time, I attempted something called "Honey Cinnamon Roasted Chickpeas." They're supposed to taste crunchy, sweet, and somewhat like roasted nuts. I thought that sounded super cool, especially when coupled with this beautiful picture:

So, I grabbed the recipe and the ingredients, and did "exactly" as they said (I'm not very good with details).

But what I made was not a food. I had created little dots of what tasted like dirt turds, rolled in some honey. Here, see for yourself:

These little beauties are even worse tasting than they look... Oh well, in another 8 months, I'll try another. Slow and steady, slow and steady.

*I'd like to note... it's probably more USER ERROR than bad recipe...