Whiskey Jam and Soulshine Pizza

I played two crazy fun shows last week. On Monday night, I had the honor of playing Whiskey Jam for the first time. There were lots of virgin jokes. wah wah wah. 

I received a lot of great feedback from this show. It seems my band really made me look good that night (that's their job, right? i kid i kid). I met some wonderful people on Instagram after the show that sent me the sweetest comments. Here's one of them:

"A bunch of us came from all over the US to see Kurt Nilsen @ the whiskey jam but we also enjoyed discovering you and your wonderful voice! I'm a new fan now!!"

  And here's another:

"I was one that came to see Kurt Nilsen too. I enjoyed you very much! :)"

So I learned two things that night.

1. Kurt Nilsen is a Norwegian artist. And quite popular. And now I know why. Holy cow, amazing!
2. Kurt Nilsen fans are SO NICE!!

So grateful for good feedback. It's rare to receive positive feedback in this town (not complaining, just saying. But I do love a good compliment. :P ) 

Here are some pictures from Whiskey Jam, taken by my new friend, Deb Jackson:

Then, Tuesday night, I sang in a Writer's Round with two very talented folks, including a great friend of mine named Levi. I tell you specifically about Levi because Levi is slightly afraid of playing out, despite the fact that he's UNBELIEVABLE. I shall introduce you to him in a minute. 
Here is a video my good friend Daniel recorded from the show:
 

And here is my crazy-talented friend, Levi Douglas. That voice will shake your bones. He doesn't play out often, so I'd suggest giving it a listen!

Album's Done! Kickstarter Prizes Sent!

Most of you know this now. But just in case...

Shiloh is done! Get it here! 

Or you can stream it all here online!

And in other news, the Kickstarter prizes have been mailed out!! (with exception to two people who are getting something a little more specialized.) I'm so glad to have these finally finished! I'm so grateful for the supporters. I can't even believe it was successful and that I've been on this crazy, wonderful road!

I don't know if I've ever said this out loud, but I am deathly afraid of the post office. I get more nervous about the post office than I do about performing, job interviews, or sky diving. I can't ever remember the lingo (first class, priority, etc.), everyone's in a hurry, and those postal workers scare me something fierce. All that being said...

Here are some pictures and backstory about how my trip to the post office with a cart load of Kickstarter packages went. Not to spoil the story, but... it wasn't pretty.

I got the packages in the car. Success! Feeling good.

I arrived at the post office, and the line was, naturally, out the door. I grabbed a cart and loaded her up.

As I pushed the cart inside, I got a few laughs and wide eyes. My heart rate started rising.

Finally, it was my turn to go up to the desk. There were two clerks working; one who seemed really nice, and the other who was one small notch above Jack The Ripper. I got Jack. My whole face felt hot. He took one look at my packages, sighed, and said, 

"All of your packages are incorrectly addressed."
"What?"
"Ma'am, all your packages are incorrectly addressed. You have to start all over."

He slapped down some blank stickers, and to my surprise, he started helping me readdress them all. I thanked him; he didn't answer back. He wasn't doing it to be nice.

I asked him if he had any extra tape so I could re-tape one of my boxes. He gave me the dispenser, and I started trying to tape as fast as I could. I could feel the long line of bored people watching. I could feel the exasperation of the clerk. I was shaking. I taped slanted, backwards, folded over, sideways, upside-down. I had balls of tape sticking to the box. Balls! I forced a smile and looked at the people in the line, chuckled confidently, acting like I had it under control. I wasn't fooling anybody. I managed to mangle the tape dispenser so badly, that I had to pull out about a 4-foot strip of tape in order to make it work right again. And I cut 2 of my fingertips on that tape-cutter-thing. I was bleeding over pens, address labels and boxes. I looked more than a little crazy.

When all the packages were out of my hands, and the postal nightmare was over, I RAN to my car. In slow-motion. Chariots Of Fire was playing. 

I had made it out alive.

Songs 1 & 2 Streaming Now!

Songs 1 & 2 (of six) from Shiloh are streaming now right here on my website! 

Click on "Shiloh - The EP" from my homepage. Or click here.

Ok, that is all for now. 

I leave you with this baby picture of me... mainly because I feel like this post is too bare. Everybody now, "aaawwwww...".

Phase 2 Starting... Now.

It's HERE. All of it. The album, that is. The digipaks (the thing the CD sits in) arrived in all their wondrous glory.  

Here. We. Go.

I heart YouTube Yoga

Oh, exercise. A necessary evil and a beautiful experience, wrapped up in an awkward bow. As a broke musician, I have to get a bit creative in the world of exercising. Due to the fact that I don't want to pay $50 a month for a gym membership, I have become quite the YouTube workout aficionado. My favorite thing to do right now is yoga.  Here are some of my favorite yoga vids on YouTube that'll make you sweat your tail off. 

(And just for reference, I'm at an intermediate level. Not a beginner, but I'm certainly not advanced. I can't do the majority of the arm balances and acrobatic stuff, so when the video asks me to do those, I try it for a minute, and then I just hop around 'til the next pose. :) )

Hope this will help you save money, too!