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Stolen Season CD Update, Tour Schedule Update

Happy Equinox, everyone! I’ve got so much to tell, and all of it’s good!

1. Wednesday afternoon Ryan and I drove to Memphis to pick up the Stolen Season CD’s at Audiographic Masterworks! They’re gorgeous! They have that new album smell! I’m starting the process of packing and shipping pre-orders and contributor copies now! Those of you who placed a pre-order for the physical CD should receive a package from me (shipped personally) between next Tuesday and April Fool’s Day. The post office ladies are gonna LOVE me in a day or two, lemme tell ya. If you have not yet had a chance to check out the album, you may listen to it and order a CD or a digital copy right here.

2. I’m working with CyberPR to run a publicity campaign for the album release! Wednesday morning I got to have a lovely chat with my campaign manager, Brooke Segarra. Brooke and I discussed the validity of having a scheduled “release date”, and we came to the conclusion that I should just go ahead and launch the album and the publicity campaign at the same time- I’ve been spreading the word faithfully, and so have all of you, so there’s no reason to keep the album under wraps, now that the CD is actually printed and ready to go. “Have you been talking and blogging about the album a lot already?” Brooke asked me. OH YES, I responded, laughing. It’s a testament to the patience and enthusiasm of my crowd that you all haven’t gotten tired of me talking about it!

So instead of making myself and everyone else wait another couple of weeks, Brooke gave me her blessing to go ahead and launch the album NEXT WEEK! CUE THE CONFETTI CANNONS!!!

3. Another lovely new review popped up for Stolen Season this week, courtesy of Sabrina Leah over at the Auditory Addictions blog! Thank you, Sabrina! <3 If you have a blog or podcast or radio show of your own, and you’d like to feature or review Stolen Season to help celebrate its release, please do not hesitate to contact me and let me know! I would be thrilled, truly. I check for messages daily at this address: sjtuckermusic -at- gmail -dot- com

4. Naturally, I’m not going to stop promoting the album personally, once I make the big release announcement on Monday. I’ve got some nifty things planned for YouTube, if nothing else, including live cuts of every song on the album (a release concert of sorts), AND an official music video for “Little Bird” that’s gonna be so cute I can hardly stand it! Subscribe to my YouTube channel if you want to make certain not to miss those videos when I post them. I’m hoping to put up all of the live cuts of the songs, which I performed and sang in my studio at home, early next week. The video will come a little later, hopefully by early April.

5. THIS WEEKEND I’m performing at Oak Spirit Sanctuary‘s Ostara festival in Boonville, Missouri. If you’re celebrating the Equinox and getting down with all the good eclipse energy that’s coming through, I wish you joy! I will be vending at the festival with my friends at Spiralfae Creations, so if you’re on site, come and find us at their booth.

7. NEXT SATURDAY I’m performing my rescheduled concert in Lawton, Oklahoma, at a new location: the Unitarian Universalist Church of Lawton. I’m very much looking forward to this! Plenty of room for all, so grab your tickets now.

Read on for the rest of the tour stuff I have for April. 🙂

New Song: For Pinocchio

For Pinocchio

Trap it like a spider with a gossamer thread
the beautiful lie that you hold in your head
lock it away with what’s best left unsaid

Anyone who loves you deserves what is true
Draw the message you bring from the essence of you
stay off the roller coaster and the loop-dee-loo

See, one little lie loves company. They take over before you know
And it’ll be plain as the nose on your face, my love
I don’t wanna say I told you so, oh
You’re good enough, honey, just the way that you are
remember that whenever you wish upon a star
keep the truth in your words, compassion in your heart

Bind ’em all together with gossamer threads
the beautiful lies that you hold in your head
lock ’em away with all that’s best unsaid
and you’ll be a real boy someday

One little lie loves company, and they’ll take over before you know.
It’ll be plain as the nose on your face, my love
Oh, don’t make me say I told you so, no, no!

So don’t turn loose of that gossamer thread
keep that beautiful lie snuggled up inside your head
take a minute to swallow what’s best left unsaid
and you’ll be a real boy someday. 🙂

This song was from the first week of my weekly songwriting challenge. The prompt was “beautiful lie”. I had this whole big idea about a song for faeries who, not being capable of lying according to folklore, think of human lies as works of art. Then the kid with the nose showed up instead, and that was fine.

New Song: Looks Like Rain

I don’t wanna say it, but it looks like rain
Maybe it’ll tend to what we haven’t yet saved
Hand in hand across the muddy plain
You and I shall go, you and I shall go

Treacherous the path
Warm your hand in mine
It’s dangerous to go alone, they say
As we are, we ought to be fine
It’s ages since our first adventures
Our early cloudy skies look less stormy now
The rain has always come when you’ve kissed me
Love is always about how the bottom falls out

So perhaps I shouldn’t worry when it looks like rain
Maybe it’ll nourish what we haven’t yet saved
Hand in hand across the muddy plain
You and I shall go, you and I shall go

The weather hasn’t stopped us yet
coast to coast rambling, as good as it gets
Icicle kingdoms and canyon walls
grottoes and rainy day waterfalls
Treacherous the path
warm your hand in mine
It’s dangerous to go alone, they say
Our way, we ought to be fine

Just put your arms around me when it looks like rain
Come shower or shine, I’ll be perfectly safe
Hand in hand into the tidal wave
you and I shall go, you and I shall go

This was inspired by the lyric prompt, “looks like rain” from my weekly songwriting group. The rain, the mud, the coral, the waterfalls, the canyon walls, the grottoes, and the icicles are all real. The tidal wave is gooey relationship metaphor. 😀

Part of this song came out of walking all the way around a lake shore earlier this week, rescuing displaced freshwater mussels after a break in the levee. It was more of an adventure than you might think- Arkansas mud is no joke.

I’m usually so busy writing about fantastical things that I forget about love songs. This was a joy to work on. I’ll definitely include this on an album in the future.

Song-a-week Challenge

This is my sixth week of participating in a songwriting group (my first!) which receives a prompt each Monday, and must turn in an mp3 of a new song using that prompt by midnight of the following Sunday.

This means I’ve written at least six new songs in the past month and a half, and it feels SO GOOD.

I wanted to share my happiness with you all, and also tell you what those new songs are about. Some of them will most likely get their turn on a future album. 🙂

So far I’ve written:

-a song for Pinocchio (the prompt was “beautiful lie”)

-a song about an inanimate object (I chose a guitar, specifically one of the guitars I don’t get to travel with very often, and I got somewhat silly)

-a song about pushing boundaries (the prompt was “perfect question”)

-a song about being yourself and loving what you love, no matter if other people think it’s strange (the prompt was “fool’s gold”)

-a song that focused on alliteration (the title is “Curbside Couch”, and it’s about remembering to be good to yourself and take a break every once in a while- I wrote this one in Cozumel on the beach)

-and this week, a song about going on adventures with your sweetie, regardless of the weather (the prompt was “looks like rain”, and I managed to work in a whole bunch of juicy relationship metaphors as well as a bitchin’ guitar solo).

Those of you who keep up with creative pursuits, be they dance, visual art, music, performance art, fiber arts, culinary arts, flow arts, fire arts, blacksmithing, making nifty things, or any other act of awesomeness that feeds your soul: I cannot recommend this type of commitment enough. Not only have I created new material weekly since this began, I’ve given myself permission to write about literally anything. And it’s really working out well for me. None of these songs are pieces I expected to write. They all came from the prompts given to me, and they’re all worth revisiting. I am an exacting lyricist, with a huge mental to-write list. Having a weekly deadline to produce things that don’t come from that internal list was a prospect that initially gave me the willies. But I’m loving it! I look forward to each week’s prompt and the challenge it brings.

Also, there’s no one in the pool of songwriters I’m on this journey with who’s ANY KIND of a slouch. Not even close. Imagine being in a group of people that you essentially get to write a whole new album’s worth of music with each week. We’re on our sixth one now, and our new collective body of work is so diverse, so scathingly brilliant, that it takes my breath away. 🙂 So. Many. New. Songs. From so many talented people! We’re all listening and writing together, and it’s just the best thing. I get to listen to a whole album’s worth of new songs, created by fellow artists who I really get a kick out of, every single week. Plus, we all get to tell each other that we kick ass, and share our favorites, and share positive feedback.

If that’s not food for the soul (certainly for my soul), I don’t know what is.

TL, DR: make time for what feeds you. Make time for your craft. When a cool challenge comes by, jump on it. I have done, and I’m loving it.

Great Big Update!

Lots of important things to share today!

1. NEW SHOW APRIL 4! I’ve had the good fortune to get a second chance to perform in Lawton, Oklahoma! Winter weather and a nasty spot of illness kept me from making it for my originally scheduled February dates, but we’ve rescheduled for Saturday, April 4! Please spread the word if you have friends or family in the area. 🙂 Tickets will be available here.

2. NEW SHOW LOCATION APRIL 10-12! One of my other big concerts for the month of April also has a new location. The delightful, delicious Amazon Music Festival in Fayetteville, Arkansas has relocated to Teatro Scarpino! Local lodging and parking info and the performance schedule may be found right here.

3. SCHEDULE CONFUSION CORRECTION! I am listed as performing at Chi-Fi in Chicago this month, but that mention on the con’s website is incorrect. I am actually performing at Oak Spirit Sanctuary’s Ostara festival that weekend, and it’s sure to be lovely! Do support Chi-Fi if you can, just know that I won’t really be there, alas.

4. CONWAY PAGAN PRIDE DAY 2015! When I performed for the first annual Conway Pagan Pride Day last year, in Simon Park, we had to take two “train solos” during my set. 🙂 I’ll almost miss being next to the tracks this year. A new city ordinance has caused the event organizers to need to set up a fundraiser, and find a new location. Please help me support this event if you can. Many of you know what it’s like to have to keep your path under wraps because of the local political climate…and how good it can be to have community to celebrate with, face to face, every once in a while. I don’t want to see this event fade away after just one successful year.

5. STOLEN SEASON CD UPDATE! I was hoping to have the CDs in hand by now, but my printing and replication company is still working to get them ready. As soon as I have them, I’ll be shipping out pre-orders! Those are still available by the way- get yours reserved right this minute, if you like! I’ll be working with Ariel Publicity/CyberPR to support the release and create plenty of buzz. You all have helped to make the whole thing possible, and I love you for it!

6. COZUMEL! I got to take a short family trip to Mexico (my first visit) last week. Cozumel is breathtakingly beautiful, filled with kind people and many delights. I was under the weather when we arrived, and by bedtime the first night, I was pretty much cured. It’s a magical place. I’ve posted a whole lot of photos from the trip on my Instagram page– you’re welcome to pop over there and enjoy.

Here’s a quick peek. Can this be my office, please? 🙂

7. EXCITEMENT AT HOME! While we were away on our trip, the most recent winter storm pounded two thirds of the country. One of the things this caused was a break in the levee at the Timberlake Reservoir, which is quite literally outside my back door. There were no casualties (it’s a modest lake), other than many, many poor fish. Uncle Todd was on site with heavy equipment as soon as possible to stop up the break, and before that, he was out with a bucket, rescuing as many fish as he could. My partner and I spent yesterday’s lunchtime adventuring in our best mud boots, re-homing mussels all around the lakeshore who’d been displaced by the fast loss of water. My arms are sore today from the mission, but I do not regret it in the least. We had quite a bit of rain overnight, as is common this time of year, so I’m hopeful that things will turn out all right for the little ecosystem. I’ve never seen the water this low. We’re doing our best to be good stewards.

8. THE NEWEST CANADIAN INVASION! I’m playing host to the Heather Dale Band this week, and we’re working on some clever new things together, including songs, scripts, and costumes! Watch for them at Gulf Wars next week, if you’re headed that way!

That’s all for now. Thanks for reading, everyone. 🙂

Treasures and the brilliant women who make them

My birthday this year was one of epic and unexpected bling, handcrafted by other talented women. No complaints from me. 🙂

This piece was made and given to me by the beautiful Kelley Naylor Wise. Needless to say, I squealed at a frequency outside the capacity of the human ear when I opened it and held this gorgeous creature in my hands. Kelley is a dancer, a craftswoman, a fantastic friend, and a painter of no small skill. We’ve become very close very quickly, and I’m so glad. Check her out on Pinterest and Facebook.

Once I’d returned home from a family trip to the Caribbean, I found this beauty waiting for me.

This piece was an unexpected birthday gift from its maker, the lovely Bianca Havens. Bianca has an Etsy store called Paletree Arcana, filled with similar witchy, powerful amulets. Please do visit her treasure trove and give her your support. I can’t tell you how much this gift made my day. It’s incredible to receive something handmade by someone who thinks highly of you, and who wants to create and give you something that’s just perfect for you- something you’d never have thought to seek out for yourself.

Catching up: Brimstone Rhine

I must apologize for my extended blog silence. I spent the end of February struggling through a strep-like infection, and then I was out of the country for a few days. The former was awful, and the latter pretty much cured it. Yay for sunshine and the Caribbean! More on that later.

For now, I need to share another project in the works from another painfully brilliant friend of mine.

C. S. E. Cooney (and her mother, and her many delightful brothers, too) make my world a better place, more full of treasures and gifts. You’ll note that one of my favorite press quotes comes from her. Well, now it’s my turn: I know her primarily as a poet and author, but now she’s gone and written a whole slew of amazing songs! I have heard the demo tracks for the two EPs she has in mind, and they absolutely slay. If you like the thought of your Greek mythology and murder ballads done up in new and scintillating musical ways, do give this a click and a listen. It’ll be worth your time. If anyone ever sings to me the way that C. S. E. Cooney sings to Alecto in this project, I am done for. I’m telling you, click already.

Up the Portals!

Sharon Knight and her husband Winter have been incredibly good friends to me since we met, almost ten years ago. Their music has inspired me, their hugs have lifted me out of dark places, and their encouragement has kept me going. I like to think that I’ve given them the same gorgeous benefits. 🙂

The two of them have asked me to be part of their Portals project, a work-in-progress that’s already looking pretty darn stunning.
Their goal’s not far (20% of the funds have already been raised), and I encourage you to support their newest dream! It’s not just about getting another album of music ready to go out into the world. It’s about honoring the magic we make–something that not all of our listeners realize we practice every time we sing, write, or step onto a stage, together or apart. It’s part of our life force, and it’s the reason we’re here, dancing and singing and working to make our world a better one. The concept of Portals involves a band of “possibly dangerous” musicians, opening the Ways into magical worlds that are different from our own…but that’s not so very far from the truth of what we actually Do, when the lights go up.

I encourage you to check out Sharon and Winter’s music, as well as this enticing project.

Birthday Week Plans

Today: recording fujara samples and working on a demo song for a video game called Dragon!

Friday: Skype meetings about the video game and a project Heather Dale is working on.

Saturday: Finishing up a piece for my song prompt of the week, if I haven’t handled that by now, and performing in support of the Poison Into Medicine Art Show at Gallery 360 in Little Rock in the evening

Sunday: belly dance jam with my teacher Melissa! Oh yeah, and turning thirty-five (whoa). 🙂

Monday: massage!

Tuesday-Wednesday: possible visit with my mother, if she can work me in. 😉

Thursday: prep for my first-ever shows in Lawton, Oklahoma over the weekend! There are still a few tickets available for the Friday concert–grab yours here.

Blessed and successful Year of the Sheep to everyone! Hope your birthday plans this year are as sweet as mine. <3

Stolen Season CD Pre-orders!

Good news: I did manage to get the online pre-order working for the Stolen Season CD over the weekend! Use the player below to stream the mastered tracks, and click the little blue “buy” link to reserve your copy now. I’m hoping I’ll be able to ship everyone’s pre-orders on March 10. Fingers crossed!

<a href="http://music.sjtucker.com/album/stolen-season-2">Stolen Season by SJ Tucker</a>