Pyjamas and the Tennessee Waltz

April 27, 2007

Lately I've been spending a lot of time in my home studio. I affectionately call it "The Rock Room". The name is both symbolic and literal - yes, I do rock pretty hard in there sometimes (which my next door neighbor can attest to when I'm doing vocal olympics at the top of my lungs in the middle of the night), but it's also because it has one wall made entirely out of a strange, haphazard collection of rocks - a real estate agent's nightmare, but I loved it the first time I saw it - it makes me feel like I'm camping!

This week, producer Ted Hewitt hired me to sing background vocals in my studio on a new record by Patti Page. Yes, I mean THE Patti Page. Remember her? "How Much is That Doggie in the Window", "The Tennessee Waltz", "Mockingbird Hill"...my Dad has gramophone recordings of her singing those songs back in the 1940s. Well, she's 80 years old and still sings like a bird. Not only did I get to sing on rerecorded versions of those old standards, but she's also throwing in some new songs which are really tastefully done. Can't wait to hear the final product - I think it's in the process of being picked up for distribution by Curb Records. I hope I'm still singing like that when I'm 80!

Speaking of impressive women, I hosted a really fun event recently. I invited all the talented female singer/songwriters I know to my house for a "Girl Power Pizza in your Pajamas Party". We had a blast. No makeup, just jammies and sweats, a few teddy bears and a security blankie...ok, I admit it, that was mine...and we ate pizza and chocolate and gabbed the night away, all crammed into my tiny house. (Ok guys, insert mandatory pillow fight comment here, ha ha.) This was actually the second Girl Power Party I've hosted, and lots of fantastic girls have participated, including Lisa Brokop, Amy Dalley, Tia Sillers, Trenna Barnes (from Cowboy Crush), Lauren Lucas, Anna Owens, Patricia Conroy, Mary Danna, Mary Sue Englund, Tania Hancheroff, Billie Joyce, Tiffany Goss, Jenni Schaefer, Lisa Torres, Evie Nicole, Julie Forester, Wendy Janz, and Kirsten O'Rourke - quite a bunch! I made up a playlist on my ipod for background music, consisting of a couple of songs written by each girl - lots of big hits on there! Lord knows it's important to celebrate the successes of your peers just as much as your own, and we have a lot to celebrate. By the way, Amy Dalley shot some video of the party and has posted it on YouTube...here's the link:
 www.youtube.com/watch?v=yloRn9H4Nro

Let's see, what else has been going on? I've been writing up a storm, I'm planning a new demo session, and I've got a slew of shows booked in the next month.

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