Hello! It's been a while, I am sorry that I haven't posted anything recently. My self-motivation is lacking. This passed weekend was a blast! I am the drummer for a band, Lucas and the Lovelys. We played a benefit concert for our friend Cole Bellon. My cousin and his band played as well, and it was a pleasure sharing the stage with them. It was great seeing so many people out supporting someone in need and just sharing each others company for a while. The food was good, the music was good, and the smiles were abundant.

I haven't been embracing the cold weather recently...until last night. Sitting next to a raging fire it practically felt like summertime again. I visited a farm with two of my outdoorsmen friends, they cooked a meal of meat, potatoes, beans, and onions (again). It was delicious! There is nothing like good conversation, good food, and mother nature. I am addicted to it. I also tried to hug my arms around the biggest tree I have ever seen (so far) in my life.

I found my friends camera in a jacket pocket and we had a photo-shoot. This is one of my favorites...

"I always feel like I'm missing out on something,

that someone is having more fun than I am,

so I take measures to make sure that is impossible."

Well I'm back in the moment where I belong...

My first flying experience went rather well. Nothing major happened and my luggage wasn't lost on the way. The wedding I attended was perfect. Both families were wonderful and the friends that attended were all very kind. It was such a joyful celebration! After the rehearsal dinner the wedding party and some family and friends went to go see Where The Wild Things Are. It was such a great film, go see it if you haven't yet! Mississippi was the perfect location for an ol' fashion wedding. I had a good first visit. It seemed like everyone I talked to at the wedding encouraged me to move to Nashville, or they told me that I looked like I was from Nashville. It was rather funny. I would love to move, but the money is tight and the confidence isn't there yet. My stay was too short, but the time spent was lovely. I could get used to calling that place home. One of these days...

>>>Charlotte, NC - Nashville, TN.

Rehearsal Dinner. (before the belly dancer showed up)

>>>>Drive. Mississippi - Tennessee

"So it's time for wakin' up

It almost hurts too much

It's not really been enough

When the sun rises I know it's time

to say goodbye to glorious night

I never wanted a moments peace

I never asked for your memory

I just want to be lost in this dream

So now is the time for good morning and goodbye

I'll miss your bold and starry eyes"

Tomorrow I will be catching my first flight ever. I am rather calm about it. But who knows how I will feel when I get to the airport and realize I will be taking this trip alone. Plenty of people have done it, so I am sure I will be fine. Hopefully my nerves will stay at ease for the trip. I have been doing laundry and packing today. I have drank a whole pot of coffee. The Lovelys are practicing tonight, it will be a good send off for me. Mississippi will be the 23rd state I have been to this year. May not sound exciting for some of you, but it's quite a triumph for me. I will be flying into Nashville and driving to Mississippi for a wedding. Wish me luck :)

This weekend was absolutely fantastic! The weather was perfect and staying up all night made the days seem longer again. Yesterday Lucas and the Lovelys practiced in my garage. It had been a couple of months since we last played together, but it sounded great. Then last night we all went out for a night of frolicking in fields, woods, and a huge crowd of people. Slept in a tent, and it felt fine. Morning arrived too soon and I ate an amazing breakfast with two of my wonderful friends. Sometimes I enjoy where I live... probably because my friends are boss.

"IT DOESN'T INTEREST ME WHAT YOU DO FOR A LIVING.
I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream
of meeting your heart's longing.
It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to
know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your
dream, for the adventure of being alive.
It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your
moon. I want to know if you have touched the center of your
own sorrow, if you have been opened by life's betrayals or have
become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain. I want
to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without
moving to hide it or fade it or fix it.
I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your
own, if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill
you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us
to be careful, to be realistic, to remember the limitations of
being human.
It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me is
true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true
to yourself; if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not
betray your own soul; if you can be faithless and therefore
trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see beauty, even when it's
not pretty, every day, and if you can source your own life from
its presence.
I want to know if you can live with failure, yours
and mine, and still stand on the edge of the lake and shout to
the silver of the moon, "Yes!"
It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how
much money you have. I want to know if you can get up, after
the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone,
and do what needs to be done to feed the children.
It doesn't interest me who you know or how you came
to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the center of
the fire with me and not shrink back.
It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom
you have studied. I want to know what sustains you, from the
inside, when all else falls away.
I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and
if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments."
-ORIAH MOUNTAIN DREAMER

Time

Last night I spent the night at a friend's house and ended up burning large amounts of brush and wood. We burned a dead tree down. Ate a marvelous meal of beef, potatoes, onions, and beans cooked over the hot coals. At one point I think there were four giant fires blazing at once. I slept on a trampoline under the stars, got a little chilly but I made it through. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.
Today my Granddad tried on his old Air Force things. It made me think about how fast time is moving. I wonder if I'm wasting it...

I am keeping busy. I found some old photos. Fall is coming...I don't know how I feel about that.

Last night my friend Rachel took photos of me in the back yard sprawled out on the grass. It felt a little strange being in front of the camera, but hopefully she got some good shots. This morning was one of the best mornings I have had in a while. I woke up on a comfy couch tucked deep under a fluffy sleeping bag. Within minutes of opening my eyes my friend plopped her three month old baby on my chest. I got to cuddle with him for a bit this morning while the coffee was brewing. I spent the rest of the morning hanging out with her and the baby. We ate some cereal, gave him a bath, and got him to smile as much as possible. Cheers to all the Mothers of the world!



The best quote from The Golden Girls:
"It's not easy being a mother. If it were easy, fathers would do it."

Mermaid-Jesse
Bubbles-ME

I arrived back in Maryland this afternoon. I cannot believe that I am actually home! It’s strange sitting at my computer, replaying the last couple of days touring in my head. I’ll try my best to fill you in...
From Cleveland we made our way to Butler, PA to stay with our tour manager’s family and the rest of the group. We played a show in Butler and one of my good friends from high school came to the show and hung out with all of us afterwards. We sat around the campfire and talked until exhaustion hit. It was wonderful seeing her! The next day was opening day for the NFL. We had a coffee shop gig that turned out to be us playing in front of a fountain in the middle of a court yard. I am pretty sure everyone that walked by had some sort of ‘Steelers’ shirt on. Adam and I got to chat with some people from the area and tell them about our travels. The next day was a little nerve racking...I found myself sitting in front of the television watching terrible talk shows. I had too much energy and I was tired of being inside. I roamed around the house a bit (mainly looking for a soccer ball or basketball) it turned out that I found a bucket of sidewalk chalk instead. That afternoon I sat in the driveway and drew bubbles and trees on the concrete. Friday we had a show at a bar in Clarion, PA. It ended up being the a crazy night. People puking, fighting, laughing, crying. Perfect! The next morning we headed to Lewisburg, PA for Adam Taylor’s last show of the tour. We were greeted with a wonderful home cooked meal of rice, beans, salad, and chicken. Instead of taking a nap, I drank some coffee and left for the show. There was four acts and we played the third slot. Adam and I also sang along with Can You Canoe for a bit. We stayed a little while longer, said our goodbyes, and headed back to Adam’s hometown.
Now that I am back I don’t know how to feel. It seems like it all flew by a little too fast for me. At the same time, it feels SO GREAT to be home. I met some fantastic people on this mad adventure. Some of the nicest. Thank you for following my blogging. Hopefully I can keep my life interesting enough to keep writing about it :)

Until then...goodbye!
-Kt

Last night was the first night in a while that I got to sleep in a bed. What a beautiful slumber I had! Didn't get up until 3:00 in the afternoon. I got to shower and start my day by jumping out of a window. Then it got a little crazier when Adam and I ran into Jessica at Starbucks. (We stayed with Jessica on the way through Cleveland the first time). It was a very pleasant surprise to see her and talk to her about our touring adventure. We walked around a while, hit up FYE for some new music to listen to, then headed back to the house to hang out. Lauren made us an awesome dinner from a recipe that she learned during her stay in Colombia. We played a crazy game of cards by candlelight. Adam clogged the toilet with a very large piece of feces. She took some photos of me on the red couch in the living room. Now I am in the comfy bed, for the second time, eager to get to Butler, PA for our next gig. Goodnight. I adore you!

-k





"Find that dappled dream of yours
Come on back and see me when you can"
-Nina Simone

From Colorado-Oklahoma-Missouri-Indiana-Ohio! Woo! I have been slacking on my updates but the days and nights have been flying by fast. I have been spending the night in parking lots and such so I haven't had the energy to write anything. Anyway...I am going to update you on some stuff....Guess what? Colorado was very fun for us. Adam and I got to see an old friend of ours and it was wonderful seeing a familiar face so far from home. The two places we played were pretty rad and the people were fantastic. We then headed to Oklahoma to play our first house show of the tour. The kid was a buddy of John and Dave's (from Can You Canoe) so we instantly felt welcome. We stayed the night and played for a huge crowd of college goers and then we headed to Missouri for a bar gig. Preston from Jackass was there to see us, he thought Adam and I were brother and sister (that's a first). Drove that night to Indiana where we played another house show! This time the atmosphere wasn't as rowdy, but the response was just as strong. I had some super awesome conversations and met some people that I will hopefully be seeing again very soon. It's strange to be back in the eastern time zone and to be headed in the direction of home. I knew it was going to end sometime, and that time is very near. I am currently in Cleveland, OH visiting my ol' friend Lauren who just recently moved. Adam and I have a couple of days off so we are happy to be spending time with some more good friends. I hope you all are doing well and my sloppy blog entries puts a smile on your face :) -Kate

"Wish you were
here. Love comes
in waves like the ocean, a sickness which goes on
& on, a hollow cave
in the head, filling & pounding, a kicked ear."
-Margaret Atwood



Hello colorful Colorado!

Since I have arrived in Portland my sleeping schedule has been completely different. I have been going to bed before two o'clock every night and waking up around ten o'clock every morning. My wake-up "call" has been the aroma of eggs sizzling on the stove or some strange loud music playing through the speakers in the living room. Wednesday we played a show at Mississippi Pizza on a nice little stage surrounded by windows. Thursday rolled around and we had our biggest show yet. Adam and I (along with Can You Canoe and Hello Electric) played at a restaurant called The Francis on the corner of a street that had been blocked off for a huge block party (9 blocks). Streets full of tripped out, young hippies and artists. You couldn't walk ten feet without hearing a different style of music being played. We played on the sidewalk right outside of the venue trying to get people to come to our show and drink some $1.25 tall boys. Plenty of people showed up after they realized we had traveled from PA to play music for them. The next morning Adam and I drove to Bellevue, Washington to play a show at the Lucky Strike bowling alley. Honestly, it was more like a night club...it was a wonderful time and we met some wonderful people. Our friend took us out for the largest meal I have ever eaten, in an Italian restaurant that served food "family style." I'm pretty sure I am still full. We stayed in Bellevue for the night and headed back to Portland for a show at a coffee shop. Since it was an earlier gig we had time to go to the Hawthorne district and shop around for a bit. Saturday night we went to the park and swung on the swings and enjoyed the stars. IT WAS FINALLY SUNDAY! The day we headed to the coast. It was an hour 1/2 drive, but totally worth it! I have never seen anything like the west coast. The water wasn't warm but I was not too worried about that. Pictures were being taken left and right. What a day....we are leaving Portland now....I will miss this place.

Van Buren State Park in Michigan had a huge awakening (literally) when our group arrived there in the middle of the night. Lake Michigan was beautiful and the night sky was breath taking! We then traveled to Chicago and played at a wonderful cafe, Uncommon Ground. There was a slight mix-up but we got to see some different parts of Chicago. We drove through the night to Omaha, Nebraska and stopped at The World's Largest Truck Stop. Let me tell you, it was HUGE. When we hit Nebraska, Adam and I met up with the guys from Can You Canoe and hung up some fliers for our show that night. We ended up staying the night and leaving for Kearney the next morning. We played the Roman on a quint little street that had trains roll by every 5-8 minutes. I bought some heels that cost me 10 bucks. Stayed with some guys that lived in a house with plenty of floor space, then headed out for our long drive to Portland, Oregon. As soon as we hit Wyoming the scenery began to change drastically. Plateaus, rolling hills, endless fields of corn and cows. The clouds were even completely different! We got to our destination and I instantly fell in love with the place! The vibe is phenomenal. The first day in Portland a couple of us went bowling with our tour manager's youth group. We had a great time and I think I took a photo that captured the essence of our bowling extravaganza. Things have been going well...I can't wait to come back. I love it here.

-k

You think that Michigan would be a little cooler temperature wise than back home...uhhh false. We all had to play in a cafe that had no air conditioning. Nonetheless, we all worked through it and had a great time! I haven't been taking as many pictures as I should be. Here is one of the first ones on the tour. Ladies and gentleman...my friends, Can You Canoe.

CHICAGO here we come!

Ahead of us lies the long road, late nights, tons of music, and hopefully some strip clubs.
Joining us on this journey is a band
by the name of Can You Canoe.
It is August 16th.
Adam and I are cruising to Cleveland, OH for our third show of the tour.
Tonight we are playing a free show at the Barley House in addition to a
showcased interview on the Throwing Quarters podcast.
We plan on touring across the country for the next month.
I am eager to experience the west!
Hopefully you will check back in every once in a while to see how we are doing :)

-Kate