Thanksgiving

This year I’m spending Thanksgiving with my cousin and her family. It’s been a few years since I was in the relative vicinity (you know, since I lived in Texas the last time…) so it’s great to be back.

Adora and I have been reminiscing days with our grandma and grandpa and remembering childhood.  She’s a few years older than I am, so she has better memories of days and people I didn’t have the privilege of experiencing, or was too small to remember well.

Last night she showed me old video footage taken around 1970 – Christmas at my grandma and grandpa’s farm. I got to see the grandparents, aunts, uncles, and even other cousins as children. And my mom? She was approximately 17 in that video. How great is that??

In the spirit of the holiday we attempted my grandma’s famous rolls.

That’s right. We made rolls from scratch.

With real live yeast and everything.

In all reality, we made them for today’s Thanksgiving feast – but as a sneak peak I can tell you we tested them and they taste just like the ones grandma made for us years ago.

I  love celebrating today by remembering my family. I was and am blessed by them. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

This Calls For a Gift Exchange!

Some things in life require second chances.

Relationships

Sports Teams

Hilary Duff

My world is no exception. 

Ladies and gentleman, I told you WEEKS ago that I now have a website. And I do. But my website was like a clunky old car. Functional, necessary, but s l o w, and not that nice to look at. So I took matters into my own hands.

For the second time (because technically ’twas mine own two hands which built the clunker, as well).

As a result, the internets have made way for a newer, sleeker model of marijkejane.com. 

And bonus? I’m giving away a FREE MP3 from my newly released album to anyone who signs up for my email list. (I’ll send a monthly newsletter on how the music “biz” is going, and updates if I’m playing music in your town.) Click on the link above and enter your email address in the left hand bottom corner.

It’s simple. It’s easy. It’s painless. And it’s fraught with benefit.

Audio Expansion

For a musician, I have a ridiculously small musical library. I listen to what I listen to; I sometimes purchase a random song or album, but I have not traditionally invested in a collection. I don’t know why.

When I was in elementary school, I remember somebody asking me what radio station I listened to, and I told them, 102.9 Lite FM. At which point a friend of mine came to my rescue, said I was joking (which I wasn’t), and promptly told the inquiring individual that I listened to the local pop station.

What? 5th graders aren’t allowed to like easy listening?

Needless to say, I’ve never really been on the forefront of the music scene (which I’ve always found a little ironic, being I’m a songwriter and all). In any case, I am aware of the fact that expanding my musical tastes might be a valuable investment; I find I’m often inspired when I listen to new and different music I enjoy.

Recently I acquired four new albums. The first, recommended to me by my friend, Sally. The latter three, songs and albums I overheard while hanging out with friends. (By the way, two of the artists were lucky recipients of a spot on a recent “Road Trip Mix – 2009,” given to me by my friend Ruthie.)

The lesson here? Be my friend, and I might just listen to the music you like.

Most of this music isn’t new, it’s just new to me. And while I am just learning what these albums are all about, and might not recommend every song as the very best EVER, thus far I have heard beautiful and wonderful things in all of them.

So without further ado (and linked to the requisite iTunes description) I bring you my current playlist:

• Erin McCarley – Love, Save the Empty
  
• Marc Broussard – Carencro
• Imogen Heap – Speak for Yourself
• Eric Hutchinson – Sounds Like This

I can’t wait until I start sounding really keyboardy, bluesy, edgy, folk rocky. You know… when the influence of these albums fuses to how I write.

And as soon as my bank account can accommodate such growth? My next investment will be country. 

 

Ode To My Show

I started to write a poem about how I’m playing at a coffee shop tonight, but when I was half way through (thinking it was genius at first pen, of course) I realized that it had absolutely no structure. Or rhyme. So basically, it was like:

I like coffee.

I like  music.

Come see me play music and drink coffee.

Alright, so it wasn’t quite that bad. But it was bad enough that it caused me to delete the whole thing and start from scratch.

If by ’start from scratch’ you mean state explicitly what I’d tried to say poetically? Then Yes. That’s what this “from scratch” blog post is.

 

I bet you like music and coffee.

You should come hear me play music while you drink coffee.

The Pearl Cup

Downtown Dallas  

11/12/2009

6:30 pm

I Blog

Guess What?? I’m a featured blogger today over at Annie Blogs! I like to think it’s something special, because the blog community is just that – community. People who read blogs are people who write blogs, and it’s so fun to be connected to that. Thanks, Annie, for bringing us all together…  :)

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Two blog links in two days? Two Annies in two days??

No, this is not the twilight zone. Just two different people I know kind of know, and a little extra blog love to be spread around. 

Enjoy!

Wish That I Was (In Nashville To Congratulate Her Personally)

I started reading Annie Parsons‘ blog in early 2007 – long before I was a “serious” blogger myself. In fact, I’d actually creeped onto her myspace page through some mutual friends, started reading her posts there, and, well..  you know the rest. She’s the only blogger turned real-life friend I’ve ever met (so far). 

I like to think of her posts as my “bloggy breakfast.” She tells the stories of life, music, and adventure in an easy-going, coffee table, conversational kind of way. And I think that’s what makes her blog so well loved. You read her blog and you feel like you know her. She invites you into her living room (or driveway at the very least), tells you a story, and you’re not the least bit surprised when you leave knowing you’d like to visit again.

She, like me, is a songwriter and musician. And she, like me, has recently released a recording. (Yay!) I’m no country music expert, but I’m pretty sure I know her writing enough to know that these song are going to be interesting and fun, catchy, and easy to listen to. I’ve heard a couple of the tracks already via her blog – and I’m already proud of the triumph I know this is for her. 

I recommend you visit her blog to read all about the release – she’s featuring it throughout the week. You won’t be disappointed…

Mountain Envy

It’s official, I am going to miss the mountains.

I spent the last weekend in Colorado Springs, and it was great. It snowed! And can I tell you how excited I was about that? I LOVE snow. Probably the only winter I’m legitimately going to get this year.

Amie and I went walking downtown, got coffee and perused the shops.

Here’s the thing – I had a good time. And I loved the views of the mountains and the wintery feel in the air. While I am stoked about the community I believe waits for me in Texas, I am seriously concerned that the geography is going to feel a little not right to me. I did just move from Alaska after all!

Perhaps a regular visit to the mountains will be required.

They’re Playing My Song

You know what’s great about pop music?

Nothing.

Okay, I seriously take that back, because I totally love pop music.

But think about it, pop music is like the antithesis of the river of life. And here’s why… Have you ever heard that old church song, “Deep and Wide?”

Deep and wide, deep and wide, there’s a fountain flowing deep and wide…

Well I’ll tell you what pop music is not: Deep OR Wide.

I mean, I don’t know exactly how music would be wide, but still. IT IS NOT.

Though it is some dang catchy music. It’s the annoying kind of catchy where you think if you hear the song you’ll get it out of your head, except then you don’t. You scan the satellite radio stations just hoping you’ll hear it, because, let’s be honest, if you heard it once you will hear it again. And then when you hear it, the catchiness is only reinforced until you reach the point that you find yourself purchasing the stupid song on iTunes for $1.29 even though you know you’re going to be sick of it in a week.

But until that week is over, oh it’s pure bliss, it is.  Let me tell you, driving in the car, nodding your head like ‘yeah,’ never gets old.

At least not yet, anyway.

Flash Back

A week and a half ago, we had  an MJ and the Groaters reunion.

Who are MJ and the Groaters, you ask? Oh, just me, Paul, and Jon. A nice little name for our trio of musicianship.

This is where it all began…  The three of us rehearsing to play a Jars of Clay song at church, 2 1/2 years ago. Not actually our first performance, but the first documented evidence of our friendship and collaboration.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is where it brought us…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And we celebrated our music together by having breakfast at my favorite restaurant and going for a drive. Thanks for being a part of my music for the last 3 years, you guys. I’m definitely going to miss you….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CD Release Concert

Well, it happened. Tonight was the night. I did it. It’s done.

I’m not gonna lie, I feel a certain sense of relief.

 

Do you ever get in your car to drive somewhere, and 1o minutes later you’re at your destination – no idea how you got there? Sometimes that happens to me when I’m singing. I’ll be trucking along, singing words, all the while wondering how I’m remembering the words to my songs when my head is clearly somewhere else. Mind you, this doesn’t happen for the WHOLE song, but I’m thinking about the faces I’m looking at, the kids running around in the background, how my in-ear monitor is falling out…  All that stuff. 

And the other thing that sometimes happens? I’ll be singing a song and I’ll have an internal freak out moment that I’m spontaneously going to FORGET that song. WHILE I’m singing it. That doesn’t usually happen. But sometimes I do forget the chords. And then I just fake it.

 

I’ll be sure to post pictures from the concert when I get them. Thanks to everyone who came to the show and to those who helped out with logistics. It was an awesome night.