I was THRILLED and honored to be invited by the incredible bass player, John Munson, to perform a song at The Current Presents The New Standards 2011 Holiday Show at The Fitzgerald Theater in Minneapolis, MN.

I performed my song Bring Us Peace to two sold out audiences with The New Standards, their backing singers and beautiful horn section joining me, as well as Morgan Taylor from Gustafer Yellowgold on acoustic guitar. It was a magical experience for me, one I’ll never forget. Thank you John.

Looking forward to some more shows in 2012, a song to represent a book and a song on an album about girls and science… here I go!

“Gustafer Yellowgold’s Infinity Sock” will be officially released on March 1st, and is available here… http://www.gustafer-store.net/

Morgan will be performing the whole DVD as a brand new show at the DR2 Theatre in Union Square, NYC, every Saturday at 11am and 1pm for the next 6 weeks. You can get discounted tickets to see it here… http://www.broadwayoffers.com – CODE: DR2GUST

I’ll be there every weekend with Harvey and Ridley, so please do come and say hello! FYI, it may LOOK like a kids show, but it is truly for everyone, so feel comfortable coming without a child!

And if you are wondering what in the world Gustafer Yellowgold even IS, check out the website and all the other places he is…

I will be performing again, probably in June, probably at the Living Room, probably with a baby on my back or at least very close by! I’ll post the info soon…

Thanks so much!

Rachel

Harvey made him a cake.

I’m inspired again to continue to create music.

These songs mean a lot to me.

Click the image above to purchase the album at CDBABY.

I’ve had a crazy summer, with a lot of traveling and a lot of Gustafer working – now I’m exhausted after a quick 2 week jaunt to North Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, Ohio and Illinois for a last spurt before we hibernate on the East Coast to prepare for the coming of the second in late December.

After all that, my body is finally communicating VERY clearly – with my eyes threatening to shut at any moment, and my body only comfortable when lying down – I need to give myself peace.

So this weekend I’ve been sitting outside in the warm fall sunshine, listening to crickets and birds, watching butterflies and dragon flies go by, enjoying Harvey at two and a half also enjoying being outside with no agenda other than just to be outside, listening to Morgan sitting next to me writing songs for the next Gustafer DVD (not the one that will be released next February, he’s already started on the one that we’ll release in spring of 2012!) Now Morgan has taken Harvey for a walk to tempt him to sleep for a bit, and I truly am at peace – and finally after 5 months of not having a second of free time, I can sit here and write a little bit, to remind myself, that although I am a mother, and a pending double mother, I’m also still myself.

Harvey traveled on Dad’s back, while I was able to watch his face take in all the sites of the mountains, the trees, the moss, the birds singing (he told me that he heard the birds singing). I picked up a little baby pinecone, and two hours later, when we pulled up at the sushi restaurant for dinner, he declared “all done baby pinecone” and gave it to dad.

It was a great day to be a mother. I can’t always be creative too.

We were all tired and hungry, looking for the right place for breakfast, going the wrong way and having to turn around. Then a policeman walked out into the road in front of me and waved me to the side. Damn. My first speeding ticket ever.

The day turned around when we got to Jammin’ Java and had a great show, then were treated to lunch by the lovely Pickleberry Pie (bringing music into hospitals) people – Irene and Walter Light.

We had the whole afternoon free after lunch and decided that we’d take turns going to see the movie “Greenberg”. Morgan went first while I sat in the car with Harvey sleeping. I spent the precious two hours writing my home birth book – something I rarely have time to do, but desperately want to finish.

Morgan came out and told me the movie was great, that I would love it. So I went in and sat down with my popcorn, almost giggling with excitement that I was in a movie theater!

Unfortunately, Greenberg resonated very differently with me. Instead of it making me feel that my life was good compared to his (as Morgan had), I saw in it reminders of many of the experiences of unhappiness that I had had in my life, and how close all the messed up people in the film felt to me. It doesn’t feel that far away yet, and seeing a film touch on it all and force me to go there emotionally was not what I wanted to do in the rare opportunity I had to be taken on a journey. I wanted to have a happier escape. But it wasn’t meant to be.

But as it often does, the day turned around again once I was out of the theater and back with my family again. This was the journey I wanted to be on – reality today was far better to be in than anywhere else.

We went for dinner, chatted with an older couple who had lived all over Asia, and now lived here and had a Granddaughter a little older than Harvey. When we got back to the hotel, Harvey and I had a bath together and went to bed. This time he slept for long chunks of hours, so did we, then we all cuddled awake at 8.30am!! The day ended well.

Morgan, at last, agreed to get Thai food – and we found this amazing place, owned by the mother (the chef) and daughter (the hostess) with her 11 month old son who was bigger than Harvey at almost twice his age… and talking parrots in the car park!

The food was delicious, and family was friendly. It’s another hidden gem that I’ll remember when we next drive up or down the west coast.