Tour Diary • 2004
Monday, October 18, 2004
"It's laundry day; I'm a little by myself these days/ But it's a whole new way to be alone..."
...to quote my sweetheart...a song she wrote for another sweetheart so many years ago...her aloneness brought her down down down to the cliffs at lands end, and now she is not alone...
i'm doing laundry at my mom's house. something i never used to be able to do, living 3,000 miles away from my mom. but here in little Rhode Island i'm close to everything i once called home. the autumn leaves are GORGEOUS! i have no idea how i survived living without them for so many years! i just drove by the Blackstone River, lined with gold, orange, vivid red, green...stunning.
i've had a busy month! a busy two... i had so much fun at my four shows the first weekend in october. i met so many great people. people have been signing the guestbook to tell me how my music reaches them. people saw me on Rhode Island public access tv, and i've heard such great things about it! my songs have been earning me various honors this year, most notably the 2004 12th Annual Billboard World Songwriting Contest Honorable Mention i just received for my song "See You Sweet" off of the brave enough album.
this month i've also been working right here in Woonsocket at Autumnfest and at this beautiful store called the Goddess Shoppe. at a show i played at the shoppe last month, i met the fantastic pagan folksinger Kellianna. two days ago i was fortunate to meet many amazing musicians in a tiny town called Gardner MA, where Kellianna brought together powerfully-spirited women from Seattle and MA to make soulful peaceminded music at a lovely concert at the Unitarian Universalist Church there.
but right now, i'm hungry! i am going to make food and finish my laundry. meanwhile, keep checking this here tour page to get the scoop on upcoming RI and MA shows in November and December. and stay tuned for website updates including new photos, The Mule sessions page, and the Littlebird Memorial website which is still in the works.
many blessings y'all, kristi
10/18/2004 01:24:01 PM
Sunday, October 03, 2004
i'm so very very tired. i spent just about every waking, non-teaching moment of September writing a grant application. I handed it in on October 1st, a box full of copies of text and scores. i had a three-hour gig that night, a two-hour gig last night, and an all day festival gig today. so i'm totally and completely wiped out. i'm SO happy to have gotten the grant application done well and on time! and i am also so very happy to have such wonderful gigs this weekend. tomorrow night i'm playing a Songsalive! Showcase for the inauguration of Boston's very own Songsalive! contingent. and then i get to hole up for much of the rest of October, teaching, writing new songs, working at The Goddess Shoppe down the street here in Woonsocket, watching the leaves turn, and watching the days grow shorter and the life drain out of the trees and crops... I love this time of year, and I sooooooo missed it out there in sunny cali. not that i don't miss things about cali. of course i do! i miss my friends and certain favorite shops and spots and skylines and ocean... but i'm glad to be home. and my november calendar is starting to look nice and full too. so i'll see you out there somewhere! but right now, my hands and arms and back ache from so much lugging gear, playing, driving and typing, so i'm going to sink into the bath that just filled my tub and get to bed early for once! later gators!
brightest blessings, kristi
10/3/2004 08:11:17 PM
Friday, September 17, 2004
how-dee everybody!
i am back from NYC and busy as ever. i am scoring my music lately and learning a new-to-me notation software program called Nightingale, which i am really enjoying. someday in the far future, i hope to be able to publish a book of my own scores for all of my piano and voice songs... future dream...
so...i've just gotten back from nyc and i had SO much fun! Amy Fix is SO funny and jazzy and folky and sweet. I am so happy to have seen her perform all these 10 years later. She has grown so much as a performer. She actually incorporates props and costume changes into her act now! And it was fun to see her buddy and guitar player Sam Fenster too! :)
I got to play with my favorite band in the whole world: Jay Wallenstein on bass and Rich Kulsar on drums! although we have performed together for the recordings of three of my CD projects, we had never before played together live. it was so exciting. they played on See You Sweet, Aged, Carry It On and a Brave Enough version of Give. I felt almost like i didn't have to do anything...they made it so easy. happy happy kristi.
and Denise Barbarita, who is totally used to playing with them, and also with her fabulous guitarist David (whose last name I don't remember - sorry) totally rocked. she did some new arrangements of some older songs, and also some brand new songs. and i got to sing backup on my favorite of her songs, which we happily refer to as Mr. Zero...but i think it's actually called, It's What You Said.
i walked about 60 blocks around Manhattan on Monday visiting people and places. i remember now why i was so skinny when i lived in Brooklyn! and then i drove home, stopping at Misquamicut Beach on the way to a WomanSpiritRising rehearsal. a full few days. and that's after performing with the chorus (WSR) on Sat and performing solo in Cumberland RI on Fri... so i'm happily making lots of music and hoping you'll all hear it one of these days!
...while on the road I listened to...Denise Barbarita's Beauty Lied, Tuck & Patti's Chocolate Moment, Carole Kings' Tapestry, and Irish music on a seemingly all-Irish radio station in NYC.
in other news...this fab lady, Toni, has a women's radio show on Sat mornings on URI's radio station, and she's been playing my tunes. :) i will be teaching a class on sightsinging this fall at School of Vocal Arts. and i'm getting ready for WSR to debut my newest arrangement of Give!
so...in the here and now, i'm eating my antibiotic chicken noodle soup, updating the tour calendar, and scoring Littlebird's Flight.
in the near future i hope you can catch me at one of these fabulous events: Johnnycake Storytellers Festival, public access tv shows, the mostly monthly yummy Made From Scratch show, RI Women's Gathering Festival, some more Bizarre Bazaars... Be well everybody. Enjoy the change of season; it's spectacular!
hove and lugs, kristi
9/17/2004 03:03:56 PM
Friday, September 10, 2004
even though it's way too late and i'm way too tired, i am excited about the fact that it's official that my band from Brave Enough and the bound single and The Mule will be playing with me at CB's Gallery in NYC on Sunday! Yay! it will be our debut live performance! it will be so much fun. so...i hope you will all be there to see Rich Kulsar on drums and Jay Wallenstein on bass and me singing and playing keys. I can't wait! and what else...i'm scoring out my new song Littlebird's Flight...and I'm teaching...and I'm getting ready for three shows this weekend. :) see you soon!
hove and lugs and sweet dreams, kristi
9/10/2004 01:43:21 AM
Saturday, August 28, 2004
hey ho everybody!
i'm tired and trying to get rid of a cold. blech. in spite of the cold, i had two really fun gigs this week. most recently, Kevin and i played a fun set at The Blackstone in Cumberland RI. it was his birthday. we did one of his brand new tunes. we did two of
my brand new tunes. we made the set almost entirely different from the last time we played at The Blackstone. all of these things made the night particularly fun for us. and my performance adrenaline got rid of my cold for just long enough to sing well for my set and be totally snuffly all the drive home. adrenaline is an amazing thing...
and then last saturday i played 2 full sets at the lovely club for women, Mermaids, at club KAMP in Providence RI. i made some new friends and some new fans, and i got to have my favorite drink and dance to 80's music til way too late.
dancing is good for the soul.
and i am happy happy to announce that i will be performing in nyc at CB's Gallery on Sept 12th with the lovely ladies Denise Barbarita and Amy Fix. Details to the left. yay!
and i am happy to announce that my new songs' lyrics are now up on this here site of mine: Littlebird's Flight and Day of Rain.
I am also quite...i don't know...relieved? happy? assured? knowing i have now officially made it through a whole year since Littlebird's death. i am still in one piece. i am still drug-free. i am still full of joy at times. these are blessings i am thankful for daily. so...cheers y'all!
see you all at the next show!
peace and apple cake, kristi
8/28/2004 10:55:12 PM
Saturday, July 31, 2004
hello everybody,
i'm doing a few things this week to celebrate my littlebird's life and love and work and also to let go and move forward that much more. i am bringing all her wares to AS220's Bazaar Bizarre on Sunday August 1st, 11am - 5pm. i will be selling these things at low low prices, and all the proceeds will go toward my making and hosting a Littlebird Memorial website. her things include CDs, zines of her comics, and a beautiful lyric book. I would LOVE it - if any of you have pictures of Littlebird, particularly pictures of us performing together or of her performing solo - if you would send me a copy either via snail mail or email...all my contact info is here. i don't know how long it will take me to make her website, and since it is such an emotional process for me, i'm putting no timeline on it. but it's in the works. just letting y'all know. i miss her terribly. it's a very difficult time for me. so keep me in your thoughts and prayers, 'k? some friends of mine will be with me on her actually memorial day. it's gonna be a tough week.
love to you all. kristi
life partner of littlebird 3/16/73 - 8/7/03
7/31/2004 01:19:30 AM
Thursday, July 22, 2004
so what has mz kristi been doing all month if she hasn't been writing here and playing gigs?!?!?
well...my life is still in major transition, and the biggest news this month is that i'm teaching more and more. i am now on the faculty at Broad Street Studio (part of AS220) in Providence, teaching piano class and voice class each week for the rest of the summer. Go read about BSS. it's an amazing program of arts education serving youth in the care of the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) and youth recently released from the Rhode Island Training School (RITS), the state's juvenile detention facility. BSS is home to 6 youth-run arts-focused businesses. they are doing amazing work there, and i am honored to be a part of the task. i'm also now on the faculty at The School of Vocal Arts in Pawtucket, teaching voice lessons privately and possibly doing some performance art and sightsinging classes in the fall. i feel blessed to become part of such a well-established vocal arts school - really the only one in the state! I'm also teaching piano and voice at my own studio in Woonsocket. and i'm singing with WomanSpiritRising, a feminist chorus. they are an amazing group of women and they are doing a great job learning my made-for-them arrangement of Give - very exciting. So I am in a period of adjusting to my new and ever-changing schedule. this is as close as i ever get to a day job. :)
and...i am grieving hard as i approach the first anniversary of littlebird's death, August 7th. it's a process i am going through, sifting through photos and letters and music and memories. eventually i will create a littlebird memorial page. i've also been planning a bunch of other updates to this site of mine. and i've been writing a brand new song. it's from littlebird's perspective, which many of you will know is an unusual way for me to write. i write most songs from my own voice. this song is still in the first person, but it's in her voice. when i am done editing, i'll post the lyrics up on the lyrics page for y'all.
and i am so so so tired from the HEAT. i've never been one for summer, and now that i am back east, i've got the humidity to go with the high temperatures. i'll get more used to it in time. and i'll start performing up and down this coast as soon as i get my feet more firmly on the ground here in RI...meanwhile, check out my RI dates in August and September.
hove and lugs, kristi
7/22/2004 08:44:32 PM
Saturday, June 19, 2004
hello beautiful people -
i am so so so tired and sunned after another day at Pride! I had SO much fun at Boston Pride LAST Saturday -- it was amazing to get to perform there. They filmed
me and my image was on a big tv screen while I performed my set. There was an amazing sign interpreter signing my songs. I played early in the day, so there weren't as many people there as later on, and the people who were there were REALLY listening. and a few truly remarkable things happened. one is that this beautiful broken black man came up to the stage during my set, crying, to give me two bouquets of flowers...i felt he really heard me talking about Littlebird's suicide, and i was touched that he was so touched. two is that my dear friends in CA sent their mom to my Boston Pride set, she introduced herself to me, gave me a photo of them about to have their first baby, and called them during my set so that Bob (we used to be the duo bouche when I lived in Oakland...in the mid to late 90's) could hear me singing and he was shouting, "Yes!" how fun to reach my audience on both coasts simultaneously! thank you Donna, Adrienne and Bob! you made my day!!! another lovely thing is that i got to meet and hear and see Rachel Sage. i love all her boas and sparkles. people have been telling me about her for a long time, so it was very satisfying to finally meet her. and she left one of her boas there so i got to take one home. :) i trust that she approves of my decision to not let it go to waste, because she told me earlier that i should just "borrow" a boa from some table. and hers is a most perfect color for me, burnt orange. so i was very very pleased walking home with my new feathers. thanks, Rachael. another fabulous thing is that Tony at InNewsWeekly did a full page interview of me for the Boston Pride Guide. and another spectacular thing is that the directions my friend gave me to get to the T and get myself to Boston Common were simple and complete and perfect and we were there early and stress-free with her help. i am so thankful to everyone who helped me get to Boston Pride, especially to my dear friend Hillary who was with me all day helping me sell my CDs, to the fabulous sound and video crew, and to the Pride committee (Sarah and Keri in particular)! phew - they worked so hard!
and today...today i worked a table at Providence Pride. The Goddess Shoppe and Athena's Home Novelties had a table there, and i gave out little erasers in the shape of penises and breasts all day. i wore an apron that says, "everyone loves a happy penis." and i gave away lots of free gifts including incense and candles and lube and condoms and pens and lots of Littlebird's comic, "The Sodomite." i wish she could have been there with me...
i am so so so tired, and so sunburnt, and so achey from standing all day. it is time for me to take a bath. and then i will do a tarot reading for myself. and then i will go to bed.
blesses y'all. happy pride, kristi
6/19/2004 08:21:24 PM
Wednesday, June 02, 2004
hey wow! look at all the new things on my website! like the nice live shot above,
whose colors so well match this here tour diary...ah, makes me happy that. that's a shot from my...hmmmm...first or second big tour. i think my first one actually. summer 2001. and THE MULE is officially all over this site now. yay! there's even a fancy new shopping cart on my recordings/order CDs page, curtesy of the coolest ever record store in the universe: CD Baby. We Love You, CD Baby!! they call that shopping cart color scheme "ocean." both the colors and the name remind me of Littlebird for some of the sweetest reasons... you can buy everything there. and my sonicbids electronic press kit is on my press kit page now... and my bio and press are all spiffy and updated... there are still more updates to come. the h'elp! page needs updating now that The Mule is a reality. h'elp! is still needed, just in different ways. and um, there will be a Mule Facts and Mule Sessions page....i don't know what it will be called yet, but all things Mule will be there... there will also be tons of new (and not-so-new- but-new-to-the-site) photos both from live shows and from CD photo shoots, added to the photos page...just as soon as i get a chance to update it all. i've been working on this for days, so excuse me if it takes me a while to get it all done. i'm excited about how it's turning out though. i do miss Littlebird's help with managing the site. she is the one responsible for those cool chalky-looking links. it was my concept and i drew all those little chalky links pictures, but she did all the html part of the design...i do believe she has been helping me figure out all the html stuff i don't know these past few days as i am rummaging through the site and cleaning it up. i certainly don't know anything about html, but somehow write a bunch of it and make things look perty anyhow. i don't exactly know how i pull this stuff out of my arse...but...well...i do! i built this whole site 4 years ago! wow! it's certainly grown and changed a lot since then!
so let's welcome The Mule to my site! yay! tra la la...
oh, and go check out the pretty new guestbook too. and write and let me know how ya like all the new stuff here...
hove and lugs, kristi
6/2/2004 02:24:09 AM
Thursday, May 13, 2004
you know...it's been way too long since i have posted here. i think i have a tendancy to want to do things "just right" or "perfectly" or something, and so i wait to do things until i have time to do the most perfect thorough job i can possibly do, but then i almost never get to do the thing i'm trying to do because i rarely have a chunk of time like that to work on something. so that is why i haven't written here to let you know how my tour went since getting home: because i've been exceedingly busy landing and trying to re-settle into my new life. my new life is that i'm on a new coast and i'm near my family and childhood friends, but not near my closest friends. my new life is that i'm making new friends and re-learning my home state to figure out how to do my art and teaching here. i knew how to do that back in cali. the transition is certainly
a challenge, especially because the biggest thing new in my life is that my life and music partner is dead. it's been 9 months since Littlebird's death, and i still deal daily with grieving and picking up the pieces. it's hard hard hard hard hard. i have so many things on my to-do list that are unpleasant or intensely emotional, that sometimes it's a wonder i get up out of bed at all. but i do. i get out of bed every day and do at least 3 things on that list every day. and i pray to all the gods and goddesses i can think of as often as i like, that things will get simpler really soon. i keep focused on my goals, my truest most divine goals. and that's how my day-to-day is since getting home from the road.
anyhoo...rambling is good for diaries, i guess. i want to tell you a few things here... the tour was a mixture of fun and hard work. Sarah and i really enjoy performing and traveling together, even with the various road trip stresses that are seemingly inevitable. she has photos up on her website from our tour: sarahwoolf.com.
we drove so many hours and miles that it is a blur. i remember a rock hitting the windshield in Tennessee. I remember finding good food in Cowan TN, Chicago IL, Yellow Springs OH, and Fairfield IA. the ice cream in this shop right near the Coffee Underground, where we played in SC, was AMAZING.
NC was fabulous because i got to spend time with old friends, and i got to play a Bosendorfor for the Tori Tribute show!!! what a gorgeous gorgeous instrument. wow. it was truly a remarkable thing to hear 13 artists play their versions of Tori's songs. i listened to many talented people before playing my three: Precious Things, The Waitress, and Pancake. I was actually disoriented by the Bosey's extra notes! i have never had that experience before; even when i was a tiny kid playing Beethoven Club recitals with my knees shaking, i don't remember not getting the keyboard before. So...i took my time settling into the piano that i had never played before. i played my versions of her songs, and i felt everyone listening to every single note. it was so intense and powerful. i felt some kind of electricity connecting everyone in the room, like no one was breathing. and i think Pancake is going to become a regular part of my repertoire. many folks have asked me to include my version of The Waitress in my repertiore too, but i don't know yet... Pancake just really fits my recent trauma somehow. it felt very important to play it there at the tribute and RAINN benefit and to explain how fitting it is. there may be a tori tribute cd release from those concerts happening. i don't know how many months it will take. but i will let you know if/when i know. i played Pancake at our NYC show too and the sound guy there thinks i should release a whole album of tori covers! wow. i had no idea. :)
so....that's the latest about my tour... i am excited for my first official RI show tonight in Cumberland! i hope to see all my fellow rhodeislanders there! my website is desperately in need of me spending lots of time updating it. it will happen, i just don't know exactly when. but i want you to know that in spite of its lack of representation here on my website, THE MULE is really truly here. and you can hear it and buy it at CD Baby. if you've already got a copy, maybe you'd like to write a review of the CD there on the CD Baby page, giving people an idea of what they're in for... feel free. meanwhile, stay tuned for mule updates here on this website, which you can now get
to from www.kmetal.net OR www.kristimartel.com. weeeeee.
hove and lugs, kristi
5/13/2004 12:36:16 PM
Thursday, April 15, 2004
hey folks,
we've been so so so busy on the road... i've had hardly any chances to update you all on our travels. we've seen amazing sunsets, several rainbows, driven through four and five states some days, driven for 15 hours some days, seen llamas, cows, billy goats, horses, kittens, and dogs, but no mules so far. it's been really fun for both of us to be back out on the road. and it's been so great to learn each other's music as we go. so far the most spectacular show has been in Fairfield IA. we love the folks there because they are so present and get all our jokes. :)
i was very very sad to arrive too late for my show at Converse College last night. I hear that Leslie and Denise had fun at the show, but Sarah and I were driving and driving and slightly lost and very stuck in traffic and just didn't make it in time. :( we drove for 12+ hours a day for four days straight trying to make it to that gig from Oakland CA... we got through Texas because of Kripsy Kreme doughnuts. :)
tomorrow night I'm playing with Leslie and Denise in SC and Sat is the Tori Tribute show! then another NC show and then back home for a couple northeast shows.
it was amazing and wonderful to visit my friends in the Bay Area while playing CA shows. there are 4 brand new babies in my circle of friends, and it was fabulous to meet them.
hmmmm...what else....some good news is that i am playing at Boston Pride on June 12th! i'm super happy about it... feels like a perfect homecoming for me!
:)
love and laughter, kristi
4/15/2004 11:35:48 PM
Monday, March 15, 2004
yo!
THE MULE IS HERE!
pre-orders were shipped this week. you should get them very soon. Sarah and I are madly booking our Somber Mule Tour. it's looking pretty grand! i'm VERY excited about this new cd of mine. i can't wait to hear what you think.
okay...gotta go...i have got posters to mail and cds to mail and bookings to complete
and cleaning to do and....poor Sadie! i've got to feed my cat! there's just lots to do before leaving and we leave in just 5 days!
hove and lugs,
kristi
3/15/2004 10:54:18 PM
Wednesday, February 25, 2004
hey ho!
some not so good news is...the PJ Ryans show is officially cancelled. we tried really hard to fix the situation by switching venues but keeping the date (march 20th), but it didn't work out, so we are postponing our Boston release date (the really big one) til the first week in May. we will let you know the date as soon as we possibly can!
we're madly booking our double cd release tour. it's going pretty well and we hope to see all of you at a show near you. it's been a while since i've been on the road (well, for me anyway) and it's been an even longer while for Sarah, so we are really very excited about it.
meanwhile, one of my number one fans requested (nearly demanded!) :) that i put the tracklisting for my new cd The Mule, here in my tour diary. so...
THE MULE
1. Give
2. honey.moon
3. My Torn in Two
4. Aged
5. Carrying Stories
6. My Name
7. Carry It On
8. The Maiden and Her Master
9. Hooker
10. The Mule
11. Carry Me
12. When Outside Gets Inside Through the Skin 13. Road Song
Can't wait til you can see and hear it! Are you as excited as I am?
love and laughter, kristi
2/25/2004 07:24:22 PM
Friday, February 20, 2004
hey! more mule notes from my oakland friend:
"Yes ma'am, they are barren. But sometimes they aren't. There was once a mule
mare (I think they are called jennies) who gave birth, and the baby was named "Blue Moon." I had the news article on my wall as a kid.
Mule -- as you probably know-- is the root of "mulatto," since someone who was a mix of the mythical light and dark species of man was thought to be barren.
Mules are apparently a little bit double-jointed or something, so they can jump directly sideways whereas horses can only jump forward or back."
and that reminded me that just yesterday, I went to the Woonsocket RI Museum of Work and Culture with my French Canadian family and found out what a mule spinner is: the mill worker who gets the spools and threads working right on a big machine called a spinning jenny or a spinning mule. and yeah, a female donkey is a jenny, as is a female bird.
hope you enjoy these mule notes as much as i do!
from one american mutt, kristi
2/20/2004 03:01:21 PM
hey folks,
i just thought of something fun i'd really like you all to take part in. write to me (mule@kmetal.net) and tell me facts you know about mules. i will put them up here and on a mule page soon to come.
my understanding is that mules are a mix of horse and donkey. i've also heard they can't reproduce.
an oakland cali dyke widow friend of mine just wrote me this tidbit:
"I heard some great things about mules this weekend in a talk about sacred horse images. The presenter was basically making the case for us all to switch to riding mules, because they are incredibly smart, strong, nimble, and care-taking of their mounts."
i think that's really cool. especially because my experience with Dolly, the Vail AZ mule in all my cd art pictures, confirms this. Dolly was very sweet to me, and patient, and smart, and nimble. i felt connected to her somehow, even though i was with her for only an hour. i'll be sure to post some Dolly-and-me pics on the website in the next month.
anyhoo.
peace and mules, kristi
2/20/2004 02:01:56 PM
Thursday, February 19, 2004
hello wonderful people --
whoa! what a long and intense process it has been to record The Mule! i'll have you know that it is being duplicated starting today. phew! i was so relieved to drop it in the mail. :) i'm so excited. i can't wait to see it. i love how all the songs turned out and how all the graphics turned out. i can't wait to share it with you all. there's still time to pre-order your copy to help me pay for all the production costs and receive your Mule superfast before everyone else at your doorstep through the mail. i'd be so grateful.
i wrote lots of the songs on the mule a long time ago (1991 - 2001). they are grouped together thematically. i worked with the same band as on Brave Enough, minus Littlebird of course. Sarah Woolf played a bit in her place. and Denise Barbarita sang a bit in her place. the material on The Mule is more difficult than the material on Brave Enough, in many ways. and Littlebird's absence sure added to the difficulty. the sessions were emotionally intense and very tiring. the songs somehow relate to everything about littlebird's death, even though most were written before she and i became partners. still, we got the thing recorded in four days and mixed in three. then i went to Boston to master it. and i created all the graphics myself this time, which was fun and challenging and satisfying.
sarah woolf and i have started to play together and we're planning a tour together that will promote both our new cds from coast to coast, so stay tuned as the dates get to the tour schedule. we'd love to see you at a show.
yipppeeeee!
and now i need a long rest!
weeeeeee
zzzzzzzz
peace and chicken noodle soup,
kristi
2/19/2004 04:53:09 PM
Friday, January 23, 2004
it's f-f-f-freeezing in RI. and i will admit i am not quite used to it. and i will admit my apt is not the best heated nor insulated. so this makes for a c-c-c-cold kristi.
i am very much more settled in to my new lovely home. and i am very much back to work. it's good to be here. i am working on The Mule full force now. my first day in the studio was long and difficult. some songs are so sad without Littlebird. so i'm a slower studio girl than i was for Brave Enough. i was superfast back then. but all around it makes sense to go slower this time. except financially. the budget is very very tight. you all can certainly still make donations to The Mule, you know. just go to
the help page and buy a bound single or something. every little bit helps. the money is about halfway there, so thank you thank you thank you for all your donations. it's just expensive to record an album right.
there are still band rehearsals and more marathon studio days in the near near future. and then there's designing the graphics and mixing the recordings and mastering the whole project and getting it all duplicated.
and then i am hoping beyond hope that it will all be done by the cd release concert on March 20th. it's cutting it close. it may not happen. but i am trying to get the cd ready for that concert and the tour following it. i will be touring with Sarah Woolf from Boston to Oakland and back. probably about 30 shows. check the tour schedule for updates.
now i'm off to book some gigs and design some Mule graphics.
peace and peppermint kristi
2004 Tour Dates
January & February (NYC) I am in the studio recording The Mule! Can you dig it?
Kristi and Sarah have decided to join forces for a cross-country double CD release tour: The Somber Mule Tour! Details will accumulate below:
3/12 (Kingston NY) Deep Listening Space 75 Broadway in the Rondout neighborhood Xperimental Performance Night 845-388-5984, 8pm, $7
3/21 (Buffalo NY) Cafe Allegro 1374 Hertel Ave 716-874-3321, 8pm
3/22 (Hamilton ON) Casbah 228 King St West, corner of King & Queen, 905-777- 7844, 9pm, $8
3/23 (Pittsburgh PA) The Quiet Storm 5430 Penn Ave 412-661-9355, 8pm, $5
3/25 (Chicago IL) HOMOLATTE QUEER WORDS & MUSIC IN CHICAGO at the NO EXIT CAFE 6970 N. Glenwood 773-743-3355 8PM
3/26 (Iowa City IA) House Concert
3/27 (Fairfield IA) Cafe Paradiso 607 W Broadway 641-472-0856, 8pm, $8 cover, $5 with student ID
3/30 (Seattle WA) Cafe Venus 609 Eastlake East 206-624-4516, with special guest Holly Figueroa, no cover!
3/31 (Portland OR) Portland State University Smith Center cafeteria 1825 SW Broadway, noon - 1pm
4/1 (Seattle WA) Capitol Hill Arts Center
4/2 (Portland OR) Mississippi Pizza Pub 3552 N Mississippi Ave 503-288-3231. Sarah, me, and Vivian's Keeper will be rocking one of Portland's best listening rooms, 9pm, $5
4/4 (Arcata CA) Marsh Commons Community Room 103 South H St 707-677-9411, 6-8pm, dinner at 5pm, $10 donation, call for reservation
4/5 (Ashland OR) Women's Resource Center at Southern Oregon University 1250 Siskiyou Blvd 541-552-6216, noon - 1:30pm
4/7 (Sacramento CA) Luna's Cafe 1414 16th St 916-441-3931 Join us for yummy dinner and excellent music! 8pm, $4
4/8 (Oakland CA) CD release concert for my peeps (did i say peeps?!) in Oaktown! at our beloved The Nameless 3910 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way, just around the corner from the MacArthur BART, between 39th & 40th Streets 510-547-8318, 7:30 door, 8pm show, $7
4/9 (San Rafael CA) Kernos House Concert 46 Creekside Dr, Call Jessica for directions: 415-472-4100, 7pm door, 8pm show, $10-$15 donation
4/14 (Spartanburg SC) Converse College Petrie School of Music in Daniel Recital Hall 580 East Main St 864-596-9074 or email Leslie. Kristi will be playing the Steinway grand (!), Leslie Berry will play the piano too I think, and Denise Barbarita will play her fabulous guitar songs. 8pm, $5
4/16 (Greenville SC) Coffee Underground 1 East Coffee St Acoustic Seen Series with Leslie Berry and Denise Barbarita. 8pm, $7
4/17 (Carboro NC) DeLaLuz Performance Space Temple Ball Gallery East Main Street, i'll be playing Tori covers (!) at the Tori Amos Tribute/RAINN Benefit. 8pm, $10
4/18 (Durham NC) Ooh La Latte Cafe Broad St, a bunch of the tori fest performers (Denise Barbarita, Angela Ai, Alysson Light, and me so far) will be doing their original tunes at this adorable cafe and dessert shop from 3pm onward
4/21 (Waltham MA) The Skellig Singer Songwriter Series 240 Moody St, 781-647- 0679, check the website for MBTA directions and car directions cuz parking is a bitch on Moody St - take the train...with Tom Bianchi, Aerin Tedesco & Andrea Bunch, 9pm 21+ no cover!
4/23 (NYC) Meow Mix 269 E Houston St, 212-254-068 Sarah at 8, Kristi at 9 and Jasper James at 10pm, $5
back home for solo dates...well, except when i get my wonderful musican friends on the bill with me... :)
5/13 (Cumberland RI) The Blackstone 129 Mendon Rd 401-726-2181, my amazing guitarist friend Kevin Silvia will be accompanying me for my debut at this excellent club, 9pm, FREE
6/4 (Cumberland RI) Made From Scratch 3755 Mendon Rd 401-658-2824, this new restaurant has the yummiest homemade food and the friendliest smoke free all ages atmosphere. please come on out to the show for some excellent food and music and community. 7-10pm. FREE
6/12 (Boston MA) Boston Pride Festival!!!! It goes from noon - 6pm at Boston Common, corner of Beacon and Charles Streets. They just changed my set time to 12:10pm...Other performers include DANA SHELLMIRE, RACHAEL SAGE, DANIEL CARTIER, ATOMIC BROTHERS, GAY IDOL WINNER, JEN FOSTER, Arline Isaacson- Grand Marshall, SUGABOMB, Valerie Fien-Zachary- Grand Marshall, ARI GOLD. Please come share the excitement of this most amazing pride celebration with me!!!
6/27 (Providence RI) AS220 115 Empire St 401.831.9327 Please join me for my first Providence show at this most amazing arts community venue!!! with Mary Bue, Lori Amey, and Monique Ortiz (Bourbon Princess), 9pm, $6
7/2 (Cumberland RI) Made From Scratch 3755 Mendon Rd 401-658-2824, join me again for yummy food, cozy couches, and sweet piano and voice provided by me! 7- 10pm
8/1 (Providence RI) AS220 115 Empire St 401.831.9327, I'm not performing this time, just selling Littlebird's and my wares at the monthly Bazaar Bizarre with other artists and a few performers and BBQ. :) 11AM - 5PM. Please come by and check out the stuff. I'll have a CD player so you can listen to all the CDs I've got out before buying. Littlebird's stuff is truly limited edition, so be there to get your copies of her zines and CDs. For my Littlebird, 3/16/73 - 8/7/03.
8/15 (Providence RI) AS220 115 Empire St 401.831.9327, with Rebecca Pronsky, Rebecca Nurse, Elijah Wyman. 9pm, $6
8/21 (Providence RI) Mermaids at Kamp 235 Promenade St 401.621.4141, join me for this fab women's night! i will sing my heart out for you from 9:30 - 11:30pm, then you can dance for the dj til... $5.00 for 21+ / $10.00 for 18+
8/26 (Cumberland RI) The Blackstone 129 Mendon Rd 401-726-2181, It's so nice to be welcomed back to this excellent club. Kevin and I will be playing at 9pm, followed by 2 bands: Gasp and Catalpa. FREE
9/10 (Cumberland RI) Made From Scratch 3755 Mendon Rd 401-658-2824, join me again for yummy food, cozy couches, and sweet piano and voice provided by me! 7- 10pm
9/12 (NYC) CB's Gallery 313 Bowery 212-677-0455...This is exciting because Amy Fix is playing, and I haven't played a show with her since...1994(!!!) And because Denise Barbarita is playing, and she's my fab engineer/producer! And because the fab band who plays on three of my CDs will be backing me (and Denise) that night!!! Please come see our debut live performance: Jay Wallenstein on bass and Rich Kulsar on drums. A Grand Night of Lovely Lady Singer Songwriters (and the amazing boys who back them)! 7 - 10pm, $5, 21+
9/19 (Peacedale RI) WomanSpiritRising: a feminist chorus, will be debuting my newest arrangement of "Give" at this fabulous event, Johnnycake Storytelling Festival's Sacred Tales: a Celebration of Story and Song, at Peacedale Elementary School, 9:30 am, $8, 401-789-9301
9/21 & 9/28 (RI) A video of me performing a half hour set will be aired on Cox Public Access Station 13 at 8pm!
9/26 (Woonsocket RI) Benefit for House of Compassion, behind The Goddess Shoppe, 1 Social Street, 401-671-6006, music from 2 - 6, I'll go on about 4pm.
10/1 (Cumberland RI) Made From Scratch 3755 Mendon Rd 401-658-2824, join me again for yummy food, cozy couches, and sweet piano and voice provided by me! 7- 10pm
10/2 (Providence RI) Mermaids at Kamp 235 Promenade St 401.621.4141, join me for this fab women's night! i will sing my heart out for you from 9:30 - 11:30pm, then you can dance for the dj til... $5.00 for 21+?/ $10.00 for 18+
10/3 (Coventry RI) RI Women's Gathering will be an AMAZING day of music, poetry, puppets, open mics, drumming, children's activities, artists, consciousness- raising, ecology information, workshops, rituals, and spirit where I will be playing one set at noon and one at 3pm, held at Apeiron Institute for Environmental Living, 451 Hammet Rd, 401-397-3430, 10am - 6pm, FREE Admission for walkers and bikers, $5 per person for individual drivers, $15 per car load - Please carpool as parking is limited.
10/4 (Boston MA) Songsalive! Showcase @ Dick's Last Resort Bar & Grill 55 Huntington Ave (in Boston's Prudential Center, central to several major hotels and subway), artists include: Australia's gilli moon,?Songsalive! President, me!, Chris Marston, Raven, Patty Keough, Bill Downes, Freddy Hall, Arielle Silver, and more! 8- 10pm, Free entry
11/5 (Providence RI) A Night of Story and Song with storyteller Baba Jamal Koram and lil ole me (!), to benefit Rhode Island Black Storytellers at the First Universalist Church on the corner of Benevolent and Benefit Streets. Space is limited. Please call 401-273-4013 to reserve your seat. RIBS is dedicated to promoting the awareness, appreciation, and application of Black storytelling in Rhode Island through performance, educational, and cultural experience. 7 - 9pm, $25 donation per ticket.
11/9 (Worcester MA) Ralph's 95 Prescott St 508-753-9543 with Rebecca Nurse 10pm, 21+, no cover
11/12 (Cumberland RI) Made From Scratch 3755 Mendon Rd 401-658-2824, join me again for yummy food, cozy couches, and my very own sweet piano and voice songs... 7-10pm
11/17 (Boston MA) Simmons College Quadside Cafe 54 Pilgrim Road, 7:30pm-9:30pm FREE
12/5 (Providence RI) AS220 115 Empire St 401-831-9327...I'm not performing this time, just selling Littlebird's wares and my wares and some old LPs and some of Littlebird's famous apple cake, yum(!) at December's Bizarre Bazaar! Entry is FREE and it runs from 1 - 6PM. Plenty of wonderful artists and art and craft (and apple cake) will be there for your holiday shopping pleasure. I'll have a CD player so you can listen to all the CDs I've got out before buying. Littlebird's stuff is truly limited edition, so be there to get your copies of her zines and CDs. For my Littlebird, 3/16/73 - 8/7/03.
12/11 (Gardner MA) Fresh Ground Coffeehouse hosted by Kellianna at the Unitarian Universalist Society of Gardner, 66 Elm Street...with Boston's Danielle Miraglia ...email Kellianna for more info. 7-9pm, $10
12/16 (Warren RI) Affinity Arts art opening 354-356 Main Street 401-286-5876, 7 - 9pm
12/19 (Cambridge MA) Sunday Night Songwriter Series with Christie Leigh at The All Asia 334 Mass Ave 617-497-1544. NOTE TIME CHANGE: Kristi at 6:00PM, Laura Distasi at 6:40PM, Jason Goss at 7:20PM -- please arrive on time for my debut at The All Asia! 6pm, $5, all ages
12/31 (Providence RI) Bright Night Providence! I'll be performing solo at The Arcade (65 Weybosset St) at 6pm AND with the fab feminist chorus WomanSpiritRising at 8 & 9pm at Grace Church (175 Mathewson St) for this wonderful New Years celebration. WSR will be performing my new arrangement of my song "Give!" Check out the Bright Night Providence website for ticket & venue information.
