I Made It!!!

Whew. We've had ummm 15 or 17 shows in a row with no break... I can't remember right now and I don't have the energy to go count. This whole year I have seen this stretch of shows on the calendar and it was the leg of touring I was the most concerned about. If they were all college shows, it wouldn't have been a problem. But when the book ends (3 days on the front and 3 days at the end) are at some of our longest club nights... well, I just have to be extra careful with my voice.

But yay!!! I made it! I won't be speaking tomorrow at all on the drive home. Give my voice some rest. We won't sleep much tonight - it's already 6:15am and we need to be out of here by 11. But hey, at least I am not singing tomorrow!!! I can always handle little sleep. but when you pair little sleep with lots of singing... it can be rough.

I love Spinnaker. I really do. I went to the beach this afternoon before the show. And James and I just stood up on the balcony at Spinnaker before we packed up and took in one last look at the ocean.

It's been really fun having Justin back on this trip. He is an incredible singer and an extremely charismatic performer - he knows how to get an audience all riled up! I'm gonna miss him!

Heading to bed. And tomorrow I head to my own bed for a few nights! WOOO HOO!!!


Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Word To The Wise: Don't Rush The Stage At Spinnaker

Man, tonight was such a good night!!! The show was packed, and there were a LOT of people who were either there last night or at another previous show. There were 2 couples from Cleveland Tennessee that originally saw us at Spinnaker, went to our show in Knoxville, and then said they planned their vacation around this weekend to come see us again!!!

Sorry I don't have any pics. My camera got dropped at a show a couple of days ago and it no longer works :( Oh well, it was on it's last leg anyway. We've already ordered a new fancy schmancy one!

A guy got up on stage tonight. He was actually just trying to be really sweet - he bought drinks for the band, and wanted to give them to us. But coming up on stage at Spinnaker is NOT a good idea. There are always tons of people there, and they have TONS of security to keep the crowd in check. Plus, I don't think there are a lot of other female performers... they have always been protective. That poor guy got dragged off the stage by 5 security guards :( I felt so bad for him, but they were doing their job. You never know with people. And even though he was really sweet and just wanted to do something nice, there's no way to tell that. I was startled and didn't know what was happening. I saw security running through the crowd towards the stage before I even saw the guy!

Mamma and Daddy drove down today and came tonight. They brought Miguel's road case that we had made for his amp. He didn't know anything about it, so we surprised him in the parking lot! :) (And they brought Cinnamon!!! YAY!)

One more night!!! Which makes me sad. But the sun is a-risin, so I need to get some shut-eye. Night night!

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

I Broke My Bow!

Holy cow!!! I've never done that IN a show before!!!! This is the
result of an awesome, Rockin show tonight. We had such a great time at
Spinnaker.

The band for this weekend is:
James Bavendam - drums (Always)
Miguel Cancino - lead guitar (Always)
Tim Denbo - bass/ vocals
Justin Spears - acousitc/ vocals

Woo hoo!

Peace. Love. Fiddle.

Jesse. And Then Some.

Jesse and I had quite the interaction from the stage and the staircase
he was on during "And Then Some" tonight. I don't think I will ever be
able to sing that song again without thinking about him. He had had
the whole audience rolling. Little hip action, a little flirting,
little winking, LOTS of awesomeness. We had our 3 1/2 minutes in time
together during that song.

The show was incredible. Seriously.

For those of you that were at the show tonight - I know I promised you
the video blog of the "running of the halls" but it is 4 am and we
just got to a hotel... So hopefully you will forgive me for a 24 hour
delay in uploading my video. We'll do that after soundcheck in PCB
tomorrow :)

I can't wait to see all the pics on facebook!!! Thank you Shorter for
a night to remember!!!

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
Nat

Smallest Stage Ever

We just finished our show this afternoon at Gainesville State College
in Watkinsville, Ga.

And oooooh that Georgia heat!!! I feel like I just went swimming in my
clothes :) Yummy? Right?!

It's a really small campus, and they got the biggest stage they could
find, but it was the size of a typical drum riser - you know - JUST
for the drums. So fitting 5 people on it was a crazy game of tetris -
but we're good at that from packing the trailer. So James only set up
kick & snare, I nixed my amp, Miguel had his amp off stage, we put
the monitors on the ground, and Justin kind of sat on top of the
drums :). It's a good thing we all love each other!

The poor crowd was so hot - one girl went and changed her shirt half-
way through to keep watching!! I was amazed at how appreciative
everybody was.

And now we're off to Marietta for show #2 for the day!

Reinhardt College Goes With The Flow

Whew. What a day.

I think we have spoiled our Suburban to be on musician-time. It protested as we were leaving the parking lot at 7:30am... Just completely shut down before we even turned onto the main drag... kind-of like my brain at 7:30am.

Luckily, we were right across the street from a GM Dealer!! We called a tow truck and he actually recommended a different Dealer... but even that one was only half a mile away! We've never broken down surrounded by GM Dealers.
So, they tried a bunch of different things, but after a couple of hours it became apparent it wasn't going to be a quick fix and we were gonna have to miss the show. We were supposed to play at 12, we were 90 minutes away, and at 11 they were JUST isolating the problem.

Amazingly enough, they were able to get all the parts in to fix it TODAY. AND even MORE amazing - the school was able to work with us and postpone the show until 7pm tonight!!!

One tiny glitch... they didn't quite get the fuel gauge connected, so our fuel gauge permanently reads "EMPTY". But we didn't have the time to let them fix that if we wanted to make it for the postponed show. So we'll just have to fill up every chance we get to make sure we don't run out of gas! :) We'll fix that later...

I can't believe the school was still able to make it work for an evening show. But they emailed all the students with the change, printed up new flyers with the new show time and even said it was the best turn out they ever had for an outdoor concert!

Can't believe the day ended up turning out so well. But we are all spent. I don't miss feeling like this. There was a lifetime of these "OH CRAP." moments with that first Suburban. When it happens now, I just count my blessings it's not every other day.

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Salmon. It's What's For Dinner.

What kind of food do you expect when you go to an outdoor concert? Burgers, hot dogs, chips... you know... the usual...

Ummm... at Brenau University? Nope. Gourmet. Some of the best Salmon I have EVER had (other than my Daddy's Jack Daniel's Salmon), Sweet potatoes, baked ziti, yummy rolls, red velvet cake... They live it up in Gainesville, GA!

We played at their outdoor amphitheater, and the students in charge said that the seniors have NEVER been able to have an outdoor show. Every year when they've tried, the weather has caused them to have to move indoors. But our recent weather luck did not follow us, and we actually got to play outside!

Brenau is an all-girl campus except for 5 guys that take night courses :)



Tonight we are getting to stay in one of our favorite hotels - Hilton Garden... mmmm... best beds.

Tomorrow? Show 9 of our 15 shows-in-a-row stretch!

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Alabama Monkies

Everybody needs a monkey that says I <3 Alabama. The afternoon show
was beautiful. We played, people sang and danced, and now we are
driving to Ga. I'm gettin ready to take over the wheel :).
Peace Love Fiddle

Nat

Schooner's on Saturday

These girls were at the show last night, they chased down Miguel in
the aisle of the grocery store this afternoon when they recognized
him, and them they came back tonight!!!

The show was great. It was another PACKED out night at Schooner's. A
little crazy on our end, but the audience was ridiculous. The first
song had no speakers in the front of house. We never figured out why,
but eventually it started working. Then, the second set, James' bass
drum pedal broke. We had to do "sing alongs" the rest of the set to
cover up the fact that we had no bass drum pedal. After the set, we
drove back to the band house to get his spare. Raced back to the venue
and played our last set which was coMplete with a demanded encore!! So
Fun.

ToMorrow we play 4:30-8:30. See you then!

Good Surprise!!!

I love love LOVE surprises. And tonight during my first set at
Schooners, I got the GREATEST surprise!! My big brother came to the
show, and I didn't even know he was in Florida! I looked over during
Fancy and saw him and J Clark sitting at a table next to the stage!!!
John, my brother is on the right and on the left is my friend and
John's brother-in-law J. Clark aka Willard. :)

Plus, there was an ENTIRE table of friends from Columbia at the
show!!! (Again, total shocker) And a girl named Leena who saw us 2
years ago in Nashville came tonight! She brought a picture of her and
the band cause she thought I wouldn't remember. When I get back to
full Internet, I'll upload more pics, but for now it's one at a time
on the good ole iPhone. :)

Also, Randy Peterson, the biggest celebrity in PCB and his awesome
wife, Stacie, came from Dallas to hang out in PCB this week.

And let me just add that I am crying right now from laughing so hard
at the guys in the band house. I am so glad we have Justin and Hootie
back this week. It's awesome. I'm crying at 3:00 am it's so awesome.

Peace. Love. Fiddle.

This Is What Happens

After shows at the band house...
Miguel and my earring...

The Boys Are Back In Town :)

Justin and Hootie are back in the band for a week!!!! It's like old
times :)

Back at Liza's Kitchen in PCB!

Excellent recipe Carolynne!

Dalton Rockin'

I now have a new association with Dalton, GA other than carpets!!! :)

We played at Dalton State University and were supposed to be their first concert in front of their new bell tower, which is beautiful. But the dark clouds were hovering above, and with our luck lately, we all decided not to take any chances. We set up at the indoor location, which was pretty awesome, too!

I even had my own personal cheerleader in the front row! Diego!


CAB who booked us to play!

As always, there's tons more pictures up on facebook!

And I have already been sent an article from the school's newspaper about today's show!!! So COOL! (And timely :) )

DSC students enjoy Stovall's music during "Week of Welcome"

Rachel Brown

Natalie Stovall hadn’t been to Dalton before Thursday, but she drew a packed student center when she performed during lunch at Dalton State College.

The violinist-singer-songwriter from Nashville was invited as part of the “Week of Welcome” events the school’s Campus Activities Board organized for the first week of fall classes.

Stovall performed on the Grand Ole Opry as a member of the Opryland Kids Club when she was 12, graduated from the Berklee College of Music in Boston and has performed on the Oprah Winfrey Show and at the White House for George W. Bush.

Stovall said she began playing violin at age 4, auditioned for and was accepted to the Opryland Kids Club when she was 10, and has been performing in various venues ever since. She said she used to “obsess over Michael Jackson” growing up and has always been drawn to the energy of live performances.

“I guess my goal now is to be on the Grand Ole Opry again but with one of my original songs,” she said.

The 27-year-old’s band members are drummer James Bavendam of Seattle, guitarist Miguel Cancino of Santiago, Chile, and bass guitar and vocalist Tim Denbo of Indianapolis. Stovall and her band perform at colleges, clubs, performing arts centers and military bases among other venues.

Charles McKay, a student event volunteer, said he was pleased with the turnout. Organizers first learned of Stovall at a recent convention of the Association for the Promotion of Campus Activities in Atlanta, he said.

Amber Hollifield, a second-year history major from Dalton, compared Stovall to pop country star Miranda Lambert and said she believes Stovall has what it takes to make a big name for herself.

“I like this kind of music,” Hollifield said. “She’s really good.”

Sophomore drafting and design major Alex Mendez said he hadn’t made plans to attend the concert, but Stovall’s energetic music and good looks made him decide to stick around for an autograph after the show.

“I got a hug from her, she signed my CD, and I was real happy,” he said.

Peace. Love. Fiddle.

~natalie

Scary...

Just An Alabama Gas Station...

Dancin In The Georgia Rain

Wanna know why I think the kids at Armstrong Atlantic State University are the coolest?

When it started raining today, they didn't all run and hide under covers (well, some did) but instead? They ran out and started dancing IN the rain to our music!!! It was so awesome, and only made the show even more memorable.

The way the stage was set up, we were under a covered area, but our speakers were out front. And the members of the Campus Union Board that were sponsoring the event, ran to our rescue!!! We were in the middle of "Even Alaska" so, they just took the speakers off the stands and set them up on stage with us! It was perfect!

Thanks for the photo Shaun! (I stole it off of facebook just now :) )


CUB :) Thank you for everything! Especially the golf cart rides :)


The Pike Boys were grilling hot dogs for Rush, right across from the stage. It smelled SOOOOOO good! :) Thanks for the free smells, guys.


Ummm... definitely my first "Human Anatomy and Physiology Book" signing!


CUB had me sign this poster that had been written on before the show :) They presented it to Josh DURING the show. He was so embarrassed, but it was pretty awesome.


Zerik - one of my favorite dancers from the day!


I have the rest of the pics up on facebook. For now? I'm going to bed!

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

James and His Pillow Hat

My Purse Is a Mini Suitacase

I would like to attribute the ridiculousness of stuff in my purse to my lifestyle on the road... there's always stuff I wish I had with me, and it's so easy to just throw it all in my purse...

But I do that when I'm NOT on the road...

James was laughing at me because in order to find something earlier, I pulled out the following:

Hairbursh
water bottle
socks (Cute one with purple stripes)
head scarf
ipod
nail polish remover
flowers (for my hair)
6 Hotel receipts
earrings
deposit book
check book
lotion
an assortment of medicine bottles - tylenol, ibuprofen, liquid badage (THANK YOU TAMAMRA!!!! That liquid bandage stuff is amazing and we have all used it!!!)
a camera
my camera uploader doo-thingy
the charger for my camera battery
Tea bags
Honey to go in the tea
And of course, the essential typical stuff:
wallet
business cards
phone

So yeah... As you can probably guess, I am NOT one of those people that always has things in a specific order and place. With certain things, I am REALLY organized. But with most things... not so much.

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

I Have A Wise Twin

James and I definitely have "Clueless" on in the hotel right now. I completely forgot that Paul Rudd was in this movie!! :)

And I definitely think that I need to bring back "Thigh highs". Those should NEVER go out of style.


We played at the University of Virginia - Wise tonight. Tonight was the first time in my life I was relieved we do NOT have a tour bus. We had to go so slow up these crazy windy roads along the side of the mountain to get to the school. And no matter how slow we went, it wasn't slow enough! It was intense.

The campus was beautiful, though! We were playing on a beautiful ledge up against a little pond. We were part of their "welcome week" :) Can't believe they are already back in school!!!

Everyone thought the girl on the left looked just like me :) She's my Wise-Twin.


My protector:


The guys responsible for getting us here!!! And THANK YOU for chasing down those extension chords and making sure we were "grounded".



More awesome people we met today!









Good luck in the upcoming school year!

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Whoa.

Thanks Bailey!!!



Peace. Love. Fiddle. And I Hope You Are Smiling.
~natalie

Pigs And Peaches - Do I Have To Eat Them Together?

We had such a good time in Kennesaw last night! I LOVE playing at BBQ festivals because we get fed so well! You better believe this southern girl can eat up some pulled pork. :)

They set the "Guinness Book Of World Records: Largest Kickball Game" yesterday. How cool is that!?!?

So the Mayor of Kennesaw introduced me last night... ummm... that was REALLY cool.
(he's next to me in the black shirt)


Two of my Berklee girls came to the show, and I STILL can't believe it!!! These are two INCREDIBLY talented women. Nicole (on the left) is producing for all kinds of artists in Atlanta including Lisa's (on right)new album. I can't WAIT to get my hands on a copy of one. We used to do shows together at Berklee and they are both incredible singers. It was so cool to have them in the audience! I had to be on my A-game in front of singers like this!


I met my first "FrItalian Americanuk" (French Italian American Kanuk) That's what his girlfriend calls him... since he is an Italian from Canada (Montreal) living in America. :) Love it.


Definitely the first time I've been asked to sign "under the crocodile"


Shoe signage!


This one asked me to marry him. ADORABLE!!! I told him that my drummer had beat him to it, but if anything went south there, I'd be sure to give him a call ;)


Ciara ran my merch table and it helped me out SOOOOOO much. Thank you for everything girl!


And FINALLY I got to meet Tina (far right) from Acts Nashville, who booked me on this gig and MANY others! She's booked gigs for me for so long now, but we've never met!



And just a few more of the awesome people I met! There were so many!











Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie