Happy Halloween!!!

I got a grill for my teef...
Dormer shaved his beard into a Fu Manchu to be "Panther" for Halloween. Panther's been growing one for a while. But since Joel never found a long curly wig - he ended up just looking kind of creepy... So then he somehow morphed into a crazy weird
guy... cut off his sleeves, found a hat and a goofy grin and POOF! We got to celebrate Halloween in a Pilot gas station :)
And we got to trick or treat at a Starbucks in Arkansas :) I got some chocolate. Surprise Surprise!

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

We Were Literally Next Door to the World Series

Aaaaaand we were at the World Series today!!! Well... Ok, we walked around the stadium and took in the smells of tailgating Texans. Oh the meat, the BBQ, Willie Nelson on the stereos, pedicabs filled with people screaming GO RANGERS!!! The streets were packed with people... And we just happened to be next door playing our 15 min showcase at NACA Central. How crazy is that??? It was pretty wild to be thrust into the middle of such a giant even by chance :) And especially for Joel! He's a Giants fan, so he was pretty much in heaven being that close to the action :)
Dormer and Panther's first showcase experiences were excellent :) More on that later...

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Wonder Woman and a Dallas CowGirl Came To Rehearsal

As we were rehearsing and getting ready for our NACA conference tomorrow... We had some little visitors :)
Trinity started playing guitar about a month ago... And she's already got 8 Christmas songs down!! :) so she showed off her skills, watched us rehearse and then had the whole band sign her guitar along with all the other awesome signatures she's already got.
And Wonder Woman plays piano, too. She was along for moral support :)

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

This Makes Me Happy

Everything's funnier with a British Accent :)



Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

South Mississippi Fair: Fair Food Heaven

We're back in Laurel, Mississippi, folks. And THIS year it feels like Southern Mississippi, for sure!!! Last year we were caught off guard by the cold "see your breath on stage" temperatures that we encountered. But this year - all is back to normal with hot humid, and muggy :) Just how it should be in Southern Mississippi, right?!?!

Dormer was NOT prepared... he's still a Northern California boy gettin used to the South :) Actually - none of my guys are very used to the South and our humidity. They all comment on it way more than I notice it. But for the first time ever, Dormer was actually mistaken as a Southerner!!! WOO HOO!!! We're bringing him over to our side, y'all! :) (I don't know what that means... he can be whatever he wants to be. It's just funny because no one has ever thought he had a Southern Accent)

One thing's for sure... we were back in Fair Food Heaven! I got a Cheesesteak from these lovely ladies (It was the best cheesesteak I've had in a LONG time.... dare I say aloud that is was better than the one that I had IN PHILLY??) But Then. Oh THEN. They told me they had fried cookie dough. FRIED COOKIE DOUGH!?!?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?! Yeah. I was ALL over that. And so was Dormer. The guys were uncomfortable being in the room with me when I was eating it... But I couldn't contain the deliciousness... I can't be silent while eating something that unbelievable.


These two drove quite a ways to come to the show tonight!!! Jonathan and Sgt. James were at our show at Fort Gordon in 2009. And Jonathan still has his wallet I signed back then!!! Thank you guys for coming to the show :)


Free Funnel Cake with Strawberry topping!!!! SOOOOOOOO sweet! And VERY much enjoyed by the WHOLE band - it barely made it all the way to the hotel....


PAM!!!


Yeah. We had a blast. And we were SO happy the weather held out. There were multiple lightening strikes right as we were supposed to get started. But it passed quickly, and we were able to play the whole show with no interruptions! Well... except for Fred... the GIANT flying moth that joined us onstage and wouldn't leave... and then got caught in a fatal crossfire with Panther's foot :( Next time... I'm NOT naming the moth. That made it way worse...

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

There's No Place Like Home

Can I just say how much I love making a home for James and me?? We have had roommates since we got married... just makes sense because we are NEVER home. So it has always been the financially responsible thing to do. Plus we have been fortunate enough to live with friends that we love and get along with. But we are now finally able and in a place where it is making more sense (at least at the moment) to live on our own. We are still home very little... but when we are home, it's ours.

There's nothing like walking through the door and immediately feeling "home." I knew I would be excited and love it - but I had NO IDEA just how much happiness it would bring. Especially now that we have our own furniture that we've worked hard (and saved hard) to be able to purchase! There's lots to do, and we aren't exactly home to do it all. But little by little, it's coming together. And we are getting to unwrap wedding gifts (which we have not been able to use until now). It's like getting married all over again! :)

There's something so peaceful and nurturing about having our own space. And I plan to make the most of it. :)

Just had to share.

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Before Electricity...

I got to spend some time with Granny today :)

As I was showing her how my phone can take a picture of us as we are looking at it...


She started telling me stories about how she remembers when they got their first light bulb. She still remembers her mother taking a lamp from room to room in their home BEFORE they had any sort of electricity. But eventually they got a light bulb - it was attached to a long chord in the center of the room... no shade around it... just the bulb. :)

It's just amazing to think about, you know?

I mean, she was telling me how my Grandpa Tom loved to travel and he REALLY wanted to stay in a hotel on Times Square on one of their trips. She wasn't exactly thrilled... but she knew it would make him happy. Times Square was run down and not real pretty at the time. But she was impressed with how clean the rooms were. They weren't much to look at. And the toilet was IN the room - no separate door or partition. Just in the room next to the bed. And you had to pull a big lever from the ceiling to flush it since there wasn't running water in the room. Hmmm... ?? I don't really understand that part.

We were trying to figure out what year she was there. It was some time around 1940 - So I googled a pic of Times Square in 1940 on my phone to see if she recognized anything... My how the times have changed. She didn't even have a bathroom in her hotel on Times Square - you had to go down the hallway to take a shower.... But these days I can look up a picture of that exact hotel from that year...

...on my cell phone. :)

100 years young and still telling me stories I've never heard before.

What an inspiration.

Peace. Love Fiddle.
~natalie

Pic of The Week

One of my FAVORITES that has been posted on Facebook. This was taken at the Georgia Fair. Thanks for posting Ashley!!! :)



2 days at home to rejuvenate and run errands. Then we head down SOUTH... Southern Mississippi Fair comin up! Yee HAW!

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

I ♥ Nino's. Seriously.

The place was PACKED tonight. And SOOOO many people knew ALL the words to ALL my songs - even new ones that are only on youtube right now. Amazing. We had a blast - as we always do. And the people there are the best. We're going back Nov 18 and I can't WAIT!

Sweet Lindsey- she brought a TON of people with her! And they were all front row ;)




Kyle wore his hat that I signed the inside of a while back :)


Andy!!!
Brought the cd back just to get the rest of the band to sign it. AND sang every word to every one of my songs all night. :)


New Friends!


The Austrians, Ya!
These Vere ze Austrians that came to da show. I LOVED their accents, ya!!
There were actually a bunch more - but trying to get them all to focus on taking a picture was quite humorous...


And some of the photo's that I couldn't upload from last night:
Mark and Janice!!! Our favs! They came all the way to Cleveland even though they found out about the show last minute. AND they came to Nino's in Findlay. :) But I didn't ever get a pic with them tonight :( Oh well...
They are just the sweetest.


Pete! Our soundguy! (Panther LOVE the Motorhead shirt.)


Nicole and her mother.... who we all thought was just a friend... wow. The guys and I ALL had that "Wait! I can't believe that was her mother?!?!" moment!


Oh Doug. Doug put on just as much of a show for everyone as I did. Only he doesn't need a stage. He was laying down on the floor and posing for us. And then he was writing us notes during the show telling us who each of us reminded him of - I was Tammy Wynette. Miguel was Lindsey Buckingham (I don't see it) and actually... come to think of it... I forgot to ask the other guys who they "were".

Doug also told me he was gonna buy all the "flair"... but then later he was really confused. He didn't understand that the "flair" was the buttons and stickers and tattoos. For some reason he thought "flair" meant making out! Ummm??? It's making me laugh again. SO funny. And ridiculous. Good Lord.


Nancy made me the cutest jewelry and brought it to the show! It's a clip with some charms on it. I sported it during the show :) It was awesome. AND she brought up a request list with ALL the songs she wanted to hear. There were about 10 of them between my first and second cds. So great. :)


Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Full Moooooooooon (it's better if you howl when you say it)

I definitely believe that there's something to the whole "everyone and everything gets crazy during a full moon". Nothing major happened - but people are crazy!!
We had a fun night at Brothers Lounge. It was a small turnout. We'd always prefer more - but that's only our second time there... It's always tough when you're first starting out in a new market. But all of our friends that live nearby came out and a couple of groups that came to see us last time were all there for the show :) We had a good time. It's always fun to cut loose on a bar show - especially when we haven't in a while.
This silly hotel doesn't have Internet... So there won't be any pics from tonight. But hopefully I can make up for it tomorrow night!
Ugh. Now I'm gonna go try to get rid of this headache - stupid guitar case fell out of the van and knocked me in the head... I'm tellin ya. That full moon is crazy!

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
Natalie

Sent from my iPhone

Penn State Mont Alto

Another gorgeous drive today through the backwoods of PA. :) The trees are BRIGHT as can be up here. And made for a vibrant drive this morning :) But Lordy - those mountains and state roads are steep and winding. The trailer brakes were shaking because they were working overtime - it's the first time I've ever seen so many "Run away truck ramps" on STATE roads. So far I've only seen em on interstates... but then again we travel a LOT more by interstate than anything else... so you know... that may be more common than I think. ;)

Our crowd was small tonight... but you would have NEVER known it! They were chanting "Natalie... Natalie" before we came out on stage... and then were SO enthusiastic after every song. Very welcoming and made us feel right at home!

Sweet girls!




Dormer! What are you doing to James?!?


Ugh. Redo. Always Dormer's fault. :)


We had the SWEETEST waitress named Michelle tonight at Waffle House. By far the sweetest and most attentive Waffle House waitress we've ever had. (And we've all eaten at a LOT of Waffle Houses!) But she just made the night complete. She was REALLY excited that we were a band. And we were REALLY excited that she was so awesome.

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

PSU Beaver... A Little Bit of Everybody

We drove back across the state towards Pittsburg today (Pittsburg is a BEAUTIFUL CITY!!! I didn't realize!) and played in Monaca, PA at PSU Beaver. But tonight was much different - it wasn't just the typical college crowd... you know.... College Students. It was an ALL ages crowd! And I LOVED it.

Sweet Isabella - another violinist! I want to hear her play someday :)


I could have hung out with John, Nick, and Louie all night!


Ahhh... don't forget about the college students, though! :) Such a sweet group of people that hung out after the show.





And tomorrow we drive BACK across the state... one more time :) Making sure we make the most of our sight seeing time in PA. The leaves are gorgeous, so we aren't lacking for scenery. And Liz Lemon is hilarious on 30 Rock... so we aren't lacking for laughs in the van. :)

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Ouch. That Hurt.

Peace. Love. So Sad.
~natalie

Penn State Harrisburg. Home of the Bee Dance

WHAT A DAY.

It wasn't a bad day... but lots of clumsiness and silly things happened. :) But at least a bunch of it got it out of it's system in ONE day! I was chased by bees the entire show - they kept landing on me. You should have seen the bee dance I did when we were playing the fastest part of Orange Blossom! That thing kept me on the move! But the comforting part was that many of the audience members were doing the bee dance, too. Or maybe they just didn't want me to feel left out.

I pulled out a lot more hair than normal during the show, too. I'm not sure what that was about. It happens a lot... it gets stuck between my fiddle and the shoulder rest... but today I seemed to pull out more than normal...

But the worst was that I dropped my iphone tonight and it is toast. The screen broke and since it's glass... I can't keep using it :( And right after James dropped a drinking glass and broke it.

I think we better call it a night.... I might have to go resurrect my college screen name of "killer" on Halo (xBox game) and take out some aggression with the boys. :) Cause obviously... I'm the best gamer in the group. :)

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Breaking News: My Van Key Replaces Q-Tip

We took the van to get an oil change today, and when I gave the key to the man who was taking it out to change the oil.... I watched him clean both of his ears out with it on the way to the van.

Seriously?

Seriously.


Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Rock-tography

Thank you so much to Jeff McCullough at Rock-tography for the awesome photos from Cal U!







Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Penn State Brandywine. Keystone College... NOT

Today we played at Penn State Brandywine and what an event they had there!!!

We had a nice long drive this morning and I have NO IDEA how James did it. We left the hotel at 6 am after finally getting in bed sometime around the 3 o'clock hour. I had planned on taking over at some point... but I woke up and we were there! CRAZY! He's a champion. But that's nothing new.

It was like being at a mini-Fair :) They had funnel cakes and bouncy slides and basketball... pie eating contests... toddler crawl... ALL kinds of fun games!

The crew was so sweet :) They rounded up sausages and cheeseburgers for us - we had a whole tray with us in the van :)


And the sweetest little girl was there staring, dancing, and mesmerized by the stage. She was especially excited when our little portion of Beyonce was played!


And SAWYER!!! He won the pie eating contest!!! Can you tell??? I was impressed with the amount of blueberries that covered his face and shirt :)



The best was that there was just a pie sitting on stage after we were done. All by itself. In its beautiful glory. To cheer us on as we loaded out. :)

SO we packed up quickly and continued on our 3 1/2 hour journey to the next destination. We were headed north to Keystone College. Only... once we got about 20 min away to do our normal "where do you want us to load in" phone call... they told us the show had been cancelled a while ago. Ummm REALLY? So yeah... somehow in the lines of communication - between clients, agents, and managers.... somehow we were the last to know that we didn't have a show tonight! Ahhh well.... In 4 years that has NEVER happened. Plus, we found some double chocolate vodka that we have been looking for... for about a year now! So bonus!
So we drove another few hours down to where our next show is... we have 2 days off to rest our voices and get rid of colds (not me... Dormer...) the boys enabled me to get Cracker Barrel... and now they are playing xbox in the hotel!

It's been a looooooong few days. But you know what? Long days doing what you love is ALWAYS better than short days NOT doing what you love! So we're a happy group.

And let me say - I am IMPRESSED by the sheer number of you that been uploading photos and videos on facebook! Keep em coming!!! And now.... I'm gonna watch the boys play some soccer, put the "Do not disturb" sign out, sleep in, and watch football tomorrow. SERIOUSLY?!?!?! I'm a happy girl!

Peace. Love Fiddle.
~natalie

Chocolate Cake Solo at Cal U

You know what's fun? Playing shows.

You know what's not as fun? Realizing that the drive we have in the morning is 6 hours... not ONE hour like we all thought. That has drastically changed the day tomorrow. We knew we had two shows - we just thought the first one was around the corner. Thank goodness we figured it out tonight though, right!??! How awful would that have been? Ewww. I'm gonna sop thinking about that now.

We played at California University in California, PA. Yes. California, Pennsylvania. Isn't that awesome? The campus is BEAUTIFUL. Lots of new buildings and renovations happening there. The Facilities are gorgeous, including the auditorium we got to play in. And the STUDENTS WERE AMAZING. I barely touched a thing that went in. They helped us load all of our gear and suitcases, they had ridiculously yummy catering set up for us, and they were all just GOOD PEOPLE. Not to mention they had not one, but TWO of the most scrumptious chocolate cakes ever.

Mark DeRose played tonight, too. Mark is one of my favorite people - just all around great person and extremely talented guy. That chocolate cake was so good that his guitar player brought a piece on stage and was feeding it to Mark throughout the show. He even a "chocolate cake solo". He put his guitar down and danced around the stage with his chocolate cake. That is what I will call "The Best Solo Ever".

...And my pics aren't uploading, and sorry but that whole "I've gotta get up in less than 3 hours" thing means I can't wait on them. Cute pics (and videos already!) from the show have been uploaded to facebook, though! For anyone that wants a peek!

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

PSU Twofer

Life is so much fun! And I just love people. I LOVE that each day I meet so many different people from all over the world.

Today we played TWO shows at 2 different Penn State University Campuses.

The first was at PSU Greater Allegheny. It was noon in their student center... but it didn't feel like a nooner "cafeteria" show!!! It was so much fun. Sometimes those shows can be tough -since the atmosphere isn't exactly conducive to live music. But today - we might as well have been in a night club... only with more taco salads :)

The students were AWESOME and so into it. And made it MORE than worth that crazy 14 hour drive that happened yesterday on no sleep! :)
I signed casts, and chests, and posters galore!




And then tonight we were at PSU Dubois- that one was a big ole gymnasium.... high school dance style... only with less streamers and fluffy pink dresses. (Although we all need more fluffy pink dresses in our lives. OR dresses with feathers on the sleeve... right sis? ;) )



Today was a fun day. It was a long one... the twofers are tough, but we wouldn't have it any other way. And tonight we all get to rest up a bit. Miguel and James are currently playing his new xbox, I'm catching up on work... and then we sleep in!

I'm uploading a bunch of pics to facebook right now and came across a few from the fair that I had to share.

The Jasper boys were AWESOME. They were doing "the wave" our whole show, dancing, singing along, and had me sign all kinds of hats and tees and body parts after the show. :) <3


Jerry was always at our shows at Whiskey River and look how awesome he looked sportin his Peace. Love. Fiddle. Tee!!! We didn't even have the size he wanted, but I still think the large looks excellent! :)


My girls!!! The beautiful water ski girls that I had a BLAST with all weekend. They were so fun and we danced with the Tams one night together :)


Peace. Love. Fiddle. and WATER SKI!
~natalie

You Know You've Made It To The Big Time When...

You're on The Flush in the bathroom stall...

Bye Bye Georgia National Fair

We made it to Pennsylvania! We're right outside of Pittsburg. That was a looong day of driving and it is quite a bit colder up here than Southern Georgia. But I'm not quite ready to let the fair go, yet.... so here's a couple of pics that have shown up on facebook.

I love this one that shows our stage and all the rides and things behind us - it gives you a good idea of the atmosphere. It's SOOO much bigger than the State Fair in Tennessee!


And then a little closer up of the boys and me :)


It's way past time for showering and bed. Tomorrow's a twofer!

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

I Was In The Water Ski Show Tonight and I Have Video Proof!

What a finale to the fair!!! The water skiers had invited me to come ride in the boat during their show - I was pretty excited about it, but when it came time - they changed their mind. They said, "You should just be IN the show" Ummm... I've only water skied once so I was pretty sure that was a terrible idea.

But they had it all planned out. I had NO IDEA what I was getting into! But it was one of the coolest experiences of my life. We went through it once on land - I was gonna hop on Jeremy's shoulders, do a backbend, all while he water ski's around the lake! No big deal ;)

James, Panther, and Joel AND Mamma and Daddy were all on the sidelines to cheer me along.

There's even video proof!!! Check it out!


OR click here to go straight to the youtube page!
Natalie In the Water Ski Show

Thank you so much to Jeremy Armstrong and ALLLLLLL the water skiers for lending me a wet suit (that was a first!), and being so trusting of me! It was amazing to be a part of your show. You are all such good people, and I can't wait to hang out again!

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Happy Birthday Panther and James!

The Birthday Extravaganza has been nothing but amazing!!! I found a Dunkin Donuts for breakfast and surprised the boys with it. (And I am NOT usually the one that gets up before everyone else :) )... We had 2 more AMAZING shows at the fair...

I soundchecked the drums for the first time ever. :) I'm really glad there's proof! Thanks Miguel!


There was ANOTHER Natalie Stovall at the show - she had her id out and ready to show me. AMAZING!




Mamma and Daddy came to the show. Barney Fife DANCED at my shows. And then the water skiers and I danced with the Tams. THEN the festivities began! After a great meal and some presents at Longhorn - we all headed over to the Green Derby. It's the bar at the Holiday Inn across the way where everyone goes to hang out.


The Tams were there...







The Water Skiers were there...









Jay Taylor and his band were there...



I couldn't seem to catch James in any photos. He was too wiley tonight! I only got one.... but it looks like he's kissing my eye... so I thought I'd spare you. :) But there's one thing for sure - his presence was demanded everywhere. He and Panther were definitely the men of the day - everyone wanted to be close to them. That's why it was so hard to get pics with them. I couldn't wade through the people to get to them!!

And so many more! Happy birthday to Panther and James! It was the best!!!! FOR ALLLLLL OF US!!!! :)

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie