Penn State Berks

Tonight was a bit different than most of our shows, and it was a really nice change of pace. The beautiful thing about colleges is that you NEVER know what kind of show it'll be. It really keeps you on your toes! And tonight was the rare "coffee house" setting.

We played at Penn State Berks and we were a part of their "Jitter Coffee House" series. They don't normally have bands - it's usually just a single singer/songwriter act. Oh... but tonight? They had a BAND! :) We didn't play quite as ALL OUT as we normally would. James didn't set up his full drum kit... but it was fun to do a bit of a stripped down set.

We debuted 3 new songs at this show. It was the PERFECT place to do some new ones because this show had such a "storytellers" vibe. I could hear the comments the audience was making between songs, and they could hear me even off the mic. They were sitting on couches and around tables with candles... I'm not always able to talk with the audience like that. But I LOVE it when I can. One kid walked onstage after one of Miguel's solos just to shake his hand. It was awesome :)

This is CAB - the group that put the show on and brought us to Penn State!


This girl was so sweet! She had rehearsal and ran over to the show afterwards... but she missed the whole thing. So she had to settle for buying a cd :)


These guys were REALLY excited about Miguel's playing. They loved the Zepplin. :)


Some of Hootie's friends came to see him, and then took him home after the show. We have a few days off, so he is flying to Nashville to see his woman. :) VERY sweet birthday surprise for her.

Miguel, James, and I headed to the Route 61 Diner after the show. It was the only place open, but I'm kinda glad - cause I'm not sure we wouldn't have ended up there if something closer had been open late. :) This dude sitting at the counter was AWESOME. He and this other guy were talking and the whole conversation was "If I ran this county...." But look at what he is wearing!!! It's a traditional Bobby hat.... I didn't know what that was. It just looked like a cop hat from the 1930's to me :) But it's like the hats the cops wear in England. But he wasn't British... So who knows why. Maybe he just likes it. :)


Miguel's girls came up here tonight, too!!! It is so fun! They are here to hang out with us on our few days off. Jenn and Ella were here at the hotel by the time we got back from the Diner. Poor Ella was sooooo tired. But she was being really sweet and was so happy to see her Daddy. We're all headed up to New York to hang out at my mother-in-law's tomorrow. EXCITING! :) I love New York.

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Writing with Pat McLaughlin

I wrote with Pat McLaughlin today!!!!! I feel SOOOO freakin cool. I LOVE his music and his feel and his groove and his guitar playing... and... and.... SO I was PUMPED when this appointment hit the books. I have seen it on there for weeks now, and I was anxiously anticipating this day. I had some ideas going in, but nothing too specific.

We started with one idea... which led to another... which took us somewhere completely different, and then by the time we got to the one we actually wrote we had probably started 10 different songs.I LOVE writing like that. That's how you find the magic :) We continued bouncing ideas off one another until we eventually ended up on this whole "Step By Step" thang. I LOVE it!!! We recorded a quick video of it to share with everyone. Don't mind my "waking up" the computer in the middle of the song so the screen wouldn't go dark :) And the image is reversed, so it looks like I am a left-handed fiddle player!!! It freaks me out a little....

ENJOY!



Not bad for the first time writing together, eh? :)
When we finished recording he said, "I wasn't ready for that 'amazing' adjective in the beginning there...." :)-

Step By Step we'll all get a little Peace. Love. and Fiddle.
~nat