Got Wood?

We've been in the car ALLLL day.

One thing is confusing me, though.

Pennsylvania ---> Michigan 11hrs 19min < Michigan ---> Tennessee 10hrs 39min

Doesn't it seem like PA to MI should be SHORTER than MI to TN?


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But what do I know? :)

Even though we're still in the U.S. we are north of Toronto right now. Whoa. Crazy right there.

We are currently staying in what I would guess to be the "Most Lumberjack Themed Hotel" in America. There's a HUGE Lumberjack statue out front, the restaurant in the hotel is named "Lumber Jack's", and EVERYTHING is made out of wood.

That's some serious room numbers right 'ere.


And you know how most hotels have a nice picturesque scene or flower on the wall to add some ambience?

Check out this ambience:

You might have to double click on that pic to blow it up.. you know.. to FULLY brighten your day ;)

And Mamma, you'd love it. There's a moose on EVERY lamp. Mamma loves her some MOOSE!


And for those who want to see some awesome pics from our show at Penn Tech.... Check out this blog that popped up online today! Thank you Danielle!!! You are THE PHOTOGRAPHER. And don't you forget it! :)

Barden Photography Blog

Peace, Love, Fiddle, and MOOSE EVERYWHERE!
~natalie

The Riot + Valencia at Penn Tech!

Yesterday we were sandwiched between 2 indie rock bands. :) Not the typical show for this country girl! We were playing an event called WEBSTOCK for Penn College Tech. The Riot was the first band and they were a little more on the punk side. Their drummer actually goes to school at Penn Tech, which was awesome. They are the only band I have ever known to "open for themselves" :) They were the first band, and there ended up being time left over, so the school asked them to play again. Those poor guys, they were already completely packed up, but they didn't even hesitate for a second. They immediately just started unpacking and got right back up on stage. It was awesome. They were really good.

We played our show next and it was really fun. The event was originally supposed to be outside, but it rained and rained and RAINED that morning. We actually drove in from Waynesburg, PA, and I had both hands on the steering wheel, sitting straight up almost the entire 4 1/2 hours. It was just a downpour the whole way. But the gym ended up being a cool location for the event. They had a HUGE inflatable obstacle course next to the stage, lots of other games and booths, yummy popcorn (which I got in on) cotton candy... you name it. It felt like playing a mini state fair. :)

Danielle Barden, an incredible photographer, happened to be at our show in Mansfield a few weeks ago. And since this show was only 45 min away, she and her husband came to this one too! I have used a pic she took on myspace, facebook, and twitter since it showed up! She brought her camera again and took tons of great pics! I LOVE facebook because they were already uploaded by the time I got back after the show! View Danielle's website here.

Danielle and me!


Some cool shots:

And her husband, Jared, also posted some goodies online!!! He wrote a blog and posted some videos from the medley!!! :)
View his blog here: Jared's Blog

Jared made me feel like the coolest person on the planet yesterday. His favorite show is the "Office" which is one of my very favorite's, too. So he brought a script of "The Office" (It's the one with the "Dinner Party") and had us all sign it! How cool?!


YAY!!!


It was great to see Danielle and Jared. I feel like we have all become good friends through our correspondence the last few weeks :)

I had a lot of fun at the merch table, too. It's fun to have other bands and their tables right next door! It made for a LOT of activity the whole day!

Mark was a HUGE help and ran my merch table the times I couldn't be there!!!


I hadn't been "dipped" in a while :) He took me by surprise!


While I was talking to everyone and hanging out at my merch table, VALENCIA started their set. They were incredible. They have been on the Warp Tour and had a LOT of fans at this school. They put on a really great show.

James and I were drooling over their road cases. We have been talking out details of all the things we are changing gear-wise, and they had soooo much of what we are planning on doing. Having all your gear in road cases just makes everything so organized. It all fits together nicely and packs in a trailer well, and just makes everything look and feel more professional. (Even when it is all the same gear) I was pretty amused at myself, though. I never knew that I would get turned on by looking at gear. I feel like such a boy.

In the middle of Valencia's set, their lead singer decided to do a cool Springsteen cover with his acoustic guitar. He started talking about how cool it would be to have a fiddle on it. At first I thought he was joking, but he kept looking at me. So I dropped what I was doing, ran backstage, found my fiddle and jumped up with him about halfway through the song. It was so cool!!! We had a blast doing it. I'm still not sure what the song was! But I just followed along and played with him.


Both of the bands were so down to earth and fun to hang out with. I felt like such an indie rock girl. I bought a Valencia Hoodie (which is sooo snuggly, I LOVE it) and had a pin from The Riot on it already.


Me + Valencia :)


So yeah. Good day yesterday!!! Miguel found a mall not too far away - we had to go because the poor guy left his belt AND his boots at home. He said his pants kept falling down onstage.... and he looked so funny to me in tennis shoes. I don't know why... I just wasn't used to it. But once he got his stuff, we headed to Hoss's and ate dinner. We were all exhausted. But it's the good kind - the kind of exhaustion you feel after working really hard at something you love. I'm feeling that again right this very minute. Tomorrow, I'll you about today! And maybe even get caught up finally!!!

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Fun Stuff to Wake Up To

I love this world of internetin' and blogging. Not only do I get to post my own thoughts and pictures about each show and adventure on the road, but I get to wake up every morning and see what others have posted. I wake up to new pictures, videos, comments, and messages every day. It is one of the most rewarding feelings! There have been all kinds of fun things posted lately, so I have to share with you some of my favorites...

An incredibly talented photographer named Danielle Barden and her husband Jared came to the Josh Gracin show in Mansfield. I am so thankful they did!!! She posted some incredible pics of the show the next day, and I have been using this one as my main photo on facebook and myspace the past week. :)



She also wrote a blog about the show which includes a lot more pictures here:

Danielle's Blog

If you are in the Mansfield PA area and need beautiful photos taken - you should call Danielle! Her portfolio is really impressive. Thank you for letting me use your awesome photos Danielle!!!
Barden Photography Website


And THEN I saw ANOTHER blog posted by a Barden. :) Her husband posted one because he uploaded some videos from the show. :)
It is such a cool thing to see the show from the audience perspective!! Here's the cool vids he posted:

This is a clip of Miguel and me playing a bit of Freebird :)



Oh you "Devil" you.


And this one is another that showed up that I thought was pretty cool. :) I think someone from the school posted this video.


We made it to New York tonight. I am heading out to Long Branch tomorrow to do a bit of writing with Gordon Brown... no... not the Prime Minister... but this Gordon is JUST as cool! He's one of my favorites to write with! So help me channel good songwritin vibes for tomorrow! :)

Peace, Love, Fiddle,
~natalie