Introducing the New Band Members!!

Sooo....

I have alluded to the fact that new guys were coming on board over the last little bit, but I haven't said much because there were no "final decisions" made.

Today, that has all changed!!!

We have known for a while now that David Newbould would be joining Team Stovall. David will be coming on board as an opening act/ rhythm guitar/ vocalist in the group! We are THRILLED to have such a talented guy along for the ride. :) He's a fantastic artist - singer/songwriter/guitar player/overall awesomeness and in fact... you should head on over to his website when you have the time and take a look at HIS stuff!!!

http://www.davidnewbould.com/

He originally hails from Canada (thus furthering the borders of this international Stovall band) but he recently made the move to Nashville from Austin, Texas. We even figured out that Dave Madden - my first keyboard player... plays keys for David in Austin!!! Oh what a small world it is!


And the the part we haven't known until today - our new bass player!!!
Introducing Zach Morse (no kids... not Zach Morris... though I'm a little TOO excited about introducing him to Mr. Belding) from Cheyenne, WY (a new state to grace the Stovall Team). Zach has a very rich, deep voice which I can't wait to hear more of. He's a killer bass player. And he's got crazy curly hair to DIE for! :)

You can get a sneak peek at his myspace site:
http://www.myspace.com/zachmorsebassist

We had spoken to Zach, gotten GREAT recommendations from friends about him, and stalked him a little on youtube. Shhhh. We had a great feeling about him, but you can't exactly offer someone a job without meeting them and playing with them first. Well... you can. But, you know. So we got together with everyone today, played through some songs, dug the vibe, offered him the job, and thus now we have a full band again!

Whew. I can't even begin to describe what an incredible feeling that is. New Van, new band, new sound system, new songs, new sets, new fiddles... Whoa. I didn't even realize all the newness until I just typed it out!

Miguel, James, and I couldn't be happier with how 2010 is starting!!! Let's keep it a'rollin!

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Momma's Country Burned Down

It is so good to be home. We had a BEAUTIFUL drive back to Nashville today. James and I took our time :) The guys went back with Jenn last night, so it was just James and me today. I am almost in disbelief at this weather. I keep going outside with too many layers on. It's very strange to spend so much time in the Northeast and then BAM! Come back to Nashville and it is full blown spring here!!!! The Dogwood Trees are GORGEOUS. Right now they are making me reconsider the Ginkgo as my favorite tree :) (Not really, but pretty close!)

I found out last night from a friend that "Momma's Country" formerly known as "Big Jim Country" burned to the ground a couple of months ago. That is so crazy. Big Jim Country was my very first gig!

I had been singing backgrounds and playing fiddle for lots of other people's bands at Berklee, and James said "Why don't you have your own band?" And so it began :) I called my parents and said, "Hey. Ummm.... What do you think about having my band live with us this summer so we can tour around Nashville?" And WITHOUT hesitation, they said "Sure!" The first summer it was 4 guys and the second summer it was 5. We all have such good memories from those summers. And Big Jim's was a BIG part of that.

Big Jim owned the bar, but his ex-wife, Momma, ended up taking over the bar a few years ago. "Momma" had been a bar-tender there since the place began. She used to cook us dinner when we'd play there. She was so good to us. And they were not only our very first gig, but a source of a LOT of gigs (and stories) those 2 summers. If you ever want to hear "Big Jim's" stories - we've ALLLL got a BUNCH. That place toughened me up a bit... and taught me that I should NOT be the person that deals with money when talking to club owners. (That was back BEFORE Momma owned it).

So in memory of Big Jim Country in Lewisburg, TN... here's a picture of my VERY FIRST gig.... with my very first band at Big Jim's.

Me, James Bavendam, Dave Madden, Nate Telow, Adam Countryman

And the lesson here, folks:
Do NOT use a blow torch to thaw out frozen pipes. NOT a good idea.

NACA CENTRAL!!!!

My very first booking conference was at NACA Central 2 years ago and WOW!!!!! How far we have come!!!! This year the conference is in Tulsa, OK. NACA Central is made up of schools from Colorado and New Mexico east of the 107th longitude (which roughly parallels the Rocky Mountains), Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana.

We got to see a lot of old friends and made a ton of new friends. And we've already booked over 20 dates for next year from this conference!!! So we'll see ya'll over the Central US!!!

Here's the highlights!

ME AND BELDING!!!!!!!!!!! I used to watch "Saved By The Bell" EVERY DAY after school while eating goldfish crackers and a caffeine free coke :) Mr. Belding is AWESOME. We're rockin out :)



Ari (my agent) and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary at this conference. We first met at NACA Central 2 years ago when I had no agent and didn't really know much about NACA. He saw my showcase that year in Little Rock and signed me! Happy Anniversary to us! Awwwwwwww..
This is Ari and me in a Dave Sandwich :)
Dave Madden is on the left and he was the keyboard player in my very first band in college!!! We were called Green Line South and we lived at my parents house 2 summers in a row playing music around Nashville. Dave is an incredible singer/songwriter/musician and he lives in Austin, TX.
Check him out!! www.davemaddenmusic.com
And Dave Tamkin is on the far right. He is another amazing signer/songwriter. He's lived in Chicago his whole life and is currently moving to Denver. He has a really fun, funky, acoustic sound. Check him out, too!
www.myspace.com/davetamkin



Before we got to NACA we had a message from the Orion Experience from New York. They were flying in and needed to share gear with another band, and we just happened to have the right amount of amps and such. :) I can't believe I had never heard of these guys! THEY ARE SO MUCH FUN!!!!! First off, they made our gear sound amazing :) It was fun to hear my fiddle amp handle a rockin guitar. These guys have a new song that was just featured in "The Hills" And L.C. AND Audrina both give props to this band as one of their favorites. And Perez Hilton loves them too!!! If you want to read what PEREZ has to say:
Click here
Their website is:
www.theorionexperience.com
They are a MUST KNOW band. Learn about them now so you can be one of those people saying:
"I knew them before they were HUGE."
I am obsessed with "Obsessed With You"

Here's me and Orion:


And both our bands!


Right after we took these pics, I ran into Nikhil Korula who we played a show with at Quinnapiac University in Hamden, CT. Nikhil has such a cool sound and his band has opened for Dave Matthews on the road. So if you like DMB, you will LOVE this guy!
www.nkband.com



We ran into tons of students that we met at previous conferences and Colleges we have played and then this sweet girl came up to me and said, "Hey! I saw you in San Diego on July 4th!!!!" Isn't that awesome? San Diego to Tulsa :)




So yeah, NACA #1 this year was awesome. We have another one in Lancaster, PA this next week. Stay tuned for the next Tour Diary which James is editing right now. I keep cracking up at all the footage!

Peace, Love, Fiddle