Y102, Slaymakers, and Cunningham's Journal

Ughhh. This internet is sooooo slow. I have been going back and forth between wifi, plugging in the ethernet cable, and using our mobile internet card. Ummm... been trying to get at least ONE to work. The Sprint card seems to be working the best now. It's just frustrating. Especially when the hour you are tryin to get things to work is 3am. It is now almost 4 and I am JUST now on the page to write this. Good LORD, Bet Western. COME ON! ;) Oh the things we get frustrated about these days... boo hoo... my internet is slow....


We are in Keanery Nebraska (sung to the tune of "Even Alaskaaaaaa") I really wanted to change the last line of "Even Alaska" to "Even Nebraska" tonight. But I didn't think anyone would get it. I totally would have if Jenn had been here. (Miguel's wife). SHE would have gotten it! Right?!

Speaking of...
Have I mentioned all the connections we have to Kearney? I think I have... but here's a recap. Jenn went to school here in Kearney. And now her sister goes to school here. Her entire family lives in Nebraska... only a few hours from here. She's from Atkinson. And Ella (Miguel and Jenn's precious little girl) was born in Atkinson.... I found out today that Ella was born in the same room that Jenn was born in. Whoa.

And completely coincidentally, Bridget, Joe's girlfriend, also went to school here in Kearney. And she is from Broken Bow. But her family is still here in Nebraska. Nope. Jenn and Bridget didn't know each other while they were here. They met in Nashville. Crazy right? Both our guys are with women from Nebraska.
So it was very fitting we played here tonight. But it was strange that Jenn and Bridget's friends and family were all here but THEY weren't...

Billy Wolf had us on the 5 O'clock Stampede on Y102. What a GREAT station!!! Billy was so fun. We talked for a bit... Miguel and I played "Standing My Ground" live in the studio... they played "Best Years" on air... we talked some more.... and then we played "Angel". "Angel" is Billy's favorite song on the myspace page, and it was really cool to hear that. He didn't even know the story behind it and it was still his favorite one!!!

They had been advertising our show all week - we were the "after party" for the Oak Ridge Boys show in town. :) They were playing at the event center and the radio station kept telling everyone to go to Cunningham's afterwards to hear us a keep the party going. That was pretty fun.

Thank you for everything Billy!


Miguel and I playing a little diddy.



The show was SO MUCH FUN. We played 2, 75 minute sets. The first set everyone was so laid back! It was crackin me up. They all seemed to be enjoying it... but they were all just sittin and starin at the stage. One couple got up and danced on "Days Go By" but that was it! We even gave em "Love Shack" and they wouldn't get out of their seats. :)

But Lordy... after we took a break and talked to everyone.... and maybe just maybe a few drinks later for everyone.... THEY WERE UP AND DANCING the second set. It was AWESOME. Plus, Jenn's family - including her brother Jesse who was turning 30 - tripled the amount of audience noise once they got there. It made me so happy.

Jesse (Happy 30th!!!) is the easiest to spot in this picture! And Ki, Jenn's mom.... ummm she had NO TIME for the picture... she must have still been doing her "Funky Music" dance....

I really wanted Miguel in that picture but we couldn't find him.... He was probably in the back of the bar with people bowing at his feet saying "we're not worthy" because of his face-melting solos.

I didn't hear about this until later. I had gotten Jesse up while we sang "Happy Birthday" to him and we gave him a drum stick to play with James'. Apparently he had a little trouble with the stick. He tried to play a cymbal, but he threw the stick instead. Awesome.

Ok. I finally got Ki to take a time out from her dancing.


I got to meet Bridget's brother, Geoff! I already knew Colin her cousin, (we go WAY back.... back to Sam Hill's!) but I had never met his twin brother Riley!!! YAY! :)
All of Bridget's men.


Kirk! This guy was so great. He was in town for the night from Vegas. He was in Kearney looking at some major properties and just ended up at Cunningham's. He kept yelling at the owner "Whatever you're paying her.... it's not enough" I thought he knew the owners and was just giving them a hard time.... He didn't. They didn't know each other. Nor did he have a clue what they were paying us :) I just thought that was funny.



This bar was really great to us. And they kept talking about their outdoor stage in the summertime. It sounds incredible... They have a big Bier Garden outside. And I was really excited when we first walked in because I saw that our good friend Scott Holt is playing here in just a few weeks!!! Another Columbia, Tn native! It was fun to see both of our names on the schedule. :)

I played until about 5 minutes after 1am. I wanted to go a bit over our contracted time to play (we were just told set lengths - no specific stop times). But in Nebraska.... bars close at 1:00am!!! I had NO IDEA!!! I felt terrible. The bartenders and bouncers had their work cut out for them when we stopped playing. The bar was really full and they had to get EVERYONE out. Whew. Stressful. I'll definitely know for next time!!! I wouldn't have played that long at all if I had known. I don't think we have ever played a bar gig in a state where they close at 1:00am. It is usually 2. Oh well. You live, you learn. (Haha... they were playing "You Live You Learn" by Alanis Morissette when we got there today) And both of the bar owners didn't seem to be a bit annoyed by that, which was awesome. But it is hard for me not to stress about stuff like that. Cause I know what a nuisance it is for the staff.

I hope we get to go back there. It was such a fun night!

But it is 5:00am now. You think it's time for bed? Yeah. Me too.

Peace, Love, Fiddle, and Cunningham's Journal,
~natalie

Kylee's never had Chinese... WHAT?!

What a difference a day makes! I felt so great today when I woke up. Poor Miguel and Hootie are still battling their colds, but they seem to be fending them off pretty well.

First today, we saw hundreds of turkeys.... just in the fields... hanging out... you know.

THEN. Once we got into Nebraska.... "the good life" (that's what their state sign says!) we saw thousands upon thousands of birds... which we think were geese and/or mallards. Flying.... in the fields... in the ponds.... It was crazy!

We made it to Kearney in time to see LOST!!! We LOVE that show. :) Our traveling on Wednesdays lately has revolved way too much around what time Lost comes on.

This band is quite connected to Kearney. :) Miguel's wife, Jenn went to college here and Hootie's girlfriend, Bridget went to school at UNK, too. When we got booked to play here... they knew exactly where we were gonna be!! And tonight for dinner, Jenn suggested we go to the Chinese buffet in town... ummmm... which we ABSOLUTELY did when we got here. Jenn's sister, Kylee goes to school at UNK right now. She met us at our hotel and then went to eat with us. SHE HAS NEVER EATEN CHINESE BEFORE!!! I couldn't believe that!! That buffet was a good introduction :)

And now, I am in my comfy pants, my belly is full, and my internet is barely working... so I am gonna go to bed EARLY. I plan on being asleep before 2am!!! This is my goal. WOOO HOOO!!!!

Peace, Love, Fiddle,
~natalie

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Yes, I am very aware that Valentine's Day was over a week ago... but today was the day James and I celebrated.... we drove 14 hours on actual Valentine's Day.... we probably ate at Subway... Wait. Subway has GREAT cookies. ok. Nevermind. I have NO grounds to be knocking Subway as an appropriate "Valentine's Day" destination. Maybe not someone's typical "first choice" when making reservations... but hey! Heat those cookies up in the microwave and it's a special occasion to me!

So I woke up to a slew of phone calls and messages... pretty normal when I sleep in :) But I got everything all squared away and even had time to get my hair appointments in!!! Y'all. I feel 10 pounds lighter!!! It has been so long since I got my hair cut. And though I have made it work... it will be SOOOO much easier to fix now. At least the PA State Troopers won't make me weigh in at the weight stations anymore ;)

So I was letting my highlights dry, and I had to do a bit of multi-tasking. I had an interview with Kearney, Nebraska's Daily newspaper (for our show there March 5 at Cunnighams). I had it all planned - I knew I would just be sitting there in the dryer when I needed to be doing the interview - and it actually couldn't have worked out more perfectly. It was so funny though. I was sitting in the hair salon, looking *oh so lovely* with tons of foil in my hair, doing an interview for an upcoming show. I felt so Hollywood! :) Hmmm... not sure how I feel about "feeling Hollywood"... but it's always fun to feel like one of the cool kids every once in a while. :)

I have to say, I have had so much fun with interviews lately. The interviewers have all been asking questions I have never been asked before. They are really keeping me on my toes and making me think! Today, I was talking to Mr. Rick Brown - who just seemed like the coolest guy, and we had been talking about my writing process, the writing of my first record, how it has changed since then, where my songs come from... you get the gist. Then he asked "Do you consider yourself more of a writer or a performer?"

No one has ever asked me that before!

The only way I knew how to answer was to say, "Well, if you told me I could only do one or the other for the rest of my life... I would have to choose performing. I don't know what I would do without it. But I surely can't imagine life without writing."
That one really makes me think! I stick by my answer 100%, but wow. Can't imagine life without EITHER ONE.

I remember watching the John Mayer/Brad Paisley Crossroads and they were asked (or maybe asking each other... don't recall) "If you had to choose between singing or playing guitar for the rest of your life - which would you choose?" They BOTH said playing guitar! I surely wouldn't want to have to choose between singing and playing the fiddle. They have both been such a part of my life since... well... since I can remember. But I think my heart would be absolutely broken if I could never sing again.

So back to Valentine's Day:
After getting my hair "did" all pretty.... THANK YOU DEBBIE!!! James surprised me with dinner reservations at the MELTING POT!!!
He had surprised me all day with chocolates left outside my door. :) Did y'all know they make DARK CHOCOLATE M&M's!?!?!? WOW. And if you have never been to the Melting Pot... someday you have to go! It's not something we can do often. That is for sure. But it is such a fun experience! You need at least a couple of hours.... Fondue takes a while! Plus, you get SOOO much food. But y'all. Dessert. Heavenly. I was SOOO full by the time we made it to desert that I was having a hard time eating it all. Who am I kidding? I was having a hard time during the main entree.

This was my Everest: (Yes. I took pictures)


And we decided on the Dark Chocolate/White Chocolate Fondue. They totally make it into a Yin Yang!


I could barely walk to the car. It's so funny. I ALWAYS take home left overs. I can't eat a lot at once - I always eat lots of small meals. But you can't take fondue home! It's just not the same. I didn't even eat THAT much.... It's just that I get full so quickly. But it was worth the "waddling" to the car. We don't EVER splurge like that. So yeah. Good day. :) And Good night!

Peace, Love, Fiddle, and Fondue,

~natalie