Are You a Band?

The elevator at this hotel smells JUST like the hotel elevator at the Light House Inn in Gulf Shores - where we always stayed when I was a little girl. Isn't that amazing how our brains can remember a specific smell from 20 years ago?? Crazy!

We headed out to Palm Beach State (formerly Palm Beach Community College) this morning for our show. They weren't quite ready for us, so we headed out to grab some breakfast. The guys ran into Einstein Bagels but there was a Starbucks across the street... and they had breakfast sandwiches... so I couldn't pass it up.

The girls at Starbucks were so sweet! I was all done up for the show, and they were all asking me where I got my jewelry. And then as we were leaving, the barista ran outside and up to the car. We stopped and rolled down the window - she said "We have a bet going inside the store. Are you guys a band?"
:)
I guess when you see a girl in ripped up jeans, big hair, and sitting with 4 guys, driving a van with a trailer... your natural assumption would be = band. But the fact that she ran all the way outside... is... AWESOME. She's already found me on facebook. I'll have to go back there tomorrow to see her!

Our show went great. We love PBS in Boca. Mark is so sweet to us. We were just there last semester, and it is so great to already be back! They had a huge banner hanging in the student center when we arrived.


And after the show - a big ole jam session broke out! Mark, who hires us to play, is an excellent bass player. He and a couple students started playing, then David joined in, and well... they entertained us! I could get used to that! Entertain... then be entertained.


James' bass drum head split right down the middle... so we had to go find a music store to get a new drum head. After a few more errands... and a bit of rest... it was time for:

VIVA CHILE!!! Mmmmm Mmmm Mmm. Miguel discovered this restaurant last time we were here. It is sooooo yummy. We had a wonderful meal, and Miguel's cousins met us there! I had the Pastel de Choclo. Mmmm it's like putting chicken, meat, and onions, baked in sweet cornbread. And of course we had some empanadas!!!

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

The Stars of Bethlehem

I LOVE this picture!!! Look at Miguel's hair flying from the ROCK he brings. :)
This was in the article that came out in the Columbia paper today about the Blues benefit.



Ruthie and I wrote a great song today! That's always a good feeling :) It comes so easy writing with Ruth. If you haven't before, you should go check her out!
Ruth Collins
If you go to her page, listen to "Lottery"! That's one we wrote together :)

Tonight I went to see my brother, Joe, and his family in the Christmas Pageant going on at my church in Columbia. They all did such a good job!!! My brother was a Roman soldier... and he wasn't very happy about his man-dress. :) Cameron was an angel, McKinley was a shepherd, and Tracy was the Star of Bethlehem. Cameron was directing everyone fervently during "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" even though he was supposed to just stand with everyone else and sing it. It was pretty awesome.

This is my beautiful niece McKinley (the shortie) and her friend Katie who was also in the play!


Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Today. Shadow Puppets and Ugly Naked Guy

Today....

*I learned that the art of shadow puppetry is NOT lost.

It's alive and thriving in the Ohio Arts world.

*I saw a naked guy painting in a window while we were waiting to go on stage.

We were in the parking lot, and he was across the street on the third floor of an apartment building. Chris and Miguel saw him first, pointed him out to me, and then an entire parking lot of ballerinas saw him, too. His little kitty cat decided to rub all up against him... He was RIGHT THERE in the window. He had sheets of paper attached to the window that we assume he was painting on. Although, it would have been pretty awesome if he was just doing some spread sheets or taxes... you know, naked... IN THE WINDOW.

*I got my picture taken with this guy. Whatever he is.

Today we had a showcase for Performing Arts Centers in Ohio. I haven't been that flustered on stage in a long time. There were a number of reasons it was so difficult to get through. But I was told numerous times tonight "I couldn't hear what you were singing, but you sure have a lot of energy on stage! You were cute, and even though I couldn't hear you... I got the essence of what you are about." So I guess that is good????

Events with multiple acts are never easy. We do lots of them. But this one in particular is really frustrating. We PAY to get the privilege of playing at these things... we have to submit and hope to be selected. And especially after we've driven 27 hours to get here... it's more than a disappointment that no one could hear us because the sound was so bad. It was AWFUL on stage. But we always pull through no matter how bad or non-existent the sound is on stage. But when the audience can't hear you? Goodness. I mean, we are only allowed 10 minutes to play, so it's over before you start.

Ahh welll. You win some. You lose some. We've had a number of rough situations in a row, which just makes the driving and the "being away from home" and the no sleep and the "take-what-you-can-get food options" even harder.

And yet I still wouldn't trade it for the world.

Not for a minute.

Peace. Love. Fiddle.

~natalie

P.S. Watching James and Ari (my agent) try to reenact the art shadow puppets is about the funniest thing I have ever seen. It was definitely the best medicine one could have after an awful show. I really wish I had a video.

Viva Chile!!!

We are in Miguelon heaven right now. Miguel found a Chilean restaurant 
about 20 minutes from our show tonight and we made it just in time for 
dinner. EVERYTHING is amazing. We are having Pisco Sours, Empanadas, 
Chacareros, machas a la parmesana, pastel de choclo. (Can you tell that I had Miguel type that last little bit for me?) Everyone is 
sharing because it is all so good!!! And Miguel is watching the 
Chilean News, which his Mom's husband produces. :)

We had 2 shows today at BCC North in Coconut Creek, Florida. Doesn't that just sound like a lovely place? It is! 

I was in the middle of writing this blog when the fire alarm went off at the hotel. We only had to be outside for about 20 minutes, but they couldn't get it turned off for about an hour. Not fun. But on the bright side, turns out it was just someone being stupid who pulled the alarm. There wasn't actually a fire! Whew.

Peace. Love. Chilean Fiddles.

~natalie

Bloody Band House

Last night, I wrote my blog well after midnight, not knowing the evening had just begun :)

The guys went to hang out at Spinnaker after our show, and I didn't go because I was trying to save what little voice I have left. I have had a rough past few weeks vocally for a number of reasons... and I've just not ever had quite enough time to heal. After a weekend of solid singing, I'm mute. But that's all part of the job. I sure am thankful I don't have this problem as much as I used to!

I went and picked the guys up later in the evening, brought them back to the band house, and they were all fired up and having a good time. :) They were kicking the soccer ball around (thanks to Miguel) and all of a sudden Tim notices there is blood all up and down the hallway of the band house. "Oh good Lord" I think to myself.

Now this band house is well... eh em... not the cleanest of places. I can only imagine what goes on in there normally... ESPECIALLY when it is not MY band. But regardless of how clean or dirty it is, I am always going to treat it like my own house.

Tim shouts, "Who's bleeding?" Miguel emphatically says about 6 times "It's not me, It's not me" And then we all see the huge pool of blood soaking into the couch under his foot. Miguel, in very Chilean soccer-player mode, did not even realize he had stepped on a shard of glass in the band house (Yeah, I know... why was the shard there? Who knows) and cut his foot pretty deeply.

I grab my keys and head straight to Walmart to get to hydrogen peroxide, and heavy duty cleaners, towels and scrub brushes. I must say that I was enormously impressed. By the time I got back, the guys... even though they may have been falling over a bit to do so... had almost all of it cleaned up! I'm not sure what they used??? But everything I got at the store took care of the rest.

You would have never known it... except for the fact that NOW there are about 16 beautifully sparkling clean spots throughout the house that show up worse than the blood did... ;)

After cleaning Miguel's foot with the hydrogen peroxide, I put liquid bandage on it. I felt SOOOO bad because that REALLY REALLY hurt him. He spent about 20 minutes solid screaming and punching his heel over and over again. He even asked me to punch it for him for a while... But I do think we made sure it wasn't going to get infected, which was my biggest concern.

Between Miguel limping everywhere, and me mouthing my orders in the restaurants to James for him to interpret to the cashier... I bet we were quite the sight, today.

The party don't stop when you're in my band!

Peace. Love. Fiddle. And Clean Spots.
~natalie

Schooners, PCB Baby!

Everyone has said over and over that Schooners is a more "Laid back crowd", a little older, and a little more local than Spinnaker.

Ummm.... "laid back"?? NOT so much!

Well, unless selling out of ALL of our cds (yes, all that we brought with us) during the FIRST set break, women rushing the stage to dance with Miguel, knocking his guitar over, ladies grabbing my face with BOTH hands to say "Your DRUMMER IS SO HOT", and people belting "Pour Some Sugar On Me" so loud that I couldn't hear myself in the monitors... you know... unless that is YOUR definition of "laid back" ; )~

We came back to the band house, and oh the stories. There are so many times these days that the statement is said, "I wish I could blog about THAT." But seriously.... it's just inappropriate!

But here's some of the more blog friendly pics from the night!






Can't wait to do it all over again tomorrow night!

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

We Made It!

Just in case you ever need to know:
There aren't a lot of tire stores open on Sundays in Conyers, GA - especially ones that carry trailer tires. Thank goodness for Walmart! They were the ONLY people who had anything close to what we needed.

Turns out that the spare tire the trailer store had given us was the wrong size! Way too big for the trailer... But we got one new tire to get us home and we'll get another tomorrow. Poor Tim had a session at 7pm tonight, and we pulled in RIGHT at 7. He was just a bit late, but I am hoping it wasn't too big of a deal for him.

We dropped the trailer at the gas station, Tim and I headed with the busted tire to Walmart, and James and Miguel stayed with the trailer. They got us all fixed up at Wally World, so all is good! Turns out our original tires were overinflated about 20psi... that'll make em wear strange, for sure!

Any time something changes personel-wise it's like the stars line up differently. :)

Hootie had the women's panties in his bed on the first road trip.

When Peter subbed, the first Suburban COMPLETELY died in Carlisle, PA.

And on Justin's first trip... Amy was also subbing for us (so it was DOUBLE the luck) and that was when we got hit by a semi.
Hmmm...

And Tim got the ever-so-uneventful flat tire.

I don't actually think it means anything. But maybe next time a new element is added, I'll ask for a few extra prayers. :)

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

UNBELIEVABLE Guardian Angels

It's nearly 6am, the sun is out, and everyone JUST went to bed.

Life back out on the road! :)

It's actually been a typical morning... everyone bustling around the kitchen... eating egg sandwiches... only none of us have slept yet :)

Spinnaker is SUCH a beautiful club. And tonight turned out to be a great night, but it started off pretty rough.

We had all been talking ALLL day about eating dinner there... I was pumped about the awesome tuna sandwich they have. And things were looking good. One of my good friends from Nashville, happened to be in town and she was meeting us at the club around 9:15. (Our show didn't start until 10:30)

We're about 2 blocks from the club, and we all hear this loud, harsh screeching noise. After comparing stories - James, Miguel, and I all looked forward because it sounded like it was ahead of us... then CRASH!!!!! Someone had just SLAMMED into the back of us.

It sounded horrible. Like COMPLETELY RUINED car kind of horrible.

All I could think was... "DANGIT! I'm gonna have to buy ANOTHER Suburban... at least this one lasted a whole year..."

The guys were all shocked and making fun of me the rest of the night... I had a "FUDGE" moment... like the slow-mo "fudge" in "A Christmas Story"... which I don't even want to admit. But it's a shock to hear me say that word.... because well.... I don't. But yeah... I let one (And the guys swear it was 2) rip.

The poor guy who ran into us? His car had a waterfall coming out the front. Debris was all over the road from his front bumper. And you could see the trailer hitch indentation in his radiator. It was pretty bad. But the Suburban? Not scratch. It's was ridiculous.That thing is a BEAST. I mean, if you look REALLY REALLY close, you can see some red and blue paint that scratched off from his car. The only thing that may be damaged are the trailer electronics and the hitch itself. We'll figure that out when we hook the trailer back up.

So we made it to the club after the kitchen had closed and right before the show started. I was a bit frantic trying to get everything set up before the show... writing out set lists and setting up the merchandise. As soon as I tried to talk into the microphone, we had the most ear-ringing, mind-numbing feedback that would NOT quit. It went on FOREVER, or so it seemed. It took the poor sound guys a while to get everything under control. I do NOT envy their job. But we had pretty major sound issues the whole first set.

The night turned out great. Jenn & Ella, (Miguel's girls), Bridget (Hootie's girl), and AJ (good friend of all of ours) came to the show tonight to surprise the guys. I've never seen a more confused look on Miguel's face than when he saw Jenn tonight in the crowd during his solo on "Sweet Child Of Mine" It was so great.

I never really felt like I got caught up from the frantic start to the evening. But I am VERY MUCH looking forward to tomorrow night's show.

I'll share my pics with ya tomorrow. Tonight... or well, this morning - I shall go to bed!

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Last Day In the Studio!

Today was our last day in the studio for this record!!! Holy cow, y'all. Seriously? What a whirlwind. Ben opened up his calendar and suddenly realized that we only started this undertaking a mere week and a half (well, not even...) ago. WHAT!?!? It seems as though that is UNPOSSIBLE! (sorry kids. unpossible is not a word... yet ironically that seems to emphasize it's meaning... in my head...)

Miguel came in to record his awesome Chilean Rockstar parts today. Ella and I got some good "hang time" in while her Daddy was recording. We played outside the WHOLE time... with sticks... lots and lots of games with sticks... and Cinnamon... and earth worms... and a GIANT STICK that took BOTH of us to carry!

Yeah. Recording is fun. :)

Today is not only the last day of recording, but it is also the eve of the SUMMER TOUR!!! Again, WHAT?!?! How is that possible? I'm not sure, but I am so excited. You know what's funny? Going back out on the road actually feels like somewhat of a break! I never knew THAT would be the case. Due to our intense marathon week of recording, we have yet to design the slick and shiny version of the Summer Tour schedule, but it will be done for all to see VERY soon. So until then, just check the regular calendars here and on all my various websites!

Very appropriately, our summer tour starts off with a full weekend down in Panama City Beach, FL. at Spinnaker Beach Club. So here's to going back out on the road! (I'm holding up that imaginary Pina Colada... in my head...) And here's to big hair from the humidity... ala Monica from Friends... or the Frizz-ease commercials. :)

What in the world will Ben do without us tomorrow nagging him in the studio??

Peace. Love. Fiddle. Beaches.
~natalie

Potato Skins Are Just The Carriers

"The way I see it.... potato skins are just the carriers for the cheese and bacon. The same way that the vocal is just the carrier for the fiddle."

Ben Strano (friend, engineer, co-producer aka The Sonic Fedora) upon discussing the vocals for "Devil Went Down To Georgia".

Turns out there's a BIG difference in singing this one on stage and in the studio. I think we were all a bit aware that this would be the case. I'm pretty animated when I sing this song live. It's hard not to be. It is such a fun and energetic song. But again. Recording is a microscope. And if I tried to sing this on the record as hard and excited as I sing it live? Well, it would sound almost cartoon-like... theatrical, if you will. And even though it is a song about a fiddle contest between the devil and a good-ole Georgia boy.... the song is cool as well... (sorry but I gotta...) hell. (You know, Devil... Hell... I'm a dork!)

I've always noticed that rappers do that... everything is way more hyped live because it is harder to get energy across when you are speaking. Never knew I'd be drawing inspiration from Jay-Z or 50 Cent in the studio. Just call me a Southern Ghetto-Fabulous Belle.

The other thing that is so different about the studio... NOTHING sounds like it will once it is mixed. When Ben is done EQ-ing and compressing my voice and mixing the track... it will sound sound a million times better than it does as we listen back right now. And the EQ-ing automatically makes it sound like it has more energy. We were talking about this... And the way I described it to him was... it's like the different between a matte black and a really sharp, rich, glossy black. (I was thinking in color because one of the photo set-ups yesterday was in front of a matte black wall) Ben's mix will take my voice, put it right in your face and it will go from the flat, matte black to a beautiful rich glossy black.

If I've lost you in all this talk between mixes and potatoe skins and matte or glossy finish, I apologize. But you probably know me by now if you are reading this, and you know it is 4am :)

Miguel and Ella get home from Chile tomorrow morning!!! They are probably in our hemisphere by now :)

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
Southern Ghetto Fabulous Nat

There's Bear Poop in Our Hotel Lobby

Quote of the day:

Miguel: "I LOVE bear poop... YEAH!!"



Speaking of Miguel... you know.... just talking to his mom...


We ate at Lumber Jack's tonight. It was EVERYTHING I could have ever hoped for. Plaid carpets, all things made of wood, hearty meals on the menu, deer, moose, and bears on the walls...


I love it here. :) Hootie really wants to run through the forests. Since it is a major lumber area, the forests are very neatly grown where they have replanted all the trees. :)

Tonight we played at the Kirtland Center for the Performing Arts in Roscommon Michigan. Highlights included a 75 birthday, a 70 birthday, selling OUT of cds, a really cool theater, and LOTS and LOTS of Mothers!!!

The audience was incredible. I was so comfortable and felt like I was having a conversation with 3 people instead of 300. We did 2, 45 minute sets, and since we had a bit more time, we got to play a LOT of songs that we normally don't have time for. I hadn't played Orange Blossom Special or Silly Kid in forever!

Grandpa's 75 Birthday!!


This lady told me that this had been the best Mother's Day she'd ever had. That was incredible.


These ladies brought their Mom for Mother's Day, too!


She plays violin, saxophone, AND dances!


Robert!! This was his first concert! And he was an awesome kid.


We made it back to the room in time to see "Talkin It Up on the Barry Gibb Talk Show" on SNL with Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon. I was just laughing SOOO hard that I think I woke up the rooms next to us.

Happy Saturday Night! And, actually... it's official... Happy Mother's Day!!!

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

APCA... 2 Years Ago

Whoa.

I got a google alert for a new video posted and I figured it was from a recent performance at a show. :) Buuuuuuuut NOPE!!! It is from almost 2 years ago. This was from our first National APCA (Association for the Promotion of Campus Activities) Conference. My.... how far we've ALL come :) I forgot about this hairdo! I LOVE doing my hair like that but just haven't in a while. :) This was one of Hootie's first gigs with us.... his hair is so shaggy, I'm still playing my wood fiddle, Miguel has REALLY short hair, Charlie was still with us, James still wore his Red Sox hat onstage, and we just start "Devil" outright without any kind of intro!!

This is one of those conferences where we only have 15 minutes and I LOVE our song selection :)

We JUST did this conference again about a month ago (you're only allowed to do the national conferences every OTHER year). We had one of the best conferences we have EVER had at this last one. And it's pretty eye opening to see how we approached this show 2 years ago compared to a month ago. I have to say that I am so happy that my "best" song is no longer a ballad. :) I love "If I Run to You Now' but it sure helps to have more of an uptempo song when you only have 15 minutes for the whole set!

Enjoy this blast from the past! I sure did!


Peace, Love, Fiddle,
~natalie

Virginia Wesleyan College

We played Virginia Wesleyan tonight. This is the second school so far that we have returned to for a 2nd show! They had a huge Seafood dinner for everyone along with a DJ and well.... US! SO fun :)

It was a GORGEOUS day. Couldn't have really gotten any prettier. Not a cloud in the sky. 70 degrees. Yeah. Awesome day for an outdoor event!!! It was the PERFECT day to model my new clothes I got in Providence on our sleepy shopping spree :) I usually don't like to shop... I either don't find much I want or I refuse to pay the ridiculous price tags on the things that I do want... BUT NOT IN PROVIDENCE!!! We found a Delia's in the mall... which I had never seen an actual store of! I used to get the catalogues as a kid.... but never seen a store. So I sported my "ManEater" graphic tee along with my fun crazy jeans :) Sorry to be so girlie right now... but I was REALLY excited!

These were the girls that took care of us ALLLLLL day and night!!!


This was one of the Deans!!! I love that she came out. She's a big country fan. I actually met and talked with the President of the school for quite a while at soundcheck. It is always so cool to get to meet the President and Deans of a renown School like Virginia Wesleyan College!


This is WAC - they are the group of students that put on this event :)

I am proofreading and just made myself laugh out loud.... sounds like I am getting all ghetto on y'all. "This is WAC! Fo Shizzle"

And here we are in my favorite GIANT CHAIR!!!!!! I was SOOOO hoping these huge chairs would be back this year. I love them.


This is Scott. We have been talking back and forth for WEEKS now on facebook about this show. He was gonna rally the front row lawn chair peeps... he ended up being stuck in 4 hours of traffic and being late.... but he made it for most of the show!!! It was really cool to see him after talking and corresponding so much. Felt like we were old friends :) I love facebook.


These girls ran my merch table for me during the show. They were SO sweet. I had no idea they were gonna be there, so we didn't get to talk before the show. They had to find everything out themselves.. Me and my 3 crazy bags of merchandise.... But they figured it all out and were so helpful!


Hannah and Carter were Adorable. Hannah plays piano... but "when she's done with that, she's gonna start playing the violin" :) Pretty cool, huh? She's got a plan! Obviously - there were a few cameras going here. FOCUS NAT!


I love what I do. And I love when we are asked back to a campus to do "what we do" a second time around. We had a lot of fun today. I just love being outdoors. It's good for the soul.

Now we head to Texas. But instead of staying in random hotels the next 2 nights... drumroll PLEASE!!! We get to stay at HOME in Nashville!!! LOVE it when it works out that way :) Miguel and I were trying to figure out if he left his car at our apartment on this last trip... but neither of us could actually remember leaving Nashville. That's funny...

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

P.S. We ate at Red Robin for dinner. Just like we did last year... but there was no carnival in the parking lot next door like last. But it mattered not, for Red Robin IS off the Hizzle!!

SMRT

Sleep Deprivation + Using My Husband's Computer to work = bad idea.

I feel blonder than normal at the moment... Like not my natural color blonde... more like bleached white....

I was trying to be all productive just now... feeling really good about all the work I've gotten done today. (Man. It's amazing what you can get done when you wake up EARLY).

This evening I accidentally discovered facebook chat. It's just like ichat or aim but, it's within facebook so it shows you all of your friends that are logged in. That was fun to discover. :) I talked to friends I have made from schools all over the country. It was pretty cool. It inspired me to do a little extra promotion for my Virginia Wesleyan show on Friday.

Hmmm.... But my computer was dying... so I stole... I mean, borrowed James'. Amazingly, he wasn't on it. That poker on the iphone... had him cornered! So in my laziness, instead of getting up to dig out my charger and find an outlet... I just picked up my husband's.

This is where it all went downhill. I had started inviting people to the show about a week ago when we were in Boston. And when I picked up James' computer, he was already logged into facebook.... but I didn't really THINK about the fact that I was in HIS account. Not my own. Soooo I mosey on over to the event for the show and start inviting more "maybe attendings". (We played this show last year. It was so fun and I am REALLY excited to go back) I kept thinking people looked familiar, but I figured I recognized them from last year. I knew my account would tell me if I had already sent them a message.

Riiiight. I HAD sent them messages. But James hadn't!

So not only does "Natalie Stovall" look suspiciously like a dude who plays the drums.... I invited some of them TWICE. Once from MY profile... once from James'.

Good one Nat.

So anyone who is thoroughly confused when they go into their facebook profiles tonight... I apologize. I was only excited and trying to let you know about the show. And though my husband REALLY wants you to come to the show, too.... he would prefer that I stop impersonating him while using my name to invite people.


Other than that? GREAT Day. We got Hoot Back. Jenn and Ella made it back home to Nashville safely, and we are already in Maine. We aren't too far away from our destination, so we won't have to drive too far tomorrow.

But judging by the recent events... I should probably work on that whole "going to bed thing" before I post a blog in all Chilean slang or something.

Wait. But that would be pretty cool... I WANT that to happen. Miguel? Go in and translate all of this to make me look cool. Ok? Thanks. I mean Gracias.

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

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

Opening for Josh Gracin!!!

Our very first college show 2 years ago was in Elmira, New York, and it was an opening slot for Josh Gracin. After touring colleges and universities pretty solid ever since.... we were asked to open for him again. This time at Mansfield University in PA - only 45 miles south of Elmira. How crazy is that?!?

The show tonight? AMAZING. It flew by. The audience was packed. People were screaming uncontrollably. I felt like I was a headliner in my own little 30 minute opening slot. (which is SUCH a quick set for us!)
You want to know the craziest part? Not only did I FEEL like it was an incredible show... but I spent more time at the merch table than I ever have before. It was a solid line the whole time. How long? 2 hrs and 39 mins. WHAT!?!?!?! I could not believe how amazing these people were. I went to the table to start signing autographs and take pics after my set. I missed Josh's ENTIRE set... plus stayed until they were hauling sound equipment off the stage. But I promised to get to EVERYONE. And I did!!! It was SO FREAKIN AWESOME. I was overwhelmed by the enormity of the response to our set. People were so kind, when I was just happy for the opportunity.

And OH the food. The food was astounding. NOT ONLY did we have plums from Chile in our dressing room (which made one Chilean guitar player in my band very happy) but the salmon and the couscous. Perfection!!

We had LOTS of protection tonight :) (And good-looking protection I might add!)




I had an interview for tv and 2 newpapers before the show. :) Here's all the interviewers:




These girls asked me to sign their biology notes.


I must have looked at them a little funny because THEN they explained. They told me that they came to the show instead of studying for their exam.... I hope they do well on their exam because if they don't I would feel HORRIBLE. (I couldn't even pronounce the study points next to where I signed)


I signed a bunch of normal stuff tonight - you know - hats, t-shirts, ticket stubs. But this was the first time I ever signed cowgirl boots!!! And BOTH girls had me sign their boots. Adorable.


These ladies were at the Elmira show, too!!! We were all really excited about that.


SO I could go on and on and on with stories of everyone I met at the merch table. But I need to sleep in a bad way, so I am gonna move on to the after party. Everyone was going to a bar down the road called Changos. I was exhausted but I really wanted to hang out. Plus, I felt horrible - I never got to even see Josh or thank him for having us as an opener. Well... Josh and his guys were all going, too. And Josh had told Miguel the same thing - he felt bad that we didn't get to talk.

So we headed to Changos


When we walked in, 2 guys were singing and playing acoustic guitars ("Don't Stop Believing" I might add). As we walked into the bar - they announced "Natalie Stovall has entered the bar" and Oh MY, Y'all. The whole place started cheering! Talk about making a girl feel good!!! And then the first girl I saw was ALREADY wearing the Peace, Love, Fiddle tee she had JUST bought!!!


A few minutes later Josh walked in. And we FINALLY got to talk!!!! I think he's my new BFF. :) (Don't worry Farm Boy... no one will ever be my FFBF but you.... there's a BIG difference) He is really a great guy. He puts on a heck of a show and he was so great to talk to. We bonded over the industry and the business and just making things work. He was incredibly sweet about my band. So yeah. I love Josh Gracin. We all do. Actually, Miguel and James are downstairs in the lobby with Josh and his band right now... they weren't ready for the party to stop!!!


We had a rough time leaving. But I knew I needed to go.... we have another 7 hour drive to Boston tomorrow and it's another big day. I'm singing the anthem for the Celtics. And even though it is only one song - it is one HARD song to sing. My voice is pretty swollen just from all the non-stop talking, interviewing, and show-puttin tonight. (I WOULDN"T HAVE IT ANY OTHER WAY!) But I knew I needed to go. It's almost 4am right now... normal... but sucks when you have to get up at 7.... AGAIN.

We all tried to leave about 17 times. This was what happened when I was trying to leave.


Since that didn't work so well... James had to take matters into his own hands.



Good times. Although.... I am still not sure how Josh beat us back to the hotel. He was still inside when we left??? But he was inside the hotel when we got here. Hmmmm... He's magic.

This was even more than I hoped it would be. I had an overwhelming amount of friend requests on facebook when I opened up my laptop. What a great feeling. We're moving on up, ya'll. And it is all thanks to YOU. So THANK YOU for letting me get to do what I do. I will forever be grateful. And I will always stay until the last autograph is signed.

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Whoa. I'm on a Milk Carton :)

As I sit here working on a song and realizing I only have 2 more days until we go out for our final leg of the tour (our longest venture yet - 6 weeks without coming home) I can't BELIEVE how long it has been since I have played at home. It is so weird when I think about how just 2 years ago I only played shows in Nashville and Columbia... and I didn't even own a Suburban....

Now I have gone through 3 Suburbans and living on the road is a way of life.

All of this was rubbed in this morning when I awoke to an email that had me laughing out loud.



OK! OK!!! :) I GET IT!!! I PROMISE we will play a show here at home very soon. And I promise to make it worth the wait. There are SO many good things in the works right now and I have a lot to process before the next big Nashville show. :)~

I do however, think that was the cleverest and sweetest way for a fan to get his point across :)

Just give us this 6 weeks out on the road... (which is 27 shows... I just counted... there's a few 2-a-days in there) And I promise to have lots of fun surprises when we're back. We'll do it up all country-rockin style and have a big party when we get to come home! There will be LOTS of reasons to celebrate.

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Whoops.

We were all just laughing so hard!! That was so funny.

We walked into the hotel a back way. We had come in the front earlier. So I guess we were a little turned around. Once we got up to third floor, we all looked at each other to see who remembered what room we were in. I thought it was 316. Miguel thought it was 317. It's 2:30am... Hootie and I both very quietly tried our keys in 317. No go. Red light.
So we then very quietly tried our keys in 316. Nope. Another red light. Then we all burst into laughter. :) Where the heck is our room???

Hootie said, "Wait! I know I put the 'Do Not Disturb sign up" and then someone said, I think it was 307??? So we walked all the way down the hall, around the corner.... and THEN things started looking familiar. There was a 'Do Not Disturb: sign on 307, and Hallelujah! Our key worked! :) Whew. Sooooo funny.

I'm surprised that hasn't happened more! I mean, we stay in a different room every night. But usually one of us remembers where we are!

Tonight we played at Wild Wing Cafe in Asheville, NC. It was another REALLY good show. (other than Halloween, which was INSANELY PACKED) It was the most packed show we've ever had there before. There were quite a few repeats, but a whole lot of newbies at this show. It's fun at a sports bar during March Madness :) Everyone is SO hyped up for the games, and then we just get to be the afterparty :)

We had a few mishaps, though. As James was setting up his drum throne - he noticed it was busted. So he ended up having to play in a folding chair with the rug I normally use folded to give him a little more height.

Miguel had a rough night, too. His guitar amp kept shorting out. I modified the set a little bit to try to cover. We ended up playing all of "Never Call Me By My Name" without guitar. But at least I can play fiddle on the whole thing since Hoot sings it!

He checked all the electrical hook-ups, they were all fine. So he figured it was the amp itself - he even switched some tubes inside the amp... but it kept happening the whole night.

At the end of the night, he plugged his guitar into my amp, and YUP!!! It's his guitar. At least he knows the problem. We're about to go on a band "spring break" so he'll have time back in Nashville to get it fixed!

But other than the technical difficulties, it was a great night!

At the very beginning of the night - before the show had even started, this little boy named Tyler came up to me and handed me a crayon and piece of paper (that he had already drawn all over). He asked for my autograph :) I autographed the paper, and then I asked him if he wanted a poster. He was really shy, but when I asked that, he nodded so big that he shook his entire body!!! :) So sweet.


Fred is one of my favorite bouncers. He always takes such good care of us. And he definitely did his job tonight. One guy had to be taken out of the bar for taking a swing at another customer (scary). And another poor guy passed out sitting up at his table during "Devil Went Down To Georgia". I had a hard time concentrating on the song because people were slapping him in the face trying to get him to wake up. It took them a good 20 minutes to get him back to a point where he was coherent. I had NEVER seen that before. I thought Fred was gonna have to carry him out of the bar!


These guys got SOOOOO excited when we sang David Allan Coe. He was playing next door at the Orange Peel tonight, so I sent it out to everyone who couldn't go to the concert, but came to see us instead :) I don't even think they noticed there was no guitar on the song - they were singing too loud!!! One of the guys even stole one of my posters off the wall and had me sign it :)


I LOVED this couple!! They were so complimentary of my originals, and they said they liked them more than the covers we were playing (and they knew EVERY WORD to the covers we played tonight). So yeah, these 2 rule. :)


The guy to the right of me asked me when I was playing Ft. Bragg. :) Ummmm... can you say coincidence!?!?! Ft. Bragg booked us 2 days ago for next year!!!


Hootie sang "Free Falling" tonight. A bunch of people wanted to buy cds and t-shirts, and we had already done all of Hoot's songs in the set. I called "Free Falling", cause I figured they could vamp on the intro. But Hootie started singing, which I had never heard him sing that one before!!! And it was a good thing, cause it took me the whole song to take care of everyone!!! :)

And in other news, my agent kept texting me today. We had 63 forms today (basically bookings) - 34 schools and 29 military bases, and it is only day 2 of the conference. Ya'll, that is NUTS! He said it was more than double of any other act so far. That blows my mind!!! I don't know what was so different about this conference. But everything just came together. And the military is being so great to us. They are already talking about shows that I am bursting to talk about. But I'll wait until everything is official. It's so great to know we'll have work for another year. We were nervous going into this conference because we know that everyone is suffering budget cuts, and you just never know.... But we have shows on the books now until July 4, 2010. And I know Ari - this is only the beginning! He'll get on the horn. In our experience with past conferences - most of the booking happen later anyway. So yeah. Life is WONDERFUL right now. But now I need to go finish all these new songs so we can get a new project recorded. :)

Peace. Love. Fiddle. And the right hotel room.
~natalie