Even Alaska

So the new cd may be held up by legal mumbo jumbo at the moment...

But I can at least show you some inspiration for one of the songs. I wrote "Even Alaska" with Nathan Chapman (ridonkulous producer, writer... has produced all of this little girl's stuff you may not of ever heard of: Taylor Swift) and we wrote this song RIGHT after I got back from my honeymoon trip to... ALASKA.

When I think about Alaska... this is usually the first reference in my head:


I took this picture from our balcony. :) The captain took our ship down a little inlet to show us a really good view of a glacier and this was at the very end. This glacier was one of the biggest we got to see the whole trip. Those places that look like tire tracks (like someone took a gargantuan 4-wheeler and went over it) is actually where 2 glaciers have fused together. So this is actually 3 glaciers that have, over time, fused into 1 mega-glacier. They are so beautiful. Baby blue. And I can't even describe how big this is. As photos tend not to do... this does it no justice. It was so unbelievably huge and without the perspective of how far away we were... it only looks mildly impressive on here. :)

I have a lot of snap shots in my head that I run through every time I talk about Alaska, or introduce the song. But this is one of the ones I always go to first in my head.

I can't believe it is STILL snowing in Tennessee. The accumulation doesn't really show much for it... but that is ok. It has been steady and beautiful. And I love every second of it.

Peace. Love. And Snowy Fiddles.
~natalie

Have Some Pics of A Blues Christmas

I left my camera in the car last night among the craziness, so I had to wait until today to get the pics up online. (Sorry, Bay!)

I was SOOOOO excited because my awesome, rockstar of a niece, Bailey, got to come. She brought her friend, Blair, and they were there to support me during the show.
I have to brag on Bay for a sec. She just started taking guitar and after only 3 lessons, she can sing and play all of "Our Song" (by Taylor Swift) among other songs that she is teaching herself!!! It is so awesome!!! She's a natural. I can't wait to get her up on stage to play with me!
Bailey, Me, Blair, and my sister, Stephanie


We had so much fun last night!!! The bar gave the whole band some fancy, schmancy, rummy drinks. MMMMmmm. I didn't get very far with mine, but I think the boys made up for my lack of thirst. ;)


And Jenn got to come!!! Yay!!! Miguel and Jenn got a sitter so that she could come enjoy in the fun. AND my good friend, Jessie got to come, too. WOO HOO!


Last night was quite an event. It was SOOO good to play at home. We got to see some of our favorite people in the world!!


And Jessie got some pics of the jam that took place at the end of the night. It's become a staple of the "Have A Blues Christmas" Scott gets us up on stage to play with him and his band - here's a bunch of us just singing whatever he throws at us! It is so much fun to have to think on your feet and not know what's coming next (and make up lyrics if you don't know the song! HA!)


And here's Scott's beautiful wife, Buffy (in the middle)! And my beautiful sister-in-law, Tracy.


YAY!

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Metro Spirit Article

Metro Spirit Article:

On the road
Natalie Stovall may not be a household name, but that may all change soon enough for this all-American girl

BY ALICE WYNN

AUGUSTA, GA – One wouldn’t think that winning the title of Silliest Kid in America would lead to bigger and better things. But for Natalie Stovall, that’s exactly what happened. Of course, she was no stranger to the stage.

“I started playing the violin when I was four and, when I was about 10, I auditioned for the Opryland Kids Club, which was a show out at the Opryland theme park, and I played my fiddle for them and they were like, ‘That’s great honey, but you have to sing in this show,’ and I sang ‘Happy Birthday’ for them and I got the job,” she said from the road en route to Pennsylvania.

Winning the Silliest Kid title, which she won by doing a “crazy ventriloquist baby crying thing that I had learned backstage at the Opryland show,” led to an appearance on Oprah, followed by other talk shows and radio spots, which prepared her for the road ahead.

“It was a really incredible experience to get as a child performer and only helped develop me and get me ready for doing it all the time now.”



During her second year at the Berklee College of Music, Stovall formed a band that would move to Nashville during the summer, staying at her parents’ house while touring around Tennessee. After graduation, Stovall and her drummer James, who last year became her husband, moved to Nashville and found some musicians to tour with. They have been at it ever since, and have spent the better part of the past two years on the road.

“It’s part of making it happen for myself as an independent artist,” she explained. “I don’t have any record label or anybody writing the checks for me, so I gotta go out and do it myself. It can be very hard and it can be very stressful, but it’s been pretty amazing to watch. I write a blog every day and the traffic keeps coming from doing it and really being on the road, and that’s what’s rewarding about it.”

A country girl at heart, Stovall cites Keith Urban, Shania Twain and Garth Brooks as some of her favorites.

“I always really love to watch the people that put on really amazing live shows,” she said.

“That’s kind of where I get going is watching people that really put a lot of time and energy into their live material. That’s where I draw a lot of inspiration from.”

Her shows, although rooted in country, mix things up a bit, with covers such as Prince’s “Purple Rain” and Guns n’ Roses’ “Sweet Child O’ Mine.” And because she plays the fiddle, Charlie Daniels’ “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” is a given. In fact, she included the song on her upcoming EP, “Standing My Ground.”

“We put it on the record to give everybody a little something from our live show,” she said.

For her first record, “Late Night Conversations” released in 2006, she wrote all of the material. But the new record enlisted the help of co-writers, including Taylor Swift producer Nathan Chapman.

“It was a totally different venture for me, but the more that I started co-writing, the more I really, really liked that environment for writing because it allowed me to kind of take these ideas I always had and bounce them off someone else,” she said. “It was just fun because it gives a different perspective for the new record and I’m just really excited to release it.”

Natalie Stovall
The Country Club
Saturday, October 3
Doors, 7 p.m.; music, 9:30 p.m.
$5, guys; $3, girls
myspace.com/nataliestovall
augustacountry.com

Have You Heard?

The ONE thing in which all Americans can agree with the President:


If you don't know anything about what happened... you can follow the link below to watch a video on how Kanye West takes the mic from Taylor Swift WHILE she's giving her acceptance speech.
Kanye interrupts Taylor

A few years ago he had an outburst on live television during Hurricane Katrina. He proclaimed that "George Bush doesn't care about Black People." And now the first black President is calling him a jack ass. Oh Kanye. When will you learn?

I can't imagine how Taylor felt. I heard reports that they had to use her "previously recorded tape" of her live performance because she was crying so hard backstage. I would have been, too! But the one positive thing... even MORE people know who "Taylor Swift" is now!

Peace. Love. Fiddle. And FEMALE COUNTRY SINGERS WINNING VMAs!!!
~natalie

103WKDF, Froggy 100.9, and UMASS Dartmouth!

I woke to a flood of delightful texts and phone calls from Nashville this morning!!! It was some very exciting news that at first... in my groggy state... I didn't quite believe it.

Wylie Rose on 103.3WKDF in the morning gave me a shout out on the radio station!!! I've heard a few different stories - everyone had their own version (kind of like the game telephone... but only real-life telephone) but the basic gist is that she said something along the lines of "If Natalie Stovall can't get a record deal... then I don't know who can." Ummm. WHOA. REALLY!?!?! That is pretty much one of the sweetest and most awesome comments on the radio I have ever heard.

Wylie and I met last November when I did a benefit for the Raining Season at 3rd and Lindlsey. There were tons of HUGE songwriters and great performers there. Wylie was the host of the evening. She had such incredibly kind things to say to me after the show. And to hear that she gave me a shout out ON AIR on one of Nashville's best country stations... well that my friends, ROCKS.

SO thank you to Wylie and David in the mornings on 103.3, and thank you to everyone who called to let me know they were talking about me!!!

I did my own interview over the phone with Froggy 100.9 in Barre Vermont today! Jim Severance had me on his "Drive at 5" show this afternoon. He was giving away 2 tickets to our show tomorrow night, and then they'll be giving away more tickets in the morning!! Hehe. So fun. I even got to pick which caller would win - but it was pretaped, so I didn't actually get to hear the winner. Oh well. Maybe I'll get to meet them tomorrow night!

And then on to tonight! We did a show at UMASS Dartmouth, I was really excited to be here - it's only an hour away from Boston!!! So I feel like I am at home. :) I was talking to one of the guys tonight and he had a really thick Boston accent. I asked where he was from (just checking) and of course Boston. Isn't it funny how a very strong Boston accent and a really strong Southern accent BOTH make me feel at home?

The University of Massachusetts in Dartmouth is Paul's alma mater!!! Paul (aka my manager) went to school here :) And since it is only an hour away from where he lives now, he came out to the show!!!! I always love it when Paul comes. And he's gotten to come to a lot more shows lately since we have been up in the northeast more.
Oh Paul. :)


There were SOOOO Many students there to help us today. Load in and load out seem like a breeze!!!
All the members of CAB who helped put on our show tonight!


And here's Chris who was our main contact and the Student Supervisor :)


They made some really cool posters for the show :)

They even made Life size Natalie Posters :)


You'd think I'd be able to do that pose down to a "T"... close.... at least I am wearing the same belt :)

Paul!!! Paul helped guide us to the venue and was so helpful the whole night. He even took us to the late-night dining place on campus so we could get some grub after the show. Thank you for everything! Told you I'd put this in my blog!!! I expect the same from you :)


Tapan. I loved this guy. The first thing he said was, "Say "hi" to your Granny for me. Tell her thank you for putting you on stage." And then later on he said "I just want to meet your Granny and talk to her." HOW COOL IS THAT? Granny will LOVE that story. I'm sure Mamma will print out this blog and take it to her... so "HI GRANNY." From Natalie and your new friend Tapan in Dartmouth Massachusetts.

I also love the guy in the background who is ALREADY wearing the Peace, Love, Fiddle shirt he JUST bought! :)

Jeff! Jeff did an interview with me for the school paper. Plus he was the photographer for tonight! He was pulling double duty.
:)


This guy knows EVERY word to Taylor Swift's songs. The ladies like that :) He's a smart guy.


He was VERY happy when we threw in a little Zepplin :)



And I am so bummed. I didn't get a picture with Austin. What was I thinking!?!?! Or not thinking... actually.... Austin was our soundman for the evening. And Chris informed me before the show that Austin's birthday was yesterday. :)- So we played Beatles Happy Birthday song and got him up on stage to dance it out. He was SUCH a good sport!!!

And also it is my Daddy's Birthday today!!!! He doesn't have myspace, facebook, or twitter, so instead of updating my status' today... I'll reach him through my blog. This is currently my favorite pic of me and Daddy. (Who everyone calls Colonel. Cause... well... he is. Yup. Retired Colonel from the Army. Don't mess with this guy. He's had to chew monkey meat!!! - and he's a jungle expert)

Happy Birthday Daddy!!

Snowballing

Miguel and both shoveled snow for the first time ever today. I know I risk many people hating me for saying this..... and I am FULLY aware that I would NOT feel this way if I HAD to shovel all the time - but as a first timer - it was fun! :)
I kept looking for more places to melt a little more - we got down to just ice and they couldn't chip it fast enough for me. Miguel had never shoveled either. Paul loved us :)



It's so good to have a day when we didn't HAVE to be somewhere. I was more exhausted when I woke up this morning than I have been in a while... it hasn't helped me to go to bed any earlier than normal... considering it is 3:00am right now. But it's nice to not have to curl my tremendous amounts of hair or put on full make-up :) We've gone pretty non-stop since we left Nashville, though. I mean, there hasn't been ANY downtime until today. It was all driving as much as possible, sleep as much as we can before we get up and drive as much as possible again to get to the next destination. We definitely don't get paid for the shows!!!! We get paid for driving to and from and loading and unloading!!! THAT's the "work" part. The performing is the relief.

I can't wait to have a ginormous stage, eh emm.... like the GRAMMYS. :) I just get so inspired when I watch shows like that. It feels so close. And in all reality - that's just "a song" away. It's amazing how that 1 magical song can launch an entire career and make millions of people pay attention to what you have been doing all along. I mean look at Taylor Swift and all that she has accomplished in the last couple of years!!! And it started with an incredible song. But the girl has the songs to back it up and the personality to carry her through a career for the rest of her life!

I have so much going on in my head right now. It kinda feels like I have a ton of creativity balling up inside me like a big giant star that's about to just come BLAZING out. And I have to attribute much of that to YOU. Yes, YOU who is reading this right now. :) There has been this unbelievable energy around my shows lately and the blogs and the myspace, facebook, and twitter sites. Everything feels like it is snowballing. There was a while that I felt like I was at a bit of a standstill. I guess it was adjusting to the inns and outs of touring and building the business side. There's been a lot to learn and I am aware that I will never stop learning. But now it has all come full circle. The creativity is BACK. And it's just a stewing and seasoning right now. :) I'm guess I'm having to let it simmer in my brain a bit before I am ready to share it with everyone else.

With that said... I am ready to let it simmer while I slumber.

night night!

~nat

Raining Season Benefit

Two nights ago, I played the most incredible show at 3rd and Lindsley in Nashville. It was put together by two of the most pure-hearted, beautiful, and talented girls I have ever met - Ezra Jane. After visiting Sierra Leone, they both became extremely passionate about helping the people of that country in any way possible. They created a foundation called The Raining Season which helps put kids in schools. It only takes $130 to sponsor a child which includes tuition, books, clothes, and 1 meal per day for an ENTIRE YEAR. Only $130 can send a child to school for a WHOLE year. I think my cross country uniform was more than $130. You know? I mean, it is crazy to think that such a small amount of money could make such a HUGE difference in someone's life.
Needless to say, they were able to put together an astounding line-up for the event because everyone wanted to be a part of this. I was just honored to be in the room, much less perform for these people. I am such a fan of everyone that was playing!!!!

First of all, Point of Grace opened the show. Yup. Point of Grace - as in 26 consecutive #1 singles, Dove award-winning, Grammy-nominated POG!!!! They sang two of their new songs from their country release and then they sang one of my FAVORITE Christmas songs. "Tender Tennessee Christmas" by Amy Grant.

After POG was a songwriter round including:
Steve Williams: "Redneck Yacht Club"
Liz Rose who co-wrote every song on Taylor Swift's first album
Brian White: written for POG, 4 Him, Jaci Velasquez, and wrote "Watching You" for Rodey Atkins with the next guy:
Steve Dean who has had #1s for not only Rodney Atkins, but a few little unknowns like, you know, REBA and George Strait and
Alabama and many others.

Yeah. And then it was my turn. By myself. :) I was pretty stoked to be included in this show with such a freakin AWESOME line-up. Wow. Miguel played acoustic for me and we did 3 songs. "Even Alaska", "Whatever It Takes", and "Standing My Ground". We had driven overnight from St. Petersburg to play this show. I slept a few hours during the day, but my voice was shot from the weekend. But I had just enough juice to sing those 3 songs. :) We lowered "Alaska" a whole step so I could sing it. By the time I got off stage...my voice was so low I sounded like Nathan Stovall... ;) But none of that mattered. It was so cool.

Wylie Rose from 103.3 KDF's morning show was the host of the evening. She was so incredibly sweet with her kind words after my set! And Ezra Jane could not have picked a more passionate and giving person to host the evening and keep it rolling.

The next songwriter round included:
Barry Dean: "God's Will" for Martina... I cried. Like I always do to that song.
Jeremy Spillman: "Arlington" for Trace Adkins
Heather Morgan: who I LOVE has had cuts with Sara Evans, Terri Clark, and American Idol Kristy Lee Cook
Julie Roberts was also supposed to perform but she was sick :(

Ezra Jane then got up to perform. They wrote a song specifically for the evening that was so beautiful. They were starting to run over time so they only sang 2 songs. I wanted more!!! I was just happy to finally hear them live.

The last writer's round included
Victoria Banks: "Saint's and Angels" for Sara Evans and "Come On Over" & "Remember That" for Jessica Simpson (A-MAZ-ING)
Rachel Proctor: had her own hit with "Me and Emily" & wrote "Where Would You Be" for Martina and "Remember That" with VB
Josh Thompson: who has written with tons of huge Nashville songwriters and had some very heart-felt and emotional songs.

I could go on and on and on about each of these artists individually. Every performer was SO talented and it turned out to be such an incredible evening. Some of the coolest things auctioned off for Sponsorships were some gorgeous Tammy Wynette earrings, a signed script from REBA including her handwritten notes, and a signed golden fiddle from Charlie Daniels! It was so cool.

They ended up getting 41 sponsorships for the kids. SO AMAZING!!! Their goal is 50 before they leave on Christmas Day. If you have any interest in this organization please visit www.TheRainingSeason.org

Spread the peace, love, fiddle!