Opening For Gretchen Wilson!!

We dropped James off this morning at the Atlanta airport at around 4:30am, and then pressed onward towards home. It started snowing right as we hit Monteagle Mountain, and didn't stop until I got home. I know this all of this unexpected snow has caused many problems and frustrations for lots of people. I know it makes it difficult for this part of the country where we aren't prepared for it. But at the same time, there is something so magical about all of this beautiful snow gracing us over and over and over again in places where we don't normally get to enjoy it!

Even on that awful drive from Augusta to Ft. Benning where the roads were almost as bad as the ones in Texas (where we had to cancel a couple of weeks ago)... it was so beautiful and majestic and storybook-like that it feels like the Universe is telling us all to pay attention. These things are what we make of it. And yes, it can be a harsh reality. But it can also be a wonderful reminder of God's beauty. So I say a prayer tonight for all that have endured hardships and loss due to this crazy weather. And I also give thanks for being surrounded by so much beauty!!!

The Gretchen Wilson show was SOOOOOOOO much fun. It was a bit disappointing that we had to do it without monitors. I kept switching my earplug from my ear to my back jeans pocket... depending on which thing I needed to hear more - my voice (earplug IN) or my fiddle (earplug out). But ideal situations rarely happen. And I was so excited that very little could have disappointed me about the show. The room was packed and the snow did NOT keep people away.

I met Gretchen in the bathroom before the show and we talked for a while about the snow and the possibility of cancellations, and then she told me about their make-shift sleds they made last week in Tennessee. I could feel my heart beating harder than normal, and I told her how cool it was to be opening for her. After we finished talking, she walked out and told someone outside "I just met Natalie in the bathroom". It was so funny! Before I could even tell the guys I talked to her, she told someone ELSE that she met ME!!!! :) That was awesome.


The show itself was awesome. The crowd was electric, and they were so gracious! I know most of them were there to see her, but they sure did make me feel the love! And we put on a great show for them. I couldn't hear my fiddle at all and at one point I looked down and saw that my E string was a D#. Not cool... but I tuned quickly and that was really the hardest part of the show. I did start getting out of breath during a few songs because my adrenaline was pumping so hard and I was putting so much into it, that my body couldn't keep up. :) That's the way it should be! It's such a high!!!
Lots of pictures have shown up on facebook... I just grabbed these two quickly... Thank you Melanie Carver for posting!



My best friend, Sarah, drove all the way down + a surprise guest to come to the show. They got stuck in traffic in Chattanooga and Atlanta, AND it snowed so hard they had to go 45 most of the way. They got there about 30 minutes after my set ended. :( After all that. But we got to hang out the rest of the night... I hated they couldn't see the show, but it was amazing to have them there. The surprise guest was my former bass player and wonderful friend Amy Sporleder!!!! Amy is now playing in Sarah's band. I still can't believe they made the long trip down there!


There are pics of Gretchen and me somewhere, but I didn't get any on my camera. I will acquire them soon, I am sure. But this is us at the merch table. Gretchen and her merch guy were both VERY gracious and let me continue selling my cd's and t-shirts throughout the night. Even when she was in the booth signing.
Here we both are signing stuff - I think this was one of the times where the audience member wanted me and her to both sign a Gretchen t-shirt:


At one point, she poured a BIG shot of Jack Daniels for herself, her merch guy, and then handed me one. When Gretchen Wilson hands you a shot, you take it. And I did. :)

A few people had her sign my shirts and cd's which was so funny to me :) Awesome, and funny. And then Sarah had me sign her Peace Love Fiddle Tee and then got in line and had Gretchen sign the other side. I liked that. :)


So the night was amazing. I have some incredible fans in Augusta and surrounding areas that showed up. We've played there at the Country Club twice before, we used to play at a bar called Coyote's, and we played at Fort Gordon last year in May. There were people from ALL of the aforementioned places. Michelle, who made a blanket during my Fort Gordon show and had me sign it last year, brought me roses AND made me a scarf which was so beautiful!!! It was just so great to have some real fan support at the show. And I can't wait to play in Augusta again! I love it there!

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

Natalie Stovall Newsletter #2 (Now with Free Song Downloads) ; )

Happy Mother's Day!!!

I sure hope all the mothers out there, conventional and unconventional, had a wonderful day. We spent it driving home from Michigan. Though I didn't get to spend the day with Mamma, she held up the phone so I could "be in a picture" with her and Granny and my sister. :)

Next Week

5/16 The Country Club - Augusta, GA : Show 9PM

If you are in the area for this, we would love to see you! For more information about this show or any others you can see my full calendar by clicking here!

Home

Did I mention that we are HOME?? We've been on the road since Jan 13!!! We've had a few stops here in Nashville, but for the most part, we've spent our time elsewhere. We have 1 more show this weekend in Augusta Ga at The Country Club, which is our final show for the Winter/Spring Tour of 2009. I sure didn't think it would go by this fast. What a whirlwind of zigzagging all over this beautiful country! We've gone through snow storms and sunburns, ski lodges and spring flings; I've tried scrapple (and spit it out) Chacarero's and empanadas, and I've gotten to sing at the Boston Garden, open for Josh Gracin, AND the Los Lonely Boys!

What a ride :)

And now... we're gearing up for the summer tour. We're constantly updating the summer calendar, so keep an eye out. We have some really exciting shows and venues coming up!!

 

Last Week

Picture Of the Week (I <3 Miguel)

Other fun stuff:

We found Bear Poop in our Hotel Lobby :) It was pretty exciting... and not nearly as gross as it sounds! (Click HERE to learn more)

We learned that they still don't even have leaves on the trees up in Northern Michigan!!!

We spent 4 days in Reading, PA

The whole band got to sign a script of "The Office"

We played shows at colleges with punk bands and ska bands and I got in touch with my inner "indie rock chick" by sporting a Valencia Hoodie all week. :)

Some great blogs showed up online about some of the shows. This one is from a fantastic photographer and it is filled with tons of great pics of one of our shows:

http://www.bardenphotography.com/blog/2009/natalie-stovall-2/

And this one is from the same show, but includes some video of the crazy rock medley we do:

http://www.jaredbarden.com/blog/categories/natalie-stovall/

Free Song Downloads!!

As promised... finally... the song demos for "Silly Kid" and "Best Years" are the first two songs available for download EXCLUSIVELY for people on my email list! YAY!! There will be plenty more where that came from, don't worry!!

To download the songs head to www.reverbnation.com/nataliestovall

CDs

Wanna know something that blows my mind and makes me so happy? We've SOLD OUT of another batch of "Late Night Conversations"!!! It's time to reorder cds! I knew we were getting close, but I had no idea we would be OUT by the end of this trip. We didn't even have enough at our show last night. Thank goodness for itunes!

Internetin'

For anyone who doesn't know.... I add ALL the pics we take at shows to my facebook page and myspace/website slide show. And I write a blog every day where I include pictures and stories of our crazy adventures :) Twitter is all the rave now, and I am proud to say that I am a full blown addict. Can't hide it and wouldn't try. And of course the Youtube page has had a few additions as new videos keep popping up online!

Peace, Love, Fiddle,

~natalie