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

Over 500 Hours in the Suburban

In my sleepy stupor this morning, I failed to realize we had just completed the last date on our Winter/Spring Tour of 2009!!!

What a ride it has been!!!

53 shows... lots of rockin'

27,209 miles... lots of driving

Over 500 Hours in the Suburban... LOTS of Sopranos

Spending day and night with Hootie.... Priceless.

Google maps only lets you put in 25 locations at a time.... I had 64... So it is split up into 3 different maps. But I figured I'd include since I had to map it out anyway to see how far it was!!! :)

1st 25: 12, 676miles 8 days and 9 hrs


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Next 25: 9,596 mi – about 6 days 16 hours


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Next 14: 4,937 mi – about 3 days 8 hours


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It's so fun to think back on all the different shows and locations we played this Tour. I have an abundance of great stories and memories on the road with these guys already, and I am just getting started!

Tomorrow is the big day!! We will record all the "basics" with the session players for the new EP!!! WOOO HOOO!!!

What an exciting time.

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Jenkin's Auto: The Hub of Columbia's Tour Support

How to make an upside down cookie:

Put oven on "broil" instead of "bake". Cookie will be burnt on top and gooey on the bottom. Ummm.... What? I TOTALLY meant to do that tonight ;)

My sister, Stephanie, is a personal trainer and today is the first day I have been able to work out with her in a long time. OH MY LORD. She kicked my boootay, in the best possible way of course :) I am already sore.... actually I was sore before I left her house! How's THAT for a workout? I'm pretty excited , though. I feel like I need to work really hard on keeping up with everything she showed me today, so I can be a good example of one of her clients. :)

James and I were really hoping to get in bed early tonight.... NOT happening :) But what fun would that be? We are heading down to Columbia to get the trailer and it is 3am - our primetime. But we got a LOT accomplished tonight. Miguel and I recorded acoustic demos of all the songs for my session on Monday. Miguel is going home to Chile, so he won't be there with us to play the songs live for the studio guys.

So I guess, I am basically saying that we recorded a bunch of songs so that we can go in and record those same songs. Did ya catch that? :)

(And of course, we squeezed in plenty of hang out/dinner time with Jenn, Ella, and Miguel!!! MMmmmm spaghetti and meatballs. And Ella figured out that if she takes the cushions off the couch, she has a trampoline. Hours of fun right there!)

When James and I got back to our apartment to pack and load up, Ben was hanging out on the porch. Of course, we all started scheming and planning for the upcoming session. We've got a good idea for what the marathon week of recording should look like!! So that was good.

AND THEN... out of nowhere... at 3 am... the BEST THING EVER happened. We have the greatest friends in the entire world. I am still beaming and in a bit of shock right now. I had left the Suburban at my friend, Keith's place. We had a few things that needed to get checked out... and just overall maintenance since she is over 115,000 miles! Keith has a great shop in Columbia - Jenkin's Auto. And I always take the 'Burb to him to get some doctorin up. Keith is basically the reason that Columbia's touring bands can stay on the road so safely!!! He keeps Scott Holt and I going... and going... and passing each other.... and going...

Not only did Keith get all the maintenance done and fix the AC... HE DETAILED THE ENTIRE SUBURBAN. She was as shiny as the day we bought her... actually, probably shinier. And the inside... oh the inside... shampooed carpets, organized, Armor Alled.
Our trip to Augusta and back tomorrow is going to be so FRESH! (and that's not new lingo. I mean, literally. I'm not cool enough to come up with "lingo")

It was one of the more ridiculous things he's ever done for me, and he's done a LOT. He's probably one of the most "on-call" mechanics. I can call him any time with ridiculous questions about "What to do". Keith Throneberry rocks my world. Now the only problem is... it's gonna take me even longer to fall asleep because I need to think of a great way to repay him for this fantastic surprise.

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie