The Great Nashville Flood of 2010

Today was one for the record books.

Nashville is completely under water. I've never seen anything like this before. The stories from friends and family don't seem real. James and I are so lucky where we live. We have had power and haven't had problems with flooding. But nearly everyone I know has had damage of some kind. Including our band.

This is just a few blocks from our condo


Downtown Nashville


This dude caught a fish on Edmunson Pike!




We were supposed to leave today to head to Ohio. But our band physically can't get to us. Squad cars are blocking the roads, because there's so much water over them. We keep hoping the water will recede enough for everyone to get out... we're waiting...

But I feel silly talking about THAT being our biggest complaint.


I have a friend who was picked up by a boat from the second story of her flooded house where she was trapped... She was dropped off at Kroger, and made way to a friend's. This was after she and her mother watched her car, her mother's car, and her sister's car all be swept away by the water. She and her mother are just 2 of the 600 who have been rescued from their homes so far this weekend. And 36,000 people are currently without power.

My brother has a friend who stood waist deep in water and watched his house burn to the ground because the fire trucks couldn't get to the hydrants... they were all under water. The irony of that is too much.

Thank goodness we haven't tried to leave yet because all 3 of the major interstates around Nashville have been shut down for most of the day - including the one we needed to get to Ohio. Check out this crazy video of a mobile classroom that was caught on tape floating down I-24 earlier today:

Here's the link for you facebookers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHuMn1AVRDg&feature=player_embedded#!

And here's the vid for the blog readers.



That video was just down the road from where our guitar player lives that can't get out of his house!!! We're just thankful he is ok.

Our prayers are with everyone who have lost their homes and been forced to evacuate to shelters. Currently over 400 people are in shelters. But as always, the churches and people around town have come together and been providing amazing support to everyone.

We're still working on it, but it's not looking like we're gonna make it to our show in Ohio tomorrow. We NEVER take canceling a show lightly, but I am sure they will understand.

It feels like I am watching news stories of other people, and then I look out my window and see that it is HERE. Thank you for all the kind words of support on facebook and twitter. Thank goodness the rain has finally STOPPED. Here's hoping the water recedes sooner than later so people can begin putting their lives back together.

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Hang On Sloopy

Ohio State University, Mansfield. Small Yet MIGHTIEST audience ever. :) These kids were AWESOME!!!

We played in a really cool intimate auditorium. I believe the auditorium was built to project sound - speakers, lecturers, that kind of thing. So playing with amps and electrified music provided a challenge. :) We had an extended sound check and still fought with the sound the whole show. HOWEVER... a rock show is supposed to be loud, so I guess that worked out well in our favor tonight! ;)

And the auditorium was intimate enough that the audience and I were able to talk between songs - I could hear them clear as day!! :) It was a good show. Standing ovations in the middle of the set make for a very fun night for the boys and me. :)

CAB!!! Y'all rocked our world. Thank you for everything.


Jamie!!! Thank you for helping us out so much today. AND for paying for everyone's cd's! You've got 5 I.O.U.'s coming. :)








Mark and Janice surprised us! I knew we were in their territory (only an hour from their hometown) but I didn't know if they'd try to come or not. But they did! And they came out to eat with us afterwards. We went to Cheddar's. It's a restaurant I have seen a BUNCH of times, and recently a lot of people have told us to try it out. Tonight the students convinced us to go. It was excellent! I will be going back. :) Soon.


Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Joust!

We've been flinging a LOT lately :) 'Tis the season!

Today's Spring Fling Concert was at Indiana University Southeastern.

Alas, it was raining... again. But as always, everyone makes the best of the situation! The inflatables, the stage, the food, the cotton candy and popcorn and the students all moved inside for a little more indoor kind of fun. :)

The best part was that behind the audience was where the jousting inflatable was set up. So the entire time we were performing... people were jousting and knocking each other down. Entertainment for the entertainers! :)

I have to pause, though and say a big GET WELL SOON to beautiful Zyriah. The sweetest little girl - that was WAY into our sound check (and especially my amp since it has a Z on it). She was playing in one of the bouncy inflatables and broke her wrist :( Her mother texted one of the organizers from the hospital because Zyriah wanted a signed poster from the band. Isn't that just the sweetest thing??? HOPE YOU'RE FEELING BETTER ZYRIAH!

The guys raided the inflatables after the show. I didn't quite get to the jousting in time for pics... (but James and Miguel duked it out and it was quite funny) BUT I caught the guys at some of the other places. :)

David... in the boxing ring... alone... with oversized gloves... after he tackled Zach and ran off Miguel... he wouldn't stop bouncing, so the pic is blurry :) Only adds to the awesomeness.


James and David played basketball... I played skee ball... I LOVE that inflatable skee ball exists.


We drove 6 hours up to Bowling Green, Ohio tonight. It feels so good to be in the hotel early!!!! It's only 12:30. So amazing. PLUS it's the best hotel ever. There's a Starbucks, Chipotle, Waffle House, and Jimmy John's all within walking distance. Upon discovering this, Miguel let out a giant AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO? WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO EAT EVERYTHING!!!!!!!

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Interpretive Dance To Kings of Leon at Winthrop University

I knew tonight was gonna be awesome. We were working with Boyd and the DSU Entertainment Crew at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, SC. Most days we have no idea what we are walking into. But when you are working with Boyd, you KNOW you will be taken care of!

Boyd and I met at a NACA conference a few years ago. I didn't know it at the time, but Boyd is legendary in the college world... as in, there's an award named after him that is given out each year! :) When we met we quickly figured out we were from the same hometown - and his parents lived 2 streets over from mine. SMALL WORLD!!! His Daddy, Wimpy Jones, was always the host of the Liars Contest during Mule Day every year and was ALSO legendary for his storytelling. And Boyd's father remembered me from a fiddle contest I played in when I was 8 years old.

Yeah...

And tonight I played at Winthrop University for the second time in my life. How cool is that?

Boyd is known for his GIANT Bear Hugs and Stinging High Fives :)


And Boyd sure knows how to pick the students for his Entertainment Board! They helped so much with load in and load out, and even had my merch table up and going without any instructions on how to do so! AMAZING!



Plus this is the VERY LAST SHOW EVER for the Dinkins Student Union. They are getting a new building, new name, new members, new logo - the WORKS! SO they had Eric O'Shea and myself for their final event.



Eric is HILARIOUS. Seriously, had me rolling. And it is really a great pairing to have a comedian warm up the crowd - he gets 'em laughing, we get 'em rocking. It's a great combo that we hope to do a LOT more of!
Just so I can share... I found a short clip on youtube for ya :)
He does this bit on what songs should go to television commercials...
(Plus he does a great Elmo, Family Guy, etc.)


Maybe because Eric got em going... or maybe because it was the last night, or who knows? Maybe just because they are awesome... these brothers broke out the worm, clogging, snake, sprinkler, acted out ALL of "Devil Went Down to Georgia" and even did a little interpretive dance on Kings of Leon. :)


Thank you so much for choosing us to be your last event! We now have a close friend now in Eric - who has stayed up and hung out with us all night tonight!





I haven't written a blog at 6am in a long time! It's time for some shut-eye :)

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Sleep Remoting, S Polytech State University, and CHOCOLATE CHIP CHEESECAKE!

I hope Miguel doesn't mind me posting this pic :)
David posted it on his blog with the following caption...
Miguel illustrating his dedication to his van DVD remote obligations:


Miguel has always been the best at operating the DVD player. He'll fall asleep, and wake up JUST to fast forward through the theme songs at the beginnings of episodes. :)


Today we got a do-over!!!! We played at South Polytech State University in Marietta, Georgia. We were supposed to play there last August... We were all set up and ready to take the stage. They had a HUGE production with major lights and staging, and multiple bands... and THEN the thunder and lightening came and washed away any chance of a show. :(

But they brought us back at the END of the year today (they only have two weeks of school left!) to play. And we ACTUALLY got to play!!! I was waiting backstage after David's set for him to introduce me... I looked down and saw a 4-leaf clover! Just like Mamma always does. She has a talent for looking down and finding them without even trying.

The luck wasn't for the show, though. I know that much. :) My wireless mic went out a bunch during the first song. I couldn't tell if it was my monitors or my mic at first. But I figured it was my mic when Panther pushed his mic stand up to the front of the stage for me, and bent it down to my height! He was ON TOP OF IT! :) Turns out the mic had interference... which is something we hadn't had to deal with yet. But we got it worked out after the show. During the show... I used Panther's mic and he and David had to go all "Springsteen" for the rest of the show and share David's mic for all their background vocals. :)

The students took us to the Marietta Diner after the show. I have been dreaming about this Diner since last August. Justin and Miguel walked to it last year at 4 in the morning and raved about how awesome it was. (Plus it was on the Food Network as one of the top 10 Diners in the country.) We tried to go the next day, but it was so packed we couldn't park our trailer!!!
OH. But tonight? The students took us and it was amazing. I got my favorite - eggplant parm. And then. Oh then.

CHOCOLATE CHIP CHEESECAKE!!!!

I fell in love with Chocolate Chip Cheesecake in Boston at Mike's Pastries in the North End. But no one has it. Seriously. No one. Not even the Cheesecake Factory. They have every kind imaginable! But not chocolate chip. But tonight? HEAVEN.


The whole crew!!! BAND on one side of the table + S. Polytech CAB on the other = BEST TABLE IN THE DINER!


So glad today worked out with NO RAIN!!!!

Our awesome new Chinese friends!


Ian!


Thanks for the great pics, Ian!




I'm starting to get a tan on my face and arms from all this gorgeous sunshine! I love it!

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

UT Chattanooga, Einstein, Dance Knife Fighting, and Preggers

Guess who's got two thumbs and internet service tonight!?!?! THIS GIRL. (imagine the over-the-top pointing of my thumbs in towards myself).

We have never played at colleges in Tennessee... and this month we play 3! Tonight was the 2nd of the three at UT Chattanooga. (The first time I typed Chattabooga... I kinda like the way that looks and sounds and even had to say it outloud because it makes me giggle)

We left Atlanta this afternoon at noon. The parking woes continued - James had to start moving the van from it's parking spot at 10am. But we had told everyone to be ready to check out at 12. And considering everyone stayed up late, plus it was our first time in a LONG time to have that many hours of sleep... James just decided to hang out with the van until noon. Hopefully he got some good talk time in with his Dad. I know that was his main motivation for getting up...

Once we all loaded up the van (and ourselves with smoothies) we set out towards Chattanooga. As we were trucking along, 2 hours ahead of schedule... feeling pretty good about ourselves and our "short 2 1/2 hour drive... BAM. Dead stop on the interstate. Took us an hour and a half JUST to get to an exit... that's how little we moved in that time. But finally we got off on an exit and started taking back roads... but turns out we were the only ones with that bright idea. We got to the gig at 6, (show stated at 7) when we were planning on being there at 3. But everything worked out just fine! We loaded in and soundchecked quickly.

David opened the show and played one of my favorite songs of his "Nobody Loves Me Like You Do". And then a guy named Nathan Angelo did a set. WOW. What a voice! Think Gavin Degraw... one of my favorites anyway. Nathan's voice is just incredible. And his songs were so fun and just made you wanna get up and groove!

Plus Jenn and Ella drove up for the show!!! It was so fun to have them here. And I know Miguel loves having them here. Jenn is SOOOO pregnant! She's so cute with her big belly. She's so tiny, but has such a big belly right now! It's awesome.

Two guys did the entire "Beat It" dance during the show AND the knife fight part, too!!! No one has ever acted out that part!

The girl who says "Rip It Up" was written for her. :) She and a girlfriend even had the whole chorus choreographed by the end of the song!








And here's some pics from yesterday - I LOVE Einstein - the magic bunny! He totally picked Miguel's card out of the deck! It was amazing!



And Panther. With a Panther.


Showin that mic some 3-part love.
'

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

King College: The Quintessential College Gig

Man. The name of our current tour should be "beautiful College campuses of America". Seriously.

King College is in Bristol. TN - right on the VA/Tn border... so in the mountains. We played tonight at 7, so we got to provide the soundtrack for a gorgeous Appalachian sunset.

This gig was the quintessential College gig. They had a huge, nice stage set up for us right in front of the campus' pond. (complete with fisherman and all) They were grilling out hotdogs, hamburgers, a whole separate table for brownies, cookies, and Rice Krispies treats... There were groups throwing around a football. The baseball team came down after a game, the soccer team came down after practice... other kids were hanging out on blankets... and a mechanical bull championship was in full throttle. :)

S.L.A.C.K. set up our greenroom in the Hall of Fame which was awesome. They printed out directions from the school to the hotel on mapquest for us :) And we had the cutest mini coke cans in our cooler!


We left about an hour ago from the hotel after a quick nap to leave for Atlanta. (It's currently 4am) We play an afternoon show at Georgia State tomorrow. :) And in keeping with my slow internet... I'm not able to upload the photos from the event tonight. But as always, they will be on facebook as soon as I am able to get to internet...

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Emory and Henry College Sadie Hawkins Dance

We played our first Sadie Hawkins dance tonight at Emory and Henry College. :)

It was a BLAST! There was a DJ to get the kids dancing for a while before we took the stage. When David took the stage to open the show.... we were all a tad nervous about the fact that these kids came to DANCE. It's a completely different mindset to play a show as an artist rather than as a "provider of dance music". But we went with it.

Turns out... the students? Couldn't have asked for a better group! When David started, they all left the dance floor... grabbed chairs from the tables, and set the chairs on the dance floor to sit and listen!!! SO COOL! And then when I came out, they all started moving the chairs back and started dancing to the full band. We had so much fun. And I even got out on the dance floor with them during "This Time". There was a couple in front doing an awesome dance to my song. I hopped down... started doing the step with them, and within seconds the ENTIRE dance floor was all doing the same step! It was just like a movie!!!!

Emory and Henry College has a beautiful campus. And we were playing on a lawn, under a giant white tent... again.... just like a movie. I have always thought parties under tents looked so classy and fun. :) And now I've gotten to play in one.

Some of my fellow dancers:








After the show, we were excited because we heard that a Huddle House shared the parking lot with our hotel. That made dinner a really easy choice. Ummm.. that is until we walked into the Huddle House and they said - sorry!!! Grill just closed. Midnight -2am only thing available is biscuits, gravy, and waffles. Well... on to iHop 20 minutes away...

Turns out, it was well worth it. David got pancakes filled with nuggets of cheescake. Panther got a country fried steak, eggs, and pancakes.... And by the end the guys were making the syrups talk to each other. What does that mean? I have no idea, and I was there....
LOOK AT THAT MEAL!


Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Chee Was At The White House, Too!

What a small world it is.

We loaded in for our soundcheck at North Georgia College and State University today. We were working with the nicest and most awesome sound guys. TRUE Productions AV services. After we got all set up and soundchecked, Chee, the chief, came up to me and said "I just figured out where I know you from. You were at the White House Corespondent's Dinner a couple of years ago, right? I provided the sound for you there!"

NO WAY!!!! I couldn't believe it! I didn't actually meet him there. They needed some extra microphones that day, and he was the one they called. How cool is that? I really thought that was awesome.


The event was so much fun!!! They had inflatable... well.... everything! Inflatable boxing ring with oversized gloves and helmets, slides, obstacle courses, bungee races, and even a "stay on the surfboard" inflatable. Kind of like a mechanical bull... only you have to stand on a surfboard. It was pouring down rain outside. So they had to move the event inside. Everyone kept apologizing because the event has a much larger turn out when it is held outside. But I would have never known. The entire gym was packed the whole time.

Ohio Avenue opened the show for us - they are an awesome rock band traveling the country, touring independently, just like us.
They also just got a new trailer :) Almost exactly the same as ours. We were all exchanging ideas the whole time. They actually played at KSU earlier in the day... we played KSU Day a couple years ago and we had the green pollen stuck in the crevices of our gear to prove it for over a year after the show!!!

I took lots of great pics, but I can't seem to get enough internet on this overnight drive in the car on the way to North Carolina to upload anymore pictures. But check the facebook page, and I will have them all up as soon as I can get to a strong enough signal! :)

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

I Really Do Love This Bar!!!

We have had a blast these last couple of nights at Toby Keith's I Love This Bar in Auburn Hills Michigan. The entire staff was SOOO great to us. We have made so many new friends over the last couple of days. I have TONS of pics... but I'm gonna share some of my favorites. Plus any bar that has deep fried twinkies, fried okra, and mason jars for beer is alright with me :)

Thank you to everyone who came out - and especially those of you that were here last night, and came back with more friends, tonight!!! Sorry some of you under21's got kicked out... but you're so close! You'll get to hang the WHOLE time soon. :)

My husband bought me an AWESOME shirt today.... he and Miguel walked around the mall next door to our hotel. And I LOVED it so much I wore it tonight. Love me some Rolling Stones!

We had a REALLY good time.


I LOVE this picture.


Happy Birthday Emily!


Brittany - our AMAZING server!


Our new Italian fans! They were at last night's show and actually had to fly back to Italy this morning. Ouch. But it didn't slow em down!


Stovall girls UNITE! Morgan Stovall!!!


The stage


Andy! My new dance partner - he twirled me ALLL over the dance floor. And of course we did some two-steppin as well. :)


Peace. Love. Fiddle. PRIDE!


Aww - my girls that came BOTH nights after seeing us a few days ago in Flint at the University of Michigan. SOOOO sorry you couldn't stay! :(


RAGE!!!!!! (They liked our Rage Against the Machine...)


Happy Birthday Darcey!


Jeff - our stage security - thank you for taking such good care of us!


Look at those Mason Jars of beer. LOVE it.


I didn't know Tommy Lee came to our show!?!!?


Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie