Introducing the New Band Members!!

Sooo....

I have alluded to the fact that new guys were coming on board over the last little bit, but I haven't said much because there were no "final decisions" made.

Today, that has all changed!!!

We have known for a while now that David Newbould would be joining Team Stovall. David will be coming on board as an opening act/ rhythm guitar/ vocalist in the group! We are THRILLED to have such a talented guy along for the ride. :) He's a fantastic artist - singer/songwriter/guitar player/overall awesomeness and in fact... you should head on over to his website when you have the time and take a look at HIS stuff!!!

http://www.davidnewbould.com/

He originally hails from Canada (thus furthering the borders of this international Stovall band) but he recently made the move to Nashville from Austin, Texas. We even figured out that Dave Madden - my first keyboard player... plays keys for David in Austin!!! Oh what a small world it is!


And the the part we haven't known until today - our new bass player!!!
Introducing Zach Morse (no kids... not Zach Morris... though I'm a little TOO excited about introducing him to Mr. Belding) from Cheyenne, WY (a new state to grace the Stovall Team). Zach has a very rich, deep voice which I can't wait to hear more of. He's a killer bass player. And he's got crazy curly hair to DIE for! :)

You can get a sneak peek at his myspace site:
http://www.myspace.com/zachmorsebassist

We had spoken to Zach, gotten GREAT recommendations from friends about him, and stalked him a little on youtube. Shhhh. We had a great feeling about him, but you can't exactly offer someone a job without meeting them and playing with them first. Well... you can. But, you know. So we got together with everyone today, played through some songs, dug the vibe, offered him the job, and thus now we have a full band again!

Whew. I can't even begin to describe what an incredible feeling that is. New Van, new band, new sound system, new songs, new sets, new fiddles... Whoa. I didn't even realize all the newness until I just typed it out!

Miguel, James, and I couldn't be happier with how 2010 is starting!!! Let's keep it a'rollin!

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Fiddlin Around

Tonight I started practicing for the new songs that we're adding to the sets. WHEW!!!! My fingers haven't been this sore from fiddlin in a while.

It's fun because my new fiddle takes a bit of getting used to with that extra 5th string. I've never had a 5th string before! But it means ALL the strings are closer together, so I have to work on keeping my playing clean even more than I normally do. (a constant struggle anyway)

I always like to learn the solos on the record first and then I can make them my own, once I can play the original. It's a really good way to build chops... which I can always use more of! But man! The "Callin On Baton Rouge" solo is not as easy as it sounds! It's trickier than I thought it would be. All the notes are so close together and quick, and now I am determined to learn the original. I can ply anything I can sing. That's my rule - if I can sing it... then that means I can hear it in my head... therefore I can figure it out on fiddle. But it took me a while! I can play it now. I just don't have it perfect, yet. But tomorrow it will be so much better. (I think... eh em, let's hope)

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Don't Eat Santa's Beard at the Nut Buffet

Mamma kept talking about a song that was stuck in her head and just HAD to listen to it. She kept saying "You know... the one where the little boy ATE Santa's beard."

"Ummm?? Did you say the little boy EATS Santa's beard? "

"Yes!!! That's what he says in the song!"

SO yeah... I couldn't WAIT to hear this song. It sounded awesome.
The best part was that she said it pretty nonchalantly... kind of like "You know, the one where he saw Mommy kissing Santa Clause"

She played it for me... It's a Beach Boys song called "Santa's Beard" And it really does sound like they say the little boy "ate his beard right on off of his chin" but it's "he yanked the beard right on off of his chin"

With roll dough up to my elbows, and flour on my face, we both stood in the kitchen and laughed and laughed.

My brother was ignoring us because he kept eating nuts in a basket that he said the squirrels would have spit out... but for some crazy reason he kept eating them. Mamma finally took them away from him and brought out every single stash of nuts she had in this house. He sat there and ate at his "nut buffet" all night.

I love Christmas :)

This was the best version of the song I could find on Youtube because it shows the lyrics... I have NO IDEA why it's pictures of the Jonas Brothers. But hey, 'why not' is the REAL question! :) Verse 2 at around 52 seconds is where you can find the lyrics in question :)



Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

All We Need Is Love

I witnessed a social interaction in a gas station on our way home from Iowa that saddened me and made me thankful all at once.

I do not know the circumstances in which the couple entered. But from my observation, a woman was being outwardly unkind to her boyfriend. He was embarrassed. He was simply pointing out that there were creamer selections for her coffee behind her in case she wanted them. She screamed at him for being "stupid" and said "Don't you listen to anything I say? I already told you I don't want anything in my F*!&#$% coffee." And with a dramatic and exasperated sigh, she stormed off. He looked distraught and at the end of his rope.

Again, I don't know what went on before they entered the gas station. But the snippet I saw was one person being unkind to another, and for no reason at all.

My heart went out to that poor frustrated man. No one deserves that. NO one does. Not in our most heated, worst conversations with one another. And ESPECIALLY not in the every day interactions with one another.

We all get our buttons pushed and overreact.

But if we can remember LOVE above all else. If we can love each other enough that we don't let our demons get to us and override common decency; if we can let our love for each other - brothers and sisters, spouses, friends, parents, strangers - overcome our tendency to speak before we think; if we can disagree without hatred... we can ALL make a difference and create a better world. It doesn't take much.

I haven't been able to get it out of my head. I think it's on repeat as a reminder for me. It was a small but powerful interaction. It made me SO thankful for my loving husband, my wonderful band, my incredible family, and my personal beliefs of faith, hope, and ultimate LOVE. I guess it started my "Thanksgiving" out a little early. And it has lead to some insightful conversations that still have me thinking. I wish I could say it all more poetically. And hopefully I will in my songs very soon.

"All we need is love" How true that is!!!

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Santa Needs a Swimsuit

It's been a LOOOONG day of driving. And I think I drove a stretch of interstate I've never driven before! We drove through Chattanooga and up to Knoxville. When you're coming from Nashville to get somewhere - you either go through one or the other... you never go through BOTH. It was weird.

But we got to stop at our favorite exit of the last 6 months - Hattiesburg Mississippi - for lunch! We have eaten in Hattiesburg way more times than we've eaten lunch at home since the summer!!! And we've never even played a show there! It's so funny how sometimes we get routed in ways where we keep stopping at the same place around the same time of day. McCallister's is usually our restaurant of choice. :) Some of the locations still have chocolate spoon cake!!!! MMMMmmmmm.

You something that's funny?? We were sitting in Red Robin (mmm Red Robin) tonight and Christmas songs were playing. I had this realization that I bet Christmas songs in America sound really funny to Miguel. It's summertime in Chile right now! He said that he always feels sorry for Santa Clause - when he has to make appearances outside... that red suit get HOT.

Snow, sitting by the fire, hot chocolate, bundling up - American Christmas songs all have SO much of that in them! And for Miguel, well... it's going swimming and suntan lotion and short sleeves.

It's all about perspective. :)

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Time Will Do The Talking

Time is such a beautiful healer. I've been on a Patty Griffin kick lately... and one of my favorite songs "Time Will Do The Talking" was bringing me back to something I was JUST pondering a few days ago.

It's amazing how we can go through relationships or events in our lives and feel like there's NO WAY we can ever get over something. And there are times that YEARS go by and we still suffer with the pain of a specific event or relationship. But it is easy to forget to TRULY have faith in the healing power of "time". Eventually, those feelings start to wear down and they don't hurt as badly.

I think back to things that went on in college that consumed my whole life. Relationships with people that I felt like I would NEVER stop crying over... or stop stressing out about. And now? I can't even remember details about some of those crazy times. The biggest thing I remember? How stressed out or upset I was. The way I felt is a memory that doesn't fade. But many of the things that made me feel that way... can't remember a dang thing about it.

I say all of this being in an incredibly happy place in life. But I think it is important to acknowledge these things as they pop up in our brains. There was a long time that people would say "give it time". And though I had faith... it is a lot harder to believe in something when you have yet to truly experience it. Now that I have? I want to make sure I remember this feeling RIGHT NOW of knowing that "time" has healed so many wounds.

It is important to me to really FEEL an emotion. Sometimes I just need a good cry. And sometimes I really don't want to wipe the tears away.... I want to feel them roll all the way down my cheek and drop off my face and splash down on my knee. I want to wallow a bit in the emotion so that I can get it out of my system. I am generally a happy person so when I am upset... I just need to be upset. And then, I am completely free to start focusing on the things that I DO want, rather than the things that have caused me pain. Cause that's what it is all about. It is a lot easier to get stuck in a rut of negativity than it is to focus on the positives. ESPECIALLY when everything in life isn't necessarily falling into place. But the more we focus on what we DO want - pray for it, meditate on it, visualize it - the more those things start to come into being. I've seen this first hand over and over in my own life. It's constantly a work in progress! But I try with all my might to be thankful for what I do have. It may not be fancy, but I sure am happy!

I am going to attach the lyrics of the Patty Griffin song because it is so beautiful. And SHE is so good that it is beautiful read as a poem. I wish I could post the mp3... but there's not a good way to do that on here. So if you get a chance to check it out it's called "Time Will Do The Talking". I definitely understand why the Dixie Chicks always put a Patty Griffin song on their records. Who knows... maybe I'll just have to post my own acoustic version of this one soon :)

You were so cruel
I hated being your fool
So I got a little bit more mud on my face
But the years will bring a bigger scheme of things
And make a pretty memory out of my disgrace
I don't believe there is such a thing as saying too much
There are those who like to look and
Those who ain't afraid to touch

Oh baby don't you know that the
Time will do the talking
Years will do the walking
I'll just find a comfy spot and wait it out
Time will do the talking
Years will do the walking
Time will tell you baby what you can't hear now

Well we dig our heels in
And wonder who's gonna win
Who is gonna win it or wear it out
I change the lock on the door
Or learn how to take a little more
I can outrun all of the devils there
But never the doubt
Try not to throw all your money into 20/20 vision
For the world won't wait on politics or indecision

Oh baby don't you know that the
Time will do the talking
Years will do the walking
I'll just find a comfy spot and wait it out
Time will do the talking
Years will do the walking
Time will tell you baby what you can't hear now

Can you hear the voice inside you
It calls you back to where you belong
Can you see the one beside you
Who's been standin' there all along
Baby, well you were so cruel
I hated being your fool
So I got a little bit more
Mud on my face
But the years will bring
The bigger scheme of things
And make a pretty memory out of my disgrace

The time will do the talking
Years will do the walking
I'll just find a comfy spot and wait it out
Time will do the talking
Years will do the walking
Time will tell you baby what you can't hear now
Time will tell you baby what you can't hear now
Time will tell you baby what you can't hear now

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

It's a good Good Friday

I went to write with Gordon today and it was SOOOOOO good to see him. There's never enough hours in the day when we are writing together :) But today was great because it gave us a chance to reevaluate everything we worked on earlier this year. I still have so many unfinished songs with him.... that's not unusual for me though :) I usually have a whole stash of songs I am working on that I finish at the most random times. I can try and try with all my might to finish some songs.... but with certain pieces of work - I just have to wait for the inspiration to hit me.

That's how I wrote most of the songs for "Late Night Conversations" - I had an entire digital recorder filled with ideas. And over time I finished them one by one. And the strongest ones ended up making the record.

We finished one today that I am thrilled about! I can't really talk about it yet, but you'll hear it soon enough. :) And then we have 4 others with really great starts. I'm smiling so big right now cause I am hearing them all in my head at once. They are just little infants right now... I can tell what they will look like for the most part... they just haven't fully developed yet :)

SO I have a lot of work ahead of me.

I had to cut us off to catch the last train back into the city. Gordon and I were texting lyrical ideas of one of the songs to each other. But there was an inebriated Italian fella, Fabrizio, that really wanted to talk. His English was a bit broken... which he kept apologizing for... but his English wasn't really the reason he was hard to understand.... It was probably all the wine with dinner.... if I were to guess...

He came to this country to "have experience", which he explained ummm... a few times.... and then a few more...

I can't possibly attempt to explain what he was talking about (nor could he) but the one thing he was sure of..... I have "eyes like fox." He said that over and over again. He REALLY wanted me to know that. He wanted to make sure I go home tonight and look in the mirror to check and see if "Fabrizio is full of BS or Fabrizio tell truth". He nearly missed his stop because he kept putting his hands around his eyes to make the shape of glasses and was yelling "YOU. Eyes like fox!!! Like FOX! You see! Look in mirror!" And THEN once he got OFF the train he ran to the window where I was sitting and was screaming it from the outside... and putting his hands around his eyes again. And then making the shape of a pregnant belly. (That was a whole other story... he thinks I am smart like fox and won't have "The children" until I KNOW... cause I have eyes like fox... ) Yeah. I don't really get it either. The train attendants kept staying close by. And after he got off the train one came over to me and said "We should have put that on youtube." I actually recorded a bit of the conversation onto my iphone because it was cracking me up.

But apparently I have "eyes like fox" so I guess that means don't mess with me?

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Finally! Lyrics!!!

We finally wrote some lyrics!!! YAY!!!
We finished the song that we had started yesterday :) It was an interesting process for us though... it didn't really go the way we expected....
This was the song that I described to you last night as " an Olympic theme.. a song about miracles and overcoming obstacles" Well... it started there and about 5 or 6 choruses later it turned into something much more personal.... a situation that has been weighing on my mind lately. Who knows if it is my next huge smash hit (I love that I said my "next" smash hit.... as if to imply I have ALREADY had a smash hit....) But that doesn't matter because it now serves a much higher purpose. One of my best friends has gone through such a painful time in her life and so many of my thoughts have been with her this week. And I feel like I was meant to write this song today.

Hopefully we feel as strongly about it after we've slept on it. I got so wrapped up in the emotions of writing this song that it's a little difficult to look at it objectively right now.


And for something completely out of left field.... I found out that my nephew, Cameron:




thinks that when kids grow up, adults get younger... he thinks that when he is an adult, his parents will be kids.

I find that absolutely FASCINATING.

Peace, Love, Fiddle Y'all!

Natalie Unplugged

Today is the first episode of "Natalie Unplugged" ;) This is a chance for me to share songs with you at their birth!

It's so funny because as a writer - you write lots and LOTS of songs. And not all of them are ever heard. (sometimes with good reason! HA!) Even some of the songs that I love singing and playing still may never make it to an album. (At least, you hope you write SOOOO many great songs that you have the luxury of being very picky) There's always a lot more that goes into picking songs for an album than just "liking" them!! ;)
But the beautiful part? I don't have to decide right away if a song is going on my next album! And I can just share these with ya'll - and you can let me know which ones speak to YOU. Who knows? Maybe YOU'LL be the ones deciding the track list for my next album :)


Featured in this video is my co-writer for this one, Mr. Charlie Hutto :)
Many of you will recognize Charlie as he was in the band for almost a whole year. We met at Berklee and have been playing in bands together.... well... since Berklee!