News.
10.17.11 : Gypsy Life: Volume Two
I’ve always enjoyed riding the bus. There is something really romantic about it. Listening to music, looking out the window, watching the people get off and on, trying to guess what their lives are like, having the occasional interesting or awkward conversation with strangers, watching the city go by… It always plays out like a music video or my own personal scene from a movie.
Today, I was riding the bus with my dog, and I didn’t have my earbuds in like I usually do (to prevent those uncomfortable conversations that can come up — especially when you have a cute dog in your lap). And so, today I met Lloyd: a 70-something, semi-delusional, rambling old man who took a liking to my dog and wanted to tell me about where he was born, and how the city has changed, and all the places he had lived in his life, and all the jobs he’d had, all the while pointing out the window at random buildings and houses and claiming to know the people who worked and lived in them. He talked about how his “body’s been halfway around the world and back” and how he’s “got a lot of memories” and doesn’t just want to “sit around doin’ nothin’.” He also talked a lot about how he wondered what had happened to his friends in different parts of the world, and that he assumed they “were gone.” He said he’s survived so many illnesses and surgeries that he reckons “the man upstairs isn’t ready for” him yet. He said a lot of other things that I couldn’t quite make out, and I don’t think he even heard my “Oh really?”s and “Wow, that’s amazing”s. He got off the bus about fifteen stops before downtown Seattle, which is where he had claimed he was going, to “have coffee and visit the people who know” him. I watched him fumble for something in his pocket as the bus drove away.
Meeting Lloyd today, of all days, was very fitting, since today is the day I announce plans to put my stuff back into storage and head back out on the road for a few months (or more) of the gypsy life. Listening to Lloyd talk about his many adventures, jobs, and trips around the world (true or not) — and his current frustration with “sitting around doing nothing” — I was reminded of how precious youth is, and how easy it is to take it for granted until it’s too late and you can barely muster up the energy to get on the bus, or the cognizance to know where you’re trying to go. Even at my age, not quite old but no longer young, I still feel like I need to make up for lost time. Today, Lloyd reminded me that it ultimately doesn’t matter if you make a lot of money or buy a house or do any of the things we think we are supposed to do by a certain age. What matters is that, when you get to be Lloyd’s age, you feel like you made the most of the time you had on this planet, while you had the physical and mental energy to do so.
So, with that anecdote, I present to you THE GYPSY LIFE: VOLUME TWO.
Next month will be my last month in my Seattle apartment. I’ll be selling whatever I have left to sell, on eBay, Craigslist, and even a yard sale next month. I’ll be putting the rest into storage, and hitting the road with my dog and the incredibly talented Chris Staples for a two week tour that we have affectionately coined “The Migration Tour,” which will take us down the west coast and across the south, to a small beach town near Pensacola, Florida, which will serve as my winter retreat and home base between the following tours:
South Florida Weekend (Jan 12-15)
Gainesville, FL
Tampa, FL
Miami, FL
Orlando, FL
East Coast Tour (Jan 20 – Feb 4) with SPECIAL GUESTS TBA
Jacksonville, FL
Savannah, GA
Myrtle Beach, SC
Richmond, VA
Baltimore, MD
New York City, NY
Danbury, CT
Boston, MA
New York City, NY
Philadelphia, PA
Pittsburgh, PA
Cleveland, OH
Chicago, IL
Indianapolis, IN
Louisville, KY
Nashville, TN
Marietta, GA
…and then? Who knows!
In NEW ALBUM news: we are in the mixing phase right now, while I sort out where and how to get the album mastered. If all goes as planned, I’ll have the final master copy in my hand sometime in mid-November, to send to the Kickstarter Backers who claimed the advance copy reward. I’m not sure how I’ll release it after that; it will take some time to get it into iTunes, but I think I’d like to put it out through my own site and/or Bandcamp, digitally, for free or donation first. I’ll be making some handmade copies of the album for my shows, until I can afford to press the album for real!
THE MIGRATION TOUR will kick off in Seattle sometime in November (we are working on a date and venue), and I think I’m going to put together a band to play that show! We set up a separate Facebook Page just for the tour, where you can RSVP to your local show and get the latest info about the tour. If Chris and I do any touring together on the east coast this winter, we’ll be using that same Page. There is also talk of us teaming up on a few cover songs together! We made a Tiny URL for the Page at tinyurl.com/themigrationtour, so we don’t have to commit to a Facebook URL just yet.
Lastly, I just want to say thank you to my employers at Perfect Copy & Print in Seattle, who hired me in January and have supported me and my crazy schedule, from the EIY Tour to recording my album. They’ve always been understanding and encouraging about my music, even when I gave them the sad news that I would be leaving Seattle (and my job) for the foreseeable future. That awesome little print shop has been one of the few consistent things in my life this past year, and I’ll miss it — and my co-workers — dearly! ♥
Now, it’s time to start the engines…
Love,
Sarah
09.23.11 : Studio Updates!
I’ve been neglecting the news feed on my website, but luckily I think I’m connected with most of you through all those silly websites we all like to frequent (Twitter, Facebook, tumblr, etc) — and if you are a Kickstarter Backer, or if you have donated to the making of the second G,NA album through the Kickstarter Leftovers page I set up on the site — then you should be getting daily in-depth studio updates from me via email! But just to be sure nobody misses out:
Kickstarter Blog for my studio journal, photos, videos, album details: CLICK HERE (or donate here to claim a leftover reward from the fundraiser, and get the Kickstarter blog sent to your email)
tumblr Blog for photos, quotes, G,NA inspiration music, and baby animal pics: sarahsaturday.tumblr.com (I will follow you back!)
Facebook Page for photos, status updates, links, etc: facebook.com/gardeningnotarchitecture
Twitter Profiles (links and tweets): @GNAtweets (strictly G,NA-related, and I will follow you back!) and/or @sarahsaturday (my personal profile, general randomness)
So much has already unfolded in the first five days in the studio, and we only just started tracking today! I’m trying my best to keep everyone updated while also focusing on doing my job here, so please connect with me through one (or all) of those outlets! I don’t want you to miss anything!
Thank you to everyone who donated and continues to donate to the making of my second album. I am moved beyond words and so excited to deliver these songs to the world.
Love,
Sarah
07.13.11 : The Kickstarter Campaign Has Begun!
Click HERE to visit my Kickstarter page and check out all the SWEET incentives for donating!
Thanks to everyone who sent in clips and helped me put the video together!
Love you all,
Sarah
07.01.11 : From Gardening to Architecture: The Next Phase of G,NA
Dearly beloved friends and supporters of Gardening, Not Architecture:
I am writing to you from my new studio apartment in Seattle, where half of my belongings remain in boxes, while the other half are piled up around me haphazardly, waiting to be placed in their designated spot on shelves and windowsills. There are two things, though, that have been unpacked and in their places since the day I moved in a few weeks ago, after spending nearly 18 months on the road, and those two things are: my guitar and my computer.
These are the two things that have made it possible, over the past eight years, for me to make Gardening, Not Architecture a reality. They are the reasons I’ve made the songs and been able to get the songs out to the world, and they’re the reasons I’ve met so many incredible people on the road and online through my music. They’re the reasons I’ve been lucky enough to have had so many brilliant minds get involved with this project and add their own touches to the garden. Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about these people, and about how I’ve never had the chance to publicly thank them for helping me get to this point. So before I take another step, it’s time to thank those people who have helped me take all the steps I’ve taken so far.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
From the bottom of my heart to the top, thank you to Beau Sorenson; Eddie Breckenridge; Krist Krueger; Hunter Burgan; Michael Lee; Bryan Sheffield; Evan Glodell; Eddy Numbskull; Steve Harm; Brian Coughlin; Stephen Chilton; Chris Laughter; Justin Sullivan; German Rivera; Chris Walla; Kevin Lyman; my brother and brain-sharer John Paul Roney; my life coach slash unofficial manager from 2008-2010 Dean Suko; my lawyers and advisors Chris Castle and Rob Wells; my booking agent slash therapist Adam Kreeft; and the one person whose help, advice, guidance, know-how, and patience I could never have done any of this without: Wyatt Glodell. This list of names is precious to me and I carry it with me everywhere I go.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Today, G,NA begins a new phase and a list of new names. Today I come out of six months of musical hibernation and personal growth. AND! It’s also the day that I’m going to ask you, dear reader, to lend a helping hand in perhaps the biggest undertaking I’ve ever attempted with G,NA.
First, allow me to introduce the newest name on the list.
When I finished the EIY Tour earlier this month in Nashville, and got on a plane to fly to Seattle, I didn’t know what was going to happen — except that I was going to sign a lease that night and return to my part-time job on Capitol Hill two days later. In the time since the last G,NA show in December, I have gone through a few big life changes, and more than one kind of broken heart. Arriving in Seattle on June 5th, I had absolutely no idea how or when or where I would record the next album — if I’d even be able to record one at all.
As a semi-joke, a couple weeks prior to that plane ride, I had posted my dream live band line-up for G,NA on Twitter, and one of those musicians was Steve Choi from Rx Bandits. I met Steve when Eddy Numbskull booked me in the opening spot at two of their shows in 2009. If you haven’t seen Rx Bandits live, you’d better hurry up and get a ticket because they’re on their “farewell” tour right now, and it’s one of the best live shows you’ll experience. They are a band that has risen to success with a lot of hard work, blood sweat and tears, and most of all: by being incredible musicians. Steve is one of those prodigious multi-instrumentalists who also happens to know the business side of music like the back of his hand. Over the past couple years, Steve has contributed his wisdom not only to me personally, but also to my other project, www.earnityourself.com. I was excited when I found out that Steve was moving into the role of producing bands outside his role(s) in Rx Bandits, but it never occurred to me that we might one day be able to work together.
After a couple weeks of being in Seattle and soaking in the reality of all the changes that have occurred in the past several months, I decided I had nothing to lose, and I called Steve Choi and asked if he would be interested in taking on G,NA as his next recording project. Much to my surprise, he was excited about the idea, and it turned out that he had an opening in his schedule right at the time I was hoping to start recording! When I got off the phone, I immediately felt something click into place. I had done it: I had pushed through this wall of fear that has popped up in my life so many times in the past and stopped me from moving beyond a certain point. The wall that is: being afraid to ask.
This fall, I’ll be going into the studio in Southern California with Steve Choi to record the second full-length Gardening, Not Architecture album! I’m incredibly grateful and honored and excited to have this chance — and this is where YOU come in!
No, I’m not about to ask you for money… not yet anyway! *wink*
As you all know, if you’ve been here for a while: I’m not rich. I cashed in my industry jobs in LA in 2009, and spent my life savings over the past 18 months, in order to return to making music and running www.earnityourself.com as my two main, defining roles. You’ve all supported me through tour after tour, with your online donations, or by buying my music/merchandise, coming to shows, letting me sleep on your couch, and feeding me. You’ve all read my long and rambling posts from the road, and you’ve stayed in touch with me even while I’ve been off the road. You are my friends and extended family, and I mean it. I really mean it in the truest sense of the words.
I’m at a dead end, financially. I have run out of savings, and all I have right now is a part-time job that doesn’t even cover my expenses each month. I got rid of my car, cell phone, and health insurance. The only bills I have right now are: rent, utilities, internet, and credit card debt. I also have to feed my dog, and I eat about 1.5 meals a day, but that’s it. I don’t go out, I don’t have any expensive habits — heck, I even cancelled my Netflix! I’m down to the bare minimum, without having to live on people’s couches or in a house full of strangers where it’s incredibly hard to be creative and write music.
*Addendum 6/3 - I am editing this to add an extremely important note: I do not feel sorry for myself. I think when people in my situation go online and post about their financial woes to the world, they expect some kind of pity, as if they did not choose to be in the situation they’re in. Not me! I don’t feel sorry for myself at all. I made the conscious decision to return to being a “starving artist” in order to be able to do what I love to do and live my life the way I want to live it, in the philosophical sense. Yes, I’m struggling, but that just makes it that much more rewarding when I’m able to do something like record an album, play a show, or go on tour. And it makes something like a Kickstarter campaign that much more meaningful: I’m not someone who is already living off of music with a record deal or two under my belt; I work part-time jobs to pay the rent and get by. The only way I can record music that doesn’t sound like crap is to save money, play shows and sell merch, and do fundraisers. But I do not feel sorry for myself, and I don’t want you to feel sorry for me either. 
In order to make the second album happen, financially, I’ve decided to launch a Kickstarter campaign on July 8th, and I’ve got everything pretty much laid-out and ready to go, except for one thing: THE VIDEO.
Although not required, a video can make or break a Kickstarter campaign. If you’ve checked out any of the successful campaigns on there, most of the time it’s the ones with unique, funny, inspiring, or creative videos that go above and beyond reaching their financial goals — not that the project isn’t also the reason, but a good video does wonders for introducing your campaign to the world. The problem is: making a video is the one thing I am completely incapable of doing. I’ve never been able to sit in front of my computer and talk into the camera without fumbling over my words, which is why I’ve never done it, probably at the cost of missing out on a bunch of potential new fans. I can do interviews all day long, but I’m terribly awkward and shy when it’s me filming myself. I’m even bad at taking photos of myself. I’ve managed to avoid the necessity for self-filming and self-photographing with the help of my amazing photographer and director friends, but I’m far away from those people right now, and I literally can’t afford not to have a video.
So…
♥ I need you to help me make a video!♥
In the next six days (before next Thursday, July 7th), I need everyone to take up to one minute (that’s all I need, seriously, at the most — it can even be 10 seconds) to record a video explaining what G,NA means to you, and why you think people should donate to the fundraiser for the second album. I’ll record the intro and outro clips (which is about as long as I can talk to myself on camera before I start to sound like a malfunctioning robot), but the entire bulk of the video will be a montage of clips submitted by people who want to see this project go on and want to hear a second G,NA album! You can do anything: interview your friends, family, dog; write a jingle or a rap song; tell the story of how you discovered G,NA; do a dance to a G,NA song; tell the story of the first G,NA show you saw; get a group of friends and spell something out on your shirts; do a ten-second cover of your favorite G,NA song, tell me what you’d like the next album to sound like; or simply make a sign and hold it up in front of the camera. Anything at all! Just keep it short and record it on a digital camera if you can! (Avoid PhotoBooth, cell phones, and Flip cams if possible. This will make editing all the different videos together easier and faster. If you don’t have a digital camera, and can’t borrow one, just use whatever you have and I will make it work!)
When you’re finished, email me and I’ll add you to my Dropbox folder so you can upload it directly. On Thursday next week, my friend in LA is going to edit all of these clips together for me and email me the final video, which will be the featured video on the Kickstarter campaign, which I’m kicking off one week from today, on July 8th!
AS A THANK YOU: Everyone who sends a video that we end up using in the campaign will get a handmade tee shirt from me. And anyone who sends in a video, whether or not we use it, will go on the Official Sponsors list on the G,NA website, forever.
Of course, once the campaign is launched, I’ll need your help spreading the word about it to everyone in the entire world! But for now, I NEED A VIDEO! And I need you to make it happen!
If you have any questions, email me or post a comment, or find me on Facebook or Twitter. My goal is to get 20 usable videos by next Thursday. Think we can do that?
I’m so excited for the potential of all of this. G,NA just continues to grow and morph and develop and change, and I never know what’s going to happen next. It’s taken on a life of its own, and it is only still alive because of all of you.
It’s going to be an interesting rest of the year!
Love,
Sarah
