I always love getting to see people’s homes and meet their families on tour. Every house is different, every family is unique and interesting in their own way, and they each have a different approach to building a home. I’ve struggled with my idea and definition of “family” and “home” the past couple years, so getting to tour and experience other people’s families and homes has been very therapeutic and inspiring for me.

Last night’s show was in the attic of a big craftsmen style house belonging to a photographer/artist couple and their seven children (longtime family friends of Dinner And A Suit). They built and designed this house themselves, together as a family. Every wall and bookshelf and decoration in the house looked like it had been planned and placed with the utmost care and consideration. We played on the top floor of the house, a small attic-style space with slanted ceilings, turned into a cozy hangout with candles and old books and photographs and trinkets everywhere.

The room filled up quickly with friends and family. The first band, Wildebeast, is a group of guys who have been friends with Dinner And A Suit for many years. They were incredible and could easily tour and sell albums and get recognition for their music, but they have yet to even record their songs. I played second and was welcomed with kind applause and encouragement from a packed, tiny room. I was happy to see a few familiar faces who had driven an hour to see the show, making me feel like I too had family in the room. Dinner And A Suit played last and put on a beautiful performance while their proud parents sang along in the back, eyes closed, moved by the music. The ambience, the warmth in the attic with the occasional cold breeze coming through the open windows, the soft light from the candles, and the general feeling of love and camaraderie made the whole thing feel like a dream.

Today we hit the road again, and needless to say I was very sad to say goodbye to this place! I am so grateful to the Beretta family for opening their home to me, and to the Capeci and Genca families for their kindness. It’s easy to see where Dinner And A Suit get their creative, gentle spirits from.

Sometimes I feel like a lone sailor, constantly drifting in a ramshackle vessel that I fashioned together out of scraps, to the best of my ability given the tools I could find. Occasionally I come across a harbor filled with beautiful ships, and a marina where I am welcomed in for a warm meal and a soft bed. I can never stay as long as I would like, but while I’m there I get a glimpse of what life on solid ground could be like, and I leave with new ideas for how to build a better boat.

A tour can be successful because you’ve managed to book a show for every date and have no days off. A tour can be successful because you have a couch to sleep on for free every night, and you never have to pay for food. A tour can be successful because you brought ticket-buying friends and fans out to the show in every city. A tour can be successful because you met some great bands who share your values and want to play shows again with you in the future. A tour can be successful because you left a good impression on the promoter and venue staff at every show. A tour can be successful because you made enough money each night to pay for gas and expenses, and managed to come home with a little bit of money in your pocket. A tour can be successful because you put on the best show you possibly could, every night, and your music affected people and earned new fans in every city. A tour can be successful because you are reminded each night of why you love to play music, why you feel the need to share your music with other people, and why you are okay with the sacrifices you have made in order to live your life in a way that allows you to do so. Ideally, your tour will achieve all of these things.

When I go on tour, I’m constantly trying to determine if what the tour is offering at each show is worth the time, energy, and money that ticket-buyers, promoters, venues, and other bands have put into making that show happen. I ask everyone what they think about the show, the bands on the bill, the venue, ticket price, promotion, and performances. I somehow combine everyone’s feedback with my own thoughts and feelings about the show, and then I check that against the excel grid I have on my computer with a running total of expenses vs. revenue. It’s like one big science experiment.

I can’t say that I know for sure whether or not what I’m doing to make G,NA work is, in fact, working. And I won’t know in what way(s) the tour was successful until I get back home. But so far, according to my scientific calculations, I can honestly say that this tour with Dinner And A Suit offers more value than any tour I’ve done so far as Gardening, Not Architecture. I’m proud of the tour as a whole, from the quality of music and performance to the quality of the human beings who are on the tour. The bands, promoters and venues have all been amazing to work with, and the people who have come out to support us are proof that something in what we are doing must be good — because only something good could attract such high-quality individuals.

Thank you to Richmond: The Camel, Breton, Nathan, Tribe Of Soul, Emma, Brett, James, Jason, and all our new friends there.

Thank you to Baltimore: Ottobar, Craig, Cindy, Rob, MusicBox Productions, Boy In The Well,  Survival Society, The Baby Grand, Ben, and all our new friends there.

Thank you to the Beretta family.

Thank you to Rockville Centre: The Vibe Lounge, Anthony, Dan, Travis, Sean, Club Loaded, Signal For Pilot, Family Lumber, Liars Etc, Giovanni, and all our new friends there.

Thank you to Alex Mohler.

And of course, thank you to Adam Kreeft of Kreeft Booking.

All of you have helped us get to Danbury, CT, today with gas in the tank and food in our bellies, and the feeling that there is a good reason for us to be doing what we’re doing!

Love,
Sarah

I put the last of my money in the gas tank today somewhere near Roanoke, VA. Depending on how things go in the next two weeks, this may be my last G,NA tour for a while. However, it will definitely not be my last time playing with a full band; after this past week of rehearsals, I’ve realized how much I want (and need) to add live players to G,NA’s live show. So, regardless of how long I stay off the road, I will definitely be focusing on putting together a band somewhere in the southeast, and I’ll be playing locally and regionally until I can afford to get back out on a longer tour.

I’m so grateful to DAAS for doing this tour with me. I see great things for them in the future, and I’m honored that I get to tour with them at this early stage in their career. Check out their music on Facebook!

Their full-time drummer, JD, couldn’t do the tour with us because of school, but luckily the drummer who did DAAS’s last tour with them was available for this run, and he’s been killing it on my songs this past week. He’s currently listening to the songs in the back seat in preparation for tonight’s show. Meet Jeremiah:

More updates to come from the road this time around, for sure. There’s a lot of stuff on my mind.

Come to a show if you can: facebook.com/gnadaas

Love,
Sarah

Love,
The Migration Tour

(Full update tomorrow.)

Love,
Sarah

My new album, “Saboteur,” came out on November 22nd on iTunes and Bandcamp, and I’m making 100 handmade, individually-personalized CDs as the first physical edition of the album! Get it now at gardeningnotarchitecture.com/saboteur!

It always takes me a few days to get back into the “tour mindset.” The transition is a whirlwind of emotions, physical and mental exhaustion, routine disruption, and a general sense of discomfort and uneasiness as I struggle and fumble to quickly create a new system and routine for daily life that makes things feel manageable. Like jumping out of an airplane and rushing to piece together some kind of parachute mid-air, out of whatever I have on me, before I hit the ground.

Taking my first shower of the tour (tonight) helped a lot.

Starting tomorrow, after the Chico show, I’m hoping that parachute will be finished and I’ll be able to start posting nightly updates for the rest of the tour!

Sweet dreams,
Sarah

Go to www.earnityourself.com to see if I’ll be hosting an EIY meet-up in your city!

I get back to Seattle in June and I’ll be spending the next [_???_] months holed up there, writing what is bound to be the most heartbreaking collection of pop songs you’ve ever heard.

xoxo
Sarah

But the flip side of that coin is that it’s always hard to be a musician standing on the sidelines, watching bands take the stage and do what they love, and not be able to follow suit. It’s not that I wish all these people were cheering for me, or that I want to be admired or placed on a pedestal. It’s more that I just wish I could tell these musicians whom I respect so much, “Hey, I’m one of you, I have art that I want to share that I think you would appreciate.” It’s the feeling of recognizing where you belong, among your peers and people who have the same outlook and interests, and not being able to be one of them. Having to remain an outsider, an ugly duckling.

However, this year something was different. Last year, I was just a girl that Brianne hired to help out, who had worked on the Warped Tour in the past. Nobody had any idea that I played music, and were surprised when they found out. This year, after spending 2010 on the road — especially on the Warped Tour where so many of these behind-the-scenes individuals spend their summers — people actually assumed that I was performing at Coachella. Almost every single person I knew, saw me immediately asked, “Is Gardening, Not Architecture playing?” and they were surprised and even disappointed when I said no. I was caught off-guard every time someone asked me that, but then it dawned on me: maybe the fact that they assumed I’d be playing means that it’s not such an unrealistic possibility! Maybe there’s a chance that one or two years from now, I could actually be performing on one of these stages instead of standing off to the side, singing along, longing to do what I love most for people who love music as much as I do.

So in a strange way, working the festival this year was an inspiration for me, musically. I’ve made up my mind that someday, somehow, I will play Coachella! And it will be by my own effort, not because I asked a favor. It will be because I’ve worked hard to create decent art that gets people’s attention, and I’ll get booked for my talent and the value that I will bring to Coachella. And I’ll talk about this blog post on stage when I play. And I hope that you will be there with me.

Love,
Sarah

Today was Thanksgiving, and I spent it at the house of a family that I met on my first G,NA tour, back in the spring of 2009. They always come to my shows when I play Northern California, and let me stay at the house, and feed me, and treat me like part of their family. I feel extremely blessed to have met them at the beginning of my travels with G,NA, and I know they’ll be part of my life for a very long time. So it was perfect that I happened to be in this part of the world on Thanksgiving, and I was able to celebrate with their family and then put on an intimate living room show after dinner for a handful of friends who came over to the house.

It’s people like this family — who have come into my life over the years because of music, and stayed with me through all the crazy projects, ideas, bands, jobs, cities, and other paths I’ve taken — that I feel especially thankful for today, on Thanksgiving. I think about how impossible it is that I’ve made it to this point without starving to death, getting stranded in the middle of the country, or ending up in jail or the loony bin, and I realize that the only way it’s been possible is because of YOU.

You, who are reading this right now because you are interested enough to visit my website. You, who have paid money to see me perform at your local venue/house. You, who have come up to me after a show and bought some merchandise, or told me that you love my music, that I should keep going, that I shouldn’t give up. You, who tell your friends to listen to the songs and burns them a CD of the album. You, who read the emails I send to the email list, or comment on the posts I make online, or tell your friends to check out my music online. You, who have let me sleep on your couch and then offered me a cup of coffee in the morning. You, who have donated your hard-earned money through the website so that I could fix my car, buy more merch, and pay for gas and food on the road. You, who believe in what I’m doing, and want to see me succeed. You, who send me encouraging emails about how you have been personally affected by the Earn It Yourself philosophy, or how the G,NA songs have moved you, or how you are inspired by the approach I’ve taken in building a career in music.

You, who are my loyal friends.
You, who are my supportive family.
You, who have been there for years, who keep coming back,
…and who I (now) know will be there forever.

One of my songs is called “Moments,” and I wrote it at a house party I threw a couple years ago, sitting on my bed at 4am thinking about whatever was going on in my life at the time. It was probably about some stupid pseudo-relationship I thought I cared about, which I’ve long since forgotten. But over the past year of touring, the song has taken on a whole new meaning for me, and I’ve begun telling people about it at the shows on this tour. Today, as I’m thinking about how thankful I am for everyone who has made it possible for me to continue moving forward, and I’m realizing how connected we all are, I want to share the song and the lyrics with you as a token of my gratitude for all that you have done for me. It’s not much, but it’s all I can afford, and it’s the closest thing to my heart that I can offer. It’s been an extremely difficult year, but incredible, beautiful, monumental and life-changing. I am as committed to you as you are to me, and no matter how trying it can be, it is worth it to me because I am able to share what I love with people that I love.

Thank you for all the moments we have shared so far. I am excited for all the moments yet to come!

RIGHT CLICK HERE to download the song “Moments” from the album First LP.

Lyrics:
Here I go again
Here we go again
We will never know
What we could have known
No matter where this takes me
No matter what this takes of me
I can see the end
I can’t change the end
But I understand
I will understand
No matter where this takes me
No matter what this takes of me
It’s better than missing these moments with you

Thank you for everything.

Happy Thanksgiving,
♥ Sarah

I’ll be in Redding tomorrow. I refuse to be deterred by a cursed car!

Love,
Sarah