...being the observations and navigational extracts
from the ongoing expeditions of San Francisco Piano Pop trio
True Margrit

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Climb Every Mountain Stage

Dearest readers, I'm ever so psyched!


This is what happened: a few months ago, I entered the Mountain Stage /Folk Alliance NEW SONG CONTEST, and promptly forgot about it. Then, this week the phone rings with caller ID showing a Brooklyn area code & I answer with slight belligerence expecting a bill collector. But it's a very nice fellow named Dan from New Song telling me I'm a regional finalist in the song contest!!! WHOA!!! He politely inquires if I can come on down to Los Angeles to perform a tune or two... the answer? HELL YEAH!


SO off I go to Wimbledon--uh, I mean LA. Please, sweet readers, if so inclined wish me well on September 2--I need your exuberant vivacity and courage! And if you've got friends/ family in LA --please send them to THE MINT to check out one hell of a show. More on this as it develops...


Well, then.

Like the True Margrit song HOURS in REVERSE, we now travel back through time to catch you up on salient events from the end of July ( we wouldn't want you feeling like you missed a meeting or anything).

7) On my actual birthday ( July 28) we play at the lovely venue Monterey Live in ( you guessed it Ms Holmes) Monterey. We feel very fancified playing on a stage all festooned in red curtains and with a handsome baby grand. The opener-- the fine local artiste Andrea Blunt--has a friend watching her set whose birthday is ALSO 7/28. So, a cake appears and I hear that "Happy Birthday "song for the fourth time in four days. More on that as we go backwards through timespace. WE play our set & all goes well--except the piano has been placed on the stage in the exact right spot that the stagelights put the entire group of black keys in utter dark. I can't see them---whoa there's nothing like not knowiing what note you're playing. Eeeep. We nonetheless soldier on, of course.

6) Before the gig Sarah & I play blacklight mini-golf---AWESOME!!!

5) Before blacklight mini-golf we go to Monterery Bay Aquarium--spectonkular!! (Photos are forthcoming in a separate blog...)

4) On my birthday eve Sarah & I stay at a cute B & B called Jabberwock ( NO--not D&D) in Monterey. I am serenaded with "Happy Birthday" ( third time in three days) in a fancy three-part harmony version. And then we play Scategories (which I LOVE) with our new acapella-ly inclined friends!

3) We go to Jeff & Heather's pool party at which I have "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" sung to me for the 2nd time in two days -- and then I blow out candles on one of Heather Campbell's scrumptious cakes ( this one is chocolate angel's food with whipped cream, chocolate ganache, and fruit in between the layers---YUM!)

2) Our excellent sweet friends show lots of love by singing a rousing, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" whilst attending my Dolores Park Cafe SF birthday show/ fundraiser, and by being ever so generous with cards, contributions, and general rocking out. Musically speaking for the band, the gig goes well enough--except my damper pedal dies right before the set--which put a miniscule damper on my evening...all night my brain is like, "must get to the next note without sustain, can't quite do this thing without three hands".. and so on, but I do the very best I can in such circumstances. And from now on I carry TWO PEDALS!! As god is my roadie.

PS GLORIA JUSTEN sits in on a few tunes, which is an extra special treat.


1) The band rehearses the day before the gig & DAMN! Even after a month ( or three) off we sound like...hmmm, I've got it here on the tip of my keypad....uh,,,,oh yeah, True Margrit.

We can't wait to play for you.

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