The Rattlin' Blog
Rève du Faun's
Gig Journal
Written by Anita Kelling-Flute Player
Tillies Bean February 9th, 2008
We played Tillies Grand Re-Opening celebration. It was so nice to be there in the company of friendly and familiar faces. I love that in times of sorrow and joy the family that is the Minnesota Renaissance Festival -participants supports each other. We are always happy to help people by playing for benefits or donating stuff.
Having just come off the road, we were a little bit crispy, but we longed for the familial and felt loved and appreciated. We did a short set of tunes and it was just 3 of the 4 of us. Jac is still in Florida doing a festival. I can't wait until he is back with us again. I miss having his bass line to groove to. I can't recall what songs we sang. I think we debuted a new one that we had just learned in San Jose. It is called the Sun is Rising. It was written by a woman in Oregon. I can't find her name to credit her, but I will. It is a great song and I'm glad she wrote it.
Notes from the Road- San Jose, CA Feb. 5-7, 2008
I'm a little behind. Mostly because I'm not bringing a computer on the road with us so bear with me as I attempt to catch up.
This was our longest travel day
yet. We left
So
We had our first on tour rehearsal since we started going on this tour. I think we spent about and hour and a half working out our arrangements so they were tighter. We had our friend Richard with us again for this trip and we were finding the balance of guitar to voice a little challenging so we spent the early part of the night trying to work that out.
Jay and I went out to dinner the
night we arrived with some friends that live in
It doesn't matter where in the
States we are I seem to wake up at
For the most part our performances
have been what are expected of us and more. The music is sounding really good.
We are having a great time performing and getting to know lots of people. We
take people by surprise and that is a great feeling. It is also kind of
frustrating. We have been banging our heads against the wall called
The trip home was a long one too,
just not as long as the trip there. We went home from
Notes from the Road- Washington DC -February 2-5,2008
On our way out of St.
We went to the Washington DC Mall
at about 4:30ish and walked around the end with the
The next morning we got up early
and took the dark knight out for another session of site seeing. We went back
to the Mall to see some more memorials. This time we went to the Franklin
Delano Roosevelt Memorial, the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, the George Mason
Memorial, the Capital and US Grant memorial. I also took many pictures of the
On the way back from the Jefferson Memorial, we stopped by the George Mason memorial. It was a neat design. It had a statue of George Mason sitting on a bench with a walking stick and some books sitting next to it. It was a little larger than life size and Jay looked a little bit like Lily Tomlin (that's the truth, pbbbbt!) sitting next to him. Of course I took a picture of that. We passed through FDR on the way back and I took a bunch more pictures there. In the FDR gift shop Jay and I picked up a couple of pocket constitutions so now we can do some research and answer some of Mark Lazarchic's questions/challenges on his blog.
Next, we drove the Dark Knight up to the Capital building. I took a bunch of pictures of the US Grant memorial there. I promised my niece Alexa (through a postcard) that I would take a bunch of pictures of the horse statues around town. She is almost 4 and very into horses. The US Grant area is all about the horse statues and I took a bunch of shots. There was a small boy (about 5 or 6) that was reenacting the civil war all by himself. We first noticed him twitching on the ground in his blue coat and civil war cap and oddly enough confederate canteen. He stood up and dodged many bullets only to be mortally wounded yet again and die a very dramatic and twitchy death once more. I think I saw him "die" about 3 or 4 times. Very cute. When we were leaving, we passed all the museums we didn't have time to visit. We decided that we are all definitely coming back to DC just for the museums and maybe more of the memorials that we didn't get to see. We were a bit exhausted and headed back to hotel. This time we planned our return route so we wouldn't get lost again.
When we got back to the hotel we found out that the client had set up a Super Bowl party complete with 5 big screen plasma TV's and a bunch of munchies. It was a fabulous way to end a fabulous day. They also had a wii set up…I think the wii is going to be a companion to us all in many of the cities we will be visiting.
Our shows again went fantastically
and we had a great time performing. We had a guest artist with us for the show,
Next day we set out for
Notes from the Road- St. Petersburg, FL -January 31-February 2
We left the frozen tundra of
Our hotel rooms weren't ready when
we arrived so we left our bags with the bellman and changed into clam diggers,
tee shirts and flip flops and took a walk. Katrina found the most awesome
Katrina sunglasses ever at the hotel gift shop. We met up with our friend Chip
and joined him for lunch at the Fresco Bistro right on the marina for some
snackage and drinks. I had what was possibly the best appletini I have ever had
and Chip treated us to some Thai calamari. It was delish. This was the start
of an adventurous day. Katrina was talking on her phone….to someone….and some
very large and scary fish swam from under the dock. We later were told that they
were yellow tailed jacks. Apparently they are good eatin'. They disappeared
for a while and I was sure that Katrina was telling us a fish tale (sorry). The
chef and bartender were a great tag team trying to lure them back for us. The
chef tossed some raw squid into the water and the bartender kept a watch and let
us know when they were back. In the meantime, I (Anita) taunted all the minnows
in the water. Telling them all the horrible ways they were about to die. I
have to say that the Jacks were big, but not as scary as some fish I've seen. I
mean I've seen sturgeons….not to mention sharks.
After lunch we walked out to the
Pier. Katrina and I fed the pelicans. It was neat and a little scary.
Pelicans are big birds. I wished we had a camera with us. But we will be back
in April and I think we will feed the pelicans again so that we can get the
film. We did some window shopping inside and took in the sea air of
We did dinner at the local Irish
Pub, Courigan's. Ryan Stroh was playing that night. We were all way too tired
to stay up and listen, but we hope Ryan had a good night. He was off to
The next day was a busy one. Show
day. Jay and I took a walk on the bay through the marina and saw the sunrise.
It was glorious. We also came across some army recruits jogging and all of them
made a point of greeting us with a "good morning". We caught some breakfast
and started to prepare ourselves for our shows. It was our last show with Jac
until the middle of March and we tried to make the most of it. The set ups have
been consistent and we are starting to get into a groove. After all our shows
were over the client treated the whole Ontend Top Performer team to a Wii party
in the executive suite on the 15th floor of the hotel. It had a
panoramic view of the bay. It was gorgeous. Katrina and I tried oysters for
the first time. Gordy taught us how to eat them and we tried them on three
together. I have to say that the texture is a little weird, but they weren't
bad. Katrina didn't like them at all. On this trip I have become a hummus
freak. I love it, love it, love it.
The next day we left from the
Thanks again to Chip and Rod for taking care of us and bringing us water.
Notes form the Road- Indianapolis, IN January 21-23, 2008
Traveling by
plane is eventually going to be interesting. That is the nature of the beast
and a fact of life. We had our first tiny taste of interesting this time. It
was snowing in the midwest for much of monday and because of that it affected
planes flying from or into Chicago's O'Hare airport. Our plane was late
arriving. Once we were on it, it had a mechanical problem that needed to be
fixed. Then it needed to be de-iced. I'm glad that the airline dealt with all
of these issues in a prompt and efficient manner (entirely because it
dramatically reduces the likelihood of crashing and of course death). Our plane
that was supposed to take off at 11:50am finally took off at 1:30pm. We landed
in Chicago somewhere around 2:30pm. Still time to catch our connection to
Indianapolis at 3:10pm which was pushed back until 4:10 (lucky us we could grab
some lunch). We landed in Indianapolis around 6pm (local Eastern time) where a
cab was waiting for us and 7 of our traveling companians. We got checked into
our hotel and were all tired from the trip and went to dinner at the Webber
Grill (yes like the barbeque grill most people have in their garage somewhere.)
It was a nice place and I could eat their garlic mashed potatoes for days on
end.
When we got back to our hotel room, the radio was on, the bed was turned down
and there was a chocolate racecar on the pillow. Jay was at the bar waitng for
Jac to arrive (he drove and had a much more interesting trip through Wisconsin
in the snow storm). When Jac arrived, Katrina joined them in the lounge for a
drink (I needed to get my contact lenses out of my eyes). They met a gentleman
who asked them for a tune (Jac brought all the guitars with him). Jay had to
refuse at first (the guitar cases were locked and I had the key), but he went
down and played "City of New Orleans" for him and his friends. They all
appreciated it and Jay was jazzed about doing it.
Our shows went just great the next day. We had a great time and I think we
sounded fab. We want to thank Rod and especially Chip for showing us around the
room and for keeping us hydrated and well just everything. You were our hero.
We didn't have a lot of time to explore Indianapolis, but we'll get a second
chance at the end of February. There's a mall really close to the hotel and it
looks interesting. They still have a Carson Pierie Scott in it. They have been
gone from Minnesota for well over a decade.
Our plane rides back were mostly uneventful. I sat next to a gentleman named
Rowdy who was on a whirlwind tour of his own. He has a new business that makes
travel towels. They are compressed into a large tablet about a half inch thick
and a nickle in diameter. You just add water and unroll it. It is made from
cotton so it has some strength and is biodegradable. It is really cool.
Perfect for camping, renaissance festivals, or mom's purse. Check it out here
at
www.eztowel.com
We wanted to send out some thanks on this trip too. Thank you to Rodney at the
Embassy Suites for snagging some of the left over eggrolls for Katrina. I
wanted to thank Katie from Salon Ave in Vadnais Heights for the really great
haircut and the awesome eyebrow wax. I feel like I look fantastic and I've been
turning heads ever since.
Freaking out when Success is on the line
Success is a
funny thing. It can change your life. Being on the brink of success can rock
you to your core. The big what if. That question has so many possibilities
mostly depending on how you finish it and how you answer it. I guess that is
the question that makes us hope and dream.
I have a strategic mind. I just keep on running scenerios non stop. Some
things are rather mundane like cooking or what to wear. Some things are quite
complicated like the big what if. For someone with a mind like mine, this is a
question that will keep you up at night.
Always after the Minnesota Renaissance Festival there is a space of time for us
to reflect and plan for the next festival. The post performance depression sets
in and we start working on new material, dreaming of recording a new CD and try
to book gigs at bars. This year we haven't had our usual down time. We booked
some gigs right away and Katrina came aboard when Ren decided to go to school
and work full time. Training in a new member is always a long process and we
have had to do it on fast forward.
We have started working with Ontend Creative Partners. Stephen C. Lundin, Ph.D
and Carr Hagerman have written a book called "Top Performer" (I highly recommend
it) and they are taking the message out to the masses and have asked us to be a
part of it. Everything with this opportunity keeps happening so fast, sometimes
it is hard to catch my breath. Of course my mind is working overtime with the
big what if question. The possibilities are endless in so many good directions
and a few not so good directions, but so many things could happen. I feel like
so many cosmic things are happening for us right now anyway. Seeds planted long
ago have turned into trees bearing blossoms with the promise of fruit. I could
get used to things going right.
O'Malley's Pub, December 29th, 2007
There are all
sorts of problems and feelings that can derail your performance if you let
them. Inevitably something gets left behind (like a guitar stand), nerves, the
weather is bad (or just cold), a costume isn't working like it should (3 1/2
inch heels....I don't know what I was thinking.....yes I do, I'm short), or the
New England Patriots are attempting an unbeaten record for the season. You
know, random things. Despite all the external factors, we were able to push
almost everything aside (3 1/2 inch heels....ow...but I was taller and my feet
didn't really, really start to hurt until the third set).
O'Malley's has a really wonderful atmosphere. The place is part local hangout
and part sportsbar with an Irish pub feel woven throughout. The people that
frequent this pub are really friendly and just as interested in the music as
they are in the Minnesota Wild (who won in OT, btw) or the Patriots (although I
think most of the people were cheering for the Giants).
We want to thank Heidi, Ryan and Les first for moving from the back corner to
the front row, it is always nicer to have people at the front table who are
really interested in the music. Also, thanks for the round of drinks. You guys
are really amazing people. We want to wish our heartfelt best wishes and
congratulations to Heidi and Ryan on their upcoming wedding. Ryan, you did
good...Heidi's ring is gorgeous! We also want to thank the family Nordin for
coming up from Hastings to catch the show. I'm glad you got to hear all the new
arrangements of the songs. Happy Birthday Viki. We really appreciate that you
come to our gigs. Thanks to John, Jeff and Endre (I'm not sure I spelled that
right) for coming out. It was a nice surprise to see some familiar festy
faces. Thanks Jeff and Endre for the drinks.
Guinness is yummy.
Notes from the road-Memphis TN
December 13-15
It has been a bit
of time since I have written anything about our trials, tribulations and
travels. Well that ends now! Ok now that I have gotten that out of my
system... The band recently traveled to Memphis Tennessee. The home of Ribs
and Elvis Presley. Every meal had pork in it or near it. Katrina was in
heaven, I however decided to steel my resolve to talk my mother out of cooking a
Christmas Ham.
Day one of our journey started out with me (Anita) getting the sniffles and sneezes. This of course meant I was coming down with a cold. Right before what we all perceived as the most important gig of our life. I vowed to resist it and told my body it could be sick after the gig was over. My body decided to take me up on that. We settled into our hotel, a nice posh Hilton and had a small lunch of appetizers at the lobby bar. We perused the gift shop where they had everything from an Elvis clock with a swinging pelvis to Elvis chapstick. Later that evening we went out for dinner at the world famous Rendezvous restaurant for dry ribs. Our waiter had actually spent a few years in Minnesota. That always seems to happen to us. Whatever other state we happen to be in, at least one of our wait people has spent a significant part of their life in Minnesota. Larry our cabbie was wonderful and gave us all sorts of advice about what to eat and what to see in downtown Memphis. After dinner we went walking around. We visited the Peabody Hotel and visited the ducks on the roof and took in the view of the city. We also went walking down Beale street. We ended up in Silky O'Sullivans with dueling piano players and electric palm trees. It was fun. Larry came and picked us up and took us back to the hotel.
The next day saw us touring Graceland. I have never really been a fan of Elvis
or the Jumpsuits, but I found myself completely fascinated by the whole of it.
Elvis' jumpsuits are just costuming marvels. I loved them. I think they are my
favorite part of the tour. I picked up some postcards for my family and took a
bunch of pictures that are still on my camera. We also toured the car museum
that was interesting and fun. We lunched at a little diner attached to the car
museum and I was very happy to find vegetables (finally).
Day three was gig day. We spent much of it in a meeting and watching speakers
and found the whole thing very interesting. At gig time we were kinda nervous
and a little scattered. We were performing as part of a street scene. Once we
settled down and realized that we didn't have to fill the entire space with
sound we were much more grounded. The energy of the whole production was so
high and intense that I felt a little over stimulated and definitely on sensory
overload. We made some good friends like Macey who wanted to join the band with
her "musical" glow stick she pretended was a flute also, Brian who wanted to
quit his job and become our groupie and Stuart who really wants to bring us to
London. We would love to go. The night wound down in the hotel lobby bar.
Terrance we love you. Thank you for pouring and mixing our drinks and keeping
us in good humor for the entirety of our stay.
Day four we packed up and headed out for the airport for the trip home. By this
time my cold decided it was time to hit. If you have ever had a head cold on a
plane, you know the "fun" I was about to face. It took me a could of days to
feel like I could actually hear again. A week later I am still not quite 100%
well, but I'm getting there.
We would like to thank a few people for this trip. First Carr, thank you so
much for bringing us along on this magic ride. We won't let you down and we
always have your back. To Amy for being our handler, confidant, cruise
director, and photographer. You rock. To Marion and John and the rest of the
Ontend team for your support and companionship. To our colleagues on the trip -Gordy,
Rosie, Lloyd, Paul, Mick, Jason, Caleb, Gary, Kathy, and Charlie the second-
Thank you for the pep talks and fun. This trip has been one of the best
experiences of my life.
Life in a band
There always gets a point in a band where everything just grooves. Everybody knows the words to everything. Everyone is dancing and having fun while playing. An album is recorded and more are planned. These are the cosmic clues that your band is about to have a major change.
This change can be one or more of many different things. It can be personnel changes, style changes, gaining a bunch of gigs, losing all your gigs. It can be a confusing time.
Well we will be having a major change to our band soon. Ren, our singer has decided to go back to school full time this spring while working full time. So she does not have time for rehearsals, recording, or gigs. She gracefully notified the rest of the band at the end of the Renaissance Festival this year. This gave us time to find a replacement and to train her in.
We will be introducing our newest member of Reve du Faun, Katrina Sheldon, this Saturday at O’Malley’s Pub in Woodbury. We feel so fortunate to have found her. She has a really amazing voice and lots of enthusiasm.
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