First campfire of the season!

Hallelujah!!

Campfire!!

(Photo by Laura Madara)

Last year, I had the pleasure of performing at 3-4 campfire programs with Delaware State Parks. This was not by any coincidence, since I am also employed by DSP. Now, among many other things, I am technically the booking agent for an entire park. Granted, we have all of maybe five performances a year, but... still. It counts.

Anywho, I booked myself for a campfire program. Actually, I guess I didn't book myself. Since I'm an employee, I can't get paid anything other than my hourly rate, so when I play, I'm technically playing as an employee of DSP and not as a crazy music lady.

Even though I still am, and will always be, a crazy music lady.

Anyway, I love my park and I love campfire programs! There's one thing you need to understand about me... I've been to summer camp. Overnight summer camp. Since the first grade 'till about fifth grade. And at summer camp, you sing. You sing ridiculous songs, sentimental songs, funny songs, songs with participation or callback lines, walking songs, grace songs, morning songs, night songs, time to go to bed songs, counselors trying to entertain the kids when there's an unexpected delay songs...

And if you've been to a summer camp where there are songs, you know what I'm talking about. It just seeps into you. There are songs we learn as children that we can never escape. If you have little sweet songs embedded into you from childhood that always make you feel happy and nostalgic, you're incredibly blessed. You get to hang onto those songs for your entire life and they will always take you back to summer camp.

Yes, it absolutely takes guts to get up in front of people by yourself and sing songs. Even more guts to make them all stand up and sing and motion along to "Princess Pat." But as I told the audience last night... I think people really do want to be silly. They do want to have fun. And outwardly we all assume that no one else wants to do it. But secretly, everyone does want to stand up and do the silly motions and sing "Princess Pat."

Also, when I'm doing a campfire, I guess I'm just more aware that people are there because they love the outdoors. They're not drinking. They didn't just stumble in on some other motive. They're not there for any other reason than knowing that the outdoors and music go together like fine wines and certain cheeses.

Plus, I've always secretly wanted to be a storyteller. Campfires are a great way to start to sneak into that. :)


Photo by Cathy Tibbitt Joulwan


We also took a little night hike after the campfire, and it was beautiful. If a little muddy.


Photo by Cathy Tibbitt Joulwan

Games & Gigs

Real quick, because I should definitely be in bed...

Wednesday, 3/30: Played at Mojo 13, along with the Paper Janes. Luckily a small audience of our friends amassed, thanks to no help from me, goodness gracious... I'm bad at this. How did I ever get to be a performer who didn't like her own performances enough to invite people to see them? Lord help me.

Saturday, 4/2: Played at the Barn's talent show, dressed like I was in the circus, had a ton of fun. I had the chance to play a couple of my family-oriented nature tunes. (They're not exactly suited for a bar crowd, so I'll take whatever opportunity I get.)

Monday, 4/4: David Bessent's videogame, MAwCiMs: Arena, came out on Kongregate. I had the privilege of writing the music for this awesome game.

Also, I played Mojo Main's open mic. Stefan Wolfe came along for the ride, showcasing his mad skillz at total improv. I covered "Dynamite" by Taio Cruz and had the whole place clappin'.

Tuesday, 4/5: I'm playing Mojo Main's very first acoustic matinee. Website says it starts at 7, booking agent says I play at 6, I say I'd better be done by 8 'cause I have other stuff to attend to! (Stupid of me to schedule something on kinship night without a contingency plan for kinship itself, which is hosted in my house. I made the broad assumption that the show would in fact occur at the time that the booking agent said it would. Right now, I doubt significantly that my assumption is correct, but God is good and He'll see me through this little snafu.)

A'course, my buddies The Paper Janes and Battleshy Youths will be playin' at the University of Delaware at the same time, and I would have liked to go see them, but such is life.

Saturday, 4/9: I'm playing Lums Pond State Park's Family Camping Weeekend. Assuming it doesn't get cancelled because of rain or something like that. Because right now, the forecast is rain for a week, no lie.


That plus my music students equals a very very busy two weeks. The honest confession: along with job stress, I'm starting to feel a little worn out. (Have I mentioned I haven't even done my taxes yet?) I'm working hard, playing hard, not sleeping, and not having a lot of feelings of success right now. I used to have said feelings a lot, it's just recently they seem to have up and vanished. It'll get better. I know. God is good. Even when (especially when) you just start to feel "blah."