Saturday, December 12, 2009

But, seriously...

Ok, I suck at being a blogger, clearly, but I am trying to change. In the spirit of the upcoming new year, I feel as though keeping a blog would be a good way to remind myself of all the fun things in life. So, I am going to make this blog about gratitude and fun. A grati-blog, if you will. Of course, that is often easier said than done but I fully believe that by looking for something to be grateful for every day, you find things to be grateful for every day. It's a way to give your life joy without even trying.

So, today I am so grateful for music and the wonderfully talented musicians I have gotten to know here in Chattanooga. Last night I sang a couple of songs in Butch Ross's Xmas Xtravaganza at Market St. Tavern and had a total blast. There were so many awesome, kind, wonderful, talented people there I can't even explain it. I am so lucky to know them and to get to sing with them and meet new ones all the time. It's awesome and it's a really cool community to be a part of. Just to highlight a few that you should try to see sometime because they're awesome and I love them:

Butch Ross is a rockstar. He plays the mountain dulcimer and in case you're thinking "Rockstar? Mountain Dulcimer? Doesn't compute," let me fill you in on a little something. Butch Ross does something that no one else can touch. What he does is amazing and I'm not just saying that because he's a close friend of mine. His genius is in the fact that he found something unique to him and he just worked it to a point where no one can come close to matching it. He's seriously brilliant.

Dan Landrum. Same deal. The man blew my mind last night. He actually plays a hammered dulcimer and I had never heard anyone play one before (that I can recall) but I am sold after last night. Not only can the man rock that crazy-looking instrument, but he puts on a show. Seriously, incredible.

I met Stephen Brehm, Casey Phillips and Noah Collins for the first (ish, in Stephen's case) time last night and let me just say that these three are stellar. I will definitely be looking for opportunities to see them and hopefully sing with them in the future.

Jordan Hallquist. Don't really even know what to say about him. I know him pretty well now, but I actually have not seen him play a whole lot, and he really blew me away last night. The man can blow. He's got a really hard rockin' voice but it's not grating. He's really cool and also just generally a sweet, decent person. I'm a fan.

Amber Fults. She only sang a little snippet last night but I just feel like I have to mention her. If you have not heard this girl sing, you are SERIOUSLY missing out. I mean, she can seriously belt the hell out of just about anything plus she is quite possibly the sweetest person you will ever meet in your life. I could go on and on, but I won't. There really aren't enough good things I could say about her.

Gabriel Newell is my Chattanooga Jonny Lang with a twist. Like Amber, he only did a snippet last night but I really can't talk about my favorite Chattanooga musicians without mentioning him. The man has soul. I just got a copy of his ep, and I literally have listened to it a thousand times. He just sort of makes me shiver. It's good y'all. Also, if you like baby-making music (I picked up that charming term from Amber. I love it!), you'll love this man.

I could really go on for days because there are so many more I could mention but it's really cold in my apartment and my fingers are going numb so I'm going to stop for now. I'll probably add on to this list in future posts but for now get a head start and come see all of these (minus Dan) folks play Sunday at Give 5. You'll be glad you did.

I love you all and I am so grateful to know you.
xoxo
Haylezzzzzz

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