Can't Sleep

it's a beautiful time, and devastating
the dim light and wind in the trees
rain now, leaves bobbing
and strings of lights with a swoon

the darkest nights staying long into day
and coming on early, early, earlier

we said it was beautiful. All of it, yes.
But oh, love, not easy --

A deep sorrow settled in, has cast
the strangest light on all of us
(hasn't it?)

It's time to go home, but I can't
It's getting late, flung far and wide,
but there's no return, I don't suppose,
for any of us
to anywhere we've been

And I will tell you a secret, darling
how I believe in so very little
how I know peace best
by its unspeakable silence

but --

(shh, shh)

there are songs I love to hear
and the lights-- oh, the lights

Nativity, blasphemy, dubiety
Who will speak next, dear?

I can't sleep for listening
I can't sleep for listening

The Dusk of the Year.

As I type we're getting ready to send the newsletter out... To send links out to new music... To send some enormous thanks out to the world of Ellery Listeners.
It's a cold, cold morning in Cincinnati. We're both wearing layers and hats in our kitchen, and our empty coffee mugs are sitting nearby. There are a few glass bulbs hanging near the windows, and in certain moments, when birds fly by or when leaves fall, you can see several lovely moving shadows in them.

It's certainly December,
In all its cold, gray, dark, warm, colorful, bright, soul-stirring paradoxical glory.

One of the great gifts that came to us this season was the opportunity to collaborate again with Ric Hordinski.. Ric is a dear friend and an intensely-talented musician who makes glorious things happen when he encounters guitars. "We Can Dream Tonight" is the song that came from our work with him this season...

And it's such a treat to re-release a couple Ellery holiday tunes via the free holiday EP; we really feel like our hearts and our thanks are sent off in these songs. You can get all four songs on the "December Days" EP for FREE by clicking here, or at www.myspace.com/ellerymusic!

We've never made their lyrics available online... Until now. :) You'll find them below.

We hope a song or two will join your holiday playlist this year...
Our very best to you!

December Days
© 2007 Set Adrift Music ASCAP

I was afraid
You always came in like a ghost
Snow falling soft from your coat
Lighting our lanterns with whispers and prayers

I stayed up late
You always sang me right to sleep
Glittering lights in the trees
You held our dreams out like stars everywhere

chorus:
I wish you could come
now like you used to
I wish you could come
now like you used to
I’d love to bring you back

When I was alone
You always spoke like something old
Magic and lights in the cold
I’d breathe you in like a wind on my soul

I’d close my eyes
You always came in like a breath
Quiet and still while we slept
December days falling graceful and gold

(chorus)

I’ve held them close
Winters I so wish I could find
Angels and wonders and signs
Mary and Joseph, a stable, a star

Lay Your Head Down
Tasha Golden, © 2007 Set Adrift Music ASCAP

Lay your head down dear
There's no sorrow here
Only time for letting go
And room for landing light as snow
The gentle daylight fading slow
My murmur soft and whisper low
So lay your head down
So lay your head down

Lay your head down dear
There’s no sorrow here
Only time for starry skies
And room for long and languid sighs
A gentle dream to close your eyes
A night to fall, a moon to rise
So lay your head down
So lay your head down


Lay your head down dear
There's no sorrow here
Only time for falling in
And room for shadows dark and dim
A gentle song to soft begin
Your breathing out, your breathing in
So lay your head down
So lay your head down

We Can Dream Tonight
Ric Hordinski & Tasha Golden © 2008 ASCAP

I thought you were afraid
When the Winter came in like a lumbering train
And the snow clouds put out the stars,
but you were quiet and still in the dark
You were holding on, a sigh and yawn
barely a breath in my arms

But I think we both know
I'm the one who's afraid of these ghosts
Oh, I think we both know
I'm the one who's afraid of these ghosts

I heard you cry in the night
and I heard myself say we were alright
I'm sorry; it's never been true
But I’ve tried to believe it for you
Maybe you're the star, the sign, a starting line
Morning could break over you

So sleep, close your eyes
Darling, I think we can dream tonight
Sleep, close your eyes
Darling, I think we can dream tonight

So what child is this? I was crying tonight while you slept
Maybe you're the star, the sign, a starting line
Darling, I'm holding my breath...

So sleep, close your eyes
Darling, I think we can dream tonight
Sleep, close your eyes
Darling, I think we can dream tonight

Mid-November

The cold has swept in quickly, and only a few leaves are left hanging on the trees in the backyard.
I've officially been shuddering my way from house to car to venue to car (repeat) for a week or so now, with a few warm reprieves... So it's probably time to get the gloves out and the real Winter coat.
And Justin is terribly excited about taking deep breaths full of cold cold air, the crunch of leaves underfoot in our driveway, and layering up...
When I'm indoors, there's no doubt about how beautiful this is.
Well, indoors - with several layers on and some hot coffee. It's COLD, you guys!

We wound our way around Kentucky last weekend along with the kind and wonderfully talented Micah Dalton, spending Friday in Lexington at the beautiful, newly-renovated Natasha's on its amazing new stage. What a gift to find so many listening ears in such a lovely spot for music. A perfect beginning for the new CD and its new shows...

On Saturday we performed a house concert in Louisville, made several new friends, connected with old & dear friends, and found that we certainly had not driven the farthest to get to the show. (Thank you road-trippers!) And I was surprised with my first pumpkin soup of the season -- Brilliant.

Sunday found us back in the Cincinnati area, at Molly Malone's in Covington KY -- For the official release show and a night with friends, family, fans, and strangers. We do love the Third Floor at MM, and the folks who come through its doors...
Thank you all so much for your support, and for lending your ears to a couple new songs. We think they might stick around for a while.

This week we're circling around Indiana and Illinois... We just got in last night from McKendree University near St Louis. And the drive there and back, while chilled and a bit long, was tremendously beautiful. Not to mention that it was simply the right time of year to encounter Lebanon IL... Its brick streets lined with trees whose leaves were scattered all over town--

The New Release

We began this recording in July.
Well, in our heads, this recording began in January.
But depending on how you see things, that does or doesn't count.

We released our last full-length album in 2006.
And a handful of its songs had released a year earlier.

In other words,
it's been a long time since we've been in the studio.
Like really in the studio.
Which in itself is neither here nor there (though we do like the studio experience quite a lot).
But more importantly,
it's been a long time since we've put any songs, in studio fashion,
onto pieces of plastic
(or digital files)
that can then go out and live their own lives in the wide world.

Thus, in January, we set out to record a demo EP.
Which, to clarify,
meant to us, "a short CD that illustrates some new songs and stylistic choices, that will help potential producers & other folk to determine whether they'd like to work on this next record with us."

But, in January, in the midst of decisions about where and when to record said demo, more songs were coming.
(They do always come in on our stories.)
(Which, who knew, seem to keep unfolding as we keep waking up to new days.)

So we decided to give it time.

In June, we had 8 songs we were ready to record...
and in July we chose five and found ourselves in a lovely studio making them come together.

Into a record that was supposed to be just a "guide."
And we created it in 3 long days and 3 long nights,
being spat out afterwards from the belly of the whale,
with a demo, sure, and one we felt good about.

In September the songs were online, streaming on MySpace and such...
And we also toured up the east coast that month with our dear friend Kyler England, playing at least a few of the songs at each one of our shows.
In the process, we saw that they (the songs) already had lives of their own.
And that we were reining this demo in, in anticipation of our next full record.
Which was maybe fine;
but what if it didn't have to work exactly that way?

The more requests we received for the songs,
the more trusted friends we asked about our predicament,
and the more support we received from fans both while on tour and with the whole Paste Magazine contest (and all your many kind votes)...,
the more right it felt to alter our plans.

The songs are written, they're in our live sets, they're streaming online... They should be made truly available.

So here we are.
And here it is.

Five songs, all of them previously unrecorded, with the exception of Lay Your Head Down, which appeared on our 2007 Holiday EP.

But do note --
None of this implies for a moment that our next full-length is now on hold, :) or that it will be pushed back.
We're as invested as ever in the process of developing our next album, and we'll certainly have updates for you as we go.

Meanwhile, welcome to a new chapter in the Ellery story.
Give a few new songs a new home...

(You can find the EP at all of our upcoming shows, or order your copy online by Clicking Here! Coming very soon to iTunes, et al.)

Our very best to you --

MI and oh, the Sun...

We're spending most of this week in southern Michigan, with our first stop at Henry Ford Community College on Election Day. We were up at 4am and heading in the cold to the Detroit area, only to find that as the hours passed it became gloriously warm, blue-skied, June-like in early-November...

And what a way to pass the time on the morning of the 4th: to the sounds of the final NPR election updates, results from the very first district, the final words from the campaigns-
We'd voted early, but we donned our stickers and hit up a Starbucks for a much-needed coffee break about 3 hours into our drive. Hardly anyone had voted yet, so the baristas were still happy to be handing out free coffee; there wasn't even a line yet. :) (We hear we were tremendously lucky on that front.)

The morning was brilliant, quietly buzzing, so that by the time we arrived on campus in Dearborn, it seemed the world was stirring - (and it was) - with the weight of the day. The whole thing unfolded like a song.

Yesterday's show was in Rochester, just a few miles north. We were at Oakland University at noon, and then there was another afternoon of November's version of June. We got to spend it with dear friends in inspiring conversation, and as we left for the hotel we were grateful grateful grateful for the kinds of people our travels allow us to encounter.

Today we're trying to look out the windows and drink in this last warm day of the year --
The sun's beginning to set, the sky's a little cloudy, yellow and rust-colored leaves are pouring down over the old white house nextdoor, and it's Spring Arbor that will be our home tonight.

Halloween in Peoria.

We closed the month of October with a few days in Illinois...
We had an official showcase at the MidAmerica NACA Conference on Friday October 31st, so we decided to head west a little early and spend some time with family in nearby Lincoln. (Yes, Lincoln, IL.) (Where apparently one is not terribly surprised to see the resident Lincoln impersonator in the waiting room of a doctors office.)

We had a brilliant time with family -- It's the thick of Autumn but Illinois was warm and sunny and begging for deep breaths outdoors. An amazing time to be with people you love.

Early Friday morning we grabbed our coffee and took off for the Peoria Civic Center, where the conference was being held...
As musicians, we're not exactly accustomed to being out and about downtown at 8am. But come on, it was a little alarming that no businesses were even open yet.
At a nearby hotel we met our very-cool college booking agent, took some candy from the receptionist's trick or treat bowl (kitkats at 8am; I'm pretty sure that's wrong), and headed for our soundcheck in the Civic Center theater.

We knew that the venue was beautiful, but we weren't expecting THIS (see photo above; it's the view from the stage)... And thus we were granted unbelievable sound, lighting, and the opportunity to share the stage with unbelievable talent. (Magicians, mentalists, fellow musicians, comedians... These are crazy events!)

Our early-morning soundcheck was for a 3:30pm show, which was truly fantastic. What an awesome crowd of college students, what a beautiful room -- It was a fabulous 15 minutes. (Each artist showcases for 15 minutes; it's actually really cool -- Quick and punchy.)

Afterward we spent some time with other music artists in a hotel room...
You should have seen the lot of us, boring as ever, huddled around the coffee table with our computers and knocking out a bunch of work, feeling quite like a studious office, no one talking, the sun setting out the windows, no one getting up to turn the lights on. I guess when you're on the road you take the moments you can get; it was just unnerving (and kind of hilarious) to see us all resorting the same thing.

But then we were introduced to the Flat Top Grille for dinner... Illinois-ians: Where did this fabulous place come from?
And much later in the evening, we joined our agency's booth in the exhibition center. (This is where musicians, speakers, balloon artists, retailers, those people who make mugs with your school's logo on them, etc... They all come with impressive booths to convince college students of their many merits.) :)
And it WAS Halloween, so at some point in the afternoon it had apparently become the appropriate time to change into costumes. So this hour or so was -- So entertaining. There was a costume contest for students (did the ScoobyDoo team win? We were impressed) -- Some serious creativity going on there. And this was in addition to the number of amazing people we got to meet - (Thanks to all the naca participants for making us feel so welcome!)

On another topic, I didn't say hello to Mr. Belding this time (though we passed in the hotel lobby), but I did touch a boa (snake, live one), and I think this counts.

When all the festivities had ended for the night, and after spending some seriously fine time with new friends, we took off for the quiet of Lincoln IL, to our dark & peaceful temporary home there...
A beautiful way to say hello to November.

Lancaster, PA and the wild world of NACA

We were visited in the middle of the night last night by a steady October rain-- a muted, rhythmic sound over our heads that took no time lulling us back to sleep. When we woke this morning it was October in all its glory, gray with a leftover, wind-blown rain that dripped down our windows here on the top floor of our cozy (if strange) hotel in Lancaster PA.

We've been here for a few days, for the Mid-Atlantic NACA Conference... Ellery was selected as an Alternate, which means that if one of the fine showcasing artists fails to show, then we play a brief showcase for the thousand-ish college students who have gathered here. A strange but terribly interesting position, and it's given us the opportunity to spend some time at our agency's booth in the "marketplace," chatting with crazy-kind student leaders, checking out the other booths (oh the free frisbees, mugs, pens, cookies, shirts, balloon animals, Mr Goodbars, CDs, stickers, and unidentifiable sample products we passed by!) (Except for the free scoop of Cold Stone. We're only human).

Yesterday we got to catch comedian Jason Stuart's showcase, and we were happy to chat with him (and gush a little) later on, before the marketplace officially opened again. (He was hilarious, and he WAS on House, a Golden favorite --)
And oh my childhood: I also managed to meet Mr. Belding (Dennis Haskins), apparently a NACA regular. Few experiences have been stranger.

The highlight of our evening may have been our accidental introduction to Jared Mahone, who was spending some of his out-of-booth time playing with bandmate JP at the local Starbucks.
We had a couple hours to kill last night before the day's final marketplace, so we stopped in to get some coffee and read for a while. As we pulled up to the storefront, we noticed that a couple guys were playing music inside... We couldn't have guessed that they'd sound so great, or that they were with NACA (ok, we should have guessed that one), or that they were from Columbus OH, or that they'd be so kind. So we're looking forward to seeing them again next week in Peoria... (There's another conference next week; we have a showcase on the books for that one!)

Today we were simply on call again as alternates, and it was so beautifully Autumn, so thick with rain & gray, we had to get out for a few hours. While navigating the small circumference of Lancaster, we managed to meet up (not all in one place) with some kittens, sheep, horses, buggies, and several random, rather angry Lancaster residents. (Fortunately they weren't angry at US, but we're feeling that maybe Lancaster needs some love.)
When we arrived back at the hotel, there was an obligatory game of air hockey in the game room, at which I schooled Justin, as expected.
(Air hockey & word games; he can try but he's no match.)

Later, after some work, there was a lovely moment when the weather overcame us in that gentle, vaguely sad-but-lovely way that it does in the Fall, and we found ourselves falling asleep again. When we woke it was early evening, the sky giving over to dusk, the myriad signs lit up outside, the traffic streaming by, the rain still falling.
Looking out the window, I have the distinct feeling that the year has deepened. It's settling in, and the season is rolling on into the thick of the holidays.
I recognize it by the shadowy feeling of being far from the people we love; the way this fact of our lives feels suddenly disturbing and out of place, the way we feel such a sure invitation home. Which sounds melancholy, but so does the rain outside, and somehow it's more of a lovely reunion with a friend we haven't seen in a year.

Carl Sandburg's Home

Speaking of having our eyes wide open, we were driving down I-26 through North Carolina when we spotted a sign for Carl Sandburg's Home, the historic site coming up at the next exit.

Oh my gosh.

So: I have this thing about not reading biographies of the authors and poets that I really love. To be honest, I enjoy reading the writings without knowing much about the specific framework from which they came.

Thus I had only a vaguest idea that Carl Sandburg had lived in North Carolina... That he had moved to the mountains for the solace he needed for his writing, for breathing room and inspiration, for his "creative hush..."

And I certainly didn't know that his home had been purchased by the federal government from his lovely widow Lilian, soon after his death in 1967. Lilian wanted the home to be used to remember Carl, and so she left nearly everything just as it was... Down to a calendar for the family's haircuts, and magazines sitting out that were addressed to

Carl Sandburg
Flat Rock, NC

...So of course I had no idea that such a home had been preserved and made into a national historic site that we could visit on a random Saturday traveling through the Carolinas.

Obviously, there was no decision to be made; our exit off of the highway was mandated by having spotted the sign.

We drove the handful of miles to Flat Rock, and were taken aback by the winding stretch of road that took us there. Beautiful hills, lush with trees... Amazing victorian homes, still ponds, changing leaves, the Autumn warm and clear outside our open van windows.

When we pulled into the parking lot, we were laughing (in a joyous, as opposed to ironic, fashion) -- It seemed like the only appropriate way to respond to the utter beauty of the place.
It was like pulling up to a magical national park: Beautiful paths cutting through forest and overlooking a wide-open, still lake -- Which sits at the bottom of a breadth of hill and field.

A plaque on the way onto the grounds quoted Sandburg as saying (perhaps quoting Vernon Lee?) of his home in general: "This is where I dirty paper."

And with that beginning I was on the verge of tears for the remainder of our stay -- Such a feeling of being deliciously moved.

A wide trail leads you the .3 miles up to Carl Sandburg's home, lined with great oaks and pines that would have towered over Carl himself years ago. And the home is a beautiful-yet-simple sight (photos coming soon in our Gallery), sitting at the top of the hill, overlooking the fields... And offering, from its front porch, a striking view over the hills of Flat Rock.

Just inside on the first floor of the house is a small bookshop where you can purchase ridiculously cheap tickets ($5??!) to tour the home with a volunteer... And this we quickly did, having arrived with 5 minutes to spare for their last tour of the day.

Let's take a quick break. I can't launch into all the reasons I love Carl Sandburg, how I fell hard for his writing while at a used book store in KY, how I carry a copy of "Selected Poems" on every tour...
But I do need to say that this poet is monumental to me.
As if I haven't been making this apparent.
Okay, moving on:

Inside the house, the walls are lined with shelves of books, books, thousands and thousands of them... Most with Carl's bookmarks still in them here & there. I confess to scribbling down as many titles as I could, as we walked through, me with a scrap of paper bent over my knee. (My new list will comprise a project for the next visit to a used bookstore...)

Sandburg lived here for 22 years, publishing more than a third of his works from this site; it was lovely to let our eyes settle on his surroundings as he wrote through the night for so many years.

The Sandburgs were a simple family; Sandburg's Pulitzer Prize award is still rolled up in the case in which he received it, stashed into a bookcase in the corner of the living room.

Brilliant.

Everything about their home and the grounds exemplified their emphasis on nature, on Being, on reading, words, ideas, music, function... And yes, a good many cigars and goats.

(Lilian owned and operated a premier goat dairy farm. Her breeding program produced prize goats, and you can pet goats that represent her three breeds when you visit the grounds.)

(And yes, we did pet the goats.)

So we had no idea this place existed, but we couldn't have visited at a more perfect time... October in the Carolinas is breathtaking, and Connemara gives generously of it, all covered in giant trees, dark earth, blooming flowers, pools of water, gardens of bamboo, and worn trails.
It was the Gift of the Year for me -- Such an amazing happenstance.

Name on the Air

I will write my name to hang in the air
hoping the hang of it in the air will please me
till a wind comes picking each vowel and consonant,
setting them to roost with birds on branches,
while I walk under them saying:
The sun and the rain are
two of my great-great-grandmothers
two of my youngest sisters.

--Carl Sandburg

Hello, October --

It couldn't be a more beautiful time to be in eastern Tennessee.
It's 70 degrees and the air is clean and cool in the mountains... And it's Autumn in all its glory, the hills alive with green, red, bright orange, yellow, purple, and today they're up against a clear blue sky.

We were at Milligan College last night, playing a show to a fabulous audience that gave us a warmer welcome than we could have hoped for. We also got to see old & dear friends (we love you guys!), and met new friends who grew up in the tiny dot of a town that I called home during my early childhood. Who knew.
We woke this morning in a beautiful home on campus, to the clear light of an Americana October morning, and the sound of the breeze blowing through the great tree out the 2nd story window. Amazing --
On my run, leaves were falling in a shower all around me along the tiny winding roads... Justin and I sat out on the front porch for a while when I returned and watched them fall across the front yard. It was a beautiful place to breathe.

Such a beautiful time to have our eyes wide open --

Home

It has to sound ridiculous, but the last couple days of this tour were, for us, a lovely dream of a time. We fell into a hotel in Eau Claire on the night of the 23rd, and tried to sleep in as late as we could before driving up to Duluth. (We were going to need that sleep!) We left the hotel at 3pm for our show at the Univ. of MN-Duluth, a campus that has always been so supportive and welcoming to us. It was another lovely evening with the fabulous Dave Mehling opening, and a kind and attentive audience in the very cool Rafters venue. (Special thanks to Paul and Christina for setting us up!)

We took off from Duluth a bit after midnight (EST) to head back for our hotel in Eau Claire... We greeted the front desk manager at 3am and said goodbye to him again at 6am... He was kind enough to grab Justin a couple bagels and send us on our way with a few tired-but-kind words. :)

And so we were headed home. Driving down 53 and then I-94, heading south and vaguely toward Rockford IL, watching the sun rise to our left in a grand orchestra of a morning which, as it always always does (dangit), lulled me right to sleep. Justin was left on his own, as he knew he would be, with Terry Gross to keep him company. We headed into IL and stopped at the first Oasis for the inevitably regular and necessary break, and for the inevitable and necessary Starbucks. (But we'll have you know it's always decaf... It's the ritual of coffee; not the caffeine -- And it's such a beautiful thing.) :) It'd been a while since we'd had coffee -- (Tom, that Peet's Coffee was so awesome!) -- So this made our morning, and enlivened the drive through Chicago.

Which, as on our way Tuesday, went mostly-smoothly, no complaints. (And praises for the nearly-done construction!! How many years has it been?!) :)

Heading down I-65 was surreal as it almost always is... The re-entering of home-like territory, the well-worn paths that Indiana's highways are for us. It's a 10+ hour drive from Eau Claire to Covington KY (where our show was last night), and we were ecstatic to have somehow arrived 15 minutes ahead of our goal-time. Oh the glories.

And at The Carnegie no less, for the close of our tour... This venue/theater that we've grown to love so much, the place where we filmed An Evening with Ellery last year, and with which we feel so much personal connection for several other surprisingly emotional reasons.
And we were opening for the stunningly kind and talented Dar Williams, such a gift... So we got to stretch our legs for a while as we listened in on her soundcheck before our own setup, etc.

We expected Dar to be the beautiful performer that she is, but we couldn't have predicted her kindness, or that of her tourmates... It was such a lovely encounter -- So many thanks to all of you for allowing us to share the evening. And to John Magus, Jon Sheperd, Bleu Penwell, and the many others who made our homecoming such a memorable, gentle evening.

I'm so happy to say that our hometown just never disappoints. SUCH a beautiful audience; so open and supportive -- It's always such an amazing thing to play in our city. Thank you thank you for listening, and for your graciousness; we feel so honored to call Cincinnati home.

And After

As the evening died down, we left our instruments on stage and took off for the night... Heading down I-75 and oh, finally to the exit that takes us home, and to our Kroger (milk! toilet paper! cereal!) -- and down our driveway. We were greeted by our kind neighbor who had gathered our mail, and who informed us that during the crazy windstorm that wailed its way through the Midwest last week, our neighborhood was without power for 3-4 days.

Good to know... We walked into our backdoor to a strange-ish smell and to the tasks of wiping up the stained "something-melted-and-dripped-here" spots on the floor, and of course emptying our fridge and freezer. Hmm, we're happy to have great neighbors; we'd have totally eaten some of that.

We fell into bed in two funny lumps of exhaustion--

We woke this morning and prepared to head back to The Carnegie. Now this is a beautiful gift:
Once we booked the show with Dar, I realized that we'd be in town for Covington's Day of Peace: an event presented by the Women's Crisis Center of Northern Kentucky, (with whom I've had the honor of doing volunteer training/etc), as well as by the Family Nurturing Center).

The Day of Peace is an event organized each year as part of a national movement each October, whose aim is to educate the public about domestic violence, to encourage survivors and their families, and to keep women and girls safe from violence.

When I realized we'd be in town, I emailed my volunteer coordinator to say we'd be there. And it just happened that this year's event coordinator had been unable to reach her planned musicians for weeks...
My contact there knew that I had this song I'd wanted to share with women in domestic violence situations (You Did Everything Right), and so long story short: we wound up performing an opening and closing song for the event.
It couldn't have been a more ideal situation; we were in the same venue the night before, we had the same awesome sound person (Bleu--Thank you!), and best of all: I was finally able to connect this issue that is deeply moving to me with both the song I wrote and the organization I've come to work with and admire here in my own city.  So what an honor, oh my gosh -- What an amazing thing to come home to.

The mayor of Covington spoke, as well as the Secretary of State-- so, so good to see their support. But Justin and I were most honored and inspired to hear from two survivors of abuse, these brave and powerful women who have chosen to use their experience to reach out to communities across the country and to children and adults who may be in similar situations. They were so strong and compelling, so beautiful --

About half of the audience was high school students-- including a large group of guys from a local boys' catholic high school. It was so inspiring to see all of the students there: Seeing young women absorbing information & statistics, being reminded of their value and potential, their rights, the warning signs, all of it. And to see high school students witnessing these survivors, these inspiring women, and hearing their stories... Being prodded (along with the rest of us) to take responsibility on some level, to realize our capacities to make a difference with this issue: beginning with ourselves and extending outward --

Anyway, we came home with full hearts, to the place we call home, which sits now in the midst of the first fallen leaves, with its beloved creaking wooden floors, our luggage spilled out across its living room... And we put ourselves to bed. Welcome home Justin. :)

Writing

We spent some time this evening with Ben Folds' Rockin the Suburbs... It's been a long time since we've listened to the album as a whole. (Although, to be fair, we began our album-listening with Still Fighting It rather than Zak and Sara) --
Anyway, this album is (and has long been) on our list of top 5 records; it was so good to be reminded of the myriad reasons why.
Ben Folds is a master of melodies that are incurably catchy but somehow original, interesting, surprising... And in his uniquely Ben-Folds way he communicates these heart-breaking stories and truths, all of them sliding about on music ranging from ridiculous to intensely emotional, and often both at the same time.

So I'm reminded what it is that I love in songwriting, or any writing for that matter, which is the sense that the writer has truly seen something for what it is, for more than what it often lets on to be, or more than we'd like to think it is. Patty Griffin is a master of such a thing, Emily Dickinson certainly, Carl Sandburg, Rilke, Frederick Buechner, Kahlil Gibran, Kathleen Norris, and oh so many others, their words cutting to the heart of something we see only in our best moments.

Not that I would group these writers and authors together, or consider them equal; there's simply no need to; there's no such thing as equal. It's just that what they do coincides for me in this way: this striking element of their writing(s) that speaks so deeply to me every time, that binds these artists together under the heading of "What Tasha Loves."

And so I was particularly struck (yet again) by Ben Folds' Fred Jones Part 2:

There was no party, there were no songs
'Cause today's just a day like the day that he started
No one is left here who knows his first name
And life barrels on like a runaway train
Where the passengers change
but they don't change anything
You get off; someone else can get on
And I'm sorry Mr. Jones; it's time...
He's forgotten but not yet gone...

And then Patty Griffin, whose Impossible Dream we played for a while as we drove into Akron Sunday night:

Something as simple as boys and girls
Gets tossed all around and lost in the world
Something as hard as a prayer on your back
Can wait a long time for an answer...

or

I wished I was smarter
Wished I was stronger
I wished I loved Jesus
The way my wife does
I wished it'd been easier
Instead of any longer
I wished I could've stood
where you would've been proud
That won't happen now; that won't happen now --

And Emily Dickinson:

As old as woe -
How old is that?
Some eighteen thousand years -
As old as Bliss
How old is that
They are of equal years

Together chiefest they are found
But seldom side by side
From neither of them tho' he try
Can Human nature hide

Sandburg (whose Mag I barely get through on some days) --

Mag

I wish to God I never saw you, Mag.
I wish you never quit your job and came along with me.
I wish we never bought a license and a white dress
For you to get married in the day we ran off to a minister
And told him we would love each other and take care of each other
Always and always long as the sun and the rain lasts anywhere.
Yes, I'm wishing now you lived somewhere away from here
And I was a bum on the bumpers a thousand miles away dead
broke.

I wish the kids had never come
And rent and coal and clothes to pay for
And a grocery man calling for cash,
Every day cash for beans and prunes.
I wish to God I never saw you, Mag.
I wish to God the kids had never come.

Kahlil:

People of Orphalese, beauty is life when life unveils her holy face.
But you are life and you are the veil.
Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mirror.
But you are eternity and you are the mirror.

Buechner:

Another time when I was on my knees at night between my cell and Wear, I thought I saw a slender shadow stir. If it was Burcwen, though, she never came. In winter when the snow and ice were fierce, we shook beneath our different roofs alone, and that's what Hell is like, I think. It's cold and shame and shaking. And worst of all, it's loneliness.

-- From Godric

Rilke:

No one lives his life.

Disguised since childhood,
haphazardly assembled
from voices and fears and little pleasures,
we come of age as masks.

Our true face never speaks.

Somewhere there must be storehouses
where all these lives are laid away
like suits of armor or old carriages
or clothes hanging limply on the walls.

Maybe all paths lead there,
to the repository of unlived things.

--From Book of Hours

and finally, Kathleen Norris:

Today, we are baptizing our little nephew. He's seven months old, chubby, thoroughly healthy. Ever since we came here for Christmas, I've listened for him in the morning. Like the birds, he begins to sing at first light, and together, they make the most joyous music - the baby, the birds - cooing and calling, as if life depended on it. We've planned the ceremony for late in the afternoon of Epiphany, at home, after our two ministers - my brother (Disciples of Christ) and his wife (Episcopalian) have returned from their church duties.
The baby's tired and cranky, he has no way of knowing that we are passing through hell. We renounce the forces of evil, and he cries out. As the godmother, I am holding him, and he's fussy, squirming; I have to hold on tight:
Our words wash over you, and you brush them away. The candle catches your eye, your mother's hair and fingers transparent in its light. You want the candle, you want the food your mother has become for you, you want to go down into this night at her breast. Poor little baby, water on your hair, chrism on your forehead, dried milk on your chin. Poor, dear little baby; hold on.

-- From The Cloister Walk

Westward

From Harrisburg on Saturday we made our way to Akron OH, where we were able to connect with family and experience the beginnings of Autumn... (It came quietly under the doors this year; we awoke today and realized we'd missed that celebratory first day. Nevertheless: Welcome, Autumn; how we missed you--)

We replenished our podcasts before heading out for Kalamazoo-- And as it was Monday morning, there were new episodes of our favorites (drumroll for the exposure of us as continuing npr junkies)... We were distracted enough by the greatness that we missed our first turnoff from I-77 and landed in Cleveland, taking 480 back over to the turnpike. (This means oh so little to non-NW-Ohioans.) (It was only like 8 miles; never fear.)

Justin got rather sick on the way, and we spent a great deal of time at an exit off the turnpike trying to get him feeling better, and so we're terribly fortunate that the folks at K College were so kind and patient. Very very special thanks to Kate and to Danielle for your compassion and help with our rushed load-in...
And we had a great time at the college show. It was the first day of classes and the inaugural musical event in their new Student Center, so we were honored to share an evening and chat with some of K's fine students... And how restful to spend the evening at The Hall House, a nearby bed and breakfast. Such a treat--

Today we took off for the long trip to Eau Claire WI. (Today and Thursday are massive driving days for us, so we've settled in to the idea of massive time for good conversation, listening to music, and making moments for every podcast ever made.) :)
It was a stunning day for driving; the weather is amazing, SO fall-in-the-midwest... The skies were blue with wispy clouds, and the breeze was blowing...
Chicago was brilliant; its traffic nearly effortless (oh the wonder!) -- And then driving through Wisconsin, as many of you know, is one of our favorite things in the world. There are few landscapes so endlessly breathtaking... Which is perhaps unexpected to many of you, but it does remain one of our favorites, connecting with something deep in our bones.
Hello Midwest, your Autumn settling light on our skin.

Wrapping Up the East Coast

We stayed last night with friends up in Nyack NY, which is utterly beautiful (so many thanks to Carrie!)... A large and open, lovely and restful place with dogs and a cat... (Have we mentioned our nearly-pathetic love of animals?) -- And I was able to jog this morning toward the mountains, which was so inspiring.

After a home-cooked breakfast (awesome!) we made our way toward Philadelphia, with a stop at Classic FM for a interview and in-studio performance with Gene Godfrey, who's been a great support in the Philadelphia area... You can hear Ellery on Classic FM on Sunday, September 28th, between 11am and 2pm -- This live webcast is at www.z889.org.

So... Okay, Justin is terribly excited: After our time at the studio, we stopped downtown and met a couple severely talented and intelligent folks who've invented a musical-instrument-slash-hardware-controller. We had some coffee and tea with them and, curiously, :) we left with one of their incredible inventions. This device will remain a mystery to me for a while, and therefore to all of you as well. But Justin is one happy and inspired musician right now.

Afterwards, we made the short jaunt over to Ardmore, a lovely little town two miles outside of the city, and the home of Milkboy Studios and Milkboy Coffee. It's been far too long since we played in Philadelphia (2006), and we've been so excited about closing our east coast run in this fine city. This was our first time at MilkBoy, and it's absolutely a fabulous listening room: Great vibe, amazing food (check out that menu!!), ridiculously kind folks (thanks so much to Tommy and Joel), and we were sharing the evening with Chris and Thomas, who were not only crazy-talented but genuinely lovely people.
Not to mention the wonderful, wonderful audience... (Thanks so much for making our Philadelphia return so beautiful; we'll be back soon!)

Our thanks again to WYBE, which has been such an enormous support by airing "An Evening with Ellery" so many times in the last year...
And to Gene Godfrey, and to Kyler England, who is one of the loveliest artists out there and who we've deeply missed these last few nights.
(To those of you in CT, NYC, and Philly, check Kyler out at www.kylerengland.com!)

Tonight we're on the turnpike heading west... Monday's show is in Kalamazoo MI, so we're getting a head start, and it's beautiful outside.
The night is thickly dark, traffic is light, and we'll be in Harrisburg soon --

Connecticut and NYC

On Thurs the 18th we traveled from the Boston area down to Bridgeport CT for our first show in the area. As luck would have it, a favorite author of mine (Kathleen Norris) was speaking and book-signing right across town in Fairfield, at the same time we were doing our soundcheck. Darn darn darn.

We'd of course never been to Acoustic Cafe, but several of our friends and favorites have played there, so we were looking forward to it -- And to meeting Victoria Vox, who was headlining the evening. Kyler came down with a terrible cold over the night before, and was unable to sing -- (So, so sad not to share these last few shows with her!) -- But we're thankful that she's getting some rest, and we're thankful for a our Bridgeport audience and a great venue (special thanks to William and Darian).

After hearing a lovely set from Victoria and chatting for a while, we rushed for our hotel -- hoping to rest up for the day in New York today... (Driving into the city is always an adventure. Although, to our great delight, driving to The Living Room isn't nearly as messy as the driving to some of the other venues we've played in town... So -- Bonus.) :)

We got into the city early enough to get some great parking (oh the beauty of such a thing), and to head uptown to connect with an engineer whose work we've admired for a long time. It was a short visit, but inspiring and so kind --

And our friend Paul had recommended The Creperie a few doors down from The Living Room... We walked right by it on our way back from the subway, and it was definitely dinnertime... So have a crepe we did, and it was extraordinary. I had the Veggie Crepe, with eggplant, squash, red pepper, and ricotta... Amazing. We'd heard that the crepes were large, so we decided to share one, but it disappeared way too fast. Next time I get my own. :)

Afterwards, at The Living Room, we were treated to wonderful sound (thanks to the venue's fabulous gear, and to Steve...) -- And I was thoroughly delighted to see a few friends from yoga teacher training (shout out to you guys; so amazing to see you -- And those of you in Boston too; such a gift) --

We've loved The Living Room since our first show there in 2005, and we've been excited to make our way back again. Such a romantic room, stunning sound, kind staff (which, when you're doing this night after night, counts for so much) -- And such a great listening environment. We had a lovely crowd too, which makes any show feel so much like home: like it's Where We Should Be.

Up the Coast

On Monday we woke early and set off for the drive from Chantilly VA to just south of Boston. It's a (mostly) beautiful 9-hour drive through several major cities, the experience of which never seems to get old for us. We had plenty of great music and podcasts, and an immensely beautiful day for driving... About 75 degrees, clear and cloudless, breezy, amazing.

We arrived at our respite of a place that night, this home just south of Boston, with enough time to settle in, have a beautiful dinner (oh vegetables -- how we've missed you!), and watch an episode of This American Life, which we'd never seen before. (I'm sure you've caught on that we have a serious crush on the radio show. I now have a serious crush on the TV version. All of it is so great; really, can there be too much Ira Glass in the world? And where did he get those awesome glasses?)

So we're enormously, ridiculously blessed with this temporary home on the water: overlooking the marsh and off into the Atlantic. At high tide it's all one big body of water; at low tide the marsh becomes a labyrinth with walls 10 feet tall -- dark muddy paths cutting through the weeds. And at any time, out the windows of this amazing room, the view goes on forever -- The back lawn, the dock, the marsh, the crashing waves, the island, the atlantic, the horizon.
There is no comparable gift.

The last time we were here, we arrived after a couple high-stress days, one which involved arriving in Harvard Square during OktoberFest and nearly missing our Club Passim show because all the streets were blocked. (An experience which is much more palatable now that it's over.) :)

But arriving here after that show was an immediate balm: The suddenly-deeper breaths, the salty air, the monumental breezes, the waving trees and bushes, the rippling water, the tide's slow and reliable ebb and flow, the seagulls and herons flying effortlessly, broadly, lighting and watching for fish, all of it un-self-consciously, being what they are and doing what they do in a testament to life-as-it-should-be.

And so it's been the same kind of healing respite this time around, perhaps even more poignantly.
The air is cool (60 degrees right now), the windows are open to the sea-salt air and the sound of the wind, you can hear the Atlantic waves crashing from far off, and every now and then the seagulls fly up and around to a new spot on the neighbor's dock.

Yesterday it was bright and sunny, utterly beautiful, and Justin was able to take the kayak out again--
I stayed in and did what I'm prone to do in these situations, which is to work like crazy until I forget the beautiful place I'm in. But my workaholism is a work in progress (of course), :) and I'm doing what I can with a little help from beautiful books (Kathleen Norris, Rilke), from runs along the water and through the charming town nearby, and from, obviously, Ira Glass. :)

Last night we played Toad in Cambridge; we opened the show followed by Kyler and then Kristin Cifelli, who sounded truly stunning with her band (and a new song called Fault Line that we're anxious for her to record)...

Toad is a very small, very "cozy" place... It was a bit of a sardines scenario last night -- Everyone pressed and packed in, loud and buzzing with a crammed kind of energy. Definitely a new experience for the Goldens! But very fun; so many great folks and a truly great crowd... So, so good to see new and familiar faces and, as always, to hear great music from Kyler and from Kristin. We've decided that we love the Boston area; such a beautiful and bustling little city, so much going on, an amazing pocket of great music artists--

Finding our way back to this home last night proved to be more interesting than we bargained for. And you know, VZ Navigator is great but I'm not sure it knows where we are right now. It sent us in a couple circles last night, which thankfully were very small... But the Navigator, (and the terrible voice she has on our phone!) -- They were both confused. :) Luckily, we spotted a couple things we recognized before we spent too much time wandering the narrow wooded roads around us.

And coming in last night, we had to open the screen door and listen to the wind and waves, smell the air--
We're hoping when we drive off today we'll take some of its magic with us.

IOTA and Assorted Adventures

We found ourselves today in Arlington VA, the DC-area-- A short trip from Charlottesville, which was great.
We got to spend some time with Justin's family, which is always such a gift... So we were able to catch up with family, with SNL, with the Redskins game... And we also got to check out the unusually awesome treats at Java Jones in nearby Ashburn.

And, we were delighted to encounter IOTA tonight for the first time. We've heard so much about the venue from fellow artists and some friends and fans in the area, and it proved to be a lovely home to us for the evening.
Stella Schindler opened the show, followed by Kyler's set and the sitting-in-on-it that we've come to really love on this tour. Ellery closed the evening, and it was an honor to play for such wonderful listeners so late on a Sunday night -- (Thank you guys for spending the evening with us; we'll be back soon!) Also, many thanks to Steve Negrey and Burns, and to Sophie -- who were all so lovely and made us feel at home.

As the evening slowed down, I began packing up our gear while Justin left to fetch our van from the local garage.
Such things (parking garages, double-parking to unload or load gear, van-fetching, etc) have always been rather interesting endeavors in large cities; there are plenty of adventures to be had. But we'd never had this one:

When Justin arrived at the garage (with a ride from his uncle; thankfully!)-- It was closed and locked, and our forlorn van was somewhere deep inside the dark abyss.
Back at IOTA, I was wondering what the heck someone does when his van is locked inside a garage. Perhaps he sleeps outside of it and waits until morning. Or maybe he busts through the garage's lowered security arms, and gets a hefty fine. Hmm.

What ended up happening was something Justin chalks up to mysterious personal victory...
He walked around the garage, found an opening, squeezed himself in, found our van, and then drove it round and round to where an attendant was hanging out at an entrance. Somehow, they thought he was trying to get INTO the garage (wasn't he facing the wrong way though?) -- So they told him that the garage was closed and that he couldn't park there.
And you know -- that was okay, because he didn't want to park there at all!
So, he smiled and said no worries and left the garage on his merry way.
What the heck; how does that happen?
He's certain he's owed some french fries for this stunning work.

Virginia

We made the long drive yesterday from Knoxville to Norfolk VA, for our first show in the area in a few years. Along the way we were sad to have yet again reached the end of our podcasts, and eastern Virginia had a shocking abyss on the dial where an NPR station should be. But, what was lacking in good listening material was compensated by the landscape of Virginia, and especially by the I-64 tunnel (which we love), that led us under the Atlantic water and back up again into the city of Norfolk.

It was dark by the time we pulled up to The Boot, a romantic restaurant and bar with a great vibe and incredible food. We got to relax for a little while before setting up and meeting the very fun and talented Sarah Carter, who opened the show tonight, brought a great crowd out, and made us feel so at home with her hometown. :)

This morning began of course with news about Ike's encounter with southern Texas -- Please go to redcross.org to make a donation for efforts to assist its work among victims left in Ike's wake --

We arrived in Charlottesville VA today with enough time to walk along the very cool Downtown Mall, a walking street lined with great shops, cafes, restaurants, and beautiful trees. Very much like Church Street in Burlington VT, but more trees and less Lake Champlain.

Our show tonight at Gravity Lounge was part of a lineup of artists organized to celebrate the 2nd Birthday for 106.1 The Corner, a great Charlottesville radio station. We were enormously happy to reconnect with Gravity Lounge, and with Brad Savage of 106.1, who we originally met in Ann Arbor during our Lying Awake release tour.

Our last show at Gravity Lounge was in 2006 with Lucy Kaplansky... It was one of the shows we recorded with hopes of including a track or two on the live CD that came out in 2007 ("What I've Said Out Loud"). And Gravity Lounge was where Justin totally knocked his head on his microphone (with great gusto, btw) during the very quiet and intimate beginning of the song "Arizona."
(You can listen to his awesome gaffe on our Media Player; it's listed under "Blooper.")

So -- I was wondering if we might see a repeat performance from him at the show tonight, and I was at least somewhat satisfied with the accidental crashing of the neck of his guitar into the cymbal on the drum set behind us. (Not nearly as dramatic as the mic-beaming, but it'll do for a sense of pattern.)

A trio of Charlottesville singer/songwriters opened the show with an in-the-round set, and after Ellery was Alberta Cross, playing their first show in the region after spending time in Charlottesville recording their next record. (They were truly great; they just signed with Red Light Management and they'll be opening for Oasis in Europe later this Fall.)

Our huge thanks to Bill and Gravity Lounge, to 106.1 The Corner, and to Brad Savage for having us... And to Mariana, Joia, and Helen, to Alberta Cross, and to The Hill and Wood for sharing the evening with us.
And yet more thanks to the chef at Gravity Lounge for making what Justin has officially named "The Best Food He's Had All Year." (For Charlottesvile-ians, he heartily recommends the fajita chicken wrap.) :)

Middle of Nowhere

Coming in from Nashville, we drove up the long driveway outside of Knoxville at 3:30am -- met by a dog we've come to love by the name of "Wolf," who is (appropriately) 25% wolf, mixed with German Shepherd. He's a beautiful, enormous, and enormously well-behaved dog who sauntered up to make sure we didn't meant any trouble for this mountain-top (gloriously) middle-of-nowhere homestead... And then he affectionally leaned into Justin and happily accepted our excited greetings. Wolf is the kind of dog that knows his masters' horses by name and can fetch them when necessary. He's ridiculously perceptive and loyal, and intelligent in a way that's almost unnerving. The kind of friend you like to have in the middle of the night on a mountain in the middle of nowhere in eastern Tennessee. :)

We're staying here with my aunt and uncle, two beautiful and loving folks who love animals almost as much as we do. (They also have a 1-year-old puppy who's beginning to take things over there on their mountain; she's 80% wolf and -- beautiful. Our camera's battery was down for the count during our visit, but we're going to have to snag some photos sometime...)

Anyway, when we woke up mid-morning it was a beautiful (if muggy) eastern TN day, and we got to spend it with great conversation, great food... and Justin was lured into a Rock Band challenge, which was hilarious. (I don't think Justin won.)

Being out here is enthralling, especially for us city kids. We're surrounded by sky and thick trees, and a thick silence which, after a while, reveals itself to be a symphony of forest sounds -- Along with the neighing of their horses, the baying of Ulysses the donkey from down the hill, the peacocks and rooster, the seemingly infinite variety of birds, the breeze through the trees, the far-off and unidentifiable animal sounds echoing from the surrounding mountains.

As I settled into the Summer quiet this afternoon out on the deck, I heard what then seemed a loud and steady hum nearby. It was a hummingbird, flitting closer and closer to me while I sat utterly still... Closer until I could feel the air from the beat of its wings. I was afraid it was going to light on me (which yes, in retrospect, is kind of funny) -- So I had to move a bit and scare her off. But what an amazing little gift. (That, and the opportunity to chat it up for a while with one of my aunt's horses...)
Oh I am so city, but if that allows this all to be received so gratefully I'll take it.

And while I'm at it, can I take a moment to say how awesome my family is?
They're so awesome.
My aunt and uncle here in Tennessee...
(They created space this evening for us all to take time to talk about this day seven years ago: Where we were, how the news came to us, how we and our families handled it, how deeply it impacted us. I think it that time tonight meant a lot more to Justin and I than I would have even expected.)
So we're grateful grateful grateful for them, and also for my immediate family spread about in Ohio and Indiana, and Justin's family around the midwest and the east coast...
We're two lucky folks, and we only see it more and more the more we travel.

Okay so in addition, while I'm feeling rather in love with the universe:
The campaign season can seem so divisive and sad, with the seeming gulf between one party and another, and those who support each --
But the more we travel, the more we see how incredible people are, how well-intending and gracious, how generous and hopeful, how active and community-oriented... regardless of who they're voting for. This has been incredibly beautiful to see, particularly in this season...
I'm not pulling this out of that "I'm-an-optimistic-artist" kind of place, because anyone who knows me well knows I'm not an optimist. (I tend to expect the worst and then downgrade my expectations from there.) :)

But I've seen a lot of beauty, community, and general Goodness in people from whom I thought I was very different. I've felt like I wanted to take notes for myself, to keep on-hand for worse days...
So.
Noted.

Nashville

So... Confession. We haven't always held a fondness for Nashville... We'd had some truly beautiful experiences there, but we'd also had a couple rough encounters back in the day that left us thinking that maybe Nashville wasn't the kindest place for musicians.
(Will I lose my musician license for saying this?)
But I'm happy to say that our minds are changing -- :)

In recent trips it's certainly growing on us... Such a wonderful songwriter community and so many great venues... And the city itself feels small and tight-knit in a way that makes you want to stop back by again soon.

After running errands, we encountered one of the best things that can happen when we're in the Nashville area: We went to Barbara's Home Cookin' (in Franklin) for a late lunch. Oh the goodness... Rolls that weigh like 10lbs each, incredible vegetables, true southern home cooking, right in Barbara's house... The kind of meal you eat and then wait a couple days before eating again. :)

From Barbara's we made our way to rehearsal with Kyler; she played a showcase tonight at 12th and Porter as part of Next Big Nashville, which is going on this week in town. (We're a little disappointed that we don't have more time here; so many great folks to see this week -- so much great music!)

(Our enormous thanks to Kathy and Mary for your kindness and rehearsal space... (Tell Theo we said hey)) :)

When we arrived at 12th and Porter, we were entirely surprised to see artists Derek Webb and Sandra McCracken on stage; their showcase was directly before Kyler's, and it was definitely a unexpected treat. They were fabulous as always; such great songs --

Once we left the venue, we did that definitively on-the-road thing, where we found free wifi and got directions and sent our newsletter from the inside of our van in a gas station parking lot. Oh the glamour.
It's 11:30pm and we're off now to see family in the Knoxville area... It's a clear dark night, and we'll lose an hour heading back east...
Here's to late-night safe travels.

The New News

Today we had to take off early for the drive to Nashville--
So while checking our emails and gathering directions this morning, we saw the news that we'd been selected again this year by Paste Magazine for its "Rock n Reel at Sea Contest".
We're so excited and honored -- If you missed the newsletter and myspace blog, you can find all the information posted on the News Page, and on our MySpace Page.
The basic news is that we were selected by Paste among 20 semifinalists, who will now be narrowed down by a TWO-WEEK online vote by... YOU. :) Log on to the voting page and rate each artists from 1-5 (5 being highest)...
The five artists with the highest scores will go on to a final round, and panel of industry professionals will choose the winner from among those five.

The winner is invited to perform on the Cayamo Cruise in February, along with artists such as Patty Griffin, Indigo Girls, Brandi Carlile, Buddy Miller, Mindy Smith, Lyle Lovett, Vienna Teng, Over The Rhine and many more.
Enormously exciting --
Please lend us your votes! You can vote once per day per email address, so bookmark us and send Paste some daily Ellery Love. :)

After sending out some news regarding the contest today, we journeyed over the mountains through Knoxville and into Nashville. We played The Basement tonight; a short but very fun set among a handful of other very talented artists. It was our first Nashville show in a year, and we hope the next one isn't long in coming...

"A" is for Allergies

We woke today in one of the beautiful rooms of the Manor House at Montreat College in Black Mountain NC, just outside of Asheville...
They've been in a drought here, so there are water restrictions in place and everyone's allergies are going crazy. We went out for a jog around Black Mountain (a cozy tourist town) but had to confine ourselves to the indoors for the rest of the day. (And by "we" I mean me. Tasha... The one my allergist described this way: "Well, you are a very, very allergic person." That was following my last test, when the ragweed test blew up as big as my lower arm. Nice.)

But the Black Mountain and Montreat areas are undeniably beautiful, and we were so glad to have a day to take in the scenery, if not through windows. :) We played a students-only show at Montreat College tonight with Kyler, which was a great time... It's such a beautiful campus, and always such kind students. Special thanks to Josh Weeks, Jim Dahlin, and Daniel Bennett for making that come together so wonderfully --

Facts

Number of days on tour: 7
Number of shows: 6
Number of McDonalds ice cream cones (each): 5
Number of strings broken: 2
Number of PBandJ's: 1

-Favorite podcast so far: This American Life, the "I've Got you Pegged" episode (...And we're waiting for the next Wait Wait Don't Tell Me!) -
-Most embarrassing word Justin used from stage: "Deflowering"
-Favorite song to play and sing along with Kyler (so far): "You and I"
-Randomly spotted bumper sticker: "Actions speak louder than bumper stickers."
-Trash level in the van: Med-High to High (What's a girl gotta do for a recycling container?)
-Most oft-requested song that we haven't played: "Arizona"
-Most disgusting thing eaten so far on tour: That double cheeseburger the other day from McD's (That was Justin. With so many regrets.)
-Best food so far on tour: Difficult decision between Eddie's Attic and the Irish Pub on Blount in Raleigh...

Other:
-Stephen Colbert should author another book so that we can get an audio version and listen in the van.
-We should probably see Wall-E a 2nd time.
-We love big trees. Old, big trees. And lots of them.
-When does the new James Bond come out again?
-Jason Harwell is even funnier and cooler than we remembered.
-Sometimes the best thing that can happen to Tasha is the unexpected spotting of a cat. (Okay, a lot of the time.)
-We love Ira Glass.
-Green rooms almost always smell. Bad. (When they don't smell bad, it's usually because there's no green room.)

The Mountains

Driving into the mountains of western North Carolina is a peaceful and mesmerizing thing from any direction, and rolling in from Durham today was as beautiful as we could have expected. We checked into our room in Black Mountain before heading to The Grey Eagle --

This was our first time to play The Grey Eagle, and what a cool room. And who knew; great cajun food! (Thanks to Susan in Durham for that hot tip) --

Our Asheville show was a songwriters in-the-round evening with Kyler England and Ashley Chambliss.
While we've listened in (very happily) on several such wonders, we realized during our drive in today that we've never participated in an in-the-round. And we felt a little sheepish about it, since the singer/songwriter arena is definitely one place where we feel quite at home...

But oh my gosh, we couldn't have asked for a more lovely introduction to the idea.

I had this moment in the green room when I was getting ready for the show and Kyler was playing softly through a tune to warm up her voice, and Justin was logging on to the internet --
Anyway, it was such a deeply peaceful moment, feeling at home in a strange and dimly-lit room, feeling a sense of community with these other artists, and hearing the soft sounds of Kyler's voice over all of it. Lovely. Once Ashlee arrived it was even more of the same-- A simple camaraderie and the kind of thing where you can say a lot in a few words and in a short time.
Such a gift to play with such talented musicians, and to feel such a lovely human connection.
Thank you ladies for a great night --

And thank you to our Sunday night audience who came out and stayed late with us; we were so honored to play for you all.

Storm?

So I sat down last night to write about our trip to Raleigh, and realized after a while that I had fallen asleep while typing, and managed to write a paragraph of utter nonsense. I thought I deleted all the random additions before giving up and going to sleep last night, but when I opened the original attempt today, there was still a line left over:

"And we arrived in Raleigh to its enormous street fair and the cool dim light of the Pour House on Blount (pronounced 'Blunt'?!'. It was a fast soundcheck and then into an Ellery set and the singing (and playing of 'Amaizing Grace'"

Hmm.
Okay, so aside from the missing parenthetical enclosure and the mysterious 'i' in Amazing...
To clear things up, I do believe that someone told me that Blount was pronounced Blunt, so I'm going to tentatively stick with that.
But there was no singing (or playing) of 'Amazing Grace' at The Pour House.

This random insertion I may be able to trace to the fact that before bed, we were sitting round the kitchen table with the dear Marion family talking about how their son, among other musicians, had played 'Amazing Grace' on bagpipes at the football game that night during halftime. (Which I must say is terribly cool.)
That this tidbit found its way in dreamland into my recollection of our show, instead of all the other conversation topics that could have made for a most unusual show description... I can only say it's a bit disappointing. :)

So... A lot more material got nixed in my bewilderment when I decided to close the macbook and lie down. I have no idea but I'm sure it was at least creative. Okay, so it turns out that 2am doesn't work for me for the journal thing. Note to self.

But I'll try to pick it up where I left off last night, beginning with the remaining comprehensible bits--

*****

We spent far too little time with friends in Athens GA before heading out late this morning, back through Charlotte NC and into Raleigh. We've been curious about Tropical Storm Hannah and her appearance in NC during our travels...

But we left under an Athens blue sky today (Sat the 6th), and saw nothing but clear blue skies all the way into Raleigh. We arrived wondering if it had even rained in Raleigh; there was no trace of a storm.
Apparently, we followed it today as it made its way through, causing a decent amount of concern and Saturday festival cancellations in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill areas. But we saw none of it; nothing but beautiful September North Carolina 93-degree-ness.
(We consider this a good thing.)
(Although a couple years ago when we were staying with friends in Tampa and driving with them to stock up on peanut butter, water, and toilet paper under serious hurricane warnings... That made for some interesting journaling.)

Raleigh is Kyler's hometown, so we opened the show last night and like our other shows this tour we sat in on her set -- Which has been so fun. Her songs are ridiculously singalongable and we wind up singing along whether we're on stage or off... So it's lovely to sit in.

After the show we went a couple doors down for dinner with friends at an Irish Pub... We had amazing food and tried to catch up with each other over the band playing (pretty decent-sounding!) covers. We were in a separated alcove area of the restaurant but still yelling to be heard -- It was hilarious and frustrating and entertaining and -- well, there was a bit of dancing too. (I was not involved.)

And we made the drive to Durham where we were invited into a beautiful home in the middle of a mass of beautiful old trees (NC and GA are so lush -- It's so lovely)... We had some fine conversation and made friends with an awesome chocolate lab (have we talked about our perhaps pathetic adoration of animals?) before heading off to bed.

We're feeling particularly blessed today (Sunday the 7th); there are amazing people in the world. Such a gift to connect with them.
Our enormous thanks to Kyler for a great show in her hometown, and to the Marions for so much kindness and generosity, and to The Pour House and our fans old and new who came downtown last night in the midst of Raleigh Downtown Madness... Thank you thank you --

Atlanta

We were nearly mesmerized as we drove into Atlanta on Friday afternoon. It was hot and the traffic was lined up for miles heading out of the city... But as the skyline neared we realized how long it'd been since we last saw the great city of Atlanta. I can't believe we've stayed away for so long.

And that sentiment was really only driven home by the tremendous graciousness of the Eddie's Attic staff... Eddie's Attic is one of the best listening rooms we've encountered, and it's certainly become legendary in the US -- for good reason. Such a great environment for intimate music, such great owners/staff, amazing food, and amazing regulars/music supporters. It was a gift to spend an evening there--

Not to mention that during our show I was able to play a real upright piano (which definitely doesn't happen often), we were opening for the very fantastic Ellis Paul, and we were graced with a wonderful wonderful crowd. Thanks so much to Bob, Bruce, Shalom, Tommy, and everyone at Eddie's for a truly great night --
And thank you to the Ellery friends/fans who came to the show, and to the Ellis friends/fans who gave us a first listen. Such a gift to play for you --

We'll be returning next month with Chris Trapper... We're already looking forward to making our way back.

And Into the South

Today we left NE Ohio in the cool of the early morning, and we were Water-Pump-Enabled. Beautiful.

We made the drive down I-77 to Charlotte NC in a long eight hours regularly spotted with merges into one lane and stops at desolate gas stations. But we were accompanied by a couple episodes of Wait Wait Don't Tell Me and Fresh Air... Oh the drama on the road. We'll graciously accept our NPR-nerd status. (Not uncommon among touring musicians...)

We arrived in the NoDa district of Charlotte and met up with Kyler England for our first shared night of the tour...
She introduced us to some of the kindest folks we've met in a while (our thanks to Dave and Trisha!), and we had our first experience of Cabo Fish Taco -- Which was amazing. I was in love with the Burrito Verde...

We're sitting in on Kyler's sets on this tour, so we took some time at the Muse to run through some tunes before the doors opened --
And meanwhile we noticed that a line was growing out the doors of the theater across the street and down the block, and that more and more folks were adding to it all the time.

It turns out that Nelly was playing right across the way. Did our crowds overlap? Did we draw fans from each others' show? One can't be sure. :)

We wound up with a delightful evening, a wonderful crowd... Such a privilege to perform in Charlotte again, and it's enormously fun to sing (and play) along with Kyler's songs; they're fabulous.

Strings Justin has broken so far on this tour: 2.

So... We keep hearing news about Hurricane Hanna making an appearance in NC while we're in the area on Saturday -- We'll keep you posted! We'll be inland in Raleigh but it has us curious. :)

Our thanks to Allison and Meghan for amazing hospitality in Charlotte-- (!)

And we're excited to return to Atlanta tomorrow for the first time in a long while.

Beginnings

We began our ventures out of Cincinnati (and into the September tour) with a stop at our local Chrysler dealership for a service they forgot when our van was in the shop last week.
As we drove up 71-North just a few miles later, the hood began smoking...
I was reminding Justin about deep yogic breaths as we exited the highway and found a good parking lot where we could pull in and assess. :)

We were rescued by a good friend, who drove Justin to a nearby gas station for antifreeze (thanks Andrea!) while I ran into Starbucks for water (for the van) and coffee (for self-medicating).
We called the dealership and determined that apparently the water pump's leak was worse than they thought, and so on our way to Canton we kept our eyes on the coolant levels and refilled a few times...

So began the Fall Tour.

But we were granted great kindness by the folks at Random Acts of Music, where we were scheduled to tape for their show at 2pm today. With the Great 'Van's-On-Fire?' Delay of 2008, they graciously moved our slot to tomorrow morning. (And we'll let you know when the show with Ellery airs in NE Ohio!)

Our arrival at Malone was peaceful and without incident... (Except for how the "D" key is sticking on my keyboard. Oh the mystery.)
And it was beautiful to visit with some family while at the show. Justin and I both grew up in Akron OH, so NE Ohio is always a bit like a homecoming.)
The show began last night with a set from Avodah (thanks for your songs and spirit, friends!) -- And then it was an hour set: new songs, old songs, random stories from Justin (one never knows with him), and a broken string, sticky keyboard, all of it wonderful in such a welcoming place.

Thanks so much to our kind audience for laughing with us and allowing us to connect with you; it was an honor.

So tomorrow it's off to a repair shop with us and our van...

Newsletter :: 8.28.08

(Sign up for the newsletter at our website)
ON THE CUSP OF SEPTEMBER...

Hello friends,

Such a joy to write to you, sun bright through the trees in the hills of central Ohio.
We're on the cusp of September, with its bright days, cool evenings, and new beginnings...

Our last newsletter went out in early-June, before the short tour with Garrison Starr, before that lovely show in Cincinnati with Teddy Thompson; before those long long nights we spent staring at the sunset out on our back porch, before July came and went, gently spotted with show dates: lovely opportunities to stay connected to our music and our listeners; before the launching of a few personal dreams that have taken a back seat for years -- up until August.
(In August, we plummeted into a few of those dreams until we were exhausted and dragging ourselves out to a retreat in Hocking Hills in order to process it all and catch up with each other.)
(That would be right now.)
(Beautiful.)

So it's been a long and delicious Summer, and there's so much delicious-ness coming up this Fall.

Such a joy to return home, to each other, and to the music -- especially for this Season.

So exciting to fill you in --
Here goes.

THE FALL TOUR...

We're marking a new step in the life of Ellery with our Fall tour -- which (oh the excitement) begins TODAY, Thursday August 28th in Lexington KY.

We'll be playing Lexington, Parkersburg WV, and Canton OH before heading south for a September tour with the lovely Kyler England.

With Kyler, we're finally returning to Charlotte, Raleigh, and Asheville NC, as well as Nashville, DC, Boston/Cambridge, Bridgeport CT, New York City, and Philadelphia. Oh my, we're up and down the east coast and we couldn't be more excited.

(And for our Philadelphia friends: "An Evening with Ellery" (the PBS special) will be airing on WYBE on Saturday, September 13th at 9pm. WYBE has been a great support to us... Check it out and send some friends and family our way!)

Please see "Where We'll Be" (below) for venues, dates, and times... And if you haven't heard Kyler's music, remedy that sad situation at www.myspace.com/kylerengland.
(We'll be sitting in on Kyler's songs during her sets, which is a delight!)

AND MORE...

There are other Ellery shows along the way, including Eddie's Attic in Atlanta, opening for the great Ellis Paul; The Basement in Nashville (for New Faces Night); Norfolk VA at The Boot; and Charlottesville VA at Gravity Lounge with 106.1 The Corner...

And we're honored to be capping off the Fall Tour at the beautiful Carnegie Theater in Covington KY/Cincinnati (where we filmed our PBS dvd), opening for the astounding Dar Williams.

NEW ELLERY MUSIC, and other newness...

There are several songs that have been brewing with us for many months... And though they haven't yet been released on CD, they've laid themselves on our hearts and taken up permanent residence on our set lists.
Thank you to all of you who've asked about these songs and about when we'll put them out there in the world.

Coinciding with our Fall Tour, we've created a promo-EP to release to industry folks as we work toward our next full-length record. (!)

...And while this in-between-EP isn't for sale, we'd like to humbly invite you to give it a listen online.
You can find it streaming on the media player, and at our MySpace page.

If you're feeling ambitious and/or gracious, please send the links to those you love -- And why not - to those you don't.
We're so glad to have the songs out there and available for the streaming... Welcome to the beginning of the next Ellery adventure!

You can also find new promo photos by the fabulous Roman Titus, available on our MySpace page and on our official Gallery Page.

MORE (tour!) PICS...

Speaking of the Gallery Page, it's been overhauled as of June 2008 (have you seen it? Much better! ...and we're always adding new photos: from live shows, from the road in general, and from promo shoots (like the recent one with Roman Titus).

And, while on the road in September, we'll be regularly adding new photos from our adventures... AND we're experimenting with some video action as well (we're so 2006!)... So check back often for random goodies.
(You can also find photos on our MySpace page... Look for the Fall 2008 Tour album and regular updates therein.) :)

THE RETURN OF THE TOUR JOURNAL...

This upcoming tour holds a lot of promise for Goodness... We're so excited about the venues we're playing, the artists we're connecting with, the cities we're returning to...
And it's coming after months spent with more time at home than we've ever had, to be creative with our music and our selves. So we're enormously excited to share the new music and the new experience(s) with you.

So, while we're out on the road, we'll be regularly updating the Tour Journal online: Now this blog page!!
Check back often for news about our shows, random occurrences, general thoughts, adventures, etc... We'd love to have you along with us!

WHERE WE'LL BE...

As always, the most up to date show info can be found at our website!

If you live in GA, TN, PA, or the greater Midwest region, and you're interested in seeing Ellery near you this October/November, send us an email! We'll be touring those areas later this Fall, and while we can't make any guarantees, we're always keeping our eyes and ears open. (Plus, we love hearing from you.) Write to: booking@ellerymusic.com

And to those of you on the west coast: Thank you so much for your emails and inquiries into Ellery West Coast Possibilities... We're working on it; we promise! We'd LOVE to connect with you again soon. Thank you for your west coast love, and please stay tuned --