Other blog...

Hello wonderful blog readers! I don't know if you've noticed, but we've made a new blog at the site www.ellerystimulus.com, and to save some time and confusion, we're only going to be updating that one. Thanks for your patience and following! Please consider heading there and subscribing - your time, attention, and listening mean the world to us. :-)

The update from Massachusetts

Given our questionable vehicle-luck on the tour so far, we were a little intimidated by the downpour that accompanied us from Newburgh NY to Natick MA yesterday. It was a steady, driving rain - The kind that occasionally engulfs the road ahead so that you have to drive under 40mph on the interstate if you want to see clearly.
But our quickly-diminishing collection of podcasts was good company, offering a bit of peace & distraction (the positive kind)... And even through that Corridor of Immense Traffic in Connecticut, all was refreshingly Well.

Miraculously, the rain stopped as soon as we pulled into The Center for Arts Natick, and we loaded our gear into the building sans soaking and said hello to some of the kindest folks around.

The Center for Arts Natick ("tCAN") is a beautiful converted firehouse... It's full of historic vibe, and the sound is amazing in the performance room. Lucy sound-checked with Billy Joel's "Goodnight My Angel" (which I hadn't heard in years and is as beautiful as I remembered,) and we took the time to settle in after the drive. We let our jaws drop at the amazing paintings newly-installed on the walls of the performance space, which were done by local high school students from Walnut Hill Art School. These are these stunning, deeply-emotional portraits that left us in disbelief about the young talent... And grateful for the art, which seemed ideal for the night's music.

And we couldn't have asked for a lovelier experience: A nearly sold-out show, the opportunity to play a beautiful (and beautifully-tuned) grand piano, a fabulous audience, and a fine artist to open for. So many thanks to tCAN and the crowd tonight-- We loved loved loved connecting with you.

The winding roads of Massachusetts have always enthralled us. The scenery is charming and mysterious in this altogether New England way, and we can't help ourselves. It often feels magical. One of these dark and tree-lined, spotted-with-lovely-cape-cods routes led us to our hotel last night.
And we may be easily-pleased these days, but we've found ourselves tonight in a lovely, clean, and safe place nestled against a couple rolling hills, and wow, that front desk guy was such a human being - absolutely kind. We're laying our heads down tonight with some deep breaths.

The Early-April Tour So Far

It's our first tour since the Stimulus began, and we're racking up our share of adventures...

The Early-April Tour So Far:

• Day Minus-One: Tasha loses her voice. (Come on!) New bag of cough drops saves the day. (Leaves me smelling like medicine @ our shows, but -- singing.)


• Off to Akron.


• Day One: Stranded north of Columbus because ignition won't turn. AAA guy saves the day, which gets us to Akron, where Justin's cousin-the-awesome-mechanic REALLY saves the day.
  

  

  
  
• Off to the University.


• Day Two: Flat tire for no identifiable reason. Fix-a-Flat and nearby tire&lube place (and new tire) saves the day.


• Off to Pittsburgh.


• Day Three: Leave early from Pittsburgh for Penn Tech in Williamsport. Spend 80 minutes getting out of the city; now running VERY late. Construction on every state hwy and interstate, ALL the way to Williamsport. (No really: every highway & interstate. And we hear this is typical of Pennsylvania; anyone want to verify this rumor?) So: Oh the angst! Arrival time: 15 minutes after showtime. In this case, the incredible patience of the college staff (and our kind listeners) saves the day.


• Off to Newburgh NY for the night.


• Day Three (later): Check into name-brand hotel that is inexplicably skanky. We are disturbed upon entry... Then the toxic cleaner-fumes give us crazy headaches & sore throats. Disturbing--->Scary! Check out (with grace from a kind front-desk clerk), and drive down the road.


• Day Three (evening): Explore Algonquin Park in Newburgh.







• Breathe fresh air, take pictures, watch the sunset. Are totally wrong about what we think all those old stone buildings are.







• Go to the PetsMart across the street & de-stress by staring at adoptable cats. Go back to cower in our room for a while. In short: Slowly perk up. (Chocolate and those "veggie chips" from Whole Foods certainly help.) (And Colbert.)


• Currently: Justin's playing guitar along to some music on his laptop, but he's wearing headphones & I can't hear anything but the (not-plugged-in) electric. Sounds cool. And hilarious.


• I'm turning my phone off with a delight reserved for the most hermit-ish of hotel dwellers. "Ha," I say. "If you call, I can't hear it." (I mean this with love.)

Speaking of love, oh, has it been good to connect with kind audiences. With these eventful days we've been arriving at shows in a rather ragged and desperate state... Only to find the loveliest of people waiting for us. So, our many thanks to U of A, Howler's, and PennTech for welcoming us--

• Tomorrow: The drive to Massachusetts: always beautiful. And we'll collide with Lucy Kaplansky's tour again at the lovely Center for Arts Natick--

The Launch

THE BIG NEWS...

Hello Friends,

It's a big day for Ellery!

We've been so excited to tell you.
We can finally say to you, to all of you, the one thing we've been wanting to say for SUCH a long time:

We're making another record.

It's true. And not just someday, but beginning right now. Today.
And with you. (More on that in a minute!)

The recording time is on the books. We've signed on the dotted line. We've blocked several Summer weeks.

It's all begun, and it's feverishly moving ahead.

THE WHAT...

We've had our eyes out on our next full-length since late-2007. We've been compiling songs as they come, tucking them away to see where they lead. We've been enthusiastic, but patient. We didn't want to make another record just to make another record.
We've wanted the recording process to unfold gracefully and authentically -- Whatever that meant. Whatever that means. We'd surely know it when we felt it. :)

THE WHO...

In January, Justin began talking about Malcolm Burn. Malcolm is a Grammy-winning producer who has worked with the likes of Emmylou Harris, Bob Dylan, Kaki King, Rachel Yamagata, Sarah McLachlan, Gillian Welch, Ryan Adams, and more.

Once Justin mentioned the idea, we began listening more closely:
Emmylou's voice on "Red Dirt Girl." The haunting sound of Rachel Yamagata's "The Reason Why." The clarity of Kaki King's "Open Mouth," the intimacy of Carrie Rodriguez's "Rag Doll," and so much more.
I (Tasha) don't know much about production, and I don't get into gear or studio layouts or anything akin to either of these. But I know something deeply beautiful when I hear it, and the more I heard these samples of Malcolm's work, the more convinced I became that he was exactly what we'd been looking for.

By the time we found out he wanted to work with us, we were sold.

THE WHERE and WHEN...

So we'll be recording in Malcolm's upstate-NY studio this June and July: a glorious time to be in the Hudson Valley! It’s a dream of an opportunity, with the potential to open a lot of doors for us in the future.

Which leads fabulously to the next piece of news...

GET IN ON IT!...

This is definitely our most ambitious project to date. We're setting out to make the best record we've ever made, with what we believe are the best songs we've written.

With that in mind, we've developed the "Ellery Stimulus."
(Ah, the pop-culture reference.)

You the fan have the opportunity to participate in the Ellery story in a much more personal, intimate, and integral way. Through the Stimulus, we're raising funds to complete the next record:

Go now to www.ellerystimulus.com
You can read the story, find ALL KINDS of details and FAQ's and, most importantly...
You’ll find LOTS of options for contributing towards the new record, each with a collection of interesting rewards: from new music, to private shows, to keyboards, to dinner, and more...

You can contribute a little or a lot, whatever works for you. Every dollar counts, and every contribution has a PROFOUND effect. The love adds up!

And there's more to this than "raising funds." Through the process of fundraising, we're creating ways to connect with you beyond the artist/listener realm we love so much. Our hope is that you'll truly be a part of this journey with us.

Get In On It:
www.ellerystimulus.com

(If you'd like, leave comments on the blog. Tell us what songs we should record. What songs to leave off. What songs to write. Anything, really. We love your feedback; go!) :)

CLOSING...

Thank you so much for sharing our news and excitement. We believe we have the most warm, kind, and music-loving fans in the world; it's an honor to make music for you and with you. You make all of this go.

We can't wait to see you on the road,
to tell you how the Ellery Stimulus is doing,
to hear your thoughts and feedback,
to show you how the whole thing unfolds,
and to create something beautiful with you.

More to come soon...

Our very best to you!

--Tasha and Justin // Ellery

Ten minutes in Romulus.

I came down to the lobby of our Romulus MI hotel this morning to do some work and let Justin rest.
An older man, a hotel employee, was moving around the room, gently wiping down tables and countertops from the continental breakfast which had ended about an hour before.

I'm an introvert and particularly so in the mornings; I like being alone with my thoughts and I had already considered shutting off the enormous TV that was shouting ESPN at me.
The cleaning man seemed harmless enough until he came around by my table. He clasped his hands behind his back and leaned over a bit, reading my computer screen over my shoulder.
This did not feel okay.

"What is this?" He asked, and I felt a bit annoyed. But I smiled. "Oh, just doing some work this morning."
I noticed that this didn't quite register. "You- student?"
Then I noticed his accent. Russian, lovely.
"No, just work."
"What you do?"
My computer screen was on a Yoga site, so I answered, "Well, mainly I'm a musician, but I also teach Yoga."
This is when I learned that he speaks very little English.

So we spent some time trying to talk about what I do.
I realized I'm not so good at charades.
After some work, I think we established that I perform music, but I don't teach it... And what I do teach is "Yoga."

He's not sure what Yoga is:
"You teach -- small children?"
"No, it's more-- people who want to lose weight (I hold my belly) or get strong (flex biceps)." (I didn't think I should launch into stress relief.)
"Ooooh. So you teach-- kind of therapy?"
"Kind of. Kind of."
It was a good start.

We talked about children. "No, not yet" I say when he asks if we have any. "That's okay, you young..."
"I have two children," he says after a pause.
He described his daughter and son, 28 and 26, both in University. "It's hard. Very expensive. Very hard on wife and me. We work-- every day. Every day. But my wife, she's um... optimistic? They're good, no smoking, no drinking, good brain."

I noticed that he looked tired.
I thought about his son, in the very expensive dental school, and wondered if he was thinking about his dad, wiping down tables at the Quality Inn. Mopping floors and cleaning bathrooms. I noticed that if I were his son, I'd feel guilty. And then I noticed that this man wouldn't want that.
Appreciation doesn't have to be followed by guilt. This is new & interesting to me. :)

"What about your parents?" He asked.
"My parents? Like what do they do?"
"No, what is their-- ethnicity?"
"Ooh. Mostly British, German, Native American."
"Ah," he says. "I love the Europeans. And I do like the people American. But here, just so many."

This was funny to me at the time, but funnier in retrospect. He's surrounded. I feel for him.

We chatted for a while, a lovely, very real few minutes which he concluded by saying, "You a good girl. Maybe in 3 years, you birth baby."

A little prophecy thrown out with love. :)

He went back to his work, but after a while he came back over again.
"You eat breakfast?"
"No, just having coffee."
"You want doughnut? Cheerios?"
"No, it's okay, I have food in the room." (The continental breakfast was long gone by now.)
"What you like? Cheerios? Apple?"
"Oh, thank you, but I'm alright." [Just to clarify, I was planning on eating. There's some hott Kashi Oatmeal Action in the hotel room. But I digress.]
"No, I serious. I get you something. You like my daughter: she skinny, but I like a bit more. (He gestures around his middle.) For strong brain, need strong body."
"So - you are my daughter," he continues. "Maybe you like that, maybe not? (shrugs) But I am your father. I take care of you. What you like?"

I think I conceded to dry Cheerios and an apple. Off he went.

So. There's now a plate of bananas, apples, an orange, and a large bowl of cheerios on my table, all covered with a carefully folded napkin.

I came down here bristling against social interaction. In ten minutes this man went from nobody to one of the most deeply meaningful random connections I've experienced while touring.

Feels holy.

I just need to be real for a second.

Alright.
I've missed you, Blog.
I think.
I mean, I assume.
I mean, I feel like I should.

You're so large. You have so much SPACE.
You can feature pictures and videos.
(Not that we have such things terribly often.)

(You know how it is. You get a nice digital camera, you learn how to use it, sort of, and then you leave it where it's nice and safe. Like in a bag you never carry. Or in the car. Or better yet, at home.
In other words, anywhere other than WITH you.)

But anyway, pictures, videos, whatever, it's been a long time.
The truth is, I've found another Love. I totally didn't see this coming.

Because I'm wordy. Wordy, I said, and you know it.
(If I don't have time for a 500-word essay then what's the point.) (THAT kind of wordy.)

I want sentences that run on, and questionable punctuation (oh, punctuation!), and proper grammar, and room for elipses...
and for hyphens --
(Oh God does Tasha love her hyphens -- And two at a time -- That's important --)

And I want some semicolons; you know, those lovely elements that allow me to join one thought to the next and the next without that irritating period. (So final.)

So I totally didn't see this coming.

I'm sorry, but I love Twitter.

I do. It's embarrassing. Seriously.

Because I spend half my Twitter moments panicking that I can't use my beloved hyphens.
I cringe at the ugly abbreviations, my cherished words all jumbled into a small space -- and for what??! For someone's arbitrary squeezy bless-them-those-Twitter-founders 140-word limit??

Like putting on a pair of jeans two sizes too small.

But then, oh that quick satisfaction, the no-need-to-fill-space, the immediacy of it, the short distance from thought to micro-blog --

(Ew, I said I'd never say "micro-blog," and there it is.)
(I'm sure this could get worse but I don't know how.)

So. Blog.
Big one. Macro. Real one. Original.
I'm not leaving you.
I mean, not totally.

There will be photos, perhaps videos... (Really! We're newly-motivated! Newly-inspired!)
...There will be long paragraphs and run-on sentences whose prose-ish blocks of the English language request, plead for, nay, require a vacuous white space...
And where else could I find such a thing? -- such a willing container for all the Capitalizations, punctuations, ongoing ruminations followed by hesitant elipses, because I can't quite let go...

For such a thing, there is no other.
That I know of.
But I mean, technology is always developing.
But for now -- Well,
There is surely more to come.

And meanwhile, I'll be tweeting.
(And I don't use this proudly: this lingo, this giving-in-to-the-tech-advanced-web-2.0-masses-by-using-their-jargon...
*sigh* But there you have it.)

www.twitter.com/ellerytheband

(oh -- and
www.twitter.com/ellerythepoems)

The Snowy Midwest.

We're in southern Kentucky tonight, holed up in (if I may say) a gem of a hotel near the University of the Cumberlands.
Speaking of which, we have to send out some enormous thanks for a great night on campus --Lovely lovely lovely.

Our tours this year began on the 15th, with a show on EIU's campus in Charleston IL, and what a brilliant way to begin. It was the coldest of nights so far this Winter, and we were all of us huddled inside over coffee and hot cocoa, feeling connected and human. (Or at least we did.) Thank you guys --

We turned our hotel lights off that night at 1:30am, and turned them on again at 3:30, which is just a sad kind of thing any time it has to happen... But outside our door (and outside of our blankets, it felt!)... it was negative 16 degrees. Climbing out into that was a sorrowful thing for sure!... :) ...The frigid air followed us all the way to Columbus, with me layered up, coat on, and buried under two blankets in the van. (And yes, with the heat cranked and more stops for hot coffee than usual.)

We were stopping in at WCBE for an on-air performance/interview, and the campus was quiet with cold and snow and with people staying in from all of it. But we had a great visit, and were then deeply deeply blessed by a nap in a nearby neighborhood, inside a lovely historic home in the perfect nook of a room whose bed lured us in and sent us to sleep right away.

We played that night with Steppin In It, at the Columbus Performing Arts Center. And we were amazed. We hadn't seen these guys live and it was ridiculously fun... Their tunes are great online, for certain, but seeing it live is where it's at. Make a plan --
And the Six String Concert Series is downright delightful... We felt so welcome and taken care of; such a great audience and a fabulous fabulous staff that obviously loves music and loves people.
And then it was home again for a couple nights...

And so after the historic events today (which left us both deeply inspired and proud), we made our way south, the snow finding us during the last several miles. We played for another blessedly warm room; always such a gift... Tomorrow it's back to Ohio with us.

Back to the Road --

We've spent the last few weeks in Ohio,
our stomping grounds,
feeling out a sense of home.

Which came to us while with family; much-anticipated days that were every bit as warm and lovely as we could have hoped.

We also got to join the ranks of fine citizens everywhere who suffered a crazy bout of holiday-time flu.
(Less-than-special gift.)

Mine hit while we were with Justin's family, and his came while we were with mine.
(Apparently we enjoy a good balance when one can be achieved.)

But I do have to say: if one must get sick, what better time than when he/she's off the road and holed up with family, surrounded by a ridiculous amount of compassionate coddling.
We're two lucky Goldens.

Besides, all of that was so very short-lived...
The Christmas season bloomed into a seriously refreshing New Year.

(Confession: Usually the New Year feels distinctly arbitrary. We don't typically make resolutions (we didn't this year either), nor do we generally feel that January 1st is a particularly fine time for starting over.
Which is not so much cynicism as a manifestation of stubborn will. I simply like to think I can make a fresh start whenever I want, thank you very much, calendar be d**ned.))

But this January has felt like an honest beginning.
We came home from our family travels, looked around, saw too much stuff, and feverishly listed a hearty pile on Craigs List.
(A quick shout out to Spontaneous Purging.) :)
Our home is much emptier now, in a peaceful, new-beginning kind of way that put a fresh spin on nearly everything.

Especially since we've been able to spend most of January IN our home... Waking up in our own bed, playing music in the living room, making several daily pots of coffee to keep the cold at bay. Calls to friends, card games at the kitchen table, trips to the local Skyline, working & rehearsing in familiar corners, and making plans for tours around the midwest and out to the east coast.
A very exciting time.


It's a beautiful, tragic, defeating, hopeful, lofty, intimate, wide-open life we all live.
And seasons like this - Home, Family, Belonging - they root Justin & I, let us take in the rest of our lives without feeling so much like we're going to blow away, or like we're simply surviving, like we're gliding along on the whim of God-Knows-What.
An immense gift.

The best we can wish for you is something similar: That you'll feel loved and grounded, ready to lift off.

(By the way, if you've heard a song, seen a movie, or read a book that's inspired you this season, we'd love for you to share it -- Please leave a comment!)

So here's to a sense of Home.
We hope the New Year brings us near you soon.

--Tasha & Justin