Parading the Party Line

There's a Parade at Ground Floor Theatre and you need to buy your ticket before it passes you by.

Sarah Danko is a gorgeous actor and paired well with Scott Ferguson who we found annoying as Frank the Jew, creepy as Frank THE JEW (emphasis Mrs. Phagan) and eventually lovable as Frank, Lucille's Jewish husband. Travis Gaudin's voice is like a glass of whiskey you hold in your hand swishing and sniffing over and over. We hung on his every word and saw every scene he sang. Vincent Hooper is an all around dream performer from his mannerisms to his vocal belt on the chain gang. Lovely, dedicated voices rang out from the ensemble - especially Chelsea Manasseri and Kristin Hall's solo performances. Kyle Coughlin was delightful (can one use that word when describing Parade?) to watch as Craig. And who are Matrex Kilgore and Dale Sandish?!... um welcome to Austin and bravo.

When Lisa Schepps wants to make a point. She does it with an exclamation. And  mazel tov to her. She directed a great show despite the apparent challenges with sound in the space. (Why couldn't we hear the voices in this brand new venue?)

Before Lisa's curtain speech, a video from the 100th anniversary of the anti-defamation league was played. It took our collective breath away and was a brilliant way to start the show and remind the audience that it was this real life event that brought the league into existance. 

Because this is important. I want to stand up and scream and say all the bad curse words and pull my hair out and even lay naked in the street for a year (the Jews and maybe a few Christians will get that reference), but my fiancee won't let me. 

If you think we live in a world or a county that isn't racist, sexist, and classist, you're wrong. And Parade is a beautiful, if sad, reminder of that truth. Let me put it in perspecive for you.

Look at the difference in the way this Euro-American (caucasian) mother is treated in the comments versus how the African-American mother is treated. 

SICK.

And if you're about to throw that "meme's are hard to fact check," crap at me, here's a strain that I personally responded to when a "Facebook Friend" of mine posted "Comply, don't die!" after Michael Brown's death.

Or how about this? 

Here's a gun store that won't allow Muslims to purchase their merchandise. Even though WHITE PEOPLE are the numbers one terrorists against Americans a poll released in June reported.

White, right wing Americans have killed way more people than Muslim radicals here in America since 9/11. But you know, white people have mental health issues and black people are thugs. It's true because our culture tells us its true.

And that's the party line Parade exposes. Vilifying a person because you hate a people group (in Parade it's the Jews) makes you a racist bigot. Not a hero. Not ever a hero. Not for hating a race or people group. 

Or hating women...

Or gay people...

Or anyone who isn't like you. Or who you don't understand.

AMERICA, wake up. The beautiful search for diversity which gave birth to you is dwindling away as we allow the right wing fundamentalists spew their white supremacy and male chauvinism on us. We're drowning in it. America has lost her melting pot and is drowning in witch's brew.

So to organizations like the Anti-Defamation League and Ground Floor, I say thanks. This little white girl says thanks. And hopes more people will go catch the Parade playing two more times on Nov 5 at Ground Floor Theatre in East Austin.   

Twelve for 12

Twelve Great Songs to Start Off 2012...

• Not As We by Alanis Morisette
• The New Year by Death Cab for Cutie (or as my mom once called them, the Dead Taxis)
• That Year by Brandi Carlile
• Passing Afternoon by Iron and Wine
• Our New Year by Tori Amos (or Pretty Good Year!... so hard to decide.)
• Did I Ever Become by The Krusty Brothers (Waterdeep)
• In the New Year by The Walkman
• It's the End of the World As We Know It by REM (duh, hello 2012!)
• Bitter End by The Dixie Chicks
• Waiting Out the New Year by The Whiskey Priest (instrumental)
• The Cave by Mumford and Sons
• My Dear Acquaintance (Happy New Year) by Regina Spektor

And here's a freebee to the first song on my imaginary album... you'll have to find the rest yourself (although Regina's & Death Cab's videos have made it on my blog in New Years Past).

1-1-11

Today starts a new decade. This affords us an opportunity to reflect not only on the end of the year of twenty-ten, but on the whole first decade ushered in ten years ago by Y2K and all the chaos of a new millennium.

Here's some of what I remember...

In 2000, I graduated from College, turned down a marriage proposal, moved home to hang out with my youngest sister who was in high school, substitute taught, and drove a van-full of stuff to Waco, Texas, where my mother left me with a kiss and a cry.

2001 began my seminary career. I flew to Hawaii for Spring Break (priceline had just been invented) and met up with my aunt and grandparents. With my new friends Lynnette ad Cat, I began attending UBC Waco where I preached my first Sunday morning sermon. I worked at Applebee's for three months and then took a job at Buzzard Billy's. I joined my family in St. Jo again for the summer and joined the chorus of Camelot, the show my dad was directing. Cat and I moved in together on Bagby. 9-11 started off my second semester in seminary, and flying was never the same again.

2002, both my grandparents died within a week of each other. I played Mary Magdalene in Waco Civic Theater's Jesus Christ Superstar. My seminary got a new dean, and i almost quit. Instead I travelled the world with a Missions class and visited England, Morocco, Turkey, Thailand, India and China. I moved in with the Eades that summer. I began dating a drummer that fall and my sister got married in October. I had my first wreck: in Oklahoma, driving back to Texas from a friend's wedding in Missouri. I starred as Anna in The King and I and adopted my first cat, Radley.

2003 I attended my first Emergent Convention and the Dove Awards. I turned 25 and moved home again for the summer to play The Witch in Robidoux Resident Theater's production of Into the Woods. I adopted (or rather, inherited - thanks Jen!) my second cat, Zorba. One of my best friends, Big Phil, moved to Austin and began working at Mosaic which introduced me to both that city and church. The drummer and I broke up, and I bought a new (to me) car.

2004 I graduated from seminary, moved to Austin for a couple months where I volunteered at Mosaic and substitute taught, then moved to St. Joseph, Missouri to be an English/Drama teacher at Savannah High School.

2005 I moved back to Austin, was a permanent substitute at Johnston High School, volunteered again at Mosaic, dated a tattoo-covered republican, moved back to Waco (and back to my old job at the Buzz), dated a bartender, and then moved back again to Austin where I took a job as Pastoral Resident/University Minister at FBC Austin through a CBF Lily Grant. My sister got divorced, my friend and pastor, Kyle Lake, died, and my cat Radley died.

2006 I dated a 19 year old and a 48 year old one right after the other this Spring (neither lasted long). I bought my first house in East Austin. I played Job's Wife in J.B. at church. I dated a lawyer who lived in DC and made my first visit to our nation's capitol. I was ordained by FBC, and officiated my first wedding.

2007 I got a dog. I took a vacation with two friends in West Texas, I produced Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at FBC. My residency ended. The church voted to keep me on as their new Minister to Young Adults and of Creative Discipleship. My car died on the way home for Christmas with my boyfriend that year and I bought a new one to get back to Austin before New Year's.

2008 I oversaw the creation of a Black Box Theater on the 4th floor of FBC and directed my first play (a one-act), Aria Da Capo under the new troupe: Trinity Street Players. Things at church were challenging this year and I went back to therapy. I dated a guy in the Peace Corps and recorded a CD of hymns. My father had a heart attack a few weeks before The Diaries of Adam & Eve opened in which I played Eve. I turned 30.

2009 I led worship at the CBF's Current Retreat and visited Walt Disney World with Julie Merritt and some other pastoral friends. I attended my first JoPa convention and got to speak with Jurgen Moltmann on a panel in Chicago (where I also visited my sister, Amy). I organized a Mission trip to Chile for my college students at church. I played Shelby in Steel Magnolias that summer. I dated a guy who lived in LA and flew out there for vacation that year. I watched two babies being born (both "natural" births) that year, and on Fridays, I babysat Chris & Michelle's daughter, Laurel.

2010 I directed my second show, You Can't Take It With You. My neighbor and adopted "mom" died. I played Luisa in The Fantasticks during the summer. I also attended the Baptist World Alliance in Hawaii, and stayed an extra week to vacation there with my parents, aunt and great-aunt. I quit my job, ran a half-marathon relay at Disney World, and began nannying part time for my friend Bethany who got cancer. I dated one of the other actors who had been in The Fantasticks. I began auditioning for shows all over Austin and was cast as Eva Peron in Evita at the Georgetown Palace.

Most of my life's recap consists of men I dated, pets I mothered, places I vacationed, roles I played, and conferences I attended. I don't know, I guess that's what my life is.

If you want to know how many funerals I attended in the last decade, I can promise you it's more than the average 32 year old could claim. Kyle Lake (my friend), Chip Conyers (my professor), Ruth Ann Foster (my professor), Mike Rudd (my ex-boyfriend), Tommie & Nicey Bedford (my neighbors), Jonathan Norman (my student), and the list goes on and on... Same for weddings. Singing, officiating or being a bridesmaid in an average of probably 5 weddings a year... And the babies that showed up starting in 2009? Well, quite frankly, I lost track. But those are all things that go on other people's lists. Not mine. Not my death, not my wedding, not my baby.

I've not written down how many sermons I've preached, or shelters I've volunteered at, or worship services I led, or people I counseled. This isn't my resume, it's a list of experiences... of seasons in my life. You won't find the movies I watched, or the books I read, the shows I saw, or the wine I drank because there isn't enough time or space, and really who cares? Reflecting is a time for highlighting. Singling out. Seeing patterns. And breaking molds.

The cast of Rent asks "the question" of us and offers some of the nineties' (remember that decade leading up to Y2K?) suggestions on how we measure life...

In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights
In cups of coffee
In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife.
In truths that she learned,
Or in times that he cried.
In bridges he burned,
Or the way that she died.

Five hundred twenty-five thousand
Six hundred minutes
How do you measure the life
Of a woman or a man?

How about love? Measure in love
Seasons of love. Seasons of love

And while I don't measure life in cups of coffee (I don't even drink coffee), neither do I measure it in beer bottles, slimfast or cartons of fat free milk. I do think it's measured in love. Love of people and love of what you do, coupled with love of God and loving yourself, whom God created. There's no time (and you've no interest) to hear the in depth version of my last decade, so listen instead to this beautiful song and reflect on the seasons in your life... and of course Happy New Year. Happy 2011 and good luck with your next decade...

Happy New Year

X-Mas Mix Tape 2010

So one thing I miss about my job this time of year is Christmas songs. During the Christmas season, when there were several students home from college and several local college students who hadn't gone home yet, the FBC college group would have a Christmas party. And every year as party favors, I would make everyone who came to the party a Christmas CD.

I wouldn't want to brag or anything, but these CDs were kinda famous. Every year Lauren Greaves would text or email me... "What's going on the CD this year? I can't wait to find out!" and I'd write her back... "Oh girl, I found a Kristen Chenoweth song you're gonna love!"

The staff would always get a copy of the FBC Water's Edge College Christmas Mix CD too, and while I'm not sure how much they appreciated the ecclectic music, I know at the very least that Marshall Smith, FBC's business manager and resident mystic, loved them. He mentioned to me a few days ago that he was going to really miss not getting the Christmas CD this year.

So as I was driving 13 hours to get home to Missouri from Texas this weekend, I decided to make a "What I Would Have Put On the Christmas Mixed Tape If I Still Had That Job CD" in honor of MSmith and the FBC college crew...

In no particular order, here's some songs would have made it on the compilation...

Love Again by The Animal Beat
Baby It's Cold Outside by "Kurt" and "Blaine" from Glee
Follow the Shepherd Home by Mindy Smith
Jingle Bell Rock by Darrell Shepherd
Christmas Is All Around by "Billy Mack" from Love Actually
Christmas In the Sun by April Maybe May
Silent Night secret track by Damien Rice
O Holy Night by the David Crowder Band
River by Angus Stone
A Child Is Born by Rihanna
The Peasant King by John Perkins
Cherry Tree Carol by Emmylou Harris

On that list are a couple of songs that you can find already all together on an album whose ENTIRE proceeds go to charity. Check out Christmas Gift, a new album produced in the UK by the label Rainboot which even has a song on it by Austin artist, the Whiskey Priest. The money you spend on one song or buying the whole album goes to Save the Children an organization that provides food, medical care and education to disaster struck regions.

And if that really gets you in the Spirit, then here's another Christmas CD whose proceeds go to charity: Christmas for Kenya. This is an organization that one of the former pastors (Ben Dudley) at my old church (UBC Waco) helped start. The money raised from this CD (it's the third CD - so if you're feeling really generous or Christmassy buy the previous two CDs too!) goes to the Kianga Project, an organization dedicated to fighting HIV/AIDS in Kenya.

P.S. If you wanna know what songs made it on the previous five FBC College Christmas CDs... here's the latter three! (I'll have to find the others... when I get back to Austin).

College Xmas 2009
My Dear Acouaintance (A Happy New Year) by Regina Spektor, Deck the Halls by R.E.M., Jingle Bells by Lisa Loeb, Christmas Baby by G. Love, White Christmas by Katy Perry, The First Noel by Weezer, I Believe In You by Sinéad O'Connor, Cool Yule by Bette Midler, Lullay My Liking by The King's Singers, Come Darkness, Come Light by Mary Chapin Carpenter, Silent Night by Johnny Cash, The Christmas Can-Can by Straight With No Chaser, I Believe by Andrew Bocelli with Katherine Jenkins, Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) by Death Cab For Cutie, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas by Colbie Caillat

College Xmas 2008
Baby, It's Cold Outside, I Heard the Bells On Christmas Day by Sarah McLachlan, I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus by Jessica Simpson, I'll Be Home For Christmas, You're a Mean One Mr. Grinch, Ave Maria, Get Behind Me Santa by Sufjan Stevens, Carol of the Bells by the bird and the bee, Chesnuts Roasting On An Open Fire, Do You Hear What I Hear

College Xmas 2007
Little Drummer Boy by Sufjan Stevens, Sing We Now of Christmas, Grinch Dialogue by Jim Carrey, Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas by Hem, O Holy Night by Sufjan Stevens, Sleigh Ride by Ella Fitzgerald, Track 05 by Sufjan Stevens, All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth, River, Rudolf, the Red-Nosed Reindeer by Jack Johnson, The Friendly Beasts by Sufjan Stevens, Let It Snow by A Fine Frenzy, Holy, Holy, Holy by Sufjan Stevens, White Christmas by Aimee Mann

College Xmas 2005
All the Angels by John Perkins, I Wish You a Merry Christmas by Bing Crosby, Christmas Celebration by B.B. King, Christmas Time Is Here by Melissa Manchester, The Christmas Song by Nat King Cole, The Hallelujah Chorus by The Philharmonic Orchestra, Winter Wonderland by Aretha Franklin, White Christmas by Lena Horne, Let It Snow! by Ella Fitzgerald, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas by Lee Greenwood, O Come O Come Emmanuel by The Canadian Brass, 2000 Decembers Ago by Joy WIlliams, What Child Is This by Chris Rice, One Solitary Life by Hal Hotbrook, To Zion by Lauren Hill

The Live Music Capital of the World

is where I live, and this week, I experienced it in full.

Starting last Friday night, a friend had invited me several weeks ago to attend a show with him at a Presbyterian church in North Austin. Some "amazing guitar player" was performing, and after driving in from Dallas, my friend wanted someone who would appreciate some good music to see the show with him. I was happy to oblige.

We were the first to arrive at the "Open Ear Concert," and with five minutes to show time and only six of us in the audience, I was beginning to worry about what I was about to see. However, the crowd filed in at the last minute and the opening act joined us onstage. All the rage in the Netherlands, Matt Harlan was indeed a talented musician with good lyrics and a compelling voice. But he was no match for the main event: Corrine West and Kelly Joe Phelps.



"She's not exactly delicate," my friend said of Corrine when I remarked that the photograph on the flyer (not the previous picture) made them look like a bad 80s hair band. And while he was right, she was no budding flower onstage, this beautiful woman was a powerful musician. With eyes clenched closed she listened to her partner, a former Jazz guitarist, shimmy his left hand up and down the fret of his guitar accompanying her on songs they had rewritten musically after meeting each other.

And they are a match made in heaven. Their voices blend so well that at times it was hard to tell who was singing which note. It was like listening to honey. Thick honey. The kind from the comb grandma would buy at the apple orchard and bring over to your kitchen. The kind you couldn't just drip onto a bowl of Cheerios from a bear, but the kind that had to be spread onto bread with a knife. Thick honey. My friend bought me their only CD together, and I was thrilled to learn that River was on it. However, the song that most affixed me was Angels. I've always heard of people describe music as a spiritual experience and while I've always agreed with that sentiment, for the first time as I listened to that song, I felt myself almost separate from my body as if my spirit were so moved to dance that it couldn't be confined to the mass that is me.

Find these people when they come to your area and buy a ticket to their show. Their CD doesn't do them justice.

From St. Andrews, I said goodbye to my friend (who headed back to Dallas), and went to meet up with some more friends downtown at the Beauty Bar to hear one of my favorite Austin band's last show. Upon arriving I discovered there was a $5 cover charge and free drinks at the bar until 11. What? Um, awesome. The B. Sterling Band was already playing when I arrived at 10:05 and I joined B's prego wife in the front of the crowd to hear the show. Always a ton of fun, I love listening to this band whose vivid lyrics coupled with not only your typical band instruments but a steel guitar, flute and trumpet too always make for a festive evening.


However, what was also making for a fun evening was the... ahem... variety... of people at the Beauty Bar that night. Go north on Punk Rock and take a right on Hipster are my directions for how to get to this bar, so when it began to fill with big hair and big boobed girls dressed in all black and pumped up in stiletto heels, I began to wonder if it had been too long since I'd been downtown. First off, I didn't know Side Bar had closed (which used to be right across the street), but now Beauty Bar is the main attraction for 30 year old sorority girls from Dallas? As I made my way to the bar (for a second drink), I discovered the non-sequitor... Cover Girls, the main band of the evening, indeed consisted of thirty-something year old women from Dallas but with a catch. "I'll take a vodka in grapefruit juice please." I began to pull a dollar out of my wallet to tip the bartenders. "No need to tip, honey," the old man standing next to me said. "But the drink was free and they need to make money," I replied pre-judging him as some jerk-off republican. "You know the band that's playing next?" he went on. I didn't. "Well, my daughter is friends with them. One of the girl's husbands is a trillionaire. Trust me, these bartenders will be taken care of. Save your money." Hmm. I complied. I don't have a full time job. I will save my dollar for an equally needy bartender. I returned to Jess and our friends reporting the news: one of the band member's husband is apparently a trillionaire and had flown not only the band, but all their friends into town, rented out the Beauty Bar, paid for our drinks, and made the whole evening possible.

Awesome. Again, free liquor and five-dollar music. I love this town.

I did not love the Cover Girls.

They couldn't even tune their own guitars. If the bad blond hair and the fake boobs and leather clothing hadn't tipped us off, this did. We were in for a ride. And I hate roller coasters. Five Six Seven Eight, the struck their first chords. We groaned. And then, as if in a bad karaoke bar, we watched some blond bimbo sing "One way... or another... I'm gonna gitcha, gitcha, gitcha." To add to the terrible song choice, and the terrible costumes, the song was in a key way too low for this girl and she didn't have a good voice. When they switched singers for the second song and bimbo number two began her equally terrible 1980s karaoke hit, I left. Money may buy you and your fifty closest friends a trip to Austin and free drinks for an entire bar and band equipment and even non-band members to tune your guitars, but it won't buy you talent.

I had shut this event out of my mind when to finalize my live music week, I and two friends attended John Pointer's show at Zach Scott Theater on the set of Rent and I was reminded of the full week of music I'd already experienced. But what a juxtaposition. This show finished out the week with the same flair that it had been ushered in with. A-mazing.

I admit, I'm a huge John Pointer fan. It's probably because he covers Yo Diggity (I'd like to bag it up!), but even beyond this super fun cover song, John's musical versatility is really unparalleled here in Austin. A human beatbox (yes, you heard me correctly), this cello performance major from UT plays, nay, dances on the fret of his guitar creating a whole new music experience all the while singing in that same whimsical fashion, sometimes gruff and hard, sometimes falsetto and sometimes, well, as though his voice were a turntable, snare and high hat. Trust me, it's hard to describe. But John captured his audience's attention and you could have heard a pin drop when he looped a simple guitar strum and then bounded from the main stage to upstage right on the second level where his cello, a saw (yes, a flimsy saw) and his bow were waiting.


With those loops in place he returned to the stage, this time to the piano to play keys and finally add vocals to the mix. A good 15 minute spectacle, it was a real treat to watch. Because when John plays, he is also playing. He plays with the words, the music, the beat, the audience (yes, there's always much audience participation at John's shows) and the theatricality of each piece. It is a pleasure to watch him perform.



There was a summer or a fall or some season when every Thursday night you could hear John at Cedar Street, a local outdoor venue here in town. I miss those days of amazing live music - both originals and covers - and dancing to a cello and a human beatbox in downtown Austin under the stars.

Strange, I know. But birds of a feather flock together. And you need to hear John Pointer.

(Photography borrowed with permission from Charley McCoy).

ACL 2010

I realize that I'm backtracking. But I've been backtracking for a while now, so you'll be alright.

The weekend after the big I Ran Five Miles at Disney World brought yet another adventure: Austin City Limits. Hooray! It's my super favorite weekend of the whole year.

Why? Because I love the sun, the music, the food, the people, and I love that it's all in one place. One park. One entrance and one exit.

My lineup for this year consisted of some bands I'd seen before, others I'd missed in years past at the festival and some I'd never seen or heard ever. Highlights from this year were... Blues Traveler (yep, it's true), The Black Keys (as everyone expected, a great show), Dawes (who I couldn't actually see, but sang along to in the back of the crowd on my blanket) and The National (Oh. My. God.).

However, for this post I do not want to focus on the amazingness of the aforementioned bands, but on the kookiness of several of the other shows we saw. One of the fun parts of ACL is that the selection of bands is usually vast enough that not only can you hang with the pot-smoking hippies at The XX, the Christians at Switchfoot (whom I avoided) but also with the voyeurs who show up to shows like M.I.A. and the Flaming Lips and by voyeurs, I mean those who aren't really music junkies for fill-in-the-blank-band, but just want to be able to say, "Yeah, I saw them once." We are voyeurs of the eccentricity of musicians.

I had skipped MIA several years ago at ACL when she was here to hear Damien Rice I think. A smart move on my part, but still I heard her show was amazing. So after picking up her CD that year, I was ready this year to make it over, and in 2010, several years and several CDs later, Maya had a much more featured hour and stage on which to perform. And boy did she perform. Too bad we couldn't hear her. Her stage was cah-razy with a video for the backdrop and pyro-technics on Paper Plane.


Super awesome. The crowd was wild with singing and fist-throwing. But we could hardly hear her vocals! You could hear the sound, but you couldn't understand her. Even in between songs when she spoke, no one knew what she was saying. So with that uber disappointment, my crew and I voted to leave the park early and beat the end-of-show crowds having heard our favorite MIA songs already. We left Maya on top of her speakers having climbed up there mid-song.


The other show that I'd chosen against in previous years was Flaming Lips. Supposedly their show was really entertaining a few years ago when I had gone to hear Robert Plant or someone else instead. I remember thinking at the time that I'd made the wrong decision, but after seeing their show this year, maybe not.

The Flaming Lips are known for being... well... different. I mean, I'm different. But they're different. For example, it would never occur to me to put a giant painting of a woman in birthing position on the giant screen behind my stage and then come onstage myself, get into a giant ball and roll from the stage (and thus from the woman) onto the people who had come to see my show and proceed to crowd surf in a giant blown up ball.


Neither would I consider it creatively advantageous to have a man in a bear costume come out onstage during one of my songs. Even if I did consider this, I would not then climb up on the bear's shoulders and ride him like a bull while continuing to perform. What the...?





But even if I had chosen the theatrically precarious ball surfing or the just plain peculiar bear riding, I definitely wouldn't choose to ask my audience to do what Wayne Coyne instructed us in next. "Okay, if I say bird, I want to hear you chirp like birds." We all looked at him onstage like he was speaking alien. "F*cking chirp I said!" And a few people chirped. Then he called up his drummer to the microphone and said that he would willingly demonstrate and help us along. "If I say lion, I want to hear your roar!" Raaaahhhhrrr began the drummer and the potheads began roaring with him. The rest of us began looking at one another in disbelief. That's what i say to Chris and Michelle's 17 month old daughter, "Roar like a lion, Lauren," to which she replies, "rahr!" I digress. Then Wayne began performing the song, and with every noun he offered, we were to pretend to be that noun either vocally or physically. "Wind!" he shouted and people began blowing into the air and swooshing. It was like being in a high school theater class. Only worse. The sun was in our eyes, and most of us were high from either first or second-hand smoke. And our buzz was quickly wearing off. "Race car!" It was at this point that a wave of high schoolers weeded their way past us leaving the show. "See, they get it," I said to my ACL partner, Meredith Holladay.


They have to chase one another on all fours like crabs on a dirty gymnasium floor during P.E. class at school. They're sure as hell not going to do it at an ACL concert. And after Wayne asked us to be the ocean, we too left.

This experience was in part redeemed for me by getting to hear the Flaming Lips perform Vaseline, but Meredith never heard her favorite Pink Robots song, so it was with mixed emotions that we braced exiting the crowd. Thank God, I muttered, and began humming "Nothing" sung by character Diana Morales in A Chorus Line as we moved away from the insanity and toward the port-a-potties.

Austin City Limits. Always an experience!

While You're In Austin...

Dear President Obama,

While you're in Austin today, you should swing by First Bapitst Church. We have a Black Box Theater on the 4th floor. So, if you want to come see our dress rehearsal for The Fantasticks tonight, we would be delighted to have you. Chip and Amy Brees might be there too. That's Drew Brees' parents. Remember the Super Bowl? Maybe you guys could talk about New Orleans and how much FEMA sucks. Stephen & Deborah Reeves and her parents will be there tonight too. Stephen works for the Christian Life Commission so y'all could talk about how screwed up it is that Texas took James Madison out of our History Books for public schools. Can't you overrule us or something? Sometimes we make terrible decisions.

Anyway, the show is great and since according to the local paper, you won't be here through Thursday, which is opening night, I thought maybe you might want to catch the 50th Anniversary of this magical musical written by two UT grads tonight. Dress rehearsal starts at 7:30.

Peace,
Rev. Ann Catherine Pittman (but you can call me Louisa)

[ for the rest of you reading this letter, The Fantasticks runs Thursday thru Sunday, August 12-15 and 19-22 with 7:30 performances Thurs-Sat and 2:30 Sunday matinees. Call 476-2625 to reserve your FREE tickets or email trinitystreetplayers@fbcaustin.org ]

Creation Care

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Speaking of the Environment, my church is having a Creation Care Sunday on May 2nd at 11am. I'm singing the finale song from The Color Purple, the musical. Here it is prefaced by Sophia's song, "Hell No" at the 2006 Tony Awards.



PLUS! David Garza and Chris Searles of Twang Twang Shock a Boom will also be playing during the service with Grant Hudson of the Infinite Partials accompanying them on bass. Chris Searles writes about this event here.

You should come!! First Baptist Church of Austin, TX 901 Trinity Street (9th and Trinity in downtown Austin). 11am. Sunday May 2nd, 2010.

My Friends Are Famous: B. Sterling

This is one of my favorite bands in Austin: The B. Sterling Band. And, he's a friend of mine! KVUE featured his music on one of their blurbs yesterday, so check it out here! (the video wouldn't repost so you have to go to the site to watch it). And here's the band's website in case you wanna check them out on a regular basis. Congrats B!

Laughing With

This is the song I'm singing Sunday at FBC...

Stupid Musician

Dear Rock Stars,

Just because you're in a band and playing in Austin at SXSW doesn't mean you get to do this.

Lord.

She's Only Happy In the Sun

So, last weekend (not Easter weekend) was the show Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at church. It was amazing, but not because we necessarily were so spectacular (although we were) but because everyone had a blast, got into character well, had fun with the show and with each other, worked really hard for a great product and met a bunch of new people of all ages. Here's one of my favorite pictures of the women's chorus laughing during rehearsal...



Here's another good one. This is of my new friend Joe H. He played Levi or one of the brothers (I kind of got them all confused. One night "Dasher" even made it into the show. Of course, this was a combo of Dan and Asher, but since Santa isn't in the Old Testament, Dasher didn't make much sense).



From a lawyer to a middle school student, many people were involved...



and many friendships were developed...



All in all it was a huge success on so many levels as a church production. But perhaps one of my favorite parts about "Joseph" was that in brought in both my parents and my sister Amy. Congrats mom and dad, in 28 and 5/6 years, you haven't missed a show yet! Let's keep it that way! :)

Patty Griffin, whom I love, has an amazing song on her new album Children Running Through called Heavenly Day. Great Song. Super. I'd love to cover it someday.

Yesterday was a heavenly day. After getting all day Monday off, I woke up Tuesday refreshed and ready to go. Staff meeting? Not a bore. Discussing hard issues of the church? Not a chore. Even when Roger and I had our monthly heart to heart confrontation and I cried, I wasn't sad or mad or whatever. They were just tears on a heavenly day.

The sky was blue. Deceptively blue. Blue sky and 60 or 70 degrees blue. But even when I had to turn right back around to go inside and grab a scarf before heading to work it was a heavenly day.

After work I ate amazing chinese food from a restaurant called Suzy's. Read up some on the Judah and Tamar story from Genesis 28 - always a delight. And then two of my best friends and I watched my favorite show House on TV and then rented Little Miss Sunshine.

My parents and grandparents had sent me Valentine's Day gifts that came early so I was still buzzing from those. According to my parents card to me, I "sparkle." And I felt sparkly yesterday on my all too normal but very heavenly day.

Today on the other hand - known to the general public as Valentine's Day, but known to all Common Grounds-ers as Singles Awareness Day - was not heavenly. I awoke at 7:30 to do a hospital visit, but went back to bed when we couldn't figure out what hospital she was in. For some reason when i returned to sleep, I set my alarm for 1:30am and needless to say didn't wake up on my own until 11:30. No flowers at church waiting for me from my imaginary boyfriends, my wanna-be boyfriends, my ex-boyfriends, or even stalkers. I forgot my lunch at home and had to moocoh off the secretaries. And the sky was grey and the weather cold. Didn't go out to a movie tonight with friends because of a headache and general not-feel-good-ness. Not a heavenly day.

But you know what, those are facts and I'm not complaining. Because some days are just normal days you get through and some days are simply normal but feel simply heavenly. Maybe it's the weather, maybe it's waking up on time, maybe it's karma, maybe it's prayer, but even as i lay here with my throat getting a little more sore, i'm still treasuring yesterday and contemplating how to view every day as a heavenly one.

Heaven on earth, God's kingdom now. There just might be something to that.