The New Year brings New Projects to Duluth.

As the new year approaches, we become that much closer to finishing our first album! It feels as if it's been a lenghy process, seeing how I left the area for 4 months and put the project on hold and now we are just saving our dimes and pennys to finish the last few steps.

I have been so inpspired by other local musicans to get this project to its final stage and ready for disdribution. I feel so blessed to be surrounded by creative, artistic, thoughtful minds that are constantly putting their art forward.  We live in a city that is alive with authentic individuals who keep me inspired!
We will be booking some new shoes in the New Year as our album gets closer to being finalized and even more when we are ready to promote it! So stay tuned and continue to create, Duluth!

Much Love,

Next of Kin..xoxo

Winter Solstice is Back! and so am I...

I have decided to start back up with my blog and use this as a writing tool for myself and as a public way to let y'all know what I'm up to.
Today marks the winter solstice of 2011 and a very exciting and energizing time. The days will start to get longer again, the sun will rise a little higher everyday and hopefully we will have some snow soon, so that we can enjoy that sun while skiing the cross country trails of the northland.
This season feels very different for me this year. It will be the first christmas where I won't be with my family at all. I will be heading to Morris to spend it with Lee and the Martin Clan. But also, I feel like a lot has happened in one year for me. I have new adventures on my horizon, I have left jobs and found a place at the Northern Waters Smokehaus. Lee and I have found a home in Duluth and a place that has become our haven. And most recently I have mourned the death of an old friend and been trying to understand my own meaning of life.
I believe that we must follow our bliss with great intensity. And we must do this with great intention. I am on the brink of understanding what it means to actually set specific goals and then figure out the small steps that must be taken in order to get there. I have gone through a lot of my life with these lofty dreams of rough ideas of what I want to be. And that's how you end up as a crepe maker in Fort Collins, CO!
I am writing, because I feel like it's something I have to do to stay sane and grounded. And I know that I must do it everyday if I actually want to call myself a writer. I have been inspired by people whom I see take the time to be diligent and have purpose and do the things they say they want to do. I am becoming an assistant sea kayak guide this next summer, because that is also something that I feel I must do and it's no accident that I am ending up in Bayfield, on Lake Superior.
So, this season, go out and do what you are meant to do, with great passion and purpose for your authentic life. The holiday of Christmas has lost it's meaning a little bit for me in the past years, but I understand the sun rising and it's cause for celebration and that we have a lot to be thankful for. Merry Christmas and Happy Winter Solstice!

Summer, Telluride, Bluegrass, Fun....

Hello all! It's been months since i've posted, and i feel like summer is slowly (i mean, quickly) slipping away from us!! It's almost August! Ahhhh! Alas, I am very excited for August because i will be moving into my very own apartment! Anyway, the big trip this summer has been to Telluride, CO for the 35th annual bluegrass fest. I drove out there with three other friends and met up with another who came from utah. Let me tell you folks, it was pure bluegrass bliss! it could not have been more fun or gone more smooth. Here are some photos of the scenery. i did not take these, someone just sent them to me. it was the most beautiful place i have ever been, and i miss it already.

Bon Iver means "good winter"...

...and what a good winter it was. I just saw this band called Bon Iver. and i was literally speechless after the show, in a good way. the man behind the name, is justin vernon of eau claire, WI and he is amazing. apparently he spent one winter at his dad's hunting shack, and recorded his album For Emma, Forever Ago, and now has national distribution through jagjagwar records. he's probably about my age, give or take a year, and it's just so frickin' cool to see this young guy getting all these great reviews and press. there are a lot of videos on youtube that i suggest checking out. just type in bon iver in the search and they should all come up. the first thing that gets you is the voice. you'll know what i mean when you hear it. it's so great to hear fresh new music and a new voice from this generation of crap that we are in! i suggest picking up this cd, you will not be dissapointed. my pick from the cd is: the wolves, part I and II. or something like that. check 'em out folks!!

Ode to the Buck n' Bass..... you officially kicked my ass!

This is my official praise to the Buck n' Bass lodge in Barnes, WI, where i spent three glorious days with some glorious people and one hell of a bartender named Steve! Last month, a couple friends held their 2nd annual birthday weekend at the Buck n' Bass lodge, and i was lucky enough to attend this year. I began referring to the Buck n' Bass as "wee-vegas," because apparantly, "what happens at the Buck n' Bass (wee-vegas,) stays at the Buck n' Bass (wee-vegas.) So, really, i'm not at liberty to divulge specific information aobut said weekend. However, i will say that it was an awsome time, filled with laughter, fun, music, and strippers( it is wee- vegas, don't forget. and they didn't actually take their clothes off, they just walked around in bikinis... wierd!) On saturday night, Medford came out to play a show at the bar, and totally tore the place down! it was great, and the locals seemed to like us... also a plus! By sunday, i was sad to leave, but ended the weekend singing on the front step with my friend Caleb, to our rendition of "Buck and Bass, you kicked my ass!" an instant classic! Here are a few photos from the weekend... some of the lovely ladies i hung out with! and of course, Steve the bartender!

Music washes away the dust from my soul....

Lately, I have been playing a lot more music, and singing more and I get such a high from it. I've been singing with a friend on wednesday nights, and the bar, and it's fun to come up with new stuff for us to sing together. It forces me to broaden my musical horizon and find stuff that I really want to sing or play, and also, to create new stuff as well. Now that I have this new computer, too, I'm able to listen to more music and make cd's and just have more access to more music. I would say that my wildest dream (well, one of them) would to be a part of a band or duo and to play shows, and perform. In the past year or so, I have met some of the greatest people, who happen to be muscians, and I can't even explain how great it is to hang out with them, and witness their music first hand, and be a part of it sometimes. I feel that I have really grown in my own musical sense because of these people, who can't help but make music... all the time! This has been some of the most fun I've ever had.... more to come soon.

Bloggable? I think so....

Well, for those of you who watched the Oscars (I did not, actually...) you would have seen Glen and Marketa perform their song "falling slowly." And then you would have seen them win the award for best song. And then you would have seen how cute they are and how humble and beautiful and amazing they are. I watched their speeches on the internet, and my love for them grows more... It's pretty amazing how they were virtually unknown in this country before this movie came out., and now they've won an Oscar! It's crazy!! Hollywood has somewhat redeemed themselves for the moment, but lord knows that won't last. As for Glen and Marketa, I'll be seeing them this summer at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. I'll be front and center for that one, for sure... And so, the obsession continues...