Well, that was fun! I am honored and thrilled to have helped christen the new Libbey Bowl in Ojai. I sang a couple of songs with Ojai’s best musician Jimmy Calire and then came back for the finale with all the great Ojai musicians, clustered together onstage for a gospel extravaganza. It’s new and improved, but the best thing is that it still feels just like Libbey Bowl!

Thanks, everyone, for sticking it out in the rain. What a wonderful day.

The It Gets Better Campaign is great because it show so dramatically how much better it can get. Watching the Google Chrome commercial during Glee the other night, though, I was reminded of a relatively undramatic “it gets better” moment that makes me smile.

When I was in high school, the jocks formed a school sanctioned group called “The Twelve Ounce Club.”

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My last post was March 21st, and I promised lots of SXSW lowdown. But does anyone care anymore about my sharp cultural observations (as if they did before)? I want to live in the now.

 

Here are teeniest little ducks that my daughter Stella spotted in the “ocean” at Disney’s California Adventure. They were literally the size of a walnut.

Here’s a picture of the choir at the recording session for Julie Christensen’s killer song “Rapture Index=0,” from her new album. What a rockin’ song, and it’s going to be a great, very political album.

And, finally, here’s a group shot of the fabulous “Repeat Offenders: Dirty Girls Come Clean” show at Theater 150.

I’ve been home from Austin for a couple of days and am doing a good job of not driving my family insane (“Omigod, it was so fun! I said this, and Mark said this, and then Andy made this joke about Spinal Tap and at night I went to this awesome restaurant, and saw this band, and…”)

What I have been talking about is how profoundly grateful I am to have found my way to Congress House, and how thrilled I am with how good the album is sounding and with the stellar collection of players and special guests. And, most of all, I’m telling how much I appreciate Mark Hallman. He’s putting his heart into my project (which I think is the only way he’s capable of working, since he has so much heart). Thank you, thank you.

So…here’s a list of the awesome folks who are making special appearances on the record: Perla Batalla, Julie Christensen, Sara Hickman, Eliza Gilkyson, Victoria Williams and Andrew Hardin. I don’t know when this album will come out – it depends on how soon I can get a publisher for the book and whether I end up releasing it on my own label (Precipitous Records) or try to make a deal with a smallish indie label. So stay tuned…

Love,
Rain