Karen Joy Brown: News

I finally got into what everyone who's anyone is into:My Space. As usual, it takes my about a year to warm up to anything that is a good idea, but outside my perception and experience.

After meeting various musicians who use and swear by it, I decided to give it a go. I admit that I feel like a poser because it seems like an "under 30" activity to me, but what the heck? I'll probably be a hardcore myspace person in the course of several months.

Please visit my myspace page and make it look like I have friends!

www.myspace.com/karenjoybrownmusic

I’ve been getting to know the “purity of the road” that Jack Kerouac wrote about. The bay area tour at the end of June, and now I’ve just returned from Mammoth Lakes where I did a Spanish Language institute for a week. There’s something soothing about leaving everything behind and following a yellow line to wherever it may take you.

It’s taken me to some beautiful places and introduced me to some fine people. I got to be a student again and sit in the back row with some like minded ladies and ponder deep grammatical questions like, “Is it functioning as a past participle and an adjective?” I forgot that I was such a complete grammar geek and could happily talk about that for at least four hours a day.

The language institute happened to coincide with the annual Jazz festival, so on the last night new room mate Rosalinda and I hit the town and listened to some incredible bands while enjoying some of the local brews. Getting in at 2AM didn’t really help the six hour drive home go any faster the next day, but you only live once, no?

The night before I left to go to the institute, some of you joined me for another intimate Café Flo evening. I met some fans that have enjoyed hearing me at the market for some time and made it out to the show as well as some old friends that I was delighted to see again. One friend brought along a wonderful photographer who took some great shots of the night. They really do capture the feel of the night. Here’s the link for you to check them out. http://www.flickr.com/photos/brpinc/sets/72157594197482072/

What a great Cafe Flo evening. Thanks to all who came out on a hot July night to retire from the madness and connect with friends and music.

Met some wonderful new fans along with old friends, and during the audience participation section of "Got to be a better way" I heard the best snapping ever!

It's really true that it's both the audience and the perfomer that contribute to a good show and that certainly was the case for my "I'm back in Chico at good old Cafe Flo" show.

Ok. I'm finally back in Chico and am heading off to deal with photos, accounting, and other loose ends so I can get ready to take off again on Sunday!

Point is, I should have some photos and news up here regarding the tour as well as the Saturday show at Flo's by Friday. Check back then!

I've made it to Benica for the last show of the tour!Orchard Valley Coffee topped off the south bay scene with the best crowd I'd seen yet and the OVC crew gets a gold star because they actually put up the posters I sent.

Alesandra sat in for a few songs and we parted with plans to do more stuff together in the future. What a lovely woman and energetic ally to have in the crazy music world. Thank you!

Well, I'll be heading back to Chico tomorrow and will hit the ground running at the Thursday Night Market reminding people to come share a Cafe Flo evening with me on Saturday, July 9th. I'd love to see my Chico people there because there's no place like home.

Coffee Society 6/23

Friday- I’m starting to get a better idea of the occupational hazards I face. Quinton’s mechanical heroics in replacing a leaking water pump last minute put me on the road later than I intended. I found myself facing bay area traffic in 100+ heat in my not-so-cool ride sans air conditioning.

However, I got to the Coffee Society on time and experienced the unexpected pleasure of Ozzy’s Iron Man in the background as I set up. The acoustics were great, and I think I gave some new listeners a good show. One down, four to go.

Red Rock 6/24

Saturday- I was proud to navigate the bay area seas to land at Red Rock Coffee in time for the 7pm show. Word on the street was that my sister in law and some other friends were coming, but I made it through the first set before anyone I knew arrived. The room filled as the show went on, and I closed things up around 9:30 to varied comments like, “That was a short one.” I was puzzled until I investigated further to find that the website said 8pm, but my schedule said 7pm. Sh**.

Blue Rock Shoot 6/25

Sunday, 10:45am- Found KKUP. Great promo interview with Laura Rinaldi. Thoughtful questions and sincere interest in my responses and the creative process. Played four songs, pitched the shows and my songs on iTunes. A fine connection and addition to the musical community I am discovering.
1:00pm- Arrive at Blue Rock Shoot. Set up equipment in the sweat lodge the place had become due to some unusual bay are heat. Played the first set to a small but appreciative audience.
3:00pm- Alesandra Valenzuela arrives. Hugs. Exclamations. Hearts that recognize one another.
3:05- Alesandra leads me on an improvised promotional stroll down the streets of Saratoga singing and harmonizing whatever comes in our heads.
3:08- We crash a restaurant hosting a graduation party for “Brittany”. Alesandra steals the show with inventive on-the-spot songwriting wishing the graduate well. I follow her lead and shake the maracas convincingly.
3:13- Cheering. Applause. Emphatic promises to come join us at Blue Rock as soon as the party ends.
3:15- I have more fun with Alesandra in 15 minutes than with some people I’ve know for 15 years.
4:15- I sit down and enjoy Alesandra’s wonderful performance. I’m impressed by her fun, funky style, and her engaging, lovely voice and guitar work. The audience laughs and sighs alternately caught in her story telling web.
6:00- Open mic jazz starts up making the place jump with some incredible piano, congas, and vocals. We do a few numbers and make new friends.
2:00am- Our group of old and new friends is stopped by three Saratoga cops as we walk back from escorting one of the gals home…….

Here's a link to a little preview of my bay area tour. Thanks ER for giving me some coverage!

http://www.chicoer.com/buzz/ci_3963753

For every 50 things that go wrong, something goes right. In this case, my i Tunes link that I've been checking obsessively for a month finally works!

Now, you can buy my songs individually or get all three for you or a friend by clicking http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playListId=148151988 This is the most direct method, but if you don't want to deal with it now, I've got this in my links section for all eternity.

One small step for mankind.

I’m sitting here this Monday contemplating my “to do” list before the bay area week tour. It’s a bit daunting. However, I am going to employ the whole “one thing at a time” concept and we’ll see what gets done.

I’m hoping to get some CD’s duplicated, some inserts printed, some flyers made, and some PR stuff sent out for the Café Flo show coming up when I get back. It always seems simple, but obstacles do arise, or sh** happens.

I was talking to my dad on Father’s Day, and he handed me some of his down home wisdom that you may be able to use. He was reminiscing about his work days and people suffering from the 6P’s which he defined as “Poor Planning Precedes Piss Poor Performance.” God forbid that happen to me!
I’m getting back to work.

Sade sings, “It’s never as good as the first time,” but I’ve recently passed through some firsts that aren’t so good.

I was leaving Colorado after a visit with the in-laws on the last on ramp to DIA airport where I was caught like a fat fly in an opportunely woven speed trap. Sh--! Now I get to add another $100 bucks to that vacation that wasn’t a vacation and can no longer say with smug superiority, “Why, I’ve never gotten a speeding ticket in my life!”

To complete the sorry start of my departure from Colorado, our flight was delayed due to mechanical problems that caused me to miss the adjoining flight to Chico. Spent a delightful (not) night at the Radisson in Brisbane. Never been bumped like that before.

Another first occurred before the Colorado trip when I played to a crowd of deaf people at a Redding Starbucks. I’m not kidding.

Now that I’ve got that off my chest, I’ll mention a better “first”. The Saturday before my trip I bought my first nylon string guitar at Gates Resale. I’ve been wanting one for a long time, and I was waiting for the right price/guitar. I think it’s a good find. It’s a Kremona classical made in Bulgaria of all places from a company founded by a WWI gunsmith-turned-luthier. You can visit www.kremona.com to read the cool story.

Tomorrow I get to play at my first bautismo(baptism) party for the woman who owns El Grullo on the Esplanade.

Just seeing that word makes me want to go back and listen to old Madonna music. Really, I just wanted to update y'all about the Borders Roseville Show.

I took a roadie-in-training along whom I shall now refer to as "M". We had an excellent car ride down with some fine cuisine and were met at the curb by a local music scene dude, Dave Baldwin. Dave immediately became part of the family by helping haul gear and giving us the low down on the Sac. music scene.

Turns out Dave hosts the open mic at Sac's Fox and Goose, and would be delighted to have me be the featured performer sometime soon. I'll let you know....

The show went well, meaning I was feeling loose(musically) and I think the sound was pretty good. People kept stopping by to check out the music in the midst of their book purchases, and everyone in the cafe applauded enthusiastically at the end of each song. Cool.

Afterward roadie M and I decided that we needed to check out the local scene and we stumbled upon the Town Lounge. Not ANYTHING like the Chico Town Lounge for those of you who may be aquainted. We had a nice drink and chat and arrived back home a little tiny bit later than we had intended.

Check out the pics in the photo section......

Every now and then things go well with booking. It's a proverbial jackpot when you can book several gigs at once, and that's what happened.

I'm in the process of rounding out my bay area week at the end of June, and I made a great connection while calling Saratoga's Blue Rock Shoot. I spoke with a guy who books for several venues right up my alley: the Coffee Society in Cupertino, Blue Rock Shoot in Saratoga, and the Sofa Lounge in San Jose.

Now if I could just hit on that kind of luck in Chico........

I woke up exhausted last Saturday morning and my throat was pretty messed up from a spring allergy onslaught. I was due to leave for two shows in the bay area in a few hours and I was perplexed. I really wasn't sure if my voice would work for two grueling three hour sets, but I was kind of excited about the trip.

Sanity told me to take it easy and just cancel the shows because I need to take care of myself. The clock was ticking, so I went with the stubborn determination I was feeling to not miss out although it was not the most reasonable course of action.

As it turns out, the Bencia show was a lot of fun as usual, and all the hot water with lemon and honey I had been drinking non-stop seemed to do the trick. The crowd was small but attentive, and I met two ladies who just loved everything I played and bought CD’s. I think the trip was worth it just for that.

The next morning I left early for San Jose for my outdoor show at Santana Row. It was a sunny, beautiful day filled with that lazy, Sunday feeling. People were strolling around the shops, enjoying the outdoor seating at the lovely cafes and restaurants, and I was playing my music to a new crowd. So many people stopped to say how much they liked it and wanted to come to my bay area shows at the end of June.

I’m glad I didn’t call in sick.

I’m still savoring the experience of the Taproom show. This is the first show I’ve tried the disposable camera concept in an effort to document/celebrate/propagandize with pictures, so I got to muse over the memories as I uploaded. Click on “photos” in the toolbar and you’ll see a few shots from the evening.

A big thanks to Angela and Jim who snagged one of the best seats and let me sit with them while I waited for my turn. It felt good to be with friends who would shower me with supportive comments before and after my performance.

Thanks to the whole crew who occupied a table on the other side of the room. I knew I had a whole table full of love when I looked out onto the crowd.

Thanks to new KJB fans who came because they got the email, or took me up on my invitation the Friday prior at Duffy’s Pub Scouts happy hour!

I had a wonderful time playing to such a large crowd in such a cool place, being the only woman performer of the night, and meeting all the other songwriters and bands. I hope to do a show with a really wonderful songwriter, Bobby Martinez who plays primarily with his band, The Bennys, in the Sacramento area.

Three cheers for Wild Oak Records who worked so hard to organize this event, and for giving me the judges’ vote that allowed me to be featured in the show. Hip, hip, hooray!

As overplayed as Sheryl Crow is, the woman CAN write lyrics. “Jump in, let’s go. Lay back, enjoy the show……. Every day is a winding road.” To get anywhere in life requires planning, hard work, and the single-minded pursuit of a vision which sometimes obscures the scenery of the ride itself. Music, like any great love should, makes me a little crazy and in the process of trying to make things happen I forget what the hell I’m doing it for.

I think it’s because I love to sing, reflect on what life means and why we bother with it at all, and frankly, I get a big rush being in front of people saying alternately silly and profound things while putting on my show. All artists need an audience, and today I’d like to appreciate the fact that I have one and I get to perform in one of the coolest spots in town, the Sierra Nevada Taproom.

Of all the times I’ve hung out there sipping on a Brown Ale, taking every guest that comes through to a meal, the birthdays that have been celebrated , I honestly never pictured performing there. One of the reasons it took me so long to dive into the music scene at all is because it seemed so impossible (and wonderful) that it didn’t even cross my mind. Now this evening I’ll be playing a 20 minute set of MY OWN MUSIC in a place I thought only big names could play.

So, instead of obsessing about where I’ll end up, if I’ll ever make a living in music, I’m going to go through today with wide eyes thinking, “So this is what’s it’s like to do music!”

Mark your calendars for Monday, April 24th at 6pm for an evening only to be found in our groovy little town. Sierra Nevada graciously offers Chico State’s Wild Oak Records the whole taproom once every spring for their annual showcase of local music talent. It’s a great example of how things should be: a local business working with the university in hopes of mutual promotion and support.

I’m really grateful to be included in this year’s scene along with fellow singer/songwriters and two of Chico’s favorite bands, Three Fingers Whiskey and Deer Pen who have received a lot of good press lately. I’ll fill my 20 minutes of fame with the best KJB material along with a new one I debuted in Benicia to some serious audience approval. Pass the word along and let’s pack the house!

I won't be singing in the rain, so I'm terribly sorry if you were planning on stopping by. Forces beyond my control(how is that possible?) dictate a cancellation, so I'll see what I can do about scheduling another Santana Row appearance back to back with my next Benicia show on May 6th. Check back to see if the booking gods show me favor!

I suppose Pa’s pep talk paid off because I dragged myself to that songwriter’s competition, gave them a heartfelt dose of “Thinking of You”, and I won! Well, at least the panel judge vote.

Winning means that I get to play at the illustrious Sierra Nevada Big Room on April 24th along with other competition winners past and present. I’ve seen a few concerts there, and I certainly salivate at the opportunity to play at such a beautiful venue. It’s been an aspiration of mine to play there eventually, so I’m glad to get a taste sooner rather than later.

Thanks Wild Oak Records people, and thanks to all of you who encourage me with your words and support! I think Pa would be proud of me for participating and winning.

I recently saw an old Little House on the Prairie episode replete with this sentiment. Each character learned this lesson in some heartfelt, tear-jerking manner, and I was downright inspired. If you’re wondering why I was watching Little House, well, some people smoke crack, and some people mainline TV shows that present the "family you never had" when parents were doing whatever it was they did in the 70’s.

I’m a “slightly “competitive person, so when all the contests and competitions related to songwriting appear I tend to retreat into a fit of irritation and secret longing to have everyone vote for me. So, after the Little House pep talk from Pa, I decided to get out there and give it a shot.

This Wednesday at 8pm, I’ll be at 1078 Gallery participating in Wild Oak Records’ songwriter’s competition to be decided by audience vote and a panel of judges. It’s a little like scenes from “Never Been Kissed” where Drew Barrymore returns to high school to write an undercover piece on students when I show up to Chico State’s recording arts program special events. I feel like everyone must know how profoundly uncool I am, but then I am distracted by the enthusiasm of these students for the music industry and the high caliber of songwriting and musicianship I encounter.

So, win or lose, I hope I have a good time playing music to a crowd that probably wouldn’t get to hear me otherwise and get more practice winning joyfully or losing with grace.

Made it through last week’s three show extravaganza with flying colors and some big headaches. Monk’s was a delight as usual starting off with owner Colleen complimenting my retro plaid skirt. Once again the place was packed with people enjoying wine, fondue, and appetizers as I sang and watched helplessly. Got some great compliments and encouragement as if I needed any to book another show there ASAP. I begged the crowd to send some people to my three hour LaSalle’s gig the next night and received the worthy exhortation from a new fan to “expect nothing” and then anything good that does happen will be great.

Well, he was right and LaSalle’s turned out to be a lot of fun. First off, I felt like a real star with a personal sound guy, Rich, who made my voice reverberate through that sacred bar’s huge space. There I was onstage at the pinnacle of my Chico career singing to a decent pre-St. Patrick’s day crowd bent on whooping it up and playfully heckling me to be a human juke box. At one point I was looking out on the small but spirited crowd swaying with their lighters held high like I was the Rolling Stones or something. I’m apparently that cool.

Friday found me in Marysville for a three songwriter showcase in a quirky theater housed in an old cannery building. I met before the show to talk shop with young fan/fellow songwriter, Amber McDaniel who is working diligently on her own singing career. The hour flew by as we talked about demo cds, printing, performing, reading, having fun and how all those things fit together. This young woman is dedicated and I have no doubt you’ll be hearing her name more and more as she pursues her career in the north state and beyond.

The rest of the night unfolded with me up first playing to an attentive audience. They really enjoyed my version of Johnny Cash’s Walk the Line and I received some pleasant compliments on my unique style. I spent the rest of the night enjoying my introduction to two of Sacramento’s best singer songwriters, Robertta Chevertte and Phillip Flathead along with a bonus performance of a visiting friend. Each performance was captivating in it’s own way with enchanting combinations of some great guitar playing, singing and creative lyrics. I was honored to be a part of it. Check them out in the links section of my site. Maybe I’ll get one of them to come up and do a Chico show with me.

Next up is Benicia on April Fool’s Day. First St. Café has been cooking up all sorts of interesting stuff like getting the calendar section of their website to have photos and audio clips so people thinking of coming to a show can have a little preview. They’ve invited me to contribute a song to a compilation CD of those who play at the café that they’re putting together for charity. Once again I’m so honored to play at a venue so on top of promotion but also dedicated to making music events the joyful, inspiring community gatherings they should be. I’ll let you know when it’s done.

I’m still thinking in travel mode after riding in more airplanes, subways, trains, and cars in one week than the in last ten years. When on the road, my senses are always straining to see something beautiful, something good, something human. I suppose travel evokes such thoughts because there is so much coming and going; joyful greetings, and tearful goodbyes. So many chance meetings and moments of brilliance that may only last for a few moments, a few hours, a few years but will always be remembered.

My sister and I happened upon such a happy accident on the plane from Baltimore to our Chicago connection. A packed plane got us sitting next to two fine young men; clean cut sixteen year old Ethan, and long-haired professional programmer Eric. I was questioning the flight attendant about carrying on a guitar since we hadn’t had the best luck with checking my sister’s when Eric leaned across the aisle to tell us how his brother brought home a sweet classical guitar from Spain and just shoved it behind the last row of seats like where we were sitting just then. From there we spent the most rollicking two hours hearing all about his adventures working in southern Spain’s beautiful Costa del Sol, and Ethan’s saga of multi-state and school mishaps following his stepfather’s ever mobile career. We toasted with straight up Coke for Ethan, Jack and Coke for me and Eric, Kim with a beer, whatever sundry thought we could come up with from recently departed great grandmothers, to lovely ladies and gentlemen, to the complementary liquor courtesy of a fun loving flight attendant. Sometimes it’s a good day to be a human being 10,000 feet in the air trapped in a metal box. Cheers again, Ethan and Eric! I know you’ll go far if you mix your devotion to work and fun with your beautiful hearts.

As for departures, I’m heartbroken to have to relay the news that my wonderful lead player, Amos Clifford, won’t be part of the show. You can still catch him playing with one of local musician Rich Cockcroft’s ensembles, and hear his leads on the Fabulous Junkyard album when it’s ready. His support, collaboration, and friendship has taken my music to levels I only hoped were possible and I will sorely miss his presence, smile, and beautiful sounds when I’m playing live in and out of town.

More arrivals next week in the form of three back-to-back appearances: 7:30pm at Monk’s on Wednesday the 15th, La Salle’s happy hour on the 16th, and 7pm at Marysville’s new music venue, The Gallery for a triple bill line up of songwriters. Those of you faithful website visitors may also notice that I cancelled this Saturday’s Coco Café show. Too much on the plate for now, but I’m sure I’ll be back there soon. It will be hard for me to return to the solo Karen Joy Brown scene since I so enjoy the live interaction of acoustic instruments and human beings, but Lord knows I’m crazy enough to fill the stage by myself with my humor, sorrow, and songs.

East met west last week as I traveled about from Maryland, to Boston, to New York city and back with my aunt and twin sister. Even though I’ve been in California for the last 20 years or so, my heart always skips a beat when I go back to the states of turnpikes, beautiful brick buildings, and snow. The songwriter in me reveled in people watching, listening for Boston and NY accents, and reconnecting with my beloved aunt who’s story can be heard in my song, “Change Your Name”. I’ve seen the light, and sooner or later, I have to plan a Karen Joy Brown east coast tour just for an excuse to get back there ASAP.

For now it’s back to work on the west coast in the slow process of putting together an album I want to listen to. With five tracks already recorded, it’s time to get in touch with the right musicians and production people to polish and prepare the songs to stand the test of repeated listening. I’ve got some avenues to explore, and I’m looking forward to seeing what some collaboration can create.

Here’s some poetic musings from my trip to show what a crazy songwriter type is thinking while taking the commuter Amtrack train from Penn Station, NYC to the Baltimore metro…….

Take the train
Though it moves so slow
Through the dirt and gray-white snow
Though all along be old and
Used,
Broken windows, bricks and
Blues
Garbage trails and highway art
Lonley places,
Lonely hearts
Take the train
And watch all well,
Live the heaven, leave the hell
Take the train
And on the way
Wide-eyed, openhearted
Stay.

What a difference a year makes. Last year Amos and I drove up the lovely road to Dale Price’s Electric Canyon Studios not knowing what to expect as we recorded the EP we’ve been selling for the last six months or so. We fumbled through and learned the general process of tracking and mixing songs and came out with something pretty enjoyable and functional for getting us some more gigs.

This time we were able to track four songs- Change your name, Thinking of you, Please don’t go, and Porch song in one session. We felt really encouraged by the quality we were able to produce after a year of rehearsing and performing these songs. Plenty of mixing work awaits, but we’re excited about how it’s going to sound if we feel this happy about the initial takes. We’ll keep you updated.

While some of you are attending the Church of the Holy Mattress this Sunday morning, Amos and I will hit the road humming that catchy, but annoying Dionne Warwick tune. I hope we have lots of friends in San Jose because we’ll be playing at the Santana Row Borders bookstore at 2pm. My SJ connections inform me that it’s quite a happening spot, so there should be at least an intermittent audience for us. Borders bookstores are EVERYWHERE, and it seems they frequently host live in-store performances. Lots of singer-songwriter types use Borders gigs to fill out their touring schedule, and it seems like a good idea to me, so here’s to the first one!

Wednesday, January 18th at 7:30pm you could be at home watching TV, but what about sipping a glass of wine at Monk’s Wine Lounge instead? Let’s face it, winter is to be survived, and a midweek wine and music break might be just what you need to face those cold, dark mornings before work. Amos and I have got a really nice set prepared with just the right mix of soulful and soul-searching songs to inspire and delight. We’ll be waiting for you…..