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19 August
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Note: Abigail is blogging about the band's trip to China for Paste Magazine. This is her latest installment:
The Ambassador, A Famous Opera Singer, Hot Dogs & The Great Hall of the People
Ambassador
Randt and his wife have welcomed me into their home four years in a row
to play for them and 80 of their closest friends. This time with the
Sparrow 3 was no exception. The guests filter in thru the courtyard and
into the "venue" which is the long living room overlooking the
courtyard and the dining room with a big impressionist painting of W
Jr. and steaming handmade hotdogs waiting for the conclusion of our
show to get munched up.
Among the guests were Mingsai, the
Chinese-American chef famous for his regular appearances on the Today
show, longtime Beijing artist Betty Eck, and the stunning opera singer
Renee Fleming... and that's just the start. Needless to say the
post-show dinner conversations were rockin.
We even got to go to
the Great Hall of the People the next night to see Renee sing with
other Opera greats for an Olympic Cultural event – Despite the
challenging circumstances of an ill-rehearsed orchestra and a
not-so-ideal-acoustics venue she blew everyone out of the water –
whether you like opera or not this woman is an absolutely power house…
definitely something to see.
The entrance to The Great Hall of
the People is off of Tiananmen square. I'm used to seeing major
political speeches on TV in this hall, like the peaceful handover of
power from Jiang Zemin to Hu Jintao at the 16th Party Congress in
Octobr of 2002. Odd feeling to walk in thru the heavy red velvet
curtain-ed entry way in my finest wears to see a pile of normal Chinese
folks dressed in street clothes sitting in the congress seats napping,
chatting, texting while the performance was going. We sat near the
front and center. The Soviette-style communist symbols on the
star-studded ceiling are awe-inducing. On the other hand, the guy next
to me answering the phone for one of his mistresses giving him the
address of their next rendez-vous was not.
Fluffballs of Fury!
This is all the talk in Beijing.
A
quick Chinese lesson for those who don't already know is that each
monosyllabic muttering could have a large array of different meanings
depending on which tone it is attributed and what context or word
pairing it is presented in. For example, the word 'ma' has at least
five different meanings based on the four primary tones and the neutral
tone: horse, scold, trouble, question mark, mom. When paired with
another monosyllabic word it can take on a whole nother meaning in this
new context.
So, anyhoo, there are these little stuffed animals,
called fuwa, recognized around here as the general mascots of the 2008
Beijing Olympics. They are named by the Beijing's Olympic welcome:
"Beijing huanying ni" which is also the title of their Olympic song,
translated: Beijing welcomes you. Their names are Beibei, Jingjing,
Huanhuan, Yingying and Nini. Each one represents a different wondrous
aspect of China. Their background is extremely elaborate, but for now
I'll try to keep it simple:
Beibei- Fish design from Neolithic artifacts, denoting prosperity, the Chinese lunar new year and water sports
Jingjing- The endangered panda from Sichuan province, representing global environmentalism
Huanhuan- Fire design from the Mogao Grotto, representing the Olympic flame and the push for excellence
Yingying- From China's western provinces, the Tibetan Antelope with Xinjiang ethnic costume elements
Nini- A swallow wearing Beijing kite headgear to symbolize the arrival of spring and the emergence of old to new Beijing
My
natural western leaning is definitely not to get sucked into infantile
adorance of little fluffy objects. In the case of the fuwa I have to
admit that there is something irresistible about them. Despite the cute
factor and their representation of the brilliance of Chinese culture,
at this point the little creatures have been tainted with heavy
conspiracy theory. It is believed that these little stuffed animals
actually foreshadowed major disasters in China leading up to the
Olympics and perhaps even became conduits for the age old Mandate of
Heaven, now known as the curse of the fuwa:
Beibei- 2008 south China floods covering 13 provinces, massive forced evacuations and hundreds of reported deaths
Jingjing-
2008 Sichuan earthquakes killing at least 70,000, at least 20,000
missing and 5-11 million homeless with continuing aftershocks
Huanhuan-
Summer Olympic Torch , named the "Journey of Harmony" met intense relay
protests around the world concerned about China's human rights, also
met with counter-protests by Chinese nationals
Yingying- 2008
Tibetan unrest, known as the 3-14 riots in China started on the 49th
anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan uprising when 300 monks demanded the
release of many monks being detained. Death toll is unkown and issue
continues to be highly sensitive.
Nini- 2008 T195 train accident in the "kite city" of Weifang causing app. 80 deaths and 416 injuries
Depressing but convincing coincidences… Oh little fuzzballs… let your wrath subside!
No-Fun Olympics (I hung with Cui Jian!)
So
people are calling this the no-fun Olympics. So far, I'd have to agree.
Everywhere you go in Beijing the general development, the ability to
have changed the face of the city so quickly, on an absolutely
gargantuan level, is profoundly eye-opening and possibly tell-tale for
the future of Beijing and China as a whole on the world stage.
Nonetheless, the attempt to appear, and in fact, be a 5 star
international city has lead to an obsession with order and control… no
surprise given the amount of wrangling it must have taken to pull it
all together. But, unfortunately, the guards and police everywhere
telling the onlookers they're not allowed to look, the general lack of
availability of tickets, the huge posters and banners all over the city
guarding the Olympic-comers from the 'unfinished sides of town' and
blocking views of the new Olympic architectural wonders is needless to
say a bummer. Of course if you have tickets to events on the Olympic
Green you can pass tru in an orderly manner. No photos of beer shots or
full moons in front of the bird's nest for the foreigners this time
'round…. Maybe Vancouver 2010.
At this point, the only way to
experience the mélange of athletes, watchers, corporate hangers-on and
stars-gone-olympics is to roam around town dropping into bar areas. A
pile of my old Beijing buddies got together at my friends', Toby and
A'Wen's restaurant, Purple Haze, near the Gongti stadium. It's always
beer-full-endless-conversation excitement, catching up from the last
time thru Beijing. My buddies from the bands Random Ke and Bad Cat
Bone, and all time pal Jon Campbell were there. About an hour into the
hang, I was introduced to the demure and kind-eyed guy sitting to my
left. None other than Cuijian,"the father of Chinese Rock".
In
case you don't know Cuijian you need to. I would encourage learning
about him before listening to his recordings. Especially not
understanding the Chinese lyrics it can come off as
not-all-that-original poppy rock music. But when you understand his
impact and the actual challenge this music represented to the listeners
and the government of his times, earlier and currently, it takes on a
whole new life. He uses revolutionary, heavily metaphored lyrics to
express his displeasure with the authorities without being too overt,
full of energy and very experimental, especially for Chinese music.
Yi
Wu Suo You (Nothing To My Name) is his most famous song…he sang it at
talent showcase contest and won, and it became the theme song of the
1989 Tiananmen student movement. Deep deep lyrics about what the
country was going through leading up to 1989, and really the very first
introduction of rock and roll into Chinese music. Yi Kuar Hong Bu" (A
Piece of Red Cloth) was probably the song that got him banned in the
90s…he would perform it live wearing a red blindfold, and the lyrics go
something like, "That day you used a piece of red cloth, you covered my
eyes and bound my hands. You asked me what do I see, I said I see
happiness." Red, of course, symbolizing the Chinese communist party. No
surprise he had to hide in the outer provinces for years.
He
drinking beer and wearing a ballcap, myself still in my gig-clothes … a
black dress with purple fringe, I asked him what he's up to now. He put
out an album this year called, "Gei Ni Yidian Yanse" (Show You Color),
heavy on the noise and samples, something he took several years off to
learn about. Now he's finishing up his home studio and thinking about
the next project. Being the banjo player that I am, I asked him why he
didn't incorporate more traditional Chinese intstruments. He responded
that he's really about rock and new composition, his mission, unlike
mine, isn't to bring old sound into new times, although he uses Chinese
traditional sounds when it fits the lyrics and the composition. But his
love for China and things Chinese is clear. He could have left China a
thousand times, much loved by big factions of the western world for his
subtle, lyrical, melodic way of challenging the status quo and his
persistence in the face of adversity.
He said he had seen me
perform before. He came to see Ben and Casey and I play with friends
from the band IZ at South Gate Space in the 798 district of Beijing 3
yrs ago. He got Song of the Traveling Daughter and said he liked it a
lot and had played it for other people as they drove around Beijing. He
then invited the band to come check out his home studio. We only have
36 hrs in Beijing and our schedules don't match up… next time, pleeeez?
p.s. thanks to my pal, Peter Fasnacht, at the US Embassy, for giving me the necessary info and helping me understand
Monday, August 18, 2008
Note: Abigail is blogging for Paste Magazine from China. This post will join others on the Paste website.
Regina to China and somewhere in the Middle
*note, regina is pronounced rah-gina… the town slogan is "Regina rhymes with fun"
We
started at 4am yesterday from the Ramada in Regina, Canada. First
layover Minneapolis for 8 hours, then Tokyo, then Beijing. Just arrived
in our Beijing digs. Sitting on a high floor of Oakwood Apartments near
Beijing's third ring road at the airport expressway exit. The view out
the window is of other newly built residential towers just like this
one, and a neon-bannered restaurant of food in the Xiamen style that
the receptionists says is "hai keyi" (translation: it's ok) with a
smirk on their face… that means 'don't eat there.' Everything else
around here is closed. I'm hungry. It's 1am and the only thing to eat
is complimentary cornflakes and warm milk left as a welcoming present.
I've been coming to Beijing since 1996 and never stepped foot in this
particular section of town… or maybe I have and I wouldn't know it...
changes here are so radical and vast it's disconcerting, especially if
you try to make sense of it. When I first came to China I was
overwhelmed, and I wasn't even sure I liked it. As a westerner it
struck me as a caucaphonous, treacherous, malodorous mayhem...
I
can remember being packed like sardines on a bus going 10 mph at the
most down the main thoroughfare, certain that no one else could
possibly fit on, with a child rammed into my right groin and an old
ladies back hump propped on top of my butt, and laborer's head nuzzled
into my armpit we managed to cram another 25 people before someone
disembarked… the bikes passed us. The squish factor wasn't as bad as it
sounds, but the bikes passing us was over the top. I started riding my
bike after that.
I can remember the monsoons in Shanghai causing
a mold like an evil groundcover growing up the side of the curtain in
my dorm room and the stench of the local bathrooms coming alive when
the pipes flooded and carried sewage all over the campus
I
remember puking bad meat out the side of a bus all night between Urumqi
and Kashgar, plastering the side of the bus with vomit until in the
morning the acid had stained the upper right hand corber of the bus
company name green. I thought I was going to pass out from dehydration
until another woman's one-worse fate saved me as she crashed into a
severe epileptic seizure. When she recovered she still had to stand the
remaining ten hours to kashgar
I remember my parents visiting me
for the first time in Beijing. They had flown in and were aching form
the long journey. I had seen a massage parlor sign in my hood and
thought that was just the antidote. As we walked down the hall to our
separate massage rooms I realized that we were in a whorehouse and two
prostitutes were going to offer my father special services once out of
my view… Not letting it sink until I was in 'my' room and the door
shut, I finally snapped to, ran do the hall calling my dad's name and
told him not to accept anything extra… why didn't we leave? Are
prostitutes good massueses?
I would still describe China as a
vast invigorating puzzle that will never make sense to my western
upbringing. But this is only one small convex corner of an intricate
glass orb shooting rays in all directions. It isn't possible to just
come and remain a visitor if you intend to stay for any length of time…
unless of course your on a corporate card for Olympic land and headed
home as soon as you finish watching women's volleyball.
China won
and claimed the Olympic games, and it's staked out a significant amount
of the real estate on the map of my human existence too. This doesn't
scare me. And, maybe the Olympic types won't get out wholly unclaimed
either.
I know the non-fiction vignettes above aren't exactly
compelling, but each one embodies something that changed my life,
opened my mind and made me think beyond myself. And that's the crud on
the bottom of the shoe . The list of mindblowing events that have
stolen my heart and placed my spririt firmly in the middle of the two
lands is ongoing… from a steaming bowl of noodles in Zhongdian on a
cold frosty morning to mahjong in the bamboo park in Chendgu to dancing
on the square with Lao Peng in Xi'an to sitting in the creaking chair
listeining to lao wang tell me stories of the cultural revolution and
the amazing feats of the human spirit. I'll be keeping track of all
colors of the spectrum and trying to share them with you on this brief
jaunt through and beyond Olympic land.
We received the itinerary
from the State Department today which is bookended by plays in Beijing
and a tour thru southeast China to Guangzhou, Dongguan, and Foshan.
Tomorrow is the kickoff performance at a private party at the US
Ambassador's home in the old embassy village between 2nd & 3rd ring
road. I've been fortunate to play for the honorable Sandy Randt and his
wife Sarah, and their friends in their home every year since 2005.Will
their home be filled with the Olympic crowd ? or will it be the regular
mish mosh of US expats and multi-spangled cultural representatives
including a small smattering of Chinese officials? Pigs in a blanket
were served after the show last time. More to come.
Monday, August 18, 2008
I
just found out from the folks at the State Department that we won't be
able to go to Sichuan in August: "We had wanted you to go to Chengdu…
but the local authorities feel that it is still too soon."
When
the earthquakes hit several months ago, I felt a strange void settle
inside… a loss that I don't understand. I know there are a lot of folks
that I've only known thru performing in rural areas that likely have
been affected if not directly hurt or killed by the earthquakes. My old
teacher at Sichuan University, Lao Wang, has passed on and I don't have
the same intimate link to life in Chengdu as I once did. I was hoping
that the August visit to Sichuan with The Sparrow Quartet through the
State Department would help me make sense of Sichuan now.
I've
tried to keep up with the general media about the multi-level
after-effects of the earthquakes in Sichuan. Chinese press seems to
spend all their ink hailing the good works of the people and the
triumphant efforts of the national army and local party 'saints'. The
US media allots their ink, as usual, exploiting the dirty underbelly of
relief efforts and righteously probing the source of further wounding.
Not that I think there aren't acts of heroism and generosity on the
part of party cadres and that there aren't terrible atrocities
occurring in the recovery effort, but I just want something to hold on
to, something real to make sense of it… a chance to go to Sichuan and
play music was my hold out.
I am sitting in a Ford Taurus
rental, driving from Calgary to Helena just trying to get where I am
going to play music for new people, this side of the pacific. I am
thinking about the fact that I play the banjo because of my days
sitting in the bamboo gardens in Chengdu playing mahjong and sipping
jasmine tea, watching a local elderly man paint calligraphy and old
ladies dancing with red ribbons in the next grove. I wanted to love
something in American culture as much as that moment.
I love
the music of Washington Phillips, his songs and voice are compelling to
cut thru the gritty sand paper sound of the old 30's recording
technology. These days, when I have the banjo in my hands, I want to
sing one song, What are They Doing in Heaven Today?.
It's
never too soon to make music in hope of healing and recovery and to
admit the losses, as poignant and painful or obtuse and confused as
they may be.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Hello!
so much going on - with all the info i wanted to include, it could read
like a novel so i split it up into lil' chapters...
China dates
China video everyday
Paste blog
Upcoming blogs on Sichuan and 2006 & 2007 china tours
CHINA DATES
Sparrow
Quartet is headed across the Pacific. After an amazing weekend of
playing in Alta, WY, Edmonton and Regina Canda and a crazy weekend of
travel (a city a day) we woke up at 4am to catch a festival shuttle to
the Regina airport to commence journey to Beijing via Minneapolis &
Tokyo. The big news is that we finally received an itinerary of our
China appearances for the coming week. See below:
-8/13 Beijing, PRC- Private performance at US Ambassador's residence
-8/15 Guangzhou, PRC- Guangzhou Sapphire Art Space
-8/17 Dongguan, PRC- Guancheng Cultural Center
-8/19 Fuoshan, PRC- Shancheng Cultural Center
-8/21 Beijing, PRC- Ditan Park, Olympics related performance
-8/23 San Fransisco, USA - Golden Gate Park Outside Lands Festival, 12:30 pm
If
you are in China and want to come to a performance or know folks in
China that might want to come, pass these dates on to them and let the
search for entry begin. I have no info on the private or public nature
of the shows, cost, etc. But, it would be great to see you out there.
CHINA VIDEO EVERYDAY
Okay,
so the idea is to capture video everyday and post it to youtube
wherever and whenever I can get a good enough internet connections.
Some days it may be one, some days it may be several. You can check it
out here or at my website, or at my youtube site.
PASTE BLOG
Paste
magazine editor, Josh Jackson, asked if I would be their 'Olympics'
liaison during my tour. I'm into it and intend to write several blogs
throughout the tour starting with this one from the plane to China,
somewhere over Alaska: Plane Ride
CURRENT BLOGS
Thinking
About Sichuan- When I found out that our itinerary didn't include
Sichuan as originally planned I felt a new wave of grief about the
earthquakes... couldn't help but play Washington Phillips gospel music
over and over – there will be a video to share.
2006 & 2007
China Retrospective - there's so much about these tours that i've never
taken the time to share. In this blog I try to share a few highlights,
pics and video from those tours including a 2006 sparrow quartet and
dolan singers a capella jam keys to the kingdom, and a track and pics
from 2007 girl band in beijing.
Stay tuned in the coming days for those blog updates!
Thanks for listening,
Abigail
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Hello!
Things are staying busy and exciting in Sparrow Quartet land, and we have a lot of great news to share with you.
We are preparing to head to China next week to perform at the American Embassy in Beijing as part of the Olympic festivities.
Speaking of China, check out the interview we did with NPR's program
"Here and Now" on Monday, August 8, where we talk about our upcoming journey.
"The World Cafe" will be rebroadcasting a recent interview we did, so if
you missed its original broadcast, check it out on August 23 or 25. To
find out when The World Cafe airs in your area, check out
this website. And after the broadcast airs live, you can check it out online here.
Our friend Thien has posted several Sparrow Quartet videos on YouTube,
including this one of "Journey Home" live in China, as well as some footage from
Bonnaroo.
If you haven't had a chance yet to check out the interview my young friend
Zoe Trischka did with me as part of her fifth grade project, I encourage
you to. She gave me some hard questions that really made me think about
why I make music.
Make sure you stay tuned for more news updates and blog posts here or on
our official website.
Take care,
Abigail
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
My
friend, Zoe Trischka just sent me her fifth grade class project,
'Modern Women in Progressive Acoustic Music.' She ended up choosing two
subjects, myself and Aoife O'Donovan. When she
sent me her list of questions I was overwhelmed… they were such simple
questions and yet required intense introspection and careful
articulation. I wasn't sure I was ready for the task but tried my
best...
I
was inspired personally by Zoe's project. Her questions helped me
understand why I play music clearer than ever. I thought I'd make it
available to you all in case you might find her inquiries and results
inspiring as well. Below you'll find the full-length interview between
Zoe and me.
Zoe Trischka was born in Fairlawn, NJ
to mother Assunta Trischka, 7th grade teacher at local public school,
and father Tony Trischka, contemporary hero of progressive banjo music.
Zoe is getting ready to enter 6th grade. She loves to dance and spends
a lot of her daydreaming hours thinking about interior design.
I'd
like to thank Zoe for including me in her project…. I'm glad to know
the future is in the hands of beautiful young women like her!
1. 1. Why do you play music?
I
play music because it makes me feel more fully alive, and it gives me a
way to express outwardly what my feeling of being alive is like.
Everyday is a new opportunity to express this array of emotion and
experience of being human. Music gives me a deeply creative ability to
express how I feel things and see things as I go through my days.
Take
a sad moment for instance...When I see something sad my mind and body
deliver me tons of information about my experience of that sad moment.
i usually feel a heat in my belly that turns cold and leads me to feel
afraid and lonely... i can see a deep blue color, deep like the place
in the ocean where the light on the surface starts to fade... this
feeling and color leads my intellect to search for way to express this
to the people around me that might help me feel better. Often i just
express myself with words and emotion... but the most meaningful way i
have ever expressed the feeling of sadness is to sing... to cultivate a
sound that releases the heat and coldness, the darkening color. And
when I sing I can share this experience of sadness with others in a way
that unites us in a moment of attention to sound and, ultimately,
gratitude for what it means to be alive. I've seen over and over again
that singing heals and inspires. i can see no greater purpose in life.
2.
2. Who were your influences or inspirations (musical or otherwise)?
My
biggest influences musically are my friends, family, teachers and all
the personalities and artists that made me think and feel the way I do.
My favorite piece of music from when i was a small child until now is
Martin Luther King's I have a Dream speech. They say he was
speaking but I think he was singing. Not only did MLK have something
so important for the American people to hear but he presented it with
such gorgeous syntax, vocal lilt and chest voice conviction. It is the
most beautiful song of hope I've ever heard, and it makes me want to
sing for freedom and love.
Other
huge influences are Gandhi, my teacher in China Lao Wang, the great old
time singers Hazel and Alice, the old recordings of George Washington
Phillips, the amazing gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, the old time banjo
playing of Riley Baugus and Dirk Powell, the great African singer Oumou
Sangare, the folk music-oriented classical music of Bela Bartok,
Chinese Folk music, Woodie Guthrie and Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, and
the list goes on.
All of the other musicians I get to share time with on the road, and see perform have a heavy influence on my music as well.
3. How do you think your music differs from the women who came before you (in Bluegrass & Old Time music)?
None of the women of old time music in the US
that I know of had spent a lot of time in china, and sing in chinese. I
suppose it is because of the modern age of travel and easy access to
personal experience in other cultures that has made me a different kind
of folk singer. I'm a product of my times to a certain extent. And I
can see that people are becoming more and more of a global race.. I am
probably just one of many early signs of this. Women of old time music
in the early twentieth century were playing the folk music of their
times. The generation prior to mine, folk revival of the 60s and 70s
were obsessed with preserving and copying the sounds of the folk music.
I am the newest generation and I am obsessed with incorporating my
experience of a transforming geopolitical reality into my folk music.
4. 4. Did you mean to have your music sound so progressive, or did it just happen?
It
just happened. I lived in China, came back, bought a banjo, started
writing songs in both of the languages I speak, and before you know it
people thought of me as different and expressive... and I've embraced
the role! the most authentic progressive concepts seem to be those that
organically emerge from a world in need of a next step of evolution. i
believe that this can not be conjured but must be an expression of a
concept with an already intense inertia.
5. 5. What is your biggest or most significant contribution to Bluegrass or Old Time music?
Probably
the Chinese... or the global sense of being a folk musician. I am not
acting a part, I am internally all the things I express in my music...
this is not necessarily a contribution but a necessity of our changing
times.
6. 6. Do you wish to have other women follow in your footsteps?
I
love nothing more than seeing women feel full of the ability to share
music. I wish that every woman in the world felt she had a voice to
sing the struggle and joys of life. I also love seeing women playing
instruments. The stronger women's voice become in music, the more the
beauty of femininity will add to the power of music.
7. 7. Do your band members contribute to your musical success and/or progress?
Band
members are a huge part of the sound and experience myself and the
audience experience during a show or on a recording. I've been very
picky about the people I want to work with and I get pickier everyday.
I don't mean that I'm picky about the musical hang... I love folk music
because it's not elitist, it's about everyone making music... ilove
being a part of this community. When it comes to the small group of
musicians that I take the time to make recordings and performances
with, I become very picky. i need to work with people that share a
common mission to move the audience in a similar way. It's like a
sports team with a goal of winning... you create rules and strategies
for success... and if every member is not on the same page, the
important stuff falls thru the cracks, and it becomes hard to "win". I
need to work with people that feel like they're on a team. I need total
empathic and virtuosic commitment to a common sound. I have high ideals!
8. 8. What are your thoughts about the future of progressive acoustic music?
Well,
I think the future of progressive acoustic music should help influence
the way we as humans morph further and further into a global species. I
want my contribution to music to change the way people think about the
term world music. I would like to see music help dissolve the barriers
between people... the barriers of nationhood, race, gender, class. I
would like to see us calling ourselves global citizens... keepers of
the earth, keepers of a world civilization full of miraculous diversity
that gives us richness of experience rather that reason to find fault.
9. 9. Can you comment on Alison Krauss and Aoife?
In
my eyes both Aoife and Alison are phenomenal and talented women. They
are so strong and beautiful and uncompromising of this in the
presentation of their music. They are both magnetic creatures. I look
to both of them as cohorts in the music world... i watch them to see
how to change and grow my music. I watch them to see how they navigate
the music industry and I take notes on their successes. I can feel that
the greater their success the greater mine as well. I would like all
of us to be on stage together some day singing.
10. 10. Is there anything you'd like to add, especially about your music?
i think i've said enough crazy stuff!
go banjo!!
zoe rocks!!!!
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Public Radio International just posted an audio diary of Abigail's 2006 tour of Tibet.
Check it out here.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Hi!
Just
wanted to let you know that Newsweek magazine published an article
about us in their last issue. There's even a video to go along with the
article! Click here to check it out.
Also, pick up a copy of the August issue of Paste magazine to read another little blurb about what we've been up to.
And, check our tour dates here or at our web site to see when we'll be playing in your neck of the woods.
Hope to see you on the road,
Abigail Washburn and the Sparrow Quartet
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
I
was on the phone with my friend the other day and she said, "You really
should write about your crazy schedule. People that aren't traveling
musicians don't know what it's like. Personally… I think you're insane."
Until
this conversation with my friend I thought it impossible that there
could any broad interest in The Sparrow Quartet travel schedule… but
maybe there is. I think I agree with her, I'm insane, but still I feel
lucky to get to play music for a living. For those of you that are
interested this is what the past 2 weeks have looked like, also see the
pics of us waitingwaitingwaiting in airports.
7/9 -travel day-
fly Nashville to Duluth, MN - Connection in Minneapolis, dinner at an
airport café while waiting for delayed flight. Arrive Duluth 12:30am.
7/10
–Big Top Chattaqua Show- noon departure for Duluth airport hotel for
two hour drive to Bayfield, WI for No Depression 3pm photoshoot, 4:30pm
soundcheck and 7:30pm show. 10:30pm tear down. 11:30pm drive
two hours back to Duluth airport hotel. Sleep by 2am.
*Country Inn & Suites next to the Duluth airport has a rockin' waterslide that Ben and Bela and I took advantage of…
7/11
–Winnipeg Folk Festival- 4:45am lobby call for shuttle to airport for
7am flight to Winnipeg by way of Minneapolis. Sit on runway for 3hours,
flight cancelled. Scramble for new flight. Arrive in Winnipeg 3pm, Bela
and I go direct to world music workshop. Sleep in trailer backstage for
2hours, play mainstage set at 9:30pm. Midnight return to hotel.
7/12
-Winnipeg Folk Festival- 10am lobby call for shuttle to festival. Noon
workshop in rain and wind...water dripping from our instruments. 2pm
shuttle to airport. 3pm flight to Vancouver Island via Calgary. Night
off of good food at The Atlas Café and five pin bowling.
7/13
–Vancouver Island Music Fest- 12:45pm banjo workshop,
3:30pm songwriting workshop, 7:30pm mainstage set. 11pm return to hotel
pack up and drive 3 hours to Victoria. Asleep by 3am.
7/14
–Benaroya Hall- 9am lobby call to return rental cars and catch the
Victoria Clipper ferry to Seattle. Meet my mom in Seattle to borrow van
and drive to downtown hotel. 30 min break before walk to venue for
soundcheck. 5pm soundcheck, 6:30pm nap, 7:30pm show, opening for Earl
Scruggs. Out to dinner with promoter and musicians
at 11pm. Asleep by 2:30am.
7/15
–Aladdin Theatre- 11am lobby call for 3.5 hour drive to Portland.
3:45pm load in and soundcheck. 5:30pm 20 min nap in van. 8pm show.
Asleep by 1am.
7/16 –travel day- lobby call 9am for airport.
11am flight to Boston by way of Chicago. First flight late, miss second
flight. Re-booked on later flight. Later flight mechanical problems,
fly to Providence instead, rent two cars, asleep in Lowell, MA by
4:30am. Bags lost.
7/17 –Lowell Summer Music Series- 2pm lobby
call. Delay departure for bags. 3pm load in. 4:30pm soundcheck. 7:30pm
show. Midnight departure for three hour drive to Ancra, NY. In bed by
3am.
7/18 –Greyfox Bluegrass Festival- 9am rehearsal with Uncle
Earl. 11am 20 min nap. Noon departure for festival. 2pm mainstage set
with Uncle Earl. 4pm dance stage set with Uncle Earl. 7:30pm
mainstage set. 11:30pm departure for Albany – slow driving thru
torrential rains. In bed by 2am.
7/19 –Vancouver Folk Festival-
5:30am lobby call for airport. Fly Albany to Vancouver, BC by way of
Chicago. First flight fine. Second flight sat on runway in rainstorms
for an hour, began to accel up ramp and came to a sudden screeching,
smoking stop before lifting off. Apparently the engines were running at
different speeds. Plane no good. Back to airport, wait on runway for
gate. De-plane. New
plane found. Immediately before boarding crew
hours expire, flight cancelled at 2pm. Re-booked standby on oversold
3pm flight… starting to cut close to set time at Vancouver. Last minute
confirmation of seats. Arrive Vancouver 6pm. 8:25pm set time.
*Albany
flight attendent announces: "Any instruments without passports may not
board the plane." And, "Anyone with a Boston Red Sox shirt on can board
the plane first."
7/20 –Vancouver Folk Festival/Showcase- 9am
departure for 10am workshop with Red Chamber and John Reishman &
the Jaybirds. 11:30am media tent for TV interviews. 1:20pm for
workshop. 4pm depart festival for Nettwerk Headquarters to play
showcase. 8pm leave for airport. 11:10pm flight to Nashville thru
Chicago. 5am arrival in Chicago, customs, and now I'm sitting at the
gate for a return home to Nashville at 6:40am, arrive Nashville 8am. Go
home and sleep! Repack to leave for another tour 48 hours later… first
stop Colorado, Rockygrass.
Check out these pics from the airport:
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