A Quick Update!

Just a quick hello and an early Happy Thanksgiving!!!! Did I ever mention that I really love this time of year??

Jeremy and I had an AMAZING time in LA last weekend!!! It was such a beautiful couple of days, perfect weather and glorious reunions, although it most definitely felt too short. Thank you so much to everyone who came out to Genghis!! I had such a blast and just reallllly appreciate all your support…Natalie thank you for singing with me and Jamie thank you for your fantastic cameo!!!! J

The calendar year is winding down but I do have some cool shows on the horizon. The Santa Cruz house concert scheduled for this coming Saturday (20^th) has been postponed fyi!!! I’ll let you know when it gets put back on the books!!! BUT you can still come out to the following gigs!

Sunday November 28^th: Yoshis in San Francisco 8pm, $7

http://www.yoshis.com/sanfrancisco/jazzclub/artist/show/1578

Saturday Dec 4^th: House Concert in San Francisco!

To RSVP please email pearcecreative@gmail.com

Sunday Dec 19^th: Hotel Utah in San Fran!!!

Sharing the night with Utah Girl and Christopher Dallman!!!

http://www.ticketweb.com/t3/sale/SaleEventDetail?dispatch=loadSelectionData&eventId=3292165&pl=utah&REFERRAL_ID=TW_ADD_EDP&sms_ss=facebook&at_xt=4ce1782ed53a4d47%2C0

Lots of stuff brewing for next year so stay tuned!!! And in the meantime I wish you all the gloriousness of the season and the happiest of holidays!!!!!

Love love love, Keeley

Sundays Are Magic

It is rainy and cold this morning. Jer and I are in our cozy little den, we turned the heater on for the first time ever in our new place and we are enjoying the warmth as football plays in the background and we are both at work on our computers. It’s kind of an amazing Sunday so far.
Life is good. I am feeling really nostalgic and honestly desperate to let everyone I know reallllly understand how much I value them. I’ve been reflecting quite a bit on the mosaic that is my life, all the bits and pieces that have come together and fit perfectly to create who and where I am today. It fascinates me how life works out sometimes.
Here is a slice of some of the things rolling around in my brain and my heart :)

~I’ve been getting so so excited about our trip to LA next month. It will be my first time back since we moved and I realize now that it has been quite a long time. Between our trip and then trying to get settled and get work etc., time seems to have been moving at an inconsistent pace. I haven’t had the time to sit back and just miss LA. I’ve missed people of course, but have not exactly been wistful about our old place or neighborhood or rituals. I feel that now and I can’t wait go back and soak it all again. I’ve been thinking a lot about MI and everything I learned, all the chances I had to grow as a singer and as a writer, the people who believed in me and pushed me into uncomfortable but necessary places, the friends I made in my classes, the people who played with me. There are some whom I never even saw again after our program ended but I think of them all the time. It was such a good time in my life, one I will never forget and one I will always, always be so thankful for.

~I recently had the chance to reconnect with an old friend from my Bakersfield elementary school days. We both liked to sing and wrote songs together that sounded like we were 12 going on 30. I remember one particular tune went like this:
“Do you think it’s fair that I’m all alone
and you are off somewhere?
Do you think it’s fair that you don’t care so
I’m stuck putting the pieces together”
I mean, did we even know what we were talking about? Who can say, but we sang it with gusto. We also sang ‘That’s What Friends Are For’ for our 6th grade talent show and apart from singing in church as a kid; it was really my first time singing in front of a large audience. My heart STILL skips a beat when I hear the harmonica start that song off on the radio because I remember how nervous I had been to perform, and because I have such fond memories of my pals from 6th grade. I’ve stayed in touch with some of them and it’s really amazing to see how their lives have unfolded. It’s an honor actually. I feel a closeness to them I can’t properly articulate. They remind me of an old and distant chapter in my life, but also of an inescapable and deep-rooted part of myself and for that I am indebted to them.

~I started teaching music. I have had a lifetime of experience working with kids and years and years of playing music, but I’ve never really combined the two. It’s been one of the most challenging things I’ve taken on in a really long time. Last week I literally couldn’t sleep the night before one of my first classes. It’s a good nervousness though, a stretching, as Jeremy keeps reminding me. I’ve had a pretty poor track record when it comes to bowing to self doubt but I’ve been surprising myself this time around. I am equipped to do this. It helps that I know a lot of teachers who offer up excellent advice. It helps that I’m getting to teach a lot of Christmas music and it helps that Jeremy sends me text messages every time I’m on my way to class that say, ‘You have everything you need’. (Is he amazing or what) I’m letting that sink in more than I ever have before. I DO have everything I need. I’m new at this yes, I’m scared of messing up yes, but music is my life and sharing it comes naturally when I just let it go. It actually feels kind of full circle in a way, I remember so well the music teachers that touched my life, from Mrs. McGrath in the 4th grade to Bob Schleeter in high school to Deanna Walker in college and so on and now I have the chance to maybe give some of that back. Speaking of Bob, I’m working with him a few times a week in his chorus class at Marin Academy. Talk about full circle, right?
In addition to this new frontier, I just realized that I’ve gotten paid for every show I’ve played since we moved up here. Of course, it’s not about the money AT ALL, but seeing that it was my goal to support myself with musical endeavors only, it feels kind of good to be able to say I’m a semi-professional performer right now :)

And so another week begins….thank you to all my friends and family and everyone who supports me…I feel so so thankful every day for everything I have been given and I’m just trying to deserve it all.
Best wishes for a cozy rest of the month and a glorious Halloween!!!!K

Relocation

September 1^st. My first official month begins as a San Rafael resident. Granted, Jeremy and I have been back from our trip for a few weeks now, but those weeks were filled with moving and unpacking and organizing, family and highschool reunionizing- now it feels like we are truly getting settled. Exploring the neighborhood, trying out the local cuisine, going to farmer’s markets, oh yeah- and job hunting (more on that later).

There are so many things I love about being back. Just last night, Jeremy and I walked to 4^th Street to get froyo and we ran into Sarie (my sis). Last week my dad called me on a whim to go hear someone speak at the community center with him and this afternoon we had a last minute lunch together. Earlier this week I picked up my little cousins from school. It is so nice to be close to my family again.

This time of the year is beautiful here. Apparently it’s been an unseasonably cold summer but let me tell you, it’s going out with a bang. It’s been really warm the past few days but warm in just the right ways. The sky seems a piercing blue and it stays warm even when the sun goes down. Everyone is outside soaking in what is left of the summer magic before fall sweeps in. I’ve been doing my best to take Jeremy on all my favorite trails. So far we’ve done the Dipsea Stairs and beyond, Mt. Burdell, Indian Tree, Phoenix Lake and I’m pretty sure we found a trail down the street from our place that will eventually lead you into China Camp although we didn’t get far enough to find out on our first expedition. The trails here are so glorious and magnificent and this nice weather makes it all the more inviting to be outside. The air is clear, the views are breathtaking and never ending. These are trails I’ve loved for years and yet to see them through someone else’s eyes makes them all the more magical and special. I feel like I am constantly reminded about how beautiful it is here just by seeing the wonder on Jeremy’s face.

We have been so blessed. Our summer was so ridiculous and liberating and amazing and now we are here in this lovely house with a dishwasher and a huge garden in the cutest neighborhood – it just doesn’t make sense. The other night I was talking about all this with John Buckley (Sarie’s dad) and explaining my discomfort at how lucky we have been and he said to me ‘This is just a great time for you to really practice your gratitude”. And he is totally right. Whether or not I deserve all this good stuff is kind of besides that point. I have it right now and I just need to be overflowing with thanks every minute that I do.

Fall has always seemed like the most hopeful season to me, which is probably counterintuitive since really things are getting ready to hibernate and change colors and ultimately go on hiatus to brace for winter. Maybe my internal calendar is still synched up to the school year, but fall has just always felt like a beginning to me. And it does right now. Jer and I have given ourselves a month to try and get jobs in something we REALLY want to do. For me, that is of course music. So I have until October 1^st to see what kind of musical life I can make for myself here. This includes everything from giving music lessons to playing shows to playing house concerts to- well, I’m still brainstorming. (any ideas??) But I’m excited to give it my all and just be brave.

Big News

This past March marked two years since I moved to LA. This is crazy to me. The other day I found my long lost Marc Cohn cd and immediately popped it into my cd player and my car was enveloped with the soundtrack to my life of two years ago. I was obsessed with that record, I listened to it for most of the cross-country drive from Nashville, for most of the two months I was in the Bay Area before I moved to LA, and for most of the first spring I was here. It’s true that a ‘melody can bring back a memory’ (what! what! Clint Black). I was very nostalgic thinking about how daunting this place had seemed, what a long road seemed to loom before me; all the excitement and uncertainty. And now, LA too, has become home. I have found my niche, I love my neighborhood, I’ve become a way more aggressive driver, I have amazing, inspiring friends and a magical man- I am settled.
The gifts and the blessings I’ve received by moving here have been huge and numerous. Moving to LA was never something I had in my plan for myself, but as I am reminded time and again, sometimes you have to throw your OWN plan out the window and take a leap. It’s about that time for another one of those.
Jeremy and I are moving up to the Bay Area this summer! I almost can’t believe it’s really true, and it still astounds me that I’ve spent a good portion of my adult life waiting for a sign about when I could move back home and I come to LA and fall in love with a boy who has wanted to live there for awhile. One of the many reasons we are meant to be. We aren’t totally sure yet which city we’ll live in, be it San Francisco or Berkeley or even somewhere in Marin, just that this is our next adventure. I am so excited to move home and be closer to my friends and family up there, to breathe the air and hike all the trails and sit up in the Headlands and watch the Golden Gate Bridge.
Of course, this is also very bittersweet. As I said, I’ve come to love LA in all its crazy glory, but most importantly, I love all the people who have come into my life while I have lived here. Every teacher and classmate I had the privilege of meeting while at Musician’s Institute, everyone I’ve worked with at Hugo’s and the kids I’ve tutored, my family and Jeremy's family I’ve gotten closer to, the new friends I’ve made and the old ones I’ve reconnected with, it will be so, so sad to say goodbye to you.
A special thanks to Natalie Metcalf and Danny Byrne whose friendship and musical companionship have made an indelible mark on my heart and brought me so much joy. Getting to play and sing with you during my time here has taught me so much and I hope you’ll be up for taking some trips to the Bay for a show or two here and there :)
Before the big move, though, Jeremy and I are going on a fantastical road trip that has had a few incarnations of its own. What began as an idea for a month long camping expedition turned into something of an interactive mini-tour with blog posts and picture and video postings. We are still planning on lots of camping and sightseeing, but I’m going to play some shows along the way; the way being: all across the country. Everything is still in the works now but I’d love any input from you if you know of a cool venue in your city or if you’d like to host a house-concert or something, we are up for all ideas. In addition to all this, we’re also going to be raising awareness about Children of Strength, the non-profit so dear to my heart that supports a community in need in Kenya.
(http://www.kilimambogo.org/)
Stay tuned for more details about the road trip/tour and where we will land afterwards, and in the meantime I will be soaking up all the little bits of magic springtime in LA has to offer. Thank you for your continued support!!!

Home Again Home Again

It is a cold, windy morning up in the Bay Area and I'm in my parents house all by myself. It feels weird. Usually, this house is bustling with numerous people, voices laughing, music playing, kitchen appliances whirling. Right now its just me and my thoughts.
I drove up to Novato yesterday by myself for the weekend. I think some of Jeremy's road skills have rubbed off because i got up here pretty fast. the drive was smooth and even pretty, sections of the 5 covered in green grass, a blue sky stretched across the miles. at one point right after Harris ranch when i had been plugging my nose for 5 minutes to avoid that cow poop smell, i looked up and saw the most beautiful bird formation I've ever seen. they just looked so perfect, so natural, it looked like a painting in the sky.
I'm re-reading this book called An Altar in the World by Barbara Taylor Brown. i read it when i first moved to LA almost 2 years ago, but felt compelled to read it again, and I'm so glad i did. I'm obsessed with it. i feel like she is speaking right to my heart. and i feel like I'm in college again because I'm voraciously underlining passages as though i need to memorize them. every night i read Jeremy my favorite parts and we both share a thoughtful smile as it sinks in. this stuff is goooood. her first chapter is all about reverence and paying attention to everything around you and noticing God in all the small stuff. I have been really bad at that as of late, but decided to challenge myself to remembering after reading her chapter. This bird formation seemed a perfect example. On an otherwise boring drive I've driven 800 times, this glorious little reminder of nature and of a power greater than myself appeared right above me and caught my attention long enough for me to put my own humanity in perspective.
since being home for about 19 hours or so now, I've been trying to soak in all the things to be reverent about, and thankful for, about this little trip so far and my childhood home. here is what I've come up with so far:
1) in addition to the birds on the drive, i also found a live recording of a show Danny, Natalie and i did in LA at the beginning of the year. it sounded so good. not me, but us, the sound quality, the harmonies, the guitars, i felt so inspired. and so thankful to have such dear friends who will share their gifts with me. On stage you can get so caught up in the moment, and not really pay that much attention to the the whole picture. It was seriously awesome to hear each nuance Danny played to complement what I was playing, or how smoothly Natalie and my voices blend together, and even just hearing the audience laugh, it just all felt so special. The magic is really in the details.
2) my little brother Silas. he is the only birdy left in the nest. and to boot, my parents are off in Kenya right now. Silas is being 'taken care of' (i mean, he is 18 but still....) by Johnny Ratzlaff, a family friend for as long as I can remember. Johnny has been more like an uncle to me, present at every holiday and birthday, present at every family tragedy and celebration- truly, he's family. Last night the three of us had dinner together and it was so fun. We were all cracking each other up and telling stories and just enjoying the company. Silas did his fair share of making jokes and making fun of everyone, especially Johnny who pretty much brought his own kitchen to my parents house for the weeks he's living here. Neatly lined up on the counter is a George Foreman, a popcorn machine, an oil mister for said popcorn, and an assortment of nuts and brownie bites and of course a big bottle of Crystal Geyser flavored water that is Johnny's calling card. I was really bummed to miss my parents on this trip home, but this initial scene of catching up eased the sadness a bit. I made a mental note to soak in his care and generosity as he grilled us each a chicken, one by one, in his G.F. and to appreciate the person my little brother has grown up to be- ever clever and witty, conscientious and kind.
3) my dad's little quirks- he's not even here and still his neurotic preferences make themselves known. last night before going to bed Johnny and I spent about 10 minutes staring at the thermostat. My dad HATES using the heater. This is a difficult thing because this house is an icebox. Merilee reminds me every time I come home to bring extra layers because 'You know how your dad is about the heater'. It was really cold last night and Johnny and I were trying to decide if we should keep the heater on through the night and if so, at what temperature, and if not what temperature we should keep it at in the remaining hours of the day. Even though I kind of dreaded the thought of climbing into a chilly bed in a chilly room, I couldn't help but chuckle inside at my dad's stubbornness. And in the end, although his energy rules (no washer/dryer/dishwasher until 6pm, no lights and appliances left on etc) might cause annoyance from time to time, they are all rooted in his deep commitment to the planet and the conservation of it's resources. That inspires me.
We decided to err on the side of caution and turn off the heater. It was nice to feel like a piece of him was here guiding us to make the right choice. Also I'm pretty sure that even half way across the world he would have some way of knowing or has a hidden camera over the thermostat and will watch hours of endless recorded footage when he comes home to catch any culprits who tried to cheat when he was away.
4) After an appointment in Southern Marin earlier this morning, I was driving back home as the rain really started. There is this little decline on the 101, you don't even feel like you're climbing before you get to it but right by the Civic Center in San Rafael it looks as though the whole world is welcoming you as to start to descend. It just opens right up, the hills look so refreshed and bright and green even against the grey of the day, the road carries on before you but even the highway looks majestic winding on ahead. It's a sight that I've always loved, always waited for on the drive home from the airport when I lived in Nashville, it's when my heart fills up and I feel like I'm home.

The weekend has barely begun and there is quite a lot of goodness in store for me, lots of people to visit and hug and catch up with and many more things to feel thankful for and to pay a deeper attention to and be reverent of. I look forward to all the chances to do so and hope it only becomes more and more a second nature. I'll keep you posted on that :)