fits & starts
the trouble with getting out the door
tomorrow morning, i’ll wake up in my little cabin here in western massachusetts, i’ll probably go for a run, then i’ll pack my van and head down to princeton (theee princeton!) to start my fall touring. the season will run til approximately thanksgiving, after which i’ll face the reality of making a new record. i don’t mean that to sound burdensome. it’s exciting for sure, but the financials are also terrifying tbh.
fall touring is always my favorite - a mixture of schools and festivals to go along with my usual club dates. this fall is no different, check out the list below, which includes east coast fun and colorado fun plus two visits to productions of miss you like hell. there are still a few more shows to be announced, so keep your eyes on my social media (fb / tw / ig) for those updates.
excellent as all this may be, i still have trouble with the transition. especially this year. it’s maybe a little like going back to school, or returning to work from a sabbatical. i’ve gotten used to a certain rhythm of life. i haven’t had a gig since the end of july, when i played a pair of scorchers in indianapolis & louisville (both weather and audiences were 🔥🔥 🔥). two months without a show is unusual for me, an eternity that atrophies not just my playing muscles but my “i want to be looked at” muscles too. as much as i love to perform, i do not come by these muscles naturally. i’ve had to build them from a youth of refusing to perform in any format (piano recitals, CCD, camp, gymnastics meets), to an early career of debilitating pre-show anxieties. i used to throw up for several days ahead of playing a single song at an open mic. which reminds me, i read somewhere that there is a bucket backstage at saturday night live, right by the famous doors that the host walks through as they hit the lights for the first time and start their monologue. i understand.
it’s not quite that i’ve been on vacation and now the hard work begins. believe me, there is always industry to be made in the cottage of my life., but it’s been of a quieter, more cave-like sort. writing, admin tasks, real life boring things (my car failed inspection! it’s time to see the downton abbey movie!). all things as far removed from the lights and sounds of even the modest stages i make my living on.
so! i’ve been spending the last few days steeling myself for the shift, knowing the other side is fun if i can just get there. a haircut! collect my fancy clothes in one place! and of course, there is you on the other side too. you are always the best part, so come and help me be glad i left the house and the chuck bucket behind.
i am yours, always,
x erin
¡ME GUSTA! : SOME OF MY FAVORITE THINGS
music for free on the great divide my old friend ben weaver rode his bike from banff, alberta to antelope wells, NM, playing shows along the way, then made a film about it. it's a truly outstanding document of an adventure we should all be so lucky to take. if we cant, we can at least request a screening and be reminded that we are wild inside.
dear disgruntled white plantation visitors historian and chef michael twitty has some words for you.
a podcast about baseball organ music featuring my pal, josh kantor of fenway park. you also will learn the history of the form and meet its absolute maestra, nancy faust.
why "gentleman jack" ann lister (and lesbians in general) power walk we are in a hurry to get to a better world.
how the very structure of audio technology discriminates against women we don't sound shrill naturally, it's just the way men designed it.