I’m super pleased to announce that my newest album with Sit Kitty Sit, Tectonic, is finally here! Two years in the making, this album encompasses all the huge personal growth both Mike and I have gone through since 2014. I am so very proud of this album – everything. The lyrics and music and the production quality as well. I wrote a full blog on the Sit Kitty Sit website telling the story behind the album and all of the individual songs. We recorded it with Rick Spagnola at Dog Water Studios in Reno, NV. A fantastic, healing experience.
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Paper Doll Music Video
The first single, “Paper Doll”, off of Sit Kitty Sit’s upcoming album Tectonic came out on Tuesday, April 17th. I really really love the finished product:
2016 – Portrait of the Artist
I have an annual tradition where toward the end of the year I deep clean my apartment and purge everything I don’t use. Year after year I slowly work myself toward being a minimalist.
If you come across an item you’re not sure about while you’re in the process of decluttering there is a three-question system you use:
- Do you actively use it?
- Do you need it?
- Do you love it?
I’ve been doing this for a while, so most things need two or more yeses to stay.
This year what struck me as I started cleaning out my ever-dwindling cabinets is that they are not full of “things” anymore. They are full of the people I used to be, or people I wish I was.
My Music Education Project
Truth: Even though I’ve been a musician my whole life, I don’t listen to a lot of music. Never have. Mostly because I always have music playing in my head, so sometimes I really can’t because it sounds like two radios playing at once. Yuck.
In school, I was trained in Classical music. The history of it, where it came from, how it evolved, branched out, church vs. secular and all that… but I never studied rock music. Or really any modern music outside of the “played-by-a-symphony” area. Mainly because I never planned on being a rock musician. Funny how that worked out. (Now I know why I felt like I never quite fit in. Haha – retrospect is awesome. )
So, recently I decided that I wanted to educate myself since this is my career and all, so I poked around online and from several different places put together a list of the 100 “greatest albums of all time” that I want to listen to before my birthday – which is September 17th, by the way. Gifts are always welcome. 🙂
How to Play to an Empty Room
It happens more often than you might think. Especially when you’re playing in a brand new city. Maybe they didn’t book a local band, or maybe they cancelled at the last second. Maybe you’re playing on a Monday, or the venue down the street has a huge sold out show. Or maybe you only got the gig about a day ago. Or the venue forgot you were coming, or…or…or…
At times during an interview, or when I’m chatting with someone I’ll get the question “what’s your one piece of advice for musicians just starting out?”
It’s a legit question. Typically I’ve spouted some kind of “do it because you love it” or “just don’t quit” type comments, which are kind of lame pieces of advice, but now I finally feel like I have a legit answer. What’s my piece of advice for musicians starting out?
“Learn how to play to an empty room”
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An Interview with Mike Thompson of Sit Kitty Sit
I believe there is no way you can ever really know someone all the way. They will always do something you didn’t expect, say something you never saw coming, make a choice that shocks you. Well, eventually they will.
Now, I feel like I know this guy. But in most interviews we get these days people tend to ask same-ish questions. When did you start playing drums? How did you develop your sound? Who are your musical heroes?
But for me, who you ARE shapes the art you make even more than who you listen to. So I decided to interview my Musical-Soul-Mate myself and let him shock me. And he did. Enjoy.
Four Wheels
The songs are written.
The bags are packed.
Four wheels, one radio, and a full tank of gas.
About three hours in I feel the knots in my shoulders start to relax. I start to daydream.
This is the time I love.
