Gone to the dogs!

 

suffice this to say the weather has gone to the dogs...even Tigger is cold! (& she has a 2-3 inch layer of fur under that sweatshirt!)  We are expecting 4- 6 inches of snow here in the Outer Banks!  We only know how to shovel sand!

Carmellos in Manassas

Friday evening I sang for the first time at a wonderful family owned restaurant in Manassas called Carmellos.  The atmoshphere was great with the serving area and horseshoe sit down bar in the same room.  My Woodbridge alliance showed up and brought reinforcements!...thanks to Connie and Cami the room was full!  Robyn from William & Mary days who I haven't seen in...whose counting...how many year came w/her Mom & youngest daughter Mia (Rob you missed a fun night!)....good to see all!  One of my new friends brought a fun gift for me:  Colette Iusi designs "girlfriends with attitudes" which is what I'm holding in one of the photos...she even got it down to the covers of my cds!! and Colette has great taste in desserts as you can see from the photo! you can email her at marycshell@hotmail.com if you're interested in her custom "girlfriends" for gifts...as unique as the person you are gifting!  Photos by Eric...thanks Eric for snapping 'em & getting them to me for this blog!  Thank you Northern Virginia for a fun night and thank you to Miguel & Alice at Carmellos for the opportunity.  ~k

first blog of the new year...

Christmas Eve at Holy Redeemer was busy! We did the children’s mass at 5pm... Ashley & team coordinators did a great job... all went well. Then a first - Leslie Erickson (violinist) and I joined the choir for midnight (12pm) mass... coffee is a wonderful thing... Joanne, our choir director, and group sounded great and the addition of guitar & violin really added a warmth... we're looking forward to doing more special masses with the choir! and yes I sang for the 9am mass on Christmas day, came home, made breakfast, did gifts & fell asleep on the couch with Winston my big brown dog... Merry Christmas....

New Years Eve in Williamsburg was cold (it was winter) & great!! Saw lots of folks who remembered me from 1995 (thank you Ryan and Dad) when I sang for the first First Night in Williamsburg... WOW!! Ron Fetner (thank you for the use of your equipment), Dennis Lee & Ron Barnes (his band members) were my alternating act and we had fun! I asked Ron (who plays flute & mandolin,) and Dennis (who plays stand up bass) to join me on the last number of 2 of my sets... a rare treat for me as well as the audience. I hope we can do that again soon... before NYE 2009!

The Outer Banks Wedding Expo is this weekend so I will be busy connecting with brides and grooms to be.

Tonight I'm singing at the GEM's (adult day care center) Harmony Cafe... it's their monthly fundraiser with local musicians, beverages and goodies donated from the community... always good to see everyone and spend time catching up.

There is a new icon on my web site for living room concerts... an intimate setting in your home with friends and great music. Contact me if you're interested... I do travel!

I'll be in Florida doing some singing the last weekend on Feb/first of March... good time to schedule a living room concert!

Next Friday Jan 16 for all those in the Northern VA area I'm at Carmello's in Manassass 7:30-11:30pm. Check my calendar for address and phone.

For all you romantics, I am offering Valentines Day Song-o-grams again this year. Call or email to schedule your song in red.

I'm also offering bulk cd sales for non-profit groups as fundraisers. Again email or call for more info.

See you on the road... good luck with your 2009 resolutions!

~k

A Day Off

a day off!!  so we shuffled off to Ocracoke for a walk with the dogs & a quick bite to eat... & off course some photo opps... the boys were ready to go!  Winston (the one with the grey beard) & Hogan love to travel so they are my roadies during my "off time"  If you live in the Outer Banks area, yes that's me walking them to the beach every morning unless it rains (Winston hates to walk in the rain, Hogan on the other hand is part duck)

Local Artist Zee Layne

   

  

As many of you know, in one of my past lives I was a restaurant owner/chef... yes the combination of cooking and singing turned into turning tables... the Horny Toad Cafe was a wonderfully intimate, colorful, southwest cuisine with music venue: appetizing food, yummy desserts, and an array of folks we still see occasionally at my gigs.  We met lots of locals and visitors who were artists in their own rights... one of those many was Zee Layne (& husband Bill) who painted some horny toads that we had hung on the walls of the restaurant.  When we sold the business, we kept the artwork and of course many of the friends.  Zee is now selling her art at one of our local venues The Lone Wolff Trading Co -  210 East Gallery Row - Nags Head - 252-449-5111.  These samples are some of her latest that she has shared with us...keep it up Zee! We love ya!!

life AFTER Labor Day

well to say this entry is over due would be an understatement since my last one was July 8...needless to say it was a busy season and though it technically ended w/Labor Day I'm still "gigging" locally and catching up on things that should have been done during the craziness of summer: oil changes, paper work, cleaning the garage...other than walking Winston to the beach and back in the morning, I don't get to the beach for enjoyment during the season so yesterday I actually walked alone to the beach, fell asleep, woke to watch the dolphins swim by (& wave!) went next door to Art's Place for a burger, beer and conversation...was a nice relaxing Sunday...tried it again today but the sun didn't cooperate...oh well...

Lots of radio play going on for Let the Door Swing Wide. If you're not on my email list, email me and I'll keep you posted on the stations w/emails as well as scheduling of venues...

If anyone has an area you'd like me to visit/blitz, supply me with some venues and/or churches to contact and I'll give it a shot!

No there are no new cds in the works...I'm taking a break from the studio for now...I love you Kenny but...

I'm still seeing lots of folks on the weekends coming to visit...you can always email or phone before or once you're here regarding venues I'm scheduled at...I'm always working on new ones... I'm available for singing at holiday parties ...and I'm booking weddings for 09 already.

Played in Columbia (NC just 1 hour west of OBX) a few weeks ago at Vineyards on the Scuppernug...beautifully done winery...if you're going through Columbia and you're a wine fan, (or if you're not you might be after stopping!) take time to stop...tell Grace and Jack I sent you!

Started Saturday eves at Beach Bread Company this past weekend...nice crowd, thanks for joining me...had some folks come in who heard At Last playing at the Wanchese Pottery in Manteo (thank you Bonnie & Bob) that afternoon and checked out the web site to find me! Marketing 101 DOES work! I'm also still at the Beach Bread Co and Bagels to Beef for lunch during the week...and Holy Redeemer & Holy Trinity for weekend masses.

My little birthday kitty, CJ, has doubled in size but she still has that little kitten face...adorable...and we have another new kitten as well...he was an orphan Winston and I brought home one earlier than usual morning from our walk...

his name is Toby (which means I'm told "God is good" ) and he is a beautiful snowball white with 3 Ash Wednesday smudges on his forehead where he was obviously touched by the angels! We should all be so blessed...

see ya on the road...

another day at the beach!

well today was filled with old and new friends...at both the Beach Bread Company and Miller's Waterfront...great to see all, thanks for coming!

all and all it was a beautiful day...even when the storm moved in the clouds were awesome...some lightning, some thunder, lots of wind, a little rain, a rainbow, an egret getting caught in some hung fishline (to keep the birds away...Brian!!) and then the rescue efforts by yours truly...got ole Lucky untangled but not before he practically bit my head off (somebody took pictures!)...but he did fly back around the deck honking (I've never heard an egret honk!)as he went by as if to say thanks...& then he caught a fish & swallowed it infront of us to say "I'm ok" after I said "his neck has a kink in it" and flew off into the sunset...literally...another night in the Outer Banks...it's 11pm so if you'll excuse me I have to wash the egret spit off my face...