Snow & Sarah don't mix

So who forgot to tell Mother Nature we already had Sarah Hart on the books for this weekend?? Needless to say the decision to cancel was out of our hands...we are working on rescheduling a date in October & of course you will be the first to know as soon as it is confirmed. In the meantime I spoke with Sarah yesterday...in the world of songwriters, one can only hope to get a song they've penned recorded by a major act. Sarah has done it! Yesterday Amy Grant released

"Better Than A Hallelujah" to radio and it is on the album due for release March this year. So call your local stations and ask for it by name or the new Amy Grant single. Congratulations Sarah!

This is very exciting !! There is a video on u-tube of a concert Amy did last night in Orlando singing the song and she gives credit (as all good artists do) to the writers.

Sarah promised to do the song at her concert when she is here.

For ticket refunds, see me after masses at Holy Redeemer & Holy Trinity if you're in the area/when you can get there or call me 252-441-2555. You must have your ticket for a refund.

See you when the sun is shining...I'm going back to bed :)

making of a CD: mixing day 3-5

it's all a blur at this point...we were in the studio way past my bedtime Wednesday, Thursday and Friday trying to get everything done...I think we did. I left Friday at midnight, drove straight to OBX ...yup no sleep stops, tried to listen to the CD to make some decisions and finally gave up...haven't listen to it since I'm home. I did manage to sing at the 5pm mass yesterday on 45 minutes of sleep and a cup of coffee...was good to be back.

I'm ready for the week coming up: back at Bagels to Beef Wed 12-2pm, a few meetings, and last minute items to cover for the SARAH HART CONCERT SUNDAY!

Tickets will be available at the door...don't miss this one! See ya there...

making of a CD: mixing day 2

It's Tuesday/Wednesday...Kenny started mixing Monday & I joined him today...had tea w/my bass player Dave Francis at Starbucks and will have breakfast with my old boss, Kyle King in the morning at our breakfast hang out, the Loveless Cafe....always good to catch up with my buds....we're half way through the tunes...still have some tweaking to do on the 6 Kenny turned out today.

I'm staying in Kingston Springs (where I used to live) with friends...it is beautiful out here (20 minutes outside Nashville proper) and I love coming back to visit.

that's it for now...gotta get some sleep...

Wedding Couple's Thank You

Kim...thank you for your gift of song at our October 2, 2009 wedding. You were everything that we had hoped you would be and more: professional, flexible, on time and a beautiful voice. What more could we have asked for? Many blessings to you in 2010...Lisa & Ray Huffman

the making of a CD: nashville day 5

now that I can think clearly...can you say exhausted? That was 1 looong week, but filled to the brim! We were in the studio Friday ALL day : Jim Hoke on harmonica (incredible what this guy can do!), Kim Parent on back up vocals (www.kimparent.com) , Terry White on back up vocals (great job Terry), Kim Kalman on back up vocals (who?) then we hit the road. Got back to OBX Saturday night not early enough for 5pm mass (thank you John Buford for covering) but with time to say hi to all my fury angels (even Winston...& thank you to our pet sitter Cathy who did an awesome job keeping everybody's fur down and nails in) ), clean out the truck, eat dinner (thank you Seaside Gourmet in Kitty Hawk), clean up and hit the sack by 9pm...I feel wonderful today...will hit the road tomorrow to meet Kenny Tuesday morning for mixing. Wave if ya see me driving by....

the making of a CD: Nashville day 3 & 4

Well as you can tell day 3 slipped away from me. We were in the studio 10am Wednesday, did alot of mixing, had a schedule change with vocals and then at the end of the day, recorded the last song that I still had to do...we got back to the hotel around 11pm and I was in bed by midnight because day 4 was just as long.

My backup vocalists from way back (I've had them on all my CDs but Moonlight)

came in at 10am on Thursday and were ALIVE in the spirit! Amen!! Vicki Hampton, Robert Bailey and Kimberly Fleming. They did vocals on 6 (SIX) songs in 5 hours!!! and wait til you hear them! They were the backup vocals for the original version done by Wynona Judd on one of the songs I'm using on this CD so they had that one down pat. Barb got them on video so look for some footage on my web site down the road. Recording CDs is truly a labor of love, a birthing if you will. It becomes its own life. There is a lot of "stepping out of the way, leave your ego at the door" for all parties involved (including your truly) to let the best of everyone's gift come forth and become a part of the "whole." It is truly an awesome God filled experience...and it is a pleasure to work with so many spirit filled souls in 1 room!

So today is the last day of the week...today's session starts at 10am with my harmonica player (another artist I've had on my projects since way back...and an incredible artist in his own rite, Jim Hoke). Kim Parent (another long time music family member) comes in for back up vocals at 11am, Terry White (male vocalist) comes in at 3pm and then I have parts to do before hitting the road for OBX.

Hogan and Jackson have been perfect roadies! Yes I left my big brown dog and prayer partner Winston, at the homestead watching after the cats, the house and Molly (our alpha senior pup 15 years old) not necessarily in that order.

off to the studio...

the making of a CD: day 2 in Nashville

Well another long day in at 10am left about 8pm but got through 4 songs...still have 2 songs to record but they'll have to wait until tomorrow evening. We left Kenny (my producer) tweaking material so that when Dave (my vocalist/bass player) comes in tomorrow at 2pm, his material will be ready to roll. Hopefully when Dave finishes we'll have time for me to record How Great thou Art and Come to Jesus. Being out of the studio early means a real dinner other than a sandwich and/or soup so we've placed an order at the restaurant next door and I'm off to pick it up...I'm hungry! more tomorrow...

the making of a CD: Nashville day 1

We left Sunday afternoon 3pmish...it was cold in the Outer Banks but when we hit the mountains between NC and TN all was put into perspective: it went down to 6 degrees...our dogs, Hogan & Jackson were in the back of the truck almost frozen by the time we got to the hotel (3:30AM). They are resting peacefully in the hotel...

I got about 5 hours of sleep, we hit the studio Monday 2pm...thank you for your prayers Connie D. and all who are continuing to pray for this CD...we got 5 songs recorded by 9pm...that's awesome! I'm going for 6 today...trying to get all my vocals done BEFORE the back up vocalists come in Wed-Fri...so I'm balancing coffee & water, light foods and lots of positive energy! The title track has yet to be decided...we'll know by the end of the week...life is good...God is gooder!!

Wedding Expo:

Saturday was the wedding tour: part of the Outer Banks Wedding Association's Expo weekend. I'm a member of the association so I sang at a house in Nag Head from 10am-12noon visited by many brides-to-be as a potential rental house for their special day...1-3pm I was at the Good Life Gourmet where Susie & Steve Mace (owners) entertained brides-to-be regarding food & cakes, & Doug from Outer Banks Productions showed videos of his past work and offered package deals. That evening we were all at The Point Grill (Golf Club) in Powells Point for a mock wedding & reception: thank you to my fellow musician buds for making it a great evening - Leslie Buck (guitar & vocals) , Leslie Erickson (strings), Steve the Dream (DJ) & Mike from Outer Banks DJ and Sue Artz (violin). The bands were set up in the tent which I didn't even get to! The evening was well attended and our food vendors did a yummy job....love those crab cakes Scott (Coastal Provisions)!!

10AM I'm off to the studio....