October 20, 2011
Well, I made it across the country, dog in tow, to Portland, OR. It was an incredible tour over. The shows were small and humble but extremely fun. It was great getting to know Tyler (Dr. Folklore) from Insomniac Folklore as I don’t think we’d been on tour together even once since our first tour ever with MAP in 2003. Since my arrival I have been catching up with old friends, getting to know some friends better who also have moved to Portland from Nashville recently, hanging out with some fellow Fresno transplants to the area, and most fun: I have been hanging out with family and traveling around the Northwest to play shows and record some songs for one of my favorite unknown bands, Gold Wolf Galaxy.
I am sorry for how long it’s been since my last update. Something is wrong with this version of WordPress and the way it’s interacting with my computer. The downside of being a frugal and poor musician is that my computer is functioning on an operating system that many websites are starting to cease to recognize or be compatible with. I have a good friend, Dani K. Johnson who is working on building me a new website entirely so hopefully that will be up and running soon.
The northwest is wonderful. I feel more at home here than I have felt in YEARS and even though I don’t have a place to live yet or a part time job to supplement my income through the winter before I leave on tour next year, I feel at peace and excited about the future.
This last weekend was especially fun. The shows in Olympia and Seattle were really fun to play. I felt at home performing, even saw part of myself in the performances that I had never seen before (it’s always fun to watch your own performance change. It seems like I would be able to have more control over the art form of performing than I actually do. Often I find myself watching my own performances like I were a 3rd party than the artist). I think the most fun in this last weekend had to do with seeing my family and hanging out with my friends Johnny and my new friend Spencer.
I drove up to Olympia the day before the show to see some cousins on my dad’s side of the family that I have not ever really had the opportunity to hang out with before on any sort of intimate level. I got to know my cousin Evan (who is named after my brother) and my cousin Ginny and her very kind husband. We ate salmon and I stayed in a house located just off the Puget Sound. It was incredible! I looked at the changing colors of the trees along the water, the salmon beginning to spawn, and saw a seal playing in the water. Amazing.
The next day was the show at The Spar in Olympia with Paul Mauer, an artist that I have played with several times in Oly. Thanks go out to everyone who came out to the show. I really appreciated all of your presence and thanks especially to my family who came out in full force and brought a ton of their friends along. I really appreciate your support guys.
That night I drove into Seattle to spend the next day recording vocals with Gold Wolf Galaxy. My friend John Roger Schofield gave me a cd of their electronic songs last time I saw him when he was in Nashville to see Mastadon. It was really great and I totally fell in love with the songs and integrated them into my mixes on my ipod for running through Shelby Bottoms in Nashville. I have a very clear memory of sitting on the floor of a totally empty house (as I saw him while I was going through being displaced in the Nashville Flood) that someone was letting me stay in while I waited for my basement apartment to be repaired, and loaded the cd onto my computer. Straining to hear it through my tiny computer speakers. I loved it immediately. So, when I realized I would be living in the northwest I offered my services as a vocalist should they need one in the hope that I might get to participate in my friend’s project. I figured it was a long shot but it turned out that they did need someone to help out with some vocal parts. So I got to spend this weekend helping out with those.
Lyric Doodles with Kat Jones & Gold Wolf Galaxy What was better though, was that I got to hang out with these two friends. I really enjoyed getting to walk around Seattle with them and hanging out with Spencer late at night, asking those get to know you questions that I hadn’t been asked in YEARS. Like, “What’s your favorite concert experience?” That actually meant a lot to me. I haven’t had the opportunity to nerd out about music in a really long time. Which seems silly since I lived in the music capitol of the world for 5 1/2 years, but it’s totally true. So thanks Spencer, for that 🙂
The show in Seattle was also really fun. I think we were the first show that venue had ever had but the other artist Asher Deaver, was really kind and my friend Colin Clark had an art opening. It was great to see his art for the first time and he is always so encouraging whenever I see him. Some of the members of the audience were very fun as well… Yahoo hat guy, I am talking to you 🙂
Kat Jones @ Kiss Cafe in Seattle With Mt. Rainier out in full force and the reds and golds of the changing leaves singing in the sun in front of me on I-5, I began my trip home. I am now working on those things like finding a place to live and a job and working on some new shows up in Seattle again. I just wanted to thank everyone who was a part of this weekend. You are all so lovely. I really appreciate you all.
Next in line: Editing vocals for the new Kat Jones record. I think I am going to have to re-record some things in leu of having the vocals I did for GWG change the way I think a little bit about my voice. So, we shall see how that all goes.
Also – Nashville. I am thinking about coming back out to you for Thanksgiving. Anyone want to book a show? I need to pay for about 3/4th of the plane ticket with money I would make off the door. Anyone got any ideas? I guarantee a good turnout, whatever happens.
Much Love,
Kat Jones xo
Lyric Ideas for Gold Wolf Galaxy