Journal Entry

Saturday, June 25:

This was a good day.
My parents and I had a long day of traveling on Thursday because of a six hour flight delay--we didn't get to our hotel in Nashville until 5 AM on Friday morning... Not exactly how we planned it, but at least it was Friday morning and not this morning.
Hey, we made it. That's what matters, right?

Everything about this round of the Bates Ford Talent Search was similar to the first round four weeks ago except for the fact that we each got to sing two songs (an original and another country classic from their list). The other eleven contestants and I had a rehearsal in the morning--with the same band members as before except for one, and it was an incredible feeling running through "The County Fair" with a group of Grand Ole Opry regulars...! What an honor that was. "The County Fair" had never been performed live with a full band before, and... now I need a band to travel with me so that isn't such a rare occasion.

It seemed like there were more nerves across the board for all of us this time. This was our final chance at this huge opportunity of opening for Darryl Worley or the Oak Ridge Boys, and every single one of us wanted to earn one of those spots.

Oddly enough, I wasn't nervous. I'm not sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, but I felt ready and excited to get to sing on that stage again--knowing the show would be broadcast live on the "Most Famed Country Music Station in the World" (and that friends and family across the country would be listening)! Wow. The reason I point this out... When I was younger I would have been a nervous wreck in this situation. Maybe I would have been so anxious I wouldn't be able to enjoy it at all. Maybe I would've run. There are some people in my life who only remember me this way, and they don't get the 180 degree turn or how I could love it so much today. Which is fine, but all this to say... how the tables turn.

I went into this day confidently.

The actual performance went great, and everyone did great. I went second to last this time, and I got to sing "Always on My Mind" along with my "County Fair". At the end of the show, when they announced who would be opening the upcoming concerts in July and then in August, my name was not called.

When we got back to the hotel awhile later, I was greeted by quite a few messages and texts from people who had listened in... And it meant so much. I had been singing to more people than I knew, and they had all been there for me today. They were pulling for me, and that meant the world to "come home to".

At the end of one of these messages were the words: 
"Congratulations. You won."

That's how it felt. Just being a part of this event was reward enough. There were so many positives from making both of these trips to Lebanon, TN, and I'm so glad I got the chance.

Before the show, one of the other singers, Chazz Wesley, was telling me and my parents about his regular gig at a place called John A's over by the Opryland Hotel, and that he'd be singing there tonight. He mentioned that if I was ever in area, I'd be welcome to come sing with his band. I asked him if he was serious because, well... I was in town tonight! He said he was, so around 8 o'clock, we drove over to the place that's practically a stone's throw away from the Grand Ole Opry itself (maybe a little further than a stone's throw, but after driving back and forth across the country several times in the recent past... my distance estimation gauge is a bit off).

It was so much fun, and I think I shocked my parents with the way I took Chazz up on the offer. I told them both afterwards (oh, I'm so glad they both could come to Tennessee with me...) that if I ever have a chance to do something like that for another singer, I hoped to recognize it and do it. It was so kind of him to give me his stage and his band for a couple of songs... I won't forget it.

All in all...
It was a great trip.

-Brittany

Two Sundays Ago

On April 24th, I sang at the Hope Rises Benefit Concert at North Creek Presbyterian Church in Mill Creek, WA (they were raising money to help the Okanogan Long Term Recovery Group in wildfire recovery and rebuilding efforts).

I sang in the morning during the services, and then sang a few songs during the concert in the evening while the main act (the Mosaic Choir and Orchestra) took a break. It was my second time watching the Mosaic Choir and Orchestra perform, and I love them! They are soooo good, and everyone up there looked like there was no place they'd rather be.

I hope our paths cross again.

Whenever I sing someplace new, I never know what to expect. I don't know who I'm going to meet, or how many people will be there, or what the setup will look like, or if the songs I've selected will be just right, or if the people there will like what they hear...

North Creek Presbyterian, you blew my expectations out of the water. Thank you for having me! I was delighted to meet you, and my heart is still full. You are a lovely, lovely group of people, and I wish I lived closer. Thank you for one of the greatest welcomes I've ever experienced, and thank you for a wonderful day. Your heart for the people in North Central Washington who were affected by the fires these past two summers and your desire to help were very beautiful to see.


I've been working on getting video from the concert onto YouTube--you can watch "Wildfire" here and "Adventure" here, and more songs from the Mosaic Choir and Orchestra will be uploaded shortly!
 

-Brittany

Song Introduction: Adventure

Picking up my series of introductions to songs on Leavin' Home, here are some snapshots of "Adventure"!

The first line of this song goes like this,
"They say there are wild horses on this island--so let's go find them!"

Two Christmases ago, my family spent a week together on the Outerbanks of North Carolina, and that week was a big part of the inspiration for two of my songs on the album ("He Gave Me the Sea" and "Adventure"). One of the draws to the Outerbanks is the wild horses. Growing up on Misty of Chincoteague books, I can't tell you how excited I was at the prospect of seeing "real live" wild horses! I felt like I was being dropped into an old favorite story, and I half-expected to run into Paul and Maureen!

...

But we couldn't find the horses!
As much as I would have loved to see them, there's a part of me that loves the fact that we didn't. Because we didn't see them, wild horses are still a mystery--still something I haven't seen and want to see. (And we still got some good stories out of the deal.) Hopefully, someday we'll find 'em.

This whole song is about chasing adventures--little or great. Even if they don't always lead you where you thought they might (maybe even especially then). I often write out of a need to remind myself of something, and this one reminds me of this: I want to live an adventurous life... To be spontaneous. To follow some paths simply because the sun looks a little brighter that way. To go for it.

A Few Lines: "Up a spiral staircase to a secret room full of books and old frames / For one hour, I disappear / Curled up in a rocking chair / Turning pages in musty air / 'Cause it's there--don't you feel it? / Adventure!"

With three nieces (whom I love to pieces) knocking on my door whenever I go missing for a few minutes, this part of the song was kind of a play on the quiet or more personal adventures in life--the kinds of adventures and things that are harder to share but fill your heart, like that feeling of sitting by the fire with a good book. 

Finding an old diary that belonged to your great, great grandmother, or a dusty medal that belonged to your grandfather; looking at black and white pictures of family members you never knew and wondering what their lives were like; even things like going to a museum and letting the sheer amount of history move you.... There is intrigue and sometimes a bit of magic in learning something you never knew before. Depending on what it is, sometimes you want to share it, and sometimes you want to keep that "something" to yourself for as long as you can. Know what I mean?

"Adventure is out there!"

-Brittany

Pybus Public Market

Last Saturday, my parents and I drove to Wenatchee (about an hour and twenty minutes away) to check out a possible music venue: Pybus Public Market. My brother and sister-in-law had mentioned it to me before, saying they thought it might be a good fit and a fun place to sing, and they were right.

Pybus Market is the nicest (and by far the coolest) farmers market I have ever seen. It's year-round and indoors, but during the summer they spread outside. There were tables set up where people were selling jewelry, ceramics, wood carvings and coffee... Could be a dangerous place for a person's wallet. There are restaurants, and all the products you'd expect to find at a farmers' market. It's a cozy environment and everyone we met was really nice.

We met someone there who went to Wheaton College (my dad, my aunt, and my uncle all went there, and it's super close to where I used to live in Illinois) and later went to Biola University in California (that's where my brothers went to school!). What are the chances?

There's a piano in the middle of the market that's open for anyone to play, so I sat down and played. Having performed only with my guitar for the past year, my piano fingers were a bit rusty, but I played anyway and no one seemed to mind my fumbles. I played like I used to when I was little, just playing whatever came to mind and all for the fun of it--the Jurassic Park theme song definitely came out of nowhere. It would be really fun to put a set of movie themes together and play 'em there...
A mom and her little daughter came right up to the piano to listen and watch, and the spur-of-the-moment-ness of it all was really fun.

All of this to say, I think we have a new place to add to the tour schedule this summer, and I'm very much looking forward to playing there soon!

  -Brittany

Song Introduction: The County Fair

"With daisies you show up at my door / You say we're late--I don't have time to ask what for, okay?"

Yesterday I received a letter in the mail from my niece--she sent me a bouquet she made of paper daisies with a ribbon holding them together, and that told me which song to do next in my ongoing series of song introductions.

And yes, daisies are my favorite.

The County Fair

Last fall, driving past the town of Omak, I saw the lights of the county fair in the distance, and that is where this song began. This one was so much fun to write because it came together so easily. It had a direction of its own, and I haven't experienced that as a writer too often.

A few lines: "We play the games like they're goin' outta style / A wagon full of kids gets every prize we won / Except a bear that's bigger than me / 'Cause watching me try and carry it is too much fun... for you..."

A lot of the inspiration for this song came from favorite memories, like high school Homecoming soccer games, Minor League Baseball games when I was young (the fireworks were the best!), and some more recent events like the Apple Blossom Festival and the R&B Festival...

But mostly, this song came from my imagination. Describe your perfect day...
If I were at the county fair, I'd love to do this. To play all the games, get an armful of prizes, and give them all away to a "wagon full of kids". Imagine the feel of that scene in the movie Tangled when Flynn and Rapunzel finally make it to the town outside the castle (I love it)... That's kind of what I was going for.

Like an old black and white movie, like Tony Kirby and Alice Sycamore, like a lasso around the moon... I hope I captured even just a little bit of that same magic.
 

-Brittany

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