Warm Hearts on a Cold Night!

What is your first reaction when you hear the word "snow!" on the radio?

Mine is usually mild interest, if I even process the weather report.

Of course, I am still fairly weather ambivalent. The weather is not something I can typically change, and usually I don't let the weather change my plans. Also, half the time the weather is predicted incorrectly (particularly when it comes to snow and how much of it). My outlook was bolstered from working at the "rain (sleet) or shine," Renaissance Faire, at which I learned that you can survive in all sorts of weather!

However, in the midstate, once the weatherman says the "s-word," it seems all of Central PA utters a collective "whoah-no!" and rushes to the foodstore to stock up on supplies (because no American could survive two days snowed in without bread and milk) then huddles in expectation inside their houses.

Luckily, our Christmas show at Warm Hearts was scheduled before the fifteen inches of snow hit (laugh if you want, I was laughing to, until my dad was out shoveling all day).

Even though the weathermen were warning that the snow would come "late tonight," we had quite a lot of fans brave the yet unsnowy roads and join us at Warm Hearts for quite a full show!

If you came to this show, you might have noticed a rare habitual change in the band that night: we were EARLY. How this came to be, I don't know. If you know our style it is more "sail in flustered (myself) and chill (Peter) at the very last minute." However, we actually made it with ninety minutes in which to tune, set up, and grab a bite to eat (God bless Pete Hamel, owner of Warm Hearts, for feeding all of Seasons for free!) And guess what? We used every bit of the time alloted to get ready. This made me wonder how we ever get our act together in fifteen minutes, which is usually how much time we have, but I suppose the amount of time directly affects how hard and fast one works (think of the all-nighter...)

There were actually three other "firsts" for Seasons at this show, making it somewhat historic:

1. This was the first time Mary Callaghan sang "Eventide Lullaby" live. At first when Mary told me this I was skeptical. Come on, it has been three years, you think that she would have sang it live with us somewhere! However, on further consideration, we realized that while a variety of people have covered "Eventide" (I believe the count is up to around six people) Mary's schedule had in fact never gelled with ours around the Christmas Seasons until now.

2. This was also the first time that we performed "Listen to the Angels" with a nearly full cast, having Seth Bird, Mary, and Katie Bird singing. The only one missing from the recording was my cousin Rebekah Callaghan, our violinist. Once again, I wonder what in the world we were all doing for three years, but if Mary hasn't been able to make a Christmas show in that long...I guess that matches up.

3. To pull it all together, the Warm Hearts show was the first show where Seasons sheet music was offered for sale. I had written out the melody and chords for "Eventide Lullaby," "Stable Song" and "Listen to the Angels," quite diligently on my "finale" program (and discovered the challenges of transcribing music from scratch, especially music with dotted eight notes). We actually had one taker from an auto harp player, which I found rather exciting. So if you are looking to purchase some sheet music, I am looking to supply some, hint hint...

Other highlights of the show were a new arrangement of the Hobbit Dance with "Deck the Halls" which I cheesily called "Deck the Halls with Bounds of Hobbits," until Peter pointed out that the halls are decked with "boughs" of Holly, not "Bounds," so my hearing error has led to what might be a permanent and silly song title.

I also got to sing a cover of Sarah Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson's "Wintersong," which Katie Bird. However, I am not sure if got on tape, so it might remain an ephemeral performance never to be repeated (okay, so we probably will sing it again because I love it so much)!

One final highlight, Pete Hammel, the owner of Warmhearts, got a text from his daughter, who was at the Scythian show in Lancaster, saying that "the boys" told us to have a great night and to rock on!

Our Adventure at Westminster!

Presbyterian, that is.

Not Abbey.

I with held this information for the specific purpose of tantalizing you to read on, unless you are a devoted Seasons fan who needs no baiting whatsoever (God bless you).

In any case, last Monday Seasons (with the mostly recovered from the flu Peter) headed out on a mini-tour to play a show at our relative's church in Pittsburgh, Westminster Presbyterian.

The Church itself had quite an air of New England about it, which is the closest thing that America has to England (besides the Renaissance Faire, of course).

This little taste of life on the road gave me some idea of what things would need to change if Seasons went on a more extended tour (meaning anything more than traveling to just one gig).

1. We would need to work out sleeping arrangements. Since all the typically floor-sleeping Lees wanted to be in the two hotel beds, and mom and dad had claimed the pullout couch (fair enough), the arragement night one was:

Peter and Luke + me sleeping across the bottom at their feet, (however, after getting kicked more than a shopper in Target on Black Friday, I moved to sleep at Clare and Grace's feet.) Teresa wisely opted to be on the floor for that evening.

Night two I tried sleeping next to Clare, only to find after returning from the bathroom that she had decided to sleep horizontally and hog all the blankets. This turn of events led me again to sleep at Peter and Luke's feet, pretending that the kicking was just a strong and random shiatsu massage.

2. The amount of stuff we bring anywhere.

Not only did we squeeze two large harps, two hammered dulcimers, bongos, a mandolin, three music stands, a violin, sheet music, and CDs, we also brought clothes for eight people. And it doesn't end there. Each person also brought what Luke and Clare call "stuff to do bags," which is a bag (sometimes more than one) of things to do in the car and hotel, such as games, books, CDs, CD players, computers, stuffed animals and playing cards. To get all of this into the hotel room took about 30 trips (causing us to monopolize the only two elevators in the building).

However, we had a great show. At first we were nervous that no one other than our grandparents were coming, but then my Aunt came down the hall whispering excitedly "they're all coming through the back way!" People streamed in until we had a full house!

We played the usual "Eventide Lullaby" tracks, as well as "Linus and Lucy," (which we dedicated to Grandma) "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," and "Walking in the Air" from The Snowman.

Clare played a mean violin for "Stable Song," and our cousin Carlee led the audience in a sing-along for "Silent Night" and "Joy to the World." Of course starting "Silent Night" my mind was wandering and I started playing it "country style" until Peter hissed at me, "NOT Western, NOT Western!" Whups.

At the end of the program Peter was sure that the audience was giving us a standing ovation, and wanted to play a encore and crowd surf, though I voted against it as the people giving the "standing ovation" already had their coats on and were heading for the door, so Peter might end up floor surfing instead.

We celebrated afterwards at Eatin' Park (which made me feel like I was in college again) before unloading everything again in the hotel room, and repeating the exciting sleeping arrangements of the night before.

Thank you Pittsburgh, hope to see you again soon!

Hello, Hello, Guess Who Has Vertigo!

As some of you know, Seasons had the honor of playing the pre-show, intermission and post-show music for Openstage Theatre's production of "A Christmas Carol." Openstage used the Sunoco Performing Arts Center for the play, and asked us if we could set up in one of the side boxes in the balcony (which would be the box on the highest tier of seating in the above picture). Sadly, Teresa and I did not get to wear phantom of the Opera Masks as we played.

Ever since singing in the children's choir in our church and having to stand practically flush again the rail of the choir loft because I was so short, I have had an odd relationship with heights.

Due to my overactive imagination, the first thing I usually do upon reaching a great height is to wonder what it would be like to fall from it. After I have mulled over how it would feel to fall through the air, how many bones I would break and what gigs and family commitments I would be forced miss during recovery (and of course who would visit me in the hospital), I then imagine what it would be like for various objects to fall from the height, be it a choir hymnal, a bracelet, or the second grader singing next to me.

In this case, I was picturing accidentally brushing against the harp and the dulcimer and sending them gracefully sailing through the air (kind of like operation dumbo drop). Except none of our instruments has a built in parachute, and would end up squashing the unsuspecting play patrons (which of course led to more imagining).

Despise thinking about such things while I am high up, heights don't paralyze me with fear. No, it is more like the sensation of having an itch--unpleasant, yes, but bearable, also yes. If anything, fear of heights provides more of an adrenaline rush for me as opposed to a crushing blow.

When Grace started playing the dulcimer in the upper balcony though, and started looking whiter than Jacob Marley by the second song, I knew we were in for trouble.

"I, just feel really dizzy, and, uh, I have to sit down," Sweating and shaking, Grace retreated from the dulcimer to sit with her head between her knees on the stairs. It was like we had hit her with a dose of kyrptonite.

Like a good sister I said to Grace, "Come on, it's not that bad, pull yourself together!"

Grace refused though (probably because she was barely conscious) which left me in the position of playing hammered dulcimer while Teresa manned the harp. Since Peter and Grace play dulcimer rather well, I have in response become rather remiss in practicing the dulcimer myself, especially because I know that most shows I will end up playing harp anyhow.

While playing with Teresa, I started just playing the melody on songs, but then of course if it was going well I would get cocky and start improvising until I hit some combination of notes that sounded suspiciously like a mistake, which would send me scurrying back to simple melody.

After this shocking discovery of Grace's superhero weakness, Teresa and I realized we had no choice but to play in the balcony ourselves, with Grace playing with us in the lobby after the show. Due to all the lugging of instruments up and down the stairs of the Sunoco Performing Arts Center during Act II, I ended up seeing Act I of "A Christmas Carol" three times, and while Scrooge celebrated his redemption I could be found in the lobby playing a serious game of Scrabble with Clare, our most excellent CD seller.

Despite my somewhat "avant garde" dulcimer playing at times (you all know my inclination towards musical experimentation) Don Alsedek, the director of Openstage gamely introduced us before every show (following which people would look around with this surprised "oh, where are the musicians?" look, and I would wave frantically from our position in the rafters). People actually bought CDs, too, which means that my dulcimer playing must not have been to weird (though Grace's playing at the end of the show as people exited surely helped).

This experience has taught me that one never knows what phobias are lurking right beneath the surface of a person that are just waiting to leap out. Perhaps during some upcoming gig unforeseen events will transform my aversion to cottage cheese into a phobia, and I too will be unable to play...only time will tell.