June, 2008 New CD Ironwood is done. We're on the road in Europe. If you're in Germany or Holland, come see us and pick up your copy. If you'd like to order, please click on our MUSIC link. There are also instructions on how to order by mail. Thanks so much to everyone who helped make our recent Western half of the US tour the most successful one to date. And a special thanks to our Subaru, "Daddy Cool" who just passed 230,000 miles!! We actually saw the numbers turn. It was quite a moment. If anyone knows how we might go about getting sponsored by Subaru please let us know!! Write to us at mare@marewakefield.com Hope to see you soon, Mare May, 2008 New CD Ironwood is done. We're on the road. If you're in TX, AZ, CA, OR, WA, NE or IA come see us and pick up your copy. If you'd like to order, please click on our MUSIC link. There is a link there to CD Baby that will be working after May 5th or so. There are also instructions on how to order by mail. Other exciting news is that we will be featured in an upcoming edition of the Nashville TV show, "Inside Music Row." Please go HERE for more info. And, we've got another European tour on the horizon for June. Holland and Germany stay tuned!! Hope to see you soon, Mare April, 2008 New CD Ironwood is almost done. We're down to the artwork and duplication. And this is the part where I really start to get antsy. A little bit like waiting in a delivery room... This train of thought started a looooong time ago. Back in the dark ages, before the internet! I was finishing college in Oregon and had a roommate who was an indie musician and about to release her first CD. I had a dream about her, and in my dream she was pregnant, and really big and really happy. I thought it was funny and so I told her about it. Two days later, our other roommate had the same dream, and even said the exact same thing to her: "You were pregnant, really big and really happy." Now, no one had told this third roommate about my dream. And our musician friend was NOT pregnant. So the three of us decided that the CD was what she was about to give birth to. And this is how it had manifested itself in our dreams. As a baby. Fast forward a few years. I've put out my first CD, but I'm reluctant to spend time doing the necessary promo. A very wise and dear friend of mine told me that our CDs were like our children. Just giving birth wasn't enough. We had to nurture them, instruct them, prepare them for success out in the world -- meaning in this case sending to radio stations, newspapers, etc. She was right. And here was another music/motherhood analogy. Finally, just last week, I'm reading my beloved Yoga Journal. There's an article about pregnancy and fertility. I read it NOT because my mind is "in that place," but rather out of a mere mild curiosity. One thing that did intrigue me, however, was a line directed toward women who were unable to conceive. In addition to adoption, etc., the article suggested focusing on a creative project as a substitute for motherhood. This spoke to me deeply. I guess because as I get further into my 30's, that Motherhood Question keeps coming up. And I don't feel this overwhelming urge to procreate that I know many women my age feel. And sometimes I wonder why I don't feel it. Yet, I'm about to "give birth," if you will, to my fourth full-length studio CD. AND the past two records have been produced by my husband. The metaphor is unmistakable. Something created, by me and my husband. Something that exists in the world that didn't exist before, wouldn't exist without us. Do you think she has my eyes? I don't know if this really lets me off that Motherhood hook. That remains to be seen. But for now, we're tying ribbons on cigars. We're full of expectant joy. And we can't wait for you to meet her. Love, Mare February, 2008 I baked my first loaf of bread today. And I'm talking the real deal. No bread machine, no starter kit, no help from Betty Crocker. This was an entire afternoon of measuring flour, mixing dough, kneeding dough, letting it rise like a living creature in my kitchen, kneeding again, rising again. Then baking. The best part. When your whole house fills with the utterly divine smell of baking bread. When it finally came out of the oven, it was a perfect deep golden brown, crispy crust, absolutely the most delicious thing ever to have been created by these two hands. Nomad and I were so excited about it we did a little bread dance in the kitchen, and then proceeded to eat the entire loaf. With butter. And honey. Mmmmm. At some point I realized this was the perfect analogy for the new record we're working on. As yet untitled (but probably "Ironwood"), it's by far the most amazing sounding thing that I've ever done. I love the songs, I love the sounds we're getting. I love the vibe. If the new record were a loaf of bread I'd be gorging myself on it right now. But it's not done yet. Still baking. So we sit in our house, listening to tracks. Fixing tracks. Adding to tracks. Calling over musical friends and new acquaintances to toss in a pinch of salt, a tablespoon of butter. It's still got a while to bake. But its heavenly smell is starting to permeate the studio. We'll open the oven door soon and let you all take a peek. But for now, trust me when I say it's going to be delicious! Love, Mare January, 2008 Nomad and I are mostly holed up in the house these days, working on the new CD. We've turned our guest room into an official studio. There's even lovely acoustical treatment on the walls now. Martha Stewart would not be happy. Drum tracks are done thanks to the lovely and talented Tommy Perkinson (you rock Tommy!). Next up at bat is Joe Rathbone for some vibey electric guitar. You all remember Joe from the last record ("Fourth of July"). I'll also be making my co-writing debut with a tune penned with the fabulous Colleen McFarland. Hoping to get her to stop by for some harmonies as well. (I should be linking all these great folks because they all have websites. But time is tight ... and I'm sure you all know how to use Google by now :-)) The Eve & Mare kids' song project is still plugging away. More on that project HERE Love, Mare Fall, 2007 Bundling up for our Northeast tour. As I'm writing this, it's a sunny, 65-degree November day in Nashville. Next week we'll remember what COLD really feels like. Also, Nomad and I are back in the studio working on a new record. (And yes, "the duct tape song" aka "Slimeball" will be on it!) Maybe the next blog I write will be about the agony and ecstasy of making an album with your husband as producer. More on that later... or not! In other news, our Eve & Mare kids' song project was a finalist for the Children's Music Web Awards Best New Artist category. More on that project HERE Love, Mare Summer, 2007 This'll be short and sweet as Nomad and I are getting ready for Our First Ever European tour. Woo-hoo!! It actually probably sounds more glamorous than it really is, seven shows in Germany (that we are very excited about). Plus it's so fun to say the words "European tour." Makes me feel like we're going somewhere :-) Just for fun, and in case you read German, you can check out a link we have to some German Press They called us "wunderbare," which is pretty much the only German word I know. So that's good. That's about it for now. We're just trying to figure out how to get the guitars over there in one piece now! Love, Mare March, 2007 Well, spring is almost upon us and there's so much going on!! My friend Eve and I have just released our first kids' music CD, "Daddy's Moonlight Alligator Boat Ride." You can hear the songs and purchase your copy HERE. We're really happy about how it turned out and are very excited about all the upcoming concerts at schools and Pottery Barn Kids! You can read all about the Eve & Mare duo HERE In non-kid-songs news, the song "I'll Drive" off my record "Take Me Home" was just featured in JACK FM's Music City Unsigned Podcast. You can hear that whole thing and the other great bands HERE. We've also got some great shows coming up in Chattanooga, Atlanta and Philly. See shows for details. But the biggest news in my life right now is that Nomad and I just bought a house. I've never been a home-owner before and it's kind of scary. It hit me the other night when the back door lock got stuck. "There's no one to call." No landlord to come rescue us if we lock ourselves out of the house, or a pipe bursts, or a wall falls in. Wow! I guess this means we may finally be grown-ups ... Now, who knows how to repair drywall? Love, Mare January, 2007 Happy New Year to you!! Lots happening right now. My friend Eve and I are gearing up to release our first kids' music CD, Daddy's Moonlight Alligator Boatride. Dropped it off to be mastered yesterday. I'll send out an announcement when it's all said and done for those of you with little ones running around. Also, Nomad and I have a few shows in the Southeast that we're excited for -- including our first gigs in Georgia and Louisiana, not to mention one in Texas. That's right, I'm finally doing a show in Conroe, TX. My first performance there since my 8th grade piano recital (I believe it was Chopin, Etude in A Major). This will, of course, be completely different. We'll see how many former classmates turn out for that show (and I guess I won't be playing my high school reunion song :-)) See shows for details. Blessings for 2007, and hope to see you sometime soon. Love, Mare December, 2006 Whoooosheeew!! That was the sound of 2006 flying by. For us, the year included three fun tours, lots of great reception for the album, and best of all, tons of new friends--and I'm not just talking about my 400 new friends on myspace, although I'm certainly happy to have them too :-) (and if you'd like to join the fun, check out Myspace.com/MareWakefield). But, I actually mean real, live people. Friends to hang out with, sing songs with, drink tea with, go bowling and ice skating with (even though you may totally suck at both of those last two activities, I know I do!). Yes, real live friends are definitely the way to go. And even though I am grateful for the internet (thank you Al Gore!) and all these wonderful networking opportunities, I strongly recommend you log at least as many hours with living, breathing, touchable people as you do online ... but maybe I'm just old-fashioned. What else? Almost a year after our official release of Take Me Home, the reviews and kind words are still coming in. You can read the latest at OnlineRock.com. Of course, I'm in full-on holiday mode again. Nomad and I just put up our tree, after the usual quandry over what type of tree to get. You know, fake equals plastic and eventual landfill. Live equals not only a huge, heavy pot of dirt in our tiny living room, but then trying to find a plot of land outside our apartment in Nashville in which to plant it, and then digging into frozen January ground. Dead equals, well, dead. Which is what we opted for. And I have to admit that I don't feel too bad about it. It's not like we're chopping down virgin forest here, these were trees grown on a tree farm, to be chopped around the end of November, and plus they smell so good. We did say "thank you" to the tree spirit for giving its life so that we could have a little holiday cheer (ten years of living in Oregon doesn't disappear that quickly :-)) I wish each and every one of you a wintry and wonderful holiday season. May you find the person of your dreams standing alone under the mistletoe, may you receive nothing but beautiful and useful gifts ... or, if not, may you be able to regift them soon and may no one be the wiser. Happy holidays! Love, Mare October, 2006 Happy happy beginning of fall. I love this time of year. Red-gold leaves on the trees and crunching underfoot. And yummy chocolate chip and pumpkin cookies from Kroger (I think they're new this year, I've never seen them before, and I'm usually not much of a Kroger-cookie-buyer, but OH. MY. GOD. are they good!!). Anyway, music news for Oct. is our songs "Take me Home" and "Leroy" were voted into the "Top 20 Songs" for September on the Acoustic Pie Radio show. Celebrate good times, wa-hoo. Check out the show online at AcousticPie.com We also got an "honorable mention" from the Riverbluff Music Festival's songwriting competition for the song "Pack Up Your Stuff." A very honorable achievement indeed. Or, as I always like to say "better than nothin'." We've joined a new music group here in Nashville called Nashville Independent Music. They're really nice folks and you can see what they're all about HERE. Lastly, I've posted a blog on my myspace site about what it's like to live here in Nashville. Lots of people have been asking me how I liked it, if they should move here, etc. and I thought it might be helpful to write my thoughts down to share. And the most wonderful thing is that many of my fabulous friends here have also posted comments to share their views as well. So check it out HERE and please feel free to throw your two cents in too. And double lastly, we've got a Northeast tour coming up in November, so if you're from that neck of the woods, we'll see you soon!!!! Until the next time, Mare September, 2006 It was a beautiful, not-too-hot, middle Tennessee early fall day and I was driving to yoga class, peacefully, minding my own business, etc. Suddenly I'm aggressively cut off by this gigantic SUV. Not too monumental. Except for their "Pray America" bumper sticker. And another sticker that said something like "Eternity is a long time, where will you be?" I actually snorted. I mean, the irony! Aggressive driver of gas-guzzling uber-vehicle, boasting their supposed piety to everyone left in their dust. Kinda gives new meaning to one of the other bumper stickers I've seen around, "What Would Jesus Drive?" Hmmmmmm... Seriously, Nashville sometimes feels like the front line of a bumper sticker war. We're a blue county inside a red state, and people who get along just fine in grocery stores and libraries and restaurants are silently taking aim and fire at each other from their bumpers. "Bush" vs. "Kerry." "W. the President" vs. "M. the Moron." "Support Our Troops" vs. "War is not Pro-Life." "God Bless America" vs. "Who Would Jesus Bomb." It goes on and on. Some days it amuses me, some days it just makes me feel tired. But then there are the rare days when I'm filled with hope. Like the time Nomad and I pulled into a Nebraska rest-stop somewhere around 1am. We turned the engine off, but the lights stayed on. This had happened once before, lights getting stuck on (problem with the switch), and we knew we had only to disconnect the battery. Problem was, we didn't happen to be traveling with tools of any kind. "Where are we going to find a wrench in the middle of nowhere and the middle of the night?" we asked each other. Did I mention it was also raining? Just then, a shiny silver pick-up truck pulled up and parked right next to us. I (being the female and therefore the less threatening of the two of us) approached this stranger and asked humbly if he happened to have a wrench. He looked at me sideways and then drawled "What kiiiind of wrench?" Turned out, he had like three or four different ones in his big ol' toolbox. So, he helped us out, and was kind enough to check on us again in the morning. We even had a laugh together before going our separate ways. And as we were pulling out, we saw the "Bush" sticker on his bumper. I wonder if he saw our "Kerry" sticker. I wonder if it even matters as much as we think it does. And I started to think, maybe we're not so different. Not as polarized as the media would have us believe. Still human beings. Potential friends and neighbors, not just red and blue bumper-sticker soldiers. I'll try to hang onto this vision. Until the next time I get cut off by an SUV with a "Pray America" sticker :-)) Peace, Mare July, 2006 Summertime and the living is hot hot hot in Nashville. That's why we're jumping ship and heading out to the West Coast. You can see where we'll be HERE. We're really looking forward to seeing old friends and playing fun shows, and we certainly hope that YOU can make one of them too. We also just got a FOUR STAR REVIEW from a great alt-country music magazine in the UK called Maverick Country. I don't think our review is online yet, but you can read more about the magazine HERE. In other news, just thought I'd share with you that the fireflies here are simply amazing. Nomad and I take a walk almost every night to this field where they all seem to congregate. I'm talking about hundreds of fireflies, no kidding. I don't know what it is about this particular field that they find so appealing, but sitting there in the grass and watching them all light up is really a life-altering experience. I've never seen so many fireflies in one place. Yards and yards of bobbing golden lights, like golden bubbles rising to the surface of a giant glass of champagne. Cheers, Mare June, 2006 Howdeee, I've just used up almost all my alloted compuer time (self-imposed) on updating our July West Coast tour schedule. (Check it out HERE if you're a West Caoster, or just curious.) But I did want to quickly log on and say first of all THANK YOU to everyone that made our recent Northeast tour so much fun. We even had some Texans come out in NYC, so that was super groovey! Other than that, hubby Nomad and I are slowly recovering from food poisoning, which, sadly enough, we got from celebrating our one-year anniversary. Apparently it's a wedding tradition kinda thing that the bride and groom save the top of the wedding cake to eat on their first anniversary. So we did that. We kept it frozen, but somehow something must have gone terribly wrong because the night of champagne and cake was followed by a morning and afternoon and evening of ... Well, I'll spare you the details, but trust me, it wasn't pretty. But enough about all that. Just to leave you on a happier, and more musical note, we made an mp3 just for you! It's a song that's not on any studio album yet, although it did make an appearance on the live record that's ancient history now. Check it out HERE and get ready to rock out!! Okay, I've kept you long enough. Thanks for stopping by. Love, Mare May, 2006 Well helloooo there, Everything's coming a little late in May. We didn't pay our rent until May 8th (our landlords actually had to call us and say, "Uh, rent?" Kind of embarrassing!) And here I am 10 days late with my monthly website letter, aka blog. (By the way, did you know that blog was short for "weblog"? Did you? No you didn't.) Anyway, I just found this great new website. It's called myspace. Okay, I know -- I KNOW it's been up like 8 million years and yes, I am hopelessly behind the times. Hopelessly. Without any hope. Whatsoever. But, I did get me one of them myspace accounts. So now YOU have to go be my friend. Really, I mean it, you have to. Because right now when you go to the page it says something like "Mare has one friends." And that's simply wrong. On so many levels. First of all, grammatically. It's "one friend" people, "FRIEND." Singular. But more than that I'm sure I have at least two or three friends out there in the universe. I must. In conclusion, join my myspace site. Oh yeah, the address. It's myspace.com/marewakefield. Yes, the name of my page is Mare Wakefield. Real creative, I know. I thought of it myself. Actually, my parents did. But ENOUGH about myspace, seriously. Nomad and I are gearing up for our Northeast tour. Now there's an interesting expression--"gearing up." I guess it means going into a higher gear. Like in your car on the highway. Which is appropriate I suppose, because that's soon where we'll be. Philly, New York, Connecticut, Boston and various other spots in Massachusetts are all on the agenda. Which brings me to gas prices. You think I'm going to complain, but I'm really not. I know we still get our gas for about 8 times cheaper than Europe, and we're a pretty spoiled nation in general. And even though it has a direct adverse effect on my personal income (higher gas prices = lower tour profit...if any), I'm almost excited about it. I know, I'm sick and twisted. But I think that higher gas prices will force people to start thinking about alternate forms of transportation, hybrid cars, electric cars, veggie oil vehicles, mass transit, bicycles, walking even. The other day here in Nashville I rode my bike to the post office and I saw two other bicyclists. TWO. That's two more than I usually see, ever, in this town. So, like I said, kind of exciting. I see I've kind of rambled on, and I see it's also going on midnight, so maybe I should do us both a favor and stop typing. But thanks for stopping by. And if you think of it, and have friends in any of the towns we're visiting, please drop them a line and invite them to come on out. I promise to be on my best behavior. Ta ta for now, and sweet dreams. Love, Mare April, 2006 Hi hi hi, It is soooo nice outside now. As the Indigo Girls so eloquently put it a few years ago, "There's just something 'bout the Southland in the springtime." Indeed. Beautiful flowers and fuzzy pink trees everywhere you look. Like a fairy tale. Like a Dr. Seuss book. Makes me want to spend all my time outside. So, I'll keep this quick - so YOU can go play outside too!! First off, We've been selected to play the WoodSongs Old Time Radio Hour. This is huge ... HUGE, do you hear me? It's like the Prairie Home Companion of folk music. And the host, Michael Jonathan, is like the Tom Selleck of grassroots radio shows. I think he's had like a billion marriage proposals from women since he's started the show. Anyway. The performance is Monday, April 10th. It will be webcast live at 7pm Eastern time from HERE, just click on "webcast" and follow the instructions. And don't worry, if you're reading this after the 10th, they have archives on that site as well. And mp3s, and low res. music options. And this new-fangled thing called podcasts. (Even though anything with the word "pod" in it still makes me think about "Invasion of the Bodysnatchers." Weren't there pods in that movie? But they've promised me that these pods aren't nearly as scary ... we'll just have to see about that.) And, the other fun and exciting thing we're doing this month is a concert for kids at an elementary school in Gainesville, Fla. My friend Eve Fleishman and I have been writing kids' songs for about four months now, and we've decided we need an audience. I won't bother telling you the details of the show because you can't come, sorry. BUT, if you'd like to have a concert of kids' music at your own school or library or rec. center or living room, just let us know. We sing songs about butterflies and alligators, mountain hikes, and funny smells, and are currently working on a fully-produced CD of kids' music. I have to say, writing these songs has been more fun than I thought was possible, and has really awoken my own inner child ... who, by the way, is screaming to go outside. So that's it. Now off you go. Shut down Mr. or Ms. Computer and get out there and enjoy spring. Tell your boss you have a dentist's appointment, push the bills aside and go PLAY!! Hide-and-seek in the park, anyone? Frisbee? Freeze tag? YOU'RE IT!! Love, Mare March, 2006 Whew, things are starting to pick up a bit -- which is always good, but sometimes makes it hard to stay focused. We're doing a huge radio mailing (about 250 stations -- huge for us!!) in a few days along with my new friend Jim Nelson from "A Taste of Triple A." We're also on a sampler going to about a million stations as well. (Okay, that's an exaggeration, I can't remember how many, probably less than a million.) In other words, get ready for a Mare Wakefield invasion of your radio!! (Hey, a girl can dream, can't she?) Seriously, I was thrilled to see fellow Northwesterner Jerry Joseph on the same sampler. I wonder if he remembers me. I opened for him once in Portland. The host did this big Jerry Joseph introduction, and then I went on instead. I started the set by saying "Hi, I'm not Jerry Joseph..." Afterwards, Jerry came up to the stage and said, "I'm not Mare Wakefield." It was kind of funny at the time... It was the 90s, what can I say? In other news, I've discovered that I LOVE YOGA!! I LOVE IT!! If I wasn't already married, I would marry it. I am SERIOUS. I can't do any handstands or anything yet, but boy am I getting the hang of "downward facing dog!" It is keeping me grounded, and stretching me in ways I never thought possible, literally!! Maybe I'll write a song about yoga and how everyone should try it. Maybe they can put it in "A Mighty Wind II, the sequel." I think I'll do that. I love you, I really do. If you are reading this, it means you are in some way, shape or form interested in independent music and all of us quirky indie artists, and I love you for that. The world needs more people like you!! ta ta for now Mare February, 2006 Hi Everyone. Well, the biggest news is the new website. Ain't it pretty? My lovely and talented friend Jessica did it all in record speed to help celebrate the new album. You can tell her what a great job she did and check out more of her work at Sugarcrash.com. Radio news is we were chosen by WRLT's Music Business Radio as their "indie artist of the week." (And when I say "we," I of course mean the hundreds of people that work here at Mare Wakefield Enterprises ... Not buying it? Okay, you're right, I really mean "me.") But anyway, it's a pretty cool thing. And if you want to hear the clip, go HERE. I sound kinda dorky, but what are ya gonna do? Also, I met up with my old friend Sam Ettaro and had a nice cyber chat at his new coffeehouse website. You can hear us chatting HERE, and visit Ettaro.com for more info. Finally, "Take Me Home" is coming to a radio station near you, wherever you are in North America. We're gearing up for a huge mailing later this month, so if there's a station you'd like to hear us on, let us know at "info (at) marewakefield (dot) com" and we'll be sure to add it to the list. That's about it for now. Thanks for stopping by. We love you (and by "we," I mean ... you get the picture) Mare December, 2005 Ah, the holidays. What can I say? I know it’s really dorky and un-PC, but I love this time of year. It’s so festive, all the pretty decorations and lights. Yummy things to eat, people seem more generous... Sure, cynics will say that I’m just buying into the whole Hallmark holiday brainwash, and they’re probably right. But for now, I’m baking cookies and walking around the house humming Christmas carols. Trying to teach my Turkish husband about the "true meaning of Christmas ... the birth of Santa!" (just kidding, borrowed that line from Bart Simpson). The first Christmas Nomad and I spent together, I showered him with gifts (inexpensive ones, like a jar of olives and a box of cookies) so that he could experience the Christmas I remember as a child, a shamefull orgy of present-opening, worthy of the consuming-est nation on the planet. This year I’ve mellowed out a bit (one present each), but still insisted he help decorate our cookie-cutter Santa and snowman cookies. (Maybe this is a sign that I should have kids? Or borrow someone else’s for the holidays?) Anyway, holiday music news is that the new record is available at CD BABY. We’ll also get it on Amazon and iTunes as soon as we can. (The older albums are up on iTunes for those of you who’d like to take a stroll down memory lane). Also, as a special thank-you gift to all of you, we’ve posted a few holiday songs that we made, just for fun. “Santa Baby” and “We Three Kings” are posted in their entirety for your listening pleasure HERE. Enjoy, happy holidays, and thanks for making 2005 such a great year. Peace on Earth, Mare

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