I actually know this silly hippy! Don't worry, he's in a costume & gave me his persmission to post this picture but I won't mention his real name! Just thought it would be a good laugh to share with you fans!

Some people tend to think they can only write one song per tuning! NO WAY! I have multiple songs in all the tunings I use and they don't sound they same and are not necessarily in the same key. It's all in your approach and what chords you form within the tuning, approach the way you do a standard tuning and you'll see what I mean. You can form an A chord just as easy as you can form an Ab chord...the shapes are different, the fingering positions change but the theory is the same.

Easier Said Than Done: the tuning for this song was stumbled upon while coming out of another tuning.

F G D G Bb E an odd tuning b/c generally I do not tune my low E up. It's a haunting tuning in G minor, the 6th degree which is E on the first string paired with the dominant 7th, F on the 6th string create the exact type of dissonance I was going for with this song. It's creepy!

Playing With Pendulums: I love this tuning & I think Kaki King uses it in "Night After Sidewalk". It's probably the most magical tuning I use and when I say "magical", I mean the tuning itself reminds me of be enchanted, fairytale like in nature. The song is basically in the key of D for all but one chord change when I throw a curve ball.

D A B F# A E here I throw in the 6th (B) and the 9th (E), you can pick straight through these open strings and hear the magic right away.

The Minds I I hate going in and out of this tuning b/c I always fear I'll break a string! If it's on the setlist, I usually have one guitar dedicated to this song just to be safe :) It's a C minor tuning

C G Eb G C Eb pretty standard, you have the root (C), the 3rd (Eb) and the 5th (G), a very intense tuning though!

The Ground We Lay On & Head First, Heart Last I use my ovation guitar for these songs and I actually have another song we haven't performed out also in this tuning, also an intense tuning!

Db B Ab Gb Ab Db great tuning for any genre. If your action is very low on your guitar, the 6th string could buzz so be careful there. It's also best to have a higher gage string on the 6th and 5th strings. Your tuning the D string down to Ab so it will fill a bit loose but you'll get use to it. I think of this as a Db sus4 tuning with the 6th down a half step on the 5th string.

Mexico & Hola Nino Hermoso I've recently written a new song in this tuning that we just started playing out so I'm getting a lot of use out of this.  I love the harmonics in this tuning!

D G D F A E this is a D minor add 9 tuning, you've got the root D, mi3 F, 4th, G, 5th A and 9th E

Hope this helps answer some questions. There are many more tunings I use but these are what I used for this album so more to come someday...

I entered my 10th year of teaching guitar, voice and piano 2010. A decade really goes by fast.  I double majored in jazz voice and guitar and minored in piano and it seems like it was just yesterday but 8 years have passed!! Hard to believe! I've been lucky to have a full teaching schedule and long waiting list. Many of my students are going on to record and play live & it's very exciting to watch them grow as musicians. I have several students who have been studying tapping, finger style techniques & percussive techniques on guitar. They are learning about open tunings and finding "outside the box" ways to approach playing & writing. Since I play drums too, I often use my guitar as a percussive instrument, sometimes break right into beat within a song like I do on "The Spirit Within".  I like to get the most out of my instrument, whether I'm tapping, picking, strumming, standing, sitting or playing lap guitar, I'm always experimenting & it's a great way to keep yourself interested in playing and challenge yourself. I cannot stress enough how important music theory is and how much easier it can make your life. Having a great ear is very helpful but it's cool to be able to speak the language as well, it's easier to communicate with people you play with. I intend on doing some new videos soon for you tube so keep an eye out!! 

We have a slew of shows coming up starting with Kennett Flash this Saturday 7/10. I am particularly excited to play this show b/c we've never played this venue before, we get to share the stage with an awesome act, Nini & Ben and the town is lovely and inviting. Steve and I took a day trip up to Kennett Square last weekend to put up posters and flyers, help promote the show. The store owners could not have been more receptive and helpful to us. Kennett Square is an artsy hip place, perfect for a music venue such as Kennett Flash. Though the town itself is not huge, it has a huge heart and made a huge impression on us. We stopped into one store called THE PAPER MARKET to see if we could leave some postcards by the counter. Doug, the very friendly store owner not only let us leave some promo, he was kind enough to let us know of other places around town where we could also leave our posters/postcards. I gave him a CD as a gift for being so kind and he popped it right in for everyone to hear! He ended up playing the disc twice throughout the day which was great exposure for the local towns people to our sound and vibe. As we were making rounds, a man came out from his store to also help us find more places to promote! Father Dennis took the time to walk with us, help us put up posters and introduced us to several store owners all the while spreading the word. We had lunch and then continued throughout town on our mission. We stopped into Sweet Christine's, an organic gluten free bakery. They were so helpful and the cookies were delicious! Next, we went to The Mushroom Cap, a very unique store with all kinds of mushroom treats. We tried these dried mushroom chips that Kathi created herself-they were awesome! FYI Kennett Square's #1 cash crop are mushrooms so there were lots of mushroom items, collectibles, clothes, giftcards, dried mushrooms, mushroom powder, sauces, snack n' shrooms etc. Quite an experience...

On our way back to the car, I wanted to stop back at the Paper Market for two reasons...I wondered what Doug thought of the album and I had my eye on this little handmade change purse. We strolled in and Doug had many positive things to say about our music (yay!). I bought my purse and than Doug says, "So how bout' we put you in some shoes?!". A girl can never say no to free shoes! Doug sells very special sneakers/shoes by TOMS & SIMPLE. He promotes the brands heavily and stands behind their products b/c they are eco friendly, made from recycled materials and with each pair of TOMS purchased, they give a free pair of shoes to a child in need. Doug suggested he give us some free shoes which we could sport on stage and help promote his store & in return he would help promote us. His store is very cool, very new age, hip, creative and the energy is very positive as soon as you walk through the door. It couldn't have been more perfect b/c SIMPLE sneakers are my favorite and I already have two pairs. Now I get to sport the coolest pair so far and for a good cause. I'm enjoying my purple kicks, thanks DOUG!!!!

Doug will be a vendor at XPN's Xponential music festival this year July 17th & 18th. Make sure you stop by and try on some shoes, they are worth your $ and you'll be helping our earth and a child somewhere who really needs it. www.xpn.org/concerts-events/festival10/

Visit www.thepapermarket.com 103 W State St, Kennett Square 19438

Steven and I are also working on a cool duet that features Steve tapping on bass and myself on guitar...it's an instrumental, it's really sweet so we'll probably unveil it sometime this summer.

This might just be the coolest thing that is happening right now though...for you youtube fanatics, you probably have heard of Erik Mongrain, inventor of air tap guitar playing, youtube sensation. Well, I missed an opportunity to open for him at Sellersville Theater but his team is now keeping in touch with my team and I may get the opportunity to tour with him in the near future and open a few shows! He's amazing so this would be a dream come true!! FANS, keep your fingers crossed! I actually had a few dreams this week about it haha!!

Cheers to the 4th of July!

...and there was funnel cake! Ya don't get that at every gig ; o )

We are so genuinely flattered by the response that "Easier Said Than Done" is getting. Truthfully, had someone told me it would be so popular two years ago when I was sitting on the floor of my then apartment scribling it down in my journal and probably pissing my landlord off with the noise I was making on my guitar...well, I just wouldn't have believed it. The song is kind of creepy for me & here's why. I wrote it May 6, 2008-I actually dated this one. I don't date everything I write. Usually, I forget. This time, I did not. It went to #1 very close to the anniversary of it's birth (coincidence? I don't believe in coincidence). I thought I knew what the song was about when I wrote (it was a quicky, less than 15 mins. & done)...I mean, it represented a part of my soul at that moment in time but I knew some of the lyrics were still questionable. Today, when I listen to it, I feel connected with the story in a completely different way. So, I ask myself, where do songs come from? Is it possible to write something subconciously, intuitively...a premonition of sorts? I've read that everyone has psychic ability but we don't all know how to tap into that part of ourselves...it's takes practice just like any other talent...if this is true, could I have written something about the future unknowingly? I guess only time will tell. I definitely think the song touches on past lives & paths crossing over and over again in each new life. It's still unfolding though : ) That's what I love about music, how it's shape can change and rearrange...

So, many people keep asking me what my favorite song is off the new CD and I've given a different answer every time hahaha. I like them all. They each have their own special place in my heart so it's difficult to choose, they are like my children, you love your kids equally...today, though, it's Playing With Pendulums. I've always been a big fan of guitar instrumentals with no other instrumentation. There is something so organic and free about it for me...I just lose myself. I feel as though I captured the exact feeling & emotion I had at the time of writing this piece. On one hand it's whimsical, dreamlike & fantasy driven...on the other hand, it's eerie and haunting like the presence of a ghost you cannot deny. The two world's collide and leave this curiosity upon you. Today I want to live inside that song, it's cozy and safe. I just read this blog back and it's sound so scattered like the raindrops on my roof, sigh, sun come out!