Belgium 2008 AKA Chocolate Sandwiches and Biere for Babies

Belgium 2008

This is our Slide Show of Our trip to Belgium!
Grootjes!
We had such a wonderful time in Belgium. . . I will pick up where we left off. . .
During the flight, we slept. We left before dawn and at one moment during the flight I opened my eyes, looked out the window and saw the most beautiful sunrise - We were over the snow covered alps and the sun was rising through the mountains. The colors and reflections of cloud and sky were breathtaking. I thought of taking a photo, but instead went right back to sleep satisfied by the fact that I once again experienced a fleeting moment of pure divinity.
Conrad
Our darling friend Conrad met us at the train station. Conrad recently spent about 8 or 10 days with us in Austin and we took him and his daughter, Nel and her boyfriend Alfonso, who were en route to Central America, to Lafayette, LA. I met Conrad 5 years ago on a tour with Guy Forsyth, and he graciously offered to help us with the tour and hosted Chad and I during this trip. He has the BEST Music collection and turned us onto dozens of great albums while we were there.
The Journey and Recovery
We had a coffee and hit the train to Tielt then took Conrad's van to Ardooie, where he lives on the central Markt - the town square. These are usually located by the central church and there's a wide area where Saturday Markets go down. I loved the "Grote(big) Markt" when I lived in Holland. . . We were met by Conrad's middle daughter, Sanne at the house. I was totally exhausted and decided to take a nap. When I awoke, Conrad and Chad were out and about and Sanne and I talked for HOURS. Sweet times. We rested all the next day and watched "In Bruges" anticipating our trip to the fair city the next day. It was great to be in one place.
Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet
Saturday morning was Sinterklaus! In Holland and Northern Belgium, Flanders, St Nick comes early in Dec by boat from Spain on his white horse. He is accompanied by a character with whom we Americans are quite unfamiliar -- Zwarte Piet. Literally Black Pete. He's the zany, acrobatic counterpart to St Nick. He's black faced and wears pantaloons and throws cookies during the Parade that welcomes Sinterklaas to town. There are many different legends about him, but it was really really odd to be in a country where white people and colored people alike painted their faces black and danced around with St Nick. Surreal.
Saturday morning we awoke to a true Flemish Sinterklaas morning. We had chocolate Saints and Zwarte Piets, special bread and mandarin oranges and these funny little cookies with icing on them. Fun!
We left for Bruges around noon and spent hours touring the beautiful, amazingly preserved Medieval city. I've been twice over the years, but the city's beautiful and strange architecture never loses it's enchantment or charm. Once a thriving port city, Bruges is home to some very unique and strange architecture- many different styles, colors and shapes live on the same streets here. . . beautiful rainy day.

Saturday evening gig was in Tielt. The venue was lovely and the proprietor, also named Piet cooked us a totally gourmet meal! My dear friend, Martine, from Holland came to visit, so we caught up in between soundchecks and meals etc. Our crowd was mostly under 30 and the place was totally packed and they were completely attentive and engaging. What a great blessing! Conrad has some videos on his Youtube of the show. Check them out!

Sunday's Shows & Visit from Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet
Sunday we had 2 shows. A noon show at Conrad's pub around the corner from the church. The bar was packed with bier drinkers. We had coffee and played for about an hour.

We had lunch down the street and were greeted during our soup by a big surprise! Sinterklas and 2 Zwarte Piets showed up at the restaurant and paid us a visit. They danced and drummed and took photos with us! Chad was thrilled! (photos in the gallery above)

Sunday Night's show was awesome. We played in this hip bar in Ruselare. It was more of an adult crowd and Conrad's daughter Emma brought her friends. We had a blast and a delicious meal afterward.

Monday we prepared for the last gig and recovered from Sunday. Monday night we played at a great listening room called Fagot. It was awesome. The meal was incredible, the proprietor, Jean Piere and his wife were awesome and we made a new friend in Marie Christine, the merch pusher from heaven. Videos of this show are below. GOod Times, My friends. We were joined on stage by Belgium's Bluesman, Marino Noppe. Beautiful show, beautiful crowd!

Tuesday we packed our goodies and did laundry and then went on a tour of the WWI trenches near Conrad's. Fascinating. Conrad is quite a historian and shared with us the history of the war in this area of Belgium. Chad took some stunning photos. We even went into a once-church that they used on the front lines. . I got some pics from inside the walls there. Eerie. The sky was amazing as Conrad says that being so near to the sea, the reflection of the water on the clouds is stunning.

We then had biere's in Conrad's cousin's Brewery and were gifted with some amazing cheeses from a tasting that happened earlier. YUM! Unfortunately, our trip to the brewery was brief because we had to catch the train to the airport to go back to Milan. We left with some great photos of women breastfeeding and drinking beer and a tshirt and a glass from the brewery!

We caught the train and sadly left our dear friend Conrad. . . And then flew to Milan. We got there 2 hrs late so we had to get a cab to our hotel.

FLIGHT BLIGHT PART 2
So- many of you are wondering why we got home a day late and why half my messages were cursing Air France. . . Mostly because in the course of 4 days they changed our flight 6 times which ultimately caused us to spend 200 Euro more than we budgeted for the trip. We ended up spending an extra night in Paris and seeing nothing of the city but it's attitude. That being said, I won't go into gory details because the most important thing is that we made it home safely with everything intact. well- except the suitcase. It is retiring after i finish unpacking it. It lost both handles, the wheels got messed up on stairs and the zippers won't zip. It's time to retire. It's been a great travel companion.

Many thanks for reading! We hope you enjoy the photos and have a happy happy holiday season!
Love,
Wendy and Chad

Videos from Belgium of:
"Hurricane"


"Hallelujah"

"Low Down" by Chad & Marino

Italia

Italia Winter 08

Buono Sera!

I began this blog in Cuneo - Writing as we wrap our Italian trip. . . and begin Belgium. . . Enjoy!

As I type this evening, the snow is falling rapidly and gently all around us. We are in rural Italy in a village tucked in the mountains an hour west of the Mediterranean Sea. This is only our second gig, but our fourth day of travel. . . so I will begin with the journey from the beginning. . .
The Beginning
Chad and I drove to Houston, hitched a ride to the airport and hit the skies on Wed afternoon CST. . . We discovered in Houston that our lovely friend (and badass musician), John Pointer was on the same flight and we hopped the pond . .
Flight Blight
Well, Air France did not take into account that our arrival time and departure times from Paris were 35 min apart. . . and required passport checking and re-entering a security area (different terminals? BRILLIANT) so we missed our plane to Milan. AAAAANNNND. . . subsequently did not get there in time to get to our first gig in Parma. SO SORRY PARMA!
The Road to Albenga
We made arrangements from Paris, thanks to the help of the amazing Ginger Leigh - who is not only a great performer and singer, but a fluent Italian speaker as well. She made calls to Parma with apologies. We made it to Milan and rented a car. Our very first international rental EEK!!!!!! It is a big car for Italy, but for 3 musicians traveling lightly it is still quite a cramp. We traveled to Albenga, where we were going to play the following night. We got to the city, found the festival (thanks to John's Italian) and napped backstage until we could get to a hotel. Man! Were we tired. I guess we were up about 38 hours before we got to a bed. WHEW!
Amazing Italian lunch followed by International Songwriters in the Round
The following morning we awoke and met our host, Davide, and the cast of performers from the festival the previous evening for lunch. We had a beautiful Mediterranean lunch complete with all kinds of treasures from the Sea, red wine, sparkling water and afterward a songswap around the table over espresso! We got to share songs from Jack Harris from Wales,Gustav Haggren from Sweden, and Andrea Parodi from Italy.

Our Festival show in Albenga was a BLAST! John & Ginger Joined us on stage for a few songs! Eventually we will have some video. The venue was a large theater in the OLD city center - 300 seats and big heavy curtains the works. classy and fun!
Cuneo, Carlos & Condorito, AKA Enchilladas in Italy???
The next day, we were off to the Alps to play a show in rural Cuneo, sorta near France. Chad and I had our first adventure driving in Italy without a translator! Luckily we only had to ask directions once and we were less than 100 meters away from the venue. Condorito was AWESOME! Carlos, the proprietor was awesome! We arrived at the beginning of a snowstorm which lasted through our whole gig. The building was awesome. The bottom, underground floor was the home of Carlos' parents. The 2nd story was his mother's spa (we used the sauna and steam shower the next morning ya!!) and the 3rd story was the venue- A beautiful space for dining and entertainment. They cook thematic meals for the audience that correspond geographically with the artists' origins. We got "Enchillada Night" Ha! Carlos said, for a NZ songwriter who wrote a vegetarian cookbook, they made vegetarian, for us Tex-Mex and for Sweedish performers, they make Italian. . . I guess Sweedish cooking is not that great- maybe that's the answer to the mystery of the Sweedish Chef on The Muppetts??? I DIGRESS. . . The gig was fun. The venue was charming and the snow was just awesome. The sauna was a welcome reprise.
Viaregio, 10 million dollar yachts, parties & RAIN! on the sea .
We then left for a trip back to the sea. . This time on the OTHER side of the Mediterranean in a village called Viareggio. . . Apparently this week Italy is seeing record breaking weather in the North (where we are). Beautiful Venice is flooding, The mountains are getting more snow in one dump than in 10 years. . . The rain is sideways and filling up every available crevice. . . so, we arrived in Viareggio for our impromptu gig. We met Ginger and Jane on the fancy pants yacht on which they were staying and dodged the rain to get to the venue. Viareggio had dozens of really amazing fancy yachts and apparently there's a whole yacht crew culture of the captains and engineers and household managers of the big boats. So, there was a birthday party that began at 2pm who were waiting for us at the pub when we showed up for our gig. Lots of seamen from all over the world partying at the highest frequency. We played an impromptu show at the pub and then again later at the yacht, Elena. . . till about 4am. Yawn. .
Bolzano!
The next morning we were a bit slow to get going, but we had to drive 5 hours north to Bolzano. A GORGEOUS city nestled in the Alps near Austria and Switzerland. The culture there is half Italian, half German meaning that you can get a great gnocci or penne pasta dish or a kickass schnitzel or goulash. The drive was a bit perilous as the Italians drive at all speeds no matter what the weather. We made it in time to hurry to sound check at Carombolage, a beautiful black box theater in the center of this exquisite city. The show was totally AWESOME! Ginger was amazing and our show was pretty sweet! The ciy looked like a christmas village- the ones you assemble in your living room complete with mountains oversized lamps, vegetable, meat and cheese stands under the snow, a gorgeous tile roofed cathedral surrounded by cute people ambling about. . . truly picturesque. We had the best meals at this great restaurant, Nadaba. YA!!!!
After lunch we retired to the beautiful Sheraton (thanks to Phil) for a day of rest and work.
Last Stop, Milano
The next morning, we departed for Milan. Driving through the Alps southward was like driving through the sky. The clouds hugged and draped the mountainsides and all of the earth was covered in vineyards covered again with a blanket of snow as far as the eye could see. Around every corner when we thought we were in the tallest mountains, we would gaze one way or another and see another bigger, more majestic one peeking between and behind the ones in the foreground. breathtaking!
We landed in Milano and took a nap in Phil, Ginger & Jane's room and were then off to the Nidaba Theater. A cute little pub tucked in a bustling neighborhood. Ginger and I had played here on our last show last tour. We were greeted warmly by the proprietor Max and finished our last bottle of Barbara wine from Asti. It was a gift from the folks in Bolzano. YUMMY! Then the show was on! We had a great time, but man was my body and voice tired. . . and Chad and I were sitting on the front end of an all nighter that would find us in Belgium the next morning. . . We began driving to the airport to drop our rental, get gas (we had to find a station and put bills in the pumps till it was filled up. . . strange!) find out how to get to the other terminal. . . and get our guitar properly checked and accounted for (every bag over 1/person costs $23 to check on these flights) and get checked in at 4:30am. EEK!
Needless to say, we arrived in Belgium totally exhausted.

Thanksgiving

Hello Hello!

I think that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. . . It is the perfect opportunity to rekindle the gratitude in our lives- for all things that bless us. I want to let you all know how much I appreciate you in my life. Each one of you has been such a blessing in my life in large and small ways and to me, community, family and health are the most important reminders of our immense wealth of spirit in our lives. I feel so incredibly blessed by the love in mine and I hope that you do as well.
Europe
Chad and I will be traveling across the Atlantic this Thanksgiving to play a series of shows in Italy and Belgium over the next few weeks. We are so grateful for the opportunities our music brings us and for the quality time we get to spend with you all on the road.
We will return on Dec 10th from our travels. Yippeeee!

Grandmothers
I also want to ask for your prayers for my family. A few months ago, we lost my mother's mother. Just last week, my father's mother passed. Emelia Lorraine Colonna was a bold woman, a singer from Trinidad who had oodles of personality and an amazing sense of confidence. I learned a lot from her and she will be missed.

Holiday Bookings
We'll be available for holiday parties, solo, duo, trio or with a band. . .We are also offering Holiday shows with Austin's Acclaimed Strings Attached. Email Brandon to book your office or private party today!

Private Holiday Yoga- The perfect gift!
As I wind down in Austin for the winter months, I will be preparing for my next album. I have also begun teaching more yoga. . . YIPPEEEE! . . and will be offering private 90 minute sessions for only $65. We are also offering a 25% discount on Yoga To Go DVD's and workbooks with this private yoga package. Email me to arrange your gift. Yoga is an amazing practice for the mind, body and spirit and a perfect gift for your loved ones.

Don't forget to count all your blessings in this season of transition. . .

Be Light. Be Love. Be Peace. Shine.
Namaste,
Wendy Lorraine Colonna
www.wendycolonna.com
www.myspace.com/wendycolonna
www.myspace.com/yogaformusicians

--
"When our eyes see our hands doing the work of our hearts, the circle of Creation is completed inside us, the doors of our souls fly open and love steps forth to heal everything in sight."
~Michael Bridge

Mother Forgive Us - Photo Montage with new demo

A dear friend in India, Das, put together a photo montage to one of the demos we made in New Jersey this spring.
I was moved by his photo montage. . . And wanted to share with you.

I am very excited about making a new album. . . We are in the pre planning stages, working on mapping it out, choosing songs & financing etc. . . :D

Austin City Limits Music Festival through my eyes . .

I wrote this for Elmore Magazine, A roots music magazine published in NYC. . . I had to keep it to 400 words, but this is a hybrid of the final trimmed edit and a more elaborate draft. . . Enjoy!
Austin City Limits Music Festival 2008

What sets the Austin City Limits Festival apart from other music festivals is all in the name. Austin. The ACL Festival has blossomed naturally from the spirit and vibe of hundreds of live bands that perform nightly in the “Live Music Capital of the World.”

The ACL Fest is held annually in the heart of Austin, Zilker Park, an urban oasis of spring fed swimming pools and wildlife refuges a mere five minutes from downtown. That oasis was little relief as souring temperatures and a halo of dust in the air made water bottles ubiquitous and a damp scarf a necessity. “Bandito” was the fashion of the weekend.

By day, artists who are acclaimed for nuance and intimacy were handicapped by glaring sunlight and thousands of hustling festival goers, but were aided by the devotion of their fans. Patty Griffin gave up on an a capella gospel number mid-set, but ended on top with Ray Charles’ “Lonely Avenue.” Gillian Welsh & Dave Rawlings aptly performed “I want to Sing that Rock n Roll.” Jakob Dylan’s set peaked during “Empire in my Mind” while Abigail Washburn’s enchanting voice danced effortlessly between Chinese folk songs and Bluegrass. Jose Gonzales performed acoustic and seated with two accompanists on a huge stage, but the tender beauty of their performance was lost amid the chaos.

After the sun went down, the dynamic and intimate Swell Season struggled with a half dozen embarrassing sound issues, but the spell of nighttime and a devoted audience created an almost sanctuary-esque silence in honor of the performers.

Others conquered through sheer force of will. Tight tunes, chorography, tricks and antics keept audiences hooked. Sharon Jones danced with audience members while the Dap Kings horn section tapped their toes in time. Jamie Lidell beat boxed, looped himself singing a brilliant minor triad over the beat and then scratched it all setting up a soul song reminiscent of the 1960’s. Erykah Badu’s band was tight and she commanded respect with her pregnant belly and six inch stiletto boots. The Raconteurs were clever and epic, performing songs that lingered long into a post-climax afterglow.

The Fleet Foxes and Band of Horses were sonically mesmerizing. Both bands dressed hooky songs in perfect pitch harmonies. Mike Farris’ divinely inspired vocals and spirited performance welcomed the heavens to split right open.

ACL ‘08 was entertaining, exhausting and over stimulating, like a wine tasting that goes on just a little too long, leaving you disoriented, slightly buzzed and with no ability to savor or assimilate what you’re experiencing…but satisfied nonetheless.
What sets the Austin City Limits Festival apart from other music festivals is all in the name. Austin. The ACL Festival has blossomed naturally from the spirit and vibe of hundreds of live bands that perform nightly in the “Live Music Capital of the World.”

The ACL Fest is held annually in the heart of Austin, Zilker Park, an urban oasis of spring fed swimming pools and wildlife refuges a mere five minutes from downtown. That oasis was little relief as souring temperatures and a halo of dust in the air made water bottles ubiquitous and a damp scarf a necessity. “Bandito” was the fashion of the weekend.

By day, artists who are acclaimed for nuance and intimacy were handicapped by glaring sunlight and thousands of hustling festival goers, but were aided by the devotion of their fans. Patty Griffin gave up on an a capella gospel number mid-set, but ended on top with Ray Charles’ “Lonely Avenue.” Gillian Welsh & Dave Rawlings aptly performed “I want to Sing that Rock n Roll.” Jakob Dylan’s set peaked during “Empire in my Mind” while Abigail Washburn’s enchanting voice danced effortlessly between Chinese folk songs and Bluegrass. Jose Gonzales performed acoustic and seated with two accompanists on a huge stage, but the tender beauty of their performance was lost amid the chaos.

After the sun went down, the dynamic and intimate Swell Season struggled with a half dozen embarrassing sound issues, but the spell of nighttime and a devoted audience created an almost sanctuary-esque silence in honor of the performers.

Others conquered through sheer force of will. Tight tunes, chorography, tricks and antics keept audiences hooked. Sharon Jones danced with audience members while the Dap Kings horn section tapped their toes in time. Jamie Lidell beat boxed, looped himself singing a brilliant minor triad over the beat and then scratched it all setting up a soul song reminiscent of the 1960’s. Erykah Badu’s band was tight and she commanded respect with her pregnant belly and six inch stiletto boots. The Raconteurs were clever and epic, performing songs that lingered long into a post-climax afterglow.

The Fleet Foxes and Band of Horses were sonically mesmerizing. Both bands dressed hooky songs in perfect pitch harmonies. Mike Farris’ divinely inspired vocals and spirited performance welcomed the heavens to split right open.

ACL ‘08 was entertaining, exhausting and over stimulating, like a wine tasting that goes on just a little too long, leaving you disoriented, slightly buzzed and with no ability to savor or assimilate what you’re experiencing…but satisfied nonetheless.


Thanks Mark Fradl, my editor and co-writing partner in crime!

Fan videos. . . wow!

Apparently, I have been completely clueless that fans have been recording and posting videos of our shows online! Chad stumbled upon a nest of fan videos on Youtube that are GREAT!
Some are live, some are "behind the scenes" at radio stations -- some are creative video interpretations of the songs. . .

Just thought I might share a few with you that you may not have seen on your own!

Here's an In- Studio Radio version of The Beatles "I'm So Tired" performed at KLBJ in Austin with Strings Attached.


This one is a video of "Easy" acoustic -- from Lane at the Bugle Boy in LaGrange, TX, We'll be back there in June!

This version of "May Day" was recorded by Cat at Luna Fine Music Club in San Antonio. It features Chad on guitar and Dave Madden on keys. Yum Yum!


Here's a beautiful and tragic video created by fans and set to our live version of "Noah" by Neal Kassanoff.


And here's a fun one made my friend Sandy Wells in Houston -- Her portfolio set to "Coffee Today"




Thanks to all of you!!!

Cabin Sessions 2008, Banjos, Ponds, Fires. . .

Mojo Cabin - Writing and Demo Sessions
After 3 weeks of touring, I have finally landed. . . at our dear friend Su's restored log cabin in beautiful rural New Jersey -- at the tip of a peninsula in a lovely serene pond. .

After all these years of desperately needing time to write songs, it has finally come to pass. I will be here in the company of Chad Pope, 2 cats, the bears foxes and fish that live out here in the woods. . .

It is a truly enchanting place. We have some basic recording gear set up in the living space in front of the old stone fireplace, atop a beautiful bearskin rug. . . and we have begun the magic.

Two days after we arrived, we purchased this vintage Wurlitzer organ for only $70 (cheaper than a keyboard rental and with tons more mojo!). We've even posted our first rough demo -- it's called "Yesterday Blues"
Listen Here -- it's on the player on the right hand side.

Our social life consists of going to Friday Night Bingo with Su's mom, Ruth, and hitting the all-night diner with Ruth and Joe, Su's dad for a snack after Bingo. . .

Today it is raining on the pond. . . a light sprinkling spring rain. . . We're playing banjo, organ, watching the rain, practicing yoga and preparing for more recording. . . . We're feeling incredibly grateful. . . More songs to come. . .