It occurred to me that I will be releasing this new CD almost exactly 9 months from the start of recording. There are so many ways this is like gestation, this process of recording a CD. So many apt analogies. Except, as Fran-my-co-producer says, there’s one difference: that baby’s definitely coming. With a CD, or any other creative work, you have to keep showing up and making it happen, every day, till you’re done. And in this case it just happens to be about 9 months later.

Reading about everybody’s gratitude this Thanksgiving, and contemplating the art of appreciating and giving thanks, I am moved to tell the story of my song “You Give it Away” (track 1 on What You Keep, my upcoming CD). After writing it, I discovered the proverb “what you give away you keep” and that was the inspiration for the album title. It’s a song about sharing – not only what you have, but the essence of who you are. The song was originally inspired by a very moving letter from a fan, basically thanking me for sharing a part of myself from the stage. I found this letter (which had been filed away) during my retreat from performing, as I was trying to re-discover the joy I had once felt in my music and career. The song is my gift back to that letter-writer.

If you find your way to this link, you can download the song now – a gift to you too.

Look for the official release of What You Keep the first week of January.

Facebook Page

artwork by Sue Pelletier

Just a brief update: check out this new alt-country tribute to the Rolling Stones, which includes a song I recorded here in the barn (You Got The Silver):

Paint It Black: An Alt-Country Tribute to the Rolling Stones

You can hear samples of the songs – from artists like Hem and Cowboy Junkies and Matthew Ryan and Mary Gauthier – on iTunes or on Amazon. Let me know what you think!

I will be at Club Passim, Cambridge MA, on Saturday June 18, opening 2 shows for the lovely and lilting Catie Curtis, 6 & 9PM. Please join us.

Club Passim Calendar

Thanks for keeping in touch. More news on the new recordings soon…

BK

Just because you haven’t heard much from me, doesn’t mean I’m not making any noise! I’m like that tree, somewhere deep in the forest….

Some things I’ve been up to (since you dropped by, thought you might like to know):

Recording with young songwriters – a couple of my students are recording their debut EP’s with me. So much fun, such energy, fresh voices, fresh perspectives. Good to hear.

Working on various songs – a new tribute album (recording a cool version of a lesser-known song by a classic band – more soon); basics for some of my unrecorded songs; collaborating with other writers and producers on occasion.

And this weekend, I’ll be playing a benefit in New Jersey that a dear friend of mine is organizing.

But mostly, I’m enjoying home life with my family, hanging in our newly renovated barn (and studio!) and watching as time whizzes by.

Wait a minute, what’s that crashing sound?

Hi, and greetings from the Barn, where I’ve been busy finalizing the new songs for recording. It is easy to get distracted; I am so dazzled by everything blooming all around me…

I am excited that my song “Happy With You,” from my CD Stranger To This Land, has been receiving airplay again after all these years – on Sirius satellite radio’s channel 30, The Coffeehouse. If you’d like, you can request it from their website!

http://www.sirius.com/thecoffeehouse

It’s so amazing when a song finds a life of its own, and this little song certainly has – I’ve heard from so many people over the years who have used it as their wedding song. (I was lucky enough to have Jennifer Kimball sing it for us at my own wedding, 14 years ago this summer. It was quite the surprise; I had asked her to sing, but was stunned when she began to sing that one. Her version was so haunting and lovely, it was hard to imagine I’d have to sing it again myself after that.)

The song I’m working on at the moment is “Ways to be Brave,” which some of you may have heard if you’ve seen me play anytime in the last couple years. Bringing it to life in recorded form is most fun, as I am happily playing around with Rhodes sounds reminiscent of my beloved Queen – one of my earliest influences! (Can’t you hear it? Ha!)

Keep in touch and you’ll be among the first to know when it’s done. Thanks, and hope you’re well, and Happy, too…

Hi, and thanks for stopping by. I am still alive and well and although I’ve only played a handful of shows these past years, I do look forward to getting out there a bit again in the near future. I haven’t released a CD since 2000, but I have worked on a bunch of new material these past 10 years for various side projects: songs for tv/film, both with collaborators and on my own; music for several short films; music for an educational documentary; a theme for a PlayStation game. I also got involved in community theater, started acting on both stage and film (one role as a “stand in” and one commercial so far!), and volunteered to promote and host a monthly open mic for a theater group in my town. Recently, I started coaching/producing several young songwriters. I’ve really loved the experiences I’ve had in the producer’s seat!

I have a lovely little home studio in our 1850’s barn that my husband restored/finished in his spare time (ha!) His band is recording here at the moment. I am currently at work recording several years worth of unrecorded songs, and am happy when new song ideas pop up, as they always do when you’re recording…

I have loved the co-writing/collaborating I have begun to do these past years on my “stay at home mom sabbatical,” and I am hoping for more fun collaborative and creative projects to pop up, as they always do, which I squeeze in between the typical mom stuff of soccer games and school activities and such. Just this past weekend I got to compose the music for a short musical a local film crew created as part of the Boston 48 Hour Film Project. And I’d just been dreaming about writing a musical – hey, you never know…

Keep in touch – my Facebook page is the best place – to hear the new music in progress…