Tessa's Inner Muddle

Summer Lovin

I’m excited about the summer!

Not all of you know this, but i am a musician by winter/Fall and a bit of Spring and by summer i am a resturant manager/chef/ proprietor! And i am so excited for the summer to come along so i can emmerse myself into good food and wine, local produce, the sea, listen to other peoples music and just to be doing something completely different scares me and thrills me at the same time. What fun. Come see us at www.glebegardens.com

As for now, we head to PA tomorrow night for a gig and we start heading back west. It will be good to get moving again and leave NYC and its tireless energy behind and slow down abit.

XOX

The early bird catches the worm, but its the second mouse who gets the cheese- Motto on Willie Nelsons coffee machine

North East

So we are back in NYC, back where we used to be. Its nice to be back, i was a little nervous coming back, i’m not sure why, maybe because our last winter here was emotionally draining and just tough and i din’t want to revisit all of that. But we arrived a few days ago and are being looked after by some great friends, Gretchen, Beat and their two young boys, and it has been a pleasure so far. We have been slowly re connecting with people and just doing things at our own pace. Sweeet.

On Friday we had a gig up in Northampton MA opening for Melissa Ferrick. It was a blast. We arrived for our sound check at about 5pm to find a line of women waiting for the doors to open and these guys already had their tickets and it was COLD, so they were die hards, and a great crowd to play for. Melissa was a pleasant surprise, she welcomed us with open arms and completely gobsmacked me with her crudeness! Wow, she is funny. I am a complete prude, a granny of sorts and i pride myself on it. If i had my way i would wash her mouth out with soap, but we only just met:) and y’know, she was saying sweet things in a crude manner, so its hard to feel any untoward feelings for her! I was really glad to meet her and hear her. It was fun. More gigs this week, so i will keep y’all posted.x

North Carolina

So we have spent the last couple of weeks with our good friend Monique in NC, we have played the odd gig here and there and had the good fortune to spend a few more days exploring and getting a sense of the North Carolina way.

It has been a pleasure. We have been for hikes in the woods. We even found an exhausted and lost lady in the forest -who we then rescued and returned her safely to her car. We were in fact thinking that we might be forced to spend the night out there having underestimated the lenght of the trek. I was getting excited about scavenging for food and making a fire to keep us all warm but then Monique reminded me that we could just call for pizza! Boring. Oh.. for life before cell phones.

Other highlights include a really sweet gig in Greenville, just south of where we are now in Durham in a coffee house called The Tipsy Teapot. It is a coffee shop with book lined walls and a really warm atmosphere and i knew it was going to be a good night when i discovered that they were selling Marmite by the jar! You what? Y’know, we have played cute looking coffee houses before but the difference with this one was that they really wanted us to have a good night as much as we wanted them to enjoy it as well. Delia the woman who ran the place had told the whole community to come out and those that did were really great people, those that didn’t, missed a good night. It really makes a HUGE difference when a venue is working to sell a night too. It’s great for everybody involved that way too. I love small communities like Greenville, they warm my cockles!

Wilmington is a great town too. Although the crowd were a little harder to please it was a pleasure just hanging out there. Its a quaint town by the sea and it’s so nice to see a place with its own charm (no starbucks line the streets here) and to walk the board walks and feel close to the sea again. The sun shone and the people that were walking the streets seemed all warm and fuzzy maybe relieved that the winter was over (or is it?) I felt happy all the same. We are lucky to be traveling for our work.

In Durham we ate in a yummy restaurant. Watts Grocery. It gave me idea’s for the summer in Ireland. We visited a farm with ‘belted cow’s’! Took lots of photo’s that i will upload when i get a chance and have spent some lovely peaceful time with Lizzie B.

Tomorrow we head up to NYC for the next chapter. I will keep you posted.

Thankyou Monique for having us. As i type she is making Roasted butternut squash salad! What a life…

Blogging all over again

Hey there good peeps on the information highway.

I have re set my blogging system so it makes my life easier and allows me to be on the computer without wanting to commit violent acts. So here is to new beginnings, new years and news.

As most of ye know, myself and the good wife, Lizzie be lizzie Clark, left NYC for good (ness) and hit the high road, we have been officially on tour, on the road for four solid months now. So far, so good. It has its moments of hell, like sleeping on really scummy floors in unknow houses (happened only once) and doing gigs for no one but all in all it has been successful and a whole lot of fun.

You find us at the moment in NC staying with old New York roomate and very good friend and cook, Monique. Its nice to be in one place for more than a day.

I am going to give a quicky highlight speed round of the good moments of the past 4 months and then keep an up to date feed of info

Here’s my Top 10

1. I was in Canada for the birth of my nephew Eddie. 10lb 8oz !! No way, i hear you say. But yes, my sister is an excellent baby maker as it happens!

2. A suprisingly great gig and group of people in St George Utah, I can’t wait to go back.

3.Oh OoooBama, he worked his stuff and through honesty (we think) and coolness he conquered the world.

4. We won the Eddies Attic Open Mic in Atlanta, Georgia. It was a last minute gig and we won $60 and a massage of the ego.

5.Playing rock band with Tragically Gerald AKA Chris and Jenifer Gandin Le. We Rock!

6. Hanging out with Mr Pete Harris in Austin, TX. And being in the Austin sun.

7.Going to see the Beatles ‘Love’ Show in Las Vagas, those people are like giant elastic bands, i am jealous.

8. Running and completing my first 5km run in 33.50. I nearly died but i did it.

9. Hanging out with great folk in Santa Fe, feeling all love up by Margie, Kitty and Greg.

10. Moniques soup and great company, we love the same TV show and retaurants.

It has been mostly fun so far and i can wait to keep you all abreast.

Thankyou to all that have helped us along the way. I’ll be in touch