Every Day is a Winding Road....

I started off on May 20 in Jersey City, NJ and drove to Cumberland, MD; Jersey City, NJ; Tarrytown, NY; Hunter Mountain, NY; Ridgefield, CT; Wantagh, NY; Hartford, CT; Whitehouse, TN; Manchester, TN; Cincinnati, OH; Jersey City, NJ; Croton-on-Hudson, NY; Raliegh, NC; Virginia Beach, VA; Richmond, VA; Bethel, NY; Wantagh, NY; Grand Rapids, MI; Rothbury, MI; Peoria,IL; Masontown, WV; Swarthmore, PA; Jim Thorpe, PA (back and forth twice);


Buffalo, NY; Utica, NY; Hackettstown, NJ; Jersey City, NJ; Providence, RI; Wantagh, NY; Stony Brook, NY; Bridgeport, CT; NYC, NY; Boston, MA; Danbury, CT; NYC, NY; Bethel, NY; Virginia Beach, VA; Atlantic City, NJ; Asbury Park, NJ; NYC, NY; Bethel, NY; Albany, NY; Saratoga, NY;


Rochester, NY; Denver, CO; San Francisco, CA



West Valley, UT; Las Vegas, NV; Primm, NV; Los Angeles, CA; San Francisco, CA; Los Angeles, CA; San Diego, CA; Chula Vista, CA; Irvine, CA; San Diego, CA; Flagstaff, AZ; Tucson, CA; Sedona, CA; Tucson, CA; San Diego, CA; Las Vegas, CA; Salt Lake City, UT; Boise, ID; Des Moines, IA; Minneapolis, MN; Madison, WI; Ames, IA;


Columbus, OH; Indianapolis, IN; Saint Louis, MO; and ended up on October 3 in Denver, CO.

I covered over 22,000 miles in all over the course of 4 1/2 months, driving first in a conversion van, then in a 12 passenger Chevy Van, and finally in a Dodge Grand Caravan Mini-van, loaded up with all kinds of Rock the Earth gear and a rotating cast of interns and volunteer staffers.

'nuff said.

I would love to be able to type up story after wonderful, funny, amazing, horrifying, frustrating, ridiculous, fabulous, excruciating, delicious, exciting, tremendous, unbelievable story about my adventures thus far this summer....

... but alas, I have been, and continue to be, insanely busy this summer. I've been to Del Fest, Mountain Jam, Bonnaroo, Clearwater Festival, Rothbury, All Good, and Gathering of the Vibes, PLUS I have worked shows with Dave Matthews, Bad Company, Dark Star Orchestra, Phish, Government Mule, Umphrey's McGee and Ratdog. Coming up - there will also be Outside Lands, the Allman Brothers, the Pretenders, and Bonnie Raitt and if my boss has it his way - plenty of others. I have reinforced relationships with people I met on my adventures last year, and I have met some great new folks. Nothing has been lost, and ALL has been gained. It continues to be a grand advenuture and a wild ride.

So - all I can say for now is, "Please keep an eye on my calendar." I will do what I can to keep it current, so at least you'll know where I am, where I have been, and where I am probalby going.

Love to all...

(maybe I'll write a book when this is all said and done....)

For those about to Rock.....

And finally, Ladies and Gentlemen... yes, the moment you've all been waiting for.... yes, indeed, I have landed the coveted position of National Outreach Tour Coordinator for Rock the Earth (RtE). This is the organization mentioned in my previous post - that, fortunately for all of us, saw a good thing when it was in front of them. I am honored to have been chosen for this position and I am looking forward to doing right by them this summer. I know that they have gone through a lot of hassle to work around my prior commitment to DelFest, and I am extremely grateful that they saw fit to make those efforts. I know they will not be disappointed.

I am so grateful that I made the decision to follow this dream. I'm not sure where I'm going yet, but I know it's in the right direction. Last summer, I made an investment in myself and in my future. I took this leap and volunteered my time in exchange for the chance to be seen. I mean really seen - doing what I do, the way I do it, because I knew that my work would speak for itself. Well, at least, this is what I told myself; and I believed it.... or at least that is what I told myself, too. I suppose I have grown just a touch cynical as a way to protect myself from disappointment as a natural optimist, but that never stops me from being who I am. I'm just glad that things are going the way it feels like the ought to be - because sometimes they just don't.

I have to say that this experience has blown me away a bit. I have been so amazed by the support I have received through this process. I mean, of course the encouragement and support of my friends and family are huge, and I couldn't persevere with out it, but that is almost a given because these people know me and see what I do everyday. When someone like Sandy Sohcot, executive director of the Rex Foundation, graciously offers to send an unsolicited reference to Rock the Earth for me, that just carries more weight on a professional level. I was also confident that my other listed references would all sing my praises, but at one point I was told that RtE had not yet checked my references, but that people had been saying good things about me to them.

People? What people? Who is saying such nice things about me behind my back???

I wish I knew, so I could let them know how much I appreaciate it! It's an amazing thing to realize that I truly did accomplish my goal from last summer. I have been seen. Seen in the light in which I want to be seen. It's really validating to know that I have not gone unnoticed.

I leave for DelFest on May 20 or so - and will hook up with the Rock the Earth tour at Mountain Jam the following week. We will hit a bunch of shows on the Dave Matthew's tour, and there are other projects in the works. I will wait until things are more set in stone before I publish them here. I will be on the road at least through the end of Bonnaroo - and from then, I'm not quite sure what happens yet. Maybe home for a minute, maybe more road... I know I'll find out eventually - and you can keep an eye on my calendar at the top of the page to stay posted. I hope you'll come with me this summer. It's going to ROCK the Earth! (...yea, ok... thats bad...but c'mon, I couldn't help it.)

SO - I have already received a stack of intern resumes in which I must bury myself - but it's late and my brain is a bit fried. I have prepared the paperwork for tomorrow morning. Coffee and Resumes - breakfast of champions!

It's not easy being green.....

Green Apple Festival April 17-19 - New York (and around the country).

This year, the Green Apple Festival expanded it's programs from an awareness raising musical event into a full-on ACTION effort. The goal was to make it America's Largest Earth Day Action. As I mentioned before, I was working for about a month, to help register non-profit organizations to do environmental actions over the course of last weekend. Ten cities were involved (NYC, Boston, Washington DC, Chicago, Denver, Seattle, San Francisco, LA, Austin,. and Atlanta). Unfortunately, some of the cities had some problems. Denver had to cancel all the actions due to 2 feet of snow, and Austin was hit with heavy wind and rains that pretty much negated most of the actions there as well. That's really disappointing for the people of those communities. So much effort and good intention was put into this weekend. Someone made the comment, "It seems that mother nature is pissed, and just doesn't want our help!"

On Sunday night, in each city, there was a special "Thank-You" Concert held for the volunteers. I was on the production crew in New York, for the show with Deep Banana Blackout at the Bowery Ballroom. It was great to reconnect with Jen (Durkin) as we had hit it off pretty well at 10KLakes last summer, and then again at the Vibes. She has moved to the Southwest since we last saw each other, but I may have planted the 5Rhythms seed into her head, so we have lots to talk about! Chris Barron (from the Spin Doctors) opened up the show with an acoustic set, and DBB came on at about 10:00, and played until 12:30 or so. There was some heavy, heavy funk goin' down, but I suppose we must have exhausted all of the volunteers in NY, because the turn out was pretty low. The last time I saw Deep Banana at the Bowery the place was packed, so I know that had to be the case. I have some ideas about scheduling which might help adjust the situation for next year, so the volunteers can be truly thanked, and the band can play to a packed house of happy, greener, people!

The Green Apple folks I worked with throughout this process were all great. Jon was my 'go-to-guy' in the preliminary work, and it was great working with him. He lives in SF and as it turns out knows my friend Theresa, from Rex Foundation. (yet another small world realization) Rai was the "Volunteer Coordinators Coordinator" in NYC, and she was a real ball of fire. She had to juggle all the volunteer coordinators for all the actions and also coordinated her own actions. She's got tons of positive vibes just oozing out of her and is just great to be around.. Rock on, Rai! Pam was the main hospitality goddess for Green Apple at the Bowery. I worked with her, liaising with the venue and the bands at the gig on Sunday night. She and I made a pretty good team, so hopefully I will have an opportunity to work with her again in the future.

Last week I had 2 great interviews with a very worthwhile organization (who shall remain nameless at this point, just in case things don't work out). I felt really good about how they went down, so I'm keeping my figers crossed the folks doing the hiring will decide that i am, indeed, the right person for the position. I related well with both interviewers, but I know they had about 70 applicants for the position, and were interviewing at least 15 or 20 other people... possibly more. I take heart in the fact that one of the men said to me, "Maybe we'll find another former-teacher, deadhead, hippie-chick.... but who knows." It just sounded like a positive endorsement.

I'll keep you posted.....

Things are gonna get stranger.....

So, nothing is still, things are always moving. I have been doing some work with the folks at the Green Apple Festival, making calls and helping to secure organizations to take part in America's Largest Earth Day Action (April 17-19, in 10 cities around the country). My focus has been on working with the good folks of Atlanta, Georgia. It's not glamorous work, but I enjoy the fact that I'm making something of a difference (or at least I like to think so). Hopefully there will be some work in the production of the Earth Day shows in NYC for me, but I don't know yet.

I'm also currently working at a residential 5Rhythms workshop this week, pretty exhausting all the way around - long hours of dancing and working, but 5Rhythms is my heart, and serving this particular community feels like breathing rather than work, so I can't say I'm not happy to be here.

The big news is that I have secured my first festival gig of the summer. I will be the Artist Liaison Crew Chief at Delfest this summer (May 22-24, 2009). It feels good to have something lined up in the "definite" zone. I have about 3 others that look really good - but nothing goes in print until I have a deal made. So you'll just have to wait as long as I do to find out.

Is it summer yet?

It's the end of February. Not quite summer - not even quite spring, but... time to start thinking about summer gigs. I like this picture because it was from the beginning of my adventure last year. Notice I changed the name of the blog to just, "Festival Express." No need to have to change the name every year - I intend to keep riding this baby!

Last year was what I called the "investment year". I volunteered my time with Rex Foundation as well as on crews at festivals with the express purpose of being seen in action - doing what I do. I have learned that in the music business (like most businesses I suppose), it's not necessarily who you know - but it's who knows you. I think I accomplished my goal. I met a lot of people and made lots of connections last year, and enjoyed every moment of it. I am now finding out upon whom I actually made lasting impressions. Happily, I can report that I think it was more than a few.

Some highlights from last summer include connecting with Lisa McCory while selling merch at Delfest, being the "answer girl" and getting to reunite people with their stuff at Mountain Jam, being everyone's favorite beer wench at All Good, dancing with David to Michael Franti at High Sierra, the monsoon at the Vibes (ok, maybe that was a low light - but it was exciting as hell!) and of course the big jam after the Vibes. All that on top of meeting so many great folks, hearing so many great bands, and raising so much good money for Rex Foundation. I am so looking forward to see what this summer holds!

While nothing is 100% set yet, I can say that things are looking hopeful. I don't want to mention any specifics until things are definite, but I feel confident that I can say I have a 99% chance of employment with 2 festivals, about a 95% chance at a third, and probably an 85% chance at yet a forth. I am 100% certain that those chances are absolutely due to my work from last summer. Plus I still have pans in the fire regarding several other events and positions for which I think I have a relatively good shot.

The Rex Foundation gig afforded me a great deal of opportunity, for which I am eternally grateful. The Rex Jams were an absolute blast - I totally dug working with the bands and being on stage speaking to everyone about Rex and the good work they do. I also appreciated being part of the host committee, and the event production team of The Black Tie Dye Ball, in November. My experience with Sandy and Theresa was great, and they have been so wonderful about offering references and helping me to make connections this year. I know they have been instrumental in helping me to get to this point. I will always take any opportunity to work with them in the future as it is not only rewarding, but a tremendous pleasure.

So - for now, I continue to make my plans, fill in my calendar, and look forward to the warmer weather. ....I can't wait to get my tan back!