Alison Harris Music Blog

Alison Harris News- 7 months into motherhood

2010-04-14T10:45:00.000-07:00

There are heavy grey-bottomed rain clouds hanging overhead as I write, but I am outside to soak up the bits of sun that peep through. Spring is starting to bloom, and Willowside farms, where I live, is promising a long and plentiful harvest, from the lettuces and honey that we are harvesting now all the way through the fall when we'll be harvesting grapes from the property. Outside in my backyard, the windchimes are ringing and a bird who has built it's nest in the corner of our covered porch is feeding her baby birds with fat grubs.

My little girl Ella is 7 months, and I am enjoying a little more time and energy to devote to creative pursuits. I am performing locally a couple of times a month, writing new songs and learning covers like Pieta Brown's "Loretta" (a great song about the state of the world and the sometimes overwhelming task of balance).

I recently discovered another Santa Rosa local, Petracovich, who is also a mama. Her music is beautiful, described by pitchfork media as folktronic, and the lyrics have lots of free association about local imagery and the colors of feelings. She performed on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic- one of the best radio shows ever- and showed off her beautiful pregnant belly to the camera, which is so beautiful and brave of her! I hope to catch her live soon.

I have sold out of my first run of CDs. My debut ablum "Smoke Rings in the Sky" is still available on itunes, Amazon, and other online retailers. If you are looking for it, ask your local indie record store to order it for you (available through Redeye Distribution.)

I am talking to local venues about hosting a singer/songwriter night locally. I want to connect with songwriters, play live, and bring in my talented friends and colleagues to play. I know there is a great audience for singer/songwriters in Sonoma County, and I feel lucky to be here in that respect and so many others.

I am ready to start teaching and consulting with singer/songwriters and vocalists at my teaching studio. In my teaching adventures prior to my 7th month of pregnancy, I taught a huge range of students and topics- ages 6-30, piano, guitar, singing/songwriting, and voice. I discovered that my real passion lies in teaching voice and singing/songwriting. I love teaching voice because I have been learning about the voice for so many years and love the internal and external journey of it. You really have to look inside to sing powerfully, in a physical and emotional way. Then you have to figure out how to present yourself externally. It is a deep and rewarding study.

My favorite student was a 14 year old singer/songwriter. I started writing about this time and it was so fun to help my student to develop her ideas and learn to accompany herself and think about her songs in a structural way. I enjoy being able to teach guitar, piano, and music theory in this context. I hope to teach many singer/songwriters and vocalists in the coming years.

The family label, Omega-records, is up to great, mind-blowing projects as usual. King City and billboards on bay area rooftops. I feel lucky to be privy to the wonderful madness.

Hope to see you at a show this spring!

Alison Harris

www.alisonharrismusic.com

www.myspace.com/alisonlharris

Beautiful

2009-07-04T12:05:00.000-07:00

Think of the hay bales in a browning field- but still green- under the rolling fog. Heaven sun rays breaking through a grey cloud, hanging over oak studded hills. The bay, white sails contrasting with the blue. The rust orange of the Golden Gate through the moon roof. The moon hanging off balance in the black sky. The stars at 3 am are the most beautiful. An unusually incandescent tree in the projects, tubular golden flowers hanging luscious Green grapes on the vine, waiting to ripen. My body ripening with them, watermelon belly. Movement from within, a being waiting to be born. The heat of my lover's hand. A bird call through the window. Different birds call at different times. The mockingbird sings through the night. An unknown caller sings "whoo" in a soft downward siren in the early dawn. Chickadees and sparrows sing during the day. The crow and blackbird come to drink from the fountain and eat bits scattered from the dog's bowl. Cornmeal is stored in blue depression glass. Some friends have faded in this great transition. Some have failed to love. Some have been erased from my world by the flame of their own passions. Some are living on a shoe-string. Some are stripping for a living. Some are fighters, some are lovers. I am an observer. I see olive trees glowing from my kitchen window. I contemplate the quiet of domestic life. I dream with my lover of being surrounded by occidental hills. I preserve fresh things from the garden in glass jars. I have newly learned what it means to grow green life from the soil. Tea is my past-time now, tea and the simple miraculous pleasure of growing life.

Music and Motherhood

2009-07-03T05:00:00.000-07:00

Maybe it is the fact that I will be a mother in 9 weeks. I am up early this morning feeling a need for the community of women in music. I want to be inspired by other mothers who are making music and other forms of art. The idea of motherhood brings so much richness to the table. Suddenly I am contemplating a shift from writing songs about emptiness to writing songs about an almost overwhelming fullness. It is no secret that becoming a mother is a profound identity shift. How do creative professionals adapt and embrace the change of motherhood?

In many ways I feel that this transition into motherhood is a lush ripening of the transition from girlhood to womanhood. Everything changes on every front- physical, mental, emotional, spiritual. It is a beautiful and mind-boggling transition. It is healthy for one such as I who have spent so much time in the realm of thought to have my mind boggled by something so cosmic as having a child growing inside of me.

I would love to hear the thoughts of other creative mothers on this transition. Are you out there?

Take Back the Farm- Spring!

2009-05-19T09:30:00.000-07:00

We've made a few additions to the farm:

1. 3 Young Chickens. They are in Grandma's old coop, a raised, home-built affair. They are about 2 months old. 2 are large layers, 1 is a quirky and cute grey silkie with little tufts of feathers sticking out everywhere. We are hoping that none of them turn out to be roosters, although the chicken we call "bulldog" is certainly showing dominant tendencies.

2. Lots of vegetables! We planted HUGE amounts of broccoli, romanesco (a sort of alien, geometric looking cauliflower), pole peas and bush peas. They are nearing the end of production, but have kicked out enough veggies for us and all of our friends. It is pretty wonderful to go out and eat sugar-snap peas off of the vine while gazing at the vineyards and oaks shining in the Sonoma County spring light. Meanwhile, Charlotte, our brown lab/chessie mix, hunts gophers amongst the vines. We've got plenty!

3. A brand new bee hive! I just picked up my bee hive on Saturday evening from Bearfoot Honey Farm. Check out their blog at http://bearfoothoney.blogspot.com/. We put the bees between a small vineyard and the olive grove, where they will get a little afternoon shade from the oaks. I didn't realize they were placed right in front of a blooming blackberry bush until I saw them at work on the blossoms. Mmmmm. . . blackberry honey! It is a challenging and important time to keep bees. I hope I am a good mama for these little ladies!

On the music front, I am loving my lessons with 5 students studying various things: voice, piano, guitar, songwriting. I opened up a book of Beethoven Sonatas yesterday morning and started working on Sonata No. 16 in G Major. I've also been working out of Mark Levine's Jazz piano book. It feels good to study at the piano again. I have a sweet old player piano from the turn of the century in my living room. What a wonderful companion!

5 Albums that changed my life

2009-05-19T09:22:00.000-07:00

This is a prompt from the No Depression community site (check it out at: http://community.nodepression.com/)

5 records that changed my life

Patsy Cline- 12 greatest hits

Ben Harper- Welcome to a cruel world

Lucinda Williams- Car Wheels on a Gravel Road

The Old Canes- Blue Eleanor

Alison Harris- Smoke Rings in the Sky

This is a cool prompt.

Patsy Cline- 12 greatest hits

I was turned on to Patsy at a young age by my Grandma and listened to this album over, and over, and over. . . .I hope that some of Patsy's fire and incredible voice leaked into my own music.

Ben Harper- Welcome to a cruel world

I found this one when I was at a block in my songwriting as a teen. This album reminded me of the beautiful power of simplicity.

Lucinda Williams- Car Wheels on a Gravel Road

Aside from the stylistic revelation of the concept of Americana that this record provided me with, just the amazing hot-as-the-blood-in-your-heart sound of it, this one taught me to play guitar.

The Old Canes- Blue Eleanor

An album introduced by a friend. This was one I listened to so much that my life started mirroring it a little bit. I also have great memories of jumping around the living room to this music with the pure excitement of brutally honest songwriting.

Alison Harris- Smoke Rings in the Sky

My own record. Making it changed my life. A lot.

New Pandora Sation! Alison Harris Radio!

2009-04-10T16:17:00.000-07:00

2009-04-04T12:25:00.001-07:00

If you would like to listen to my music, please check out my websites:

http://www.alisonharrismusic.com

http://www.myspace.com/alisonLharris

My album, "Smoke Rings in the Sky", is available from online sites including amazon.com. You can also buy it from itunes. Thanks for listening!

Emotion and Relaxation

2009-04-04T11:18:00.000-07:00

Happy, glorious spring! I've started giving lessons at my new music studio in Santa Rosa. I recently came across a relaxation exercise that reminded me of voice instruction I've had in the past. One of the most intriguing and challenging aspects of studying voice is learning how to coordinate your body and look inward in order to engage certain muscles while completely relaxing others. This is an incredibly interesting journey to go on, and is a great way to link body and mind as you tune into muscles you may have never thought about before! Different parts of your body hold different emotions and emotional memories. The face and jaw exercises are a great way to explore the range of human expression and emotion.

To access this exercise, link to the site below and scroll down to page 6 (the last page):

http://www.permanente.net/homepage/kaiser/pdf/6260.pdf

Enjoy!

Life on the farm

2009-01-24T22:24:00.000-08:00

Hi all. This is my first blog. I hope to meet lovely folks, musicians, homesteaders, magical and passionate people. I was inspired to create this blog by Jenna Woginrich, who wrote the modern day homesteader's novel "Made From Scratch". I hope to keep friends and fans updated on the latest happenings from Sonoma County wine and music land.

In short, I am living in paradise. Seriously. I drive around Sonoma County and gaze out the car windows (while keeping an alert eye on the road, really!) at velvet green hills. Dairy cows in black and white awkward splendor. I love driving down Coleman Valley Road, a rural windy tour from Occidental (think: what kind of town would Tom Waits choose to raise his family in?) to the Sonoma Coast. The best part of the road is where cowfields with no fences, ocean views, and stunning rolling hills all converge.

In musical terms, I am storing up my winter nuts, so to speak. Sorry for the terrible metaphor, but after a year (or 13, depending on how you look at it) spent writing, recording, and promoting "Smoke Rings in the Sky" (my debut album), I need some time to PLAY!! I am dreaming wild dreams. They involve banjos, harmonicas, PIANO (I am lucky enough to have 2 pianos in my life as of a couple of months ago), covers that I love to play, old songs never recorded, a few new ones, and those yet to come from the ether through my sound pipes. Also collaboration with talented folks.

I am opening my first creative and teaching studio in Santa Rosa off of Coffey Lane. Here I'll be talking to the muse, woodshedding, remembering a few things about Bach and scale fingerings, and hopefully inspiring many young and old souls in the areas of voice, piano, guitar, creative process, and. . . the possibilities are endless!

Meanwhile, on the homefront, native shrubs and lots of veggies are about to be planted. My boyfriend and I are dreaming of Chickens (and someday, pigs and perhaps goats) in the backyard, along with a rockin' fruit orchard. The Oaks, noble grape vines, olive grove, and soulful Sonoma County light surround me with beauty.

Life is good.