Autumn Micketti

Think I’m Gettin’ The Hang of This…

Well it’s our first full day in New Zealand and what a day it has been. This morning we had breakfast at our new favorite coffee shop called Holm in Auckland. A very trendy place that all the hipsters flock to. We went there yesterday when we first arrived. They make amazing avocado toast with chipotle sauce and sesame seeds. Not to mention they have really good coffee. After we checked out of our hostel we took an Uber to a car rental place and got a car and then hit the road!

Driving on the other side of the road is a trip. I suddenly have so much respect for my dad who drove around the UK when my family traveled there over 10 years ago. No wonder my mom didn’t feel comfortable driving. I am so grateful for my travel companions who did the driving as I was not feeling up for it.

The drive took us nearly four hours along with a very short ferry ride (about 5 minutes). We made it to Russell, got some Thai food, then found a place to stay for the night. We’re staying at this really cool holiday park that has a pool and a big field for camping as well as a kitchen. It looks like a place a lot of New Zealanders come to go camping and makes me think of the places my family used to go camping when I was a kid.

One of the coolest parts is that the back of the property turns into a forest where there is a great hiking trail and the possibility of seeing a Kiwi! We haven’t spotted one yet, but when the sun went down we could hear them calling. Later this evening we may go outside and lie under the stars, keep our eyes open for some Kiwis.

So driving in New Zealand makes traveling good and bad. We’ve got the independence and we can go anywhere we want (the bus system isn’t great here) however….driving when everything is reversed is really hard and really stressful. I keep thinking that I’ve gotten used to how the traffic works and then I look the wrong way when crossing the street… It’s only day two so we’ll get used to it by the end I suppose.

Anyway, we’re tucked away in our room and getting ready for bed. Tomorrow we’re gonna hit up a beach and then head to an Airbnb a little south of here.

Beach here we come!

So It Begins

Traveling is such an interesting experience. You plan for weeks, months, even years in advance and yet when the day of leaving arrives it’s hard to be excited and remember why you wanted to do this in the first place. At least that’s how I’m feeling at the moment with barely three hours of sleep and the knowledge that I won’t see my family and my partner for two months it’s hard to feel the excitement that I know is there. I know that once I’ve gotten sleep and am hydrated everything will feel different.

Time and distraction is the remedy for this and soon I will have all of that. Our flight for Auckland leaves LA at 10:30pm and until then we get to hang out in LA…which honestly I’m not super stoked about, but I’m glad that I have a place to chill rather than being stuck in the airport for 12 hours.

Raina and I flew in this morning and while waiting for our Uber we were approached by a bearded Australian who had justed arrived and had no idea what to do. He asked if he could tag along with us to Venice Beach and explained that he had bought a ticket to Peru yesterday and when he got to LA he decided to stay here instead. So he jumped in the car with us and went to Venice Beach where the three of us had breakfast and chatted. We said goodbye afterwards and he went off to find a hostel while Raina and I took another Uber to where Jonah was staying. So now it’s the three of us counting down the hours until take off. When we arrive we will take a shuttle to our hostel and relax for the rest of the day.

So here’s to safe and easy travels!

I’m Going on an Adventure

It’s been four years since I have gone on a huge adventure and my travel bug has been biting me nonstop. Finally it will be satisfied! On Tuesday I am leaving for a 2 month adventure in New Zealand. My two travel partners and I have been planning since last summer and we cannot wait to get started.

I will be blogging (as much as I can) while we’re gone, so stay tuned for more adventures!

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Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band

I have been a Beatles fan since I was three years old and until high school The Beatles were all I listened to. When I was 12 I got one of the best birthday presents I’ve ever received, tickets to see Paul McCartney live. Although I don’t remember much of that show I do remember being still struck with the magnitude of being in the same room as one of my idols. This week I was lucky enough to see Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band in Stockton, CA.. I’m really pleased that I am two for two on seeing the (living) members of my all time favorite band. It’s incredible to think about being in the same room as either of those incredible musicians…almost too big to wrap my head around. I find myself trying to down play how big a deal this is. My head says things like, “well you didn’t meet either one of them so really it’s not that cool.” But to my head I’d like to say, “this is really really cool to have seen my idols live, I probably won’t ever meet them, and that’s ok, but I can check seeing the living half of The Beatles off of my bucket list.”

So I saw Ringo Starr….holy shit, that’s incredible to be able to say that. It’s so surreal to be in the same room as someone who you’ve idolized your whole life, granted Ringo isn’t my favorite Beatle but he’s still a Beatle. He’s surprisingly small as well, when he came on stage I was struck by how short he was compared to the rest of the All Starrs. I think his voice has gotten better with age, and his dancing was adorably hilarious (lots of swaying from side to side and some occasional arm swinging). Seeing Ringo was a very different experience than when I saw Paul. The latter’s show was mostly Beatles songs with some of Paul’s new stuff mixed in, Ringo’s show was a meandering adventure down memory lane. Ringo was accompanied by several accomplished musicians that have other amazing titles to their name besides backing up a Beatle. This particular All Starr Band has been together for nearly five years, past All Starr Bands have included: Joe Walsh, Levon Helm, Billy Preston, Peter Frampton, and Sheila E to name a few. The current All Starr Band is made up of Steve Lukather of Toto, Gregg Rolie of Santana and Journey, Todd Rundgren of Nazz, Utopia and The New Cars, Richard Page of Mr Mister, Gregg Bissonette, Mark Rivera, and Warren Ham of Bloodrock, Kansas, and AD. It’s a pretty incredible group of musicians and I got a huge kick out of listening to all the oldies that they played that night, and my partner was really jazzed when they played Africa.

Listening to Ringo play some of his past solo work made me think about how The Beatles would have been different if Ringo had recorded more of his own songs. Although I am a huge Lennon/McCartney fan I am aware of how their names dominated the track listing of every Beatles album. I’m curious if The Beatles would have cultivated a more country blues sound if Ringo had recorded more of his own songs. To my surprise there is only one song that was listed as Lennon/McCartney/Starkey, Don’t Pass Me By off The White Album. Ringo did say that he wrote lots of songs while he was in The Beatles but none of them were recorded except for that one. Hearing about that made me curious what the dynamic was like in The Beatles. Did Ringo feel self-conscious about his writing? Was he not supported by the rest of the band? Were John and Paul more interested in their own songs than Ringo or George’s? Thinking about that makes me squirm a little. In my head I’ve had this picture of the four of them always being chummy and supporting one another’s ideas, but as I’ve grown older I’ve realized how innocent idea that is. Obviously there was some support and chumminess going on or The Beatles wouldn’t have worked together for as long as they did, but to hear that maybe they weren’t as supportive as I hoped they would be makes me a little sad.

Anyway, I don’t want this post to be about my broken fantasies, the concert is what I’m here to talk about. Ringo is a hilarious dude, and brings a lot of charisma to his show. He talked to the audience quite a lot, as did the rest of the band, and made some goofy jokes. I was seriously impressed with that man’s energy. He’s 75, on tour, and was doing jumping jacks on stage! I hope that I’ll be doing that when I’m his age. The Bob Hope Theatre, where he played, is relatively small but I really enjoyed having a more intimate show. I saw Paul McCartney at the Rose Garden in Portland and there were huge screens up so that people who were far away, like my family, could actually see him. It was amazing to see Ringo in a smaller venue.

At this point I feel like I’ve crossed off most of the people who I need to see before I die. I find myself laughing at the thought of what will happen after I cross Mumford and Sons off of that list. Somehow I imagine myself floating around not knowing who I’ll put on the list next, but I know that there will be many more artists that will end up there, and honestly Mumford and Sons will be at the top until I see them at least ten times…. Until that happens it’s pretty amazing that, at 23, I can cross seeing The (living) Beatles off of my list.

Photo © Autumn Micketti

Sean Hayes Live at the Brickroom

Last Sunday I saw Sean Hayes at the Brickroom with a friend of mine. I’ve always been aware of my “old lady” tendencies, i.e. feeling sleepy at 9, going to bed at 10, waking up early, but that night at Brickroom made me intensely aware of it. In my defense, it was a Sunday night and the opening acts, of which there were two, didn’t start until 9pm which lead to Sean Hayes coming on at 10:30 at which point I was yawning like a lion. In general, live venues have a reputation of not starting their music until later in the evening. They do this for valid reasons; people want to eat dinner before heading to the venue, audience members want to not feel guilty about hitting the bars before or after the show, and seeing live music at night is really fun. However, I don’t understand why they insist on starting the music so late….I feel like such an old lady saying this, but fuck it, I’m a 23 year old who likes going to bed at 10 even on a Saturday night, so it’s hard for me to be excited about a show that doesn’t start until 9, and then makes me wait for another hour and a half until the person I actually paid to see comes on.

I was slightly bummed about this show, mostly because I was so tired my friend and I left early. I feel like there’s a lot of shame (mostly self-induced) when it comes to leaving a concert early, but whatever, sometimes sleep is more important to me. The number one thing that annoyed me was that Sean Hayes had two openers….shouldn’t one be enough? Honestly, in my perfect world openers wouldn’t exist. There have only been a few concerts I’ve gone to where I was actually sad when the opener was finished. I’m always hoping that I’ll discover my new favorite band, and there have been times when that nearly happened, but usually these expectations are not the reality. I was really grateful when the music started, even though I was grumbling a little about the time, but when the second opener came on my level of gratefulness went way down. Granted they were both great musicians, and I can see why Sean Hayes chose them, but it would have been much better if he had just stuck with one.

When Sean Hayes finally came on at 10:30 I was ready to go. It was already past my bedtime. This was the second time I had seen him so I didn’t feel too guilty about leaving, I think it would have been worse if it had been my first time. My friend and I stayed for about a half an hour and then quietly left to walk sleepily back home. I was really grateful that she and I were on the same level of tiredness.

I’m sorry that this post isn’t so much about the band that I saw. Honestly I was so tired that I forgot a lot of what I heard. I’m really glad I went, I had a great blueberry mojito and shared a delicious pot of fondue along with great conversation. I hope that the Brickroom will consider starting their music earlier at least on a Sunday night. The show was sold out, but I bet a lot of people were feeling the same way I was, dreading Monday morning.

Live at the Greek – Berkeley

One thing I love about social media is having the ability to be up to date on what musicians are doing in the world, and where they’ll be in the next year. When I was working for FieldGuides in April, I learned that The Head and The Heart were scheduled to come to the Greek in Berkeley, CA in October. The cherry on top of this already delicious sundae was that The Tallest Man On Earth was opening for them! I had never seen him before and immediately knew that I had to go to this show.

I first heard The Tallest Man On Earth one rainy morning in high school when my friend played his song The Dreamer from his EP Sometimes the Blues is Just a Passing Bird. Being the depressed teenager I was at the time, this song drew me in immediately. The deep, throbbing guitar matched with his Bob Dylan-esque voice emulates what my depression, at the time, was struggling to say to me. The line “sometimes the blues is just a passing bird why can’t that always be?,” is, in my opinion, a universally relatable statement. The song puts into words what depression, at least for me (I can’t speak to other’s experiences but I can talk about mine), is like. Feeling like you’re barely hanging on, “I’m just a dreamer but I’m hanging on,” and that you are floating and have nothing new and exciting to do or offer, “though I am nothing big to offer.” Listening to The Dreamer helps me feel less alone when I’m dealing with my depression. It makes me feel like there are other people out there who feel the same way as I do, and that’s reassuring to me.

The Tallest Man On Earth is made up of one gentleman, Kristian Matsson. Originally from Dalarna, Sweden, he started his career as the lead singer of Montezumas, an indie band. In 2006 he released his first solo EP, The Tallest Man On Earth which was received extremely well. Many people think of Bob Dylan when they hear Matsson. He has the same scratchy, nearly out of tune voice, and his lyrics are almost as poetic. In 2008 he released his first album, Shallow Grave, which was listed as #47 on the 50 Best Albums of 2008 according to Pitchfork. After the release of his first album he went on tour as the opening act for Bon Iver. This was followed by his own solo tour throughout Europe, Australia, and the US.. Although Matsson wasn’t signed onto a record label he had no problem attracting crowds.

In 2010 The Tallest Man On Earth released his second album, The Wild Hunt, under the record label Dead Oceans. He had turned down many other offers, all of which wanted to give his music a more commercial feel. Dead Oceans allowed him to have artistic freedom with his music. Matsson now has four albums and two EPs under his belt. His most recent album, Dark Bird is Home, came out last year to much excitement from his fans.

So…what was this post about? Oh right Berkeley. The Greek. So, I managed to convince several of my friends and my boyfriend to come with me, and October 8th found us in The Greek, excitedly awaiting for the lights to go down. The Tallest Man On Earth finally emerged and blew us away. He had a band with him which, apparently, is unusual as he’s usually by himself. However, the band did leave and come back several times throughout his set. Matsson has a very genuine feeling about him while he’s performing, plus he does these cute dances on stage. He hops around the stage on his little feet and it’s absolutely adorable.

Although he didn’t play The Dreamer he did play my second favorite song of his, The Gardener. An upbeat tune, that I’m still not quite sure what it’s about, but I like to think of it as a love song. I haven’t listened to his new album yet, but I’m sure when I do I’ll recognize many of the songs that he played that night. I wish that his set could have gone for much longer.

The Head and The Heart came on at last, and I have to admit I wasn’t as excited to see them compared to when I saw them a few years ago. I feel like there are certain bands that you can never get tired of seeing live, and sadly I don’t think The Head and The Heart are one of those bands for me. They were very upbeat and excited to be there, but I didn’t feel quite as connected with them as I did with their opener. However, when they ended their show with Rivers and Roads I walked away happy. The friends that I had brought with me all work at the same summer camp, and the four of us have sung Rivers and Roads for camp fire many many times, so it was a really special moment to sing with the three of them while The Head and The Heart sang with us.

All in all it was a fantastic show. The Greek was a great venue and I’d love to see more shows there. Although my butt may complain about the cement benches and my wallet may whine about the $12 beer, it was all worth it. I’m so grateful that it worked out, and I’m looking forward to the next show that I’ll see there.

Check out The Head and The Heart
Check out The Tallest Man On Earth

All photos © Mimi Chouard

Brett Dennen Live

Well hello,

I do apologize for my absence….slightly embarrassed that I haven’t posted anything since February, but I’m here so now that’s what matters. Life appears to have grabbed me by the hand and isn’t planning on letting go anytime soon, which I’m quite happy with.

A lot of things have happened since February. I worked for a group called FieldGuides at the Malakoff Diggins Historic State Park teaching 4th graders about the gold rush. I worked for nearly two months with them and was exhausted and exhilarated by the end of it. The original plan was that my boyfriend and I would drive back to my parent’s house at the end of FieldGuides, but due to car trouble we hung out in Davis for a few days before heading back to Oregon. We hung out with my family until it was time to head to the mountains for Camp Unalayee, a backpacking camp for kids that we both work at.

The two of us were there for nearly three months. It was really tiring, but a lot of fun. We celebrated our one year anniversary and learned what it’s like to live together. Now I’m back home, with a new car, my job that I had earlier this winter, one year older, and a lot of feelings about still living in the house that I grew up in… Thankfully there is a light at the end of the tunnel. In January I will be going to New Zealand for two months accompanied by two friends, and when we return to the states I’ll be moving out! Until then I’ll be working and driving to Davis as much as I can, but that’s enough of an update for now, onto the music!

Last week my momma and I had a date with Brett Dennen….well maybe that’s an exaggeration, we saw Brett Dennen and his band at the Ashland Armory. I am lucky enough to count this concert as my third Dennen performance. I wrote about the first time I saw him in 2014 when he was on the Soulshine Tour with Michael Franti and Spearhead. (You can read that article right here). In that article I swore that I would see him again when he was on his own tour, and I’m happy to say that I’ve fulfilled that promise twice. I attended his acoustic Valentine’s Day performance last year, again at the Armory. That performance was hard for him, the Armory is very small and the bar always gets very loud, so he had to ask people to be quiet several times. At this show he still had to ask people to lower their conversations, but for the most part the band was loud enough that it wasn’t that much of an issue.

Brett Dennen comes off as such a genuinely sweet person. He’s very good at making his audience feel like he cares that each and everyone of them has come. My momma and I got pretty excited that he seemed be to looking over at us a lot and smiling, and I’m sure there were other members of the audience that were experiencing the same thing. When I saw Brett Dennen last time all he had was one guitar, a chair, and a cup of tea. It made me feel like I had been invited in to his home to enjoy a pot of tea while he jammed. At last weeks concert there was a similar feeling, although not quite as intimate, I still felt like he was authentically himself. He was barefoot, and didn’t have on a glitzy outfit or any extra decoration on stage, it was all about the band and the music. I really appreciate that he doesn’t let anything distract his audience from the music and from his performance. He captivates everyone with his sweet smile under that mop of red hair, and gives a feeling of unconditional welcome.

Although his Tour Por Favor was to support his new album, Por Favor, Dennen played a lot of his older songs. When he started playing When We Were Young I immediately ran into the middle of the dance floor and stayed there while he played Wild Child (from his album Smoke and Mirrors) and then Sydney (I’ll Come Running) (from his album Surprise, Surprise). He wanted his audience to stop talking and dance, and he got his wish. My momma was especially happy when he finished his encore with Blessed, (from his album Brett Dennen) her top favorite Dennen song.

Por Favor, Dennen’s sixth studio album, was released in May of this year. It’s a great addition to his collection, and I am sure that his next album will continue this impressive wave of creativity. Tour Por Favor ends on October 29th in St. Louis, MO. Check out his schedule and I highly encourage you to go if you can.

What I’m Listening To, Foreign Fields

I like to believe that it’s easy for me to discover new music, that I naturally attract unknown groups that are asking to be played. However, sometimes…about 50% of the time, I have to do my own research. One of my favorite places to look is Communion. This is a record label that was created by Ben Lovett (the pianist for Mumford & Sons). He and two of his mates started with a pub, of sorts, that supported unknown musicians in London who were not getting the live performance time they needed. From a single venue Communion quickly expanded, adding several spots across England before jumping over the Atlantic and setting up an office in New York. They also host club nights (no I’m not suffering from dyslexia, that’s how they refer to them) in Brighton, Leeds, Newcastle, Glasgow, NYC, Nashville, and Melbourne. Communion still hosts a club night at the Notting Hill Arts Club in London on the first Sunday of each month.

Communion has signed countless artists such as Ben Howard, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Bear’s Den, Catfish and the Bottlemen, and Gotye to name a few. Whenever I’m searching for new music the first place I check is the Communion website. Here they have a lists of all the artists who are currently working with them. This is where I discovered Foreign Fields. If you ever wondered what it would be like for the Fleet Foxes and Bon Iver to make a love child, wonder no more, Foreign Fields is the beautiful result.

Foreign Fields consists of two lads from Wisconsin, Eric Hillman and Brian Holl. On New Years of 2011 Hillman and Holl came together to create their first full length LP, Anywhere But Where I Am. The album is a beautiful mixture of folky guitar licks, breath taking harmonies, with a dash of spacey-ness that blurs the edges. Many of the songs are purely instrumental and create the perfect atmosphere for settling down with a cup of tea in front of the fire. Foreign Fields released Anywhere But Where I Am on Bandcamp the following January where it quickly caught the attention of many listeners.

I managed to find their LP and have been listening to it avidly. I’ve become very impressed with the number of instruments they use on this album. Besides the guitar, I’ve heard keyboards, cello, harp, and violin to name a few. Anywhere But Where I Am has become one of my go-to albums when I’m working and I look forward to what Foreign Fields will be creating in the future.

Check out their website here

Eight Dollar Mountain at The Brickroom

Bluegrass has been pulling at my heart strings since day one, thanks to my parents, though mostly to my mum. She was brought up on bluegrass, as her dad played banjo, mandolin, and guitar in multiple bluegrass groups. Whenever I hear a banjo, mandolin, or upright bass playing that delicious, upbeat twang I get butterflies in my stomach.

I am very excited to say that a local bluegrass band will be playing at the Brickroom next month. So bring all your friends who love to yodel and twang and come see Eight Dollar Mountain on Saturday, February 20th. This quintet started up in 2010 after they ran into one another at different jam sessions around Ashland. They create a mixture of neo-traditional bluegrass, old-time country, and blues with a dash of gospel harmonies. There is no doubt that Eight Dollar Mountain will have you up on your feet at the first strum of guitar.

Since their beginning, Eight Dollar Mountain has released three albums. Wild River Country (2010), Riverboat Gambler (2012), and their most recent Tied to the Tracks in 2014. In over five years of being together they have opened up for many well known acts in the bluegrass community including Allison Krauss, eTown, and Peter Rowan. Eight Dollar Mountain has performed on NPR’s West Coast Live program, and they were finalists in the 2012 NW String Summit band competition. They have that tight polished sound that only really good bluegrass bands can create. These lads have got a hot future ahead of them that you won’t want to miss.

The Brickroom has not yet announced ticket prices but they usually range between $15-$20, and the show starts at 9pm. Bring your family and friends, enjoy some local brews while listening to local music.

Check out Eight Dollar Mountain’s website here
To find out ticket pricing go to The Brickroom’s website here

What I’m Listening to, Hozier

Like most people, I was first introduced to Hozier when I heard his single Take Me To Church, an emotionally heavy tune that plays with the ideas of sin and love. Like quite a few artists I listen to, I wasn’t initially drawn in by Take Me To Church, although I did appreciate that he used a same sex couple in the music video. His self-titled album, Hozier, has been out since September of 2014; however, I had not been exposed to it until this past summer when I was working at Camp Unalayee, a backpacking camp for kids. Several of my co-counsellors were obsessed with The Work Song, a beautiful love song that’s filled with low humming and Hozier’s sweet voice over deep piano chords that give me shivers every time.

After hearing The Work Song I knew that I had to listen to the whole album. It wasn’t until later in July when my boyfriend, two of our co-counsellors, and I came home to surprise my parents that I had the opportunity to listen to all of Hozier. My boyfriend and I were sleeping in a tent in my backyard and while he was out doing other things I brought my computer out with me and snuggled into my sleeping bag. After I listened to the album I was not totally blown away. I was aware that most of the songs sounded very similar to one another, but that didn’t stop me from liking it. Every time I had the chance to listen to Hozier I took it, and I am now a happy Hozier fan. My top favorite songs on the album being The Work Song, In A Week (an enchanting song about death), and Cherry Wine (to this day I still have no idea what the hell he is saying but I love the guitar and the sound of the whole song).

Born in Bray, County Wicklow, Andrew Hozier-Bryne, is the son of a local blues musician and began studying music at Trinity College in Dublin but dropped out during his first year to record demos for Universal Music. While he attended Trinity he became a member of the chorale ensemble Anúna and toured internationally with the group from 2007 to 2012. Hozier released his first EP Take Me to Church in 2013. The EP also included Like Real People do, Angel of Small Death and The Codeine Scene as well as a live version of Cherry wine. When Hozier was released it reached number one in Ireland, number three in the UK, and number two in the US. I have not heard word of any new projects that he may be planning but I’m keeping my fingers crossed for more.

Although Hozier’s music may sound all the same, it has a good blues vibe to it and is full of good beats as well as lyrics. I look forward to hearing more from him and I hope to see him live in the near future.

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