Musichttp://www.phyllisatravis.com/music_blog/en-US2012-02-16T13:51:21ZSquarespace Site Server v5.11.81 (http://www.squarespace.com/)Countdown to Christmas ... Family Traditionshttp://www.phyllisatravis.com/music_blog/2010/12/14/countdown-to-christmas-family-traditions.htmlPhyllis A Travis2010-12-14T21:47:20ZChristmas Christmas Music Christmas Song Family Traditions Family Traditions Phyllis A Travis Phyllis Travis MusicI have been thinking all week about NOT getting behind the 8 ball this year for Christmas, because I want to have enough time to create the musical concert I have heard in my dreams for years now. It is on me to retain family traditions, now that mom & dad, and my baby brother and sister have passed over (the real souls of Christmas spirit), so despite all the "Scrooge" overtones lately in discussions with disgruntled siblings, I am going to make this a Christmas to remember.

You won't believe the goldmine I stumbled upon last night when pouring through old cassette tapes to find a Christmas song I was convinced I had written a decade ago, but could no longer remember or find. There it was, tucked among other worn cassettes, just waiting for me to blow off the dust and pop it in the player.

And as the music played, all the memories flooded in again, and I was transfixed, listening to "Family Traditions", a song I wrote for my brother in November of 1998. I was far away from home at the time, living in Boston, and ached for a connection to Christmas, the family we used to be, rich in love and tradition, especially this time of year.

"Do you remember, the way I do?" The first chorus begins .... (stay tuned, I will post the song soon, once I spruce it up a bit, get all that dust off ... )

]]>Songcatching in the Sequoias ...http://www.phyllisatravis.com/music_blog/2010/1/10/songcatching-in-the-sequoias.htmlPhyllis A Travis2010-01-10T10:39:39ZWell, here I am, down to the wire as usual, tryin' to pack up and get out of Dodge. Tomorrow I hop a plane and take off for new adventures underneath the Sequoias in Ben Lomand, CA, where I will be joined with songcatchers and tunesmiths from all over the world in a mystical week of spirit, song and brand new creations.

I won't have much time to blog, but will try and get a note or pic out every once in a while, to let you know how the retreat is going. It was a really long 2009, and I have waited a long time to do this again, because I am always fulfilled, renewed, in sync with self and soul when I return from these spiritual retreats.

It was my gift to myself this Christmas, so I am really looking forward to the down-time. But most of all, to creative energy and fellowship again, among some of the most talented, gifted, energetic souls in the universe.

I am always humbled, in awe of spirit and passion, so may I embrace this opening with an open heart and willingness to surrender all of the angst and 'old stuff', permitting the love to enter in and heal again, this troubadour's soul. Amen.

]]>California here I Come ...http://www.phyllisatravis.com/music_blog/2010/1/3/california-here-i-come.htmlPhyllis A Travis2010-01-04T00:44:58ZJanuary 10th I head out to my annual songwriters retreat in sunny California, where I will finally have the spiritual space and time I need to cleanse and decompress my soul, which appears to be trapped at the moment in very non-creative space!

Honestly, I think it has to do with finding a stress-free zone post holiday festivities, to get back on track with all of those creative goals I started out with in 2009. I promised I would devote energy and time to my music last year, forcing myself to go public in a really big way and I did exactly that by getting out on the festival venue ...

So, this year, I hope to take more creative risks ... seizing opportunities which may, at first glance, be absolutely scary going in, but if you've learned anything at all about me in all of these blogs, by now, it's that I'm all about leaping tall buildings!

Stay tuned for updates on Ben Lomand, CA, Jan 10-17th. Always an exciting gig, because I meet other songwriters from all over the world, and get to create and co-write in spiritual "Sequoia" space.

]]>Oh Holy Night: A Mini-Christmas Concert ...http://www.phyllisatravis.com/music_blog/2009/12/25/oh-holy-night-a-mini-christmas-concert.htmlPhyllis A Travis2009-12-25T06:45:05ZA little concert I put together 'on the fly' the other night, to celebrate the season. Two traditional ballads, and one I wrote (Christmas Lullaby) when my niece was born. Merry Christmas!

Playlist :

Christmas Lullaby (Travis),

Oh Holy Night (Traditional)

Silent Night (Traditional).

]]>Christmas Tracks - Open Michttp://www.phyllisatravis.com/music_blog/2009/12/25/christmas-tracks-open-mic.htmlPhyllis A Travis2009-12-25T06:38:27ZOn Sunday, as you know, I grabbed my 11 year old nephew, T-sport, who grabbed my guitar case (he takes his job as my sound man and engineer very seriously) and recording gear, and off we went to open mic again at JP Hopps House in Houston. I was expecting a huge crowd, thinking it would be packed because so many folks are off this week, but there was almost no one there. You'd think I'd breathe easier knowing that, but I was far more nervous with just a handful of listeners in the audience than I was with a pakced house! Go figure!

As sets go, can't say it was one of my best, but I did get to try out a new tune (Sawdust Sunlight), the song that got me an ISSA nomination as singer-songwriter of the year (2009), plus a few traditional Christmas Carols. It is always a lot more fun to have the audience participate, so the end of the set we were really rockin! I've put up the Christmas tracks below, and again on the "Events" page, so you can hear the set.

It's all unedited, so you get to hear the concert live: JP HOPPS HOUSE, Houston, TX, Dec 20, 2009

Playlist :

Sawdust Sunlight (Travis/Daniels),

Christmas Lullaby (Travis),

Oh Holy Night (Traditional)

Silent Night (Traditional).

I hope you enjoy the concert! Feel free to share and pass it on! Sawdust Sunlight and Christmas Lullaby are both available for purchase as instantly downloadable tracks here. Merry Christmas!

]]>Caroling for Christmas ...http://www.phyllisatravis.com/music_blog/2009/12/22/caroling-for-christmas.htmlPhyllis A Travis2009-12-22T05:52:00ZIt is hard to get into the Christmas spirit when you are isolated, alone, without family or friends to remind you why you are here, how valuable your contributions are. Living alone has its perks, but believe you me, the flip side of all of that independence is the isolation. You can drive yourself nuts in no time talking to the walls. Or your guitar strings, take your pick.

Yesterday, I had the notion that Christmas needed to be acoustic this year, not all built up and layered with all that commercial gloss. We needed softer tones, not bigger ones. Acoustic vibes, not over-mixed sounds sailing up through the hemisphere to the North Pole ...

I forced my guitar out of the case, greeted it once again and began the long journey back to Love yesterday. I sang a few notes of Silent Night and was crumbling by the second stanza. Working out the chords to Oh Holy Night, I was a basket case. Exhausted I thought. Too exhausted at the time. But, it wasn't that. It was the pulse of something alive in me that brought me to this understanding:

We need to connect, form as communities, heal and help each other. I grabbed my guitar, my nephew and headed to the open mic last night at JP Hopps House. I planned on singing some new stuff, and did, trying out Sawdust Sunlight to a live audience, but found most of all, that we were connected by the music of the Season.

We only did a few tunes, because sets are limited to three songs, but I've got to tell you, there is something magical this time of year when you get so much joy out of singing carols that were written centuries ago. In the joy I gave, I received more in return last night. Santa Claus would be proud.

]]>And the winner is ...http://www.phyllisatravis.com/music_blog/2009/12/1/and-the-winner-is.htmlPhyllis A Travis2009-12-02T04:43:24ZWell, thanks to all of those votes out there from all of you, I'm convinced I was just a fraction away from taking the win in the ISSA contest. In MY version of the announcement I am in the middle of the stage, bowing graciously to thunderous applause. Thank you, Thank you, I
call out to adoring fans, then pull out my acceptance speech. In my dream, of course, it is all quite possible, a done deal. Never any doubt at all that I would win. One step away from the Grammy with my name all over it. In my dream, I win every time.

The reality is, I had a lot of steep competition. We are all very talented songwriters, the cream of the crop even to make it to the nominee list, so I console my sad-sack self with that pearl of exceptional wisdom and hoist myself up for another creative burst. I have a website to launch, a brand new tune that is still getting a lot of attention even if it didn't win, so it is time to see if I can take it to the next step, do a well-produced 'demo' of Sawdust Sunlight, because this seems to "be the ticket" I've surmised, listening again to winning songs with catchy titles & quite peppily-produced tracks. (The judges say BTW, they don't pay attention at all to production quality as a determining factor ... I'm just sayin' ... )

I've been a busy little bee since Sunday ... check out the new 'instrumental' version of Sawdust Sunlight, let me know what you think. I like the feel of this one with the piano taking the lead to the acoustic guitars. This one tracks closer to the original version, when it was just me and the "keys" by candlelight.

]]>Phew! This tests the nerves :)http://www.phyllisatravis.com/music_blog/2009/11/15/phew-this-tests-the-nerves.htmlPhyllis A Travis2009-11-16T04:01:59ZIt's two days before the voting starts, and I've just sent a 'clean' recording of Sawdust Sunlight to ISSA. Thanks for all your support out there folks, and here's cheers for the winners, whoever they are :)

Here's the 'clean' version of my entry:

]]>Clean recording: How it's donehttp://www.phyllisatravis.com/music_blog/2009/11/14/clean-recording-how-its-done.htmlPhyllis A Travis2009-11-15T04:22:11ZWell, here you go, a little snippet of what it's like to build a song from the ground up. First some 'garage' recording like the one you've already got, then, if you want to spruce it up, you send it off to a studio, see what magic those musicians can perform.

The guitar track is good, I think, but I'm not happy with the opening 'riff' which has a slide, steel guitar, and it should be pure acoustic, gentle. Just like all of that sawdust floating around.

And then the vocal got added and before you know it, I've got myself a brand new country commercial hit if I want it. Problem is, it's not what I wrote, not the right feel for this song. What do you think? Has it been altered, your first impression, of Sawdust Sunlight?

Shall I keep the demo or toss it? Ok, I'll give you more than just a clip to work with. As the writer, you always have to make sure you don't give too much away, permit too many liberties with your creation, yet, still, you want to allow for original vocal interpretation.

So, how did this vocalist do with my song?

]]>Something I've written comes to lifehttp://www.phyllisatravis.com/music_blog/2009/11/13/something-ive-written-comes-to-life.htmlPhyllis A Travis2009-11-13T07:02:33ZHere's the rough track of the demo as it's being developed - the guitar track, hot off the press:

]]>