New friends, cracked teeth and the wild west.

Well, it’s week 7 of 8 on the grand U.S. tour and we’re still at it, driving ridiculously vast distances, barely eating much besides cereal bars and pita chips or wasabi peas and loading in, playing our hearts out and then rushing off to try and find a place to pitch our tent for the night.

Thing is it’s coming to the end of September, which in Montana (we’re currently in Missoula, though we’re playing Alberton, MT tonight) equates to early winter and the fastest tent set up anyone has ever seen!

So we’ve been down to the (near) tip of the country in Tampa Bay, right up the east coast to Burlington, VT where our organizer forgotten to mention the night he had booked for us to play would also be his rehearsal dinner (crazy times doesn’t cut the mustard on that night). We’ve driven back into our heartland and played a big show in Indianapolis at the Irving Theater with our nearest and dearest there and Jascha doing what he does best (play pulsating rhythms and rock . We’ve played Chicago where I tried to slip out after our gig with our travel iron under my scarf (Kendall thought that would be an opportune moment to make me stand in the middle of the place and take a picture with it.

We played Lincoln, Nebraska where I got to drive at 80 mph in the rain (with windscreen wipers that weren’t exactly working at the time), but also where we got to make some incredible new friends. Organiser, Joe, Sarah Wilkinson (beautiful, sweet voice) and Amber Konz (that lady has got sass and soul in her cords She also took some charming photos that’ll I’ve attached.

And then we hit Iowa to play at Hope church there, everyone of you were sweet, kind and so generous (especially Joy and Lyle Maberry!) Then on to South Dakota where we did some family history (Kendall really- tracing the Ludwigs) and visited the older ones in their resting places and then played one of the most brilliant gigs on the West leg of this U.S. tour- Sioux Falls.

I must add, I am currently obsessed with all things Native Americans so to be driving through the lands of the living descendants sent me into a spinning orbit. At first there were a few people and then they just kept trickling in. They weren’t just the listening sort either. Oh no, this bunch clapped, whooped, whistled, called for more and talked to us afterwards and had a go on our instruments too Love you, Sioux Falls. We also were rescued from driving the whole night in the vain hope of finding a campsite by Francisco (a truly, truly, magnificent individual). Still so thankful, man.

And onwards to Montana. Last night was Bozeman, MT and it was iffy to say the least. Stupidly didn’t take any pictures of the walls which were covered in every kind of Montana license plate that’s ever been made and enough dust in the rug on stage to stir up dust devils when we stomped. Oh tour life.

Now we’re in Missoula. The view out here is phenomenal. Adjectives will just be cliched so, I’ll post some pictures and let you fill in the gaps. Oh one thing though. We’ve been camping if we can’t find a floor to crash on, last night was going to be a camping night until every State Park we climbed up mountains to reach ended with “Bears frequenting areas”. By bears we mean the brown Grizzlies. The ones that can stand up to 9-10 ft when upright and trying to pull out from the branches of the tree you’re hiding in. So needless to say we stayed in our car at a rest stop (my doing. Kendall would have wrestled with the bears given the chance). Such a glamorous life.

Oh and as a quick aside before I sign off- I chipped a small molar on the right hand side of my mouth. Darn Orbit- I’ve sworn off the stuff now, seeing as it pulled out parts of my tooth. Can’t wait to see my dentist and have that filled in.

We’ve only got a few more dates left some come out and see us!

Loves you all a lot.

The Yellow Kites

The Rockies

Snakes, beware

Heavenlies

Studios, coffeeshops and midnight ice-cream runs

As I write this we are finishing up breakfast and getting set to listen to the new songs we laid down yesterday before we head out to Buffalo, NY.  So I thought I would chronicle some recent happenings with pictures :

Oh yes, summer is officially over btw. It’s gotten horribly chilly! This becomes a problem when you’ve only packed summer dresses and thin cardigans.

Getting ready

Lake air

Morning tea

Tonight we’re playing at Merge, Buffalo, NY. ((439 Delaware Ave) Do come and join us, sing along, drink some tea and hear some of the ridiculous tales of life on the road!

Loves,

TYK

And the beat goes on…

Dukes chapel

Today is Thursday 25th August, I know this because I checked my phone. I no longer have an internal calendar (one of the weird side effects of living in a car and being on tour and playing music at 10pm).

Right now we’re in Manassas, Virginia staying with the Andersons and their sweet puppy, Dobby. I should add, the Andersons rescued us from setting up a tent on a drizzly night out in Mason Neck somewhere and offered us the most lush guest room instead

Virginia is a beautiful state. Not just in its greenness, but it’s age. It’s smoked and vintage all at once. The home to Pocahontas (in whose name sake state park we slept in under the stars, after building a sweet fire, stinking of smoke, eating gouda cheese and bread and swatting away red backed daddy-long-legs) and the elusive and plain creepy Roanoke settlement.

We played at St Elmos last night to the locals and had the joys of meeting Arthur. When you’re on tour you’ll always meet an Arthur. He’s older and semi-smartly dressed. His hair is receding and his teeth are a little helter-skelter, but his heart is massive. He’s so full of love for all things Elvis, Beatles and Johnny Cash that you don’t mind that he asks you the same question about five times a minute.

The day before we were in Durham, NC where we got to spend 3 fabulous days with one of Kendall’s best friends, Bruce Puckett and his dear Renee and baby Nolan. Absolutely love, love, love that family. Because that’s exactly what they are.

We played for the youth group where I got to read from my book and answer some brilliantly thought out questions. We got to climb the tall tower and walk across the roof and somehow not fall down the 256 steps back to ground level (legs were not happy after that experience, but my little soul was).

Rocky Mount was next. Kendall had played there before with his Stories of Clockwork band and it was one of the most precious shows to date. The staff sat the lovely old ladies around us in a circle so there wasn’t any need for sound gear. We debuted the harmonium and lots of our old jazz standard numbers. Good acoustics go a long way and coupled with just the right amount of strumming, organ droning and tinkling dulcimer made for a delicate sound that reverberated all around. More than all of that was speaking to the ladies, like Ruby W. (can’t remember the rest of her surname) who held my hand and thanked us for remembering them in their last earthly home.

And with this I will have to dash. I’ve borrowed Erin’s laptop and really ought to stop hogging it.

We’re off to DC next so check out our schedule and holla if you’re nearby!

Love,

TYK

Harmoniums, House shows and stages

Hello again,

Profuse apologies in our tardiness in keeping you up to date with the latest goings on.

The other day I started uploading videos of our tour thus far (they should be available via link under ‘Blog Roll’ on the home page) and then may have forgotten to even send out a note to you all that I had done so (not my sharpest moment).

Right now we’re cosying up in Seymour, TN with Nick and Tessa Defore and their adorable, Elia (the bubbliest three-year-old alive-love her to bits) and it has been a treat no end. Not only was this a generously paying gig (or three as the case may be), but we’ve finally gotten to spend some good, quality time with friends who stayed friends despite us living all the way in London Town for the last year and a half.

We played our Yellow Kites set for the youth on Sat night and it was wonderful. Despite the dimmed lights I could still spot smily faces and hear clapping (Logan Noland-our new favorite friend). Even when we forgot some of Bob Dylan’s Wagon Wheel lyrics, the crowd threw them out to us and laughed along as we strummed, stomped and blew the harmonica through the rest of the set.

Yesterday, we got to play in their two services and it was truly something to hear everyones voices ring out as we taught them the Taize tune, ‘Bless the Lord, My Soul’.

Afterwards we went off with Kendall’s parents and the Defores into the Smokey mountain where walked over age-trodden rocks, narrow bridges and then hopped rocks on the little creek. Kendall went out first and then challenged me to go out (so, of course, I did- bearing in mine my poor coordination and fear of falling). I made some acrobatic manoeuvres which definitely pulled muscles in my side as I clambered around fallen log, but stood victorious upon realising I hadn’t cracked my head open on the rocks below

Some weekends are just magic and this has been one of them.

The harmonium is now finally in our care and we’re getting used to all the surprises we’re finding (like how much it stinks). Maybe it’s the wood, or maybe it’s the place it was built in, but it’s taking a wee bit of getting used to. Kendall has rebuffed my ideas of putting essential oils in it. Fair play.

We’re still learning and there is so much to uncover but we played a little improv piece earlier (K on guitar and me on the harmonium) and it sounded amazing. Not tooting our own trumpet, but there will be some sweet songs and instrumentals when we’re done with that beauty!

And now to backtrack a bit. Before we curved our way through the Cherokee National Forest we were in Greenville, SC and spent a wonderful evening with the Whitesells. I should make it clear none of us knew each other before this and yet one desperate plea on Facebook, some avid friends and a phone call later and we were rolling up to the cutest house to meet Wes and Natalee and their four treasures (Eli, Abe, Chloe and Mei Mei or Maeve).

Not only did they prepare their stunning guest room for us (think quaint, rustic attic room in Brussels), but they fed us, quenched our thirst, bought us ice-cream (the best gelato I’ve had since Italy- no lie) they were just good people. They are just good people. We felt home. Us wandering musical vagabonds, felt home all around us in the walls, voices, colours, books, crazy puppy (Baxter, who’s a labradoodle and old piano sat against the wall.

Natalee even kindly wrote a blog about us. Check it out here:

http://wifeinsuburbs.blogspot.com/2011/08/ettn-treasure.html

Touring is without a doubt the gateway into seeing the real America, not just the fluffed up or plain frightening So and Sos (I’m thinking of the Dixie Republic we passed in SC that donned the biggest confederate flag in history). There are so many truly beautiful and a few weird people thrown in for extra measure. Like Jerry, our long-haired, goatee toting sound man in Natura coffee shop who assured us the world would end when a solar wind hits the tropic of cancer and asked us how Facebook was going to help then. Special isn’t the word.

We played a brilliant house show in St Augustine through our friends of friends (Caleb and Crystal Jones) to the most keen and fun audience. We told stories, I sold a some books online, held babies, shared jokes and then ate plenty of carrot cake whilst we regaled them with ‘how we met story’ (apparently the one thing most people are interested in.)

Okay this has turned into one of those mammoth blogs (sorry!)

Kendall’s cooking lunch and I’m famished so away I must go.

Lots of love,

TYK

p.s. I got to hold my book in my hands this weekend! And signed some copies – eek! Surreal and wonderful

Harmonium, baby!

Time to go!

Poster of sorts at Natura cafe

Harmony makers

Cambridge MA, heatwaves and all that’s inbetween.

Hello wonderful lovely ones,

We’re hoping this blog finds you well and not a puddle of your melted self from the mad heat that has been gripping the States.

I found out yesterday that despite landing in Boston, we really aren’t in Boston- we’re in Cambridge. Also found out, Cambridge/Boston- whichever one you want it to be can get hot- oh so very hot.

But the beauty of it is that you can walk on leafy streets, bare armed and sandal-footed and stroll about late at night without having to run for cover.

We’ve been off the radar, working (Kendall managing an English language camp for teens from the United Nations (not really, but it does feel like that a bit)) and I speaking at a conference and working on le livre.

It’s been a bit hard to get a moment in edgeways to play music, but recently we’ve made that time happen and we’re still keening at just how amazing the human body is. Muscle memory continues to floor me. The more I sing our songs, the easier it gets. My throat knows what to do, the vowels fit into their cavities and my tongue stops trying to make a point and interrupt. And then there’s the playing. We pick them up, blow, strum, pick, shake or tap and they meld together. Can not stress how excited we are to share those sounds with you!

And so here we are on an evenly tempered afternoon catching up on real life and getting together a press kit for our venues, returning emails and sweet wishes.

We’ve ordered my (can not-wait-to-start-playing-it) harmonium, from none other than Delhi and our tent, which will be our home when we don’t have a roof and bed for the upcoming tour. And after weeks of English camp madness, the urge for open roads, changing landscapes and music, sweet music is like a balm.

Thanks for staying with us on this ever-tumbling road.

New England's coastline

Old school Jazz musicians...

 

Beach day!

 

 

 

 

Album released!

Hello dear ones,

It’s been a wee while since we wrote a wordy blog and it’s because of all the hullabaloo and goodness that’s been happening. So let’s start from where we are now.

Last Friday we finally released and launched our album after going on two years of crafting, moulding, shaping and adding to. It would sound cliche to rabbit on about what if felt like to listen the final piece of work after having things suspended in Logic files, Dropbox and Pro-tools for so long. So I won’t. It’s funny how words can come so easily at times and be so fitting, but there’s very little that can capture the everything that’s bursting from the inside out to see this project where it is now.

Last Friday we sang our hearts out and used our diaphragms to hit the back walls seeing as the entire PA system decided to go on holiday and take our microphone’s clarity with them when we started our set. The irony is the best parts for us was jumping up and down stomping boot-clad feet on wooden floors, blowing harmonicas, ringing strings and shaking those little egg shakers in the centre of all our friends and family without any mics or cables. There is something so unbelievably raw about singing in the middle of everyone, there’s no buffer zone, just music and us.

Not only was there lots of merriment we also raised money for Amnesty Internationals work and dedicated to donating a portion from every record sold to their work. ://www.amnesty.org/

And now today our music is everywhere. It’s up on itunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/the-yellow-kites/id444851404 And here: http://www.downloadmusictracks.com/folk-music-new-releases.html and here: http://www.cdbaby.com/New/360/p2

Not to mention on Spotify and in the hands of all of you who bought a down-loadable card with high quality music files and the liner notes on Friday. The cards are the same size as normal business cards, but made out of completely biodegradable material and embedded with wildflower seeds that you can plant in an unused herb pot or something. We planted one as a test run and are staring at it everyday waiting for that little green shoot! We’re planning on releasing CDs too, so don’t fret.

It’s all so blooming exciting and it’s amazing that it’s all still happening as we shift between continents. As I write this, Kendall is meeting up with a Icelandic friend, whose name I can not do any justice to in Reykjavik, on his sweet stopover stint in Iceland. Not only is it summer solstice over there right now (= barely any shut eye time) there’s live music everywhere and a lot of it’s free. So Kendall will be bunking down there until his flight into the States tomorrow to teach English and add more dates to our ever growing summer tour

Okay enough jibber-jabber if you get a chance, please check out our tunes and if it tickles your ear drum in a pleasant way feel free to buy the music

And now for some more random pictures that depict some of wonderful mayhem of our lives of late.

Waiting for our wildflowers to sprout

Apple Crisp I baked because had some fitting apples for it.

Fun times at Liz's gig

P.S. Pics and videos of our Friday gig to come!

Studios and traipsing across the Heath

Daisy, daisy, give me your answer now...

Ever had one of those weeks that feel like an extended weekend? No, well it’s odd (in the best sense of the word). The week’s evenings have been filled with friends, laughter, catching up, rehearsing, rehearsing and rehearsing some more.

On Thursday we were back in the studio to lay my vocals down on four other tracks that will be added to our record. Kendall and Julian (our violinist maestro friend) had already paid their dues and melded magic with the guitar, violin, dulcimer and vocals. We spent a couple of hours in Julian’s sweet studio at the bottom of his garden listening for cues and trapping my sections. I still can’t get over how quickly we did it, especially with the neighbor’s dog barking and the rain beating down loudly at first. It’s amazing what you can accomplish with a supportive recording engineer, a good cup of Peppermint tea and honey and a time deadline.

And now the tracks are in our trusty mixing man’s hands waiting for his whizzing producer skills So whilst we wait, we’ve booked a show in London (17th June) with some friends, which will be a bit o’ a goodbye for now and a bit o’ a album launch party We’ll be playing with some good friends (Dave and Mae) in our work place local ‘The Woodman’…more details to come.

We are also inching that bit closer to getting our album out to you-exciting! Our dear friend Karla more than delivered in doing the artwork for our Dropcards (which will come with a little bit of a surprise

See what I mean about one of those odd weeks? So what better way to wind down than to have afternoon tea with our dear friend Liz Janes (of Asthmatic Kitty, who played a kick ass show on Friday with the delightfully odd and mesmerizing David Thomas Broughton at Kings Place). It’s amazing when a familiar friend from your other home comes to town, your almost not sure if this whole meeting is real or a very extended daydream. Anyway Liz is wonderful and after tea, cake and scones we strolled across London’s treasure- Hampstead Heath and followed that with a delicious dinner at Lord Palmerston.

Happy times.

In the studio

Singing corner

Maestro at work