Hey Everyone!

I’m excited to announce the release of my third solo album “Hope” on April 1, 2011!

To celebrate, I’m offering a free download right here on the homepage of my website.  I’m really excited about this CD.  It’s my first solo CD in five years!  I’ve done three Red Molly recordings since then and have learned a ton about recording, singing, writing and most of all, on my instrument.  When I recorded “Honey on my Grave” I had been playing dobro for less than a year.  I will always have so much to learn, but this CD was a nice chance to dig in and get my chops together.  As for the songs, many of them have my characteristically dark or bluesy feel.  But the title track (Hope) is more of a folk ballad, with overlapping cello and harmonies, but no slide work at all.  I feel like the songs revolve around Hope, both the song and the idea.  Rather than having all hopeful songs, this CD reflects the glimmer of hope we all look for when in the midst of darkness.  The struggle between love and heartache, hope and despair.

Enjoy this first preview track!  I’ll release a second one mid-month.  And I can hardly wait to play these songs live at my first two shows on the Hope Tour:

Abbie

So, my new solo CD “Hope” is all mixed and mastered and sent in to be duplicated!  The tentative release date is April 1st and I’ll be kicking it off with two hometown solo shows with Craig Akin on bass- April 1st at Rockwood Music Hall and April 10th in beautiful Jersey City!  I’m excited to share the new songs and try them out with this duo of upright bass and dobro.  I used my new green National steel guitar for the “round neck” guitar parts on the record and will have that at shows too.  It brings such a nice rusty ol’ sound to these songs.  Trading solos with just bass and dobro is something I’m really getting into, too.  There’s an openness to the sound with only 2 instruments, especially when neither of them is strumming away full time and both are basically fretless.  We recorded an instrumental (my first!) on this new record that I’m so psyched about.  Leading up to the release date I’m going to post that as a free download, especially to all the dobro and resonator websites online.  Check back here for updates on what other songs I will give sneak peaks on!

Even Groundhog’s Day was pushed back, due to the snow!  Come on out to the big jazz jam this Monday 2/14 at The Bickford Theater in Morristown.  We’ll blindfold that groundhog if we have to, so Spring comes sooner!

Happy New Year!!

I’m excited about this one.  After a short break, Red Molly’s back in the saddle, learning new songs, polishing off some older fan favorites and figuring out how to make our touring life even better.  We head to California this month and as much as I have been enjoying New Jersey’s massive amounts of snow, I’m looking forward to going back out West.

The new solo record is mostly recorded- just a little more tweaking and mixing and packaging before it’s out there in the world for everyone to hear.   Right now it’s a sleeping little secret.  And I am amazed at how much I’ve learned in the process.  I finished a song after re-writing it more than 5 times over 2 years, heard my arrangement ideas come to life, sang my solos and then picked them out on Dobro (great for my ears!), gathered ideas when I had none, wrote things I couldn’t play and then learned to play them, and so much more.  A big part of it was finding ways to keep my energy up with exercise and sleep instead of more coffee.  Obvious, I guess, but some things you need to learn more than once.

Coming up:  The Annual Groundhog’s Day Jam w/Herb Gardner!  2/1/11

Hey Everybody!

It’s an exciting day for me!  Today is the first day of recording my new solo record!  I’m headed in to NYC this afternoon with my new green National steel guitar (round neck) and my Dobro squareneck (really a Scheerhorn Wechter with a Beard Cone).  Ben Wittman is on drums, Craig Akin on upright bass, Herb Gardner (my dad) on piano and Sarah Gardner (my sister) on organ.  We’ll be laying down all the band tracks together- hopefully 7 of them today, 4 more tomorrow!  I like keeping the band together for that part, so it really SOUNDS like a band.  Then I’ll go back in to record my solos, add electric lap steel, and carefully record my vocals & harmonies.  Oh and the lovely Emily Hope Price will be in next week to lay down some sweet cello parts.  YAY!

The songs on this project came to me in very different ways, but they’re all pulled together by some mixture of darkness and light, at least in my eyes.  And today, my job is to get these instruments to reflect the same thing.  The National steel feels pretty perfect for that, even though I’ve only had it in my hands for a few weeks.  What a sound!

I’ve been listening to the Wood Brothers, Tom Waits, Ry Cooder, and Bonnie Raitt for the sound and style I want, but who knows if that’s what will come out once it’s mixed with all my other influences.

Ok, time to pack up and go!  I’ll keep you updated on the release date and gigs to support this album.  Wish me luck!

Abbie

PS- Thursday 12/16 I’ll be at Banjo Jim’s (NY, NY) doing a show with Pete Kennedy!  I’ll also be sitting in with Beaucoup Blue and Phil Minissale on 12/18 at Chaplin’s (Spring City, PA).

Wow, I’ve been to Alaska and back again in the past month.   Tomorrow night I get to play Irving Plaza with Red Molly as part of the Woody Guthrie Tribute and Benefit Concert for Huntington’s Disease.   October was extra special because I got to play some shows with my dad- a swing dance in Poughkeepsie and a daytime concert in Cedar Grove.   There is something about playing for dancers that has always made me happy.   I can tell if we’re getting it right, just by watching them react.   Also, there is simply NOTHING like playing music with your own father.   I’m a lucky girl.

This month I’m doing more Red Molly shows and gearing up for a new solo record.   I’ll be going into Mark Dann’s studio in NYC this December and using some of my favorite musicians.   I’m only sure of about half of the songs, but there is nothing like booking studio time to get you in the mode of writing and rehearsing!!   Jonathan Byrd is one of my favorite new co-writers.   Wow, he is GOOD with the lyrics, I tell you.   It’s been several years since I recorded a solo CD, and I really hope to deliver the best of what I have to offer right now.   I’m thinking pretty Dobro heavy, with a lot of groove, but shoot me an email if you have specific ideas of what you want to hear.   I’m really excited by this new batch of tunes and how I can get out there to perform them, too!

Abbie

I’m writing to you from my hotel room in Sitka, Alaska.   It’s one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen, an island on the Southeast Coast of this beautiful, wild state.   Even though the town is rather small, they have an amazing theater and we were lucky enough to play there last night to a full house.   I’m feeling very grateful to be a musician, to have incredible Red Molly band-mates who are my best friends and hilarious traveling companions, to be able to travel and meet all these wonderful people along the way.   As I was walking back to the hotel this morning with my espresso (people up here share my love for the strong stuff!), someone leaned out of their car to yell across the parking lot… “that was the best show I’ve ever seen!”   I’m just speechless.   I realize how lucky I am for this life and never take it for granted.   It makes me want to practice more, write more songs, and put even more energy into my music.   Basically, it makes me want to return the favor or pass it on in some way.   I’ll do my best, Sitka!

In other news- check out the new Slide Sessions video!

And at the end of the month, two jazz gigs with my dad’s band.

10/22 Swing Dance in Poughkeepsie, NY

10/23 Library show in Cedar Grove, NJ

Abbie

I’m sitting here on a rainy Sunday, 12 days into the month before I realize it’s a September!   I’ve had my head so far into Dobro world that I lose track sometimes.

I’m preparing for a gig tonight with my buddy Pat Wictor.   He and I have written, recorded and performed together for as long as I’ve played Dobro and somehow it never gets too familiar.   We’re always picking up new songs to keep ourselves on the edge and challenge what we can pull off on stage.   Right now I’m trying to get some ideas for what to play on Jimi Hendrix’s Voodoo Chile, one of Pat’s picks for tonight.   I tried going for the melody, but this one seems like it would come out better if I just find a distortion pedal and go crazy.   I’m also refreshing on our duet and co-write, A Little Love is Gonna Do (a mellow jazzy number), and some swampy rootsy tunes, as well.   It’s gonna be a really fun show.   We’ll try to videotape something to post for the next episode of the Slide Sessions, too!

Speaking of which, the first episode is now posted, featuring the father-son Philly-based duo Beaucoup Blue!!   I’m so excited about this project because I get an excuse to play with some of my favorite slide players!   On this tune “Sea of Love” we ended up opting for the rehearsal take instead of the “real” one because it had more guts to it.   Go figure…

Take a peek here:

SLIDE SESSIONS: Beaucoup Blue

Abbie

July was an absolute whirlwind!   Falcon Ridge was beautiful, sentimental, and amazing.   Teaching melody-writing and “getting unstuck” down at the Swannanoa Gathering (North Carolina) was incredible…   it opened me up to the rewarding world of teaching and also helped me focus my own thoughts on songwriting, besides the added bonus of being able to play some tunes with Peter Mulvey and dance up a storm with Vance Gilbert.   YAY!

I’ve gone from one tour to the next, breaking handles off my suitcase and learning how to really live on the road.   I’m really getting to know what foods don’t spoil or leak in the car!   Our first international tour, up to Nova Scotia, was a beautiful way to break in our new band member- Molly Venter.   She’s amazing and so fun to be around.   I feel very lucky and inspired these days.   I’m hoping to use that inspiration to carve out a regular practice routine while on the road.   Easier said than done, I know, but there are so many melodies my ears hear that my hands don’t know yet (on the Dobro).   I guess that could seem frustrating, but right now it’s just inspiring me to practice more (and practice BETTER).   Every time I figure one melody out, things feel a little more right in my world and I get fired up to figure out more.   Ah, Sally Van Meter told me to work on this like 4 years ago!   I’m getting there, Sally!   Actually, I think I’ll put the computer down and get to it!

Photo by Ginger Fowler

Here’s my summer uniform- red rubber boots!

Abbie

Wow, what a summer!   Big changes are brewing with the band I’ve spent the last 6 years of my life on.   I’m wishing the best to my friend and bandmate Carolann as we finish up the last few shows in our original formation, while working to get ready for the new formation of the band with Molly Venter.   Our last show together is at The Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, where the band started, and we’ll be playing a great slot on Saturday night.   It’s exciting and emotional, but fitting.

Also, at the end of the month I’ll be teaching songwriting at the prestigious Swannanoa Gathering in North Carolina!!   This will be my first time teaching and I’m really excited about it.   I feel like I can bring together things I’ve learned from every part of my background, including attending Song School and Rockygrass Academy in Colorado, studying classical music, going to Jack Hardy’s NYC songwriters group, and even studying sensory integration and occupational therapy in college.

I’ll be posting the first Slide Sessions Podcast video next month, too!   Wahoo!

Abbie

Hamilton Park is finally open again!   It’s so great to get to meet all the dogs in my neighborhood.   I head to the park at least once a day when I’m here- lately with Mr. Ray Price on my ipod.   I’ve got to soak in this beautiful weather before heading to Texas in a couple of days, where I hear it’s hot-hot-hot.   I’m psyched to be playing the Kerrville Folk Festival main stage again- this time with Red Molly.

Later this month the touring will slow down enough for me to get started on the NEW Slide Sessions!   I’m taking it to the web!   What used to be a monthly gig in NYC will now be a video podcast for the world to see.   I’ve already started scheduling sessions with some of my favorite slide players, going wherever they may be and taping a duet or two.   We’ll be dueling it up on slides of all sorts, laughing and making some fun, spontaneous music together.   Recording starts this month with Pat Wictor and episodes will be posted in August.   YAHOO!

Abbie