Barleycove plays NYC!

Freddy's Bar-Brooklyn, NY

It was a bucket-list moment, we played a set in Brooklyn at Freddy's Bar.  It's all a story of connections and life's weavings of a tale.  We are from three smaller towns in the South, so everyone has asked, "How did that happen?"  Meaning, how did a little band get a gig in the big city?  A professor and educator advocate, Dr. Mark Naison and I befriended each other through our education activism.  He also became a fan of our music and offered to help us in any way.  Hoping our album would be complete and thinking we could take our music beyond the Southern states, I asked Mark this summer if he knew of any places we could play in NY.  He then connected with a teacher/songwriter friend of his who sent me some possible venues.  Finally, we connected with Freddy's Bar and all was a go!

Badass Teacher and barleycove fan, Dr. Naison

The evening arrived and we had the honor of sharing the space with Lindsey Pavao, semi-finalist from The Voice (Season 2), and Heroes Last Mission from Sacramento, CA.  The talent in the room that night was overwhelming, and it was an honor to be a part of it all. It is rewarding to meet down-to-earth musicians who are simply touring day in and day out for the love of music.  It is inspiring and helps to keep us all motivated to keep creating new music.

Meeting Lindsey Pavao was an honor

This is also a tale of social media.  I met the incredibly talented, Trumpet Grrrl, on Twitter.  We have kept in touch and communitcated on the GoGirlsMusic chat (#ggchat) on Thursday nights.  I tweeted we would be in Brooklyn, she said she'd be there, and she was!  It is beautiful that this commmunity of independent female musicians is growing and supporiting each other!

With the amazing, Trumpet Grrrl

So, the moral to this story is: Do what you love, and you never know what could happen. Also, never underestimate the importance of our connections with all we meet.  Be kind to everyone and keep those bridges intact.

Thanks for taking the time to read,

Laura

The Official barleycove Website is Up and Running!

Greetings lovely Earthlings!

Good news!  Our new website is here: http://barleycoveband.com !
It just makes things so official to us for some reason.  We have nifty buttons to all our links, and we are even on Pinterest-which apparently is the place to be!  Any suggestions, ideas, or novelty quotes would be appreciated to improve the site. So please take the time to check it out and keep watching the skies!

What's the Latest with barleycove?

With so much going on in the world, it is easy to feel one's art is irrelevant.  Yet, artists feel the need to create, and express the emotions that dwell within us all.  With that being said, we are in the process of creating new music and are in the studio recording now.

Hmmm, last blog entry was in March, "So, what has been happening?", you might ask.  For one thing, we now have the incredible addition of Mr. Tim Trammel on drums!  The band feels cohesive now and the sound has really come alive. We also had a kickstarter project begin and end with not being funded.  It was disappointing and wonderful all at the same time.  First of all, kickstarter is a fundraiser site to help entrepreneurs fund their ideas; from authors' seeking to publish their own book to inventors with great gadgets, it allows people to donate to projects they deem valid. Contributors are also given "rewards" for their donations.  It is a beautiful exchange in this brave, new, independent world. A project has a monetary goal, but if that goal is not met in a certain time period, no money is collected.   Our goal was to raise $7,000 to record an EP with an accomplished producer.  To have family, friends, and fans support us in such a manner was heart-touching.  To not make our goal was heart- breaking...but, wait for it, there was a silver lining in the horizon.

Seeking to always improve, I began taking guitar lessons along with my son at Yellow Mama Music with Mike Dove.  Mike is a virtuoso on guitar and graduate of Atlanta's Musical Institute. He also mentioned in conversation that producing is something he would like to do more of and my ears perked up.  I mentioned I was going to do an EP with my band, but our kickstarter failed. I mentioned that I really envisioned an album concept, but questioned if that was too outdated in an iTunes world.  He was all about the vision, was up for the challenge, and finally, it is all coming together.

We began recording in July, and we are taking our time.  We were shooting for an early Fall release, but it may take longer. It truly is an amazing experience to watch the songs unravel and develop into something bigger than one could ever imagine.  My wish for everyone is that if you feel the desire to create, then do it!  Someone might benefit from what you have to offer, and the ride is quite lovely.

Thanks for even coming to read this blog!  Thank you for your support!

Love,
Laura

"It's Been Awhile"

Pursuing one's dreams takes as much effort as not pursuing them. We have been busy writing new songs, playing three hour gigs, yoga chanting for charity, and working full time in order to continue our quest for a livelihood in the music business. The beauty of today's music world is that one is not limited by age, weight, or because of geographical location as to why one's goals of pursuing music can not be achieved. One might have to have specific qualifications to meet the standards of a major label's requirements; but in these times, artists can create and be free to be who
they truly are without answering to anyone but themselves.

I am thankful to be a part of this new era of music. Soon, my band and I will be launching a "kick starter" project to raise money to make our first EP! People have been asking how they can help us, and we are giving them a chance to do so! We would then be able to create something grander, and it is in that process of creation that pure joy is found.  At first, I was hesitant to raise money this way, but Amanda Palmer's recent TED talk about "The Art of Asking" was the final validation to go for it! She encourages us all as artists to ask.

Please take the time to watch her inspirational words: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMj_P_6H69g&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Thank you for reading this, remember to create, and we will be asking for your help
soon!

Xoxo
~Laura

"Hold Fast to Dreams"

When I was a little girl, I knew I wanted to be a teacher and a singer.  Playing “school” with docile stuffed animals in a row was a common occurrence.  Teaching is also in my bloodline, so it was almost inevitable that I would end up becoming an educator.    However, equal to this passion was that of music.  Singing “Hotel California” at the age of three in the back of my father’s '72 Chevelle, made me realize there is something to this thing called “music”.  It made me feel excited, feel alive!  Family members endured listening to Mickey’s Disco album, while I performed each song with the enthusiasm that only a five-year-old can.  Purchasing Blondie’s, “The Tide is High,” with my first allowance gave me a sense of pride.  I loved this thing called “music”.   I wanted to be a singer.  But something happened along the way…

I began to be “shaped” by what others thought, rather than by what I felt in my heart.   Realizing that there seemed to be certain “rules” as to what a woman should look like or sound like in this career choice of pursuing music as a livelihood.  I began to doubt.  Elders with words of caution preached that the chances of having a career in the music industry were unpredictable.  Yet, I knew there was still this passion, this love inside of me.  So, allowing fear to be my ruler, I tucked my little songwriting self away, and chose to go the “safe” route and go with a stable career in education.  Teaching was something that I was good at, working with children was rewarding, but a huge part of me would remain hidden.  Until now…

This will be my fourteenth year of teaching, and it has been incredible journey filled with inspiration, filled with feeling the struggles of my students, and filled with the joy of inspiring others to do what they feel passionate about.  Yet, it began to surface that I was a humongous hypocrite!  Here I am telling my students to do what they love in life, and I am not doing that myself.  I could no longer contain my passion.  I began to write my own songs again, and have been doing so for the past four years trying to make up for lost time.  Aging can be a liberating thing, because you begin to care less about what others think of you, or what their opinions are.    Recently, I got the nerve up to audition for my city’s TedX talks.  I performed an original song and told “my story”.   Did it turn out to be Cinderella story?  Well, I was not chosen to perform as one of the TedX speakers, but I was offered the chance to perform at the after party celebration. I was thrilled and thankful for that opportunity.  It was me not being a hypocrite for once, and finally practicing what I preach!  Who knows where my music will lead me, but at least I can rest assured that my songwriting will be a part of my life from now on.  I now realize that life is unpredictable and that is what makes it beautiful!! Hold fast to your dreams!

~Laura

New to the Music Scene-You Need The Renman and ReverbNation!

If you are new to the music scene, as barleycove is, then there are many sites to help you understand the business and how it works.  Personally, I have been a musician since I was a child, but putting your own music out there and actually trying to do it for a living brings you to a whole different realm.  One site, dubbed the "home school" for musicians,  that has helped us gain invaluable information is Renman Music and Business: http://www.renmanmb.com/ .  It is not only for musicians, but for anyone who desires to have a career in the music field.  The site was created by Steve Rennie, aka the Renman, who is notoriously known for being the manager for Incubus.  Under the f-bomb dropping exterior, this guy has the heart of a saint and gives his advice free of charge.  Bands/ musicians can upload their profile, songs, videos to the site and build communication/networking skills with other artists along with those that desire to be promoters, producers, and managers.  The Renman produces weekly 101 segments on YouTube and Music Maker on topics such as "Producers" or "Managers".  He picks a song of the day and video of the week to help promote unsigned artists/acts.  He even does livestreaming web chats twice a week to answer any questions under the sun that you may have.  His answers are not sugarcoated, and he will set you straight with his blunt honesty.  The Renman also has many "friends" in the biz who stop by the weekly live chats to offer their expertise as well.  It has been well worth our time to be a part of this "pay it forward" community.  

Another site that has been very beneficial for getting our music out into cyberspace is that of ReverbNation.  This site gives you the tools to promote your band/music on a larger scale by becoming a part of this community.  You will be given opportunities to submit your works in order to open for other acts, play music festivals, and enter contests.  This site does have a free of charge option, or you can upgrade to pay a monthly fee which will give you more promotional tools. The link is:  www.reverbnation.com/barleycove .

Bottom line, as with anything else, there are peaks and valleys with going into the music business.  It takes a true love for it, passion, patience, and dedication.  I hope that by blogging about our adventure from the bare beginnings to whatever the future holds, you will  be inspired to go for it if you have ever dreamed about pursuing music as a career.  

XO,

Laura

barleycove playing at Smiley's Acoustic Cafe

The Nashville Connection and barleycove

The music business is a matrix.  Seeking where to go next, barleycove went to the Nashville Connection Convention "Heroes Salute" this week in Greenville, SC.  It was also a week of celebrating veterans with a mobile Vietnam Wall in memory of our heroes and entertainment provided around that theme.  Workshops were held, including social media advice from Anthony Francis and Amber Osborne of Head of Lettuce Media, entertainment law consultation with David Wyatt, and recording insight with Noel Golden and Marcus Suarez from Whitestone Studios.  Dave Brooks, Roger Ryan, and Sam Tate (pictured below) made their way from Nashville to share their expertise, knowledge, and judge the talent competitions.  Thankful for the opportunity and insight one can always learn from any new experience!

For more info:  www.TheNashvilleConnection.com