Tricia Walker – Page 7 – Tricia Walker

December 22, 2014

The Longest Night Of The Year…

Well, friends of the Big Front Porch, you can’t accuse me of filling your inbox with meaningless and useless information, seeing that the last post on the BFP blog was a little over a year ago…how did that happen?

No excuses, just life….and a season of reflection during this Advent as we wait in expectation for the coming of the Promised One into this time and place and heart.

Rather than try and do a lengthy ‘catch up’ of 2014, I’ll try and hit a few high points and then ask for your input on some thoughts…

2014 started off with the opportunity to produce a recording project for my partner in rhyme, Davis Raines. The project is called “Mockingbird” and it involved the writing skills of not only Davis, but Frye Gaillard and Pamela Jackson. It’s a unique look at some Southern themes that keep recurring in our regional and national dialog, and I highly recommend it for your listening pleasure. Check it out here on CD Baby, along with the CD I produced for Pamela Jackson last year….I’m very proud of both projects.

Took a quick break at the beach with the D7, a group of amazing and generous friends that have invited me into their circle (I think they like having a musician around:). They are brilliant women and I am grateful to have them in my life.

Later in the summer, I had the opportunity to return to Michigan to perform alongside my pals, Buddy Greene and Jeff Taylor, for Dr. John Muldaur and the wonderful work of Faith Hospice. We lovingly billed it as the “Rufus, Jeffro, & Magnolia” show. I like that. Also played the Back Door Coffeehouse in Hattiesburg and squeezed in a Women in the Round show at the Bluebird Cafe with my friends and fellow songwriters Ashley Cleveland, Karen Staley, and Beth Nielsen Chapman. Yeah, THAT was fun:)

The fall semester at Delta State came and went so fast…and the spring semester will start before I really get unwound. But come it will, whether I’m ready or not.

This season has brought its share of the holiday ‘blues’ even though there is much joy in my heart at the same time…something of a ‘holy tension,’ I suppose. I am holding fast to the Hope that is arriving on Christmas Day and hope that you are, too. Sad news today of the passing of a friend and neighbor across the street from me…she was a sweet and kind woman, full of talent for writing and teaching, and her homecoming will leave a big hole in our neighborhood. I sat on my porch this evening and looked across the street at the light on in her home, finding it hard to believe that she won’t be coming back…the community will grieve, but she will have a Christmas this year more beautiful and wonderful than any of us can imagine…..

As 2015 begins, I am planning to ‘get shed’ of some things I don’t need (heard that before?), fix some things on the Big Front Porch that need fixin’, and ‘downsize’ my social media life in order to refocus and live with more intention. I’m also looking to reclaim some of the time that is forever ‘sucked away’ on Facebook, Twitter, etc.

As the degeneration of various mechanical parts (knees, shoulders, back) begins to curb the number of my long distance performances, I wonder if you’d be so kind as to share your thoughts about tuning into an online songwriter concert? I’ve seen a couple of platforms that are really easy to use and offer a unique kind of connectivity between performer and listener. I do so want to continue to share songs and stories with you all, and perhaps this would be a way to try and do that….what do you think? I value your input, so take a moment and share your thoughts in the comments section.

I look forward to hearing from you…may your Christmas holiday be filled with joy, peace, and love…be safe and warm, and I hope to see you on the Big Front Porch soon!

Pax,

Tricia

December 16, 2013

Christmas News from the Big Front Porch

Hello, friends and neighbors:)

It’s been quite awhile since I’ve had a chance to sit on the Big Front Porch and write you all a note, so it’s time I sat down now to send you Christmas greetings with perhaps a recap of the past year…seems like it’s just flown by, doesn’t it? The mistress of the web for the Big Front Porch has prepared some Christmas (and other) CD specials on the website, so I hope you’ll visit the ‘store’ page of the website and take advantage of the sweet deals she put together for you. Remember that Christmas doesn’t begin until December 25, and then you’ve got 12 DAYS to continue shopping (and probably finding some great bargains and avoiding the craziness from folks that feel they have to get it all done BEFORE December 25)…take it easy, y’all:)

I wish for you all an Advent season filled with peace…I love Advent…the waiting and hoping anew for a miracle, for some hope, for some joy…here on the Big Front Porch, the streets are quiet in the cold evening, the moon is almost full, and there is anticipation in the air…come, Lord Jesus…

Life on the Big Front Porch has been filled with music and schoolwork, changes and new adventures, and here of late, some pretty big challenges….

Early in the year, our student all-star band at the DMI at Delta State (where I spend most of time when I’m not on the Porch), travelled to Los Angeles at the invitation of the state tourism department to perform at Mississippi Night! during GRAMMY week. What a thrill for those young people…this was the first time on a plane for one of them! I truly enjoy watching the world expand for them through these kinds of opportunities. Being from a small town myself, I distinctly remember the thrill I felt the first time I played the Grand Ole Opry with the wonderful Connie Smith. As those big red velvet curtains were slowly raised, I had to pinch myself to see if the whole thing was real or a dream…ok, I digress…

Ready for the 'O Tux Society — Ready for the ‘O Tux Society

In March, I marched once again with the O’ Tux Society for Mal’s St. Paddy’s Day Parade in Jackson, MS. It’s quite fun, and the whole things benefits the Blair E. Batson Children’s Hospital there. I was please to speak at the Music of the South Conference at Ole Miss and perform for the Link Centre’s Songwriter Series in Tupelo, MS.

The end of the spring semester brought the graduation of our first music industry studies degree student with only a slight pause before summer set in with DMI camps and projects. I had the great privilege to perform again with Buddy Greene and Jeff Taylor at the beautiful home of John Muldaur in Michigan. The dinner/concert is held on the banks of the Grand River and is a benefit for Faith Hospice, and as you all may know, I try NEVER to miss a chance to play with Buddy and Jeff.

Late summer brought a fabulous production project to the Big Front Porch…singer/songwriter Pamela Jackson and my old pal, Davis Raines, brought a collection of songs to the DMI studios for a recording in August, and man, what a record it is turning out to be! For those of you who enjoy great lyrics, beautiful melodies, and heartfelt stories, you’re going to want to get this CD when it becomes available. Pamela, like Davis, is a child of our sister state, Alabama, and that streak of Southerness runs easily through her creative work. Stay tuned…

Fall semester got underway and flew by until two weeks ago when an aging air handler pipe on the roof of our building broke and the DMI offices and classrooms were totally flooded! Thank goodness, the studios were not damaged and it was the end of the semester, but what a way to wrap up the final two weeks! Whew…no need to drag on about that…suffice it to say that there were many blessings in the midst of the flood, and for that, I am grateful. Even in the midst of all that, DMI presented the third “Mississippi Delta Holiday” show at the BPAC, and I managed a quick trip to Nashville to perform with Buddy Greene and Ashley Cleveland for the 24th Annual Evening in December event benefitting Daystar Counseling Ministries. And this Wednesday, I’ll perform a concert of Christmas music at my home church, St. Luke’s UMC, with my friend Joni Bishop. That should just about set me up for the Christmas spirit…make some of Papa Dear’s family egg nog recipe, enjoy some oyster dressing (maybe in New Orleans), and have a pajama party with my Ya-Yas…life is GOOD.

Be blessed, y’all…my new year’s resolution (and I really don’t make many) is to be in better touch with you all in 2014. I’ve starting working on some new songs for a new project, and I’ll keep you posted. As always, if you’re tired of being on the Big Front Porch, I’ll take no offense if you choose to unsubscribe, but don’t stay gone too long! You might miss a good story…

Pax,
Tricia

January 7, 2013

Wise men still seek Him….

Epiphany…January 6…the end of the Advent-Christmas-Epiphany cycle…I had a lovely time at Secluseval, even with awful weather on Christmas Day. It was 70 degrees on Christmas Eve and my sister and I enjoyed the sunshine on the Big Front Porch once again. I then had the wonderful opportunity to participate in a New Year’s retreat at a very special place called Laity Lodge out in west Texas. My friend, Buddy Greene, invited me to be one of the musicians for the retreat, and I never miss a chance to play music with Buddy. Another old friend, Scotty Smith, was the speaker for the retreat, and his focus for the retreat was Epiphany…taking a deeper look at how God ‘broke through’ then and continues to ‘break through’ now to those in this world. I sang…I rested…I feasted…I shared community with others who are seekers…it was a glorious time and I am grateful to have been a part of it. I hope to carry the spirit and grace of the retreat into every day of this new year…may your days ahead be filled with hope, good health, peace, and grace…pax, Tricia

December 21, 2012

The Longest Night of the Year…

Advent…the season of waiting…and tonight is the longest night of the year….but there is hope in this dark night of waiting even with the unspeakable sorrow of Newtown and the uncertainty of what lies ahead in 2013. I had the privilege of singing last night for some beautiful patients and caregivers at our local hospital…there was birth and death and the fearful waiting of the emergency room all within three floors of each other, and yet music held us together for a short while during the cold night.

I came home to read an Advent selection by Brennan Manning titled, “Shipwrecked At The Stable.” Manning writes of how the world does not understand vulnerability and how the spirituality of Bethlehem is incomprehensible to the advertising industry…how true. But in his commentary on the mystery of Bethlehem and the trivialization of the divine scandal, Manning quotes the Spanish author, Jose` Ortega, whose thoughts of being shipwrecked resonated with me in this Advent season:

“And this is the simple truth…that to live is to feel oneself lost. Whoever accepts this has already begun to find himself, to be on firm ground. Instinctively, as do the shipwrecked, he will look around for something to which to cling, and that tragic, ruthless glance, absolutely sincere because it is a question of his salvation, will cause him to bring order to the chaos of his life. These are the only genuine ideas; the ideas of the shipwrecked. All the rest is rhetoric, posturing, farce. He who does not really feel himself lost, is without remission; that is to say, he never finds himself, never comes up against his own reality.”

Those who are shipwrecked cannot bring along baggage from the past…they can only be in the here and now, facing the reality that they are lost…we are lost…but we are captivated at the Bethlehem stable by joy and wonder, and the Child there is the One to whom we cling.

This Christmas, whether you find yourself literally at home or at home within your heart, may you find peace and comfort there in knowing that there is Hope for the shipwrecked….from the Big Front Porch to your home,

Tricia

[mp3player width=175 height=35 config=single.xml playlist=sweetlittlejesusboy.xml]

September 3, 2012

“Come ye who labor…”

A good Labor Day to all of you from the Big Front Porch!

I confess that I’m ashamed to see that my last post was back during the spring, so I figure I owe you BFP fans some summertime catching up, in you’ll indulge me:)

The summer somehow, as summers seem to do, FLEW by, and we’re already two weeks into the fall semester…how did that happen? But the farmers are fully into the harvest and the sounds of football teams and high school bands fills the air on Friday nights, so it must be fall…..even if the actually temperature today in the Delta will hit 100 degrees!

A recap of this summer from the Big Front Porch includes a wonderful trip with friends to the Greenbrier in West Virginia in late May. Nice to be in the mountains again sitting on another beautiful big front porch talking about life and stuff…

OSR@ChiTown — Ol’ Skool Revue at the Chicago Blues Festival

Got down from the mountain in time to accompany the Ol’ Skool Revue band from the DMI for a performance at the Chicago Blues Festival in June. It was a fun adventure riding the City of New Orleans north through the night to the Windy City, a journey made by many Mississippi musicians over the years, altering the development of American music…nice to still be part of that.

Hopped off the train, took a day or two and then headed back up the road to Music City (Nashville) for the annual “Songs From The Heart” workshop/concert with cancer patients, caregivers, and professionals at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. Some of the participants this year really took ownership of their song as well as their performance. There’s a CD and a DVD in the works…songwriting at its purest. It is always a privilege and an honor to try and help put those feelings into words and music.

Late June brought me the opportunity to join my pals, Buddy Greene and Jeff Taylor, in a benefit concert on behalf of Faith Hospice in Michigan at Dr. John Mulder’s home on the banks of the Grand River. What a magical, beautiful evening, full of good music, good food, and good fellowship all for a good cause…it doesn’t get much better than that.

July 4? Vacation? What’s that?

The DMI Summer Camp for high school students interested in the music industry was held in mid-July, and we had a GREAT group of campers this year….some unexpected collaborations between unlikely pairing of students brought about some very original works, not to mention opportunities for getting to know each other in a way that shows we’re not so different after all…

Of course, there was the yearly summer gathering of the Ya Yas at the Alluvian in Greenwood for much needed R & R among old friends, but let’s just say what happens at the Alluvian stays at the Alluvian and leave it there…

The Big Front Porch had the opportunity to work on a very cool CD project with three of my favorite singer/songwriters: Kate Campbell, Tom Kimmel, and Pierce Pettis. They perform together as The New Agrarians, and they were looking for an opportunity to work on a recording project together. All the planets lined up to have them record in Studio B at the Delta Music Institute, and it was a BLAST! They’ll be finishing up the project in Nashville, but trust me…you’ll want to watch for this CD if you’re a fan of literate Southern storytelling in song….there’s some amazing work on this record.

And so that brought me to early August…a few days of re-grouping before the business of DMI kicked back in. I made a dash to the Coast and a dash to Secluseval and enjoyed the relatively uneventful days here on the Big Front Porch in the Delta. And now we’re in full swing again…harvest time.

I’ve got some new ideas in the pipeline for my next recording project so I’ll keep my nose to the grindstone and begin to flesh out characters and situations and histories and see where it leads…stay tuned.

I promise I’ll try and get on the Big Front Porch sooner than later…let me hear from you…we’ll sit awhile and catch up.

Pax,

Tricia

March 18, 2012

Reflections on a Green Birthday…

Well, I left the comfort of the Porch this weekend to celebrate my birthday, and what a birthday celebration it was! I was invited to march in the 30th Annual Mal’s St. Paddy’s Parade as a part of the ‘O Tux Society by Malcolm White hizownself!

In being part of such a sea of green, I thought it proper to sport the Fighting Okra to represent Delta State, and it was quite a conversation starter. What a kick to enjoy the Pet Parade, the Children’s parade, and then march through a crowd of 65,000 people, strutting to a Dixieland brass band and exchanging flowers for kisses! Where else can that many people of all shapes, kinds, colors, and sizes get together and be NICE to each other?

M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I!

My sister joined me for this celebration as she, too, celebrates a March birthday. We were both born in Jackson, Mississippi, and so we had a chance to ride through some of the old neighborhoods to see what we could remember, who lived where, etc…

Driving back to the Delta on this fourth Sunday of Lent, looking out onto the ready fields, I took time to listen to some podcasts of messages by Keith Tonkel, pastor of Wells United Methodist Church in Jackson. Keith and the ministry of Wells had a profound impact upon me during my young adult years, and hearing him continue to preach the Gospel in such a clear and loving way was a sweet encouragement. Those messages and seeing the tractors in the fields turning up the ground was a good reminder that, by grace, God is still keeping His promise to ‘make all things new.’

Here’s hoping you had a good and ‘green’ weekend and that your hearts and spirits are encouraged with the coming of spring. Let me know what’s ‘springing’ up in your world….

Pax, Tricia

February 25, 2012

West Coast to Big River….and the beginning of Lent…

Evening, one and all, from some of the loveliest big front porches in America…on the bluffs overlooking Ol’ Man River right here in Natchez, Mississippi, where I gave a presentation today at the 23rd Annual Natchez Literary and Cinema Celebration with my good friend and fellow wanderer, Davis Raines, one of this country’s most brilliant and underappreciated songwriters. We dazzled ’em with a little program entitled, “Come and Listen to My Story: Melodic Narrative in Country Music.” Sounds impressive, don’t you think? Anyway, the good friends and neighbors seemed to enjoy it, and we celebrated our success with a lovely ‘sit down’ dinner at Monmouth, one of the beautiful plantation homes of Natchez.

Okra@Malibu1 copy — Fighting Okra catching some rays in Malibu...

Only two weeks ago, I was on the porch of a wonderful beachside eatery called Malibu Seafood, having Pacific snapper while watching the blue surf crash on the sandy shores so far from our own Gulf of Mexico. I was with a group of civic leaders from Cleveland, Mississippi who attended Mississippi Night at the GRAMMY Museum at L.A. Live. Quite the festive affair…a lovely time was had by all as the group begins the groundwork for our own GRAMMY Museum Mississippi to be built on the campus of Delta State University. More to come on that…

With such a whirlwind of days flying by, the sacred season of Lent sort of snuck up on me, but I did keep my calendar clear enough to attend Ash Wednesday service at my church earlier this week. I hope for me, and for all of you, that this season will be meaningful and will draw us closer into God’s heart as we learn to deny ourselves daily in order to follow Him more closely. Someone shared this cool Lenten calendar with me called Busted Halo…contemporary and practical.

Won’t be long now until the Mal’s St. Paddy’s Day parade in Jackson, Mississippi. This is the 30th year of the parade, and I plan to attend and do a little marching myself…stay tuned and I’ll let you know how it goes…should be fun:)

Until then, travel safe and take a little time this spring to sit on your Porch with a glass of sweet tea and ponder all the new life around you…miracles, one and all, great and small…pax.

January 30, 2012

Ya Yas and frocks…

Hard to believe that January is almost over…and thankfully, it’s been a mild enough month to actually sit on the Porch and do some pondering…nice:) Hope that February will follow suit, don’t you?

During the Christmas season, my two best ‘growing up’ buddies, Jackie and Paige, and I always get together for what we have lovingly termed, “The Gathering.” I’m not sure exactly what year we started, but it’s been going on now for at least half of our 50+ years. It’s a chance to put on our PJs, laugh a lot, and do pretty much NOTHING for about 24 hours. Pure bliss…

Mom Walker and Luzon have gone on to heaven, and so our last remaining mama on this earth is the Matriarch, “Miss” Eleanor. We gather in her kitchen at Meadowview, and while she mixes together some homemade cornbread in HER mama’s cast iron skillet, we revert back to childhood and giggle uncontrollably at the retelling of some incident from forty years ago that still makes us act silly.

Miss Eleanor's cornbread — Mmmm....cornbread...

The focus of the Gathering was the impending nuptials this spring…the first born of the ‘petite’ Ya Yas (Jackie’s daughter) will be tying the knot in late March, and so this blessed event requires that we all go out to shop for a new frock. Yes, there. I said it. I have to go shop for a frock. I believe it was Eleanor Roosevelt who said, “You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” I don’t think she was speaking in the context of shopping, but whatever….

I was in Jackson yesterday and so I made an attempt to enter a mall and make a purchase. Lord, have mercy….there was a SALE on and there were hundreds of women who were in their element in such a situation while I, on the other hand, was about to break out into hives. I had to wait 45 minutes just to get into a fitting room…so while I waited, I fired a volley of texts off to the Mother of the Bride extolling how I was making close to the ultimate sacrifice for her firstborn:)

Ok…I didn’t fall out or throw up, so all is okay….found two items that I will live with for a couple of days to see if one of them will work for the happy occasion. I’m sure to be a lot more comfortable in boots and jeans for the rehearsal dinner at the fish house.

I also got off the Porch last week long enough to make a quick trip to our beautiful Mississippi Gulf Coast to perform at a showcase in Bay St. Louis for the “Backstage Pass” arts event sponsored by our Mississippi Arts Commission. I am proud to be included on the Artist Roster of the MAC, and I appreciate all the work they continue to do to spotlight the arts and arts education in our lovely state. Executive director, Malcolm White, understands how valuable arts and artists are to our state and particularly to how they can impact the creative economy. Next time you have a little time on your Porch, take a few moments and read all about the Creative Economy in Mississippi and what it can mean to our future.

TW @ MAC event — Showcasing at the Hollywood

Well, I’d better cut off the Porch light and get a little rest…looks like a busy week ahead. Y’all take care, and I’ll get back in touch soon!

Pax,

Tricia

January 14, 2012

Saturday in a small town….

I woke up to this lovely Saturday thinking of several errands that I needed to run, and with ‘run’ being the operative word, I decided to see what I could get done on foot. While spending a few quiet moments pondering a passage in Paul’s first letter to Timothy while sipping a cup of Community New Orleans Blend coffee, I realized what a gift it is to live where I can walk to campus, the post office, the bank, a grocery store, a coffee shop, an art gallery, the cleaners, and our downtown area of stores and boutiques…nice:) It’s a lot like my hometown growing up, although Fayette was a hamlet (Pop. 1600) compared to Cleveland (Pop. 15,000). From where I sit on the Big Front Porch, the leadership of Cleveland and Bolivar County are doing a good job working to build and sustain a nice quality of life for folks here in the Delta. If you’d like to know a little more about Cleveland, here’s a link to visit: http://www.visitclevelandms.com

And since it’s a holiday weekend, I wanted to mention two great men who share January 15 as a birthdate: Martin Luther King, Jr., whose life and work made a positive difference in the lives of many, and my daddy, James Monroe (Jimmie) Walker, whose life and love made such a positive difference in mine. He left this world when I was only 18, but I believe he would have been so pleased with my musical career and all that it has brought me. I still miss him…

When I lived in Nashville, I had the privilege of hearing the multi-talented singer/songwriter Don Henry perform often at the Bluebird Cafe…I wanted to share his song, “Beautiful Fool,” with you all as we head into this holiday…I hope you take some time to sit on your Big Front Porch and ponder peace and justice…thanks for listening:)

Pax,
Tricia

January 3, 2012

Here’s to 2012 from the Big Front Porch….

Ok…no sense in adding the undue pressure of a hard and fast resolution to this post, but I do intend to try my best to bring you news from the Big Front Porch on a more consistent basis than I have been…’nuf said.

Here’s a glimpse of the Big Front Porch…it was lovely to sit on the porch yesterday on the first day of this new year and take a few moments to enjoy the smell of a wood fire, the colors of the sunset, the feel of the crisp winter air on my cheek, the sound of a hoot owl in the woods, and the taste of my sister’s perfectly cooked black-eyed peas. God is good…all the time. I hope you and your friends and family will take some time in the coming days to sit on a porch (inside, of course, if it’s too cold for outside sittin’) and be quiet long enough to hear the ‘still small voice’ within…

The Big Front Porch - Secluseval — The Big Front Porch

And since we’re still in the days of Christmas, here’s a sweet little cedar that is our Christmas tree this season…cut from the fields of Secluseval…a special place.

Christmas 2011 — Christmas Tree at Secluseval

Pax,
Tricia