Tag: original music

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All the trees in the fields will clap their hands…

11/24/21

Hello, friends…

It’s been a busy fall here on the Big Front Porch presenting local Deep Roots music shows, doing community and church work, and prepping home and hearth for the winter season ahead. I hope this post finds you well with your finest place settings ready at the table and delicious smells coming from your kitchen…and a strong WiFi connection in case some of your loved ones can’t actually BE at your table. 

I’ve been concerned that the ‘push’ for Christmas consumption seems to be so much earlier and more ‘in your face’ this year…feels like Thanksgiving is almost being overlooked altogether….anyone else? I hope this holiday of ‘gathering with grateful and thankful hearts’ is not diminished…

I was pondering this on a walk one afternoon, when I looked up and saw….the trees…(Isaiah 55:12)

I had such a good experience with my inaugural car camping trip back in the summer that I planned to block a few days off for another road trip to see some fall foliage over in Arkansas. But lo and behold, as the days passed, I could see that the trees on my own street and in our own little town were prettier than they had been in years, so I decided to stay put and enjoy what was right outside my own front door. The golds and reds of the crepe myrtles, ginkgos, sweet gums, oaks, and maples have been rich and deep this fall, along with the rust color of the Leland cypress trees which complimented the entire palette beautifully.

Staying put and observing the lessons of the natural world around me reminds me of one of the three primary monastic vows of the Benedictines…stability. Stability refers to the importance of community and commitment in life. When I came back to Mississippi in 2006, I believe it was a calling, and when I retired from Delta State in 2019, I believe I had a call to stay in this community….To  Be. Now. Here. And so here I am…

Part of my ‘staying put’ over the past decade has been to share whatever gifts I have been given in considering visions, sharing ideas, dreaming dreams, and then working towards the realization of those things. It has been my honor to serve on the board of the Cleveland Music Foundation, Inc., the governing body for GRAMMY Museum® Mississippi, since 2011 as a founding member.

My “sermon,” if you will, was and continues to be, “Music can bring us together and make us better,” and trying to insert that idea has been my primary contribution while serving on this board. Others who have way more ‘left brain’ that I, have done the ‘heavy lifting’ of procuring funds, making political connections, overseeing construction, and developing staff in order to make the museum the reality it is today. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of such a magnificent project.

 

Advent begins this Sunday…one of my favorite seasons, and the beginning of the new year for the Church. No argument from me that Easter is the great Alleluia! to the Gospel story, but to consider the Incarnation…that God would ever come to be with us at all…Emmanuel…wow. One of my Advent/Christmas/Epiphany readings will be For The Time Being: A Christmas Oratorio by W.H. Auden. I was not familiar with it until recently, but it is said to be perhaps one of his greatest works. I’m looking forward to some reading time spent with a well-written book and a cup of strong Community coffee.

+peace+ to you and those you love…I am thankful for each of you:)

 

Come, thou long-expected Jesus, born to set thy people free,
From our fears and sins release us, let us find our rest in thee.

 

Tricia

 

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Another Trip Around The Sun…

(Originally written 3/17/21; meant to be posted that day…oops!)

Yesterday I celebrated St. Patrick’s Day and another ‘trip around the sun’ for me…plans for some time in quiet contemplation, but severe weather and a series of tornadoes in the area disrupted that idea a bit (although I did have some prayerful moments in my storm ‘closet’)…

I am blessed and so grateful for all the wonderful birthday wishes on social media, texts, emails, and in person gatherings…who could ask for more? Thank you ALL…

I am amazed, but not really surprised, that there are actually flowers in bloom and buds on the trees after that really DEEP freeze we went through a couple of weeks ago. How wonderful to be reminded of the promise of new life, even after the coldest and darkest of days. I’ve said before that’s one of the things I love most about being in the Delta…seeing the Gospel lessons manifested in the ‘seed’ and the ‘farm’ and all related agricultural activities…year after year after year…the faithfulness of God.

I hope you and all you love are safe and well and enjoying the beginning signs of spring as vaccines for the COVID virus continue to roll out to the public. I’m grateful that I’ve received both my doses…that in itself lifted my spirit and increased my hope that we are indeed seeing light at the end of this long, dark tunnel. I’m continuing to pray that the collective ‘we’ rises with courage and strength to meet the enormous challenge of vaccinations for all in the coming weeks and months.

Have you seen the Music From The Ground Up episodes yet? The episodes are looking GREAT! A new episode is released each Friday at 1 pm CST on the Deep Roots website and also on our YouTube channel. Please subscribe and hit that notification bell so you’ll be reminded when a new episode goes online! Yours truly was featured last Friday, and in case you missed it, here it is:)

If you’re in the Cleveland area, get ready to grab your folding chair, a friend, and a cool beverage as the Deep Roots: Live Downtown! outdoor music series begins on April 23 at 6 pm at the Delta Arts Alliance awning. Live music for eight Fridays in a row, featuring local artists on the Deep Roots roster. I hope you’ll support these efforts of Cleveland becoming a MUSIC CITY…plenty of room to safely spread out with friends and neighbors and enjoy our talented local musicians! Schedule of dates and artists will be announced soon and will be on our website events page HERE.

Another little bit of good news…and a reminder of how songs have a ‘life of their own’…my friend and co-writer, Karen Staley, shared with me that singer Kelly Clarkson performed our song, “Keep Walkin’ On,” on her TV show earlier this week…how fun is that? Faith Hill recorded this song over 20 years ago…hope it makes you dance around the kitchen!

https://youtu.be/b4MkmJc4_Wk

Until next time…wear your mask…wash your hands…get the vaccine…say your prayers…and be kind to one another…

+peace+

Tricia

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A good week’s work…

Many of you may know that I absolutely love being in a recording studio producing music.

Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to reconnect with my old pal, Davis Raines, and his group, The Band of Many Names,  to work on a new project called “Turquoise & Silver.” We locked ourselves up for a few days at Fighting Okra Studios and had so much fun that we barely came up for air. Great songs that are well-rehearsed by musicians who are passionate about and dedicated to their craft make for a great session.

Over the years, Davis and I have worked together on several projects which are some of my favorites…search the web to see if you can find them (“Big Shiny Cars,” “Going To Montgomery,” “Parts Unknown,” “Mockingbird,” and more). The Band of Many Names includes the wonderful Pamela Jackson, who recorded a project at Fighting Okra Studios a few years ago called “Red Rock Heart” (more great songwriting), the multi-talented Mark MacKenzie (here’s a link to his bluegrass band, Fade2Blue, doing a cover of the Ace Ford song, “Orphan Train“), and bass player David Conrad of the Americana duo Conrad Y Skordalia (a fine writer and singer in his own right).

Background vocals in progress

In this age where music is often streamed and consumed as ‘ audible wallpaper,’ it’s good to be reminded of the amount of work and collaborative effort that goes into creating and producing a new body of musical work. For me, it’s also important to not take for granted the small pleasure of popping an original CD, created with love, sweat and tears, in my car player (does your car still have a CD player?) and listening, uninterrupted, to some original music on the drive to Memphis and back.

What a privilege. Let me know if you’d like to work on a new record…I can be reached at…you guessed it…the Big Front Porch.

All is gift,

Tricia

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It’s Time…

Dear friends and gentle hearts, it’s time again to sing the old familiar carols, feast with loved ones around a common table, and scratch our heads in awe and wonder at the craziness of Emmanuel, God coming to earth to be with us and to show us how to live. I love the contemporary translation of John 1:14 that reads, “And the Word became flesh and moved into the neighborhood.”

Emmanuel…God with us.

Christmas Eve morning brought a sweet phone call from the brother of a dear friend and an email from one of the sisters at Sacred Heart Monastery, each sharing that they were celebrating with my Christmas CD playing in their respective homes. That gave me a nice little ‘push’ against the Christmas blues and reminded me of how sacred is the gift of music…and to that end, I’m happy to report that I will have a new recording to share with you all in the first quarter of 2019! It’s called “Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter Eye,” and I suppose it will fall in the singer/songwriter/storytelling category (if there is a reason to categorize it at all)..whatever it is, I look forward to getting it out there and sharing it with you. Best way to keep up with all the news that is news from the Big Front Porch is to sign up to be on the mailing list at www.bigfrontporch.com. Thank you kindly:)

It’s Time…

In the fall of 2017, using a discipline I used when deciding whether to leave Nashville to return to Mississippi, I began a year-long period of prayer and discernment about if/when I should step away from my position as Director of the Delta Music Institute at Delta State. As the weeks and months of 2018 went by, it became clear to me that summer of 2019 would be the right time. I don’t really think of this as ‘retiring,’ but the DMI ship is in good shape and with some exciting projects on the drawing board, it’s time for someone new to take the helm. I plan to step back into the creative life I had before, but hopefully, keep a one or two toes connected to DSU in ways that will benefit the program and the university. 

As word of my decision began to leak out about this upcoming change, I received some calls as to whether I planned to leave the Delta and move back to Nashville. Let me squelch that rumor and say that when I came back to Mississippi, I felt it was a ‘calling,’ and I believe that ‘call’ is still in effect until God says otherwise. This community has embraced me, encouraged me, and supported me from the day my moving truck rolled into town. I will cast my lot with this unique mystical place called the Mississippi Delta. Going forward, I will try to use my gifts and talents in the service of building community in this complicated place we love that still wrestles with the historical residue of our collective past while trying to gather creative, honest voices for the future that will work to share our authentic story with others. Because storytelling is at the heart of everything, even the Divine heart…just read again the wondrous story from Saint Luke…

“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth, peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

PEACE TO US ALL. 

O, HOLY NIGHT. 

EMMANUEL.