What a great day! We played an Annapolis festival called Eastport a Rockin on 6/25. Tons of fun! It was our first time playing there, ever (yikes, that’s a different blog)

Festivals are tough. Imagine you are working out. You’ve been going for a while, you are all worked up and the sweat is just pouring out of you. You’re getting a fabulous workout! Now imagine doing that in front of hundreds of people. On a stage. Wearing a dress. It kinda sucks! It’s one thing for the boys to sweat, but I’m a lady. We are expected to be pretty at all times, or we are considered freakish.

So, the sweating is a problem. But even simple things like going to the bathroom, getting a drink, or even feeding yourself become enormous tasks. Try getting food, but you need tickets. And I’ll surely run into someone “hey!! you’re leda! hey i know you don’t know me, but let me give you some advice. You should [dress differently, really try to give it your all, don't wear those sunglasses, don't be afraid! run around more, run around less, etc etc etc]

or I might run into the person who came to a show two years ago, introduced himself, and is now utterly offended that I don’t remember his name. Even though it was–2 years ago.

Ok. I got through the people! Now it’s time to pee before we go on. Walk to the port-o-potties. Crap, there’s a line. Do I play the “i’m in the band” card? Nah, not usually. I’ll do it if I have to play in a matter of minutes. If it’s an hour or more, I won’t do it. Then someone in line recognizes me. “ohhhh you’re leda!! i love to see you guys but i don’t get to very often, cuz my friend doesn’t like you guys.” Super. Thanks for that almost compliment. ( i guess i should make a note that i didn’t hear all these crazy rantings at this one festival, it’s just a collection of all the good ones i’ve heard lately!)

Finally, I make it into a potty to pee. Hold my breath cuz strangers probably pooed there earlier. Drip dry cuz there’s no TP. Ok, done.

Now it’s time to get a drink! A beer would be nice. But if I drink beer, I’m gonna have to pee. And then I’m right back in the potty line. D’oh!!

So, festivals are nuts. On Saturday, even though we play at 7 I get to the festival at 2 cuz I love to support all our friends’ bands.Phone’s.ringing! we get a call from the Dirty Names, who are playing right before us. Somehow they tracked down Jaime’s number. “Dude, I’m so sorry but we are driving from New York and we hit a bunch of traffic, and I don’t think we’re gonna make our set. Can we switch sets, we’ll play at 7 and you play at 6?”

Crap. Crap crap crap. We have been telling EVERYONE that we play at 7. If we switch, we’ll be doing a good deed. But then we’re gonna hear it. People will complain that they made it over to our stage at 7 and we weren’t playing anymore. And they’ll be pissed. What do we do? Omar’s not even here yet, who knows when he’ll get here. AGHHHHHH what to do, what to do.

But we’re sweethearts. It’s true. So we say yes. As long as the 4 of us are here at 6, we’ll do it. So we started to spread the word that we are on at 6.

But at 5:40…a glimmer of light. Is it a bird? Is it the Rolling Stones? No! It’s the Dirty Names. They made it! Just in time.

Sooooooo they played their 6:00 slot. And we played at our original time, 7:10.

So here’s why I’m writing about this–these guys were classy. Not only did they totally rock the stage, but they gave us a shout-out and said thanks on the microphone. And then here’s the thing–they stayed for our set and loved us. I have seen so many veteran musicians not stick around to support others after their set. It’s lame. I’m not asking you to paint my apartment. I’m not asking you to make a monetary donation. I’m just asking you to listen to my stuff, as I did with yours. So even though these 20-something year-olds could have strutted around and collected compliments, and could have seen some of the festival, they stuck around, enjoyed the hell out of our set, and were completely sweet afterwards. Out of each one of them I heard “thank you so so so much for your flexibility.” AND…they thought we rocked   which is always nice to hear. They say “we must book a show together soon, you guys are awesome!” and we say the same.

So the moral of the story is…be nice. Even when it’s not convenient. We met some adorable smart, sweet guys who are in a great band, and we can’t wait to play with them again! Be nice, cuz you never know when YOU’RE gonna need someone to be nice, or understanding. Or both.

(to bring you up to speed…we just had our first tour. we drove to kansas to play a wedding, and then took a week to drive home and made a bunch of stops and played some shows.)

My mom called me yesterday at 4 PM and asked “are you home  yet??!” I replied “actually, we just left North Carolina. GPS says we’ll get home at 9 PM if we make no stops.”

I guess if we had stayed at a hotel on the last leg of the trip, we would have checked out early, gotten a quick breakfast, and would have been on the road very soon. But it didn’t happen that way! For the last two nights, we stayed with our friends Kathy and Eli in Mebane, NC. After the gig we went to Allie’s 3 AM pool party and got back at I don’t even know what time. 6 AM maybe? So needless to say, we slept in a bit.

My mom also asked “so how was it? Was it what you had expected?” And I could honestly say that it was better. I didn’t come home thinking “oh DAMN, I am ready to be home!” I didn’t get homesick. Sure, there were tough parts. There were a few days where all we did was drive–that’s it. And we crammed 5 of us into a room. Just waiting for everyone to get showered and dressed took half the day.

But it was so wonderful. We made new friends, new fans, saw new things, had some nice time together. Everywhere we turned, people were kind and supportive. It was definitely overwhelming.

We want to sincerely thank everyone who made our first big trip a super special one. I won’t list people because there are tons of names, and I don’t want to leave anyone out. But please hear us when we say thank you, thank you, thank you so much. We will always remember you!

It sounds crazy, but we are piling into a van and driving to Kansas to play Ian and Kate’s wedding on 6/4! I mean . . . why the hell not?! So we decided to plan a mini-tour out of it. We’re bringing our beautiful friend Dez with us. She is a dream.

After we have a blast at the wedding, we’ll make some stops in Nashville and Memphis I guess. As of now, we have Sun and Mon off so we get to hang out and do what we want. Then we play in beautiful Asheville NC on Tues 6/7! We found a band called Spicy Moustache and the Flavor Saviors who plays there every Tues in June. They were kind enough to say “come on out and play!” These shows are the best. Not only do we get to play . . . but we also get to hear a killer band! AND make new friends. With a band name like that, you KNOW they’re gonna be fun.

Could life get any get better? Yes. The next day, we’re playing with our dear friends Pasadena. From Pasadena. They are randomly playing in Raleigh on Wed 6/8! So we’re gonna jam out with them Wed night at The Black Flower. Sweeeeeeeet

And then I think we have off on Thur and Fri. I have no idea what we’ll do or where we’ll go. It’s kinda nice to not have plans!

and THEN we get to visit our sweet sweet friends in Mebane, NC on Sat! We’re gonna hang with Kathy and Eli and play at Clay Street Tavern on Saturday. They are so adorable, can’t wait to get some quality time with them. Continue reading →

Real excited about our show on 6/18 at the NightCat!

First of all, we’re going on the road at the start of June, so it will be sooooo great to be home.

Secondly, we are sharing the evening with Paul Cullen. He used to play bass with Bad Company back in the day. No joke! Now he does acoustic jazzy guitar–beautiful stuff. We met him cuz we are friends with his stepdaughter, Marlena. You can check out his stuff at www.paulcullen.net

Have you been to the NightCat? It’s a coffeehouse/winebar kind of place. People pay to get in, and it’s a seated venue. You won’t see anyone doing shots, or dancing and falling into the drums. All you’ll see is a quiet, intimate, and attentive room . . . all about the music. We get to play originals, and talk about the songs. We’ll also do some jamming with Paul.

If you have a special someone, it’s a perfect date night. Romantic. If you like to see live music by yourself, they also have a few rows of seats up front, which would be perfect for you.

I don’t want you to miss it! Whenever we play here, it’s such a magical evening. Such a nice change from the loud drunken bar. (However, we do end up hanging out after the show and drinking our share of wine. Please join us!)

Visit www.nightcatmusic.com for info. Tickets are $12. The show is at 8 PM. If you can, come to Easton early and go have dinner somewhere. It’s a beautiful town, and they have lovely restaurants.

So excited!!!!

Listen up, everyone! Mothers Day is this Sunday. A crappy gift is …crappy. So give something cool. Here are some ideas:

1) Spend time together. There are tons of festivals coming up. Buy her tickets! Or you can even construct your own coupon and just tell her you’ll buy the tickets at the gate. On Sat 5/14, we play at the Chesapeake Bay Wine Festival. Tickets are $32 but that includes the cost of all wine tasting. Kids are free! Festival is from noon til 6, and we play at 4. And yes–we play on the water! Not too shabby, eh? Find all info at www.chesapeakebaywinefest.org

Need something a little cheaper? Eastport a Rockin only costs $13 in advance, or $15 at the door. Yup, we play this one too! For these festivals, you can bring the kids and make it a family day. Or you can leave the kids at home and enjoy a day of drinking outside and listening to music. Find info at www.eastportarockin.com

2) Are you a dad, trying to think of something to do for your baby mama? Or…maybe you have kids, and are trying to think of a gift for your own mom? (I am totally stealing this idea from my sister-in-law, Michele.)

She interviewed my nieces, and typed up their answers. You can ask questions like “How old do you think Grandma (Mom) is? What does she do for a living? What is her favorite food? If she could visit anywhere in the world, where would she go? What is her favorite thing about you?” etc. Then give the typed-up answers as a gift! The answers end up being super cute. And you can of course omit anything incriminating.

3) Almost every year lately, I give my moms time. Jaime and I set a date to cook for them. Or we bring a mom to happy hour. Or mini-golfing. That’s what they really want–they want to see you more. So even if you can’t see your mom near Mothers Day, just make a date to do it soon, or the next time you see her (the trick is…make the plan to do it…don’t wait for her to keep bringing it up).

4) The card. There is no reason why you should be buying a $5 greeting card. Those are someone else’s words, and that person has probably never met your mom. Instead, buy a 99 cent card and do your own writing. Thank her for something she did years ago. Write her a story about a memory you have as a kid. Write her a list of things that she is great at.

Please note! If you are mailing a card, think backwards. You want her to receive it on Saturday (there is no mail on Sunday, you silly goose.) So when do you need to get it in the mail? It’s practically Wednesday already. So hurry up! Get the card and start writing already. Sheesh.

The trick is to stop, smell the roses, and take some time to think about what makes your mom special.

I love birthdays. In Ledaland, we celebrate them heavily. We all get our own birthday show.

Donboy has a big one coming up–the big 4.0! And we have an amazing show to celebrate it with; a wine festival on the bay. No joke! The festival is actually on the day of his bday.

Donboy’s 40th bday

Chesapeake Bay Wine Fest, Sat 5/14

we play 4 to 6 PM

festival is from noon til 6

kids are welcome

Adult tickets are $30 and that includes all wine tastings. Got a group of 10 coming? Get your tickets for $20 each!! All details can be found here. http://www.chesapeakebaywinefestival.org/

And then after that, it’ll be MY bday! We are celebrating at our Frogg Pond show in Rehoboth on Sat 5/21. We play 10 til 1. We are probably staying at the Breakers Hotel–great place, and they have pet-friendly rooms. Come party with us! And watch us get older.

Hi! We’re doing a few shared shows lately, and very happy about it! Everybody wins. We get to play a little bit less (4 hours is a bit much). We get to see another band play. Likewise, the other band gets to play music, but also see another band. AND the audience gets to hear another band. These nights are always the most fun.

Last night we got to share with Mama’s Black Sheep. These girls really know how to entertain a room. We had an absolute blast with them. We’ll be jamming with them again on 5/21 in Rehoboth for my birthday!

On Fri 4/15, we will play at Carpenter Street Saloon in St Michaels with a band called Hymn for Her. We saw them in Rehoboth when we were hung over on Jan 1. I think they are from PA. They are a very unique duo–a guy and a girl, and they bring their kid, who is crazy cute. I was so intrigued that I bought both of their CDs. One has more of an acoustic feel, and their newer one has a full-band sound. I like them both. You just have to come check it out, they are really different, I love it.

Then on Fri 4/22, we’ll be at Market Street Pub in Denton with Guthrie Matthews Method and Dean Rosenthal. Local favorites! This night is going to be absolutely nuts. So just be prepared. You will NOT need to go to the gym the next day. The room will be hopping all night, for sure.

Wow! We are playing one benefit this weekend, and two next weekend! It’s really nice to be in a position where you feel like you get to make a difference. Constantly! We are blessed.

Friday 4/8 from 8 to 10 PM
All ages benefit show at Anne Arundel Community College
Student Union building
Admission $8, and $5 for students and faculty
Proceeds go to the Arnold Sexual Assault Crisis Center and the YWCA
Kevin Lebling opens the show
light snacks, no alcohol
This thing is early, so you can come catch the show before you go out! Or bring your teenagers and make it a family event.

Ridiculous! For a year and a half now, I’ve been wanting for this time to come. This time where mixing and mastering of our super songs has just about been completed. The time where our album artwork is complete!

The time is now. But I’m not rejoicing! I’m actually kinda freaking out. For a while now, I’ve known these things could all be changed. I could always go in and sing that one tricky verse one more time. I could add one more harmony. I could proofread our contributors’ names one more time. I could check once more for consistent punctuation.
But no more! I can’t fix the parts in the songs that are starting to weird me out. I can’t fix any more spelling errors. It’s done. It’s final! I wanted this day to come, but…but…aghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
I guess this is it, huh?
In a day or two, Discmakers will have all our shit, and they’re gonna start crankin out copies. And our album shall be released into the wild!
Crap.
Well! It better be good.

Our friend Sherrie von Sternberg’s blog post. A lovely example of “needing the music.”

I Got the Music in Me
someone asked me yesterday what my favorite music was…. my mouth fell open and I felt as if I had been backed in to a corner. It was my first time meeting this person so I had to retain some level of decorum you understand.. but the hair on the back of my neck stood up. Pick one! Just one band or tune or rift? Why, that would be like asking a mother to tell you which of her children were her favorite or….asking God which of the stars were his favorite or….like asking which of the snow flakes last winter were the pivotal flake that caused it to become a blizzard.
I mumbled some silly thing while the synapses in my brain were trying to fire and then had the presence of mind to ask him for his favorite. All the while reeling internally truly at a loss. You all know that it sometimes takes me days to process so it came as no surprise that at midnight last night in the bath the Beatles floated ever so gently by and stood out among the rest but only for a moment. I love the Beatles with all of my heart and they do hover at the top of my list, were I to have such a list but then my soul cries out “What about Wolfgang Mozart” and I have to agree and a line of composers stand in ghostly procession in my bathroom holding their work out for my inspection and I am overwhelmed and reeling again while the scent of BlackCurrent Vanilla swirls around me and I slide under the water with no respite. Every Blues player I ever saw in the hole in the wall bar in Santa Monica was my favorite for a night, every time I see a band up on a stage they are my favorite for that moment in time and every single time I put my ipod earphones in my ears that cluster of artists that symbolize certain periods of my life envelope me and take me home. MUSIC is my saving grace, the air I breathe the food for my soul the foundation from which all of the rest is built. If not for music then there would be no point in breathing or eating or making love. It is that crucial to my existence and woven in to the fabric of my life. I suppose the simple answer would have been that music is my favorite. I wish I could think that fast….

and you know what….i have kindred spirits around me..take every member of the band Sweet Leda and all of their relatives…they ache for music and I get it…it exudes from their pores…and perfumes the air around them….sweet and sexy like the music they make……mhmmmm momma….