a note from Christine...

     We did it.  We made it through February.  Highlights?  Hmmmm...hearing Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson sing at a small reception honoring Motown founder Berry Gordy during Grammy Week; singing every song on "Paris, Texafrance" in our new studio; performing on  Valentine's Day at The Cactus Cafe with Floyd Domino, Paul Glasse, Chris and David Carroll - my dream band; hearing Aretha sing at a dinner in her honor, also during Grammy Week; connecting with our folk friends from around the country at the Folk Alliance conference; eating ribs at The Rendezvous in Memphis; exploring new horizons in Nashville with Abi and Chris as we embark on a publishing partnership with Texoma Ten, Reba's new company; the great gift bag "swag" we got at the Grammy events :-); hearing Paul Glasse play mandolin on the French music; recording "Hymn To Love" late at night with Chris on the grand piano and me singing at the other end of the studio - just the two of us and our muses.
     We haven't slowed down, but we have a lot to show for our efforts - mostly in the form of the lovely "Paris, Texafrance".  This week it goes off to the manufacturer and next month it takes flight.  I'm very proud of it and love, love, love the songs we chose. 
     A bientot! 
     Christine

Swan Songs fulfills musical wishes by arranging private concerts for individuals facing the end of life, with a Texas artist or style of  music that they have requested.

Check out the recently updated www.swansongs.org and especially the KVUE story on the newsroom page!

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Quote of the Month
"A note of music gains significance from the silence on either side."
Anne Morrow Lindbergh

       We had a tree fall down in the back yard recently.  Well, not all the way down, but it had gotten so wet that our 150 year old cedar tree just kind of uprooted itself on one end and toppled into my cactus garden.  For several weeks it looked very odd, like an outtake from "The Lord of the Rings".  I guess I wasn't going to be hanging up my hammock chair in the usual place this year.
     Our circle of friends is such that...yes we have a song-writing friend that runs a tree service.  Scott George came out with his crew and managed to cut a 4 foot tall log with a "y" on one end and prop up the trunk of the tree, and then trimmed the upper branches into a lovely canopy that I hope will last many years.  I would hate to lose a tree like that.
     My onions.  Oh...it was a tough year for my onions, but we'll survive.  I left them in the ground so late in the spring that they started to grow again, then I tried to top them off and put them in the little beer fridge out back.  Well, the fridge got unplugged and the onion bulbs become a stinking muddy glob, but I managed to salvage the heartier ones and get them planted in the fall. 
    So, last year I had five times as many onions as I could ever use, this year I'm hoping the 20 survivors will make it through the season.  Isn't that the way it goes?
     Chris