Chocolate hot pie apple

The weekend after Labor Day was full of interesting shows and people. We started off in Indiana playing for Tobi’s family, (yay!) then moved on to Louisa KY to open for the up-and-coming hip new country music boy band, Hot Apple Pie.

Okay, I freely admit that even after a year plus of being exposed to country music, there is still very little outside of the songs we play that I actually like. (And sometimes I don’t always love the songs we do play, ::cough:: Devil ::cough:: ) I thoroughly enjoyed listening to these guys; great harmonies, good songs, and awesome, let me say it again: AWESOME musicianship. Their bass player (Keith Horn) just boggles the mind. They’re also just really cool dudes.

However the highlight of the weekend for me came when we performed at the Hershey Park amp theater. :: Musical flashback sequence…:: It was really great to be back at the park; I surprised one of my old supervisors by being there, ate waaaaaaaaaaay more chocolate than was good for me, rode a token ride for old-times sake, and listened to the familiar thunder followed by screams of the roller coasters. All this made me wax nostalgic for a few minutes, and then it passed. As much fun as Hershey was, I’m really glad I don’t work at a theme park anymore; even a chocolate theme park.

On the other hand, our show made me extremely glad that I’m playing with Mustang Sally. Huzzah for much fun being had!

Cheers,
Sarah

Labor of love

I realize that we've already covered the Labor Day weekend, but I just wanted to share my fiddlish perspective!

We kicked off the Labor Day weekend by driving up to Brenda’s hometown, New Ulm Minnesota. I’ve met Brenda’s family a few times before, and I’ve always figured that’s where she inherited her lovely disposition. Now I’m not so sure… the entire town seems populated by super-friendly helpful people, which makes me wonder: what happened? Did they kick all the mean ones out?? I swear I didn’t encounter one bad mood the entire time. Not that I’m complaining!

After we left Happy Town USA, we drove six hours further north/west and arrived in Hallock MN, where we played at the Kicken’ Up Kountry (yes it is misspelled intentionally) festival for the second year in a row. We played two incredible shows in much colder temperatures then I prefer for outdoor work, but still had a good time. I also developed walking pneumonia, which I don’t recommend.

We then had a slight deviation from our plans: originally we were to play in New Orleans on Labor Day itself, however Hurricane Katrina had just blown through and wreaked havoc, so this was no longer a viable option. (The amphibious features on the bus just aren’t up to spec yet.) Instead, we drove twenty-three hours to Harrisburg PA, for a Katrina relief benefit concert. It felt really good to be part of something pro-active, to actually use my skills to help other people, not just to entertain. I’m not sure how much money we raised, but I imagine every little bit helps…

Minnesota Fun

This past week, we did three awesome shows in Minnesota.
The first one, happened to be at Brenda's hometown, New Ulm.
It's a pretty little town and for that reason, everybody came to see her. Most hadn't seen her perform since she left for college.
We met a lot of her high school friends, cute little cousins, and were treated as we were part of the family too, receiving all the love and homemade food.

Then, we drove six more hours north and played for two days in Hallock, MN under a beautiful, open sky and great weather (although it was already too cold for my Latin American body...).

To end the Labor Day weekend, we did a 24-hour drive to Harrisburg PA, and played a benefit concert for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. We were originally scheduled to play in New Orleans Sunday and Monday of Labor Day weekend, so it was especially fitting and meaningful for us to be able to raise some funds for all our friends on the Coast.

kisses for all;
Amanda

Pics: New Ulm (top) & Hallock

My Hometown--New Ulm, MN

I got to perform in a homecoming of sorts last week. I haven't played in my hometown of New Ulm, MN since moving to Nashville in 1996. I had arrived in town a few days ahead of the band to spend time with my family and handle some last minute promotional details. I visited on-air with 860 KNUJ's Brian Filzen (pictured at right) about Mustang Sally's recent tour schedule and our upcoming CD release.

I had such a wonderful time while in Minnesota. The weather was beautiful and I was able to spend time with and catch up with my family and friends. George's Ballroom was filled with so many people who I haven't seen in years--high school classmates, family friends, neighbors, aunts, uncles, cousins, former teachers and people who just came for curiousity's sake. After all, a seven-woman band isn't something that happens to New Ulm every day!

It was heart-warming to see the support from my community. At one point during the show, Tobi led the entire audience in singing Happy Birthday to me. I was very proud to introduce the people of New Ulm to Mustang Sally and to show them what it is that I do. I wish I had taken more pictures over the week so I could include them here. As we left town, our bus was loaded up with fresh vegetables from my parent's garden and homemade breads from Grandma's kitchen.

Thank you to all my family, friends and supporters who came to the show in New Ulm. For me, it was a chance to come home after years of making music mostly on the road. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Brenda