I was also blown away by the other acts on the bill. Rachael Davis
( http://www.myspace.com/rachaeldavismusic ) might have the best female voice I’ve ever heard. She reminded me of Patty Griffin, only she was capable of so much more. The last group, Harper Blynn, is probably two months away from being rock stars… after seeing them, a friend had to hold me back from smashing my acoustic guitar. I need to learn how to rock again like I did in sixth grade! I’m on it now.

Saturday, April 3 – 7:00 PM – 1 E. Genesee St. – No cover! W/ John Schmitt.

Thursday, April 1st – 12PM – Rockin’ the Cafeteria!

March 31 – 7:00 PM (Plumley Auditorium)

Tuesday, March 30 – 7:00 PM

Saturday, March 27 – Time TBA – Contact me for details: caleb@calebhawley.com

We Believe in You (Shortened)

WE BELIEVE IN YOU
Written by the kids of Westside High

In times of doubt and sorrow
You need a shoulder to lean on
Just call our name
We’ll brighten up your day.

Listen to these lines
And hope is what you’ll find
Keep your head up high
Don’t run away.

Chorus
Cause We believe in you
Believe that you can make it through
Persevere through hard times
That comes your way.

When life is dark and gloomy
Like clouds in the sky
The Sun is sure to shine
After the rain

Chorus

Bridge
Life – will be beautiful again
The way you always wanted it to be
Bright – with hope and joy
And Every Little thing will be alright.

Chorus

My thoughts on songwriting competitions? They are ALWAYS subjective… that is, until you win one. Then they become totally fair (sarcasm alert). This is the second competition that has given “Other Side of it All” high praise, which is very gratifying. I wrote the song for our country, and it’s humbly fulfilling to see it connect. Thank you all.

I wrote a song this summer that I very much enjoy. It’s called “We All Got Problems”, and it’s about how our current society is totally over medicated. Really, it’s crazy. Every middle-schooler I meet has something “wrong” with them. I think “wrongs” (for the most part) are just a part of someone’s personality, and there’s no need to change it. If a kid is hyper, who cares? Let the kid his life live rather than drugging them into a zombie.

I’ve decided to make “We All Got Problems” the theme and title track of my next album. I have already written three or four songs that fit within this theme, but I need more ideas! They could be made up problems, real problems, marriage problems, any problems. I haven’t lived a long enough life to have too many problems, so I need your wisdom! What would you tell a therapist if you had the opportunity? I’m all ears… consider me Dr. Hawley and drop something in the comment box.

Here’s what happened last night, if you don’t mind me venting to you. Reed and I (who I’m currently touring with) were sitting at the venue enjoying a cup of tea, waiting for them to finish setting up the stage.
A short little bag of bones walks up and said, “Hey, what kind of music do you people play?”
“Oh, you know. Singer-songwriter stuff,” Reed replied.
“Like John Mayer?” said the bearded twig.
“Yeah, something sort of like that,” I said unassumingly.
“Oh… I was joking,” said Slim Jim. “Good luck with that,” he said as he turned and walked off in the distance.

Wow. What the heck is wrong with that dude. John Mayer is proven to be one of the best musicians around, yet we may as well have told him we sounded like Barney the Purple Dinosaur. I have three pieces of advice that may be of use to this kid, as well as all the other Indie kids of the world.

One: Try to live with a mindset of equality. You are not better than anyone, nor is anyone better than you.

Two: Before you continue with your unwanted critiques, learn to create something for yourself. It’s only fair.

Three: Eat something.

Folk Alliance is a yearly “Folk Music” convention held in downtown Memphis. What is folk music? You may ask. Well, it’s basically any kind of music – but the number one rule is that it must include an acoustic instrument of some sort. That’s what I’ve gathered anyway. After all, it was the Newport “FOLK” Festival where Bob Dylan was booed of the stage for bringing an electric guitar.

Folk Alliance is meant to be a conference where you schmooze with other artists and promoters to climb the corporate chain of Folk Music. You’re laughing, aren’t you… It’s ok, I would too. I have come to terms with the fact that musicians are quite the characters. And it’s because of us “characters” that Christopher Guest has made millions with movies like “This is Spinal Tap” and “A Mighty Wind”. And after this past weekend, I can’t tell you how accurately he nailed his musical mockumentaries.

There was the old Santa Clause look alike, who boasted on and on about is amazing music series in some random town in South Dakota. There was the stockbroker, running around with his clip-on ponytail desperately trying to get a gig. There were the critics, who hated on everyone even though they had never written a song in their life (They were probably also the people who booed Dylan off the stage). And there was X-hippie, who still thought she was at Woodstock. It was a funny weekend for sure, and in the end very inspiring too. I got to hear a lot of great songs, and saw a ton of talent. If you are a musician, or just someone looking for an excellent people-watching experience, I would recommend going sometime.

We’ve had some great shows, but I don’t think any surpass the Haiti benefit at York College. We pulled into town as struggling musicians, but left as rock stars. In a town of eight thousand, and a student body of five hundred, we were expecting a small turnout. And ten minutes before the show, we looked to be right. Pretty much right on the hour, a couple hundred students oozed through the doors and sat in their seats with anticipation. I greeted the audience and said some joke. They laughed like it was the funniest thing they had ever heard… I can’t remember what I said, but I’m sure it wasn’t worthy of that kind of response. Whatever. I’ll take it.

The show remained this way for a full two hours. I swear, they must have taken some kind of laughing gas before the show or something (Note to self: hand out free tubes of nitrous oxide at shows). I don’t know, maybe it’s a small town thing – after all, I was the front page of the paper the following day. I guess that could explain why Sarah Palin is doing her “small town tour”… she needs people who are easily impressed. I think I’ll choose not to think that way though. Instead I’ll say that York, Nebraska is a musical oasis in a gigantic field of corn and country music, where their musical taste buds go further than Taylor Swift and Kenny Chesney. There I go again, bringing it back around to food.

Sunday, February 21st – www.earthhousecollective.org 237 N East St Indianapolis, IN 46204

Saturday, March 13 – 7:30 PM – Email tinkercreek@optonline.net if you want a spot. www.concertsinhome.com for more info.

Friday, March 12 – 8PM – 131 Clements Bridge Road ( http://www.barringtoncoffeehouse.com )

W/ The Alma Church Choir and Peter Piek. My Favorite venue in New Jersey!