BIG NEWS! Three great things have happened:

1. My Volvo now has door handles on all four doors. Now for more minor considerations, like brakes and an alternator…

2. I’m a Kerrville New Folk Finalist! This rad(ical) competition has featured folks like Lucinda Williams, Lyle Lovett, Nanci Griffith, Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle, and many other awesome songwriters.  Being a finalist does not make me as cool as them, but it does make me feel like a thousand tiny butterflies are kissing me with their furry antennae. On May 27 I’ll go to Texas to play my songs  ”Not Yet” and “Used to Wish.” Have you heard of positive visualization? Please visualize me on stage, not peeing myself with excitement.

3. OLLIE CAME HOME! My mama’s dog went missing on Mothers’ Day. He’s a 7 lb pomeranian with a big heart and approximately 10 brain cells, so we didn’t know what his chances were in the great wilderness of Annapolis, MD.  A thousand flyers later, he is home! This makes me feel like I am aloft on a massive cloud of cotton candy. Holy cow, it was sad to think that  Ollie might be gone forever. But he’s not!

I hope your world is exploding with equally wonderful things. Thanks to all the folks who sent Ollie their coming-home vibes, thanks to Dietric for fixing my car, and thanks to the Kerrville team for inviting me to participate in New Folk! I can’t wait to meet the amazing folkies   who will undoubtedly populate the Kerrville Folk Festival.

Other awesomeness – this weekend we had a blast at the Beaufort Music Festival and got to see some great music, including (my favorite) Shirlette Ammons and the Dynamite Brothers. We met the Fritz from Asheville and marveled over the magnitude of their funk (does that sound dirty to you, too?). We got to hang with Carlitta Durand, the Phantom Playboys, and a slew of friendly festival goers. Hurray scholarship-oriented-waterfront-festivals! What a cool place.

I spent Mothers’ Day with Janet Kenworthy and Frazierband at the Rooster’s Wife in Aberdeen – another special venue! These guys can play, and damn, Janet can cook.

This week I’ll be opening solo for the Honeycutters (yes, you guessed it, another favorite) at Motorco in Durham, NC on Thursday.  Friday night we’ll be in North Myrtle Beach for the DIVA Marathon Kickoff concert, and Saturday we’ll be at the Elizabeth City Potato Festival. Yeah!

Love,

Lizzy

Every year I promise myself I will sleep at least five hours each night. Every year I am still awake at 4 A.M., inhaling lungfuls of campfire smoke and bellowing Hank Williams, much to the displeasure of surrounding campers. I can’t pass up the old friends who gather at Shakori Hills to share music at all hours.

Inevitably, I get up from the campfire and head to a stage show.  Sara Waters and Co. put together an amazing schedule. At Shakori, I never plan what bands I’m going to see. Instead, I wander around and count on finding a great new band (or five). My favorites this year? Easy! Rubblebucket and Justin Robinson and the Mary Annettes.

Paste Magazine describes Rubblebucket as “Joyous jungles of worldly pop-funk, instrumentally rich but catchy enough to ass-kick Katy Perry off the pop charts (in a just world)—mega-melodic without sacrificing an ounce of atmosphere or creativity.” I concur.

Justin Robinson and the Mary Annettes ”list among their influences JS Bach, Erykah Badu, English nursery rhymes, moonlight on a frozen swamp, Loretta Lynn, ossified remains of mammals, palindromes, and rhinestones.”  These influences are evident. Especially the rhinestones. On stage, Justin Robinson and the Mary Annettes construct a world in which I lose myself. I am rapt with attention, fixated on the swells of strings on strings. Awash in a sea of sequins! Bowties and beatboxing buoy me up. Ok, I’ll stop now.

But seriously, Josh Stohl plays the keys AND synth rack toms at the same time!  Kyra Moore goes from banjo to bass to violin! Elizabeth Marshall maintains ferocious facial expressions AND a cello line that glues the whole thing together! Sally Mullikin brings sass and viola to the stage, and Justin… well, in addition to mad autoharp skills, beatboxing, singing, and other strings, Justin uses his songwriting and performance style to mastermind a compelling visual and emotional world. I was captive to this world throughout their performance.

Shirlette Ammons of Shirlette and the Dynamite Brothers joined Justin and the Mary Annettes on stage for “Kissin’ and Cussin’”.  She blew my mind for about 5 minutes, then bounced offstage for her own group’s performance. Shirlette, Justin, Mary Annettes, can we have a play date?

I must also mention Joe Kollar of Driftwood and his enchanting sweetheart Calya (Last name? I don’t know. Maybe “Awesome.” We’ll go with that for now.). That’s a whole lot of magic in just two people. Next time you see them, ask them about Molly Pitcher. And last but not least, Greg Humphreys and HOBEX blew me away with the closing jam. Rain didn’t put a damper on the late-night Sunday show. They inspire serious booty shaking. On Monday morning I woke up sore in every limb.

After Shakori, I took a good long rest. I was up and running again in time for a euphoria-inducing concert with Greg Humphreys at Ira Planer’s house concert series. Think two acoustic guitars will put an audience to sleep? Think again. A rousing rendition of “Sexual Healing” can make anyone dance. And I mean rousing.

Saturday Apr. 28 had us headed to Winston-Salem for the Piedmont Earth Day Fair and a set at Foothills Brewing company. My favorite thing about Foothills is the staff. At the end of the night, we play for them.  One long, dark drive home later, I collapsed in bed.  Spent Sunday playing guitar and celebrating my little sister Lucy’s 16th birthday. Happy birthday Lucy! She’s way too cool to read my blog. Never mind.

If you’ve made it all the way to the end, I must thank you for not being too cool. Thanks for reading, and thanks for listening. Come say hi at the Apex Peakfest this Saturday, May 5.  It’s a free show and we’ll start playing at 1:30.

Until then, have a lovely week!

Love,

Lizzy

So here’s how it goes: I keep on promising to write, and more stuff keeps happening. Who wants to read a 10,000 word post?

Instead of boring you with the minutia that I typically generate, how about a quick rundown?

Memphis: awesome. Greg Humphreys was my road buddy. 24 hours of driving never went faster. Greg and I penned a modern classis, “Shelby I Told You”… keep your ears peeled for that one on top 10 country radio. Or just come see us at Shakori the weekend of April 20th and we’ll play it for you.

I met countless amazing people, songwriters and musicians at the Folk Alliance conference. For me, the big takeaway was that there are myriad ways to write a good song.  It’s exciting to know that your life’s passion doesn’t ever really stop evolving. There’s no way to exhaust the options as a songwriter.

The other FAI takeaway is the strength of the folk community. I met artists and promoters from all over the world, people who maintain friendships across continents.  A lot of these artists travel relentlessly.  They cross paths on the road and form a sort of nomadic community, coalescing at festivals and conferences like FAI. They do everything they can to support each other.

On the way to and from Memphis, Greg and I stopped in Nashville for a dizzying 48 hours. Highlights? The first night we bar hopped on Broadway. We gave every bar 5 minutes (at least) before we went to the next one. Our focus wasn’t on chugging beers. It was on listening to music. Even on a Wednesday night, there were killers in every bar. The music is less homogenous than one might think. The players are agile and ferocious. Seems there’s no way to ever too good at your instrument… it’s a life’s work!

We also made a stop at Amy Speace’s house for the Nashville Song Salon. Monday nights songwriters get together to swap works-in-progress and offer feedback and constructive criticism. I LOVE this. I wish every song I write could go before the jury this way! Getting a glimpse of other songwriters’ processes and work is also a treat.

Back home in NC, I took a quick breather before we made it to Last Band Standing in Raleigh. We had a great time and witnessed some amazing music from LiLa, Mipso Trio, and Big Something. We won both the can drive and the audience vote (thanks guys!), but my guitar failed at the beginning of the set and we never really got to rip into it the way I like to.  Oh well – guitar’s in the shop, and I won’t be traveling without a backup again. If you ask me, it’s a relatively easy way to learn a hard lesson. Take care of your gear! Have a spare!

Onward and upward… we had a gorgeous St. Patrick’s Day at the Emerald Isle St. Patrick’s Day Festival (hi guys!), and the next big thing was Suwanee Springfest in Live Oak, Florida.

Suwanee.  I almost feel like I should reserve a new post for this. You’ve done enough reading, right?

No? Ok.

SUWANEE WAS AMAZING.

Two big reasons:

1.) Beautiful place, beautiful people. The folks who make Suwanee happen work magic. The audience is delightful. Spanish moss hangs from massive tree limbs and you can dip your feet in the river if it gets too hot… does it get much better than this?

2.) MUSIC. Wow. My mind got blown a couple times over. Let’s hear it for Greensky Bluegrass, the Emmitt – Nershi Band, Great American Taxi, Justin Townes Earl, the Infamous Stringdusters, Larry Keel, everyone! Wow!

We arrived on Friday afternoon, played a sweaty set at the Campground Stage, then hit the Porch stage for a late-night show. Among the audience members was a Luna Moth who danced on stage with us, weaving in between instruments and players and generally making me feel like a million bucks. Thanks, Luna.

After our set, we proceeded to stay up for 48 hours playing music.  When I get home from music festivals I often experience a deep, inexplicable sadness (in addition to relief upon showering). I realized the other day that this is because, at home, no one will play music with you from the hours of midnight to 9 a.m.  Is it not normal to want to sing “Chocolate Jesus” at 5 a.m.?

Suwanee Springfest was a veritable musical playground.  I certainly hope to catch my friends from Greensky Bluegrass and Leftover Salmon again soon – Salmon, I’ll see you at Shakori. Greensky, when will you bring your magic back east?

The last week has seen me home safe.  Saturday we played at the Pour House with the Morning After for their album release show.  Thanks for having us guys, and way to go on putting out a killer album! We had a fantastic time.  Jack is an unparalleled sound guy, the crowd was just right, and getting to see the Morning After was a treat.

And now… a weekend off. Whew. I cleaned my room. I’m about to go clean out my car (if you pray, pray for me. I may not make it out alive). I met a great mechanic who says he can put door handles back on my Volvo’s back doors for $75. Woot! Now it won’t be a glorified pickup.

Taking my electric guitar to the shop, poking around for an amp, looking at deals on vans. Enjoying rain on the creek and the wildflowers blooming in our yard.

Thanks to all my travel buddies for the last few weeks. It has been great. I’m just about ready to do it again…  Let’s go!

Many days, many miles, many cookies, and many shows later, I’m still in one piece! It’s a miracle of evolution.  Or call it a miracle of many kind strangers and new friends.  Back in NC I’m still basking in the glory of Folk Alliance, Memphis, Nashville, and being cold-free (at last!).

You know how you always have a lot of work (and laundry) to do when you get home from a trip?  That’s me right now.  I promise I am going to write a monster post very soon.

Until then, know this: it was awesome.  It is awesome.

Love,

Lizzy

No, this is not the title of a new song.

(Carson voce) “Ladies and gentlemen, I regret to announce… ”

We won’t be playing at Awful Arthur’s/Growlers’s in Roanoke, VA tonight.

I am bummed to be caught between the proverbial “rock” and the more mysterious “hard place” – I can either deliver a limping performance to a disappointed crowd, or I can reschedule (more disappointment here!).  My nose is still stopped up, I’m still coughing, and my throat is still raw, so let’s give it a shot another day. We WILL be coming to Growler’s soon, so stay tuned for a rescheduling announcement!

Thanks for the love, the well wishes, and your patience! Things are bad, but they’re on the up and up, so with any luck Friday night at the Rives Theater in Martinsville will be unchanged.

And now, I’m going to crawl into my bed and watch a million years of Downton Abbey. Which reminds me – have you ever experienced the joy that is Downton Abbeyonce? I’ll leave you with that.  Say goodbye to the next two hours of your day.

Lizzy

Ugh. I have the sick. The nasty post-nasal-drip-sore-throat-it’s-February kind. I am ingesting vast quantities of water and indulging in as much sleep as possible, so maybe this will be a short one.

On a more positive note, I also have a few awesome shows coming up. This Saturday  Feb 11th (I will be better! I wiiiiillll!!) the band will be playing at Foothills Brewery in Winston-Salem from 10 to midnight or thereabouts. We love this place. Good beer. Awesome staff. Laid back atmosphere.

Next Thursday, Feb 16th we’re headed up to Roanoke, VA to play at Awful Arthurs Towers. I believe there’s some excellent seafood in my future. After that we will play in our beloved Martinsville, VA at the Rives Theater on Friday, Feb 17th. This place is a gorgeous old movie theater that almost got the wrecking ball.  It was saved by the intrepid Johnny Buck and friends (sorry friends, I don’t know your names. Oops.) and lives to host concerts in its acoustically and visually pleasing environment.

And then? Heading to Knoxville, TN on Wednesday, Feb 22 to play at WDVX’s Blue Plate Special. This place is a legend! Never mind if it’s a legend, what am I doing in Knoxville on a Wednesday?

Going to Memphis. Duh. I’ll be at the Folk Alliance International Conference (mouthful) from Feb 23rd to Feb 26, at which point I’m kicking it to Nashville for a few days before I head back to…

RALEIGH! For the Band Together Last Band Standing concert on March 1st at the Lincoln Theatre. This is going to be a good one. Excellent bands, great cause, awesome venue. Bring cans to vote for your favorite band (which starts with and L and rhymes with “tizzy foss land”?). If we win this we’ll be well on our way to buying a van. We need a van. Does this account of our travels not convince you that we need a van?

At least I know my Volvo can make it to the Pinhook on March 2nd for a solo show with Mipso Trio…

Dear god, simple recounting has me exhausted. For now I’m just living with my sniffles. They will go away soon. And life will go on… and on… and on… after all that madness (March 17) we’re in Emerald Isle, NC for the St. Patrick’s Day Festival and then (March 25-26) Live Oak, FL for Suwanee Springfest. I best get some sleep while I can.

Perhaps I will see you on my travels. Until then, thanks for listening.

Lizzy

After sitting through 8 bands’ 15-minute sets and 30 minute changeovers, playing at 1:30 A.M. to an exhausted crowd, and being judged on my “swagger,” I once made a vow to myself that I would never again take part in a band competition.

The time has come to break that vow. Here are my reasons -

1. 100% of proceeds go to charity and to support local bands.

2. There are only 4 bands participating, and they all rock.

3. I love the folks who are making it happen – Danny Rosin, Jim Graves, and their buddies at Band Together NC.

On top of all that, the show will be at the Lincoln Theatre, a killer venue in Raleigh, NC with a great sound system.  The prizes are irresistibly enticing – a spot on the stage at Kokabooth Ampitheatre for Band Together’s main event of the year, plus a healthy wad of cash (read: we can afford to graduate from the minivan if we win this).

Want to help us win? Part of the competition is a canned food drive to support the Urban Ministries Food Pantry. Bring cans to vote for us! We’ll have can collection at every show between now and March 1st, the date of the event. For example, you could come to our show at the Pinhook in Durham on Feb. 4 and bring cans (hint, hint…).

In the meantime, we’ll be cooking up a few special surprises for the show. Want to buy tickets? They’re likely to go quick. Pick them up at http://www.bandtogethernc.org/posts/events/last-band-standing-2012.

if you have any great ideas for our set or pyrotechnic devices we could borrow, holler at info@lizzy.net.

Love, and thanks for listening,

Lizzy

Related show

• Artist: Lizzy Ross Band
• Date: Thursday, March 1st 2012
• Time: 8:00pm
• City: Lizzy Ross Band in Raleigh, NC
• Venue: Lincoln Theatre
• Address: 126 E. Cabarrus St. , Raleigh, NC 27601
• Venue phone: (919) 821-4111
• Country: United States
• Notes: Last Band Standing with Band Together! Bring cans to vote for us and help us win an awesome prize!
• Add to Google Calendar | Download iCal

WE’RE MAKING A MUSIC VIDEO!!!!(&*&^@!!!!!!

We’re joining forces with Keith and John at the fabulous Carolina Reprographics to make a music video for my original song Black River. This will be our first music video ever, and it will be awesome.

Come be a part of it! We’re looking for 100 or so intrepid friends and fans to help us make it happen. On March 10th we’ll all come together on the Haw River at Saxapahaw, NC, and become an army of vengeful souls (great way to spend any Saturday!). The song references “a thousand sunken angels,”  (like the hot ladies pictured above) but I think 100 will be just enough for our purposes.  It’ll likely take about an hour, and that will be the last day of shooting, so there’s rumor of a wrap party at the Eddy Pub immediately following the shoot. Hmm… I wonder who started that rumor…

If you’re interested, drop me a line at info@lizzy.net. Also check out the facebook event here.

In other news, how bout them electric guitars? I’ve been searching the triangle high and low, salivating over my dream date – a Fender Telecaster with one humbucker and one single-coil pickup, seafoam or surf green, maple fretboard, made in the U.S.A. So far craigslist hasn’t thrown one on my doorstep, but I’m (irrationally) optimistic. In the meantime, I’m still loving my acoustic and playing a loaned electric guitar from my exceedingly generous dad.

Speaking of acoustic… you can catch me solo this Friday, January 27th at the Casbah in Durham, NC. I’ll be opening for the Jon Shain trio and sharing the stage with them for a few numbers. With any luck, my friend Omar will join me on the fiddle. I’ll be playing a few new tunes as well as some of my favorites from Read Me Out Loud.

Next up it’ll be the whole band at the Whiskey in Wilmington, NC on Thursday, Feb 2nd (we are so excited to go to Wilmington!). The band will be back in Durham Feb 4th at the Pinhook.

If not Durham or Wilmington, hope to see you in Saxapahaw. Let me know if that Tele turns up on your doorstep.

Love

Lizzy

Today I meant to write about all the things I didn’t have time for last week, but…

Hobbes, our jaguar in a house cat’s body, died yesterday. He was 12 years old and had been sick for a while. Blogs are perhaps not the most conducive to eloquent thoughts on death, but it felt strange not to mention the loss of a good pet and friend.

Hobbes exuded confident scorn in the face of vicious dogs, lorded over our daily doings from his fridge-top-perch, and was a sucker for snuggles. In mischievous moments he was apt to knock over a vase or pee on clean laundry… and even my mom is sad that he’s gone.  She speculates that, for Hobbes, heaven is a basket of freshly washed sheets. I imagine a tropical jungle with bowls of cat food interspersed (he wasn’t much of a hunter).

Hobbes was named after the Calvin and Hobbes character, who was in turn named after the philosopher Thomas Hobbes.  Thomas Hobbes’ attributed last words were, ” I am about to take my last voyage, a great leap in the dark.”

Hobbes the cat has night vision. Even in the dark, he’ll be able to find his way to that heavenly laundry.

…ok, that’s hyperbole, but it’s a really, really good week! I have a million things to tell you about, but I am running around like a crazy woman with a few wonderful new projects.  I PROMISE I will write a billion word essay (um… hyperbole strike two) and tell you all about it next week.  Here are a few hints:

-We’re making a music video

-I’m opening for Sarah Jarosz at the Haw River Ballroom tomorrow (!!)

-Happy birthday Marie!

-Most importantly, here’s a picture of Red Dog looking dorky in a sweater vest. He might try to eat me in my sleep. I swear, he was shivering…

-Last but not least, here’s an acoustic video of Needle and Thread  – check out my singing-kissy-face-of-despair. Hot.

Smooches, more soon,
Lizzy

I’m going to Memphis. How? With a rusted out 1993 Volvo 240 and some Craigslist driving buddies. Sound dodgy? It might be. But I’ve got to get to Memphis for the 2012 International Folk Alliance Conference. The folks at FAI were kind enough to grant my broke self a scholarship, and now all I have to do is transport me and my guitar the thousand-some miles.

Tom T. Hall simply “love(d) somebody enough” and “followed the trail of her tears” to get to Memphis.  Sadly, my heart does not beat in the Home of the Blues, so I’ve got to find another route.  That’s not to say I didn’t try – check out my cover of Tom T. Halls’ “That’s How I Got to Memphis” (Courtesy of Daniel Schram and Gabriel Nelson at f/stop Grooves studio. It’s part of a 4-week series of videos I’m releasing every Wednesday).

I don’t expect this road trip to be all Sissy Hankshaws and flat tires. I’ll stop in Knoxville on the way there and Nashville on the way back.  Nashville! Dreamy neon lights spark in my mind… ahem… pardon the momentary flight of fancy. I plan on hanging out in Nashville for a week or so, just to get a feel for this city that is the stuff of starlets’ dreams and old cowboys’ romantic rancor.  Play a few open mics, gawk at a few country singers, maybe pick up some tips on how to beef up my bouffant, Dolly style.

With some luck, contacts, and legwork I’m hoping to score gigs on my travels to and from Memphis. With more of the same, I’m hoping to score a few showcases at the Folk Alliance International Conference. I’ve got two lined up and I’m aiming for more. Couches to crash on along the way? Taco trucks to feed my aching belly? Roadside diners I need to experience first-hand? Venues that might be looking for another girl with a guitar? If you’ve got suggestions, holler at info@lizzy.net.

Maybe I’ll catch you on the way to Memphis. In the meantime, the band’s making a smaller road trip to play at the Double Door Inn in Charlotte this Friday, Jan 6 at 10 p.m. We’re excited to soak up some of the magic that Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan left when they played on the same stage

Love,

Lizzy

I’ve had a few bad New Years’ Eves. The low point? One year my mom and I watched 4 Pink Pather movies in a row. Both my mom and Inspector Clouseau are awesome, but that’s still no  way to welcome a new era.

Thank god I finally got it straightened out. This New Years’ Eve, Lizzy Ross Band will be playing at the beautiful Southland Ballroom with Morning After, a free champagne toast, and all the good vibes we can muster. It will be at least as awesome as “A Shot in the Dark.” The show is all ages, doors open at 8, and  tickets are available for $15 at Etix.com, www.southlandballroom.com, at the venue box office and by calling 919.821.0023.

Last time Morning After played the Southland Ballroom they nearly hit capacity, so get tickets before we sell out! We’re planning a few musical surprises, including audience singalongs and a collaboration between both bands. We’ll be playing all night.

For you? Check out this video of “Used to Wish” – I made it with Daniel Schram and Gabe Nelson, and it’s the first in a series of 5 that we’ll be sharing in the next 5 weeks. Enjoy!

Smooches, and hope to see you NYE,

Lizzy

Hi guys!

I woke up this morning to a roaring river. The creek in our back yard BLOWS UP when it rains, and suddenly I can’t think straight for the noise!

It is with this in mind that I made an acoustic video of Black River (track #1 on Read Me Out Loud).  Enjoy!

Also, for folks local to Chapel Hill, we’ve got a show coming up at the Local 506 on Dec. 16th. Doors open at 8:30 and the show starts at 9:00.  Fabulous Asheville-based soul band The Broadcast will perform at 9:30 and NC Songwriting Competition Finalist Jeremy Gilchrist will perform at 9:00.  We are giving away two tickets to the show and two CDs through the Indy Weekly – click here to enter to win!

Thanks for listening, and love,

Lizzy

We’re getting closer. I can feel the glow of the LED lights next door. Red Dog’s collar sounds like sleigh bells.  For the first time in my life, I bought my very own tree and put it up ALREADY (my parents usually wait until.. let’s say.. Christmas eve?).

It’s TOO EARLY for Christmas! Usually I, like everyone else, balk at the sound of “Jingle Bells” in the grocery store the day after Thanksgiving. But something is different this year… I don’t know why, but I’m really excited about Christmas. I barely even have anything to give to the people I love. But I do have people I love.

Gosh, I should have supplied a barf bag with this post. Sorry.

Anyway, I wanted to get the winter-consumer-gift-giving holiday (as my dad calls it) started with a photo of this awesome tie-dye shirt that Rebecca and Kelley made for me.  It has an “L” on it! Yeah!

Thanks guys

Love

Lizzy

Holy December. It is so cold in my house that my pen won’t write.  Is it uncool to wear your bathrobe over your normal clothes?

I’ve been daydreaming about music videos lately.  I really want to make one. I want to make three! (I’ll send a free album download to anyone who can guess my top 3 picks for music videos from Read Me Out Loud.Tweet @LizzyRossMusic!)

There is a slight hitch in my plans to make the world’s most glorious music videos, though – it’s an expensive prospect. I embarked on an interwebs journey to try and find some inspiration for a genius, low-budget music video (or three) and this is what I found:

1. Does everyone in the world BUT me know about this? How cute is their drummer? Unfortunately we don’t have a chorus of adorable musical genius kids. Bummmerrrrr.

2. There is always the option of a Rube Goldberg machine. But I don’t think Waves would do so well with this. And that’s a pretty pricey car-smashing.

Ok, I’ve given you one out of three… tweet @LizzyRossMusic with your best guess at the 3rd music video candidate.  If you’re right I’ll send along a free download of Read Me Out Loud! And yes, if you have a good idea for a video holla at info@lizzy.net.

Love, and shivers,

Lizzy

Hello hello,

I have a new video for you! Red Dog and I put our brains together and came up with a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Make You Feel My Love.” It’s a simple, sweet song, and it was recently covered by Adele (who did an awesome job… duh) and everyone else in the world.  And now… it’s been covered by Lizzy Ross.  That’s when you know a song has really made it.
*Ahem*

Anywho, I know they’ll make fun of me for being cheesy (which I am) AND for making ridiculous faces (which I do), but I wanted to dedicate this to my recently married friends Jon and Eliza.  I learned the song for their wedding and I love it!

Love, and hope you enjoy,
Lizzy

My journal died. Dear god, I hope it goes to journal heaven and not the other way.

It deserves a shot at some divine peace – I’ve had it since I was nine (NINE?! How did it last that long? I destroy things… by accident, of course).   I wrote in it about everything from my band crushes to my roommates’ drama to the time my family’s standard poodle (Bacon) ate my best friend’s gerbil (Thunder).

But it is time to say goodbye. I filled in the last square inch on the last page today… tearfully.  With my tears. The page was all crinkly.

And then I promptly had a panic attack.  I write in my journal every morning and every night. How am I going to sort out my jumble of mental spaghetti without a place to PUT all of my thoughts? What am I going to do when the sun sets? Talk to myself?

Since I was at home with the family for Thanksgiving, talking to myself was unfortunately not an option. An emergency journal quest was my only recourse.

Three hours and four stores later, I found my new journal soul mate. It’s the perfect size.  It’s got fancy gilded edges. It’s got thick, unlined paper for writing and drawing whatever my heart desires, and it has cute little trees on the inside cover! We belong together.

To my old journal, thank you for holding my overflow thoughts. Rest in peace on my bookshelf, free of the rigors of my purse and pen.

As for my new journal, I promptly filled in 12 pages with my plans to write a quadruple album about the philosophical implications of time travel and antidefenestrationism…

and then I went to bed happy.  This is the start of something beautiful

Whee!!! Right about now you might be packing up the car and preparing to sit in traffic for a few hours before you guzzle down the first preliminary taste of cranberry sauce.  Or mashed potatoes.  Or stuffing.  Or whatever you like the best.  I’ve always spent the day before Thanksgiving testing and tasting liberally, often eating more than I do at the dinner table.

(For the record, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, and stuffing ARE my favorites.)

More often than not, the food binge is more substantial than the gratitude binge.  According to the ever-reputable Web MD (oh no! I have the Black Plague!), gratitude not only reduces stress, but also improves sleep, can have a protective effect against heart attacks, and fosters a better overall “emotional set point.”

I like sleep. I don’t like heart attacks. So, with my own self-interest in mind, thank you!!

We’ve had a wonderful year and we’re looking forward to another one.  We’ve put together a record that we’re proud of, made friends all over North Carolina, met amazing musicians, and have been able to scrape out a living in the midst of it.  We’ve been astounded and comforted by the kindness of fans, friends, and strangers.  We get to do what we love.

Thank you.  I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Here’s to low blood pressure and a good night of sleep.

Love,
Lizzy

It is a rainy day. And a beautiful one. I’m alone in the house. Outside, all the red and yellow leaves are gleaming and wet and bright with fall.

I love being alone in the house. I feel like I can move freely, work faster, think without being disturbed… and sing really, really loud.

Alone in my own home, it’s easier for me to imagine all the things that make up my songs.  My flights of fancy take me farther.  I can wander in my thoughts and feelings without fear of forgetting or offending anyone.

And then, there is the simple satisfaction of a load of laundry drying.  Setting up my recording equipment.  A clean, ordered place where I can think straight.

And Red Dog.

And rain.

No, this isn’t a horrible emo-blab about me getting drunk. This is a quick homemade recording of a somewhat ridiculous new song I wrote inspired by a Hayes Carll / Caitlin Rose show I saw a few nights ago. Fun with country

Merch sales are a big part of how we keep things running on the road.  What’s merch? T-shirts, stickers, CDs, band members’ old tissues…

Since merch is so important, we need a good way to display it while we play and keep it all organized while we’re traveling.  This, my friends, is where the suitcase comes in.

Drew and I bought this suitcase at the Nearly New Shop in Durham, NC for $1. It’s a beaut. Solid construction, goooorgeous quilting on the inside, pockets for safe-keeping, everything a band could want.  And it’s reaaaaallly ugly.

Not to worry! It doesn’t matter what it looks like while it’s closed.  That just makes it less conspicuous to passers-by with malevolent intentions (what would you do with 100 stolen LRB CDs, anyway?).   The suitcase needs to look pretty when it’s OPEN! Voila:

First, the contents – we have a nifty logo, printed on 4 different colors of American Apparel’s oh-so-soft basic tee.  We have 3 different types of stickers (they’re free!) and of course, two CDs – our new release Read Me Out Loud and my acoustic album Traces.  We also have the essential change jar, where we collect the dolla dolla billz from our loyal patrons.

Second, the features.  Battery-powered LED Christmas lights (pack extra batteries!) help our merch case shine in even the dingiest dive. A foam pad (cut from an old mattress covering) keeps everything in place while we travel.  T-shirts are rolled, secured with masking tape, and marked for size.

When we get to the gig, all I have to do is open up the suitcase, switch on the lights, and pull out the cash jar.  Plenty of time left over for guitar tuning and schmoozing.

And there you have it, folks! Come visit our merch case in person at our next gig.

Love,
Lizzy

Curled up in bed at 12:07 A.M. being a geek. Why am I a geek, you ask? Because I’m up so late to tell you about… our forums!
We wanted a place where the band and fans could get together, so we just set up forums at http://forums.lizzy.net/. We’re talking about anything from our favorite songwriters to what we had for dinner, so join the conversation!
Love. I’m going to bed.
Lizzy

Get a physical copy of Read Me Out Loud for only $10!

Payments are completed securely through PayPal.

Read Me Out Loud is the debut album from Lizzy Ross Band.

H-Blast is coming up this September! Check out the poster below -

Hey folks!
We are ecstatic to be part of the lineup for Smilfest 2011.  This fest is invitation-only, and as fans of the Lizzy Ross Band, consider yourselves invited. Click on the link below to access a PDF with information on how to get tickets to Smilefest (it’s not too tricky!  We promise! And it’s definitely worth it.)

Smilfest2011-Invitation.Letter

Much love,

Lizzy