Upcoming Shows Nov. and Dec.

Tomorrow Teddy will be singing at the Afton Senior Center, by herself! I know, scarey ;-) It will be interesting to sit down with my guitar and play these songs I've been doing with Cal or the Band all by my lonesome. You can catch me there at 12:00pm.

Thanksgiving weekend Cal and I will be playing at the Hayloft, so pry your bellies off the couch and come in, take a load off and listen to something besides a ball game or fighting siblings (not that we know anything about that ;-) Seriously, live music is an important part of our society and rural culture and people in this Valley are doing a great job of supporting the arts so we hope you'll take advantage of it.

Speaking of live music. This picture captures such a funny moment at RMAF. This is John Dunnigan, musician extrodinaire at the end of a very long jam. He is so gracious to play with singers and pickers of every level and Eric, who is his own one man band sat in to play an original song or two. Into the song he needed some audience participation and he turned to John and demanded John to Yodel. We found it so funny that I about fell off my chair, and Eric continued to coerce John into Yodeling on demand when the song required. . . . . way to go above and beyond John :-) Talking to John later he asked "So Cal, does your sister drink?" and it's all thanks to Eric and his one man band :-) Who needs alcohol when you have comic relief like this?

Highlights from Missoula RMAF 2010

Well, we've almost recovered from our trip to Missoula Montana for the Rocky Mountain Association of Fairs Convention where we sing and talk and dance and get very little sleep or food as luck would have it. Good thing we stopped at the Calf-A on our way through Dell Montana where they serve up THE BEST food in Montana. Not even kidding. You can check out my posts from the past two years, it's so good that a three day old donut from that place was better than any meal we ate at convention. (Taco Salad without the meat. Or beans. Or anything else? Any takers? Didn't think so. ;-) Let's just say we don't go for the food, but we do go for . . . . . . Pickers like the Bad Larry's and cool little jam sessions between negotiations with potential fair buyers. Ed from the Larry's stopped by and we got in a much needed hour or two. I think our favorite thing about convention is playing with other great musicians. We just needed more moments like these. There were literally not enough hours in the day.

Del came along with us this year and it worked great to have him there to talk to people when Cal and I were singing. I think he'll be our un-official lady charmer and booker :-)

It would not have been a complete trip for us without a little John Dunnigan. We recorded one of his songs on our latest CD and got to watch him listen to it for the first time. What an awesome moment for us.

There will be more updates to come, so many great people and fun moments together. Singing with John's son Andy again (we met him in Coeur D 'Alene) and some of his band The Lil' Smokies was so cool. Their talent makes me want to either slit my wrists and give it up or turn back time and practice 8 hours a day from birth. I think that's what it would take for me. There's always room for inspiration and improvement. I'm feeling plenty inspired.

Home Again

We're home safe and sound and the thing I'm most excited about is a cuddle with my sweet boy. He's been a little trooper not having his Mom or Dad around for 5 days! There were so many great moments in Missoula and I'll have a lot of post to catch up on. We did get some bookings and will be updating everything as we get closer. We do want to let you know we have another Christmas Military Benefit planned for December and details are coming soon, but for tonight, it's time for a long awaited snuggle and the only singing I'll be doing is a lullaby.

Headed to Missoula

Rocky Mountain Association of Fairs is this next week and we'll be on our way Wednesday morning. It will be such a nice break from the hard labor at our "day jobs". We are wore out! There's nothing better to re-charge than friends, food and live music. We're hoping for some solid bookings and all night jam sessions. I'm bringing the camera this year :-)

Buried in Wild Game!

Whew! I'm going to try and give a quick update, It's our busy season at Dana Cold Storage and we've been buried in wild game. Literally :-)

Cal and I had a couple of great last of summer shows. The Hayloft was a fun night, and although we sang in the upper loft, the sound carried down to all the tables on the lower level as well. We got a lot of great feedback about the whole experience. Hope you all get a chance to take a night off in the kitchen and try someone elses home cooking out.

We also entertained our first actual bus load of people down at the Flying Saddle in Alpine. We got booked as the dinner entertainment for a tour bus and had a great time with them. A few groups came back for more and it was fun to see what requests we could actually fulfill.

This fall we'll be cutting meat and in Novemember will be off to the RMAF for some much needed R&R and if we're lucky, some killer jam sessions.

OH, WE ARE STILL BOOKING JOBS ON THE ODD WEEKEND THROUGH THE FALL AND IN DECEMBER HAVE SOME CHRISTMAS SHOWS BOOKED, WE ARE AVAILABLE FOR LIMITED DATES, SO DON'T HESITATE TO CONTACT US AHEAD OF TIME. We do private, family, group and business parties for the Holidays.

Summer's Almost Over

The Star Valley Ranch end of season show was such a great time. There was a big happy crowd and everyone was 'loose' enough to stick around and dance. We thought we'd outlast them, but were proven wrong. The Ranch folks know how to party! The band is really getting tight and we're going to keep up rehearsals through the fall and winter and are booking some early December gigs. I (Teddy) will be heading up to Sun Valley again for Christmas, but we're going to get in a couple of shows between my traveling schedule and family time.

Cal and I have our last show of the summer this Saturday night. The Hayloft is having their grand opening and we'll be singing from Six till whenever :-) Cal checked it out tonight and the food and music was fantastic. We have such great local talent. We know how to grow 'em here in Wyoming. Hope to see you tomorrow night!

Quick Update

Just wanted to put in a quick update on our upcoming shows. TODAY we have a private wedding and then we'll get a little time off before next week's busy schedule. Our time slot to play at the Franklin County Fair in PRESTON IDAHO IS 11:00-1:00 SATURDAY, AUGUST 21ST. This is our fourth year playing this fair and we're excited to see our friends and family in the Idaho/Utah area.

Right after our Preston set we're making a mad dash for the STAR VALLEY RANCH RV PARK again where we'll be playing a dinner/dance. Around 6:00 in the evening we'll be there with the full band all night long.

Coming up at the end of August we'll be playing for the grand opening of the new HAYLOFT RESTAURANT here in Afton.

It's turning out to be a busy end of summer for us, we'll have our new CD to sell at these last few gigs. Hope to see you soon!

THAYNE LIBRARY FUNDRAISER ~ Saturday August 7th

Cal and I have had some great fun this summer singing together and are really excited for our upcoming gig with the band. We're playing a dinner/dance/silent auction fundraiser for the Thayne Town Library at the Star Valley Ranch R.V. park barn. It's for a great cause and with the ticket price of $20 it'll cost you less than dinner and a movie! We're happy to support Merridee and her crew who have worked so hard to promote this event. We hope you'll get your tickets early or just show up, but come out Saturday night for great music, food and fun!

You can contact either Cal, Dave or me for advance tickets.

Coffee Cabin

Cal and I will be singing at the Coffee Cabin in Alpine, Wyoming this Saturday. We're lucky enough to have our brother Jake with us for the night, it's the first time we've sung all together in over two years. Hope you'll all come out for some smokin' outdoor BBQ and a rare showing of the three of us together again. :-) We'll from 5:30 until we run out of songs we know, and if you're still around we'll sing all the ones we don't.

Upcoming Show Update

Don't miss supporting the local farmers in Star Valley. Thursday July, 15th we'll be playing around 5:30 until the skeeters pack us off. We hope to see you there.

Also, just a heads up, the Thayne Library fundraiser is putting up fliers and selling tickets to the dinner and silent auction. It will be a great night and it's for a very worthy cause. Put it on your calendars and we'll see you there!

Here's proof that we've really been recording all this time :-) Mother's basement has been overrun by her children once again. We do the actual recording in the closet. Yes. The closet.
Cal sets everything up and I'm the button pusher.

He even put down some drum tracks, so those drum lessons paid off when we were kids :-)

We are getting excited for this project to be completed. It will be a better representation of our current sound than "Cowboys are Dreamers" and the new songs Cal has written will be on it.

The Band Part of The Linfords

We are so happy to have found a couple of great musicians to fill out our sound when we are booked for a "band" gig. Dave and Stephanie have put in a lot of extra time rehearsing and have also generously donated their talents for several of the benefits we have played. It's about time you heard a little more about them.

Stephanie Berglund our Bass Player

Bass player Stephanie Berglund first picked up the bass at age 13 to play in her Jr. High School's jazz band in Alleman, Iowa. In high school, she played the bass in marching band, pep band, swing choir, and jazz band, including earning the spot in the Iowa All-State Jazz Band. In what she describes as equivalent to throwing darts at a map, she ended up with a music scholarship to Central Wyoming College in Riverton where she earned her Associates degree then transferred to the University of Wyoming to complete her Bachelors degree in Music Theory and Composition. She left the state for 2 years while her husband Scott completed his Occupational Therapy degree in Oregon, and they returned to Wyoming in 2001 when Scott took a job with the Child Development Center and the Lincoln County School District. Along with playing in the Linford band, she plays piano and sings with Emmanuel Bible Church's music team, teaches piano and bass lessons, and takes care of her 3 little girls. (And although swing and Latin are her favorite things to play on bass, she really enjoys picking out roots and fifths, and occasionally more interesting lines, with the Linfords.)

Dave Parsons on the Drums

Dave owns and operates Dave's Barber Shop in Afton, WY. Dave was born and raised near Afton and later attended Boise Barber College in Boise, ID. He always wanted to return to Afton, open a business and make music with the Linfords. He is a father of two boys and husband to Elizabeth Sands from Oregon. Gary Allan, Rodney Crowell, Sawyer Brown, and the Zac Brown Band are among his favorite's loaded on his MP3 player.

Alpine Mountain Days

The Linford Band is kicking off the Alpine Mountain Days Friday at 6:00. Cal and Teddy will be playing with Dave Parsons on drums and Stephanie Berglund on the bass. Come on out and bring your lawn/camp chairs or dancing boots and start the weekend off with some great live music!

Doc Perkes

We're singing tonight at the Flying Saddle in Alpine to honor Doc Perkes. He's the Doctor who delivered all of us kids and the last time I went in to see him not only did he recognize me know me by name, but also knows what my natural hair color is :-) You never know what old Doc will say, but if he compares you to a hereford cow, take it as a compliment!

Direct From Mothers Basement!

Our web-site has been updated with new summer gigs and best of all a couple of new songs. They haven't even been mastered, but I couldn't stop myself :-) So, go to thelinfordband.com and check it out.

*Cal and I record the old school way. No pitch fixer, no studio musicians. Just a mic and multi-track recorder and a lot of hours. We hope you like it! Mum sure does (hee hee)

Thanks And Update!

The dance was a success! We came out fifty bucks ahead in the end and had a great night! I for one learned something about myself; each and everytime I open my mouth something comes out of it that never crossed my mind before. Thanks Cal for letting me talk so much while you switch guitars. This little glitch will be fixed when we have our own guitar slinger to tune and hand over our guitars :-) That's a dream to tack to the bathroom mirror.

I love the fact that there are people in our little valley willing to leave their cozy cabins and come out for a night and spend it with us. We even had friends in from Idaho and Utah. Hopefully we'll be able to squeeze in a couple more summer dances before snow hits us again.

Right now Cal has been holed up in Mum's basement working on our album. I get thrown in there to harmonize and pretend to be helpful in the process. Usually we have divergent views on, well, most things, so it can get interesting when 'sister' offers helpful opinions to 'brother'. This new album is very true to our sound right now. My favorite so far is "The Boat Song".

Pictures of the "Studio" will be up soon :-)

p.s. Thanks George and Ruth for the monetary donation to our craft! It is greatly appreciated.

Dance This Weekend!

It's official, you can't say there's nothing to do in Star Valley on a Saturday night! We hope to see you all at the civic center. Cal and I are playing with Dave on the drums and Stephanie on the bass so you can bring the family and come out and dance. We're excited to try this out and hope it becomes another great Star Valley tradition.

Wyoming Commissioners

Cal and I drove out to Kemmerer to play for the Wyoming Commissioners shindig. You'd think that in the last days of April you wouldn't have to worry about getting caught in a snow storm, but you thought wrong. :-) It looks like a winter wonderland out there tonight and we're glad to be in from the cold with another performance under our belt. Every time we sing it's a new experience. A new venue, new people, new songs . . . . it's one of the reasons I love it. The Star Valley High School Bluegrass group played tonight as well and we stayed to listen to some great talent gearing up to conquer the music world from good old Wyoming. I love that there IS a bluegrass group! They meet during school hours and perform around the valley, it's a great opportunity to grow as a musician. What a great night!

Taylor Guitar Factory

When I went out to visit my brother Jake in California he arranged for us to take a tour of the Taylor Factory. I was in full nerd mode. I loved it! But it had an unfortunate side effect of making me want things. So many pretty things. I loved seeing just stacks and stacks of guitars in various states of creation. It was so cool to see it all broken down, from wood, to finished product.

Above are some hard bodied bodies :-) and below a piece of Koa being marked for cutting.

Taylor has automated a lot of the processes which allows them to have a very consistant product. Some may argue this takes away from the "handmade" factor many musicians crave. Perhaps. But I love the sound and love their innovation and creative solutions.

It was fun to see the Jason Mraz guitars in production. There were so many custom guitars being made it made my teeth ache.

I never would have imagined having running horses on a guitar, but why not combine two of my favorite things :-) This was my Dads favorite thing he saw.

Once again, the stacks. So cool.

One of my favorite backs.

Each department has their own guitar hanging on the wall waiting to be playing during breaks. How fun would that be?

The guitar on the left is now the object of my desire. I played the factory guitars after the tour and spent the most time with one of these little beauties. I fell in love with the sound. I never would have thought it would have fit my voice and style so well, but it was mellow and sort of retro sounding without the harsh edge. I cried to drive back to the mountains of home without one.

I made do and played my own Taylor on the 16 hour roadtrip home. (which also made me put another guitar on my must have list. A baby taylor.)

This list just keeps getting longer :-)

(Cal would have been proud)

Sing For Your Supper

The prospect of a good meal I don't have to A. COOK B. PAY FOR C. CLEAN UP AFTER is a FANTASTIC THING! So, Cal and I have been singing for our supper around Star Valley when the opportunity arises. It's a great excuse to get together and play for a captive audience, figure out what songs work, what ones we've forgotten and which ones we should write ASAP. Meadows Ward was throwing a big birthday bash for the Relief Society and so we worked up a 45 min. set, which we know would be plenty long (especially with my son Tom demanding my attention at-mediatly ;-) I swear, kids choose the most public places to grab your sleeve and repeat "Mom, Mom, MOm, MOm MOMOMOMOMOMOMOMOMOMOM!!!!! Until you HAVE to answer if only to make it stop!) Anyhow, much to our surprise they wanted more, and would not take no for an answer. It was a kick! So we strapped on our guitars and gave the people what they wanted, and were rewarded with food galore and a standing ovation :-) I didn't have to cook dinner and Tom came home with enough balloons to take flight. Last night we hit the COFFEE CABIN down in Alpine, which I highly suggest adding to your date night schedule. It was a relaxed crowd and we sang a couple hours, then were served a three course dinner and when the Mayor asked, we pulled a couple special requests out of the archieves of our minds. It's been a long time since we've performed "Cowboys Are Dreamers and The Ride". We played until our bulging stomachs could take no more and headed for home.

Can't wait till next time . . . . . . be on the lookout for additions to our schedule. May 8th we are playing a Mothers Day Dance at the Afton Civic Center with the full band.

The Coffee Cabin

This weekend The Linfords will be singing for their supper at The Coffee Cabin in Alpine, Wyoming. It's a great little spot along the Snake River where good food and good music are plentiful. Cal and I hope to see you there. Saturday night 'round 7:00pm.

Paid In Applause

Oft times when The Linfords sing it's just for the sake of singing. Yep, we get paid for some gigs, but living in a small town there is a lot of opportunity to help someone out be it a fundraiser, a church function, a family party . . . . . you name it, we've sung at it. And if there isn't a budget for us to be paid, more than likely we'll sing for you anyway. I figure it's more than 'good karma' to share the talents God gave us, and whatever good is done in this world will come back in untold ways. This weekend we had the chance to sing for the Thayne First Ward and although we felt like we were playing the kinks out a bit, they loved the show and gave us a standing ovation!

There is a saying that "You are never a prophet in your own town", and perhaps it's true, but we have felt the love and support of our community every time we perform and not only did they have a good experience with some great music, we did too. Thanks Thayne First!

LUNA TALENT

In our travels Cal and I have become friends with a lot of talented people, and as we all grow up and expand our projects we are lucky enough to reap the privledges of our acquaintences :) One of which is Luna Talent. One of my friends from a show we did WAAY back has just started her own talent agency in the Utah area and we were thrilled to become part of her talent pool. So check us out on www.lunatalent.com and Thanks Molly!

All That Jazz

Although Classic Country and Folk music is what Cal and I most often play together, we both are involved in other projects that couldn't be further from George Strait and John Denver. Every so often Cal will head on down to the Coffee Cabin and bend his mind around some serious Jazz Chords and I just got back from one of my favorite gigs singing Jazz standards in the Lodge Dining Room in Sun Valley for Valentines Day. I love that music can always be evolving and as it does, so do we. It makes us better musicians to have such diverse music and performances in our lives. When we sit down to play together again there is a new feeling in our music that comes from venturing out into other genres. I also found that some of the songs in our set list lend themselves to the Jazz lovin' crowd as well. "You Belong To Me" was a hit with the Valentines Couples in Sun Valley and Cal has worked up a cool version of "Summertime" and I'm sure we'll be adding it to our sets this year. Hope your Valentines Day was full of great music and loved ones to share it with :-)

Introducing thelinfordband.com

Cal and I finally took the plunge and with the help of Scott from The Bad Larry's we created a website for our band. Check it out at http://www.thelinfordband.com/

Inspiration For 2010

When we heard Brandi Carlile was playing at The Mangy Moose in Jackson, of COURSE we had to go!We were not disappointed.

My favorite thing about the show is that there is a really great UP energy about it. Sure there are sad, angsty songs and plenty of drama, but the underlying feeling about everything they do is that they LOVE IT. I believe that they love playing as much as I love listening and that is what makes it for me.

I was close enough to the stage to touch her guitar.

Yes, I am one of the die-hard fans vying for prime real estate in front of the stage :)

I'm always interested in the instruments they play and equipment they run. They had a flying sound system and the mix was fantastic.

Cal and Del both stood out in the crowd a little bit :) They looked like my body guards. It was such a great night.


(I get totally nerded out when I'm really into the music ~ and after three live BC Concerts, I'm STILL into it :)

Oh, and the most enviable part of the whole night was this guy pictured in the background. He is the guitar tuner/handler :) Maybe someday we'll have one of those ;)

The Linfords ~ Thunderbolt Duo of the Year!

In case you missed it, here are our 2009 Thunderbolt Radio Music Award winners!

Song of the Year:
1. I Keep Calling – Kelly McDonald - California
2. Knocklayde Mountain - T.J. Stuart & Brenda Mulgrew - Ireland

Male Artist of the Year
1. Kelly McDonald - California
2. Rick Reiley - Oklahoma

Female Artist of the Year
1. Brianie - England
2. Brenda Mulgrew - Ireland

Duo of the Year
1. The Linfords - Wyoming
2. The Del Mars - Nebraska

Group of the Year
1. The Doo Wah Riders - California
2. The Quebe Sisters - Texas

Songwriter of the Year
1. Billy Ross - Oklahoma by way of Texas :)
2. Rick Reiley - Oklahoma

Instrumentalist of the Year
1. The Quebe Sisters - Texas
2. Johnny Main - Nebraska

Best Older Recording
1. Turn Her Down - Eben Gifford - Nebraska
2. Make Up or Break Up - Bobby Carl - Oklahoma

The Sylvia Latham Award (Best New Up &Coming Artist)
1. Brianie - England
2. The Whitlocks - Wyoming


Again, thanks for a great 2008 and 2009. This year marks our third year and it will be our best to date!
Be sure to tune in! http://www.live365.com/stations/thunderboltradio