Where Is Cal?

Just in case you've been wondering, Cal has been waiting out the birth of his third child holed up in a closet in my mother's basement recording some songs on his new digital recorder. He's taught himself how to play the bass and run the whole shootin' match by himself. He'll lay down all the tracks and I'll fill with some harmony. It's going to be a great tool for us. We're going to make some little promo discs (like Angel Taylor was handing out when she opened for Brandi Carlile in Salt Lake) for our summer gigs. It'll have a couple of our new songs on it, I may try out a cover.

Brandi? Nope, Olivia. . . . .

So, tonight Cal and I were singing for family who are visiting for Memorial weekend over at Mom's. I'm belting out "The Story" for my Mom's sister thinking I have found a new nuance to my usually so mild and blendy voice, I'm feeling the groove and wanting to show off my newfound vocal prowess to my family at least, and when it's over Dea says, "Sounds kinda like Olivia Newton John". So much for channeling my inner Brandi C. Damn. Maybe next time. :)

Till They Bleeeeeed . . . . . .

I've been feeling guilty that I didn't play my guitar for a week while I was on a mini-vacay so here is my post about playing until my fingers literally bleed. All right, so it's a miniscule amount of blood, but still . . . work with me here. Cracked, bloody, callused fingertips are the new look for me.

Cal and Ricky Skaggs

Cal called me tonight with the latest news on our Taxi critiques. Here is one we have never heard before. The person writing the critique loved Cal's songs and voice and compared him to Ricky Skaggs. We'll take it;)

We have also been told to 'find our niche' which in this critique rs opinion is County Folk. I can't say I disagree. Of course after being compared to Ricky Skaggs, we went on You-Tube to take another listen and compare and we stumbled upon this little gem, ALBERT LEE. We are no longer ignorant of this fantastic picker.

Trail Center Show

The Trail Center Show in Montepelier went fantastic. Cal and I had worked hard and to ensure there was someone there to witness it, Mom and Dad called up some friends and loaded them up for a night in Idaho. The Allinger Theatre inside the Trail Center is a hundred seat facility with great sound and an intimate feel. We loved playing a 90minute show there and really appreciate all the work Jodi and Rick did to make sure everything went well. We LOVE having a sound check and the show ran perfectly.

We started out the night with an electric set and Cal broke in his new Tele. It's a beautiful little guitar with the versitility we need to be MELLOW at times. I've been an acoustic purist, but Cal's work with this particular guitar is winning me over. I played my Taylor of course, and although I'm not used to hearing so much sound ring through, I love the fullness it lends. I've finally built up some decent calluses and I swear by Arnica Salve to get through long practice sessions with carpal tunnel:)
Thanks to everyone who supports us, and if you didn't make it to this show, we hope to see you later this summer. We have a small show in town for a church group and then we're booked for Big Piney/Pinedale and Preston and the Fair Showcase in Montana. We'll update the site with new bookings as they come.

CLARIFICATION

Cal and I had a great show on Friday night, I'll be posting about it in a little more detail later in the week, but I just have a quick correction/clarification to post. I always joke that all the songs I sing are sad ones, and that is for the most part true, and when I got done singing "You Don't Even Know Who I Am" I made a smart-alec crack about how it's a good thing I didn't dedicate that song to my husband. . . . .well, not every one heard the first half of that sentence clearly which left them to believe I dedicated that song to my husband. !!! So, for the record, "You Don't Even Know Who I Am" is NOT dedicated to my sweet, loving, tolerant husband who appreciates my sense of humor and knows I would never dedicate that particular sad song to him. :) Love you Del!

Teddy and Brandi Carlile

*PUSH PLAY*

Doesn't that title sound great? Too bad I was just one of the many in SLC at THE STATE ROOM at her concert this weekend. I'm glad it was an intimate venue though, I was able to get about five feet from the stage and check out the guitars. Cal asked what equipment she was running, but I didn't think to look. Shows where my focus was:) I have to say, Brandi's show was FANTASTIC! My favorite things about it were;

~How professional they were

~They all sang IN TUNE! (I know, it's rare these days)

~The rapport with the audience was comfortable and relaxed

~They played some cool guitars

~I loved all the songs, I knew them all, and they were just as good live as on the album, sometimes better.

~Last but not least, the tickets were a steal at $35!

I can't wait to see her again, it's so great to see a performer that isn't tossing herself around on stage at the expense of the music. How refreshing!

I have to say, if I could trade my voice for someone elses, I think I'd want Brandi's. She has the push and edge that fail me. I think it's probably a polar opposite of mine, but that won't stop me from covering "The Story" this weekend at the Allinger Theatre. Wish me luck;)

Songs and Fishes

I Caught A Fish THIS BIG!Every April when Cal and Boo's birthdays roll around they make their first fishing trip of the season on the Salt. Under "Boo's Log" there lurked this giant of a fish just for the birthday girl.

For Cal's birthday there was no fishing, but some singing, which is par for the course at The Linford's house. Mom made her famous chocolate cake with fudge frosting and Dad cooked enough steak for the army. Cal and I had Mom between us when we played and my new Taylor was so loud it made her ears ring. *sigh* I love that guitar.

The Linfords booked at Allinger Theatre

The Linfords just got booked for a show at the Allinger Theatre (The National Oregon/California Trail Center) in Montpelier Idaho on Friday, April 24, 2009. The singing starts at 7:30 and we'll be playing until about 9:00pm. We're putting together a set list and it's been pretty fun to try to squeeze as many songs in there as possible. We hope you'll mark your calenders and come out to see us. We're really excited to start our season off early this year so close to home. For more information about the Allinger Center click here; http://www.oregontrailcenter.org/

Another Interview Clip