She Persisted
PJ Harvey's first time on stage was an abject failure. Her trio, Automic Dlamini, played its debut performance in Charmouth, England in April 1991. When they started playing there were 50 people in the room. By the end of the first song there were 2. Harvey recounts that during their second song a woman came up to the band while they were playing and shouted, "Don't you realize nobody likes you! We'll pay you, you can stop playing, we'll still pay you!"
They kept playing.
Since that disastrous night she has been nominated for 7 Grammys, won a Meteor Award for Best International Female, and was twice included in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Whatever tool you wield, be it a guitar or a paint brush or carving chisel or an ink pen, don't put it down. Keep playing.
Just last weekend we completed vocal tracking for my forthcoming album, Blood in the Honey. As we dive into mixing, mastering, and preparing for the record's release, here is a teaser for one of the tracks, Ain't No Trouble.
All the footage was shot at Franklin, Tennessee graveyards and churches.
Rivendell Manor
The Rivendell Writer's Colony in Sewanee, Tennessee recently closed it's doors. Before it served as the organization's home I had the honor of serving as the lead carpenter during the manor's restoration a decade ago. I recently published this remembrance of my time there and the stories I took away from the project:
Requiem for Rivendell: Sawdust, Glitter, and Methamphetamines
More writing can be found at Medium.com/@TrapperHaskins
