Ze lieder learns to delegate...

"God and other artists are always a little obscure." 

-- Oscar Wilde

I'm feeling this is particularly true about me lately.  Thornfield was so busy with monthly gigs last year, including a pretty intimidating one in December, so I felt it was necessary to take a little winter hiatus.  Well, winter's been mild and short in Chicago, and I'm aching to get back into the swing of music and all that jazz.  Literally.

But here's the thing: I'm not administrative.  At all.  And unfortunately, success in the business of music -- as is true with success in any other business -- requires good management.  But as Jenna & Eric have dubbed me "ze band lieder" and as I've heard that one of the best qualities in a leader is the ability and willingness to delegate, well, here I am before you.  Delegating.  To you.  Yes.  You.

Here's what we need you to do, if you're able: 

- Listen to some of our live recordings here and watch our videos here.

- Like them.

- Never mind point above ~ Please like them only if you're inclined to like them.

- Share them with your friends.

- Donate to the "tip top" (on site's sidebar) to help us raise funds for recording a marketable album, if you're able to.  We've been wanting to do this for nearly a year now, and we feel it's imperative that this happens very soon so that we can have something to give back to all our wonderful fans.

- Suggest any venues in Chicagoland (or, if you think you can round up enough friends to attend, elsewhere).

- Like us on facebook (here) and share our page with your friends.

- If you have administrative or artistic gifts that could contribute to Thornfield's well-being, please don't hesitate to offer them.  We welcome all help we can procure!  If you enjoy designing posters, if you like calling venues to book gigs, if you live for organizing events that bring artists and art-lovers together, if you would love take a few pictures or record a few videos... These are all things that we need and, frankly, things that I'm just no good at.  I would love to be able to focus on creating and perfecting good music, and distractions like business keep that from happening, I'm sorry to say.

- Above all, we cherish your support, and I don't mean simply financially.  To see some of the same faces at gig after gig has been such a truly heartening and encouraging thing.  Thank you, so very much!  I'm in process of working on a press kit to secure some more gigs very soon, so please continue your support by bringing your classy selves to them!  :)

taken by our most devoted fan & roadie (who happens to be Jenna's hubby), Adam Plaiss

So there it is.  Now I'm finally a true lieder.  

On behalf of Thornfield, je t'aime!

Carrie

Frozen Heart

For the first time this year (and the first significant time this whole winter long), snow rages through the air and settles deep on the ground.  And as I sit here, coffee betwixt my fingers and thumb, warm to the bones and full to the brim with everything I need and many of the things I want, I remember...

I remember Walter, the man with the cardboard sign who only asked for help to keep his 6-year-old son off the streets.  I remember the many veterans, men and women, who have fought long and hard with body and mind, now frail in both, who sit on the side of the highway exits, judged for being physically and emotionally and mentally scarred by the battles they've seen.  I remember the man under the overpass, his bed of old, smelly sleeping bags made with care, practicing his kirate -- or dancing; I couldn't quite tell.  And the snow flew anyway.  And as the ground beneath them froze, so did my heart.  And I realize I don't know the meaning of these words as well as I often think I do:

Remember my affliction and my wandering, the wormwood and bitterness.

Surely my soul remembers and is bowed down within me.

No, that I do not remember.  But they do.

But it's not too late for them, for their frozen bodies.  Nor me, for my frozen heart.

This I recall to my mind, 

Therefore I have hope.

The Lord's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,

For His compassions never fail.

They are new every morning;

Great is Your faithfulness.

His lovingkindness and compassion are extended to my heart each and every day, and I have the choice each day to extend it beyond myself, to those in need.  

I've said it before, and I'll say it again:

I was raised in a culture that said, "God helps those who help themselves" and "You reap what you sow" and "I'll help you if you prove to me you're worth it."  Nowhere in any of those statements is the gospel present.  The gospel is about God helping people who cannot help themselves, and reaping something that someone else sowed, and understanding that we're all unworthy of help and that's why it's so awesome that God's love and care is not based on worth!  The gospel is God helping the poor, namely me and you.  And those who've heard and understood and accepted this gospel are called to be extenders of the same grace we were given. 

That means helping people who can't -- maybe even won't -- help themselves. 

That means giving people things that they didn't work for. 

That means extending care and grace and provision to people whether we deem them "worthy" or not.  Because neither are we.  Yet, God lavished all of his fullness on us anyway.

And you know what?  You and every other person on this planet may not be worthy of another's unconditional love and provision, but we all have eternal, immeasurable value -- God's image imprinted on every eye and every fingerprint and every soul.  And with that value comes responsibility for making that choice, for extending that grace, for loving God by loving our neighbors.

Yes, my heart is often distracted -- or even intentionally turned away -- from the needs of others.  But I pray God above and within will help me turn my eyes and spirit to those in need, and help me extend to them my arms and my love, cold though it may be, that His love working through me might warm and thaw this frozen heart.

C'est la vie d'artiste

Hello my friends!

It's been a while since I gave an update on the musical endeavors of my life.  Since they pretty much rule me right now, it seems an appropriate time to let everyone else in on the craziness that is being a working (which does not always -- and in fact most often does not -- mean paid, by the way, but I digress) musician.  Truth be told, sometimes it doesn't look like being a musician at all.  For instance, last night I picked up my guitar for the first time in almost two weeks and realized that -- although these two weeks have consisted almost entirely of planning and organizing some very musical events in which I play a large musical role -- often the administrative side of being a musician takes over much of the time and energy I would otherwise put into actually playing and creating music.  And I have to admit, it's frustrating.  I also find it ironic that being a "productive" artist usually consists of such overwhelmingly unartistic endeavors.

C'est la vie d'artiste, I suppose.  But must it be?

Well, that was about to become an entirely other post.  But the intent of this one is to tell yous guys what's up in our music world.  So here it is:

Saturday, October 1st: For One Chicago

     I'll be leading the worship times of this event with a lovely, lovely group of friends and musicians.  The event itself is for a fantastic cause -- serving with our hands and feet the beautiful people of this magnificent city.  It's not just going to consist of coming to a big auditorium and praising God with our lips and asking Him to make us better servants at some undefined time of our lives.  It's going to involve both worship and response.  Now, I know worship is a response... to God.  We're also going to worship Him, though, by responding to Chicago, by serving the way Jesus served.  Check out the link above if you're interested in getting in on this very exciting city-wide project.  

Friday, October 14th: Acoustic Blend

     Now, this little fella has been a long time in the making.  It's the folk arm of the Fusion Concert Series that my body-of-Jesus home -- Holy Trinity Church -- puts on annually, including concerts of jazz, blues, classical and other awesome genres of music.  I coordinated the first Acoustic Blend in the Spring of 2010, and -- as it's already Fall (today!) of 2011, we thought it was about time to get around to it again.  This concert will be held at The Tapestry, a great little venue for these sorts of concerts in Chicago, and coffee will be provided gratis by CityGrounds coffee bar of Lincoln Park.  Thornfield (including yours truly) will be playing, as well as some other fantastically folksy folks.  So, if you're at all interested in folk music, great coffee, or just like to hang out with people who are, this is the place for you.  There is a "Suggested Donation" of $5 to help cover costs, but don't let that stop you from coming if you really can't afford it!

Friday - Sunday, October 28-30th: Women's Weekend Away

     This is specifically for the women of Holy Trinity (though if you don't attend HTC, you're still more than welcome... er... if you're a woman).  I'm organizing the music and worship for this weekend, which has been super easy thanks to my friend Shandra and some other awesome organized women.  (What would we creative types do without organized people?!?)  

So.  October. Is. Crazy.  But as all of these projects seem to be coming together -- not effortlessly or seamlessly, but together nonetheless -- it's sure to be an exciting month for us.  And the craziness has definitely taught me a lesson or twenty on depending not on my own strength but on the Spirit's.  What He gives us to do, He will enable us to do.  ::sigh of relief::  Thornfield will not be doing our monthly gig at CityGrounds for obvious reasons, but we'll be back there on Saturday, November 12th.  Please check out our website (www.thornfieldmusic.com) for more up-to-date events, interviews, recordings and more.  

Aaaaaaand... Since I'm writing about music, I think there should be some inspiring picture to go with it all in your mind.  So here it is:

Have a great weekend!

Thornfield

Yes, City Songbird has been m.i.a. lately... at least in the blogosphere.  I've been pretty active elsewhere, believe it or not.  For one thing, I've got this band, see... and we've been writing some music, see... and performing regularly in Chicago, see... so much so that (yes, I'm going to say it again) we've finally gone and made a name for ourselves, see...  No really, see.  Right here: 

Oops!  Wrong picture!  er... sorry! ... er, where did I put that file...?  Oh yes, here we go:

Much better.  Or at least more informative.  

That's right, folks, we're officially a band!  With a real, cool band website, to boot!  (Please check it out and let us know what you think!)  We've each and all been working on some new material (rather faithfully, if I may say so, for working-class people with day jobs) and have been able to debut, on average, about three new songs every month.  June is no exception, so we'll be bringing some fresh tunes to CityGrounds coffee bar in Lincoln Park this Saturday (June 11), from 7 to 9pm.  So, if you like folk, jazz, singer/songwriter, or blues, please do come out and hear our fusion of all these styles and more.

In addition to playing at our favorite coffee spot, we're on the prowl for some new venues to visit this Summer.  If you have any suggestions, please do let me know.  I'll do my best to update you on our schedule, but of course the best way to keep track of all-things-Thornfield is to check regularly thornfieldmusic.com, where you'll find all you need to know about us, and a few extra things thrown in for good measure.  And if you're all about the social media connections out there, you can also find and become fans of Thornfield on facebook, follow us on twitter, and listen to us on ReverbNation or myspace.

Well, time for me to be about practicing... or convincing Jenna to get that awesome tattoo...

Reader's Poll: Should we encourage Eric to let that facial hair grow?  I'm kinda drawn to it, myself...