Link to Joel's blog - Journal And Journey
Journal and Journey
Tangled Blue News - November 2010
A foot of heavy snow fell yesterday. It snapped more than a few tree branches, transformed our neighborhood into a beautiful, white mess and left my shoulders in knots after shoveling our walkways and driveway. All in all I’d say the snow’s an improvement. After all of the bright maple leaves fall and there are only a few brown stragglers clinging to the oaks, it’s nice to get this blanket of white. Aimee and I have been taking turns being sick for most of the fall, and it’s put a real crimp in our recording time. It has left us both feeling very tired. Restful sleep has been hard to find but last night brought my second full night of sleep in a row! It feels like we are both finally getting healthy, and it’s just in time. We leave for three weeks of travel through Colorado and South Dakota on Wednesday. We are looking forward to our second trip through the Rockies in 2010 and the work ahead of us.
Since my voice has been A.W.O.L. I’ve been taking a bit of time on a project I’ve wanted to tackle for years. I’ve been putting every CD we have into iTunes with a goal of listening to every piece of recorded music that we own. As the songs are copying onto the hard drive, I’ve put iTunes on shuffle and listened to the random playlist of my music folder (4,840 songs currently). I have a few rules I’ve set up for myself as I do this listening. 1- I will listen through the entirety of every song... no fast forwarding. 2- I will rate every song I listen to. 3- All songs receiving the lowest possible rating will be removed from my hard drive. Here’s what the random playlist brought to my ears yesterday morning:
Pierce Pettis - “Love Will Find You Again” from “Great Big World”
Bruce Cockburn - “Peggy’s Kitchen Wall” from “Stealing Fire”
Rich Mullins - “The Other Side of the World” from “Winds of Heaven, Stuff of Earth”
Jonathan Rundman - “Imperfection” from “Insomniaccomplishments”
Peter Gabriel - “In Your Eyes” from “Secret World Live”
The Innocence Mission - “Keeping Awake” from “Glow”
Bruce Rundman - “Quiet Sound” from “True North”
Keith Green - “Cut the Devil Down” from “The Ministry Years”
Collective Soul - “Full Circle” from “Disciplined Breakdown”
Sufjan Stevens - “Black Hawk War...” from “Illinoise”
Iona - “Reels (Live Version)” from “Heaven’s Bright Sun”
Arcade Fire - “Black Wave / Bad Vibrations” from “Neon Bible”
Wilco - “Monday” from “Being There”
Steve Sandfort - “Make Me A Vessel” from “Too Wonderful to Know”
Death To Our Enemies - “Karate Bike” from “2008 Compilation”
Fleming & John - “A Place Called Love” from “Delusions of Grandeur”
Nadia Tarnawsky - “Mavka and Lukash Reprise” from “Forest Song”
Layton Howerton - “Kirby Man” from “Boxing God”
Julie Miller - “I Know Why The River Runs” from “Broken Things”
Steve Hindalong - “Seven Colors” from “Skinny”
Galactic Cowboys - “I Do What I Do” from “Space In Your Face”
Cloud Cult - “The Girl Underground” from “The Meaning of 8”
Tangled Blue - “All Your Heart” from “Tangled Blue Live 2006-2008”
Kate Hurley - “When You Carry” from “You Are Not Alone EP”
The melody that's still ringing through my head 24 hours later is the chorus of “Peggy’s Kitchen Wall”. Yeah, “tell me who put that bullet hole in Peggy’s kitchen wall?” What have you been listening to lately? Any cool, new discoveries I should consider adding to my digital music collection?
Aimee and I have a few cool, new additions you might be interested in adding to your closet or cabinet. We are producing our first long-sleeve T-shirt. We are also producing a coffee mug. Both will be ready for shipping next week, and we are really happy with the way they’re turning out... I admit that I’ve already decided to keep a few of the mugs for our cabinet at home. To get a look at the new designs go to http://tangledblue.com or http://facebook.com/tangledbluemusic. The design on the new shirts was created by our friend Chris Roth and features an outline of Aimee’s djembe drum and my guitar filled in with the words “Tangled Blue - caffeinated folk and roll”. The mugs are hand thrown by our friend Jody Wirth and stamped with our logo. We are doing small batches of both the new shirts and the mugs to keep our costs low as we move into 2011, so if you know you want to pick these items up for yourself or as a Christmas present I’ve set up PayPal ordering buttons in the tangledblue.com store. With only 20 mugs and 50 shirts available, I expect to sell out before Christmas and reprint these designs in the spring of 2011.
Thanks for being part of our community and for your support this year. I hope we see you soon!
Under the Mercy,
Joel
joel@tangledblue.com
Tangled Blue News - October 2010
I still love the travel we get to do as musicians, but after a seven week-six thousand mile summer tour it's felt good to have so many music opportunities so close to home. The last few weeks have brought us to performances on both sides of the Mississippi that are only minutes apart, reunions with college classmates and roommates (thanks for hosting us, John!), and two great youth events at camps with climbing walls and zip lines! We will enjoy another month of music making in Minnesota and the Dakotas before we head west. I’ve spent most of the day doing one of two things: one - contacting contractors to get quotes for a new roof, and two - working on plans for our tour through the Rocky Mountains and Black Hills. We still have some dates we'd like to fill in Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, and/or New Mexico. Anyone interested in having us add a few Advent songs to your congregations' Advent services this December? All of the details will be at the end of this email.
This week brought the completion of a project that's taken far too long. I finally finished the batik shirts for folks who pledged $50 or more to our kickstarter fund raiser this spring. Sometimes my big dreams don't fit into the typical 24 hour-a-day life, and creating 30 unique, triple dyed shirts took longer than I wanted, but the results are VERY cool. When I retire from making music, I might become a textile artist... big dreams are fun! If you are one of Tangled Blue's $50+ kickstarter supporters I will be putting your shirt in the mail in the next couple days. Thanks for waiting for me to get these shirts right; we are certainly grateful for all of the support we've received from folks this past year.
Here is where we will be performing in the coming months. I hope we get to see you soon and share a few of the new tunes we've been working on. Until then, go under the Mercy, Joel
Tangled Blue News - August 2010
*working with the Disciple Project students at TLU on an original song and leading a really great closing worship service with them (it included violin, viola, flute, recorder, three drummers, scads of guitars, and lots of great singers who blended beautifully)! Facebook users can view photos from this week at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=115108828090
*having Rob Ticherich along to play drums for two full weeks in Texas and New Orleans!
*having Matt Goodson add his wonderful piano skills to our new liturgical pieces in worship at Abiding Presence Lutheran Church in San Antonio.
*becoming God-parents to Isla Grace Anderson last week at her baptism in the beautiful Black Hills while at Outlaw Ranch.
*an evening of star gazing with Aimee in the cool, clear air of the Black Hills.
*meeting and performing for international students from Korea, Hungary, Columbia, Argentina, Germany, and Australia.
*a relaxing day on the San Antonio River Walk.
*did I mention we had a full week in New Orleans?! The combination of friends, food, and conversation were superb AND we got to enjoy the clarinet playing of the talented Tom Fischer twice while in town! You can get a glimpse of Tom’s skill here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfAYYsndt6o
*having our nephew, Nick along for part of our journey through New Orleans.
*meeting folks face to face who pledged toward our upcoming recordings on Kickstarter.
Thanks to all of the fine folks who hosted us this spring/summer in Sioux Falls, Robbinsdale, Inver Grove Heights, Minneapolis, Edina, Dickinson, Bismarck, Fargo, San Antonio, Sequin, Plano, McAllen, New Orleans, Custer, and Rapid City! You have blessed us richly; thank you!
This week at home has been a great retreat... I know, that statement doesn’t make sense for most folks, but home is a great place to retreat to after seven weeks of travel. Last summer we had a nine week tour that pushed me to the point of sickness. Aimee and I both remained healthy this summer and having this week at home is the likely difference. Our return home has included fresh veggies from our garden (Thank you to Nina, Nick, and our neighbors for watering while we were away), grilling out with neighbors, the Uptown Art Fair: http://www.uptownartfair.com/, and the Twin Cities Fringe Festival. I’m hoping to find time to take in a Fringe Fest show at the Fallout Arts Initiative titled “#Ringtone” before we leave for the next run of shows: http://www.fringefestival.org/2010/show/?id=1343
We have some performances next week in Colorado, then North Dakota, then Minnesota, then Iowa... all with a few open days in between each performance. I’ll post the details to the end of this note. Let me know if we can be part of your community this fall as we continue to refine our new songs and work on the new CD.
Thanks for making Tangled Blue part of your day.
Under the Mercy, and looking forward to the next time we see each other face to face,
Joel
joel@tangledblue.com
A BIG thank you to everyone who followed our kickstarter.com pledge drive. Thanks to your generosity we met our goal last month! The last couple weeks have been filled with the continuing work of writing and refining these new tunes for worship and collecting the rewards for the folks who pledged toward our goal. The blue iPods have been engraved with our Tangled Blue logo, and the T-shirts that I will be hand dying have arrived. We hope to send out our supporter’s rewards next week. We’ve been contacted by a few folks who missed the online pledge drive and would still like to give some support toward our new recording of songs for worship. If this describes you, here is a pledge form you can print and send into us: http://tangledblue.com/pledgeform.pdf
...speaking of T-shirts, I’ve redesigned our “con-amor” bar code logo T-shirt. It now includes a version of the icon of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Here’s a link to an image of the shirt: http://tangledblue.com/TB4red.html and more information on this image can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_Heart
The shirt is cardinal red and the logo is in white. I’m really into this design... so much so that I’m considering getting a tattoo of this design... though not for a while, we’ve got some debt to wipe off the slate first. You can order this shirt from the store at http://tangledblue.com.
Summer is upon us; the bumble bees are buzzing around the Veronica blossoms in our back yard and we are buzzing with excitement over the miles and melodies these days will bring. One new melody we are really looking forward to is John Hermanson's new liturgy that will be debuting at Mercy Seat Lutheran Church this Sunday evening in Minneapolis. John's music as a songwriter and as part of Storyhill, Alva Star, and The Hopefuls has been a consistent companion along our many miles of driving, so we are especially looking forward to these new tunes written around the liturgy. It's gonna be fun... you should come... details at http://www.nemercy.org/
Hopeful that we will see you soon...
Under the Mercy,
Joel
joel@tangledblue.com
Tangled Blue Spring Newsletter
Aimee and I left our neighborhood in Minneapolis last week before the crab apple trees blossomed to enjoy the dogwoods of southern Illinois and St. Louis. We returned home late Monday night. My trip to the post office yesterday revealed that the trees on the parkway were in full bloom! Next to the front steps of our house there's a bleeding heart flower we planted and a number of native plants along the walkway. Most were the gracious gifts of our neighbors. They survived the winter and bloomed while we were away so that the walkway is adorned by red prairie smoke and the steps by pink and white bleeding hearts. In time, the orange and yellow day lilies and the blue spiderwort will show their colors. We may miss those blossoms as our summer fills up with performances, so I committed a few moments to stillness and enjoyed the blooming, bleeding heart this afternoon.
We spent this past week driving 1,200 miles, leading four worship services, performing three concerts, participating in a songwriters’ conference, reuniting with family and old friends, and meeting new friends. We’ve been reading Madeleine L'Engle's "The Irrational Season". A line we read on the drive has stuck to me throughout this week: "We've been promised freedom. We've not been promised independence." The more I travel, the more I know this statement is true. I might even go one further and say that true freedom only comes to those in community. Freedom and community are, at least, connected in a way that cannot be separated without greatly diminishing them both. What are your thoughts on this? I would really like to hear your thoughts. We've experienced a lot of freedom because of the communities who host us and our music. Thanks for being part of our community.
We started this little pledge drive on kickstarter.com 28 days ago and $3,560 has been pledged so far! As usual, we are honored by the great generosity of people. That's 51 percent of our $7,000 goal! There are 12 days left, and I want to take a moment to spell out exactly how this whole pledging process works... Folks use their credit card to make their pledge on our kickstarter page; http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1103349008/new-music-for-worship-by-tangled-blue is the address for our page. The credit card used is not charged on the day the pledge is made. The pledge amount is charged on May 10th (the day our pledge drive ends) via Amazon.com’s secure network only if we reach our goal of $7,000. One of the reasons we chose kickstarter is because the pledges are only turned into dollars if we meet or exceed our goal. If we haven't reached $7,000 in pledges by May 10th there won't be a project to fund. I think this is a good thing. Our goal of releasing at least two new recordings in the next 20 months isn't realistically achievable without financial support. Though $3,560 is no small amount of support, we'll need the full amount to bring this music into full bloom.
There is a season for everything, and we've had a lot of music springing up in us lately. If we don't meet our goal on May 10th we won't stop working on these new songs. You will get to hear them eventually, but we would like to share them with you in this season. If every credit-card-carrying reader of this newsletter pledges $10 between now and May 10th we will exceed our goal of $7,000! For folks who pledge we've set up a few rewards. These rewards are set at the same price points as they would be if you were making a purchase of our music. A $10 pledge has a reward of all of the songs in our next recording in MP3 format. A $25 pledge has all of the songs as MP3 files and a signed CD. Go to http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1103349008/new-music-for-worship-by-tangled-blue for a complete list of all twelve rewards. I've also posted two video journals of songs that may go on the new recordings to our kickstarter page. Simply click on the updates tab on our kickstarter page to view the videos, and let me know what you think of the new tunes. I plan on posting a couple new songs to our kickstarter page in the coming week, so check back to hear more of what we're working on. One last note on this pledging thing... we've heard from a few folks that they want to pledge but they don't use their credit cards online. If you would like to pledge with a personal check please print our pledge form and send in your pledge in the coming week. The address for the pledge form is http://tangledblue.com/pledgeform.pdf
We've added a couple new performances in the coming weeks. Aimee and I will be performing as part of a larger group at the Minnesota state capitol next week, and we have some great shows planned in South Dakota. I'll end this newsletter with a full list of our upcoming performances and worship services we will be leading. Thanks for listening. I hope to see you soon.
Under the Mercy,
Joel
Upcoming Performances and OPEN dates
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Thursday, May 6th, 2010
MN Capitol National Day of Prayer - 11:30am
Minnesota State Capitol
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Friday, May 7th, 2010
Private concert in Sioux Falls
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Saturday, May 8th, 2010
Thank You Concert - 7:00pm
Univ. of Sioux Falls McDonald Center - Java City (lower level)
Sioux Falls, SD
605-331-5000
After eight years and 400,000 miles traveled we want to say "thanks". Admission is free. Your support is always welcomed. If you would like to help make this concert a success please invite your friends and consider pledging toward our next recording project at kickstarter.com by May 10th.
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Sunday, May 9th, 2010
Worship in Sioux Falls - 10:45am
Memorial Lutheran Church
Sioux Falls, SD 57108
(605) 334-7133We will be leading music in worship at 8:00 and 10:45 morning services. We hope you can join us.
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Saturday, May 15th, 2010
Concert in Robbinsdale, MN
Details will be posted soon!
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Friday, May 21st, 2010
Community Grill Out and Concert - 6:30pm
Peace Lutheran Church
Minneapolis, MN 55422
763-533-0570After eight years and 400,000 miles traveled we want to say "thanks". Admission is free. Your support is always welcomed. If you would like to help make this concert a success please invite your friends and consider pledging toward our next recording project at kickstarter.com by May 10th.
Grilling starts at 5:30 / music starts at 6:30
Please bring your lawn chair, an item to grill for yourself/family and a dish to share with all. Peace Lutheran Church will provide the beverages. A playground is available for children. If it rains the concert will be moved inside. Call (763) 533-0570 for more information.
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Sunday, May 30th, 2010
Worship in Inver Grove Heights - 9:30am
Emanuel Lutheran Church
Inver Grove Heights, MN 55077
(651) 457-3929We will be leading all of the music in the worship service. We hope you can join us!
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Sunday, June 6th, 2010
Worship in Edina - 10:45am
Cross View Lutheran Church
Edina, MN 55439
(952) 941-1094We will be performing some tunes in the 8:15 and 10:45am worship services. We hope you can join us!
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Wednesday, June 9th, 2010
OPEN in North Dakota
mailto: info@tangledblue.com
We are looking to schedule a performance in North Dakota. Contact us if you would like to schedule a concert in your home town!
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Thursday, June 10th, 2010
Concert Dickinson, ND - 6:30pm
Redeemer Lutheran Church
Dickinson, ND 58601
701-483-4463Free Admission! This is the closing program for a Children's Vacation Bible School. The program with the kids will be from 6:30 to 7pm and a full Tangled Blue concert will follow (beginning around 7pm). We hope you can join us!
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Friday, June 11th, 2010
Thank You Concert - 7:00pm
Boneshaker Coffee Company
Bismarck, ND 58503
701-530-0850After eight years and 400,000 miles traveled we want to say "thanks". Admission is free. Your support is always welcomed. If you would like to help make this concert a success please invite your friends and consider pledging toward our next recording project at kickstarter.com by May 10th.
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Saturday, June 12th, 2010
OPEN in North Dakota
mailto: info@tangledblue.com
We are looking to schedule performances in North Dakota from June 12th through June 17th. Contact us for more information!
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Saturday, June 19th, 2010
North Dakota District Lutheran Woman's Missionary League Convention
http://www.nd-lwml.org
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Thursday, June 24th, 2010
North Dakota District Youth Gathering
Jamestown College
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Sunday, June 27th, 2010
Disciple Project 2010
Texas Lutheran University
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Sunday, July 4th, 2010
Worship in Plano, TX - 9:45am
Resurrection Lutheran Church
Plano, TX 75075
(972) 867-0460We will be leading songs in worship. We hope you can join us!
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Sunday, July 11th, 2010
OPEN in the southern states
mailto: info@tangledblue.com
We are looking to schedule concerts and lead music in worship services in OK, TX, and LA from July 5th through July 16th. Contact us if you would like to host Tangled Blue in your community!
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Sunday, July 18th, 2010
Youth Gathering in New Orleans, LA
We will be performing at the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod National Youth Gathering on July 18, 19, and 20. We will post more details soon!
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Sunday, July 25th, 2010
Guest Artists @ Outlaw Ranch
Outlaw Ranch
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Saturday, July 31st, 2010
Concert in Rapid City, SD - 7:00pm
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Wednesday, August 11th, 2010
Concert in Littleton, CO - 7:00pm
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Sunday, August 15th, 2010
OPEN in August
mailto: info@tangledblue.com
We are looking to schedule concerts and lead music in worship services in August. Contact us for more information.
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Sunday, September 12th, 2010
Concert in South St. Paul!
Concordia Lutheran Church
South St. Paul, MN 55075
(651) 451-0309We are still working on the start time and details for this one. We will post them soon!
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Saturday, September 18th, 2010
Jr. High Youth Retreat
Lutheran Lakeside Camp
Spirit Lake, IA 51360
(712) 336-2109This event is from the evening of Sept. 17th through the morning of the 19th.
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Thursday, October 21st, 2010
North Dakota District Youth Gathering
http://ndyouthonfire.org
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