i can't even begin to talk about how much i enjoyed the showcase last night. nan and lippe and langhorne did a really great job, and there were so many people there. it was really f'n cool. every showcase should be like that. next month will be dave o'neal and danny kelly and vita isabella. i am really lucky to be able to host events like these, and i really like the parkside. the acoustics are good, and they have stella on draft. what more could you want in a live music venue? (ok, dancing ladies, free beer, incredible sound operators, great music every night of the week, free finger food, etc. but, i mean, come on. get real)

i am going home again for the weekend. not playing , just taking a break. i have been recording in every spare minute and it going really well, but it is exhausting. i have two songs completed: Independant woman of the year, and Tuesday. the other nine songs are on the way. i am recording tonight and tomorrow, and then taking a break until next monday when the big songs kick in. (FYI, i am classifying the "big songs" as songs that are going to have more than one guitar track and some backing vocals and drums and all that stuff that the soft love songs don't have.) i'm a little nervous, but it is a good kind of nervous. like when you are in school and have a crush on a boy and write him a note and he writes back and in some akward silly way actually asks you to meet him after school or something. well, sort of in that way. i'm not putting on make-up or anything, but you know what i mean.

i have a solo show when i get back... on friday the 11th at 8pm at the c-note. it is a cute little dive bar in the east village that i have grown accustomed to over the last year. they too have good beer.

one last note...every morning i take the subway to work. sometimes i hit the platform and it is really crowded and the train comes, and it is really crowded and people try to cram into the train like it is the last train, ever, in the whole world, ever coming and if they don't get on the train they will be hours late for work and it will ruin their day. however...moments after the packed train leaves the station, another train comes, half full, and the remaining patient people on the platform enter the second train, take their seat, sip their coffee, and make their way into the city. it is all really interesting to me. the phenomenon of rushing. why not wait? i wait for my food sometimes at restaurants and while some people may get angry, i just have another drink and enjoy some conversation. no matter how late the food comes to the table i never fail to eat everything.

life is just too short to be in a hurry all the time. stop and smell the freakin' flowers. take the next train.

love you

-amy

i had a great trip home. i fished with my dad, i talked with my mom, i ate unusually large amounts of fried fish and i sat in the ocean. it was just great. it's like a different world there. people look different, you know? all the women my age are tiny and tan and wear make-up and dress up and have fru fru hair cuts and manicured nails and there i go with my long ass hippie hair and no make up and my guitar, and boy did i feel like a fish out of water.

so i came back. and wed. was wierd. teenagers. man i hate being mean or controlling but those kids were freakin' loud and in my way. and i have no respect for anyone who talks through other people's time on stage. i don't care how talented they are. completely inconsiderate. really, not many people understand the guts it takes for a lot of people to get up and pour their heart out to a bunch of strangers. you know, when you are singing original material you may as well be standing in front of the room completely naked with the exception of the guitar and then you get off the stage and take off the guitar and no one says anything or maybe they do, but you don't hear them because you are still thinking about how naked you were. it's nuts. it's soo hard. it is a little bit easier for me now, but there are people that come to the open mic that have never performed in their life. i just want it to be a safe place. how did i get started on this anyway?

work is going well. i mean, it is a day job and i wish i didn't have to have one, but at least i can pay rent and eat and pay for this internet connection. i start recording today which i am pretty excited about. i think i have it down to eleven songs but i know things will change. i just want to have a good cd so that i can shop it and post it and tour. it is about time that i have something i want people to listen to.

anyway, i'm off to a maxim party with jared, should be interesting. i'm gonna cancel my shows for a while until i get this cd off and running. i have a lot going on and need some personal time to write and record and be with people.

i miss friends.

hey...have a great day. if you are someone i miss, and you know who you are, call me damnit. lets hang out.

i'm going to the hoot on monday so if you are a hoot goer i will see you there. also a week from tomorrow there is a really great showcase with langhorne slim, nan turner and lippe. i'll be sending the e-mail tomorow so read it or i'll beat you up.

love you, stay dry.

-amy

so, i made it to charleston, and off of the plane,and into the car with mom, and through the hair cut, and to the show, and played the show and now it's midnight, and instead of staying out all night and partying like a rockstar, i have ele\cted to come home, to my parents house, and sleep. i was at the airport at 4:30 this morning, although it seems like it was days ago. planes were good. no drinks or peanuts, but i got to sleep a little.

anyway, it is so funny, well it's not really funny so much as really strange and displacing, the feeling of playing in charleston. no one knows me here anymore. noi one knows my music or the thngs i have seen or the people i have met or the people i have loved or the people that have hurt me or the bars where i play of the events that i run. they all just know me as amy, which i thought would be a good feeling, and i guess in some ways it is, but now i am amy the singer/songwriter, which is vastly different than amy the technical director.

and although at this particular moment i am really tired, i am slso really happy. i had a good show despite my cold. only one ex-boyfriend came out tonight, so i am glad that i didn't place any bets (and he was a good one, really great guy, my parents like him a lot. so do i ).

going to the beach tomorrow and out in the boat. trying not to think about all of the people i miss and all of the things i want but do not have. just trying to enjoy everything i do have. cause this is a really good life, and i am a lucky girl.

i hope that people come out on saturday. i have a lot of good stuff i want them to hear and i think it is worth listening to.

night. night susie in germany. night friends here at home. night apartment in brooklyn with stuff in it that i like a lot.

love you. -amy

ok, so i am really tired and have to finish packing...but i wanted to say hello and tell everyone thank you for another great night of music at DTUT. also, all of my friends that i have not seen or been in contact with this week, please forgive me...the lack of hard drive is really a bummer.
also, to all of my friends in charleston...i will be home tomorrow and i am playing two shows so get your ass to one of them and see what the hell i am doing with my life... (gig page)
and then stay and have some frosty beverages with me after and catch up because i miss you soooooo much and can't wait to see you.
also, i sincerely apologize but i will not have any cd's with me. the new cd starts recording as soon as i get back and i will have a list that you can sign for cd updates and you can always get a free copy of amy hills live or things to say via the website (however they are curently out of stock so it will take a couple of weeks)
i can't wait to be home.
love you all -amy