I had a really good sleep this winter and am now back to appearing obscenely busy while maintaining a high level of leisure. New tour dates are up for the first half of this year (with more to come). I have two photo shoots this weekend. I spent a week in Austin for my mom's birthday. Strangely, all of this was and will continue to be done on at least 10 hours of sleep with a few hours of movie-watching in between. I'm the least-productive multi-tasker I know. Let's be friends.

Wha? Oh, hey. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

11th hour tour with one of the coolest women in rock. That's all.
http://www.ilovestvincent.com

Sometimes your body just tells you to stop and all you can do is listen, drink tea, and watch reruns of The Wonder Years. After a busy September, I am taking some time to reflect, rebuild and start getting realistic about the fact that it is no longer summer. As with all the things, the more one fights, the more painful. So I am learning to embrace autumn with as much grace and dignity as I can muster (while desperately wanting to still leave home without a jacket). I'm in a bit of denial but I expect that will pass very soon.

Quick update: Musicfest NW, Neko Case at the Hollywood Bowl, and east coast tour dates with The Shins were all a huge success. There was so much positivity laden in each experience and I can only hope future Septembers are as good as this last one. In any job or industry or what-have-you, the work is exponentially better when one is surrounded by amazing people. And I feel blessed to say that was the case for all of these projects.

Fortress Letterpress has been accepted as a vendor for Portland's Siren Nation Craft Fair on November 6, 2011. A music festival, art festival, and craft fair run and inspired by ladies. We are honored to be a part of it and super excited to get a jump on our new seasonal card line. More on that very soon!

I am looking forward to what October holds, which I am hoping will include bouts of holiday knitting, printing, and soup making.

This is an obscenely busy month! Touring with Neko Case and The Shins, production managing for Musicfest NW, contributing art pieces to 2 different group shows, and sneaking a trip to New York in there as well. In order to not get overwhelmed, I'm taking tips from one Bill Murray. 
"Baby steps into the elevator."
"I'm saaaaaailing!!"

I don't know why people are hesitant about the reliability of freelance. It's been reliably "feast or famine" for as long as I've been doing it and I find great comfort in the swells and cycles of self-employment, more so now than ever. With that in mind, I'm busy beyond belief. I've started touring again but this time in small manageable bites. There's something very comforting about leaving something and returning to it, feeling like I'm in my element again for the first time in a long while. For all my gripes about the music industry, the lifestyle has become an innate part of me. Only this time I have more clarity about what I want out of this.

I've been marveling at the synchronistic state of my life lately: the unexpected arrival of old friends, a newly-rejuvenated capacity to keep in touch with current friends (ie. keep up with my own life), coming full circle to start touring again, and a general sense that everything is finally coming together. Maybe not forever, but definitely for right now. My spider senses are on high alert and I intuit that I am supposed to be learning new things from old situations, confronting demons and laying them to rest. It is all pretty esoteric but reconnecting with bits of my old life have me feeling more grounded than I have in a long time. Many people I know never look back and I am experiencing the opposite inclination right now: a sort of turning around and inviting everything forward. And for once it doesn't feel heavy. It feels like a relief. It's also safe to say that I feel entirely comfortable in my recently-adopted new age persona. Bring on the crystals.

Between fun freelance gigs, I have been enjoying my first summer in Portland in 5 years. Be it touring or traveling, either way it is idiotic to leave this city this time of year. These few months are what we live for in Portland, OR. 
So how am I celebrating?
30-mile bike rides; barbecues; working merch at the Edgefield; getting sun on these legs; happy hour margaritas; farmers markets; smoothies; limoncello dates with the ladies; dreamy color photographs; sleeping under the desert sky; dinner party photo shoots; collecting sage; planting things; letterpress printing and allowing myself the good grace of enjoying it.
So, tell me, what have you been up to?

I've had the privilege of being a part of another website coming into the world - a joint venture between myself and my favorite human boy. For those of you who love letterpress, please visit us at Fortress Letterpress (dot com)! We are rewarding many hours spent in front of the computer with a few days in Oregon's high desert, getting our minds blown by the sight of actual stars. It's a fair trade, me thinks. At any rate, please take a look at the site and let us know what you think! E

Just writing 30 or so band bios for the newest version of Moutique's website to be launched on July 4th (the birthday of our fair country but also of my good friend, Moutique owner, Nadin Brendel). For those who don't know, Moutique is a rad booking agency based in Berlin, known for going the extra mile for their bands - and having an ear for the next new thing. I'm privileged to know these amazing, hardworking women! Hopefully my words can do their work justice... We'll see.