Laura Harley

Yesterday I bought a beautiful new guitar! I needed an acoustic guitar with a pickup inside of it for all my upcoming shows (my old one had to be miked every time I played and this can cause sound problems). So….even though I am super thrifty, I felt totally justified buying a new guitar. I mean, hey, it was a business necessity. So, with my conscience free, I walked into the guitar shop and headed for the acoustic guitars. There were so many beautiful ones! But the most important thing was to try them out and see which one felt the best and sounded the best to me. I tried lots and lots of guitars, some I liked and some I didn’t. But then…..I came across…..her. I picked her up, started playing and it was…..LOVE! Playing her was like coming home. Such a deep, rich sound. She actually makes my playing sound better. I knew I had found the ONE. I was so into how great she sounded that I didn’t even notice all her beauty at first. Now I keep noticing new beautiful details. OK, so here she is resting in her case:

And just look at that beautiful deep red patch and the in-laid pearl around the sound hole. Love it!:

Also, look at all the lovely nuances in the wood grain here:

Plus…I got the cutest guitar strap EVER. Check it out:

Polka dots!! Oooooooh! Very fun for me.

Now I know it might seem like I’m going on and on about a material object. And in a way, I am. But an instrument seems different to me somehow. I love to think about how someone poured their expertise and love for guitars into making this one—knowing that someone would then buy it and pour all of their love for music into it—-write with it, play it, pick it up when they’re upset and wanting to find solace in the sound of it. It seems like there is something so sacred about an instrument. She will be making her debut at my show at the Varsity on September 12th (please note new, earlier start time of 7:15pm). We hope to see you there!

Over here at Camp LH we are getting ready for my shows this fall. One of the things we’re working on are posters to put in record stores, coffee shops, and clubs to promote my live performances. We got a cool new design done and I’m trying to decide between 2 versions of the poster. I’d love to hear your thoughts about which one you think works better. Is there one you can read easier or like better for any reason? They are very similar, pretty much just the font on my name is different. In the blank space, we’ll put all the details for the particular show that’s coming up. Here they are:

I have to tell you that I would be SO happy if I could do this work without having so many photos of myself involved. I mean, I don’t really know anyone who loves to have their picture taken. It used to be pretty uncomfy for me, but at least I’ve been doing this long enough now that I’m pretty used to it and can have some fun with it. But the main thing is that I don’t like all the emphasis on the self, you know? On the other hand, people like to connect with the person behind the music and most people you work with in “the biz” want to see photos. It just gets tiring and sort of ridiculous looking at photos of yourself after a while. Thankfully, most of my work is about writing, recording, playing, and getting to connect with people. Yay!

Thanks so much to everyone for your thoughts on the new song! I appreciate all the kind comments and the emails SO much! It was really fun to get your thoughts on what the title of the song should be. Some of the ideas were ones I’d been thinking of too, and some were totally new to me. All of the ideas were excellent! So far, the title that the most people have suggested is “A Love So Deep”. I’m leaning towards that idea because it is accessible and because it really describes the crux of the song.

Making song titles is an interesting exercise. There seem to be different schools of thought on it. Some people lean towards naming the song something that is in the lyrics—the kind of title where if you heard a song on the radio, you would be able to guess the name of it, because it would be from one of the most repeated/ powerful/ prominent parts of the song. Another school of thought is that titles should be more abstract and imaginative and not even necessarily connected with the exact lyrics of the song. I’ve used both techniques, but have found that it’s generally easiest for people to connect with the titles that come from the lyrics. But the bottom line is that I find myself caring less and less about different “schools of thought” on things like this and just going with what speaks to my heart the most. I’d say that is generally the best path for a songwriter to choose ;).

Thanks again for all your feedback. I always love to hear from you and it is very special to me to have you all be part of this creative process! More to come…

Oh! And please note that my set time at the Varsity on September 12th has been moved up to 7:15pm. Hope to see you there

As promised….here it is….the song I dreamed several weeks ago. It was a long and interesting process to take what I heard in my dream and make it a song in waking life. I’m thankful for it. This song is about loving something or someone so much that you could drown in your love for it. At some point you have to learn how to show that love in a way that allows you to live and continue to love. There is no title for this one yet—I’d love to hear any ideas for titles and any ideas about what the song means to you.

And I’ll be playing this one live for the first time at my show at The Varsity Theater in Minneapolis on September 12th at 7:15pm! OK, here it is, I hope you like it…

untitled
by Laura Harley

there is something that i need to say to you
and it may be hard to hear it, but it is the truth
so i need you now to listen and to take it in
you gotta trust me, you need this

i know you’re feeling tired and you can’t stop crying
and i know you barely make it and you push so hard
and you’re falling to your knees, you’re fading fast
and i need your strength to last

i know you’re doing this
out of a love
so deep its infinite

but you’re forgetting
to see yourself
you’re only human

with a love so deep
you can slip beneath
or you can let it hold you up

i know you’re feeling tired and you can’t stop fighting
and i know you barely make it and you push so hard
and you’re falling to your knees, you’re fading fast
and i need your strength to last

i know you’d give it all for what you believe
and when you close your eyes at night you see me
so remember when you’re feeling all alone
i’ll be waiting when you come home

Today I recorded an acoustic demo with Neil Weir. It was a lovely studio and Neil was so great to work with! I highly recommend him. We actually met a few years back at Pachyderm Studio when I recorded some back-up vocals for an excellent band called The Great Depression (you can hear me on their CD, “Unconscious Pilot”). I’ll have to tell you about that experience sometime—it was so fun to get to record at such a beautiful studio and at a place where Nirvana and PJ Harvey have recorded.

Anyway, today I recorded 3 acoustic songs. I love getting to record vocals—it is so fun for me to just get to sink into a song and put all the emotion into it that I can. One of the songs I recorded is a brand new one—-it is the song I dreamed several weeks ago. That’s right, I finally finished it! I am really excited about it. In fact, I plan to share it with you in my next blog entry, so stay tuned…

In the meantime, here are some photos of Neil’s studio in Minneapolis. I took them when I was there today so I could show you. When I walked in the door, look who was there to greet me:

A big fuzzy white gorilla, naturally. Neil said this little guy was there when he bought the studio. Apparently he’s tried to remove the gorilla, but when he did, people actually complained and missed him, so now he is a permanent fixture there.

Here is another shot of the studio and of Neil mixing one of my songs:

And here is a shot of where I recorded my guitar and vocals in the recording booth—you can see Neil through the little window in the next room:

And finally, I liked the colors of the fabric on the walls in the studio, so here is a photo:

In my next entry I will share that brand new song….oooh I’m excited for you to hear it!

A couple weeks ago I gave a small acoustic concert at my friend’s apartment. I love playing in settings that are small and intimate because it lends itself to a special kind of connection with the audience. I shared a lot of new songs (and I will be sharing them and more new songs at my show at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis on September 12th) and I was so happy that people were really connecting with them. My favorite moment was when I looked out at the people there while I was singing and at least half of them were sitting with their eyes closed just really sinking into the song in an almost prayerful, meditational way. I was so moved to see this and I felt so connected with everyone. I keep replaying it in my mind because it meant so much to me. Thanks to everyone who was there!

Another really cool and unexpected thing that happened there was I got to have mandolin accompaniment on my songs! There was a great musician who I’d never met before who was there and he’d brought his mandolin with him. We were psyched and invited him to play. I was like, “Would you like to go before me or play after me?” And he was like, “I’d like to play at the same time.” And I was like, “Whoa, cool!” Yep, a little spontaneity is a good thing for Miss Planny Plannerson here. It was great! And I have this thing where sometimes I’m playing with someone and they play something so beautiful and totally awesome that my senses are overcome and I almost lose my ability to concentrate and continue with the song. That happened at least a couple times.

Thanks to everyone for the lovely experience! See you all on the 12th…can you tell that I really want you to come to that show???

I spend a lot of my time contributing to community development projects. It is such a joy to do this and one of the best parts is getting to work with people who selflessly and joyfully give of their time and energy to make the world a better place. These people inspire me so much! But, you know, even the most hopeful among us occasionally feels overwhelmed and wonders if the work we are doing is making a difference. Sometimes some of these people confide in me about these feelings and of course sometimes I feel them, too. But you know what? I KNOW, with all that is in me, that everything we each do to try to make the world a better place has an effect. One of the teachings from the Baha’i Faith that is SO helpful to me is the idea that any work done in the spirit of service is the same as worship. So, any striving we do is like a prayer. Isn’t that beautiful? So basically, one of the things that means to me is that nothing we do goes unnoticed—it all counts, and it all contributes to growth.

In fact, I’ve been needing to remember all this lately so I put these beautiful flowers in my office:

Every time I see the beauty of these flowers or smell their perfume, I remember that they are the product of a gardener’s loving time and attention. And although the end product itself is beautiful, the work the gardener put into it is even more beautiful to me—-because all that work was put into it without being able to see the finished product—-it was done with the hope of attaining a vision of the beauty that was possible. And that’s a lot like all that we each try to do each day to be better people and make the world a better place. It ALL makes a difference and all the seeds we are planting WILL bloom eventually. Maybe even sooner than we think…

I totally love the fact that God made humans in a way that we can appreciate cuteness. I think it’s amazing that even when we are in the midst of a tough time, we can see something cute and it can warm our hearts and raise our spirits. How great is that?? Here are some cute things I’ve come across lately.

I just went to buy some more guitar pics. My favorite ones are Tortex pics. Now, I like the feel of them and all, but mainly I just love the picture of a cute little turtle that is on them. I’m not sure if that is the “correct” criteria for a rocker to use when purchasing guitar equipment, but it is my criteria. Check it out:

And recently I discovered an adorable and very tasty snack at the grocery store. Bunny grahams! Check them out kiddies:

I love those little guys! During the work day, it is fun to have a little handful of these tasty treats and you can make them hop around your office and stuff.

Finally, and this is the big finale, you have got to check out the video of this baby hippo. It is really something! I hope you have a day filled with cuteness and smiles :).