Kelly Brightwell: Home

I decided recently that the best way to get involved in my local music community... is to get involved in my local music community! I know, not exactly Rocket Science, but a powerful insight nonetheless.

Home recording is not my strong suit, and my little EP of new stuff is turning into a much more involved project than I anticipated. So as I'm puttering away on that front, shopping for a new, smaller guitar to play, and taking some classes at PSU, I'm going to be doing time as a volunteer at some local music events!

Artichoke Music is hosting their Folk Festival on June 26-27. I saw my first concert at their Backgate Stage this past weekend and was charmed by their cozy, welcoming listening room set-up.

And I'm really excited to be helping out with this year's Pickathon on July 31-Aug 2! The local Indie Roots Music Fest is getting bigger and better every year, and it's only 20 minutes from the city!

Lastly, I won't be volunteering, but I'm excited to return as a full-fledged participant (as well as audience member) at the Song School, and the following 3 day Rocky Mountain Folks Fest in Lyons, CO. It's been a couple of years since I've touched down in that community of great players and I'm looking forward to honing my songwriting skills and re-connecting with other creative folks.

On another note:

Over the past few months I had the great honor to write a song for a couple of very special people.

John and Grace Kidwell are my in-laws, who were married for just shy of 60 years. When Grace passed away from Alzheimer's earlier this year, John wondered if I would compose an uplifting song for Grace that would honor her life. I told him I would, and got to work on it.

The melody and song structure came quickly and easily, and I invited John to send me some ideas and words to use, to really make the song his. I was letting these things marinate a bit, and in April got the news that John's leukemia, which had been in remission for the last 2 years, had returned with a vengeance. He was given about a month or so to say his goodbyes...

Suddenly, this assignment took on a much deeper meaning, with an irrevocable and looming deadline. I finished the song, which was written from his perspective, using his words, and sang it for him just a few short weeks ago. His tears were the very best reception my work has ever received.

John died this past week...

"Like a river to the sea,
time will deliver me
into the Mystery
And we will move on, move on, move on"

When I had my CD "wait for your spring" manufactured back at the end of 2004, it was a little like selling my soul. I really wanted to package the CD in a more environmentally friendly way. At that time, the alternatives were quite expensive, in part because innovative packages like the digi-pack (nice folded cardboard) were still under patent protection (and, like you may have encountered yourself with pharmaceutical drugs, subject to patent pricing!) What’s a small indie artist to do? So I went with the traditional plastic jewel case package. I even had them shrink-wrapped because I’d heard that it would really protect the cases during travel or shipping.

But that decision has haunted me ever since… The subjects of many of my songs are places that are dear to me: canyons, mountains, rivers. I try to bring an emotional identification and interpretation to these landscapes through my music. I do this in part so that people can realize our connection to the natural world, and have a stronger motivation to become its devoted ally. How has the way I manufactured my CD served my deeper mission? The bottom line is that it hasn’t served that mission very well at all.

It took me a long time and many Google searches to track down the answer to the question “What is the environmental impact of a conventional CD?” I eventually found that information not too far from home – my previous home, to be exact! My former employer, the Wedge Co-op, highlighted the band Cloud Cult as part of its “Local Flavor” feature here:

http://www.wedge.coop/resources/resources-cloud-cult.html

Check out the links on that page to Earthology Records, and to the section on eco-friendly CDs vs. traditional CDs. It underscores the importance of recycling all of our plastic and paper, and minimizing its use in the first place.

Following their lead, I was able to purchase the appropriate amount of carbon offsets for the CD and then some! I’m working with these organizations now:

http://www.americanforests.org/
http://www.carbonharmony.com/main.php

On that note, I'm headed to Memphis for this year's Folk Alliance Conference:

http://www.folkalliance.org/

In addition to putting together this year's CD Baby showcase, and speaking on the Music Distribution panel, I've planned a few showcase performances of my own. I'm really excited to play in the room that fellow song-schooler Ryan Mintz is hosting for Green Musicians (he'll also be involved in a panel discussion on that topic).

And if all goes according to plan, there should be flowers blooming when I get back to Portland!

1. Most of the time, it is best if you think about what you are going to write before you actually write it.

2. Know in your heart that you are the best writer!

3. Take your time to think about your writing because you know it's not a race.

4. Shining is believing! That’s what it takes to be a great writer: a purpose that people will remember for the rest of their lives.