Current mood: tired

Hey whoever reads these things,

thought i’d give an update on my life since my last blog which must have been a while ago. i went to Europe in June/July, oh yeah, i think i did write a blog about that one,…ok, since then around mid-July I got back in the US and moved up to Bar Harbor, ME (where i was born and raised) for the summer to live with my folks and take it easy so to speak. Taking it easy would involve playing fiddle on a boat, lots of local gigs at some Bar Harbor bars and of course getting in my car practically every weekend and driving to Vermont, Boston, Portsmouth, Portland, and everywhere else for shows, so it wasn’t that relaxing after all, although it was a really good summer for me to process a bit where I’m at in life and sort of take it all in. Plus my CD release shows have been this entire month and it took some time and prepration to get ready for that.

Maine is really the most beautiful place on the planet, i’m quite convinced, and this summer i finally admitted some form of defeat, in that no matter how hard i try to live an urban life of constant stimulation and travel, deep down i’m just a country girl from Maine and i like to take the dogs for a walk in the woods, and sit on the porch and just look around. so i made a pact to myself that i wouldn’t spend another summer sweating in some shitty sweat pot city, i’m gonna get out of dodge and go up to maine each summer for the rest of my time. of course there are some logistical issues, like having a place to live, my parents are always nice enough to let me stay at their house but at some point i’m sure that’s gonna get old, like when i’m 40 or something… so i have it in the back of my mind to make a couple bucks at some point and buy a house there, i almost bought my mom’s house this summer but thought better of it as it would tie me down in a way that probably isn’t a good thing right now. especially, as many of you know, i’ve just been becoming more and more of a vagabond (i’d like to think trubador) unsettled and traveling and living all over the place.

this of course was helped by the fact that my relationship with Steve ended in May (i won’t go into details here) but that certainly freed up a lot of space, plus i subletted my apartment which i have yet to re-claim, so in many ways i’m as free as you could be. that comes with lots of personal benefits, i actually really love being single, i forgot how great it is not to be emotionally tied down to someone. there are so many great things about relationships, don’t get my wrong, i miss a lot of the companionship and friendship, but all those bad things i don’t miss… plus with no apartment i’m able to tour a lot and basically just be a full time, i’m no longer teaching music or doing anything on the side…yet…but who knows how long that will last.

i’m headed to the UK october 1st for a seven week tour of the UK, Ireland, France, and the Netherlands, i’m both psyched and petrified. this will be my third time over there, so it’s not like it’s unknown territory, it’s more just that i’ll be alone for most of the time and it can get sort of lonely and challenging traveling in foreign countries alone, but i’ve done a fair amount of traveling solo and will hit my stride a few weeks into it i suspect. the good news is that the label i’m on will be supporting me for 2-3 weeks and i’ll be traveling with other artists on the label and will be able to just sit back and relax, to a degree, and play music instead of worrying about how to get from A to B, which is quite frankly a bitch most of the time…

so with my week left i have lots of things to do, which in fact i should be doing right now instead of blogging…but i do have two more CD release shows, one here in Boston september 28th and in NYC september 30th (come if you can), then i’m out…I’ll be back thanksgiving and after that things get a little blurry plan wise December and beyond, but i’ll tell you when i figure it out…

hmm…i’m not sure this blog ended up being as great as i had hopped, but i think that’s because i sort of lost my train of thought…i’ve been busy as hell which is always a good and bad thing, good in that you feel like your making headway (i’ve gotten tons of regional press, radio recently which has been amazing) but then it’s exhausting in other ways. i do want to mention and thank my new manager Dave who has been an incredible help to me these last couple months with doing publicity and whatnot for the record. it’s makes a huge difference having a “team”. i guess i’ve finally reached a point in my career where i feel there are enough people who are helping me and give a damn about what i’m doing enough to justify continuing doing it and not throwing the towel in.

the music business can be so frustrating and it’s so diluted with artists that in reality a lot of us have to eventually admit some sort of defeat or compromise our originally goals, so i feel fortunate to still be in a place where i’m growing with it and things only seem to be getting better and more interesting. a lot of that seems to be the result of putting out a record that people seem to like and is getting a lot of positive reviews and feedback and an “interesting and original” kind of record, whether that’s really the case, i don’t know, it feels very personal sometimes and other times it’s like something i made a year ago and i’m just already moving on. but if you haven’t heard it please check it out, i sell it at my shows and you can buy it, listen to it, and review it at:

www.cdbaby.com/audreyryan2

the record is called “dishes & pills”

stayed tuned for a much more entertaining blog when i get to europe and go on some crazy rant like i usually do….