Country Stampede Recap: Lots of Skin, Lots of Sun, Lots of Live Music

Have you ever been?

I had not. 

The Country Stampede Music & Camping Festival is held just outside of Manhattan, Kansas at Tuttle Creek Reservoir, in a huge grassy area, sort of like a big pasture. Trees are scarce. Shade is in short supply. Sunshine is plentiful. Clothing is negligible. It is sort of like a big ol’ beach party, without the beach, and with cowboy boots in place of beach sandals. Actually, there were a lot of flip flops. But you know, as the day wore on, and muddy spots got trampled, and grassy areas were worn bare, and the daylight in the porta-potties grew dim, it was kind of nice to have on a pair of boots.  It reckoned me back to my cowgirl days, just a bit.

The NSAI tent was at the opposite end of the Stampede grounds from the Main Stage. Thankfully, it was a tent – so we were in the shade. We spent our time playing our songs, or talking up NSAI to interested people, or just sitting there drinking water, staring into space in a semi-trance, due to the heat. I know that at some point, I ate an order of nachos and an order of deep fried pickles with a side of ranch dressing.  The words “what was I thinking??”  do not even begin to express how that worked out for me.

The best part of the day was getting to say hello and reconnect with old friends who stopped by. It definitely made the heat bearable.

During our last set, the remains of the day were weighing on the Stampeders. I learned later that someone jumped on our stage and mooned the crowed but I missed it. Probably because I was being distracted by the guy in our audience who kept pointing to his shorts and yelling what sounded like, “California!, California!” I don’t really know. But I smiled and kind of nodded. Gave him the ol’ thumbs up.

As strains of Toby Keith’s voice singing “I wanna talk about me…” wafted over the Stampede grounds and into the night, we packed up our things and headed East. Back to the city.

Stampeders

Apalling and yet fascinating

fun couple



more Stampeders

next to our tent

A batallion of porta-potties behind our tent

whether you want to see it or not

standard issue bikini and daisy dukes



Country Stampede, Here I Come!

There are 4 of us......

Jim Thomas, Gerry Monks, Rich O’Brien and I will represent the Kansas City chapter of NSAI (Nashville Songwriters Association International) at the 17^th Annual Country Stampede in Manhattan, Kansas. The Country Stampede is a four-day country music and camping festival held at the end of June. It boasts headliners like Toby Keith, The Band Perry, and Zac Brown Band. Last year’s Stampede had a total attendance of 160,000.

We’re gonna mingle with the countrified masses and we’ll be playing our songs in the NSAI tent at various times throughout the day –  when the major acts are not on stage. You can get the schedule here: http://www.countrystampede.com/Lineup/family_stage.shtml

I’m amazed at how many people have never heard of the Country Stampede. I guess I shouldn’t be – this is KC and I suppose the Country Music faction is smaller here – to the point of almost being non-existent. Back where I come from, everyone knows and almost everyone goes at one time or another. It is for some a rite of passage of sorts.

I must confess I have never been – the stories I heard of people passing out on the ground, peeing in public, and the lobster sunburns on the faces of those who did attend  – that was enough to make me think it just wasn’t worth it. But I was already securely ensconced in adulthood when the first Country Stampede was held. So the thought of 4 days of intense sunshine, humidity, beer, drunks, and being smelly and sweaty just couldn’t sell me, no matter how big the music acts were.

And now, I'm going - not as a reveller, but as a performing songwriter. It’s going to be a great way to get my music out there. Stay tuned…I hope to take pictures.

Nashville Aftermath

In a few mind-boggling turns of the planet, I left Nashville and found myself summarily deposited back into my Old Life without so much as a by-your-leave or a thank-yew-ma’am

You know my Old Life --  the One I lived before I made the Great Journey to the Edge of My Soul and poured my guts out into a microphone, recording my songs for all posterity.

It was like some huge shift in the tectonic plates underlying The Way I Used To View My Life,  resulting in The Way I Now Know It To Be and in the aftermath, I was left dazed and confused, waiting for the dust to settle.

But the dust doesn’t settle, my friends. The dust does not. Dust, once stirred, rises and you are going to take some of it in. Life moves ever forward and doorways - once stepped through - cannot be unstepped. Going beyond the safe waters, pushing yourself when it's scary, making an effort when you're tired, letting go of fear....it will change  you. 

The Way of the Chocolate Warrior

In another post, I'll share with you how hard it can be to really prepare to go and do that thing that you love. Meanwhile, I want to share a true life event that happened to me while in Nashville, working on my CD:

Being the seasoned traveler that I am, I brought a bag of those wonderful Dove chocolates with me. Mind you, I used them sparingly. But as I was carrying them around with me, I decided one night to eat a few - mainly for medicinal purposes. These little Dove candies - I've talked about them before - I love 'em because they give you little inspirational messages inside the wrapper.

Beyond that, I was feeling very focused and centered. I opened those chocolates, and I'm not making this up. These are the three message I received from the chocolate. 'Nuff said.

the risky road

well i'm headed
down the risky road
takin' nothing but a prayer
and the dreams i've stowed
will i get to where i'm going ?
i dont know
cause it's a risky road


keep walking forward
don't look back
there's no point in crying
over what you lack
just keep your feet between the ridges of the narrow tracks
of that risky road


i'm not the first one to make a leap of faith
i won't be the last to cross the gap 
sheerly on grace
and the day will come
when my foolish heart can't keep the pace
down the risky road

copyright Laura Lisbeth 2012

Oh Nooooooooo! Pre-pro!

I don’t get out that much. So I don’t know what the rest of the world does to get ready to record an album. What I do know is that the work I’ve been doing to get ready for my 2^nd round of recording is some of the hardest – and most gratifying – work I have ever done.

For my upcoming CD, I really wanted to go places I had not gone, both literally and figuratively. That’s why I enlisted the help of songwriter Gary Beard to be producer on the project. Because let’s face it, my thought processes can be like the fireflies in Summer: they disappear here and reappear there – they’re everywhere and nowhere.   blink! – darkness – blink! – darkness – blink!  And up until this project, I thought that was the only way to write: “Let the words come like fireflies” (copyright!) What I am learning – albeit in baby steps, mind you -- is focus, craft, and discipline…..tempered with a sprinkling of firefly.

A project of this level requires a lot of all of the above.  

For the past few months, we’ve been doing pre-production work, so that when we go into the studio, we are not wasting a second of time. During pre-pro, we've been working on:

Song selection

Song structure and lyrics

Recording the guitar tracks and vocals for the “work tapes.”

Delivery/Performance of the song

Each song is an individual and must receive its own attention, you see.

In a very short while now, we’ll be back in Nashville, making this record. And the pre-production work is almost finished.  More to come……

Being Laura Lisbeth

It’s true that at times I have been known to say, “You have no idea how hard it is to be ME!”  That, my friends, is another blog entirely. No, today I’m talking about being Laura Lisbeth, the Songwriter.

It’s tough in this town to be a part of the music "scene"…… whatever that is. It used to really bug me when I felt I wasn’t getting any recognition. Like all creative types, I probably wanted it because I wanted to be validated in some way. When you are out there, writing and playing your songs and submitting them for human consumption, you can’t help but pay attention to what other people are doing, and you can’t help but make comparisons.  You can't help but wonder, "where do I fit into this picture?"

But my focus has long since shifted toward making a solid contribution as a songwriter. I want to write solid songs, better songs, amazing songs.  I want to get to the heart and the soul and the guts of a matter.  I want to hone my craft. I want to give a clear voice to who I really am.

In his blog, “The Business of Being Creative,” creative business consultant Sean Low says,

“You might think you can do what you do not, act in a way that belies you, your art and your creative business, but you cannot.  Pretending to be something you are not is unsustainable, not so much because you cannot fake it well, but because you will pale against those who are the real deal.”

You can check out the entire post here:

http://www.thebusinessofbeingcreative.com/2012/01/10/self-respect/

I want to be the real deal. I can’t be a twenty-something hipster, or even an old hippie, and if I tried, it wouldn’t look or feel right (big hair lives on!). People would know it was not authentic. It’s important for me to hang onto this as a songwriter – as an artist -- and forge ahead at being Laura Lisbeth.