karlifairbanks.com

Sorry I have been absent from posting. Lot’s brewing in mind and heart, especially regarding this life of music business. Lot’s of poetry being read, lot’s of music being listened to and world being seen. Not to mention lots of wedding plans in motion. I will no longer be a Fairbanks after July 23rd, but Caleb says he won’t mind if I keep my artist name as Karli Fairbanks. We will see…maybe this is prime time for a new moniker.

Here’s a song. I wrote it over a year ago. It has been anchored in my harbor ever since I wrote it. Always unsure of it’s sailing capabilities…pretty nonetheless. Very inspired by Damien Jurado’s last album I assume…as I wrote it during a time where I listened to nothing else!

Enjoy!

In other news, I won a Sommy for Best Singer-songwriter! Thanks for voting for me. I feel really honored and excited. Unfortunately, I was in Portugal when the ceremony happened and wasn’t able to receive the prize in person, but my brother accepted it on my behalf. He told me his speech went like this…”Karli’s in Portugal, she’s very thankful.” Not much more to say really!! I love Spokane and that we have our own little awards ceremony with dress-code, red-carpet and guest artists. So fun.

Also, I have some shows on the horizon that I just couldn’t resist. Haha, so much for not performing. (: I’m playing the Birds on a Wire folk festival in Pullman, Washington put on by Stereopathic. There’s a great lineup for that and tickets are going very fast. So be sure to consider making the trip. www.birdsonawirefest.com

In April I will be playing some shows as well in Missoula, Spokane and Bellingham with a certain indie-rock icon. It’s not totally confirmed…I will post details when it is. But that will be exciting and a good chance to start playing some new material.

That’s all for now…happy spring days!

So, in light of my big news (I GOT ENGAGED TO CALEB!) I thought I would post the one and only sappy love song I have ever written. It’s almost Valentine’s day too so I hope you can all enjoy it. I wrote this song for my best friend Natalie when she got married a few years ago. I just have to say…I was sick when I recorded this song and my accordion skills have come a LONG WAY in the past two year. but…enough disclaimers…here it is!

and here’s a photo of me and my lovely dear!

Still working on the title for this one and thinking it might need a bridge. Hmmmm…we’ll see. Played it out a few times and really like using my fuzzy overdrive pedal that Zac gave me when I play it. Makes it a little more badass. The song is kind of about the humiliating point when a friend or loved one points out something you are doing that isn’t right. Jealousy, gossip, greed, anger, etc. To you it might feel justifiable, but then you get a big smack in the face. I have a love hate relationship with moments like those.  Oh, and I may have accidentally stole the very beginning of the guitar line from a Sarah Jarosz song. I think I was listening to hear album every day when I wrote this song. Hehe.

Enjoy!

It’s that time of year again, and every year I seem to get some kind of nomination in the sommies (Spokane’s local music awards). Named after the person that started them, Som (Isamu) Jordan. Som used to write for a weekend paper called Spokane 7 that unfortunately went under a while back. They did a lot of coverage on local bands, live podcasts and such. Som started his own thing at www.thesomshow.com and still shows strong commitment to promoting good music in Spokane. I appreciate him a lot! He is relentless and doesn’t show much favoritism in a small city where it can be easy to just promote your friends.

So, this is just a friendly reminder to vote for the Sommies!! http://thesomshow.com/som/ballet

I wrote this song a few months ago when I was desperately missing a certain long-distance special friend of mine. Sometimes distance can feel so defeating in a relationship. I tried to capture that feeling but still remember that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and love can conquer a multitude of dissuasions.

Magnolia Trees

May hope fill my lover’s heart, that we again will meet
Under blooms of magnolia trees.

May joy fill his longing heart, alone under sheets so grim
That one day and soon my love
We will meet again.

Though it’s dark in this house, a new day brings new light
And the chance that the form of my love
is in sight.

The recording of the song is from a live show I played with my brother, Zac Fairbanks at a wonderful venue in Boston called Club Passim. I guess Bob Dylan used to play there, and many other great performers.

Here we are in the new year. Always nice to start fresh and be open to new ideas, new friendships and reaffirmed hope. Things will be changing a lot for me this year. It’s been hard to choose change, but now that I’ve decided, I’m excited about what will come my way.

Almost two years ago I lived in a really cute house with lots of neat furniture and I had a great job. I quit my job and  sold all of my stuff in a garage sale, except for two antique dressers that my grandparents gave me. After being on my own for three years, I moved back in with my parents and my little brother into a tiny bedroom where I could barely fit the stuff I had leftover after the garage sale. Since then, I have been scraping by through art projects, design work and playing shows. It has been incredible. I have seen so much, met so many people and gotten my music out to thousands and thousands of people. Blessings and provisions have been abundant. My community of friends and family have been so encouraging to me.

This past fall I made a conscious effort to step back and assess where I am at. Something I think every artist should do and keep doing. So many bands just go pedal to the metal for years without taking time to evaluate things. In turn, they drown out the opportunity for creative approaches and often burn out becoming angry at the world.

I’ve decided to take a different approach to music. I’m sure this approach will quickly morph and become something different, but for now, here it is…

1. No shows for a while. I need to emotionally get back on my feet for performing my music. There are things I want to work on to become a better performer and those are things that need to be worked out in my heart, not on the stage.

2. Writing, lots of writing. I’m going to be posting new songs on this blog at least once a month. I would love feedback. I want to become a better songwriter and explore different voices and nuances in my songs.

3. Rock band. I’ve joined a band where I am not the lead singer and it’s really fun and carefree feeling for me. I’ve longed to play music with a group of people that are all equally committed to the project. I’ve never had that before with my music. I’m learning a ton from Davey Ingersoll,  former lead singer of Loudermilk and Gosling, who is the leader of the band. He writes incredibly inspiring songs, is really seasoned with directing bands and is a lot of fun to work with. I just may be playing a completely new instrument, which my dad rolls his eyes at, but I’m loving it.

2010 is time for change and new adventures and most likely some of the same adventures I’ve been having. Please don’t think I’m giving up or dropping out or that I’m angry and bitter. Nope. Just trying to be creative and do what’s best with the gifts and relationships I’ve been given.

I am playing one more show, not sure when more will come after. There will be more, just not for a while…

January 25th • The Blvd. • w/ A. A. Bondy • 7pm • $8

Keep coming back to hear new songs!

sincerely,

Karli

Reflection at the end of the year is one of my most cherished activities. It sends me into a blissful state of thanksgiving to think of all the grace I have experienced over the past three hundred and sixty-five days.

2009 began in Seattle at the Round where I had the opportunity to meet Shannon Stephens. The room was packed, I had new songs and was feeling excited about being honored with an invitation to the Seattle Round. A lot of my music career in the past two years has revolved around Seattle. Playing inspiring shows, watching incredible bands, and recording music with Kory Kruckenberg and his cast of musical friends. So many people in Seattle have encouraged me. This year has not been an exception.

In the midst of playing shows in early ‘09 I was toiling over what do to with the album that Kory and I had finished at the end of 2008. Tim Walsh had mastered all the tracks, I picked a name and even prepared the artwork to the point of satisfaction. Now what? So many people were telling me completely opposite things. Try to shop it!…Self-release, you will be better off…Be patient. Hold on to it, that’s just how things work in the record industry these days. Well, not only was I not sure of who to listen to, I’m also stubborn and impatient. I didn’t know how to shop a record and didn’t have anyone that knew how and wanted to help me shop it. So, I did what I’ve always known how to do. Do it yourself.

This decision making process was not easy and went on for a while. So, while I was deciding I kept playing shows. Kaylee Cole and I did a really awesome weekend tour in the northwest in February. Singing along to Wolf Parade and Nick Jaina at the top of our lungs! Near after that I put together a northwest tour for Power und Beauty. Lets just say, our band name sums up pretty much everything we have ever done.

For my new album, the decision was made, the artwork sent off, release venue booked and the money borrowed to manufacture the albums. Still not sure if I made the right choice with how I released the album, but I don’t necessarily regret it. The release show in April was held at the Bing Crosby Theater, my favorite venue in Spokane. There was over 250 people there, the biggest show I’ve headlined. It was magical and special and wonderful. I felt so blessed and supported and loved by my friends and musical community here in Spokane. I’m not sure how to recaptured the feeling I felt at that show. I felt so sure of myself and what I was doing.

Following the release I was excited to have quite a few blogs and press clips reviewing the album. I had put together a band to tour (Caleb, Henry Nordstrom and Vaughn Wood) and promote the release in April. I won’t go too far into that tour. It was not magic. I did not feel confident in myself and have spent a lot of time since then trying to recuperate from some of the soul damage I have experienced from that tour. But if there’s anything I’ve learned, it’s that expectations can kill you and even when you are feeling good about music, you can feel really horrible about the business of music…which can then turn into feeling bad about the music itself.

Looking back I realize that I became a bit more cynical and disillusioned after that tour. I posted a blog on May 18th called “Making it Work” that I read with new eyes today. I’ve realized so much this year and been letting myself heal from some of the self-inflicted wounds. Being a Musician is such an emotionally complicated road with so many unknowns and so much heartbreak. But, like my dear friend Carmen commented on that blog I posted in May, there’s nothing like live music. And there’s nothing like sharing what you have created straight from your heart to any number of people.

On through May I played some shows in California on my way to my friend Karlee’s wedding and played a really great full band show at Neumo’s and then a really nice solo show at the new Mississippi Studios. I did another wonderful west side tour with Kaylee Cole on her first full band tour at the beginning of June.

In July I had an amazing treat to tour around the northwest with my boyfriend/drummers brother Scott Ryan and his band from LA. They are phenomenal musicians and we had a great time playing all different kinds of venues. Highlights were House of Paine with Tony Kevin and the insane Downtown Crossing in Sandpoint.

I spent some time with family in Colorado later in July and got a second chance to play in Denver after having the snowstorm incident in April. Coming home I got to play with Joel Smith at his album release show in Spokane which was not only a momentous occasion for him but for me as well. Joel and I have spent so much time together playing music, it was so exciting for me to what him do something he has worked so hard to complete.

September was a break. I’m not even sure what I did that month.

October I traveled to the East Coast and had musical culture shock. My dear friend Kimber Ludiker hosted me on a month-long bluegrass bootcamp experience where I was immersed in all different kinds of traditional music. It was a fantastic experience and I was proud to check New York and Boston off my list of great cities I have played.

November feels like it was just yesterday. Another release show for the Followed EP and another two week tour with a band. This time with 0 expectations. We were blessed with great shows and great friends and a lot of fun. I’m still not sure if it was the change of expectations that made things better or the actual facts of the tour. Either way, it was a great tour.

December has seen the farewell of one of my favorite venue locations in Spokane (Empyrean), the fourth Christmas show with Caroline Fowler and a really fun new experience in the Tri-cities with the Home for Christmas event with Monte Ingersoll.

And here we are on December 29th. Roughly 65 shows I have performed this year in 9 states, 3 releases, one new accordion, a new loop pedal, a fancy pedal board made by my multi-talented brother and my trusty vintage Kay going strong on our second year together. Today we are heading out in a few minutes to end this year of great experiences in Seattle with Noah Gundersen and his band the Courage at the Triple Door. What a way to end things and get geared up for 2010.

Thank you to everyone for all of your grace and support this year. Thanks to my family and close friends for putting up with my emotional swings with music and thank you to everyone who has connected with my songs. You are the reason I play!

Anyone a little chilly this winter? This songs for you…

1. It’s Sooo Cold, Cold, Cold! (new!!)
2. Come Thou Long Expected Jesus
3. Winter Love
4. Priceless (by Caroline Fowler)
5. Silver Bells (by Caroline Fowler)
6. It’s Not Too Late
7. You Whispered in the Snow (by Caroline Fowler)
8. Now That it’s Christmas Time
9. Snowglobe Song (by Caroline Fowler)
10. O Come All Ye Faithful
11. A Gift of Praise (new!!!)

(photo by my grandfather Keith Purinton in Laramie, Wyoming a long time ago.)

Message me at karlifairbanks@gmail.com with your mailing address and how many cd’s you want. They are $12 for the first cd, $10 for addition cd’s. They will also be for sale at my show at Empyrean on the 14th and the Home for Christmas concert at the Toyota Center in Kennewick, WA on December 20th. There will be limited copies, mail orders that come in this week are top priority!

Or lot’s of free songs from cool independent artists?

A little coffee shop that I’ve played a few times at in Colorado puts out a free compilation cd of some of their favorite artists that have played. This year has a really amazing group of musicians including Katie Herzig, Midwest Dilemma and Aaron Strumpel. I’m listening to it right now and think you should download it and donate to support Everyday Joe’s if you can. They have an amazing thing going in Ft. Collins. Just click on the cover art below to get to the download…