As I might've mentioned, I made some demos in May with the inimitable Pete Donnelly (who produced Buoy), the infamous Joe Plowman (bassist extraordinaire), and the irrepressible Fred Berman (drummer from Amos Lee etc). I've been doling them out once a month, secretly and with a sense of mischief, here on Patreon and nowheres else. This is the fourth (of six), and I'm aiming to release the final one next month, soon afterwhich I'll be dug deep into the making of the actual album.

This song, Ravenous, is an anthem for the libertines, adventurers, and thoughtful hedonists. Please enjoy it in its raw basementy rock and roll glory.

I'm posting from Homer, Alaska, where I'm visiting with far-flung family. I've seen orca whales, sea otters, bald eagles and puffins - not to mention the glaciers and the bay, which are turquoise and purple and vast and gorgeous. The beauty is mindboggling. I'll send y'all a postcard.

Hedonistically yours,

Carsie

Greetings from New Orleans, where the city is at once mourning and celebrating the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. I wasn't here for the storm, but I'm joining my neighbors in quiet reflection today. I'm sitting in the Watermelon, listening to WWNO's beautiful musical tribute to the millions affected by the storm (listen at http://wwno.org/).

This week, I've been digging through my past 3-4 years of demos, looking for "orphans and extras" that we might want to have in our back pockets as we enter the studio in January. I stumbled across a song I wrote back in 2011 and promptly forgot existed. I wrote this as I was falling hard for New Orleans, flushed with the fever of new love. This demo's a bit rough, but it's got that feverish feeling that you just can't fake.

New Orleans has a three-hundred year history of corruption, calamity, poverty, wickedness, decadence, kindness, collaboration, musical verve, loss and redemption. You can feel and smell and see it all, throughout the city, plain as day. I feel honored to live among these spirits, and humbled by the sheer overwhelming vibrance and strangeness and funk of the damn place. 

I'll be donating the proceeds from this post to Roots of Music, one of my favorite New Orleans nonprofits. Roots of Music provides free musical and cultural education to local kids from low-income households (a service that was once provided by city schools, but discontinued for a great number of kids as schools closed in the wake of the storm).

Roots of Music is doing a lot to keep the musical and cultural traditions of New Orleans alive and well, which makes us all richer. If you'd like to send them a few extra bucks, go to http://therootsofmusic.org/.

New Orleans, I love you. Here's to another three hundred years.

Carsie

Greetings from beautiful Wilmington, NC, where I'm taking a little beachside work-cation in the middle of my tour!

Besides touring, I've been getting my ducks in a row for the new album. We will be in the studio in January, which means I need to come up with a pile of money to fund the dang thing. Thus, I'm about to start running another Kickstarter, starting on October 6th!

I have a special request for you, my darling patrons. I've decided I won't be posting any "paid" work here on Patreon for the month of October; instead, I'll ask you to pledge your monthly patronage to my Kickstarter project. I'll send a reminder on the day the Kickstarter begins (October 6th). 

I'm also looking for HELP DESIGNING, PROMOTING, AND RUNNING my Kickstarter. If you'd be willing to help (with reward ideas, promoting the project online, or by becoming a major donor), SEND ME AN EMAIL at [email protected] Put "hell yes I'll help!" in the subject line, and INCLUDE YOUR PHONE NUMBER. 

I will personally call you next week to discuss!!

Attached, you'll find the last of the 'studio demos' we made back in May, 'Hot Night'. Very excited about this song! Remember, studio demos are but a step on the long road from song-conception to album-birth; a guiding light to shine into our brains when the hours get long and confusing.

Thanks, as always, for everything.

Playfully yours,

Carsie

PS. The image you see in the magic window is MY NEW TATTOO! And you are the first, in all of internet-land, to see it. The work is By David Hale (as always). It's a river otter named Puck, who will be accompanying me into the studio (and everywhere, til I get dead or armless) to remind me to stay playful. Ain't nobody gonna live it for ya, he says.

Ok guys, just ONE MORE Nick Lowe cover, for this rainy afternoon in New Orleans.

This will be my last paid post for a while! Next month I won't be posting anything paid here on Patreon, I'll be asking you to pledge to my Kickstarter campaign instead (starts October 6th!).

THANK YOU for all of your love and support, by the way. I'm reading Elizabeth Gilbert's new book, BIG MAGIC: Creative Living Beyond Fear. It's excellent, and it's reminding me what an absolutely blessed and magical life I'm leading, here in the watermelon, surrounded by guitars, making whatever I fancy to make, on this sweet rainy day.

Rainy, watermelony love to you and all your people.

Carsie