A Busy Sunday Evening for Red River Breeze!

Red River Breeze performed twice on Sunday evening, December 6th - first at the Macedonia Presbyterian Church at 5:00 PM and then dashing across town to play for Dilliard's VIP shopping night starting at 7:00 PM. So - we got several more opportunities to play Christmas Music and have our new CD available for purchase!

The first event, at Macedonia Presbyterian Church, was our 3rd year of being invited to perform as the music for the church's Lessons and Carols program. Our thanks to Rev. Kathy Fox and the wonderful folks at Macedonia Presbyterian. Unfortunately, since we were due across town shortly after the program to perform at Dilliards, we were unable to stay and share in the fellowship and wonderful food the church hasdafter the program. I can attest to the fact that it was very nice in the previous two years!

A quick dash across town, and we arrived at Dilliard's (amazingly before 7 PM) to be the music for their VIP shopping night. We played there until 8:45. This was our 2nd year to be the music for this event and I wasn't sure we were going to make this work, but some adjustment on the start time from the very kind Raymond Hicks, the store manager, and we were in! Our special thanks to Raymond Hicks as well as to all of the Dilliard's employees as well as the customers who stopped and chatted with us. Our thanks also to the employees carrying trays of food who found out we were starving (no time to eat between gigs!) and made sure they made frequent passes by us so we could munch in between tunes!

A very busy day for us as well as week - but a great way to start the Christmas holiday!

Stephanie performs at Madison Methodist Church for the Festival of Lessons and Carols

I was contacted by Rev. Jared Wilson 3 weeks ago asking me if I would be willing to perform a Malcolm Dalglish piece called Christmas Lullaby with the Madison Street Methodist Church Chancel Choir on Sunday, December 6th. I received a copy of the music on Wednesday, November the 18th and was intrigued to say the least - Malcolm Dalglish is well known in the hammered dulcimer community as a wonderful dulcimer player and as a composer of really wonderful choral pieces with dulcimer. And, this was a terrific opportunity for me to play as a solo artist and with singers... which I have never really done... The music - after I got to see it - was as beautiful AND as complex as I imagined.... I proceeded to get to work memorizing the piece - since that is the nature of hammered dulcimers. Two rehearsals and a dress rehearsal later, I performed the piece with the women of the Chancel Choir on Sunday morning. This was a terrifc albeit scary experience! The performance of the piece was the next to last piece on the program - which lasted over an hour and a half (so I had plenty of time to get really nervous) - and playing with a choir is something I have no experience with and definitely took some different skills than I have acquired. (Poor David M. - He was tasked with being my practice singer countless times over the 2 1/2 weeks I had to prepare as I worked on getting more comfortable with the tempo and timing of a choir as opposed to a string band! David used to sing in church choirs years ago but his vocal skills have gotten rusty so he was consequently hoarse more than a few times after rehearsing with me!) But, when the time came on Sunday, I played the piece well and the choir was magical in their rendition. The church sanctuary is amazing and I most definitely fell in love with the incredible pipe organ that I have heard so much about over the years! The picture at the top of this post shows just how small I felt performing this piece in this amazing space!

Close-up view of me playing Christmas Lullaby with the Choir.

Before the concert; the bell choir is practicing. I'd never heard or seen a bell choir so this was fascinating to me. Note the amazing pipe organ in front. When it was played, the sound was amazing.

Setting up before the program. I am not nervous yet!

My thanks to Rev. Jared Wilson, all of the members of the Chancel Choir and the folks of the Madison Street Methodist Church for allowing me this amazing opportunity and making me feel welcome in their day of music.

Performance at Downtown Artist's Coop, Thursday, Dec 3rd

Last night, 6 of us in Red River Breeze played for the Downtown Artist's Co-op, http://www.clarksvilleartists.net/, at 96 Franklin Street. This was their 9th annual Arts and Crafts Bazaar held every December and this was the third year we were asked to perform for them. We always enjoy participating in this event and this year the turnout was terrific and coincidently, this was the first real opportunity we have had to debut our new CD and we sold 15 of them! Off to a good start! Members in the band that participated were Steve, David M, Dixie, Melanie, Byron and me (Stephanie) and we were able to play Christmas music for the first time this season. We remain pretty busy the remainder of this week through Sunday - with our normal gig at The Looking Glass tonight, and two gigs on Sunday evening. We should be really good at playing Christmas music by the time we are through Sunday night!



This photograph was taken by Susan Bryant of the Downtown Artist's Coop last year but this is basically what we looked like and where we played this year with two exceptions - David E. couldn't make it this year - he had a nasty cold; and Byron was given the honor of playing in the storefront window to lure folks into the building - definitely a job he enjoyed doing....! Too bad we didn't get a picture of that!

Our thanks to Susan and the folks at the Downtown Artist's Coop for allowing us to share in this holiday event with them again!

The New CD!

We have begun production of the CD and we have them to sell! I will be updating the Red River Breeze website when I get a chance - but it may be past the Christmas season rush - to sell the CD online as we do for our 1st CD, so if you want to order one now, send me an email at steph@stepper@aol.com with a check to me (Stephanie Taylor) for $17.00 ($15.00 plus $2.00 SH) and I will mail you one. Or, check out our schedule and come see us live, we'll have them to sell there too - just $15.00 at a show!

Mixing the CD, in Chicago - November 13 - 15

David M. and I (Stephanie) traveled to Chicago, spending 3 days in Greg Magers' studio (The Attic) listening to all of the individual instrument tracks for the CD, and making decisions on mixing everything so that it all of tune tracks sound balanced and amazing. What an experience...! This process has to be as difficult as the "in the studio and recording into a microphone" process. I can honestly say that I have listened to each track at least a thousand times. Many, many subtle adjustments later - and lively debate at times between Greg and I on whether we needed more of this instrument or less.... and he was spot on so many times.... even though it is my band and my arrangements - fresh ears provide fresh insight - and we have a master CD and we're beginning production!

Here are some photos of The Attic, Greg's studio (and this was my first visit to Chicago - this is the largest city I have EVER seen - I suppose this means I have led a bit of sheltered life). We spent just about every available moment in the studio and it began to feel a bit like home.... as I mentioned, this was quite the process!

Greg at his post - note the multi-lined digital rendition of a tune on his screen. Greg is amazing to watch at work adjusting and fine-tuning the mix.



Towards the end of the process, it was time to finalize the order of the tracks as they appear on the CD. The white board helped a lot as I worked to order the tunes in the most pleasing way possible.

Here I am - at the console - listening to the final product yet one more time to make sure it is the way I want it to sound.

Maddux - the cutest Studio mascot in the world. He is Greg's Maltipoo and a more lovable, cuddly creature there isn't. His main goal all day, every day, was to find an available lap to crawl into and go to sleep on.

So, the CD is done (yes!) and we have begun prodution of them. I will be updating the website very soon to provide a means to purchase them online. Before that happens (it is the Christmas season and we suddenly have several gigs in the next week.. so we are a tad busy), if you want a CD, drop me an email and I'll send you one. The cost for this one is $15.00 plus $2.00 for shipping and handling. My email address is steph2stepper@aol.com.

In the Studio - Recording CD#2!

What an amazing experience! The band spent all day last Friday and Saturday at the 16 Ton Studio in Nashville to record our 2nd CD after a month of rehearsals and countless setlist changes and re-arrangements of tunes. Getting to record in Nashville in a full scale studio was an experience many of us have never had and it was truly a fun education for all of us. The studio engineer, Michael Esser, and his assistant, Ryan Waniata, were very helpful and great fun also. Greg Magers, David's son and recording guru with his own studio in Chicago, flew into Clarksville Thursday night to spend the weekend with us and lend his considerable expertise to this project. Pictured in front of the building (we look happy because this picture was taken AFTER we were done on Saturday!) from left to right are: Steve, David M, me (Stephanie), Dixie, David E, Melanie, Sarah, Byron, and Greg.



This is the "lobby" area of the studio. We are so big that half of the band was set up in this room as far apart from each other as possible and the entrance door was locked during the recording sessions. The rest of the band was located individually in the smaller recording rooms in the building. This meant that for the first time ever we couldn't see everyone when we played. Amazingly, we did just fine even though we were all separated from each other, some considerably more than others!

This device was at each of our "stations". With headsets on, we could dial-up exactly what mix of instruments we wanted/needed. This box definitely became our best buddy because even though we couldn't see everyone, we could definitely hear who we needed to most.

Byron is in the control room looking over the very complex looking recording console. I believe this piece of equipment is considered one-of-a-kind for its type!

While I look upset and/or frustrated, I'm really not. I was taking the opportunity to sit down for a moment as I was listening to the play-back of the track we just recorded to see if we needed to do it over or if (please!) we'd nailed it and could move on!

Melanie was definitely the most unflappable of the group. I don't think she EVER hit a wrong note!

David E in action. It is sometimes difficult to hear David on the mandolin in live performances (we usually perform un-amplified and when everyone is playing, it's easy to drown the mandolin out) but you will be able to hear him on the CD! He looks intense because he was really concentrating...!

I was in the lobby area on Friday but was relocated to my own soundproof room on Saturday. The dulcimer has a big sound and lots of harmonics and since we were doing well not being able to see each other, the expert engineers decided it was better to separate me so I wouldn't bleed into the other's mics!

Break time and we hung out in the control room so we could hear the tracks again and watch Greg at work. Now that we've recorded everything for the CD, the mixing of the tracks is in process but from what I've heard so far, I think we are going to have a CD we are all proud of. This was an intense two days but was definitely an experience none of us are going to forget. I am very proud of the band. We did great and had a wonderful time doing it. Look for the CD to be out soon - possibly by the end of November!

Red River Breeze Plays at "Sounds, Cinema and More" in Russellville, KY

Russellville, Kentucky is a wonderful little town about 45 minutes north-east of Clarksville, Tennessee. Red River Breeze has been honored to play for Russellville's spring festival for the past two years and we traveled to Russellville this past Saturday to play for their 1st "Sounds, Cinema, and More" event at the 4th Street Theatre. The theatre is a 1950's building that is in the process of being renovated to be used as a multi-purpose arts building and this event was held to help raise more money for the renovation. Because the theatre area is not yet habitable, the event was held outside with music by us from 6:00 to 7:00 pm and the screening of a movie starting at 7:15 pm. Six of the eight members of the band attended: Byron, David M., me (Stephanie), Steve, Sarah and Dixie. It is always a pleasure to play for the wonderful folks in Russellville...they were as usual a terrific audience... but we found out that daylight is gone this time of the year at about 6:45 pm! Next time, we'll remember stand lights - and I discovered I really can play the hammered dulcimer pretty much with my eyes closed!

Too bad all eight of us weren't at this event and made it into this picture - it could have been our CD cover! Thanks to Darelene Gooch, the Mainstreet Russellville director, for volunteering to take our picture on David's (intimidating) camera AND for doing such a great job of it minutes before introducing us to begin playing. The casual wall leaning bunch of Steve, Sarah and Dixie is because it was beginning to get chilly at 6 pm and the wall still held quite a bit of heat from the day's absorbtion of sunlight - it must have felt pretty good... I don't think Steve ever got off the wall during the hour he played his bass!

We are working on our 2nd CD!

OK.... The date is set.... We are going to go into the studio Friday and Saturday October 23rd and 24th and (with luck and lots of rehearsals) we hope to have our next CD ready soon! We have been selling our 1st CD for 2 1/2 years now - and folks that hear us continue to want to purchase it which is very encouraging for us. But, many of those that have bought the 1st CD are eager (also encouraging) to get more tunes from us. The 1st CD was recorded with 6 of the current members so I am anxious to have a CD that represents who we are and what we sound like today. So.... the date is set, we are rehearsing, the set list for the CD is shaping up and the arrangements/instrumentation is coming today. No... we're not nervous! This project will be accomplished somewhat differently from the 1st CD so stay tuned as we chronicle the progress. And I will absolutely let you know when this second CD is ready for purchase.

Christmas in August

Last night was probably one of the more unusual gigs we've been asked to do in awhile. The First Baptist Church on Madison Street had a thank-you dinner for members of their choir and (I believe) orchestra and we were the last minute (they called us to set this up only a week ago) surprise program for a 30 minute concert after the dinner. The kicker was that we were asked to play Christmas music to get them in the spirit to start working on their Christmas music! Those near and dear to me know that Christmas music is not a favorite of mine - at least not on the hammered dulcimer. Because playing hammered dulcimer means I have to memorize everything (the rest of the band can use sheet music...), along with the fact that the Christmas season to play this music is relatively short AND Christmas music just begs for more than just a melody on the hammered dulcimer, I struggle every year to get enthusiastic about re-learning and re-arranging our repetoire of approximately 50 Christmas pieces. So being asked - on really short notice in August - to do 30 minutes of Christmas music (which actually translates to 17 Christmas tunes in nine sets) - made things a bit challenging, to say the least. Five of the eight of us (Byron, Dixie, Steve, David M, and me) where able to participate - and we accomplished this without a single group rehearsal. All in all - it went very well (and I hope my brain-dead moments weren't too obvious). We even got a standing ovation - and this from fellow musicians - and sold every one of the stack of CDs I had brought! The folks at the First Baptist Church were very warm and loving and I would like to says thanks for making us feel so welcome and for enjoying our music! Hmmm.... since we've started this... maybe we should consider recording this for a CD. I do keep threatening to do a Christmas CD!

Almost Struck by Lightning!

Three members of Red River Breeze (Stephanie Taylor on hammered dulcimer, Byron Dumas on fiddle, and David Magers on guitar) played for the Homeplace at Land Between the Lakes on July 4th. We were a small group - it is a busy weekend and most of the group had other family things to do... but we were having a great time of it as a trio... until the sky got really dark and ominous. Folks in the audience were taking flash photos, and I remember one particulary bright flash which I assumed was from a camera... however... several seconds later Mother Nature drowned us out with a tremendous clap of thunder. It definitely scared me (you can hear me scream!) and the music... stopped.... The guys seemed to be fairly unfazed and used the opportunity to show their "funny" side. The video of this event was amazingly taken by my daughter and band web master (Tiffany Allemand) who wanted to get a video for the web site. I don't think this is exactly what she was hoping for! But, I'm truly grateful she did not end up with a video of us actually getting hit by lightning...and that goes for her and the grandbabies as well as the rest of the audience...!

The remainder of our set was played on the porch of the Homeplace dog-trot house in the midst of a terrific deluge raging outside. It was close, hot, crowded, but allowed us to be able to share the music much more personally with the folks who stuck it out and listened to the rest of our set!

First Blog for Red River Breeze

Hi! This is Stephanie - the "leader" of the group called Red River Breeze based in Clarksville, TN. We are a Celtic/ Old-Time/ Renaissance String Band (mostly) that plays traditional music on a variety of instruments including hammered dulcimer, penny whistle, recorders, fiddle, mandolin, guitar and string bass. You can see more about the band and hear snippets of tunes off of our (so far) one and only CD, "Friday Night Favorites," at our website: http://www.redriverbreeze.com/.

My hope with this blog is to share the happenings and stories of the band as we play at our standing Friday night gig at The Looking Glass in Clarksville, TN as well as the other interesting and fun places we are asked to play at throughout the year in the area around Clarksville, TN as well as up into Kentucky. Other events - such as trying to produce our next CD - will be chronicled as well. In this way, I hope we can keep our fans and followers up-to-date on what we are doing and the great stories we acquire in the process. I think that the next post will be the story of the "lightning strike"... Stay tuned!