The Nields Newsletter 
Kickstarter alert

September 2014
 

Dear Nields people,
Western New York, here we come!! We are playing in the awesome Turtle Hill Festival in Rush NY (which we are told is near Rochester) for an entire weekend Sept. 12-14! Come out and see us!

It's back to school, and for Katryna and me, that means back to the studio, for one last week of tracking before we mix and master our new CD, tentatively titled Last Night I Saw Joe Hill. IT'S SO GOOD!!!!!! We can't wait for you to hear it! However, there is one tiny glitch. In order for you to hear it, as John Lennon quipped in A Hard Day's Night, "we need money first."

A lot of good causes need money, too, and if we are going to fundraise for ourselves, we want to do so in conjunction with some other folks who are trying to make the world better through music, art, activism, community. To wit, we are going to be looking for 1. folks to host house concerts for 2. raising money for fabulous organizations. Right now is the time to get in touch with us if you are 1. interested in hosting a house concert or 2. have an idea for an organization for us to partner with. Together, we will raise some spirits and smiles and hearts as well as some moola.

 

During our two week summer vacation, Nerissa's family went to Montreal, during which time the city was celebrating by having free pianos on eight different locations around the city, including one on our block. So we got to play the piano every time we walked down our street. On Aug. 20 at noon, eight fabulous Montreal pianists all sat down and played the same piece, "Tout le Monde au Meme Temps." The next day, we climbed Mount Royal and found a piano at the top. So Tom filmed Nerissa playing "Normandies," a new song from our forthcoming CD. Check out the amazing, unchoreographed synchronicity at about 4 minutes into the song!


 

Normandies
Normandies


 

In addition to playing the Turtle Hill Festival (near Rochester, NY), we are gearing up for shows in CT and NY for October. Our Transperformance show with Tracy Grammer (we were the Dixie Chicks, see below) was so much fun, we are contemplating doing a series of shows of us doing covers. We need a sassy name that isn't Cover Girls. If you have ideas, send them our way! Also, we are looking for bookings on Nov. 1, Nov. 21 and Dec. 13 or 14.  Stay tuned!
Happy back to school, back to work, back to a sweet crisp apple and chill in the air!
Love, Nerissa & Katryna

Below: N&K with Dave Chalfant and Amelia Nields Chalfant, FRFF '14. Photo by Kris McCue
Nerissa & Katryna_Kris1
We Endorse
Katryna
Fall.  Back to school.  Back to the studio.  But it still feels like summer.  In fact, it kind of feels more like summer than summer felt.  These are the inspirations for my endorsements.

1. I  always love Momastery and recommend everything she writes.  This particular entry is about teachers and how they are always thinking about our children on so many different levels.  I am achingly grateful to all the wonderful teachers who have taught my kids everything from perseverance--in the form of climbing the monkey bars--to curiosity in the form of EVERYTHING, kindness and community-mindedness, plus reading, writing, finding stuff out, loving math, etc...  If I weren't a folk singer, I would be trying to figure out how to get our teachers rewarded more--both financially and emotionally. Thank you to all of you who are pouring your hearts into our children. You are my heroes.

2. Nerissa's songs. I know this is kind of self-serving because I am doing the singing of these songs right now, but really these songs are amazing.  Like the teachers above, Nerissa is always working on so many different levels.  I love these melodies I get to sing; I love the sound of the words; and I love the meaning of the words too.  

There is a strange irony in the fact that more people pay attention to and hear an artist's early work these days. More people own the debut album of their favorite band than the most recent release. It's just the way we are. I am like this too--I'd rather know what the next big thing is than faithfully follow an artist's sojourn, but when we last opened for Dar Williams, I was struck by her newest songs. This woman was getting better. How could that be?  

The old songs are like friends. They bring us gifts of nostalgia and familiarity, but the new songs show the artist's growth, her wisdom that has come with age. So it is with this latest batch of songs by Nerissa. As we listened through yesterday to determine what is left to do on this CD, I was just blown away by my sister's craft.  "And still I sometimes wish to fill the stage with noise/ to move the way we did when we still had the boys."  It's true.  I miss those days of dancing and singing to the fabulous sound created by our full band, but I would choose these new songs to sing. They move me and rock my world. I can't wait for you all to hear them.

3. The Spirulator.  I got this gizmo to take advantage of the massive quantities of zucchini that come my way at this time of year. You put a zucchini or summer squash on the machine and turn the handle.  Soon you have what looks like spaghetti coming out of the end.  It is so satisfying, but the best part is the taste. So far, I have doused my zoodles with peanut/sesame sauce. I use apple cider vinegar, tamari, sesame oil, peanut butter, fresh ginger, fresh garlic and sometimes a bit of honey.  I have also used zoodles in place of lettuce in a salad and I have saut�ed them with lots of other vegetables and sausage.  I love this machine.  The zoodles stay pretty crispy and hold the flavor of whatever sauce you use.  Enjoy!


Nerissa 
We in New England had one of the nicest summers (weather wise) I have ever known. Even in the midst of our busyness in the making of this new CD, I got to do so much reading this summer. I even curled up on a beautiful summer afternoon with a book. Every book I read was better than the last. I love that feeling of being halfway through a wonderful book; it's like having a secret life that you get to look forward to as you are going about your day. Here are a couple of recommendations: 

1. Roz Chast's wonderful memoir on the aging and eventual deaths of her parents, Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant. I love a good graphic novel, and Roz Chast's cartoons are the ones I read first when I get my weekly New Yorker. This book is funny, honest, sad, beautiful, important. Read it if you have a parent; read it if you are a parent. 

2. Arcadia by Lauren Groff. Told from the point of view of Bit, age five at the novel's start, Arcadia is the story of a hippie commune founded in 1968 in western NY. The novel follows Bit through four stages of his life: early childhood, adolescence, early 30s and nearing 50. It focuses an unsentimental eye at the culture of communes, neither elevating nor ridiculing them. The three main characters (in an abundantly populated novel) are some of my favorites in literature. I fell in love with them, and now that I have finished reading, I miss them. The writing is beautiful, measured, breath-taking. And I just could not put it down.

I warned Tom that I should never be allowed to visit an animal shelter (or a vet clinic with kittens to give away, or a sick old siamese cat) or I will come back with a new pet. Sure enough, we now have Stella, the mini-husky/shepherd/Basenji. She is a Dixie Dog from Texas, and the sweetest little love!



My kids are in heaven. And I am reminded what a wonderful world it is where people all over the country work together to rescue animals. What a network! Folks in the south foster these little lost ones, then put them on trucks to take them up north where (because of spaying and neutering protocols) there is now something of a dearth of local stray dogs. (Though there are plenty of local cats!) My little Stella has clearly been a mother (very recently, I am guessing, as small dogs are constantly trying to nurse her), and while I am a sucker for puppies, I know there are too many dogs without homes in the world. But how cool that people are working so hard to bring the extras to where they are wanted and loved. We thought (in our fantasies) about getting some kind of designer mutt: shepherd so it would stay nearby; poodle or hairy terrier so it wouldn't make Johnny sneeze; retriever so it would be fun to play catch with. But in the end, the dog the Universe gave us is way better than anything we could have designed. 

  

Fan Of The Month! Maura Greenman
We had a blast with Maura and her family at Kripalu in 2012 when we did our Musical Family Workshop there. So we got curious about how she found out about us...
Q: When did you first see the Nields? 

Bumbershoot in Seattle. '96, maybe?


 

2. Why do you keep coming to their shows?
Because the Nields are good for my soul. Singing along makes me happy. Hearing harmonies makes me happy. Watching sisters in love and work makes me happy.

 

3. What are your other favorite bands?
I'm mostly a lyric-driven, indy-singer-songwriter fan. Dar Williams, Kris Delmhorst, Lea Morris and Cletus Kennelly are my favs. I do also love Ben Arnold from Philly. But, I love to rock out and dance to a good jam band, too. I'd pay to see Chris Robinson, John K. or even NRBQ. Old school rockers, it's always Led Zeppelin and U2.

4. If you eat bacon, which do you prefer: turkey bacon, soy bacon or pig bacon? If this question is too personal, please feel free to skip it. Bacon can be embarrassing.
 Pig Bacon. Crispy. No contest. No shame.

5. If you were a Brady, which one would you be? If you were born after 1979, you might not know who the Brady Bunch are, in which case, substitute your own cheesy TV show, but be aware that WE might not know what you are talking about. 
Cindy? I was the youngest of three girls for the first 12 years of my life. I was really cute. And also a bit of a brat.

 

6. Do you play an instrument or sing? If the latter, who do you most sound like? If the former, what instrument do you wish you could play? 
 Such a loaded question! Nothing would make me happier than to be a singer-songwriter, alas, I was not born with "an ear." I'm great at playing the radio. I've dabbled in writing and playing and have signed up for voice lessons this fall. If I could, I'd love to play the guitar. And the piano. And the drums. In a perfect world, I'd sound just like Kris Delmhorst. Good thing Kris sounds like Kris, too.
7. If you were offered two pills, a red pill and a blue pill, and the red pill made you be able to speak all languages on earth, and the blue pill made you be able to play all the instruments of the earth, which would you take. (There would be no nasty side effects.)
The blue pill. I'm a better talker than player.  

 

8. When you were between the ages of 7-12, what were your obsessions?
Dogs and horses. My best friend and I dreamt we'd buy our elementary school and turn it into a veterinary hospital.

 

9. What is your favorite state in the US?
Just discovered New Mexico this summer and thought it was pretty cool. Loved the culture, the wide open spaces, and the air there makes for fantastic breathing.
10. What is your favorite Nields song? Why?
"Kiss Me on the Moon" because it's hopeful and mournful at the same time. There's so much aching in that song. I just love it.
Polaroid From the Past

Some College near Chicago, 1996.

 I think we are singing "Superhero Soup."


 

Nerissa's Blog

08-30-2014 14:19:00 PM

At Falcon Ridge, my kids busked with their little violins, and filled their fiddle cases with dollars and quarters. At one point, their cousin shouted "Donations!" to the passers-by. Horrified, Tom gathered the kids and told them they had to pick a charity to give the money to, and that charity could not (only) be their Nutella Crepe fund. So they chose the Dakin Animal Shelter....�

08-30-2014 13:22:00 PM

It's the last day in the studio, at least until September. Truthfully, we are almost done. I have to do vocals on the choruses of "Dave Hayes," the chorus of "Witness," the choruses of "You Don't Have that Kind of Time" and backgrounds on "Normandies," plus a few other tiny things ...�



How to Be an Adult
Looking for the prefect graduation gift? Nerissa's How to Be an Adult is full of practical advice, funny and wise with a slight spiritual twist. Get it as a paperback or ebook for your favorite grad!
from the Nields 
from Amazon (ebook or paperback) 
Hiking in the ADKs. Ah, summer...
In This Issue
We Endorse
Fan of the Month: Maura Greenman
Polaroid from the Past
Nerissa's Blog
Tour Schedule
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Autumn

   

Sept. 12-14

Turtle Hill Festival

near Rochester NY


 

Sept. 20

Broadside Books

Anniversary show!

Northampton MA

2-2:30pm 


 

Sept. 27 

Kripalu

closed show


 

Oct 4 

Hear at the HOMe

New Haven, CT

7:30pm show

For tix and info, email Meredith Tarr at Smoemeth@gmail.com


 

Oct. 17 
Rockwood Music Club

NY, NY

8pm show


 

Oct. 18 

Jalopy

Red Hook, Brooklyn, NY 


 

Nov. 8 
Passim

Cambridge

Two shows! 3:30 family show

7pm show, Belle Amie opens!


 

Nov. 13-15

NERFA


 

Dec. 6

Jammin Java's 

with the Kennedys!
 

Dec. 31

First Night Northampton


Click here for complete tour schedule.
 
Photo by Sarah Prall




New Web site is here!

photo by Sarah Prall
First every Nields Family HooteNanny!
photo by Sarah Prall
Nields Family Hootenanny!

Nields Family HooteNanny

 will be meeting once a month on Sundays from 4-5pm. First one back is Sunday Sept. 28.

 For more information, email 

HooteNannymusicclass@gmail.com.

 

photo by Sarah Prall

The Nields offer small moments of joy and sorrow that linger in one's memory as a kind of quiet paean to the mystery of who we are and what it is we are about. Consumable.com
COF4.13
photo by Jake Jacobson
"A review of a Nields concert described their music as "equal parts Beatles, Cranberries and Joni Mitchell." iTunes
They're cheery, these two, but not Pollyanna. They know that life is hard, and making art while tending to our other obligations, especially as women, is a painful struggle. The Artery
Nerissa & Katryna_Kris1
photo by Kris McCue
There's a profound state of aesthetic arrest that some singers can put an audience into, and singers like that are worth their weight in gold. Not many bands manage to have two of them. Pop Matters
N&K 1996 by Kathleen Hill