Hi Guys! I know it's been a while since I've updated this. I've been a bit out of touch the past week, but I am back and there is SO much to tell you guys. Way too much to fit into a twitter post or even an email, and that's what blogs are for.

At the Journey fundraising show, we raised $961!!! This means that I can say for sure: this album will be made this summer.

From now on, all donations and presales are directly equatable with what kind of a production we have the means to do. Right now, Billy and I have a budget that allows for a very simple production. We can still use your help! More donations means Billy and I have more freedom with arrangements.

Here's where we are with the album:

• $914- from before this summer
• $183.01- from envelopes
• $166.26- from PayPal (PayPal takes a small cut)
• $961- Journey fundraising show

Grand Total: $2224.27

First of all, a BIG thank you to everyone who made the big fundraising show a success. Thanks to everyone who came, put money in the tip jar, preordered albums, and left comments about their favorite songs. Special thanks to:

Judi- Thank you for being the best friend-fan a folksinging girl could ask for. Thanks for staying in the Warehouse all day and setting things up, bringing baked goods to sell for donations, and for working the sound during the show.

Steve Fenech- Thanks for staying at the Warehouse all day and setting up the room. It was beautiful. The lights, the background, the candles, and decorations. You made the room look amazing. Thank you so much. Also, thank you Paolina for all the help with addressing envelopes and making them pretty!

David Gentiles- Thanks for helping me set up the Warehouse, for letting me use the Warehouse in general, for MC-ing, for getting me a Roast Beef sub sandwich, and for being you.

Rachel Bugg- Thanks for working the donation table. I know it got kind of crazy at times. I owe you a beer or something.

Tom Sellstrom- Thank you for your bouncer skills- for taking money in the Last Supper lunch box at the door. I'm sure your presence alone intimidated people into giving me money. : )

Sam Chang- Thanks for playing violin! It was beautiful! Everyone loved it. Thank you so much.

Now, I'd like to move on to...

MORE ENVELOPES AND PAYPAL DONATIONS!!!

For their PayPal donations, thanks to:

-Paul Porter, for his $5 contribution. Thanks Paul, also, for everything else you've done for my music, from organizing a house concert for me last year to giving me an umbrella at Kerrville. Always looking out for me. Much appreciated.

-Bianca Hardin, my almost-cousin gave $20! (Bianca will be my cousin by June 5th of next year, when I marry her cousin Cris). Thanks Bianca! You are awesome.

And now, envelopes!

This one is from Lisa Garcia. It looks like a Valentine! S0 exciting! I love the red doily! Beautiful envelope, and it was filled with $40, which is a LOT for a college student. Thank you Lisa. I love you!



Karen Early, Lisa's friend, sent me this one, along with a very sweet note and $8 inside. I love all the vines. Very cool. Sorry about the rain drop splashes on the front. : ( But it's still beautiful. Thanks Karen!
The Bugle Boy, and more specifically, the lovely Lane Gosnay, sent this awesome envelope, with the official Bugle Boy stamp, reading: "From the Desk of Captain Lane Gosnay, OFFICIAL DOCUMENT ENCLOSED." Inside was an official document as promised (a letter) and $25. The letter reads, "You are hereby granted liberty to have fun and make the best album ever! Your Bugle Boy family has your back." Many thanks to Lane and the Bugle Boy crew, for all the wonderful door-opening you've done for me. You guys are my favorite.



Well, that's about all album news for now folks. In other, nonalbum news,

-I dyed my hair a dark brown/black color that turned out a LOT darker than I was expecting. But I am working with it... It's fun to have something new.

-The governor of South Carolina apologized for having an affair.

-I have a brand new bar of soap for my shower tomorrow. It's going to be so great unwrapping it, and enjoying that first-soap shower. Mmmm....

-Regina Spektor wrote the coolest song I've heard in a while, called "Laughing With." Her light, lilting voice is hypnotizing on this track.

-On the other side of the world, a young woman named Neda was killed on the streets of Iran, and has seemingly become the symbol of a fledgling revolution... Her name means "voice," and she was taking singing lessons illegally (women are not allowed to take them). Here is a link to a New York times article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/23/world/middleeast/23neda.html.

I recommend caution if you are planning on watching the video itself. It is incredibly gruesome and sad. Make sure your kids aren't in the room if you watch it.


That's all. I'm out.

grace

Sorry for the delay in info about the Journey show and the album's progress in general. The simple news is that we've raised enough money to guarantee some kind of album, with some kind of production, probably a simple one. THANK YOU to everyone who helped, has helping, is helping, and will help.

There will be more detailed information about our progress soon, but it's on hold right now because:

I am going to be out of town Thursday through Monday, for personal reasons. So, I will be out of touch for album updates, but I should have everything updated by Tuesday or Wednesday. Thanks for the support! More info coming soon...

More Thank Yous to more wonderful yous...

The Cannons- Thank you to each and every Cannon for the $10! I love you guys!

Weird (a.k.a. Harold Stevens)- Sent $20, along with a copy of the last letter from the editor of Performing Songwriter... Food for thought in that. I am very sorry to see P.S. end. Thanks Weird!

My Mom (a.k.a. Dr. Meg Harper)- My mother sent me $100 for the album, because she is the best mom in the whole world. I didn't even have to ask for money this time. Getting that check totally made my day, and of course, Mom gets as many signed copies as she wants. Thanks Mom!

D. Cook- Thank you for the $25. You are the best! I will definitely let you know about daytime shows, though chances are you won't see much of me until September, when the album is finished...



Thanks everyone! And remember:

$100- 5 signed CDs and name in liner notes
$500- 12 signed CDs, your name in the liner notes, plus I play one of my three release shows at your house! (You can charge whatever you want for the door and keep it all, since you won't have to pay me)

This one comes from my former Spanish teacher, George Hartline, who actually is quite the accomplished musician himself. (http://georgehartline.com/) Thanks, Señor Hartline!!!

I'd also like to thank the following generous PayPal donors:

Chris Ozment for his gift of $5
Mike Hall for his gift of $100

Thanks!!

My second letter comes from Marett and her little sister Jolie, in Victoria, TX. The envelope contained five dollars (from Marett) and two cents (from Jolie). Thanks!! (Also, there is a lovely little drawing on the back of the envelope of what I'm assuming is me, holding a microphone. Jolie- that is a great drawing. Thank you for helping me!)

My very first envelope comes from Laurel in Austin! (Thanks!!) It is a long, skinny envelope, with a fat little envelope on the inside. Front and back of each:




Send YOUR envelope, with $5 inside to:

Grace Pettis
3210 Hampton Rd., Apt. A
Austin, TX
78705

OK- so, here's the skinny: I need to raise $1000 by June 30th to make this album happen. To that end, I am putting forth a number of fundraising projects. This is the first:

THE ENVELOPE PROJECT

Here's how it works: Each of you send me $5. I know there at least a few hundred of you out there who want this album to happen. If each of you send me $5, I will be able to reach my $1000 goal pretty easily.

But wait! It gets better! Don't just send me ANY envelope. Make your envelope your own. Decorate it with glitter and cheerios. Make it out of a magazine page. Write a poem on the back. Make some kind of political statement or just color the whole thing with a highlighter. Whatever floats your boat.

As I receive each envelope I will take its picture and post it to the album blog: http://gracesalbum.blogspot.com/.

So, you will be both supporting my art and creating your own in the process! If you are looking for inspiration, try: The Envelope Collective (http://jennibickbookbinding.blogspot.com/2007/03/envelope-collective.html) for inspiration.

But remember, there are no rules!

I'm looking forward to getting your creations...

My address is:

Grace Pettis
3210 Hampton Rd., Apartment A
Austin, TX
78705

MY VERY FIRST ALBUM!!!! IT'S REALLY HAPPENING!!!!

So, if the above sentence didn't give it away, the carefully crafted blog you see before you with the title, "Grace's Album" hopefully did: I am in fact recording my first album this summer!! The rumors are true!

I know that many of you have been anticipating this project for some time now and so, without further ado, here are the basic points of importance:

-The album will be recorded at Blue Rock Studios in Wimberly, TX.
-The infamous, the one and only, the Billy Crockett will be producing this project.
-During the month of June, I will be fundraising and promoting. I need to raise $1000. (Yes, that's really it. Although, $2,000 would be much nicer.)
-In July, we will be going into the studio.
-The album will be manufactured in August.
-The album will (fingers crossed) be released on September the 1st.
-My first BIG FUNDRAISING CONCERT will take place on June 13th, at Journey, in Austin, TX. More details coming soon...

I decided to create this blog to clear up the fog that's surrounded this project up until now. Because of a lack of specifics, I have been unable to really be candid about this record- what it will look like, when it will be available, where it will be recorded, what it will mean, etc.

However, now that many of those loose threads have been neatly laced together, I am free to answer any and all questions that you may have about this process.

I'd love to know your thoughts. More than that, I'd love your help. I'd love for you to be just as enthusiastic about this as I am. I don't want to just talk at you with this blog. I want to talk with you.

So let's start a conversation about this album. What songs would you love to hear? What do you imagine the theme of this album being? Have any creative ideas for fundraising? This is my email address: grace.pettis@gmail.com

I'm really excited about this. Let's get this thing going!



That's probably enough news for one blog entry, but stay tuned for more about HOW YOU CAN HELP fund the album. And hey, while you're waiting for that entry, feel free to shoot off a few ideas of your own, either as a comment on the blog or at grace.pettis@gmail.com. I'm new at all this, and I need all the help I can get. Don't be shy!

Thanks everyone for your continued support. You made (and are making) this possible.

(yay!!!)

grace