Thanks friends and generally awesome people for coming to the show; my band and Gayle Lynn Schmitt for sharing the stage and Amado’s for providing a great space for such a sweet night of music! Some snaps and a video from Thursday’s Department of the West record release show follow below. Such fun to play with and share a bill with this group of musicians! I’m so grateful to everyone who came out and helped make it happen. About that dress I’m wearing: In March, when I had a gig shortly after I started recording The Department of the West, I played out the familiar scenario of fretting about what to wear and if I had the right shoes, etc. Then I remembered the quirky, vintage dress Kwame's mom Pat had given me on a visit more than a year earlier. I'd taken it home without trying it on and had yet to wear it. Miraculously, it fit perfectly. (And, more miracles, I actually already owned shoes that went with it!) What's even cooler is that the dress isn't a brand. It's handmade, one-of-a-kind, sewn by Kwame's grandmother. I'm told she was an actress and the wife of a Naval Captain, and that she sewed much of her own clothing out of fabric bought on her travels. I'm not sure where the design or fabric for this dress came from (its cotton twill, with a nice heft), but it fits, and sure is fun to wear.
