9:05 am
GOOD MORNING: I’m sitting on the sofa, sipping a quickly cooling 2nd cup of coffee, occasionally turning my green-hatted head to the left to watch a chilly wind tear through the remaining leaves on the little oak in the front yard. Passing traffic offers its usual waves of banality. The right of the two windows I’m looking toward is now obscured by our lit-up Christmas tree; I lobbied for a larger one this time around, and due to mutual shopping fatigue one fateful day, the family will was bent to my wishes.
DOG: I’m sitting here next to a dog we’ve taken in, another pit-mix, black with white accents like Apollo, yet quite a bit smaller. And calmer. Pearl, formerly named Boo (yes, since that’s my wife’s nickname, it would’ve caused all sorts of awkwardness), is beginning her second week wearing a translucent plastic cone around her head, having successfully ripped out some post-surgery stitches the day after she arrived here, but seems to be handling it well, and everything is healing as it should. The “Elizabethan collar”, as the vet calls it, serves her well in the recovery process but does offer unique challenges when trying to recover a thrown ball—inevitably the ball ends up underneath the collar, and the more she backs up to retrieve what she can partially see through the plastic, well, the ball just follows her backwards. But she’s in good spirits—more so than I would be in such straits of ridiculousness. She appears to be part antelope, based on the way she runs—often springing off of all four feet at once to gain more ground than she ever could using the stretch of her “wheelbase.” It’s pretty hilarious to watch. I’ve laughed more in the last several days than I have in quite a while. For this I am so grateful. Yes, I’ll forever miss Apollo—in fact when taking the holiday decorations out of their box the other night, I stopped still when I saw his stocking in there. Just another strange part of it, I guess.
UPCOMING SHOWS: Two shows on the road this week; being home has been restorative, as it should be, but I’m thrilled to be heading south once more before year’s end. This Thursday, I’ll be playing in Birmingham, AL with the full band (Joe McMahan, Ron Eoff, and Tommy Perkinson) at WorkPlay, a special show presented by The Writer’s Share. It’s a great venue, and always a good time. Early James opens the show. I hope those of you in the area can take a break from the holiday bustle and join us! Check the tour page and your local listings for details.
On Friday, 12/15, I’ll be playing a solo show at The Olive Drop in Pensacola, FL—my first time to play the venue, and the town. Really looking forward to this! If you’re in the area, come on down. I’m hoping to make it back to Florida for the 30-A Songwriters Fest in January, though I haven’t gotten “the call” yet. If you 30-A residents/supporters would like to hear me in your neck of the woods next month, reach out to the fest and let ‘em know you’d like some KG in the mix. It’s always a great time, and a fine way to start the year.
On December 23 you’ll find me back at Byron’s in Pomeroy, Iowa! Glad to be returning to one of my very favorite venues, visiting with some of my very favorite folks.
JUST ADDED: To close out the year, I’ll be playing a solo show at Haymarket Pub & Brewery in Chicago on December 28! Check the tour page and venue website for details.
HOLIDAY KG BUNDLES: The elves over at Stealth Marketing have been sleeping on the job again, not coming up with much in terms of KG holiday merchandise specials. So I suppose I’ll seize the reins, put down the eggnog, and offer a few just for fun, albeit at the last dang minute:
1)LONG GONE TIME CD & SHIRT BUNDLE: A signed copy of the Long Gone Time CD, along with a LGT t-shirt of your choosing; they are available in limited quantities, depending on size, in both a unisex and women’s cut, in black or heather brown. ORDER IT HERE:
2)LONG GONE TIME VINYL LP & SHIRT BUNDLE: A signed copy of the double-LP edition of Long Gone Time (which includes free download), plus a LGT t-shirt of your choosing; shirts are available in limited quantities, depending on size, in both a unisex and women’s cut, in black or heather brown. ORDER IT HERE:
3)GLORYLAND CD & SHIRT BUNDLE: A signed copy of the Gloryland CD plus your choice of either the Gloryland “Angels” t-shirt (in an off-white/ “oatmeal heather”), or the Gloryland “copter” shirt (in a “charcoal heather” color). Both are printed on a beautiful and cozy Belle Canvas cotton blend T. ORDER IT HERE:
4)DELUXE GLORYLAND BUNDLE: A signed copy of the Gloryland CD plus your choice of either the Gloryland “Angels” t-shirt (in off-white/“oatmeal” heather), or the Gloryland “copter” shirt (in a “charcoal heather” color). Both are printed on a beautiful and cozy Belle Canvas cotton blend T. PLUS a rare copy of the home-made (with Mac assistance) Gloryland “demos” CD which was originally issued to sponsors of the Gloryland record. PLUS a handmade (with Mac assistance) Gloryland lyric book, with lyrics to all the songs from the record. LIMITED QUANTITIES AVAILABLE. ORDER IT HERE:
5) Not a bundle, but . . . need a little special stocking stuffer? Incredibly, there are STILL some copies of the limited edition of 300 hand-signed and numbered Louisiana Snow 7″ vinyl 45s. Comes with free download of both tracks. Fantastic cover art and screen-printing by Andrew Vastagh of Boss Construction. In a resealable mylar dust jacket. (ORDER IT HERE)
Gift wrapping not available (believe me–you don’t want ME doing THAT). We’ll ship these to US addresses up until December 20, via USPS Priority Mail. For shipping to international addresses please inquire. If we run out of a certain size/style of shirt, we’ll email you immediately; you can pick an alternate, or we’ll refund your money.
IN THE REARVIEW, & IN THE STUDIO: Had a wonderful weekend recently playing a Kelly House Concert in St. Louis, and a Celebration Concert for Tri-States Public Radio at their studios up in Macomb, IL. Thanks to my bandmates o’ the weekend, Steph Graham and Tommy Perkinson, for kicking such remarkable musical ass (boy, ain’t that a way to say it!). And special thanks to all of you who came out to hear us.
Work continues on the new record—we hope to have the recording phase done by year’s end. Two new songs will be recorded on 12/19. Watch for details on the upcoming Pledgemusic campaign; you can play a part in making this new record a success!
Here’s hoping you have a safe and joyous holiday season!
Love,
Kevin
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