Tour Diary! Santa Rosa - Last Record Store

So much fun at the Last Record Store on Saturday in my home town, Santa Rosa. Great turn out, awesome store where you can find any CD, record of your taste, and Amber Lee played some awesome acordian and sang beautifully.

My favorite part were the dancing kids up front. I'd open my eyes and see these little guys with their arms up and swirling all around, or tapping their knees and letting it all out. Just feeling it! Thanks to all you little ones who danced and showed us all your freedom and inspiration! Gave a very festive feel.







I'm having so much fun playing with Max. It's been almost 3 years now that we've played together and it's feeling so full and easy, the drums make so much energy. I love it!

We leave Tuesday for Salem, and today I'm getting ready for the long 9 hour drive - Trader Joes snacks, books on CD, music, what else?

And I'm promoting promoting promoting. If you have friends in these towns, send them along!

Jessica

Seattle Show July 29th: The Beautiful Clarks and Amanda Burleson

Joining me in Seattle on July 29th at Tost Lounge:
The Beautiful Clarks (Listen)

Lovely, mellow and full of heart alt-country tunes. Damien Jurado and Rosie Thomas, sing on their album. Here's a live review from Three Imaginary Girls

Given that it was a Tuesday night, I expected the Sunset to be at least a bit subdued. To my surprise, I walked into a nearly full venue and a crowd of animated show goers. Of a four-band bill, I must concede that the Clarks were the draw for me...

Fittingly enough, Hatcher began the Beautiful Clarks set with "Bended Knee." He played it solo, just his voice and a lap steel. Wearing overalls and spectacles, sporting a well-coiffed mustache, he looks the part of a southern gent. His voice is soulful beyond his years, still clear and strong. The rowdy venue was nearly silent throughout the song...

Hatcher's lyrics created landscapes, ones full of longing and heartache. He sings of "barges singing" and perfectly evokes fall with a simple description of "red and yellow leaves." The line "how I lied to you" was delivered with a mischievous grin. Rather than seeming sinister, it's simply comical; Hatcher's face made it clear he couldn't resist smiling. His voice rolls across that line like a drunken confession. The accompaniment matched each picture in tone and soul. My plus one pointed out there were no tuners onstage; Sparks and Hatcher simply bend the strings to arrive at the right note.

And Amanda Burleson (Listen)

Softly floating, poetic and soothing. Her influences are listed as

The Zeitgeist of childhood, loneliness, boredom, heartbreak, drunkenness, stupor, love and surrender. Musically speaking: Bjork, Thom Yorke, Satie, Daniel Johnston, Brian Eno, Cranes, Nina Simone, Elliott Smith, Jeff Buckley, Sol Seppy, etc.

Boy Who Was Caught - Story Behind the Song

Listen

Driving home from a northwest tour, we were coming down an Oregon mountain on 101, a summery pretty day, and started passing cops on the side of the road, looking for something in the grass. We thought it was curious, started paying attention. After 2 or 3 of them we saw a big line-up of police cars with flashing lights, the freeway closed, and a bunch of police with their guns drawn, pointing to the middle of the road, just as we passed, a young man, 16 or 17 years old, in front of a beat-up car that had run into the middle barrier, throws his hands up and falls to his knees.

The look on his face: terror, sadness, childhood.

To see such a turning point, such a vulnerable, awful moment for another human, tore me up. I couldn't help but cry it out, write it down, want to help him. I don't know what had happened, what he was involved with, if he'd done something bad.

But at that moment I just wanted to help him know it would be ok.

The song came together in the weeks after that and I recorded it at home and it was put on the shelf for a few years. And on one of those listening sessions I do sometimes, that covers songs I've recorded at home over a few years, I found it again, and it got to me, I wanted it out in the open.

I sing it for that young man, for myself in times when you feel like you can't get lower, that there's always a way up again. Things shift up, they shift down, this can always be counted on.

There's a good human element in us I think, that when we share such an intense moment with someone, we keep a part of that person with us always, we bond with them, even if we never know them or see them again, our paths have crossed in a way we'll remember. I hope he's ok. Send him some good thoughts.

Lyrics
To the boy who was caught
Crashed the car and gave up
I saw your face
As you fell to your knees

I don’t know what you did
I saw them look for something
I saw them in the grass
I cried for miles after
Just like your mama will

To the boy who gave up
In the Oregon sun
With the red shining lights
And the dogs waiting by

I don’t care what you did
I saw them pointing their guns
I saw your arms raised high
I cried for miles after
Just like your mama will
Oh Boy don’t give up

Music verse and chorus

To the child who was trapped (double octave)
Guns at your back
It’s not your last
Chance

Why’d you do what you did?
You’ve fallen hard upon the pavement
The sun is shining kind upon you
Let it go, take it off, take it off here
Spread it out on the ground , it feels good
To GIVE UP

We leave Tuesday, July 29th for Salem and the Northwest! A new tour!
View our tour dates here
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Pics from Hotel Utah and Tour Dates

Harmonies with your sister - it just doesn't get a lot better. Grace is playing harmonium here and back up vocals to "We Must Have Been Birds". So great. She'll be with me again for Santa Barbara and LA shows. Thanks so much to everyone who made it to the show, stayed for the last set on a Sunday, it was like a nest, support and softness and it was good to feel happy.

Especially thanks to Dad and Catherine who drove 5 hours to see us play. It was the first time Grace and I had played together on stage since the 3rd grade play. I think we've improved.

Here are the current tour dates! If you can come and bring friends you'll be doing us the greatest of deeds. We can't wait to see you. If you can't make it but know someone in these towns, send them a link to the music (petracovich.com) and tell them it will be a great show. It seems we'll have a full turnout at most of them, thanks to you!

Hope you're having a beautiful summer.

July 25th – Santa Rosa, CA the Last Record Store
*July 28th - Salem, OR - Coffee House Cafe
July 29th – Seattle, WA – Tost Lounge
July 30th – Portland, OR – Berbati's Pan
July 31st – Eugene, OR – Wandering Goat
August 7th – Visalia, CA – Howie and Sons
August 8th – Santa Barbara, CA – Mercury Lounge
August 10th – Los Angeles, CA – Hotel Cafe
August 13th – San Francisco, CA – Amnesia

For times and more accurate info go to Petracovich's Facebook page - become a fan!

I've been working hard filling orders, lining up the tour, and now coordinating promotion with radio and press. Anyone who has a connection with either of those in a certain town, let me know! jessica@redbuttonsrecords.com

New Video for "You Are This Perfect" from Crepusculo

Created by my husband, Ryan Malmberg (finchdesign.us)
More explanations later, I want you to have a fresh view and see how it hits you.
Let us know.

Jessica

Syracuse - Story Behind the Song

Listen

The music came first. One time after warming up my fingers on the piano with scales. After the warm up sometimes fingers just want to keep going, and catch on a cord or a pass that really gets to something, speaks to something going on deep down in there.

I loved this tune and would play it to myself like candy sometimes, that emotional fix that feels so good.

Often when the music comes first you don't want to force the meaning out of the song, or try to force something or use the mind too much, it's gotta come on it's own. The music came from a simple and true place, and it takes patience and grace to allow the same thing with words, so much more cerebral. You must open the window and see what shows up, maybe in just a few minutes, maybe months later, something will be waiting there, plain as day.

We were on the road, on tour for Blue Cotton Skin, when we turned from the East Coast to come towards home. Like when you're on a trampoline and there's that moment when you're just floating, not up or down, but in the air, between both movements. It was such a freedom.

The sky was gray, there had been floods because of so much rain, all across the country. May. And the tune came into my head and the moment was right, Syracuse, NY was coming up and the words floated down into the music of this tune.

I felt such a tenderness toward the semis and truck drivers. We had a big van at the time (named Valerie) and we sat kinda high and I could see their faces. They drove as much as we did, much more, and it was interesting to have a little bit of a parallel life with them. The trucks seemed gentle and slow, the fields around us so quiet and green. I was grateful.


Valerie our tour Van/house

To see more Petracovich Tour pics go here and push the pics button

PREORDERS of Crepusculo AVAILABLE NOW!

Syracuse Next 6 exits

Truck drivers bend in my mirror
Square noses curve like the road
By purple fields and farms
Green from the rain doesn't stop


It will be spring six weeks ago
Water is rising level to the road
Geese flying over us
Going back home

Slow mothers carrying loads
Blue cabs, gray clouds hanging low
It's quiet out here on the farmlands
Quietest part of the run

Shows With Sister Grace

The three sisters would often sing harmonies in the car on the way to school, or on a long trip, and especially doing the dishes. Jody and Grace were better at it than I was, I would sing the melody and belt that out, oh years of fun, tapping on our legs and singing.

And finally I got to sing with my sister Grace on stage this week - so beautiful! She sings low harmonies and plays organ and harmonium with me, and it was loads of fun. Thanks so much to those of you who made it out and stayed up late, all your hugs and tears. It meant so much to see you.

We drove back from Santa Cruz late last night and had to break into the place we were staying - we got the keys to the inner room, but not the keys to the outside door, hmmm. This is not something I'm comfortable with, something that looks questionable, I could get in trouble... - a cop kept driving by, and I'm trying to act all casual at 1am with tears in my eyes cause I want to sleep so bad.

Apparently I have some sneaky abilities, cause we got in, got into bed, and slept, yayay! I'm proud of myself.

Sad to put Grace back on the plane to Long Beach, but we had some good adventures, and managed to get some playing and practicing in between laughs and treats.

Thanks for the memories..