Howdy, all!

After a little bit of hair-pulling and the typical
new-web-deal fanagling, I have two EPs for sale on Nimbit! Hey, if it's
good enough for Alison Krauss/Robert Plant and Bang Camaro, then it's
good enough for me. ;-)

The first EP is "Full Out" my first
country disc from back in the day. I still love these four little
tracks, and the only place to get them is on the web, so why not check
'em out and help me finance "Free Therapy," my upcoming full-length CD?
You can buy individual tracks for 99 cents apiece, or grab all four for
$3.00.

The second EP is the "Free Therapy Preview Disc." These
tracks are the first four mixes off the full-length record, and are
part of my fundraising efforts to get the complete disc (18 tracks!)
finished. The four tunes are not available individually, but $5.00 for
the set counts as $5.00 off the finished disc. Everyone else will be
paying $15.00 and you'll only have to pay $10.00--cool, huh?

You can go to my Facebook music page and click on "Boxes" to load the embedded store, or go here: http://www.nimbitmusic.com../kimdavidson if that's easier for you.

Enjoy, and thanks as always for your support!

~ Kim

As I finish up posting my second weekly video in the various places it can be posted, I am stunned at just how many details must be attended to from start to finish.  A week is almost not enough time just for the technical aspects of the thing, let alone getting a song written!

I was laughing right from the start of this project as I strategically placed my camera-laden tripod wherever I needed it to be to gather the shots I envisioned for my opening credits sequence.  I very much want this to be a mini-mini-series that has the potential to take on a life of its own if people decide they like it and share it with friends/keep coming back for more.  When I started conceptualizing the ending credits sequence I originally had something like this in mind:

I wanted to use as many of the silliest and random Hollywood film crew titles I could think of and have scrolling credits all with my name as the one filling the positions--because I have done it all myself.

Of course, I couldn't figure out how to make the credits scroll since I'm using new and unfamiliar software to edit my videos, so I decided to keep it simple, and somewhat serious.  After all, I do want the music and the concept to be taken seriously. 

In the end, however, I have to remind myself that what I have embarked on is a strictly "demo" quality project.  No matter how cool and fancy I am with my twinkle-lights-saftey-pinned-to-an-old-bedsheet-backdrop, I'm still pushing the envelope trying to write a complete song and have it performance-ready in just a week.  I mean, I've written plenty of BAD songs in a week or less.  But I want these songs to be good.  And a week actually flies by pretty quickly when you aren't paying attention.

So even though I'd love to have all kinds of high-tech and slick production values, there simply isn't time, and I don't have all the tools at my disposal anyway. 

Like this week's video, for example.  In a perfect world I would sing along to the  footage until I had the phrasing nailed, and then redub the vocals with a better mic set-up.  In reality, I just don't have that kind of time available to me right now.  Especially if I want to keep to the weekly schedule.  Which I do.  So that's the way it goes.  I'll tweak every week, and hopefully it won't take too long before I have a really solid system in place.  In the meantime...

This week's video is kind of imperfect sound-wise, even using the mic set-up, which I didn't have the first week.  In the end I still didn't get the sound I was looking for, so I defaulted to the audio saved in the original video, using only a tiny bit of the extra audio track for support.  Despite my best efforts, I feel the audio is a little muddy and that the lyrics get a bit lost. 

So for anyone who needs a little help... here they are!  Enjoy and see you next week!


The One Who Stays
By Kim Davidson
(c) 2009

Here’s a little bit of history, it almost killed me last time

One minute everything was perfect, then it all turned on a dime

He was the one who said he loved me, he was the one who raised the stakes

And then just like that he took it back, and he shrugged and walked away

And I still struggle every day with the understanding why part

It’s far more risky than I realized to give someone your heart

But here I am again, on that old familiar ledge

Don’t feel like stepping off this time, though you’re down below with arms outspread

And you’re asking me to trust you, and I really want to try

But your words will not convince me, ‘cause it’s words that make up lies

Yeah I’ve been so broken baby, but I still want to believe

So if you want me to surrender, then this is what I need

CHORUS:

Could you be the one who stays?

Could you be the one who stays?

Maybe you could be the one who stays...

Well he said all the same things that you’re saying to me now

And it all turned out to be a joke, so you know I can’t allow....

Myself to lower my guard and fall for it again.  ....

Even though you’ve never hurt me, and I know that you’re not him… ....

But he was just as good as you are ‘til he threw me to the wolves....

So I don’t need your empty sweet words--baby, I need proof!....

(CHORUS)

BRIDGE:

I don’t want to be this way, always holding something back

But there’s nothing you can say, yeah you’re gonna have to act…

So show me what you’re made of, show me that it’s real

And never give me words, give me something I can feel...

CHORUS:

Could you be the one who stays?

Could you be the one who stays?

Oh if you could be the one who stays...

Maybe I could finally let this pain and doubt fall away

(CHORUS)

Good morning, MySpacers!  (Or good night, if you're like me and heading shortly to bed!)

The first installment of my new weekly video series has arrived, and is now viewable on my page!  Each week I'll add another video featuring a brand new song.  Look for new postings here, or click on the YouTube banner on my page to go to my YouTube channel and check out old and new videos alike.

Enjoy--and if you like it, please send along to any friends you feel might also be entertained.

Thanks! 

~ Kim  xoxoxoxo

So, most of you should be aware by now that I'm selling Avon again. My view on Avon has always been that it sells itself. It's been around for a hundred years or so, people who love it LOVE it, and mostly all you have to do is let people know you're selling it, and the rest takes care of itself. And you don't even have to try that hard, as illustrated by this next story…

I was in the BK drive-through last week, on my way home from an Avon meeting, and I had a bunch of brochures in my purse. I had to pull them out to get at my wallet, so I threw them on the passenger seat, where they fanned out nicely, allowing me to get some cash to pay for my food. The chick in the drive-through window saw them and was like, "You sell Avon?" with that excited look in her eye that I have come to recognize and love. I asked if she wanted a brochure and she said yes. Since I'd JUST picked them up, I didn't have any contact info labels on them or anything, so I gave her a Kim Davidson card and told her she could e-mail me and I'd give her the Avon info. Cool.

So then two days later I'm in the drive-through again (you don't want to know how often I find myself in the BK drive-through) and when I pull up to the food window the guy handing me my food says, "So you're a singer?"

Huh? Completely out of context it took me a second to do the math… meanwhile, another chick steps into view next to him, also asking about the singing thing. I reclaim my wits and say, "Yeah, how did you—oh, the Avon chick, right?" They both nod, and I am laughing to myself that not only did I gain a potential Avon customer, but three new music fans, as Avon-Lover clearly checked out my music and spread the word. WICKED COOL. So they're all like, "Yeah, that's so cool" and whatever, and we all parted ways.

But isn't that neat? I mean, you just never know how people are going to find out what you're doing and become interested. It definitely taught me to always be at the ready.

Which is the lesser known sequel to Queen's "I'm In Love With My Car." Which is also true. Especially now that she has new tires. :)

Today before I left the house I made myself a little disc to listen to in the car, which comprised material entirely captured by my DVR and by Rebecca Katz's DVR. She has the same DVR as I do, only the slightly snazzier model—beyotch!

She used hers to tape many of our shows while on tour, and I've been slowly listening through them to see if there are any live tracks I want to post and/or sell. Today's show was the first half of our Read Street Books performance. Cool.

I also wrote a new song the other night, and sang and played it into my DVR as is my custom, so I wanted to hear that through better speakers and see how I was liking it. Turns out I'm liking it quite a bit.

The same cannot be said for the OTHER new song I wrote a few weeks ago and recorded… I like the chorus and bridge, but the verses need some work. Melodically, in particular. I'll have to work on it a bit more.

I just think it's so cool that a tiny little device can capture the sound, and then plug into my computer so I can transfer it to a CD, which I can then play in my car—or anywhere else. Technology rocks!

I swear, it's like sometimes they go out of their way to F' up a good thing...

Google just implemented a SEND LIMIT on Gmail.  Did they send out any kind of information about this in advance?  No.  They just suddenly refused to let me send an e-mail.  I clicked the little "info" tab and learned that you can only send to mailing lists under a certain amount within a 24-hour period, and also if you have a lot of bounce backs they'll think you're spamming people, and suspend your mail capabilities for 24 hours. 

WHAT?????

Okay, neither of the mailing lists I deal with are all that big.  Mine is under 500 (which is their limit I believe) and the coffeehouse is maybe half that.  I just sent out one mailing to each.  Of the 500 addresses on my list, about 40 bounced back.  Yeah, I haven't bothered taking the time to weed out the old e-mail addresses yet.  I think 22 bounced back from the coffeehouse.  Not that big a deal.

So then I go to just send one more e-mail and it blocks me!  Oh yeah--that's convenient.  Once again, let's micromanage the universe and make sure that the people who cause the occasional problem ruin it for the rest of us.  This is why you can't buy old formula Dayquil without signing your life away--because you MIGHT be someone who is going to boil it down into crystal meth.  Assuming boiling is the way you do it.  I just want to unstuff my nose and stop coughing and get through the day when I'm sick. 

Ya know, if you know what you're doing, shoelaces can kill someone.  Maybe they should be under lock and key with the guns and knives...

This kind of stuff makes me CRAZY!

Don't make me switch to Yahoo, Google.  Don't do it.  I don't want to, but I will if you start acting stupid.  This is a pretty big sign in the "stupid" direction... Save yourself or I will stop thinking you are cool, and believe me--you do NOT want that.

... is at davidsonkatz.blogspot.com. 

Check it out!  :)

Well... roughly! So you can see how we'd want to sell as many t-shirts as possible to cover the trek to Baltimore and back.





Isn't it fabulous?!

How can you buy one, you ask? Easy! Just click the button below and you will be magically taken to a Paypal page set up by Rebecca, just for this purpose. Complete the form to give us your $15.00 (plus $1.00 for shipping) and we will send you your t-shirt! OR show up at any of our gigs and buy one in person! They're a high-quality, medium-weight, 50/50 blend, white t-shirt with our colorful (and patriotic!) tour logo emblazoned on the front. A great way to show the world who you love... uh... that would be us. ;-)






Shows you can buy shirts at in person:

May Local Shows

Saturday, 5/24, 3-5:30 PM
Café Ziba, Acton, MA (FREE)
340 Great Road, Acton, MA 01720
Great coffee and to-die-for chocolate muffins!

Saturday, 5/31, 8:00 PM
Giant Ant House Concerts, Somerville, MA (Cover: $10.00)
Contact marshall@giantantconcerts.com to make a reservation and for directions.

June Tour Shows

Saturday, 6/7, 8:00 PM
The Cookie Cottage, Trenton, NJ (Cover: TBA)
3697 Nottingham Way No. A, Trenton, New Jersey 08690
Mmmm... COOKIES!

Monday, 6/9, 8:00 PM
WGMU Radio, Fairfax, VA (Listen Online!)
Interview w/ John Campbell

Tuesday, 6/10, 8:30 PM
Baltimore Chop, Baltimore, MD (FREE)
625 Washington Blvd., Baltimore, Maryland 21230
We found out the name has to do with BASEBALL, not karate, or any kind of meat butchering process!

Wednesday, 6/11, 8:00 PM (pending)
Kramerbooks & Afterwords Café, Washington, DC
1517 Connecticut Ave NW , Washington D.C. 20036
Late breaking addition!

Thursday, 6/12, 7:30 PM
Ebenezers Coffeehouse, Washington, DC (Cover: $5.00)
201 F Street NE, Washington, Washington DC 20002
My first trip to DC! Woot!

Friday, 6/13, 8:00 PM
Read Street Books, Baltimore, MD (Cover: TBA)
229 W. Read Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21201
If you don't find us entertaining, you can always catch up on your reading... A Women's KISS Venue.

Sunday, 6/15, 6:00 PM
Café Atlantique, Milford, CT (FREE)
33 River St, Milford, Connecticut 06460
One last stop on the drive home... during the Pirate Festival! Arg, Scallywag!

Good morning, Kim Davidson Fans!

As I sit here the birds are chirping loudly, and since I know that getting to sleep is going to be even MORE of a challenge than it already would have been, I figured I'd take a few minutes and blog at ya's.  It's been a while since I've written here, I know. I've been VERY BUSY waxing miserable on my evil twin page, where I rant and rave about my non-mutually-decided single status, and other stuff--well--no, that's pretty much it, actually.

Since I was in the studio tonight, I figured I'd share some tidbits on that with you all, because that's just the kind of gal I am. 

We've been working on vocals for the past couple sessions, which is always interesting and fun.  The human instrument is completely unpredictable, you can imagine, so sometimes the best intentions get you absolutely nowhere, and sometimes the song you think you just can't manage comes out perfectly in the moment you least expect it to happen.

One of the things I particularly love about these sessions is that the versions of the songs that exist in the studio are not the same as the old "working" versions of the songs that I have on the CD that lives in my car.  I put that CD together over a year ago, when all we had was mostly basic tracks (drums, bass, lead guitar, and vocals), just so I could get an idea of the order I wanted the tracks in and how the overall album would flow.  The occasional track would have a little more embellishment--like the four tracks we did for my TAXI Road Rally demo, and a few others that had random fiddle or cello or something--but by and large, they were just basic.  Over the course of time a variety of additional instrumentation has been added to each track, but I've only heard them sporadically, a song at a time while each instrument was being recorded, and then NOW while we're pulling everything back up to lay down vocals. 

Tonight we pulled up a song called "Your Memory" that we haven't worked on in quite a while.  Apparently the last time we added anything to it was when we had Bob Metzger in to record some pedal steel parts.  Now varying instrumentalists will ask for varying sound mixes as they are playing, so they get the best pitch references, etc., and in retrospect it seems that Bob wanted to hear more of the guitars and stuff, and less of the drums.  So when I got into the iso-room tonight to record a pass, Tom cued the tune and it was like this unexpected acoustic-bluegrass kind of thing--completely different from what I've been listening to in the car all this time.  It was awesome!  I love that type of surprise--it breathes all kinds of new life into the song.  Where before was only a skeleton crew of sound, there now exists fiddle and banjo and pedal steel, and acoustic guitar--so cool.

So we did a couple passes on that one, and then decided that I needed to take a slightly different vocal approach to match the new arrangement.  I took a CD of the track (with no vocals) home to practice to. 

We moved on and did a new vocal on "Sky Full of Shoes" which Tom Eaton (studio owner and producer/engineer of the album) really liked, but I'm not quite sold on yet... sometimes I need to let things sit for a while and listen with fresher (less critical) ears later.

We did finally manage to nail down "Belong Here," which had been giving me trouble in prior sessions.  That was a big relief.  We're really getting close now.  I think there are five more songs to do vocals for.  Then we can do background vocals--and maybe have a few more guest singers.  (Yay!)  Then it's on to mixing, mastering, and then we are off to the races! 

So that's the update for the moment.  I hope at some point to do a little retrospective (for my fan club peeps) on the journey of a song from concept to completion.  It's quite a process and the metamorphosis from beginning to end is stunning. 

Until then... keep those cards, letter, pre-orders, and loose change coming! :)

~ Kim