YES WE CAN

MAUDE

This is my best friend, Maude: aka pig dog, pig, piglet, hog, hoggie, black bitch

Obama 08

Tomorrow's the big day!!!

SIPPIE

Sippie Wallace was a classic blues singer of the '20s. She was a major influence on Bonnie Raitt, who is a major influence on me. Sippie was the one who wrote "women be wise" (see 2 posts below) as well as many other hit songs that were made even more famous by Bonnie Raitt.

This is her song, Mighty Tight Woman-- its phenomenal:


"I've come to you sweet man
falling on my knees
I've come to you pretty papa
falling on my knees
To ask, if you aint got nobody
kind darlin, take me please"

october

we had a great swell the last week of october. here are some photos taken by vanessa burke.

here are some of me:







Jeff Pace:








and Shawnie:




wooo hoo for waves!!!

jealously and women

women.

its like we are all out to get each other.

you could get any female to say something terrible about her best friend. i dont know what it is about us, the fairer sex. women are certainly the more intelligent of the sexes, so what's the problem? one of my new songs talks about my concern with women, and their ability to go after whatever they want -- and get it -- no matter the factors. this new song, currently titled "insecurities" due to the lack of a better name, is about my struggle with women, trust, insecurities, acknowledging things within myself that i need to work on and explaining to my partner that past relationships are affecting my trust in this relationship. you can hear it on my myspace page: www.myspace.com/cailincallahan

Insecurities:

i should know better than to question you
its just that ive been so hurt before
and im not done with loving you or being yours
please be tolerant of these outrageous outbreaks
it's just my silly insecurities that i cant seem to shake

this jealously controls me
so let me begin by saying sorry
its not you that i dont trust
its my heart thats turn to rust
and all these loose women
with their long legs and fancy things
they dont care that you're mine
they dont care you're what makes my heart sing.

you have patiently endured my wrongs and my woes
your love should not be in question cause it constantly shows
its just that what a woman wants, a woman gets
they're sneaky and stealthy, on their study hunt for you

this jealously controls me
so let me begin by saying sorry
its not you that i dont trust
its my heart thats turn to rust
and all these loose women
with their long legs and fancy things
they dont care that you're mine
they dont care you're what makes my heart sing.

i know that in the end, it will be you who breaks me
you said you were fine with crazy
but i know that's the reason that you will leave me
i just cant let go yet
im not finished yet
so please just let me enjoy this bit of happiness
please just let me enjoy this happiness

this jealously controls me
so let me begin by saying sorry
its not you that i dont trust
its my heart thats turn to rust
and all these loose women
with their long legs and fancy things
they dont care that you're mine
they dont care you're what makes my heart sing.

written by cailin callahan, 2008

another song about women, an old blues song performed by my favorite: Bonnie Raitt

lakeside II

but the night was redeemed by the badass jukebox selections (christian), the oldschool galaga game (sharon) and the oldtime black and white photo machine -- you know, like the ones on the boardwalk!! we made a total of 32 dollars in the love bucket. we then split that three ways. i spent all of my money on oldtime photos. woo hoo. christian spent his on the jukebox. and sven -- i dont know what he did with his. it was money well spent.

lakeside lounge, nyc, november 2008

sven, christian and i played at the lakeside lounge in nyc last night.
i rented a 15 passenger van and loaded up the band and our friends.


i want to make something clear.
yes, the band plays under CAILIN CALLAHAN, but it takes the THREE of us to make music. me alone, its good.
christian solo, its good.
sven, yeah its good.
but the three of us together can do something and make something so beautiful that sometimes it makes my head spin. christian always finds the perfect hook to play behind a song that it mesmerizes the listener. sven always has the perfect advice for the composition of a song, and how certain dramatic pauses, or clicks and taps can completely transform a song. sven and christian are what complete me and my songs.

ive been doing a lot of thinking lately about music. what it means to me, what i want from it, and where it fits into my life. ive never had the desire to be a famous musician -- i dont like playing at large venues anyways. ive never had the false idea that being a musician was going to make me rich -- i dont need a ton of money. but i've always expected music to fill this void that i feel inside of me most days. and it does. im so thankful for that. music means, to me, clarity -- and peace of mind. what i want as a musician is to play for people who want to LISTEN. really listen. and i want music to fit effortlessly into my life and be satisfying.

SO...with this said, i want to apologize to anyone who was at the lakeside show last night. i was pretty down on the music...apologizing during the show about being sick, about the poor sound quality (the patch chord they gave me for the guitar was rotted and kept popping), and for just playing through the night with a sourpuss attitude and frown. i realize now that the audience feeds off of your own energy-- so if you are pissed about factors that you cannot control (sound quality, being sick, etc), that i need to just get over it -- the show must go on. the audience can only be as stoked about the music as you are. that i can do. i feel that i need to explain though the other reason that i was upset last night: we packed the room. Friends, as well as some new fans, took time out of their life and came from all over -- south jersey, ramsey, all ends of nyc -- to come out and support ME and the boys, to support the music. everyone spent money on transportation, booze and food -- money that most of us dont have in abundance. i feel like we let you down. the boys and i have been practicing lately, and we sound better than we've ever sounded!! making music that surprises all three of us!! and last night we were off -- because of booze or other distractions. we were given 50 minutes to fucking rock for you, to justify the time and money that you gave to us...and i dont think that we did you justice. i didnt show you what music means to me, and the power that my music can possess. for this, im sorry.

bringing this full circle -- this band is NOT just cailin callahan. and i had to explain that to sven today. if sven is off, or christian is off, or im off -- we're ALL off. SO. we are going to be working together and working through some things so that NEXT TIME we can REALLY show what music means to us -- which is everything.

music and emotions

being sensitive is a gift and a curse.

if it was not for music, i would explode -- overwhelmed with emotion.

ODD-JoBBer

I've decided that money is hard to come by.
And hard to keep.

I like my life.
I love traveling and having free time to go to the gym all day or hang out with Maude (my boyfriends dog).
Yes, I work my ASS off in the summer, which is why I don't feel the desire to work in the winter - AT ALL.

I'm going to Seattle for 10 days in November.
And I just bought a one-way ticket to Costa Rica (I leave December 19th).
I will most likely be returning on Feb. 27th, unless
A) I miss Shawn and decide to come home early, or
B) Shawn breaks up with me and I decide to stay down there forever and raise little brown babies

You are wondering why I am emailing you all this babble? Because my money depends on you - to spread the word.

I'm an the official odd-jobber (I'm sure that you can take this in the way it's intended -- most men find a way to pervert it though).

I will.....

-Watch your dog (or cat) **I'm pushing this one! I love dogs!
-Wash your dog
-Walk your dog
-Help your grandma with her groceries
-Clean houses
-Make you dinner
-Drive you to doctors appointments
-Give you guitar lessons
-Have a show at your music venue
-Write an article for your magazine
-Type up all your random notes
-Make you custom Christmas Cards
-Freelance Graphic Design (I DO have an education, BA in Graphic Design)
-Cater a party for you (ask anyone, im a kickass chef)
WHATEVER. Spread the word. Cailin needs money, and she's willing to odd-job for it.

Now you're wondering why I don't just get a job...


Well I'm not willing to give up my fabulous travel-filled, glorious, comfortable life to work for some JOE SHMOE at a 9-5 job making crap money. Boo.

And HEY, while your at it, tell all those cheapos out there that haven't purchased my cd yet to SUPPORT THE ARTS. It's only TEN DOLLARS -- that's a shortie hoagie and a soda at WAWA for cryin' out loud.

the BLOG is BACK

BAH.

I was gone for a minute, but now I'm back.
Summer is a crazy time.
I was in love, surfing a ton, making music, working around the clock and spending minimal time online.

Fast forward to fall.
I surfed a ton, have been eating great food and had some GREAT gigs. Epic gigs.
I got a new board, Monsieur Poupon. He is the 3rd man in my life -- the first being my father, the second being Shawn. He is 6'8" and beautiful. Rounded tail, egg-shaped and the most gorgeous shade of yellow.
Speaking of obsessions, I joined the 18th street Ocean City Community Center and it is FABULOUS.
I've been working it out, swimming it out, and sweating it out (in their fab sauna), all for only $49 a month.
My yoga teacher Hope is fantastic and funny and loud, like me.
I go to atleast one class a day, that is in between taking Maude for walks, taking Maude to the beach, or hanging out with Maude in the house.
Maude is my boyfriends dog. She is part lab, part boxer, part pit-bull. The Glorious Black Bitch with an Underbite. Very cute. Love of my life. I will post a picture this week.

In EPIC GIG news, I played at the Hinge in philadelphia earlier this month. I thought that this was going to be a random show, and it most certainly was...but in a good way. Downstairs they serve up some DELICIOUS food. I'm talking mouth-watering, lip-licking good. My friend Sharon Stabley had rack of lamb with mashed sweet potatoes and roasted figs stuffed with bleu cheese. I had homemade wheat fettucini with plum tomatoes. It's a BYOB place (thank god, saving my friends buku bucks). Upstairs is the venue. It's draped in deep purples and maroons, silks and satins and everything beautiful and luxurious. It is small and intimate and candle-lit with a small space in the front of the room for the band. The room fits 35 people, and we packed in 30. I played with Christian Mahr, my very talented bearded guitarist who sleeps all day and drinks coffee all night while doing crossword puzzles the few hours he is awake and Sven Peltonen my very outgoing, energetic, off-in-a-charming-sort-of-way percussionist. Through out the 2 hour performance you could have heard a pin drop. Two songs moved the audience to cry, one even made Christian and I cry. In my opinion it was the highlight of my career as a musician. It was a show that every musician strives to have. A captive audience, a perfect venue, and a flow amoungst the people you are sharing the stage with. FEELING the music. *The night was documented by the oh-so-fabulous-photographer, Sharon Stabley. Photos will follow I promise.


ANYWAYS, That's enough rambling for now. More later, don't worry. You won't lose me again!

talent

Talent: These are musicians who really inspire me. These songs or videos specifically. Just wanted to share with you all.



Gilian Welch and David Rawlings. A great duo. Great song.



Another duo. Rodrigo y Gabriela. When you listen to their cd it sounds like there are 4 people playing...with percussion.



Fiona Apple. Need I say more?



Beirut. The genius behind it: Zach Condon. The most talented 21 year old on the planet. He's been making amazing music since birth. So fantastic. So unique. This is a live street performance. He is influenced by gypsies. Also, check out his video for "Elephant Gun". It's spectacular.



Feist: she sings with her whole body and soul. Beautiful.

53 Degrees

...i mean really, it's July! What the hell is going on? I wore booties the other day.

A rainy day of surf. photo: Rob Kulisek

I was sitting at work today thinking about GREAT days.

You know those days that happen every once in a while.

They aren't planned, they just...appear?

This was one of those days.

I went to the beach by myself.

Paddled out and stumbled upon some great people, surfed great waves.

Thought I was done, then ran into MORE good people.

Which led to more surfing, more good waves, and lots of laughing.

Refuel with Sharonie (she makes a mean Gin&Tonic, and a delicious grilled cheese)!

A few of us headed back to the beach for an evening sunset session.

We weren't in the water for more than 2 minutes and then the sky poured down on us.

We sought shelter on the beach, in the sand.

Laughing and chatting.

When the skies cleared everyone had left, except for our group.

We surfed perfect, clean waves until the sun went down.

I love great days. The memories of them are what keep me going on...the not-so-great days.

Hope everybody is having a good one.

the dungeon, the real world

im in the dungeon. this is what people refer to as the "real world".

a room without windows.

four walls, a small door, two desks, two computers, lots of paper, and a light...

...without a lampshade.

we have a cat though, which adds some joy to my day.

im doing design that doesn't challenge me.

working at a pace that encourages me to wander the web, dillydally and daydream.

in all the spare time i have for exploration, i have discovered:

-pandora: the greatest thing ever. ive expanded my music collection ten-fold based on their playlists and recommendations

-hotwire vs. cheaptickets : it really doesn't matter. if airfare to a certain destination is cheap, it's going to be cheap on ALL the airfare sites. right now...flying is a ripoff.

-heritagesurf.com : they NEVER have the right water temperature. the water is not 63 degrees heritage! its 53. VERY cold.

- surf cams : they take forever to load, and you just cannot tell what the waves are like by looking at them. waste of time.

-mermaids: there arent ANY quality mermaid illustrations on the web. ive searched high and low.

Finally discovery...sitting a desk is not for me. Corporate world, no thank you. I believe that I will go back to my couch-hopping, vagabond days of waitressing and playing music. Because I work to live damnit! I certainly don't live to work.

SO...I'm saving my pennies. Getting ready for another "Jersey Shore" year. I'm gonna work my ass off, making lots of money in the summer and then go to Costa Rica and play music in the winter. It's an odd existence that we live down here, but I think that I like it. And until I find another way of life that I like better, I guess that this one will have to do.

Looking forward to surfing with good company in good swell this fall...sans the shoobies.

PS: I wrote this blog while at work. Just one more thing that I do at work...besides work.....