……………………………….. captured with the iphone / instagram .

dear friends,

it’s my favorite time of year, marked by goldeny hues of gold and leaves stuck to my shoe and a thankful heart . it’s also the time of year i first shared the album plum coulee with the world, with you .

she’s a record born in winter, best felt in this season of barren branches, foggy mornings and snowdrifts,   the warmth of fire and the comfort of your favorite sweater .

this week of thanksgiving, you’ll find a free download of plum coulee here .  i hope you’ll share her with everyone you know, your friends and lovers and neighbors .   sort of like baking them a pie, only without all the flour and dishes to clean up after .

(to learn more about plum coulee / read my field journal / see photographs of her making visit her home here ) .

* photo snapped by kelli trontel .

it’s summer!   and what better way to celebrate long days of sunshine and the glow of summer evenings than some new music for you .    i have to preface this little tune by saying :   it’s still in the works . but meanwhile, while i continue to revisit this one, i hope you enjoy .

click  here to listen &  get a free download .

i’m in norway at the moment for some time away .
for exploring …
and equally as much,  reveling in stillness and wonder .
all of which is much needed .

i hope you’re finding the same .

i’ve been reading an awful lot of wendell berry lately . i’m a little obsessed, i must admit . and his book of poetry i’m enjoying so much these days called leavings seems to be aptly suited for all that’s unfolding .

as of the beginning of march i’ll be moving to kansas city .

there is an inherent simplicity in my decision that is beautiful … and then there’s also such a complexity to it that i feel like i could write a book .  maybe i will,  eventually .

portland has been a remarkable season for me - a lesson in and of itself i’m realizing :  that life, as a whole, is composed of seasons .

i’m excited to experience what this next season holds … namely, my desire to write the next record .
these coming months are a time and place set aside for growth, and especially for creating .

for those of you in portland, i cannot thank you enough for your support, for coming to the shows and loving these songs .  my last show here is this coming thursday, february 10,  at the woods, and i hope to see you there for a bit of a farewell on my part .

and for those of you in midwesterly places,  i’m looking forward to seeing more of the landscape where you are, to meeting and knowing you .

* { accompanying polaroids taken by my dear friend susan yee } .

the new album’s finally arrived!    simply click the artwork below to visit to the store  .     or click here to visit the home of  / learn more about the plum coulee collection …

photography by sarah & chris rhoads .

art direction by jesse amborn .

tomorrow!  oh tomorrow .   plum coulee will be here .

in the last few weeks i’ve received some notes from you asking about the album, so i’ve decided to post a few little answers :

where can i purchase plum coulee?
gosh,  thank you for asking!  she will be available exclusively through my bandcamp store as of tomorrow, the 30th . and  available by the end of january through all other avenues :  iTunes, amazon, etc .

can i get a tangible CD?
at the moment, plum coulee is only available in digital format .   we are giving much thought to creating tangible artwork and a cd pressing,  possibly in the new year .   we’ve also created quite a lovely place to visit & experience more of the songs, artifacts  & aesthetic right here .

i’d like to give plum coulee as a christmas gift .
what a kind thought .      just for that very purpose we’ve created download codes for the album, which you can purchase in the store .  you’ll receive an email with the code and voila!  you can print it out,  handwrite it in a card,  or carve it in the snow, to give to a friend .

is this a record i can dance to?
ummmm …  possibly .  if you like to sway .    but she’s more well suited for laying under the stars … or reminiscing .  going for a drive …  or keeping warm on a chilly night by the fire . she’s a patient record,  and i hope you will enjoy the pauses .

thank you for listening . for seeing, and for waiting . i hope you enjoy,  come tomorrow .

helena, montana .  photo by andrew shepherd .

digging through piles of notebooks and journal entries this morning,  it amazes me how far back the traces of plum coulee are found .

borrowing an excerpt from a letter i wrote to my dear friend dan miles  :

_____________________________            may,  2008  .     ___________________________________

dan,

i’ve been inspired to no end the last few weeks by this fantastic book called wheels across montana’s prairie ..

first hand accounts of the pioneers & families of eastern montana .  it’s a rare compilation..   only a few books
in print, telling these incredible stories … heartbreakingly beautiful .

and it’s now becoming the pull for my next record . this line specifically :

‘  plum coulee was where we picked wild sweet peas and searched through the old dumping grounds for
interesting things  ‘ .

_________________________________________________________________________________

sometimes it’s the smallest thing that catches our attention,  and holds it , for long periods of time …
for entire seasons, even .

that one simple, delicate line about plum coulee, a valley in eastern montana,  struck a deep chord in me .

…  where we picked wild sweet peas and searched through the old dumping grounds for
interesting things .

the stories i read from those early days in montana,  the findings of beauty midst the wrestling, felt so parallel to my own
wrestlings and findings …   and ultimately, gave me a sense of richness and solace in writing my own story .

the collection of songs began to take shape,  including tales indicative of the place and time of early eastern montana .   but also a telling my own histories that i had yet to share  .   of my divorce,   finding my way through depression,  of family secrets and  love lost .   and especially the beauty to be found in brokenness .

and so,   each of these songs are a story of their own,  gathered and chosen for the whole of the plum coulee collection .

one  in which i hope, with all of me,  you too will find richness and solace  .

helena, montana .    photo by andrew shepherd .

hello, november .  you sure look a bit gloomy this morning .

let’s lighten the load with some free music .

click here for a free download of mile marker,   one of the little stories hailing from  plum coulee .

hope you enjoy .

helena, montana  .         photo by andrew shepherd .