Time Machine: Freshman Year of College

Scene of the class: Keller Hall This article is not one I remember reading back then, because I just showed up to class one day and didn't know what to expect. This was when I was a freshman in college and the class Susan performed in was my Music Appreciation 139 class. Thanks for my awesome current job, Professor Kostur, wherever you are... Dixie Chicks writer finds her own space - Albuquerque Journal November 02, 2001 Byline: Kevin Hopper FOR THE JOURNAL "I'm Susan the-girl-who-wrote-'Wide-Open-Spaces' Gibson now. Until I do something else." So says Susan Gibson talking about her place in the country/folk music industry and what she has to overcome now that she is on her own. The "Wide Open Spaces" she refers to is the smash hit Gibson wrote for the Dixie Chicks' 1998 debut album of the same name. The album went on to sell 11 million copies and gather many top awards, including a Grammy for Country Album Of The Year. While her song propelled the Dixie Chicks toward country greatness and became a bona fide commercial success, the Amarillo native's own music, which until recently has largely been made with her band the Groobees, tends to stick a little closer to the ground. "I feel really good about 'Wide Open Spaces' and its commercialness," Gibson said in a recent telephone interview. "And I feel good about the Dixie Chicks doing it, but the fact that that seems to be what you have to emulate in order to find a place (in the music industry), I don't like that." The Groobees split up in May, and rather than take an extended and much-deserved hiatus, Gibson has hit the road and will perform a number of gigs in Albuquerque, starting tonight with a performance at Kellys Brewing. She plays Saturday at Tractor Brewing Company in Las Lunas and again in Albuquerque Sunday at Johnny's Restaurant. In addition to that, Gibson is taking time to drop by music appreciation class at the University of New Mexico this morning. "I'm still kind of in the midst of extricating from the Groobees, but I felt compelled, even if it was for my own good, to (continue performing)," Gibson said. "It would have been easy to find a lot of reasons to take a break. It was important for me to not quit just because the Groobees did." Gibson is due in the studio in early March and shows a strong interest in breaking away from both the Groobees and her status of "the girl who wrote 'Wide Open Spaces.' '' The 29-year-old Gibson said she respects folk-legend-in-the-making Ani DiFranco and ideally would like to pattern her career after DiFranco's. Gibson's resolve to form a new identity will probably come to her much easier than most other artists. She's already got a country hit and a stable of Groobee songs that display her songwriting abilities. Unfortunately, she has to deal with an industry that molds and shapes artists as it sees fit. Gibson again alluded to DiFranco and her ability to be seemingly in total control of her own destiny. "The number one thing that Ani DiFranco does is believe what she says and stands by her guns," Gibson stated emphatically. "I mean, that's No. 1. That's human."

Panhandle Hauntings

Happy Belated Thanksgiving! I like it because I think it's one of the least commercialized holidays, in that you can only up-sell someone so much on a cornucopia. I had a great time in Amarillo, hanging out at the Nat Ballroom for a live taping that will be part of the new Root 66 series...it is a TV show brainstormed by a collective of very talented Albuquerque filmmakers, musicians, and such. They asked Susan to film an episode, and no better place than in her hometown. When we rolled into the venue I knew my friend Matt Jones, a great singer-songwriter also from the ABQ area code, would be there. What I didn't know is that my buddy Josh was riding along with Matt. Josh and I used to be intern together at PBS in Albuquerque...and NEITHER of us knew that our former boss at KNME, Tony, was part of the crew that day. So it was a very impromptu and fun reunion. Tony even interviewed Susan, weird collision of worlds. Former boss interviews current boss. The show was awesome, all of the artists including Matt and Susan and Jenn Grinels and Rodney Branigan did great. Afterwards, they wanted to film some intro footage in the boiler room in the basement of the ballroom...which is a terribly old building (I mean, it has a BOILER ROOM for crying out loud), and this basement was the spookiest place I have ever been in. Apparently there are ghosts in this place as it used to be a gambling hall and a swimming pool at various times in its life, among other things. The floor was dirt and had rusted metal things laying around, there were cobwebs all over and nails poking through the ceiling from the floorboards above us. You would never catch me down there alone. SSSSHHHHH!!!! Luckily, we were there with about 10 people and a floodlight for the camera, so I felt pretty safe from the ghosties. Susan filmed a hysterical intro reminiscent of Scooby Doo or the like. Then we hightailed it upstairs again, to not disturb the spirits. You never know what you'll run into with this crazy job.

Two Hometowns

So Susan's got a song called "Two Hometowns" which, taken out of context, applies to our trip this past weekend. The first stop was Amarillo, her old stomping grounds, where she played at the Golden Light and I witnessed something I thought I'd never see: a partial Groobees reunion. I first found Susan through the Groobees records because that's all that was available my freshman year of college. She hadn't quite released the solo record yet, I don't think. So I had every song memorized, and was a big fan of the band as a unit. Gary Thomason, the guitarist in the band, lives in Amarillo so he played with Susan at the Golden Light this weekend. He is amazing. He can play anything and he hops around like a 7-year-old on Pop Rocks and Dr. Pepper. It's awesome to see. They were joined for a tune by Todd Hall, the Groobees drummer, hence the "reunion," hence my fangirl glee. If you can get yourself a used copy of any Groobees CD, do so. They sound great. Then it was off to my hometown of Albuquerque for the yearly house concert we deem "The JP Project," whereupon my friends from all walks of life show up and we have a reunion of our own. A lot of them know Susan by now, so as the special guest there was some familiarity but also a lot of hilarity because we do things like talk in British accents and I collect ceramic pigs and she puts change in them for my 401k plan. It was another great show and it's nice all those folks have stuck with me since moving to Texas, which...well, I'll say it...most New Mexicans hate Texas, haha. They tolerate the transplants who come back for green chile, though. We kidnapped our friends Amy and Kate and took them along to show them the views and make them haul our gear. They are impressively accommodating! Kate also plays a mean guitar, so we made her play for her bottled water. You never know what will happen or what hitchhikers you'll pick up. And now my tasks involve a lot of booking for next year and paperwork and web site work and yadda yadda. I will probably take a break on my birthday and sleep. Oh yeah, we're working on EP 2 this week, too! More on that, too....

NYC Tomorrow

Land of Mañana = chile. It REALLY does not seem like it is time for us to go to New York City already. This tour was in the wee planning stages this summer and all of the sudden here we are, autumn on the east coast. I'm pretty excited. I'm pretty freaked out at our train schedule on Friday to get from NYC to Phoenixville, PA outside Philadelphia: - Leave West 125th Street Station: Take the A train from 125 Street station heading Downtown / to Far Rockaway - Get off at 34 Street - Penn Station - Take the NJ Transit - Northeast Corridor Line from New York - Penn Station heading to Trenton - Get off at TRENTON - Take the R7 Line from Trenton station heading to Chestnut Hill East - Get off at 30th Street – PHILADELPHIA - From 30th Street Station Take Bus 125 to Valley Forge - - Get off at KING OF PRUSSIA PLAZA – Take Bus 139 to Philadelphia Premium Outlet/Limerick - Arrive at MAIN ST BRIDGE ST, PHOENIXVILLE stop That is just FRIDAY. I think the other days have a lot less hopping around. But really. I grew up in New Mexico, where the few buses that did run were late all the time. Land of Mañana is what we called it. So this is slightly new. Between now and then we need to figure out how Susan and I are going to pack all our clothes into one bag. Egads. And then get to the airport. And then take off. And then land in New. York. City. Sweeeet!

August Recap...

Here we are. Here I am, here you are anyway. I'm in Albuquerque...not being a merch girl in Colorado. I quit the tour in a fit of frustration over a lost bag of Skittles in the van last Thursday. Just kidding. While I love touring with Susan, I have another job in Austin that must be attended to at the music school. It's good for me to have both, and I am fortunate enough to have both jobs let me be flexible with where I am at any given moment. I fly back to Austin tomorrow and Susan stays on the road for another 2 weeks. The first two weeks went fairly smoothly besides the gaping wounds on my feet (mostly healing well, one is still gaping and hurts right now...but it was the worst one so it's taking longer heal. Skin is pretty awesome, growing back over itself and stuff). We played at the Rhythms on the Rio Festival in South Fork, CO last weekend. We drove all night from Fort Collins to get there (translation: Susan drove all night while we slept and I took the last half hour drive in the morning so she could go to bed and sleep a bit before the festival). We stopped at a rest stop somewhere in CO at 3:30 AM and let me just say this...if you are a creepy dude, or any dude at all, or any creep at all...never ask 3 girls in a van at a rest area to jump start your truck at 3:30 AM. Ask a guy. Or call the cops. Or just wait for daylight. We left in a hurry and I'm sure creepy guy got a jump start...just not from us. Shudder. It was the first annual and went really well for a giant production like that in its first year. The scenery was awesome, the people were great. Susan played a great set and won a lot of new fans. I played what is called a "tweener" set between bands while Great American Taxi set up their gear. It's weird to play solo at a big festival. I felt like an ant on the big stage, but it was fun nonetheless. Even ants have fun. Then it was off to Taos, NM for two nights at the Old Blinking Light. The 2nd night we were lucky enough to be outside, and the view was gorgeous. Sunsets rock here. I have thought it for a while but really, mark my words, I am retiring in Taos in an adobe house. I can't wait. I want to retire when I'm 32. A few days in Albuquerque are good for meeting up with people I haven't talked to face-to-face in a while. I get to be a bridesmaid in my friend Jamie's wedding, so I tried on the dress today. I hope I don't trip in its fanciness - it will be a fun wedding! Currently listening to the new Imogen Heap album...she's brilliant as usual. My wound will continue to gape for a while. In exactly a month I'll be flying to New York City. Things swim in my head.

I Heart Taos

It is soooo nice to be back in New Mexico and get to be here a couple of days. We're staying at a resort near the venue (sometimes...ok many times...we luck out with where we get to stay) and the smells and sights of the sage and skies and mountains are good for whatever ails. This morning Susan and I headed over to KTAO and did an interview about the show tonight, and Susan played a second time on the afternoon show. The KTAO studio is gorgeous and perhaps where I want my retirement home to be. I don't know if they'd sell me the whole station so I could live in it, and I could only probably pay them $45 for it, but I can ask. Hank the dog helped Susan out with her interview...too bad he didn't hop in the van with us. Time to go set up at the Old Blinking Light! They have awesome green chile stew. Yesssss.

Things to Do in the Van

A hint of the salsa song...and various hijinx...

Hometown Tour

What an intensely fun weekend that is now over and it's already Wednesday. How did that happen? We started off last Thursday in Lubbock with a show at La Diosa, a fancy wine bar downtown. I had only ever driven through Lubbock previously, one trip involving college bud Beth and I taking way too long to get through town and we're not sure why, and another involving college bud Jamie and I taking way too long to get through town and we're not sure why. We're tried straight through and we've tried the loops, which makes me believe that Lubbock has what we have termed "The Lubbock Time Warp." Thankfully we stopped there and weren't just passing through. The next day it was off to Albuquerque for my hometown show at The Source. I think the door people laughed because everyone that came through the gate was someone I had to scream at and hug. I also was so busy talking that I TOOK NO PHOTOS. Dangit. We did score some salsa from the lovely folks at El Pinto (who Twitter, too)...Jim was cool enough to come to the show and bring us a 6-pack. We were the hit of every place we went to after that because we always came bearing salsa. Thanks, Jim! Since we knew El Pinto would be representing that night, Susan and I set up the Mac between the front seats, I pulled out my guitar and crunched into the passenger seat, and we wrote a very clever El Pinto jingle (if I do say so myself). The Albuquerqueans seemed to dig it a lot, so we're going to get a solid recording...because stuff like that needs to be shared, haha. What else are you going to do on a 6 hour drive except write songs in the passenger seat? Then it was off to Susan's hometown of Amarillo for a gig at her old stomping grounds, OHMS Cafe. It's a fancy wine bar now (it was a more laid back cafe when she was an employee there), and I had some of the best food ever. It's nice to break the convenience store streak for dinner. One neat thing to arise from the whole trip is that Susan is playing banjo onstage more (she is a killer banjo player) and I get to come up and be the back up guitarist for a few tunes each night. When there is a banjo vibe, anyway. (So far both wine bars have required a banjo, just so people don't think they're going to an uppity show). It's been awesome, and I didn't even implode when we played "Wayside" for the first time onstage with no rehearsal beforehand. It helps that I used to wear those Groobees records out in college. Nifty. We've got our June tour almost all wrapped up in terms of logistics, I'm performing at the Ballad Tree at the Kerrville Folk Festival tomorrow, and we leave for Montana/Idaho/Wyoming/Colorado/Northern NM in a couple weeks. I need a nap!

Westward Bound

I found Bueno Chile in a grocery store in Austin last week. It was probably an omen that I have to go to Albuquerque this week. Or something. Whew. As evidenced by my photo posting from the road this past weekend...we were around. Lovely house concerts in Houston and San Antonio, and two stops at Buc-ee's, the second time during which I caved in and bought a t-shirt. This truck stop sells everything from cast iron dutch ovens shaped like Texas to silk flower arrangements to pickled quail eggs (I AM NOT LYING). Susan and I did admire a girly cut tee with the Buc-ee's Beaver bedazzled on it in rhinestones, but I went for a more traditional print. This week we go to Lubbock, Amarillo, and ALBUQUERQUE. This is my first show there since November and my first non-house concert there in...two years. It's nice to play at a venue in your hometown, and AMP Concerts happen to be the people that hosted the very first house concert I ever attended, and the artist playing happened to be one Susan Gibson. Weird, huh? The circles that come back around again never cease to amaze me. My Big Giant Accomplishment of the weekend was getting the Boss set up on Twitter. She's going to be a great Tweeter, I can tell already. ...As long as she doesn't tweet embarrassing things her tour monkey does....huh.... Maybe I made a mistake. :)

Settling In

The cheapest gas I have ever purchased. Yeah, I'm young. Las Cruces, NM... I made it back to Texas just in time to play a gig on Friday night. I started the drive from Albuquerque at 5 AM and didn't stop until I got to Tantra Coffee in San Marcos around 7 PM. The half hour drive up to Austin was probably the worst part just because I did not want to get back in the car, but luckily I played at a place of caffeination. I think I made up a new word. This new year brings about some immediate changes and the promise of more. The Big One is I have moved up from the title of Merch Girl to more of a tour and business assistant in Camp Susan. I'm excited to be able to work with such a great person whose music I believe in unequivocally. But I'm still probably going to keep the Merch Girl title because it's so darn cute (right, Phil?). I just finished the first song of 2009 (although it was started back in '08)...we'll see if it sticks and where. I'm making demos in preparation for the next EP...kind of just swapping song orders around and seeing what might work. Also starting a NEW BLOG project...domain name has been purchased. Now I'm just trying to set it all up. More on that sooner. Here's the progression of the sunrise from about 6 AM - 7 AM in Southern New Mexico on Friday....

Georgia O'Keeffe and Making Records

"I know I cannot paint a flower. I cannot paint the sun on the desert on a bright summer morning, but maybe in terms of paint color I can convey to you my experience of the flower or the experience that makes the flower of significance to me at that particular time." - Georgia O'Keeffe Perhaps my favorite thing to do in Santa Fe is visit the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum. I'm no art critic, and I often don't know what I should be doing or looking at in an art museum...but O'Keeffe's work has always gotten under my skin. Maybe it's because she sought out New Mexico as her artistic home. Maybe it's her ability to paint something I recognize while making me see it for the first time and differently each time after that. Maybe it's just because she's brilliant. The Museum itself is not large at all; you can get through it in 15 minutes if you don't look too closely, or you can take all afternoon. A lot of times there's no glass separating the viewer from O'Keeffe's broad strokes on the canvas. The paint looks fresh. One of the security guards even showed us O'Keeffe's fingerprint hidden in a tiny watercolor of a windmill. He had to shine his flashlight on the glass so we could pick it out; we felt like we were being let in on a secret. While I was looking at the exhibition yesterday, I decided I want to be able to write songs and make records the way O'Keeffe painted. Bold strokes without hesitation. Making life's minutiae important and beautiful. Shedding light on the colors and scenes already surrounding us. Georgia didn't make the mountain she painted multiple times, but she definitely made it her own.

Rules for Christmas in Albuquerque

1. If the weather people say it will snow on a certain day, it won't. 2. If they say the snow that is falling will only be for a little bit, it will snow all day. 3. Any leftovers from Christmas dinner must be garnished with green chile. 4. Ideally post-holiday breakfasts involve some sort of red chile smothered over something. What the something ends up being is inconsequential if it is covered in chile. Flakes! And I don't mean dandruff!

A recap from a while ago.

It's been a busy one, as usual...and I've been remiss on making videos or even filming much. Here's some random bits from October and early November...more coming soon! Promise.

JP Project No. 3

Whew. Dan, Katie, and I are back in our respective places tonight in Austin after a fun and whirlwind trip back to the homeland. Albuquerque, while gorgeous year-round, is especially gorgeous in the fall. Leaves actually change color there, and I got to wear a hoodie a lot. Woot! Our annual house concert that my business partner Josh and I organize was a great time...we can't believe it's the 3rd year we've pulled this off. We're getting streamlined with it and Josh is pretty awesome about organizing a party for 60 people. I was so glad to see everyone and catch up with everyone's lives. It's also neat to catch everyone up on my life in Austin and to introduce them to some of my favorite Texans, too. Dan packs me in. Three people. Six guitars. We all fit! Breathe in and buckle down. Making good time. A little pre-show gathering. Dan and Katie discuss...coffee? Katie was the awesomest Merch Girl ever. Look at that display. So I'm full on mom's rhubarb pie and some green chile as well (not at the same time). Good stuff. If you were there, thanks for coming! If you're in Albuquerque and want to come next year, let me know. Who knows who will show up as the special guest. This is another busy week...Friday brings the Life's A Song Workshop weekend with Terri Hendrix and Lloyd Maines. SO. EXCITED. I happen to have a birthday over the weekend, as well, and I can't think of a better way to spend it than in Port Aransas with a bunch of songwriters. Bring it! After I sleep for 8 hours...

Packingpackingpacking

Mr. Daniel Barrett and Miss Katie Lessley and I are heading to New Mexico tomorrow so we can do a house concert on Friday night and I am so excited but in the meantime I have 8 things to finish and I have not started packing and when I pack I pack a lot of cables and wires and I need to make sure I can charge anything that needs charging when I am in ABQ and so I decided to blog this sentence instead.

Numbers and Koozies

Well it's been a while, not for lack of activity. I have been spending a lot of time in preparation for the annual JP Project No. 3 in Albuquerque -- where I take a special guest back to the Burque, we have a house concert in a cool house, and I get to see everyone I miss and meet some new ones I'll miss by next year. Last year Susan was our special guest, and this year I'm happy to say Dan is making the drive. We've got some surprises for everyone, which means...REHEARSAL. And Jana tries to remember all her parts because her brain is small, and she starts talking about herself in 3rd person. Sigh. It's all fun, though. I have been working on a little film aspect for the night and it involved me crunching some numbers, and this one stuck out...the number of miles I have driven as a Merch Girl (well, I didn't drive most of them, I sat most of them) This number is since July, when I started merching, so it's really only 3 months worth: 6622 No wonder I feel like I need a massage! On a slightly unrelated note, this is what my favorite Fort Worthian, Amy, made me with masking tape and sheer genius one night. I realized I hadn't properly given it blog time. Yep.

If You Miss the Bus

If You Miss the Bus from janapochop on Vimeo.

Before the Big Gig

Opening for Terri Hendrix tonight at Threadgill's!!! Come see us. People Being People from janapochop on Vimeo.

Productive Trip

Back in Austin with my college buds Jamie and Mike. The 12 hour drive was punctuated by convenience store stops and a couple of detours in Lubbock and Abilene. Jamie had the joy of driving through the construction, but she navigated well! While in Albuquerque enjoying the family, business partner Josh and I also managed to squeeze in some quality productivity time. We signed the DBA for our Bourn Records label, so The Early Year will have a home. Keeps things tracked and accounted for easier. Why Bourn Records? The definition of "bourn", in an old timey (ok, archaic) translation, is "a destination or goal." We also liked that when you pronounce it, it sounds like the usual "born." So it covers the beginning and the goal of things and we like that. Cool. I also got my songwriting publishing paperwork in order through ASCAP, so now all my songs are published under Patient Grasshopper Music. Again, another term that Josh and I repeat to each other a lot. The last couple years have been full of meeting full of, "Wow, I wish we could fast forward to..." and the other one saying, "Patience, Grasshopper!" Lately stuff is moving at a good clip so we don't say it as much. I thought it would be a good reminder at all times, though...even songs come at a slow pace. That's cool. So...a record label and some publishing. Not bad for a week in Nuevo Mexico!

Learning from the Master

Postcards to hand out so people know The Early Year is on its way! Greetings from the mountains in New Mexico. I'm holed up outside of Albuquerque for a family reunion and there are good times all around, including games of speed Scrabble, green chile stew, hiking, and blue skies to the moon and back. Excellent! Thank goodness wifi extends to the outskirts of civilization, because we've been going back and forth with the very cool dude who is mastering The Early Year in Berlin, Germany. The wonders of the internet allow us to upload files and he sends them back, and nary an ocean crossed by either of us. Amazing. The past two days between fits of Scrabble and harassing my nieces and nephews, I've been cramming in a bunch of info about the mastering process. Apparently you embed ISRC (International Standard Recording Code) info into the master...which enables royalties to be tracked and tells your computer/iTunes/whatever info about what track is what. Makes sense. Lots of numbers and letters. Off to harass some more family members, haha...

Biology Lesson with my cousin

Cleaning out some files (of the digital kind), I found this tiny little clip I had ignored from my tourage of New Mexico last year. We were at the Very Large Array looking at Very Large Rabbits. This made me laugh out loud...but maybe you have to know my cousin! Transcription: Susan: There's another very large rabbit. Rochelle: That is a big rabbit! Jana: Shoot, it's the jackalope. Rochelle: Oh it is. Jana: Just kidding. Rochelle: Is it? Jana: Jackalopes don't exist. They have elk horns.

Go Take a Hike.

One thing I never took much advantage of as a kid was the proximity of the Sandia Mountains and their foothills to my house. A five minute drive will put you at the base of the foothills, complete with many a trail and cacti to run into. (Ouch). Also complete with many a gorgeous view. I hit the trail, found a rock and sat on it, and made sure all was operating as it should in the city of Albuquerque and beyond. The view stretched past the Rio Grande Valley and out to Mt. Taylor and the volcano cones. The weather was perfect. Yes, I needed a hoodie. And some coffee. I'm a bourgeoisie hiker, ok? How high? VERY. More favorite things: road and blue sky.

Things I Like In New Mexico: Sopaipillas

Kids, maybe I just have not found the right place in Austin, but I don't think a good sopaipilla exists there. Hence, when I come to Albuquerque, I have to have a sopaipilla and honey fix from Los Cuates. This fine New Mexican establishment makes sopaipillas as big as your head. For those not yet initiated, they're basically fried dough, put in oil so hot it causes the dough to puff when cooking (we sometimes call them "sofa pillows" because of their fluffiness). They are delivered to your table with your meal, and the "correct" process for eating them is to poke a little hole in the sopaipilla and drizzle honey throughout. It's not generally a dessert...usually you eat it with your meal. The dough and honey do a good job of sopping up some of the residual heat from your green or red chile. (I have seen horrible crimes against sopaipillas that involved stuffing them with ice cream and covering them with powdered sugar...that's not cool. Simple is best). In fact, I got curious and checked on Wikipedia...here is what it says about why I can't find a good one just anywhere: "Thought to have originated in Albuquerque in the late 18th century, sopaipillas are served in nearly every New Mexican-style restaurant, and have spread into other areas where New Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisine is served. They are less common in restaurants specializing in other genres of Mexican food such as even in neighboring Arizona and Utah, and are practically unknown in Mexico itself." Interesting. Lesson: if you are passing through, stop and have one with your green or red chile. In the meantime, if any Austinites know of a good place for sopaipillas around town, let me know. If it passes the test your next one's on me.

Hello New Mexico!

Dallas airport: Bored of the guy next to me talking about rearranging his office while on his cell phone. I'm in New Mexico for the weekend catching up on some people and some things, as well as enjoying the sub-60 degree weather and the rainclouds swooping in over the valley. The difference between desert rain and Central Texas rain is that when it rains in Albuquerque, it actually breaks the heat...and it gets chilly. In Austin I am still astounded that after a good long rain that it's just as hot as it was before the storm. That's weird. I'll take pictures, I promise.

Et cetera

Yes, I realize my photos have disintegrated into "look what I can do with stock effects!" land. But it's fun. This post, like most of the things I do, was brought to you by Starbucks. Note the new old logo on the cup. I like it. Notes: - Today is my last day at the county job. Thanks, county! Clover power. - My Chile Rant seems to have sparked a lot of hometown love over on Duke City Fix. I'm glad to know I'm not alone. (Warning: for you people not from Nuevo Mexico, there's some "out-of-stater" mocking...but come on, we're not threatening). - At 6 AM Thursday morning I am pretty sure either a bomb went off or a single giant crack of thunder made enough noise to wake me up AND freak me out in one second. I'm hoping I'm not the only one who heard that. (Update: I am not -- my coworker and neighbor did, too. Phew). - I got to see Susan Gibson and Shelley King songswap Wednesday night. That made me happy. - Dan's going on tour for 3 weeks. It makes me proud that his band gets to kick butt, and sad that he won't be in Austin! Thank goodness for internets and in his case, iPhone geekery. When he gets back we hit EP 1 mixing hard and also start woodshedding guitar, voice, writing, and all that good stuff. Excited! - Apparently my "experimentation in college" (that sounds a lot worse than it is) is fine and not all that weird...because a lovely commenter named Miss Tenacity says, "College is not necessarily the time to limit oneself to experiments with chile in typically sweet foods... I'm *ahem* well past college and I STILL put chile in my oatmeal, and I've made a wicked-good batch of green chile ice cream for a dinner party." Whaaaaaat? Can I come over? Can I can I? Awesome. - I am packing to go to Winnsboro! Woohoo! I promise to take decent road trip photos.

A Culinary Break: Let Me Explain Chile with an "E"

Hi. I'm a New Mexican. I can't help it, and I hope that's ok with you. Hailing from a state whose entire population is on par with that of Austin and it's surrounding cities, there's not a whole lot of us statistically speaking. Also, I think a whole bunch of us have moved to Texas because I keep meeting expat Burquenos and such. When I do meet a fellow New Mexican here in Austin, after the usual niceties are exchanged, we look at each other with a slightly glazed but still smug look in our eyes and say, "I miss chile." Then we look around and one of us will inevitably say, "Yeah, this stuff here is...it's not chile." Now, I'm not going to spend a blog post knocking Texas Chili. It's a part of Tex-Mex tradition and I respect all forms of regional cuisine, really I do. I'd just like to clear the air in terms of definitions and categorization. This came about after reading a very nice blog post about a Texan who lives in NYC, who made "Green Chili" based on a description her New Mexican friend gave her. Except the "Green Chili" turned out more like "Texas Red Chili" which is just...chili. It's a stew, it's got lots of junk in it like beans and stuff. It tastes good, but if you are going to talk chile, like...real New Mexican chile...THE CHILE PEPPER...follow me, dear ones. A Primer on New Mexico Chile: It's not "chili." Chili is that stew stuff with 10 million ingredients that Texans make (which I feel the need to reiterate because Texans are passionate about their cooking, too...I'm NOT knocking it). It's chile with an "e". The chile pepper. There are tons of types of chile peppers...serrano, habanero, poblano, etc. We eat a lot of the New Mexico Chile Pepper, which has various varieties called things like "The Big Jim" and the "Sandia." It's cute. But can I just stop and let it sink in that the New Mexico Chile Pepper is an actual plant and type of pepper. It's not a "cuisine" or a stew. It's a pepper. We eat them a lot. Then you get down to the actual state question (yes, our legislature passed a law giving us a State Question): Red or Green? No, really. I'm not lying. We care that much. All chile peppers start out green. If you let them ripen, they turn red. So whether your pepper is red or green depends on when it was picked. The flavors are distinct, the red having a decidedly more earthy, smoky flavor. People try and pick favorites, but I think your red or green choice is best made in context. I always love red moreso in the winter, and it makes the famous carne adovada dish what it is. Without red chile, carne adovada would just be...pork. Green seems to go well with...um...anything. No lie. (There may or may not be a story about me in college trying to mix red chile in with my morning oatmeal. I'm still convinced if I mixed it with the right amounts of sugar and cinnamon, I could come up with a tasty, heat-filled bowl. I still get mocked). Ok so back to my semantics lesson. We have ascertained that "red chile" and "green chile" can refer to peppers in their undoctored, on-the-plant form. Maybe because we're lazy and it's the Land of Mañana, but we also refer to the sauces we make out of these peppers as "red chile" and "green chile." This is where New Mexican definitions of what chile is really wrench away from Texas and just about everywhere else. To make green chile, roast the peppers until the skin turns black and separates from the "flesh" of the pepper. Remove most of the seeds if you'd still like your tongue to work after eating. Chop it up (don't puree it or blend it, just chop it). Put it on stuff. That's it; that's green chile. To make red chile, you'll need red chile pods which are dried and usually found in ristra form (great for decorating AND cooking!). You reconstitute the chiles in water, and this stuff is blended, as opposed to the green. Here's a step-by-step guide. That's it for red chile. You will note the distinct lack of words like "beans" and "pork" and "cumin" and "cayenne" and "entrails" or whatever people put in Texas Chili (stew). It's pure and simple and tastes like earth, if earth was delicious and made your sinuses drain in a sweet epiphany of heat. Did I mention New Mexicans are passionate about chile, both in pepper and sauce form? In college, Beth and I would even go to the International Fiery Foods Show, sampling row after row of burn-your-face-off goodness. Thankfully, they had a couple of ice cream booths to kill the pain. Phew. Thus ends my thesis on "chile" versus "chili." Any questions?

I miss New Mexico today.

Photo courtesy of alaskan-girl