My tour in Italy was another dream come true – not perfect by any means, in fact, it was quite challenging at times. The first gig was rough in that the sound was bad, and the food (yes, in Italy!) was worse. Before the second gig, I had a cold coming on, and we found that the ballads from HOME were not working so well with the crowds. After all, I was singing in another language to Italians who did not recognize my original tunes. We cut the ballads, re-positioned the cover tunes a bit, and found our stride. I learned to care for my voice with such focus that I could sing well every night even with a voice that was tired and less than 100% healthy – and when I was getting less than an ideal amount of sleep! There were some truly inspiring gigs where I felt that the audiences actually got the meaning of my songs just from our connection to their hearts. We sold a bunch of cds, though not as many as we might have hoped to…
My band was excellent – every musician did his or her homework and rehearsals were just impressively smooth. There was a gig in a café, an Irish pub, a former mental facility (aptly named Asylum). Nidaba Theatre in Milan is a little hole in the wall where many other Americans have played (Poppa Chubby, etc), and it was filled for our gig and the reception was fantastic. Another venue in Milan, Le Scimmie, was not as well attended, but our performance was strong and we had fun.
I taught vocal performance workshops at 2 different schools, and 2 other workshops were held in clubs where we performed that night. My students were brave and inspiring in their ability to open up and take chances – those workshops are one of my favorite parts of touring Italy, it is just so much fun to watch singers connect to their craft in new ways.
Unlike the Northeast – which we all were watching with great interest – the weather in Northern Italy was surprisingly mild and sunny many of the days I was there. Wow, what an extra gift!
Unlike the Northeast – which we all were watching with great interest – the weather in Northern Italy was surprisingly mild and sunny many of the days I was there. Wow, what an extra gift!
All in all the tour was very successful, and the plan is for me to travel back there in the fall and perform both HOME and BIG SKY. There are also plans to have workshops in Zurich, so we’ll see how it all pans out. In any case, my tours in Italy have been magically conceived and carried out. Ah, all of life should be this fun and easy!
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