tag:laurameyer.net,2005:/blogs/latest-news?p=1Latest News2023-12-09T07:41:50-08:00Laura Meyer | Cygnefalsetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/73168792023-12-09T07:41:50-08:002024-03-19T08:27:57-07:00autumn harvest<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/214263/78d4b846d1189d5e4d872215f308b457ec15ea87/original/img-5581.jpeg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" alt="Digging sweet potatoes at the end of September." height="3024" width="3024" /><p>We had a sweet potato scavenger hunt on my birthday this year (September 30), and I think we started a new tradition. They grew so well and generously, and it was so much fun to uncover piles of treasure in the sunshine. We started them from local Covingtons we got at the co-op in late January, like this: </p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/214263/c93c01104364c9d3b1f2afc4ffce0106a0454a68/original/img-4976.jpeg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" height="4032" width="3024" /><p>You can also start them in soil, but we were living in a studio at the time and it was easier to put them in a jar on the windowsill. I also like having them visible so I can talk to them and tell them how much I love them. Once the “slips” (the little stems growing out of the parent tater) are a few inches long, you just twist them off, let them root in water for a few days, then transplant to soil. I let the one on the left (Barry) go too long, but we were moving, and he was forgiving. </p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/214263/c8f4c37ae37f4c8e5f4bff78d3b6958c9deb00d4/original/img-6001.jpeg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" height="3024" width="4032" /><p>The garden in December. The cover crop (mostly oats and also peas) has stayed remarkably green despite several light snows and hard freezes. I dug up parsnips a few days ago and said goodnight until March.</p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/214263/0cb924ec75e2219af7c5d12e3b8752391f296a0c/original/img-6003.jpeg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" alt="Bowl of scrubbed parsnips." /><p>Parsnips post-scrubbing. I love them roasted with oil and salt, and lately I've been enjoying them sautéed with onions and Brussel sprouts. </p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/214263/d27b65e2b8af85bd3d10e3a161947078b89d28bf/original/img-5803.jpeg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" alt="Sorting dry beans on the coffee table: Anasazi Cave Beans, Scarlet Runner Beans, Madeira Maroon Beans, Hopi Yellow Beans. " /><p><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);">Our final bean harvest. My favorites are the Anasazi Cave Beans on the far left. They're very tender and flavorful, and they have the cutest cow print when dry. At center are the Scarlet Runner Beans, which had very pretty red blossoms before they formed pods. Far right are the Madeira Maroons, which were very prolific, and the ones in front are the Hopi Yellow Beans, all from Richo Cech at Strictly Medicinal Seeds. Richo shares so much great growing information on his site, and his books are as entertaining as they are educational. I highly recommend <i>Growing Plant Medicine</i> (Volume II is about to come out) as well as <i>Making Plant Medicine</i>. </span></p><p>Thanks for reading :)</p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/72569122023-07-13T12:00:00-07:002023-12-09T07:36:20-08:00summer tidings from vermont<p>Hello friend,</p><p>It's been a wet summer here in VT, as you probably know. Even before this flood, Jasper and I picked strawberries while carefully tiptoeing around thousands of tadpoles swimming in the field. Frogs are everywhere, including our second-floor houseplants. </p><p>Earlier this year we moved to high ground, so all we've suffered from these severe rains is heartache for riverside neighbors, farmers at lower elevation, and residents of Montpelier and other communities hard-hit. If you're wondering how you can help people affected by flooding, here are a couple organizations I support: </p><p>The Vermont Community Foundation Flood Response and Recovery Fund: <a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.classy.org/give/501142#!/donation/checkout">https://www.classy.org/give/501142#!/donation/checkout</a></p><p>Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont Farmer Emergency Fund: <br><a class="no-pjax" href="https://nofavt.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/nofavt/survey.jsp?surveyId=19&">https://nofavt.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/nofavt/survey.jsp?surveyId=19&</a></p><p>Living with climate change isn't going to get easier anytime soon. <strong>How are you keeping your spirit buoyant? How are you tending your relationship with Earth?</strong></p><p><img src="https://d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/214263/37be5ef453a21c79d9de0fbd08ad8cf30dc6391f/original/img-5218.jpeg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p>I find nourishment in walking in the woods, watching the birds, and working in the garden. I got rid of my smartphone a few months ago, which has been liberating to my eyes and spirit. They're happier pulling weeds, throwing pots, sewing clothes, and working through draft four of the book. When life feels overwhelming, it's good medicine to apply our time, care, and attention to creating something we love. </p><p><img src="https://d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/214263/1ac77ea36d9da74853d510748b5d5b2943bee361/original/img-5207.jpeg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p>I hope you're taking good care and getting good sleep. I'm working on both, and making progress. </p><p><strong>Keep making the world you want to live in. </strong></p><p>Sending love, <br>Laura</p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/214263/9b04977461677c6175cf1c02805eabfea40cabee/original/img-4139-jpg.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/214263/de9532fb6f8d0780c7249297eb7790c961820e40/original/img-5193.jpeg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/214263/e8baf44b479c880f2b73c2920c5414e8a69f5791/original/img-5224.jpeg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/214263/8489c5233c7f1220772e01e3444553fd1a142b9c/original/img-5225.jpeg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/214263/04753d7f8d7fdd7b960ad4fdbe87a07f944350b1/original/img-5175.jpeg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/214263/a42bce2ac8115c2802211eb58506d03703d16186/original/img-4180-jpg.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/72024092022-12-21T15:00:00-08:002023-05-03T15:31:27-07:00Dispatch from cosmic carrots<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/214263/2da148b7af8133a3c9144c14d50d965364b22d8c/original/img-4380.jpeg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><p data-pm-slice="0 0 []">sweet friend,</p><p>we’ve spent several months in darkness and wish to tell you what we’ve learned:</p><p>you’re not the seed you used to be.</p><p>you’re one of a kind, surrounded by ones of a kind.</p><p>be kind.</p><p>if others have forgotten, help them remember. kindly.</p><p>when slugs rub your shoulders and earthworms tickle your toes, when a heavy rain drenches or hot sun scalds your crown, thank this delicious existence for providing everything you need to grow.</p><p>growth isn’t easily detectable. it often differs from what you know to be growth at all.</p><p>the deeper you grow, the darker it gets, the stronger you are. the sweeter too.</p><p>no matter the layers of snow and ice, asphalt, cement, wood, or brick, Earth welcomes your tender roots to expand and clasp hands with all of life.</p><p>you are so loved.</p><p>happy solstice!</p><p>∞</p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/72024082022-09-21T14:00:00-07:002023-05-03T15:31:27-07:00Delighting in dirt<p data-pm-slice="0 0 []">When I started seeds in egg cartons last March I simply needed to see something grow. I didn’t imagine they’d feed us for months to come, nor the joy I’d find rooting around in the dirt.</p><p>As I prepare the garden for another round of snow and ice, here’s a timeline of its evolution from spring to summer to fall.</p><p><strong>June 9</strong></p><p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/214263/2c108aa5dd6ebab19989505d57b6a560b6b57435/original/img-2042.jpeg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" alt="Swiss chard (and spinach bolting in the back) beneath row covers in a garden." /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/214263/64047d6828a6bc108bea44f9e7468711133f9b1e/original/img-2046.jpeg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" alt="A bouquet of astro arugula. " /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/214263/28325eaeade929f4b456312937898f260846e86b/original/img-2044.jpeg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" alt="Aunt Mae Bibb lettuce growing in straw. " /></p><p data-pm-slice="1 1 []"><strong>June 30</strong></p><p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/214263/bced8540aff3f2a13e4d19f7d4ef98a7dad12f96/original/img-2397.jpeg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" alt="Establishing the squash trellis and flower forest. " /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/214263/68c4692fe057080e55b9cc8f8b4e5137507679b6/original/img-2405.jpeg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" alt="A harvest basket with beets, greens, and the first carrot of the season. " /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/214263/168b1651169477d9978a88b5132e77ff03c82874/original/img-2402.jpeg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" alt="The first sunflower bloom. " /></p><p data-pm-slice="1 1 []"><strong>July 14</strong></p><p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/214263/770552fed000be78bab208736ade061a4823803f/original/img-2659.jpeg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/214263/9dc7c0bc3393f8d496ec0cb0702b93bc3f7298d1/original/img-2614.jpeg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/214263/a47bf4f3718c90a87f2bd7a57516bb4772cb8c7c/original/img-2610.jpeg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p><strong>July 23</strong></p><p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/214263/050823f26f1b8eabcc242c143a2db9a7617e75bc/original/img-3398.jpeg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/214263/d0137cd5c67335198af4b6c4d7e7aab3116cb5bd/original/img-3406.jpeg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p><strong>July 30</strong></p><p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/214263/bfe17bc7faeb51e8316c9bd671f53e8c17eef0df/original/img-3042.jpeg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/214263/bc3f489d87273969a0dbbac92d69cba0133c4c44/original/img-3025.jpeg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/214263/de6ddc94847fa7ad366167c469009651bed4f792/original/img-3055.jpeg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/214263/a7294b9c29185dfdc5818f3efa2c4e3d9575d78b/original/img-3053.jpeg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" alt="Flowers in bloom. " /></p><p><strong>August 9</strong></p><p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/214263/0775ab1cc893a7c7c9c7792280643f106e43ea6d/original/img-3194.jpeg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/214263/e9c13a7c202ba42e3c3d08b74e322286f3768b6d/original/img-3195.jpeg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/214263/f72d79b20c7f4eef0cf484cf30ec3288015231bc/original/img-3253.jpeg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p><strong>August 22</strong></p><p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/214263/ca5dbd8948779d7528814d691476f252fd212044/original/img-3404.jpeg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" alt="harvest basket filled with vegetables and flowers. " /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/214263/70630e91706272204ff74bb3fc6c7c580bfbc40b/original/img-3439.jpeg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" alt="A bee pollinating a tomato blossom. " /></p><p><strong>September 5</strong></p><p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/214263/a41c05b4c31dd7735b81e556e0a84b6397239729/original/687ab2b5-43da-47a0-9b4c-3dcf2f447255.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" alt="A harvest basket filled with raspberries, flowers, tomatoes, and herbs. " /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/214263/39f48d0dc8dec2a5a7c10ed797f72504851fed82/original/img-3499.jpeg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" alt="Tromboncino squash hangs from a vine. " /></p><p><strong>September 21</strong></p><p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/214263/e408b8e506ea06077c6f0567483662c91745d13c/original/img-3973.jpeg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" alt="Row covers in an early autumn garden, on a cloudy day. " /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/214263/6035feb697c00d6cb772b22f3eac30f7e3040532/original/img-3981.jpeg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" alt="An autumn garden, with an empty trellis and tired looking sunflowers, no longer in bloom. " /></p><p data-pm-slice="1 1 []">On the last day of summer I weeded and raked in cover crop. There are still rows of kale, spinach, beets, carrots, celery, and collards under cover. Summer squash and peppers have a couple weeks to ripen before frost turns them to compost. But most of my work here is done. Now it is time to write.</p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/72023912022-05-19T13:00:00-07:002023-05-03T15:28:21-07:00May tidings<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/214263/0da16755225af237f51539feacb7f728e732ad2f/original/img-1768.jpeg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p data-pm-slice="0 0 []">Warmth is a short season here in Vermont. When mud wanes in late April and the earth tilts us back toward light, it’s as if a lid lifts and all of us trapped butterflies flutter from our jars. Where just a month ago I watched the snowplow push gray mush on the curb, a row of yellow marigolds bounce in the sun.</p><p>It’s like everyone’s suddenly lost her keys. We kneel, dig, excavate, pray. Hallelujah! Beneath these dead leaves and shriveled weeds, there’s life!</p><p>I started seedlings in early March, desperately needing of see something grow. To obsess over something that wasn't bad news or WebMD. To water and tend to and nurture soul.</p><p>I filled egg cartons with dirt. Sowed spinach, kale, tomatoes, the usual. Pressed crescent mooned calendula seeds with my pinky and sprinkled way too many snapdragons.</p><p>Then I waited. Watched. Willed those little lives up like Totoro. Checked the window sill more frequently than I checked my phone.</p><p>I noticed my vision changed. A different kind of seeing occurred. Not the flat, narrowed stare before the glare of screen, but a soft peering that ambled freely across divots of dirt.</p><p>The astro arugula were the first to poke their heads. I knelt beside them and could almost detect the advancement of their pale little leafs. Swiss chard and Napa cabbage were next to crown, then calendula.</p><p>Jasper and I went to California for a wedding, and despite a friend’s visits to water, we returned to dried dirt cakes and shriveled sprouts. I sobbed. Watered. Within a couple days the seedlings perked up and the tomatoes thrived. Teeny celery seeds, which hadn’t shown any signs of life for weeks, crawled out of the soil and I quite literally jumped with joy.</p><p>Now, after weeks of fussing, moving (again), wheeling them outside for increasing increments, all but the most cold-averse have taken root in a community garden. I have no idea what I’m doing, but as a novice gardener I quickly realized I don’t have to know. The plants know. It’s not my job to grow them, but to listen, watch, and respond. Provide space, respect their needs, do my best to care. There will be storms, vine borers, aphids. Deer, slugs, and squirrels. Buds, blossoms, fruits. And in a few short months, snow and ice will once again cover them all.</p><p>In the face of so much to mourn and fear, the plants are teaching me to endure. To grow and blossom, even when climate change causes a heat wave the first week of May. To respect the speed of life. To trust what was here before, what is, what will be. Beyond our scope, underfoot, taking root. To know one’s place.</p><p>I send these May tidings with the hope that you’re well, getting good sleep, and sniffing all the flowers along your path. I think of you in my garden as I dig up grass and hundreds of stones. As I listen to preschoolers play games and robins sing songs. As a breeze delivers a bouquet of lilacs, so sweet and fleeting.</p><p>∞</p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/72008152022-01-23T11:00:00-08:002024-01-02T13:02:14-08:00Figuring it out<p> </p><p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/214263/4cd982a9aabff5b1e8ec6b4afced14980f1cda8c/original/tempimagezocjm5.png/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W1sidCIsOTBdXQ==.png" class="size_m justify_center border_" />Nine years ago this month I was riding across Rajasthan, watching the sunset streak purple over dry, dusty hills and recovering from dysentery. I throw that last bit in so you won’t feel jealous — unless you’re into housing a swarming hive of rusty nails in your abdomen — but also because nothing “helps” us surrender quite like being really, scary sick.</p><p>Lying there in the back seat, head rolling like a loose boom between headrest and window, I listened to the other riders in a half-dream.</p><p><i>We need to figure out where…</i></p><p><i>What is this, ‘figure out’? </i>asked our host. <i>You keep saying ‘figure out, figure out.’ What does it mean?</i></p><p>Until that moment, I’d always pictured figuring out as a kind of puzzle-solving. As in, let me look at all these pieces and assemble them so they match the picture on the box. The answer must be here somewhere, if I fiddle with them long enough. The mind loves to figure out. But does it? Or does figuring happen somewhere else?</p><p><i>Do you know the word figure? </i>I chimed in.</p><p><i>Yes, of course.</i></p><p><i>Well, if we think of a figure as a form, like a drawing or a sculpture, then to figure something out is to help something find its shape. To let it come into being.</i></p><p>Now, the dictionary and/or you might disagree with this definition, but in that moment my host and I understood something that’d previously evaded us both. I’d been approaching my figuring all wrong. I was puzzling with my mind instead of witnessing space and encouraging the emergence of form. I was asking the wrong questions instead of finding the appropriate perspective. I was assuming that all the pieces were presently available and overlooking negative space, potentiality, and other forces at play.</p><p>The past couple years have been a humbling masterclass in figuring out things we never imagined we’d have to. There remains much to figure, and that’s the blessing or the curse, depending on how we choose to see it.</p><p>When I just wrote <i>curse </i>I accidentally typed <i>cures. </i>In light of my experience in India, as well as recent illness (two months of rib-cracking bronchitis due to mold exposure), I think what we consider a curse in one moment can also bring healing to an unexpected aspect of our beings. Life reminds us we’re not here just to figure out; we’re being figured, too. </p><p>I’m sharing because I find this idea of figuring out helpful in the first weeks of a new year. There can be so much pressure to tie up, lock down, and plan. But we can’t figure it all out, and we don't need to. All that’s required is that we continue to show up—to the suffering as well as the ease. To be present with ourselves and each other. To engage in this moment and have faith we’re capable of meeting life as it is. And as we are. </p><p>Wishing you a peaceful 2022,<br>Laura</p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/57635442019-05-21T21:32:30-07:002019-05-21T21:32:30-07:00Staying fluid when life is hard<p>Just now I was thinking about the proverbial <i>glass half-full</i> vs. <i>glass half-empty</i>. As I prepared dinner and put the kettle on the stove, I had a thought I’d never thunk before, one which, now thunked, amazes me with its obviousness. <i>Either way, the glass is the same. </i></p>
<p><img src="https://d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/5a9ce6d6180a9d62e8fd82012ae657dfb55261bd/original/img-9760.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsImxhcmdlIl1d.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br>As my stomach growled and the water simmered I marveled at the judgement hidden in that question, <i>do you see the glass half-full or half-empty? </i>The implication is that if you see the glass half-full you’re a positive person who will attract friends and good fortune, and if you see the glass half-empty you’re a miserable person no one wants to be around. Early in life I reasoned, <i>I never want to be one of those negative people! </i>(lol, see albums 1-13).</p>
<p>However is this true? Is there value in emptiness? Does there need to be value? Does value make a thing? Is there another way of seeing? Must we be so reliant on sight?</p>
<p><img src="https://d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/cd2b3c8221498d5e7a0a4d30d5fe4f7dba97cc72/original/dsc03302.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsImxhcmdlIl1d.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br>I had a friend who saw the glass emptier than half-empty. He believed that everything eventually goes wrong, which meant I had to work extra hard to believe that everything eventually goes right. When things went wrong, he was right. When things went wrong, I was devastated. It was exhausting. Both of us attempted to control the flow of the glass because neither could bear the unknown.</p>
<p><img src="https://d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/85c6a8af96f52dbb3f1e09b73676efe5daf7c7a9/original/img-3145.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsImxhcmdlIl1d.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br>I don’t automatically see the glass half-full. I don’t see the glass half-empty, either — mostly I take the glass for granted, seldom noticing unless it’s empty or overflowed. There are many senses to indulge in. Most likely I’m thinking about thirst or a song or sex (again, different words for the same thing).</p>
<p>As the water boiled and I filled the mug I marveled at how complicated we can make something so simple. <em>Life is fluid. So are we.</em></p>
<p><img src="https://d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/f8d2f155aff9fd827cf2aa82b0242c15d710c12b/original/fullsizeoutput-cf.jpeg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsImxhcmdlIl1d.jpeg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Some see half-empty, some see half-full, some see something else. Despite what the news or angry bumperstickers tell us, we have a heck of a lot in common with people who see the world differently. We occupy the same space. When we fixate on how <i>we</i> see the glass (or the world) we’re no longer seeing the glass (or the world). We’re seeing our own mind, reflected back to us as we guzzle what is or isn’t there. We're drunk on being right, rather than on learning what is here. Glass is fragile. We must handle it with care. </p>
<p><img src="https://d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/46c52c622afcb2ad6539cb812d69423b0c06d6d9/original/dsc08795.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsImxhcmdlIl1d.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br>I wonder... what’s in this glass, anyway? Is it wanted? How much is enough? Is there someone other than us who might benefit from its contents? Can we acknowledge the privilege of having a glass, holding a glass, seeing a glass, empty or full or in any state of emptiness or fullness? And what of the whole universe surrounding this glass...</p>
<p><img src="https://d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/beada7458fae5ed35144df979e7b7c5ae0ef2dac/original/img-5422.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsImxhcmdlIl1d.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Right now the windows are open and the room is filled with the music of leaves rustling and birds settling in for the night. My belly is more than half-full with the satisfaction that comes only after one has known the feeling of being more than half-empty. Despite everything, I'm optimistic.</p>
<p>Just some thoughts. Thank you for taking a sip. </p>
<p>I'm attaching an old half-full <a contents="song" data-link-label="" data-link-type="track" href="/track/1729578/two-sides">song</a> from a young wholehearted swan, circa 2006.</p>
<p>Cheers,</p>
<p>Laura</p>
<p><img src="https://d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/1c051accd3db4de04b6e1d69bcb263c434adc6f6/original/dsc06127.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsImxhcmdlIl1d.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/57292042019-04-23T06:55:15-07:002019-04-23T06:55:15-07:00Truth is a pathless land<p>We put so much pressure on ourselves to <i>find our path</i> — as if there's only one, as if one is right, as if there's one at all. Krishnamurti proposed that <a contents="truth is a pathless land" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://jkrishnamurti.org/about-dissolution-speech" target="_blank"><i>truth is a pathless land</i></a>, and when I read this in a bathtub some years and miles ago I underlined it three times, not really knowing what he meant, and yet knowing it to be true. Truth is complex and contradictory, a wilderness that includes yet evades us. We can explore and uncover it, as we explore and uncover ourselves, but if there's a clear path it's probably because someone else put it there. That doesn't make it less true; it also doesn't make it <i>truth</i>.</p>
<p><em><img src="https://d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/58c87955dede7a3a988a67c88a7ed6507e0bf6de/original/zbr6-m-btwuijpgerf9lla.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></em>Sometimes it’s helpful to follow a well-worn path. Mama always said,<i> </i>the beaten path is beaten for a reason. If we're certain of where we want to go, a clear path is faster and more comfortable than carving our own.<img src="https://d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/443b44cf9709a43fa8b03c4231b5137ad4336a59/original/94tv9-qitys-jezve2w22q.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />But what if we’re uncertain? How do we know where we want to go when we don't know where we are? How do we know where we are until we’ve wandered a way? What if we want to explore in a different direction? What if we enjoy<i> </i>the uncertainty of not knowing, even if it feels frightening? <img src="https://d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/240023444e2ecc9280ccd04f252e8d37b81bb3b4/original/fte78-7iqrsidxfsjd9t2a.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />We’re taught we need a path because everything outside the path could potentially cause harm, from the rattlesnakes to the other humans to the land itself. <i>Is the path not also the land? Are we not also the land? Are we really going to assume we know the way?</i><img src="https://d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/e9becd82ec50813a406b37141a5f048f5a28a7aa/original/gmy0t0rptquesnew4d1siq.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />For me, the danger in following a path isn’t the path itself but that it exists between here and an imagined future point. Rarely do I experience the no-path of <em>here</em>, which is why I fell in love with music. Music helps me be present. Of course, I tried (and still catch myself trying) to make music my path, instead of simply making music. Expectations, no matter how sweet, lead to disappointment. Unless we expect the worst. Either way, there's suffering where there might have been... well, being.</p>
<p><img src="https://d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/ae697390943cf048f17f7ce893f96186d6e85b7b/original/fkvhp9o5sdirwnxa-jga0w.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />(To be clear, I stayed on the path to take these photos because I respect the poppies. Don't they look like they could talk? Or chirp? What do you think they are saying?)</p>
<p><img src="https://d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/49c64748df50dee9601cef453e641857ab809989/original/n3gohsrrsvkmxp5n7iw7wa.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />While it’s fun to plan a trip — especially if it’s a tour — I've found that true fulfillment lies not in the paths we take but in the ones that emerge within that barely perceptible space between future and past that is <em>us</em>. Each wavering, confusing, frustrating, inspiring, challenging, gratifying, humbling step that feels pathless is our <i>truth</i>. How do we know this? Why else would we keep going?</p>
<p><img src="https://d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/61c4a928adaa220719ed299c8b5d94268d7d095a/original/lhljnmiyqdyc2ajoa0qrha.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />A year ago I left what had become a well-trodden path to try something different. It hasn’t been easy or comfortable, but I don’t think ease and comfort are the point. We’re here to explore and to experience, and sometimes that hurts. Sometimes we have to be beside ourselves to know where we are, to know what is true. <i>This, too, changes! We, too, are changing!</i> Sometimes we have to get on the path in order to abandon it. We have to abandon it in order to be <i>here, </i>the one place we are <i>now. </i></p>
<p><i><img src="https://d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/90c5a9f04a393347b23ca384975c249c40038393/original/ps6ietkyseu7s1dzqcddnq.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></i></p>
<p>After all, it's pretty great to be here, isn't it? Even if we're tired and a little sore? I'm glad you're here. Thank you for joining me in my rambling. </p>
<p>I'm about to venture deeper and farther into the wilderness... of Chicago? Yes, sometime in the near future (trying not to get too ahead of myself, but an apartment needs to manifest at some point) I'm going to dig into words and sounds and images at the School of the Art Institute. I don't know what's ahead, but right now feels pretty great. Thank you to the wonderful patrons who've supported me through the past year of tortuous (if not torturous) applications. If you’d like to join us on our M.F.A. adventure you can subscribe <a contents="here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.patreon.com/cygnemusic/overview" target="_blank">here</a>!</p>
<p>Happy Earth Day Every Day, </p>
<p>Laura</p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/57249862019-04-18T18:51:51-07:002019-04-18T18:51:51-07:00Current Inspiration: Bombay Jayashri<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="gPLk5UpVw94" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/gPLk5UpVw94/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gPLk5UpVw94?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="302" width="516" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/57248592019-04-15T17:15:00-07:002019-04-18T17:11:21-07:00Notre-Dame<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/21c57945b3609cfd30ce1128472ad3bf091ec107/original/fullsizeoutput-a33.jpeg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br>More than a cathedral, Notre Dame is a container for our collective soul. Regardless of faith or nationality, she has been the receptacle for millions of our prayers, dreams, and meditations. She has inspired our poems, art, and imaginations. She has hosted our proposals, weddings, funerals, vacations, memories, and reunions. She has served as a portal to our shared history. <br><br>Tonight she reminds us to hold sacred what is here, now. To appreciate the beauty that surrounds us, and the people we love. Just because something existed before us doesn’t mean it will exist forever. <br><br>Notre Dame will be repaired, as she was after the revolution. Once again we will study her rainbow rosette, gazing through the eyes of countless humans across the time-space continuum, marveling at the way the dust sparkles like friendly spirits overhead. We will climb her narrow stairs to emerge, breathless, at the Paris skyline, sharing membership to the most beautiful city in the world. We will perhaps be even more grateful, more reverent, knowing what we lost, and knowing what we still have. <br><br>Until then, let us hold space for each other, and tend to this weary world soul. We love you, Paris.</p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/56202302019-01-30T13:16:13-08:002019-01-30T13:16:13-08:00Current inspiration: Mary Oliver<p><a contents="I Worried" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.bookshopsantacruz.com/book/9780807069141" target="_blank">I Worried</a> <br>by Mary Oliver </p>
<p>I worried a lot. Will the garden grow, will the rivers <br>flow in the right direction, will the earth turn <br>as it was taught, and if not how shall <br>I correct it? </p>
<p>Was I right, was I wrong, will I be forgiven, <br>can I do better? </p>
<p>Will I ever be able to sing, even the sparrows <br>can do it and I am, well, <br>hopeless. </p>
<p>Is my eyesight fading or am I just imagining it, <br>am I going to get rheumatism, <br>lockjaw, dementia? </p>
<p>Finally I saw that worrying had come to nothing. <br>And gave it up. And took my old body <br>and went out into the morning, <br>and sang. </p>
<p>From <a contents="Swan" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.bookshopsantacruz.com/book/9780807069141" target="_blank">Swan</a></p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/55977232019-01-15T19:10:51-08:002019-01-15T19:10:51-08:00Current inspiration: "Vissi d'Arte" <p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="Nk5KrlxePzI" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/Nk5KrlxePzI/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Nk5KrlxePzI?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="300" width="516" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p>Vissi d’arte, vissi d’amore, <br>non feci mai male ad anima viva! <br>Con man furtiva <br>quante miserie conobbi aiutai. <br>Sempre con fè sincera <br>la mia preghiera <br>ai santi tabernacoli salì. <br>Sempre con fè sincera <br>diedi fiori agl’altar. <br>Nell’ora del dolore <br>perchè, perchè, Signore, <br>perchè me ne rimuneri così? <br>Diedi gioielli della Madonna al manto, <br>e diedi il canto agli astri, al ciel, <br>che ne ridean più belli. <br>Nell’ora del dolor <br>perchè, perchè, Signor, <br>ah, perchè me ne rimuneri così? </p>
<p>*</p>
<p>I lived for my art, I lived for love, <br>I never did harm to a living soul! <br>With a secret hand <br>I relieved as many misfortunes as I knew of. <br>Always with true faith <br>my prayer <br>rose to the holy shrines. <br>Always with true faith <br>I gave flowers to the altar. <br>In the hour of grief <br>why, why, o Lord, <br>why do you reward me thus? <br>I gave jewels for the Madonna’s mantle, <br>and I gave my song to the stars, to heaven, <br>which smiled with more beauty. <br>In the hour of grief <br>why, why, o Lord, <br>ah, why do you reward me thus?</p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/54914322018-10-29T16:04:23-07:002018-10-29T16:05:01-07:00Current inspiration: patience for the possible vs. the impossibility of patience<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="uEU7lrtehDs" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/uEU7lrtehDs/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uEU7lrtehDs?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="300" width="450" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p> </p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/54606752018-10-08T20:14:18-07:002018-10-08T20:41:43-07:00Things I'm still learning... <p style="text-align: center;">Evolution is a process.</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/f19516e5c12c443d4f9edcb77215709de88ddcff/original/0ng7jf0fsdurzv16zxnqsq.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Although we can't always detect it, we are making progress.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/43baaa83a5646c34d2a27d72fd49e45d20447e74/original/uwjaym-ut0g3ufveepfiwq.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />We are moving forward. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/0bbae4323cc85a50311543985eedfa2fedd7738d/original/org1lp3ftvosshvafkumwq.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />There are potholes. There are smooth patches. It's all one road.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/dd6608f49a46cb3336525aa88eea34a88287b25c/original/fullsizeoutput-59fb.jpeg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />We will get there.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/1a303ba478f262bde6163aa68552bc9773c0795a/original/7aiwk9-nq9g3yihe-ulbxw.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />We are here.<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/aac90b9823aeaa5d0ec35bcf62ecec11541d60fd/original/fullsizeoutput-59fa.jpeg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />And we're here to grow.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/7cc42e83df1a506b05bcad93d9e966a67f949043/original/fullsizeoutput-59fd.jpeg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">We are complete. We are unique.</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/9b3d79e5eabab9134319065bce9f362f4f92c6d7/original/fullsizeoutput-59fc.jpeg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">We are equal. We belong.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/6d5f1e79e3758db65e0625be6d6773ffe7bd03dc/original/jtldvucjrx-xxlhqrpf3za.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><i><a contents="Get out there" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://bandcamp.com/vote" target="_blank">Get out there</a>. Happy Fall.</i></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><i><3</i></p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/54150392018-09-10T21:47:01-07:002018-09-10T21:53:41-07:00What I learned on summer vacation<p style="text-align: center;">It's easy to get stuck in a rut. <img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/7340166234a8739a77020a18b60d31f0b4c2b165/original/img-1686.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">It's just as easy to bust out of it.</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/e3e025802a6f7441e3fc048a667435a4536a61fb/original/img-1418.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Dive in. Shake it up. Try something new. Break the rules. Venture a little farther. Know your limits. Transcend them.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/105c7e2abe4d06a33d056245b05a49392ca1e117/original/img-1484.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Choose a different seat. Try a different perspective. There's no such thing as a detour.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/e9afc1d1da16311195daa7fbb885bfdc254b8c3a/original/6c49a471-6266-4401-b9dd-fa958187dc25.jpeg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Windex really does fix everything. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/2b6e4b190b8600d5f2d33b19b6188e8403fd835a/original/om79zjaxrpeusomlz1uo7w.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Life isn't about winning or losing. It's about the people you're with. (And Stella Starfish.)</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/52561acc42ce1ca17e418d830486918951eaa3f6/original/698f9d68-1a3e-41ff-8f94-0a9815693532.jpeg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Televised world championships of cornhole exist.<em> (You can't spell SAUSAGE without USA.)</em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/676cbefd8032a0592b8d37943489548afa46a030/original/7ff5553a-5f43-4563-ba6d-d08c0dacdf31.jpeg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Bright lights and screens were designed to take our money, so proceed with caution.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/a774a7797fb00edacf4f829a14615ae5ff5dfe7b/original/lks0setithej8qugoukkeg.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />We don't need all this stuff.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/63e71c8c2e78a1c3f82c1bc144810d11d25d2eb4/original/w-b9hp4yqyoiy4eukpxhrg.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />However medieval-themed blacklight mini-golf - complete with an alternative hits of the 90s playlist - is a fantastic investment.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/2c9ae7e77bfefb418da0ced8aa123f7f1e435066/original/d43je9m0qluhlsxrlnqkuq.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Sometimes pointlessness is the point.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/fdc597adb9c27a1ffc50c74aa636e43f902a51e7/original/0l-khpd7s4cmzgervjrq3q.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />After all, the world is round. <br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/8d65fb0edda0d2250e79830ae2b26e6a626ead8f/original/img-1417.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Nature nurtures.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/b1a6f8f2b499c9af358115032358cfce3561a634/original/img-1415.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">We are nature.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/be13cc35683c437c0f6a0e60be3dc8253336c61b/original/6a46c4d2-d2ff-4b4d-b7d7-3a035dab863f.jpeg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />There are places where you don't have to worry about your bike getting stolen.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/17566c431f229bc8f9194b0ff3db1fbc7251eba8/original/be0a74db-a6fa-46ee-a2b0-2909dc3cdea4.jpeg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />There's no right way to do anything.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/649243c2926c1af10e2ebd0a0f87e004cacdc099/original/wq6d0wijs4s-rjzzydukoq.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />If you <em>think you can, think you can, think you can</em>, you will make it up the hill. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/e250b4fca295eadb1c13ba1747f9211d8c121f6c/original/maxresdefault.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />When you feel scared, scream.</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/979ba53e16f75167c9c2d9a889b38ee9efa4b174/original/fullsizeoutput-58d4.jpeg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">If screaming seems inappropriate, there's probably no reason to be scared. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/e3a42505da072dc20e69dea418db5ea355d2baad/original/b0b3df66-cb7e-4dad-832d-01f2498b8a11.jpeg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />However it's okay to sit some rides out. ;)</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/4e153f4f54f2129e47ab6a6f2e3a9e7609d47b7f/original/img-1419.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Nothing lasts forever.<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/15d330b59799d286b4234c1c231def6bf64bfe1c/original/ixtwz6rwsw2eumlollrulg.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Yet the present moment is infinite.<br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/403844cc0b49b5bfaf6c6b4d38f7026e5c2bb84c/original/3gwtgu-dqkefoxc2dwxkbq.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Once a kid, always a kid. (This is the house where I was born.)</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/a417eeeddaafcbd2324e5ed6605dc36a2fcee9fb/original/57dbb68b-499e-44af-926a-a3e6a6b909ef.jpeg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />So there you have it. Souvenirs from summer vacation. Now I'm typing in my pajamas and a down coat listening to rain on the roof, settling into fall vacation... everything feels like vacation when I'm not touring. But then tour often feels like vacation... I guess life is a vacation. A working vacation, but a vacation no less. As long as we play in our work and work in our play.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">I tweaked the <a contents="site" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.laurameyer.net" target="_blank">site</a> a bit... added a new photo:</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/11b878b09775aa4084b0fae1b41c2d9875dc40f3/original/05960001.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">My friend <a contents="Kristijan" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://kristijanlozic.com" target="_blank">Kristijan</a> took it on his roof in Zürich, the same apartment where the <em>Let It Breathe</em> cover photo was taken. We were excited about this one for the cover of the next album. The working title for the past year and a half has been <em>One Woman. </em>It<em> </em>will be stripped-down. Solo. More like how shows are. I'm pretty certain it will be a Laura Meyer release, though Cygne has a bunch of songs stockpiled, too. I'm documenting the process on <a contents="patreon" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://patreon.com/cygnemusic" target="_blank">patreon</a>. It feels good to be slow. There's so much more time this way... </p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Sending love <3</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Laura / Cygne / One Woman</p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/54199532018-09-07T19:05:58-07:002019-03-09T18:06:18-08:00Current Inspiration: Erykah Badu<p>always & forever... <3 <3 <3 x infinity... </p>
<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="4cfmEgpOOZk" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/4cfmEgpOOZk/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4cfmEgpOOZk?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/53393232018-07-10T12:35:40-07:002019-03-09T18:07:50-08:00Current Inspiration: Fred Rogers<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="w5Uc_xqMbrA" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/w5Uc_xqMbrA/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/w5Uc_xqMbrA?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p><em>Love is at the root of everything. </em>- Fred Rogers</p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/53215712018-06-27T22:20:39-07:002018-06-27T22:20:39-07:00Take Me Home: København, DNK<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/03f7d5cacb98aa3c1a66dff4fef3ea5eace73b20/original/img-7502.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br>Outside a small cafe in Nørrebro, a “hip” part of København, a man was selling assorted household items on the sidewalk — gently worn shoes, children’s blocks, a giant kitchen timer, etc. </p>
<p>“Are you having a good day? Are things selling well?” </p>
<p>“I always have a good day,” he smiled. “It’s important to focus on the good things.” Seeing the notebook under my arm he asked, “Are you American?” </p>
<p>I looked down and noticed the cover bore a small US flag with “Made in USA” beneath. Shit, I thought. “Yes.” </p>
<p>“Where do you come from?” </p>
<p>“Eh….” I never know how to answer this. Every attempt feels like a lie. He laughed. </p>
<p>“Once I saw a guy on a talent search show who had a similar answer,” he said. “Here, there… the guy was really funny! Are you having a good day?” </p>
<p>“Eh….” I wasn’t. I was jetlagged, overwhelmed, and sharing a room with a guy who stared with longing and told me I reminded him of his ex-girlfriend. “Just tired.” </p>
<p>“Come,” he said, moving aside vests and a blanket so we could sit on a bench. “Give me your right hand. You are going to send all your negative feelings to me.” </p>
<p>My heart surged. Not the surge you’d expect of a young woman meeting a strange man in a foreign city street, but the surge of a struggling sadhu meeting her guru in the forest. As I placed my hand in his my eyes swelled. Paris. Brussels. Terror. Anger. Refugees. Despair. One more puff and I felt like the whole world would fall down. </p>
<p>“It’s okay, I can take it. Just breathe and know you are safe.” </p>
<p>A tear slid down my cheek. A bicycle pinged. Sunlight danced on my eyelids. A cool breeze shivered my spine and then… breathing.… I was breathing. </p>
<p>After a time I opened my eyes and he said, “Fasting during Ramadan has helped me become more positive. It’s a mental as well as a physical fast — to conserve energy one speaks less, is more reflective.” He looked at me so kindly, without judgment or proselytizing. Just compassion. “It’s important to focus on thinking about the good things and only speaking good things.” </p>
<p>Lately it's hard not to dwell on the bad, sad things… but what does that accomplish? Where does that take me? Who does that empower? When I think of holding hands with a bodhisattva on a bench midway between our respective homelands there is a break in the fog… and I’m reminded that this planet is filled with living, breathing, loving beings and there are so, so many hands to hold if we just reach out our own.</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/153ab2d0a9fb78f9a7ee743b9dc9a211f6be9ecb/original/img-7196.jpg/!!/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_left border_" /> <img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/dc6c9cb8c522a0e6743e728669abf226b3631ddc/original/img-7130.jpg/!!/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_left border_" /></p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/53081392018-06-20T20:31:42-07:002018-06-20T20:31:42-07:00Current Inspiration: Richie Havens<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="rlkYc0_EkAk" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/rlkYc0_EkAk/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rlkYc0_EkAk?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="315" width="506" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p>This song has been running through my head in recent days. My heart aches for the families separated at the U.S. border. I can't sleep. I can't think about anything except those poor motherless children and childless parents. Only a voice as powerful as Richie Havens can hold me steady now.</p>
<p>When I was thirteen or so I got to see him perform this song in my hometown. It was as close as I'd ever come to meeting god. In fact, I did meet him - he towered above me with a wide open smile and shook my hand (which I didn't wash for days), infusing my palm with the electricity of nothing less than an angel's wing.</p>
<p>Thank you, Richie. <3</p>
<p>You can hear me sing a version of this song on <a contents="Patreon" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.patreon.com/cygnemusic" target="_blank">Patreon</a>. All proceeds will go to <a contents="Together Rising" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://togetherrising.org" target="_blank">Together Rising</a>. </p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/53042662018-06-19T19:29:54-07:002018-06-19T19:29:54-07:00A message from Cosmic Turtle<p>There’s abundant evidence that the world is spinning out of control. And it is. Because the world has never been in our control. And it’s okay. We’re okay. When we notice this, we’re out of <i>its </i>control. We’re free. We have choices. We have imaginations. And then we can use them.</p>
<p>This morning I jogged along to the last minutes of an audiobook, <i>The Female Persuasion. </i>I like to listen to audiobooks on low volume without headphones so I can hear the birds and keep the bears away (I’m not sure if this is an effective bear-deterrent, but it’s a comforting thought.) Plus, out here in the “country” it’s helpful and inspiring to hear other human voices, especially smart, witty ones that offer entertainment and perspective on difficult subjects.</p>
<p>Today I was faster than usual because I got a late start. I always feel behind, no matter what I’m doing. There’s just so much I want to do. Here we are in the longest days of the year and they still feel too short.</p>
<p>As I approached the top of the hill I noticed a lump in the road I couldn’t identify… a new shape in my growing encyclopedia, slightly domed. Just before the stop sign the narrator reached the final lines of the book —<i>There wasn’t much time. In the end, she thought, the turtle might outlive them all </i>— and at that exact moment the lump in the road revealed itself to be a turtle.</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/d16906f1470134f911303b52de14b40ad1880ccc/original/img-0750.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br><em>Can you imagine my delight? </em>Yes, there are many critters in these woods… but this is the first time I've seen a turtle, and I can’t remember the last time I read/listened to a book in which a turtle had a starring role. The world might be out of control but maybe, just maybe... <i>something </i>is connecting all these moving parts?</p>
<p>As we approach solstice, the top of the hill, the time when the planet is divided into extreme darkness and extreme light, find solace in nature. <i>Slow down</i><em>, </em>says Turtle in my hands. <em>See all the light has to reveal. Feel all that is shrouded in darkness. Beyond these extremes and constant flux there is solid, common ground. Proceed carefully, watch for signs, trust yourself to recognize them, and you will get there. You are here. And you are needed. </em></p>
<p>Love, <br>Cygne</p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/53180272018-06-19T10:35:00-07:002018-06-26T07:31:32-07:00Children<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/4b73cc71a1704614e1b582b734f3e2ab20012cdc/original/tumblr-pano3rn0sp1txufbgo1-1280.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br>Remember when we did those immigration projects as kids, interviewing relatives on how our families came to this continent? Remember how united we felt when we shared our stories because we all had this thing in common, that we’re a nation of immigrants? Remember how proud we were? Remember that school trip to Ellis Island, where we made crayon rubbings of our ancestors’ names? Remember how good it felt, riding the ferry on a sunny day instead of sitting in a classroom learning about war all the time? Remember all those wars? How America freed itself from the mean British and saved the world from those savage Nazis? Remember when we were the children of superheroes? Remember how lucky we were? </p>
<p>I don’t remember waking from the dream, but I know it coincided with mourning. An ever-increasing mourning. As with any deep sleep the waking process has been slow. I rub my eyes. I do not believe them. I do not want to believe them. I am so tired of mourning my country. A country that never was and yet will not admit this and so refuses to become. </p>
<p>Children in cages. Should we be shocked? We did it to the Japanese. We did it to the Africans. We did it to an entire continent of people who were here first. Why is it so hard to remember that, America? Why are we so full of hate? Are we afraid that maybe one day we’ll have to pay for all of this?</p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/53042412018-06-18T10:00:00-07:002018-06-19T07:02:09-07:00Current Inspiration: the woods<p><em>In the woods, we return to reason and faith. There I feel that nothing can befall me in life — no disgrace, no calamity (leaving me my eyes), which nature cannot repair. Standing on the bare ground, — my head bathed my the blithe air and uplifted into infinite space, — all mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent eyeball; I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or parcel of God. </em></p>
<p>As a teenager I underlined and starred these lines by Ralph Waldo Emerson, going over <em>I become a transparent eyeball </em>a second time with green marker. I hadn’t read them in years until, arriving home from the woods and "randomly" pulling a book from a pile, this is the passage that greeted me. :)</p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/52947422018-06-13T22:46:35-07:002018-06-13T22:46:35-07:00Take Me Home: Elkton, FL<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/604686e62b4f5cdc94fdae98739a3d44bf8650a0/original/img-0798.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br>The last time I stayed with my grandparents - before Gram moved to a nursing home - was the first time I stayed with them on my own. As I stepped out of my car and walked across the spiky Floridian grass I felt the rush of being The Grandchild, without my older, louder sister there to take centerstage. (Yes, even as a twenty-something. Many of us who end up onstage are there because of older, louder siblings. It’s the only way we were ever going to be heard.*) </p>
<p>Yet for the same reason, I felt shy, nervous… even a little scared. Without my sister, mom, aunts, uncles, or cousins, and all the noise and activity they bring with them, who was I in relationship to my grandparents? How would we interact? What would we say? What could they possibly think of this grimy, barefoot vagabond crossing the driveway, car piled to the ceiling with all that Mary Poppins couldn’t fit? </p>
<p>I didn’t even have to knock before Papa opened the door, eyes twinkling, corners of his mouth turned ever so slightly upward. “How are you!” he said, patting me on the back. And from beneath the cool waves of the fan Gram’s lips emerged, bright like a tropical fish at the end of a long line of “ooooohs.” Gram. It’s difficult to recall Gram then… the past few years have been so hard for her. For Papa. For their children. </p>
<p>However that afternoon, still able to drive, she went on a secret mission to Publix and returned as I stood in the driveway rolling clean laundry into burritos. “Come here!” she rasped. “Quick, before Papa sees!” I walked to the street to meet her dark sunglasses, half-obscured by a low visor. From the passenger’s seat she presented two bags of trail mix. “I got you this for the road,” she said. Then, placing a folded $20 bill in my hand, “Don’t tell Papa.” </p>
<p>Of course Papa wouldn’t have minded, though he might have been puzzled by the strange deal going on outside. It wasn’t about the trail mix, nor the $20. It was about the conspiratorial grin. I’d never discussed “the road” with my grandparents, for reasons you can and can’t imagine. But in that moment I felt like Gram, who had given me a subscription to Rolling Stone when I turned ten, got it. No explanation necessary. Even more than that, she wanted to be part of it. And she was. She is. They both are. How could they not be? </p>
<p>Thank you, Gram. Thank you, Papa. I love you, Shellenbach tribe. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>* To be fair, I enjoyed and exploited my sister’s loudness. It/she enabled me to silently witness all the stuff I sing about.</p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/52804652018-06-06T21:10:13-07:002018-06-06T21:38:09-07:00Take Me Home: White Sulphur Springs, MT<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/176334a65646a8bc91f70813e62ba21d98f0a5e5/original/img-6437.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />July 26, 2013</p>
<p>I was invited to play a festival in White Sulfur Springs. Merle Haggard would headline, along with Todd Snider, Robert Earl Keen, and other names people recognize. As with other little acts I was asked to play for exposure, which meant a spot to camp in the high desert mid-summer. Having no money, no tent, and a very full car, I obviously said yes and began searching for local concerts to supplement my exposure (to heatstroke), and hopefully, shelter. </p>
<p>On short notice options were limited; however just an hour and a half away a biker bar in Helena offered me the second set in a three-act metal show and $200. I was thrilled. My third grade state report was on Montana and one of my bffs is Helena, so how bad could it be? (This is why artists need managers.) </p>
<p>The first act was a three-armed four-piece metal duo. Lugging his Marshall stack onstage with one arm the singer-guitarist-bassist provided me with a new definition for hardworking musician. He screamed, strummed, thumped while my teeth rattled against my chest. I wondered how the crowd would receive my acoustic ballads… but this wasn’t my first metal show. (Metalheads dig alternate tunings.) </p>
<p>As I began the crowd was silent, attentive, supportive. Then the third act showed up and began dry-humping in front of the stage, shouting profanities and - from where I stood - preparing to kill me. There was a lot of tongue and a lot of fist. I started doubting whether I could hold things together when the sound guy and one of the bartenders dragged the humpers outside and restored peace. I sold a dozen CDs, packed up my gear, and opened the stage door… to a wall of flames. </p>
<p>Having been obstructed from expressing his anger in general, and towards me, in particular, Humper #1 had set fire to empty boxes and beer cases, alarmingly close to my car. That is, about to explode everything I own. I stood in the doorway not knowing how to respond when once again Bartender and Sound Guy appeared, practically leaping over my head to put out the blaze. (This wasn’t their first metal show.) </p>
<p>I drove back to White Sulphur Springs in silence, admiring the dark silhouette of the mountains... and smiling. For having survived another night on the road. For the audience, the staff, the musicians - even the humpers. For the money in my pocket and the songs that brought me here. For the festival organizer, who let me sleep in her Airstream. For the Canadians, who adopted me for the remainder of the weekend. For Todd Snider, who made the drive from California worthwhile alone. And most of all, for the exposure.</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/52738272018-06-03T21:27:14-07:002019-03-09T18:11:37-08:00Current Inspiration: Donald Glover<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="VYOjWnS4cMY" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/VYOjWnS4cMY/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VYOjWnS4cMY?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="302" width="516" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/52708202018-05-17T18:30:00-07:002018-06-01T15:27:30-07:00Take Me Home: Land of Awes<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/79bb0dc9a7744aa582643813dca8eb6c23e10ff5/original/32696661-1758250810922610-8435174104142708736-n.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br>A few days ago I sat at my desk as the sky turned from blue to gray to green. In the time it took to go outside, close an umbrella, and turn on the electric kettle, a tornado whipped through the area, leaving me in the dark with my hot water. <br><br>Hot water. If you know me you know it's my drink of choice. And I love a long bath. For years I've said it's the ultimate luxury - cold hostel, early morning train, crappy gig - all (most) forgiven with the addition of hot water. <br><br>As birdsong signaled the end of the storm I felt relieved. We were safe. Then I thought: shit, I should've showered this morning. Then I thought: Puerto Rico. Gaza. Port-au-Prince. Aleppo. Kathmandu. Mumbai. Hundreds and thousands and millions without electricity or plumbing, with or without bombs and bullets whipping overhead, never mind an electric kettle. <br> <br>Just now I crossed the street to fill a pot of water from the lake so I can flush the toilet. I cannot describe the overwhelming awe and gratitude I feel for the soft rain, the full pantry, the proximity to water, and the ability to heat it. We joke about #firstworldproblems but I would happily, gratefully, ecstatically never shower or look at this stupid device again if only everyone had enough food, water, and warm, safe haven. <br> <br>I can't tell if my heart is breaking for the insane abundance right here, right now, or for the insane disparity right here, right now.</p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/52329712018-05-14T05:40:21-07:002019-03-09T18:13:09-08:00Current Inspiration: Arthur Cadre<p>I can't remember where I first saw this video but I bookmarked it for rainy spring mornings such as this. Watching Arthur move I can't help but want to move, too.</p>
<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="AGrDhtUqXp8" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/AGrDhtUqXp8/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AGrDhtUqXp8?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="302" width="516" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/52232522018-05-08T12:46:57-07:002019-03-09T18:14:38-08:00Current Inspiration: my record player<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/1d48bc39e02f6ebed5567b27905259e7aeac5674/original/img-0605.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />For the first time in over four years I woke up and turned on my record player. As I lie on the floor listening I re-realized that one of the many things I love about music is its movement - not just of the music being played, but of that which is playing music. Records, CDs, cassettes… revolution. Revolution is essential to music. Music is essential to revolution. <br><br>I feel fortunate to be alive when music still spins. It’s so magical! Like earth, chakras, breath... maybe this is why streaming doesn’t work for me. Aside from the fact that everything’s compressed to shit and makes my head hurt (not to mention that artists aren’t fairly compensated) its energy is so… scattered. One song streams and spills into the next, a big jangly mess of all the wrong keys. Even when I play my favorites, they never make it past the porch. My body remains locked. In need of revolution. <br><br>Maybe I’m loopy after driving 4000+ miles but I’m always loopy and that’s the point. We loop. We spin. Might as well commit to a groove and let it play out. :) In the spirit of spring spirals and new nests everything in the online shop is 20% off plus <a contents="FREE SHIPPING" data-link-label="STORE" data-link-type="page" href="/store" target="_self">FREE SHIPPING</a> on everything that spins! <br><br>So happy to be home again. Different yet same home. What a trip.</p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/51928372018-04-20T11:20:36-07:002018-04-20T11:20:36-07:00Current Inspiration: Geneen Roth<p><a contents="" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://geneenroth.com" target="_blank"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/9298feb65a2bda12908c1145aa73ccfc2f8a748b/original/img-0425.jpg/!!/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></a></p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/51871852018-04-17T15:42:30-07:002018-04-17T15:42:30-07:00Take Me Home: Maplewood, MO<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/96118ad6d88c567823e18c7e49bda45498dc5bb3/large/img-0395.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br>April 3, 2015 I still see her face. Too shy to offer in person she slipped me this note during the concert. I had to drive on somewhere that night, and I regretted it... I wanted to know her, felt like I already did. But sometimes we only have a moment, and that is enough. <br><br>Today as I pack to leave Santa Cruz for the last time (for now) this note drifted out of the cupboard. What a lovely reminder! No matter where we are... Grace lives upstairs. <br><br>Thank you, Grace. Thank you, all people I will never know and yet somehow know because we're all One. Thank you, Santa Cruz family. I will miss you and yet I am with you.</p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/51814522018-04-13T22:25:44-07:002018-04-13T22:25:44-07:00Loving Kindness Meditation<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="sz7cpV7ERsM" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/sz7cpV7ERsM/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sz7cpV7ERsM?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="302" width="516" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p><3</p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/51742562018-04-10T11:25:52-07:002018-04-10T11:25:52-07:00Take Me Home: Charlotte, NC<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/62771cfcca15c043daa5b3b0e4b0842d628584c4/original/dsc04310.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>November 13, 2010 </p>
<p>For all the strangers I've stayed with I've only used the couchsurfing website a handful of times. While it's connected me with sweet people (namely Danna & Javier) I feel more comfortable winging it and going on intuition. (Well, I never feel comfortable winging it, but it usually works out.) Plus between booking, promoting, driving, performing, and having to be in a different place every day some things need to be left up to chance. Like my physical safety and wellbeing, apparently. </p>
<p>Fortunately this night I landed with two kind strangers in Charlotte, NC. I had reservations about the bar where I'd be performing so I arranged to meet Paras and Shivani beforehand. It was already dark as I rolled up to their pretty house by the hospital and tapped on the door. Shivani greeted me, led me to a candlelit fireplace, and offered a silver cup of water. A few moments later her husband joined us, demonstrated his sarod, and then asked me if I'd like an acupuncture treatment. Next thing I knew I was lying on their table while he needled my belly and hairy legs. He left me in pitch darkness to rest.</p>
<p>The show turned out to be great - my cousin and her husband drove all the way from Roanoke to surprise me and Gwyneth & Monko played the second set. More than anything, though, it was that I felt connected, grateful, and secure knowing I had a home to return to. We finished close to one and as I had to leave a few hours later I never saw my hosts again (another reason I don't use the couchsurfing site - I always feel like a terrible guest). However Paras and Shivani had prepared steel cut oats for the morning, and I awoke to the fragrance of cinnamon, chopped apples, walnuts, and plump raisins baking in the slow cooker. A silver bowl, a spoon, and a cup of water welcomed me with a sticky note: "enjoy breakfast - help yourself! thank you for being our guest." </p>
<p>Sigh. People. People are so caring and generous. Don't let voices teach you to fear them. Don't let voices teach you to value money over people or freedom or creativity or your natural impulse to expand, know, explore, become, share, connect. That night like so many nights I didn't make any money for my work yet I was nourished, sheltered, and deeply restored. My accountant might think I'm a failure but I go to sleep feeling like the luckiest girl on the planet. Not that it's a competition. I hope you all fall asleep feeling like the luckiest girl on the planet. </p>
<p>Thank you, Paras & Shivani. Thank you, Gwyneth & Monko. Thank you Kate & Joe. Thank you to all acupuncturists, massage therapists, and healers who keep me keeping on.</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/7551d967d70422db2f5115e8169754c93a5a062c/original/dsc04306.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/51699882018-04-07T16:26:30-07:002018-04-07T16:26:31-07:00Take Me Home: Fairview Shores, FL<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/fda7451cdc9053e542e133784294d9fba902fcb5/original/img-3258.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>May 18, 2014</p>
<p>I have no recollection of this night. However my computer tells me I was in Fairview Shores, FL so I assume I went home with someone from the venue. I vaguely remember waking up to a backyard filled with bunnies and hens, and feeding them lacinato kale. And that sweet, sweet Floridian sunlight my skin I can almost taste now... thank you, kind stranger. Happy Saturday, all.</p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/51666802018-04-05T15:50:43-07:002018-04-05T15:50:43-07:00Take Me Home: Stanley, ID<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/f83039e5ad9763063b74f010170d8ab3214a5f9d/original/img-8976.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />August 6, 2014</p>
<p>"What is that?" a little boy asked as sunlight rippled through my soles. "That's the singer," his mother whispered. The singer? I wonder how his mind processed this strange, foot-headed creature sprouting up from a bed of deer tracks. I wonder what happened when he went to music class and the teacher asked him to sing. <br> <br>From childhood we're fed answers. Some are helpful, some aren't, and most threaten our imagination. When looking replaces seeing, when what we're fed replaces how we feel, our experience is no longer ours. By the time we're teenagers it's no wonder we're confused, dissatisfied, suspicious, and angry at those who tried to teach us. We act like we know everything because deep down we sense we've forgotten. Answers, those stories we learned so well, fail to protect us from the discomfort of not knowing. <br> <br>And then adults - what are adults? Technically I'm an adult, but I'm not fully grown. There will always be more to know, more to grow, and the amount of unknown/ungrown never diminishes. In some ways we're stronger but mostly we're just further from the ground, focused in our heads, frozen by the gnawing knowing that one day we will return to that, down there. We are so scared. Of what? We reach for the sky forgetting we touch it on all sides and instead cling to whatever storyline is available, even if it is barbed. Wouldn't you rather fly? <br> <br>Don't be afraid of questions. Don't be afraid of not having answers. Every quest begins with a question and the point isn't to find answers but to find more questions so that we may continue these wonderful, strange, scary, frustrating, exhilarating, tragic, hilarious, joyful lives. We're all heroes on a journey, blossoms on a stem. We are creating a new world, every moment. <br> <br>Embarking on a new quest in a couple weeks. See you in Santa Fe, Taos, and Las Vegas. Happy Spring. <br> <br>Thank you, Redfish Lake Lodge. Thank you, Sawtooths. Thank you, Paul.</p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/51183002018-03-08T13:20:09-08:002018-04-04T07:56:51-07:00Take Me Home: Boulder, CO<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/eccf81310e7d01aacbd4322616e8358e7fe2ed23/original/img-2556.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br>“We have a job to do, reclaiming our glory. It’s work, and it will not please everyone. We will be called grandiose. We will be accused of being in dangerous denial, of our faults, our neuroses, our weaknesses. But it’s an ancient trick this, telling a woman that her glory is her sickness. You bet we’re in denial. We deny the power of weakness in our own past. We are on to better things, such as owning our beauty and honoring the courage it has taken us to get here and claiming our natural power to heal and be healed. We’re not grandiose, but we’re tired - tired of pretending we’re guilty when we know we’re innocent, that we’re plain when we know we’re beautiful, and that we’re weak when we know we’re strong. For far too long, we have forgotten we are cosmic royals. Our mothers forgot, their mothers forgot, and their mothers before them. We regret their tears; we mourn their sadness. But now, at last, we break the chain.”</p>
<p>- Marianne Williamson in <em>A Woman’s Worth</em>, which after a year of traveling in my backseat I finally started to read this morning. Then I remembered - Happy International Women’s Day!</p>
<p>Photo by my friend Meridith on April 18, 2015 at her studio in Boulder. I was touring west to California while booking a tour east to NY and Europe while finalizing <em>Passenger</em> artwork so that it could come out a few weeks later... I was really tired. But Meridith and Izzy (pictured) kept me smiling. </p>
<p>Thank you, queens. </p>
<p><3</p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/51111412018-03-04T20:23:06-08:002018-04-04T04:53:09-07:00Take Me Home: Amsterdam, NLD<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/f08a465815d3670f415d1f3cc6f6f7a992fcaba3/original/img-2278.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />April 1, 2011 </p>
<p>I arrived in Amsterdam courtesy of an 82-year-old lead-footed ex-sailor who’d forgotten his glasses in Belgium. He had me watch for signs (and bumpers) as he floored it north, cursing every Dutch and German driver with maniacal cackling that erupted into chest-heaving spasms I feared would take us both out. The grand finale was when my new friend maneuvered us onto the tracks of an oncoming train - facing our deaths for the hundredth time that day the old sailor swung our little ship over the median just in time, laughing in shock and narrowly missing a flock of cyclists. <br><br>As you might imagine I was trembling as I tumbled out of the car to meet Joris (pronounced “gorgeous”), who I’d met through a friend I’d met via the internet who he’d met through a friend through Burning Man… I can’t remember the details, but we’d never met before. And yet Joris invited me to stay in his houseboat for a few days. After a quick tour and instructions on how to operate the gas fireplace he handed me the keys to his palace and went to stay with a friend so that I could enjoy solitude. <br> <br>People. People are so incredibly kind, so generous, so thoughtful, so freaking funny, if a little unhinged. </p>
<p>Naturally I spent three days in ecstasy. But that's another story for another day. Enjoy the Oscars! Or whatever you're doing this evening. :D<br> <br>Thank you, Joris. Thank you, dear sailor. Thank you, Amsterdam. </p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/50979102018-02-24T22:32:23-08:002018-02-24T22:32:23-08:00Take Me Home: Big Sur, CA<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/fa1605c50fc9f0027158cf03a0164ce247242e28/original/img-0501.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>July 2, 2012 I unzipped the tent and crawled towards the moon. Full again, she splashed me awake and I hesitated before slipping into the cold air. The marine layer glowed like silver springs of Avalon. I sat in the mist, a thirsty deer, wide-eyed and watchful. There she was. That familiar face. Always present to witness my rises and my falls. </p>
<p>I couldn’t sleep, and not because of John’s snoring. I was too full of excitement. Too full of life. Too full of love. I couldn’t possibly squeeze all my feelings into that little tent. I needed space to shine. </p>
<p>So I sat and I waited while planets shifted and the trajectory of my life changed forever. Love will do that. Some say love makes us crazy, but I say love reveals who we truly are. Is life not crazy? Are we not the big bang, still banging? Either we’re batshit insane or we’re sleeping. </p>
<p>I held up my doubts, fears, and endless questions. The moon poured into each crevasse. Gulping, gulping, gulping… I knew in that moment I’d quit my job, leave Los Angeles, and return to the road. I renewed my vows, pledging to always follow my heart through the twists and turns of its valves and veins, not knowing how, but nevertheless to keep on beating on. </p>
<p>I can’t tell you what those answers are, but I still feel them coming into being, pulsating, softly banging where the echos of the past meet the edges of the future... </p>
<p>Thank you, John. Thank you, Big Sur. Thank you, California. Thank you, Moon. </p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/50924352018-02-21T18:37:38-08:002019-03-09T18:32:15-08:00Take Me Home: Santa Cruz, CA (#2)<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/5bc61dfda729da3677c74d1f3753e8b69152b29e/original/img-4371.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br>Today I reached a new level of guest-host intimacy when I went to Planned Parenthood for a routine pap and who was there to greet my knees but one of my former Airbnb hosts! I can now update my review to "went above and beyond... and below." Ha!</p>
<p>Before he prodded my cervix Dr. Airbnb prodded my boundaries. A year ago I stayed with him and his wife in a cute bungalow in my favorite part of town. Right from the beginning his presence felt invasive and combative, even to someone from NYC. I loved the house, but I couldn't stand to be there when he was home. </p>
<p>As with many times I've initially clashed with someone, the shell cracked and I opened up. He met me there. I learned that as a teenager he'd joined a cult that encouraged aggression. He learned that I'm (overly) sensitive. Over the kitchen island we discussed music, dance, spirituality, psychedelics, relationships, travel, life, love.... By the time I checked out conflict yielded to love. </p>
<p>While it's nice to immediately "click" with someone, relationships that challenge us offer more opportunities for growth. I never set out to live onstage, nor in other people's homes. Heck, I'm an INFP who never got sent to her room as punishment because "a room of one's own" is the greatest gift I could ever ask for. I'm still searching for that room. Sometimes walking around this earth without a shell feels unbearable. I'm not as graceful (or grateful) at I'd like it to be, that's for sure. </p>
<p>In the meantime I'm learning how to be at home in this body, following the road as it's paved, one rainbow block at a time, soul to sole. I don't know where I'm going but with each orbit around the sun I feel less disturbed by this unknowing. Or maybe more comfortable with the disturbance. Less deluded by the knowing. The spirals feel a little less like a ferris wheel and a little more like that gentle hum of the highway... mmm... </p>
<p>Thank you for sharing space with me, and for teaching me how to share it. Despite my resistance I recognize I signed up for this ride a long time ago. And I love it so much. Maybe the crossroads is the cross where we die and are reborn each time we commit and commit and commit.... endless grids covering the earth. Opportunities to move not just forward but toward. To connect. To love. It's right here, always. </p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/50574792018-02-02T01:47:42-08:002019-03-09T18:32:49-08:00Take Me Home: Yellowstone National Park<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/f9a5032969265b61c12b85ef77e570ccd0259491/original/img-6335.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br>June 20, 2013 I arrived in West Yellowstone anxious. After stopping at the venue I took my dry eyes and dusty joints for a walk around town, three or four square blocks. Buffalo This, Buffalo That. As with most nights I worried not about my performance but where the hell I was going to sleep, whether I’d make money, and getting to tomorrow’s gig in time. Romantic, isn’t it? But this is how touring dissolves performance anxiety. There simply isn’t enough energy left after all the other anxiety. <br><br>After weeks of crossing the Rockies to the West Coast and back, and with a ten hour drive to the Black Hills looming (assuming there wouldn’t be any bison traffic jams), I wasn’t looking forward to singing for three hours to people eating burgers and watching the basketball game above my head. I wanted to sleep. But this strange oasis of gimmicky motels, bars, and German tourists was going to be a tough place to find a host. Who wants a singer crashing their vacation? (Oy - I stayed with those people once - not good.) <br><br>Mostly I was irritable because I came all this way and I wasn’t going to be able to see Yellowstone National Park. It was my own doing - I could have scheduled days off. But didn’t think I could afford to. Summer in the Rockies is comparatively lucrative for touring musicians, but by that I mean we can likely cover gas and basmati for three-four hours of performing and then drive all day to repeat, and repeat, and repeat. It’s a crazy way to make a living, but love is crazy. And we love it. And love tends to work itself out.<br> <br>So I sang while my audience ate burgers and watched the basketball game above my head. And, as with every night, all that deep breathing and toning massaged my heart open and I loved my job again. Wheels stopped spinning. Something shifted. Music. Life. Bliss. <br> <br>I finished my last set and began to pack up, contemplating my next move, when a young woman from North Carolina approached and asked if I needed a place to stay. She and her boyfriend were working at the park for the summer, and if I wanted to I could stay with them - inside Yellowstone Park. <br><br><em>Do you see how this crazy love magic becomes addictive?!</em></p>
<p>So a little before midnight I drove us into the park. We convinced a skeptical ranger that I was driving Ellen’s car because she’d been drinking, and then we followed the almost-full moon into the forest. With windows cracked the cold air broke to the sound of heavy breathing - a glass-eyed bison clopped alongside us mechanically, alarmingly large from within an arm’s reach. Steam rose ghostlike from Grand Prismatic as my new friend and I discussed ancient matters of the heart and mine exploded: awe, gratitude, wonder, joy, excitement, love. Who was that cranky girl on the sidewalk a few hours ago? </p>
<p>We went to the boys’ room, where bottles of beer covered every surface - tables, floor, bathroom sink, behind the toilet. Cases stacked by the door. They offered me one of the bare mattresses and took to the floor between the two twins. Curled up in my sleeping bag I woke up two hours later, too excited to sleep. Plus I needed to leave by four to make soundcheck in South Dakota and bison traffic jams are a real thing. So I eased into the cool darkness as a blue glow rose over Yellowstone Lake, where trees scattered across the massive slopes like matchsticks and my spirit drank deeply. </p>
<p>If a picture is worth 1000 words Yellowstone National Park is worth at least 1000 pictures. Thank you, Ellen and Brian. Thank you, National Park Service. Thank you, Earth. </p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/50533552018-01-30T23:25:00-08:002019-03-09T18:25:49-08:00Take Me Home: Castiglione delle Stiviere, ITA<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/4fd2ce92c5a5d8d9535b1e74bb02b245bd3605b5/original/27368589-1651788034902222-4743609881393022492-o.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br>April 17, 2011 The first time I met Lorenzo (in this lifetime) was in front of la stazione di Desenzano del Garda-Sirmione. I’d just arrived in Italy via Milano, where I promptly hustled to the bathroom to don makeup and dust the crumbs off my “traveling clothes,” i.e. the same pair of yoga pants I’d worn every day for a month. <br><br>Hustled is a lie. My suitcase weighed as much as I did and back then the smaller stations didn’t have elevators. However I quickly discovered that every station comes equipped with Italian men. Dio mio… as I approached the stairs a god descended to offer assistance, moving with such grace I swore he carried the beast with his pinky finger. Through the drool I whispered “grazie mille,” to which he replied “prego,” at which point I thought, yes, I imagine I am now pregnant. <br> <br>Sigh… where was I? Oh yes, springtime in Italy. As I think back to waiting for Lorenzo in front of that dripping fountain where teenagers groped each other under the young foliage I realize I can’t possibly fit this story into a little box on your screen. Italy requires words… many, many words. There was the concert, the absinthe, the night in the dance studio, the day at Lake Garda, the formation of our metal band, the un-metal performance of our metal band, the feast, the hugs, the laughter… and the strange, blue-haloed full moon under which we recognized a soul mate. <br><br>Thank you, Lorenzo. Thank you, Anna. Thank you, dear Castiglione delle Stiviere family. I love you to the moon and back. ? </p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/50533542018-01-29T12:20:00-08:002019-03-09T18:26:47-08:00Take Me Home: San Francisco, CA<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/5ede7b0d85ad664cd99260ed16f15102f6064c85/original/27173794-1650751228339236-5218285658275826094-o.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br>February 4, 2008 The first time I went home with a complete stranger was in San Francisco. (Not counting the time Helena and I camped in Fishman's high school girlfriend's yard during Gathering of the Vibes. Alleged ex-girlfriend graciously invited us to eat cold Chef Boyardee on lawn chairs in front of her house and to use her bathroom, which had chili pepper lights encircling the mirror, which I thought was very cool.) <br> <br>However this time it was Super Bowl Sunday and I was singing at a venue/laundromat/bar/internet café called Brainwash. Aside from the bartender the audience consisted of a handful of disinterested laptops, their operators, and a couple of spin cycles. I didn't make a cent. Nor a fan, though during the concert (if you can call it that) one guy looked me up online and emailed just to say "hey." <br> <br>Sigh... there have been so many nights like this. Having set out with dreams of stardom I found myself stranded in cold, starless San Francisco with no money for a room and no friend to call. That's when Rashi approached. <br> <br>"Are you really going to sleep in your car?” <br>“Mmm. I don’t really know where I’ll go.” <br>“If you want, you can stay with me.” <br> <br>The fog lifted. I waited while she closed and then we drove up and down San Francisco’s hills, lights rising and falling in silent waves. I carried my sleeping bag and guitar inside the creaky blue house, stepping around plants, boots, and bicycles. She gave me a bag of the day-old bagels and a bottle of juice, showed me a place to spread out, smoked a bowl on her bed, and fell asleep. <br><br>I washed my face with cold water and paused before the kitchen window, soaking in the view. From here the city twinkled, a rainbow of stars. <br>. <br>Thank you, Rashi, wherever you are. Thank you to all who have sheltered me from the storms. I couldn't have made it without you.</p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/50480032018-01-26T20:30:00-08:002018-01-31T00:18:00-08:00Take Me Home: Auburn, AL<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/8593358cfbeb9531af9dc9e3513a16834746988b/original/27500607-1647491421998550-6030281932263882769-o.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br>Happy Friday, with love from Alan & Cygne :D <br>Auburn, AL May 3, 2014 <br> </p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/50479992018-01-25T20:35:00-08:002019-03-09T18:27:07-08:00Take Me Home: Jodhpur, IND<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/8db4918a186f87c19f21cf7180c3358654035189/original/27164083-1646558638758495-8322734608614168379-o.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br>February 3, 2013 I’d only been in India a few days when I got sick. Like call-mom-I’m-on-the-other-side-of-the-globe-and-I-might-die-here-sick. Ironically, the last thing I’d written in my journal before the alien began to claw through my abdomen was “How can I possibly digest all of this?” Apparently I couldn’t. <br> <br>And no, I’m not just referring to the piles of curry, though I could’ve done without the parasites. It was the babies crawling through gutters filled with trash where cows grazed and shat next to men getting shaved or perhaps their teeth pulled with metal pliers beside older women dragging carts of produce heavier than themselves and younger women balancing wood on their heads while stray dogs lounged in the road, too hungry, too tired, too defeated to move. <br><br>I felt so sad. I felt so grateful. I felt so compelled. I felt so repelled. I felt so much I lost the ability to feel. I became a sea of sari rainbows weaving across the desert and I felt lost. <br> <br>My time in India was a journey through glass - cars, guides, swanky hotels, hot showers, bottled water. The discrepancy was too much. Pressure accumulated. The glass had to shatter. And when it did I found myself again, dipping in and out of consciousness on this rope bed in a villager’s home, peaceful and calm away from the city as birds sang to twilight, the air a perfect blend of cool and warm against my aching skin… <br><br>Home. Thank you for your homes. Thank you for your humanity, and your ability and willingness to connect. I’ve never been good at boundaries. I know they’re healthy and helpful and they keep the parasites at bay but I can’t ignore our connection. We are literally the same earth, eating her and feeding her when we move on from these physical bodies. What makes us different from parasites? Is earth not hosting us? Have thousands of you not hosted me? Am I not a parasite? </p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/50479982018-01-24T20:30:00-08:002019-03-09T18:27:30-08:00Take Me Home: Bolinas, CA<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/c9c4630037e2a87bcb1b8240b728d808db952051/original/27356147-1645864628827896-3134751931474980044-o.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br>January 24, 2008 I’d had a rough night at a cheap motel in Oakland. As I'd arrived several police cars were hauling away guys in handcuffs. “Well, at least it’s well monitored,” I figured as I slid my credit card through a slit in the bulletproof glass. Throughout the night my neighbors fought, sirens and car alarms raged, and I waited for the sun to rise through a little hole in the curtain. <br><br>And it did! (Well, as much as it does in the Bay Area.) At first gray I departed as rain trickled down the windshield and Leonard sang, “rain falls down on last year’s man.” I stopped in Berkeley to poke around Amoeba, sell clothes at Buffalo Exchange, and split a wolverine (chocolate pastry from Cheeseboard Collective - RIP gluten) with a sleepy girl on a stoop off Shattuck. I reached the coast just in time for a foggy sunset. <br> <br>Sky, sea, and road melted into a wet glob of cobalt as I snaked up Highway 1. Redwoods thickened, huddling like skeletons before my headlights. "Where the hell am I?" Just north of San Francisco I felt like I was taking the backroad to Hogwarts. <br><br>Having missed my turn I stopped for directions in Olema, where the bartender explained that locals took down road signs because they didn’t want outsiders in their town. (RIP pre-GPS/smartphone mysteries.) Within minutes I’d found Bolinas - essentially a café, a gas station, a market, a hippie shop, and the hotel/bar where I’d be playing. And a lot of vibes. <br> <br>Bird preservationists from the nearby estuary drank beer and listened politely while I sang. Oddly, they all looked like birds. The woman who booked me (through Myspace, RIP) had coke-bottle glasses and frizzed-out hair, the Professor Trelawney of my Hogwarts experience. Frazzled old men and golden retrievers wandered in and out of the rainy night. With $85 in my pocket and a free room to sleep in, things were looking up. </p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/50479962018-01-22T20:25:00-08:002019-03-09T18:28:40-08:00Take Me Home: Santa Cruz, CA<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/9116e69899c6621dc862e1f5c841fe55a10bddc3/original/27164615-1643867112360981-6372366305672952179-o.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />January 22, 2008 From L.A. I twisted north through the Grapevine, narrowly missing the fourth snowstorm of the week. When I arrived at the house of my mom's friend I couldn't see the ocean but I could smell it, I could feel it, and I could hear it. Maybe first impressions really are everything. <br><br>Santa Cruz is the one place I've returned to more times than I've left. Ten years later I'm in the same friend's house, though now she's my friend and we're in a different house down the street. Like that first night I will fall asleep listening to the waves, inhaling a mixture of gratitude, awe, and anxiety. "I love it here SO MUCH! Nancy is so freaking good to me. Gosh those seals are cute. I hope there isn't an earthquake. What would happen in a tsunami? Could I ever afford to live here?" <br> <br>I come from a different shore, where we're raised to worry. But I've learned to trust the tide and by the time I exhale the waves will have worked their magic and I'll be drifting off to sleep.... <br> <br>Thank you, Nancy. Good night, all.</p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/50479952018-01-21T20:30:00-08:002019-03-09T18:29:06-08:00Take Me Home: Ojai, CA<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/584d80fc4173fada9355e050281d80095d16972b/original/dsc05510.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br>January 21, 2011 Flash forward a few years - I was still runnin' down a dream though runnin' out of stream when @beatricewoodcenter invited me to spend a month in Ojai as songwriter-in-residence. (More on Beato and Happy Valley to come - sign-up link in profile). <br> <br>From NYC I landed in the golden hills of Happy Valley twirling like Julie Andrews. On this particular day, halfway through the residency, I'd ridden that ecstatic arrival through the rough wake that follows any abrupt stop. Alone in a house of spirits nighttime noises took getting used to. Quail flew into darkened glass doors and my thoughts - no longer wrung out by long drives and loud concerts - were a cyclone. Ravenous, dreaming wildly, writing profusely, I spent the previous night cocooned in my sleeping bag, a matryoshka doll, a nest within a nest within a nest. <br> <br>In the daylight I emailed hundred venues for a European tour, mailed posters for a US tour, and then broke the monotony (satisfying in its own way) to bask in the pink moment, when sunset illuminates Topatopa Mountains. Weaving through the amber fields as they took on the underwater hues of early evening I paused under my favorite story-telling tree. "Do more things that are irrelevant." I walked up to the Ojai Foundation and swung on a swing until the cool air beckoned coyote's first call. <br> <br>The rest of the night passed blissfully doing what I love best - putting words with music. <br> <br>Thank you, Beato, Kevin, Sheryl, & Maryann. <br> <br>The Center survived the wildfire however there is considerable damage to the property. Please visit their page and consider becoming a member or making a purchase to support the fantastic work they're doing for peace, love, and art.</p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/50479942018-01-20T20:30:00-08:002019-03-09T18:29:17-08:00Take Me Home: Hollywood, CA<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/ca8c783b575afa4ba30ed1c01973cc12b2b14cec/original/26952491-1641894845891541-1886253529751903793-o.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br>January 20, 2008 As I approached Los Angeles my lazy Sunday desert drive became a video arcade of wide lanes, fast cars, and bright lights. I had no smartphone, no wifi, no GPS, but I did have a Motel 6 directory and I called every location. The whole town was booked. Not knowing where to turn I continued up 101, high on hope, and I waited for my sign. "Magical things happen in LA," I thought. "Tom Petty lives here." </p>
<p>Most of you know Tom Petty was/is/forever will be my hero. More than a hero, his voice has been that of a rock-and-roll-surrogate-angel-father guiding me through adolescence (and it's all adolescence). I don't know if his music saved my life but something close to it. It gave me life. I was only five-years-old when I first heard Full Moon Fever but dreams are timeless and in those songs I heard my own. A fuse ignited, coiling all the way from that small Vermont town to the City of Angels.... <br> <br>Vermont Avenue - there was my sign. I exited and followed Vermont Avenue to a fluorescent Travelodge, the office windows fogged-up and ominous under the full moon. They had a room, but for an outrageous $85/night - more than I'd made on tour so far, and a lot less than I'd lost. I hesitated and turned to leave. Where could I go? Beside my foot a familiar face stared up from the current LA Weekly cover story, "A Sound Map of Tom Petty's Los Angeles.” <br><br>I tucked the paper under my arm, handed over my credit card, and filled in the plate information. On the way upstairs I spooked a mouse and bolted myself inside as a roach skittered into the bathroom. Flipping open Tom’s map, the only map I had of Los Angeles, I scanned record labels, studios, venues... and then, "Travelodge: Petty lived at the Travelodge with his wife while recording the first album. His daughter was born just after they moved to L.A., and while living at the hotel they put her in a drawer as a crib. 1401 N. Vermont Ave." </p>
<p>Workin' on a mystery <br>Goin' wherever it leads <br>Runnin' down a dream <br><br>Thank you, Tom. </p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/50479922018-01-19T20:30:00-08:002019-03-09T18:33:46-08:00Take Me Home: Tucumcari, NM<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/a8b116d11e889ac5f1721269a034b3ce2d7740c4/original/26841358-1640517576029268-3311144480291583894-o.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br>January 19, 2008 From Kansas City I drove to Tucumcari, NM, where I "slept" in my car before driving to Los Angeles. Quotations because the desert wind was so strong, cold, and scary I sat up every twenty minutes to put on the flashlight and/or heat. <br><br>Not a day goes by when I don't think about how fortunate I am for these wheels, my privilege, and the generosity of those who have sheltered my body and spirit. What about those who aren't so fortunate? We can't change the desert wind but we can change a lot of other things. </p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/50479912018-01-18T23:35:00-08:002019-03-09T18:36:47-08:00Take Me Home: Overland Park, KS<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/f1a8aa4a9e26ae08af97c444666fb8c3ac2c65c6/large/26757779-1639689842778708-5997413144237251806-o.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br>January 18, 2008 I was touring cross-country for the first time, ecstatic and terrified. Iowa was an endless hunger of hard snow and bible radio. In Omaha I made $20, listened to a guy cover "Red, Red Wine," and camped out at a Motel 6 until a blizzard threatened to keep me there forever. My Kansas City show was so empty you could hear the snow tinkling outside but the bartender turned me on to Serge Gainsbourg so overall it was a success. </p>
<p>Not knowing anyone west of the Mississippi and quickly realizing #tourlife #aintcheap I called my high school boyfriend's younger brother's best friend's mother in Overland Park, KS. I feared she might kick me out when she realized I was the Bad Influence who introduced her son to Goddard and encouraged him to follow his heart but we made peace over spaghetti (RIP gluten). I slept deeply and awoke gratefully with a cat curled at my feet, Ananda (pictured, also RIP due to <em>Let It Breathe</em> but a nice guy in Atlanta has her now) by my side, and a $50 bill tucked under the snow-covered driver's door handle. </p>
<p>Thank you so much for making this work possible. If I'd had known how wacky and windy this road would become I never would have set out on it and I'm so glad I did. <br><br>As I work on the next <a contents="projects" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://patreon.com/cygnemusic" target="_blank">projects</a> I'm taking a hiatus from touring. I already miss it and yet I'm very tired (in bed with a hot water bottle feels more appropriate than onstage right now) and I'm also very excited for New Stuff that requires time, attention, and energy. </p>
<p>In the meantime I'm going to post photos from the journey thus far. There are tens of thousands. As some of you know I've been taking pictures of every place I sleep for ten years so I'm thinking that's a good place to start... as a daily reminder of gratitude, and of how acts of kindness carry and transform our lives.</p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/49891142017-12-21T20:26:18-08:002017-12-21T20:26:18-08:00Happy Solstice <p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/81a3d9d1ca2ab74dec16234f229e6381e23aa0e6/original/img-3007.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br>Here is a Hafiz poem (translated by <a contents="Daniel Ladinsky" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.bookshopsantacruz.com/book/9780140195811" target="_blank">Daniel Ladinsky</a>) to encourage your light on the longest night:</p>
<p><strong>It Felt Love </strong></p>
<p>How <br>Did the rose <br>Ever open its heart </p>
<p>And give this world <br>All its <br>Beauty? </p>
<p>It felt the encouragement of light <br>Against its <br>Being, </p>
<p>Otherwise, <br>We all remain </p>
<p>Too </p>
<p>Frightened.</p>
<p>*</p>
<p>Have a very happy everything and I wish you all the sun's light in 2018. <3</p>
<p> </p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/49315432017-11-13T20:40:47-08:002018-04-20T10:55:14-07:00Current Inspiration: Paulus Berensohn<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="tvQzDnCUGhQ" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/tvQzDnCUGhQ/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tvQzDnCUGhQ?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="300" width="516" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p><em>to sing up the earth <3 </em></p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/48948982017-10-17T03:15:20-07:002019-03-09T18:43:20-08:00Love letter to/from the void<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/c7f6287839eff79498ecb0307801d088a80b7a62/original/img-1969.jpg?1508209817" class="size_l justify_center border_" />My dear friends, </p>
<p>I’m standing in my friend’s guest room, back in Santa Cruz, standing because I know if I sit/lie down I’ll pass out in five minutes. I’m still on Europe time and this morning I found myself on my yoga mat hours before dawn. It was actually really nice, to be up while the world is still quiet and no one expects anything from me (i.e. I don’t expect anything from myself). And after six months of carrying my life on my shoulders it feels really freaking good to stretch.</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/9441d81ebd7ab6e3e7d6179cef5adb1ebaa30334/large/img-1174.jpg?1508210354" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Tomorrow I drive to Oregon to begin shows in OR, CA, NM & TX. Honestly, I feel really torn about this tour - about touring in general - and not just because I feel like there are metal clamps on my shoulders. Around this time every year I say “I’m done with the road!” and then by the end of the year I’m manically booking the next tour. Because I love it - playing music, connecting with you, the freedom and inspiration of travel. But I’m tired. And while the spiritual gains have been tremendous here on the physical plane all I have to show for my efforts are some strained muscles, gray hairs, a stress rash, and a credit card bill.</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/6e02faa70ca27f19ec2059fda166ed4d8b09ab0d/large/img-1719.jpg?1508219943" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Sigh. Glamorous, right? I don’t want to be negative… so I struggle with how much and what to share in these newsletters because life is <i>mostly</i> rad, I’ve chosen this path (I think?), and I want to inspire you to pursue your passion. But what is/isn’t inspiring? Who am I to assume/attempt to control that? Is omission a form of dishonesty? My mom tells me to keep it professional and accentuate the positive because she’s a Capricorn and as a responsible goat she puts her head down and plows through any and all adversity… but I’m the Pig to her Snake, an indecisive, hypersensitive, up-and-down tilt-a-whirl Libra born on The Day of Glaring Truth, and my truth has always been to overshare. Because while a photo might speak 1000 words it will never tell the whole story. And I want to. Life is far too interesting, even with the ick and the uck and the void.</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/f528ba93c6079de12db3bd5ec9e946edb6f7c4c6/large/img-1543.jpg?1508219643" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>I need some time in the void. My life has been really packed for a long time. This week I celebrate ten years of living on the road. Ten years! On my tenth birthday I cried because I’d never be a single digit again. This year I cried because I don’t think I’ll ever live on the road again. I’m not “done with the road” - I’m pretty certain I’ll always travel and perform - but it won’t be like this. (It never is!) What it will be, I don’t know, but for the first time in years I’m not booking a tour in 2018. While this might seem like no biggie to you it feels huge! My life/home/identity/family have been inseparable from the road. Letting go is hard to do, no matter how easy these autumn leaves make it look. </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/349dfa59873afe6deaf17baebda75a16c143532b/large/img-1426.jpg?1508211577" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Yesterday I cried (I’ve had a lot of practice since Tom passed away) and my beloved rubbed my back (best response in these/all situations) and I began to unravel the many thought-feelings I’ve been accumulating on my journey, some of which sound like: <i>Am I too old for this shit? Am I being swayed by a lifetime of people telling me one day I’ll be too old for this shit? Am I not trying hard enough? Am I trying too hard? Do I not want it badly enough? Did I ever want it? What is it? What is want? Did I fuck up? What now? Etc. </i></p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/a1c8f5e0eb3d5fb2e36772fedb301d880fd03827/large/img-1734.jpg?1508219952" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Fortunately I’m used to the existential firing squad and it quickly dissolved into a vision of<i> </i>myself at the edge of a desert ravine. I had to cross it, and with a running start I probably could, but it was clear that there was no going over, only through. I’d have to slide down and climb up the gravelly, unstable opposite wall. I felt hopelessly weak, lost, and overwhelmed (sob, sob). But when I finally lowered down inside the ravine was peaceful and calm - the sun was high overhead, the air was still, the silence bubbled in an underwater hiss. Slowly my anxiety dissipated as I uncovered a rope, hoisted myself with some effort, and exited the other side to a lush, green landscape.</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/b40c061f66a19ab349e57bcb6660ecb44793eb45/large/img-1224.jpg?1508210382" class="size_l justify_center border_" />What am I talking about? I never set out to live on the road. My intention was always to be the best artist I could possibly be. And I haven’t been. So now I have to change course. For years the bulk of my creative mojo has gone towards booking emails, managing tours, organizing and traveling from A to B while trying not to lose my shit, performing, and songwriting only in trickles and stolen scribbles. I’ve mostly loved the journey, but it’s been too long since I’ve sat at a desk with a Thesaurus and worked on a song. And I really, really miss that. While you, dear listener, complete the song, it’s my job to get the bulk of it. And I have some catching up to do.</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/d4b41790f19c3609bd25e3a755b40bdd875b0b4d/large/img-1281.jpg?1508211601" class="size_l justify_center border_" />It’s scary - I derive nearly all of my income from touring, California is hella expensive, and I have no idea what’s going to happen next - but I’m alive, and that’s exciting. The void has always led to a better place. Why then, have I so often resisted leaving space for it?</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/3c8feab758b0db3461e53798187a30f3b5c79632/large/img-1777.jpg?1508219953" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Is it because growth often looks like death?</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/af03f161467af595aa915e250eb8f0666d061925/large/img-1690.jpg?1508219959" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Is it really so bad?</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/e3a4d6c8056e1bb4b119640a081eef0e0bf4aa14/large/img-1501.jpg?1508211597" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Today I took a break from unpacking and repacking my car and I watched a hummingbird perch on a branch. I’ve never seen a hummingbird at rest! I took it as a sign to write this email, put it in writing, have some integrity. </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/bfbcbe3fcc19bcded5695579f9f60e7f3f8c93ec/large/img-1234.jpg?1508210370" class="size_l justify_center border_" />I value our connection more than my jet lagged brain can articulate right now and my hope is to have a deeper, more relaxed conversation, without having to worry about rushing to the next train or playing the next set.</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/d5a4800867cc18cde11e091b757cdaed25c36c15/large/img-1910.jpg?1508220334" class="size_l justify_center border_" />What do you think? Questions/comments/concerns/things you'd like to see/hear/say?</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/fb11864552d1424b41b2b286546b6f07ad726f65/large/img-1898.jpg?1508220336" class="size_l justify_center border_" />I know I'm not alone in my quest - most of us want more time and resources for our passions. </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/8b587b9ce9fbf465d43798c1ddb68ffaab186d65/large/img-1831.jpg?1508219969" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Sometimes it's easier to hear our truth in the voice of another, which is what makes music (and other forms of artistic expression) so powerful. </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/b57d20c6ec6ec714b689695fef8ab7c05da0dac8/large/img-1074.jpg?1508210353" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Speaking of which, my phone has been telling me it's time for bed for a couple hours now :) </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/be631b77f4d6db6c9ac01d57a352492495dd01bb/large/img-1455.jpg?1508211569" class="size_l justify_center border_" />What can I say - always excited, even when dazed and confused! Here are the final dates of the <i>Let It Breathe</i> tour: </p>
<p>Oct 19 | COTTAGE GROVE, OR | <a contents="Axe &amp; Fiddle" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://axeandfiddle.com" target="_blank">Axe & Fiddle</a>, 8:30pm<br>Oct 21 | SALEM, OR | <a contents="Vagabond" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://vagabondbrewing.com" target="_blank">Vagabond</a>, 9pm<br>Oct 22 | EUGENE, OR | <a contents="Unity of the Valley" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://unityofthevalley.org" target="_blank">Unity of the Valley</a>, 10am<br>Oct 25 | GILROY, CA | <a contents="Hecker Pass Winery" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://heckerpasswinery.com" target="_blank">Hecker Pass Winery</a>, 6pm<br>Oct 27 | MENLO PARK, CA | <a contents="Cafe Zoë" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://cafezoemenlopark.com" target="_blank">Cafe Zoë</a>, 7:30pm<br>Nov 01 | SOUTH PASADENA, CA | <a contents="Wine &amp; Song" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://wineandsong.com" target="_blank">Wine & Song</a>, 7pm<br>Nov 02 | COSTA MESA, CA | <a contents="The Boathouse Collective" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://boathousecollective.com" target="_blank">The Boathouse Collective</a><br>Nov 05 | FOUNTAIN VALLEY, CA | <a contents="OCCSR" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://occsr.com" target="_blank">OCCSR</a>, 10am<br>Nov 09 | ALBUQUERQUE, NM | <a contents="Rio Bravo" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.riobravobrewing.com" target="_blank">Rio Bravo</a>, 6pm<br>Nov 10 | DALLAS, TX | <a contents="Six Springs Tavern" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.ticketfly.com/org/7776" target="_blank">Six Springs Tavern</a>, 7pm - with Susan Gibson<br>Nov 11 | SAN ANTONIO, TX | <a contents="Sanchos" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.sanchosmx.com" target="_blank">Sanchos</a>, 7pm<br>Nov 16 | SAN ANTONIO, TX | <a contents="Joe Blues" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/JoeBluesSanAntonio/" target="_blank">Joe Blues</a>, 9:30pm<br>Nov 17 | HOUSTON, TX | <a contents="Brasil Cafe" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.brasilcafehouston.com" target="_blank">Brasil Cafe</a>, 9pm<br>Nov 18 | HOUSTON, TX | <a contents="Anderson Fair" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://andersonfair.net" target="_blank">Anderson Fair</a>, 8pm<br>Nov 28 | AUSTIN, TX | <a contents="Driskill Hotel" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://driskillhotel.com" target="_blank">Driskill Hotel</a>, 6pm<br>Nov 29 | AUSTIN, TX | <a contents="Driskill Hotel" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://driskillhotel.com" target="_blank">Driskill Hotel</a>, 6pm<br>Nov 30 | AUSTIN, TX | <a contents="Driskill Hotel" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://driskillhotel.com" target="_blank">Driskill Hotel</a>, 6pm<br>Dec 01 | AUSTIN, TX | <a contents="Driskill Hotel" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://driskillhotel.com" target="_blank">Driskill Hotel</a>, 6pm<br>Dec 03 | PLANO, TX | <a contents="Holistic Festival of Life &amp; Wellbeing" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://holisticfestivaloflife.com" target="_blank">Holistic Festival of Life & Wellbeing</a><br>Dec 08 | DALLAS, TX | <a contents="Six Springs Tavern" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.ticketfly.com/org/7776">Six Springs Tavern</a>, 7pm - with Patrick Sweany<br>Dec 09 | SANTA FE, NM | <a contents="Oxygen &amp; Healing Bar" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.santafeoxygenbar.com" target="_blank">Oxygen & Healing Bar</a>, 8pm<br>Dec 10 | SANTA FE, NM | <a contents="Center for Spiritual Living" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://santafecsl.org" target="_blank">Center for Spiritual Living</a>, 10am<br>Dec 14 | TAOS, NM | <a contents="Taos Brewing" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://taosmesabrewing.com" target="_blank">Taos Brewing</a>, 8pm<br>Dec 15 | MADRID, NM | <a contents="Mine Shaft" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.themineshafttavern.com" target="_blank">Mine Shaft</a>, 5pm</p>
<p>At a fairly relaxed pace there will be days off for experimenting with live-streaming, new songs, and the <a contents="covers project" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.patreon.com/cygnemusic" target="_blank">covers project</a>. </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/c2132a221be0b0c95066ca593c2dd5002dc126ad/large/img-1556.jpg?1508219667" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/75048d68f1a1df148d7d3238c7206cf5b2de053e/large/img-1793.jpg?1508219937" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/d500dfc060c48b068d7ba394136e4c70ed0b6f42/large/img-1883.jpg?1508219959" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/9281d7d19f54d76946cb200a58d5013134033780/large/img-1112.jpg?1508210350" class="size_l justify_center border_" />And now... sleep. Have a great day and thank you for taking this journey with me!</p>
<p>Love, <br>Cygne</p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/48826452017-10-08T14:02:53-07:002017-10-08T14:02:53-07:00Tom <3<p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/loN8n6rW8EI" width="560"></iframe><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KnHU6pqmPIQ" width="560"></iframe><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4KafyI_76ds" width="560"></iframe><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lSanFJ95-UI" width="560"></iframe></p>
<p>heartbroken... but his music will always be the glue that holds me together <3</p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/48592632017-09-21T03:25:09-07:002019-03-09T18:45:14-08:00Hallo from Köln!<p>Happy Equinox!</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/5e48de034186c824368c5833a43b356766a8fe5f/large/img-0898.jpg?1505828762" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Writing from an artist's loft in Köln. My hosts are with a painted lady in the bathtub so I thought this would be a good time to catch up on fall tour news! Here are the remaining Europe concerts: </p>
<p>Sep 22 / MANNHEIM, DE // <a contents="Altes Volksbad" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/altesvolksbadmannheim/" target="_blank">Altes Volksbad</a>, 8pm<br>Sep 23 / BERLIN, DE // <a contents="Spud Bencer" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/spudbencerberlin/" target="_blank">Spud Bencer</a>, 9pm<br>Sep 24 / LEIPZIG, DE // <a contents="LEIPZIG, DE // Kulturfabrik&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.kulturfabrik-leipzig.de" target="_blank">Kulturfabrik</a>, 4pm<br>Sep 25 / BONISWIL, CH // <a contents="La Deliziosa" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.ladeliziosa.ch" target="_blank">La Deliziosa</a> w/ <a contents="Reto Burrell" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://retoburrell.ch" target="_blank">Reto Burrell</a>, 7pm<br>Sep 26 / BERN, CH // <a contents="FabrikBistro" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/fabrikbistro/" target="_blank">FabrikBistro</a>, 12pm<br>Sep 28 / BADEN, CH // <a contents="Club Joy" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.clubjoybaden.ch/event/" target="_blank">Club Joy</a> w/ <a contents="Reto Burrell" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://retoburrell.ch" target="_blank">Reto Burrell</a>, 6pm <br>Sep 29 / BERN, CH // <a contents="Matte Brennerei" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/matte.brennerei/" target="_blank">Matte Brennerei</a>, 9pm<br>Sep 30 / ALTDORF, CH // House Concert<br>Oct 01 / BASEL, CH // <a contents="Offene Bühne" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.offene-b%C3%BChne.ch" target="_blank">Offene Bühne</a>, 8pm<br>Oct 03 / SOLOTHURN, CH // <a contents="Red John Irish Pub&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/redjohnirishpub/" target="_blank">Red John Irish Pub</a>, 8:30pm<br>Oct 04 / BASEL, CH // <a contents="Autumn Sessions @ Markthalle Basel&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.altemarkthalle.ch" target="_blank">Autumn Sessions @ Markthalle Basel</a>, 8:30pm<br>Oct 05 / BERN, CH // <a contents="H27" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/h27craftbeer/" target="_blank">H27</a>, 7pm<br>Oct 06 / MONTREUX, CH // <a contents="Ancienne Poste des Planches" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/apdpmontreux/" target="_blank">Ancienne Poste des Planches</a>, 8pm<br>Oct 07 / BIEL, CH // <a contents="Literaturcafé&nbsp;Biel" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.litcafe.ch" target="_blank">Literaturcafé Biel</a>, 9pm<br>Oct 09 / PARIS, FR // <a contents="Le Pop In" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/Le-Pop-In-153300488032563/" target="_blank">Le Pop In</a> w/ <a contents="Oh Pilot" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/OhPilotFolk/" target="_blank">Oh Pilot</a>, 9pm<br>Oct 12 / BARCELONA, ES // <a contents="El Col-leccionista" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/events/475596712793998/" target="_blank">El Col-leccionista</a>, 8pm</p>
<p>The concerts have been ~ amazing ~ and I thank you with all my heart for contributing your energy and enthusiasm to this tour! You’re the difference between a great tour and a strange vacation. </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/6ffa2bede8092a84ef729fa60ffd537bea9bf17c/large/img-0748.jpg?1505828542" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br>Below are a bunch of photos from the road to Germany through Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia - but first here’s a peak at the final tour dates of 2017! Keeping the fall calendar a little light so I can harvest songs however if you’d like to host a show/swan please get in touch. I’ll be collecting donations for Houston at the concerts leading up to Thanksgiving with some special raffle prizes in exchange for your generosity.</p>
<p>Oct 19 | COTTAGE GROVE, OR | <a contents="Axe &amp; Fiddle" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://axeandfiddle.com" target="_blank">Axe & Fiddle</a>, 8:30pm<br>Oct 21 | SALEM, OR | <a contents="Vagabond" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://vagabondbrewing.com" target="_blank">Vagabond</a>, 9pm<br>Oct 22 | EUGENE, OR | <a contents="Unity of the Valley" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://unityofthevalley.org" target="_blank">Unity of the Valley</a>, 9am<br>Oct 25 | GILROY, CA | <a contents="Hecker Pass Winery" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://heckerpasswinery.com" target="_blank">Hecker Pass Winery</a>, 6pm<br>Oct 27 | MENLO PARK, CA | <a contents="Cafe Zoë" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://cafezoemenlopark.com" target="_blank">Cafe Zoë</a>, 7:30pm<br>Nov 01 | SOUTH PASADENA, CA | <a contents="Wine &amp; Song" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://wineandsong.com" target="_blank">Wine & Song</a>, 7pm<br>Nov 05 | FOUNTAIN VALLEY, CA | <a contents="OCCSR" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://occsr.com" target="_blank">OCCSR</a>, 10am<br>Nov 09 | ALBUQUERQUE, NM | <a contents="Rio Bravo" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.riobravobrewing.com" target="_blank">Rio Bravo</a>, 6pm<br>Nov 10 | DALLAS, TX | <a contents="Six Springs Tavern" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.ticketfly.com/org/7776" target="_blank">Six Springs Tavern</a>, 7pm - with Susan Gibson<br>Nov 11 | SAN ANTONIO, TX | <a contents="Sanchos" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.sanchosmx.com" target="_blank">Sanchos</a>, 7pm<br>Nov 16 | SAN ANTONIO, TX | <a contents="Joe Blues" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/JoeBluesSanAntonio/" target="_blank">Joe Blues</a>, 9:30pm<br>Nov 17 | HOUSTON, TX | <a contents="Brasil Cafe" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.brasilcafehouston.com" target="_blank">Brasil Cafe</a>, 9pm<br>Nov 18 | HOUSTON, TX | <a contents="Anderson Fair" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://andersonfair.net" target="_blank">Anderson Fair</a>, 8pm<br>Nov 28 | AUSTIN, TX | <a contents="Driskill Hotel" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://driskillhotel.com" target="_blank">Driskill Hotel</a>, 6pm<br>Nov 29 | AUSTIN, TX | <a contents="Driskill Hotel" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://driskillhotel.com" target="_blank">Driskill Hotel</a>, 6pm<br>Nov 30 | AUSTIN, TX | <a contents="Driskill Hotel" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://driskillhotel.com" target="_blank">Driskill Hotel</a>, 6pm<br>Dec 01 | AUSTIN, TX | <a contents="Driskill Hotel" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://driskillhotel.com" target="_blank">Driskill Hotel</a>, 6pm<br>Dec 03 | PLANO, TX | <a contents="Holistic Festival of Life &amp; Wellbeing" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://holisticfestivaloflife.com" target="_blank">Holistic Festival of Life & Wellbeing</a><br>Dec 08 | DALLAS, TX | <a contents="Six Springs Tavern" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.ticketfly.com/org/7776">Six Springs Tavern</a>, 7pm - with Patrick Sweany<br>Dec 09 | SANTA FE, NM | <a contents="Oxygen &amp; Healing Bar" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.santafeoxygenbar.com" target="_blank">Oxygen & Healing Bar</a>, 8pm<br>Dec 10 | SANTA FE, NM | <a contents="Center for Spiritual Living" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://santafecsl.org" target="_blank">Center for Spiritual Living</a>, 10am<br>Dec 14 | TAOS, NM | <a contents="Taos Brewing" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://taosmesabrewing.com" target="_blank">Taos Brewing</a>, 8pm<br>Dec 15 | MADRID, NM | <a contents="Mine Shaft" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.themineshafttavern.com" target="_blank">Mine Shaft</a>, 5pm</p>
<p>Here are some photos from Estonia's grand finale - </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/bd06082b1214a8cfd8d6f1529883fe5bbf66d5ac/large/img-9310.jpg?1505375150" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/66f38b583c4d8dbe198690608e6456f7743e1340/large/img-9319.jpg?1505375135" class="size_l justify_center border_" />I played a couple farm stays on the Gulf of Finland, a sleepy, soggy, green seam of beauty where sea and forest meet. <img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/a7ff99c7f7265254af5f008bc966cf8e9ac5aa90/large/img-9664.jpg?1505378854" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>As usual I didn’t want to leave. </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/502a9055739353b2a2234671cc2b5eff2046f11a/large/img-9440.jpg?1505377436" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>But the road always leads to beauty. </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/6c9d560b16451c0cd367d226d09193e8196765d9/large/img-9510.jpg?1505377946" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/6de78d6b72a1c93b797ecbbdf0cb8483982f05ff/large/img-9369.jpg?1505376928" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/19638cbe3c4facb16316fd161a575600b4496cff/large/img-9401.jpg?1505376974" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Riga offered its own flavor of magic - here are highlights from the concert on <a contents="Latvian TV" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kemk47Qy9zU" target="_blank">Latvian TV</a>!</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/064e660683f7a2ec3fe012301297a771dc6972e2/large/img-9759.jpg?1505826312" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Then I had a couple days in Warsaw to visit my favorite Saturday <a contents="farmers’ market" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://biobazar.org.pl" target="_blank">farmers’ market</a> and to do a little songwriting between shows.<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/7e3ee9ca8a96c1e83f25903539cf9e381ade52b7/large/img-0019.jpg?1505826338" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/4b1c3c4335361c003705f4a35b07188f8849e1d2/large/img-0106.jpg?1505826398" class="size_l justify_center border_" />So much inspiration.</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/7fd8e557085b863da797873129a38ca22692f544/large/img-0075.jpg?1505826403" class="size_l justify_center border_" />So many emotions. </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/906953bdd660c37896990e74df2d01cf32a6eccd/large/img-0262.jpg?1505826401" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>So many sweet concerts. </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/f56799cef4f40a85ed8ff952e3c050009b4b9e9a/large/21743545-1458216100880759-5444550017104261944-o.jpg?1505828689" class="size_l justify_center border_" />A beautiful blur from Poznań to Zakopane. </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/f10b36ee9fcf5f1047343c76bdaef04664301609/large/img-0464.jpg?1505828521" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Then Berlin… oh, Berlin! Every time I love you more!!</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/e9d5c0abf4dba18275396f39d1e599d5b62df3bf/large/img-0751.jpg?1505828517" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/095520d48a0acaac669242256f7895163f900cf2/large/img-0692.jpg?1505828580" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Thankfully I’ll be back for one more concert this Saturday.</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/6aa65c6a6c382ddf1db37d1327551d1f296b1120/large/img-0768.jpg?1505828733" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Ah, but now it's morning and I must catch a train... thank you, thank you, thank you, a thousand thank yous for making this tour so magical, and to those of you joining us in spirit from afar. I love you, World!</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/dff942bf3502fa8c44cf4c94f82603301f3e9509/large/img-0873.jpg?1505828619" class="size_l justify_center border_" />More photos/etc. on <a contents="instagram" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.instagram.com/cygnemusic" target="_blank">instagram</a>, & <a contents="Facebook" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://facebook.com/cygnemusic" target="_blank">facebook</a>. Also - more cover videos on <a contents="Patreon" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.patreon.com/cygnemusic" target="_blank">patreon</a>!<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/74022b9d9051205f6e1f4d0165306dd681f5cf0c/large/img-0883.jpg?1505828809" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Tschüss!<br>Cygne </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/48497462017-09-14T00:42:07-07:002017-09-14T00:42:07-07:0052 Covers Project Ep. 33 & 34: "The Wind Cries Mary" & "Thank U"<p>Cześć!</p>
<p>Here are episodes 33 & 34 of the 52 Covers Project, recorded last week in Opole, Poland. I'm on the train to Berlin so I'll keep it brief but there are photos from the adventure over on the <a contents="Patreon" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.patreon.com/cygnemusic" target="_blank">Patreon</a> page. :D</p>
<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="rKxiR0N6RmU" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/rKxiR0N6RmU/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rKxiR0N6RmU?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="302" width="516" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="c7cddEkbEeY" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/c7cddEkbEeY/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/c7cddEkbEeY?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="302" width="516" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p>Have a great day! See you soon, Germany & Switzerland!</p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/48330482017-08-31T10:34:59-07:002017-08-31T10:34:59-07:00Sirsnīga tikšanās ar amerikāņu mūziķi Cygne<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="Kemk47Qy9zU" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/Kemk47Qy9zU/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Kemk47Qy9zU?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="302" width="516" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p>Here's a clip on Latvian TV from last night's concert in Riga! The only word I understood was "hippie" but in this segment I talk a little about the intentions behind all this crazy traveling... connecting the dots! </p>
<p>Singing in Vilnius tonight. Bus to Warsaw in a few hours. So so tired, fam, but moments like last night keep me keeping on. </p>
<p>Lots of photos from the journey on <a contents="instagram" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://instagram.com/cygnemusic/" target="_blank">instagram</a>. </p>
<p>Love you, Riga!!! PALDIES <3</p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/48330102017-08-31T10:26:23-07:002017-08-31T10:26:23-07:0052 Covers Project Ep. 32: "She Belongs to Me" <p>Hey team! </p>
<p>On a bus from Pärnu to Riga at the moment so hopefully this posts!</p>
<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="04mUs8Um3_I" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/04mUs8Um3_I/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/04mUs8Um3_I?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="302" width="516" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p>I recorded this song last week in a little fishing village on the Gulf of Finland (there are a few photos and a video clip of the bonfire at the end of the song). The last Saturday in August is a holiday in seaside villages in Estonia. I was told that for hundreds of years people have lit bonfires to honor people who have died the past year, as there are often falling stars/meteor showers around this time of year. Then I was told that the bonfires were traditionally lit to celebrate the end of summer and to tell the fishermen it's time to come home. Then I looked it up and the internet says this tradition began in Finland way back in, um, 1992? To celebrate independence as well as connection between coastal communities. So there you go. Like with anything, different people find different meanings and the internet is not always a reliable source (which I'm reminded all too often while trying to conduct business on a sold-out bus between screaming German children and my guitar in a sauna-like atmosphere). </p>
<p>End of summer it is, though! Aside from the bus it has been cooooold. The berries are waning and the apples are getting big! Agh crossing the border, gotta go!! <3 <3 <3 </p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/48175772017-08-17T13:03:14-07:002017-08-17T13:03:14-07:00America<p>This has been running through my head a lot this week: </p>
<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="cJq2DUyzSdg" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/cJq2DUyzSdg/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cJq2DUyzSdg?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="302" width="516" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p><strong>America </strong></p>
<p>BY ALLEN GINSBERG </p>
<p>America I’ve given you all and now I’m nothing. <br>America two dollars and twentyseven cents January 17, 1956. <br>I can’t stand my own mind. <br>America when will we end the human war? <br>Go fuck yourself with your atom bomb. <br>I don’t feel good don’t bother me. <br>I won’t write my poem till I’m in my right mind. <br>America when will you be angelic? <br>When will you take off your clothes? <br>When will you look at yourself through the grave? <br>When will you be worthy of your million Trotskyites? <br>America why are your libraries full of tears? <br>America when will you send your eggs to India? <br>I’m sick of your insane demands. <br>When can I go into the supermarket and buy what I need with my good looks? <br>America after all it is you and I who are perfect not the next world. <br>Your machinery is too much for me. <br>You made me want to be a saint. <br>There must be some other way to settle this argument. <br>Burroughs is in Tangiers I don’t think he’ll come back it’s sinister. <br>Are you being sinister or is this some form of practical joke? <br>I’m trying to come to the point. <br>I refuse to give up my obsession. <br>America stop pushing I know what I’m doing. <br>America the plum blossoms are falling. <br>I haven’t read the newspapers for months, everyday somebody goes on trial for murder. <br>America I feel sentimental about the Wobblies. <br>America I used to be a communist when I was a kid I’m not sorry. <br>I smoke marijuana every chance I get. <br>I sit in my house for days on end and stare at the roses in the closet. <br>When I go to Chinatown I get drunk and never get laid. <br>My mind is made up there’s going to be trouble. <br>You should have seen me reading Marx. <br>My psychoanalyst thinks I’m perfectly right. <br>I won’t say the Lord’s Prayer. <br>I have mystical visions and cosmic vibrations. <br>America I still haven’t told you what you did to Uncle Max after he came over from Russia. <br>I’m addressing you. <br>Are you going to let your emotional life be run by Time Magazine? <br>I’m obsessed by Time Magazine. <br>I read it every week. <br>Its cover stares at me every time I slink past the corner candystore. <br>I read it in the basement of the Berkeley Public Library. <br>It’s always telling me about responsibility. Businessmen are serious. Movie producers are serious. Everybody’s serious but me. <br>It occurs to me that I am America. <br>I am talking to myself again. </p>
<p>Asia is rising against me. <br>I haven’t got a chinaman’s chance. <br>I’d better consider my national resources. <br>My national resources consist of two joints of marijuana millions of genitals an unpublishable private literature that jetplanes 1400 miles an hour and twentyfive-thousand mental institutions. <br>I say nothing about my prisons nor the millions of underprivileged who live in my flowerpots under the light of five hundred suns. <br>I have abolished the whorehouses of France, Tangiers is the next to go. <br>My ambition is to be President despite the fact that I’m a Catholic. </p>
<p>America how can I write a holy litany in your silly mood? <br>I will continue like Henry Ford my strophes are as individual as his automobiles more so they’re all different sexes. <br>America I will sell you strophes $2500 apiece $500 down on your old strophe <br>America free Tom Mooney <br>America save the Spanish Loyalists <br>America Sacco & Vanzetti must not die <br>America I am the Scottsboro boys. <br>America when I was seven momma took me to Communist Cell meetings they sold us garbanzos a handful per ticket a ticket costs a nickel and the speeches were free everybody was angelic and sentimental about the workers it was all so sincere you have no idea what a good thing the party was in 1835 Scott Nearing was a grand old man a real mensch Mother Bloor the Silk-strikers’ Ewig-Weibliche made me cry I once saw the Yiddish orator Israel Amter plain. Everybody must have been a spy. <br>America you don’t really want to go to war. <br>America its them bad Russians. <br>Them Russians them Russians and them Chinamen. And them Russians. <br>The Russia wants to eat us alive. The Russia’s power mad. She wants to take our cars from out our garages. <br>Her wants to grab Chicago. Her needs a Red Reader’s Digest. Her wants our auto plants in Siberia. Him big bureaucracy running our filling stations. <br>That no good. Ugh. Him make Indians learn read. Him need big black niggers. Hah. Her make us all work sixteen hours a day. Help. <br>America this is quite serious. <br>America this is the impression I get from looking in the television set. <br>America is this correct? <br>I’d better get right down to the job. <br>It’s true I don’t want to join the Army or turn lathes in precision parts factories, I’m nearsighted and psychopathic anyway. <br>America I’m putting my queer shoulder to the wheel. </p>
<p><em>Berkeley, January 17, 1956</em></p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/48128892017-08-13T12:27:58-07:002019-02-14T18:04:25-08:0052 Covers Project Ep. 31: "Lonely Girls" <p>I spent the past hour writing a long thoughtful post about loneliness and disconnection and juuusssst as I was posting it the hotel wifi disconnected. Go figure. </p>
<p>I'll save the deep thoughts for another day. Here's a video from the Santiago de Compostela bus station: </p>
<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="fvW7hCEhfKk" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/fvW7hCEhfKk/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fvW7hCEhfKk?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="302" width="516" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p>It's been running through my head all week. It was a bumpy one! But then just as the lows were getting low the shows started to flow and Galicia got me up and <a contents="rolling" data-link-label="SHOWS" data-link-type="page" href="/shows">rolling</a>... </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/8f9b416bfab16a780e281053848b608e1e94d73c/original/img-8371.jpg?1502646399" class="size_l justify_left border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/48042542017-08-06T01:52:11-07:002017-08-06T01:52:11-07:0052 Covers Project Ep. 29 & 30: "1234" & "Blackbird"<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="1PkC72-pVrY" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/1PkC72-pVrY/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1PkC72-pVrY?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="302" width="516" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p>I made it to Spain! <a contents="Tour" data-link-label="SHOWS" data-link-type="page" href="/shows" target="_blank">Tour</a> starts this week! Here are <a contents="new covers" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://patreon.com/cygnemusic" target="_blank">new covers</a>!</p>
<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="HRVPd8_i2q0" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/HRVPd8_i2q0/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HRVPd8_i2q0?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="302" width="516" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p>More news soon :) </p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/47942692017-07-27T10:45:43-07:002019-02-14T18:05:55-08:00Tour time & summer sale!<p>A big box of <em><a contents="Let It Breathes" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://cygnemusic.com/music" target="_blank">Let It Breathes</a> </em>just arrived in Europe. And another journey begins :)</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/153d185f8eccd1b63b65208f5e9cef0df164cc43/large/euro-promo-edited-2.jpg?1501133968" class="size_xl justify_left border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p><b><span class="font_large">AUGUST: SPAIN, ESTONIA, LATVIA</span></b><br> <br>Aug 08 / A CORUÑA, ES // <a contents="Festival Noroeste Estrella Galicia&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://festivalnoroeste.com/?lang=es" target="_blank">Festival Noroeste Estrella Galicia </a><br>Aug 10 / LUGO, ES // <a contents="Ho! Gruf&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://LUGO,%20ES%20//%20Ho!%20Gruf" target="_blank">Ho! Graf</a> <br>Aug 11 / FERROL, ES // <a contents="Malo Será - San Jorge" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/Malo-Ser%C3%A1-San-Jorge-395798830790095/" target="_blank">Malo Será - San Jorge</a><br>Aug 12 / SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA, ES // <a contents="Festival Feito a Man" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://festivalfeitoaman.gal" target="_blank">Festival Feito a Man</a><br>Aug 15 / TALLINN, EE // <a contents="Texas Honky Tonk &amp; Cantina" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.texas.ee" target="_blank">Texas Honky Tonk & Cantina</a><br>Aug 16 / MÄRJAMAA, EE // <a contents="Vana Bussikas" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://viastop.ee/vanabussikas/" target="_blank">Vana Bussikas</a><br>Aug 17 / KURESSAARE, EE // <a contents="Kuressaare Kultuurikeskus" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/kuressaarekultuurikeskus/" target="_blank">Kuressaare Kultuurikeskus</a><br>Aug 18 / ANIJA, EE // <a contents="Vana-Tõlla Peomaja&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/Vana-T%C3%B5lla-Peomaja-961401537232097/" target="_blank">Vana-Tõlla Peomaja</a><br>Aug 19 / PÄRNU, EE // <a contents="Villa Ammende&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://ammende.ee" target="_blank">Villa Ammende</a><br>Aug 20 / HAAPSALU, EE // <a contents="Viieristi Kultuuriklubi" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/viieristikultuuriklubi/" target="_blank">Viieristi Kultuuriklubi</a><br>Aug 22 / RAPLA, EE // <a contents="Rebaseurg" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/rebaseurg/" target="_blank">Rebaseurg</a><br>Aug 23 / TALLINN, EE // <a contents="Hell Hunt" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.hellhunt.ee" target="_blank">Hell Hunt</a><br>Aug 24 / VALGA, LV // <a contents="Hotel Metsis" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.hotellmetsis.com" target="_blank">Hotel Metsis</a><br>Aug 25 / OANDU, EE // <a contents="Oanduaia" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/pg/Oanduaia/about/?ref=page_internal" target="_blank">Oanduaia</a><br>Aug 26 / NEEME, EE // <a contents="Ruhe" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/restoranruhe/" target="_blank">Ruhe</a> <br>Aug 27 / ALTJA, EE // <a contents="Toomarahva turismitalu" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://toomarahvablog.wordpress.com" target="_blank">Toomarahva turismitalu</a> <br>Aug 28 / VILIJANDI, EE // <a contents="Pubi Suur Vend" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://suurvend.ee" target="_blank">Pubi Suur Vend</a><br>Aug 30 / RIGA, LV // <a contents="Kino Bize" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.kinobize.lv" target="_blank">Kino Bize</a><br><br><span class="font_large"><strong>SEPTEMBER: POLAND, GERMANY, SWITZERLAND</strong></span><br> <br>Sep 01 / WARSAW, PL // <a contents="BARdzo bardzo" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/bardzobardzobar/" target="_blank">BARdzo bardzo</a><br>Sep 02 / GRODZISK MAZOWIECKI, PL // <a contents="Piknik" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/Piknikgrodzisk/" target="_blank">Piknik</a><br>Sep 03 / TYCHY, PL // <a contents="Dzika Plaża Paprocany" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/DzikaPlazaPaprocany/" target="_blank">Dzika Plaża Paprocany</a><br>Sep 06 / PIŁA, PL // <a contents="Rockopolis" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/RockopolisPL/" target="_blank">Rockopolis</a><br>Sep 07 / WSCHOWA, PL // TBA<br>Sep 09 / ZAKOPANE, PL // <a contents="STRH Cafe &amp; Gallery" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/strhcafeandgallery/" target="_blank">STRH Cafe & Gallery</a><br>Sep 10 / KRAKÓW, PL // <a contents="2Okna" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1428723210509131/?acontext=%7B%22source%22%3A5%2C%22page_id_source%22%3A869597436497126%2C%22action_history%22%3A%5B%7B%22surface%22%3A%22page%22%2C%22mechanism%22%3A%22main_list%22%2C%22extra_data%22%3A%22%7B%5C%22page_id%5C%22%3A869597436497126%2C%5C%22tour_id%5C%22%3Anull%7D%22%7D%5D%2C%22has_source%22%3Atrue%7D" target="_blank">2Okna</a><br>Sep 11 / KRAKÓW, PL // <a contents="Cafecinemaparadiso" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/Cinema.Paradiso.Krakow/" target="_blank">Cafecinemaparadiso</a><br>Sep 12 / GDYNIA, PL // <a contents="Carnivale Bar" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/carnivalebar/" target="_blank">Carnivale Bar</a><br>Sep 13 / GDAŃSK, PL // <a contents="Bruderschaft" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/pubgdansk/" target="_blank">Bruderschaft</a><br>Sep 14 / BERLIN, DE // <a contents="Artliners" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://artliners-berlin.com" target="_blank">Artliners</a> w/ <a contents="Dan &amp; Laurel" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://danandlaurel.ca" target="_blank">Dan & Laurel</a><br>Sep 16 / KIEL, DE // <a contents="Prinz Willy" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.prinzwilly.de" target="_blank">Prinz Willy</a><br>Sep 19 / HAMBURG, DE // <a contents="Freundlich+Kompetent&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.freundlichundkompetent.de" target="_blank">Freundlich+Kompetent </a><br>Sep 20 / KÖLN, DE // <a contents="Kulturcafe Lichtung" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.lichtung.ws" target="_blank">Kulturcafe Lichtung</a><br>Sep 22 / MANNHEIM, DE // <a contents="Altes Volksbad" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/altesvolksbadmannheim/" target="_blank">Altes Volksbad</a><br>Sep 23 / WIESBADEN, DE // TBA<br>Sep 24 / LEIPZIG, DE // <a contents="LEIPZIG, DE // Kulturfabrik&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.kulturfabrik-leipzig.de" target="_blank">Kulturfabrik </a><br>Sep 25 / BONISWIL, CH // TBA w/ <a contents="Reto Burrell" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://retoburrell.ch" target="_blank">Reto Burrell</a> <br>Sep 26 / BERN, CH // <a contents="FabrikBistro" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/fabrikbistro/" target="_blank">FabrikBistro</a><br>Sep 28 / BADEN, CH // TBA w/ <a contents="Reto Burrell" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://retoburrell.ch" target="_blank">Reto Burrell</a> <br>Sep 29 / BERN, CH // <a contents="Matte Brennerei" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/matte.brennerei/" target="_blank">Matte Brennerei</a><br>Sep 30 / ALTDORF, CH // House Concert<br><br><span class="font_large"><strong>OCTOBER: SWITZERLAND, FRANCE, SPAIN</strong></span></p>
<p>Oct 01 / BASEL, CH // <a contents="Offene Bühne" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.offene-b%C3%BChne.ch" target="_blank">Offene Bühne</a><br>Oct 03 / BERN, CH // <a contents="H27" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/h27craftbeer/" target="_blank">H27</a><br>Oct 04 / BASEL, CH // <a contents="Autumn Sessions @ Markthalle Basel&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.altemarkthalle.ch" target="_blank">Autumn Sessions @ Markthalle Basel </a><br>Oct 05 / SOLOTHURN, CH // <a contents="Red John Irish Pub&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/redjohnirishpub/" target="_blank">Red John Irish Pub</a><br>Oct 06 / MONTREUX, CH // <a contents="Ancienne Poste des Planches" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/apdpmontreux/" target="_blank">Ancienne Poste des Planches</a><br>Oct 07 / BIEL, CH // <a contents="Literaturcafé&nbsp;Biel" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.litcafe.ch" target="_blank">Literaturcafé Biel</a><br>Oct 09 / PARIS, FR // <a contents="Le Pop In" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/Le-Pop-In-153300488032563/" target="_blank">Le Pop In</a> w/ <a contents="Oh Pilot" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/OhPilotFolk/" target="_blank">Oh Pilot</a><br>Oct 12 / BARCELONA, ES // <a contents="El Col-leccionista" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/events/475596712793998/" target="_blank">El Col-leccionista</a></p>
<p>More to be announced! Please join me on <a contents="ig" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://instagram.com/cygnemusic/" target="_blank">Instagram</a> and <a contents="fb" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://facebook.com/cygnemusic/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> for photos, videos, and updates.</p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>52 COVERS PROJECT</strong></span></p>
<p>Did you know I'm covering a <a contents="song every week" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://patreon.com/cygnemusic" target="_blank">song every week</a> in 2017? This month I made it over the halfway hump!</p>
<p><a contents="" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tl9s0lk9_uQ&t=53s" target="_blank"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/b7c23a5a162f568b4241d3b7520153a7bde68451/large/what-i-am.jpg?1501173719" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></a><br>If you'd like to support the project consider joining us on <a contents="Patreon" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.patreon.com/cygnemusic" target="_blank">Patreon</a>.</p>
<p><em><span class="font_large"><strong>LET IT BREATHE (SOFTLY)</strong></span></em></p>
<p>Also exciting - the new album is now on <a contents="iTunes" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/let-it-breathe-softly/id1263662964" target="_blank">iTunes</a>, <a contents="Spotify" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://open.spotify.com/album/33DMb5Po7aqgV0mAwQfV1R" target="_blank">Spotify</a>, <a contents="Google Play" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://play.google.com/store/music/album/Cygne_Let_It_Breathe_Softly?id=Bbyundrladpnhoqcrn2y4633vde" target="_blank">Google Play</a>, & a bunch of other platforms!<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/573f8828b235960e009384370e91041e307c72bc/large/music-apps-copy.jpg?1501175724" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><b>WEST COAST</b></span><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/503cf2d996e31d5d09b7161201d23f2cd56ff9af/large/img-7816.jpg?1501133260" class="size_l justify_center border_" />The past few weeks I've had a chance to unwind and wind-up with loved ones in Santa Cruz.<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/f1dca42d6c33800a60537bceada1081ca823ff80/large/img-7777.jpg?1501133037" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Mama Cygne visited for the first time since I moved out here and we had a ball hiking and biking and feasting along the coast. <img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/5aeab2ea8799ad8530a7be9a017ebb5c10cd1f0a/large/img-7828.jpg?1501133291" class="size_l justify_center border_" />I also had a great tour to Oregon and Washington, logging a couple thousand miles while listening to Bruce Springsteen read <a contents="Born to Run" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/audiobook/born-to-run-unabridged/id1182036380" target="_blank"><em>Born to Run</em></a>. <br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/ac369cf9a8449114cccefbc4f7a39f3920d217c0/large/img-7504.jpg?1501132567" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>His stories of growing up on the Jersey shore sparked homesickness... but pretty soon he moved on to California and Europe and I remembered that home is everywhere. Especially for those born to run :)<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/aa24e0ff269e6172dd45d661e710bc27d12d6670/large/img-7835.jpg?1501133293" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Glancing ahead to fall - I'm looking forward to returning to Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona in November and December. If you'd like to help set up a show or shelter a swan please get in touch. Thank you to those who already have!</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/8e4d3e8a481060bd2ef70822281fc3b43533c7f4/large/img-7451.jpg?1501132485" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>And now I should probably tend to this suitcase I'm using as a desk right now. Have a great day and hope to see you soon! </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/0354063babac2809a29ec9b45fd2b189c570f7cc/large/img-7492.jpg?1501132237" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/47861062017-07-22T08:10:00-07:002017-07-22T08:10:00-07:0052 Covers Project Ep. 27 & 28: "What I Am" & "What's Up"<p>Hello! Happy weekend! :D </p>
<p>Here are a couple new covers. First is "What I Am" by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, a song I sang countless times as a child. </p>
<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="Tl9s0lk9_uQ" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/Tl9s0lk9_uQ/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Tl9s0lk9_uQ?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p>As an older child I fell asleep listening to <a contents="Volcano" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/volcano/id2918074" target="_blank"><em>Volcano</em></a> every night so when I hear Edie's voice I feel like I'm snuggled up under a comforter. Here's the <br>original for you to admire the beautiful guitar solo and all the denim and hair that was 1988:</p>
<p> <iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="tDl3bdE3YQA" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/tDl3bdE3YQA/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tDl3bdE3YQA?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p>#28 is "What's Up" which you probably know and love-hate as it's a total ear worm:</p>
<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="6NXnxTNIWkc" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/6NXnxTNIWkc/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6NXnxTNIWkc?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p>If you watch this one please sing along... loudly ;) </p>
<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="0tefMWLFbkc" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/0tefMWLFbkc/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0tefMWLFbkc?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p>Had a great tour up to Washington and Oregon and now Mama Cygne is visiting from the East Coast so I'm going to rally for a hike. Have a great day and thanks for <a contents="supporting the music" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.patreon.com/cygnemusic" target="_blank">supporting the music</a>!! </p>
<p>Cygne</p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/47759802017-07-05T02:20:00-07:002017-07-12T02:18:56-07:00Lyrics as Poetry<p>Driving to the post office listening to the news I thought "war is the stupidest thing imaginable" which made me think of <a contents='"Beans"' data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xpighh9-62I" target="_blank">"Beans"</a> and when I arrived at the post office "Beans" was waiting for me. Not sure what the moral of the story is, but maybe it's that war is the stupidest thing imaginable, law of attraction is legit, and creativity will save us. <3 </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/1f9d6471c39d71bf23bc25ded0f78bc2f8bfa583/large/fiqi3932.jpg?1499851053" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>So honored to be included with these fine songwriters in the first volume of <em>Lyrics as Poetry</em>. Order your copy <a contents="here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.lyricsaspoetry.com" target="_blank">here</a>.</p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/47423742017-06-12T14:43:06-07:002019-03-09T18:48:04-08:0052 Covers Project Ep. 23: "Long Way Home"<p>Greetings from Zürich! Recognize the balcony? Not only did my fabulous host <a contents="Kristijan Lozić" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://kristijanlozic.tumblr.com" target="_blank">Kristijan Lozić</a> inspire this week's song, he's also the photographer of the <em>Let It Breathe</em> album cover. <3</p>
<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="l1rHxpn4VeE" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/l1rHxpn4VeE/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/l1rHxpn4VeE?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p>While making art and tackling existential problems this weekend he turned me onto this Tom Waits song and it perfectly captures my pre-flight mood... just a few more shows in Europe and I'm back to California! So bizarre. All travel is time travel. I'm going to go to sleep now. Have a great week!</p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/47392142017-06-09T03:31:33-07:002017-06-09T03:31:33-07:0052 Covers Ep. 22: "Heroes"<p>Ciao! This week's episode is for <a contents="patrons-only" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.patreon.com/cygnemusic" target="_blank">patrons-only</a>. If you're enjoying the weekly covers please consider subscribing!</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/5cf070452f9c759bfd2f567c8a45dea8226fc540/original/dsc09471.jpg?1497002219" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>So many stories and photos to process/share/upload/digest... in the meantime here's a great <a contents="interview with Rezavé struny" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.mixcloud.com/UPAIROlomouc14/rezav%C3%A9-struny-rusty-strings-36-an-interview-with-cygne/" target="_blank">interview with Rezavé struny</a> in Olomouc. </p>
<p>Also t-shirts, tanks & CDs are <a contents="back in stock" data-link-label="STORE" data-link-type="page" href="/store">back in stock</a>! </p>
<p>Happy weekend!</p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/47254512017-05-28T12:02:24-07:002019-02-14T17:58:16-08:0052 Covers Project Ep. 21: "Talk Show Host"<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="sjetk9k9xgM" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/sjetk9k9xgM/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sjetk9k9xgM?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="350" width="516" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p>Ciao! Made it to Italia! Here's "Talk Show Host" from Verona. I think this is the song that introduced me to Radiohead, thanks to the <a contents="Romeo &amp; Juliet" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://youtu.be/mw-BWMnU56s" target="_blank">Romeo & Juliet</a> soundtrack. </p>
<p>First night off in a while!! Getting ready for bed at 9PM!! LIFE IS GOOD! </p>
<p>Have a great week! Sogni d'oro <3</p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/47169682017-05-21T08:07:23-07:002019-03-09T18:49:34-08:0052 Covers Project Ep. 20: "Tom's Diner"<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="ij2utzzq8Tg" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/ij2utzzq8Tg/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ij2utzzq8Tg?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p>Hooray for train wifi!! This week has been a WHIRLWIND or maybe I'm finally feeling the effects of weeks of no sleep/non-stop travel... the shows have kept me going, though - within the first ten seconds of each show I feel instantly recharged and so so grateful to be here, receiving the energy of these beautiful audiences and discovering new streams of my own. </p>
<p>Sorry the sound isn't great on this one - I forgot to plug my headphones into the phone so the mic would actually work and filter out the background noise. (Only three hours of sleep last night... again.) But I think the first take is real and honest and gives you a glimpse of train life. :) </p>
<p>More to come! Austria tomorrow then Italia! Thanks for watching and have a great week!!</p>
<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="58Nz7y26Tfs" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/58Nz7y26Tfs/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/58Nz7y26Tfs?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p><em>Want to help keep the music(ian) alive? Become a <a contents="patron" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://patreon.com/cygnemusic" target="_blank">patron</a>!</em></p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/47115002017-05-16T17:26:08-07:002017-05-16T17:26:08-07:00May news & views<p><em>Just sent out the May newsletter/road blog/early tour announcements. If you'd like to receive future monthly updates sign-up <a contents="here" data-link-label="CONTACT" data-link-type="page" href="/contact">here</a>. </em></p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/b80f8d4bcfba1162caa4f2d1cfe9efcdbbacf0e7/large/img-4604.jpg?1494877672" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/2bf42b1949b416208bd74824d36647750abaf536/original/dsc08019.jpg?1494877700" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/9bcc540cb54f82437c177a4aeda61642d8a488fa/original/dsc08304.jpg?1494951606" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/cfe353adac0bcb494c68a81e765bc2085b86631c/original/dsc08419.jpg?1494951622" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/487826ca5da5304dee0be49c17e3632153cd14d1/original/dsc08461.jpg?1494951760" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/8e7669d30813f9083777d068eac52a2b2b082e41/original/dsc08518.jpg?1494951774" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/8fb279109b772583ec1a6a7c78f9a1f577a7f0ea/original/dsc08540.jpg?1494951795" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/d89095a5eb42604ac3897fef9d9fe7e607e2b2c4/original/dsc08588.jpg?1494951807" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/59197615caf0d9fb6c6b43c010edc3884cb98974/original/img-4976.jpg?1494951615" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/47080342017-05-13T22:19:31-07:002019-03-09T18:50:38-08:0052 Covers Project Ep. 19: "Meet Me in the Woods"<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="CvnzivC0tYs" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/CvnzivC0tYs/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CvnzivC0tYs?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe><br><br>Here's episode 19 of the 52 Covers Project, from my journey between Stargard and Poznań. Just a couple <a contents="more shows" data-link-label="SHOWS" data-link-type="page" href="/shows">more shows</a> in Poland (Gdynia & Wrocław) then Praha, Litomyšl, Ostrava, Olomouc & Strakonice later this week!<br><br>If you enjoy these videos please consider <a contents="subscribing" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.patreon.com/cygnemusic" target="_blank">subscribing</a>!</p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/46997752017-05-07T08:23:34-07:002017-05-07T08:23:34-07:0052 Covers Project Ep. 18: "Yer So Bad"Hallo! Just arrived in Germany after a whirlwind week through Belgium & Switzerland! So many photos and feelings to share... but for now here's a taste of the road:<br><br><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="h5ms64Hkh_o" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/h5ms64Hkh_o/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/h5ms64Hkh_o?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe><p>Week 18 stars <a contents="Reto Burrell" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://retoburrell.ch" target="_blank">Reto Burrell</a> and his band, not only rockstars but super sweet people. I emailed Reto several years ago when I was booking my first Swiss tour. I didn't know what I was doing or where to play - I didn't even know which city spoke which language - and he graciously gave me some pointers, which eventually led me to meeting my best friends and Swiss soul family. He's profoundly changed my life and he's a huge inspiration. Check out his music <a contents="here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/reto-burrell/id68227780" target="_blank">here</a>!</p>
<p>P.S. I was squeezing my ear because I couldn't hear myself. #rockandroll<br>P.P.S. If you enjoy these videos/songs please consider helping to <a contents="keep the rock rolling" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.patreon.com/cygnemusic" target="_blank">keep the rock rolling</a>!</p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/46928072017-05-01T17:45:34-07:002017-05-01T17:45:34-07:0052 Covers Project Ep. 17: "These Days"<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="IX4gDip2Wqo" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/IX4gDip2Wqo/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IX4gDip2Wqo?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe><br><br>Hallo from Antwerp! This week's cover was inspired by my friend Natalie. Not only does she talk like Nico, she picked me up at the station, fed me magical green soup, chauffeured me to my gigs, picked me up when I literally fell down from exhaustion/mania, and let me live on her couch. I couldn't survive these days on the road without my army of angels. Thank you, Natalie & Bas! And Tiana & Anthony! <br><br>It's been a fantastic, fast few days of shows in Paris, Brussels, Antwerp, & Rupelmonde and I'm a little sad to be leaving for Switzerland tomorrow... except that I'm leaving for Switzerland tomorrow! Special guests lined up for the next few episodes :) <br><br>Have a great week!</p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/46818252017-04-22T23:10:02-07:002017-04-22T23:10:02-07:0052 Covers Project Ep. 16: "This Must Be The Place"Almost forgot to post week 16! Feet (hardly) on the ground, head in the sky... see you in Europe!<br><br><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1sKFCxpwM4c" width="560"></iframe>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/46725562017-04-15T16:27:39-07:002019-02-14T17:55:38-08:0052 Covers Project Ep. 15: "I Know You Rider"<p>Happy Saturday! Here are some good lovin' vibes from just north of the San Francisco Bay :) <br><br><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vVSkBxxVJ7s" width="560"></iframe><br><br><em>If you'd like to support my art please consider joining the 52 Covers Project on <a contents="Patreon" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.patreon.com/cygnemusic" target="_blank">Patreon</a>. </em></p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/46637862017-04-09T00:00:15-07:002017-04-09T00:00:15-07:0052 Covers Project Ep. 14: "Baby, Please Don't Go"<p>This week's news has me back to the blues... here's a traditional I first heard through <a contents="Muddy Waters" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EOwNItKOyo" target="_blank">Muddy Waters</a>, I think. <a contents="Lightnin' Hopkins" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4mBTjJ_Yrg" target="_blank">Lightnin' Hopkins</a> has a great version, too. (And <a contents="look what I just found" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFGvzRmj0SY" target="_blank">look what I just found</a>!) <br><br><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="sQHnhgiVZiQ" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/sQHnhgiVZiQ/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sQHnhgiVZiQ?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe><br><br>Fun fact: New Orleans is the first place I ever traveled to. Can't say I remember much because I was only six months old, but I think the early exposure contributed to my love of the blues :) <br><br>Have a great week! </p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/46543172017-04-02T23:40:03-07:002019-02-14T17:56:36-08:0052 Covers Project Ep. 13: "Nitemare Hippy Girl"<p>Friday night's show in Ashland smelled of patchouli and weed. People wore GREAT PANTS of many magical colors and fabrics. After an evening of prolonged eye contact, tender hugs, and enraptured dancing I drove to Chico and I thought <em>YES! Episode 13! "Nitemare Hippy Girl"! </em>So here you go:<br><br><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="sf4az6oImLc" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/sf4az6oImLc/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sf4az6oImLc?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe><br><br>Beck was my biggest crush in middle/high school (still is). I listened to <em>Midnite Vultures</em> so many times I actually wore out the CD, which I didn't think was possible. I didn't <em>scratch</em> it because it never left my boombox - it just stopped playing one day. So I got another copy. <em>Mellow Gold </em>holds a special place in my heart, though: <br><br><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="YgSPaXgAdzE" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/YgSPaXgAdzE/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YgSPaXgAdzE?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe><br><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="zVay-RfNGv8" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/zVay-RfNGv8/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zVay-RfNGv8?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe><br><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="XbJ6b8io9dY" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/XbJ6b8io9dY/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XbJ6b8io9dY?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe><br><br>Oh god, but then there's <em>Odelay:</em><br><br><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="EPfmNxKLDG4" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/EPfmNxKLDG4/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EPfmNxKLDG4?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe><br><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="aa3rBVb3v4g" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/aa3rBVb3v4g/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aa3rBVb3v4g?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe><br><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="uxugaMpt1vU" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/uxugaMpt1vU/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uxugaMpt1vU?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe><br><br>When I was sixteen I saw him for the first time at Radio City Music Hall during the <em>Midnite Vultures </em>tour. As he sang "Debra" a bed lowered from the ceiling and he thrashed around like a madman using falsetto that would make Prince proud... suffice to say I didn't have a voice the next day. <br><br><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="YbSYv2CK15s" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/YbSYv2CK15s/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YbSYv2CK15s?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe><br><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="IQfwgzoiq4c" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/IQfwgzoiq4c/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IQfwgzoiq4c?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe><br><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="OdqKQRhi6qU" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/OdqKQRhi6qU/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OdqKQRhi6qU?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe><br><br>It's impossible to have a favorite. Each album is so unique...<br><br><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="zWe6bMVvTzk" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/zWe6bMVvTzk/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zWe6bMVvTzk?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe><br><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="Y6zAT15vaFk" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/Y6zAT15vaFk/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Y6zAT15vaFk?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe><br><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="A7WdKAvZ2ec" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/A7WdKAvZ2ec/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/A7WdKAvZ2ec?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe><br><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="P7CZjlWz_pI" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/P7CZjlWz_pI/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/P7CZjlWz_pI?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe><br><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="rTK-vFDIkB4" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/rTK-vFDIkB4/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rTK-vFDIkB4?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe><br><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="P4Shc2E_k1c" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/P4Shc2E_k1c/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/P4Shc2E_k1c?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe><br><br>And yet they all tie together in the perfect way. <br> <br><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="_6Zp84XH6Eo" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/_6Zp84XH6Eo/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_6Zp84XH6Eo?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/46460802017-03-26T00:07:35-07:002019-03-09T18:55:44-08:0052 Covers Project Ep. 12: "Sleep"<p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-IQeBnioYiM" width="560"></iframe></p>
<p>Though best known for epic jamz Phish has many sweet, simple songs and I love "Sleep." I also love sleep! Please excuse the excessive yawning - I was really feeling this one. :D </p>
<p>I added a little footage from the ferry ride at the end. Doe Bay has been a dream... all I've heard for two days are gentle waves, birdsong, and children playing. Nature restores the soul. </p>
<p>Happy Spring! May you sleep well & wake rested!<br><br><em>If you enjoy the content on this page please consider becoming a <a contents="patron" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.patreon.com/cygnemusic" target="_blank">patron</a> for as little as $1 a month. That's only 20-25¢ per episode! Thank you!</em></p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/46360902017-03-19T03:09:09-07:002019-03-09T18:56:07-08:0052 Covers Project Ep. 11: "Me & Bobby McGee"<p>Over the years this has been the number one requested song at my shows but I've been too timid to cover Janis... until now! Muahahaha!!!<br><br><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Zti6bb6Qzmo" width="560"></iframe><br><br>Happy weekend! <br><br>:D<br><br> </p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/46259112017-03-11T00:36:30-08:002017-03-11T00:36:30-08:0052 Covers Project Ep. 10: "Three Little Birds"<p>Here's a happy song from my happy place to wish you a happy Saturday! <br><br><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/76GpQdXYr3o" width="560"></iframe><br><br><em>If you enjoy the content on this page please consider becoming a <a contents="patron" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.patreon.com/cygnemusic" target="_blank">patron</a> for as little as $1 a month. That's only 20-25¢ per episode! Thank you!</em></p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/46195852017-03-06T23:30:23-08:002018-03-02T12:27:13-08:00Tour galore<p><em>The March newsletter just went out! <a contents="Subscribe here" data-link-label="CONTACT" data-link-type="page" href="/contact">Subscribe here</a> to receive updates from the road, tour announcements, music, and more. <br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/496d4b2e365f579fc6f4723482c240058f21ba14/original/img-3571.jpg?1488838766" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/336b65bde160a0a91ad3f62c7f3a43301a0c0704/original/img-3640.jpg?1488838948" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/01a764c0482bdd42073bb8c94826fe5064d75b8a/original/img-3767.jpg?1488839173" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/668d3c3964b7ef2b86381f7eeb48f15e90ac3d49/original/dsc07682.jpg?1488839322" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></em></p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/46168622017-03-04T16:26:59-08:002017-03-04T16:26:59-08:0052 Covers Ep. 9: "California"<p>Who doesn't love California? It seems everyone has a song for the Golden State and the past week I've found myself humming Joni's in anticipation of coming home for a few days. I recorded this during a rainstorm yesterday afternoon in Port Townsend. Washington is gorgeous, the people are insanely nice, and all the rain and snow have been great for productivity... but I'm ready for some vitamin D now :)<br> <br><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iBrLAfsVnVk" width="560"></iframe><br><br>Here's the beautiful <a contents="original" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/blue/id217471220" target="_blank">original</a>. If you'd like to support my music please consider becoming a <a contents="patron" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.patreon.com/cygnemusic" target="_blank">patron</a>. Thanks for watching and see you <a contents="next week in California" data-link-label="SHOWS" data-link-type="page" href="/shows">next week in California</a>!!</p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/46168602017-03-04T16:22:09-08:002017-03-04T16:22:09-08:00SeabrightHere's a lil video I made for "Seabright" while I was on the Olympic Peninsula last week :)<br><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dbYUALz8Yxk" width="560"></iframe>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/46071702017-02-26T09:23:42-08:002017-02-26T09:23:42-08:0052 Covers Project Ep. 8: "Pretty Pimpin"Some days I listen to "Pretty Pimpin." Other days I listen to "Pretty Pimpin" on repeat. It cures every mood and gets me out jogging on these cold winter mornings when I feel more inclined to stay in bed drinking cocoa and searching for flights to Maui. Even so, my fingers were too cold for an outdoor video so here's one from the bathroom sink:<br><br><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-Q2a74JJu-A" width="560"></iframe><br><br>And here's the brilliant original by <a contents="Kurt Vile" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://kurtvile.com" target="_blank">Kurt Vile</a>:<br><br><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/659pppwniXA" width="560"></iframe><br><br>Hope you enjoy having this song stuck in your head as much as I do. :)<br><br>Thanks for watching and please consider joining the <a contents="52 Club " data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.patreon.com/cygnemusic" target="_blank">52 Club</a> to support my work for as little as $1 a month. Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/45971882017-02-18T16:05:00-08:002017-02-18T16:05:00-08:0052 Covers Project Ep. 7: "Cleva"<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UToC5bmd4GE" width="560"></iframe>
<p><em><a contents="Mama's Gun" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/mamas-gun/id358952" target="_blank">Mama's Gun</a></em> is one of my desert island picks. In fact, it helped me survive the desert island that was junior year of high school. It was a tough year - my parents divorced, Bush was president, Phish was on hiatus, and I suffered my first heartbreak when my boyfriend disappeared to the Yukon territory. <br><br>It was also a year of wonderful self-discovery - I got serious about writing songs, I recorded my first ones, and I transformed my bedroom into a sparkly rainbow creation station I rarely left. Inside that warm glittery womb I spent hours sewing clothes and quilts while listening to Bob Marley, Erykah Badu, and this one really sad but beautiful Moby album... it's as if I was trying to piece my world back together again. <br><br>"Cleva" gave me strength and inspiration at a time when nothing felt "alright," least of all me. Erykah Badu continues to be one of my biggest role models because of her authenticity and wit - not to mention her incredible voice. Hope you enjoy!<br> </p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OqN0jsSeqPo" width="560"></iframe>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/45866752017-02-12T03:37:05-08:002019-03-09T18:57:57-08:0052 Covers Project Ep. 6: "There Is A War"<p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KsFSuR3A8a4" width="560"></iframe></p>
<p>Leonard Cohen wrote "There Is A War" over forty years ago yet it perfectly captures the mood of 2017. If you don't know the original, please get <em><a contents="New Skin for&nbsp;the Old Ceremony" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/new-skin-for-the-old-ceremony/id511065006" target="_blank">New Skin for the Old Ceremony</a>. </em>It has the greatest songwriting and performances you will ever hear.<br><br>In 2011 I covered "There Is A War" on <em><a contents="here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://laurameyer.bandcamp.com/album/golden-delicious" target="_blank">Golden Delicious</a>, </em>which I invite you to download. It doesn't have the greatest songwriting and performances you will ever hear but it's also timely. I made it during Occupy Wall Street and, nearly six years later, it feels even more relevant. <br><br>If you'd like to support my music please consider becoming a <a contents="patron" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.patreon.com/cygnemusic" target="_blank">patron</a>. </p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/45771342017-02-05T00:55:54-08:002017-02-05T00:55:54-08:0052 Covers Project Ep. 5: "Silver Dagger" <p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/D5iteo4rwds" width="560"></iframe><br><br>Episode 5! Just under the wire! :D<br><br>Find out more about the <a contents="52 Covers Project" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.patreon.com/cygnemusic" target="_blank">52 Covers Project</a>.<br><br>Now Tobias and I really must sleep. <3</p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/45663642017-01-27T09:22:37-08:002019-02-14T17:52:24-08:0052 Covers Ep. 4: "I Asked For Water"<p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qCzDrcGtGho" width="560"></iframe><br><br>Howlin' Wolf has kept me company for many thousands of miles and this song is one of my favorites. <a contents="And too relevant.&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.nodapl.life" target="_blank">And so relevant.</a> <br><br>Still haven't any words on this week in the USA so I'm going to let the music do the talking. </p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/45572772017-01-20T00:20:42-08:002017-01-20T09:45:02-08:00Surrender<p>Thought the world could use a love song today. </p>
<p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EX-kgd_zbqI" width="560"></iframe></p>
<p><em>Surrender ain't the same as giving up. </em></p>
<p><iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3230405838/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=f171a2/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; width: 100%; height: 120px;">&lt;a data-cke-saved-href="http://cygne.bandcamp.com/album/let-it-breathe" href="http://cygne.bandcamp.com/album/let-it-breathe"&gt;Let It Breathe by cygne&lt;/a&gt;</iframe></p>
<p><3</p><br> Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/45512252017-01-15T20:41:33-08:002019-03-09T18:59:04-08:0052 Covers Ep. 3: "We Float"<p>Week three! So soon! Here's a full moon fresh air video from the Ferndale cemetery featuring the one and only <a contents="Johnny Houx." data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://johnhoux.com" target="_blank">Johnny Houx</a>:</p>
<p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-i16a8UMMAY" width="560"></iframe></p>
<p>Johnny and I met over ten years ago at the Sidewalk Cafe open mic in NYC. He immediately stood out as a writer who made me want to write and a singer who made me want to sing. Next time I'll ask him to sing one of his originals!<br><br>A few years ago I was surprised and delighted to run into Johnny some 3500 miles west of the East Village and Ferndale has been a favorite tour stop ever since. This April I'll be playing a couple special shows in Ferndale, one with another gifted <a contents="Craigie" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://johncraigiemusic.com" target="_blank">John Craigie</a>. We'll be at <a contents="The Old Steeple" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://ferndalemusiccompany.com/theold%E2%80%A6" target="_blank">The Old Steeple</a> 4/20, and the night before a friend and I will be covering Tom Petty's <em>Wildflowers</em> in its entirety! Am I taking this covers project too far? Maybe. But who could choose only one song from <i>Wildflowers</i>?<br><br>Hope you enjoy this song as much as I enjoyed playing an ebow in the sunshine. PJ Harvey is one of my favorite artists and <a contents="Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/stories-from-city-stories/id405148" target="_blank"><em>Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea</em></a> was the album that made me fall in love with her. <br><br>If you'd like to support this project/my music you can now become a patron at <a contents="Patreon" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.patreon.com/cygnemusic" target="_blank">Patreon</a>! Thanks for watching and see you next week :)</p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/45512012017-01-15T15:12:00-08:002017-01-15T15:12:00-08:00Desert Daze<em>Here are photos from the January newsletter. <a contents="Subscribe here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://cygnemusic.com/contact">Subscribe here</a> to receive updates from the road, tour announcements, music, and more. </em><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/c2e572a8f0091224c4ed09fc7eb37be7bea254f9/large/dsc07285.jpg?1483421414" class="size_xl justify_center border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/095efb267d6a5292b2fd59d535ca7d943a259e60/large/dsc07288.jpg?1483421422" class="size_xl justify_center border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/a70bc59967337d4ce1d1140629254c2b618db9b4/large/dsc07398.jpg?1483421441" class="size_xl justify_center border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/746e80b67e8e55cd10294a8835b9c667fb2fcf2b/large/dsc07453.jpg?1483421471" class="size_xl justify_center border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/6778446fd75cf8ced1fdb46bf619d57ea0efd0f9/large/img-2680.jpg?1483421492" class="size_xl justify_center border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/9aade46f18c356173f1a4a1a32718f099abaa5d8/large/img-2802.jpg?1483421536" class="size_xl justify_center border_none" alt="" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/a8e424f0cbe323e93cca586d65be19d2b1156774/large/img-2783.jpg?1483421523" class="size_xl justify_center border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/6b3911cef5bcbfcbe04f7857447846fe3565e60a/large/img-2495.jpg?1483421329" class="size_xl justify_center border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/72ea84863b70dec6ceb6f7808f69ff5e7e79ceb9/large/dsc07468.jpg?1483421554" class="size_xl justify_center border_" />Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/45448062017-01-10T13:48:47-08:002017-01-10T13:48:47-08:0052 Covers Ep. 2: "Mary Jane's Last Dance"<p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/37ov2DD0EHU" width="560"></iframe><br>So excited to share week two of the 52 Covers Project! This one features <a contents="Jack Maher" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.feedthekitty.com/" target="_blank">Jack Maher</a> & <a contents="Victoria Vox" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.victoriavox.com/" target="_blank">Victoria Vox</a> AKA <a contents="Jack &amp; the Vox" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/JackandtheVox/" target="_blank">Jack & the Vox</a> playing one of my favorite songs by my favorite band in my favorite state, California. Hope you enjoy it! Also now you can become a member of the <a contents="52 Covers Club on Patreon" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.patreon.com/cygnemusic" target="_blank">52 Covers Club on Patreon</a>! Sign up to submit requests and receive updates which include but aren't limited to the song of the week. Thanks for watching!<br> </p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/45248242016-12-24T20:24:02-08:002019-02-14T17:47:38-08:00Miracles<p>Here's my letter to Santa/The Universe/God/Creator/Great Spirit/All-One/Whom It May Concern: <br><br><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9pQVKnV9M9w" width="560"></iframe><br><br>I wrote "Miracles" last New Years' Eve when I returned from Europe. Between the refugee crisis and the attacks in Paris I was desperate for meaning and purpose. My friend Stephi urged me to make a list of my desires so that I might reignite my imagination and find joy again. At first it felt ridiculously indulgent to want for anything while safe, warm, and well-fed. But soon the words started flowing and I found myself laughing. The original version of this song (basically a list of what I want) was over forty-five minutes.<br><br>This summer I brought the lyrics to Steve Rossiter at Axis Sound and we recorded this. You can pre-order the album now on <a contents="bandcamp" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://cygne.bandcamp.com/album/let-it-breathe" target="_blank">bandcamp</a> and in the <a contents="webstore" data-link-label="STORE" data-link-type="page" href="/store">webstore</a>. If you can, please help support the refugees by <a contents="donating" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://refugeerights.org" target="_blank">donating</a> and voicing your concern to your <a contents="representatives" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/174f0WBSVNSdcQ5_S6rWPGB3pNCsruyyM_ZRQ6QUhGmo/htmlview?usp=embed_facebook&sle=true#" target="_blank">representatives</a>. <br><br>I hope you enjoy it, and that "Miracles" inspires your own. Here's to a miraculous 2017! <br><br>Cygne </p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/44980592016-12-05T21:22:21-08:002019-03-09T19:00:33-08:00Rainbows <p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OngrzzJEaYE" width="560"></iframe><br> </p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/44843902016-11-25T22:39:31-08:002016-11-25T22:39:31-08:00Everyone In the World<p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XFvnxTobG6M" width="560"></iframe></p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/44741752016-11-18T15:40:34-08:002016-11-18T15:40:34-08:00Being Cygne<p>Here's a recent interview from <a contents="The Mercury News" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.mercurynews.com/2016/11/16/starting-fresh-creativity-with-a-new-name/" target="_blank">The Mercury News</a> on changing my name and letting it breathe: <br><br>By PAUL FREEMAN <br>PUBLISHED: November 16, 2016 at 6:27 pm | UPDATED: November 16, 2016 at 6:29 pm </p>
<p>When an artist has released 10 well-received albums, toured the world and built up a following, the one thing you don’t expect is a name change. But that’s exactly the move that Laura Meyer made three years ago. She’s now Cygne (she pronounces it “Seen”). </p>
<p>Cygne means “swan” in French. And this singer-songwriter’s music has, like a swan, evolved, becoming ever more striking and beautiful. And using the pronunciation “seen” suggests becoming more visible. </p>
<p>“I tried on a few names a few winters ago. I was recording an album and it just felt like, creatively, I had to step away from this identity that solidified over almost 30 years, just for artistic freedom and expression. So I lived and recorded for about three months without a name, which was a really cool experience,” Cygne says, laughing. “To be meeting people and have them ask you, ‘What’s your name?’ And not really know. </p>
<p>“And then I knew I wanted to choose a bird. I do love the swan. It’s transformative, a creature that exists between worlds, both in the water and in the air. I went through Google Translate, looking at different languages. And as soon as saw ‘Cygne,’ I knew that was mine.” </p>
<p>There was trepidation about losing the hard-earned recognition she had garnered as Laura Meyer. She wrote to her fans. </p>
<p>“I explained that I wasn’t becoming a diva or losing my mind. I just needed to have some sort of separation that would free up my creative, spiritual side. That was the intention and people have respected it and have totally embraced the new name.” </p>
<p>A shift in her outlook can be heard, from the Meyer recordings to those of Cygne. “There was a lot of personal struggle in those earlier songs. With Cygne, because there is this slight separation from my personal identity, I feel like my songs are more universal, thematically. There’s always going to be struggle in the music. What makes us sit down to write is some sort of angst and need. But with Cygne, it’s much more ‘we.’ And where there’s a struggle, it’s much more ‘Ah, this is where the light is. This is where the path is.’ So lyrically, it’s holding a higher vibration.” </p>
<p>Spending so much time on the road, there’s a level of exhaustion, which Cygne says clouds the head. “Every year, I need to allow, in my calendar, a gap to rediscover the role of music, the passion and the power, and not just look at it as something that I need to do to pay the bills. It’s always a struggle for people who are using their art to make a living, keeping that creative spirit joyful and vital. That’s the primary job. And we have to protect that.” </p>
<p>She is now completing “Let It Breathe,” her third album under the name Cygne, following “Rise Up” and “Passenger.” </p>
<p>With a successful Kickstarter campaign, Cygne is able to fully realize her vision for the new album. It comes in the wake of her experiences in Paris, during the 2015 terrorist attack. </p>
<p>“It devastated me, naturally. I still am processing my whole world view. Being on the road, I’ve always both looked for and expected the good in people. With the attacks in Paris, it felt like the world was collapsing. </p>
<p>“It’s a strange time on Earth. I was feeling disconnected from the necessity of music, not on a personal level — it’s always my joy and my therapy — but I thought, ‘I should be volunteering at a refugee camp. I should be doing something to create a better world.’ And then the realization came that doing what I love, if I make my intention creating a better world, is the best way that I can serve. After this round of questioning myself, I feel a strong renewed sense of purpose in my music.” </p>
<p>Born in New Jersey, she studied classical violin for 10 years. But she wanted to be Tom Petty. She picked up a guitar, experimented with recordings and played open mics as a folk-blues-rock artist. “I was pretty eager to get my voice out there, before I had something to say,” Cygne says, laughing. </p>
<p>After graduating from high school, she recorded her first album in 2004. Cygne transferred four times in college, but found a home at NYU’s Gallatin School for Individualized Study. </p>
<p>“It was while I was taking a meditation class there that I first heard a voice telling me I had to change my name. It took me seven years of mulling it over and not feeling ready to do something that radical. But it got to the point, when an emcee would introduce me as Laura Meyer, I felt this shaking in me, because Laura Meyer was the perfect student and the good girl and shy. Growing up, I was really shy and quiet. So that would be conjured. And now, when someone says ‘Cygne,’ I feel like I can stand a little taller. It reminds me of what I’ve chosen to do and what I want to do. It’s definitely shifting my way of being in the world.” </p>
<p>Cygne returns to Europe to perform the “Let It Breathe” songs in the spring. She is currently based in Santa Cruz. </p>
<p>While in the Bay Area, she has been performing regularly at Off the Grid locations, including Mountain View, Belmont and Cupertino. She plays the Palo Alto Off the Grid on Monday, Nov. 21. (That location is in the Crowne Plaza Hotel, which, under a different name, is where The Beatles stayed for their last concert at Candlestick Park in 1966.) </p>
<p>“While I’m local for a while, it’s nice to see the same friendly faces every week. It’s a relaxed, family atmosphere, great people. And I love that it’s outside. It’s such a stark contrast to a lot of the rock ’n’ roll settings that I’m in, these dark caves, late at night,” she says, laughing. “This is really wholesome.” </p>
<p>A new attitude is developing with her new name. Fully produced with drums and lots of guitars supporting Cygne’s expressive vocals, moving melodies and poetic lyrics, the new album promises to be uplifting. </p>
<p>“The content is very much about transformation and finding the light in the dark. It’s about letting go and not being afraid of letting go. Even with these huge shifts that are happening — environmentally, politically, globally — we’re OK. This is just life on Earth and it’s always been chaotic. But we can still be happy, throughout all of it.” </p>
<p>And through her songs, Cygne helps to make audiences happy. “I can see that music does touch people. I might not ever be famous. I might never be rich from this. But I feel I must do it. And in taking that leap of faith, it also inspires people to do that themselves, to live their truth.”</p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/44627442016-11-11T13:38:19-08:002016-11-11T13:38:19-08:00For Leonard<p>I wrote this song last April when I was deep in existential crisis in Seattle. More than any artist Leonard taught me to "go there" - to be brave and to face my inner darkness because if we're ever going to illuminate the world we must first access the light within. <br><br><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xPWmrodJ4N4" width="560"></iframe><br><br>I can't cry for Leonard. Maybe it's because I've already cried too much this week, maybe it's because now it's quite easy to imagine he's in a better place (!), or maybe it's because I never felt like he belonged here anyway... so much more than our man, he was our guru, sage, and visiting angel.<br><br><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lNTFqSaFwyo" width="560"></iframe><br><br>Thank you, Leonard. I sure hope we can make love next time. <3</p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/44561542016-11-07T14:06:08-08:002016-11-07T16:44:24-08:00The WayHere's a new song to help you find your way through these final election hours:<br><br><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="e8b4CUQgrGs" data-video-thumb-url="http://img.youtube.com/vi/e8b4CUQgrGs/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/e8b4CUQgrGs?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe><br><br>I've made a career out of feeling lost - first by putting existential crisis to music, then by constantly traveling. After spending each day not knowing where the hell I am it's tremendously satisfying to land each night onstage somewhere, exactly where I'm "supposed" to be. It gives me a false sense of control, and it distracts me from that greater, deeper lostness that's been driving since day one.<br><br>Repetition is soothing. The rhythm of the wheels going 'round and 'round lures us into a sense of safety... it even convinces us that we're progressing or changing because, after all, when we look out the window we see we're moving and it looks different out there tonight than it did this morning.<br><br>But stopping? Feeling the loss of feeling lost? That's a whole different story. <br><br>We've been sitting at this fork in the road, thinking we know which way we want our country to go but held up by the millions of voices shouting conflicting directions in the giant unmeditated head that is the United States. We just want to GO! We're tired of waiting!! <em>GIVE US THE WHEEL!</em>
<p>But just like we're never <em>really</em> lost - we only perceive ourselves to be - we're never really separate. After the election is over and some voices are angry and some are happy and others are hungry or indifferent or horny or sad - no matter what, all these voices will still occupy and share the same space. <br><br>Let it breathe. What could be easier? What could be harder?</p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/44445172016-10-30T16:18:12-07:002017-01-16T05:54:07-08:00Standing Rock <p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/4b42fd5ffe2dd83ca615993c9e6e1a7635866a8a/original/dapl-letter-10-28-16.jpg?1477870966" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/6320c68dcc0feecbcfd73973184bc78149bd53ee/original/dapl-letter-10-28-16.jpg?1477871019" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><a contents="CONTACT THE CEOS OF THE BANKS THAT ARE FUNDING THE DAKOTA ACCESS PIPELINE" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/10/28/how-contact-17-banks-funding-dakota-access-pipeline" target="_blank">CONTACT THE CEOS OF THE BANKS THAT ARE FUNDING THE DAKOTA ACCESS PIPELINE</a>
<p>Contact the executives of the companies that are building the pipeline: </p>
<p>Lee Hanse <br>Executive Vice President <br>Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. <br>800 E Sonterra Blvd #400 <br>San Antonio, Texas 78258 <br>Telephone: (210) 403-6455 <br>Lee.Hanse@energytransfer.com </p>
<p>Glenn Emery <br>Vice President <br>Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. <br>800 E Sonterra Blvd #400 <br>San Antonio, Texas 78258 <br>Telephone: (210) 403-6762 <br>Glenn.Emery@energytransfer.com </p>
<p>Michael (Cliff) Waters <br>Lead Analyst <br>Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. <br>1300 Main St. <br>Houston, Texas 77002 <br>Telephone: (713) 989-2404 <br>Michael.Waters@energytransfer.com </p>PLEASE SEND WHAT YOU CAN TO STANDING ROCK:<br><br><a contents="Standing Rock Sioux Tribe" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://standingrock.org" target="_blank">Standing Rock Sioux Tribe</a><br><a contents="Sacred Stone Camp" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://sacredstonecamp.org" target="_blank">Sacred Stone Camp</a> <br><a contents="Legal Defense Fund for Sacred Stone Spirit Camp" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://fundrazr.com/d19fAf" target="_blank">Legal Defense Fund for Sacred Stone Spirit Camp</a><br><a contents="Sacred Stone Camp GoFundMe" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.gofundme.com/sacredstonecamp" target="_blank">Sacred Stone Camp GoFundMe</a><br><br>Contact the <a contents="Contact the president" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact" target="_blank">President</a><br>Contact the <a contents="Contact your senator" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.senate.gov/senators/contact/senators_cfm.cfm" target="_blank">Senate</a><br>Contact the <a contents="House of Representatives" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.house.gov/representatives/" target="_blank">House of Representatives</a><br>Contact <a contents="Hillary Clinton" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.hillaryclinton.com/forms/contact-us/" target="_blank">Hillary Clinton</a><br> <p><iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=2414807718/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/track=277621784/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; width: 100%; height: 120px;">&amp;lt;a data-cke-saved-href=&amp;quot;http://cygne.bandcamp.com/album/rise-up&amp;quot; href=&amp;quot;http://cygne.bandcamp.com/album/rise-up&amp;quot;&amp;gt;RISE UP! by cygne&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;</iframe></p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/44346052016-10-24T11:55:43-07:002019-03-09T19:02:54-08:00AMEN<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="YD6fvzGIBfQ" data-video-thumb-url="http://img.youtube.com/vi/YD6fvzGIBfQ/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YD6fvzGIBfQ?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="200" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe> Rather, <a contents="YES, PLEASE." data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://leonardcohen.com" target="_blank">the man</a>. <br> </p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/44331462016-10-23T09:37:18-07:002019-02-14T17:42:31-08:00Flame<p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dzWH75l8hS8" width="560"></iframe><a contents="THREE DAYS TO GO!!!" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cygne/let-it-breathe-a-new-album" target="_blank">THREE DAYS TO GO!!!</a><br><br>"There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and there is only one of you in all time. This expression is unique, and if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium; and be lost. The world will not have it. </p>
<p>It is not your business to determine how good it is, not how it compares with other expression. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. </p>
<p>No artist is pleased. There is no satisfaction whatsoever at any time. There is only a queer, divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others." - <a contents="Martha Graham" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://marthagraham.org" target="_blank">Martha Graham</a> </p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/44208802016-10-15T14:28:06-07:002019-02-14T17:42:07-08:00the rhythm within<p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UC0YxszqEdU" width="560"></iframe>"And yeah we look the same Both pumpin' steel, both sweatin' But you know she got nothin' to hide And I got something to hide here called desire I got something to hide here called desire" </p>
<p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RcgxoDCLe1E" width="560"></iframe></p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/44176262016-10-13T10:11:32-07:002019-03-09T19:03:35-08:00vote baby vote!<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/75c313fe82a505342566d08b78bd868df72c91f4/original/votebabyvote.jpg?1476377631" class="size_l justify_left border_" /><br><a contents="vote baby vote!" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://rockthevote.com" target="_blank">vote baby vote!</a><br><br> </p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/44163132016-10-12T13:44:15-07:002018-03-03T13:24:43-08:00Remember<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/8a630d58a0db2d45c5c556224a74e23a037c61d9/original/img-1597.jpg?1476303469" class="size_l justify_left border_" /><br>We're here to grow, together. <p><br>from <a contents="Leonard" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/10/17/leonard-cohen-makes-it-darker?mbid=nl_TNY%20Template%20-%20With%20Photo%20(104)&CNDID=44959614&spMailingID=9676616&spUserID=MTU4NDQ3OTEyNzM2S0&spJobID=1020932541&spReportId=MTAyMDkzMjU0MQS2" target="_blank">Leonard</a>:<br><br>“I know there’s a spiritual aspect to everybody’s life, whether they want to cop to it or not,” Cohen said. “It’s there, you can feel it in people—there’s some recognition that there is a reality that they cannot penetrate but which influences their mood and activity. So that’s operating. That activity at certain points of your day or night insists on a certain kind of response. Sometimes it’s just like: ‘You are losing too much weight, Leonard. You’re dying, but you don’t have to coöperate enthusiastically with the process.’ Force yourself to have a sandwich. </p>
<p>“What I mean to say is that you hear the Bat Kol.” The divine voice. “You hear this other deep reality singing to you all the time, and much of the time you can’t decipher it. Even when I was healthy, I was sensitive to the process. At this stage of the game, I hear it saying, ‘Leonard, just get on with the things you have to do.’ It’s very compassionate at this stage. More than at any time of my life, I no longer have that voice that says, ‘You’re fucking up.’ That’s a tremendous blessing, really.”<br><br><br>from Alexa: <br><br>SIMULACRUM (simulacra): Something that replaces reality with its representation. Jean Baudrillard in "The Precession of Simulacra" defines this term as follows: "Simulation is no longer that of a territory, a referential being, or a substance. It is the generation by models of a real without origin or reality: a hyperreal.... It is no longer a question of imitation, nor duplication, nor even parody. It is a question of substituting the signs of the real for the real" (1-2). His primary examples are psychosomatic illness, Disneyland, and Watergate. Fredric Jameson provides a similar definition: the simulacrum's "peculiar function lies in what Sartre would have called the derealization of the whole surrounding world of everyday reality" (34).</p>
<div> </div>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/44081792016-10-06T22:32:33-07:002017-01-16T05:54:06-08:00phoenix<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/8b0b80517d5a5e3a574cb388e16780bfb59870ef/large/peasant-burning-weeds-1883-jpg-large.jpeg?1475818037" class="size_l justify_left border_none" alt="" /><p>Am I the phoenix or the fire <br>I can’t decide <br>It’s hard to tell the two apart perched on the pyre <br><br>Am I the apple or the eye <br>What you seek or what you find<br>Am I alive or am I that which doesn’t die </p>
<p>The objects in the mirror <br>Are closer than they appear </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/bb05a9d314ae3560ef8ab4cd069e4ecedac3d169/original/img-1551.jpg?1475818112" class="size_l justify_left border_" /></p>
<p>Am I the man or the gaze<br>Am I the hand or the blade<br>Am I the tears or the rain or am I just too late <br><br>Am I the blood or the taste<br>Am I the trickle or the ache<br>Am I vain because I contemplate </p>
<p>These objects in the mirror <br>Are closer than they appear </p>
<p>These objects in the mirror <br>Are closer than they appear <br>And still it isn’t clear <br>Who is really here </p>
<p>The phoenix or the fire<br>The smoke or the sky <br>The fog or the light or the ocean blowing by <br><br>The secret or the smile<br>The echo or the cry <br>The etchings or the lines <br>The reflections or designs <br>The obsession or the time <br>The questions or the mind<br><br><em><a contents="Let It Breathe" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cygne/let-it-breathe-a-new-album">Let It Breathe</a></em><br><br>Painting by Vincent Van Gogh</p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/5d92c4b97002ad7f7be1a4d6ff101f52b57384db/original/map-of-consciousness-david-hawkins.jpg?1475818034" class="size_l justify_left border_" />Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/44063732016-10-05T22:26:39-07:002017-01-16T05:54:06-08:00eternity's sunrise<p>He who binds to himself a joy <br>Does the wingèd life destroy; <br>But he who kisses the joy as it flies <br>Lives in eternity's sunrise. </p>
<p>WILLIAM BLAKE, "He Who Binds" <br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/7c970a72a5259ad5b6cec15455a4488d44a9aaad/original/dsc06818.jpg?1475731535" class="size_l justify_left border_" /></p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/44036942016-10-04T13:57:02-07:002017-01-16T05:54:06-08:00bob gets it ♥<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/e5050f7833e9b5237157971fa4be9550d5fb94e2/medium/img-1533.jpg?1475614574" class="size_m justify_left border_" /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SQbr4ISrjII" width="560"></iframe><br><br>#cosmicegg </p>Laura Meyer | Cygnetag:laurameyer.net,2005:Post/43998642016-10-01T20:03:19-07:002017-01-16T05:54:06-08:00What if...<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/214263/439a70f254d42284e9e378f0c2fdf7ffc38d51ed/original/img-1518.jpg?1475377388" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Laura Meyer | Cygne