Stratford UA->Birmingham->to Retford England

This morning I slept in....needed it so much. After breakfast I hung out with a cool man, Donald and his lovely wife, Nicky. They were my hosts for 2 days. I organized some details/plans for the next few days then went over to the SOZO Festival to hug folks and to say goodbye to them.

After dinner with Donald and Nicky (wonderful dinner with ice cream, chocolate sauce & a yummy peppermint patty), we said our goodbyes and we rushed over to the train station. I took the train into Birmingham and then waited their for my friend Ross to "collect" me.

We went to a cool Stag party for about 20 minutes in Moseley, and then headed to Nottingham to pick up his sis and 3 children. We made it to Redford quite late this evening and then chatted over cheese and toast.

I am too tired to write anymore. Goodnight,

Tammy*

bingbingbing

Bing bing bing, that is about all that is in my head at this point. I am content, but exhausted. The Sozo Festival was great today! Playing tonight for the people was tons of fun. Tomorrow I am heading off & hugging the SOZO folks. It's been wonderful. I am heading up near Sheffield to hopefully see a friend so that I can stare at the wall for a few days to recover from this 65 days of travel/playing.

On Monday and Tuesday I will be recording 2 more songs for the new album up in Leeds again!

So many good things have happened, but I need a massage because I am weary and tense from all of this luggage lugging!

Goodnight :0)

The SOZO Festival!

Hey! This is the 3rd time that I have come to the SOZO Festival. It is such an awesome festival! I love it. This year it is in Stratford Upon Avon. In the past it was in Hungary.

The heart of the SOZO Festival is to bring healing, restoration and deliverance to people, to nations, to the world. You can read a bit more about it by clicking here. It is really a beautiful picture to see people from all over the world come together in unity to sing to God, to learn, and to love on people.

SOZO Mission
Mission Statement
Destiny Group International and the SOZO Foundation are globally active non-profit organizations committed to training individuals to be agents of change in their unique cultures.

Maybe you would be interested to come to SOZO in the future. Maybe you would like to be a part of the next SOZO --To help with the sound board, or cooking, lighting, security, to perform music, or to help organize details, work with transport, or to teach workshops on music, art, spiritual issues, ministry, counseling, you name it :0) You can also be involved with SOZO by financially donating to this non-profit cause. Email: redhillcentre@tiscali.co.uk or randall@sozofestival.com

Thanks for reading. Goodnight! Be blessed!

Tammy*

missed my bus & was given a new iPhone....normal day..ha!

This morning I missed my bus in Canterbury...the internet wasn't working, then when it was working the printer wouldn't work :o( Since you HAVE to print off your ticket I was kind of stuck. So when I got to the station the bus was driving away...I was frustrated and wanted to cry...but I didn't. Marketa (a very nice girl from the Czech Republic) made sure that all was well.

I walked over to McDonalds with my luggage to use the internet to book another ticket. So, I booked new tickets (had to pay twice, ughhh!) and took the next bus to London and then to Birmingham. I am heading up to Stratford Upon Avon in the morning to play the SOZO Festival. All kinds of folks come from many many nations to this festival. It is such a cool environment there.

So, on my second bus I talked with a very interesting person...from Dubai. We talked for a few hours, then he said that he wanted to give me a gift. Um...so he got a brand new iPhone out of his bag of gifts and insisted on giving it to me!!! Amazing! I tried to give it back several times and I was speechless. He insisted that I keep it and said that I was so nice and that it was just really good to talk to someone.

Now I am in Birmingham staying with some cool folks :0)

Goodnight!

Now, I have to figure out how to use this new gadget (iPhone) :0)

Tammy*

House Concert in Lausanne, Switzerland!

Greetings from England! I just got some photos from the house concert that I played on Friday in Lausanne, Switzerland. Almost the entire audience was French (actually from France) and it was a fun night. I met tons of beautiful people with big hearts! Here are some of the pics that they took!

I am heading up to Strattford Upon Avon tomorrow via coach (national express). That is Shakespeare Territory. I am playing at the SOZO festival there. If you are in the UK and nearby, come on out!

Goodnight!

Much love,

Tammy*

Cast Your Net on the Other Side..

I am back on the east coast of England, where I started, in Whistable. I am exhausted but very thankful. Today on the train and then coach ride home, I was praying in my head....for wisdom and direction about whether I should stay in England a month longer or head home. All along the trip, I've thought that I will stay until the end of August.

After finding out that it will cost at least 300 dollars just to change my departure date, I started reconsidering 2 weeks ago. Then today when I thinking about it and praying about it...I kept hearing "cast your net on the other side in my head/heart". So, then I thought of the Bible story where the trained fisherman weren't catching fish and Jesus said to cast their nets on the other side. Even though this didn't make any sense to them, they obeyed and they caught tons of fish. (thanks for the insight on that Kevin :0)

So, I am not sure where that leaves me in my decision...I think that I need some clarification. If you have any feedback or ideas about it, please just comment and let me know.

Cheers!

Tammy*

Grub Cafe-Steven Price is awesome!

I am in East Grinstead, West Sussex, England, 10 minutes from the Gatwick/London airport. Tonight I played at the Grub cafe. I arrived at 8am this morning. Steven, the owner of the Grub Cafe came to the rescue with his generosity :0) He gave me some food, drink, and a place to sleep at his place for the day. I needed the rest because I flew in from Geneva, Switzerland from a show last night, and had no chance to sleep last night.

So, after sleeping 7 1/2 hours I felt like a new person. I came out to the Grub Cafe for the show. Amanda Shaw played first in the night. She is a lovely girl and a beautiful singer/songwriter. The audience was warm and stuck around through the night!

Great times!

Goodnight!

Tammy*

My first French-speaking-audience-concert

Man! I played my first-french-speaking-audience last night :0) Noemmie booked a house concert with. me. She is French & she lives in Lyon...very lovely woman. The show was in an old restored farm house in Lausanne, Switzerland, but almost every person there is from France or lives in France. It was gorgeous to be immersed in the beautiful language of French...no complaints from me. I learned a lot! Hopefully I won't forget it.

So, I need to sleep now...I am in England, right outside of London...show tonight :0)

Hugs,

Tammy*

Today

After sleeping in quite late today, I went to the train station with Raphael to meet up with an Australian friend of mine, Gail. She is traveling on an Around-The-World ticket. Adventure. We shared a coffee. Raphael and I headed to his office to brainstorm some ideas for the new website and new CD booklet.

We went back to the house and I got to hang out with his wife Katja and their sweet baby, Tea (Tay-a). Here is a photo of us :0) She is SOOO beautiful! If you don't see the picture, then you can click here. Then, it was back to work putting photos together for the website and drawing the link buttons for the site. Fun fun.

I need a hug, please.

Goodnight,

Tammy*

I drew a cartoon today:0)

Here is a cartoon that I drew tonight, while trying to think up new ideas for the new album and the website....if you don't see it then click here

Tam*

BBC Radio Interview Video

Greetings from Lohn, Switzerland,

Finally, I was able to load the video from the BBC Radio interview in Cambridge, England. Sue Marchant interviewed me and I played a new song from my soon to be released album, Liberty Spoke to Me'. The song is called 'Stranded in Nostalgia'. Drew Nelson , an Americana-Folk artist from the US was also on the show in the same night. He tours quite a bit in the UK. He is a really cool guy and has stunning music.

Just click here to go to YouTube to watch my interview...Sue's questions get me laughing.

Goodnight to all!

Much LoVe!

Tammy*

From Tourist City Rothenburg to Lohn, Switzerland-600 Inhabitants

me and Hans
me, Sebastian & Caleb

Rothenburg Show

Early in the evening before the actual concert started

the concert in Rothenburg ob der tauber

Willi's Birthday Party (I hope that is the right name...)

The coolest family-my hosts

me & Bolko

The concert last night in Rothenburg ob der Tauber went really great!! Lots of people came early in the evening (200-300) . I don't know...estimating numbers isn't a talent of mine. There was this cool Canadian guy, Caleb, that met me before the show. He plays lots of instruments...and VERY well, I must say. So I asked him to join me for the concert. He played lead guitar or bass on almost all of my songs. It added SO much. Also, Sebastian, a cool German guy, also joined us on the cajon (percussion) on a few songs earlier in the evening. It is just really cool to jam with people like them.

In the evening, some folks drew a massive picture with ink on canvas. They drew it sideways for the audience & at the end they turned it right-side up. It was a moving picture of Jesus.

Today was a whirlwind in a very good way. I slept in (good start), then met up with the lovely Bolko (friend & promoter for the show) and his nephew Daniel. We had a quick lunch and then joined the 82 year old 'Willi' for his birthday party. After that we went back to the host family where I was staying (they are REALLY awesome and beautiful people). I packed up my stuff, did a quick photo-session with all of the good folks there, Hans came to pick me up, we said our goodbyes, drove 3 hours to Switzerland to the village of Lohn, which has 600 inhabitants.

We stopped in at the village restaurant and had some meatloaf, noodles, salad, coffee and dessert. The owner and his family run the restaurant. Since they don't have many outsiders/foriengers come through town, they thought that it was SO cool that I was from Nashville, TN. So, the owner wanted to buy a CD from me. I played a song on the guitar for the guests there and they invited me to come back soon to play a concert on their stage. Everyone knows everyone here. It is just so new to me. I love it. I had never been in such a small community before. Fabulous! Hans and I said our goodbyes and headed towards the car.

Hans saw some friends on the balcony beside the parking lot and they were celebrating a birthday. They wanted us to come on up. They asked me to sing HAppy BiRthdaY and one of my songs. Seriously, it was such a cool day. I am so thankful for it. One guy at the party pulled out his photo book and showed me photos from when he went to the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville in 1980. That was just sweet. :o)

So, Hans and I headed to his house and I found out that HE has such a better music collection than me. He is cool. We had a glass of wine and some schinken (German smoked ham), and then he headed to bed.

That was the day...a whirlwind, but so wonderful. I miss someone right now. I got a cool note today that really made me smile. Life is good. Now, if I could just get a massage to remove all of the pain in my body from dragging my luggage around...

Goodnight!

Tammy*

Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany :0)

Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany is pretty well known. I arrived here this evening. Everyday buses of tourists with cameras come to this ancient stone-walled city. Tomorrow I will play a show in Rothenburg right near the city wall if the weather is nice. If not, I will play the show at a nearby indoor venue. Here are the details:


Rothenburg, Sunday, July 19th 19:00 (7:00pm) Outside the city wall.


To see some photos from Rothenburg, just click here.

Goodnight!!!


Tammy*

Worn Out->Heading to BaVaRia!

Hallo! Tomorrow I am heading out to Bayern/Bavaria. I spent about 6 hours last night & about 10 hours today working on travel details & music biz stuff. I am worn out...mentally from all of the details and physically from dragging my suitcase and guitar around.

It has been really good to be around Dee and Eva (my friends here in Mannheim). They are fabulous people. Dee Rosario is a very talented guitarist. He has toured as part of ADK in Germany for quite a while & now he has a studio in Heidelberg, Germany. If you are looking for a rockin' guitarist (esp. rock/funk, but he can play all styles) look him up-> www.deerosario.de He also engineers & produces. Oh yeah.

Well, I am worn out from the traveling, even though I love meeting new people and learning new things every day.

I am self-printing pre-release copies of my new album, "Liberty Spoke to Me" for the moment, until I fully content with the photos/artwork & final mastering. You can pick one up at my live shows or you can email me tammy@tammyrochelle.com

Bless ya,

Tammy*

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Ilona->German train->Angelo the Italian->Studio with Dee

Ilona & Me at the Bahnhof

In the studio with Dee Rosario

Dee Rosario

Angelo the Italian

Hallo from Mannheim, Deutschland! I left Ilona and Bernie's place and took a train headed to Mannheim. Yesterday, I sat in the park for a few hours playing and this Italian guy was clapping for me. I wrote a bit about him in the past blog.

Today I was in the studio in Heidelberg with my good friend Dee Rosario. He is a fabulous guitarist, producer, and engineer! I will tell you more about him tomorrow. We were in his studio today checking out the mixes and such. We are heading back into the studio tomorrow, so I will post a little video.

P.S.-German beer, coffee and chocolate ain't bad...lemme tell ya! They are amazin', in fact :0)

The sun is rising, so I should sleep.

Tammy*

A long day

Man! Today I walked around the world...at least it felt that way. I got up @ 8am and then went with my friend Ilona to Marburg to see an old friend (and fabulous bass player) Manuel. Then I took the train to Frankfurt, had an hour layover, and then I took a train to Mannheim. I walked around Mannheim for a few hours carrying my guitar. An Italian guy, Angelo, wanted to play my guitar, so I let him. He played "nothing else matters" "let it be" and some Italian songs. I walked back to the train station where my friend Dee picked me up and took me to the house (Dee & Eva's). Eva and I caught up for quite a while over some Bruschetta. Tomorrow Dee and I will be in the studio in Heidelberg. Should be fun!

It's been a long long day...so, I am checkin out now.

Goodnight!

Tammy*

In the Studio-Stuttgart, Germany

I was in the studio with a great producer, Frank Pilsl, this past week in Stuttgart, Germany. He is pretty awesome. He produced one of my favorite German artists, Philipp Poisel. We had lunch, chatted about what I would like to do and about what he could imagine to do. Then we went over to his & Jens' cool studio that was packed with all kinds of vintage gear. We tracked two acoustic recordings just to hear how it sounded. Here is a photo and a quick video of being in the studio with him.

Goodnight and Blessings!

Tammy*

Stuttgart->Wetzlar

Hey! Last night was so much fun! I was hanging out with my friend Flo, and many folks from the neighborhood. We were having a huge cookout with steaks, salad, grilled veggies & then crepes! Of course there was some German bier, as well. It is an annual tradition for these neighbors. I was befriended by some awesome German kids who wanted to be launched into the couch and tickled and chased around the yard/house. We played music out by the fire with an upright bass, saxaphone, acoustic guitars, and a cajon (percussion). We all stayed up talking and eating chocolate by the fire until the early morning hours. It was really a fabulous night.

Today, I had breakfast, packed and said goodbye to my new friends there. Flo took me to the train station. I headed towards Stuttgart, then to Frankfurt, passed through Giessen and arrived safely in Wetzlar. My friends Ilona and Berni came to pick me up at the station. We haven't seen each other in years. They are SO lovely! We had dinner at the house and talked and talked and laughed by candlelight until it was time to sleep. Ilona and I joked around in the kitchen, just catching up on the silliness that we both have seemed to miss (ballet dancing & general nonsense).

Well, tomorrow I am exploring Frankfurt a bit with Ilona. It's good to be in Germany!

Ich liebe Deutschland!

Goodnight!

Tammy*

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Photos from the show @ Provisorium

I just wanted to post a few pics from the Provisorium show that I played yesterday with Florian Ostertag. Today in the studio with Frank Pilsl was really cool. We recorded two rough tracks with me and guitar. We also got to listen to the final mixes for the album that Ben Mosley sent :0) He did an amazing job recording the songs and allowing them to sound so natural and warm.

Goodnight and God bless!

Tammy*

Tomorrow-Meeting the producer-Frank- in the Morning!

Ah, the show with Flo tonight was really great! His music is really sincere and beautiful...meditative almost. He played with Bennie who was on keys and sound effects. They created loops while playing and it was really cool.

The audience was so good to me. They asked for 2 encores...hahah. I am always really thankful and really surprised when people do that. Some good friends surprised me and came to the show.-the Krusche family! That was cool.

Well, right now my family is flying out from North Carolina (east coast) to Los Angeles (west coast) for a wedding that I wish I could go to. I hope they send some great photos my way.

So, in the morning I am going with Florian Ostertag to the studio and then I am meeting up with Frank P. a producer here in Germany that I think is pretty awesome. We are going to jam and record a bit and see what we come up with. I am excited and curious.

Ok, I am exhausted. Goodnight all!

love,

Tammy*

Show @ Provisorium near Stuttgart-in Neurtingen-with Florian Ostertag July 9th

Germany is a cool place. I am getting into the flow of things :0) The German train system is pretty cool...mostly very clean, comfortable trains, on-time, and affordable. Plus, you get to see the beautiful countryside and landscape along the way.

So, I arrived safely in Notzingen, and had a fabulous evening hanging out with Chris & Frank for dinner at an Italian place & then coming back to the house and hanging with Benjamin & Flo, too. We celebrated Frank's birthday before closing the night and opening his birthday with a toast!

So, Thursday (tomorrow), July 9th at the Provisorium in Neurtingen, Germany @ 7:30 Florian Ostertag and I will play a concert. We talked about wearing capes & super-hero outfits ( I wanted to be Wonder Woman) for the show. Perhaps we will do that in some form..it would be funny. Either way it should be a fun show. So, come on out if you are in the area!

Blessings and Goodnight!

Love,

Tammy*

Experiencing Culture Shock

So many wonderful moments have occurred since I have been in Germany in the last few days. I got to see my old friend, Juergen, played a concert to a very cool audience in Gernsbach, Enrico & friend recorded the concert and made a live CD for me, I took nice walks through the laid-back town, had dinner with some cool folks tonight who made lasange and jammed afterwards...all of these things have been great.

However, I am experiencing a slight case of culture shock. Germans are very honest and sometimes their directness is a bit too much for a sensitive soul like me. So, I need a few days to adjust. I really love the Germans....love the country. I've lived in Germany many many times over the last 9 years and it's been wonderful. It's easy to forget the differences between countries and to prepare for them mentally. Well, give me a few days and I think I will have myself sorted.

HaHAAA! Also, I didn't give much thought to the fact that I would be speaking in German through my concert on Sunday, beforehand. I used to do it without much problem. I didn't think about the fact that I hadn't spoken German in two years...so, I was laughing at myself during the concert and at my lack of fluency in talking from stage. It's fabulous that I now have a live CD to document my shining German language skills! haha.

All is well. Tomorrow I am boarding a train and heading to Stuttgart. Florian Ostertag and myself are playing a show at the Provisorium in Neurtingen on Thursday at 7:30pm. (He is awesome, check out his music)

Blessings and Goodnight!

Tam*

Alle Meine Entchen-All my little ducks

Today the sun was shining. That is always a good start for me. Warm weather is like honey to me..rich, thick and it makes everything sweeter. I sat in the sun today with my acoustic guitar and sang a bit. Two little German children wandered around to where I was singing. The little 3 year old girl with curly blond locks and bright blue eyes was so cute that my heart melted. She was with her brother, who was 5, and he was a handsome little man! They shyly approached me and then once I offered for them to strum my guitar, they were excited and unafraid.

So, I moved my fingers for the chords and they strummed the guitar. I sang the children's song Alle meine Entchen with them, since it's the only German children's song that I know. They sang with me and I felt like Maria from "The Sound of Music"...haha!!! I was sitting on the edge of the hill overlooking the beautiful surrounding hills in the village and singing with these cute kids. Their grandmother came along and joined in, too.

Sweet sweet memory.

I am listening now to the mixes of the new songs for my new album "Liberty Spoke to Me". I am trying to get these songs out so you can hear them very soon!

Love,

Tam*

Giggin' for the Germans:0) & a LIVE CD

Cool Flowers in Gernsbach

Juergen=Friend/Promoter for the Gernsbach show


German Napkin=Quality
A crepe with ice cream, bananas and cinnamon :0)
The Show in Gernsbach, Germany

The Gernsbach show today was lots of fun! Great people and two encores :0) The engineers also recorded a LIVE CD at the show. I will post more details on that later.

My good friend Juergen, who also booked the concert, showed me around the city of Gernsbach. We had crepes and ice cream, then walked around, ate dinner @ a very German restaurant with cool German napkins (see photo).

Here are a few photos from the day!

Love,

Tammy*

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HaPpY Independence DAY!

Hello Hello! I arrived safely in Germany and I am at my good friend, Jürgen's house. He picked me up at the airport! I left England to celebrate independence from England...funny! I had some videos from the 4th of July fireworks that I watched two years ago in Germany on my German cell phone. So, on the 2 hour drive to Gernsbach in the car, I watched 4th of July fireworks on my phone and cheered..not quite the same extraordinary celebration that some of you had tonight, but it made me smile :o)

It's GREAT to be in Germany. Sleeping is about to happen in 5 minutes...got a show tomorrow!

Goodnight and Happy 4th!

Love,

Tam

Heading to Deutschland for Part II of the Tour

Hey! Tonight in the studio was quite productive. Ben managed to get 5 songs to their final mix tonight (after days of tweaking)! Fabulous! He is really patient. Tomorrow we plan on finishing up the final 4 songs and printing a master for me to take to Germany. I will get the album mastered and printed in Germany :0)

Well, I am flying via Ryan Air to Frankfurt-Hahn airport in Germany tomorrow evening. My good friend Jürgen is picking me up at the airport and we are heading to the Black Forest. I am playing a show there on Sunday afternoon.

So, tonight was a good chilled out night with beer, good deep conversation and good Thai food that I made last night. Ben showed me some photos from the SOZO festival in Hungary that we both went to a few years ago.

After the show on Sunday, I can put up a few photos & videos from this past week and from the show. I can't wait to post some of the new songs from the new record for you to hear. I would love to get your feedback.

Well, I am heading off to sleep...much to do in the morning. I am missing Nashville quite a bit.

Love,

Tammy*

Have you tried Cartwheels lately??

Greetings from Leeds!

Today Ben was mixing the rest of the tunes for the new album! He is making goodness! We are nearing the finish line. "Liberty Spoke to Me" is almost done!! Whoo-hoo. I will post the songs up on facebook & myspace when I can. The CD will be available via CD Baby and iTunes as well as at my live shows.

Tonight, Paul and Ben and I were hanging out a bit. We cooked yummy thai food and had southern banana pudding :0) (a very quick version of it, rather). Paul played us a few of his tunes on the guitar and they were beautiful! If I would have known what a great voice he had I would have urged him to sing with me on the album!

Well, most of the day for me was spent in introspection and frustrations with parts of life that I can't seem to get. Also, I was concentrating, trying to book an airline ticket/train ticket to Germany for Saturday. So, the stress of booking various flights when they are all in British Pounds gets to me....of course because they are super expensive. Yikes!

So I called my mom and chatted with her for a bit. She is SOOO good! I am really blessed to have her in my life. She always knows what to say, even when I am a blubbering mess and don't seem to make any sense. My friend Hannah told me once that a truly good friend is one that can listen to all of the details, emotions and such that seem all chaotic, and hand them back to you all in the right order. My mom does that. She amazes me. The fact that I can talk to her via Skype and look into her ever-understanding eyes is such a comfort. Thanks mom!!

Well, my younger sis then told me that she recommends cartwheels in combatting stress. She had the urge the other day and she just felt better after. It seems really easy to get caught up in "doing-things" "being-busy" "staying focused and productive", but it is also difficult to remember that we also need to take time to recover...to take a break..to do something silly...to do something that is just freeing. Like walking, drawing in the sand, coloring, sitting in the sun, or like my sis suggested, doing cartwheels.

So, tomorrow I am gonna start my day out with cartwheels & star-jumps. Try it out, too, and let me know if it does you some good.

Goodnight and bless ya!

Tammy*

Mixing the NEW ALBUM

So, I am back in Leeds, England. Ben Mosely and I were working on the mix tonight for a few hours. Six of the ten songs are almost finished. Tomorrow evening we will mix the last 4, and then head to the studio on Friday to master the album. I am really excited about this new album, "Liberty Spoke to Me" (title for now...still thinking). As soon as the mixes are done I will post some of the tunes up on myspace for you hear.

On July 4th I won't be seeing any fireworks :0( but, I will be heading to Germany. Please say a prayer for me for the album, my travel to Germany, and this new section of the tour. Germany & Switzerland, ready or not, here I come!

Goodnight!

Love,

Tammy*