The Amber Waves Band

Have you signed up?

2012-01-27T19:40:00.000-08:00

Below is a copy of our first newsletter for the band. If you haven't signed up yet, please go to our home page at http://amberwavesband.com, then scroll down to the little box where you can type in your email. It will go right to our box, and we'll send you a confirmation!

First, the big news:
Announcing the release of the Amber Waves Band's new CD, "Hourglass"!

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It has been nearly two years since our last CD release and you won't want to miss this one! We have several original songs, as well as a few of our favorite cover tunes and arrangements. This is a wonderful mix with everything from classic bluegrass, gospel, swing dance sounds, and heart-felt ballads. Don't miss it! It can be purchased immediately at any of our shows, and within the next couple of weeks we will have it added to our CD Baby Store, where you can download individual tracts, the whole album, or order the CD. The best of the CD will be offered through download and iTunes, but for those purchasing a CD, there are two additional songs you may enjoy! Check back soon. We will provide a link on our web site when the new CD is available for orders, and another when the select songs are available through digital download sites. Meanwhile, you can preview the music by streaming it through our ReverbNation widget right on the front of our web site!

By request, we have also added a lyrics page to our web site, where you can see our personal notes on the songs, as well as read the lyrics to the original titles.

A Moment for Some Fun

As most of you are aware, we left Colorado shortly before the first of the year, in our converted school bus, affectionately named "Benny". Our first month on the road has been a full adventure in and of itself.

A wrap-up of the first part of our trip can be seen in the first of what we hope are a series of silly and fun self-made "reality show" videos. Nothing serious here, just lighthearted fun. Find it on our youtube page! From a broken car dolly, failed transmission, stuck in the mud, and smoe crazy shorts on relieving tension, you'll see the whole crazy start of the trip in about 6 minutes.

Since the video episode, we have had some wonderful experiences and will highlight them in the next edition, which is almost ready to be edited and put together. Subscribe to the youtube channel, our band blog, or to our facebook fan page to see what happens next! We'll show you some great pictures we took while dry-camping right on the beach, as well as a quick trip to Vulgaria, and an encounter with the Child Catcher!

What's Next for the Band?

We are excited to join the Whitsett Baptist Church in Whitsett, TX this Saturday evening, January 28th, for an exciting gospel bluegrass show, featuring the Amber Waves Band! Next we head into Arizona for the Goldfield GospelGrass Festival at the Goldfield Ghost Town near Apache Junction, AZ. More details can be found on our web site calendar. We are trying hard to keep it up to date, though sometimes we have shows added almost at the last minute. We just hit the road and are actively looking for playing locations to fill the schedule so be sure to contact us if you would like to see us come through your town.

After a brief trip back to Colorado for the Mid-Winter Bluegrass Festival, we will head back to the southern area of Texas, then swing up through northern Texas, Arkansas, and into Missouri by May, before we head back to Colorado. Lord willing, we hope to then make our way east through the mid-west, a stop for a tour of Washington DC, and make our way finally to Florida by next November, before heading back through to Texas. Thanks to some quite successful showcases in the Rio Grand Valley, or schedule for the winter of 2013 is nearly full, but we have a lot of flexibility this year, so let us know your ideas!

We can be reached through our email at amberwavesband@gmail.com, or by calling Cheryl at 303-833-6641.

Happy Pickin', and don't forget to wave at Benny if you see us drive by!

The Costello Family

Hitting the Road! Week 1

2012-01-08T15:09:00.000-08:00

Hold on to your hats.

We left the northern Colorado area around 11:30, after last minute trips to the bank and figuring out how to make the dolly work with the minivan. Grandma and Papa followed us all the way through Denver to see how everything looked with the hitch, dolly, and minivan. It was driving great, so they said goodbye, and we headed out towards TEXAS!It was chilly, but the sunset was amazing, as we passed through a bunch of wind turbines on the way.
Alas, the excitement was not to last. Pretty soon our luck ran out (that full half a day of luck), and left us with only bad for luck.

We planned to stop off at a place in Dumas to sleep for the night, but there was a new overpass that was not on the google map Michael used to plan the route, and we missed the turn. So, we found what looked to be a wide dirt parking lot in which to turn around. Only it wasn't exactly a parking lot. It was a mud pit. It was a sneaky mud pit with a hidden ditch that was iced over mud so it looked like the dirt surrounding it, too, and just on the same level, so you never saw it coming until you were in it.

Oh yeah. That was one stuck Benny Bus. It was COLD mud, too. Nothing to do but pray, then call our road side service, who hooked us up with a tow truck. The tow truck got stuck at least 4 times pulling us out, but three hours later, we were out, kids were sleeping in their bunks, and we learned a big lesson about mud, and about this trip. Basically, no matter how knee deep we get in it, God will arrange to pull us out. That tow truck was only a few blocks from where we were stuck, pulling someone else out of a mess, and he was there within 30 minutes, determined, despite his own trouble with the mud, to get us out. We had some fears that he'd give up and we'd have to pull in a larger truck the next morning from Amarillo. Nope. Got us out. Our plucky little bus did just great, too. That was an, eh-hem, operator error. ;)

The next night was our first Wal Mart parking lot night in Big Spring, TX! The kids were thrilled! (Don't ask why. They just think it's really cool to sleep at Wal Mart.)

After that we headed towards Medina Lake, outside of San Antonio, to the RV Park that is part of our membership. The silly GPS turned the bus down a dirt road, (really GPS? Dirt road? Aren't you supposed to ask permission before doing such dumb things), and you simply cannot turn a 38 foot bus towing a minivan around on a dirt road. Michael decided we had to at least remove the minivan from the dolly, so I could follow the bus and make it easier to handle the road. That was definitely a God thing there, because when I started following it I realized something was terribly wrong with the wheel of the dolly. In fact, we arrived to find it looking like this:

I do believe our guardian angel has been working overtime, because that could have ended very badly on the highway. But wait! It gets better!

First we'll take a moment for fun, however. No point bumming everyone out.

The night we arrived was New Year's Eve and it turns out the park was having a party at the activity center!
Remember Benny Bear, our bus mascot? Here he is dressed up for New Years!

From pickle ball to the chicken dance, the party had everything we needed to start the year off right.

The next day showed us what a true walking petting zoo this place is. Ducks and deer are everywhere asking for food, and you can buy deer corn at the local store... so we did.

Ok, back to Murphey's Law and how it has applied at every turn.

There was no time to figure out how to repair a dolly we could not even tow before our Wednesday showcase down in Mission, so we decided to change our plans and drive down early that morning in the minivan, then drive back. Bad idea. I had forgotten that this was the week of "everything that can go wrong will go wrong."

About 60 miles from Mission the transmission on the van started seriously slipping. We crawled our way there and arrived just in time to slip on our outfits, stand up and smile pretty, sing some songs, then Michael went and fretted about how to get us the 280 miles back to the dog and bus (dog was tied to the bus with someone looking in on him), and I booked gigs for 2013 and one even for 2014, 'cause the kids may like to eat next winter, transmission or not.

We decided there simply wasn't a choice, so we piled back into the van and drove it all 280 miles on low gears. Angels were pushing us because it made it, and it didn't take nearly as long as we feared. In fact, once or twice it actually shifted into a high enough gear to turn off the hazard blinkers.

It was a late arrival, but we made it home to our dear bus, dog, and not so dear cat.

Thus ends our tale of our first week. We should be a mess right about now, but if you want to know the truth? We're having a *really great time*!!! I have no idea why. Something must be wrong with our brains. Today, after feeding deer, Mary exclaimed, "This is the best day ever!". Sean, after playing mini golf and pool said, "This is like *paradise*." Really? We got stuck in paradise, huh? They're all sold by now, troubles and all.

So, what's the plan for the van and broken dolly? Honestly, we don't know yet. The transmission fix will cost about double what the van is worth, but we simply cannot afford another vehicle, so it may have to be done. Not sure who can fix the dolly, either. The spindle will need to be cut off and a new one welded on. I don't know who can even do something like that, especially when it can't be towed.

We're completely at the mercy of Providence, and I admit, it's not been a bad place to be so far, so we'll just go along for the ride. Maybe we'll find a few more things to go wrong and be the inspiration for a National Lampoon movie or something? Hey, there's an idea...

Update: Since writing this the dolly has been sold, though not replaced, and the van is scheduled to go for a transmission fix tomorrow.

Updated update: The transmission estimated doubled in price. Never mind. Van going to the scrap heap and we are officially a bus only family.

Off to the Studio!

2011-10-23T19:50:00.000-07:00

With the summer season over, things have relaxed considerably around here on the performing front, which has given us time to work on a rather important project - our new CD!

This blog has been rather quiet with so little to report, but that promises to change soon. Meanwhile, here is the typical scene at our house - practicing. Usually without the Calvin and Hobbes book.

The book will be banned from the studio, and was banned from practice moments after this picture, but only after sneaking up on him and taking the picture.

Tuesday is the day! We have one week to get this thing complete, so please pray for healthy voices, great focus, and many clean takes.

Happy Pickin'!

A New "Look"!

2011-09-24T09:01:00.000-07:00

It occurred to us recently that our web site, photos, and demonstration videos did not reflect our current band. When you have children in a band, it can change dramatically from one year to the next.

When we started the band, no one was particularly skilled at their instruments, harmonies were still written out and drilled, everyone stared at their fingers, no one smiled, least of all Mom, when the younger two, not knowing behavior requirements on stage, would goof off. Ok, some things haven't fully changed. Ha!

Our promotional issues changed over this last week as updates were made on our demonstration videos and everyone went in for some updated photos!

Pictures first, then for those who would like to give a listen to our new demo videos, keep scrolling down and you'll find them. We are trying to get a jump start on booking for 2012, nation wide, so if you know anyone who may be able to offer us assistance on locating playing opportunities, please forward the videos!

On to the pictures! These are some of our favorites, in no particular order:

Here is one specifically for our Gospel Music!

Finally, we do offer some educational programs for children.

Don't forget! We're working on bookings for 2012, so if you have any place you can suggest to us, please let us know, and pass the videos on!

Happy Pickin'!

Cheryl

The End of the Season

2011-09-10T21:48:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow marks the end of the season. It is rather strange that it happens to land on 9/11. We play for a picnic, then we are off the rest of the month. It's been a whirlwind of a summer, too. We've had the privilege to play at so many interesting locations, from 4th of July celebrations, fiddle contests, city parks, fine art festivals, and other interesting venues.

Today we had another interesting adventure - the Colorado Peach Festival. In most ways it was an ordinary gig, but we just happened to be right next to one of the more interesting kid entertainment blow-ups we'd ever seen.

Velcro!

One of the many perks to playing with a family band. This summer the kids have gone on carriage rides, little train rides, played human Foosball, had many delicious free meals, and all in the name of entertaining. However, I'm pretty sure this was the best one this summer!

There are a few fall programs lined up, and we've already booked our first Christmas gig of the season, but the summer rush is over. We are all looking forward to some down time to work on our CD project.

We have an official tour announcement available for download as well. There are some minor changes as we try to narrow down our targeted locations. Please feel free to pass it along to anyone in the states listed!

Happy Pickin'!

Amber Waves 2012 Tour!

2011-08-23T11:40:00.000-07:00

Have you heard the news? The Amber Waves Band, a.k.a. the Costello Family, is heading out!

Have Bus, Will Travel

We are looking for playing opportunities nation wide for 2012. Known locations include:

South Texas in January
Arizona in early February
Possible West Coast and Norther states for March and April
Colorado, Kansas, Missouri from late May through early June
Colorado/Wyoming mid-June to early July
Mid-West states from mid-July through August
Tennessee, Kentucky, through to Virgina in September and October
November and December TBA... Florida? Georgia? Alabama? Your town???

We are still in the early planning stages, so if you know of a location that may wish to host us, please contact Cheryl right away. We are looking for churches that would enjoy some fast family friendly bluegrass gospel entertainment; county fairs, city events,or retirement homes/resorts for our main entertainment mix; schools or libraries for our bluegrass/Little House on the Prairie educational program; and even house concerts. Barbeques, fund raisers, homeschool groups, etc. Hey, we even busk! It's all a good time for the Costello family.

Know someone who may be interested? Please forward our information. Referrals are always a blessing!

Other exciting news includes the release of our second CD. We will record in October, and Lord willing, release it in early January.

Contact the Amber Waves Band today to see about hosting us in your area. Call Cheryl at 303-833-6641, email amberwavesband@gmail.com, or visit us on our web site where you can find demo videos and further information at www.AmberWavesBand.com.

Buses and Music!

2011-07-28T08:24:00.001-07:00

It's about time for a band update. If you have not been following along, you may have missed our big change. We are slowly making the move towards becoming a full time band, and started by selling our home, purchasing an RV converted school bus, (see Benny the Bus on our web site!), then moving in!

The bus is currently parked at Grandma and Papa's home, where it will remain until we can make that leap, hopefully in January. We are currently looking towards south Texas and Arizona for a short tour in January, we'll be back late February to Colorado, then we will look for some mid-western places to play in the spring. Late summer and early fall will hopefully lead us out east. Right now we are pretty wide open and would welcome suggested playing locations and leads. Please contact us!

As it turns out, the acoustics in the living room of the house are far superior to our old living room, and we have been granted permission to make it our practice area. As soon as we get a bit more moved in and settled, we'll hunker down in there to put together the new songs for the CD we have planned. We will head to Austin to record this one in late October! The official release should be some time in January.

Tonight we are praying for good weather so we can play for Commerce City's Music in the Park. Colorado has had an unusually wet summer and they have had to cancel the previous shows. Go sunshine! Send the rain to Texas. I hear they would really appreciate it. Saturday we travel down to Fiddlers Along the Arkansas in Canon City. The weather there is supposed to be lovely. We will head down early to enjoy the festivities, and perhaps stay a bit late to jam. Sadly, we won't be able to bring the bus and stay overnight. The Colorado Department of Transportation is requiring a lot of paperwork and effort to transfer the bus title and get tags, so the bus is stationary until we can resolve this. We'll be in the "mini bus", our 15 passenger van and making the trip back that evening, but there will be time to socialize and have some fun.

Exciting stuff, eh?

Happy Pickin'!

4th of July Weekend!

2011-07-03T12:23:00.000-07:00

We are nearly to the end of our busy weekend! Friday kicked it off with a visit to the residents at the Sterling House in Greeley, where they are always so appreciative of the kids' efforts.

After that we headed to all-you-can-eat pizza to fill everyone up for a Streetmosphere in Fort Collins. The crowds were fantastic this weekend! A local pizza kiosk showed up half way through our three-hour set and needed us to move over a bit. We happily complied, and in appreciation, the owner gave the kids a slice each of cheese pizza. It's a good thing the kids will eat pizza anytime.

After heading home long enough to sleep, we jumped back into the van and went to GospelGrass on the Divide. This was a first time festival, and I was amazed at how nice it turned out! Often you get smaller audiences and many things require some ironing out, but they had a great crowd, concessions, vendors, antique car show, and a lot of great music.

Prior to the event, the parents of three sets of identical teenage twins, all bluegrass players in bands, conspired to put together a band called "Triple Double Trouble". They practiced a bit at last week's festival, and a bit before their show, then did a 20 minute set with the six of them.

Of course, we had to sit back and enjoy ourselves, too, including the younger two, full of their ornery ways. They ran around, played in the volley ball sand pit, got nice and dirty, ate hamburgers, brownies, and stuck a big cone on the head. All in a day's work.

This morning we were privileged to play for our church's service at the reservoir, where they had seven baptisms, we played some great bluegrass gospel, and had some BBQ'd hamburgers.

Tomorrow we are excited to play two music sets for Laramie, Wyoming's "Freedom has a Birthday". We'll be there at 11am at the bandshell, and at 1pm on the center stage.

When that is finished, the real adventure begins. We *MOVE*. We close on the house on the 22nd. Everything will need to go. I think we have our work cut out for us!

Happy Pickin'!

12th GospelGrass

2011-06-26T20:29:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful time at the 12th Annual GospelGrass in Calhan! 4 days and 3 nights of music, fun and fellowship. I'm excited to announce that our new bus, Benny, did a great job hauling us all to our destination. If you have not met Benny, he is our new converted flat-nose school bus, and we're so tickled about the big, goofy looking bus, that I am seriously considering making him his own page on our official web site!

Anyway, we hopped into the bus and headed out Thursday afternoon. Friday we had the privilege of sharing our new educational program for families at the GospelGrass, complete with 4 additional songs from the Little House on the Prairie series of books. It went mostly well, except for a few forgotten words and the occasional confusion as to who takes which break when. A few more times and we'll have them down. Thanks to my friend, Jana, for posting this picture!

On Friday, some of the ladies from a couple other family bands talked Suzie and the rest into an added square dance, which the twins participated in for a short time. We were all pretty tired that evening.

Saturday we had a GREAT crowd for our main gospel set, then spent the afternoon enjoying some time with new and old friends, showing off our bus. The kids enjoyed time with the many other children at the festival, as well as other activities ranging from "human foosball", to "Kids' Songs with Suzie".

That evening the twins got together with other twins to practice a music set they'll offer at next weeks' GospelGrass on the Divide, for a throw together group called "Triple Trouble". Then we sent them off to enjoy more square dancing! The younger two and some good friends joined in as well.

When everyone was exhausted, we went back to the bus for some s'mores over a little propane cooker, since there was a fire ban in effect. The twins from "Six Minutes Apart" came by to jam with our kids, and we even pulled out the telescope to catch Saturn's lovely rings!

Mary went off to sleep, and the older three children went back up to the Whittemore building, where a large herd of "good little Christian kids" were up playing ultimate frisbee at midnight.

Because the people running that place know how to have good clean fun, biscuits and gravy were cooked up at around 1am. Of course, we had some before falling over into bed.

The morning offered a free pancake breakfast, and a very interesting sermon by Bryan Melvin, author of "A Land Unknown: Hell's Dominion". Because we had to pack up the bus and get home, most of us missed it, but the twins, who did stay and listen, said it was worth purchasing the book to hear the full story.

Safely back at home, we are resting up for next weekend, which olds 5 gigs in 4 days. Whew! I came home to SEVEN new gigs to add to the schedule over the next 2 months. Should be fun.

Happy Pickin'!
Cheryl

Buskin' Fun!

2011-06-03T19:48:00.000-07:00

Meet Mr. RV Pickle Jar. We have our house for sale (waiting patiently...) with the hopes of being homeless and living on the edge. The problem is, our house likely will leave us with less than nothing by the time it sells, and we can't just assume a suitable RV or converted bus will poof out of the sky when it's time to head out, so we thought we'd sing for our shelter!

For the summer, Mr. RV Pickle Jar will join us whenever we have a chance to play for any non-paying gigs. Right now it says "RV Fund", but we really hope we will someday have to upgrade his sign to say "gas money".

Of course, one could almost feel guilty about all of this. We simply walk to an empty spot on the Pearl Street Mall (no licenses are required to busk there), play some jammin' bluegrass tunes, take breaks when we want, sing what we want, have a snack, go look at the fountains, play more jammin' bluegrass tunes, and people help us out a bit with our dream! Is "work" supposed to be this fun?

No dressing up, either, as you can see by cute stuff there. It's as casual as we like, and good family fun. I suspect Mr. RV Pickle Jar will get some good use this summer.

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I didn't post this earlier, because I just pulled it off of my camera, but I really like this picture. My two fiddle players are reaching up at a really big fiddle, hanging at a buffet in Branson. We'll be sure to go there next year, too. They have another nearby family fun building with a giant banjo! We didn't stop off there last time. Too busy and tired, but next time we really need to go visit that big banjo.

Tomorrow we'll be doing more street performing, but this time for Fort Collin's Streetmosphere. The city pays us, and for that we do coordinate clothing, and stick to a schedule. It's still a blast though! It's Sean's birthday so on our first break, we'll have some pizza that Grandma and Papa will deliver. On a later break we'll have Sean's special request: Twinkies with Sherbert. Kind of odd, but at least I don't have to bake a cake.

Time to Share a bit of Fun!

2011-05-15T19:37:00.000-07:00

All Colorado Bluegrass Festival!

Back-stepping My Clinch Mountain Home
Two completely unrelated songs, together at last.

Orange Blossom Special
'Cause he can.

Streetmosphere!

Short break time, and time to catch up on whatever story Katie is currently writing.Thanking God for the invention of Hot Chocolate!

The temperature was 46 degrees. Brrrr!

This is what we call a street duel.

Trying to keep fingers warm and strings tuned was sure a challenge!

Best way ever to warm hands!

The plaza where we played has a little water fountain area. Water shoots out at random times. I think Sean played his fiddle more for the water than the people passing by.

Happy Pickin'!
Cheryl

For Sale

2011-04-25T21:34:00.001-07:00

We have officially taken a step off the common path, and we put our home up for sale. There are multiple reasons, but few firm plans, only some wild hopes and dreams. How any of them will play out depends entirely on God's plan for our family, but we are ready for adventure.

The timing couldn't be worse, of course. Days are spent first by waking up earlier than usual, cleaning the house much nicer than usual, then trying to go through normal routines, while keeping an ear out for the phone to see when we will have to leave for the next showing. We've had several so far, which is nice, but far from easy to manage. By the end of the day the challenge is trying to fix dinner around any afternoon showings, keeping a house clean while it's filled with activity 24/7, not to mention trying to practice for all our coming adventures.

We have a very busy spring and summer schedule in the makings! This Friday night we have a concert to benefit a Haitian Orphanage. This should be a wonderful evening of gospel music, all for a great cause! We hope to debut at least one new song, possibly two... depending on the house selling excitement!
On May 14th we are excited to return to the All Colorado Bluegrass Festival!

Our stage times are currently 12pm on the acoustic stage, and 3pm on the main stage. Because it is a "birthday weekend" we will grab another Costco cake to share with friends, family, fans, and the other bands. The day promises to be loads of fun, so if you would like to purchase tickets, please give us a call or email and we'll make sure you get some, or you can order through the web site, but please list "Amber Waves" in the comment section when you check out!

Oh, and we guarantee we'll have some new tunes to share at that one, because we have to have everything polished up and ready for a really exciting adventure: The Youth in Bluegrass Contest at Silver Dollar City! We have been invited to attend and will spend Memorial Day weekend singing and playing our hearts out, with a side of roller coasters! Yee-haw!

The summer programs will start immediately after that, so keep checking the schedule. Not all dates are confirmed yet, so there will certainly be some minor changes and additions.

Happy Pickin'!
Cheryl

Little House on the Bluegrass Prairie

2011-03-31T14:15:00.000-07:00

Join the Costello family of Amber Waves on a tour through a bluegrass band. See and hear how each instrument fits into the group and join them as they play instrument "breaks". Sing, clap, and stomp along with some of the music from the days of Laura Ingalls, when family, friends, and community were the primary influences of music in the lives of children.

Above is the description for our latest addition to Costello Family Music. Next Friday we will present this program for an assembly of children at an elementary school, with the addition of some music from America's colonial period for the 4th and 5th grade students. In June we will be presenting it again for the families at the 12th Annual Rocky Mountain GospelGrass.

It doesn't end there! God willing, it is our goal to create a family program through DVD and an accompanying book, around the theme of creating music within a family. Two DVDs are planned at the moment.

The first will focus on young children, with ideas on inviting music into everyday life through things found around the house. The DVD will model techniques, provide ideas, and examples to give parents or grandparents confidence on working with young children in a natural musical environment. The accompanying book will offer further ideas on musical themes.

Our second DVD will focus on creating music in a family with older children, ready for the challenges of accompanying folk instruments. The Costello kids will walk through individual instruments, demonstrating one, two, then three of the most basic chords on each, and how it fits into the band. Then using examples from the Little House on the Prairie series, they will invite children and parents to "jam" along with them slowly. The accompanying book will provide ideas on the purchase of instruments, finding teachers, including children at different ages and levels, chords and lyrics, self-teaching methods available, and playing opportunities in the area.

The time frame has not been worked out, but the hope is to gather resources for the accompanying books, then formally record the DVDs in August. Depending on how long video editing takes, we hope to make the programs available by January of 2012!

Happy Pickin'!

Summer Schedule is in the Making!

2011-03-08T17:28:00.000-08:00

We're still on our well-needed month off, which doesn't seem like time off when you consider how busy we've been with new songs, jams, and workshops; not to mention the work and repairs to the house. The summer schedule is just starting to take shame. Several things are on the table but are not confirmed yet, so the widget below will hopefully get very busy as those shows are finalized.

Our next adventure is to an elementary school, where we will introduce bluegrass instruments and some American folk music to the children. After that, we have a benefit for an orphanage in Haiti, and on to the All Colorado Bluegrass Festival!

We have new songs for the coming summer months, including a new one Mary will sing that is a tear jerker. Sean has added a very fast and punchy "Orange Blossom Special", and the twins are quickly mastering their clever version of "Feudin' Banjos"! New gospel tunes and a few original songs are in the early process of arrangement, so you'll get some new material when you come to see us.

If you have any booking ideas, be sure to use our contact form to let us know before the schedule fills up!

Goldfield GospelGrass

2011-02-09T11:22:00.000-08:00

Our last leg of the trip was to the Goldfield Ghost Town in Arizona for the GospelGrass festival! We left San Antonio on Thursday and drove to Carlsbad, NM, where woke to -3 degree temperatures (-17 wind chill) . Thankfully, we made time to stop by the beautiful caverns again, to warm up!

The freezing temperatures froze pipes at the Cavern entry, but thankfully, the rest rooms downstairs, where it remains 56 degrees all year, were open. All along our trip to I-10 on the way to Arizona later that day we ran into several closed rest areas and gas station restrooms.

Here is one that we found outside of El Paso with working restrooms, though as you can see, it had some freezing issues as well. The Goldfield Ghost Town was definitely a highlight to the trip! We had so much fun, as I hope you can see by the video below. Again, stop by our youtube page if you want music clips, because this is just video of silly fun here!

We're safely home now and thankful for God's Providence through the entire trip. Between Michael's back troubles, freezing temperatures, rising gas prices, and numerous other things that could have turned this trip upside down, we found ourselves helped along the way by many wonderful people and dodging the worst of the weather just in time, for largely clear roads the entire trip. Back here in Colorado, we are feeling very blessed, indeed, and more confident than ever that we are being lovingly watched over.

Fun in the Texas Sun

2011-02-01T21:59:00.000-08:00

I have been posting on our Youtube channel and Facebook page a few music clips. Here is where we'll put those silly videos for Grandmas and others who like to see a personal side of the fun.

We're having a great time! Well, 90% great time, anyway. Michael's back is not cooperating, the cold spell is blasting all the way down here to San Antonio, our home in Colorado is under a deep freeze leaving us mildly worried about pipes and pets, and the ladies left their good coats in Port Isabel. However, the hospitality from everyone has been so wonderful, folks have been praying for us, so little concerns just slip right away and we remember how blessed we are!

We're getting some needed down time through tomorrow, then we'll make our way to Arizona for the last leg of our trip. Everyone is looking forward to the 70 degree weather that is expected there on Saturday.

Happy Pickin!

Practicing as a Family

2011-01-10T23:29:00.000-08:00

by Cheryl

I have been asked on a few occasions how we coordinate everything to prepare our music performances. In the following article I plan to lay out some of the nuts and bolts on how I structure our rehearsals, from the organized details to the relaxed aspects. However, before getting into the fine details, I'd like to add a simple note on where it all begins for our family. I admit, we are not a family bluegrass band that "sometimes plays gospel". We are actually a family gospel bluegrass band, that plays a bit of everything, and enjoys interacting in many different settings. This means everything is filtered through our faith. Over the summer Michael had an interview with Al Brouillette of "For That Blessed Hope", where they discuss this aspect. I recommend the ideas Al puts forward as an essential starting point.

Most anyone who may read this does not have a family band, but there are aspects of working with children and music practice and coordinating family activities that transfer well to other areas. It's my prayer that someone may get a few ideas on working with their own children in music, or on a unifying family goal.

Practicing as a Group

We began making music as a family because it was fun, and one thing it has certainly taught us is the better you are, the more fun it becomes. This is why practice is something we do not neglect. It started with just a few songs we fumbled through, but as we got better, we wanted more music, more opportunities to play, and more skill. If you want more, you have to put in the work.

If there is one thing that ensures we will pull up our sleeves and get to work, it is when a performance is coming up. To be honest, I don't think we would bother practicing if we didn't have deadlines, so if nothing is immediately on the schedule, it becomes a priority to find something. Anyone who knows me will also know that I am not a naturally organized person, but there is nothing more motivating than an audience listening to every note you play. If the stakes are high enough, even a disorganized person can suddenly find a way to make it happen.

At the start of 2011 we hit the ground running, beginning with two shows by mid-month, then moving right into a 2 1/2 week trip through South Texas and Arizona, with a few primarily gospel programs, and a few anything-goes programs, where we pull out everything from John Denver, to Dueling Banjos. This meant we had a lot to cover, and quickly. Three of the songs were new, or at least new arrangements.

Additionally, there were gigs to schedule for the trip, calls to make, program orders to decide, and dates to remember. It was time to pull out the big white board. In the picture below you can see how a list is made early in the day so everyone knows what we will run through. There should be no excuse for going in surprised by something that hasn't been played in awhile. It's all there, usually by morning. A program order for the next show is up, a list of dates for the nearest performances, and a spot for reminders on places that need a phone call, contract, or otherwise.

After many frustrating times while working up new music, I realized we needed a better system for everyone to remember what the problems were that required individual work. "Oh, I forgot" was a common phrase, and I believed the forgetting child, because I would forget too, until the issue came up again the next night! We now have notebooks that are supposed to travel with them to and from practice. After a song, if there is something that must be addressed, like a need for a banjo break in a specific spot, or areas where some vocal harmonies need some polishing, the notebooks are to come out, a note written, and we move forward.

Prior to every performance, we spend a couple days just reminding ourselves of chords and lyrics, then a few days hitting the metronome. The day before, we pull out the microphones and actually stage where everyone will need to stand. Because we prefer to work largely with a single condenser microphone accompanied by a couple directional vocal microphones for instrument breaks and fiddle, instead of multiple single microphones, we need to practice balancing around the condenser and getting out of one another's way when someone needs to get in closer to the microphone for a break. With young musicians, you cannot assume they'll think about these things on stage, so it's always best to help them know where they will stand and when. Even then, someone will run into someone, smack you in the face with the neck of the banjo, poke you in the head with a violin bow, or any number of things to keep your sense of humor.

Individual Practice

Naturally, different ages require different practice plans. For Alex and Katie, at the age of 16 they are nearly adults and I do not micromanage their practice. They have their notebooks, they have their own goals, and the tools to meet those goals. When a break is needed, I simply ask them to write this in their notebook and tell them when we need to have it ready.

I don't usually have to have anyone practice singing in this house, especially the older two. The lighthearted video posted below shows a glimpse of what cleaning the kitchen often looks like in our house. Once again, the better you get at a skill, especially when in a positive environment, the more fun it often is. You no longer have to concentrate on every note, you can clean the kitchen in harmony - with an added benefit of annoying a younger brother. More is said below on fostering such and environment that includes freelance singing through the day.

Sean is 10 and I am in the process of removing myself from his practice time as much as possible. However, he needs a great deal of guidance, because he doesn't have the self-discipline or attention quite yet to practice effectively. I have a couple of tools I use as a transfer from constant supervision, to independent work.

As a fiddle player, we often record parts of his lessons onto our digital camera. This helps a great deal, because he can review it as much as necessary. I have been known to put the music demonstrated in his lesson and audio recorded examples from model bluegrass fiddlers, onto an iPod for him to take into his bedroom when it would be distracting for him to play out in the open living area. Sometimes I have him video tape what he is practicing so he can see for himself, and show me, where he is on any given song.

I have a standard template of which I provide for his assignments, which is altered whenever something new comes up. I keep it at the computer to avoid having to rewrite assignments each week, instead only adding or moving lines. I include repetitions, metronome markings, and a list of older songs to review. Although he is temporarily taking a break from his classical viola study, this is not much different than the methods we used for that.

One thing to note is that the difference between Alex, Katie, and Sean is not in ability or how long any one of them has played their instrument. It's strictly based on maturity. Sean has played violin longer than the other two have played their instruments and has quite an ear for learning music. The difference between what can be expected at 10 years old for independent practice, and of what a 16-year-old young lady is capable, is significant regardless of ability.

Mary is at a very different stage in her music instruction. At only five-years-old, most music should be around play. In fact, although she sings with us, some of the songs you hear her perform started out as a bedtime song I sang to her every night. Pretty soon she knew the song and could sing along. A few months ago, Mary helped me put together a little video on musical play with children. If the long-term desire is for a child to walk around singing at the top of his or her lungs while cleaning the kitchen, this is where it begins.

Despite my strong advocacy of music being light and playful at younger ages, I am not opposed to formal lessons for even young children. Mary started violin lessons a couple of months ago, because she has a natural desire to join in with the family's activities. She also wants to do what Sean does on his fiddle because he makes it look like so much fun, and Suzuki violin is a wonderful way to start young children in music.

Below I have a very short clip of a practice session with Mary. I often record our music practices, so this one is pretty straight forward. No one is cleaned up fancy for the camera, and I don't think she even knew the camera was on.

Putting it All Together

Although we try to put on a professional show for any audience, our family is of higher value than any small level of prestige or applause. Most of what we ultimately do, where the band is concerned, must first be for the long term good of the children. This can mean making it fun, but it can sometimes mean the occasional need to get firm and expect practice, silence from the instruments when something needs to be discussed, expecting humility by reminding young players that all they have is a gift of which they cannot boast, and the expected use of musical disciplines like drills and metronomes, when it's far more fun to just wing it. Character is a priority in parenting in this house and music, especially as a group, is a fine way to encourage good character.

Nevertheless, fun often sneaks in even during the most serious of practices, including spontaneous giggles, pillows over the head for silly mistakes, taunting between siblings on who has the coolest instrument, allowances for a bit of relaxed postures when drilling songs that are well known, and childhood antics of a large variety. It's always important to win the battles that are picked, but when pickin' bluegrass, it's even more important to pick you battles carefully so you don't spoil the ride.

Varoom!

2011-01-05T14:29:00.000-08:00

Here's the rundown of events to come!

First, if you are in the Colorado Springs area, please join us for a special program for the Merridian Bible Church on Friday, January 14th. We'll provide some great entertainment for their Friday Night Outreach, then they'll treat everyone to Spaghetti! Click below for more details.

The very next day we'll enjoy a day with other great gospel bands at the

10th ANNUAL GOSPEL WINTERFEST Saturday, January 15, 2011

The following we we will load up the band bus/van and head to TEXAS! We have several performances scheduled, including a local senior center, American Legion, and a club house, so check the schedule on our site if you are in the area.

We will end our time at the Gulf in Aransis Pass for the

South Texas GospelGrass
Saturday, January 29, 2011

Next we will spend a few days in San Antonio, with at least one performance still to be announced. We can fit in one more, so if you are in the area, please let us know right away if you'd like us to play for your event. Specific dates are linked on the calendar above.

After a few days of fun and relaxation, we will swing through New Mexico and over to Arizona for the

Goldfield GospelGrass 2011
February 5 - 6

The rest of the winter has largely some private functions and a bit of time to polish new music before the spring activities get rolling.

Our first big event for the year will be the

All Colorado Bluegrass Festival
May 14th

Memorial Day weekend we have high hopes that we will be accepted to participate in the Youth in Bluegrass Contest at Silver Dollar City in Branson, MO. If this is the case, you'll certainly be hearing more!

As soon as that is over the summer begins. We are pleased to be invited back for Fort Collin's Streetmosphere, so that will fill the schedule up quickly!

Keep your eyes open. Things are moving fast!

Happy Pickin'!

Cheryl

Happy New Year

2010-12-29T10:26:00.000-08:00

Last year a new tradition was started by creating a picture video recap of the year for grandmas and family. It's a wonderful way to look back on each year. I wanted to post one here, since so much of it is related to the band, which has provided more opportunities than we could have ever dreamed when we started, but cutting it down to a reasonable length ended up being far more complicated than expected!

This year we will have two New Year videos, a shorter one I will post, and a long one that the grandparents will receive on New Years Eve.

This is the last blog post of the year. We'll see you next year, with information about coming performances and an exciting trip planned through Texas and Arizona. Additionally, since it is the time for resolutions to the new year, another article will be written regarding music practice for children, and particularly coordinating as a family to practice. Anyone who knows us will tell you that we are not an example of daily organization in most areas, but one area that we somehow manage, by God's grace alone, no doubt, is practicing. I'm looking forward to sharing how we put it all together.

May the Lord's Blessings be upon all of our friends, family, and fans in 2011!

Happy Pickin'!

Cheryl

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-24T17:56:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow marks the end of our Christmas set for the year, despite having a wonderful time with it the last few weeks. The music can be wonderful, but it is only wonderful if you get to stop after a period of time. Some of it makes you reflect, some of it excites, some is truly awful (like the Shoe song), and some doesn't apply. For example:

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire,
(We have a gas fireplace, which doesn't roast much)
Jack Frost nipping on your nose,
(Here in Colorado I hear it's been warmer than parts of Florida lately)
Yuletide carols being sung by a choir,
(Did that 2 weeks ago, and we were the choir)
And folks dressed up like Eskimos.
(See above about Jack Frost)

Then there is the music that truly excites and speaks to the heart:

The children are watching "It's a Wonderful Life", while playing with their token present opened this evening. When it's over, we'll build our little Nativity while telling the story of the birth of Christ, then they're off to bed.

We have had a wonderful season of Christmas music, spreading what little joy we could at some assisted living centers and our home church. The end of the Christmas season always come with mixed feelings. It is a season we love, but there are so many things we look forward to in the new year and we are excited to hit the ground running!

I am already composing our year in review photo movie, and will post it next week. Until then, we wish all of our friends, family, and fans a blessed Christmas.

★Merry★ 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •*
•。★Christmas★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˚* _Π_。˚*
˚ ˛ •˛•/__/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ｜田田｜門｜ ˚From the Costello Family ♥

Article: You're Never Too Old to be New

2010-12-05T18:15:00.000-08:00

When we initially started Costello Family Music, we had plans to eventually post a series of articles relating to the real life application of music for the average family or individual. Here is the first article with hopefully more to come. Anything related to this theme will be tagged "Costello Family Music" on the side bar, if you would like to skip the band chatting and go straight to this theme. If you find this or any other articles helpful, please consider sharing them.

In Music, You're Never Too Old to be New
by Cheryl

It was just over two and a half years ago when my husband noticed we had three children individually playing a guitar, banjo, and a violin, which gave him the bright idea of putting together a family bluegrass band. It was decided that we could use a bass and a mandolin to round out the sound, and I found myself volunteering to learn the mandolin. I suppose I assumed it would be a simple task. After all, I was no stranger to music. In fact, I had a bachelor degree in music, spent years teaching early childhood music, held some experience directing everything from bell choirs to adult choirs, and even singing as a principle soprano in an opera company.

Of course, none of this experience related directly to playing a string instrument in a bluegrass band. When the mandolin arrived, I suddenly found myself in a situation I had not been in since starting the flute at the age of 11. I was a struggling beginner. My hands hurt, and my then 7-year-old son could readily outplay me on the simplest songs.

Myth or Fact? Music should be started as a child or not at all, and takes thousands of hours of work for success.

“In the brains of nine string players examined with magnetic resonance imagining, the amount of somatosensory cortex dedicated to the thumb and fifth fingers of left hand - the fingering digits - was significantly larger than in nonplayers. How long the players practiced each day did not affect the cortical map. But the age at which they had been introduced to their muse did: the younger the child when she took up an instrument, the more cortex she devoted to playing it.

Few concert-level performers begin playing later than the age of 10. It is much harder to learn an instrument as an adult.” Your Child’s Brain, by Sharon Begley, Newsweek, February 19, 1996.

The science is settled. There is a window of opportunity for learning an instrument and you have passed it. There is no point even trying to pick one up now. Sadly, this is the message adults have received from a culture that is highly youth focused, and at times, relies heavily on a scientific community that is highly specialized, often only seeing a small piece of a complex human puzzle.

“In a study of 20-year-old violinists by Ericsson and colleagues, the best group (judged by conservatory teachers) averaged 10,000 hours of deliberate practice over their lives; the next-best averaged 7,500 hours; and the next, 5,000. It's the same story in surgery, insurance sales, and virtually every sport. More deliberate practice equals better performance. Tons of it equals great performance.” What it Takes to be Great, by Geoffrey Colvin, senior editor-at-large, Fortune CNNMoney.com, October 19 2006

Which is it? The age or the number of hours dedicated? As a former music instructor for preschool and young children, I remember an advertising slogan that suggested parents give their child a gift today for their 50^th birthday through music lessons as a child. There is some truth here, but this either suggests the age of initial music experience alone will make the difference, it is the amount of time dedicated to the task requiring an early start, or both.

The truth of the matter is, a few extra synapses specifically related to the fingers of the left hand matter only at the highest levels of competition, and almost never to the average musician who enjoys music in the community, church, and within their own homes. Additionally, even the study that equates the number of hours dedicated to practice and how it relates to performance level leaves more questions than it answers. Who are these 20-year-old violinists and what were the standards applied? How good were the more average players and how obvious were the differences in the separate groups? It is obvious that hard work matters for the top level performers, but is that the ultimate goal of music for most individuals? How much is enough simply to enjoy it? We can analyze and place every aspect of musical performance under the microscope, but when we do this, are we then losing the point of the art in the first place?

Ultimately, our main question needs to focus on the underlying reason for the existence of music. Is music a competitive sport, or is it instead a form of expression and unity in worship, celebration, families, and communities? There is certainly a place for competing to be the best in a field of study, and those who excel at the highest levels, dedicating their lives to the art form, should most certainly be rewarded with admiration and opportunities. Still, this is makes up only one end of the spectrum, not the wide range music provides in the lives of most of the population, nor should those at the highest end ever become the criteria for participation in music at all.

Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly at first.

In our society we are surrounded by the mass media. Even at the grocery store, the music played has been processed by top experts in the field. Out of tune notes are fixed, balance between instruments adjusted, multiple tracts recorded with the only the best making the cut, and finally, digital enhancements to provide just the right reverberation to make it pleasant to the ear. Everywhere we turn we are shown only one thing: don’t bother doing music if you are not an expert.

What this message is missing is what should be two obvious truths. First, that every expert initially started out as a beginner, and likely played terribly, complete with sour notes and bad timing. Second, the bulk of the musicians whom enrich our lives will not be at the far end of the professional spectrum in skill and specialized management. To the first point, the beginning age of the expert musician may vary greatly, but it is admittedly usually ranging from sitting at the piano as a 5-year-old, to squawking notes on the clarinet in the middle school concert band, but they all started out as struggling beginners. The reason we see their beginning ages often during the childhood years may simply be due to the attitudes children hold towards achieving new skills in contrast to the expectations adults hold, and no other reason.

My 5-year-old daughter is learning violin and was recently very pleased to get a coloring picture where she could color ten balloons because she lowered and raised her left arm ten times, placing her hand in the correct playing position. She didn’t play a note, and the few she does play are pretty scratchy sounding, but she is easily pleased by this simple success. Likewise, when she sings a song, she hits the melody accurately, but there is very little style, and often a few notes a bit out of tune, yet the audience loves her and she is excited to continue.

Contrast this to an adult learning to play an instrument or learning to sing. If she were 42 years old and was awkwardly having to train her hand to hold a violin correctly, she would likely not be basking in the success of those ten repetitions and coloring balloons. If she was singing and had a few off notes, she would be mortified, instead of jumping up and down, glowing in the encouragement she receives. Adults are obviously at a disadvantage in terms of audience appeal in many areas, but more often than not, it is their own expectations of what should be allowed in musical performance that hinders them from enjoying the small successes in the beginning. A child is willing to be content with a squawky performance of “Twinkle Little Star” on a violin, while an adult is not.

The second truth, that the bulk of musicians whom enrich our lives are not at the far end of the professional spectrum, comes into play as well. Perhaps a 5-year-old’s parents will hope she will one day be a virtuoso, but more than likely, and provided she continues into adulthood, she will play in a community orchestra, fiddle in a band, or for her local church, and she will appreciate the years she screeched through her Twinkle Variations. She likely will not have spent 10,000 hours of focused study, but she will have put in a few here and there after school, and gradually progressed through the beginning stages along with her peers. Perhaps she will have dropped it through her young adult life and picked it up later, or perhaps she will instead take her early training in music and apply it to another instrument, passing through the awkward beginning stage a bit more quickly, playing guitar for a Sunday school class, or leading the singing for her son’s boy scouts troop at camp. Either way, she was once an awkward beginner somewhere in her history, but it never once bothered her.

If the likely ultimate goal for most people is to use musical training to enrich their own lives and that of their family or community, is it at all productive for the highest level of performers to be the standard which we measure ourselves against when taking the plunge? Beginning a new task in almost anything is difficult, and music, being a form of personal expression, will magnify this further, but our eyes belong on the long term reason for the venture. In all likelihood, this goal is not to sit in the first violin section of a major metropolitan orchestra, so it stands to reason that it should not matter if we do not have the time to devote a decade of work towards that magical 10,000 hours of practice, nor that we missed out on a few extra neuro-synapses in our left fingers. We only need to be willing to be terrible for a season, then average, then as far as we wish beyond that in order to enjoy making music in our homes and community.

Looking closely at the ultimate goal and realistic expectations.

What many of these studies fail to include are the advantages adults enjoy when beginning musical instruction over children, including an increased attention span and reasoning. Through and adult’s more mature ability to analyze personal weaknesses, he or she can more readily use this to narrow down specific areas to focus on during practice, and then apply this directly with longer sessions of the difficult and redundant exercises necessary to overcome the weakness. However, to fully benefit from this natural advantage, one must also use that same enhanced reasoning skill to see the initial awkward sounds made as nothing more than the first step that all musicians of any age must move through.

If you have longingly looked at the guitar for years, wishing you played, or imagined yourself sitting at your piano playing Christmas songs with your family, or even dreaming of a calm evening playing a harp, yet you have never touched the instrument before, there should be no reason to look first at your age, and perhaps even a busy schedule should not be a negative factor in picking it up.

As for me and my mandolin, it would be wonderful to report that after only a couple of years, I am one of the hottest mandolin pickers in the region, but given my main role as a mother of budding young musicians, leaving limited time for practice, this is far from reality. I am, however, gradually holding my own backing up the increasing skills of our family’s band. I can now watch my youngest daughter’s enthusiasm as I am able to accompany her on the songs she is learning, use my mandolin to arrange chords for songs we have written, or pick out melodies to music, even playing breaks in the band where only a mandolin will do. We’ll have to wait a few more years before I receive the title of hottest mandolin picker, but I’m patient. I’ve already reached goal number one.

Christmas time is here...

2010-12-03T10:46:00.000-08:00

Christmas time is here
Happiness and cheer
Fun for all that children call
Their favorite time of the year

Snowflakes in the air
Carols everywhere
Olden times and ancient rhymes
Of love and dreams to share

Somehow our dreams of having a quieter Christmas were turned over when I offered (yes, my fault), to play our "Christmas set" for some residents at an assisted living center. You know, the Christmas set that didn't exist? One show led to another, and we have a few things suddenly scheduled, including heading down to Pickin' on Tennyson tonight for their First Friday Jam, and playing a few of our favorites!

Yesterday we played for the Sterling House Assisted Living Center of Greeley. Very nice people, great staff, encouraging residents! The best places to try out new tunes.

They especially loved it when Mary passed out jingles to everyone so Sean could lead them in "Jingle Bells".

They enjoyed us so much, we've been asked to return for the Christmas party next weekend to play again, then we will play a couple of the sacred songs for our own church on Sunday, and on to the following week with an invitation to play at the Bible Society in Colorado Springs for their luncheon, followed by an Alzheimer's facility, and Christmas caroling. Good stuff!

Guess what? We now really do have a Christmas set! I figure we'll have it memorized and polished sometime around December 26th, but the beauty of it is, most of the places we are playing at this season do not mind at all if we stumble on a chord or have to watch the music.

Grandma Susan joined us yesterday and grabbed some video, which I've edited down to a couple of video highlights below. Be sure to catch the start of the second one where Michael sings "The Grinch", and halfway through the first, the girls have some beautiful harmonies.

Happy Pickin!

Cheryl

Giving Thanks and on to Christmas!

2010-11-21T12:55:00.000-08:00

We blinked and November is almost gone, nearly leaving us without time for a turkey theme background on the blog! By next week we'll be on to Christmas plans.

Hey, how about a wrap up of the last month before new news?

We were honored to be the guests musicians for an event at the Maranatha Christian Center a couple weeks ago. The people were wonderful, chili was delicious, and the show didn't produce a single blooper for our growing collection.

It did provide for some nice pictures!

(Thanks to Frank Gerstner Photography)

The last two performances also provided more options for a couple of shorter band demo videos. The last one was too long, so that one became two shorter ones, one specific to the music, the other an introduction to the members of the band.

Where next? *Christmas!*

We only have a few opportunities lined up for our Christmas program, including an assisted living center, and we'll be crashing Pickin' on Tennyson's First Friday Fest, as well as our own home church. What a shame to have such great tunes and only one month a year in which to play them.

Mary will join the family for a 6-part rendition of "Do You Hear What I Hear?", as well as her own solo version of "Away in a Manger". The cuteness spilleth over. Michael's version of "The Grinch" is perhaps a bit too authentic, Cheryl gets "Let it Snow", the twins have some lovely duets, including "Angels We Have Heard on High", and Sean will lead "Jingle Bells".

What's next for the New Year?

We hit the ground running in January so check the schedule! I have new items I will be adding for January as I receive confirmation and details, and we are still looking for places to play on our Texas trip. There are many new songs waiting in the wings to finish arranging, hopefully adding at least a couple by the mid-January programs.

Happy Pickin' and Happy Thanksgiving!

Cheryl

When Murphy goes to the Concert

2010-11-03T14:08:00.000-07:00

When Murphy shows up to your concert with his set of laws in tow (that everything that can go wrong, will go wrong), you make him part of the show. I figure, that will teach him to crash our parties!

Last weekend was the first and finest, Fall Gospel Bluegrass Jamboree. Amber Waves was honored to be a part of what is hopefully to become a great series of Gospel shows in the area, so we were rather concerned when Alex's voice, (Mom & Katie's to a lesser extent), decided to take a holiday.

We waited... and waited... missing valuable rehearsal time in an effort to save her voice. It just wasn't showing back up! Finally a secondary show was created, and she agreed to two songs - well, one song, but I bribed her with a Twix bar to croak out the second. The rest we tossed in from other singers/songs from previous shows, but it wasn't easy, considering the fact that normally she is the song stealer and likes to take them all, plus the harmonies on just about everything.

Even so, we showed up intending to give a smashing performance, and smashing it was! Sometimes literally. Murphy tried his best, but we thwarted him. Thankfully, this had to be one of the most enjoyable audiences for which we've been privileged to perform. They were so much fun, we just took the silliness and went with it.

Here is a condensed version of the show, complete with bloopers and all. Normally I wouldn't show off the mistakes in a show, but Sean has been falling over laughing at us every since Saturday, and he has specifically requested a blooper video. This is both - highlights and bloopers. The video I retrieved this from was corrupted (thanks again, Murphy), so I used whatever clips I could from the non-corrupted spots.

It was so much fun! Friday we play at the Chili Fest so come out and see us!

We're still working on Alex's voice. It's mostly back, but she has a few notes she said are still getting "stuck". We'll try some light practice tonight to see if we can unstick'em gently. Prayers are always appreciated.

Happy Pickin'!

Cheryl

Life beyond the band

2010-10-22T12:18:00.000-07:00

You'd be surprised how often life tends to revolve around band life, but with fall having arrived, time can be made for the often neglected things in life.

One of those is schoolin' kid-o's. Fall means new curriculum, shiny new pencils, a touch of butting heads now and then, and a lot of grace from God.

Last weekend we were also privileged to attend a concert and conference with the Maxwells from Titus 2, then we enjoyed the wonderful music of the Josties. It was nice to be the audience for a change and enjoy the music of a couple of other very talented family bands.

We brought home new CDs and new books to keep us busy, including Terry Maxwells all-powerful (and very intimidating) "Managers of their Chores". Perhaps I was persuaded to try it because I'm a glutton for punishment and I've not had a good inferiority complex in some time, or maybe it was because - live and in person - Terry Maxwell looked like a regular human instead of some super-human power of household management. If a regular human like her can design and write it, maybe a bunch of regular humans like us can make it work?

It's not been implemented yet, but Mary's cards are finished, the Twins' checklists are complete, and the rest is typed up and almost ready to go.

However, while hours are spent dividing up everything in a house into bite sized pieces, we are working towards the...

We have a couple new tunes we'll pull out for this one! Everyone is very excited. This is hopefully only the first of what will be a reoccurring event.

If you can't catch us there, we also have a wonderful Chili Supper for a great cause to support the Maranatha Christian Center Friday, November 5th. Chili Fest - in the gym beginning at 5:30 pm.

We are also planning our mini-tour through Texas and Arizona in early winter so spread the word! We'll be looking for playing opportunities anywhere between Austin and South Padre Island, as well as attending the South Texas GospelGrass and Arizona Gospel Grass. Let us know if you have any suggestions!

Happy Pickin'!

Cheryl

Sorghum and Gertrude

2010-10-06T23:20:00.000-07:00

What do Sorghum and Gertrude have in common?

If you weren't aware of it, Kansas is a looooong state. It's not fair that you must first drive hours through the plains of Colorado, only to find you just started your never-ending-flat-land journey. At least it is an easy drive. Zippin' down the freeway at 70 miles per hour, children squabbling in the back, pit-stops every 15 minutes, the wind trying to blow you off the road, miles and miles of sorghum growing as far as the eye can see.

I had to look up that last one with some google searches on Kansas crops, along with some images. We're all agriculturally challenged and expecting to see lots of corn, soy, wheat, and hay, but we didn't know what sorghum was, yet saw more of that than anything else. The things you learn... We should get out more. You'd think we'd know about a major crop in a nearby state.

Then there are the lovely rolling hills on the east end, where the GPS tried very hard to get us lost or stuck in the mud off some unmaintained dirt road. We had to remember that, though it may talk to you, it is really not smart enough to realize that a 15 passenger van is not the best thing for taking a 4 wheel drive short-cut through fields.

Our destination was some dear friends' home where we stayed the night. Their home is breathtaking! It made us forgive Kansas for the wind and flatness.

What about Gertrude? Here's how sorghum is obviously related.

Sean: "Mom, what do they call these plains?"
Mom: "The Plains."
Sean: "No, what's their name?"
Mom: "The Great Plains."
Sean: "They have to have a name."
Mom: "The Great Plains of North American."
Sean: "No, their NAME."
Mom: "Fred."
Sean: "Moooom!"
Mom: "Gertrude?"
Sean: "Moooom..."

I guess he figured, mountains and forests often have names, so plains should too, right? For the record, we made it safely through Gertrude and learned to ignore the GPS when it asked us to drive through a sorghum field.

The Ozarks in Missouri were beautiful, even if they were forests that had the gall to not be made up of evergreens and aspens, climbing up steep mountain sides, like we're used to. Kind of made one feel like Bambi, hiding in the thicket. Silver Dollar City was a blast, as you can see by the pictures!

We have some exciting performances coming up and to blog about this weekend so stay tuned!

Happy pickin'!

A Tour of Folk and Bluegrass Instruments

2010-09-15T23:05:00.000-07:00

Recorded in September of 2010.
Thank you, Gary and Suzie Solomon, for inviting us to Pickin' on Tennyson for a homeschool field trip!

Fare Thee Well, O Summer

2010-09-13T12:22:00.000-07:00

Things learned as a band and a family over the summer:

You can perform with nasty colds, bruised knees, and lack of sleep. People will still like you.
When children act up on stage, people laugh and like you more, despite parental attempts to crawl into the nearest hole.
It is possible to do a 4 hour gig in near 100 degree weather and not whine, it's just not probable.
Cows can dance.
Foggy Mountain doesn't break down no matter how often you play it.
You can make a guitar strap from the things found in the back of Papa's truck.
Colorado has some awesome people - and a few who should not be out in public until they learn to pull up their pants.
Our quiet child gets a 'tude when you put her in shades and stick a banjo in her hands.
Ice cream is fine bribery for young musicians.
Not so young mandolin players can learn to play breaks, sometimes fast, when hyper children provide no alternative. We won't mention accuracy yet. ;)
The quality of our performances go up immediately when a certain teenager gets coffee. So does the speed everything is played.
Bass players must get bored easily and always want things faster too, rushing mandolin players.
At certain speeds there is no place to breath when playing the fife. You must, however, breath when playing the fife. It's a conundrum. Playing the fife in the wind is a challenge too.
Working with a family band is not for sissies, but it is for us.

When we went into this last year with our band, we had some hard talks as a family. Do we want this to just be an occasional thing, or are we in it for the long haul? It was unanimous. We were not going to just be a quaint little side gimmick, but instead a band of honest musicians. We were, however, still a quaint little side gimmick at the time, so there was work to be done with some hard on-the-job training. So, I signed us up for a lot of gigs for a bunch of youngsters starting out. We had street gigs, where we had to learn to balance our sound, project voices without a sound system, and work in the heat for hours. We had to be flexible with sound systems that were often not what we specified for other gigs, sometimes with poor quality. At times we performed for almost no one, other times large numbers would gather and cheer us on. It didn't matter, we still had to give it our all. Other times we signed up for more music than we knew, and had to learn music fast. There was individual practicing, group work, metronomes, and occasional frustration. Most of it was laughs and good times, however.

We're not the band we were last spring, and we won't be the same band by next spring. The kids are flying on their skills, but they are still kids and need time off sometimes. I noticed our schedule has lightened dramatically now that the summer season is over. As tempted as I am to fill it right back up, I may give them a chance to breathe for the holidays, just taking things that find us, instead of things we hunt down. We need to polish up new original songs. Believe it or not, we're already thinking ahead towards a new CD. Though the last is still a fine CD with wonderful music, (you have one, right?), we aren't the band we were last year when we recorded it. Next fall, God willing, (and willing to supply us once again with the funds for the project), we will start a new one. We'll write, arrange, and learn them through the winter, then next summer we'll perform the new tunes to wet the appetites for new music, and polish them to perfection for the next CD.

We also plan to add things to our new music program, Costello Family Music. Should be fun!

Happy Pickin'!

Our First Music Videos

2010-09-03T10:58:00.000-07:00

Our newest video!
Episode 3: Helping Your Child Match Pitch
Most children can easily learn to sing and match pitch. Here are some fun ideas you can implement into your playtime to help get them started.

Episode 2: Music with Children
Do you have young children in the home? Here are a handful of fun ideas you can incorporate into your day to develop musical skills.

Episode 1: An Interview with Al Brouillette
Michael interviews Al Brouillette of "For the Blessed Hope" on the benefits and challenges of a family band. Due to the limits of the equipment, you may wish to turn up the volume during the interview.

If you enjoy them, and are on Facebook, please "fan" our page, linked on the post below. I am posting the youtube ones here for the moment for those not on facebook, and you can subscribe through youtube. Additionally, if you know someone who would be blessed by these videos, someone into music in the family, or the mother of young children, please consider passing them the links!

I would also love further suggestions. Some things I may show in the future include practicing ideas for different ages, starting to play as a group with very new players, having Alex and Katie introduce very basic chords for beginners, and I'll be interviewing Suzie Solomon of GospelGrass Productions and Pickin' on Tennyson. Sean has played some bass and knows a few guitar chords/strums, but he's picking up mandolin now, and perhaps some Dobro. We'll see if that progresses and perhaps he can give a report on what he's learned about the different instruments. (For the record, he wanted banjo too, but Katie won't share!)

The kids plan to add comedy to the mix. Alex has promised me an episode, a silly short flick. She just needs to write it out and rehearse a bit! I'm looking forward to seeing what she has in mind.

Happy Pickin!

Music with the Costello Family

2010-08-30T10:36:00.000-07:00

So, you've seen our facebook site, right? You can go here to keep in touch with the band and all we're up to. Be sure to "like" us for these updates. Although not as formal as our official web site, it is more personal and up to date.

Amber Waves Band

Promote Your Page Too

If you want to see where we're playing, go to our web site's calendar page!

We seem to be loaded with crazy ideas around here, so I'd like to introduce you to another one!

Costello Family Music

Promote Your Page Too

This is a music ministry off-shoot of our band. Right now it's only on Facebook as a page, but I also have all videos on youtube for those who do not have Facebook.

Eventually, if we get interest, we'd like to build a web site. Here's what we hope to offer:

Interviews with families that play music together, and those with specific skills
Instructional videos that cover everything from music with young children, beginner tips on specific folk/bluegrass instruments
Articles or videos on managing practice schedules, finding playing opportunities, etc.
Silly videos by the kids on anything that sparks their imagination
Suggestions from followers!

Disclaimer: We're technologically challenged and new at this. Our first videos have some issues with audio/video sync, though it clears up, and things like presentation and camera angles will be a work in progress.

Don't forget to "like" us!

Happy Pickin'!

Take Me Home Country Cows

2010-08-28T22:38:00.000-07:00

It's a story of which dreams are made. You start a band, you work hard, never knowing where it will lead, but secretly praying one day you will have the opportunity to perform for a dancing cow.

I think Chick-Fil-A should give us some free sandwiches for entertaining their cow, don't you? We should start a petition.

This was today at the Firestone Honey Festival. I do declare, that town knows how to do a festival!

Thursday we were privileged to play for a wonderful assisted living center in Greeley. Nice people, very encouraging, and they were given a treat too: The debut full solo performance of our youngest band member.

Oh, gosh, she's cute. I think we'll keep this little cute weapon on minimal use for the moment. There is a fine line between gimmick and a legit family band, and I don't really want to abuse that for her sake or her siblings. The others work their tails off so, while they'll have to live with being upstaged by cute alone eventually, I'm going to let her earn her stripes like the rest of them.

(Yeah, that'll last a week, tops... Ok, I give. Come out to some future performances and we'll throw cute in as a bonus.)

Birds, Bands, and Bouncing

2010-08-07T20:33:00.001-07:00

We took a little trip down to Colorado Springs today for a Homeschool Resource Fair. Although we were privileged to be asked to perform, it would have been worth the trip anyway. This was a great event, full of exciting opportunities for the homeschoolers in the area. I think the kids' favorite exhibit was the feathered friends.

It was rather noisy in the room, but those Amber Wave kids don't mind. They'll just sing out and pick or saw those strings.
I'm rather impressed the younger two were still standing after the day was over. Bouncing in the air, running, play grounds, and new friends.
After the event we ran by Focus on the Family's Visitor Center so they could burn off even more energy. Yes, somehow they still had some left for slides and exploring Whit's End. While we were there we enjoyed some wonderful conversation with old friends, then joined them for dinner out.

Tomorrow we'll be out for a Streetmosphere gig. The temperature promises to be manageable, thankfully. I think we had our share of 100 degree weather events for the summer.

Happy Pickin'!

Dog (and Toad) Days of Summer

2010-07-20T20:43:00.001-07:00

It's been hot. I mean, really hot. I know, anyone reading this who lives in the south may think we're big babies for thinking a mere 100 degrees is hot, but I think after about 98 degrees the differences are minor, because you're simply miserably hot.

Saturday we played for Streetmosphere and it was one of those record matching hot days. Four hours. Kids. Hot. It wasn't too bad the first 3 hours. We had shade, partially frozen lemonade packets, frozen Gogurts, and water. Even better, we had the great people that stroll by and sometimes stop to listen for a bit. However, by the last hour nothing was going to save us. It's like trying to pick and play happy bluegrass instruments while an invisible warm sludge of air and heat is surrounding you. We survived, however, and it was all worth it when the afternoon breeze set in, we had our after-gig ice cream, and the younger two got wet in some fountains, while the adults and teens enjoyed another great band before heading home for pizza!

This week we had the opportunity to jam with Uncle Dennis too. He sometimes brings his guitar by and we find ourselves playing some interesting tunes in a bluegrass style. Everything from "California Dreaming" to whatever he's learning on his ukulele. (Can you mix banjos and ukuleles? Is that legal?)

The most amazing, and completely non-musically related thing this week has been cherries! Normally, any plant of the non-weed variety in our yard is doomed, but somehow a dwarf cherry tree, planted years before the extent of the collective brown-thumb was realized, survived the doom. It not only survived, but this year it went nuts with cherries!

The first pie was delicious, if you like tart cherries. There are preserved jars of them awaiting future pies as well.

Rain swept in and rescued us from the heat yesterday, bringing out a temporary pet toad. An old kid pool became the temporary habitat for two young nature explorers and their toad. The toad is happily free now.
This week we can relax with the rain, amphibians, and cherry pie. Next week we are back to being a band. We look forward to playing at the Cheyenne Frontier Days, then on to the Happy Jack Festival! Wyoming is kind enough to generally avoid 100 degrees, so we're all the more looking forward to the music and fun!

Happy Pickin'!

Where did June go?

2010-07-06T14:48:00.000-07:00

I swear we must have had a June this year. After all, I had a lot of things written on my calendar where it said "June". It zipped right by! I'm going to try not to blink for July or I fear I'll loose that one too.

We were privileged to be invited by the Christian Home Educators of Colorado to play for their kick-off dinner and sing for the opening general session this month.

So far we've completed two sets for Fort Collins' Streetmosphere. This picture was taken at the very end of a very long four hour set. Everyone was looking just a little weary, but still managed to give everyone smiles. The second to the last song we had a few raindrops. We ended the song early, zipped instruments into their cases, then hopped into the van right before a massive downpour!
We're having a blast with all of this performing, and gaining valuable experience playing in so many different types of settings. Every one has different needs for balance, audience interest, etc. Sean tends to be the crowd pleaser at Streetmosphere. We lose our audience every time I give him a break, but at 10 years old, you must have your breaks! So, we kill time with some nice music, people walk off, then they crowd around again when we set him loose on wild fiddle tunes.

Gospel festivals favor the vocals, it would seem. Everyone comments about our vocal harmonies, despite some very worn voices. Below are some clips from the 2010 GospelGrass Festival. My mother captured a few. As I wrote below, the kids were real troopers. Sean sings with what little was left of is voice, and Katie's voice was so poor she had to skip her signature song all together, saving what little she had to force out in harmony. Mary had been sick, coughing, and sleeping! Yet she jumped up when it was time to sing. (Sorry, we didn't get any Mary solos from the festival.)

This little family band music experiment of ours is not only fun, but the places you get to go are sometimes very interesting.

Speaking of family bands, you do have the ultimate family band release of the decade, don't you? Don't you? If not, head over to our CD Baby Store and get one!

Happy Pickin'!

A funny thing happened on the way to the performance

2010-06-15T13:26:00.000-07:00

I bet many parents will relate to having a kid or two just a bit different than the rest. If you don't, it must mean God didn't feel you needed the humbling at this time. He felt I needed an extra dose. (Oh, and any humblings set from God are an eternal blessing... just so you understand my perspective!)

In truth, the funny things usually happen at the performance, not on the way to it.

Being the band mom, I have been known to get mild anxiety before performances. It's occasionally due to music, when we've not had something together during practice lately and I really hope to wow the audience with it. However, if I were to be truly honest, sometimes it's, uh, stage presence.

The younger two band members are firecrackers. They are never nervous and actually thrive on getting as many eyes on them as possible, no matter how it is accomplished. Born to be on stage. I'm sure God planned it that way since he put them here, with us. This is a wonderful thing when you want them to give everyone a big smile, sing loud, be enthusiastic, and charming. It creates more of a desire to crawl into a corner and hide at other times.

Things to happen in front of lots of people during music:

Pastor praying and giving some instructional words in front of us before we play. Moths on the floor and around the altar. Moths being slowly poked with a bow and flying off...

Advent candles lit. Music over. Lingering child with fire fascination sticking hand over fire to see how hot it is...

Nose needing... uh... something removed.

Mom helping to keep tempo, child stopping to instruct mom that child doesn't need help.

Child walking off stage for a snack in the middle of a set.

Sister goes out of tune, brother makes a gagging face like he's going to die while she sings.

Young child not on stage with instructions to sit right there, leaves in the middle of your song and you watch child go down the aisle...

Serious religious song with one child noticing some kids are in the audience and starts making obnoxious faces to be funny during serious song.

Siblings start fighting when not on stage, louder than the banjo can blast, requiring mom to sneak off and separate them.

Child yelling, "I need to go to the bathroom!" in front of microphones.

When we perform for elderly, they about fall over laughing. I'm sure we add years to their lives. (On the other hand, it sometimes takes years off mine!)

Those who expect professionalism at all times may not be too interested in having us perform until we've passed some maturity milestones around here, but it'll be their loss.

Happy Pickin'!