Hey! So its 7:30 am, and there is absolutely no reason for me to be up at this hour on thanksgiving long weekend other than the fact that my brain is buzzing with the thought of playing the next show. and I’m wondering if/when this excitement to play will ever go away…its a feeling that just seems to grow with each gig, which kindof scares me; if the excitement keeps growing i really might explode sometime around early next year…spontaneous combustion…its a true story. (watched a documentary on it when i was 8 and it was my big fear for that year).
Its funny to think back two years ago when I was still in university, working on one of the few essay’s I actually completed titled ‘Music: a Career’. I wrote it to my parents letting them know I was going to quit school and persue a life in music, providing them with many reasons to support the decision, and even an appendix section (university education at work!). It’s almost worth paying how ever many couple hundred dollars it takes to resurrect my old computer to put it up here….almost. But lets be realistic, I need that money to fund my habit: the guitar. …and hats that say ‘fender’. But in all seriousness, I am so grateful to be totally submersed in something i’m so passionate about, and to be able to call that my job. You don’t need to be a psychic to recognize when you are where you’re meant to be, surrounded by the people you’re meant to be with.
So this being my first blog, i feel like we have SO much to catch up on…I’m really not sure how to update you on over a year of events! there is simply too much to fully write about, and point form is just too formal/boring. I believe a video montage is in order to get the ‘lions share’ of the work done (as my mom and her endless stream of euphemisms would say). As for the rest, I might as well start now with the last thing I did: CCMA’s and a visit to Fender!
The Canadian Country Music Awards in Hamilton, Ontario were an absolute blast. It was my 2nd CCMA awards, so being able to walk around and feel more like an 8th grader in their first year of highschool, rather than a 4th grader in their first year of highschool, was great. Knowing what to expect and still being a total excitable newbie is a recipe for a ton of lessons and a ton o’ fun. I had the opportunity of playing lots of shows; one being the ‘new artist showcase’, where I played ‘Willie’s Old Guitar’ for the first time with a full band…theres something incredibly satisfying about having a song you wrote come to life with all the different instruments, especially when that moment happens at a live show; in a way its like we’re all hearing the song for the first time. anyways, to top off a fantastic few days at the CCMA’s, Chad Brownlee (who I play guitar for/psuedo big brother) won the award for Rising Star! So cool to see such a deserving artist have their talent recognized like that!
After the CCMA’s I flew home for the first time in a month, stayed a couple hours, then flew down to L.A with Mitch Merrett (my manager/producer/fellow guitar player) for Fender’s grand opening of their ‘Visitors Center’ . did you know that you don’t need to to die before you get to go to heaven? nope, you just need to go to the Fender factory and visitors centre, play with buddy guy and los lobos, rub shoulders with eddie van halen and steve miller, hang out with some of the worlds most knowledgable guitar people, play through the new eric clapton amp (check it out…it’ll blow.youre.mind!), be surrounded by a sea of the worlds best guitars, and on top of it all have all you can eat mexican food at all times of the day. it was only a few weeks prior to this trip that I had signed on as apart of the Fender team, and both Mitch and I were blown away with the hospitality and generosity of everyone at Fender. From the CEO to the factory workers, everyone there was in the same boat: passionate about great instruments and great music. On the second day, Mitch and i had a tour of the factory and a lady who was working on bridges (by hand…more is done by hand in that place than you would ever guess) came up to me to say that her daughter had started playing guitar after watching me play the night before…it was a humbling experience, and i cant explain how happy i am to have had even a little part in helping someone believe they can learn too. I left California decked out in fender gear (like the true guitar nerd i am), filled to the brim with mexican food, and truly feeling apart of the Fender family.
If you’re reading this sentence, CONGRATULATIONS! …you have just wasted a couple minutes of you’re day, and I am both thankful and surprised that you chose to waste it on me 
. Have a GREAT day!!
-hayley
ps here’s the link to the Eric Clapton amp i was talking about… http://www.fender.com/products/clapton
Jamming with Buddy, who I named my guitar after last year...life can be funny that way!