My Gaby

A lot of you know who Gaby is - I’ve written a lot about her, and she’s been to a lot of my shows. Many of you have had the opportunity and good fortune to meet her.

For those of you who haven’t been lucky enough, Gaby is a friend of mine that I met in Oaxaca, Mexico, 15 years ago.

Gaby and I met on my first trip to Casa Hogar, a children’s home in Oaxaca, Mexico. A place I’d never heard of, and couldn’t pronounce.

Though I didn’t speak Spanish well, I connected with Gaby one night while we were making spaghetti. She was an incredibly capable 12 year old, and I was a 19 year old college kid who could barely boil a noodle.

We’ve been thick as thieves ever since.

Through the years, Gaby and I grew closer and closer. 

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-She knew me before Bryan did.

-I borrowed a skirt from her sister so that I could go to her high school graduation. 

-And we used to take shifts in the middle of the night when kids at the children’s home were sick

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So, when she had the opportunity to come to study in the United States, it made perfect sense that she would come and live with Bryan and me. We were already family.

Gaby moved to Connecticut in 2008.

We made a ‘no Spanish’ rule, to help her advance through her English classes more quickly...

Drove her to class until she learned the bus system....

And had Gaby as one of the few family members at our wedding.

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Very often people ask me about Gaby:

“So she’s like your daughter?”

Well, no.

“So she’s like your sister?”

Well, not exactly.

She’s my Gaby.

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That’s it. That’s the only way that I know how to explain it.

She’s my Gaby, and I’m her Kristen.

Chosen family is a phrase that I use often, and in this case, it fits perfectly.

To call each other family, just feels right.

We may not be related in the traditional sense, but we’re connected through humanity, and to me, that’s enough.

So on this, her Passport Birthday (that’s a story for another time), I’d like to wish Gaby (my Gaby!) a Happy Birthday!

Love you.

Valentine Video (#ShareTheLove)

Today is the day!

Today, I'm releasing a music video for my favorite love song I’ve ever written, ‘Swing’.

“Like a rope needs a swing...A bell needs to ring...I need you.”

I wrote this story on my way back to Minneapolis after singing at a wedding in Northern Minnesota. I actually wrote the entire thing sitting at a rest stop next to a huge statue of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox.

I was in such a loving place.

I had just witnessed two people pledge to love each other forever. I had seen friends that I hadn’t seen in nearly a decade, I was just really happy, at peace, and felt a lot of love.

It’s so wonderful to feel love and give love.

And that’s how I wrote the song. 

The song ended up on my latest album, I’ve sung it at many weddings, and I’ve dedicated it to many different couples.

So, this year, I thought it would be so great to celebrate love OF ALL KINDS on Valentine’s Day.

I believe in given and chosen family, and I believe in many kinds of love, so I wanted this video to be about not only romantic love, I wanted it to be about family love, friend love, rescue pet love, ALL love. 

So, here we have it. That’s why this is happening.

And today is the day that you can click on a youtube link and see the many amazing and different ways that people love.

Here it is!

I hope you enjoy it!

LOVE,

Kristen

#ShareTheLove

Share The Love

I had an idea this year for Valentine's Day.

I thought it would be really nice to release a version of Swing, (the only love song I've written in a while...) for my mailing list.

Then I thought - why stop at a version of the song? Why not create a video for the song?

Then I started thinking about different things I could do - I had some nice ideas, some pretty thoughts, but then settled on the winner.

I decided that it would be great to include people's stories, your stories, of love.

So, I asked, and you responded.

With the most beautiful stories!

...There's the story of how a couple met on a blind date and has been married for 40 years.

...Or how a husband visits his wife struggling with dementia every single day. She doesn't know him, so he has to reintroduce himself at each lunch.

...A man told me of how his rescue dog saves him from chronic pain, even though doctors had told him there was no cure.

...A couple told me that they locked eyes from across the gym. (I guess working out does have benefits!)

...A friend told me about how much she loves her daughters, not just because she loves them and they're family, but because they all really like each other.

The stories are fantastic. Beautiful. Moving. Inspiring.

The world can use more love - actually - the world needs more love, so we're going to give it to them.

If you'd like to share your story and be a part of the music video, you can tell your story and send a video or photo to me: kristen@kristengraves.com.

Thanks for sharing the love!

#ShareTheLove

New Song! (Untitled for now...)

Just a quick post to share a new song that (I think) I've finished, and will be taking into the studio soon.

I'll tell the entire story another time, but it involves a songwriting retreat, crossing the state line at 2 am into Wisconsin, and understanding my friends on the Cheyenne River Reservation so much better.

I hope you enjoy it, and if you're a part of my Patreon Community, you can help me come up with a title!

Thanks for watching!

I don't do contests...except for Tiny Desk...

I get asked a lot about why I don't enter contests...

Why don't you audition for The Voice?

Why don't you submit to 'x' songwriting competition?

Why don't you... [enter other question here]...

I used to. 

I used to believe that competitions and contests were one of the paths that you could take to be "discovered." (I also used to think that I wanted to be discovered...more on that another day.) I used to think that competitions and contests were genuinely looking for talent, people that just hadn't been found yet. 

I have entered my fair share of contests, including The Voice (for more on that, click here) and finally realized - competitions make me feel like crap.

They make me competitive.

I know that sounds obvious, given the word: competition...but I don't believe that music has to be competitive.

I do think that as musicians and songwriters, we need to constantly better ourselves. We need to write better songs, work on our voices, and practice our instruments, but I don't think that this should be done in a competitive way. 

It's unhealthy.

It creates weirdness between fellow songbirds.

Instead, I think we should be striving to better ourselves through support and community.

So this begs the question - why did I do the Tiny Desk Contest?

NPR has hosted Tiny Desk Concerts for years (quite reminiscent of my Hallway Sessions, if I do say so myself...) and have had incredible performers come through their offices.

Looking at the contest, it doesn't really feel like a competition, it feels more like a community.

It doesn't feel like winning the contest is the thing, but rather that making the video is the thing.

By making the video, I am joining a crew of other really talented folks who gathered around a desk and sang a song. 

Do I think I have a chance of winning? Nah, not really. Last year, they received 7,000 videos.

Do I think I have a chance of folks enjoying the video?

Definitely. Already done.

And here's what I think is cool - my community is an NPR-type community. So doing this video has gotten people energized, gotten us all excited, and plus, it gave me an excuse to pound on a desk.

So there you have it - if all contests and competitions felt like the Tiny Desk Contest, well then, I just might do them.

Here's my Tiny Desk Video below - hope you enjoy!