Mary McAdams

Des Moines Marathon and Metro Expo

Monday, October 12th, 2009

Well, it’s official.  The entire McAdams clan is down for the count.  My husband was the last to fall.  He’s missed about 3 days of work in the 17 years I’ve known him.  He’s home today.  We cry Uncle, you flu bug, Uncle.

I’ve got a few very exciting things to announce coming in January, but I can’t do that until, well, until everyone says I can.  I can say I’m playing the Des Moines Marathon for the first time!  My husband has run the full marathon for the last 10 years … but he’s not running it this year, and I will be there … what kind of coincidence is that?  He’s got foot trouble and I’ve got a new album to sell.  I guess we’re trading places.  I will be playing at the coveted Mile Marker 7, at the foot of the Salisbury House, so I’ll get to see both the Half and the Full marathoners.

I’m also playing the Metro Expo this year at Hy-Vee Hall.  I’ll be there Sunday, November 8, from 2-4 p.m.  It will be me with James Biehn on guitar!  I love this gig.  Come out and get your Christmas shopping started and support the arts.

I’m off to do a 2:30 phoner with Mindy Hoskin to finalize the website design.  I put it off and put it off but Mindy kept gently reminding me and steering me back to it.  Now that I see her design, I’m so excited about it and wonder why I kept putting it on the back burner.  Working with Mindy and Derek has been a blast and positively painless!  If you’ve ever built a website … you know it is rarely painless.  This has been the exception.  Hire the talent, it’s worth it.

Playing Catch-Up

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009

I really need to blog about the CD Release Show on September 18 and take the time to do it justice, but not today. I will just say that it takes a village and they all came out THAT night!  Whew.  That was fun.  Thank you all for supporting me and marking time with me.  From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU.

Things are cranking here at Birch Bark Music Headquarters.  It’s official, friend Rex is managing me from Salt Lake City.  Thank you spirit who watches over me and thank you for Rex!  I talk to and email Rex more than I do my husband!  That’s just for now, things will change.  Rex is taking care of all things IT for me and dealing with ASCAP and my Digital Distribution through CD Baby and the U.S. Copyright Office and figuring out everything for me.  And somehow, there’s still more to do.

The new website is being developed as I type. Mindy Hoskin (hot damn Mindy Hoskin!) is my Graphic Goddess and she is designing the most beautiful site for me.  I’m not worthy.  Derek Brooks is gonna take her design and get it all HTML’y.  Whatever.  I don’t know how they do it, but they are SO good.  Mindy is also working on my promotional one-sheet and posters. Proofs are going back and forth so fast that all our heads are spinning like little electrons.

T-shirts! Did I mention I was surprised at the show with my own T-shirts?!  They are so cool.  And soft.  And the women’s style looks HOT!  The Men’s version is the standard T-shirt; nice, soft, really comfortable … but the Women’s version is Hot!  Love American Apparel and Van down at SMASH for doing that as a surprise for me. I guess they hacked into my email account to find Mindy and the graphics files so they could print the T-shirts. Perhaps Birch Bark Music Headquarters could use a little more internet security; I’ll have to email Rex about that.

I’m home with a sick kid today. My weekly writing date with a friend has been cancelled. There were 168 kids absent from one school in town yesterday.  Yikes.  There’s strep and H1N1 on my street already and it’s only October 6.  Bring it on Old Man Winter.