Kristin Lems: BLOG Archive

Winter 2004
I have allowed my reflections page to moulder....time for some new ones! I realize now that what I was trying to do when I started this in 1996 was really "blogging;" it just didn't have a name at the time. I have since seen how those with fluent writing styles write voluminously, and readers from around the world hang on their every word. I certainly have from time to time. I doubt I'll get to blogging level, but I'd like to kind of bring you along in my guitar case, and let you see some of the things I've seen, and the places I've been (or places I've seen and things I've been)...

The most interesting recent development was appearing in two different shows this past fall as an actor/singer. In both cases, I was selected by the playwright because of their prior knowledge of my singing. I have never intended or expected to be an actor and do not have formal training in it beyond the high school level. However, I share with actors and classically trained singers a certain comfort level with stages and audiences and programs, and besides, I always like a challenge. So I accepted the offers, rehearsed, and performed.

The first show, The Witch of Ferndale, by Kenan Heise, is an adaptation of some short stories written by the talented Heise about his aunt from the Depression era, who never spent a "single dime, nickel or cent." Her willingness to find ways to outsmart the system while still helping those she loved earned her the exasperated admiration of those around her. Some who didn't understand called her a "witch" - like so many nonconformist women have been called! I played the narrator and sang at several points in the piece. (I had previously appeared in a backer's audition for another piece Kenan wrote, called Songbird of the Wobblies, about Joe Hill's traveling companion and possible girlfriend, Katie Phar. That show was basically composed of a lot of the great old Wobbly songs).

Kenan's show was a one night staged reading at a local theatre, as part of a playwriting festival. As actors and composers know, there's quite a gap between creation and production, and it's back to the drawing board for some more changes, and some more attempts to find funding. I'm at the ready for the next time it's mounted!

The second show, by playwright Joann Koch and composer James Lucas, is a musical comedy called Hearts in the Wood. The title comes from the heart shapes carved in mountain dulcimers, which figure prominently in the play, a fictionalization of a real dulcimer maker Lucas knew while living in West Virginia. His attempts to make a new life performing his old time music to a Chicago audience, and his granddaughter's realization that she can't get the country out of her city lifestyle, form two plots full of songs and snappy dialog.

I played two challenging parts, the "love interest" of the old guy (!) and one of the ensemble members of the old timey group back in West Virginia. It was staged in a big, barny theatre in Three Oaks, Michigan, which used to be called The Featherbone Factory, where corsets were made. Now they've got huge theatre organs which make the whole building into a kind of living organ, vibrating from the huge pipes. And there's a fine stage, a set of bleachers, and some cafe style tables.

We rehearsed a lot, but hadn't been able to be in the room until the day of the show. The other actors and singers were a blast, and I learned a lot watching and listening to them. Hopefully it will get another run sometime in the future in the Chicago area.

I have consolidated all the previous journal entries into this one long one. For the die-hard fan or researcher only! (Actually, some of this was used in somebody's doctoral dissertation, believe it or not!)

May, 1999
Well, it's been a while since I sat down to write you a letter. Whoever you are! I'm glad you're interested in hearing these thoughts. I'm getting lots of web traffic these days, despite the utter lack of glitz at my site, and I'm hoping people enjoy the actual writing of the pages.

The O'Hare Gigs
I did five performances at O'Hare Airport's International Terminal last fall and winter, and they were some of the most enjoyable gigs I've done in ages. It was part of a promotion by the City of Chicago and the Airport to give passengers something to listen to and look at while they waited for flights during the holiday season, between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I was offered my choice of any O'Hare Terminal, or Midway Airport, and I immediately grabbed the International Terminal. The booking agent was surprised and said it had not been a hot ticket! For me, however, it was a clear preference.

I love singing and speaking in other languages, I have loved traveling abroad on the occasions I've been able to do it, and I teach ESL, too, so I'm in touch with many immigrants and foreign students. I'm kind of a "romantic type" when it comes to the great human family and all its diversity - I groove on it. Part of the fun of the performances was all the "people watching" I got to do from the stage. So many people decorated in fantastic, bright, colorful costumes representing their cultural heritage and their belief systems.

I saw huge Mexican sombreros next to Sikh turbans next to Afghan prayer caps - beautiful women in flowing silk saaris, long braids, bristling afros, and everything in between.

The first time I performed, a flight was about to leave for Japan, and a large group of Japanese was accompanying an older couple to the gate. They all formed an adoring circle around the couple and put their hands together and bowed in unison to show their respect. The amount of reverence and respect for the couple was striking, and I wondered who they were. Fortunately, I was able to sing one song in Japanese, which pleased the group very much!

The second time the main group consisted of Indians waiting for a flight to Delhi. Many children were hopping around and enjoying the affectionate indulgence of their families. A number of elderly relatives were leaving to return to India, and there were many tears and kisses. I sang a song I know in Hindi, from an Indian film, and hundreds of surprised Indians stopped everything and listened with beaming smiles, then applauded loudly!

Later, when I sang "500 Miles," an Indian man told me it had been translated into Hindi, and right on the spot, wrote down a transliteration of the words for me. By the time I sang for the third performance, there were many Indians again, and I added the translation to my performance - giving me not one, but TWO Hindi songs! It was quite a sensation. I'll continue to sing the Hindi verse back in coffeehouses.

At the third gig, I met a delightful musician from Germany, a computer scientist just returning from a computer convention, carrying a guitar. We exchanged information and he gave me a CD he was about to release with his group, called Shiggabei. It's wonderful - and I sent him my CD in return. And then, at the fifth and final gig, a fascinating musician from Norway who plays in a punk band.

And I sang Spanish Christmas carols, as Guadalajara-bound Mexicans waited on the eve of Las Posadas. There were grins all around.
I've always known music was the universal language of friendship and fellowship, and these wonderful gigs just reminded me once more.


A Gig from Hell
To counterbalance that, I'll tell you about an absolute disaster in which I took part about three weeks ago. I was hired to sing one half hour of "inspiring, singalong songs" for a high priced dinner to honor a distinguished doctor who has fought for social justice for many years. I shall omit the good doctor's name on principle! There was supposed to be a stage, and a donated p.a. system, but the stage wasn't set up, and the p.a. system was not up to the job (beware the donated p.a. system!) As a result, half the audience was completely unable to hear the speeches toasting the honoree.

I was supposed to do a half hour just before the doctor came up to give his remarks. Then the organizers rushed over to me and said they'd changed the program order and wanted me to do one song before the dessert, then resume when everyone got their desserts. I was suspicious because the half of the audience that hadn't heard anything was unlikely to want to come back for more of the same, but the kiss of death was when they decided to move the doctor's speech up to the spot before my music, instead of after it.

The famous m.c. left after introducing the doctor, the doctor warmly thanked everyone for a wonderful time, wished them well, and sent them on their way! My mouth dropped open as I saw 500 people pouring out of their seats, heading for dessert and the exit door.
By the time I did get up there, about 470 people had streamed down the stairs behind me to the coat room, and I sang three inaudible songs to the "stage crew," my mother, and a few diehards. The group might have consisted of 30 people at the most, and those 30 couldn't hear me anyway, because of the poor p.a. system and the din of all the others leaving!

People, don't do this to your musicians! Remember, they're not an afterthought, to be moved around at will - they're just as important as the speeches (if not more so)!
The fee consoled, but I'll tell you, I wouldn't knowingly do that again for any fee under the sun.
That's all for now.

all the best, Kristin/*


December 7, 1997
For your enjoyment, I summarize a few gigs from time to time. Here are thoughts on a few programs I have done this fall.
I sang three gigs this fall at the onset of bronchitis, during it, and at the tail end of it. "What, me worry?" All three audiences forgave me in full, but it was exasperating. Musicians, like actors, have this "show must go on" mentality which probably prevents us from taking care of ourselves in a timely way. Sometimes we're right, and "not dignifying it" is the best way to treat it. Other times, life is telling you to slow down! Luckily, my treatments (Chinese herbs, constant tea, and, eventually, antibiotics) did the trick, but it did cramp my style for more than a month. Do you have any terrific cures for URIs (upper respiratory infections?) Share them!


When my new song "Union ABCs" debuted early this fall, it caused an absolute sensation. No matter that I said from the stage, "It's not available, it's brand new;" everyone rushed up and said, "Well, we just have to have that song." I sang it for the UPS strikers victory rally, then again for the University Professionals of Illinois banquet, and once more for the Illinois State AFSCME Convention, and by the end of these gigs, it was pretty obvious that I had better rush into the studio. I think those of you who are union members are really going to like it!

The older I get, the more convinced I am of the healing properties of music. I wonder if orchestra members live longer and more healthfully than other professions. Teachers tell me their students perform better on tests with serene music in the room. I know that something magic happens with music. I don't want to analyze it too much; I just want to live in its power and help use it for creating human happiness.

Here are the links to Volume 1 and Volume 3, if you'd like to see what I was thinking some time ago!

November 20, 1996
For your enjoyment, I summarize a few gigs from time to time. Here are thoughts on a few programs I have done this fall.

It was moving for me to be part of a memorial service for AFSCME member, DCFS worker and feminist activist Jane Fitzgerald recently. She died in her early fifties from complications from cancer. I didn't know her personally although she had been at a gig I did just a month earlier. People at the service just couldn't say enough great things about her - I was so struck by the way her strong vibrant personality crossed racial and ethnic lines and enlivened everyone around her. The weird thing is, I missed her a lot by the end of the service - even though I didn't know her!

Singing for the University Professionals of Illinois banquet was a blast - they had a retrospective to celebrate their twenty years of collective bargaining and everyone hooted at the pictures of their great leaders' changes of coif, etc. These folks really have the spirit!

I traveled to Iowa and sang for a conference of Women in Higher Education, called Way Up! At the preceding dinner, I sat at a table with one woman, a distinguished professional, who had recently joined the Rotary International - after so many years of being excluded. She said a lot of men still had problems dealing with her, but she kept on pitching, so that she could pave the way for other women to come. She also revealed to me how much of Rotary is not charity, but business networking, and how much benefit members get in terms of contacts.