An American Songline

Journeys in Vintage Music with Cecelia Otto

Life in General

Western Ohio Highlights (including the J&M Trading Post)

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When I was visiting with New York Director Jerry Peppers at the beginning of this tour, he handed me a postcard with a red building on it. He said, “If you can swing it, stop by this place. Nancy and Joe are lovely people and they are true fans of the highway.”

The J&M Trading Post Antique Shop lies about 20 miles West of Mansfield, Ohio. Built in 1830, it has been store of some type in continuous operation ever since its opening and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Today it is an antique store full of wonderful things as well as Lincoln Highway souvenirs (Note that if you are thinking of making a visit here, you should call them beforehand; they open the place by appointment only). But what makes this stop special is the people who have taken care of the place all of these years – Nancy and Joe Everly.

From the time I was greeted to the time that I drove away, Nancy and Joe became my family to me for that hour I spent at the store. When I told them who I was and what I was doing along the route, Nancy said, “I know who you are! I saw you in the paper yesterday!” She brought down a big box of vintage sheet music for me, and I looked through it. Whatever music I wanted, she said I could keep it and take it with me. We laughed over all of the crazy song titles from the time like “You Can’t Get Along With’em or Without’em, You’ve Got to Have Them, That’s All!” and “Take Your Wife to the Movies (If She Won’t Make Love at Home)”. In that short visit, I found my new “old friend” along the road. Definitely take the time to stop here, it will be worth the trip.

The rest of my time in Western Ohio was pretty much spent in Lima relaxing with an old friend, as well as exploring the Allen County museum in the city. I did take pictures of murals and markers in Crestline, Bucryus, and Delphos, which are all below in my latest photo gallery. Enjoy!

The road beckons! My next post will be about my performance in Indiana as well as photos from the road both in Indiana and in Eastern Illinois (which is part of “Chicagoland” as it’s called). Until then, have a good weekend!

First Performance April 13th: New York City

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Yesterday’s kickoff performance in Manhattan was a great success. I had a few nerves of course, but overall the experience was exhilarating. I want to thank everyone who came out and supported me. Your laughter and participation in the sing-along was awesome!

Today was pretty much a recovery day for me. After traveling for two days on Wednesday and Thursday, rehearsal on Friday, and performance Saturday, I needed a small break to relax before getting back at it again. Dan flew back home this morning, and I’ve enjoyed my day relaxing with my old friends Mark and Michelle, taking in the view of the city from their window:

View of Manhattan from Brooklyn. You can see the Brooklyn bridge in this picture as well as the bottom of the Manhattan Bridge at the top of the photo.

What’s on deck for the next couple days? I plan on getting some pictures of the one mile stretch of the Lincoln Highway here in New York and sharing those with you all, as well as anything else that comes to mind in on my journey. I’ve got 13 more states to go, so keep spreading the word! There’s no turning back now on this project, and I’m glad to have you all along for the ride.

Until then, keep following your Songlines wherever they take you, and I hope to see you on the road!

Pre-Depature Thoughts

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At this time next week, I’ll be standing in New York City. My rehearsal for the inaugural performance at the Duplex Cabaret will be finished, and then I’ll have some down time before I perform my first show on the 13th. I can’t call it the “calm before the storm” because it won’t be that negative. It will be be more of a “pause before the whirlwind”. But I know it will be a great whirlwind – it will all go so fast.

I’ve been researching this travelogue as well as rehearsing/living with this the music for years, and there’s a part of me that honestly can’t believe I’ll be actually be doing this tour. I’ve been corresponding with people in New York and New Jersey for months who are now writing “See you soon-literally!” My mind is definitely blown on so many levels to read these words and know it will actually be true very soon.

There will be amazing and not-so-amazing points on this journey, but I know that’s what this is all about. I look forward to this road ahead of me, and I’m so grateful for all of your wonderful wishes and thoughts for this project.

Have a great weekend-and I hope to see you on the road!

New Year, New website!

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Hello everyone,

Hope everyone’s 2013 has got off to a great start! I’ve been running full speed the last few weeks trying to finalize the tour and get out the word to everyone about what I’m doing this year.

There’s been a lot of great changes to the website in preparation for this tour, including a Press page with photos and a press release, Audio and Video samples of me performing, a Frequently Asked Questions page, and an online store where you can buy the preview CD (you can also make donations to help with the project as well). Stay tuned for the tour page, where I will be listing all of the concerts shortly.

Again, this project is a grassroots effort. The more you and your communities participate with this endeavor, the better the project will be. If you would still like to help me, it’s not too late! I still need to find venues to perform along the route, musicians to accompany me and lodging, please contact me via email or through the contact page on the website.

Thank you all for your support this year, and I look forward to meeting you all very soon!

Song of the week: “Love Me or Leave Me”

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Hi folks!  I was off last week after an unexpected back injury.  I’m doing much better now, and I’m back to post my “Song of the week”.

“Love Me or Leave Me” is one of my favorites from this time period.  It’s been used in many different ways over the years, and usually it’s been performed in 4 at a much slower tempo.  While it sounds fine at that tempo, it actually was written in 2. For all the non-musicians out there, this is more of a “dance” tempo which was typical of 1920’s music.  I’ve actually liked singing it at the faster tempo, and will more than likely perform it on the road in this way.

Here’s a great recording from 1929 of the song in this faster tempo sung by Scrappy Lambert (I love that name).  It’s fun to also see the old Victrola in this video as well.

Enjoy!