Lincoln Highway

The American Songline Book is Here!

June 22, 2015 by Cece

At long last, it’s finally here! I am proud to announce that the American Songline book is now available on Amazon in both paperback and Kindle versions!

Click here to pick up your copy: http://www.amazon.com/American-Songline-Musical-Journey-Lincoln/dp/1514317826/.

I hope all of you out there have also been enjoying the CD too! If you have bought or downloaded the American Songline album and like it, can you leave a quick review at one of the sites below to let other buyers know what you think of the music? If you haven’t bought it yet, you can now buy the music at the following links:

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/american-songline-musical/id979747974

CD Baby (both physical and download versions are available through this link): https://www.cdbaby.com/cd/ceceliaotto2

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/American-Songline-Musical-Journey-Lincoln/dp/B00V6BU9H6/

I’ll be making appearances all over the country this year, and am taking bookings for concerts and speaking engagements for 2015 and 2016. If you know of an organization that would want to hear me and my story, please let me know – I’d love to bring American Songline to the world! I’m also happy to speak about crowdfunding to groups as well.

I’m keeping this post short as I’ll be heading to Ann Arbor, Michigan for the Lincoln Highway Conference today, and I’ll be there all week attending the conference and performing. I’ll post a follow up post on the conference next week when it’s all over. Until then, safe travels everyone!

The American Songline Book is Coming! Here’s a Preview…

May 12, 2015 by Cece

Thanks to all of you who have bought the CD so far! I hope you have been enjoying the music. While I was happy and proud of the the album being out, I went full tilt to work on the book and it’s almost done! The American Songline book will not only chronicle the 30 concerts I gave in 2013, I also share some personal parts of the journey as well. I sang songs about love and loss along the Lincoln Highway, and those songs became the inspiration for chapters of the same name.

Up first, I wanted to share an excerpt of the “Loss” chapter. Today marks the 5th anniversary of my father’s passing – I can’t believe he’s been gone for five years. The American Songline project was just a vague idea in my mind when he died, and I had no idea if it would be successful or not. Before I started my tour, I knew my Dad would play a part in his own way, and he did. Read more in this passage from the upcoming book:

***

I was a bit worried about staying overnight in Gettysburg. The rumors of the town and hotel being haunted stuck with me, and while I’m not afraid of ghosts, I have had enough encounters with the paranormal that I cannot explain away. I was curious to see if the rumors were true, but I wasn’t actively looking to find out.

There was a plastic candle in my window that lit up when the sun went down. I saw it and wondered if the candle was for the living or for the dead that may walk the streets. When I asked the front desk the following morning why it was there, the hotel clerk said, “It’s a tradition in this area to leave a light on in a window sill for those traveling at night, so they know they have a place to stay.”

I kept a low profile that night, eating dinner and working on my regular jobs. When I finally fell asleep that night, something strange happened.

No Civil War soldiers appeared, but I had a vivid dream that changed my outlook on the rest of the tour. I dreamt I was in an old house that had been converted into a bookshop. I walked into various rooms and combed through the stacks. At some point, I turned the corner into the next room, and there he was.

My father died unexpectedly from a massive heart attack at the age of 61 in 2010, about three months before Dan and I were to be married. While I had some major issues with my father during his life, his death was extremely devastating to my family and me. The one person who you thought would be the last to go was the first. To also lose him so close to my wedding (a supposed happy time) was, and still is, an extremely painful thing for me. After his death, he would appear periodically in my dreams, and tonight in Gettysburg he did just that.

He was not young this time; he was older with his grey bread, glasses, and wearing his favorite blue and white flannel shirt. We talked as we wandered the stacks, and then when we got the comic book section of the bookstore he stopped.

“Hey Cec, do you want a comic book? I’ll buy.”

I remember my jaw dropping, mainly because neither of us really liked comic books. “No Dad, I really don’t like comic books. Why would you want to buy me one?”

“Oh, I just want you to have some fun, that’s all.”

What he said sounded so odd to me that I woke up immediately. For a few seconds, I did not know where I was. The candle was still aglow on my windowsill, and there was nothing and no one there. I eventually fell back asleep, but it took a while.

***

I love and miss him, but what I miss more sometimes are the opportunities I wish I could have had with him – I’d give anything to have one more day with Dad again. If you didn’t do this over Mother’s Day this past weekend, please tell your loved ones how much they mean to you. You never know what can happen, and the secret to living a great life is to live a life with no regrets. Thank you for letting me share this story with you, and if you have any comments, please share them below.

The American Songline CD is now available – get your copy today!

March 25, 2015 by Cece

Hello, hello American Songline fans everywhere! I realize I have been quiet for some time, but I have been hard at work in the studio with the CD and book commemorating my 2013 journey in my new home state of Oregon. But that hard work has now all paid off…

The American Songline CD is now available for purchase!!

This amazing cover art was designed by John H. Clark, an artist who specializes in creating vintage artwork for the National Parks in Utah (http://scenichwys.com/). We not only wanted this to look like a piece of vintage sheet music, but it also incorporates historic buildings along the Lincoln Highway as well.

For those of you who are new to this project, here are a few notes about the album:

From the 1880s to the 1930s, when most towns had a theater and live music was a staple of weekly entertainment, people across America gathered to enjoy the sounds of vaudeville: popular favorites, operetta and folk songs that reflect the hopes and dreams of a simpler time. In An American Songline: A Musical Journey Along the Lincoln Highway, vocalist and composer Cecelia “Cece” Otto reaches back to the heyday of vaudeville to recreate the music that entertained Americans from coast to coast, singing songs of love and longing that have lost none of their power to enchant listeners of all ages.

In 2013, she underwent a history-making journey along the Lincoln Highway, America’s first coast-to-coast highway, giving concerts of vintage American songs in every state along the route. An American Songline features many of the songs Cece performed at these concerts, including timeless favorites such as “Second Hand Rose,” “Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life,” “I’m Always Chasing Rainbows” and “Goin’ Home.” In addition, composer Nolan Stolz (The Lincoln Highway Suite) composed two works especially for this project, which appear exclusively on this album. Lastly, Cece wrote several new songs inspired directly by her travels, including the elegiac and inspirational “Land of Lincoln.”

The Lincoln Highway celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2013, and Cece marked this milestone by journeying more than 5,000 miles along the road, starting at the highway’s eastern terminus in Times Square and ending in Lincoln Park, San Francisco. Over the course of nearly six months on the road, she performed more than 30 shows in venues ranging from a nineteenth-century opera house to the grounds of a historic farm. An American Songline is an audio souvenir of this journey, reflecting the songs audiences loved along with insights — and humor — picked up from traveling far from the interstates most Americans rely on to cross the country.

“From the beginning, American Songline was going to be an album, as well as a series of concerts,” says Cece. “I wanted to leave a record of my journey for people who weren’t able to see a concert. I truly believe that history lives in our music, not just our history books, and I hope anyone interested in this era gives this album a try and enjoys it.”

BUT WAIT! There’s more to come – a book chronicling my journey will be released in May, and I’ll be out on the road touring again this summer! Definitely subscribe to my newsletter below or follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or YouTube so you don’t miss a thing. Hope to see you on the road!

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One Year Ago Today…

April 13, 2014 by Cece

One year ago, a journey started with a concert in New York City. The cabaret room and crowd were small on this April afternoon, but they knew they were witnessing something that had never happened before – a birth of a historic singing travelogue that would months later finally make its way across the country.

My mind today is still reeling from the fact that I was able to accomplish this. I can tell you that the woman standing on a stage in New York City one year ago was both nervous and excited for what would be coming. While I sang that first concert in New York, so many thoughts raced through my head, including:

1) “Holy crap, I’m performing this first show, and that show is in New York City!!”

2) “What will everyone think of these songs?” (Answer: They were very well-received. In NYC, “Second Hand Rose” and “Nobody Makes a Pass at Me” were the crowd favorites.)

3) “There’s still no accompanist for my performance in Indiana … there HAS to be someone in South Bend who can play it.” (Answer: There was someone, and he was confirmed less than two weeks before the show.)

4) “I hope this car holds out!” (Answer: It had to make a couple trips to a mechanic for various things along the way, but all in all I made it all the way across the country without getting into any major car wrecks.)

5) “Will I get sick of singing these songs?” (Answer: Nope. Not once.)

There were physical, emotional, spiritual, and literal “bumps in the road” along the way, but I knew I had to keep going. I had to see what was around the next corner, what was in the next town, what was in the next state. But doing this project wasn’t about what I saw, it was something more.

It was what I felt. Sure, there are some easy ways to tell visually if you’re on the various Lincoln Alignments (street names, telephone poles, and architecture always help give clues), but it was how the road felt as you are driving it. Within a few weeks of my tour, I could tell when I wasn’t on the Lincoln anymore by how it felt. It sounds weird, but it’s true.

The Lincoln Highway is a road, but it’s also a state of mind. What is that state of mind? Here’s hoping I can convey to you what that state of mind means to me in my upcoming book.

Thank you all for your support these last 365 days, and I can’t wait to share what lies ahead!

Wonderful Wyoming Part One: Eastern Highlights

January 24, 2014 by Cece

And now back to our regular travelogue posts…

While the weather outside is cold in a lot of places, I thought it would be fun to hearken back to warmer days of August.

After a break from the road in Colorado, I was eager to get back on the road and finish the tour. I had 3 performances in Wyoming (Laramie, Rock Springs, and Evanston), and they all proved to be amazing on so many levels.

Driving the route in Wyoming proved to be pretty fascinating as well. Similar to what Michael Grass noted in this post, I found sections of Wyoming not on the interstate to be more isolated than what I noticed driving in Nevada (so much for it being America’s “Loneliest Highway”). With Nebraska and Colorado, you know that you’ll run into towns/populations of people regularly along the route. In Wyoming, this all changes. You’re checking your gas tank with every town you drive through to make sure you might have enough, especially if you’re thinking of off-roading it. The sky and the road would blur together at times (especially in the Medicine Bow Loop), and there were times that I thought I was driving into the sky itself.

Here’s 10 favorite memories of Eastern Wyoming:

1) I spent most of my time in Laramie, and I have to say the people were so warm and lovely. My dear friend Jen was an instrumental person to this part of the tour, and I wish there were more people like her in the world. It was wonderful to have the chance to sing with her again, and I hope that if you are in Laramie you’ll get the chance to hear her sing.

2) The bullet holes in bar mirrors at the Buckhorn Bar.

3) Driving my first section of real interstate on this tour again (parts of the Lincoln are directly under I-80), and really feeling weird about it.

4) My interview on Wyoming Public Radio was a blast!

5) The Medicine Bow loop. Everything about this stretch of the road is remarkable. You will definitely get a taste of what it was like to drive the Lincoln 100 years ago in this part of the route.

6) The abandoned gas station at the Nebraska/Wyoming State Line (you can see a photo of it in my Western Nebraska Post).

7) That part of the Lincoln Highway is called “Otto Road”! It’s just west of Cheyenne.

8) Standing at Sherman Summit on the original route – the view was breathtaking.

9) Stopping at the Fossil Cabin and listening to the wind rumble across the land. The cabin is awesome, and again the view is quite beautiful.

10) I was granted permission to wander around the Virginian Hotel to check out and photograph the rooms freely. There weren’t many people around, so it truly felt liked I stepped back in time.

There’s plenty more I could list, but this should hopefully give you some highlights to look forward to when driving this stretch of the road. Now onto the photos!

Just outside of Cheyenne, the 1913 Lincoln Highway turns into what is now called “Otto Road”. I of course had to pose by the sign.

Here’s the famous Tree Rock, which is smack in the middle of I-80. Definitely a good stop along the route for you to stretch your legs.

The Ames Monument was built in 1882 by the Union Pacific Railroad. That black dot in the middle of the mounment is me standing at full height (I’m 5’10”).

From my list above, here’s the view of from Sherman Summit, the highest point on the Lincoln Highway. You can see the Lincoln Statue in the distance.

This Memorial to Henry Joy (one of the founders of the Lincoln Highway) was originally placed West of Rawlins at his favorite campsite. Due to vandalism, this monument was moved to Sherman Summit.

Here’s the famous Lincoln statue up close, with an LH marker in the foreground.

You read this right! Buford, WY is the smallest town not only along the Lincoln Highway, but in the nation as well.

Taking in the sights of Laramie, here’s a great old sign along the route.

Another sign not too far from the highway, which has seen better days.

This is St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Laramie, the highest Cathedral in North America. I am honored to say that I performed my concert here, and it was one of the best shows I did along the route.

Me at the the Buckhorn Bar in Laramie. If you look really closely in the reflection you’ll see a couple bullet holes in the mirror from an angry husband back in the early 70’s.

The Dinosaur Fossil Cabin was built in 1933, and is referred to as the World’s “Oldest” Cabin.

With the fossil cabin at my back, this is the view of the area around it. I can still hear the wind.

The Virginian Hotel became famous after Owen Wister wrote his novel “The Virginian” in 1902.

Hallway in the Virginian Hotel, preserved beautifully.

This is the Owen Wister suite, where “The Virginian” was written.

Love this old hotel buzzer. Remember, there’s no phones in these rooms, that’s how old they are!

The road met the sky here many times. It was lonely at points, but so beautiful.

Western Wyoming is up next, so until then stay warm and enjoy your weekend!

Gifts and Things Found Along the Lincoln Highway

December 23, 2013 by Cece

Happy Holidays Everyone!

The nomad in me never stops moving, hence my silence on this blog. After I finished the tour this fall, my husband and I took the plunge and moved 2,000 miles from Chicago to Portland, Oregon where we’ve both never lived before! We’ve been here now for a few weeks, and are spending the holidays here on the West Coast. So far my time has been great here, and I look forward to exploring the area more very soon.

But enough about non-Lincoln Highway things! I know many of you out there have been enjoying and celebrating your holiday season amidst the hustle and bustle that comes along with it. I wanted to stop and take stock of the many gifts blessings I’ve received from people along the road this year, and I wanted to share these roadside finds with you all. Below you’ll find some really neat and unique items that were given to me as well as things I found along the way. You’ll also see a plethora of t-shirts in this collection as well from across the country (when you live on the road and laundry is scarce, new t-shirts are pretty much a necessity).

Without sounding too hokey, the biggest gift of all is nothing pictured in this gallery. It will always be the new friends I made while on my journey; they now have become “old” friends to me in such a short time. They are the true legacy of the Lincoln Highway, and I feel honored to know them. You will hear more about these extraordinary people in future blog posts as well as my book about my travels. So stay tuned-this is only the beginning!

Old Lincoln Highway Sign from Iowa. It was a gifted to me by someone from the Iowa LHA Chapter. These signs hung on the original route until they were replaced by Iowa’s Heritage Byway signs a few years ago.

Being the musician I am, CD’s were a welcome gift and soundtrack for my travels. Some CD’s were given to me by complete strangers, others by longtime friends. Everything from Classical to Country Music is included in this collection.

From left to right: 1) Hand-created Lincoln Highway Miniature Marker 2) Snowflake Christmas Ornament created with salt from the Great Salt Lake 3) Piece of Petrified Wood found at Middlegate Station in Nevada 4) Ornament from Rock Springs Historical Museum 4) Root Beer Growler from Gottenburg Brewery, Columbus Nebraska 6) Tote bag from Grantsville, Utah

Detail of Handmade Lincoln Highway Marker made by Bob Owens (Jefferson, Iowa). He told me that he puts 6 coats of sand on each marker to create the desired effect.

Detail of Rock Springs Historical Museum Ornament, Rock Springs, Wyoming

Detail of Snowflake Ornament, Grantsville, Utah

Handmade Pin on antique hankerchief, made by Janet Von Toussiant of the Livermore Heritage Guild in California.

There were several books presented to me on my travels. From Art Deco Paper Dolls to the Book of Mormon, all of the books play a part in the story of the Lincoln Highway.

The two books in the back were both written by my friend and Lincoln Highway guru Brian Butko. Both were published this year to commemorate the highway’s centennial. In the front you can see some fun sheet music from the 1910’s and 20’s that was given to me by people along the way too. I just love those old song titles!

You’ll find this old-time country store along the Lincoln in between Bedford and Pittsburgh. Definitely stop and take the time to walk around the store, you never know what you will find there!

I absolutely love the mission of the Music Village, and if you are in/near the South Bend area please check them out! They are doing great things for the community along the Lincoln Highway.

When I was staying in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, this t-shirt was given to me as a great surprise from my host! I guess the road warrior in me was already shining through. :-)

About 30 miles outside of Cedar Rapids, IA, you’ll find the Youngville Gas Station and restaurant. Entirely run by volunteers, this place is a lovely stop along the Lincoln Highway.

Thanks to Bob and Joyce Ausberger not only for giving this t-shirt to me, but for inviting me to perform in Jefferson, IA for their huge Bell Tower Festival.

This wonderful shirt was a gift from the Music Director at St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Laramie, Wyoming.

One of the most unique performances on my tour was to be part of the annual Rockport Dam Jam. I got to learn new music for this concert, and the players were an absolute delight to perform with.

T-shirt of the Eureka Opera House. If you are in this part Nevada, please do yourself a favor and spend the afternoon (or night) here.

Middlegate Station in Nevada is a fanstastic place to stop, walk around, and get a bite to eat.

One of my favorite finds at the Nevada Historical Society’s gift shop: A t-shirt showing all of the hobo signs and symbols.

Until then, may the rest of 2013 be merry for you all! –Cece

The Tour is Officially Complete, Plus I Have a Special Announcement!

September 3, 2013 by Cece

I am pleased to announce that as of September 1st, my historic American Songline tour along the Lincoln Highway is officially complete! In almost six months of touring, I performed 30 shows (plus some impromptu ones) in various venues along the Lincoln Highway. My car is full of things collected along the highway, and my mind is overflowing with so many memories of this time on the road. The next steps of writing the book and music for the album are starting to take form, so watch this blog for more posts and announcements this year!

A few people have asked me how I feel about reaching this accomplishment, and I have to admit it’s pretty bittersweet. While I’m relieved that I get to see my husband and cat again (I’ve missed them both so much) as well also being relieved that I don’t have to juggle so many balls in the air anymore, I also will miss being on the road. There’s been so many amazing people and places I’ve seen, I wish I could take it all with me.

I mentioned in Social Media posts over the weekend that I had a special announcement for all of the folks who attended the Livermore, California concert on Saturday. Now I’m sharing this announcement with all of you (see full text below after the picture):

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Dated September 3rd, 2013 (Today, the first business day after the tour) from The City and County of San Francisco

Certificate of Honor Presented To Cecelia Otto

“Whereas, on behalf of the City and County of San Francisco, I am pleased to recognize and honor Cecelia Otto for her recent cross-country journey to commemorate the Lincoln Highway’s Centennial. When the Lincoln Highway was built in 1913, linking the east and west coasts, it served as a lifeline of commerce and culture in the communities through which it passed. Your musical journey along the Lincoln Highway, An American Songline, has brought this tradition back to life and brought joy to many across the country. Congratulations on the success of An American Songline and best of luck in all of your future endeavors!

Therefore, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the City and County of San Francisco to be affixed.

(Signature) Edwin M. Lee, Mayor”

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I have to admit, I was pretty surprised and floored by this document. While my behind-the-scenes PR man Dan reached out to them, we didn’t know if the Mayor’s office would actually issue the proclamation until literally the day before the concert. It honestly didn’t hit me that this tour was going to be over until the moment I had this paper in hand and was reading it out loud to myself. I still stare at it now, and can’t believe this all has happened.

The next stage of this project officially starts now, and I want to thank all of you who have been along for the ride. I’m looking forward to sharing my stories of the road in song and in words, and I hope to see you all again very soon!

Writer’s Block or Writer’s Overload?

August 26, 2013 by Cece

Greetings from my last day in Reno, Nevada, and the final Monday of this tour! Yup, that’s right folks, my singing travelogue will officially (and unofficially-more on that later) be done on Labor Day weekend. I’m pretty much in shock that I’m a stone’s throw away from California right now.

It’s been a wonderful but crazy last few weeks of touring, and I know I’m couple states behind right now. You’re probably wondering what’s happening. Did she get lost or have no internet access? (Both were true.) Did she have computer problems? (Yes.) Did she just give up on writing? (Heck NO!)

Here’s why: I have writer’s block. Knock down drag out writer’s block, but not for the reasons you think. I’m currently working on the state of Wyoming (I had three performances there in early August), and the truth is that I’m not “blocked”, I’m actually on “overload”. I have SO much to say about my time in Wyoming, It’s extremely difficult to decide what’s best for the blog, what’s best for the book, and what’s best to talk to me about over a beer.

As this tour is coming to a close, I’ve felt some of the sensory overload start to melt away so that I can get something out to you all soon. Expect blog posts on all of the remaining states along the route that I haven’t written about yet, they just might come after I’m off the road.

Thanks you again for being along for the ride, it means a lot to me. Know that no matter what happens, I’m excited for the final performance in Livermore, (and maybe even an informal/”unofficial” performance in a surprise place, watch the calendar) as well as I’m also excited for what will happen post-tour for this project. This is all just the beginning!