View this email in your browser
 
If you're mainly looking for upcoming live streaming shows and want to skip ahead, click here.

Back in March, the evening before we would be driving to Texas to board a plane to Australia, we got in the van to bring our dogs to my parents’ house. Already feeling short on time, and long on stress, the engine proceeded to repeatedly crank—nah-nah-nah-nah-nah—but would not turn over. This was not just the battery. This was a bigger problem, at an already stressful time. This was not something we asked for, but there it was all the same.

Problems can exist without our consent and without us being a direct part of why they exist. But sometimes those problems still require us to directly be a part of the solution. 

We didn’t fix our van all by ourselves, but it would not be running right now had we not done something. It involved us researching and testing things we could with tools we had, but it also involved our roadside assistance company, a towing company, a mechanic, a parts company, a delivery person, and my parents who let us borrow their car.  

We couldn’t wish the problem away or wait it out. We couldn’t do it alone. Some things are bigger than dreams and time. And most everything is bigger than us. 

I feel that we have a chance right now to be a part of the solution to a problem that has existed long before any of us were on this earth, and has persisted to present day. It has changed shapes and by degrees, but it persists, and it needs us all to be a part of the solution. Just like with our van problem, the jobs of everyone involved may look different, but they are all important. 

To figure out where we need to be stationed and what we need to be doing, we are learning more about the problem, its origins, and what has kept it existing. We are listening, we are reading, we are having conversations, and we are examining ourselves and our unconscious biases.

We’ve been taking a lot in, but in the last couple of days a song has bubbled out to the surface too. There seems to always be a part of my brain working through things through song whether I know it or not. We’ll be sharing the first listen of that song over at our Patreon community in the next few days. 

These are heavy and uncertain times, but we hope that you are healthy and finding light. We miss you and we miss the road. Virtual shows are not the same, but it sure does feel good to directly connect with folks in that way. We’ve got a few coming up presented by various US venues (Seven Steps Up in Michigan, McCabe’s in Santa Monica, Isis Music Hall in Asheville) that you can check out below. You can of course attend any of them, but if one is local to you, you might end up in the chat room with someone you know and you can pretend like you’re standing in line for the bathroom together :) 

// Music & Merch //

We'll be recording an audio version of a new song "Here It Is" in the next few days.

We'll be sharing the first listen over at our Patreon community this week. If you're interested in joining us there click the button below to learn more.
Learn about early & exclusive access at Patreon

We've expanded our web store!

In addition to our CDs and poetry books, you can now order T-shirts, tote bags, and personalized handwritten lyrics or poetry.

OE Unedited
This is the section where we share an unedited journal entry or object write. 
(Object writing is a daily 10 minute writing exercise, where you write to a particular object in a sensory stream of consciousness kind of way. You can read more about it here.)
Excerpt from a stream-of-consciousness journal entry this morning:

...The last couple of days have felt like spring. The lighter, less heavy-with-water air and the breeze making everything feel less heavy. But it’s really only like going to another planet with different gravity, a different pull of your own weight. It’s all relative. The mass is still there. All of it. It’s just being allowed a little more freedom. A little less of a downward pull. But it’s all still there. Maybe we should try out different planets. Find the one with just the right amount of gravity to remind us of what’s there, but not so much that we can’t move. Find the gravity that allows us to do the work. We’ve got an entire galaxy of planets orbiting inside our skull. The right one is in there. The right perspective and point of view we need. We must find it in our cranial cosmos. While remembering that not everyone needs the same planet. What we each hold inside our bodies is different, so the pull of a planet won’t feel the same. We must be kind and patient while we each find our way...
 
UPCOMING PERFORMANCES

The following venues are presenting us virtually over the next month.

All concerts broadcast through Crowdcast. Specific links to register below.

Seven Steps Up - Spring Lake, MI
Thurs, June 25th, 7:00pm CENTRAL - Register to attend here

McCabe's Guitar Shop - Santa Monica, CA
Fri, June 26th, 8:00pm PACIFIC - Register to attend here

Mountain Spirit Acoustic Series at Isis Music Hall - Asheville, NC
Thurs, July 9th, 7:00pm EASTERN - Register to attend here
As always, feel free to hit reply and say hello, or let us know if there is something in particular you'd like to see in our newsletters. Thank you for your support!

See you down the road, 
Crystal & Pete (who is measuring a lamp shade, but sends his love)
www.ordinaryelephant.net
You’ve bought our albums, you’ve come to our shows, you’ve signed up for our newsletter--you rock! Wondering what other no-cost things you could do to support our music?
  • If you’re on Facebook and want to like our page there, you can do that here.
  • If you're on Instagram and would like to follow us, you can do that here.
  • Think others may enjoy our music and newsletter? Forward them this email or tell them they can check us out and sign up at www.ordinaryelephant.net
  • If you use Spotify, and would like to follow us, that's here. And if you make playlists there, consider adding one of our songs if it fits in. 
  • If you use Pandora, you can create an Ordinary Elephant channel, or if an OE song comes on that you like, give it a thumbs up. 
Copyright 2020 Ordinary Elephant, All rights reserved.


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list

Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp