Marilyn's Song - A Living Room Session

A song that I wrote to empower my friend Marilyn and any lady that needs some encouragement after going through any kind of abuse:

"You're always only one good decision away from living the life you've always dreamed of" - Kriz Rogers

A Poem To My Granddaughter

The Poem To My Granddaughter is both a poem and a prayer. I wrote it in Swedish first, to dedicate it to her on her Christianing Ceremony at the church in Jättendal, but here I am posting both the original and the poem translated into English:


Den dagen du föddes var himlen så blå,
Träden så vackra - var gren likaså.
Vart litet korn grus gladdes just för din skull:
Må av all denna kärlek din själ alltid va' full.
Amen.

On the day you were born the sky was so blue,
The trees, oh, so gorgeous - each limb of them too.
Each grain of the sand felt pure joy over you:
May of all of this love your soul always be true. 
Amen.



©Kriztina Rogers

On The Chart!

Sometimes I feel the need to pinch myself in the arm.  Especially when I find out that my position on the charts is way up there. Recently I reached the #10 spot on the Reverbnation Americana Chart for Nashville! And I know that you who are reading this are part of my success. Thank you!

I Remember Elvis Presley

The first "taste"of Elvis Presley's music was given to me by my dad.  He gave me a Elvis Presley's Golden Records Volume 3 when I was seven. And I remember where I was when mom and dad told me that Elvis Presley had passed away; we were living in Stocka, in an apartment with the address Bergstigen 17C. Picture here below (from Nordanstigs Bostäder's website, thank you):

Our door was the third one. If you want to see the location on Google, here it is 

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Bergstigen,+820+74+Stocka,+Sweden/@61.89892,17.3449726,3a,75y,356.77h,68.94t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sCH-RHDpwONByjpeNwOColQ!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo2.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DCH-RHDpwONByjpeNwOColQ%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D349.13657%26pitch%3D0!7i13312!8i6656!4m5!3m4!1s0x4664056d491441a9:0x641e66a9cc66713d!8m2!3d61.898816!4d17.3438057

Some of my absolute favorite Elvis' songs are (these videos are from random youtube users):

Two Elvis songs that I have sung multiple times at performances are "Teddy Bear" and "Love Me".

I remember Elvis Presley

Picture from http://www.angelfire.com/stars3/elvisonmymind/death/death.html

The Creation Of Eddy's Song

Where does a song start? In your heart? In the air? in the atmosphere?  I believe it is as unexplainable as trying to hypothesize on what God is all about (although I know that God is Love).  All I know is that it starts with a feeling and a thought.  Before that: all the places, encounters and experiences that lead to those.

Some of the elements of inspiration to"Eddy's Song" were that I was at a time and place where I had a guitar player that just had introduced me to the magic world of Billy Joe Shaver’s work.  The guitar player had also recently welcomed a son into this world whom was given the name Eddie.  My drummer had just had a daughter.  The thoughts of those new lives and the myriad of possibilities of obstacles and positive events the children would see on their way of becoming grown are what triggered my wish for them to have not just one, but many strong and loving hands to help lead and guide them through the can be at times enervating journey. 

Recently I performed a Nashville Showcase at Jeanne's Dinner Theatre here in Nashville and the first song I performed was "Eddy's Song". You can watch it here

You can also download the song from the Kriz Rogers'/Kriztina Ahs & Countryfied's CD "Roads" here

Foot note: the sub title of the song is "Everybody Needs Someone".

A Friend's Debut At The Grand Ole Opry

My friend Lyn messaged me and said she had one extra ticket to the Saturday Night Opry and asked if I wanted to go with her to see our friend Bronson Bush's Opry debut. It did not take any hesitation at all on my behalf before I said yes!  When we met up at the Opry Plaza by the entrance, there was a jazz band playing to welcome everyone and it was very spirit lifting.  I was thinking as I walked and listened - yes, at the same time lol - that Nashville really knows how to go the extra mile to make things more than right when it comes to hospitality.  This was a very special Opry: not only was it Bronson's debut, it was also this season's American Idol Tristan McIntosh's Opry debut, whom Bronson played guitar for.  As if that was not special enough, Steve Wariner celebrated his 20th anniversary as an Opry member the same night. Wow, what a night!

Grand Ole Opry program and ticket from May 14th.

Me and Bronson Bush. Thanks Lyn for taking the picture!

Tristan McIntosh performing at her debut at the Opry. Also debuting is Bronson Bush, who is the guitar player standing to the left in the picture.

A Mother's Day Poem

                                              A mystery so deep

                                              The feelings of a mom

                                              They tear and pull a need to keep

                                              Their children safe and warm.

                                              Their every wish a joy filled heart

                                              Of is and yet to come

                                              Near or there, or far apart

                                              Mom's hug is always home.

A Celebration - One Day Early

What can one do on a gorgeously sunny Saturday before Mother's Day? For starters, cut some vines and small shrubs down along a fence. Then dig a hole in the ground - a rectangular one. Hopefully there will be strawberry plants thriving there eventually. After that, a short drive in the car. I wasn't driving, my husband was, and that is the reason we ended up at Fazoli's, one of my favorite pasta restaurants, because he wanted to surprise me with a one day early Mother's Day dinner. I choose whole grain rotini with creamy basil sauce and broccoli. Don't forget about the breadsticks ... they are the best tasting in the whole wide world! I used to eat four or five with my meals there before I got a little bit older and a little bit wiser, so now I am only having two each time. I think.

Coming back home, I felt a desperate need to paint our mailbox-pole white, so I did. In the dark underneath a street light. Urges like that should not be denied.

Merle Haggard - Respectfully

It is safe to say that there is not one person involved in country music that has not been touched by Merle Haggard and his music, myself included.  The first song that really touched me was "Mama's Hungry Eyes". Somehow at that time in my life when I first heard it, I felt that it was a song about me in a way. A song about not having what you really wish you had, but not saying or expressing it, so no one knows although you can see it in someone's eyes if you are observant.  Today I listened to some of his music on Spotify and created a playlist with some of the songs I like the very best.

Thank you for your music Merle Haggard and rest in peace.


Merle Haggard Playlist on Spotify

Bio Day

What can one do on a Sunday? A lot of things naturally ... I have been updating some of my bios out there in the cyber world. One of them is the Last.fm biography.  If you would like to know more of my story, read it on last.fm

Maybe there is something new in there that you didn't already know? One can never have to much knowledge! :-)

Undo

One all time favorite rule to live by is the Golden Rule. You have heard it: "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you". It sounds simple - and it is, because all it takes is just to think about what you are doing at all times to keep in mind how something you do will affect others. It's all about consequences ... avoiding choices and decisions leading to something that you don't feel like having to deal with further down the road ... when practiced thoughtfully and mindfully for a period of time it will become not a second nature, but it is becoming your nature and who you are.

I have also extended this with a follow up thought: "Undo to others what has been done to you." That works just as easily: if someone has done something to you that you did not like, undo it by not doing it to someone else.

On Friendship Day

Quote-a-palooza

An instant mood picker-upper is reading quotes: it works every time! And that they give you motivation and are thought provoking come as bonuses. Here are some of the favorites I found today:

Work Out To Country Music!

I received a newsletter from Pandora where they had listed some stations with music you can work out to - a country station too! I think that is a great idea!

Pandora Country Music Work Out Station


PS. If you would like to check out my station on Pandora, go here:  Kriz Rogers (Kriztina Ahs) on Pandora

Where Everyone Is Someone

It may sound simple and it may sound general, but everyone is someone in Nashville. What I mean is, that the chance of a VIP person being right next to you wherever you are is extremely big.  There are celebrities living here that have made this city their home because of the small town feel of it and they can walk around pretty much unnoticed if they want to and blend in with the crowd, because the crowd is so used to having someone of high dignity show up every now and then.  There are VIPs that can go unnoticed too, because they work behind the scenes and not in front of a camera or in the spotlight. So, be careful what you say, where you say it and how you say it, because Emmylou Harris' assistant or her road manager can sit right next to you. Not that anyone would have anything else but good things to say about her, but anyway.

"Nashville - the city where everyone is someone, so natural that every somebody is one in the crowd."

All Kinds of Music in Nashville - But Country is My Kind of Music!

Nashville has the nickname Music City. That is because there is not only country music here.  There is an excellent Blues Club, a Symphonic Orchestra, Punk, Southern Rock and Hip Hop and everything in between. So, if you are a country music enthusiast or country artist, it pays off to do your research or ask someone that already has been here for a while BEFORE your visit. Or else you might end up having spent your own (or somebody else's) hard earned money on something like this:

That's Coast 2 Coast Live, a competition held ten times monthly in cities all over the US. It frequently stops by Nashville as well. If you ask me, I'd rather do something else, like singing a Hank Williams, Sr. song on a street corner, because country is my kind of music! :-)


#theimportanceofresearch


PS. If you by chance are a Hip Hop artist or artist in a similar genre, you can sign up for this competition here, but there is an application fee involved as well.