Kickstarter

Hello, Kickstarters!

Just a quick note to let you know that all of our birthday greetings have now been sent to their rightful owners, and also that we're officially in production on the highlights reel.  We're still working around the filmmaker's schedule, so we appreciate your patience as that process continues.

In the meantime, we're considering venues for our Nashville VIP concert for late April/early May.  More details to come shortly.

Thanks again for a marvelous start to 2011!

Chris & Katy

Hey, Kickstarters - we just got back from New York and figured that you all should be the first to hear the details of our trip!

The Donohue and Hutson families arrived in Manhattan Thursday afternoon with only hotel check-in and a hearty dinner on the agenda. We were accompanied by filmmaker Seamus Frawley and his wife Lindsay Lawler, who were kind enough to donate their time and talents to document the weekend on film and assist with various other logistical tasks. Baby Story was unfazed by the air travel and stayed comfortably nestled against her parents the entire trip (which is hardly surprising - Katy and Kenny are well acquainted with a musician's life on the road.)

We rehearsed Friday in the A Room of Michiko, a studio in midtown designed specifically with the needs of jazz musicians in mind. There we met our old friend Tanner Jacobsen (drummer on the CTRR debut album) as well as a new friend, the exceptionally talented pianist/educator Asen Doykin. Asen came highly recommended to us by a mutual friend, and from the first notes of his lush and playful interpretations of the CTRR repetoire we immediately settled into an afternoon of jamming with wide smiles on our faces.

Saturday morning brought a 9am call at the David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center. The staff and technical crew of the Atrium could not have been more helpful, anticipating all of our needs before we even said a word. They made us feel so welcomed and special that we knew great things were to come a short while later.

In our experience, parents and caregivers understandably prefer to have as little down-time as possible with their kids before the start of a childrens' event, and so tend to turn up only a few minutes prior to the start time. We were thrilled, then, to see the Atrium filling up with little New Yorkers ready to swing a full half-hour before downbeat! This continued until shortly after the concert began, when the Atrium staff was forced to close the doors and admit more people only as space became available.

Having such a wonderfully active and engaged capacity crowd to play for (and with), we had so much fun during the show that for a moment we were concerned that we'd go over our time without getting through our entire set. As it happened, we finished with enough time to lead the crowd in a rendition of "Happy Birthday" for Tanner, answer a question or two, and finally send Katy into the front rows for a round of greetings as Asen, Tanner, and myself dove into a few instrumental choruses of "Straight, No Chaser" (which seemed entirely appropriate considering that Thelonious Monk was raised only two blocks away). After the concert, family members and dear friends joined us for brunch around the corner at PJ Clarke's to reconnect and celebrate.

When our return flight from LGA had to be re-routed yesterday at the very last minute, Team Coal Train's quick reflexes and some very helpful USAir gate agents ensured that we arrived safely back in Nashville last night. The now-seasoned traveler Story Jane again took the whole journey in stride, eating and sleeping comfortably for most of the trip.

We are deeply grateful to Tom Dunn, Hillary Plate, Jordana Phokompe, Brant Murray, Marian Skokan, and the rest of the staff of the David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center for their enthusiasm, kindness, and professionalism. We're also greatly indebted to all of CTRR's fans, friends, and to all of you Kickstarters for your ongoing support as we share our love of jazz with kids around the world. We could not have asked for a New York debut with more style, excitement, and laughter!

Premiums will begin shipping this week, and we'll keep you apprised as to the completion of the short documentary film about Coal Train's journey to Lincoln Center (at which you'll have the first look!) Thank you again, one and all.

Chris&Katy

Hey there, everyone! Just wanted to let you know that the entire CTRR team (including baby Story) arrived safely in NY yesterday, had a fantastic rehearsal today with Tanner and Asen (drums and piano, respectively), and are raring to jump into full swing mode tomorrow morning at Lincoln Center.

Be sure to check our Facebook, and Twitter pages for the most timely reports and images, and our website this coming week for a full accounting of the weekend's events.

This has been an incredible weekend and a career highlight that we'll remember always. Thank you again for all you've done for us and our music.

Chris&Katy

A quick amendment to project update #5:

Please note that in lieu of emailing your child's name to our "Info" address, we'll be sending out a Kickstarter survey shortly that will allow those of you due personalized musical birthday greetings to send us the name of your child (as well as any notes regarding pronunciation). This Kickstarter feature is actually a more efficient way of collecting all of our premium data than using direct email.

Thank you again and sorry for any confusion! C&K