Look I play music in front of people nearly every weekend of the year but for the most part it's an ignore-athon. I am wall paper, brought in by very, very nice establishments to color the room with gentle sound. People aren't buying tickets to see me they are coming to the venue so the venue relies on me to give the right level of music where their guests can still chat to one another yet still daydream off to a tune if they need to.
I LOVE being wallpaper. I can sit for 3 solid hours and play music and never bother anyone with it, and that is my special sauce.
So when the Barnside gig was on my to-do list I was nervous and excited right from the start because I knew this would be different than being background music, I had played at enough of these festivals on the big stages to know that on this day, even in a small tent I wasn't there as wallpaper, I couldn't disappear because if anyone showed up, they were there to see me so I had to step up, I wasn't able to just slide in and make up a song list like I normally would. I only had half an hour of play time and I didn't want to waste a second of it. I played a few covers, a pickleball tune and some of an original!
It was as exciting as I'd hoped it would be and so was the rest of the weekend which I documented over on my facebook!
Well done to the entire cast and crew of the Barnside Harvest Festival. Do go there to get the full goods!
Thanks to all the wonderful pals who showed up and partied with us!
It's been a pretty stellar summer and I've lucked out with only one bad weather cancellation all season!
This is one of the last summertime picnic gigs at the winery and the tunnel is so lovely, I asked the customers to send me clips which they thankfully did!
I walked up
in my shorts, looking good
for the
pickleball courts.
I said: "Hey,
can I play?" Just one look
and they turned
me away.
They said:
"All you do is slam it.
Go find another group".
So I called my friend Lee:
Tell me what should I do?
She said: "Don’t use all of your power,
loose the grip of your hand,
practice your drills for hours,
so you got skills on demand.
Don’t just go out there banging
you need some kind of plan
but you will play pickleball
better than they can!
Play it better I can play it better babe! "
Straight Down the Line (Sung to Sweet Caroline Neil Diamond)
It’s the end of the day
I’d like play one more game now
Really I should be moving on
Im working my shots
My drive you won't see it coming
Ive been pickleballing since the dawn
Fast...it's coming fast. I reach out, and drive the ball right back to youuuuu!
Straight down the line.... ba ba ba! Can't believe it hit so good..... so good so good so good.
It felt so divine........ ba ba ba! to see it land right where it should and now I......
I wait for the serve
I try to be calm not rattled
Bending my knees and playing strong
We get to the net
I brace myself for the battle
Everyone’s watiing for
the ball
Fast...it's coming fast. I reach out, and drive the ball right back to youuuuu!
Straight down the line.... ba ba ba! Can't believe it hit so good..... so good so good so good.
It felt so divine........ ba ba ba! to see it land right where it should and now I......
I look at the court, adjust how I hold my paddle and wait for a ball that looks divine.
I split step my feet, and look a bit over my shoulder patiently waiting for a sign.
Fast...it's coming fast. I reach out, and drive the ball right back to youuuuu!
Straight down the line.... ba ba ba! Can't believe it hit so good..... so good so good so good.
It felt so divine........ ba ba ba! to see it land right where it should and now I......
The FUN zone (sung to the tune of the Love Boat)
Lobs, exciting and new
Go on lob.
float it right into…..
The Fun Zone
please set me up without any run
The Fun Zone
lets me aim cannons at anyone
lob it straight to my paddle,
my sharp shootin pickleball gun!
Pickleballin (sung to Surfin Safari
by the Beach Boys)
Let's grab a paddle now
everybody's learning how
come on pickleballin with me
come on pickleballin with me.
Early in the morning
we'll be starting out
everybody's coming along.
We're loading up the rack
get your paddles in
find the court
where you belong.
dink and drop and dive and volley, dink and drop and drive and volley
Come on baby wait and see
you're going to love
pickleballin with me.
dink and drop and dive and volley, dink and drop and drive and volley
Come on baby wait and see you're going to love pickleballin with me.
Let's grab a paddle now
everybody's learning how
come on pickleballin with me
come on pickleballin with me.
Pickleball AGAIN (sung to Margaritaville by Jimmy Buffett)
I twisted my ankle it turned into a cankle so I couldn’t go to the pickleball courts
I tell you I'm itchin to get to the kitchen cause working this kitchen it isn’t a chore
I just can’t wait to go and pickleball again
Anyone can be good if they give it their all
Just one play and you'll know why we love the game
cause its more than just pickleball.
Now don’t be downhearted, once our game has started we could be friends but right now we’re at war
So lets get the scores right, and watch for the gunfights Keep playing again till there’s laughter galore
I just can’t wait to go and pickleball again
Anyone can be good if they give it their all
Just one play and you'll know why we love the game
cause its more than just pickleball.
Pickleball’s growing, friends are now flowing , you see this game is much more than a sport With dinking and driving seems the whole world is thriving Its common to hear can we all play one more?
Serve it up Serve it up Serve it up
I just can’t wait to go and pickleball again
Anyone can be good if they give it their all
Just one play and you'll know why we love the game
cause its more than just pickleball.
parody lyrics written by Rachael Chatoor inspired by the original songs noted ~ not for commercial use, for fun and sing alongs only, intended to bring tunes to the after game kitchen party.
I'm still a musician and so like everyone else who has to work I must still go sing and strum to pay for my pickleball addiction. So I wanted to circle back to music here on my diary blog now that I have moved my pickleball artwear blog world to it's own home at Pickleball ARTwear.com Pickleball ARTwear.com
I'll keep some of these old pickleball posts up- for historical sake and there are even more that I unpublished but are still in the Google cache. And do scroll past them if you are looking for music history.
I've been on an art binge lately so new music hasn't been flowing as much. With a backlog of things on my creative to do list music gets a back seat sadly.
The good thing about my job is that it forces me to keep my chops going whether I practiced a lot or not, three hours of work means 2 hours and 45 minutes of playing. ( yes I've started taking 15 minute breaks at venues, and anywhere I have to play for more than 3 hours I use their allotted break schedule).
I have some new venues to play this year and have been promising to put a schedule up so today I'm doing it.
I've had a pink ribbon for pickleball in my mind since forever but there was so much else to do first. I've added the artwork clip with my song Standing and you can find that on Itunes or my Reverbnation
You can find the design on all sorts of nifty item on my artist portals like this one HERE, Pickleball Artwear by Rachael Chatoor dot com, facebook, or contact me to custom create some team or tournament wear for you!
Years of pickleball art making has resulted in enough images to create this pickleball alphabet art book for all ages! Special thanks to the final inspiration for the book, cover dog Pickles the actual first dog of pickleball! Because the truth is the truth and it's not "FUN" to alter history just so you can sell it, it's something else entirely.
Pickleball Again, a pickleball parody sung to the tune of Margaritaville, by Jimmy Buffett! Sing Along to this one the words are there you know the tune!
A fitting song for the unveiling of my “pickleball margarita” artwork (and pickles the dog sitting in a margarita) both seen in the video alongside the mermaid plus some vacation clips taken while on a Pickleball Getaway (and also some local clips). Thanks to all the friends and PROs who let me take video clips and photos to share randomly as I need them .
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