(Uncle Dave, Grandma Clements, my dad Cranston, late 1960’s)

Let’s talk about Grandma Clements.

Known amongst her children as “Der Maw,” Nelda Clements was a “military brat” of Scottish descent who, as a young woman living on base in Hawaii, survived the attack on Pearl Harbor, met my granddad, and settled down in New Orleans to a life of subversive humor, Dixie beer, anywhere between 5 and 25 cats, and a staunch love of collecting.

Der Maw was the original pack rat and stuffed her house to the gills with treasures she collected from local yard sales and thrift stores. She gave up driving a car shortly after the kids were born and became somewhat of a famous character around town as she would ride the street car to yard sales, always wearing some fantastic get-up that would fit in at any Mardi Gras parade. (Or any normal day in New Orleans.)

(Grandma in one of her favorite outfits. The skirt features an array of owls, which she loved to collect.)

Grandma also loved to create new things out of old junk. She saved hundreds of her Dixie Beer bottle caps to create a stunning wide-brimmed hat dripping with bottle caps for one year’s Mardi Gras costume, which she entitled “Dixie Dawn.” And yes, grandma continued to dress up for and attend Mardi Gras well into her seventies.

Grandma would always pick up treasures for me at yard sales. As I grew older, she showered me with her vintage clothing finds and costume jewelry, much of which I still have today. She was the original spark that instilled my love of items that have been snagged from another time and place and brought back to life with a little t.l.c.

And then there’s my mom…

I am fascinated by my mom. Her parents were renowned anthropologists and my mother grew up traveling the globe, living amongst numerous cultures while my grandparents studied them. Such traveling meant that her education was scattered across the world as well, and due to skipping a grade she ended up a freshman at Harvard at age 16, thrust into the wild, beautiful world of the late 60s.

She was absorbed in music and fashion and spent time studying the latter in Paris, France. As a child, I constantly turned the pages of her college-era photo album, fascinated by the photographs of the Paris beatniks and my mother’s own photos of her forays into the modeling world.

(Gorgeous shot of mom, modeling in Cambridge, MA, 1969)

Thankfully, mom held onto her favorite articles of clothing and kept them in a hallway closet where they still remain. Orange, glittery polyester pants and tops, silky, flowing purple bell bottoms, and a blue and green striped nightgown that could be worn as a mini dress were some of my favorites. As a teen, I would borrow these vintage clothes for school and my first gigs and have always been influenced by her elegant and eclectic style.

I only hope to come close to my lineage’s knack for fashion in my hunting for quirky, outrageous, and beautiful finds. I owe them a debt of gratitude for holding on to special pieces, thinking that there might someday be someone who would appreciate them as much as they did, and for deciding that that “someone” was me.

- Annie

Stage Shot:

Here’s some other awesome things that happened in Norway.

I’ve written in blogs of yore about my friend Jeff Cohen (Songwriter on Sugarland faves “April Showers” and “Take Me As I Am”) who knows everyone in the world, so when he suggested I have dinner with a buddy of his in Norway, I knew enough to go ahead and google the person in advance. Side note: Last time I had dinner with a “friend of Jeff’s” she turned out to be the star of One Tree Hill and I, having no idea who she was, at one point asked her if she was a chef. Lordy.

Anyway, he might as well have sent Brittany Spears to pick us up at the hotel and give us a tour of Oslo. His buddy turned out to be Christian Ingebrigtsen, one of Norway’s premier pop stars and member of the massive European boy band A1. Christian and his cousin Edward took us to an incredible dinner in a lodge at the foot of the famed ski jump Holmenkollbakken overlooking the city. It was an incredible introduction to the sparkling, wintry charm of Oslo.

This is the ski jump. Yeah. Not gonna try that.

Plus I had a dessert called “Arctic Cloud Berries with Krum Kake” which was like raspberry whip cream on an ice cream cone. Yum.

The only bummer was that the dinner special that night was reindeer. Yep. Filet of reindeer. Don’t worry, I didn’t eat it. Not an optimal dish for making Christmas spirits bright. But it was a tremendous evening that I’ll never forget and I’m forever grateful for such a warm welcome on the other side of the earth.

Thank you Christian!

Consequently, on the drive back to the hotel I learned that Christian’s cousin was a silver medalist ski jumper. No one briefs me on anything.

Other things you should know about Olso:

It’s very expensive. Like, a cup of coffee is about $8 American. A specialty drink like a latte will run you about $14. Thad and I had two slices of pizza and a salad at the mall and it cost almost $50 American. It would be pretty hilarious if Sbarro’s tried to charge $50 for a couple of calzones.

They also have stores with interesting “American” names. So instead of a store called, say, “Bjorkyjorgenssen,” (I just made that up and thought it looked Norwegian) they have names like “Feel The Fear and Do It Anyway.” I’m not sure what the implication is with a name like that. Like, take a fashion risk? Or, be aware that this furry vest makes you look like the Abominable Snowman and wear it anyway? Who knows.

Here’s a picture of me outside of Feel The Fear and Do It Anyway.

That’s right folks. I’m pleased to present the official Annie Clements patch. But this isn’t just any patch. It’s a badge of honor. And just like any badge of merit, you can earn one for yourself by completing a few simple tasks. I like to call them “The Magnificent Seven.”

1. Participate in breaking the Guiness Book of World Records record for most people simultaneously dancing the Thriller Dance.

2. Be photographed inside a gigantic inflatable colon

3. Accidentally put your wig on backwards in the dark right before the encore

4. Perform at a Mardi Gras ball where everyone is dressed up like Elvis

5. Decorate the inside of a tour bus for a combination Christmas and birthday party called “Birthmas Bus”

6. Be interviewed by Ronald McDonald for Canadian Television

7. Party on a house-boat with Mr. Bellding

That’s it! Simple enough. Look. I was never officially a girl scout, but I did spend some time in the preliminaries as a Brownie Scout.

Here’s proof:

So I know what it takes to earn badges. It takes guts. It takes breaking and entering. It takes total abject humiliation. And once you complete these seven tasks I’ll be pleased to send you your Annie Clements Badge free of charge. Because you’ve earned it.

But just like anything else in life, if you can’t legitimate earn your stripes, you can buy your way into this exclusive club as I’m offering these patches for sale for the low low price of only 6 bucks a piece!!!

Anyway.

I am constantly ferreting out items from my wardrobe, which, while still lovely and functional, no longer work for me. Clothes from shows-gone-by, items that I bought on impulse but have never worn, jewelry from back in the day, things of that nature. And they all seem to have a good story to go with them. Or at least, an unfortunate photo on facebook that I had to untag.

Exhibit A:

Yep.

This skirt is up for grabs.

Does $15 sound good?

Story behind this garment:

I’m a big fan of personal catch-phrases and have a fair few that I employ on the regular. Ooh, that’s a good one right there! “On the regular.” I’m going to start using that one.

Anyway.

One of my on-the-regular catch-phrases is “Give me a break!” said in a loud, obnoxious voice while making the face seen here in the above photo. This picture was taken during “Stay” at a hot, mid-afternoon outdoor show. It was time for a break. So I gave myself one.

And now you too can take a break in this fine black and grey mini with horizontal button and chain details, size: wouldn’t-you-like-to-know. The first person to email me (clementineindustries@gmail.com) can strut their stuff in this cotton/polyester blend masterpiece!

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - -

So those are the parameters of what I’m hoping will be an on-going blog series where I can tell bits of my story through the garments that carried me there, and pass along those articles to people who can use them in their own story. 10% of the proceeds from each sale will go to my favorite charity – The New Orleans Musicians Clinic. This is the clinic that treats my father and a host of New Orleans’ most valuable musical treasures. I think this will be fun!

-Annie

So many amazing things happened while I was here. Let’s run through the Top 10 highlights shall we?

1. Two back-to-back sold out Sugarland shows at the Greek Theater. Sick.

2. Had my first-ever acupuncture treatment. In the basement of the Greek theater. Not sure how many people have acupuncture treatments to the sounds of someone pounding on a kick drum repeatedly somewhere above your head, but I don’t think it had an adverse effect on the treatment.

3. Met frackin’ Katee Sackhoff – star of one of my fave shows of all time “Battlestar Gallactica.” Totally freaked. Turns out she’s a huge Sugarland fan. In a lot of ways my life is a collision of country music and sci-fi fantasy. Kinda like the movie “Cowboys and Aliens.” Something like that.

4. On Tuesday, 7/26/11, began being followed by Katee Sackhoff on twitter. Discovered this fact in the back of the runner van on the way to Sara Bareilis’ after-party. Began flapping and screeching in the back of the van, went completely nuts. Ms. Sackhoff tweeted this pic of us. O . M. G.

5. Took the stage Monday night and within minutes, spotted my sister in the audience, in a crowd of thousands. She told me she was shouting at the top of her lungs and waving, and the people in front of her had just turned around to tell her to cut it out – that I couldn’t hear or see her – when I spotted her and started waving frantically from the stage. Pretty cool. Miss you Wendy.

6. NFL Lockout was resolved. Fantasy Football is back on. League of Lovely Ladies, here I come. This year, we’re playing for cash.

7. The Sorted Noise crew came in to do a showcase on Thursday at Hotel Cafe’. Had a total blast backing up the phenomenal Holly Winter. The CO closed the night and killed it. Thank you Kathie Gunn for coming out as usual. You are beyond sweet.

8. On Wednesday I was a vegan. It’s much easier to do this in LA than in Nashville.

9. Hung out with Laura Bell Bundy at the Sorted Noise showcase. Reminisced about the ACM Fan Jam, including the impromptu dance-off to “Let’s get it on” while we stalled for time for Miranda and Blake’s late arrival. Hilarious.

10. Met a mermaid at a party. For real. She was a hired “water-performer” at this ad agency party the Sorted Noise crew attended. And you best believe I asked her to sing “Part of Your World” from Little Mermaid with me. Good thing Josh got the whole thing on video…

Thanks LA. See you next time…

I must tell you, I was absolutely terrified.

Being a quintessential sideman, I am not accustomed to fronting a band and Berklee is a TOUGH crowd. Thankfully, everyone present seemed to appreciate the music, which was predominantly original material by myself and my father, along with some New Orleans favorites, and most exciting, a cover of Tower Of Power’s “Don’t Change Horses in the Middle of a Stream” on which we were joined by the Tower of Power ensemble horn section – including my old professor Wayne Naus who came out of retirement to join us. A true honor.

Here’s a picture from my days in Tower of Power, circa 2001 – In this one, the photographer graciously photo-shopped out half of my stomach. Nice.

Even more terrifying was the “clinic” I gave earlier in the day, where I spoke about my journey from Berklee to Sugarland and everything in between, offering my best advice on how to take advantage of everything Berklee has to offer, how to survive and thrive on the road, and how to add value to your career in addition to just playing your instrument. Again, everything seemed to go smoothly and the small but mighty crowd clapped enthusiastically in response to the videos I showed, a few of which I drew myself, using stick figures. I am a terrible artist. Look at this…

Here’s a picture from one of my slide shows,  answering the question I get most often – “How did you get your gig?” – depicting bassist David LaBruyere on the phone with Kristian Bush, recommending me to audition for Sugarland. My rendering of Kristian’s cowboy hat is particularly abysmal.

During the talk, I gave pointers on how to reach out to people via social media, including warnings against “vague-booking” and suggestions for interesting conversation starters, reminding people that sending a message to someone you want to engage with or impress that simply says “Hey. How’s it going?” doesn’t get very far with most folks. You know how it’s going. It’s right there on their facebook page.

I mention this only to share the highlight of the talk, which was the Q&A portion at the end. Both my mother and father were present (although I insisted they sit in the back of the room) and it wasn’t long before they both started asking me questions. I was standing at the podium, exasperated, as mom raised her hand yet again.

One of the best things about Berklee is the massive international community. Kids from all over the world end up here to study music. My brothers told me they’d befriended a girl from Sweden named Billy. I found Billy, literally lying on the sidewalk on her back, at the entrance to their dorm, wearing a mini skirt and ripped-up stockings. She sat up to shake my hand.

The backstory here is that I had of course sent 6 massive boxes to the school of items I knew my brothers would need for the dorms. I blew it out on amazon – silverware, plastic cups and plates, a fan, a lamp, dry goods, toiletries, extra pillows and sheets, hangers, the works. I went a little nuts. I also sent them my new favorite item which I recommend to everyone to purchase, The Bobble.

Back to Billy on the sidewalk. She lays back down after the initial introduction. I reach into my purse and pull out my own Bobble and take a refreshing swig. I begin to hear a faint chuckle from the ground, building into a massive full-on laugh attack. Through the cackling I make out these words…

(In a heavy Swedish accent)

“Yoooooooou have eet toooooooo!!! Their seeeester has eet tooooo!!! Baaaybee Bottle!!! Hahahahaahahahaha!!!!

I wanted to kick her right there on the ground. But mostly because I felt old and nerdy, which isn’t Billy’s fault.

So I guess I’m officially old and the things that I think are nifty are completely uncool to 17 year-olds. Ouch.

All in all, it was great to be back and to see my brothers blossoming at Berklee. I really can’t take it, I’m bursting with pride. I wanted to move into their dorm room and stay for the rest of the program. But you gotta let ‘em fly at some point. Thank you Austin, Tyler, Gina, Kit, and dear old dad for joining me onstage and making my return to Berklee such a wonderful experience. Trying not to cry here people.

Love,

Annie

Here’s a great video of them being interviewed on the news over yesterday! Ahh! They gave me such a sweet shout out, but they deserve full credit for this monumental achievement!

Watch it here!

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My dad purposefully hid ELO from me.

Dad and I agree on a lot of stuff (like that The Beatles are the best band EVER, and that we both can’t stand Steely Dan – something we finally admitted to each other my first summer home from college; I know, I know, every musician is supposed to love Steely Dan. Sorry.) Anyway, there were some disappointments along the way, like when I got REALLY into Queen in 7th grade and dad begrudgingly gave me the epic Live at Wembley (on VHS!) for Christmas. He was literally shaking his head and clucking his tongue as I squealed with delight upon opening the gift.

But this latest revelation is shocking. I should’ve known, but I’m still reeling. He will be most disappointed to learn that my life now revolves around what sorts of tasks I can do while listening to one side of my ELO Greatest Hits record. Because I listen and flip all day long, I know precisely what I can get done before having to get up and flip it over again.

While listening to one side of my ELO Greatest Hits record, I can:

…make a Banana Breeze Pie. And you should too. Here’s the recipe.

No-Cook Filling:
1 package (8-oz.) cream cheese, softened
1 can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)
1/3 cup pure lemon juice (measure accurately)
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 medium size ripe bananas
2 tbsp. lemon juice
pre-made graham cracker crust

Beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add the condensed milk. Blend thoroughly. Add 1/3 cup lemon juice and vanilla; stir until thickened. Slice 3 bananas; line crust with banana slices. Turn filling into crust. Refrigerate 2 to 3 hours, or til firm. (Do not freeze!).

Cut fourth banana into thin slices; dip in remaining lemon juice. Garnish top of pie with sliced bananas.

Serves 8

*Note* – I did not have enough time to lick the entire bowl clean, but I did get the pie in the fridge before I had to turn the record over.

Check out this awesome pie!

While listening to the other side of my ELO Greatest Hits record I can:

…refinish the antique table we found in the attic.

So we found this awesome table in the attic at Sorted Noise studio which had been left there by the previous owners. I came THIS CLOSE to spray painting the thing hot pink. Instead I took it down to the epic garage sale I had this winter and started to reconsider a pink paint job when it got so much interest from all of the creepy dealer-types who showed up an hour before we were scheduled to open. One guy, after offering me $40, finally admitted that it was a Victorian-era parlor table from the mid-to-late 1800’s and if we could find the marble top it would be worth anywhere from $600-$1,000. Oops.

Turns out one side of an ELO Greatest Hits record was all the time I needed to give the table new life with some Murphy’s Oil and to secure the new top we had cut for it with some silicon glue.

Lovely!

In this digital era, perhaps few will understand the simple joy of flipping a record, admiring the cover and pondering the Great Questions of history like, “Why did everyone look so old in the 70’s? Were musicians just older back then? The dudes in ELO look like medieval monks. What gives? And what’s up with that guy rocking the Britney Spears ‘hit me baby’ T-shirt knot?”

These are life’s greatest mysteries. Now go check your attic for treasure, eat some pie, and start blasting some ELO people!

Love,

Annie

It was quite a whirlwind, I must say. It blows my mind to think that I’ve done the ACM’s enough times that I actually have traditions and routines that I stick to, but suffice it to say those were out the window this year as we kicked off what will hopefully become a new tradition in Vegas; The Fan Jam.

The Sugarland band (or Sugarband) became the backing band for several artists who performed at the Jam at Mandalay Bay immediately following the awards. We rehearsed all day for 3 days. Which meant I didn’t go outside for 3 days. Literally. I never left the casino. I’m still in a bit of a fog so I’ll just list the top 10 highlights…

1. I got to play ‘Little White Church” with Little Big Town. Heck yeah.

2. I also got to play “Giddy On Up” with Laura Bell Bundy (who hosted) AND got to do the sassy call-and-response parts on the bridge. Love it.

3. I fell in love with the Band Perry, who closed the Jam. We started calling everything related to the Band Perry “The ____ Perry.” For instance, their drum set became “The Drums Perry” and their parents are “The Parents Perry.”

4. I learned the term “Hangry” – a combination of hungry and angry. A super helpful term for me since I’m always hangry in the morning.

5. I was informed by Scott and Thad that Rihanna is tall and smells good.

6. During dress rehearsal, Blake and Reba had to walk around me to get off stage after introducing “Tonight.” Blake shouted at me “Get out of my way!” as a joke, which was extremely hilarious and unexpected.

7. Head’s up, dinner and drinks costs an average of $42/person at the Mandalay Bay.

8. This is more of a lowlight than a highlight, but halfway through the fan jam, 2 drunk women fell FROM THE UPPER BALCONY to the balcony below and were so drunk that they stood up and walked away unscathed. Wow.

9. When we left the fan jam, we came out from backstage and accidentally walked directly into the throngs of people leaving the theater. I panicked and grabbed Scott (since he’s the most recognizable with that hair and all) and tried to hightail it before being spotted but this only drew more attention to myself, plus I ran the wrong way. Awesome. The best part is that no one tried to ask us for autographs anyway.

10. The second best part is that we ended up riding in the elevator with people who had just seen the show but had to get out right as they started talking about whether they liked it or not. Guess they didn’t recognize us…

I had a great time at any rate! Hopefully this whole crazy thang will happen again real soon!

-Annie

Shot from “Tonight.” That’s me on the right.

Thad, Scott and RiRi – standing tall and smelling sweet!