It's the Kiera Show!!!

Today (last week now) was our ward Christmas Party. Every year they have some sort of musical program following a big dinner in the gym at our church. For the past two years I've played at either this or the Relief Society Christmas Party. Well this year I was excited to be able to play again...you know since I'm self centered and like it when people applaud me. ;) Well I was originally going to play/sing one song...then the activity committee asked if I would be willing to sing Oh Holy Night again as well as the other song I was planning on singing. No problem. Could I also play the guitar accompaniment for Silent Night? and maybe some instrumental background music while they read some scriptures? Sure, sure....then the other boy who was supposed to play some secular songs for the first half of the program dropped out and they were wondering if it would be possible for me to also play Jingle Bells, Let it Snow, and background for a reading of "A Texas Night Before Christmas". Of course I will! I was very excited to be able to play so much...until I started thinking about how this must look to other people. I mean, is there NO ONE else in the ward that can play an instrument? Or "Okay she sings pretty good, but I didn't come here to watch the Kiera Show." Patrick said I was being ridiculous, but I wonder.

So for the program they had me and the guy doing the readings up on stage in armchairs with festive Christmas throws draped around the back. The were going for a country western theme so the guy wore a cowboy hat and I wore my boots and pretended to be country. For the first half they seemed to think it was a good idea (or the guy did and didn't consult the lady in charge) to have some of his grandkids up on stage with us. This was a little nerve wracking from my perspective having a bunch of kids running around next to me and reaching out repeatedly to touch my guitar. One of the little boys got to close and I accidentally hit him up side the head with my guitar. That was fun (read: stressful). ;)

Anyway, here are the two songs I sang for your viewing pleasure. The second song had some technical difficulties with the camera so it's in two parts, missing about ten seconds in between.

Plus my guitar was out of tune...I tuned it in a cold room and then played in a stifling hot room wich totally messes with the strings...half of which are steel and half nylon (as my nylon ones break I'm replacing them with the extra steel strings I have), but the steel and nylon react differently to heat and this messes with the sound... Also you'll notice I tend to smile when I mess up. That's my tell. ;)

Afterwards one of the men in our ward asked me where I was from originally. When I said Utah he was surprised. He said something like; "How could you sing with that twang if you're from Utah?! I thought for sure you were from somewhere down south like Tennessee or something." I smiled and said something brilliant like; "Nope." I didn't think I sung the songs that twangy...though I apparently played it with alot more twang then I intended. Oh well.