Melanie Safka & Me!

Back in April 2005 I finally got to see Melanie Safka (better known as Melanie) live at Cactus Cafe in downtown Austin, Texas!

Here's how I became a fan (since I wasn't alive to attend the original Woodstock where she made her debut)...

I was in highschool at the time, driving somewhere with my mother when all of a sudden my mom decides to break out in song, "I GOT A BRAND NEW PAIR OF ROLLERSKATES, YOU GOTTA BRAND NEW KEY!"...and since I'm too cool to let my mom sing, I stop her with a diversion "What song is that?"

Then she explains that she always loved that song and it just popped in her head, then she makes an impulsive decision to take a sharp left into a shopping center where there's a local music store...and says "I've gotta get that CD!"

So, with a look of sheer confusion and surprise, I'm like, "okay...I guess...I don't understand what the big deal is...but I guess we're gonna find out shortly."

We walk into the store and low and behold there it is "Melanie's Greatest Hits" on CD. So she buys it and we leave. I'm like "whew, glad we got that all sorted out"...haha!

So she plays the song she was singing "Brand New Key" and I immediately fell in love with the song (I love all music, but in highschool especially loved cutsie songs, they fit my hippy/love everyone personality at the time)...haha!

Result: Mom never got her CD back, I officially ganked it from her collection before it ever had a chance to be hers...woops, sorry mom;)

So all of that happened back in like '96...and 9 years later Melanie shows up in Austin!!! So of course I call my mom to join me, and my good friend Heather (that heard me sing the song a million times throughout those nine years), and we packed up and went to Cactus Cafe to see her play.

She was AMAZING!! She sounds even better live!...she even has a good sense of humor during the show. She even explained how "Brand New Key" came to be. She originally wrote it with a cajun tone in mind (rough/raspy), but then the record label asked her to speed it up a bit, and that's when it became all cutsie - which she didn't like...isn't that funny...I love how it's cutsie!

Her son is also into music and has his own gig, but he was also her sidekick during the show. I kept getting chills throughout the entire show. Man, I loved every minute of it!

After the show of course I had her autograph my "Melanie Greatest Hits" CD cover, and a picture for a co-worker of mine that was also a fan. There's a small slideshow above with pictures from our autographing moments.

Here's to you Melanie - Please come back to Austin!!!

(signed) One of your biggest fans! The Tamster!

P.S. Just for the fun of it, I purchased an LP record 2 weeks ago - the "Gather Me" album and plan to get it autographed one day (if she'll come back) - her picture on the cover is beautiful! I think I was born in the wrong generation - frickin' luv the hippy look;)

P.S.#2 - I also got my little sister Kayla (12 years younger) addicted to the Greatest Hits CD, she's play it at night until she fell asleep - aww!