Amber Norgaard

Support POSSIBILITY!!

As an independent artist, YOU are my record label. THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone who has sponsored songs and pre-ordered. AND THANKS TO ALL OF YOU who follow my music, come to shows, and invest in my recordings. Because of you, I continue to create music and share it within the world. From the depths of my soul, I am infinitely grateful.

Possibility has been a huge communal effort. I am deeply grateful to work with producer Steven Lee Tracy at Saint Cecilia Studios. Many phenomenal musicians contributed their time and creativity to make the songs much bigger than I ever imagined.

The album will be officially released August 28, 2015. Pre-orders will be shipped out in early August.

Thank YOU for being part of my music.

We're in the last week of studio work. If you'd like to support this creation, here's a special "support the new album" deal through Friday, July 17th:

$50 - ONE SIGNED POSSIBILITY CD + SPECIAL THANK YOU IN THE CD LINER NOTES

ALSO THROUGH FRIDAY, JUNE 17TH, THERE ARE STILL SONGS AVAILABLE TO SPONSOR (see below).

If you're more comfortable paying in check or cash, call 520-444-7831 or email fireweedmusic@earthlink.net, and we can arrange that!

POSSIBILITY will be officially released August 26, 2015. Pre-orders will be shipped in early August.

SPONSOR A SONG!! - SUBMISSION CLOSED - THANK YOU, EVERYONE!

Be part of bringing a song into the world. For each person or group that sponsors a song on the new album, you will get your name(s) in the liner notes, hand written lyrics of your song, one Possibility CD for every one hundred dollars spent, AND a digital MP3 of the song e-mailed to you on or before July 29, 2015.

--- Only one sponsorship opportunity available per song ---

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---- SPONSORED!! Thank you, Redflower & Zelda!!! ---- "Made of Light"
This is the final track on the album. An intimate, solo acoustic guitar/vocal performance. I want listeners to feel like I'm sitting next to them, singing a lullaby to their soul.

---- SPONSORED!! Thank you!!! ---- "Let My Soul In"
This might be the "prettiest" song on the album. Extremely intimate piano/vocal performance with beautiful cello, violin, viola and acoustic guitar woven throughout. Healing.

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$400 - "Wide Open"
A dark night of the soul mixed with a hint of morning light. Joe Ferguson's acoustic fingerpicking laced with Doug "Hurricane" Floyd's mesmerizing electric guitar licks, layered with piano, strings, bass, drums, vocals. A journey of depth and resurrection.

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---- SPONSORED!! Thank you, Diann & Mersadies ---- "Follow the Light"
Showing up amidst the ever-changing, unexpected journeys of life. "I surrender to this Life, to the dark I do not hide, I walk strong in stride, I live from inside...I follow the light."

$500 - "Alchemy"
My Midwestern roots. Planting seeds and growing love. Blue collar rock 'n roll. Doug "Hurricane" Floyd diggin' into the guitar, Jay Trapp (bass) and Ralph Gilmore (drums) layin' down a solid toe-tappin' groove, Steven Lee Tracy on organ and Ms. Sabra Faulk on harmony vocals. I'm in heaven playin' acoustic guitar and singin' my heart out.

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---- SPONSORED!! Thank you, Melinda, Ryan and Zeus!!! ---- "Morning Has Broken"
Based on lyrics written by Eleanor Farjeon...a whole new song. I'm SO EXCITED about this one! We've got a John Lennon-esque instrumental vibe that builds into a soulful groove, with a full choir finale singing, clapping and stomping. Definitely a celebration of the new day!

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---- SPONSORED!! Thank you, Quail Creek Friends - Glenn & Mary, Pam & Carlo, Jim & Jane, and Bob & Connie!!! ---- "Possibility"
The album theme song. Nick Coventry's swooping violin and viola sound like hummingbirds singing to Michael G. Ronstadt's soothing cello. A big blues break-down in the middle with the choir echoing, "Hold my hand, help me understand, how to heal, heal this land. Walk with me through our country-side, walk with me in our city, walk with me down to our precious sea...let us set the Garden free."

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---- SPONSORED!! Thank you, Sharon Irene!!! ---- "Back to the Sea"
Eight years of writing and rewriting this one. Life. Relationship. A sonic journey through waterfalls and rivers "winding...all the way...back to the sea."

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PRE-ORDERS (through 7/31/2015):

You can order online through the PayPal buttons below; or send a check or money order to Fireweed Music Productions, P.O. Box 32455, Tucson, AZ 85751-2455. Please contact me at 520-444-7831 or fireweedmusic@earthlink.net with any questions.

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$20 - ONE (1) SIGNED POSSIBILITY CD
Shipped to you as soon as I get it into my hands (early August).

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$60 - FOUR (4) POSSIBILITY CDs
Shipped to you as soon as I get it into my hands (early August).

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$100 - EIGHT (8) POSSIBILITY CDs
Shipped to you as soon as I get it into my hands (early August).

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EXTRA'S & HOUSE CONCERTS:

$50 - ONE (1) SIGNED POSSIBILITY CD + ONE (1) HANDWRITTEN LYRIC SHEET
Choose any one of my songs, and I will write out the lyrics on special paper. Make sure you specify in the little box below which song you want me to write out. It can be any of my songs. Shipped early August.
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$500 - 5 SIGNED POSSIBILITY CDs + SOLO HOUSE CONCERT IN SOUTHERN AZ
I will come to your house and perform for two hours. You are welcome to help me make the set list. Please call or email me to arrange time and date during late summer, fall or early winter. Tel: 520-444-7831 / E-mail: fireweedmusic@earthlink.net.
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$1000 - 10 SIGNED POSSIBILITY CDs + SOLO HOUSE CONCERT
I will come to your house and perform for two hours. You are welcome to help me make the set list. Please call or email me to arrange a date that works into my 2015-2016 tour schedule, otherwise you can help me with travel and accommodation expenses. Tel: 520-444-7831 / E-mail: fireweedmusic@earthlink.net.
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"Now I sing a song to you

Now I sing a song to me

Of release, of our release

All the stones are rolled away

And we rise to a beautiful day of possibility..."

THANK YOU FOR BEING PART OF MY MAKING MUSIC IN THIS WORLD.

Soldier Song

Years ago, I wrote "Soldier Song" in honor of my loved ones coming home from war. This "war" continues today. Since it is Veterans Day, I wanted to share this song.

In gratitude for your bravery and service...and in love and light for the healing of humanity.

Amber

SOLDIER SONG

Lay your weary head down

Upon my chest

Can you hear my heart beat

I can feel your heart bleed

As I hold all the pieces

Of your war torn Soul

As I sift through the pieces

Of my soldier come home

My soldier come home

My soldier come…

Oh…my love, it’s been a long year

It’s been a long year

Now you are here

You are here

With me…

Lay your guns in the light

It will cleanse them of the fight

As I walk by your side

Through the demons of the night

Your body quaking

Memories awaking

As I hold all the pieces

Of my soldier come home

My soldier come home

My soldier come home
My soldier come home
My soldier come…

Oh…my love, it’s been a long year

It’s been a long year

Now you are here

You are here with me

My soldier come home
My soldier come home
My, my, my, my soldier come home
My soldier come home
My soldier come home

Dust and Water

I watch a little one’s fascination with soft skin.

“Old and baggy," the jaded call it.

But to the innocent’s eyes,

it's soft and magic.

I remember staring at my grandmother’s hands, feeling her blue veins and soft skin.

I thought she was beautiful.

Now, as I close in on the age that she was then, I find myself staring at my own “softening” skin, loosening around the edges that I use most.

My mind momentarily has thoughts of dread and judgment of "better days."

But to a child, no such thing.

This dust and water that covers us...

To an open mind, it remains as beautiful as a snowflake,

holding the entire miracle of life in its mere being.

Birth of Light

NW Iowa Sunset, December 26, 2013

It's winter in the northern hemisphere. We've passed beyond the "darkest" day of the year. The sun has begun it's slow ascent, reaching a little higher in the sky every day. The ground lays idle...preparing, readying for the coming seasons, many of its inhabitants in hibernation. Stars shine brightly at night. Strings of light outline fences and trees and houses. Candles are aglow in windows. There is an air of mystery, reflection and regathering in the darkness...a sense of birth and possibility in the specks of light glimmering around us.

It is time to ready for the coming of another journey around the sun.

No matter the past, we can make change now. Welcome, 2014.

The Gift of Surrender

"They knew"

Image courtesy of De Leon Moving Pictures.

Amber pictured with Deuce at Equine Voices Rescue & Sanctuary.

"To the ego mind, surrender means giving up.

To the spiritual mind, surrender means giving in and receiving."

~ Marianne Williamson, from her book The Law of Divine Compensation

On Sunday, June 30th, 2013, I received a gift.

I had done everything I could to avoid doing the Raise Me Up video shoot that day. We had the hottest month of June on record in southern Arizona. And that specific weekend was projected to be the hottest weekend of the entire summer. I had no idea how I was going to pull off a weekend of sleep deprivation, four back-to-back gigs, 50+ miles of travel in between them, 100 more miles for the Sunday morning gig, a visit to my stylist and then another 50 mile trek to Equine Voices Rescue & Sanctuary for a Sunday afternoon video shoot.

It's a good thing my woe-is-me mind is not in charge.

I had called director Marcus De Leon several nights before, more or less begging him to reschedule the shoot until September. I had it all figured out...it'd be cooler, less stressful and the monsoons would add a beautiful backdrop. When he explained to me that he had an entire cast and crew with heavy equipment lined up and that rescheduling was not an option, I realized that my only option left was...

Well...to surrender...

And pray that I would maintain grace and music-video-composure amidst the sweltering heat of the desert.

I arrived on scene that afternoon relieved and grateful. Everything had gone smoothly, I was still awake, no travel issues, weekend gigs / hair / make-up schedule successfully accomplished, and I had remembered my boots.

Soon after arrival, clouds to the west began to build and grow dark and looming among the Santa Rita Mountains.

I kept thinking, "This is strange...monsoon season hasn't started yet, and only a 'hottest weekend of the summer' was in the forecast."

Then the wind picked up, the temperature dropped, and a very recognizable scent of moist creosote wafted our way. Sheets of rain engulfed the mountains. Lightening came, thunder followed.

Everyone commented about how magnificent our unexpected "free" special effects were...

And that we better expedite the shoot.

So we grabbed one camera and rushed over to the open space where the horses roam in the sanctuary.

As I began to sing, two horses gathered around me. They were two of the original foals that were rescued when the sanctuary was started. They had been offspring of mares who were used in the Premarin industry and were headed to slaughter when the sanctuary intervened to rescue them.

They stared at me intently. I felt like they saw into my soul and that we had some kind of agreement...to be right here, right now, making this song and video together...to share this deep sense of compassion, peace and healing with the world.

The connection didn't end.

As I let the last chord and word ring out, one of the horses put his head towards mine. We both leaned in and rested our foreheads upon each other...for what appeared as only a moment on the outside, but from within, it felt like eternity.

I could hear Marcus repeating, "Don't cut, don't cut, keep it rolling."

When we finally did "cut," the staff and crew said, "It's like they knew..." and almost as if in agreement, a big gust of wind blew through casting dust and rain upon us.

The encore of the season's first monsoon had arrived - despite the forecast, despite my worry. And in its grandiose production, all that was required of me was to show up and play my role.

Indeed, these four-legged sentient beings, my brothers, with whom I walk upon the earth, did know.

"Sharing soul"

Image courtesy of De Leon Moving Pictures

taken at Equine Voices Rescue & Sanctuary.

That day, they taught me the gift of surrender. All I have to do is be present, and a power much greater than me takes care of the details.

Oh, and one last thing...

I had never sung to horses before, but I highly recommend it if you ever get the opportunity.

Dear Mom...

May 28, 2013

Dear Mom,

Thank you for the birthday pot that you bought me last month! Please tell Dad that I nurtured my inner farm-girl and planted some basil.

I think it likes being by the piano window. I’ve been writing a lot of new songs this Spring, and my basil and roses and all the plant-clan near that window have really flourished.

With that in mind, I've had some thoughts I wanted to share...

Maybe Dad can start piping music out into the corn and bean fields. It seems to work work for my plants. He might have to refrain from playing rock music though. I’ve read some articles that plants flourish better with softer, more classical types of music. My plants have done well with piano, acoustic guitar and singing. I think his crops might like the guitar playing that he does every morning. So...instead of playing in the house by himself, he could go into the fields and play. Besides, playing to the plants and morning sun seems like a better option than being alone in the house - and if it does have a positive impact on crop yields, it’s a win-win situation.

Just an idea I wanted to share.

Since my basil is so robust this year, I might start giving it away at my shows. I mean, it’s high in vitamin K, pretty good in vitamin A, with a little bit of folate, calcium, iron, and magnesium.

I figure…healthy fans = a sustainable music career.

What do you think?

I guess you can’t get the farmer and the nurse out of the musician, can you?

Some things just are the way they are.

Thank you for loving me the way I am :-)

I love you and miss you lots!

The story of this day...

I originally wrote this "reflection" for my newsletter on May 28, 2012. In honor of this day a year later, I would like to share it again...

Today is Memorial Day in the U.S. It is a day symbolized by flags and flowers – honoring the lives lost in war and celebrating hope of life re-emerging. As historian David Blight so eloquently writes, "War kills people and destroys human creation; but as though mocking war's devastation, flowers inevitably bloom through its ruins."

I like to know “the story” behind tradition. Here is what I found out about this day:

Originally this day was called Decoration Day. The first account of this type of celebration was in May 1865 at the close of the Civil War. Over 600,000 soldiers died in the Civil War, and our war-torn country was left trying to heal, reunite and make sense of devastation. In Charleston, South Carolina, a city left in ruins from the war, thousands of freed slaves, black people and white people gathered in a procession. Led by children, the parade marched through what had been a slave-owners’ horse-racing course. During the war, the race course was turned into an outdoor prison camp to hold the Union soldiers fighting for emancipation. The procession ended at the gravesites of the soldiers who had died in the prison camp. The celebration marked a “first” in our history: "a procession of friends and mourners as South Carolina and the United States never saw before" (New York Tribune). It was a coming together of people – to heal, to mourn, to sing, to celebrate life. It was beginning of the ending of slavery and the reunification of our country.

One hundred forty-seven years later, we are still affected by war. I wish peace to all who suffer loss and brokenness related to war. I am grateful for our coming together. As we walk compassionately with each other through grieving and honoring, we become strong and heal. I have faith in the victory of truth and goodness of this world - where there is no more oppression, bondage, walls to love or hindering of spirits.

“We have it in our power to begin the world over.” ~Thomas Paine

I am grateful to all who give of themselves for the betterment of humanity...

Voice Lessons: Getting Out Of My Own Way

This past January, I made a personal commitment to take monthly voice lessons. I came home from a lesson in April, and journaled the following experience:

I can hear it. The anxiety mounts. My brain kicks into full-banter mode, "Ugh! I'm pitchy. It's those high notes. Why can't I match them and be on pitch? I need to make time to practice. After years of doing this, you'd think I'd have it down by now."

It goes on and on. My voice strains harder. I completely lose focus and the pitch gets worse.

My instructor says with conviction, "Open." I snap out of the relentless brain chatter and watch her make a facial gesture of surprise, dropping her mouth down, opening it wide. There it is - her voice crystal clear, like that of an angel. Perfectly on pitch and purely expressive in flow.

Suddenly, my focus returns and I plug back into the energy that we are exchanging. I relax. I open.

And there it is...the pitch! I am one with it! I become the air that vibrates from me into all that is around me. I match her voice. We sing the melody with the piano. The "ahhh" moment happens - the sound dances, vibrating in synch with vocal chords and piano strings. And there is music.

She remarks, "Stop worrying about the pitch. At least you let it out now. That's progress from when I first met you."

Yeah, well, I guess I just need to let it out...step beyond the pre-recorded loop of "past woes and insecurities" rattling my brain hemispheres and settle into the simple, quiet present...and get out of my own way.

When I do this, I get out of our way. And thus, we can move the air together and make music.

Hmmm..maybe if we all plugged into the present moment of energy exchange with one another, the vibration of air would move mountains...or at least perceived obstacles.

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When I shed worry, fear and insecurity, I awaken to the present, the only place where I am free and unlimited in my commune-ication with all that is.

"Two voices raised together call to the hearts of everyone, to let them beat as one. And in that single heartbeat is the unity of love proclaimed and given welcome...for what is Heaven but the union direct and perfect, and without the veil of fear upon it." ~ A Course In Miracles

B E - i n g

B E - i n g . . .

that's what she taught me

in the 162 months that we spent together.

Always IN the moment.
Never holding grudges.
Unconditionally welcoming.

Even in the end...

The last night, I laid on the floor with her. She was very sick, yet calmed by my touch. As a final communication of grace, she lifted her head, laid her warm, furry cheek on mine. She rested there...letting her cheek BE upon mine for what was maybe a minute. Maybe more. Maybe less. It didn't matter. Time had stopped. We were in the moment, the NOW, the only place where I believe we sense eternity.

Simply B E - i n g .

Then putting her nose to mine, breathing in my breath, she laid her head back down on the pillow.

I knew it was time.

She communicated peace. The tension in her body momentarily released, and my heavy heart filled with love and gratitude.

It was time for her to go.

Happy trails, gentle soul.

Fortune Cookies, Luck and Perspective

Adapted from a journal entry on December 30, 2010

I'm delayed in the Denver airport due to weather...not a surprising occurrence in the mile high city during winter.

I stand in line to order a meal at Panda Express. Balancing the computer bag on my shoulder, a guitar case in one hand and the styrofoam container in the other, I make my way to a seat and sit down to eat. The man next to me looks over and asks, “Is your flight delayed?” I reply that it is. He says, “Mine too.”

I smile and suggest, “Well, I guess maybe it’s time for us to take a little break in the Denver airport and eat.”

He turns to me and says, “Yes, I thought I’d take advantage of half-way healthy food...Where are you heading?”

“Tucson,” I replied.

“Wow, that’s where I’m headed too.”

We make small talk, sharing our knowledge about Tucson and eventually chatting about where we come from and what we do now.

As we finish eating, I notice I have two fortune cookies with my meal. I offer him the extra cookie. He accepts and jokes that I am now "responsible" for his "future luck."

We laugh and open our cookies. He asks me what mine says. I read aloud, “You often have more influence on people than you think.” I smile and ask him what his reads.

He looks surprised, glances down and recites “Wednesday is your lucky day.” Then, he hesitantly says, “Well, I guess it’s a day late since yesterday was Wednesday.”

I perk up and suggest, “Or, maybe next Wednesday is your lucky day. And if not that one, then the next one.”

A reflective grin falls across his face. “Oh...you’re an optimist! Well, this is actually quite interesting that I got this fortune. I used to believe that Wednesday was my unlucky day..." His voice trails off for a minute, and then he finishes."It’s the day that I broke my neck in a high school wrestling match.”

His eyes momentarily look far away.

I was sitting on the right side of him. I had noticed that as he talked to me, he would stiffly turn his whole upper body to look at me as we were conversing. Yet, I knew from his history that he was an athletic mountain bike racer. I finally had the full picture.

He looks at me again, but this time, very seriously. “I don’t believe that anymore. Actually, I’m very lucky. I’m lucky to have had the people who were there for me when it happened...I'm lucky that they took care of me the way they did. If they hadn't been there, or if something had changed about what happened...well...I would have been a quadriplegic.”

He went on to tell me about the time between that day that he broke his neck until now. He told me about his kids, his very full life in Arizona and Colorado, his adventures mountain biking, and his dream to live in a sailboat one day and sail up and down the West Coast.

As he spoke, I knew that he was very aware of his good fortune.

A decisive grin spreads across his face. He finishes the conversation in conviction, “I’m going to carry this fortune in my pocket to remind me.”

In hearing his words and feeling his presence, I am moved. I reflect about my "luck." My full life. The beautiful people that surround me. And my warm meal.

My heart fills with gratitude for my good fortune. And I am fully content - delayed in the mile high city airport, on December 30th, 2011, next to a man who shared his story of luck with me.