Damn! I should have kept my eye on the potato. Things never turn out like I expect them to. Sometimes things turn out better than I'd imagined...sometimes they turn out worse...but they never, EVER turn out exactly how I'd imagined them to be. For example, in my wildest dreams, I would never have suspected the lowly potato to be my biggest competion as a musician. But it is true. A few days ago I posted a video for a song of mine called "Sugar On The Floor" on my facebook page. Now the video is nothing to write home about, and it wasn't the first time I'd posted it, but the song itself is something that took a lot of time and energy to think about, write and record. I also had help from a few other people who poured their precious musical energy into the making of that little 3 minutes of sonic joy. At the same time, I posted a funny little picture of a heart-shaped potato that had just happened to fall out of the sack in my kitchen cupboard. This is where I made my big mistake. The next morning I noticed that the potato had received much more attention than the song. Don't get me wrong, I love my potato, but it slightly depressed me that my potato garnered more observation and commentary than my song. I mentioned my slight agitation with this fact to my husband Dan. He looked at me and calmly gave me the perfect reply.."Well, Kelley, you've just got to find a way to beat the potato". Beat the potato. Not the reply I was expecting. Beat the freaking potato. He was right! Never in my wildest dreams as a 12 year old, guitar slinging, tom-boy girl did I expect to run up against such a powerful stumbling block in my musical expression. I was positive that it would be because there are many, MANY more talented and hard-working musicians out there that can play and write circles around me, and THEY would deserve to be heard more than me. Forget my 12 year old convictions, I still thought it to be true until this morning when I realized that the biggest hurdle to my songs being heard had NOTHING to do with musical ability, but was due to a tiny root vegetable hiding in my kitchen cupboard in a bag covered in dirt. It's my own fault for posting Mr. Potato Heart. He is a cute little spud. But the next time any one asks me, "What advice would you give to young, blossoming songwriters today?", I would simply reply, "Do it for the love. Be true to yourself. Practice. Listen. And, most of all, beware of the potato".