shefaniarchive

[shefaniarchive]

Hi Nicole! Thank you for your amazing Shefani archive!! I was trying to access the Gwen video/audio interviews from 2016-2020 and 2021-2025 and they don't show up (I was able to access and watch Blake's interviews from those years, but not Gwen's.) Just wanted to let you know in case there is a bug or something. THANK SO MUCH for all your efforts , the archive is truly amazing, fantastic, wonderful - your hard work is so appreciated!!!

Oops! Have been working on updating all the lyrics (copying and pasting creates spaces between EVERY line so there's a lot of extra keyboard work, lol) and hadn't realised those pages didn't work correctly. There was an error because I hadn't correctly updated those text blocks to the new version of SS, but it should be working now!

x

[shefaniarchive]

Do you happen to have access to the photos of Blake and Gwen that TMZ posted of them today in Salt Lake City? I hate that they put their big logo over all the photos. I’m still mad it’s covering that video they posted of them dancing from their wedding and that cute photo of G&B with their cake.

The photos are actually credited *TO* TMZ so they don't come from a separate photo agency I can access the HQs, sorry!

[shefaniarchive]

since everyone is on LA, I’m wondering if we get church pics tonight

I'll be over my parents' place later tonight, but can definitely keep an eye out for the next few hours. Nowt yet, though.

[shefaniarchive]

That’s lovely! So happy you are able to travel, sounds like you have all sorts of fun planned. Appreciate all you do for this fandom, your site and content is marvelous! Cheers and happy holidays!

Thank you! Really looking forward to it, to be honest.

You too. x

[shefaniarchive]

I’m confused, are you having to delete your website? I hope not, it’s the best shefani source we have by far and you’ve put so much work into it. All the links to appearances and interviews is completely unmatched. I don’t think I could watch most of those things anyway else. I’d be happy to contribute what you need in order to keep the website open and the info there.

No, definitely not the actual website! Zero plans to do that. Unfortunately, when I upgraded to Squarespace 7.1 recently, it broke plugins that I use on almost every page, so I'm having to reconstruct a lot of it from scratch, which is taking forever.

The gallery is a separate site, hosted and paid for separately, and yes, I am looking at probably deleting that sometime this year (because of issues with space/price). Not until I transfer all the content so it can be downloaded via the actual website though, so no problems on that front.

[shefaniarchive]

Your Shefani website:

Maybe you have to think about if it is all worth it. I know people love your site, so do I, but if it is getting out of hand in costs, you might consider deleting older stuff. It would be a great loss for sure, but when people do not pay for it, then it is getting on them that you might have to delete things on there. I would love to contribute, but I already have my own costs on my MEGA-site, the HULU streaming provider and the Outdoor Channel. But I know that where ever you store your files on the internet, after a certain limit, you have to pay for it. And maybe, just maybe, people should try to get things on their own. Look at us: we live nowhere in the US, but most fans are from the US and most of them have access to tv/streaming and can record stuff on their own. I know this sound harsh, but when you look at it honestly, it is true. They also have options to buy magazines themselves. They can also try to save some money and buy a good harddrive to store all your files on. Because lets face it: all your stuff is free to download as well. Yes, it will cost them money, but it certainly is not fair that you provide everthing for them and they do not have to pay shit for it. Sorry to put it that way, but it is true honestly. I know you do it with love, so do I. But if it is getting out of hand for you.... You have asked more then once for a contribution and only two people do? I know what I would do.

I mean, fundamentally, except for uploading new paparazzi/event photos and RTing stuff on Twitter, I've abandoned ship for the past year in all truth. Which I hate. I've felt disengaged and disinterested, and frankly, between life and other fixations, I haven't found the time to keep up to date. And the longer I left it, the harder things got. At this point, if I could just get a solid, whole month off work to work on my site and fixing all its broken parts and uploading stuff that's piled up on my harddrive, that would be very helpful, lol! But life keeps happening...

Deleting stuff in bulk isn't useful or necessary at this point, I don't think. I can justify and manage keeping payments going for MEGA and Squarespace and thankfully, I only have to pay $100/month for access to HQ images if more than a few come through, so Blake and Gwen barely being seen helps my bank account on that front. ;) Photoshoots are the killer because when I buy those or the outtakes, I'm paying US$5 for EACH image...

Anyway, I so appreciate your work, as you know, over the years, and I feel you. The first few years, asking for help generally resulted in a decent amount that covered at least a third or half of what I spend. But yeah, the past two years, not exactly. Which is fine. I'm not doing it for any other reason than a joy of contributing. It's just that joy has diminished some and I think I've found it more difficult to make time. Which is totally on me and I should have expected it, given my history in fandoms past, lol. So, if anyone happens to be in the States when I am, and potentially wants some old magazine clippings that I've scanned but still have physical copies of that just sit in a cupboard? Hit me up. XD ;)

[shefaniarchive]

How much would you need for more space? Maybe we can all contribute?

I've looked at it. I'm already paying $1000 each year and it goes up exponentially from there. Frankly, it's just not sustainable on my current income and with my other site costs (MEGA/Squarespace, etc), especially because I can't figure out how the space is even being taken up. Looking at the FTP files, it's like there are mirror versions of each image, but all the FAQs online say those can't be deleted to make space, and the host company were no help besides telling me to remove files, lol. I've been slack the last year or two with updates and can't really ask for help at this point, because I'm been terrible at actually contributing to fandom, tbh, and each time I have asked the past few years, I'm not getting more than one or two people chipping in anyway, you know.

I'd rather pay the much smaller $100 per year for space on Google and upload each album there. I know it's far less convenient for fans wanting to look at every single image but I can avoid zipping the folders so they can be viewed image by image if desired. I just think, in the long term, it'll be more manageable. If you have better ideas, I'm all ears. I'm still playing catch up trying to fix all the ruined sections of my site before I get to doing that, though. I've uploaded all the images again, but haven't started building galleries or linking...

[shefaniarchive]

oooh, where you heading? Hope your holiday season goes how you want it to

Over to the U.S. again! Going to a Xena convention in LA at the end of January, then visiting a friend in Missouri, and hitting up Nashville/NYC/Portland and then LA again to rummage through the much larger bookstores over there - and a few other slightly more touristy things if I can find the energy, lol.

And thank you! Currently enjoying the rain outside, and I'm getting to spend a little time with my nephew tomorrow, which is nice.

[shefaniarchive]

Hi Nicole! Thanks so much for your efforts to restore everything. Was the gallery affected as well? because it seems that all of Gwen's magazine scans are missing suddenly, I was looking for her magazine covers from 2003-2009 and sadly they seem to be gone. Your valiant efforts are truly appreciated.

Hi! Ugh. So the short answer is yes but not for that reason. For the past month, I've been receiving messages from the place I host the images saying that I've basically used up all my the space I am provided. I'm already paying $1000/year and HAD to delete a shit ton of stuff to get my usage under 90%. So the magazine scans went. I still need to reconfigure all of those magazine uploads on my actual site, so there's no alternative right now, sorry. I do know it needs doing but I haven't had a chance, frankly, what with moving and work stuff in my life.

Once Christmas is done, if I have time before I go overseas, my priority will be starting to transfer the images to the main website. Will just have to zip each album for download (and host via my Google Drive) and have a single image to represent it, tbh. I can't justify the cost of the gallery with the current space situation...

[shefaniarchive]

Hi Nicole! Thank you for your amazing Shefani archive. I hope everything is ok with you. Is the award show page and Voice DL page still available? I just went to DL the CMT AOTY 2015 awards, but it looks like all the links are gone, and same with all the Voice seasons. They were there last week. Thanks for your help!

Ugh. I KNEW this would happen. So when I first created my site, Squarespace operated using 7.0. A couple of years ago when you signed up, it was with 7.1. However, you couldn't upgrade; you had to start from scratch.

Until now. I like the new system better, so thought I'd try and move the site to it.

A lot of my pages use plugins that I'd paid a lot of money for, and I specifically emailed the creator of the one with all the tabs, etc, and asked if anything would be broken if I upgraded. And he said no. Obviously he was wrong. I've spent the past two hours copying and pasting album lyrics because the functionality of the plugin I used for those broke as well.

So yeah, some patience might be required, sorry. I spent most of today working on moving related stuff, but I'll try and at least spent a couple of hours after work each night this week fixing those pages and rewriting all the links as best as I can remember. Sigh.

EDIT: I've recreated the Awards and Voice pages for you. Pretty sure all the links previously there should be there again now. Knackered now but will work on other sections tomorrow night. Thanks for the heads up! x

[shefaniarchive]

Hi Nicole! Do you still have a copy of this interview?

2013 August 7th: Chelsea Lately

When I click on the link it says:

The file you are trying to download is no longer available

Thank you.

Oh, weird! I'm in another Squarespace site right now so can't look at the link itself, sorry, but I've just searched my MEGA files for Chelsea, and it looks like I don't have one for that month in 2013, but I DO have marked as 7th August 2012, so maybe I made an error with the date, but didn't fix it on the site itself... Apologies if that's the case.

This is the 2012 one, FWIW.

https://mega.nz/file/FAp1TACI#QvelsRMExnaUOIHPMnsZV4uGdrDRv2yaB4v1XorPG8M

[shefaniarchive]

If you have time and you are in the mood for it one day, would you consider uploading Gwen's 2015 candid photos to your gallery? It would help me gain a better understanding of the timeline of the beginning of their relationship. I've been here from the beginning and I know we have learned a lot from their interviews and Gwen's TIWTTFL songwriting process re the timeline, but I feel like there are still a lot of unknowns. Also, do you happen to know which car Blake is talking about when he tells the story of Gwen "driving a black minivan" to work when he met her in 2014?

I literally have the folder of those photos and those from 2016 sitting on my computer (not the external harddrive) and they've been waiting to be sorted for about two years now, smh. So one day!? There are soooo many more thousands from those pre-Blake years that I find it a little overwhelming. I'm unfortunately kind of caught up in a project for something at the moment, but once I emerge from that blinking into the sunlight, I'll hopefully find the energy and motivation to do some Shefani catching up and then work on those candids, for sure. If there's anything specific you'd like me to do with those in the meantime (even just a list of dates with a photo or two from each), I do manage that.

As far as the car goes, god knows. My knowledge of cars is nil, I'm afraid. Here's some car pics from September 2014 through the end of the year if that helps? One of them is even from outside the Voice studio, lol.

[shefaniarchive]

I've been struggling with different things than you but I can certainly relate to the regret of wasted time. It’s difficult for me not to compare myself to other people my age and where they are in their personal life and what experiences I have missed. I know it’s not easy but I always try to remind myself that we all have our unique journey. I know it’s a cliche but it’s true.

I think the most important thing is to find a therapist, someone you like and who you can really trust. It took me years to find such person but it’s worth it. They can help you so much. They can help you understand what you went through in the past and support you in your future steps.

It's the big one, really, and I know stewing on it only makes this worse. And yet. So my sympathies. When I was a child and teenager, my Mum liked to compare our family to others (and we were always found wanting) but I was mostly okay with it because we were kids. And then adulthood, and as the years go by, I watch myself stunted in growth in almost every single area as everyone else I grew up with seemed to hit their marks. And I very much realise that that kind of comparison isn't helpful, everyone at their own time, blah blah. But as you say, it's not easy.

I do currently see a psychologist, but I don't know how much I get out of it beyond the opportunity to just TALK. Which, honestly, may be what I need most at times. She seems me to want to direct where I want to go ("goals"), and my brain goes blank every single time. The last few appointments, I have tried to note things down between appointments and letting that lead me, which has helped a little.

x

[shefaniarchive]

Back in the beginning, did you think we would ever hear Blake refer to the boys as his sons? That they would call him pop? That Apollo would get him the best step-dad award? It's like a fanfiction coming true. I kind of thought he would never be so publicly open about it because of GR, but I'm so glad he feels comfortable talking about them now. And same with Gwen. I would never have imagined that she would publicly celebrate him on Father's day. It's so crazy how far they have come

I don't think I ever looked that far ahead in those terms, to be honest. I thought it would last and never had any doubt that they weren't it for each other and that he was a great parental figure for the boys, but I sort of just imagined him referring to them as Gwen's sons or his stepsons in perpetuity, and it makes me inordinately happy that he's as comfortable as he is referring to them as his/theirs, no ifs and buts.

I look forward to her Father's Day posts probably more than any of her others throughout the year, honestly... Especially because it often gives us glimpses of times years past that we weren't given access to at the time, you know. Fills in those blanks in the most heart-warming way!

[shefaniarchive]

Hi Nicole, nice to see you back😊I have so many things to say! First of all, non-Shefani related, I admire you sharing your journey with us. I’m technically old enough to be your mother and as a mother of 3, I feel so sad that your parents are letting their religion get in the way of their unconditional love for you. The love is there, but it’s being hijacked by fear and ignorance . They probably think they’re doing the right thing, but IMO no God would judge a person for being who they are or meant to be as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else. I’m in my 50’s and a late bloomer myself. Life is a yellow brick road. Keep being true to yourself and do what makes you happy. Most parents will eventually come around in time. I have seen this personally happen before.

Can you believe it’s been 8 years of this relationship? It’s definitely not the shiny new penny, but it’s still my happy place. Blake’s humor, Gwen’s sweetness, the combination of two different worlds and their beautiful blended family…I’m in it for the long haul, just like them. There are few things you can count on in this crazy world, but them being cute af is one of them😊 Thanks for keeping such a wonderful website of their love up and running. I appreciate you❤️

Thanks! I haven't been AWAY, per se, but it was kind of nice to get back in my inbox again after so long, I have to say. I'm sure my mind would change swiftly if it started getting messy in here, but right now? I'm quite happy.

Anyway, thank you very much. I certainly feel old, so any reassurance that I'm not too 'late' genuinely does help, weird as that may be, lol. Working on the resentful 'wasted all my teens and twenties' part of my brain currently, which is a tough one. Anyway, I'm not out to anyone in my actual real life so I'm currently avoiding the inevitable HEAVY disappointment and disapproval (being verbally expressed, at least) from my family, for what it's worth. It's a funny one, because Mum has spent the past fifteen years bemoaning the lack of my interest in having a boyfriend, how I'm going to end up alone and sad and lonely, and it's like, maybe if I'd been given the space and time and upbringing to figure myself out a long time ago, that wouldn't be a sure bet. But you (presumably) don't want me to be 'not alone' if it means being with a woman, so... You know?

Eight years is frankly LUDICROUS. And by all accounts, smooth sailing. Couldn't be more thrilled for them both, considering the absolute emotional turbulance that came throughout both their prior relationships. There's certainly still that warm contentment I get when I reflect on or read comments by them, and I'm glad for that. It was such a set of bizarre circumstances and chances all lining up at the perfect moment, and it worked. And works. And will continue to do so. Love it for them.

x

[shefaniarchive]

I’m thinking that if Blake announces a Spring tour that it’s very possible he’ll bring back the friends and heroes format with Sawyer Brown as one of the acts.  I’ll be honest, I had never heard of them before it was announced that Blake was producing their new album. 

I would really love that for him. The only context I know of them, truthfully, is because of Blake producing this record/documentary and prior mentions in interviews by him. He even got to open for their headlining act at an OK country music festival in 2003. ☺️

https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2003/06/06/country-fever-schedule/62040558007/

[shefaniarchive]

I am curious about the new sawyer brown song. Blake as a producer intrigues me

Definitely here for it! I just want him to CARE about the music he works on - as an artist or producer, you know. Curious to know whether this is a one-off or something he is interested in doing going forward. I’ve always appreciated him being so committed both to fostering the careers of younger artists but also the older ones he played with and admired who are no longer huge names.