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Who I am and what's here

"Pettersen's faith in human qualities rings extremely clear and true, loud enough to realize that peace might be just beyond chaos."

-Mikael Elsila, pianist and editor of the New York Musicians' Union newspaper, NY, NY


Hi! Thank you for visiting my site. I am a folk singer, gardener and bicycle enthusiast living in Madison, Wisconsin. My birth name is Kristine Pettersen but I like to be called "Thistle."  I recently lived on a collective farm that grew its own corn, beans and squash that we ate throughout the year.The situation is dire, however, and the tenants have been forced to leave the two farm houses with the future of the gardens very uncertain.  Drumlin Community Garden is part of a growing urban agricultural movement that plants seeds of food sovereignty, cooperation and cultural harmony in cities across the world. Unfortunately, the gardens are owned by the Alexander Company, a national development company headquartered in Madison. They are trying to get the City of Fitchburg and the public to go along with their plans for commercial development right on top of the gardens. Our dream is to grow all of the food we eat with  friends, family and comrades so that we become linked again to our source of life.  I try to live outside of the capitalist economic system as much as possible and have spent months traveling by bicycle, depending on the kindess of strangers, and doing good works in exchange for food and shelter. A return to simpler ways of relating and existing as a creature on the earth is a high priority of mine. You can read more about some of the bicycling adventures I have had in the "thoughts" section of this web site. There is also a group mission statement for the Cycles of Uprising Tour I did the Fall of 2006 and information about bike riding and organizing in northern California in the section labeled "redwood ride" above. Recently, I  helped  organize a group bike ride to St.Paul with the Neverwood collective for the 2008 Republican National Convention. Currently, I am working with the Elements Collective to organize another mobile bicycle village to Detroit for the US Social Forum. You can download any of the songs up on the music page for free and  find my schedule of performances on the "shows" page.

A little more about me: I learned how to sing harmony from my Dad when I was growing up. I sang in choirs and musicals in high school and was in my college choir that toured Europe, California and Colorado.  I left Madison, Wisconsin in September of 2003 on my bicycle and rode south to New Orleans with my partner Douglas. We lived outside of a car for five months on our bicycles that Fall and Winter, re-wilding ourselves and getting in touch with Nature. Since then, I have biked and played down both coasts and from St. louis to New Orleans on the Cycles of Uprising tour. Biking influences the sound of my music. The steady rhythm of the wheels beneath me as I ride clears my mind of anxiety and the songs just come (except for when a car or truck gets too close for comfort).
Current News

I am helping to organize the MadTown2MoTown Mobile Village of Resilience from Madison to Detroit this Summer! We will ride our bicycles for 11 days in intentional community starting June 10th and arriving in Detroit for the US Social Forum on June 21st.

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We love you Calico Future! Remember the great life of Jen Futrell, Eco-warrior woman who was hit by a car while riding her bike home from work.  Jen drove her truck, Black Betty, up from Louisville to Madison last Summer to be food support for the PNC2RNC bike ride.

I have a studio-recorded album with awesome art by Kat Beyer. Several Madison musicians contribute to the album and it sounds amazing due to the engineering and production talents of Matthew Sanborn. Click on this box to buy Animal Dreams!
album cover

Check out this live performance from the GrassRoutes Caravan, bicycle village of resistance!  The Summer of 2008,  I rode with 40 other people from all over the country to the Republican National Convention in St. Paul just in time to do an opening ceremony with Starhawk and to participate in the protests.

Here are two other links to my  performance and the puppet show, "Peter Pan for President."The puppet show was created and performed by riders from the Caravan. I play the part of Wendy.

performance
puppet show
puppet show part 2
puppet show part 3

thank you for visiting... come back soon!

contact thistle at thistle@riseup.net