January 2013 arrives and my head is full of all the many tasks I need to do to launch my CD out into the world. This CD “ Beating of the Sun” is the culmination of months of blood,sweat and tears. Discussions, ideas,experimentation, arrangements and tempos, recording techniques, mixing and photos, artwork, kickstarter campaigns, friendships, arguments,angst, laughter, excitement and despair. Quite a potent mix. January 22nd is the date that this baby is officially welcomed into the material world. It’s the christening, the naming ceremony. The time when I shift gears from hiding in my cocoon creating, to stepping out into the world and sharing the finished work. When I get to see how ‘my baby’ is received out in the greater world. To watch her walk out into the sunshine and spread some love around wherever she goes.
I am not actually a goal orientated person. I am process oriented. An introvert by nature who can fake it out in the world as an extrovert for short bursts. (I’m sure there are a ton of us out there!) So when I think about the year ahead I think about the practical concrete things and the possibilities (because of course I’m a dreamer as well). So of course like everybody else, I want to sell as many records as possible, become incredibly rich and famous by December 31st, adopt and love all the orphans in the world, put an end to war, teach the world to sing (because singing releases endorphins and if we all had more endorphins we’d all clearly be a heck of a lot happier), and do it all in a way that minimizes my footprint here on planet earth because I am an earth loving feral creäture at heart.
Sooooo… On the more concrete side. I really do want to share my music with as many people as I possibly can in as many ways as I can think of. In April I’ll be in Italy and the Netherlands. “Beating of the Sun” is being released digitally in Italy on a groovy little label there called New Model. In June I’ll be touring in Australia. Later in the year I’ll be in the USA and in the UK. So, my feet on the earth head out of the clouds goal, is to be out in the world and visible, meeting new people, exchanging ideas, connecting with friends across the world, inspiring and moving people. Having enough money and material things to have a rich full life. Being a role model for what it looks like to follow your heart, no matter how old you are or what sex you are or what your sexual preferences are, because ultimately, that’s what I do every day. And thanks to Eden Ahbez who wrote one of the most beautiful songs of all time, I cradle this thought in my heart. “The greatest gift you’ll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return.”
A Facebook friend posted this and couldn’t help sharing it with you…
“Singers and Musicians are some of the most driven, courageous people on the face of the earth. They deal with more day-to-day rejection in one year than most people do in a lifetime. Every day, they face the financial challenge of living a freelance lifestyle, the disrespect of people who think they should get real jobs, and their own fear that they’ll never work again. Every day, they have to ignore the possibility that the vision they have dedicated their lives to is a pipe dream. With every note, they stretch themselves, emotionally and physically, risking criticism and judgment. With every passing year, many of them watch as the other people their age achieve the predictable milestones of normal life – the car, the family, the house, the nest egg. Why? Because musicians and singers are willing to give their entire lives to a moment – to that melody, that lyric, that chord, or that interpretation that will stir the audience’s soul. Singers and Musicians are beings who have tasted life’s nectar in that crystal moment when they poured out their creative spirit and touched another’s heart. In that instant, they were as close to magic, God, and perfection as anyone could ever be. And in their own hearts, they know that to dedicate oneself to that moment is worth a thousand lifetimes.” – David Ackert, LA Times
that she was raped when she was 12, and this somehow explained her talent… I had another (potential) manager tell me that women songwriters were a fad that would soon pass. I noticed that on the radio I would never hear 2 women’s voices singing in a row. There was some unwritten rule that you could not play 2 women back to back.