Friday, September 26, 2008

Drum Roll Please!

As I've mentioned a few times on my blog, I've been participating over the last few months in on on-line songwriting challenge to write 50 songs in 90 days, creatively called "The 50 Songs in 90 Days Challenge".

Well... (this is where I'd like the drum roll!)
I DID IT!

I wrote 50 songs, with a few days to spare- The contest ends Oct. 1st. You can see my name on the progress page, and you can see the titles of my songs here. Some participants posted recordings of their songs- But we were allowed to do it however we wanted to do it. I chose to just post my song's titles. I didn't want anything that felt overwhelming or scary, and I think that would have done me in.

I recorded them all for myself tho. Otherwise, I'm not sure how many I would've remembered at this point. I haven't gone back and listened to any of them yet, but I will now. But before my critic rears her little head, I just want to relish in the glory here for a few days. Maybe this is what my husband felt like after he ran the White Rock Marathon last year. I DID IT!

Like lots of other first time marathoners, my husband has signed up for another one this year. His goals are a little loftier. He knows a little more about what to expect.

Daily practice of something that makes you feel strong- Of course I intend to keep that up! But maybe I'm ready for a little off-season. But not too long that I get out of shape!

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

For years, years!, I've wished I knew a cellist that could play with me. But somewhere along the way, I decided finding one to play my kind of music would be too difficult. Someone once told me a cello player would need things scored, or written out, because they're "classical" players. I naively believed they were right.

But somehow, I got the wild hair, at a certain point, to start looking for a cellist. I put an ad. up on the SMU bulletin board, and posted something on Craigslist. Pretty quickly, my ad got answered by 4 or 5 cellists and I set up "auditions" with them.

They were all really talented, and I felt pretty confident in all of them. (By the way, I didn't write out anything for any of them, and they're all classical players, so apparently, my advisor had been wrong.

I did, of course, have a favorite of the several that I met. She seemed to be the most into it- for reasons other than money! And I just had a gut instinct that she was the one I was suppose to choose.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

My Cd IS Now Available

For real!
It's finished!

There are 12 songs plus a little surprise at the very end, if you're patient!
This cd, Walk Beside Me, is my favorite I've done because it's not just me and my guitar- It's me, my guitar, and some great friends that were willing to join me. The wonderfully talented Sarah Reinke plays cello on half of the tracks, and I've got other guest musicians chiming in on a few of the other songs. Everything from a clarinet, to a rub board, to a cajone drum, to a harmonica, to a bass guitar. And some pretty fabulous harmony vocals!

My cd is currently for sale only at my gigs, but will soon be available on CDBaby.com and a few other on-line sources.

Please pick up your copy soon, and let me know what you think!

Monday, September 8, 2008

"America the Beautiful"


I went and saw this documentary at the Angelika on Friday.
Nope, it's not anything patriotic, but is instead a look at how grossly obsessed we are with physical beauty- specifically of women- in our country.

This is always an interesting topic for me. As ridiculous as I know it all is, I too get sucked into it.

While watching this movie I was thinking about damage I would cause my daughter, if I had one, by my own issues with my self image. Little girls pick up on that. If their mom thinks she herself isn't thin enough, or pretty enough, the child will take all of that in. And she too will struggle with those same issues.

But most of this beauty nonsense comes from the media. The documentary had a short segment about what a model looked like when she first came into make-up, and then how the ad looked once they made her up, and then photo-shopped her photograph. The lady doesn't even look like the model that she is!

Good documentary- Great food for thought-

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Trash Talking

After running a quick errand at Michael's, I was walking in the parking lot toward my car. I noticed a lady pulling into a parking space while chowing down on a hamburger. Driving and eating.

This is not such a big deal, but I kept curiously watching the woman. She pulled into a parking space rather aggressively. She then continued to eat her little hamburger that was wrapped in the tissue paper that came with it. Once she got down to the tissue-papered area, she rolled down her window and THREW HER HAMBURGER TRASH into the bushes.

I realized everything about this woman, in those few moments, seemed aggressive. From her beat up car, to her attack of her hamburger, to the way she pulled into her parking space, and then the grand finale of littering. All of it seemed ugly.

It seemed that maybe this lady needed to slow it down a little... Eat her little burger at a table, and then walk over to a trashcan and discard the rest. Maybe then she could keep both hands on the wheel while driving and she wouldn't feel so rushed to pull into the parking spot. It seems hard to imagine there was anything satisfying about her meal, or her Sunday drive to Michael's.

These days,when I see someone driving recklessly or distractedly, I assume they're texting. But they just may be eating a burger!