Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Are Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll the Fountain of Youth?


Perhaps...  Mick Jagger is 68 years young today.  He looks like no other 68 year old man I have ever seen.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Songwriters in the Round- Mondays in July

I'm hosting the "Songwriters in the Round" at Opening Bell Coffee during the month of July.  There are only 2 Monday nights left in July so c'mon out and check out this great scene!

I've booked 3 acts for each night + me.  We take turns playing songs we've written, and talking a little bit about the "behind the music" of our songs.  Opening Bell is such a great, cozy atmosphere for just this kind of thing.  And where the heck else would you wanna be on one of these sweltering summer evenings anyway?

It's hard to get out on a Monday night, at the end of a work day,  I know.  But once you're there, it sure is a great way to unwind.  Even better than watching "The Bachelorette"!  ;)  Last week, although the crowd was small, it sure was warm and welcoming.  I love people who actually come out to listen to the music.  It makes us songwriters feel so appreciated.

Last week, I had NO VOICE.  I didn't get to sing.  But I did get to listen.  And here's a little of what I got to hear:
The fabulous Cary Cooper, who you just can't help but sing along with!


And the beautiful voice of Robin Hackett...


And, my friend, Ro Diaz-- He's famous for being an artist- Gorgeous paintings.  But not everyone knows he also has a talent for music.  He shared a little of his songwriting, and also performed some beautiful covers.

What a night!

So please don't miss out tonight- It's going to be another great one.  On our line up is for tonight is
Hudson and Harlan, Annie Benjamin, Emmeline, and me!  7:30-9:30pm! 

Monday, July 4, 2011

Filling Up Pages

I received a belated birthday gift in the mail from my sister this past week.

A journal is always a great gift for me.  Whether it's from someone else, or myself!

I've kept a journal, or what I used to call a diary, for as long as I knew how to write.  I have so many journals filled up stacked in my closet. I rarely look back at them, and I sometimes fear that some day, I'll be gone, and someone will be reading things that I really only intended for myself.  So although I'm not sure why I hang on to the old ones, there's just no way I could ever get rid of them.

Lately (and maybe it's due to that fear...), I mainly use journals for songwriting.  Although that stuff feels private too, at least it would be a little harder to decipher it someone other than myself ever got a hold of it!

So this journal from my sister comes at a perfect time.  Today marks Day #1 of 90 for the "50 Songs in 90 Days" challenge that I have participated in for the last 3 years.

Right now, all that blank white space looks a little daunting.  How and with what am I going to fill those pages?  Can I really come up with something new to say, or at least a new way to say something I've written about before?

But that's the beauty of this challenge.  There's no pressure, other than self-induced pressure.  No one says these songs have to be good, or put on an upcoming CD, or sung in front of anyone.  All 50 of them are allowed to be the worst songs I've ever written...

Of course, I don't really want to spend the hours and hours and hours this will all take if it's just to write a bunch of bad songs!  So I'm hoping for some good ones that will make this all worthwhile.

90 days from today, October 1st, I will have written 50 new songs.  Good, bad, ugly or indifferent.  And regardless, I am sure I will not regret the time I spent on the endeavor.

Posted below is the final song I wrote last year, called "Pages and Pages".