I could listen to him sing this song forever and ever. happy monday.
Tag Archives: music
Last night, suddenly my phone was constantly buzzing with 50 emails at a time updating me on my youtube account. Apparently the 2Pac facebook page had posted my cover of “California Love” and things, well, got real…
I have passed 100,00 views on this little song, which I posted two years ago in homage to two incredible rappers, namely Tupac Shakur, who’s poetry and art transcends race and speaks to people of all walks of life.
It has been a very interesting thing to read the comments made on this video. Some have given me a thicker skin even. But for the most part, they are positive and encouraging and I think that says a lot about music and the power it has to bring people from different backgrounds together with a common bond.
I remember buying his book of collected poetry, “The Rose that Grew from Concrete” in 1999, three years after his death. It was beautiful and powerful and showed the world and me how much love can grow from hate. The title poem, still simply says so much to me today:
Did you hear about the rose that grew
from a crack in the concrete?
Proving nature’s law is wrong it
learned to walk with out having feet.
Funny it seems, but by keeping its dreams,
it learned to breathe fresh air.
Long live the rose that grew from concrete
when no one else ever cared.
People can be so angry and mean with their words. These silly youtube comments are a perfect example of that. But my heart breaks for those who fail to understand my intentions – and those of anyone who wants to create music to share and connect with others. This has been quite the start of a year with weighty realizations. Again, I find myself realizing that I can’t escape my need to play music. How very uplifting.
I HAVE A SHOW TONIGHT!
And, no big deal, it’s at the House of Blues…!
I feel so much more prepared for this one than ever, which is funny because it’s the one that should make me most nervous. House of Friggin’ Blues, baby!
I’m burning demos, halfway through my set list, and the ever important question of “what to wear” has been answered. I’ve got a new, kickass guitar. And I’ve got the biggest support system coming out to be there. I also updated my website with new pictures, a new layout, and my new demo songs!
I’m most excited about the fact that I have my demo, printed and ready to give out at my show. I very much needed to feel like I had a product to produce in time for this show. I didn’t want to come out looking unprofessional or small-time… though that’s pretty much what I am. Still, I am proud about my accomplishments and I think that’s primarily why I’m not “throw-up-I-wanna-die” nervous.
Plus, check out one of my badass covers that I’ll be playing tonight:
I am thrilled to finally have a professionally recorded, mixed, and mastered demo. You’ll have to wait to hear it but for now, I can show you where we made the magic happen:
I am so excited. Stay “tuned” for updates… Badum cha…
There’s something I must admit. On Thursday, I had a little show at Club Good Hurt. It was the first performance I’ve done since January… Seriously, that’s crazy, right? What have I been doing with myself for the past five friggin’ months?
I have no idea.
Um, this blog was meant to support and foster my music aspirations. And yet, in the week leading up to and the day following, I focused on everything but my music. It is interesting what fear and stress can do to a person’s dreams and goals.
I’m going to try to push on through anyway.
Thursday was awesome. About 30 of my friends/fans were there (the friends and fans are pretty much one in the same right now, which is how I like it). The sound guy kept flubbing my stuff but I think I rolled with the punches pretty well. I decided to not stress about it and while deciding to do something and actually following through are two separate things, I learned once more how unnecessary it is to stress (some things are just ever-repeating lessons). I borrowed a guitar from the main act and a strap from the one I followed. Seriously, most unprepared musician award goes to me. Or most resourceful/persuasive musician award… Yeah, let’s go with that.
But let’s address the fears. All I could think of when I was on stage was “STOP MESSING UP” and “YOU CAN’T DO BAR CHORDS.” But when the lights would stop seizing momentarily and the smoke machine would take a breath, I’d see the happy faces in the crowd of loved ones and relax.
People always ask me, “Don’t you get more nervous because it’s people you know?” I always say it’s the strangers who scare me. They don’t already have a first impression of me. They don’t know who I am and won’t be as forgiving as the people who care about me. I have to prove that I’m not just a girl who thinks she can pick up a guitar and sing about boys and people will think “isn’t she pretty?” I have to prove that I love music. And I love being about music. And I don’t just wanna be the next goddamn American Idol.
So I finally picked a recording place. He’s all the way in Silverlake… Oh, the sacrifices we must make for our craft! Really, though, this is big. This is me admitting that I can do this. This little thing is tangible and wonderful and exciting and all I need. As a friend once recalled to me the other day, “Shoot for the stars and you’ll land on the moon.” Well I like that idea too but I think I’m gonna shoot for the moon. And land there too.
Finally, after months away, I’m back! I started simple with a 1:30min clip. It has, after all, been a while.
I’m so grateful to all of the random fans, listeners, and friends, who encouraged me to come back, to not give up, and to keep posting songs for everyone to hear.
I’m especially and always grateful to the negative comments that have only served to reinforce why my message is so important. Music is a sharing of the subconscious, a revealing of truth. It can, in fact, be the truest form of communication. It can be a way to laugh at and heal ourselves. I love music and I love sharing it with people in all forms.