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Showing posts from March 29, 2010

Magical Moment 59, "Joy and the Easter Bunny"

This Easter morning, I woke up to perfect weather, an amazing sunrise, and a row of blooming cherry blossom trees outside the hotel blowing the scent of fresh flowers through the open window. Eddie and I would pack up, share a quick meal, then head back to New Jersey and North Carolina after our impromptu weekend in Winchester, VA. I took my dog, Joy out for her morning walk and admired the scenery in full. The sun was just rising behind the row of cherry blossoms, sending bright rays of light through the black, silhouetted branches. The sky was mostly purple, blanketed in white and gray wispy clouds. I circled the building and came back around towards the front where I saw a man and wife empty their mini van of 2 small children and loads of baggage. One of the little girls was crying inconsolably. Being it was 7 a.m., I assumed they drove all night and the little girl was just waking from a restless, uncomfortable sleep in her car seat. Her mother tried to cheer up by explaining that

Magical Moment 58, "Rock Out"

In a spur of the moment decision, Eddie and I decided to meet halfway between New Jersey and North Carolina to see each other over the-3 day holiday weekend. We weren’t planning on it, but suddenly the thought of missing an opportunity to spend a little time together seemed unbearable. We took off around midnight, after I finished a job in the city and met somewhere in Virginia at six in the morning. After sleeping the day away, we woke up that evening starved and decided to walk next door to the Cracker Barrel. It was a beautiful spring day, no need for a jacket. The trees were in bloom and the sky was clear. I realized how lucky we were for so many reasons. First, that neither of us fell asleep at the wheel as we struggled to stay alert and awake in the wee hours of that morning. Second, how we’re willing to do those kinds of things for each other. It’s those moments that I feel more and more certain we’re meant to be with each other and we’re each other’s best friend. That evenin

Magical Moment 57, "Branch Out"

Last night I had a gig in Brooklyn booked for 8 pm. For this particular event, however, I had to bring a mike, mike stand, amp, cables, and a bag of sheet music. And because I have no "roadie," I had to drive my own car in order to transport everything by myself. I decided to leave my house freakishly early because I've never driven to Brooklyn before and I didn't want to risk being late or even the stress of cutting it too close. I arrived in Brooklyn and parked my car in a nearby garage about 2 hours early. This being only the 2nd time in my entire life to set foot in Brooklyn, I had no idea what to do with myself when I walked out of the parking garage. I looked left. I looked right. Then decided to walk until I found a Starbucks or Dunkin Doughnuts and sit for 2 hours. After several blocks, I had no such luck. Apparently, there is no coffee chain on every corner in Brooklyn like there is in Manhattan or New Jersey. I broke down and decided to do some shopping. Y

Magical Moment 56, "Forward March"

I hate the feeling of fear and panic. Sometimes for me, it is all too familiar when I look at my calendar, practically void of any booked jobs or gigs. Suddenly, in a matter of seconds, it triggers feelings of failure, unproductiveness, and even foolishness for moving here in the first place. I think, shouldn’t I be farther along by now? And what if I’m still in the same place in a year? I thought about the encouragement people give when someone is trying to reach a goal. In the Army, learning to run can be challenging for some. We would tell the struggling runner that it doesn’t matter how slow they run, just as long as they keep running. I thought about when I am playing a song at a venue and I miss a note, or forget a lyric or chord. I never stop in the middle of a performance, I just keep playing… something . I thought about when I tried to teach Eddie how to dance and he missed a step, or became so wrapped up in counting that he lost the rhythm. I told him, “Just keep dancing.”

Magical Moment 55, "Free to Chat"

My older sister, Regina, and I have a special bond. We’re close in age and grew up as each other’s built-in-best-friend and playmate. My mother dressed us in matching outfits and we often were mistaken for twins. We played barbies in the basement, pioneer girls outside, board games at the kitchen table, and Regina made up a game called, queen and slave (I always had to be the slave, but I was ok with it). At Christmas, we set up an ornament-making factory downstairs where we created decorations with orange juice cans, yarn, glitter, and cut up Hallmark cards. We spent Sunday mornings giggling uncontrollably in church, eventually having to be separated after getting the evil eye from our mom. Yes, we fought like any siblings. I have a scratch on my chin in my 2 nd grade school picture to prove it, but we were always there for each other. We remember the really “old days,” living in my grandparents basement, playing with Grandma’s big blue curlers under the dining room table, findi

Magical Moment 54, "The Creation of a Song"

Like painting a work of art, writing a book, or constructing a house, there is a process in creating a song. Everyone does it a little bit different, but this is how I do it. First, an idea will hit me. It may be a word, a sentence, or an idea that needs to articulated into a rhyme later. I have about a million of them written down in a spiral notebook and a small pad I keep in my purse for just that reason. Some get written into songs, others will remain in that notebook for all time. I've found the ones that become the best songs in the end, are the ones that seem to overflow onto paper without me even thinking about it. Or when I can’t move my pen fast enough to get the words down. All of my songs are personal for some reason. Not that I’ve personally experienced what I describe in all of my songs, but they’re personally inspired in some way, shape, or form. I try to put music with the lyrics as I write. I find that if I do lyrics and music separate, the lyrics almost always

Magical Moment 53, "The Cure for the Blues, the Blues!"

I spent my weekend googling, practicing, and memorizing blues standards. Although I have a repertoire full of jazz and boogie-woogie, I have only a couple genuine blues songs and next week I’m booked playing an entire blues set for hour and a half straight. I’ll be impressed if I keep the crowd entertained that long, considering blues is the same 3 chords played in the same format over and over again. I began with the basics, Ray Charles, Jimmy Rogers, Ottis Redding, even some Bo Diddley. And soon my fears of monotony were put at ease when I discovered the full spectrum of the blues genre. I even found several new lines to add to my “greatest lyrics ever” list: “If you don’t think you’ll come home soon, I’m gonna drown in my own tears” - Ray Charles “You aint nothing but a hound dog, been snoopin round my door. You can wag your tail, but I ain’t gonna feedjya no mo.” – Etta James “Put you down in a ditch with a great long spade.
Wish to God that you hadn't never been made.” – Edd