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Showing posts from August 25, 2010

Magical Moment 208, "Dance"

"When you get the choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance."  -LeeAnn Womack I am not a parent, but I can imagine the burden of responsibility, concern, and even guilt that comes along with parenthood. My mother, for example, will forever bear the guilt knowing that she didn’t put me in tap dancing lessons as a child. It will be my lifelong sorrow, and one I never let her forget, that I’m not shuffle-ball-changing my way through “Tea for Two and Two for Tea” on some grand stage. As a child, I sat on our living room floor, 6 inches from the television as Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire clicked their way through “Cheek to Cheek” in one of my all time favorites, Top Hat . I scrubbed black scuffmarks off the linoleum kitchen floor after I performed a musical number in my Sunday school shoes, the only ones that made a tap sound with the heel.  To this day, my mother rolls her eyes and lowers her head in defeat when I casually mention my “dream that got away.” I fear h

Magical Moment 207, "Sick Day"

I don’t know how one develops a horrible cold in the middle of summer, but somehow I did. What better time to have a sick day than on a weekend, with nothing to do but cuddle up on the couch within arms length of Kleenex, cough drops, and all 4 remote controls (I'm still not sure which goes to what gadget). Oh, but not this sick day. I had a gig in Sparta, NJ which entailed packing and loading up Ray (my keyboard), the stand, microphone, microphone stand, amps, cords, and music. Then driving for an hour in Sunday afternoon traffic (which is surprisingly horrible here for some reason), unloading it all, playing for an hour and a half, re-packing, re-loading….well, you get the point. It’s a lot of work any day, but especially when you’re still hung over from a late night dose of Nyquil. After miles of interstate and winding roads, we finally arrived at quite possibly the largest house I’ve ever been to. The gig was entertainment for a metaphysical church gathering at a parishoner’s

Magical Moment 206, "Katrina"

Ten or eleven years ago, my family went on a vacation to Florida. We chose the route to and from our destination that would allow us to drive through as many different states as possible, including Louisiana. And that was the first, and really only time since that I’ve thought about New Orleans. Until today. As early as ten o clock this morning, I found myself sipping my coffee, watching news coverage of the 5 th anniversary of Katrina, and wondering, where the heck was I five years ago, and why am I hearing more about this now than when it actually happened? I was a newly commissioned Lieutenant back then and working at the University of Nebraska as an ROTC recruiter. I’ve never been a current events buff, but how did something like that go right past me, barely grazing me in the process? I recall making a small donation to the Red Cross, and then…I don’t know, I’m ashamed to say I never really thought about it much after that. I couldn’t believe my eyes today when I saw five-year-

Magical Moment 205, "What a Wonderful World"

It must be a world-wide beautiful day today, at least in the northeast of the US anyway. It was a perfect Saturday to sit under a tree with my husband and dog, and just hang out for an afternoon. Here is another video from the Play Me, I'm Yours project on a day very similar to today. The weather was gorgeous, the sun was shining, and I discovered a gorgeous, small park in upper Manhattan called Harlem Art Park. The name certainly suited the piano that sat on the cobblestone courtyard, as it was brightly painted with New York City landmarks. Under the shade of picturesque trees, in a tucked away sanctuary in New York, seated at a vibrant piano, what else could I play, but "What a Wonderful World?" To see more photos from the Play Me, I'm Yours project, click here . To see more videos, click here .

Magical Moment 204, "Leonardo Da'Beth"

The last time I attempted to paint anything, was when I tackled the white walls of the guest bedroom in our old house, which looked...ok I guess, but upon closer inspection, were sloppy edges, chipped paint, and brown drips on the white carpet. Today while Eddie shopped for finishing varnish to apply to his completed paintings, I browsed through Michael's and discovered a Donna Dewberry paint kit. Donna Dewberry  (for those of you who do have cable and don't  spend your free time watching PBS) is an artist with a simple style of creating masterpieces with one very effortless brush stroke. The result when this brush stroke is repeated in a variety of shape patterns and color pallets is a remarkable scene of flowers, vines, birds, and butterflies. The technique seemed so easy on TV, that I thought I would buy the kit and give it a try. My surface of choice was a glass vase. After a few practice brush strokes on a white sheet of paper, I decided to dive right in and start on the

Magical Moment 203, "My Sliding Doors Decision"

I had a strange, very real feeling dream last night. It may have been from the 6, yes 6 pieces of Pizza Hut pizza I ate, or from the odd movie we watched on instant Netflix, so ridiculous that we turned it off after only 15 minutes. But I have a feeling it had more to do with the hours I’ve spent lately searching for an additional job. Music gigs are irregular and unreliable, as well as the few writing jobs I’ve secured recently. I’ve been sending out resumes in response to everything from personal assistant, to receptionist, to legal office admin. So far, no luck. I guess the economy really is in the toilet. I’ve even gone so far as to consider…CONSIDER…joining the Army Reserves. A thought I was sure would never cross my mind until I was faced with the reality of possibly having to relocate to find decent work. As I walked back home after dropping off my resume to a near by company, the apartment resident manager was out for a walk and struck up a conversation with me. Now well into

Magical Moment 202, "Fifth String"

I spent several hours today in artistic creation, sandwiched between 2 dreadful bus rides and 4 smelly trains. Though the weather is gloomy, windy, and even chilly, it didn’t dampen my spirits for my 5th pre-production meeting. We picked up on “ A Builder ,” still completing the demo recordings for my EP, which the musicians will take their cue from when it comes time to record the actual tracks. Recording musicians are really amazing and talented people. They can come into the studio, listen to a song they’ve never heard before, and in a day, play it to perfection for a permanent, professional recording. My producer explained that guitar, bass, and drums will take slight liberties in their renditions and are encouraged to explore spontaneity and creativity. Often, fresh ideas will flow when artistic minds begin to wander. But strings... strings get printed music and play only the notes that are written. And that’s what we worked on today. A string arrangement for “A Builder.” The st