Been attending open mic & “Local Love” at Aggie Central Station lately;
Justin and I performed on impulse the first night (and I slaughtered a
Kurt Weill song by forgetting, and then proceeding to make up!, the
entire second half) but we’ve been rehearsing to make a proper Hotel
Gypsies appearance here in the next couple weeks.
Have enjoyed jamming a couple times a week with a bass player and
guitarist; it feels good to “rock out” again! We already have a full
song nearly completed, with plenty of other ideas bouncing around.
Justin replaced the heads on his drumset and it’s sounding pretty
fantastic.
No musicals for me this spring! “Funny Girl” was a dream come true…
but it nearly killed me. ;) (Not really!) I am singing with the Flint
Hills Masterworks Chorale the spring, “as usual,” and am looking forward
to the concert in May.
In addition to fantastic local musicians like Tyler Gregory, Jessica
Furney, and Josh Adkins (aka Joshua Jay), Justin and I have been
travelling to see bands like the Calamity Cubes and Filthy Still; we’re
looking forward to the Dirty Bourbon River Show and Carrie Nation & The
Speakeasy coming through MHK, and we’ll be travelling to see They Might
Be Giants a couple times over the next few months, as well as Judy
Collins in April. Guess which one I am most excited about?! ;)
Torn between what “solo” project to pursue next (if any!) - more jazz
standards (and if so, uptempo and swingy or big show-stopping ballads)?
Get back in touch with my classical roots? (I am trying to find a voice
teacher to get my pipes “back in shape.”) More original music? (I’m
rather pleased with my first EP, but I’m still shy about sharing my own
music). I’ve got an idea for a project taking traditional folk songs and
hymns and giving them a “modern” twist with my TC-Helicon VoiceLive
Touch… Where to begin!?
Struggling to overcome a lot of negativity I seem to be running up
against lately. Even when negativity isn’t directed at me specifically,
it really brings my mood down and makes me feel “sour” about being
musician at all! And when the negativity is me-specific, then there’s
the choice to be made: Okay, are there lessons to be learned and changes
to be made based on this criticism, or was my artistic attempt
“misunderstood” and I just need to shrug it off and keep on keepin’ on,
as I was? Like I said, it’s a constant struggle! Long story short, I
need to learn to let that “sourness” I feel towards some
passive-aggressive whiners not just drag me to a halt, but rather
motivate me to show them just how wrong they are!
Anyway. That’s my life lately.
PS - I’m ready for spring! Tired of this cold weather nonsense…
