weightless on tv… again!!

Just heard from a friend this morning that she was watching a preview for the next Parenthood episode and my song came on! That’s super exciting!

Ode to Autumn

I love autumn.

I love sweaters.

I love pie.

I love having a fire going in my fireplace.

I love pie.

I love my mom’s stew.

I love pie.

I love pie.

 

 

I do not love school zones.

 

…

 

 

And I love pie.

Inner Workings

I just posted a quick bit about the new record’s tentative release in the “News” section, and wanted to give a glimpse into the discussion in which that timeframe was decided upon.

I had a number of meetings while I was in LA last week (distribution, placement, video… involved awesome people and usually awesome food too). While talking about the record’s progress I began to realize suddenly something I really knew all along- that everything takes longer than you think. A lesson life is intent on teaching me. I need to get the music to my distributor (they put me on iTunes and stuff) before the release, because that takes time. Peter still has a lot of work to do with adding instrumentals, and editing all my stuff to make it sound like I got everything right the first time, plus the mixing, plus the mastering, plus the artwork… and my head is about to explode. Which would be messy, so I’ll try to avoid that. ANYway, by the time all that comes together I’d be competing with all the many, many  holiday albums plus everyone’s so busy that time of year! I don’t want it to get lost, because it’s going to be pretty awesome. Time for a paragraph break.

So that’s how we came up with the January/February timeframe. Not too far off but gives those involved plenty of time to make sure it’s done right. Which you deserve, being the awesome music appreciators you are.

It’ll be here in no time! Woohoo!

I’m Melting…! (Studio Recap)

I am recently returned from another LA adventure- this time, to finish the vocal work on the new record. Yay! Also, LA decided to be over 100 degrees every day I was there. Gross.

My last trip I planned extra time to lay down instrumentals and vocals, but I got the flu halfway in and slept on a floor for three straight days instead. The glamor of it all, I know. Try not to be too jealous.

But onto happier things! I am SUPER excited about this project. My family came down for part of the studio sessions and we all mused at how different this album is from Awake & Dreaming. With the first record, my family had heard me sing these songs hundreds of times whereas this time, it’s all material Peter and I wrote in the studio. It was all new to them. So it was cool to have fresh ears on the music.

The instrumentals are most excellent. I’m pretty much in love with several of Butch‘s drum tracks, and they make me happy just listening to them even though the tracks are still pretty stripped down right now. I feel really confident about the lead vocals I did and am more excited than ever about the songs themselves- I’m not one to toot my own horn, but it’s really good stuff.

In no time, it was time for background vocals. They’re like dessert. Frosting. It’s fun, I love singing them, and it adds so much texture to the songs that I can only hear in my head before that. The background vocals for this record took on an Enya-esque feel, which I love in contrast to the more mainstream singer/songwriter-alternative-pop-whatever-I-am sound of the lyrics and music. All in all, I can’t WAIT for this record to be released.

Good things are coming.

 

Redo!

Apologies all around- looking back at my sadly recently-neglected blog, I know that keeping everyone up to date is not something that should have taken a summer vacation. I am only human. Again, I apologize. And now onto… new resolve!

I am going to do SO good at writing frequent and totally-awesome-super-interesting-sometimes-even-witty blog posts, this little three month hiatus will be naught but a distant memory all too soon. Beyond that, I am re-committing to ALL my “social media”. I will update my blog, my facebook fan page, my twitter, and have my website reworked for YOU, awesome fans that you are. Also, I will respond to comments, questions, and any other bits of opinion and/or info YOU want to share on those pages in the comment sections.

Feel free to test me on it- leave me comments, ask questions, let’s all get together on this.

New album coming soon- these are exciting times!

weightless on TV!

Hey everybody! My song “weightless” is going to be on tonight’s season premiere of Flashpoint on CBS!!! So exciting!!

A Day of Glamor

While most of the world was caught up in a royal wedding today, I was elbow deep in ripping up the carpet in my house to see what was underneath. Wood floors, if the suspense was killing you, but very very sad wood floors. In the kitchen there’s about five layers of crap before the actual wood floor, but I think making it awesome is completely doable.

Nothing against anyone who was tuned in to the goings on of the royal wedding. Royalty is cool, and we don’t have any because of that whole Revolutionary War thing, so we have to borrow Britain’s. I probably would have been watching the goings on if a) I had remembered that was today b) had cable and c) wasn’t pulling up carpet in four rooms. Plus a hallway. Decades and decades of bad home decor decisions. Dust, sweat, power tools. Far, far away from a royal wedding.

Mostly I appreciated the irony.

Plus I used power tools, and that needed to be documented somewhere.

Uprise!

I am only passionate about a select few things in my life. Blazer basketball is one of them.

I’m a die hard fan. My dad is a season ticket holder, so it’s in my blood. I can talk players, coaches, match-ups, records and stats about my team along with others in the NBA. I only miss watching a few games every season. From October to April, I am following the successes and losses of my beloved team.

Tonight is a very big night. Tonight is Game 1 of a seven game series with the Dallas Mavericks because the Blazers have, for the third season in a row, made it to the playoffs. And we actually have a shot this year of getting past the first round. So at least for me, tonight is a big night. It all starts in a couple hours and I can’t wait.

Rip City, baby.

Home, Home Again

I like to be here when I can.

I tend to bounce around a lot from place to place. Partly due to profession, partly by choice. But I guess when I’m “home” home, I’m here in my new little 100 year old house on the Oregon coast. It’s always an adventure, like the roof leaking my first day of official ownership. Or the dryer breaking down mid-cycle. Or how I have to get in touch with my inner mountain woman to chop firewood (let it be noted, I am not a mountain woman. I’m sure my parents would love to see me try and chop firewood). You could classify the house as a “fixer upper”. Am I handy? Not at all. But fortunately, I’ve been blessed with good friends that are, and I’m willing to learn.

Even though it’s famous for all it’s rain, and for good reason, I love it here. It’s quiet. It’s very pretty. And on the occasional sunny day, I get to go exploring new trails with my puppy, who I think envisions himself as Indiana Jones when we’re on walks. He is an avid pine cone hunter. He’s funny.

Ever since the flu that attacked me in LA I’ve been battling some health stuff, mostly with my sinuses. Which…. are slightly important when trying to sing. I’m doing my best to get that taken care of so I can get back down to California and lay down those vocals for the record. I’m sorry I haven’t written while I’ve been trying to adjust back to home life- I’ll try and be better.

 

Also funny- watching me try and build a fire

People Watching

First off, I love airports that have free wifi. Thank you, Sacramento. Secondly, I love people-watching at the airport. It’s probably my favorite activity to do here. Specifically, I love looking at people from the ankles down. How someone walks and their shoe choice for travel tells you a lot about someone. Also, when that whole croc-wearing family walks by, you want to notice. That’s a gem.

I tend to admire the people in sweats and/or Uggs the most. I’m so confused by women who dress up and tromp around the airport in heels, or, like the girl in front of me going through security, knee-high boots that go over jeans. You know you’re going to have to take off your shoes. This girl was also wearing a huge metal bracelet, a belt, and at least three rings in addition to her knee-high boots. She took longer to put herself back together than the  mom with her 2 year old did. Now granted, she was dressed very cute, much cuter than me for sure…. but why all the baubles when it’s such a hassle to get through security? And then you come into the main part of the airport where everyone is trying to avoid eye contact anyway? I’m confused. Anyway, maybe someday I’ll be more motivated to dress up when I travel. Or at least understand why someone would.