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I spent some time in New York City in November. After the cold, blustery weather in England, I was quite happy that it was still warm in New York.
Thanksgiving was spent in New York. And what a spread there was! We all ate until we nearly burst. But that's the whole point of Thanksgiving, no?
After New York, I went to North Carolina to visit SBC before heading back to California. She's such a tiny thing! I was almost afraid to ride in this big vehicle with her. I feared she could be barely see over the dashboard.
I got to watch her new baby while she and her partner worked. I didn't want to use the flash on the camera and frighten him.
Such an adorable baby! We got to do some serious bonding. Of course I'm going to have to write him a special song for his first birthday.
Partying LA style! The big guy on the left got a couple of tattoos and I was invited to an "After the Tattoo" party in Hollywood. Lots of eating, laughing and dancing. Suffice it to say, a good time was had by all; especially me!
I finally got to see Gena Yashere perform live. We tried to hook up in London and New York and just couldn't make it happen. Finally I got to check her out in Los Angeles and she was just as funny as I'd anticipated.
This amazing woman was diagnosed with Cancer. After going through chemotherapy and totally changing her lifestyle as well as her attitude about life, her Cancer went into remission and she decided to share her story with the world. She held a seminar in Long Beach entitled "The Gift of Cancer," and asked me to perform at the beginning of the seminar, which I was more than happy to do.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
This year is starting off in yet another new home. I moved from Malibu to Santa Monica, right before the fires began. I found someone on Craig's List to come with a small truck and move my things. Now I'm staying in a great 3 bedroom townhouse one block from the beach! It gets tons of sunlight and I love it even more than the place where I was staying in Malibu!
Moving Day - I was sad to say goodbye to Malibu but I love my new place!
Someone posted an ad on Craig's List saying she wanted to update her reel and was looking for artists to do music videos for. She said that if she liked the music, she'd shoot and edit the video for free. Sounded like the right price to me, so I sent her a link to my website so that she could hear my music. She sent back an email saying she really liked the music and wanted to meet to discuss ideas.
We made a plan to meet in Hollywood the following week. Before we had a chance to meet, however, I received another email from her saying she had to postpone our meeting. When another month came and went and there was no word from her, I assumed I'd been bumped for someone else whose music she found more to her liking. Still, when I sent out my mass holiday greeting email, I decided to include her in the list. I was quite excited when, a couple of days later I received an email from her saying, "Hey, do you still want to do a video?" Of course I said that I was still interested. We set up another meeting and this time it actually happened. We went over story ideas (she wants to use "Friday") and locations and set a target date for Tuesday, January 22nd. We'll be driving out to Palm Springs to get some desert shots in addition to doing some interior shots at a couple of other locations. She sent me a link to her website so that I could see her work and now I'm even more psyched because she's really talented.
I performed at Java Cafe in Los Angeles. I'd initially gone to find out if I wanted to do sound for their bi-weekly open mic. After checking out one of the nights there, and performing myself, I decided against after discovering there was no pay involved.
My little band at the Farmers Market.
Shyam Kumar on percussion; Bob Saldana on guitar and bass .
Shyam is such a cool guy! This was our second show together. We also performed together at the AC Lounge in Santa Monica on November 11th. He's also agreed to play percussion on some of the songs I'm recording for my new CD. I'm really excited about that!
The Santa Monica Farmers Market performance was on the coldest day since I've been here. At least it didn't rain as threatened, although it was cloudy the whole time. Not at all typical southern California weather. I wore a teeshirt, two sweaters and a hat but that wasn't enough. I had to borrow an additional sweater to put on and was still shivering. Fortunately, it was still a decent turnout in spite of the cold, although not nearly as many people showed up as on a sunny, warm day. I still managed to sell some CDs and make some connections.
My friend KLA came to visit from New York for a few days. She got up every morning at about 7 A.M. and went for a walk on the beach. I think she's almost ready to make the move to the west coast.
I went to Hotel Cafe to see Minnie Driver perform. I didn't even know she was a singer/songwriter. She's very talented and had great between song banter. I introduced myself to her after the show and gave her my CD and card, in case she was looking for someone to collaborate with. Ya never know!
Finally the warm weather returned to LA, sort of. My friend CRP took me to lunch at a cafe on the beach in Malibu where we ran into a friend of hers and his adorable little girl, pictured here with CRP.
2007 was a good year for me. I got some great song ideas while I was in England and am starting the recording process of those ideas now. I anticipate having a new release ready by the beginning of Summer 2008. On the film and television front, I recorded a Sly Stone song for an independent film (Parker) which is finished and making the rounds.
The documentary, Rapping With Shakespeare, got accepted in the Beloit Film Festival. I did a few musical pieces for it, so I'm excited that it's going to be making the circuit and getting my name out there some more. I'm looking forward to doing more music for film and even some for television in 2008. I have no doubt this is going to be a spectacular year! It's already getting off to a great start!
More soon...
© Daughter of the Sun. Reprint by permission only.
Oct 16, 2007 - The LA Ink episode that shows me getting my tattoo finally aired. So now I get to show the photos from that fun event. I'm still loving my tattoo but I don't think I'll be getting any more. I mainly got this one to cover the discoloration on my shoulder from a burn. More...
Sept 8, 2007- I spent six hours being detained, against my will, at Heathrow Airport in London, an experience that, until now, I'd only read about; something that I thought only happened to people who fit the "terrorist" profile. More...
August 4, 2007 - It's been quite an adventure being back on the west coast. first off, I heard that The Learning Channel (TLC) show, Miami Ink, was doing so well that TLC decided to have a second version in LA and call it LA Ink, of course. They were taking applications on the TLC website. I'd been thinking about getting a tattoo for a while to cover a burn mark that I have on my shoulder, so I thought, if I'm going to get a tattoo anyway, why not do it on television?! More...
July 3, 2007 - I had a great time in the UK. The first stop was Bristol, where I met the band, Laid Blak. They just signed with Island Records and are recording their first album. I'm hoping to get at least one co-write in. They performed at two festivals while I was in town. The audiences loved them and so did I! More...
June 5, 2007 - Sunday I had brunch with the sisters. "Are you twins?" I asked the first time I saw the two of them together. "We share the same birthday," they said, "let's just leave it at that." I made blueberry pancakes with strawberry syrup and salmon croquettes. We started with a lovely Zinfandel, so by the time we were halfway through the meal, the conversation had become quite lively. We shared stories about music, relationships, Paris, New York and dermatology. More...
May 1, 2007 - CNC's gone back to Paris and I have the place to myself again. I have to admit that, when I heard all the strange noises outside the house at night, it was comforting to know that someone was sleeping in the room across the hall. These days, however, I'm so exhausted by the time I get into bed that I don't even wake up until the morning. More...
April 16, 2007 - I went to a networking soiree at a posh house in Beverly Hills. My friend TNC invited me, so I went to her place first and we rode to the event in her car. TNC wasn't sure how to dress for it. "It's probably not dressy," she said, "because it's in somebody's home." More...
March 24, 2007 -I had kind of a surreal moment today. I sometimes keep the television on when I'm working on the computer. Just as sort of background noise so I don't feel so alone. Every once in a while, I'll tune in and listen to what's going on. There was a commercial on for a car dealership. When I heard "Sherman Oaks," I thought they'd made a mistake. For one crazy moment, I thought I was still in New York City! I had a good laugh at myself once I realized what happened. More...
March 12, 2007 - I drove down to Chula Vista to perform at Southwestern College's campus. There was a street painting festival going on and students from the college came and painted beautiful pictures while I sang. I was tempted to drive down to Mexico afterward but one of my MySpace friends was performing in Hollywood and I wanted to get back to see her. More...
February 26, 2007 - Let's see; what have I been up to? I went to a party at the Knitting Factory in Hollywood. My friend BGJ was sitting in with a band. It was a birthday party for a girl who's in the television show Scrubs. I danced a lot and gave out some cards of course. More...
January 20, 2007 - It feels like 2006 is just a rapidly fading dream that I had a long time ago. And it's only January. I'm firmly ensconced in Malibu. I have my recording setup up and running and actually finished the vocals and mixed a new song I wrote while in New York, entitled "Whatever." It's one of those fun, singing about nothing songs that the majors seem to like so much. More...
December 27, 2006 - I have much to be thankful for this holiday season. I have my health, a wonderful home in Malibu, a great car to drive around in, food in the fridge, loving family and friends, a new band and my God-given talents. And the stove is finally working at the house, which means I don't have to use the hotplate anymore. More...
November 15, 2006 - What a challenge these past couple of weeks have been. My plan was to go to Santa Barbara last Friday to finalize the details with the transfer of the car. I had to sign the agreement with the previous owner and to go to DMV to register the car, only to discover on Friday that the DMV was closed because Saturday was Veteran’s Day. More...
October 17, 2006 - I was on strike today. I decided that, not only was I not leaving the house today, but I also was not going to take off my pajamas. Fortunately, KBD’s new housemate, RJD, is away for a few days because he likes to have lots of attention and is always strutting around, puffing out his chest, bragging about his latest business conquest. The bad news is, we never got around to going grocery shopping so there weren’t a lot of options food-wise. More...
October 10, 2006 -I went out a few nights ago to hang out again with my new MySpace friend to see her friend perform. I was so proud of myself because I didn’t get lost once on the drive there. By the time I arrived at the Revolution Café, AMS and her friends had already polished off a few bottles of wine. More...
October 3, 2006 - I’ve been in Northern California for nearly two weeks now. I’m staying at KBD’s home once again, in the house overlooking the ocean and the rolling hills. Today I saw two deer grazing right outside the kitchen window. I felt a long way from the overcrowded, noisy streets of New York City. More...
September 10, 2006 - It’s almost midnight and here I sit in front of my computer still. I didn’t go out today. I don’t know if it was cold or hot but I do know that it was sunny because I sat near the window as I worked, so that I could feel the sun on my skin. More...
August 20, 2006 - Friday night was my performance at The Alphabet Lounge. There was a nice turnout, although about one third of the people arrived almost at the end of the performance. More...
July 7, 2006 - Yesterday was my show at The Talking Stick. I thought I’d get some photos of my performance but unfortunately TDJ arrived just as I’d finished my last song. I only performed a few songs. More...
July 3, 2006 - I’m in my own bedroom at TDJ’s apartment. My own little slice of Heaven. I’m sleeping on an air mattress on the floor in what is technically TDJ’s office/recording studio but who cares. I have my own bathroom and I can sleep as late as I like. More...
June 30, 2006 - I think I’ve worn out my welcome with NAP. Fortunately, I spoke with TDJ yesterday and his other houseguests have departed, which means that starting today I can stay in his extra bedroom. He’s my only friend in California that I haven’t met through MySpace. More...
