Sunday, 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.

Last weekend I went bowling, which I haven't done since I was a child. All things considered, I didn't do too badly. My team actually won the first round. Unfortunately we lost the next two. Nobody really cared though because we were having so much fun. I got a friend request on MySpace from someone who hosts monthly poetry readings which he calls "Mental Mondays." He sent out an event posting for another monthly gathering called "Caramel Sundays" inviting everyone to go bowling. I didn't have anything planned except another night at home alone working, so I thought, why the heck not? So I packed up my guitar and of course some CDs, and off I went.

While we were waiting for our lane to open, I pulled out my guitar and sang one of the songs from my CD (Wings) and wound up selling a few CDs, which was great, because I was able to put more gas in the car before driving home. MMM, the founder of Caramel Sundays and Mental Mondays is a fun guy. We exchanged contact info and I promised to give him some guitar pointers and figure out the chords to "Manic Monday" because he wants that to be the theme song for his Mental Mondays.

I had my first background vocals session in Los Angeles. Someone posted an ad on Craig's List looking for 3 background vocalists. I sent an email directing him to my site and he contacted me and said he loved my voice and wanted to know if I had two other singers I worked with. I asked TDJ if he knew anyone, since he's been in LA for several years and he gave me the name of a singer, Tracy Nicole. She's also on MySpace, so I sent her an email and we talked on the phone and she agreed to do the session with me. I was hoping to stretch it out to two hours to earn more money since we were being paid by the hour, but she and I were so good that we were in and out of there in a little under an hour. The producers were quite happy with our work and hopefully we'll get called to do more.

I went to the Apple Store on the Third Street Promenade a few days ago. A Columbia Records recording artist was performing some songs from his forthcoming release and talking about how he recorded some of his newer songs using Garageband. I have Garageband on my computer but I've never used it to actually record anything. I've only used some of the loops it contains, so I thought it would be interesting to sit in on his presentation. Also, I thought it might be a good networking opportunity. I called my friend TDJ and invited him to join me because he's been feeling a little down in the dumps lately -- money problems. It's always that or love that gets people down.

Unfortunately, the artist doesn't know any more about Garageband than I do. As TDJ and I sat in the audience listening to his attempts at answering the audience's questions, the wheels began to turn in my head and I wondered how much they were paying him. I recorded my entire album on a Mac, using Logic and Garageband. So I figure if I put together a presentation package and contact the Apple folks, perhaps they'll pay me to come in and do a presentation. Mine would certainly be more informative than the Columbia artist's. I have to say though that his music was very good. His songs are very melodic and his voice is quite nice. Sort of reminds me of John Mayer.

After the presentation was done, TDJ and I were walking around the store when he spotted a famous actor. "I'm going over to say hello," TDJ informed me, crossing the store and approaching him. He introduces himself to Mr. X. "I'm a big fan of yours," he says. "Are you interested in Garageband?"

"Yes," says Mr. X, "I just bought this Mac and I thought I'd stay to check out what it can do. I used to write songs and I play a little and I thought I'd get back into it."

"Well," says TDJ, "if you have any problems or questions at all," he whips out his card, "you just give me a call and I'll be happy to help you. No strings attached. I'm just an admirer and you've given me so much over the years, I'd like to be able to give something back."

At that point, I whip out a CD (I always carry at least one with me) and present it to Mr. X. "I'd like to share this with you," I say. "I recorded the album totally on a Mac, using Garageband and Logic."

"Really?" asks Mr. X. "Yes," I say, "really. And I did mostly everything myself. Wrote the songs, played the music, produced it, engineered it, mixed it..."

"Impressive," says Mr. X. Hey, I've never been afraid to toot my own horn. I was reading a marketing article the other day and it said one should always give their music to famous people and rich people and Mr. X probably falls into both categories.

"I just returned from South Africa," Mr. X says. I was working on a special project there. My wife is from there. Well, actually we're in the middle of a divorce, so she's soon to be my ex-wife. Ex-wife number two. You remind me a bit of her," he said, turning to me. "I'm looking for my third wife," he continues.

"Well, I think you'd better get rid of your second wife before you start looking for your third," I said and brought the subject back to computers. I'm not looking to be anybody's ex-wife number three.

We talked a bit more about the wonders of Garageband and TDJ again mentioned that he would be more than happy to help Mr. X should he require his assistance. Mr. X didn't seem at all interested in TDJ's offer although he went out of his way to listen to my accounts of my production skills.

"I have to buy a scanner," Mr. X said. "I was supposed to fax an agreement to someone today but I couldn't find a place to fax it and I thought, if I could get a scanner, I could scan the signed agreement and then email it to them. Do you know if they have scanners here?"

I told him about the scanner/photocopier/printer that I found at Staples for $85. "Is there a Staples near here?" he asked.

"Well," I said, turning to one of the display computers, "let's find out." I stopped one of the store personnel and found out what the zip code of the Apple store was and then went online to staples.com and punched in our location. "There's a Staples five minutes away," I told Mr. X, "and they're open until 9:00, which gives you 27 minutes to get there."

"Well, I'd better go," he said. Again TDJ reminded him that he was at his service should he need any help with his new Mac purchase, only to be ignorned once again.

Instead Mr. X turned to me. "And do I have your number?" he asked. I gave him my card at that point, figuring it couldn't hurt. Of course TDJ is still teasing me about that encounter. "I was offering and offering my help," he laughed, "and he wasn't the least bit interested. He just waved me away with the back of his hand."

I'm sitting in an Internet cafe now. The realtor is showing the house and I think it's best if I'm not there when she brings people in to see it. Not that I want them to find a buyer, because that would mean that I have to move but, by the same token, I don't want to hinder what they're attempting to do. I went to the Variety.com website and printed out their list of current movies in production now and researched them a bit online. Next week is a big marketing blitz for me. I'm going to spend a couple of days putting together some CDs of various types of music and then I'm going to contact the producers and music supervisors and get permission to submit. I'm determined to get some music placed within the next couple of months.

I have a few performances lined up already and next week I'm getting together with another guitarist. I've decided to contact some of the local music schools and see if I can find a drummer and bass player that way.

Yesterday I bought a tv stand on Craig's List for $25. It's really nice and worth a lot more than that. The guy that I bought it from said he saw a posting for the same piece of furniture listed for $125 and was sorry that he hadn't asked for more. I gave him a CD as consolation. He's a graphic artist. I asked him if he knows any musicians and he said he knows a couple but they're both very busy and only play for pay. I can totally understand that. But he told me about a spot where a lot of musicians get together on Tuesdays to hang out. "It might be a good networking spot for you," he said. I can't go this coming Tuesday because I'm performing but I'm definitely going to check it out the following Tuesday.

I've been sending out resumes and so far there's been no part-time work forthcoming, so I've decided to take that as a sign that I'm just supposed to be focusing on music and finding ways to make money doing only that, which is exactly what I'm going to do.

Good things are coming. I can feel them. They're almost here...!

More soon...

© Daughter of the Sun. Reprint by permission only.

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...

June 24, 2006 - So I’m in Los Angeles, the city of broken dreams and make believe. I’m staying with a wonderful family, thanks again to MySpace. NAP is a singer, a wife and the mother of two absolutely adorable (and exhaustingly rambunctious) children. More...

June 8, 2006 - I am loving life right about now. I’m in Northern California in a little town near Sausalito with a population of about 200. I posted an ad on Craigs List saying I was willing to exchange administrative services for room and board and, lo and behold, I got two responses the very next day. More...

May 3, 2006 - I just got in from playing in the subway station. I like the F line at the 23rd Street station... More...

April 24, 2006 - I found a numerology site and, according to their calculations, I’m at the end of a cycle. I‘ve past the harvest and I’m about to lay down new seeds I guess to prepare for the coming Winter. More...

April 10, 2006 - I’ve been spending a lot of time online, working on my MySpace page, making new friends through MySpace as well. By the time I get to California, I’ll already know lots of folks there. More...

April 2, 2006 - I can’t believe it’s April already. The year is nearly half done, although some more optimistic than I am at this moment in my life would say the year’s barely begun. It just seems that time is marching along faster and faster each year. More...

March 23, 2006 - Not much new to report. Still laid up with my broken toe. More...

March 16, 2006 - What a week it’s been! A broken toe, post-Philly drama, TTT came into town, west coast tour in the works, April concert to plan, new band. More...

March 10, 2006 - It was a pretty smooth drive with almost no traffic even though we left the city at 5 o’clock. We reached Philadelphia at about 8 o’clock. It reminds me of a lot of other small towns I’ve been in, like Troy and Albany. More...

March 8, 2006 - This evening I’m off to New Rochelle to perform at a Habitat for Humanity fundraising event. I’m taking CDs, which I will autograph and sell and donate half the proceeds to Habitat for Humanity. They’re going to New Orleans to rebuild some of the homes that were destroyed by Katrina. More...

March 2, 2006 - I am so over the cold and ready for the Spring. It’s hard to believe it’s right around the corner. The groundhog saw his shadow last month, which supposedly means Winter is hanging around a bit longer but I remain ever hopeful. More...

February 25, 2006 - Another late night… What else is new? I performed at Bellizzi’s tonight. Two sets. I ran through my entire arsenal of songs and even threw in a cover of Cyndi Lauper’s song, “True Colors.” I don’t really like doing covers but the woman who hired me for the night asked me to and you have to give the people what they want, especially when they're paying. More...

February 19, 2006 - Another all nighter… My plan was to get into bed by midnight at the latest but I wound up staying up and setting up my page on MySpace. It turns out there’s another artist with my name (Setra) who’s already on MySpace so I couldn’t use my own name. I had to sign up using Daughter of the Sun instead. It took a while to upload the music and the photos, once I figured out how to do it. More...

February 16, 2006 - Hurray! The snow is almost gone! Just the way I like the snow. A lot of it comes down, it stays for a few days and then it melts and is gone; and not a moment too soon. I ate the last of the food today, which means I have to go grocery shopping tomorrow. I haven't weighed myself but I have a feeling I've gained at least a couple of pounds. More...

Snow - I have about five days’ worth of food, and I’m prepared to hibernate until the snow melts. My car is parked across the street but I don’t know which mound it’s under. It was kind of nice being home alone and doing whatever I wanted to without having to answer to anybody or even speak to another person. I turned off the ringer on the phone and just spent some time with myself. More...

Guero's - I just got in from Guero’s. What a night. First off, it turns out they didn’t have a PA system, an amp, a microphone or microphone stand so I had to pack up all that stuff and take it with me. I lugged it all a block and a half to where I’d parked my car Monday evening and when I got to the parking spot where I’d left my car, my car was nowhere to be found. More...

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