Friday, March 10, 2006
My poor car really needs some tender loving care. The oil is black and
the transmission and power steering fluids are both dangerously low. I
was going to drive to Brooklyn for an oil change and fluid top-off but
DVC volunteered to drive to Philly in his truck as well as videotape my
performance. I was only too happy to accept that generous offer. I drove
to his garage, parked my car and we hopped into his truck and headed south.
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. They still have trolley cars here, which is pretty cool.
So now it’s Friday morning and I’m in Philly. BPA let us crash
at her place last night. It was very quiet here and I’ve become
so accustomed to the street noises in New York that I almost wasn’t
able to fall asleep. BPA had a class of little children to teach music
this morning and DVC went with her to film it. I’m waiting for them
to return so that we can all go out for brunch before DVC and I hit the
road. Even though Philly was lots of fun, I’ve got lots to do back
in New York and I'm anxious to return.
Last night I performed at Rocketcat Café, which is a really cool
spot. Of course I got a teeshirt. The audience seemed to be into the songs
and clapped enthusiastically after each one. I got lots of new additions
to my mailing list. While I was onstage tuning my guitar and getting ready
to start, a man in the audience kept talking to me. He was just full of
all sorts of trivia that he felt the need to share. Fortunately, he piped
down once I started singing. Then, halfway through my performance, his
cell phone began to ring and, instead of his answering it right away or
turning it off, he slowly walked to the other side of the café
and then answered it. I ignored him as best I could and kept singing.
After Rocketcat, a bunch of us went to Azure Restaurant and got something
to eat. DVC and I had planned to check out some more music spots but we
were all exhausted after dinner and were only too happy to get a good
night’s sleep.
I had a pretty full day and night Wednesday. First the new intern came
by. He’s actually turning out to be much more than an intern because
he plays 12-string guitar. He brought his guitar with him yesterday and
I set him up with some basic drum tracks and recorded several tracks of
him playing. I’ll pick and choose some pieces and write some new
songs with them which of course I’ll share the publishing with him
on.
We worked until about 7 in the evening and then we had a quick bite at
my favorite burger spot in the neighborhood. Then I dropped him off near
his guitar student and headed to my first stop, which was the Songwriters
and Friends Showcase. I’m performing there in May so I wanted to
drop in and say hello to the booking/organizing person and also check
out the venue. I wasn’t planning to stay as long as I did but the
performers were quite good and I made some new friends.
After leaving the Songwriters Showcase, I headed to Hoboken to pick up
my newly mastered CD. When I went to Hoboken to drop off the CD last Saturday,
the traffic was horrendous. It took nearly an hour just to get through
the Holland Tunnel. Apparently, they started their St. Patrick’s
Day celebration last weekend and the streets of Hoboken were filled with
green hat wearing party people at 3 in the afternoon. Last night, fortunately,
I breezed right through the tunnel and was at the studio in about 20 minutes.
AHB (one of the studio owners and a really cool guy) was there and he
played the before and after versions for me. I had to admit there was
a big difference in the levels. We made plans to get together the week
after next to work on some new material together. They have a nice setup
in Hoboken and it would be nice to have someone else working on the production
end of things with me. It’s difficult to be the artist, the producer
and the engineer all at the same time.
After leaving Hoboken, I drove back into the city and went to Piano’s
to see one of my favorite bands, Shaka Zulu Overdrive. They have a really
great sound system at Piano’s but the sound guy that night didn’t
really know how to get the best sound out of it so unfortunately they
didn’t sound as great as I’ve heard them sound at other venues
but it was still a fun show. I told my friend DVC about them and when
I got to Piano’s, he was there with his camera videotaping them,
which they were quite happy about.
Of course I sat down at the computer when I got home and the next thing
I knew it was nearly 5 in the morning. I slept kind of late Wednesday
but it’s not the same thing as getting into bed early and getting
a chunk of sleep while it’s dark outside.
I’d pretty much given up on the MTV folks after not hearing back
from them after they’d come by to film me (see
MTV entry) so I was surprised when they phoned the other day. “The
director’s been busy finishing up another project,” FTP said.
“She should be done in a few days and then we’ll call you
to schedule another shoot.” So I guess it’s still on. That’s
good news.
Thursday morning was the Rock Star audition. I see myself as more of a
pop star than a rock star, but I went anyway. There were mostly guys there,
real rockers, with tattoos and several facial piercings, none of which
I have (although my belly button is pierced). A lot of the auditioners
were very talented both on guitar and vocally. One guy took nearly 5 minutes
to set up his guitar and three foot pedals and he had a special cover
for the microphone. He played an intense intro on his guitar and we were
all on the edge of our seats waiting for him to begin singing. When he
finally did, he sounded like Tiny Tim and it was all we could do to keep
from laughing. They probably won’t be calling me to do the show
either but I’m glad I went. It was definitely an entertaining experience.
More soon...
© Daughter of the Sun. Reprint by permission only.
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 every 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...
MTV Comes - The MTV folks came and went Monday. It was all quite fun. I was up and dressed by the time they arrived at 9:00 AM. “We have to film the entire day,” they said and they made me put my pajamas back on and get back into bed. Then they filmed me getting out of bed, going into the kitchen and having my first glass of water for the day. They wanted to film that twice so I had to drink two large glasses of water before it was all said and done. More...
MTV- I sent off a CD and letter to MTV for their Made series. Sunday afternoon I got a call from them saying they want to film me for their “A Day In the Life” series. More...
Insulted - I got a call from a woman today who books acts at a café in Montclair, New Jersey. She wanted to know if I was interested in performing a short set of about 3 or 4 songs at her café on Tuesday. Not only was she not offering to pay me but she wanted me to buy an entrée while I was there. I was highly insulted. More...
January 13, 2006- I’ve been in bed all week with the flu. Not my idea of the best way to start off the new year but I suppose it could be a lot worse. As a matter of fact, I feel almost completely better. Just a little tickle in my throat, which means I won't be going to the movies over the weekend and making everyone in the theater hate me because I'm coughing every few minutes. More..
