Monday, 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. Unfortunately I missed her performance because I had to pick up my cell phone first. I met with two producers at their studio the night before and took my phone out to use the recorder on it to record some ideas for songs as the producers were playing different tracks for me. I thought I'd put my phone into my back pocket after and maybe I did but somehow it wound up on the sofa in their studio.

By the time I drove back up from Chula Vista, grabbed a quick bite to eat and went by to pick up my cell phone, I missed Tracy's show. She's performing again at the end of the month though, so I'm definitely going to make that one. As it was, I got there just in time to see her and her band loading their equipment out the back door. But I'm glad I went though because I met a percussionist who's offered to accompany me on my acoustic sets. We exchanged cards.

I also made three new friends at The Derby that night. One is a rock singer who's off to Vegas to perform at the Hard Rock there. One is a very talented film maker. She's in film school now and has already produced one short which is very good. She's starting a new project which she'll begin filming at the end of this month. Maybe I'll get to do some of the music for it. The third is a guy who works at a sporting goods co-op on the Third Street Promenade.

I got a speeding ticket for doing 62 in a 50 mile per hour zone on the Pacific Coast Highway. That really sucks. I don't even want to find out how much it's going to cost me. Now I just cruise along and let those other folks zip past me. One ticket was enough for me! I've been sufficiently spanked and have learned my lesson. No more speeding for me on the PCH. I'm usually pretty good at spotting the cops and slowing down before they can scan my speed but I've been so sleep-deprived these past few days that I didn't even see the officer until he was right behind me, flashing his lights at me to pull over.

The two producers that I met with gave me ten really nice tracks to write to. They have a publishing deal with a major and say they can get songs placed, so I'm revved up to make something happen. I spent the entire weekend indoors, just writing and recording, which was difficult because this weekend the temperature was in the eighties. I was so tempted to go to the beach and hang out but there's time enough for that after I make something happen. It's a lot easier to relax on the beach when you're not pushing the worries about paying the bills to the back of your mind. I have three songs written to the tracks already. Seven more to go.

I had my first day on my own working for Green Goddess. The other two days I worked with them were training so one of the girls who's been doing it for awhile accompanied me both days. One of the clients I visited was one of Baby Face's studios. Of course I dropped off a CD. And the next time I go, I'm going to drop off another one, just in case this one doesn't make it into the right hands.

Both the front and back porches of the house are torn up now. Every morning at about 8:00 a man comes and starts hammering, sawing and drilling. It's amazing there's only one person working on both porches. At this rate, it's going to take a month to replace both porches. When I spoke with the owner, I mentioned that the realtor brought someone to look at the house and he said, "I have to call her and tell her not to show the house while the porch is missing." Good news for me; bad news for the realtor.

I watched "Inside the Actors Studio" tonight. Chris Rock was being interviewed. James Lipton asked him why he paces back and forth so much when he's onstage. "I think Eddie Murphy told me this a long time ago," Chris Rock said. "He said if you stand in one spot onstage, people can talk to their friends. They can look away because they know that when they look back, you'll be right there where they left you. If you're always moving, they have to pay attention." I have to remember that the next time I'm onstage.

I'm doing another Farmers Market performance this week. I like performing there because not only do they feed me but I also get tips and get to sell CDs. And then I get to shop for my fresh fruits and vegetables after. Other than that, I don't have any more shows lined up.

My main focus right now is getting some songs placed. I'll work on songs for the other seven tracks from the two producers this week. I also signed up with IMDbPro.com today. They have listings of music supervisors and such. I signed up for the two week free trial, which means I have two weeks to track down all the info on music supervisors before I have to start paying.

Lots to do and not a lot of time but I'm going to make it happen.

More soon...

© Daughter of the Sun. Reprint by permission only.

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...

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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