Friday, 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. It was more of a precursor for my upcoming Temple Bar show. I’d purchased The Indie Bible in March and sent out some CDs in the hopes of getting some press coverage and setting up some more shows while on the west coast.

A week before heading out for the west coast, I got a call from a woman saying she was working with Warrior Girl Music. “I don’t ordinarily accept unsolicited CDs,” she explained, “but when I received your envelope, how could I not open an envelope from the daughter of the sun? And then I listened to your music and I had to call you.” Of course that made me feel really good. Anyway, she went on to say that Warrior Girl Music holds showcases for independent artists and that she wanted to invite me to perform at their upcoming showcase in Los Angeles while I was in town, which of course I agreed to do. So that brings me to last night.

The showcase took place at The Talking Stick in Santa Monica. There were about five other artists performing; most of them very good. The only performance that I wasn’t crazy about was the guy who went on right before me. In his defense however, I do have to say that, even though he wasn’t that good, he was at least quirky enough to make it interesting.

Gilli Moon heads Warrior Girl Music. She’s also a singer/songwriter. Unlike most singer/songwriters, she plays keyboard instead of guitar. She had an amazing guitarist accompanying her. She threw a song at him that he’d not heard before. It was a bit complicated but he had no problem keeping up. He also accompanied another artist who was performing a complicated jazz style piece and, once again, he held his own splendidly. I was determined to get his number because I still didn’t have musicians lined up for my show at Temple Bar.

I posted an ad on Craig’s List looking for musicians for the Temple Bar show; a guitarist, a bass player and a drummer/percussionist to be exact. I received several responses and, while they were all talented in their own way, none of them were quite what I was looking for. One couple got me excited enough to actually go and meet with them. I really liked the woman. She and I seemed to have a lot in common as far as spirituality, food likes and dislikes and a lot of other life issues but I wasn’t crazy about her husband. Although he seemed like an excellent musician, I didn't like his attitude. He wanted to just take over the whole project. He didn’t like the endings that I’d worked out for any of the songs and wanted to change them all and he wanted to be the musical director.

“Why didn’t you tell him to get his own show?” TDJ asked when I relayed the meeting later. I was almost willing to work with them because up until that point, they were the best possibility I’d come across but I wasn’t crazy about the way the woman played her instruments (bass and violin). She didn’t seem the get the rhythm down. I’d decided to reserve judgment until we got together a second time, which we were slated to do, until I performed at The Talking Stick.

So, at The Talking Stick last night, after all of the performances were done, I approached the guitarist. As soon as I started talking, he got all excited and asked, “You’re from the east coast, aren’t you?” When I admitted that I was, he said, “I knew it! I loved that song, Sunny! Your songs are great. I don’t ordinarily like this kind of music – I’m a jazz musician – but I can’t get your song out of my head!”

“I’m glad you feel that way,” I said. I asked if he was currently living on the west coast or just visiting. He said he’d just moved to Los Angeles from Philadelphia. “Do you play with other people?” I asked, fingers crossed. When he said that he did, I asked if he’d be interested in playing with me at Temple Bar on July 12th. He said that he would indeed. I gave him my card and he promised to email me when he arrived home that night, which he did. We’re going to get together on Saturday and go over the tunes. I don’t know why I didn’t just give him a CD last night so that he could at least start listening to my songs. Hindsight…
I still have to find a drummer/percussionist but even if I don’t, it will make a big difference to me to just have another guitarist onstage to take some of the pressure off of me.

A new MySpace friend came to the show. Unfortunately she got there too late for my performance but we stayed for the rest of the performances. She just moved to Santa Monica from Australia. She's a sound engineer and is hoping to find work in Los Angeles. We didn't want to be rude and talk while the performances were going on, so afterward we drove to Main Street and found a cool spot to sit in bar that had an outdoor garden, had a drink and chatted for a bit. Her roommate is from New York. She said she's going to bring her to my show at Temple Bar.

I'm absolutely loving MySpace and all the cool new people that I've met through it!

More soon...

© Daughter of the Sun. Reprint by permission only.

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 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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