Sunday, 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. I said 8:00 on the flier but many people decided to arrive fashionably late, which would have been fine if it had been a party but since the show started promptly at 8:00, those who arrived late missed most of it.

I felt like such a pop star. Two different videographers showed up with their video cameras and were filming the show. There were also a couple of photographers, so I should get some really great footage. The place was freezing. I was trying to sing while my teeth were chattering. At first I thought it was just nervous energy but finally I realized that it was just too darned cold in there! I mentioned something at that point but I don’t think they turned down the air conditioning because my teeth continued to chatter throughout the entire set.

After the performance, I mentioned how cold it had been onstage to one of the audience members and he said it was even colder where he was sitting.
The door of the venue creaked and squeaked horribly every time someone came in or out, which was quite distracting and I’m sure won’t sound great on the recordings.

One of the people who was videotaping my performance has a show that features independent artists. He heard my music and was so impressed that he’s going to feature me on his show. He brought his girlfriend to the show with him. They both seem very nice. It’s always great to meet cool, down-to-earth people in this business.

The other person who was taping the performance was the same person who was doing the taping for the music video today. He and his partner offered to produce a music video for me at no charge to me because they really love my music, they said. I can’t wait to see the finished product! I hope they have it completed by the time I leave for California. It would be great to be able to take it with me and also to upload it to my website.

After the show, Miss P insisted on taking me out to dinner for my birthday, which is tomorrow. We went to an Indian restaurant in the East Village. There were about six of us altogether. The food was pretty good. Afterward, we went to Zinc Bar because another friend of Miss P was performing there. I went along and tried to hang out for awhile but finally weariness overtook me and I had to make my way home, where I promptly collapsed.

Today was my video shoot, which was tons of fun in spite of the fact that it was incredibly hot outside. I decided to wear the hottest outfit early on in the day, figuring that the temperature would rise as the day progressed. The actuality of the situation was that the hottest part of the day was the morning because the videographer decided to shoot the first part on the east side right at the river. So the sun was beating down on us the entire time. By the time I’d walked the block and a half to the location, I was drenched in sweat. I was quite happy when we moved on to the next location, which was Riverside Park, where it was much cooler because of the trees and the fact that the sun hadn’t reached the west side yet.

My plan was to get into bed early last night but of course that didn’t happen. I finally made it to bed at about midnight and awoke at about 7 AM. It’s now about midnight and I’m absolutely exhausted. As soon as I wash my face and brush my teeth, I’m climbing into bed. Then, as a birthday treat to myself, I’m turning the phone off and not getting out of bed until I feel like it. Then perhaps I’ll treat myself to a delicious breakfast somewhere. Perhaps I’ll take a ride down to Greenwich Village and site in an outdoor café. After that I may treat myself to a manicure and/or pedicure and then who knows. The day is mine to do with whatever I choose and I don’t have to decide beforehand. I think everyone should have at least one day of out of the year (preferably one day a month) where they can just do whatever they feel like doing.

Today my friend NFJ came by and worked on my MySpace page again. She’s set it up quite nicely for me and I decided to tweak it just a bit and wound up screwing it up. She said she’d come by today if I promised “not to mess it up again.” Of course I promised. I treated her to lunch at my favorite Jamaican restaurant in Harlem. She ate so much that her stomach began to hurt, poor thing.

Then my best friend SHE came by. Today is her birthday. I gave her her gift and then we went for a walk to get a snack. I wasn’t really hungry but I was in the mood for icecream. Then I walked her to the bus stop and waited with her until her bus came.

After, I came home, cleaned the kitchen and baked a rice pudding, which I’m snacking on now. Not a good idea considering that I’m going to be going to bed soon but I couldn’t resist. My neighbor ADD baked a lemon pie and we exchanged treats a little while ago but I’m going to wait until tomorrow to have my lemon pie. Perhaps I’ll have it for breakfast. After all, as my motto says, “life is uncertain… eat dessert first!

More soon...

© Daughter of the Sun. Reprint by permission only.

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 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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