Posts by jessica:
lucky and stuff.
in Loved Ones, Performance, there are pictures here, Thoughts and Feelings
as caps, earphones, FOUR, friday night, friday nights, girl, help, kind, lucky girl, muscles, polo shirt, pop, purse, rap, recording, snare drum, song, ukulele, weight
“This is for you,” my pop told me, handing me an adorable little purse across the table tonight.
“It’s a recording present…and it has a ukulele on it!”
And look at that–isn’t it so adorable? I am one very lucky girl.
And WE DID IT!
We recorded FOUR SONGS in just under TWO DAYS. And, I must say, I am so excited about these tracks. I keep listening to them. In fact, I went to the gym tonight (yes, I’m the girl who goes to the gym on a Friday night. Romantic, I know)–but, I was in the weight room and listening to this one part of my song that breaks down into a rap. And there’s this rolling snare drum that just makes me SO EXCITED (that’s why I used caps, guys, cause caps are EXCITING!), I cannot help but dance when I hear it. So, I am standing there with one weight in my hand while the rest of me is sort of dancing, when one of the trainers walks up to me.
“What are you listening to that’s making you dance?” he asks.
And for a second, I can’t even hear him, my music is blasting so loud through my earphones. I see that he’s not going to stop asking me whatever it is he’s asking, so I regrettably stop the music and listen to his question.
And am instantly embarrassed and evasive.
“Oh…” I say, scrambling to think of something–ANYTHING!–other than: “Myself. I am listening to myself and it’s making me dance. And, oh yeah. I don’t go on dates on Friday nights–I go to the gym. At least you’re here because you’re getting paid to be here; I cannot say the same about myself…”
Right, so I don’t want to say that, so I say, “Oh…it’s nobody you would know…” and just kind of hope he goes away.
But he keeps standing right in front of me, staring, muscles bulging through his polo shirt, looking like he’s ready to talk to me about whatever it is that’s making me dance —even if it takes all night. Or at least until ten, when the Y closes.
“What kind of answer is that?!” he says, “Come on, what are you listening to?!”
“Uh…myself? I am listening to myself…” I finally admit. “I didn’t want to tell you that I was dancing to my music. That’s kind of embarrassing to be caught doing. I mean, I never thought anyone would ever ask me what was making me dance…”
And then that led to a whole conversation about me being a musician and then another guy came over and, having talked to me at my parents’ Y last time I was in town, asked me if I’ve cut some weight. Cut some weight. Not lost it. Huge body building men have their own language, guys. So I admitted that I might have. “But not on purpose–I’ve just been so busy lately, that I keep forgetting to eat.”
Which, once these guys got over the shock and incredulity of anyone EVER forgetting to eat, of all things, led to us talking about what’s happened since youtube happened to me.
And then I came home and played the tracks for my parents and one of their dogs. Strider seemed to enjoy it. Well, he slept through it, but he seemed to enjoy whenever I scratched his ears–and my tracks were playing when I was doing it–so there’s that. My parents listened to it in a kind of reverie, smiling or moving a little or closing their eyes (but unlike Strider, I am pretty sure they didn’t fall asleep).
My nephew and brother are geniuses in the studio. Their help is immeasurable and I could not do this without them.
Like I said, I am one lucky girl.
the next best thing to dancing on the street is changing on the street.
in Funny Stuff, Thoughts and Feelings
as 5th avenue, aisles, dressing rooms, five minutes, leggings, parenthetical statement, salvation army, short dress, sidewalk, wardrobe
Remember when winter missed its cue, so–not wanting the stage to just be empty–spring jumped on and started to dance? That happened today, in fact. And what a dance it did. It was so very beguiling, actually, that I left my apartment with bare legs underneath my dress. Which was a good idea for about [...]
sleep no more + I need a doctor (cover).
in Performance, there are pictures here, Thoughts and Feelings, video
as bonsai trees, doctor, homeless person, inch heels, kind, kind of observation, leather shop, new friend, party, person, publicist, purse, radio program, recording, shop, someone, sooooooooo, today, tom larsen, wayne tucker
Last night, I played Sleep No More’s Storytelling post party here in NYC. And it looked like this: (that’s Wayne Tucker, Biet Simkin, me, and Tom Larsen, from left to right–they are incredible musicians; such a privilege to collaborate with them) I also met with my publicist today. Yes, this means I have a publicist, which [...]
the mind is a breeding ground.
in I Lift My Eyes Up, Performance, Thoughts and Feelings
as beauty, Bill, breeding ground, call, grey blue eyes, ground, harmless thoughts, lovely creature, martha graham, moment, ocean, parking meter, Preferably, present darkness, thin girl, time, transcendent, transcendent moment, typewriter, wainscoting
Sometimes you don’t sleep enough at night. You wake up early, you don’t even open both eyes yet, but you decide it’s time to write. It’s moments like these when one wishes they had a typewriter. Preferably by a window. One with wainscoting. I don’t know why wainscoting came to mind, but it did, so [...]
I know better.
in Funny Stuff, Performance, Thoughts and Feelings
as accordion, baby, brooklyn, cab driver, cake shop, conversation, doozy, happenstance, nobody, one of those days, question, random news, right, something, SPEAKER--if, sweet lady, tdbank, vowel
Right now, I am laying in a bed with freshly washed sheets, thinking about the things I said recently that made me sound rather moronic. Like, when I asked the guy in Brooklyn–WHEN HE WAS CLEARLY LUGGING AROUND A SPEAKER–if that was his accordion. He had told me that he played the organ and something [...]
cake shop. mmmmm.
in Performance, Thoughts and Feelings
as Bill, bischoffs, brushing my teeth, cake shop, Cause, conestoga wagon, delancy street, good vibes, Got, hand, Inwood, NBD, opposite, pamper, shop, stop, turtle shell, uke, wild wild west
You know how, in Star Trek, they do that thing where the stars become long lines because they are traveling faster than the speed of light? Or is that Star Wars? Well, it’s Star something-with-one-sylllable-in-the-next-word, anyway. The subway was the opposite of that tonight. And I had my musician-turtle-shell-on-her-back getup going on. The keyboard (IT’S [...]
all dressed up with a ukulele.
in Funny Stuff, Performance, there are pictures here
as breakfast, breakfast meeting, care, catwalk, courage, dear friends, event, fashion, fashion event, first meeting, heck outta, japanese man, kind, kind lady, makeup, musical sense, someone, tomorrow, uke, ukulele, Voice
I am so tired right now and I have to get up for a breakfast meeting in the morning. And then I have two shows…so, right. This post will be short. A very kind lady did my makeup for the pre-shows fashion event tonight. “I have googled you,” she told me, upon first meeting. “It [...]
keeping it real. fo real fo real.
in Funny Stuff, Thoughts and Feelings
as big gaping holes, chance, cheese, closet, dark closet, decision, everything, expert, frog, frog skeleton, husbands and wives, little frog, magic wand, maze, messy closet, need, powerful words, purse, safety pin, safety pins
I’ve stopped carrying a purse. I now shove everything I need into my pockets and hope for the best. Considering my purse is being held together by safety pins–and still has big gaping holes in some places (a safety pin is no magic wand, after all)–I figure this is a good decision. I don’t understand [...]
observations.
in Funny Stuff, Performance, Thoughts and Feelings
as altoid, headshot, hot guy, iphone, laundry room, night rehearsals, one of these days, planning a wedding, russian tea room, ukulele
I am ridiculously tired. I just spent an hour practicing my ukulele. that laundry room sure comes in handy for late night rehearsals. I recorded a song with my iphone. More than once, actually. Cause, I thought I had a good take, and then had to record the thing all over again cause my sixth [...]
it’s hard to be an artist; it’s easy to be an artist.
in Thoughts and Feelings
as bangs, big forehead, boulders, change, crayon, generosity, hardship, hot days, kindness, love, music notes, paper, semi colons, shell, soft skin, stone, stone in my pocket, story, turtle, way
It is neither easy nor difficult to be an artist. It is; it simply is. Does the turtle feel like it’s particularly hard to be a turtle? No, I think a turtle exists without any commentary on either the hardship or advantage of lugging a shell around. Maybe on really hot days he feels a [...]
