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 is quite new for me. She took one look at my safety pinned-together purse and was quite taken a back. “We need to correct this situation,” she said. “You cannot just walk around looking like…”
“…a homeless person?” I supplied.
She nodded and I made a mental note to drop my purse off at the leather shop this weekend while I am recording.
I wore three inch heels last night. This makes me 5’11. “You are sooooooooo tall,” said someone in the audience as I walked by them. What’s interesting about that kind of statement is that it’s hard to know how to respond, exactly. You can’t say ‘thank you,’ because it isn’t a compliment. You can’t say ‘so are you,’ because it’s generally a short person who makes that kind of observation. You could say that you are not so tall when compared to most trees, but that would start a conversation that you might not want to have. Plus, there are always bonsai trees–and they totally trump your argument.
I usually just end up agreeing and then trying to move the conversation on.
Oh, and here is a video someone took of us covering ‘I Need a Doctor’ from last night at Sleep No More, if you care to watch.
And that, my friends, concludes this blog post.
I am meeting a new friend who’s visiting from Britain tomorrow morning. We met because she interviewed me for a radio program, and now we’re hanging out. The internet is a crazy and wonderful place sometimes.
ain’t my friend.
in MP3, Performance, Thoughts and Feelings, video
as confines, dogs and cats, everything, Jess, laundry, LOSE, massive amounts, mounds, perfection, person, phone, stranger, subway, tea, tiny bit, tiny room, verge, version, weird word
It’s late. I mean, even for my brother out in California, it’s late. Which means that in New York City? All the normal people are already sleeping.
Which begs a question: what’s a normal person?
………
Right. That’s what I suspected.
But! Today, I drank tea and spoke with friends about being pregnant. Well, more like I listened to a friend tell me about being pregnant, not having any experience with it myself. And I listened to another friend talk about meditation and, between the two of those friends, they’ve got healthy down. It doesn’t get much more…organic…than pregnancy…and meditation is good for just about everything a human is. Right? Right.
Anyway.
Many people have been telling me that the little video from the subway that a stranger turned no longer a stranger took of me in which I spur-of-the-moment played one of my songs with a stranger turned…well, he’s still a stranger, cause I can’t find him cause I LOST his number. Because I would LOSE my head if it were not attached to my body. No, correction: I would get my head stuck under mounds and mounds of clothes that are stacked as high as an elephant’s eye within the confines of my tiny room. Oh, but my point to this is that many people have been throwing the word viral around.
“You’re going viral, Jess!” they say.
And I cannot help but think it sounds like I am on the verge of infecting massive amounts of people with something fatal. Which doesn’t sound all that pleasant. And, because I know it’s far from the truth, the thought still makes me laugh just a tiny bit inside. Cause I just think viral is a weird word.
Moving on.
And I must say…about this whole viral thing…well, it’s surreal. I love to sing. One of my earliest memories is singing to my animals. The dogs and cats always seemed to tolerate it, so I guess I just eventually moved on to singing for people. Anyway, if this can lead to making albums–real live albums!–and getting to sing for more people (and heck, maybe even some more cats and dogs, if they’d like!)–then, it’s the stuff of dreams. And that silly phrase comes to mind right now–the one that always sounds so absurd, cause it makes the person sound like they really shouldn’t be standing in the first place if it’s THAT easy to knock them over–but maybe, just maybe, it applies at this moment: you could knock me right over with a feather. Especially a peacock feather–those things look TOUGH.
Oh, and here is a version of ain’t my friend. Cleaner. Recorded on my phone. SO CLASSY. And in the basement laundry room. And you didn’t think it could get any classier.
And also, if you wanna download that laundry-room version of the song, you can go HERE. Many thanks to my friend, Rod Kim (who’s an awesome musician; check him out!), for putting that together. I, myself, do not understand all the whirly twirly ways of the internet, and, had I tried to do this, would probably have gotten so dreadfully lost, that not even Google would be able to find me.
And as for the recording–please don’t expect perfection. Cause that would just be too normal. And since I am still up at 4:33 in the AM, I have already proven that I am anything but that.
And another reason not to expect perfection?
I recorded it in a basement laundry room. With my phone.
Like I said, CLASSY.
subway shows.
in MP3, Performance, video
as bit, blog, capoeira, coming home, facebook, flippin, grocery, grocery shopping, home, little gem, phone, post, serendipity, subway, time, yoga
So, I was gonna tell you all about this. But then someone who had gotten the whole thing on his phone friended me on facebook and threw it up on there (ew. threw it up. just thought I’d point that little gem out). And if pictures are worth a thousand words, then I can only [...]
sticks and stones.
in Loved Ones, MP3, Performance, video
as chicken, christmas day, claps, clucks, computer, favorite quote, INDEED, life, luck cause, Merry Christmas, oven, ovens, People--the, pop, quote, record songs, spiritual, sticks and stones, turkeys, uke
Christmas day made me smile. People–the ones in my life, specifically–helped a lot with that. And my parents got me a microphone. One that I can plug into my computer and record songs in such a manner that they don’t sound entirely terrible. MERRY CHRISTMAS, INDEED. Favorite quote from church this morning had to be [...]
you’re better than that.
in Loved Ones, MP3, Performance, video
as aloneness, beautiful friend, blink, call, conversation, darling, decisions, dirt, familiarity, fluff, friend, hearts, kind, moon, poem, right, someone, something, song, standing, stop, story, today, Untouchable, vulnerability
I wrote this song today. I was thinking about some decisions I’ve made lately; mostly about who I want to get close to. And then I thought about a friend I have. A dear and beautiful friend with whom I recently shared a conversation. “You know you’re better than that, right?” I said, after listening [...]
I wish you the world.
in Loved Ones, MP3, video
as angle, chorus line, dear friends, face, gig, Jess, life, melody, recording, show, song, toronto, voila, way, while
So, this song. I wrote it for some dear friends in A Chorus Line. My life went through such an about face right when I got off tour, though, that I completely forgot about it for a while. Until I suddenly remembered. At least that it happened, I mean. “Remember that song I wrote for [...]
Always come home to you (Betsy & Todd’s song).
in MP3, video
as Betsy, Chief, home, right, s song, sleep, song, today, Todd, tomorrow, Yep
I have so much to do. Chief among them is organizing. Which is why I recorded a song instead. Clearly. So right, there you go. And now it’s late. Or early. Depending on how you look at it. But anyway, I need to sleep. So the organizing will have to wait until tomorrow. Or later [...]
the misery index (boysetsfire cover)
in MP3, Performance, video
as bam, Boysetsfire, cover, gonna be the one, gosh, half, hour, hour and a half, index, misery, misery index, movie, picture, song, studio, time, ucla, whole time, youtube
We did it. We finished it, I mean–Jonah and I. The Misery Index. One of Boysetsfire’s finest. “You should put it on youtube,” Jonah told me. “Oh gosh, how do I do that? How do I put a song on youtube, I mean?” I asked. “Add a picture.” “Well, it’s gonna be the one of [...]
