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.
got straps?
in Funny Stuff, Performance, Thoughts and Feelings
as apartment, back pack, backpack, breaking my heart, car, conviction, disappointment, dolly, everything, Free, gig bag, grip, pack, pack straps, repeat, revelation, sam ash, today, use, zippers
I don’t quite remember when it was that I got my red keyboard, but I’ve had it for months now. Months and months. Not a full year yet, but definitely months.
And I have been toting it one-handed all the while. Never knowing it could be any different. Never realizing that life was only one tiny revelation away from being SO. MUCH. BETTER.
Because, see, I go to Sam Ash today. I had to do a gig tonight and was prepared to bring all my instruments. Well, all two of them, anyway. But, I need to buy a stand for my keyboard, and get to talking to the salesman. “How in the world do you guys tote everything around on the subway?” I ask.
“I have a car,” he admits.
Must be nice.
“But you have a Nord, you say?” he asks, and I confirm.
“Yeah, I got a dolly to roll it around,” I add.
“Why don’t you use the straps?” he says.
“The straps?” I repeat.
“The straps,” he repeats, this time.
“Uh…there are only tiny straps–and I do use them–I grip ‘em with one hand…”
“No, the back pack straps. YOU DO HAVE A NORD, RIGHT?”
“Yeah, a Nord,” I agree.
“And you have the Nord case–the red one?”
I nod.
“Then, use the back pack straps. Wear it on your back. Free your hands.”
“I’ve never seen those straps…” I say, but this time with a little less conviction.
“GIRL,” the salesman says slowly and directly, like he’s speaking to a monkey who is just learning his commands, “UNZIP THE ZIPPERS ON THE BACK. PULL OUT THOSE STRAPS. WEAR. YOUR. NORD. ON. YOUR. BACK.”
I say thank you and decide to try just that when I get back to my apartment. But I don’t expect it to necessarily happen. It’s the heart that is well-acquainted with disappointment that learns to keep things in check; to not rely on much until it’s tangible, you know. Don’t need no backpack strap-less gig bag breaking my heart. Not on an otherwise lovely Monday.
And, wonders of wonders, it works! It feels like magic, unzipping those hidden (well, previously to my eyes, anyway) zippers and pulling out those back pack straps. I strap the thing onto my back and walk proudly around the apartment, showing Betsy how much better my life has gotten in just the last sixty seconds.
You guys, I feel so bamf walking around the city with my keyboard strapped to my back. I mean, to be completely honest, it does get a little heavy after a while, and, not used to having my keys, my uke, and the stand on me in the subway, I did accidentally hit someone with the uke (“YOU GOT MY EYE!” a guy yelled. I felt horrible. But then he told me he was okay. And then I felt better)–but still, I can haul all my stuff all by myself and if that’s not the definition of a strong woman, then I don’t know what is.
And just think–what other revelations are just around the corner, waiting to make life better?
Now, if only my keyboard stand could be folded into ear muffs or something; life would be just about perfect.
FINALLY.
cared for.
in I Lift My Eyes Up, Thoughts and Feelings
as boxes, cancellation, close calls, counselor, disappointment, EXPENSIVE, fears, husband, life, LOTS, mechanisms, moment, nashville, OKAY, stop, today, Usher, Voice, voice lessons
It is no secret that I recently completed a year of therapy. And then my therapist up and moved to Nashville. What can I say? Therapists have dreams, too, I guess. And in this case, my therapist had a husband with a dream. But I have also met a few times with a counselor in [...]
patience and safety pins.
in Funny Stuff, I Lift My Eyes Up, Thoughts and Feelings
as apartment, armor, bathroom, buste, c est la vie, gist, green jeans, knight, knight in shining armor, new friend, pair, personal assistant, prospective clients, purse, replacement, safety pin, safety pins, sun, today
My zipper totally busted today. While I was out. Well, I was actually in. In the bathroom of a new friend’s apartment. And I was taking an extraordinarily long time in said bathroom. Because I kept trying to zip. up. my. fly. So finally I just walked out of the bathroom and explained the situation [...]
on the television and what I think and how I accidentally almost stole my cabbie’s identity today.
in Funny Stuff, I Lift My Eyes Up, Performance
as best compliments, bridge, cabbie, choruses, Eat, fare, fox studios, God, idea, mc hammer, onset, phone, second verse, sense of direction, song, sound of the rain, television, today, Touch, ukulele, vampire, Vampires, verse
Take it in. Breathe. Eat. Sleep. These are phrases–no, commands!–that I am hearing an awful lot of recently. And I am trying; really, I am. Would you like to know what, exactly, I was ‘taking in’ while I was playing and singing on the tv this morning? Why the heck did I write such a [...]
I recorded today (and other stuff).
in Loved Ones, Performance, there are pictures here, Thoughts and Feelings
as alaskan, alaskan malamutes, crotch, favorite quote, forte, home, HUGE, Jess, kind, medium sized dogs, parents, perspective, pop, quote, real, studio, today, train station, ukulele
I am exhausted. But it’s a great kind of exhausted, because it comes from doing a lot of this: Which doesn’t look nearly as difficult as it is. Does anyone realize how hard it is to record an instrument that is not your forte? Recording a piano is much easier than recording a ukulele. For [...]
let go.
in I Lift My Eyes Up
as alice in wonderland, change, clutches, free swish, John Legend, kind, knowledge, leggings, life, ottis redding, rabbit, something, sound of the wind, springtime, today, tomorrow, version, white knuckles, white rabbit, winter snow, wonderland
Tonight, I listened. To a friend tell me the kind of words that, in the past, have not gone down so easy. Not like listening to John Legend or Ottis Redding. That kind of thing goes down real easy; my heart becomes a bowl that can never quite catch enough of what they’re pouring, it [...]
today.
in Thoughts and Feelings
as american ballet theatre, audition, bakery, bumble bees, calling, daughter, deal, dish, extra ticket, life, long a vowel, long a vowel sound, middle name, nutcracker, order, reason, today, waitress, waltz of the flowers
Today I go to an audition. I wear a dress that looks like a bell. I talk to a woman named Jane while waiting to sing. She tells me that sometimes she just wishes she has a name that isn’t so plain. “No!” I say, quickly. “I love the name Jane; I want Jane to [...]
cat-bird.
in Loved Ones, Thoughts and Feelings
as blond hair, brooklyn oh, Cat-bird, christmas gift list, cinderella, day in my life, dressing room, everything, favorite shop, gift, homemade cards, pair, room downstairs, shop, store, time, today, unicorn, vintage store, way, Write
I took myself out tonight. Put a dress on and everything. By everything, I suppose I mean boots and a jacket, too. I don’t know, really. It just felt right to add the word everything. Anyway, I ended up in Brooklyn. Oh, who am I kidding–I knew I would end up there. See, it’s just [...]
a list.
in Funny Stuff, Performance, Thoughts and Feelings
as audition, concert, dance, date, edge of my seat, empire state building, half, high maintenance, hippie, idea, julliard school of dance, kind, lincoln center, nuance, play today, rapt, today, way, what the heck, yell
“I like this; I don’t like this!” Is what I heard the seniors at the Julliard School of Dance yell onstage during their performance at Lincoln Center tonight. The whole concert was stunning. I was rapt and on the edge of my seat, hardly wanting to blink, for fear I would miss some nuance of [...]
