My Blog
In my last post, I wrote about rejection. Judging from the comments, reposts, likes and emails that I've received in response, it’s clear to me that the subject resonates with a lot of people. It seems further examination is warranted. If we’re all feeling like a bunch of rejects, then what does it mean for the big picture of our creative lives? Rejection is a pragmatic issue as much as an emotional one. Let’s face it–opportunities lead to more opportunities. Recognition increases prospects. Accolades influence…
Last week, a local organization announced the finalists for an annual vocal competition that it hosts. These finalists will sing at Jazz Alley for a shot at winning a trip to Japan. Throughout the afternoon after the announcement was made, I received emails and texts from a handful of vocalists, friends who did not make the cut. Their reactions ran the gamut from perplexed to downright miserable. (I should add that all of these women are great singers.) We talked about a lot of…
It’s been a week since the Seattle Seahawks roared into MetLife Stadium and beat the Denver Bronocs to become the Super Bowl XLVIII champs. My pulse is finally starting to return to normal. My voice is slowly coming back. I’m hopeful the Skittles hangover will subside sometime in the near future. Whew! The 12th man could not have asked for a more spectacular end to the season or for a more exhilarating ride to get there. Our ferocious and passionate team took us on the…
The first time I heard Jimmie sing was at the Royal Room, where he was doing a duo performance with Seattle pianist Tim Kennedy. His sweet and breathy tone, his patient, intuitive phrasing and his overall lovely presence immediately mesmerized me. I was also captivated by the wide-open honesty of his original compositions. Jimmie Herrod had my heart in an instant. While some would try to Kung Fu fight me for the honor, I am quite certain that I am Jimmie’s biggest fan. By…
photo by Elaine Thompson, AP Of course, Seattle football fans are in an ecstatic frenzy over the Seahawks defeat of the San Francisco 49ers in yesterday’s slugfest for the NFC Championship. The game was a classic nail biter down to the final seconds. Colin Kaepernick blasted a last effort pass to Michael Crabtree, only to have Richard Sherman tip the ball into the hands of Michael Smith for the interception that would nail the win and send the Seahawks to the…
photo by Joe Nicholson Technically speaking, the NFL was probably within its rights to fine Seattle Seahawk Marshawn Lynch for not talking to the press this season. The League policy states: “Cooperation with the news media is essential to the continuing popularity and financial prosperity of our game and its players. This is an important part of your job, especially in these challenging times when everyone in the NFL must do more to promote our game.” The language in the standard…
ONE- PAGE ARTIST BIO YOU NAME THE PRICE Happy New Year Everyone! I hope that the year ahead is prosperous, peaceful and happy for all of you. To kick things off on a positive note, I am offering a limited special on bio writing services. If you sign on with me in January, I will write a one-page bio and you pay-what-you-can. You set the price. No fuss. No mess. Simple stuff. This offer includes a coffee date or Skype conversation so that I…
Well, hot damn. We’ve managed to survive another year. High fives all around, people. The big transition from the old year to the new one is different for everyone. For a lot of people, it’s a time for deep reflection and possibly voodoo rituals. Other people just want to quickly slam the door shut on the passing year and hedge their bets on the next. Some people see New Year’s Eve as the last hurrah for holiday hedonism, with January 1 bringing new resolve and…
Back in September, I made the decision to take a brief hiatus from music. I needed the extra time and space to focus on writing for my new website and to finish up a couple of other projects. I also needed a beat or two to step back, take a breath and reevaluate the whole jazz and singing thing. The time off was well spent and I made an unexpected realization along the way. It had to do with joy. On the night this epiphany…
We completely lost our minds last night. It was one of those “one thing led to another” situations. I was hanging out with Lora and Jeff, my faithful football buddies. Whenever the Seahawks play, we’re together. We yell at the TV and each other. We jump around. We celebrate. We represent. We’re crazy for our team and we rock it hard. Although there are other good fans at our weekly gathering, Lora and Jeff are my mainstays. If there’s a heaven and I go there…
