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…
An artist bio is the narrative that leads people from your work– music, dance, painting or whatever– to you. It satisfies the natural curiosity that is aroused when people dig what you do. It helps fans and industry types get a better sense of who you are, where you’ve been and what you’re all about. Ideally, a great bio will highlight your accomplishments and also celebrate your unique humanity. Because I’ve worked on both the publicity and booking sides of the music business, I’ve read hundreds…
A month or so ago, I made the decision to take a brief hiatus from music. For the most part, it was a purely practical move. I’ve been slamming on a couple of big writing projects. I’ve also been putting in extra muscle on this beautiful new website. Both of these have exacted an inordinate amount of time. Throw in practice, gigs and the daily demands of parenting and what you have is one frazzled chick. There are only so many hours in a day…
Lately, I’ve been slammed: psycho slammed. I’m working on a sizable writing job that will pretty much go until the end of the year. I’ve got another big ass job for one of my regular freelance clients. On top of these demands, I’ve been gigging a lot and also just trying to stay on top the usual life stuff of being a mom, driving the carpool, feeding the teen animals and paying the bills on time. And of course, there’s the added frenzy…
"Our Creative Lives" is a new blog series dedicated to the examination of the creative experience. Throughout my own evolution as a writer and a vocalist, I’ve often been curious about how other artists think and feel about what they do. I am interested in everything from the inner workings of the creative psyche to the day-to-day challenges of working our craft, whatever it may be. Each month, I’ll throw out a topic, put in my two cents to get the ball rolling and then…
A few months ago, I took on a new job that I knew wasn’t right for me. Fiscally-speaking, it offered low-hanging fruit, and my fears about economic insecurity won out over the small voice inside of me that kept whispering…..warning me…..that I was about to take a wrong turn. That small voice was right. This particular gig, while definitely enhancing my day-to-day financial situation, has become an enormous time and energy suck. It eats up several hours of my day, and when the time comes…