It's almost eleven o'clock on the east coast.
We've got two FAWM showcases lined up for March.
We had an awesome meet-and-greet yesterday, involving a ten-minute songwriting challenge:
(That would be a video playlist of the seven songs written)
We were on the radio this evening with Mike Nigro at Graffiti Radio.
There's nothing else to do except... become consumed by the writing.
Dear real life, goodbye for now.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Saturday, January 28, 2012
FAWM 2012!
Here we are again. Another February, another FAWM.
That's February Album Writing Month!
I've completed two FAWMs already. This is my third year writing, and my second year organizing. I've had the distinct pleasure of co-organizing with Michael (Battleshy Youths) (Honey Badgers). We're a well-oiled organizational team. Joining us in the effort so far are Todd Chappelle and Aaron Nathans.
Sometimes, it's a little surreal.
The organizing, I mean.
Do you remember the moment when you grew up and realized you could eat bacon WHENEVER YOU WANTED?
That's kind of like this.
The response is incredible. Very few people I've talked to have said no to FAWM. Seven new Delawareans joined this year along with a few folks I know from Philly, and one of our new Delawareans managed to recruit some folks - without even having started FAWM himself.
It ain't a numbers game, though. I just love to cultivate creativity. People have these kernels and grains of the stuff, and sometimes they let it grow and sometimes they don't. I'll tell you one thing: a garden's a sorry place with just one flower.
Pretty soon, we'll embark. We'll be at the inDEpendence musician network on Monday; they meet at Extreme Pizza once a month for the sole purpose of strengthening Delaware's music community. Then we'll be on Graffiti Radio on Tuesday at 8 pm! Listen online by clicking through to that link. Wednesday, I'm taking off work and writing music all day. ;)
Showcase details forthcoming. Yep yep yep. For more info, check out the website or the facebook page for all the happenin's of FAWM in the Delaware area.
That's February Album Writing Month!
I've completed two FAWMs already. This is my third year writing, and my second year organizing. I've had the distinct pleasure of co-organizing with Michael (Battleshy Youths) (Honey Badgers). We're a well-oiled organizational team. Joining us in the effort so far are Todd Chappelle and Aaron Nathans.
Sometimes, it's a little surreal.
The organizing, I mean.
Do you remember the moment when you grew up and realized you could eat bacon WHENEVER YOU WANTED?
That's kind of like this.
The response is incredible. Very few people I've talked to have said no to FAWM. Seven new Delawareans joined this year along with a few folks I know from Philly, and one of our new Delawareans managed to recruit some folks - without even having started FAWM himself.
It ain't a numbers game, though. I just love to cultivate creativity. People have these kernels and grains of the stuff, and sometimes they let it grow and sometimes they don't. I'll tell you one thing: a garden's a sorry place with just one flower.
Pretty soon, we'll embark. We'll be at the inDEpendence musician network on Monday; they meet at Extreme Pizza once a month for the sole purpose of strengthening Delaware's music community. Then we'll be on Graffiti Radio on Tuesday at 8 pm! Listen online by clicking through to that link. Wednesday, I'm taking off work and writing music all day. ;)
Showcase details forthcoming. Yep yep yep. For more info, check out the website or the facebook page for all the happenin's of FAWM in the Delaware area.
Monday, January 23, 2012
All-local iPod
A year ago, I got a new laptop. It was a total surprise - random birthday present - I'm not really one for material gifts, but you're not gonna look a macbook in the mouth, are you?
I never rebuilt my music library. My iPod, therefore, is still synced to the old laptop, where all the old music is.
The old music library has its issues, though. Over the years and transfers from machine to machine, things had been miscategorized or mislabeled. One of my favorite classical albums somehow got each track separated into its own album folder, making it impossible just to shuffle within the album. Plus, there were artists in there that I didn't really want - except for a few songs here and there, I generally skip past Rammstein and Nine Inch Nails. I'm not entirely sure how they got in there, honestly. Oh, and if you ever studied music history in college, you'll sympathize with this one: fractions of songs. I actually love to listen to the stuff I studied in college, but some of the packages contained CD's that split songs into segments of a minute or less. This made it easy to study, but man, if you want to just listen to the piece - good luck. It also means that when I put my iPod on shuffle, I might get just the middle section of the Introit of Mozart's Requiem (beautiful beautiful beautiful). Similiarly, folks who record short demos or song ideas also have such other fragments floating around their libraries.
Okay, so it's got problems. You get the picture.
Well, this presents me with a few options. I could just put up with it. But that's not really in keeping with my character. I could just go through the library and ditch the stuff I don't want, and try to re categorize everything.
OR... I could re-build. It would take time, and it might be a gradual process, but it would ensure a well-organized library.
I got to thinking, though. If I'm a supporter of local music community, shouldn't I put my money where my mouth is? There's plenty of awesome local musicians, most I've met, some I haven't. I have fond memories associated with these people and these albums. Let's rebuild only the local music.
So, that's my current task. And here's what I've got to work with:
Yeah, it's not a ton, but it's a start!
If you care to read on, I'll list what I've got:
Artist - Album
Ba-Durr! - Demo (Newark punk band, I love these guys!)
Battleshy Youths - Grow (YES! Michael and the gang!)
Matt Brown - My Native Home (Great old-time folk musician, has since left for Chicago.)
Tina Colon - Taken Up (Met her at a young adult Christian conference in Mass, she is in NY.)
John (???) - some kind of a demo wrapped up in sheet music. His facebook page seems to be gone :( (johnsounds??)
Mark Engebretson - Where Does Love Go? (my composition prof at UNCG)
John Francis - The Better Angels Project (Saw him at a house show in Wilmington. I helped fund this CD and got a signed copy in the mail when it came out!)
Glad Hearts - The Oak and the Acorn (Actually have no idea where I got it. I think it was gifted to me by someone who thought of me when they saw their show.)
Matthew Halley - Birdsongs (Just met Matt a few months ago and we've had some awesome jam sessions. I'm so happy this album exists.)
Matthew Halley - some rough demos (this will be worth a fortune one day)
The Look Machine - Above this Clouded Mind (They're not together anymore. But I love this album. Shane was the drummer and he was kind enough to let me have a copy. Listen to a track here.)
Em McKeever - Demo (Graciously recorded by Shane Palko)
Em McKeever - Videogame music (written for Jed's videogame! I just put it on a CD so I could drive around and listen to it.)
Erik Mitchell - All These Words (got it at the Christmas show we played at the Queen!)
Shane Palko - Pretty Good Songs Volume VII (The first one.)
Shane Palko - Going Places (The second one. I think I attended the CD release show for this? It would have been very shortly after meeting him.)
Shane Palko - Songs from Pretoria (Shane's currently back in South Africa releasing his CD all over. And doing research. His blog's here.)
Rainy Day Cacophony - Dirty Words (Met at a Palko Basement show. Tim, I think? Cool guy, was glad to make his acquaintance.)
Jess Ray and the Rag Tag Army (Doesn't seem to have a title and I don't know where it came from! Possibly another gift.)
Rachel Schain - Happy Happy (Yeah, lady singer-songwriters!! Rachel is awesome.)
Victory Shoes (no idea??? I think I got it at a show, possibly Palko show.)
Windowview - Pine Island (Picked this up at an inDEpendence networking event, I believe actually the first one, from a bandmother. :)
Compilations:
A Diner Club Christmas (The Paper Janes, Battleshy Youths, Em McKeever and friends)
Christmas on the Block (WSTW/Graffiti Radio)
I actually don't yet have some of my favorite bands, like The Hundred Acre Woods and Bullbuckers, but I'll fix that soon enough!
I never rebuilt my music library. My iPod, therefore, is still synced to the old laptop, where all the old music is.
The old music library has its issues, though. Over the years and transfers from machine to machine, things had been miscategorized or mislabeled. One of my favorite classical albums somehow got each track separated into its own album folder, making it impossible just to shuffle within the album. Plus, there were artists in there that I didn't really want - except for a few songs here and there, I generally skip past Rammstein and Nine Inch Nails. I'm not entirely sure how they got in there, honestly. Oh, and if you ever studied music history in college, you'll sympathize with this one: fractions of songs. I actually love to listen to the stuff I studied in college, but some of the packages contained CD's that split songs into segments of a minute or less. This made it easy to study, but man, if you want to just listen to the piece - good luck. It also means that when I put my iPod on shuffle, I might get just the middle section of the Introit of Mozart's Requiem (beautiful beautiful beautiful). Similiarly, folks who record short demos or song ideas also have such other fragments floating around their libraries.
Okay, so it's got problems. You get the picture.
Well, this presents me with a few options. I could just put up with it. But that's not really in keeping with my character. I could just go through the library and ditch the stuff I don't want, and try to re categorize everything.
OR... I could re-build. It would take time, and it might be a gradual process, but it would ensure a well-organized library.
I got to thinking, though. If I'm a supporter of local music community, shouldn't I put my money where my mouth is? There's plenty of awesome local musicians, most I've met, some I haven't. I have fond memories associated with these people and these albums. Let's rebuild only the local music.
So, that's my current task. And here's what I've got to work with:
Yeah, it's not a ton, but it's a start!
If you care to read on, I'll list what I've got:
Artist - Album
Ba-Durr! - Demo (Newark punk band, I love these guys!)
Battleshy Youths - Grow (YES! Michael and the gang!)
Matt Brown - My Native Home (Great old-time folk musician, has since left for Chicago.)
Tina Colon - Taken Up (Met her at a young adult Christian conference in Mass, she is in NY.)
John (???) - some kind of a demo wrapped up in sheet music. His facebook page seems to be gone :( (johnsounds??)
Mark Engebretson - Where Does Love Go? (my composition prof at UNCG)
John Francis - The Better Angels Project (Saw him at a house show in Wilmington. I helped fund this CD and got a signed copy in the mail when it came out!)
Glad Hearts - The Oak and the Acorn (Actually have no idea where I got it. I think it was gifted to me by someone who thought of me when they saw their show.)
Matthew Halley - Birdsongs (Just met Matt a few months ago and we've had some awesome jam sessions. I'm so happy this album exists.)
Matthew Halley - some rough demos (this will be worth a fortune one day)
The Look Machine - Above this Clouded Mind (They're not together anymore. But I love this album. Shane was the drummer and he was kind enough to let me have a copy. Listen to a track here.)
Em McKeever - Demo (Graciously recorded by Shane Palko)
Em McKeever - Videogame music (written for Jed's videogame! I just put it on a CD so I could drive around and listen to it.)
Erik Mitchell - All These Words (got it at the Christmas show we played at the Queen!)
Shane Palko - Pretty Good Songs Volume VII (The first one.)
Shane Palko - Going Places (The second one. I think I attended the CD release show for this? It would have been very shortly after meeting him.)
Shane Palko - Songs from Pretoria (Shane's currently back in South Africa releasing his CD all over. And doing research. His blog's here.)
Rainy Day Cacophony - Dirty Words (Met at a Palko Basement show. Tim, I think? Cool guy, was glad to make his acquaintance.)
Jess Ray and the Rag Tag Army (Doesn't seem to have a title and I don't know where it came from! Possibly another gift.)
Rachel Schain - Happy Happy (Yeah, lady singer-songwriters!! Rachel is awesome.)
Victory Shoes (no idea??? I think I got it at a show, possibly Palko show.)
Windowview - Pine Island (Picked this up at an inDEpendence networking event, I believe actually the first one, from a bandmother. :)
Compilations:
A Diner Club Christmas (The Paper Janes, Battleshy Youths, Em McKeever and friends)
Christmas on the Block (WSTW/Graffiti Radio)
I actually don't yet have some of my favorite bands, like The Hundred Acre Woods and Bullbuckers, but I'll fix that soon enough!
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
I want to tell you a story.
When I was a kid, I wanted a trophy. I wanted a trophy so badly. I don't know how I got the notion that I wanted a trophy, but darnit, I wanted a trophy.
The next thing I know, I'm on this soccer team. I don't remember if I asked, or if my parents convinced me that I would get a trophy if I joined the team. Anyway, I'm in first grade and on this soccer team.
Turns out even in the first grade, I was pretty much a nonconformist. In a very short period of time, I noticed that most of the kids were out chasing the ball. In a huge mass. I also noticed that I was not necessarily the fastest of the kids, so my chances of getting control of the ball were slim to nil.
In short order, I decided that my skills were needed elsewhere, like, being on defense.
I have a lot of memories of getting yelled at for doing my own thing. Such as the defense shenanigans. Or maybe the one time when I FINALLY GOT CONTROL OF THE BALL! And then tried to kick it into my own goal.
Basically, we didn't get trophies that year.
Still, though. There's something really disheartening when folks continually yell at you just for being you. I really had no clue what I was doing out on the field, but I thought I was doing pretty good. In all honesty. I was using my brain! Unlike all the other kids who were chasing the ball in a mindless mass. Puh-lease.
So here's me, trying to sing.
Here's me, through high school, knowing I can carry a tune and even harmonize, but feeling vaguely like I shouldn't try.
Here's me, through college, discovering I was right about carrying tunes, and getting assigned to the alto 2 section of glee, thereby cementing in my mind that I should never try to sing high, because the college people put me in the alto section and they must know what they're doing.
Here's me, after college, writing more and more songs. I believed that my voice was actually fairly unlovely, but the songs needed to come OUT, and they're my babies and I couldn't see asking someone else to sing them for me.
Here's me, now. Having been coached, one-on-one, concerning my vocals for the very first time.
I found out that most of what I believed about myself is total garbage.
And I just feel like a completely new person.
I feel like somebody finally saw this crazy kid running around on the soccer field doing all the wrong things... told her not to be down because the coach yells at her... told her that she is a good soccer player, gave her a focus, and stepped up her game.
Granted, yes, I have work to do.
But I know how to get the trophy now.
When I was a kid, I wanted a trophy. I wanted a trophy so badly. I don't know how I got the notion that I wanted a trophy, but darnit, I wanted a trophy.
The next thing I know, I'm on this soccer team. I don't remember if I asked, or if my parents convinced me that I would get a trophy if I joined the team. Anyway, I'm in first grade and on this soccer team.
Turns out even in the first grade, I was pretty much a nonconformist. In a very short period of time, I noticed that most of the kids were out chasing the ball. In a huge mass. I also noticed that I was not necessarily the fastest of the kids, so my chances of getting control of the ball were slim to nil.
In short order, I decided that my skills were needed elsewhere, like, being on defense.
I have a lot of memories of getting yelled at for doing my own thing. Such as the defense shenanigans. Or maybe the one time when I FINALLY GOT CONTROL OF THE BALL! And then tried to kick it into my own goal.
Basically, we didn't get trophies that year.
Still, though. There's something really disheartening when folks continually yell at you just for being you. I really had no clue what I was doing out on the field, but I thought I was doing pretty good. In all honesty. I was using my brain! Unlike all the other kids who were chasing the ball in a mindless mass. Puh-lease.
So here's me, trying to sing.
Here's me, through high school, knowing I can carry a tune and even harmonize, but feeling vaguely like I shouldn't try.
Here's me, through college, discovering I was right about carrying tunes, and getting assigned to the alto 2 section of glee, thereby cementing in my mind that I should never try to sing high, because the college people put me in the alto section and they must know what they're doing.
Here's me, after college, writing more and more songs. I believed that my voice was actually fairly unlovely, but the songs needed to come OUT, and they're my babies and I couldn't see asking someone else to sing them for me.
Here's me, now. Having been coached, one-on-one, concerning my vocals for the very first time.
I found out that most of what I believed about myself is total garbage.
And I just feel like a completely new person.
I feel like somebody finally saw this crazy kid running around on the soccer field doing all the wrong things... told her not to be down because the coach yells at her... told her that she is a good soccer player, gave her a focus, and stepped up her game.
Granted, yes, I have work to do.
But I know how to get the trophy now.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
I'm not even going to pretend like I know what I'm doing. Part of why I like keeping this blog is because I want to see where I'm improving. You can't admit that you're improving without also admitting that you're coming from a less-refined state.
So, I've never felt like I knew what I was doing vocally. I've never had a private voice lesson in my life. But I had songs inside of me, and the four years of glee in college managed to convince me that I could, at least, render sketchy versions said songs.
After I got out of college and began working, the perfectionist side of me began to give way to a version of me that said, "just do it." I took jobs that were definitely not necessarily what I had planned on, but I liked them and found that if I just did them enough, I would get to a place where I felt as solid as I actually was.
Which is how I began to accept that I could do this. Despite studying classical guitar for ten years, I never believed I was supposed to become a musician until I began to know God a little better, and His main thing for awhile was all, "you're a musician. you'll be mildly unhappy until you can accept that."
FINE, I said.
So I just did it. Though I knew I was not where I wanted to be. I was aware of my stumbling and my imperfections and when you're a performer, you just bravado your way right through them, because, you have to.
I left Sound Stage last Thursday, feeling... different. Feeling like I had nailed it. My mom confirmed it.
I can't say what happened, but we both tended to agree that something strange is happening with the vocals. Like, they're getting better. Or something. I sing out and it just feels, I don't know... stronger? Sort of like it was a suspension bridge before and now it's all fancy and solid and you can stand on it without getting blown around in the wind.
Maybe it's a fluke. I hope not, though, because I really like this.
So, I've never felt like I knew what I was doing vocally. I've never had a private voice lesson in my life. But I had songs inside of me, and the four years of glee in college managed to convince me that I could, at least, render sketchy versions said songs.
After I got out of college and began working, the perfectionist side of me began to give way to a version of me that said, "just do it." I took jobs that were definitely not necessarily what I had planned on, but I liked them and found that if I just did them enough, I would get to a place where I felt as solid as I actually was.
Which is how I began to accept that I could do this. Despite studying classical guitar for ten years, I never believed I was supposed to become a musician until I began to know God a little better, and His main thing for awhile was all, "you're a musician. you'll be mildly unhappy until you can accept that."
FINE, I said.
So I just did it. Though I knew I was not where I wanted to be. I was aware of my stumbling and my imperfections and when you're a performer, you just bravado your way right through them, because, you have to.
I left Sound Stage last Thursday, feeling... different. Feeling like I had nailed it. My mom confirmed it.
I can't say what happened, but we both tended to agree that something strange is happening with the vocals. Like, they're getting better. Or something. I sing out and it just feels, I don't know... stronger? Sort of like it was a suspension bridge before and now it's all fancy and solid and you can stand on it without getting blown around in the wind.
Maybe it's a fluke. I hope not, though, because I really like this.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
This week: Sound Stage (radio) and Dobbs (open mic)
I recently had the chance to appear on Sound Stage (facebook page) (webpage)! Sound Stage is a radio show that airs on 1520 AM WCHE out of West Chester, PA, from 4-5 pm on Thursdays. They feature local musicians. I managed to meet Bryn at an open mic at the Queen, who hooked me up with this snazzy opportunity.
It was laid-back and totally awesome. Mike (of Rivers Monroe) runs a good show! AND, there's a podcast up! So you can go listen to that.
I brought my dulcimer on the air and played "Sweet Life," a fairly recent little song of mine that gets rave reviews from the small pool of people who have heard it. :) It's slated to appear on the album. It's close to the end, if you want to search it out. I love introducing people to the dulcimer this way.
Oh, and Dobbs. I finally made it to Dobbs. Or, Legendary Dobbs. Or whatevah. Actually, this was the day before the aforementioned radio appearance. I'm a little out of sequence. And I'm not going to apologize.
Anyway.
Dobbs is in Philly. Philly is not... that... close. I know, I know, I know - everyone else drives way more than me for their art. Or the things they love. Or even work. (Which may or may not be something they love, but that's another topic for another day.) Most people I know that *do* things, they just drive a lot. I am still getting used to the fact that I am one of these people. Frankly, I don't mind the driving or the solitude, I'm just that much more aware that my life can be ended by someone sending a text message. And the emissions, and the gas consumption. My brain is occupied by too many things.
So, now that I've tried to talk about PHILLY and DOBBS for a whole two PARAGRAPHS now, let's do it.
I drove up to Philly. After a six-hour shift, I threw on some normal-people clothes and bam. Philly. Met up with a friend for the afternoon, then passed some time scribbling in a journal in a coffeeshop before heading over to Jacopo's for dinner. Time very well spent. I am generally appreciative of cities (moreso when I don't have to worry about parking in them), and it's a very different thing to meet up with excellent acquaintances and collaborate on memory-making versus exploring on your own.
Apart from being a great singer-songwriter and performer, Jacopo is a great chef. You need to know this. For some reason. Again, a very different thing, going to an open mic with a Philly native instead of toughing it out on my own (which is what I'm inclined to do most of the time). We were joined at Dobbs by Brene Wilson, another Delawarean singer-songwriter.
The funny thing about this open mic is that it virtually does not exist on the internet. Either that, or my search skills are beginning to degenerate. I couldn't find very much on a sign-up time or start time. As I said, knowing someone who goes to the thing more than I do helps a lot. Signup's at 8, performances at 9. Two-song format, which I like, and which other local open mics seem to be trending toward. It's run very professionally by John Faye (of John & Brittany as well as IKE). It's got my seal of approval. I gave my FAWM pitch, but I don't think I piqued anyone's interest.
However, I will not be deterred. The FAWM rolls on.
Neither did the ice on 95 deter me from driving home in twice the time it would have ordinarily took. It ended up being a 12-hour day in Philly with 3 hours of driving.
WORTH IT.
:D
It was laid-back and totally awesome. Mike (of Rivers Monroe) runs a good show! AND, there's a podcast up! So you can go listen to that.
I brought my dulcimer on the air and played "Sweet Life," a fairly recent little song of mine that gets rave reviews from the small pool of people who have heard it. :) It's slated to appear on the album. It's close to the end, if you want to search it out. I love introducing people to the dulcimer this way.
Oh, and Dobbs. I finally made it to Dobbs. Or, Legendary Dobbs. Or whatevah. Actually, this was the day before the aforementioned radio appearance. I'm a little out of sequence. And I'm not going to apologize.
Anyway.
Dobbs is in Philly. Philly is not... that... close. I know, I know, I know - everyone else drives way more than me for their art. Or the things they love. Or even work. (Which may or may not be something they love, but that's another topic for another day.) Most people I know that *do* things, they just drive a lot. I am still getting used to the fact that I am one of these people. Frankly, I don't mind the driving or the solitude, I'm just that much more aware that my life can be ended by someone sending a text message. And the emissions, and the gas consumption. My brain is occupied by too many things.
So, now that I've tried to talk about PHILLY and DOBBS for a whole two PARAGRAPHS now, let's do it.
I drove up to Philly. After a six-hour shift, I threw on some normal-people clothes and bam. Philly. Met up with a friend for the afternoon, then passed some time scribbling in a journal in a coffeeshop before heading over to Jacopo's for dinner. Time very well spent. I am generally appreciative of cities (moreso when I don't have to worry about parking in them), and it's a very different thing to meet up with excellent acquaintances and collaborate on memory-making versus exploring on your own.
Apart from being a great singer-songwriter and performer, Jacopo is a great chef. You need to know this. For some reason. Again, a very different thing, going to an open mic with a Philly native instead of toughing it out on my own (which is what I'm inclined to do most of the time). We were joined at Dobbs by Brene Wilson, another Delawarean singer-songwriter.
The funny thing about this open mic is that it virtually does not exist on the internet. Either that, or my search skills are beginning to degenerate. I couldn't find very much on a sign-up time or start time. As I said, knowing someone who goes to the thing more than I do helps a lot. Signup's at 8, performances at 9. Two-song format, which I like, and which other local open mics seem to be trending toward. It's run very professionally by John Faye (of John & Brittany as well as IKE). It's got my seal of approval. I gave my FAWM pitch, but I don't think I piqued anyone's interest.
However, I will not be deterred. The FAWM rolls on.
Neither did the ice on 95 deter me from driving home in twice the time it would have ordinarily took. It ended up being a 12-hour day in Philly with 3 hours of driving.
WORTH IT.
:D
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Background music, silence, stream of consciousness
Background music should be the bane of every musician's existence. It really gets under my skin, but then I'm guilty of it. I have this compulsion, every time I get in the car, to turn up the music ALL. THE. WAY. So that everyone can appreciate punk/ska and videogame remixes. You're welcome.
At home, too. I turn on a YouTube playlist to do just about anything. ALL. THE. WAY.
Sometimes, I am actively listening.
Not all the time, though.
Music should not be something we are trained to tune out, but that's what background music does to us. There's music playing, but you're focused on the ad, or what someone's trying to converse with you about, or...
What is it about silence that disturbs us so much?
Someone recently reminded me of that fundamental understanding, that music is given its weight by silence. A cacophony of sound does not equal music, necessarily. We need silent times and quiet times.
And I expand that into my life, because like the overly loud Streetlight Manifesto, I, too, live loudly with too many actions and too many commitments. The busyness has become a soothing buzz and now I have somewhat forgotten how to relax and lean into the cradle of silence.
How can notes have significance without silence to surround them?
How can my actions have significance if I only do them to do them? Because I don't know how to stop doing? To make a splash of noise in a noisy world?
Shhhhhhhh.
And forgive this random plot of thoughts. Hope you enjoyed them.
At home, too. I turn on a YouTube playlist to do just about anything. ALL. THE. WAY.
Sometimes, I am actively listening.
Not all the time, though.
Music should not be something we are trained to tune out, but that's what background music does to us. There's music playing, but you're focused on the ad, or what someone's trying to converse with you about, or...
What is it about silence that disturbs us so much?
Someone recently reminded me of that fundamental understanding, that music is given its weight by silence. A cacophony of sound does not equal music, necessarily. We need silent times and quiet times.
And I expand that into my life, because like the overly loud Streetlight Manifesto, I, too, live loudly with too many actions and too many commitments. The busyness has become a soothing buzz and now I have somewhat forgotten how to relax and lean into the cradle of silence.
How can notes have significance without silence to surround them?
How can my actions have significance if I only do them to do them? Because I don't know how to stop doing? To make a splash of noise in a noisy world?
Shhhhhhhh.
And forgive this random plot of thoughts. Hope you enjoyed them.
Monday, January 2, 2012
New year, new website, new FAWM.
WEB
SITE
IS
UP
!!!!!!!!!
Entirely designed and coded by myself, and YES, I am proud of that. A co-worker and I set a deadline of December 31st, since we each had a website that we wanted to finish. Here's hers! (She runs a quilting business out of New Castle County in DE.)
The site itself a pretty basic affair, and that's how I like it. Not too much stuff. Just enough stuff, and then links out to social media for anyone who cares to follow. It is amazing how social media and other such stuff has changed the way we use the internet. All I had to do was come up with a very basic template for my website, and then copy and paste code from ReverbNation and YouTube. All of a sudden, my website streams audio and video and upcoming events. Magic.
I owe a debt of gratitude to Michael, who cared enough to give me feedback here and there and helped me find a good hosting service. ^^ Thanks!
I want to get an e-mail list set up because I think I have people who'd prefer to get their news that way... but for now, I will revel in the completion of this step.
And HAPPY NEW YEAR! I had meant to write some sort of thing about how 2011 is over and blah blah blah, but honestly I was too busy contra dancin'! ^^ The Cosmic Otters played at Glenside on Friday for a New Year's Eve Eve dance (complete with toast at midnight!). Then, I danced yesterday at Arden to the playin' 'n pickin' of the Contra Rebels. Good, good times, and what a way to end one year and begin another. ^^
Speaking of a new year, FAWM... is just around the corner... ^^ Now that Christmas is out of the way, it's time to go go go with the FAWMinatin', organizing, the awesome chaos of it all.
SITE
IS
UP
!!!!!!!!!
Entirely designed and coded by myself, and YES, I am proud of that. A co-worker and I set a deadline of December 31st, since we each had a website that we wanted to finish. Here's hers! (She runs a quilting business out of New Castle County in DE.)
The site itself a pretty basic affair, and that's how I like it. Not too much stuff. Just enough stuff, and then links out to social media for anyone who cares to follow. It is amazing how social media and other such stuff has changed the way we use the internet. All I had to do was come up with a very basic template for my website, and then copy and paste code from ReverbNation and YouTube. All of a sudden, my website streams audio and video and upcoming events. Magic.
I owe a debt of gratitude to Michael, who cared enough to give me feedback here and there and helped me find a good hosting service. ^^ Thanks!
I want to get an e-mail list set up because I think I have people who'd prefer to get their news that way... but for now, I will revel in the completion of this step.
And HAPPY NEW YEAR! I had meant to write some sort of thing about how 2011 is over and blah blah blah, but honestly I was too busy contra dancin'! ^^ The Cosmic Otters played at Glenside on Friday for a New Year's Eve Eve dance (complete with toast at midnight!). Then, I danced yesterday at Arden to the playin' 'n pickin' of the Contra Rebels. Good, good times, and what a way to end one year and begin another. ^^
Speaking of a new year, FAWM... is just around the corner... ^^ Now that Christmas is out of the way, it's time to go go go with the FAWMinatin', organizing, the awesome chaos of it all.
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