I’ve been preparing for my album release and needless to say it’s been a bit stressful. I think it’s the perfectionist in me that attracts all that stress. I’m used to handling the preparation for one of my shows. What I’m not used to is releasing an album. I knew it would be work. I think the most difficult part was working with all these other schedules- that and letting go of all that hard earned money in a matter of days. So,no more living it up for lunch. It’s plain ol’ brown bag lunches from home for me for a while. Ha.



Anyway, the music was done. I only had to revisit it for some final mixing and mastering. Everything sounded fine when we burned the files to disc. I took a listen in the car to be sure everything was on point on the way to get it mastered. It wasn’t. There were some auxiliary instrumentation missing. To anyone else listening it wouldn’t have made a difference, but I needed those things to be there. So Jonathan sends me the new file. I had a full week of rehearsals and two shows that week taking every available moment I had. When I finally got a second to take a listen it was still missing. So I had to make time to head out to the studio and listen in person. We discovered a computer glitch kept burying tracks. This went on…resetting the levels, listening before exporting- it just kept doing it. Well, the problem was resolved, but I lost a couple days on my deadline to have everything ready for the manufacturer. Arg!



And the blog ended there. I wanted to finish it, but there just wasn’t time. I’m very proud to say the release was a great success. Every aspect was as I hoped it would be. Yes, I was stressed. Friday I took a vacation day to get last minute errands done early and relax. It was about 4:00 in the morning when I was awakened by a clash of thunder and lightening followed a split second later by an explosion. The electricity ceased. The lightening hit a transformer and a line. A few moments later and things were still exploding right outside my window! Okay…I’m not a stranger to lightening, but I can’t handle fiery explosions (and what sounded like a loose electric cable) right outside my window…not to mention the howling winds. NES got things working about 6:00. I fell asleep a bit after that but when I woke up everything still wasn’t in order. The storm hit Comcast pretty hard. So, there was no internet for me to work on and I couldn’t relax by watching TV. There were tornadoes 12 miles away and my area was favoring those same conditions. So I couldn’t run out and take care of those errands either. I got out there though. It wasn’t the safest thing I could’ve done, but I was determined to wrap up everything I could (requiring me to travel) before Saturday. I got a little wet and blown around, but I covered the majority of my errands. Later I had dinner with friends at the Cheesecake Factory to celebrate my birthday.


That Saturday was quite the busy day. I had to prepare the choir for Easter service which meant an extended rehearsal. Afterwards I went to the final band rehearsal for the show. So, essentially I was in rehearsals from 10:00am -4:30pm. I left S.I.R. and commenced the last of the “To Do” list. I swear I was all over Nashville that week. I finished errands just in time to have dinner at The Melting Pot with one of my best friends who was in from L.A. Needless to say, I was in desperate need of several naps by the end of the evening.

Sunday. Easter Sunday. I waltzed in and ran around in usual style before service starts- trying to gather all my choir members for prayer. Did I mention I direct the choir at church? Anyway, I was surprised to be greeted by El Movimiento member, Giovanni Rodriquez who was blessing us as an addition to our regular band. It was a good service. I rushed out and headed home to change and gather my things. In just a moment it would be time to go to mosey down to B.B. Kings for sound check. Still anxious and a little stressed, I arrived with my suitcase and several bags. Somewhere in between making up my face I checked my mike and before I knew it, it was time to head to my radio interview with Fiona at 92Q.

It was my first radio interview. I had no idea what to do (and no one instructed me on what to do), but I think I handled it ok. By the end of the interview I felt comfortable. It was such an exciting experience. Well, now I was running a bit behind and had to run into the venue to change. As the track started and the band began to play I stood back stage attempting to calm myself down. I began my verse from behind stage. As I entered the stage and saw the crowd for the first time there was a roar of applause. It was awesome! I felt so welcomed. I think it was my first solo show that I felt completely free to just do me. I was so comfortable and the band was on point. And when I was done I received a standing ovation with a call for an Encore. I don’t know if I was more excited that I was asked to do an encore or that I actually had a song to do for an encore. LOL It was the night of my dreams at this point in my career.

To I.H.O.P. good friends and I traveled to conclude celebration of my birthday and CD release. It was a fabulous event and I can’t wait for the next big thing!

MARCH MADNESS

Yeah....last week was the busiest I've seen in a month or so. Really, the past two weeks were crazy. Okay...all of March was mad and now it's a blur. Preparing for my first big show of the year was no easy task. All the hard work did pay off. The show was great! Between regular commitments, working on the album, preparing for the show, and work, I took the term "burning the candle at both ends" to a whole new light.

You see, I'm an artist with a day job. Quite a blessing it is and its own little curse in return. I work for an ad agency from 7:45 a.m.-5:30 p.m. So, all the hustle and bustle takes its toll on me. Let me explain how a typical day in March was for me. I'd rise around 7:00 a.m. and head to work by 7:45 a.m. After working 9.5 hours I'd head immediately to some engagement (a rehearsal, show, studio session, etc.). In most cases I'd head to another engagement immediately after and sometimes another after that which pushed the close of my days to sometimes 4:00 a.m. Then I'd wake up at 7:00 the next morning and do it all over again. Meanwhile my body's like, "Sit your a#$ down and get some rest!" But I've noticed in the past year I've become addicted to staying busy. I'd like to say it keeps my mind off things that I'd be dwelling on if I were sitting at home, but that's not completely true. That's another story entirely.

I had four shows last week in addition to other activities. I planned to get rest over the weekend (which I did), but they say you can never really catch up on sleep. Even if you could I doubt 8-10 hours would do anything for weeks of sleep lost. So here I am. I was doing okay Monday. I felt refreshed and had a good supply of energy for Damien's final "Liberated Lounge" set at The Rutledge. I didn't really realize until I was leaving the gig that it was 2:00 a.m.! I'd done it again and I'm paying for it. Well...someone is paying for it. April - Sleep = Grouchy -the likes of which you've never seen.

WHAT IS MISERABLE?

      Miserable starts with a nagging cough that leads you to believe you need a little water or tea to soothe your throat. Miserable is when you realize no amount of moisture is getting rid of the persistent cough. So you try to go home and pump yourself full of Airborne, Throat Coat, vitamins, Emergen-C and any other form of vitamin C you can think of. But the inevitable is upon you…you’re getting sick and miserable is just beginning. As you slumber the germs are having the biggest fiesta possible and carrying out their plan to bring your system down. Miserable continues with a throbbing headache, achy chilled flesh, massive pressure in your head, and a throat so sore you feel as though you could literally “spit hot fire” like Making the Band’s Dylan. It’s absolutely impossible to even fathom pulling yourself out of bed to communicate that you won’t be doing any business today much less put on some clothes and hop in the car to pay ol’ Doc a visit.

      Miserable is sitting in a waiting room with other sick people waiting to be moved to a smaller waiting room when you’d really rather not be sitting upright. Miserable is when you realize it’s much worse than a sinus infection or a cold because you’ve just looked down and saw the word “positive” on a post-it note attached to your throat culture results. That’s right ladies and gentleman…miserable has a name and it’s Strep Throat.

      I’ve just experienced this dreadful state. I don’t remember the last time I had the flu or strep, but it had to be eons ago because I KNOW I would’ve remembered this. It’s been almost two weeks and I’m still waiting for my voice to recover! At any rate, after the nurse punctured my hip with the thickest shot of penicillin I’ve ever seen, I went to the store and stocked up on juice, tea, and chicken noodle soup. I knew I’d be in the house for a while so I got that over with. The fun was just beginning.

      I figured after the shot I’d begin to heal. But it was a long miserable weekend before I’d see relief. I had a slight fever when I got home of about 100. Then it continued to climb… 100.5, 100.9, 101, 101.4, 102.6… all the while I’m in bed bundled in blankets, layers, leg warmers, and yes…gloves. I began to think to myself, “Isn’t a 103 degree temperature that’s rising a little dangerous?” I didn’t even feel like trying to get to the hospital in the event it was necessary. It sounds absurd, but when you feel that bad you almost feel like you should write up some arrangements just in case. Crazy as it seems, my next thoughts were about the two shows I had coming up that evening. My hopes of making those were soon dashed and I started sending out the text messages. Welp, I’ve had my turn of all the crud passing from person to person during this chilly season. I’ll be extra sure I have Lysol nearby.