That Singing Entry I Keep Saying I'll Write
I keep saying I have lots to tell on the singing end of things and I mean it. Of course, when I step back and look at all of it, it's not a big deal. I'm not world famous, haven't put up some youtube vid that went viral, I am not rich. But I did just buy a fancy matching bath set, so I feel like a millionairess. Anyway, I'm content. I'm not worried about bills. I got my Christmas shopping done early, I bought myself some pretty things, and paid half my bills for January. And I did it all by booking and singing like a mad woman. And November was actually pretty busy as well.
To start, I have a restaurant I'm performing at monthly. I've gotten by on parties, senior homes, and busking so far. But it's nice to have something regular and public to promote. Also, when people ask me "where do you sing?" I can just hand them one of my handy postcards or have them sign up for my mailing list.
Of course, there's also the promotion -- making the emails, the facebook invites, the postcards themselves. It's really tedious and exhausting, trying to pimp myself without feeling awkward. Then there are the replies. If someone says they can come, I reply. If they can't, I reply. I just want to make sure everyone feels important. But it's very time consuming. Still, I feel guilty if I don't get it done. And my following isn't even that big! I can only imagine what bigger singers have to deal with. I guess that's why people get assistants or PR people at some point. I'm, obviously, not at that point. I don't even know if I want to be.
I had so many gigs, I couldn't even find time to go busking in Laguna. As much as that seems like a good thing, like I've graduated from busking, I don't think I have, nor would I really want to. I've missed it, the sort of energy you get on the street. Like how people stop and smile to find you're really singing when they "thought it was the radio." That kind of fun surprise you're bringing them. They weren't expecting to be serenaded, but they love that it's happening. I feel like it's a fun moment for both of us. :)
So as much as I love having gigs, losing my Laguna time is a downside as I find myself saving my voice for the booked gigs. There's also a bit more fear. See, I fear getting sick more. I can relax a little when I'm the boss. I feel free to get sick and sleep for two days when I've got nothing but busking on my calendar for a week. But when I have gigs, I get scared. I seriously have a white board with a "sick list" (I'm an obsessive list maker, more on that later) with things to do at the first sign of sickness, different things to swallow, different things to gargle, what giant pills to force down (Cod liver oil pills are always grossly oversized).
But that's not to say I'm not grateful. it's nice to feel secure about money. It's nice to think of a gig check going to savings instead of frantically cashed with an ID and a thumprint at the patron's bank to make rent on time. I know that lots of people younger than me have that grown-up feeling, but it's nice to have when doing something you genuinely enjoy. I've also been able to buy myself things. Not big-ticket items like a new laptop or that treadmill I've got my eye on just yet, just little things on my list... one of my lists.
I'm kind of an obsessive list maker. I calm myself down by making lists of all the things I plan to do with my day, my next day, things I need to have with me when going somewhere. It's this combination of anxiety and forgetfulness that is calmed by the process. I seriously have a checklist for before I leave the house, before I leave the car, and things I want sorted by price.
I'm rewarding myself for every bill paid with an item. Little, kind of boring, things like a hamper set, new bath rugs with matching towels, a body pillow, allergen reducing mattress cover/pillowcase covers, a reasonably good vacuum, getting my carpets shampooed, my dressy coat tailored, comfy heels (they exist... kind of), sparkly costume jewelry, pretty dresses from Modcloth, a new curling iron...
I'm actually going to have to put a little stop to this (after I get my carpets done as they need it badly) so I can save up for that treadmill and laptop. I don't want to be stuck with no computer and no money for a new one like that one summer. Anyway, I bought most of the above, anyway.
I guess it just feels good, making enough not to worry. As much as I love what I do, there have been times I've paid my bills, then had no money for toilet paper (coffee filters? You're up!). Now I'm just lousy with tissues!
I guess I'm one of those people who's easily pleased, but I feel pretty good right now. The only downside has been the lack of free time. But I'll have plenty of that come December 26th. I mean, I'm still going to have gigs this month and busking, but I won't feel that pinch of certain doom, so let's hope that frees up my time to finally finish my damned fic!
Anyway, here are some links and whatnot as I keep forgetting to post these...
I've been on Laguna Beach's Kx 93.5 (a very cool indie rock and sometimes talk station) four times now. The first was their morning show with Tyler Russell, where I sang live, but he never did end up putting up the podcast version. but these guys did:
My interview with Sheran James of The Sharin Hour (free to listen or download) here. She's a really good interviewer as she managed to get me talking about things I never thought I would on the show. She was also very in-depth, finding songs and snippets to go with my thoughts and played a few of my tracks with it.
My earlier interview with Stu and Shaena on that same station. Just a quick one, but they played some songs and Shaena (a local singer/songwriter) is one of the sweetest, most welcoming people I've ever met.
I also did one just this last weekend for The Friendship Show, but it's not up quite yet. I'll link it when it is. It was a lot of fun!
I did a very fun podcast with Daniel Garza, a Laguna Beach journalist who likes to explore the arts in town. He's just so easy to talk to and really sets you at ease. Also, he comes to my performances. What a sweetheart!
Just a general Laguna note -- I love this town. I love the fact that you have people of various income levels and differing political beliefs, but they all seem to get along and support the arts in various ways. It's just a very friendly place to work in and the people, whether cops, shopowners, local artists, dedicated beach bums, activists, fireman, American Legion members, people dedicated to the homeless... they all get along and support each other and their town. I just notice how relaxed and friendly everyone is and how they strongly identify with their town and its issues and that's rare to find. It I don't think that MTV show did Laguna Beach justice at all, only showing it from a kind of myopic teenaged perspective. It might be the coolest town I've ever seen and I kind of hope to call it home one day. I might as well. Everyone knows me by now.
There are a lot of moments in Laguna that I wish I had a camera for. Like when I get a good crowd that stays for a long while. One of those was an impromptu dance party that just broke out when I was singing. Well, someone posted a picture to Stu's popular local news site, then a facebook page and the responses they got prompted them to have me on their show above. I was just so flattered and felt so appreciated by all the people posting,
This is a video someone took of me in Laguna, singing "La Vie En Rose". Little did I know, there were some legit broadway actors watching, according to the guy who took it and my later google searches. I'm flattered they seemed to enjoy themselves:
Here's two videos from Brent, who films the scenery on his walks (you'll see why I love Laguna so much. It's a beautiful place). He decided to set a few scenes to me singing and it's very sweet. These are rather old, but better late than never.
Scenes from Memorial Day 2012 with me singing at the end, about 8:10
This is from one of his daily walks, using me doing "C'est Si Bon" and "You Belong To Me"
Anyway, that's the round-up. It's been busy since spring, but I'm coming into my dead months now. I should have lots more time to write fic, post these backed up started entries I've got a doc full of, and generally be around. I'm thinking of taking my weekdays off after the holidays and working only the weekends in January, aside from gigs. We'll see if that's feasible. :)
Right now, I'm off to Uncle Mike's to do my pre-cooking for Christmas dinner. I have an experiment involving cheescake cupcakes. I'll post the recipe if it goes well. :)
To start, I have a restaurant I'm performing at monthly. I've gotten by on parties, senior homes, and busking so far. But it's nice to have something regular and public to promote. Also, when people ask me "where do you sing?" I can just hand them one of my handy postcards or have them sign up for my mailing list.
Of course, there's also the promotion -- making the emails, the facebook invites, the postcards themselves. It's really tedious and exhausting, trying to pimp myself without feeling awkward. Then there are the replies. If someone says they can come, I reply. If they can't, I reply. I just want to make sure everyone feels important. But it's very time consuming. Still, I feel guilty if I don't get it done. And my following isn't even that big! I can only imagine what bigger singers have to deal with. I guess that's why people get assistants or PR people at some point. I'm, obviously, not at that point. I don't even know if I want to be.
I had so many gigs, I couldn't even find time to go busking in Laguna. As much as that seems like a good thing, like I've graduated from busking, I don't think I have, nor would I really want to. I've missed it, the sort of energy you get on the street. Like how people stop and smile to find you're really singing when they "thought it was the radio." That kind of fun surprise you're bringing them. They weren't expecting to be serenaded, but they love that it's happening. I feel like it's a fun moment for both of us. :)
So as much as I love having gigs, losing my Laguna time is a downside as I find myself saving my voice for the booked gigs. There's also a bit more fear. See, I fear getting sick more. I can relax a little when I'm the boss. I feel free to get sick and sleep for two days when I've got nothing but busking on my calendar for a week. But when I have gigs, I get scared. I seriously have a white board with a "sick list" (I'm an obsessive list maker, more on that later) with things to do at the first sign of sickness, different things to swallow, different things to gargle, what giant pills to force down (Cod liver oil pills are always grossly oversized).
But that's not to say I'm not grateful. it's nice to feel secure about money. It's nice to think of a gig check going to savings instead of frantically cashed with an ID and a thumprint at the patron's bank to make rent on time. I know that lots of people younger than me have that grown-up feeling, but it's nice to have when doing something you genuinely enjoy. I've also been able to buy myself things. Not big-ticket items like a new laptop or that treadmill I've got my eye on just yet, just little things on my list... one of my lists.
I'm kind of an obsessive list maker. I calm myself down by making lists of all the things I plan to do with my day, my next day, things I need to have with me when going somewhere. It's this combination of anxiety and forgetfulness that is calmed by the process. I seriously have a checklist for before I leave the house, before I leave the car, and things I want sorted by price.
I'm rewarding myself for every bill paid with an item. Little, kind of boring, things like a hamper set, new bath rugs with matching towels, a body pillow, allergen reducing mattress cover/pillowcase covers, a reasonably good vacuum, getting my carpets shampooed, my dressy coat tailored, comfy heels (they exist... kind of), sparkly costume jewelry, pretty dresses from Modcloth, a new curling iron...
I'm actually going to have to put a little stop to this (after I get my carpets done as they need it badly) so I can save up for that treadmill and laptop. I don't want to be stuck with no computer and no money for a new one like that one summer. Anyway, I bought most of the above, anyway.
I guess it just feels good, making enough not to worry. As much as I love what I do, there have been times I've paid my bills, then had no money for toilet paper (coffee filters? You're up!). Now I'm just lousy with tissues!
I guess I'm one of those people who's easily pleased, but I feel pretty good right now. The only downside has been the lack of free time. But I'll have plenty of that come December 26th. I mean, I'm still going to have gigs this month and busking, but I won't feel that pinch of certain doom, so let's hope that frees up my time to finally finish my damned fic!
Anyway, here are some links and whatnot as I keep forgetting to post these...
I've been on Laguna Beach's Kx 93.5 (a very cool indie rock and sometimes talk station) four times now. The first was their morning show with Tyler Russell, where I sang live, but he never did end up putting up the podcast version. but these guys did:
My interview with Sheran James of The Sharin Hour (free to listen or download) here. She's a really good interviewer as she managed to get me talking about things I never thought I would on the show. She was also very in-depth, finding songs and snippets to go with my thoughts and played a few of my tracks with it.
My earlier interview with Stu and Shaena on that same station. Just a quick one, but they played some songs and Shaena (a local singer/songwriter) is one of the sweetest, most welcoming people I've ever met.
I also did one just this last weekend for The Friendship Show, but it's not up quite yet. I'll link it when it is. It was a lot of fun!
I did a very fun podcast with Daniel Garza, a Laguna Beach journalist who likes to explore the arts in town. He's just so easy to talk to and really sets you at ease. Also, he comes to my performances. What a sweetheart!
Just a general Laguna note -- I love this town. I love the fact that you have people of various income levels and differing political beliefs, but they all seem to get along and support the arts in various ways. It's just a very friendly place to work in and the people, whether cops, shopowners, local artists, dedicated beach bums, activists, fireman, American Legion members, people dedicated to the homeless... they all get along and support each other and their town. I just notice how relaxed and friendly everyone is and how they strongly identify with their town and its issues and that's rare to find. It I don't think that MTV show did Laguna Beach justice at all, only showing it from a kind of myopic teenaged perspective. It might be the coolest town I've ever seen and I kind of hope to call it home one day. I might as well. Everyone knows me by now.
There are a lot of moments in Laguna that I wish I had a camera for. Like when I get a good crowd that stays for a long while. One of those was an impromptu dance party that just broke out when I was singing. Well, someone posted a picture to Stu's popular local news site, then a facebook page and the responses they got prompted them to have me on their show above. I was just so flattered and felt so appreciated by all the people posting,
This is a video someone took of me in Laguna, singing "La Vie En Rose". Little did I know, there were some legit broadway actors watching, according to the guy who took it and my later google searches. I'm flattered they seemed to enjoy themselves:
Click to view
Here's two videos from Brent, who films the scenery on his walks (you'll see why I love Laguna so much. It's a beautiful place). He decided to set a few scenes to me singing and it's very sweet. These are rather old, but better late than never.
Scenes from Memorial Day 2012 with me singing at the end, about 8:10
This is from one of his daily walks, using me doing "C'est Si Bon" and "You Belong To Me"
Anyway, that's the round-up. It's been busy since spring, but I'm coming into my dead months now. I should have lots more time to write fic, post these backed up started entries I've got a doc full of, and generally be around. I'm thinking of taking my weekdays off after the holidays and working only the weekends in January, aside from gigs. We'll see if that's feasible. :)
Right now, I'm off to Uncle Mike's to do my pre-cooking for Christmas dinner. I have an experiment involving cheescake cupcakes. I'll post the recipe if it goes well. :)