Thanks for all those who came out for the Water Street Cafe and Swing gigs in April. Had a great time making music with Joe Baque, Steve Luceno, Micheal Olson and Vince Brown. Gentlemen, let’s do that again real soon.

Upcoming in May I will be joining the line up of wonderful vocalist for a benefit for KBRD!  The Lakewood Community Jazz Band will be  swinging through the night with guest vocalists, Jessica Blinn; Lizzy Boyer; Rich Sikorski; Vickie Anderson; Daven Tillinghast; Christine Corey to name a few. If toe tapping isn’t enough for you, there will be dancing; and if you don’t know how to dance there will be a beginning dance class at 7.

Where? When? What?

KBRD Benefit with The Lakewood Community Jazz Band

Saturday, May 19th from 7 till 10 PM at The Olympia Elks Club, 1818 4th Avenue East in Olympia.

Also in May I will be singing at the Center for Spiritual Living  on Sunday May 6th and May 27. Hour long services begin at 11:00 at the Nova School in Southeast Olympia located at 2020 22nd Avenue SE Olympia.

Hope to see you some time this month.  Be well, be kind and thank you for your support.

The school tour of Wilma with Book-It All Over is coming to an end, with a few extended performance planned for May. A couple of weeks ago, myself and other cast members smiled, giggled and cooed, ” that is soooooo cute” more times than I care to admit  as we read through a pile of thank you letters from students. The spelling and pictures were…priceless.

Any hoo, I’m singing in April and I would love to see you there:

April 21st, Saturday 9:30-12:00

Water Street Cafe610 Water Street Southwest

Olympia, WA 98501

(360) 709-9090

with Joe Baque, piano  Steve Luceno-bass  Michael Olson percussion

April 27th Friday 8pm

Swing Cafe and Wine Bar

825 Columbia Street Southwest  Olympia, WA 98501

with Vince Brown on guitar

Center for Spiritual Awakening April 29th Sunday  11am

Services held at the Nova Private Middle School

2020 22nd Avenue Southeast  Olympia, WA 98501

with David Rhys Johnson on piano

Recently, a friend sent me a link to a TED talk about creativity. We had been talking about the creative process and perceptions of creativity and I was surprised to see that the talk was given by Elisabeth Gilbert, author of the best selling book turned movie, yes you guessed it,  Eat, Pray, Love.  Ok, I thought, I’ll bite.

Who would have thunk that  18 minutes of someone, just, well… talking would be so satisfying.  Gilbert is funny, thoughtful and curious. She articulated so well what it feels like to walk the path of artist in this society.  In 18 minutes Gilbert analyzes how creative types (artist, actors, singers, writers, poets, etc) are generally viewed as doomed to suffer mentally, emotionally and financially. The common view is that  their pursuits are somehow the sign of mental illness.

I  am very fortunate to  know many people who are sincere supporters of the arts (ie folks who regularly attend theater, live music, dance etc) who know the value of the arts on the mind and heart. Therefore, I am surprised, when in their concern and care, they  give me  fearful predictions for my creative journey and how I am surely doomed to a life of economic hardship and difficulty. I have walked away from those conversations baffled.

Supporting the arts is not just about purchasing tickets or subscriptions to your favorite venues, it means supporting a culture/conversation that sees the artist as thriving, sane and necessary. To support the arts means to challenge the assumptions that artists will always have to limp economically through life.  If we truly value their contribution, then why hang such limiting and fearful thoughts on a profession that has the potential to give illumination and  joy?  Where does this thinking come from?  Rarely  are aspiring medical students told that their dream to become doctor is just crazy talk? Do we interrogate them as to whether their skills are practical and/or transferable?  Gilbert’s talk is a great springboard to explore the assumptions that we have about artists in our society. And you know what? I think I’ll try reading her book again.

Who’s Lin?

That’s what I asked my husband when he mentioned reading about  the new media darling or should I say dude-ling Jeremy Lin. I am not a basketball fan, but it didn’t take long to get caught up on his stats. Basically, 23 year old Lin had been warming the bench of the New York Knickerbockers.  In early Febuary  he got some court time and rose above and beyond expectations  becoming the first NBA player to score at least 20 points and have seven assists in each of his first five starts. Warning, that is as much basketball lingo as you are going to get  from me on this post. And just for the record that was stolen from Wikapedia.  Couple that with a rocky and serendipitous road to New York this humble ex bench warmer is improving with every game and playing like a superstar.

There are many folks who are really freaked out that he is an Asian-Americanand *gasp* playing  basketball!   But then, again, there are people who are having a hard time wrapping their head around the fact that  Obama is president  and well,  Vanilla Ice has a TV show. Take away all the media hype and the terrible puns on his name, the fact is that by authentically expressing  himself he is part of a force that is working to expand our collective view of where ability, talent, and contribution  can be found. As a culture we are ready for that expansion and as a world we are ready long overdue for it.

Funny we have to be reminded over and over again that each us has a gift and a mission and God/ Universe ( your name of Deity here)  picks the messenger and we just gotta deal with it. Yep, I like that.

Happy President’s Day and have a great week!

Today, while I was driving, I glanced at my rear view mirror and noticed that the car behind me was riding on my bumper. I realized after looking at my rear view mirror several times and mentally griping about how this ( fill in the blanks) driver was surely out to get me, after a moment, I had to giggle because I was so fixated on what was going on behind me, that I was not paying attention to what was literally right in front of me. Hello LaVon, there are cars right in front of me that I need to pay attention to. Duh!

You know those ordinary moments that become marvelous teachers, Well, that driving moment, was a  good a reminder to not hold on to the past too tightly, otherwise, there is the potential to get tangled up in the present rather than enjoy it. When I think about Wilma Rudolph and how she overcame so many obstacles of health, racism and poverty, I realize that there was no way that she could have overcome if she was fixated on the past. She had to use the past events as positive fuel and move forward gracefully.

It’s a fine art to know how much and what part of our  past experience to hold on to; and still keep your eyes front and  alert to current gifts.  It may look like I am just driving in my car all over tarnation, but honestly, some good thinking happen there too. Hope your commute offers you good fruit.

As Martin Luther King Day comes to a snowy end, I came across a speech he gave several weeks before his assassination:

It is not enough for me to stand before you tonight and condemn riots. It would be morally irresponsible for me to do that without, at the same time, condemning the contingent, intolerable conditions that exist in our society. These conditions are the things that cause individuals to feel that they have no other alternative than to engage in violent rebellions to get attention. And I must say tonight that a riot is the language of the unheard.

I was surprised by the amen truth of that last  statement, ” …a riot is the language of the unheard”.  The Occupy Movement continues to simmer in various parts of country,  and there is a rumble of discontent as the economic gap widens and politicians loose sight of their true calling as servants of all people. Peaceful demonstrations and protest have the potential to bring clarity to the bargaining table. The slippery language of soul poor politicians is momentarily  trapped and they and their kin are forced to truly listen to those who have been shouting for a long time or do not have a voice.  It is in the demonstrations led and inspired by  King which spoke strongly the words, “stop”, “no”, “enough” or ” I choose a different paradigm-I choose love”.  King’s battle was for racial and economic equality, and those protests that he ignited was part of  the necessary fuel that challenged many in America to shift or get off the pot!

Thank you Dr King, for being a beautiful fool…

His  memorial service was followed  several days later by a more public musical celebration of his life at The Royal in downtown Olympia.  The evening ebbed and flow with Steve’s personal and musical friends performing in his honor. Many of Olympia’s jazz royalty  and up and coming musicians shared the stage to play Steve’s compositions.  The place was packed, such support made the heart buoyant.

I mentioned this because  once and while I am reminded that there is a wonderful musical community in Olympia and I figured that sometimes, it needs to be said out loud.

Happy trails Steve, may the gigs be good.

Part of showing appreciation/gratitude for me,  is in giving time and creativity.  I am not to different from other folks when it comes to gift giving. We give time through thinking about what the folks we appreciate may need or what will make them smile. We research and order online or we weather the long lines for that perfect gift. Or many of us opt to go the creative route and make something.  Today while I was baking goodies to send back East, I finally accepted that it was indeed December and I was OK with that fact.  I preferred making something rather than stand in line and go on the consumer hunt. Mind you, I got nothing against shopping (money plus shoe store equals hot diggity for me!)  but I was feeling quite satisfied to give my time  through the medium of yummies. I hope as you are getting on board the holiday train of your choice  The Booth Kwanzaa Express, The Winter Solstice Flyer or The Flying Spaghetti Monster Comet, get on board in a way that works for you and brings you a sense of satisfaction in the giving. Whatever your winter celebration, may it be full of light and peace.

Come celebrate the New Year’s Eve at Swing 6:30-8:30 pm! I will be singing with Mr. Vince Brown, ringing in the new year jazzily. Hope to see you!

•  Singing needs air in order to do it. Learning how to breath well  is  one of the foundation of singing. Find someone who will teach you to breath naturally and with ease; in a way that will permit you to have good tone and pitch.

•  Good pitch, in my book is not optional. You may have pipes like Aretha, Beyonce and J-lo all wrapped into one, but if you cannot sing on pitch consistently Streisand, you got a problem! A good teacher will notice any pitch issues and help you find ways to correct them.

I want to digress from my list for a moment and add that  If you are in search for a voice teacher ( or any teacher for that matter),  I am assuming that you want to improve some aspect of your current skills,  i.e you are looking for an outside opinion.  They will help you stretch and build on your talents; but it is not their job to  just tell you how great you are. A good teacher/consultant is delighted with all progress that you make, but they do not stop there, they will keep you accountable to the goals that you have chosen for yourself. Ok, that said, on to…

•  Rhythm, as in, I got rhythm, I got music. A great sense of rhythm is a lovely and necessary talent to expand. Learn how to count properly and steadily. Does that mean that you have to sing everything straight and boring? No, it means that if you are going to mess with the rhythm of a song, you know what you are doing and can make intentional choices.

•  Diction- I’m not talking, “the rain in Spain stays mainly on the plains”  diction with the rolling “r’s” and such,  I am talking about learning how to enunciate the words while you are singing.  Trust me, it is better for your audience to concentrate on your stunning performance rather than straining to understand what the heck you just said!

This is a very short list and there are certainly more “basic singing skills” that could be added, but this should help you get started in your search for the right teacher. Good luck!

If your brand spanking  new to singing any good teacher can give you the basic about the mechanics of singing, What are basic mechanics?
More, next post…