From my living room window I can look down towards MI and see when there are LPW’s happening in the passage way behind the storefront windows.  I love  taking advantage of this opportunity to watch live music.

MI Passage Way

Legends

LPW

Memorizing Marmalade

Lady Marmalade Melyssa

Here in Los Angeles there is always something going on.  I was sitting in Starbucks the other day and the guy seated near me appeared to be a writer suffering from writer’s block.  He said hello, I mentioned writer’s block…small talk, and that was that.  He left.  Then he came back with a friend wearing a coat that looked like it had been rained on a thousand times (so did his hair).  They said they wanted to cast me in the movie they were making that was going into production and going to “start shooting” right away.  They handed me a printed picture of what appeared to be a screen shot and pointed at the scantily clad girl in the car next to rained on guy and said “there we think you’d be perfect for that part”. Yes I was suspicious to begin with because you never know.  I said “well do you have a card?”  Neither of them could produce their card: “oh don’t you have yours?… oh… uh do you? no uh”.  I said “well you can understand why I would be a little reluctant to accept any offer here in Hollywood where there’s always something going on.  How about a website of the production company or one where I can read about the movie or what you’ve done in the past?”.  They said “uh yah add me on Facebook.  You can see my website on there.  My name is…”.  —-Yeah OH Sure! THEN you can see where I’m from, have my contact info, etc.
He saw on my laptop that I was on the internet so they seemed to pause to wait for me to add them I made sure I didn’t go back to that tab so they couldn’t see my last name and opened a word document and wrote out their names.  ”Ok yeah I’ll have a look and be in touch”.  They were leaving and rained on guy says “ok yeah we’ll be in touch, call me okay.”  Right with the number you never gave me. Hmm.  I definitely googled their names.  One can’t be found but is on Facebook (don’t worry I never added them) and has that screenshot as his profile picture but you can’t see absolutely anything else on his page as it’s all hidden.  And the other I did see his name connected to a movie or two through google search but when I watched one of the shorts it looked like something I made in junior high and was definitely the suspected material in some scenes.

When Lyndsey visited me back in October we were walking down Melrose to check out some of the shops.  We were stopped by a production crew surrounded by cameras set up on tracks inside a sweet skate shop and asked if we could play extras in a music video.  We walked in checked out the scene asked some questions and played our parts.  Lyndsey never did get to buy the dress we went to Melrose to look for but hey we’re superstars in a music video now.  Let the royalties roll in.  No not really we never got paid.  Volunteering is what a good christian does before they head to church right?  Actually before we mentioned we had to leave to head to church the mother/crew person mentioned that their family was Catholic and she was humming some good ol’ christian music to herself.

Enjoy the music video.  I don’t think it’s on Much Music but apparently he’s big in the Latino music scene.  We were supposed to be checking him out as he came in the store.  Then when his posse came by we were supposed to flirt with them.  I burst out laughing while watching this for the first time this morning because my flirting looks more like I’m making coffee conversation about the latest discoveries in the benefits of Vitamin D.  I might need some flirting lessons from flirty girl in the black jacket.

I want to share some music with you that I’ve heard that made my world stop for a few minutes as I took it in.  It may not do it for you but that’s okay there’s something for everyone.

I will share my own new music someday soon so let your anticipation build cause I’m really proud of what’s developping.  But first:

A band called Elbow that U2, Coldplay and Radiohead are all a fan of. They are from Europe and are lesser known.  Each of these songs have quite a different feel from the other.  Diversity is awesome!

Alexi Murdoch I know nothing about except that he has a song on the OC and I first heard of him when his cd was in a sealed and packaged Michael Buble cd case instead of Michael Buble’s cd.

There was one particular thing he said that set everything on course again for me and brought me peace of mind.  He said “stay in your craft (eat, breathe, live) and if you do, God, the universe, whatever you believe in….I believe in God but if you stay in your craft God, or that greater power etc will make everything line up”.  He was referring to anxieties we all have about finding the right opportunities, or any opportunities at all, or making something of your efforts.  This spoke right to my heart because everything that has brought me here to this school has so been about that.  Everything just lined up-even down to my roommates, my apartment and the fake snow they just sprayed on the Scientology Christmas tree (I was missing snow).  I digress.

So before that class I was worried about many things: about what was right and not right for me in the “biz”, what I wanted and didn’t want, if I could/should this or that and seeing results as far as gigs, opportunities or whatever else.  I talked to the guest speaker afterwards, got some contact info, exchanged an email or two and BAM things lined up.  He invited me to go to UCLA to be a vocalist for a class he was teaching for producers. It would be on how to work with, record and get the best performances out of a vocalist in the studio.  I’ll elaborate more on this later but the main thing he said to me the day of the first class, in the email and again in person lastnight after he heard me sing for the first time was “I knew there was a spirit about you, you’ve got something inside”.  Thank God I went to the class, stayed in my craft and so was prepared to receive what He had coming down the pipeline!

One of my favourite things is to enjoy my favourite breakfast on a warm sunny day on the patio.  I prepare a bowl of vanilla yogurt with strawberries and bananas or other choice fruits and sprinkle a granola mix on top.  The local grocery store has a pumpkin spice granola mix, a cranberry almond mix etc.  Of course it wouldn’t be complete with a delicious cup of pumpkin spice or dark roast home-brewed coffee mmm!

Windows

Breakfast

Set Up

I never thought I’d say this but I think I kinda maybe possibly (brace yourselves, wince if you have to…) miss winter. ??!?!?!?!?!  Well, the signs of Christmas are appearing and I love, love, love Christmas. Things just don’t make sense without the snow and possibly without the cold.  Imagine seeing Christmas trees being set up and walking into the Starbucks on the corner to grab a caramel brulee latte (which they do have here in the US THANK GOD) but instead of sipping carefully and swallowing billowing tides of sweet warmth into the depths of your tummy and walking back outside into the sparkly and foggy, snowy streets with a miniature fire-place burning in your inner depths thanks to said coffee you walk out into cement city feeling a little too hot and confused about what season it is.  The leaves are still on the trees (there was maybe one I could crunch under my feet) and they are still green.  In cement city the only sparkle is that of the overrated lights, glitz and glam of store fronts and media centres that, for me, don’t offer the sense of tradition, family, memories, friends, good times and great memories that the sights, smells, sounds, and tastes of a great Canadian wintery Christmas offers.

I miss being slightly cold and longing for sun if only because of the comforts that bring relief to these things.  It’s the feeling after finding relief that I miss having.  It’s like some crazy fix.  Winter just might be like a bad drug addiction.  I hate winter’s consequences on my body but I love the high of relief associated with wintery times such as scarves, sweaters, blankets, fireplaces, being indoors, a clear blue sky against pure white snow, stew, coffees.  During the winter here there isn’t really anything to get relief for.  There’s something really addicting and sweet about relief.   This happens in the summer too when you find relief with air conditioning or a cool refreshing drink.  I have only discovered this love/hate with winter while here.  Or more I have only discovered the love part of the hate I have with winter while I’ve been here.  I’ve been here for 3 seasons and nothing has changed except for the weather by a few degrees.  Personally I find that depressing.  I love the change of seasons.  It keeps things moving forward, keeps things interesting.  There’s a certain monotony to seasons that show barely a sign of changing.

Fake Flakes

Christmas Crane

Warm L. Ron Hubbard Christmas

Green Christmas

Let's Hear It For Ginger

etc and so on.  They are different ways of playing scales? Yeah I’m just learning about this.  Music theory can be a very important counterpart to spontaneous creative writing that falls from the sky or flows out of the veins in my fingers.  Especially when I’m thinking “I want to sound like Elbow!” (one of my new favourite bands) and I want to know what makes a particular song have a certain sound and feel.  I can look at what mode it might be in and write in that mode to achieve a similar result.  Blah blah it’s like math sometimes, but where there’s a need (I neeeed to sound like Elbow) there’s a motivation

To demonstrate a particular mode, my teacher Robin Randall showed me one of the million songs she wrote.  This particular one is from an episode of Baywatch.  She wrote for Baywatch! Isn’t that great?!  Dugga Dugga Du (theme song intro…does anyone remember?)

Rescue me "Bay"by (Baby)

Step Aside Pam Anderson (*photo props Lynds)

I”m trying, I’m trying not to waste anything.  As soon as you choose one thing not to waste, another is wasted by default.  I waste time writing a song which really is not a waste at all.  Then on the other hand the time is wasted because I wasted my opportunity to catch up on practice reading and get ahead in class which then puts me behind on learning what I need to know to make the song I wrote sound awesome.  And now it’s late at night and I’m wasted.  . . . Not drunk come on people, there might be gin in the freezer and ginger in the fridge but that is not wasted, there’s plenty left.  No, my energy is wasted.

Hold up, I’m going to switch it up here.  It’s all perspective right? I’m not sure maybe I could change all of the “wasted” parts of these sentences to “spent”.  I’m spent.  I spent time writing a song.  I spent that time I didn’t spend on getting ahead.  Do I put my money on red or on black?! It gets hard sometimes to choose which priority to spend on.  I do have to remind myself (as usual) that it’s not black and white and a little here and there goes a long way.   I will come out with a greater return if I stick my hand in a few pots.  Then I don’t have to let any of it go to waste and I can spend it all!  I think it’s time to retire (goodnight haha).

Don't Stick Your Hand In This One