Booking....all up in your face!

I want to send out unwarranted advice to any musician who is interested in booking gigs.
If you are paying someone to book that doesn't give you information for your gigs it makes YOU look bad when you're late, missing equipment you needed etc so if you can get a handle on this yourself, you're golden AND you will make more $$. If you find someone who can do this for you as well as you could without getting you blacklisted from gigs, TAKE IT!

I get asked about booking....a lot. If you don't know...Ty and I play A LOT. At LEAST 1 show a week. Average 2. Sometimes 3 and on a crazy week 4 but that's VERY rare. But still..its not quantity. its quality. I could make us play every night if I wanted to but we still work full time and that's rough. Because I am able to get us booked on a consistent basis for months at a time, I somehow have started getting asked advice. At first I though it was unfair for me to give advice on something I know very little about. Then, I started talking to the people who were asking and it occurred to me...We have been doing this...this intense.... for a few years now.
I decided that perception is 99% of success. If you ask someone when their next opening is, and they say 2 months or 3 months down the line, its a little impressive. If you ask and they have no shows nor prospects, it takes away a bit of dazzle. Tell me I'm wrong here.
Some of the people who ask have yet to play out live.
I encourage this. Performing live  scary as hell, and yet empowering and suddenly your song is over, and unless your crowd is a bunch of ass holes, you get this feeling that can't be beat. It may be applause, it may be silence, we all have our own desired result. Nothing is better than playing a song you really feel with all your heart and nailing it and then that rush that comes.

So. Here is my advice. This is not the bible. This is not set in stone in any way. Something I do may NOT work for someone else. As a matter of fact...adopt that idea NOW. If someone else is doing it, try something else. Sorry...its the way of the music world.
First. Do an open mic. You'll NEED to make sure you like it. I have seen people that said 'I want to play music SOOO bad!!!! and then they hated it...not many...but a few. Rinse and repeat. You need to play a bit before you start asking people to book you at venues and even more to ask them to pay you. Why would you hire someone to babysit your kids if they have never been around kids in their life?
Next, where can you perform? Obviously, If you're under 21...there's no reason to call bars.
Lets say you're us. Why? Because I don't know what has happened to everyone else....sillies.:)
Don't DECIDE where you can perform. Unfortunately, at least in Utah, very few "venues" besides clubs pay the musicians. This means, if you want to make a living, you need to figure out how to play a bar crowd. Do you HAVE to? Remember earlier when I said this isn't the bible? Ok. :) (playing a bar crowd...there is no advice. Figure it out your way because someone else's way is not YOU and crowds sense that.)
Play anywhere that will take you if you have to for the first little bit. Some places never even listen to your music and you open for heavy metal. This is perfectly normal. And I think good for you. If you can't hang with what ever is put in front of you, you'd better get good at it. Our first gig in SLC was at Burts Tiki Lounge. Nice folks. More than that though, you're getting experience.

How do I find gigs????
Ready??????
Get a phone book, or, if you are against hard, hold in your hand books with paper, go to google.
I will continue with phonebook reference. Translate to Google where necessary.
Open it.
Go to the yellow pages.
Look up bars, clubs, coffee shops, restaurants, pubs, entertainment....anything you can think of that associates music.
Pick a place.
Call them.
When they answer ask first (if you don't already know) 'Do you have live music there?' If they say no thank them and move on. If they say yes, ask them how a band would go about booking a performance there sometime. They will direct you one way or another from there. Do what they say. email? Call? Call after a certain time? (very common) Do it. If you keep calling back doing every thing you weren't supposed to do they will hate that.
Build your list and keep it. As you go you will run into multiple repetitive listings and you don't want to call the same place 3 times asking if they have live music. Also, you're building your call list. This is imperative to booking. I literally went down a copy of the phone book bars and restaurants yellow pages with a highlighter, called them all, asked if they had live music, and highlighted the ones that did. On each call I got any info on booking or took notes if I was to call back later.
My point of this initial calling was to get my list done and ready so I could call and look to it next time.
Its something I try to do again later and then will continue to do periodically to keep my listings up to date.
Booking is hard. Its scary. More than that, its time consuming to start. Just get to the point and be polite and courteous and professional. Booking people can be assholes, dicks, and bitches. Don't let it get you down. And remember, something bad has to happen at least once or you're dreaming.
A few years (Yes more than likely years) in, you will have met many new people along the way. Sometimes a gig you play for free will lead you to a paid opportunity. (Remember also, the easier you are to work with, reasonable, and nicer you are, the more likely they are to want to have you around). We have scored SOOO many amazing gigs from free gigs. We got booked at pride because we played at a free fundraiser gig and a guy who books for Pride happened to be there. Funny thing was we finished our set and Fox13 came in to film for the news so they missed us and we were sort of sad we were missed but then booking at Pride Fest is AMAZING and it was 100% worth playing that free gig.
We did a free gig at The First Unitarian Church that has music all the time and it lead to a few people that now email and hook us up with gigs.
We played at a summer concert the other day for free that lead to the manager of the restaurant giving us his email to book paying gigs.
Do NOT think you are above a gig. Either you love playing or you don't but you are not better than anyone or anything if you're just doing what you love. Otherwise, it becomes work. I don't want to work my life away. I want to play music.
Just remember, if you love something, you will find a way to have it. You will do what ever it takes, to get that to stay in your life, and you will be glad you did. Push through the crappiness of the first year of booking and then all of a sudden it pretty much does it on its own.
Remember that feeling older musicians? :)
Here are a few tips to help you.
Try this website indieonthemove.com  You can find venues you know or don't know and even gives you contact info for many places. It also lists the styles of music that they book and sometimes tells you if they pay. You can book in town or across the country and you can contact other musicians all over the US about gig trading.
Also, if you're stumped and google isn't helping try face book. It takes a little patience to find the right place to go but there is a way to search for live music in different cities. Its cool because many places wont be in a google search but they do have a face book page.
Good luck guys :) And remember. Booking SUCKS but if you can get good at it its so easy and pretty much does it on its own.

Bestest Weekend! And Pride 2012

I love when a weekend starts out with hype, excitement and a thrill of what is to come. Many times, there is a normal excitement because we just love to play music but sometimes a new experience lends itself to a new excitement. We had such a weekend.

It started with my cousins wedding in Brigham City. Let me just say, she looked SO damn rock star in her gown and I was super proud of her. It was sweet because through the ceremony her husband to be looked at her lovingly the entire time. It was really very beautiful. We had a really wonderful time there and met some new people and ran into old friends.

We then drove to our gig at Fahrenheit Lounge in the Hilton Garden Inn in Layton where we perform the first Friday of each month. We arrived early enough to get to relax and set up in a comfortable fashion (which is SO nice when you have a 3 gig weekend ahead of you). We were told that they had moved where we perform so we set up almost right next to the bar. For some reason, we were just on. I don’t know what happened but it was just a fun night where we met some really wonderful people and sold a few CDs and T shirts. Really awesome.

We stayed with our friends Jackie and Tony and arrived to their house at about 2 am where Jackie had set up a whole to do for us. We walked into the room to a bottle of wine, flowers, chocolates, glasses for wine and an opener, a card (which lets just say was hilarious but private lol) and what we will call a ‘love’ towel in case the mood struck us lol.

We woke the next day and went to lunch with Jackie and then eventually went to hang out and nap until it was time to leave for our gig at Rovali’s Ristorante italiano in Ogden where we perform the first Saturday of every month.

We arrived and it was damn hot out so we were a little sweaty lol but it was fun.

No one was there for the first part of our set so Alex told us if it didn’t pick up we would stop playing but then people showed up and it was a good little crowd. We played and talked to them and had a very successful night there. And as always, FOOD WAS AWESOME!!!!!!

We finished the gig, packed up, and headed home.

Once home it was pretty late so we went through our set list for the next night and went to bed. 

Sunday morning, we woke and slowly got going. I picked a crazy hairdo that would lake me way too long to do so I got started and we got ready and headed to the gig we have desired to play for years. Utah Pride Festival. We were booked to perform on the East Café Stage at 1:30pm and we were SO excited for this. Once there, we were met with EXTREME heat and mugginess lol. It was rough.

The volunteers and staff were fantastic and of course, we loved all the fabulousness around us. Pride is just one of the best festivals ever. We played for about an hour and were privileged to be joined by many friends and nabbed a few new ones as well. We rocked as hard as we could and I didn’t even use my music! No ipad, no book! GO ME lol

We were met by Gavin from City Weekly’s Gavin’s Underground who had interviewed us earlier for the article he posted today and took a lot of really cool pictures as well. He is a super cool guy.

http://www.cityweekly.net/utah/blog-70-7703-2012-utah-pride-festival-melody-tyler-folk-hogan.html
And all the pics he took:http://www.cityweekly.net/utah/imagesGalleries.php?action=viewGallery&gal_id=590

Tim Candalaria took a lot of really great ones too!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tim-Candelaria-Photography/305338682811887

We took our gear away and came back to the fest to check everything out. We bought sunglasses, I got a SL,UT shirt, we won a stop AIDS magnet, got a bunch of stickers for guitars, signed up on mailing lists for things like anti bullying and gardening classes. Can I just say, those beautiful gay boys LOVE my man? He was getting hit on left and right. Told you you’re hot Ty J

We stayed for most of Juana Ghani’s set, and then it was time to go eat.

We hit up Golden Phoenix’s Evergreen Café and before I knew it I had eaten EVERYTHING in front of me lol. It was fun to have Tim, Jen, and Katie join us as well.

Back at home I was EXAUSTED! I felt great about our performances and time we shared all weekend but all I wanted to do was sleep….and I did.

It was a fantastic weekend and I wanted to share it with you all because sometimes I get a little down but there are those times where I just want to say, it always pays off. It always evens out. It always is what you need it to be when you need it to be. Keep working everyone. Dreams are only dreams if you only think about them. J

Wasted energy…

I admit it. I am a vengeful person in general. I try really hard not to be but if someone makes me feel less than I am I never forget it. I mean, you could call me names behind my back and I can live with that, but if you make me feel my voice isn’t heard or that you’re better than me, I get boiling rage. What does this accomplish? Nothing. Nothing at all. I lose sleep. I stress.

But what’s worse, I never really cry and unfortunately, as a woman, that is a bad thing. Almost any woman will tell you a good cry is a necessity to get over any issue. Just don’t be a whiny bitch.

Today I am writing to talk about wasting energy on everyone else.

I used to think I was a good judge of character, but as the last year as come and gone I have seen myself proven wrong time and again because I want to believe in people so badly. My foot Dr, friends, all ranges of people. This becomes my doom. But when do you close yourself off and decide that pretty much everyone is out to help themselves?

My decision today has become never.

Here is why.

I am a person that gives money to needy people. I know that sometimes it’s critical for places like The Road Home to give money to them instead but I know from my past that some people don’t know how to ask for help from organizations thinking its best to do yourself. When I get that overwhelming feeling that a person with a cardboard sign is in need, I give if I have anything to give. I have been talked to by many about the faults of this but my defense to them is that if I give when my heart says to give and that person uses it in a poor manner, I have done all I can do and can have a clear conscience.

Why can’t I live like this? Maybe because you see what people you KNOW do with your help? Maybe because I can see when someone decides my help isn’t good enough and I am offended by this? I have had people ask me to help them with booking time and time again, and my advise isn’t what they wanted. It was my contacts lol. I cant give those. How will they learn? I try my best not to handicap my friends.

I am positive that all of us have been burned by a person or another, and as much as I don’t want to admit it, its mostly NOT on purpose.

We need to all learn how to not carry this with us. We waste time and energy talking about others in an ill manner, and though it seems that sometimes total ass holes get all the breaks, they don’t generally like themselves and neither does anyone else for long.

I challenge you and me, to make a pact.

1: No gossip. It helps no one ESPECIALLY those speaking it. It just burns the issues in our brains and we dwell while the person we are talking about is making headway on what ever they are doing because they generally don’t give a shit that you don’t like them or what they’re doing lol. As a matter of fact, speaking from experience, it drives them to succeed. We have been shot by some here in SLC and it just makes me go ‘Oh ya? Ill show YOU!’ lol

2: Breathe and think about what you need to do for you without walking over others.

3: Before we are quick to judge lets all think about the likelihood of that person being out to get you, or even thinking of you at all, and do the same for others. Be aware of those around you and if something feels right to help another, follow your heart and forget what they do with it. If you GIVE your help, its theirs to use as they need or desire.

And 4: Negativity seeps into your brain and takes you over. People see it, hear it, smell it and worse, avoid it. There’s no better way to let someone else take over your life than to let them. There is also no better way to get someone to not want to hang out with you than being negative.

I want to add, this post comes from the past few months of work, music, life in general. I am a person that tries to help others as much as I can. I don’t say this for props. I say this as a beginning to my explanation.  Over the past few years it has become so hard not to get jaded by people who have talked bad about us, gotten us blacklisted from playing at bars, people feeling we didn’t give them a gig they deserved, people thinking we are jerks for missing an email, or not going to a show we couldn’t make, at work, being told in no uncertain terms that my position is less than anothers’, things like that. But when you think about the good….there is ALWAYS so much more good out there than bad. And many times, the bad you see isn’t from someone else’s mistake, but your own. I was so mad because a certain paper seemed to think we never perform or tour and I realized it wasn’t THEIR fault. It was ours for not being better at promoting and advertising. Instead of getting mad at them, I went online and added all our shows to their calendar.

I have had many comments from friends lately about losing sleep and being stressed. Breathe my friends. Its all ok. We tend to close up and hide when things seem unbearable and then wonder why we feel so alone. Open up and ask your friends to be there for you and you will see how many people are out there to support you. Ask for support and you will receive.

These issues tend to get us all down and I have seen me not practicing, not working on AAS etc because I have let it all get me down. But the best defense to this is to just work through it. At least at the end of the day you know you accomplished something instead of getting more down because you didn’t accomplish anything.

My last challenge, if you hold onto the frustrations and sadness like I tend to do no matter how hard I try not to, is write those things down in a list and then write a list of the good in the same time frame. Wake up each morning and take a deep breath and think about what you need to make you happy. Push yourself to work harder on what you love or need and don’t let anyone else get in the way. When you go to bed at night, if all the things you can’t stop thinking about aren’t gone but you did all you could to remove those thoughts, maybe take a second to cry it out and you’ll sleep like a baby lol. If all else fails…as Mary said on FB today, just have sex lol.

Here is my list :)  A window to my soul.

The American Dream

Imagine.... I wake up every morning, and I go to work. I dream of nothing but going up and up in the company I work for. Its a good life. I always have money, and know exactly where I will be in 5 years. I am purchasing a house and am pregnant with my second child. Our first child, a boy, is the spitting image of his father. I have loans, credit cards, 2 cars, and a growing family. Its every American's dream. Its stable, comfortable, and something I have in common with most everyone else in the world. I get the paper, have Super Bowl Parties, walk the dog, go to the gym, go to movies, and do a lot of traveling. Very happy. Very safe.

Not like this life.
I have had many times where people act like I am crazy to want to play music for a living. It seems the impossible dream with the entertainment industry. One in throusands is able to make a living. I can work at Taco Bell if I want, but I can't just fill out an application for musicianship. Taco Bell says 'these are our operating hours. Be here #-# pm.' Music says 'Live me every second you can stand it or die.'
I had a guy say 'Oh a musician huh?!....I always wanted to carve wooden birds' (seriously) I wanted to ask him 'did you have a passion for it?' and then I knew that no....he didn't. If he did, he would be doing it.
I send my respect to my fellow struggling musician or anything else you do that is a struggle in less than average ways. Its a hard road with speed bumps and if you're not careful and focused, you will high center on your laziness, get down on yourself, and maybe even , sadly, give up.
Never give up.
Ok. Sometimes, we all get down and out about where we are and what we have to do next but do you really want to look back someday and say 'Man. I really should have done that when I had the chance.'  I am willing to bet that anyone who reads this is farther ahead in their goals than they even realize. I bet more people recognize your excellence than you know.
Don't let yourself down. Its a hard road ahead but anything worth it is rarely easy. Don't look back with regrets if you can ever help it.
I woke up 5 years ago and went "SHIT! Where did the time go?"  I thought I had plenty of time and I still do but in todays industry, 30 is 75 in musician years.
If I want this at my age, I have to push harder and harder every day not to give up because there are days when I wonder if I would be happy as a mother whos kids say 'ya she used to sing' and then I realize I wouldn't. I look up to people who want a different life than mine because I can't be that. I need to be more than normal, or average (not that either of those are bad). I need to say 'I did this.'  You can too. Say it everyday. Tell your friends and family you believe in you. They will to.....evn if only eventually.
Smile, amd remember you are you and no one else can make that claim. It what sets you apart and what makes you specia,l and you get the chance to creatively make you being you into a beautiful career.
Take care all :) XOXO.

P.s.  I am starting a new section of my blog. It will be interviewing fellow musicians about their beginnings and past. I think we all love hearing about other people and what they have done so I want to highlight that. If youre interested in this please email me. I dont have to know you to include you :)

A weekend with Ischa and Raffi of Uncle Scam

Wow. I am a lazy bitch. I have been saying for months that I want to go out and see more bands and meet more people but as many of you know, I get severe anxiety with new people so I honestly had a lot of trouble with that.  I have made excuses like everyone. See, there are many for anyone and I am willing to bet most of them are the same for most of us.  Have you said to yourself:

I am tired

I worked a lot this week

I need to relax

I have a lot to do

Ill go tomorrow

Maybe next time

No one comes to see me, I’ll try another time. They won’t care.

I don’t know whose playing

I don’t know where to go

I don’t have any money

I am performing all weekend and just can’t make room

On, and on, and on, and on. I have personally said these several times in the past. And do you know what happens? I am mad at myself later for missing out, or for pussing out lol. These aren’t BAD excuses. They’re completely valid. BUT. I learned something reallllly valuable this weekend that I think you all should know. I think we all KNOW these things but the proof is in the pudding people.

I’m Tired: Sleep when you’re dead. No one knows you’re tired. They don’t even know most of the time you’re NOT there (where ever there is) what they DO know, is when you ARE there. I was in love with how everyone knows Raffi and Ischa because it’s their BUSINESS to be there. AND they’re good friends. Those are HARD to find in this business so why wouldn’t you cherish people like that?

I worked a lot this week. Ya. We all did. It’s not like people who go out on the weekend have been sleeping all week.

I need to relax. See above.

I have a lot to do. Ya. Who doesn’t. Do you know how often Ty and I say things like, we need to practice more and then say ‘oh we have a lot to do though’ and then I sit and watch Netflix? Let’s just say logged lazy hours are embarrassing.

I’ll go tomorrow. An opportunity to support a fellow musician, friend, or just be there for something fun is gone every day. Tomorrow never seems to come when you say this.

Maybe next time. See above.

No one comes to see me…… MAYBE it’s because you don’t go to see them? Maybe it’s because they don’t know you? Maybe it’s because they don’t know you’re performing.

I don’t know whose playing. I loved that Ischa and Raffi knew things going on that I had NO idea about. We went to a photography studio Saturday with pole dancers but not strippers. These people were fit, hardcore serious athletes. It was amazing.  And Friday night we went to a show at The Depot for Mutaytor, a band with dancers, fire dancer, belly dancers, and girls in metal undies and sanders creating sparks!  Find people who have a few ideas, throw in your own ideas and spend some time seeing the night life in your city. Things are going on whether you know it or not.

I don’t have any money. Guess what. This is a bull shit excuse. Know how much I spent Friday night? I went to The Depot, Burt’s Tiki Lounge, and a few house parties.   15$. Know how much Ty and I spend Saturday night combined? We went to the photo studio, Piper Down, The Green Pig Pub, and Fat’s Grill. 40$.  I guarantee there’s something else you will do that spends that much money and you didn’t even know it.

I perform a lot this weekend. I really look up to Ischa and Raffi. They perform a lot, record, practice, they seem to be in print all over the place all the time, and yet always make the rounds to see people and be seen. You may not want to admit this but it’s important to be seen. Out of sight out of mind right? But more than that, I had more ‘experiences’ this weekend with 2 new friends than I have in quite a while. Sure I drank a bit but it wasn’t about partying and getting drunk. It was about experiencing what SLC has to offer which is a lot more than I knew. It was exciting to be a part of such adventure and relationship building.

 I also learned, that because my best friend is my partner and we have had the same excuses as everyone else,  I USED to know a LOT of people. I still know them. They don’t know me. Has anyone ever said ‘its not what you know, but who you know?’  You don’t have to be a total user douche to get what you want. Be a genuine person and meet other people and stay genuine and things will come to you.

Thank you Ischa and Raffi. You guys showed me that I could have a good time, without spending hoards of money, and meet new people even if I get nervous in crowds. It was really good for me to see that the idea of show hopping and meeting new people could be done cheaply, and efficiently and was worth the loss of a 11:00 bedtime. (BTW Make sure to check out their new project Minx)

It’s a never ending truth. If you want to be someone, be someone. Don’t sit at home with your talents alone on all your free time wondering why no one knows who you are. You can be the most talented person in the world and people may not know you. Get out. Support each other. But what’s most impressive to me, is making memories with other people and getting gout of your own way. And you will also learn how many talented bands there are that you have never heard. Loom, and The Suicycles are two of my new faves. And remember my last post? How it was about puttin on a show? One of the things it says is to bring your own lights. Loom does that and its Bad Ass!

Seriously, if I can attend several shows with groups of people I don’t know with my crazy anxiety issues, you can. J

Good luck. Go search for some shows you haven’t ever attended this week and make time. Sleep when you’re dead!

Check the pics.

Stage presence and the importance of people noticing

So.  I have been very aware of something lately.  There is this thing that seems to matter a LOT. People noticing you.

For years, I have been aware that people didn’t seem to remember me no matter what I did. Now, if you’re a musician, guess what…that’s bad.  You want, NO NEED people to remember you. If you are not a familiar face, you are the crowd. How can one become successful and prominent if no one knows who you are?

This has become my mission, to be remembered.

We have, in the past, performed places and met new people who we will run into again later and they remember Ty, but not me. I couldn’t figure out why. We have talent, we have drive, and people enjoy our music.

Then I realized that I have always had an understated style. Even when I tried out for American Idol YEARS ago, I wore a blue polo and khaki pants. Earrings were my only jewelry and my make up was everyday. I looked around me and saw people in sparkles and heels and scarves and some very loud clothing and I honestly thought at the time they were ridiculous.

All of a sudden, it isn’t that way anymore. 

One day, after a meet where Ty was recognized and not me, where we were also introduced as Ty and Melody (Its natural to say your friend’s name first even if it’s not the bands name) I went home and put two blonde streaks in my hair. I started pinning the streak in my bangs back and had a sort of Cruella DeVille thing going on.  Slowly, I saw people noticing me. Something SO simple. The hardest transition is from stage to floor. We rarely have a person at a merch booth for us, so if someone forgets who I am between the time it takes for me to walk off stage and get to the merch, they don’t know who to ask to buy it. Right? See where I’m going with this?

I have been seeing that there are a few things, though silly and seemingly political, that are very important to grow a full fan base when it comes to stage presence.

1: People must remember you.

2: Photographers will come to your shows to take your picture. They take tons of pictures in that time, unless you’re standing still and there isn’t a shot. You WANT them to get good shots of you. Why??? Because attendees of your shows see photographers and say ‘wow, they have photographers’ but then, in the follow up, if that photographer gets good shots, and shares them or you buy them, those are exactly the type of press and promotional material every successful musician needs.

3: Dressing in jeans and t shirts is ok. BUT, you have to perform. People come to your gig to be entertained. There is a HUGE difference between a musician and an entertainer. Entertainers make the most money. If you want to do this for a living, you have to make money.

4: Know your songs. I am SOOOOO guilty of not having this one down. My memory has never been good and it’s hard to keep songs in my brain. BUT your confidence isn’t going past your music book if you have one and therefore the audience gets left out.

5: Watch other bands with great stage presence. I recommend Uncle Scam (##1),  The Wayne Hoskins Band, Royal Bliss, and Juana Ghani.

Here are a few articles I found on stage presence. You will all see some changes with us soon as we learn more about movement, dress, and attitude.

http://www.catch-22productions.com/stagepresence.html

http://www.wikihow.com/Improve-Stage-Presence-As-a-Lead-Singer

http://www.rockyourguitar.com/how-to-develop-stage-presence-as-a-guitarist/

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/columns/general_music/on-stage_antics_tips_and_suggestions.html

http://www.ehow.com/info_12136847_acting-tips-stage-presence.html

I highly recommend these articles to anyone who cares about their stage presence.

Also, If you don’t know, our CD release is this coming Friday April 20 at Fat’s Grill. 9pm. Dustin and Dave from The Wayne Hoskins Band will open for us and we will play songs from the new album. We are extremely excited about this album. Its our first full length, and we have put a lot into it. We recorded it at our house, wrote all the parts, and Ty did all the album art himself. It’s a great album and we can’t wait to share it with you all.

Thanks for all your support. We love you all.

Learning & If You Don’t Have Anything Nice.....

I have learned a lot recently. Too much I’m afraid to post on here, some too personal to want to. I am excited to share with you what I can though. I have made some serious self discoveries in the past few months and have been so busy and tired that writing the blog and newsletter has honestly fallen by the wayside. I apologize. Its harder the longer I wait to write them because something new happens every day and suddenly I don’t have the time, patience, or ability in general to write it all down. Maybe I should do a weekly blog lol.
As we get closer to finishing the album I am seeing what an asset it will be to our careers. I believe in my heart that The Devil In Me is going to set us off on a journey that we don’t have an inkling of the unimaginable possibilities it will send our way. That song came to me by divine nature and I have no idea how we lucked out with it.It means so very much and speaks to so many and it is a true blessing to be allowed to call it ours. Its about a year old so its past time to be released.
Ty got a new job and it has taken him out and about much more than I am used to so there has been much reflection and learning in that aspect as well. We went on our tour and spent every minute together and tours always remind me just how much I enjoy his personality and
company. He is one of the funniest people in the world (and also crankiest when
he’s tired lol)
We got to do a lot of firsts on the tour like see the Grand Canyon, Talk on an FM and AM radio station, Perform in new cities, meet wonderful people, almost get fleas at a super amazing hotel
lol, See old friends, and even learned at one gig that our original music has been sold short for far too long. We performed at one place in Phoenix that didn’t allow covers. Not only did people love it, we realized that our songs can hold a crowd on their own and that we were playing FAR too many cover songs normally.
Ty went out of town for work and I had 2 gigs so I asked two people I looked up to and respected to share them with me. The first was at Wingers with Brian Bingham. We just flew by the seat
of our pants and had a blast. We (By we I mean I lol) decided our fake band name would be The TownHouse Crackers. It was one of the most fun times I have had and really truly enjoyed it.
Saturday I played w a friend at Rovali's and it was a fantastic experience. I realllly love singing backups and it was such a fun and great opportunity to get to sing some with him. It sounded great, the fans liked it, the restaurant liked it, and I was SO glad I asked him to share it with me. Its always fun to try something new and singing harmonies with him just worked.
That weekend I learned that although I prefer NOT to, I CAN perform without Ty if I ever NEED to as sometimes he has to be out of town. I haven’t done that in a long time and it was really scary. I also learned I don’t understand our sound system and mechanisms as much as I should for someone who claims to be a professional musician. I need to learn it all if I want to stand on my own two feet with or without Ty standing next to me.
I also learned that Ty (though I never doubted this) puts so much to our music and while I enjoyed what I got from my other friends, I definitely felt the missing piece when he was out of
town.

Finally, I learned this: To all my musician friends…. I need to say this. Not to talk shit or be a bitch, but as an honest word of advice. DO NOT TRUST ANYONE. In this business, people will foolishly, maliciously, or sometimes not even on purpose, stab you in the back if you trust too much or say things that should never be said. Sometimes you can get sucked in and your best
intentions can be molded and worked into a totally different version of your words. Watch your mouths. I have seen trouble with this type of behavior in the past and was very lucky to be able to fess up to anything I have said because I never went too far with it. If you talk shit on people, people will talk shit on you. It’s a fact and can be deathly detrimental to your career. Watch your
mouths guys. No one else knows how to watch theirs and if you’re not able to pull away from those people before its too late, they WILL drag you down with them and cause more drama than anyone should ever have. I have had to cut people out in the past and though it’s hard, it’s a must. Many times, it will be people you have trusted and looked up to for years and you have to just
close the book. It feels good once it’s done and you see the improvement in your career, conscience, and overall happiness pretty much immediately. Drama sponges will suck you and all of your time to death. Be careful not to get mixed up in it. As they say. If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.
If you want this career in particular, arts and entertainment I mean, You have to remember that you don’t have many of the luxuries of being a total dick lol. People buy YOU. Your talent helps but if someone doesn’t like you or you’re a troublemaker or a drama sponge, they won’t book you. Ever.
I love you all my lovelies. We will have our album released in April and we truly believe you will all love it. Well……We hope you will lol.
Thank you all for your love, friendship, and patience. We truly need it, and dearly appreciate it.