Life is spilling out all over the place!

So many things to say. My mind is a jumble this morning, so sorry if the blog is too.

I'm sitting on my couch with my morning coffee, drinking out of my favorite mug. It has Shakespeare quotes about love all over it. It makes me happy. And you know what? I am happy. Maybe I'm a broken record - but I feel like my life is bursting open with love and music! I don't know what's happening to me, but it feels so right and so honest and so exciting and so scary and just plain beautiful. I am SOOOOOO grateful this morning. I really do not know what I ever did in my life to be so loved and blessed. I am humbled before the universe and just in awe of what happens when you give over to that divinely inspired whisper in your heart. Once you get used to doing it, the voice becomes a little bit louder and a little more confident. I am sure that if I continue on this path, my spirit, or soul, or whatever it is, is going to be expressing itself all over my life - without fear! Isn't that amazing? I don't even know how to describe it. Anyway, there is that.

Last night I sang at the Open Mic at Genghis Cohen.

The gorgeous room:

My outfit:

I was pretty nervous and I think the spontaneity of the first time had given me an adrenalin kick! The songs were pretty good - but same as last time- when I got lost in the music, my fingers went. It's almost as if they forget the shape of the chords. It's really freaky and so frustrating. But I just kept going. That is what this is about anyway. It's not about being perfect, by ANY means! It's a little embarrassing to be such a beginner at guitar in a room full of male songwriters who play amazingly. I made a joke on the mic about how glad I was that I had tits, cuz atleast that set me apart! My new friend, Bernie Larsen, who urged me to get up the last time came to see me and we hung out afterwards in the Chinese restaurant section. He was very sweet and gave me some awesome advice about my playing. He also showed me this beautiful open tuning that might help me be able to get more of a rhythm going and be able to forget about forming those difficult chords for awhile! It was fun. We sat there and played and sang in the restaurant. We talked a lot about the music biz v. music as art and as expression. He has a very interesting perspective, having played professionally for over 30 years. He has played and written for Ricky Lee Jones, Melissa Ethridge, Lucinda Williams, and more. But most awesomely, he writes beautiful music! I think he is going to be a really good friend, and it's so nice to have such an amazing musician believe in what you're doing!

As we were sitting there, this guy I recognized from the week before came up to me. "Hey, you're the girl who played last week towards the end of the night! I'm Mitchell, I want to book a show for you. I book here and Molly Malones and other places. Can I give you my number and we'll set it up?" Me: "Ummmm, YES!" So, there you have it. In the near future I will have my first solo gig in Los Angeles. I sat there with Bernie, and he was like, you're gonna have to work your ass off to put together a whole set. I was like, tell me something I don't know! Hopefully Mitchell will have something atleast a month from now so I can prepare and practice and not freak out. I'm calling him today.

I also got word from my friend Amanda yesterday that one of the record producers/writers/musicians she sent my CD to was very intrigued and had a lot of ideas for me and wanted to talk with me. He is currently on tour with that band that is doing something amazing for music: Playing for Change. Check this out, it is so inspiring. This guy started recording street musicians and then decided it would be cool to have soulful musicians from all over the world play the same song - cut them together - to make one unified international track. It is truly one of the coolest examples of music as the universal language that I have seen. Anyway, they put together a band and are playing all over. I'm excited to talk to this guy!

So, tonight is my open mic at the Gardenia. I'm excited because I'm going to get to sing out WITHOUT my guitar! I really love the songs I'm singing and I can't wait to just wail and express myself. My loving little bro is coming out to see me as well, which will be so nice. The head of the Cabaret West is anxious to hear me sing - but I can't let that get me too worked up or nervous. It's just about singing in the moment - communicating the song. That's it. Hopefully someone will be touched, and hopefully it will be him!

So I am off, people. I need to take care of a few errands today. Like buying toilet paper. Then I need to practice and get ready for tonight.

Here is your song and quote for the day, my lovely loves:

Corrina, Corrina - Bob Dylan

"Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second's encounter with God and with eternity." - from 'The Alchemist' by Paulo Coelho

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