Shooting for a grand total of 2 posts in October

Hello.

Remember me? It's okay if you don't. I haven't been here much lately.

See, first I was preparing like mad for my big show. And then, I was resting like crazy from my big show. I was thoroughly exhausted. I had to turn my brain off completely, as it turns out. Honestly. I haven't had a creative thought in 2 weeks.

But I'm resurfacing now. And what do you know? It looks like autumn.

The show went wonderfully. Better than I'd expected. And I had far more fun than I expected, too, especially given that my stress-o-meter was at an all time high in the days preceding the gig.

You know what I learned? I liked talking to the audience. I was nervous that I wouldn't know what to say, and I'd had no time to prepare any notes. But when it came time to talk about the songs, or introduce the band, it came very naturally to me. I really enjoyed those parts of the show.

I also learned that performing my own music (well, our shared music) is so gratifying. It really feels different, singing your own songs. They weren't all winners. But each of them meant something to me, and singing the words that I wrote myself felt pretty damn good. It was also incredible to get feedback on the songs themselves, not just the performance. That was a first, and it inspired me to go out and write some more.

I do love to write. You'd never know it, given how often I've been posting lately, but it is one of my favorite things to do. November 1st marks the beginning of NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month. The goal is to write an entire novel - 50 thousand words - in one month. I first learned about NaNo last year, when my friend Katie participated. I was fascinated by the process and the idea behind it, which is: just write. Don't worry about whether it's good, just get it out. So many of us would-be novelists remain would-be novelists until the day we die. Crank one out, care more for quantity and less for quality, and get that first novel monkey off your back. Then go back later and figure out if you wrote anything worthwhile. Or if maybe you've got a better second novel hiding behind that crappy first novel.

I love this idea. And I've been thinking of participating ever since last year. I've even been getting kind of excited about it, except for this one problem that I have: I don't have any ideas.

I told you, I haven't had a creative thought in several weeks. And I've been OK with that; obviously my brain's needed a rest, but it does rather pose a problem at the advent of novel-writing season.

Plus, I've got other things to do. I do need to get some writing done, but it should be songwriting, and blog writing. As much as I want to write a novel - and I do; I always have - I think it might have to wait until next year. Right now, I'm a bit preoccupied.

Or I will be, as soon as my brain comes back from hiatus.

Still, I do love a challenge, and obviously an impetus to write couldn't hurt, so I'm going to claim November as my own writing month. Perhaps I'll write a blog post every day. Perhaps I'll write 30 songs, one for every day of the month. I don't know yet. But by Saturday I'll have figured out just how I intend to claim November. I'll let you know what I decide.

Then on Sunday, I'll start.

Nerves

I've come to the conclusion that deciding to be a singer means that I spend half my life feeling low because I've got no upcoming gigs, and the other half trying not to vomit because I do.

"Come to my show!" I implore people as I pass out postcards, send out email blasts, accost strangers on the street. "You should come to my show!"

but maybe you shouldn't come to my show

says a little voice in the back of my head.

"I hope you'll come to my show!" I tell friends and acquaintances, smiling brightly and trying to ignore that little voice that's saying

maybe you shouldn't come, I'm not sure we're ready

"It's going to be great!" Big smile! Big smile!

I feel a little schizophrenic.

"That's always the way it is," said Vernon when I admitted my nerves to him. "You never feel ready," agreed Leah, after I confided my worries.

"It's going to be great," they both told me, emphatically.

I trust my friends. And I trust myself. And after yesterday's rehearsal with part of the band, I do feel an awful lot calmer. It's absolutely amazing how the addition of a guitar and some drums can suddenly make your tangle of lyrics and melody sound like a song. And a good song, at that!

But still, there's so much to do! Incredible: the months and months of work that go into a single tune, and then you have one chance to sing it, and it's over in 4 minutes. Months of creation, compromise, arrangement, argument, re-arrangement and approval, distilled into 4 minutes, and relying completely on your single-shot delivery. It's scary.

"That's always the way it is," Vernon said again. "You're always advertising a show you don't feel completely comfortable with. But it will come together. It always does." He clasped me on the shoulder.

"It's going to be a really good show," he said earnestly.

A huge sigh escaped me; a moment's relief stole into my body with the next breath. I returned his smile.

"Yes it is," I said.

And it is.

So, come to my show! You should come to my show!

maybe you shouldn't come to my show

Shut up. No, you should totally come. It's going to be great.

In session

I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Music is going lo-tech. Any schmoe with a laptop can record a demo these days. Case in point:

After fooling around with a broken microphone for half an hour, we finally decided to sing directly into the computer. Vernon insisted that I had to lean right over the mic pad for my voice to pick up.

But I'm starting to think he was screwing with me.

After several back-breaking takes, we finally cranked out a few passable rehearsal tracks. Passable in the sense that they are complete. Because I will tell you something, it is not easy to sing well bent over double like that. But it's actually a bit of an ab workout.

I'm thinking next time I might lie on my back on the floor and hold the laptop directly over my face. Might as well get some arm work in.

31

I keep a list of important things that happen in my life, categorized by year, so that when I get old and start forgetting the order of events (or questioning whether they actually happened) I can consult it.

Tomorrow I turn 32, and I'm already forgetting stuff. So you see, this list comes in handy.

The list is entitled These Things Happened the Year I Was... and it only goes back to my 22nd year, because I've forgotten everything that happened before then. Apparently I didn't get started early enough.

It's been a difficult year, but it's also been wonderful, and in large part, the difficulties paved the way for the wonderful stuff. So many of my blessings this year came on the heels of what first appeared to be bad news. So I'm grateful for all of it, and I want to take a moment tonight to reflect on all that's happened in this 31st year of my life.

I've come up with a list of 31 things.

These Things Happened the Year I Was 31:

1. I worked the phone banks for No on Proposition 8
2. I biked through Slovenia and Northeastern Italy
3. I spent a week in Venice with my mom
4. I got laid off from my job
5. I recorded a BevMo holiday commercial (singing the "BevMo-lujah Chorus" behind dancing, animated corkscrews)
6. I witnessed the inauguration of President Barack Obama from Berkeley's Sproul Plaza, with 10,000 other hopeful Americans
7. I ran my first gig, putting together a small choir for a private service
8. I ran my first half-marathon
9. I started belly dancing
10. I received a piece of hate mail (sent to me mistakenly and intended for somebody else)
11. I became a songwriter (inspired, in part, by the aforementioned hate mail...which, come to think of it, may have been intended for me after all, cosmically-speaking)
12. I launched my website
13. I became a hula hoop teacher
14. I ran my first marathon
15. I ate more cupcakes than was probably good for me
16. I had multiple studio sessions, recording background vocals for several local musicians
17. I reconnected with many long-lost friends
18. I sang in front of The Shirelles at Glide
19. I was backstage with Michelle Obama at the National Conference for Volunteering and Service
20. I sang at my cousin's wedding
21. I spoon-fed my grandmother in the Emergency Room
22. I celebrated 8 years with Monte
23. I initiated an impromptu online fundraiser to help my friend Siobhan raise more than $2,000 for her nonprofit, OneMama
24. I started learning guitar
25. I got my first astrological reading
26. I became online friends with my childhood hero, LeVar Burton
27. I recorded a CD with the Glide Ensemble
28. I knitted 4 baby blankets
29. I counted 35 pregnant friends
30. I ate my first turkey sandwich in almost 4 years, then decided to remain a vegetarian (I also ate a bowl of meaty chili, but that was an $8 mistake)
31. I saw my first opera, sitting on the field at AT&T park

It's been a good year.

I wonder what 32 has in store for me?

The Big Gig

(Click on the photo to buy tickets.)

Singer/songwriters Vernon Bush and Errin Marie come together to debut a whole body of new music that will touch your heart and move your feet! Join them for an afternoon celebration of song!

Also featuring:
Zoe Ellis & Leah Tysse / vocals
Brian Hill / guitars
Spence Murray / bass
Ricky Carter / percussion

Sunday, October 18, 2009
4:30 PM
The Jazz School
2087 Addison Street, Berkeley, CA
Tickets: (510) 845-5373 / $18 general, $15 student
www.jazzschool.com

The Jazz School is a small-ish venue, so get your tickets early!

Where has September gone?

Just a minute ago it was September 1st. What happened?

I actually have to thumb through my datebook to see where the damn month went.

Ah, yes. Well, there were the bi-weekly rehearsals leading up to last Sunday's Glide Ensemble concert. Those took up a lot of time. Then there were several hours of paperwork and orientations to begin my part-time job teaching hooping at the YMCA. Not to mention the hours of planning and teaching itself. There were my weekly guitar lessons and daily practice, my double-shifts at the belly dance studio, the SRO volunteer meeting to kick off the new marathon season, the last session of my writing group, and my dance classes. Oh - and my songwriting sessions with Vernon!

Those songwriting sessions have kicked into high gear now, because Vernon and I are having a show on October 18th at the Berkeley Jazz School. (Stay tuned for a fancy flier next week.) We're going to be performing mostly original songs that we've been collaborating on all summer. This will be the first time that anything I've written will be performed anywhere, so I'm very excited. Way to debut, right - with not just one original tune, but ten? Yikes!

Despite my nerves, I think it's going to be a great event. We're super pleased to have the esteemed Leah Tysse and Zoe Ellis on background vocals, as well as a stellar little band, and that makes this a show, folks. Like I said, stay tuned for a fancy flier next week, but until then, mark your calendars: Sunday, October 18th, 4:30 PM.

In other performance news, I'll be guest-singing (is that a phrase?) next Friday night at The Purple Onion. My good friend Danny Creed will be performing his stylistic sounds (as well as telling some hilarious stories), and he's graciously asked me to sing a couple of numbers. We'll be accompanied by the talented David Austin on piano, and there will also be a guest appearance by singer/songwriter Liz Clee. That's next Friday, September 25th at 8:00 PM. Call for reservations at (415) 217-8400. There is a $10 cover for this event.

Danny actually has a fancy flier for this gig, but as he is firmly of the old-school, I didn't even bother to ask if he could send me a digital copy. I'm not even going to tell you the lengths he goes to to read my blog on his Web-TV/computer-substitute-thingy. You'll just have to imagine him, leaning up against a piano, looking dapper in all black with a crisp white tie.

The Glide Ensemble's Wings of Song Concert/Live CD Recording was a big hit! We performed a slew of new tunes and the audience feedback was great. I was the only soloist who got to sing her song twice - an ambulance went wailing by during my first performance and ruined the recording, so we did it a second time! You can pre-order your copy of the new CD on Glide's website. The concert was also filmed, and I think they might be releasing a DVD as well.

If you missed this Glide event and you're anxious to catch the next one, you should join us on November 12th for Glide's annual holiday festival. This year is Cecil Williams' 45th anniversary at Glide, and we're hosting a special event at the San Francisco Opera House. From the 'Hood to the House, a benefit for Mo's Kitchen and Glide's programs, will feature Dr. Maya Angelou, the Alonzo King LINES Ballet, the San Francisco Opera Adler Fellows, the Glide Ensemble and Change Band, and various other special guests (I've heard some big names being bandied about). There will be a reception immediately following the event. Get your tickets early; this show is bound to sell out.

You can always keep an eye on my upcoming performances in the Latest News section of my website.

I hope to see you at one or more of these shows!

Well done, friend

I should make it clear that I've been kidding around about Mike Gladis. He's an old friend, one of those guys that I'll love to the end of my days, and I'm proud of his success. It's true that we used to wander around New York and ponder our distant futures, but I never doubted that he'd make it.* His breakthrough is a testament to how hard he's worked these past many years, and he fully deserves every moment of these good times.



Well done, friend.


*(Despite the fact that our high school English teacher used to declare, at the end of her rope, "Michael, you're going to wind up making sandwiches for the military!")