Now That the Show is Over…
We did it. We sang. We danced. We had cake.
For over year now, I’ve been saying “I want to tell my story”. I had written 14 songs to engage one of the darkest seasons of my life, and to talk about how I fought through it with the help of my friends and my faith in God. Last night, The Hopeless Romantics put on a show that I believe is bound to reach bigger stages and other countries.
Then you go back to your studio apartment, and eat noodles, and wonder when next you’ll have money…lol! At point, I’m not wondering how to get from point A to point B. We’re at point B—with great songs, and a great band. Now it’s time to capture the experience and share it with the world.
By the summer, I’d like to have an album recorded—or at least a single released. I need to turn that into a real goal. Coming soon.
Becoming Better (Day 11): Pimp My Keytar.
This is Selena. She’s the best of both worlds—part keyboard, part guitar. My friend Eric suggested that I give Selena a make over. I accepted. So, my friends and I stayed up till 2AM giving my keytar some flare—gold and white keys, and drawing all kinds of random things on the face. Now to make sure I can make her sound as good as she looks. CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO VIEW THE PHOTOS OF TRANSFORMING MY KEYTAR :-)
Friday. March 9. Sugar Bar. 8PM. $10
Becoming Better (Day 9): Doing My Part
9 days ago, The Hopeless Romantics confirmed the date for our first show of the year. Friday, March 9 we will be celebrating my birthday at Ashford and Simpson’s Sugar Bar at 8PM. I meant to include you guys in the process of getting ready, but the first few steps were so time consuming that I couldn’t find time to blog. But here we are, 3 weeks away. I’ve made made demos of each song, confirmed the musicians and venue, made flyers, and begun promoting. They’re reviewing/learning the tunes, and now it’s time to do my part—to do more than lead the band, look cute, and call the shots, but become better by March 9.
There they are, all nine of them. In times past, I’d assumed that I knew how to sing what I’d written; I’ve grown since then. So today I begin studying my songs—at least the ones I plan I to sing at my birthday show. As I look over these pages, I can’t help but get a little nervous. I have a new story to tell, these are it’s chapters. For some odd reason, they intimidate me. And my daddy always taught me to let no one intimidate me; so, I guess these songs and I are gonna’ have to wrestle for the next 3 weeks, so that—at my birthday show—I can sing them as someone who has mastered them. I guess writing them wasn’t enough.
Becoming Better (Day 9): Doing My Part
9 days ago, The Hopeless Romantics confirmed the date for our first show of the year. Friday, March 9 we will be celebrating my birthday at Ashford and Simpson’s Sugar Bar at 8PM. I meant to include you guys in the process of getting ready, but the first few steps were so time consuming that I couldn’t find time to blog. But here we are, 3 weeks away. I’ve made made demos of each song, confirmed the musicians and venue, made flyers, and begun promoting. They’re reviewing/learning the tunes, and now it’s time to do my part—to do more than lead the band, look cute, and call the shots, but become better by March 9.
There they are, all nine of them. In times past, I’d assumed that I knew how to sing what I’d written; I’ve grown since then. So today I begin studying my songs—at least the ones I plan I to sing at my birthday show. As I look over these pages, I can’t help but get a little nervous. I have a new story to tell, these are it’s chapters. For some odd reason, they intimidate me. And my daddy always taught me to let no one intimidate me; so, I guess these songs and I are gonna’ have to wrestle for the next 3 weeks, so that—at my birthday show—I can sing them as someone who has mastered them. I guess writing them wasn’t enough.
#MusicMonday: We Can Thank Stevie Wonder for MLK Day
I was tempted to just let MLK come and go, like any other day. But, a video interview of George Lucas changed my mind. Lucas was struggling to explain why it was so difficult to get support for his most recent film Red Tails, which features an all black cast. It was obvious that the lack of a prominent white actor was a major hindrance to the advancement of what looks like a very promising film. “Really?” I thought to myself, “In 2012?” Yeah. I know that all people groups have their struggles and privileges—today is the day I’m challenged to not take Dr. King’s dream for granted. America is still divided by lines of color. It’s only appropriate to celebrate the progress we’ve made, and to remember that we still have a long way to go. I think sometimes people mistake the song above as just the “Black People Version” of Happy Birthday; but it was actually a part of Stevie Wonder’s campaign to make Martin Luther King’s Birthday a national holiday—a testimony that even artists can use their gifts to effect real change in the world. Thank you, Dr. King. Thank you, Stevie Wonder.
