Resurrections (part deux)...

You know when you get an idea and you're excited about it, because it could lead to something really special, so you make plans, and you're still really excited about it, because it's still far away, so the fear and doubts are kept at bay.  And then the days pass, and the time gets closer, and you start to feel uneasy (okay, fine, I'll say it) I start to feel uneasy.  And I think, maybe I'm just not ready, maybe I need a little more time? You ever feel like that? No? Okay, so let's take a time out on that thought for a second.  No worries, we'll come back to it, I promise.

Some of you may know I had the huge opportunity to tour Europe in 2011 performing in Neutral Hero as a part of New York City Players. Music was a tremendous part of the show.  So not only did I have an incredible time performing throughout Europe, but I became friends with a couple of totally amazing musicians.  Sure we performed music in the show, but we also had sing-alongs in our hotel rooms, maybe a lobby or two, and during, what we like to call, musical brunch.  What's that now?  Yes, I said musical brunch.  More on that in a bit.  Believe me, I have some sort of point.  I'm sure I'll get there eventually.

So when you kinda mention to these musician friends that you've been writing some music, and they offer to lend you their talents, you get so excited because these are real actual gifted musicians.  So you send out an email, and you make plans, and you're excited, and then it gets to be the day before, and you get a little bit nervous, but then you haven't spoken about it in a few weeks, so you start thinking (and yes, by saying you, I mean me) "Oh, maybe it won't happen.  They're probably just really busy, and I'll just send an email and say, 'Hey guys, I know you're so busy, no worries, we can reschedule '" and then before you hit send, you get an email saying "Just checking in about tomorrow...".  Oh shit, it's happening.  So you put your uke in it's plushy, new case (with fears and all) and you hit the road...

My uke is very cute.

to Brooklyn, for Musical Brunch (yay, it's a picture blog day).  Okay, so what the heck is musical brunch you ask?  It's brunch, you know with some bites to eat and some drinks, but mainly it's drinking early in the day without feeling guilty about it because well, it's brunch, oh, and you also play music.  The first time we had musical brunch was in Vienna.  We had it on the grounds of our hotel (and I think it was probably not quite acceptable to play and drink where we did, but when in doubt, just look confused, ya know the look that says Oh, we're American, we don't know any better) .  It looked something like this...

Andie, James and me in Vienna.

So at this point you (and now by you, I do actually mean, you), you may be wondering why I was hoping to postpone musical brunch?  Good question folks.  And the answer is, because I'm insane.  Because going to musical brunch would mean putting myself out there, and quite possibly embarrassing myself in front of my friends. Now if you know these folks, you know they are the nicest and most supportive peeps on the planet, but they are insanely talented, and I am not a trained musician.  Let me translate the voices in my head for you, they go something like this "You are going to make a fool out of yourself.  Do you really think people are gonna like what you write?  Who do you think you are?"  Well, I told those voices to shut the f*#k up, and now back in America, musical brunch looks something like this...

Andie, Katie and James tuning up.

After some heavy carb-loading, and a few mimosas, we got down to business.  Finding some courage I played a bit of my song (and in case you missed my first demo of the song, you can find it in this post:  Resurrections, and when you listen you'll hear why I was nervous to play in front of them), they did what they do best.  We talked about the feel, asking my opinions, giving theirs, working together.  The thing about making music is there are so many possibilities.  It's all about the possibilities, and then making choices.  You try things out, add a solo here, one more measure there, you bring back the melodica, you take away the mandolin, and if it doesn't work, you try something different.  And isn't that what life is all about?  You make a choice, take a chance and if you fall down, you get back up again.

I can't tell you how great it felt to collaborate with my friends, especially listening to them play what I had only heard in my head, only now it sounded better than I imagined.  To me, now it sounds like an actual song.  They've inspired me to do more.  And I am.  I've also decided to set some goals for myself. Wanna hear 'em? Well, you don't have a choice (ok, you do, you can stop reading now, but I hope you don't) 1: to have four-five songs written, and arranged, by September and 2): to record those songs for an EP by the end of the year.  I'm excited and fear free (for now).

I think the time has come to share what we worked on.  We made a little recording again on my trusty iPhone, but I'm so proud to share it.   Mr. James Moore is on guitar, Ms. Andie Tanning Springer is on mandolin and melodica, Ms. Katie Cox is on banjolele (which is a banjo ukuele, and it's seriously the cutest thing ever) and I'm on vocals (yes, I chickened out and didn't play but, come on, it's hard for me to sing and play at the same time...cut me some slack, I'm learning to).   You can hear it by pressing this little link right here:

The Slaughter and the Lamb

And seriously, my friends are terrifically talented, and super amazing humans. I can't thank them enough for sharing their gifts and time with me. You can find out more info on them below:

James Moore
Andie Tanning Springer
Katie Cox

Thanks for listening!

My life in shelves...

MY LIFE IS LIKE THESE SHELVES...


Packed! Cluttered! Disorganized! Messy!

I recently came to the realization that I don't finish everything I start (okay fine, it's not a recent revelation, and if I'm being honest, it's probably more like I don't 'finish' the majority of the things I start). Case in point, this little blog. Last entry before this one? That would be Thanksgiving 2010. Wow, way to give it my all, right?!

Not convinced? Okay, I'm currently reading at least five books. I keep going to the next one thinking it'll be better than the one I'm reading at the moment (could this be a window into my psychology??? Hmm.)



Wanna take a guess on how many of these books and plays on my bookshelf that I've actually read? Or how many I've actually finished once I started? Not a good percentage I'm sure. Sometimes I think I start things because I think it's gonna make this huge transformation in my life and when it doesn't happen immediately (or easily) I'm on to the next thing. There was the time when I was going to make jewelry and sell it online. Or the time I decided I'd earn extra money making greeting cards (you should have seen the glitter on my floor). I've spent a big majority of my money (and accumulated debt), not to mention the amount of time, on things I wanted to do and never finished.

How about the guitar lessons I started to take and well, you guessed it, never finished? Sure I can play a few songs and even sing along, but that's only because most pop songs have 4 chords in them and if I sing loud enough, I can kinda fake 'em. P.S. I have three guitars. That's right THREE and I can't play any one of them proficiently. So now this summer I got a ukulele because I think it will be awesome to play. And how many times have I played it so far? Oh maybe, twice, but for the record, I haven't given up on this one, so there is still hope! :)

Yeah, it's true, I don't finish everything I start, but I also don't give up on things that I truly want! Oh, there have been more than a few hiccups and doubts along the way, but I'm NOT not finishing this. I can't. And what exactly is finishing anyway? Isn't finishing the end? Do we really want that? Isn't it the process that we learn from? I think this blog post is a reminder to me that the things that are most important to us are the things we will stick to no matter how much work there is to do (or how many obstacles we face). We can never truly finish...we just continue on and learn from our missteps. I'm not a quitter on myself and you shouldn't be one on you either. There's something in all of us that we truly want and we it owe it to ourselves, and others, to go get it! And hell, those books will still be there for me when I want to finish them, but right now I'm a little busy with some other things.

And here's the little guy:

He's cute, isn't he?! I'll keep you posted on our progress but in the meantime, just to prove to myself that I can let go of some of my perfectionism, I'm uploading a recording I made on my ipod the first night I played it. Lord knows it's bad, embarrassing even, but its a work in progress, just like me:


http://soundcloud.com/jagarrish/i-cant-help-falling-in-love/s-yHfCK