26 things about me....TAG game.

I popped by Jen's blog today, and she says that if you find yourself reading her blog you are to consider yourself tagged.





So, I am tagged, and now that you are here reading this, you are tagged too! Please follow the instructions completely by posting 26 things about yourself. ( and please go visit Jen's blog if you don't know her yet )






1) I see the glass as half full.

2) I most often choose to give people the benefit of the doubt, even though I am sometimes burned by that decision.

3) I see life as a classroom for our souls, and our problems just part of the curriculum.

4) I give an excellent foot rub.

5) I only ever really worried about dying, once I had children.



6) My favorite exercise in the dojo, is punching and kicking someone who is wearing or holding kick/body pads .




7) I am generally quite laid back and lazy, and have to force myself to be productive.



8) I am curious about a variety of experiences, I would rather try a lot of different things, and do reasonably well at them, than spend all of my time on one thing, trying to become an expert.



9) I really admire people who become an expert in any field, and I will tell them that I admire them.



9) I take responsibility for what I do and say. I am not afraid to apologize or to be wrong.



10) I realize that will always be learning about myself and the world around me.



11) I believe it takes a village to raise a child.


12) I like being around people who can sit comfortably and enjoy the silence, rather than feel a need to fill it.

13) I cry at wimpy commercials, but I can be vicious if crossed.



14) I don't feel bad about myself when I tell you that I suck at guitar, I'm cool with it. You don't have to worry, I haven't hurt my own feelings.



15) I am very social online and at work, but in life I do most things solo.


16) As a kid when it came to playtime, I was more of a tomboy than a girly girl. Today, if you asked me whether I'd rather go & try dirt biking, or, go and get my hair and nails done? I'd try dirt biking.


17) I thought I was going to grow up and move to a far away ranch to become a cowgirl, but then I saw a cute boy with a guitar and that opened my eyes to music.


18) I adore singing for large crowds.


19) I hate to be in large crowds.


20) I would love to meet a partner who would be willing and able to hold kick pads for me.


21) I love jogging and hiking in forests with twisty paths and hilly terrain.


22) I rarely wear make up.


23) I drive a stick shift.


24) I don't like drunk people or strangers from the audience, trying to touch me in a familiar way, and I feel very comfortable protecting and maintaining my personal boundaries.



25) I try to spread smiles or do something thoughtful for other people, whenever I see an opportunity to do so, I genuinely want to see everyone around me succeed and be happy.

26) I love the idea of synchronicity

If I only knew then................

There were 6 women and 6 boys sitting together in the stadium that night. I was enjoying watching the kids exploding with anticipation as they waited for the show, excitedly watching every move the pit crew made. I was chatting with the young lady beside me, (who was accompanying her boyfriends son because Mom had an emergency), and as we chatted I learned that she was newly engaged.



My eyes immediately traveled down to her hand to check out the ring and I could not believe that I had not noticed it before that moment, but it was a very, big ring. I know the guy she was intending on marrying, and that ring was not in his budget. It wasn't even in his budget when he didn't have an ex- wife and child to support.

I know this was none of my business, but I couldn't help but start to worry about it, and I started to worry about the guy. I knew he was smarting a bit over the split with his wife, and I wondered if he was thinking straight.



My thoughts and questions on the subject were interrupted as the answers that I had feared, started to come my way:





She: "Yeah, we chose it together, I just knew it was the one, the second I saw it"



[oh no here we go ..... I had this sad image of them in the ring shop, I wonder if he kept himself composed as he heard the price of the ring ]





Me: "Wow, that's quite a big ring, is it really in his budget?" ( yes, sometimes I ask inappropriate questions,)





She: " Well, he has a second job now on the weekends so that we can pay for it"


[I don't know if it was the stadium hot dog I had just consumed, or if it was her little story, but at exactly that point, I threw up a little]









Me: "Wow ( yes, again, I said Wow, and I said it with a big exhale and an incredulous tone, which she missed ), soooooo, when do you see him?" [ thinking I could get her to see what she was doing, if I approached it from another angle ]





She: "Oh, ..... well", she sighed sadly, ................"its really tough"



[at this point I thought she caught my drift, and might be referring to how hard he was working for her, and I softened a little]







Me: "Is the ring really worth it do you think?"





She: "Oh yeah, its so beautiful," she perked up, "and you know, my girlfriends keep me company when we are partying on the weekends, so I am not too lonely without him"





[huh?............. wait, no,..... its not about you being lonely.....er...god I wish It was legal for me to smack some sense into you..........]





I decided to try another route, I shared my own story. Because, I thought, I am a pretty cool and admirable chick, maybe I could lead by my own example. You see, I didn't even have a diamond ring when I got married, I still don't, and we could afford it. I figured it was a waste of money though, so, we just saved the dough, and eventually bought other things (like the old Porsche I found online and had shipped from North Carolina to Houston for hubby, way cooler than a ring if you ask me).



Then I told her about the ring that I had had, made, which I could wear to fancy functions or ladies luncheons or whatever, it cost under a $100 dollars, & in all the years I wore it, no one ever doubted it's authenticity. I suggested she take her ring back and choose a setting she likes and put in a fake diamond, so that she could spend more time with her fiance. I reminded her that when they could finally afford it, they could put a real diamond in (if she really wanted to still).







her answer;











She: " Well, yeah I understand what you are saying, but this is really the only time I am going to get married, so it really has to be right, I want this to be the ring I wear forever. "







Me: "How old are you anyway?"





She: " I'm 21"





I knew I was defeated, the conversation was over, I don't like to work that hard.





I know I can't give her my experience, though I hope she learns to listen to people who offer it to her, sooner rather than later.









I know I did, listened to my elders. I recall very early on, hearing the adults around me say "If I only knew then, what I know now",........ I noticed it was such a universal saying, I knew there had to be something to it. I didn't understand it, but I made note of it, and paid attention because of it. So when I am the recipient of advice from someone I admire, even if I don't understand the advice at that time, I try to remember it, file it away, so that when I encounter that particular experience, roadblock, or situation, I might be armed with a piece of wisdom to help me find my way.





To be fair, this young lady is young, and it does take a while to get there, I did my share of stupid at 21, and lord knows I am still learning and have a long way yet to go. I know that I don' t know everything, or anything even, which leaves me more open to consider another point of view. That is where understanding lies for me, in seeing things from as many different perspectives as possible.





I do worry about a culture that places more emphasis on the ceremony and accessories associated with weddings, rather than the actual union itself. It seems to make the young girls feel entitled to this big magical day, no matter what they truly can afford, and I fear young couples set themselves up for way more stress than they need to, at such a young time in their relationships. Hopefully simple cheap weddings will be whats in vogue by the time my children start flirting with the idea of it.



















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trust me, this is neat

This is clever folks, enjoy!

sitting around the campfire

thanks for sitting around the campfire with me, I'm sharing my rough draft of a new tune

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I didn't get sleep last night I was just
lying there trying not to think of this
Imagine, running into you oh just
standing there all making sense and so full of it.


what was I thinking even following you around?
I could be out there sinking
but youre nowhere to be found
Im not looking for a life line baby,
I know how to swim
I wont be falling over board,
so you wont be jumping in


the way you look at butterflies
I've wondered if that look could ever be for me
well look around its no surprise
like a statue in some garden we're all at youre feet

ch

I know, I know theres no safe place to fall
were bout as close now as that poster hanging on the wall
it doesn't matter if you let it make you strong
....or just sit down and write a song....

working it for the weekend, backstage with LOVERBOY,

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.

I had an outstanding weekend & I feel like I have opened a bunch of new doors that have some pretty exciting things behind them. Now, however, after the heady excitement of the weekend has worn off, I realize that I have hours upon hours of video editing ahead of me, which is a great deal of fun, but it has me worried that I will have no time to laze around (which is quite an enjoyable thing to do if you ask me).

Sometimes you do have to be careful of what you wish for. :)



OK, I am just moaning for no good reason, I am honestly thrilled, and I 'll give you a quick rundown on the past weekend and how it all happened.

I have a personal You Tube channel which is for my rough music drafts and just, whatever I feel like filming. This year I am working on a second, new You Tube channel idea, with gal pal chick singer Kelly Brock, (pictured) who will co-host the channel with me. We are not making high end film productions, we are just using my little camera and going behind the scenes with various local personalities, to capture real life, backstage, behind the scenes, banter and happenings. We just want to share with you, make connections, pass around little glimpses and bits of insight, share links and info, as well as show a real side of who people are, and what they do that inspires us.


We have been plotting this channel ever since I shot and edited my first videos of Kelly, such as the one filmed backstage at the Red Robinson Show theatre (rehearsing with the band for the 2008 BCCMA awards show). We also shot a behind the scenes at a photo shoot video, at Rock Beach Recording Studios,. I found that I really liked filming someone else for a change (I have had my personal You Tube channel for just over a year now, and I have become quite sick of me), so having another subject to film and edit was a delight.

Which brings us to where we are today, and telling you about the shooting we did last weekend. I can'tell you too much about our first shoot, which we did we did earlier in the day, but I promise I will when I can. Lets just say that Kelly and I manged to get ourselves behind the scenes of a music video shoot (the video will be aired on CMT when it is released).

How did we manage to do this? Well, I had met this artist a few months ago, and in our talk I shared with her, ways in which I might be helpful to her, then I left her my card. Well, out of the blue last week she emailed me, turns out she had kept my card (throw yourself out there people, something may bounce back). In the email, she happened to mention her upcoming video shoot.

Well, as I frequently do, I connected the dots immediately, and while I had her attention, I told this artist about the channel Kelly and I were working on. I sent her the video clips that I had made of Kelly and she loved them, she said she would ask her manager about letting us come shoot behind the scenes at her video shoot, which was being produced by Alex Galanis of Arkadia Pictures.

So I had the artist on board, but I still knew it would be very tough to get past management, I just know this, so I decided I wasn't just going to simply leave it at that. I called Kelly to tell her about this potential opportunity, and it turns out, Kelly knows that band's manager quite well, so she got working on that end of the equation. Kelly must have some magic that follows her around, because next thing you know, we have a pass to go shoot some behind the scenes fan video footage of this wonderful country group. It was so much fun, I can't wait to share it with you all, but I won't divulge the details until the band is ready to release their video, I don't want to spoil any surprises.

So that was my daytime shoot, but it doesn't end there, we had somewhere to go that night too!


Kelly sings background vocals for Loverboy, and a few months ago we hatched this plan to ask Mike Reno if we could do one of our videos using him as a subject. Not an easy thing to ask, after all, Mike Reno doesn't really need me and my hand held video camera, lets be honest here. I was asking him to expose himself to some stranger hanging around taking videos and being in your face backstage, when you just want to chill after a show. I get that, and I respect it. Most people forget I am there (eventually), and I have never had a complaint. I am very discreet, and charming, and polite.

As luck would have it, I am acquainted with Loverboy's amazing keyboard player Doug Johnson (who knew my father before he passed away last year). Once in a while I send Doug an email to keep him in the loop of what I am up to. So here is what happened Doug, sent the clip I made of Kelly, to Mike (back when I first posted it on You Tube last fall, because the video includes us finding Mike's signature on the walls backstage at the Red Robinson show theatre), so luckily, Mike was already familiar with the sort of video I make. Which really made this all much, much easier when Kelly asked Mike if we could come do a fan/bio video of him, he decided to support us and our project, and let himself be a subject. I am humbled.

The only tricky part, was getting a media pass for inside the venue. Live Nation is serious about stuff like that, and they don't just let anyone do this sort of thing. There were hoops, trust me. I didn't even know whether I was going to get a media pass approved until the morning of the show, so I was on pins an needles until I got the word. When I did, I was thrilled, especially when I realized that it was, Mike who went to bat for me and pulled the right strings, so he really was the hero of the day. I really look foward to making a wondeful fan tribute for them.

The show rocked by the way, the band was tight, and the crowd were singing and crying and showing their boobs to the band. (It was a rock show after all). Hanging out backstage was hilarious, it always is, there is just something about the energy it takes to do a show, that makes people quicker, and faster with the funny, either that or its the booze.

I had the great pleasure of meeting the other gorgeous background singer who works alongside Kelly, her name is Catherine St. Germaine. They are affectionately dubbed, the 'Lovergirls'. I have been emailing with Catherine for months now, so I did sort of 'cyber-'know her already. As well as performing for a living in a number of different amazing local groups, Catherine also books the bands into the lounges, for the Great Canadian Casinos. It was a treat to finally meet Catherine in person, she is beautiful and talented and I admire her a great deal. If you caught the show I am sure you were fell in love with her after she sang Almost Paradise with Mike near the end of the show.

Finally, I want to say that underneath all that incredible talent and powerful voice, Mike Reno, is a really funny, nice, and genuine guy. I was a big fan back in the days when I was wearing out the grooves on my records, and I am still a fan, and I am delighted that Loverboy are still rocking up there on stage, playing the songs of our youth and bringing us back to simpler times.

They have a wicked new CD out, & I am listening to the tunes as we type, I do highly recommend you check it out, and pick up a copy. There is a reason we fell in love with these boys 30 some odd years ago, and this new CD proves they still got it!

Loverboy will be inducted into the Canadian Music Hall Of Fame at the 2009 Juno Awards this spring, and I applaud CMHF for honoring such a worthy band and acknowledging what a rich tapestry of music Loverboy has given us to grow up with. Judging by the fans cheering and singing along in the audience, a LOT of people feel the same way.

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what are we missing?

The following post was not written by me, I recieved it in an email.
I believe it is worthwhile sharing.








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From The Effective Club :

A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousands of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule.

A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the case and without stopping continued to walk.

A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents,
without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.

Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats average $100.

This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of an social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we
recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?
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Kylee Epp

I thought I would post a couple of pics from my Abba-cadabra gig last December, in order to introduce Kylee Epp , my Abbalicious partner in crime in the Abba tribute I just started working in ( produced by Mooncoin productions ).

Kylee is a living doll, she is so musically accomplished, beautiful, and talented at such a young age, yet, she is extremely mature and down to earth which I really like. She has absolutely no idea how incredible she truly is.

Kylee has a new CD coming out soon, and when it is released, I will post about it here, so stay tuned. In the meantime I will link you to her website so you can read and explore as she shares her recording experiences. She also talks about some of the excting things that happen while on road with a country star. ( Oh yes, did I mention she also has a gig touring with and singing background vocals for Jesse Farrell ? )