Alex, it's great to be here! I'll take "Recording Studio" for 200 please.
What are things on the vocal booth window ledge?
(Voice of host) "That is correct!"
I saw this random collection of items as I took my place behind the microphone this week and thought, "I LOVE THIS PLACE!" Looking further beyond the glass, I saw speakers, cables, keyboards, a big industrial shelf filled with drums, and a few musicians taking a break in between sound check and their evening show. Where else in the world would I see this combination of items and people? It meant I was in my favorite place, with my favorite people, doing what I love. It was the best!
With all due respect and appreciation for times of reflection, relaxation and introspective examination, last week was all about getting back to work.
There were workouts, video production, travel, song writing, studio recording, a very interesting photo shoot with a dragonfly, strategic marketing development sessions, contract execution, more travel, vocal practice, song learning, and a gig. It was a pretty full week.
My view in the studio...
With Russ and Joey
With Russ and Robbie
Yes. I can get hair done, have a production meeting, and color at the same time... LOL
With Vincent and Russell at NYGMS
L to R: Harvey, Bobby, Me, Jim, Doug, Bill, Chandlar, Paul
I feel good about everything happening, and there's a lot happening!
This week, as I plow through the ever-mounting pile of tasks, I'll keep a steady pace and remember to enjoy the process as I go. I know that if I keep balanced and make sure there's room for laughs and quiet thought (or pictures of dragonflies), I'll get an amazing number of things done AND feel rested and strong as well. :)
Here's wishing us all a successfully balanced back to work/school week!
Russ and I met on stage at the World Trade Center, on the 107th floor of the North Tower. It was during a gig with a band he had played with for years, and I first came in that night as a guest vocalist.
Last night (Sunday), Russ was on stage in London playing with Nile Rodgers and Chic. He received a text message from New Jersey that included a picture of himself, there on stage in London, and the words "We see you."
Russ on stage with Nile Rodgers & Chic at the British Summer Time festival in Hyde Park
It was from the bandleader and entertainment company with whom he had worked for over a decade - the same band that first brought us together on stage years ago.
Someone who books that band in the UK and Europe was in the crowd at the London show, recognized Russ, and sent a picture to the bandleader in Jersey, who then forwarded it to Russ on stage in London. (Cool!)
Every week, I am pleased and honored to see that there are blog views from all over the world! I welcome all of the worldwide viewership and am so glad to be a part of this era in which we are more and more connected globally!
I began last week GETTIN' IT ON at the gym and I posted this pic in reference to my fitness goals:
On Tuesday, this blog's viewership reached over 17,000 and I was psyched! Then, my "Congratulations!" tweet to the creator of a musical that just moved to Off-Broadway and is getting rave reviews was retweeted by him, to my surprise and delight.
I was having a great time! I thought, "I am going to look for more things to celebrate. Maybe I'll create more things to celebrate!" I fully expected this blog to be titled "Happy Dance" or "Celebrate Good Times Come On!" or something like that.
I soon found this Dr. Wayne Dyer quote and it served as confirmation for me that positivity and celebration could be found everywhere if we choose to see it...
"Everything that happens to you
is either an opportunity to grow
or an obstacle to keep you from growing.
You get to choose."
- Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
After that, I heard a radio segment about Amazon's new version of the assembly line, which utilizes robots to bring the shelves to the workers, instead of the workers having to go to the shelves. The newscaster mentioned a Yale professor who strongly advocates the idea of flipping things around (as Amazon had done with the robots). There it was again - the same message...
"It
turns out there are potential symmetries all around us – ways of flipping
things around that might be just as good or better – if we just look for them."
- Barry Nalebuff & Ian Ayres
"Did you ever
store a ketchup bottle upside down?How
long did it take for Hunts and H.J. Heinz to figure out that they could turn
the label upside down?"
- Barry Nalebuff & Ian Ayres
(Barry Nalebuff is Milton Steinbach Professor of Management at Yale School of Management)
When "one of the worst storms in recent memory" (www.nytimes.com) dumped over seven feet of snow on some areas of Buffalo and its suburbs in three days, it wasn't exactly time to celebrate. When a relative attending Florida State University texted me to inform me of a shooting in the school's library, stunned disbelief and concern seemed the more appropriate response.
When my relative at F.S.U. immediately informed me that she was alright and perfectly safe and sound at home that evening, though, I was naturally overwhelmed with gratitude for that. While the events of that day were undeniably tragic, and our prayers continue to be with the student in critical condition and with the family of the troubled, there is also much to be grateful for. So many students, teachers, parents, relatives and law enforcement officials are surely grateful to be safe and for the safety of their loved ones. We can all be reminded of how precious life is and to appreciate and celebrate every moment of it.
I was scheduled to drive to Buffalo on Thursday and was watching the weather forecast very carefully. As I saw the terrible conditions and even heard the death toll rise, I was also hearing that relatives and many people I know were out of harm's way and doing well. While we prayed for those in need and for the families of those lost, we were also grateful for the health and well being of so many others.
Families all over Western New York were making the most of their situations, and stellar examples of neighbors helping neighbors were everywhere. (Buffalo is called "The City of Good Neighbors" for good reason!) Miracles were taking place when a little "Lucy Grace" came into the world at a firehouse. Just prior to her parents being unable to make it to the hospital for her delivery, her dad just "happened" to meet up with a stranded woman who was a labor and delivery nurse. Shortly after their meeting, another stranded nurse (this time a maternity nurse) found her way to the same firehouse where little Lucy was born.
Social media was flooded with the humor and good spirit of Western New Yorkers flipping their predicaments around into seeing the bright side of things.
We only delayed our trip to Western New York by one day, making it through cleared roads on Friday. On Saturday, we attended an ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL middle school performance of Seussical Jr. Those kids were fantastic to see!!! Two of my cousins were among the performers and I was so happy and proud to see them up there on stage. I loved every minute of that show. I smiled the whole time and when it was done I told Russ, "THAT was the best show I've seen in a long time!" As the kids hurried off to their cast party to celebrate their accomplishment, I smiled for them. They deserved a good celebration for an outstanding job well done.
As we begin another week, we'll celebrate our dear friends as we record new songs in the studio. We'll all celebrate Thanksgiving and family and a whole host of other things that we remember to be grateful for this time of year. We'll celebrate the fact that there's ALWAYS SOMETHING to be grateful for. I will be looking forward to all of the wonderful experiences that await. When challenges come, I'll look for a way to flip them into opportunities of growth. I'll flip out.
:) :) :)
Here's wishing you all a most joyous holiday!
Namaste!
T
"Choose to be in close proximity to people who are
empowering,
who appeal to your sense of connection to intention,
who see the
greatness in you,
and who live a life that gives evidence
that Spirit has found
celebration through them."
– Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
Kool and the Gang - live performance of "Celebration"
featuring Buffalo's own (Lackawanna native) Shawn McQuiller,
who has been a member of Kool and the Gang for the last 23 years!
Can you believe this? I am being mocked by Carnegie
Hall.
Have I ever told you all about the unpredictability of life
as a musician/artist? J (I feel like that’s all I ever talk
about sometimes.) Oftentimes, I
live in a whole world of crazy.
Last year, I relocated four times for various projects' beginnings and
endings. Why should this year be
any different?
As preparations are underway for the cross-country trek for
this year’s L.A. activities, I am going crazy making lists, making plans and
trying to get it together. It
feels kind of like planning a wedding with a thousand things that you never
thought you had to think about and every task leads to at least five other
tasks that have to be done first.
Everything requires an immediate decision and again, before you make
one, there are five more that have to be made first. Am I driving or flying? Are the dogs coming?
If the dogs are coming then I’ll have to drive, right? Will Russ drive too or will he fly? Won’t we need both cars out there? Which car will I drive? Will someone drive with me? Who can I get to come with me if not
Russ? Can we even find an
apartment, that allows the dogs, that we can also afford? (Are you getting the picture
here?) Should I leave on
Monday? Oops, I am due for a
doctor’s appointment and they only have an opening on Tuesday. Will I have to pick up my other
passenger in Buffalo? Should we
leave from there? Well, that’s a
big “if” anyway. (Now are you
getting the picture?) I haven’t
even begun to describe the packing process! What to pack and what to ship? Do I have any boxes?
So I FINALLY think that we have established the date on
which I will be traveling, THEN the phone rings and I hear:
“What’s the fastest way to Carnegie Hall?”
“Huh? Did you dial the right number? This is Tanya.”
“I
know. What’s the fastest way to
Carnegie Hall?”
“Oh. Is this a riddle? Okay, I don’t know. What?”
“Answer
‘yes’ to my next question… Are you available Wednesday and Thursday?”
“GAW! I was going to… um… uh… I guess I need
the money. (Oops, was that out
loud!?) Yes, I am available.”
I soon realized how ungrateful I sounded when presented with
the opportunity to sing (as a background vocalist for Ray Chew's band) at Carnegie Hall!!! What is WRONG with me?! I had better call back and
apologize! GEESH!!!
This is EXACTLY why we only had two weeks to plan our
wedding and why it is so difficult for me to commit to any kind of plan
whatsoever. THIS is why I have to
just show up on friends' doorsteps at Christmas time for visits. This is why I am always calling people
at the last minute to see if they can get together “like now.” J So my plans got changed. That’s okay. This is my life.
I mean, why should I expect anything different?
I have to go now.
I have to get to the bank, then the pet store, then Kinko's, the grocery
store, post office, the other pet store, Target, the car wash, my in-laws, back
home, Goodwill, the Transfer Station, dry cleaners, the doctor’s office,
Buffalo and everything else on my list – unless something changes.
