Last week, we finalized the CD production of Braids of Kabuya! With over 50 backers, we reached our Kickstarter goal. This is amazing. I have never done an art project like this in my life. The list of thank you’s is long and the gratitude I have for everyone who helped out is HUGE!
At the end of the week, we took care of last tweaks of the mastering, boosting bass here, adding reverb there… the final edits took longer than expected by a few days, but we are still right on target!
The Daphnes – Braids of Kabuya
Oct. 1st a digital version of the album will be made available to you. Right now, I’m just waiting on some codes to be assigned to the songs for digital streaming and downloads, and then I will be posting the album up on CD Baby and Bandcamp (The Daphnes EP is up here for now). I will post the links here, at my Kickstarter page and on my website when they are available.
I will also be publishing a book of Braids of Kabuya lyrics with digital download of the album. I expect to receive the books mid-October. First, I publish the CD for duplication (check). Second, I send in the album for digital distribution (pending). Third, I publish the book (in current edit mode).
My self-imposed deadline is to have all this new material for Harp Seattle, Dusty Strings’ three day harp fest I’ll be presenting at Oct 5-7.
This October 1, The Daphnes will release our first album, Braids of Kabuya. I’m so very excited to have a hard deadline on the calendar! This album sounds amazing.
With a dozen songs and half a dozen collaborators, this project is a culmination of two of my favorite things: music and poetry. Its has been a long time coming and I just need YOUR SUPPORT for the final push.
No matter what my aspirations are, my blog continually only gets monthly posting. So, what have I been doing this past May? A month in the life of a mama musician looks something like this:
Friday – Played for hospice clients in North Seattle. Came home for lunch, did reports and corresponding before getting daughter from school. A lovely day, we took our time walking back home.
Thursday – Kind of a mix-up with childcare, but otherwise a very good day.
Wednesday – Great gig with my band, The Daphnes, at Stone Way Cafe. You can catch us there again on Fri. June 23 at 7pm.
The Daphnes
Tuesday – My motivated high school student came at 8am for her lesson so she can get orchestra credit! Home cleaning and organizing, then teaching more students in the afternoon.
Monday – Memorial Day! Enjoyed a hot holiday off with my family at Folklife Festival and got to hear a few friends playing music.
Sunday – Not one, but TWO last minute gigs! I had gotten a call on Friday to play a wedding that another musician cancelled on. Then, at 7:30 am I got a call from a church choral leader in Ballard to sub on keyboard. I ended up doing both performances and had a fabulous, positively fun day. Also last minute: neighbor friends came over for dessert in the backyard.
Saturday – Very hot day. My kiddo was moving quite slowly and no one wanted to go to Folklife Festival that day with me, so we took a walk to Open Books on 45th where I got to nerd out about poetry with staff. Ice cream! Then, Jeppa, Eli and Lutra came over for a backyard picnic dinner.
Friday – Evening recording session for my album with awesome accordionist, Scott Adams!
Scott Adams (accordion) in the studio
Thursday – I have no idea what I did this day.
Wednesday – Wed. Sing! Nate Omdal and I play two sets of bass/harp duets for a cocktail party/art opening in Issaquah.
Tuesday – Played harp for hospice clients and taught students at home studio.
Monday – Went to Bellevue to play two client patient visits as therapeutic musician (one for Providence Hospice, another for Family Best Care)
Sunday – Flew a butterfly-shaped kite with the family at Gasworks Park. A solo eagle soared with it! Mostly a day off, then recorded violin tracks with Julie in the evening.
Saturday – Violin/Harp duets with Janet for a wedding on the MV Skansonia Ferry after going to the 125th Anniversary Carnival for BF Day Elementary School (Seattle’s oldest school) and teaching a morning lesson at Dusty Strings.
on the Skansonia w/Janet
Friday – Content writing and editing for the new Musicians’ Union website.
Thursday – Played a terrific concert at The Neptune Theater with Evan Flory-Barnes’ large ensemble. I love his projects.
Neptune soundcheck
Wednesday – I slept so poorly the night before and had insomnia. I felt like a zombie most of the day, but did some parent volunteering at my daughter’s school anyway, met with her teacher and did some teaching of my own at home studio.
Tuesday – Teaching. Parenting. Rehearsing at Cornish for the Thursday concert.
Monday – Writers In The Schools (WITS) is a wonderful program through Seattle Public Schools. My daughter has learned how to read and write poetry from talented professionals and tonight was the end of year K-3 poetry reading, which couldn’t have been more adorably heartwarming.
Sunday – Mother’s Day. I got some new stylin’ sunglasses because a particular young person always breaks mine.
Saturday – Gamelan Pacific Concert at The Chapel. A positively uplifting event, listening to Indonesian music and featuring a tribute to composer Lou Harrison.
Friday – I had a funeral to play for one of my past hospice clients, at a Catholic ceremony in Bellevue.
Thursday – Chaperoned for my kindergartener’s field trip to Seward Park. It started raining when we got there and never stopped.
Wednesday – Morning hospice clients and afternoon harp students.
Tuesday – Rehearsal with Janet on violin for wedding in a week, picked up my kiddo from school and came straight home to teach students.
Monday – Office day. I usually start off the week with a chunk of time corresponding from the home office, scheduling, and decompressing from weekend gigs.
Sunday – Harp Recital Day! Hosted my first ever harp recital for students with great success.
Harp Recital (2017)
Saturday – A nice hot spring day. Took daughter to a birthday party. I tried to practice but felt so distracted. A semi-productive day.
Friday – After working on various projects from home, went with the family to a friend’s art opening in Columbia City and I also picked up some money from my last gig at Columbia City Theater.
Thursday – Doctor’s appointment in the morning, and in between parent pick up at school, I taught five students at Dusty Strings.
This new year has made a lot of noise so far, off to a gallop and a cock-a-doodle-doo, both globally and personally. My most recent news: I am teaching at Dusty Strings Music Store!
Two years ago, I set off to adopt a five-fold business plan that addressed these areas of work: performing; recording; weddings & private events; teaching; and healing. All five areas of my business plan are in full swing.
Performing – This winter I am performing these concerts in Seattle:
Recording- Working on mixing the last tracks of my upcoming album, Braids of Kabuya, and ideas like this keep coming:
Teaching- I am SUPER pleased to announce that I am now teaching private harp lessons at Dusty Strings Music Store in Seattle (Fremont). Not only does Dusty Strings make the finest lever harps in North America, but they have a newly renovated music school. Its pretty awesome and inspiring. People who work there are nice. Please check it out! I teach on Thursdays.
Healing- This month, I celebrated my 1st year anniversary playing therapeutic harp music for Providence Hospice patients. It is a gift to play music for people who are so appreciative.
‘Tis the Season! I have Christmas harp music for sale, my CD Harp Carols.
Album Cover design by Luara Moore
“Harp Carols” is a collection of ancient noels on solo harp and features clarinetist Rosalyn DeRoos on the last song. Except for two pieces, all songs are traditional Christmas carols. “Harp Carols” celebrates Europe’s music of 15th Century – 19th Century holiday season and will transport you to a place of Old World calm during this winter’s busiest month. Also included are an improvisation on Gabriel Faure’s “Pavane,” and “Journey to the Magi,” an original tune a la Alice Coltrane with influence by the T.S. Eliot poem.
I will be playing a seasonal concert in Seattle area this year! The concert will be one of healing and meditation featuring harp solos and duets, honoring the quietude of the winter solstice and the light within each one of us during this dark season.
I’ll be performing live December 23rd, 2016 at: Healing Harp Tones, a harp concert in duet with Monica Schley & Motter Snell. Interfaith Community Sanctuary 1763 NW 62nd St Seattle, WA 98107 7pm
Autumn means organization, or at least to some people it does! My harp students know that when they come over to my studio, they will invariably see piles of yellow legal pads, music books, sheets of poems, pencils, postcards, to-do lists, headphones, and manila legal files stuffed with more of the same on and surrounding my desk. New studies show, though, that might not be such a bad thing for a creative type like me.
Virtually, things are much cleaner for me. I’ve just compiled a concise bibliography of selected publications and posted them to my website (Recordings & Writing). Its an organized list of selected poems and essays I’ve written, available in one easy to find place – imagine that!
This post was originally published at Pyragraph and is reposted here with kind permission.
Backstage in NYC
A year ago I quit my day job. It was easy to make the announcement and write the first part of my story, because I was excited! However, writing this follow-up has been a lot more challenging.
A little background: The day-job I quit was part-time. It was secure and it complimented my creative career as a musician and poet. So, I was conflicted about leaving. However, I knew that if I stayed any longer, I would never take the chance to see what was behind the other door—the door that led to working on music and writing exclusively, the door that led to me working as a freelancer and calling my own shots. I was miserable with the thought of never knowing what that would feel like.
For various reasons, the clock was ticking. If I was going to jump, it had to be now.
How did I prepare for this? I talked to other full-time musicians and I crafted a business plan. Then, I seriously talked my five-fold business plan over with at least a dozen people, as well as a representative at Seattle Small Business Association. I got green lights. I created an active teaching studio. Also, I became a Certified Clinical Musician (someone who plays particular therapeutic styles of music at the bedside of the sick and dying). The plan was that the day job hours would be taken over by therapeutic work, more or less. Since putting my plan into practice, I still think it’s solid in theory, but several factors beyond my control caused a certain amount of failure.
An important nuance I’ve had to take note of is seasonal fluctuations in work. I have wedding gigs in the summer, but not many students. This past year has shown moments of good fortune—touring with amazing musicians to New York with the successful show, Now I’m Fine—contrasted by disappointments when efforts don’t pay off—I did an intense two-day trade show for state healthcare workers expecting to drum up new clinical music work, but got empty leads, which left me physically and mentally drained.
There have been lots of challenges this first year on my own, but they’ve only pushed me to try something new and get comfortable with making mistakes when they happen.
New things I’ve tried this year and succeeded at:
Recording original tunes in studio and at home (in progress)
Making a music video
Bartered harp lessons for other needed services
Led healing harp tones guided meditation workshop
Fallen short:
Getting 3-5 therapeutic music accounts (I’ve succeeded so far at only gaining two)
Rejected grants
Future goals:
Skype harp lessons
Self-publishing a multi-instrument album
Leading more group workshops
More therapeutic music accounts
In one year’s time, I’d say I’m not as rosey-eyed, that is, I may not have taken into account how the highs and lows are much more extreme, which can be more exciting and more scary. Yet still, I’m optimistic by nature, so I always have that working to my advantage. I am very comfortable with turning down offers that are not respectable or reciprocal. I also happen to live in a wealthy city, where there are many resources for artists and people who will pay for artistic services.
My choice to work freelance has really been about my need to fulfill a dream. In his poem, “Harlem,” Langston Hughes asks:
What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore— And then run?
I knew my dreams would lose their strength, or worse yet, cease to exist, if I didn’t answer to their calling. That is what this career choice has been about, because working in the arts is more than just “making a living,” it’s a lifestyle. I like seeing where the mystery unfolds, even if it’s a little terrifying. It’s my path and I own it.
Here’s a new ditty for the day: Fire & Ice. This solo harp excerpt is from a longer vocal and multi-instrumental track I’m working on. Today, I have only a few hours to record and I wanted to hear some instant results!
