April in Paris…
Ok, it wasn’t Paris - I haven’t gotten to Paris yet! But I did spend a good part of April in Monaco! Welcome to my visual retelling of April as an independent music artist.
I wanna go-go-go to Monaco-co-co
When you travel alone you have to get used to taking selfies so you actually have pictures of yourself!
I was lucky enough to snag a trip to Monaco with my new company and was overwhelmed by the glitz and glamour. It’s a place people go to be seen. I was enthralled by the history, the architecture, the food, and the music!
I wrote a song about it when I got back. The last night we were at a jazz club in the hotel lobby and a “mistress of the night” and her caller were sitting in front of us. She was faking her adoration for him… and the whole glitz of Monaco fell apart for me in that moment… so I wrote a song about it…
Music - April Songwriting Challenge
In April, I participated in a month-long songwriting challenge. This is my third one since October, y’all. I have a lot of new songs and I am sharing them mostly on my live online performances if you want to hear them and let me know if they’re worthy of spending more time producing and releasing!. Otherwise, POOF!, there they’ll go into the ether. Below are some of y favorites that came out of the challenge.
The prompt was orbit. At first I thought of Orbit gum but wasn’t inspired to write about it. Then I thought of how you can fall into a person’s orbit…
April’s challenge provided a word prompt each day and a very small but supportive group of musicians on the same journey, cheering each other on. Creativity is not just something you have, it’s something you nurture. In my corporate gig, people are always commenting on how creative I am. And yes, I am, but not without intention. We hear a lot in business about how to build better habits, optimize workflows, lead teams, etc., but rarely will you hear about cultivating creativity.
This songwriting challenge is one of the ways I cultivate creativity. I challenge myself every day to take just one word, someone else’s word, and develop a story and a song from it… before 9am and whilst getting the kids off to school and myself ready for work. :)
For this one I was inspired by another songwriter in the group who had done a tribute song to 70s music, using an AI track. So I did the same thing with a swing song. The track is through an AI music app called “Sono.” It definitely feels like cheating, but it’s a good way to get a sketch together quickly of how you want a song to sound.
In other news…
It was my birthday over Easter weekend so everyone was home to celebrate ME. And my mom made my traditional Easter Bunny cake which she has been making since my 8th grade birthday party when my birthday actually landed on Easter and we had an Easter themed birthday party.
And I rounded out the month by taking home gold in a Karate tournament! The real win was getting on the mat because competing is basically bringing unnecessary stress into my life but it’s so good for building character! The picture on the right is from the kata “Sochin” which means “tranquil force” but it reminds me of how my mom used to call me a “bull in a china shop.” Well, I guess I found the right use for that characteristic!
Sochin: the entire kata is performed in this stance which is what makes it difficult. Not only staying in that squatting position, but moving in it!
What’s next…
More livestreams! I am going live Sunday nights come hell or high water. I don’t really know what that means… but I’ll see you there!!
I’m going to be switching back and forth between Facebook and Instagram so make sure you have your notifications turned on so you know when I’m singing to you!