Recently the time gallops by at an incredible speed. I used to be able to put things off and say: oh, I'll do it when….*insert something here*. But now, a day goes by, another one and suddenly a whole week is gone. I am done with my local musical residency and it was a success. It was also sold out throughout the month. And – I got to experiment with my looping station + micro Korg – and I'll be taking them to NYC to perform next month.
July 20th is the iTunes Live Session release concert in NYC! And July 26th in Los Angeles, here at the Witzend. We are going to try and make the Los Angeles concert a web event, too.
We are putting together some video clips from the residency to post online/YouTube, the website is coming together, the Beatrix story, as well, and more things are in store.
I am feeling accomplished.
I am going to be playing a lot more guitar live and off-stage, as well, in the coming weeks. It's making my shoulder ache, but it's definitely worth it. Something happens when I sing and play guitar – my vocal style changes, and almost dramatically so. Who knows why – but it's a good thing. Tech-wise, I am also starting to incorporate beats into my live set – it's exciting! Courtesy of the Maschine made by Native Instruments.
This is a picture taken at the last live show, as I was looping vocals, the keyboard and the lovely Korg.
I have also been writing up a storm – writing some more for the Beatrix story, which is coming along nicely, and also some other stuff. Not poetry, but prose. Actually, you know, I think my temperament is more suited to a life of a writer… Get up early in the morning… a nice cup of coffee – write – do something physical – write some more – I enjoy watching the words take shape on a screen.
When I was seven or so, growing up in Moscow, my favorite thing was my mom's ancient typewriter. It was not working very well, and the ribbon had been changed a few times, one of which being a time when there must have been no black ink tape available. Enter the red ink tape – and then, taken back to the black ink tape normality, the typewriter produced the most fabulous half red-half black letters. It was perfect for writing terrific and world-changing novels.
I never got past the first two chapters, but if I recall correctly many of these were sci fi stories that had to do with spaceships and distant planets. Others were adventure stories, where the heroine grew up in an affluent household, dressed up as a boy and ran away to join a pirate ship.
I could also see myself as a librarian.. somewhere in a distant Alexandrian city, watching over a library full of extremely powerful and rare texts on magic, science, alchemy and star-gazing. At nighttime, I would change into fabulous clothes, sing at the opera and have secret and dangerous assignations, dealing with state secrets and such. Obviously I would wear a dagger.
I kind of look like a librarian here, don't I?
I could be a Swashbuckling Opera Librarian.
