Tomorrow's the Beginning of Something Beautiful

Yes, tomorrow is a big day for me. I am going to meet the drummer and bassist who I'll be working with on RISE and we are going to have an all day rehearsal before we head into the studio on Monday. 

I feel prepared and excited. A little bit nervous, but mostly excited and grateful for this amazing opportunity. I feel like my life is a little too perfect right now, but I don't want to jinx it. I'm recording at Fantasy Studios with all of these incredibly talented musicians, and we're all going to make a beautiful album together. Is this really happening? How did I manage to manifest this? 

But, I'm not gonna ask too many questions, I'm just gonna go with it and do my best to enjoy every minute of this gift of an experience. Sometimes you've just gotta just say YES to life and go for it. You only live once. I know everybody always says that, but it's the truth. I know a lot of hard work has taken place to get me here, but I find myself in this practically perfect moment, and I'm just going to embrace it and love the shit out of it. (sorry Mom)

This moment is like being at the edge of a precipice-you know everything's going to change in a moment and the momentum is going to carry you forward quicker than you can even keep track of and before you know it, it'll be over. We just had Halloween and by the time Thanksgiving rolls around, EVERYTHING will be recorded and all that will be left to do is mixing and mastering. 

Life is strange like that. You spend so long preparing and looking forward to big events, and then they pass by all too quickly. So I am making it my goal to relish this time and savor every moment of this incredible experience that I get to have. I'm going to try to write regularly so you guys can follow along with me if you want. I'm sure it will be a roller coaster...

Well, I should probably get a good night's sleep so I can be on top of my game tomorrow. I will let you know how it's going soon. Nighty night.

Listening Contest

Time has been flying by this year, I can't believe it is already halfway over! I definitely owe y'all an update.

America's Got Talent was a crazy experience. I waited around for 7 & 1/2 hours to play for 90 seconds in front of 4 producers who barely paid attention. But I am still glad that I did it for a number of reasons. The courage that I was required to muster up gave me a new level of confidence about the quality of the music I am creating. I was surprised and delighted with all the support and love that people threw in my direction when they found out I was auditioning. I can't tell you how encouraging it was to know how much y'all believe in me and my music. In addition, I kept my promise to my 91 year old grandmother and she is thrilled for me. To top it all off, I got a good song out of it. You can listen to it below.

I am getting ready to launch a crowd funding site for recording my second album. I have a batch of songs that I am really proud of and I can't wait to share with y'all. I am absolutely thrilled that I am going to be working with a producer that I respect and admire. She is going to help me take these songs and my sound to the next level. But first, I need your help to decide which song I should highlight in my crowd funding video. Please take a moment and listen to these tracks below and let me know which one you like the best. Thanks in advance!

That's it for the time being, but I'll be launching my site soon and I hope I can count on you to help spread the word. I'll be posting weekly videos to FaceBook and Twitter and the more you can share and/or retweet the more people will find out about the campaign. If you'd like to be on my fundraising team and receive the videos early so you can send them out via email and/or post them on your page independently, please get in touch with me. I can certainly use all the help I can get.

Thank you for believing in me. And thanks, as always, for listening.

Los Angeles and Lemondrops

A week from today I will be in Los Angeles, just days away from my audition for America's Got Talent. I can't believe I am really going to do this. It's a lot of time, energy, and effort for something that could just be an entire day wasted with nothing to show for it. On the other hand, if I do get on the show, it could bring me the kind of exposure that is priceless and there is no telling what would come of it. I don't plan on winning a million dollars or getting a recording contract, but it would be nice to play at Radio City Music Hall. :-)

Honestly, I am doing my best to take this thing one step at a time. I promised my Grandmother that I would audition and that's what I'm going to do. I will give it my best shot, and whatever happens, I'll deal with it then. I've known about this audition for months and now that it is just around the corner I am nervous and excited, but there is something more.

 

I didn't share that I was doing this earlier because I was kind of embarrassed about the whole thing. Recently I've realized that I am actually growing a lot out of this experience. I am taking myself seriously on a level that I didn't dare to previously. It takes a lot of guts to put yourself out there and throw your hat into the ring on a reality television show, but more than courage it also takes confidence. The truth is, preparing for this show is forcing me to muster up a level of confidence that I didn't even know that I lacked. 

So, I'm thankful to my Grandmother for demanding that I do this. I'm thankful for the confidence she had in me, before I even had it myself. However this whole circus turns out, I'll have to find some way to show my gratitude to her for believing in me and insisting that I believe in myself. Whatever happens next Saturday, I know I've grown in ways I couldn't have anticipated just by showing up. That's kind of how life works, I suppose.

Well, my dears, wish me luck. Think happy, calm thoughts for me next Saturday. Below is a recording of my most recent song, which I am in love with right now. It's called Lemondrops. I hope you enjoy it and feel free to download it and share it with anyone who comes to mind. Maybe your Grandmother. Tell her thanks.

Octopi and Whales

Most of the time, it’s great to be a great singer. I love singing so much. It’s so much fun and there is so much release in it. I think that everyone should sing. And I don’t care what your grandma or your teacher said in 3^rd grade. If you stopped judging yourself, you would start singing. Like, all the time. Why wouldn’t you?

Yup, great to be a great singer, except…. When you lose your voice.

So lately, I been drinking a lot of tea with honey and lemon, sucking on raw cloves of garlic, gargling with salt/turmeric water and, since I can’t practice, I am writing to you, about whatever I fancy. So, yea, I been working on this piano song. I would probably be singing over it if I could, but it’s just in the beginning stages. I think it’s kind of haunting and beautiful. I’m thinking about calling it “every song is like a dream I once had” the longest title ever for the song with no words…

Lately, I’ve been thinking about two of my favorite animals. Octopuses and whales. I’ve studies some shamanism and sometimes work with the energies of different animals as guides or teachers. I know it can sound a little kooky but it really works for me. The octopus helps me to navigate through my deepest and darkest pockets and turn that into treasure. The whale is the record keeper, the song of the whale is older than any human song. It is the song of the planet. The whale is the keeper of wisdom.

I’m on a mission to find out more about these awesome animals. I know a little, but I know there is a lot more to know. So hit me up with your favorite facts and stories if you have any.

Once I got to follow around an octopus for like an hour. It was a little one, but still really cool. I was snorkeling in the British Virgin Islands, I was probably 16 years old and we happened upon an octopus’s garden by accident and I was instantly mesmerized. The way these animals are able to blend in to their surroundings is uncanny and amazing to witness in real life. I noticed that when the octopus backed up onto a sea urchin and got poked how it would turn white for a moment and then instantly blend back in to the changed background. I don’t know how I ever got myself to stop watching it actually…

I later found out that octopuses are so smart that in captivity, they have been know to break out of their cages during the night, sneak into other enclosures and dine on fish, and then sneak back into their own cage as if nothing ever happened. Click here to watch a video of an octopus easily locomoting outside of the water. It’s pretty cool. And if you are at all interested, the link to the article at the bottom is worth clicking on. Super-fascinating.

Well, I am looking forward to tomorrow. I am sure that with all this extra special care my voice is going to be well rested and in tip top shape for the big Lost Church gig! Hope I’ll be seeing you there because it is going to be a show that you do not want to miss. See my Shows Page for details.

Squishy, squishy octopus kisses,

Bekah

The Best Valentine's Day Ever!

This Valentine's Day I got to do something I have always dreamed of. I was part of a global movement for change, performing for the largest crowd I've ever played in front of, and I felt like I was really making a difference with my music. One Billion Rising brought together millions of people in cities all over the world to raise awareness and call for an end to rape culture and violence against women. I played for the Oakland gathering in front of City Hall right before the keynote speaker took the stage. I shared a new song that I wrote specifically for the event and I received a standing ovation from a huge crowd of 300 people. That was a really amazing feeling.

I also worked really hard to promote my Saint Valentine music video that is on YouTube and the views almost doubled! If you haven't already seen it you should definitely take a minute to check it out and maybe even send a belated Valentine's Day greeting to your friends. You can watch the video here.

Personally, I think that one day a year devoted to love is not enough. This world needs a Love Revolution and I intend to be part of it and I challenge you to be part of it too. Love yourself, love the people in your life, love strangers on the bus, send love to people halfway across the world who are suffering. We all need to realize that there is no "us" and "them" there is only "us" and we need to learn to love one another and make it through this life together.

I hope you had a wonderful Day of Love-let's all try to have more of them!

a little political...

Things are moving right along, and before we know it, it’s gonna be 2013. There is a lot going on these days to ponder with elementary school shootings and  Mayan calendars coming to an end, but there has been another issue that has been on my mind a lot lately and that is Climate Change.

Depending on how much alternative news media you are exposed to you may have heard about the UN Climate Change Summit that took place in Qatar earlier this month. I was disappointed to find that after this two week global conference there was virtually no progress made towards significantly reducing global greenhouse gas emissions in a way that would stop or even slow our progress towards a future of more catastrophic weather events. The leadership and commitments needed from the US and other leading nations were sadly lacking.

I find it hard to believe that in these modern times we cannot commit to changing our dependence on the finite resources of fossil fuelsto focus our efforts on technology that would be safe and sustainable for generations to come. Instead it seems that citizens are having to fight their own governments to try to save our species.

There is not a lot I can do to change the decisions the US government is making. But I do believe in the power of music to change people’s hearts. I think a lot of issues that can become too complex, heated and convoluted during the course of conversation can be communicated easily through the avenue of music. So I wrote a song about climate change and I am hoping to share it with you all soon. This is the first political song I have written intentionally. I don’t think it’s the song that is going to unite the world and have them all sing along, but it is a start. I might write some more songs about climate change, or gun control, soon. As always, I will hope to touch hearts and minds with the music I create and may we see changes of heart on a global scale in 2013.

Happy Holidays and New Year to you all-Be Well!

Time Flies...

I can’t believe it’s already November!  September was busy. I had a lot of fun playing the Brainwash Drive in Movie Festival in Oakland. It was a new experience to have a chorus of car horns instead of applause at the end of a song. With a couple other shows at some of my favorite venues, Bazaar Café and Martuni’s, it was a busy month for me musically.

There is a lot of new video stuff to check out on my home page if you haven’t already. There is a documentary about open mics that I was featured in, a time lapse video of a first Friday collaborative art show I played, and you can now see the full length video of Piles of Stones, my collaboration with a talented cellist, Ben Hamilton.

While we’re on the subject, it just so happens that myself and said talented cellist are now a couple. Hence, October went by quickly as I found myself a bit twitterpated (this is a Bambi reference, you can google it.) But I have been writing some new songs that I am really excited about so I think I am going to figure out some way I can share them with you in a roughly recorded format. Soon.

Hope you all are doing well. Lots of love!

Get Outta Park

Lot's of exciting stuff happening lately. Find Shelter Here is officially available and I'm getting some good feedback from the folks who have been listening. Piles of Stones, my collaboration with Ben Hamilton, went incredibly well. The East Bay Media Center is my new favorite venue. If you were there, you know that the combination of cello, piano, and voice in a resonant space is a delicious thing for the ears to take in.

I'm looking forward to my show at the Bazaar Cafe with the very talented Oakshott. Her songs weave an entire world that is punctuated by her etherial voice and delicate melodies. The Bazaar Cafe has a very special place in my heart. It was the first place that I ever played my songs for strangers-at their Thursday night open mic. If you haven't been to this cafe, you are really missing out. They have wonderful live music every night of the week and serve everything from coffee and pie, to wine, beer and a mean chicken curry. I hope to see you on September 16th for what is sure to be a very beautiful evening.

I wrote a new song the other night that totally impressed me. I have been listening to a rough recording that I made of it a lot over the past couple days and I continue to enjoy it. I am really excited to play this one out. I am always excited when I write a new song, there is no other feeling like it, but this one is different. I literally think this is quite possibly the best song I've ever written. I'm calling it "get outta park" and I hope I get the chance to play it for you soon. If we're not already friends on facebook, make sure to find me there because I'll be posting the recording from last night's open mic later this week.

Oh, and I got a kitten. His name is Jackson and he is adorable. I'm not sure how he feels about my new song because I am still working on my kittenspeak, but I think he likes it too.

Goals Accomplished

I am still glowing from my performance at the Hotel Utah last night. That probably sounds super conceited but it also happens to be true. My New Year's Resolution for 2012 was to go to the Hotel Utah Open Mic every week until they asked me to feature. I had such a good time at the open mic every week that I almost forgot about my goal, but that didn't stop it from happening. Last night I was the featured artist at the Hotel Utah Open Mic and I got to play a short set to a packed house and it was a blast! I put on a good show. I was really able to create one of those magical music bubbles-you know, the ones that wrap around the audience and envelope them into a world of the music's creation. It is very satisfying when it works.

So, goal #1 completed.

Now there's the album. Sometimes I literally cannot believe that it is almost done. I'm just pinching myself that it is finally going to be complete and mastered on Thursday. I'm speechless. I cannot wait for you guys to hear this thing, it sounds amazing! All those countless hours spent in the studio have paid off. I don't even know how to communicate how good it feels to finally reach this goal that I have been working towards for so long. It's Sweet.

Goal #2 almost completed.

Goal number three was kind of vauge. I've been setting this goal over and over throughout my musical career. To varying and inconsistant results. The goal? Get more gigs. I set this goal with renewed faith that I would accomplish it a couple weeks ago and a lot has happened since then. In addition to my CD release party which will be a gig of epic proportions, I have two gigs booked, a couple more in the works, and I found myself a weekly gig at a local restaurant. Now, when I thought to myself about what success would look like for this goal, it was one maybe two gigs a month. Clearly, the Universe had something else in mind. Be careful what you wish for. You just might get it... in abundance!

Goal #3 ongoing.

I am just savoring this moment because it has been a rare feeling for me to feel satisfied with a job well done. More often I am raking myself over the coals for all the stuff I haven't done. Hopefully there will be a lot more of the former moving forward, but for right now: Deep Sigh of Satisfaction... and back to working on the poster for my weekly gig.

Find Shelter Here

I have been working on this album for longer than I care to admit and it is finally getting to the point where the end is in sight. Of course, the end is just another beginning of a whole new phase of shameless self-promotion, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. I think you are really going to like this. The mixes are sounding great and there are a lot of cool cameos from talented musicians to spice up the piano and vocal you are already familiar with.

This is primarily an album of early songs that I wanted to give the full studio treatment to, but there are a few newer tunes that somehow snuck in there as well. The title of the album is Find Shelter Here and there are no less than 16 tracks so you will be getting your money's worth. ;-)

I'm shooting for a CD release/birthday party in mid-late June, I will be keeping you posted as soon as the details are finalized. But I am toying around with putting together a little band for this one so it could be quite interesting... But for now it is back to mixing for me, well, mixing and graphics. Wish me luck and I can't wait for you to hear the finished product. It sounds Sweet!

Love,
Bekah 

Miracles

Well, I must be doing something right, because I just had one of my dreams come true. Lea Grant, who is an immensely talented singer/songwriter, invited me to share a show with her on Monday night! It's like the Universe literally read my mind and gave me exactly what I wanted. Does this happen? In general? Cause it feels kinda like a miracle.

Anyways, looking forward to that very much. So you're all gonna come right? Of course you are! (Blue Danube Coffeehouse. SF. 8pm-10pm) But seriously, this is going to be a good show. You will be sad if you miss it. Oh, and check out Lea's Kickstarter campaign and give her lots of money. 

Oh, and big hugs to all my Santa Cruz folks who came out last weekend. I heart Santa Cruz!

That is all for now.

Musical Adventures

So tomorrow I am headed down to Santa Cruz for a musical adventure. I can’t wait to see my Santa Cruz peeps and play some tunes for them. But I am nervous about this radio show on Friday. The music thing has always come a little easier than the talking thing. This is my first real radio show and I am kinda terrified that I am going to say something totally lame and/or completely forget how to play my songs. So if you really want to help me out, think happy thoughts for me that everything goes smoothly on Friday (at 8 in the friggin morning!).

Now that the Valentine’s Day rush is over, it’s time for me to get down to business and finish this album! I’ve decided to work towards a CD release/birthday party in June. There is so much to do. Melodies to write. Instruments to record. Pictures to gather. Thoughts to gather. Breathe. It will all come into place beautifully. A wise person told me that when you have a big goal like this you’ve just got to keep picking away at it piece by piece, and then one day you will wake up and you’ll be putting on the finishing touches. So here I go. Pickety-pick picking away. Wish me luck.

Love,
Bekah

Grace

Welcome to my first blog. You might have to help me here. Let me know what you'd like to see. I am not quite sure what I am going to write here. I can share my musings and observations about life, but I kind of already do that with the songs...

Lately I have been thinking a lot about the Greater Force that carries us. It is so easy to live your life and forget about this force. It is so easy to grow proud and think that you are accomplishing so much all on your own. Everything we have or do, the very basis of ourselves and what we are capable of, is only there because this Greater Force has made it possible.

I am finding that every step that I take has been prepared for, motivated by, and helped along by this force. I think the closest word you could use to describe it is grace. Not grace in the sense of movement, though this is a beautiful illustration of the term, but grace in the sense of allowing things to be. This is hard to explain. But by definition God is somewhat indescribable.

Needless to say, I am experiencing a lot of grace in my life these days. And whether or not I can explain it adequately, it is making things better, easier, and more full of love than I had previously known was possible. I only hope that it continues. That I can remember to stay humble.

In gratitude,

Bekah