It's hard to keep track of every week but I'm hoping this weekly writing exercise will make it easier. Monday - probably 2 dog walks, some lessons, hopefully got some work done, Tuesday same, Ben got sick with what I had which was viral bronchitis, good weather all week, Weds same, Thursday was St Patrick’s Day, we had Gathering Stars practice and it was very fun plus we got through almost all of our songs, Bill made Shepherd’s Pie which was delicious, we had a little party and made up 3 new jams which were very fun. One was called Avocado and Triangle.
Friday night I recorded my segment for co hosting The Shakin’ It Radio Show with Jon Peterson. That was very fun and he asked me about Starfish Earth Clothes and Gathering Stars and how I got into music, my first influences. It was my mom playing piano and singing to us all the time, Cher on the Sonny and Cher show and Tanya Tucker singing Delta Dawn on the radio. I used to have my own rendition of that song as a little girl.
Saturday night Ben and I listened to the show and it was really fun hearing all the songs put together with good transitions and my interview interspersed. It made me feel really good because it was a very fun and positive set and a positive interview.
Also, I loved hearing "The Trapeze Artist" by Gathering Stars on the radio because that always gives me insight into how it sounds to a random radio listener. I heard some things that could be cut, like 8 bars before the flute solo and also thought that in the Chorus the back up vocals Steph and I keep hearing will really make it elevate more. It needs that so it is very aha this is the chorus!
Sunday I had to walk Jelly and then get to Sonic Lounge Studio to help Bill with his other band’s project. He wanted me to play B3 organ which is a blast and Sonic Lounge is also fun to visit because the engineer Joe Viers is an awesome guy and I’ve known him for decades now. Plus, he has this insanely huge Neve console that is always fun to see. I think it belonged to Eric Clapton at one point if I’m remembering correctly. I had a great talk with Bill’s kids when I first got there and found out that at age 9 they can always teach me something about how kids use the internet. His daughter has her own Youtube channel where she posts videos of her playing some game and she makes the videos with multiple screenshots that she edits like a stop action or (her words) claymation video. So that was cool to ask her about her process and hear her explain it like a little tech adult. Super cute. His son unloaded a wealth of knowledge about all these interactive games like Call of Duty multiple versions over many years and he knew every single name. Wow. I’m not a gamer and just probably never will be but it is a whole world unto itself where people meet and make friends and compete with each other. I know of a couple who met that way and got married so I guess you can even fall in love through a video game. It reminds me of a movie I recently watched called "Free Guy" about an AI non player in a video game who develops human reasoning and emotions.
Ok, that was the week! I'm still very sad about Ukraine and watching the news hoping that some resolution will happen before more innocent people are killed. It seems so unenlightened for one guy to have the power to destroy so much. We've been through things like this before in history and no can stop him (Putin)? Even with all the stories from the past to learn from. Politics is a delicate and frustrating arena. 