I love my crazy hair

LONG and productive day.

Kids music classes.

Lunch meeting with Ayhan (producer of album "Suitcases") & Janet (management/marketing) at Republic, a delicious Vietnamese restaurant in Union Square.

Awesome Bikram yoga class.

Printed out flyers for some upcoming gigs:

Went and got my hair touched up since I have a show at Googie's on Thursday and then this weekend at Out in the Adirondacks:

I like the beard design though it's kind of impossible to maintain. I may shave it off this weekend.

Put up a quick update/Red Light Special a cappella video on my YouTube. 

Over & out!

Updatessss

My blogger world:

This is the longest I've gone without writing a blog since I started, and I am sorry!!! eeek....

After my show last week I did a lot of sleeeping, and living life, and not blogging.

I did have a fun night on Friday going to Jordan Scannella's CD release show. He has played bass for me on 2 occasions. He does this white guy hip hop thing with some really clever/funny lyrics and SICK music & band. So proud of him!

Afterwards I headed out to BK to check out my girls Lucius at Sycamore. Though I missed their set, I got to hang out with them, Lucas Madrazzo, and some others. We went back to the famous Bromley House, where Jess & Holly (of Lucius) have lived for a couple years. It's an old music school, and they were the first tenants since it had finally closed a number of years ago. It has a rich history, and I loved hearing the stories.....There were definitely ghost stories!! And I was genuinely spooked. In other news, check out the music of Lucius. They are amazing!

Saturday and Sunday, I went out of town for 2 kids parties. The first was in Southampton, and was amazing. There were camel rides for the kids, and it had an arabian theme. Lavish. On the way back, we stopped at this random carnival for some rides and ice cream. HAHA..

                                 

The second was this lovely family who I have done many parties for. They have 3 beautiful girls and another little girl on the way!

Last night, I actually took the Long Island Rail Road out to this studio in...duh...Long Island, to record a song for this rapper. I did the vocals for the chorus & breakdown, and some ad libs. I think it actually came out great. They were all happy with it, and I was too, and excited to hear it! I will get a copy of the master and it will probably go on their mixtape. 

That's it for now.....over and out!!

Bitter End

Had a really fun show tonight with full band at Bitter End.

Check out this wild pic hahahahaha.....

Central Park

Today after I taught my music classes, I went into Central park, in the Northeast corner, to the Dana Discovery Center Plaza, to perform as part of Make Music New York, a festival in NY where people are performing outdoors all over the city.

It was sooo nice and there was a lake right nearby. Before me was a jazz group, and then I just played and sang. My friend Bryan Jarrett was there, and we did some taping, and I talked to a few people who were in the area.

Then my friend Mindee stopped by towards the end, as well as this cute little girl who was with her nanny.

Tonight I had a meeting at Denny Moe's celebrity barber shop.

I will be performing there this weekend as part of Cutting for a Cure, a 48-hour hair cutting marathon and fundraiser to raise awareness for cancer, etc. 

Tomorrow is another full band show at Bitter End!

Six Flags

was so fun today!! WOO -HOO!!!!

Had a great time with Todd and Katie, and we rode so many rollercoasters. Felt pretty sick after awhile...haha.....and dizzy......I think we liked the Nitro the best!

Good day with good friends.

Did I mention it's getting HOT?!

Kids parties

Kids parties all day....

Scarborough, NY & then Staten Island. First time in Staten Island. It was kinda cool. We had some time to kill so we sat on the beach for a bit which was so nice. I took my pillow with me in the car so I did a bunch of sleeping.

Going to bed really early tonight because I'm going to Six Flags tomorrow. Woo-hoo!!

Rehearsals make me feel special

I love having my own rehearsals...

Started out the day on a great note with full band rehearsal. Nick & Jade, Jordan on bass, Evgeny on keys, and Kim Garey on drums.....such a great group, and a set list that I'm very excited about.

Then practice with dancers Yvonne-Marie Sain & Scott Nicholson at my apartment. Those are two of my FAVORITE dancers and people, and I love chillin/talking/rehearsing with them....

Now hoping to have an audience on Tuesday at Bitter End. Whatever happens though, we will put on a great show, and I will have fun! I'm getting better at letting go and just enjoying the music with my wonderful musicians/artists.

Took Bikram tonight but was so tired, got so lazy by the end of class, resting a lot, and almost falling asleep. Oops!! It's ok....

Two kids party road trips tomorrow. Hopefully I can sleep in the car! Woohoo!!!!

night!!!!

Me & U

Sooo........

had a great day starting with music class with cute babies,

then vocal rehearsal with Nick & Jade for my upcoming show.

Meeting with Chris Frasco to discuss a possible tour in late August-September,

meeting with Kim Garey to go over some things for the show (she's playing drums)

then watching music.

I saw Elise Hayes at Bitter End. She's living in Boston and is a freakin sweetheart. She let me borrow her keyboard for my last Boston show, and she's great! Writes good songs, grooves on the keyboard, and has an awesome voice! I was so glad to be there to support her, and picked up a CD.

Then saw my friend from work Eli Bolin with his fiance Allison Posner (together they are "Amazing Jellies") at Dixon Place. Fun show and good people!

Wheeeee! I love music!!!

6-year olds

Had a busy but great day!

Lots of kids music (class & parties) - There was a 6 year old who was doing an awesome job shaking his shaker to the music, making funny faces and dancing, and afterwards I complimented him, saying he was really good at shaking...and he said "I didn't know that." He said he just started, and I felt honored to be able to give a compliment to him. When interacting with someone much younger than you, it's clear that you have the opportunity to shape someone's life in a profound way, with simple words, actions, or energy.

Very cool!

Met with a talented film student who is interested in doing a video for "Suitcases." Not sure if it will work out with budget, but I'm hoping to go through with it. She had some great ideas!

Went to Bally,'s and then had a burger with some good friends.

Nice day! Another full one tomorrow.

Over & out!

Wheeeee

Planned out my set list for next week's gig. So excited!!

Full band + 2 of my good friends dancing = awesome!

I spent some quality time in Boston with my family and nephews, and came back to the city yesterday.

Dropped off flyers tonight at Bitter End, and caught one of my favorite Olamide songs, as he was performing there tonight, with the awesome Brady Watt on bass.

Took Bikram at Yoga to the People. Had therapy. It was a good day.

I need to go to bed!!

Over & out.

Bloodsugars mini-tour & flyer for next show

Sorry I've been a little out of the loop.

Did you miss me?

I've been doing a few dates with The Bloodsugars. We played in Philly, DC, NY (the new gorgeous Knitting Factory in Brooklyn), and Boston.

In Philly, I got to see friends Doug & Lloyd & Sheldon, who I hadn't seen in a long time, and they graciously put the whole band up in their awesome house right outside of Philly. In DC, my cousin Heather came out to the gig, and got down. We also saw Matt Tredwell (who I used to work/play music with) and his wife Brooke, as well as Sachelle, an old friend from work.

Now I'm in Boston. We played at T.T. the Bears, and my parents came out to the gig, as they are visiting my brother, who I'm staying with tonight. I will go to the children's museum tomorrow with my nephews and family. Yay!

AND.....check out the flyer for my next gig. If you are in NYC, I hope you can make it!!

chex

I love cereal...


La di da, so I went to Bikram again today at Bikram Yoga Harlem. Love that studio~ Another amazing teacher.

Leaving tomorrow for a couple weekend dates with The Bloodsugars. Staying in Philly tomorrow. Woo-hooo!

So you think you can dance

Watching So You Think You Can Dance. Oh, I just love this show.

There was a girl that Nigel called Marge Simpson, because she wore her hair on top of her head. OH my god, she was amaaaaazing!!!!!!!

Went to Bikram Yoga Harlem today, and it's one of my favorite Bikram studios so far, based on the first impression. The teacher, whose name was also Adam, was wonderful, as was the vibe, the space, and the facility. Hopefully I can get back at least once in the intro week.

Got a new design shaved in my head. Whee!!

Jared Grimes

Highlight of today was taking Jared Grimes' class at BDC. He is an amazing tap dancer and hip-hop choreographer. We've been tight for a couple years, and I have performed at his Broadway Underground show at BB King's several times. For the past year or so, he has been working on the new Cirque du Soleil show, but now he is done with that contract and back teaching.

Class was fire!

And had an inspirational talk afterwards with Jared and Robert Taylor Jr. (another artist). Lots of ideas back and forth, good stuff!

Had a rehearsal tonight with The Bloodsugars. We are doing shows this weekend in Philly, DC, NY, and Boston. Love those guys!

Life is a daaaaance

Performed in Shyrelle's piece at the Young Choreographer's Festival.

Auditioned for a celebrity benefit that my friend Craig Smith told me about. I sang "Warning Shot" a cappella and people seemed to be into it. Glad I went out.

Enjoyed walking around the city a bit...Sat in St. Nicholas park for a sec. It was really nice!

Burnt Part Boys

I played at a kid's party in Eastchester (which is in Westchester) at a beautiful home on the lake, where they treated us nicely. Awesome food.

Went to see "Burnt Part Boys," a new musical presented at Playwrights Horizons. My friend, Nathan Tysen, wrote the lyrics, and it was a great show! I am so excited for him. He is living his dream of writing musicals, and things are going well for him. So proud!! Next up for him is "Tuck Everlasting," which sounds very promising!!

Union Hall

I had a blast tonight (last night) at Union Hall in Brooklyn.

This show came together last minute, booked by Berklee friend/classmate Andrea Setaro.
I had so much fun playing with Carras Paton, Evgeny Lebedev (who both played at my release party) as well as Adam Root and Nick D'Agostino (who played for me before, but it's been awhile for both of them).

We had a quick rehearsal this afternoon and then headed over to the venue.

Union Hall is so freakin' cool. It's stately, lots of brown and earth-tones, floor-to-ceiling bookcases, a bocci ball court (what?), and a music venue in the basement. I was pleased with the turnout, the music sounded great, sold some CD's, met a lot of new people, and then had a really good time afterward hanging out with friends. Was sitting by the window for awhile with Nick, my friend Steve Hannigan (who has now been to three of my shows woop woop), Andrea, and Adam Tressler (an amazing guitarist from Berklee).

So grateful, and glad that I said yes to a last minute show despite my fears. It was totally worth it!

Click here to read a blog post / performance review from my release party that my friend/Berklee classmate Caitlin Devlin wrote.

eeeehhhhhhhhhhhhhyyyeendvnwongo

Just exhausted...

Long day of work, sending out tons of emails and messages and texts about my last minute show TONIGHT at Union Hall in Brooklyn (8:30 pm)

Kinda freaked out because of the last minute, but I know I have some people coming, and there will be others there, new audience members etc. And I'm psyched to rock out with adam root, nick d'agostino, evgeny lebedev, and carras patton. yeehee!!!!

Had another dance rehearsal this evening with Shyrelle.

Met up with my good friend Bryan Jarrett.....He was on a ship for almost a year and I'm glad he's back in NY!

Also met a good teacher/mentor from Berklee, Janie Barnett. She is hopefully coming to my gig tonight since she lives in the neighborhood.....

Over and out!!!

Gig frenzy

AaAaaahh....

Today I found out that Crash Mansion thought I was playing July 14

not June 14.

I had already done lots of planning and promoting for June 14.

So I had to retrace my steps today, cancelling, emailing, and letting people know it's postponed.

In fact, I can't perform there July 14, as I've booked some other gigs around that same time.

Oops Crash Mansion.

Oops.

BUT, I got a text from my Berklee friend

asking if I would be interested in playing a last minute set

at Union Hall in Brooklyn

THIS Friday.

I said yes.

AAAAHHHH.

Found some musicians to play with me

Made a facebook invite.

Emailed my mailing list.

I hope some people come!

I like to perform.

So hopefully I can concentrate on that

And sharing some music with new people

and playing at a new venue.

aaaagh!!

goodnight

Laundry and dance

I did my own laundry today, which I really should always do. It saves so much money. But I'm sitting here looking at the unfolded pile, and I DON'T wanna do it! LOL.....so tired.....will do tomorrow.

Had a good coaching today with my friend Aurelia. She is a dancer, but she has so much raw singing talent, it is a pleasure to work with her, and share some of what I know about singing. I want to do more coachings. It reminds me how passionate I am about music and voice.

I had a nice rehearsal tonight with Shyrelle Kalilikane. She is a dancer/choreographer from Hawaii, who has really been working it in NYC the past few years, and I have worked with her on a couple projects. She has a real knack for choreography and staging, and I'm proud of her. We are working on "Will You be There" by Michael Jackson for the Young Choreographers Festival.

I love dance!

Janet Jackson

Just found out that Brian, of the Nicholson twins, two of my favorite people in the world, just booked Janet Jackson!! Gil Duldulao, who choreographs for her, came to Rhapsody's class in NYC tonight and scouted Brian from class. So happy for him! He will be gone for about a month, so sadly he won't be able to dance at my next show, but um......it's Janet!! Sickening! I'm jealous / happy, peeing and crying....

Today I did a coaching with the lovely Breanna, and then went and took Bikram at Bikram Yoga Union Square. I go to different bikram studios sometimes and get their unlimited intro week. This studio was ok, but the flow of the class was a little different from what I was used to, and the towels seemed a little....mmm....yellowed and stained, ew....but I will hopefully go back for a few more classes this week. Over and out!