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hello from the big apple... I LOVE this city, especially in the summer time, the weather is particularly ideal tonight, no bulky jackets or sweaters, no umbrellas... its t-shirt, jeans and flip flops and it feels amazing, which is a stark contrast to my last visit to NY. It was February, and I remember that as we landed the snow was coming down in sheets, it was a whopping ten degrees, and quite honestly I can't remember a time in my life that I had ever experienced such cold conditions.(being from AZ and CA, temps don't usually drop much below 60, and that is still more than I can handle:). Regardless of the weather, this place is magic...
So after a long day of flying to the left coast, a lovely stroll through the bustling city, and some spicy cajun gumbo I find myself back in the quiet of my quaint hotel room. Guitar is practiced, Teeth are brushed, face is washed, jammies are on and I am tucked into the covers with my computer in my lap... and I finally feel... calm... peaceful. And this is the time that I had penciled in to "blog it out". It has been quite some time, and there has been so much that has taken place even in the last week, that have been so blog worthy.
The majority of the time I find myself on TWITTER these days... I suppose because it is so simple, so convenient and addicting... life in 140 characters at a time. As well, it seems as if Myspace is like a ghost town these days... kinda sad, with the boom of other social networking sites, I find that not to many of us are on here these days. It was the first of sites that connected me, and my music to you... the wonderful fans; as well at one time was a great way to discover and network with other artists, like a community. Just today I got a tweet from a singer-songwriter that I had discovered here on myspace 3 or 4 years ago. Ya know though, there is just so much out there, I don't know about you, but sometimes I feel a little overloaded, it's hard to keep up with it all... at the end of the day, It's great to be able to keep in touch with you all through the world wide web....
High Hopes & Heartbreak... where do I begin...well it's here, finally. Just this last tuesday July 14th, as many of you know, itunes released it exclusively. As you may be able to imagine, I've been like a melting pot of emotions... throw in a heap of gratitude, a few cups of nervousness, a dash of anxiety, a pinch of insecurity, and then a sprinkle in some relief, stir it up, put a lid on it and let it boil... simmer. It has been quite the journey getting here, and though it might not be the final destination (is there ever a final destination?) it is a wonderful place to stop and take notice and really soak in the view.
Creating this record was such a reward in itself... all of it from the writing, to the recording to the hours of doodling, gluing, writing and creating of the art journal. The studio became like a sanctuary, a place to feel safe to express, create and give the soul a sound, and a voice... and use it to really communicate something meaningful. There were these moments, where I saw these songs blossom from just a seed of inspiration... into a full grown masterpiece, I thought to myself "THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I'D HOPED IT WOULD BE"... it was pure, unaffected and awesome. Just a little moment to realize that the dream is being realized, and that the hope was turned to faith, the faith was turned to action... and here it is the living and breathing proof! Amazing and incredibly fulfilling!!! Unfortunately and realistically these moments are hard to hang on to, like trying to pin down a butterfly... then in storms the daunting giant called "doubt" and "fear" stomping in, squashing every hopeful thing in it's path. Maybe we could call it "heartbreak" i dunno... Thoughts start to creep in "what will they think?" this might be one of the most crippling, an obsession with the "what if's"... the "what if they don't like it?" "what if it doesn't sell" "what if it all slips away?"... and maybe it does slip away, and it's tough, it's a tough battle.
BUT the truth is, the experience, the moment of realization, was the real reward, and that can't be taken away. I LOVE this record. I do, I am grateful for the experiences that led me to it, and to the people that helped me realize it. I didn't want to care about whether people liked it or how many stars it gets on itunes, or where it is on the charts, or what everyone has to say about it... but I am still a human and an artist, and I am prone to desire for such approval. I guess you could say, I hope to not be consumed... working on it, certainly celebrating the victories along the way! it has done far better than I could have anticipated... incredible.
Now I need to go to bed, and of course this is waaaay long (would you expect any less?) What I mean to say, is regardless of my desire to not be hung up on approval... I am INCREDIBLY grateful and happy to hear such an amazing response from you, the fans. I couldn't really ask for more. That being said, we are just at the beginning, we are far from the finish line, and there is MUCH more work to be done, but WOW what an amazing start... and I want to truly THANK YOU all, one for just being a caring fan in the first place, two for taking a chance on HIGH HOPES & HEARTBREAK, and three for your heartfelt compliments and ongoing support. This is when I recognize how good I got it... it's amazing, and I thank you, I thank you times a billion-cajillion (not sure how to spell that) it is truly a collaborative group effort that you certainly have been a part of, big time, high five!!!
This is where I am going to stop for now, believe it or not, I might not have said everything that was intended to be said, but it's certainly enough... definitely more than 140 characters:-)
my love, my thanks... goodnight:)
HIGH HOPES & HEARTBREAK now on itunes, and everywhere on July 21st...
oh and CORRECTION!!!! In the booklet there is a misprint, On "HOLD UP MY HEART" the piano is played by the unbelievably talented Fred Mandel, I sincerely apologize Fred for the the misprint, I feel so absolutely honored to have him play on this record, he is a legend... seriously.
So after a long day of flying to the left coast, a lovely stroll through the bustling city, and some spicy cajun gumbo I find myself back in the quiet of my quaint hotel room. Guitar is practiced, Teeth are brushed, face is washed, jammies are on and I am tucked into the covers with my computer in my lap... and I finally feel... calm... peaceful. And this is the time that I had penciled in to "blog it out". It has been quite some time, and there has been so much that has taken place even in the last week, that have been so blog worthy.
The majority of the time I find myself on TWITTER these days... I suppose because it is so simple, so convenient and addicting... life in 140 characters at a time. As well, it seems as if Myspace is like a ghost town these days... kinda sad, with the boom of other social networking sites, I find that not to many of us are on here these days. It was the first of sites that connected me, and my music to you... the wonderful fans; as well at one time was a great way to discover and network with other artists, like a community. Just today I got a tweet from a singer-songwriter that I had discovered here on myspace 3 or 4 years ago. Ya know though, there is just so much out there, I don't know about you, but sometimes I feel a little overloaded, it's hard to keep up with it all... at the end of the day, It's great to be able to keep in touch with you all through the world wide web....
High Hopes & Heartbreak... where do I begin...well it's here, finally. Just this last tuesday July 14th, as many of you know, itunes released it exclusively. As you may be able to imagine, I've been like a melting pot of emotions... throw in a heap of gratitude, a few cups of nervousness, a dash of anxiety, a pinch of insecurity, and then a sprinkle in some relief, stir it up, put a lid on it and let it boil... simmer. It has been quite the journey getting here, and though it might not be the final destination (is there ever a final destination?) it is a wonderful place to stop and take notice and really soak in the view.
Creating this record was such a reward in itself... all of it from the writing, to the recording to the hours of doodling, gluing, writing and creating of the art journal. The studio became like a sanctuary, a place to feel safe to express, create and give the soul a sound, and a voice... and use it to really communicate something meaningful. There were these moments, where I saw these songs blossom from just a seed of inspiration... into a full grown masterpiece, I thought to myself "THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I'D HOPED IT WOULD BE"... it was pure, unaffected and awesome. Just a little moment to realize that the dream is being realized, and that the hope was turned to faith, the faith was turned to action... and here it is the living and breathing proof! Amazing and incredibly fulfilling!!! Unfortunately and realistically these moments are hard to hang on to, like trying to pin down a butterfly... then in storms the daunting giant called "doubt" and "fear" stomping in, squashing every hopeful thing in it's path. Maybe we could call it "heartbreak" i dunno... Thoughts start to creep in "what will they think?" this might be one of the most crippling, an obsession with the "what if's"... the "what if they don't like it?" "what if it doesn't sell" "what if it all slips away?"... and maybe it does slip away, and it's tough, it's a tough battle.
BUT the truth is, the experience, the moment of realization, was the real reward, and that can't be taken away. I LOVE this record. I do, I am grateful for the experiences that led me to it, and to the people that helped me realize it. I didn't want to care about whether people liked it or how many stars it gets on itunes, or where it is on the charts, or what everyone has to say about it... but I am still a human and an artist, and I am prone to desire for such approval. I guess you could say, I hope to not be consumed... working on it, certainly celebrating the victories along the way! it has done far better than I could have anticipated... incredible.
Now I need to go to bed, and of course this is waaaay long (would you expect any less?) What I mean to say, is regardless of my desire to not be hung up on approval... I am INCREDIBLY grateful and happy to hear such an amazing response from you, the fans. I couldn't really ask for more. That being said, we are just at the beginning, we are far from the finish line, and there is MUCH more work to be done, but WOW what an amazing start... and I want to truly THANK YOU all, one for just being a caring fan in the first place, two for taking a chance on HIGH HOPES & HEARTBREAK, and three for your heartfelt compliments and ongoing support. This is when I recognize how good I got it... it's amazing, and I thank you, I thank you times a billion-cajillion (not sure how to spell that) it is truly a collaborative group effort that you certainly have been a part of, big time, high five!!!
This is where I am going to stop for now, believe it or not, I might not have said everything that was intended to be said, but it's certainly enough... definitely more than 140 characters:-)
my love, my thanks... goodnight:)
HIGH HOPES & HEARTBREAK now on itunes, and everywhere on July 21st...
oh and CORRECTION!!!! In the booklet there is a misprint, On "HOLD UP MY HEART" the piano is played by the unbelievably talented Fred Mandel, I sincerely apologize Fred for the the misprint, I feel so absolutely honored to have him play on this record, he is a legend... seriously.
brooke 
