Day 236
Post #18 of ANNIE B.'s D.I.Y. MAGAZINE "Annie could be the most hard-working woman on the indie music scene today." - George Radai, Deep End Productions. ANNIE: "I promise to post blogs here, sharing some daily activities & the work I do to achieve my career goals, and when I do win that Grammy, YOU can say you followed me all the way!"
Day 236
Well, it has been exactly 4 weeks since my last blog, so I must apologize! I have been to and from Texas, Milwaukee Artbeat came & went, my mom had surgery, my dad is in the hospital, and I FINALLY finished my mom's & dad's taxes for 2008! What more can I say? Can you blame me for not keeping up?
Texas was a blast, but next time I take such a trip, I will have to insist on better guarantees. I am glad I made the trip, but next time it will be different. I am glad I got to Austin to see my friends this time, however, since the last time I was down there, I did not make it to Austin. My boyfriend Mike met me in Dallas so he could experience the drive home with me, which was a lot of fun... we talked almost the whole time. Music was playing only for a few songs from New Maximum Donkey, a band my friend Steve from Sherman, TX told me about... very funny lyrics and groovy 60's kind of songwriting. We stayed with JJ in Tulsa that night, after a nice dinner at her folks' house. The next day was a 12-hour drive which was included a visit to "The Biggest Gift Store in the World" and a huge candy store... somewhere in the middle of MO, I think.
The following week was an interesting, as I woke up with a sore throat on Tuesday, and then found out on Wed. that our permit to serve/sell beer & wine was not sufficient. All day Wed. & Thurs. I was on the phone trying to figure out how to get the correct permit, but we ended up not having alcohol at the event. I was in bed for a good part of the week as well, which made for a crazy Friday, the day of Artbeat. I woke up early to color my hair, programs were designed and printed, cue cards for all 5 artists were written and printed, (which would explain all the typos, including the question asked by Nick Ramsey, "What's your most embarrassing sex story?" for Jeremy Scott, the SAX player!!!! This was a very funny moment in the show!!!), items for giftbags were gathered and some wonderful Artbeaters including Tally Hayden & Shelly Bird (among others) helped to stuff all 200 of them, the set was designed by the M.U.T.E.S. and and thank Goodness Theo Q was available to bring the water & soda from the house, (plus buy more,) Mike ended up dealing with the coupons for Cafe Centraal at the last minute... it all seems like a big blur to me now, but it was a great show and we all had a great time!
Dad ended up in the hospital on Sunday morning, and visits are happening on a regular basis. Not sure the plan for what happens next, but please say a few prayers, also for: My uncle, who is also now receiving a higher level of care and I'll be taking my mom to visit on Tuesday for his birthday.
Taxes were the next item on my To Do list, and those got finished, which is a HUGE burden off my shoulders, Yay! I am now trying to get caught up with rehearsals (we had 3 weeks off, right?) and other Shut Up Marie & promotional issues. I just realized that some people actually post their e-mail addresses on Facebook, so I'm now working on getting those of my friends and adding them to my list. There is a HUGE list of suggestions for promoting your show at the Elbo Room, and now I can start that. If you wish to see it, I can post it. You would FREAK.
Facebook promotions for the BBC is moving along, but there is more work to do with swapping mp3s from the other bands on the bill to cross-promote. Fortunately, these two bands are just as hard-working as S.U.M., so I believe we are all pulling our weight. I send an mp3 from the other bands to my fans, and they send a S.U.M. mp3 to their fans. Hopefully people bother to download the song. Terry from Ian and the Dream suggested just sending links, but I think there is something about sending an actual mp3... it's a free song, like a gift. Most websites don't offer the song as a free download.
It's 6:20am! OMG I have been up all night! Better get some sleep!
Peace, Love, & Light!
Annie
Monday, October 19, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
Day 208
Post #17 of ANNIE B.'s D.I.Y. MAGAZINE "Annie could be the most hard-working woman on the indie music scene today." - George Radai, Deep End Productions. ANNIE: "I promise to post blogs here, sharing some daily activities & the work I do to achieve my career goals, and when I do win that Grammy, YOU can say you followed me all the way!"
Day 208
I am packing & arranging everything I can for this trip to TX - I was planning on leaving this morning, but too much work (especially for ArtBeat) had me thinking one more day would be good to finish stuff... Promote for these shows this week, pay some bills, lock in the gallery artists for ArtBeat (and I did!!! Two more artists locked in today and we might just be done with our search - I will have them posted at MilwaukeeArtBeat.org by the end of this week!)
Also got a GREAT idea from another post from the amazing Derek Sivers: http://sivers.org/livecd
This would require that I have lots more CDs available to sell, which also means that I need to burn more CDs before I hit the road... might not happen, but I might have a little free time before my show on Wed. night. Staying with a good friend and her beautiful daughter Teylor in Tulsa tomorrow night... I met this girl when I was looking for venues in Tulsa way back in 2006 and I stayed on her couch the night of that first gig and we have been friends ever since! Yay!!!
Wed. night I play at Rendezvous in Sherman, TX - that gig was set up by my friend Oliver White, who is also kind enough to have me on his couch Wed. night! Oliver is an AMAZING artist I met in TX a few years ago. MySpace has it's good points, even though there is a LOT of crap on there - Oliver got a hold of me there and we hooked up this gig! Thanks, Oliver! http://www.myspace.com/oliverwhitegroup
Just sent a bulletin on MySpace about my shows.
Spent a bit of my day on Facebook - promoting ArtBeat. I still have 30 friend requests I have to deal with, but I should be able to do that Wed. & Thurs during the day. I have some free time before the gig Wed. night... the drive from Tulsa is only 3hrs, 10 min. I also have to create flyers for Break Time and the Field Office... should get those e-mailed out tonight.
Mostly been working on promoting these shows coming up, including the Shut Up Marie shows in Nov. (5th in Chicago, and 6th in Milwaukee). Locked in the closing band for Nov. 6th at the BBC - Government Zero will be playing that show with us!!!!!!!
Also found out that a friend of mine used to work at a radio station in Chicago and might be able to hook up a connection at Q101... I am working on that also this week... will have to try and mail a CD to this guy so he can get it to the right person!!!
So much work to do, so little time!!!!!!!!!! I need to start packing now!!!!!!!!!!!
Have a killer night, and keep loading your gun!!!
Day 208
I am packing & arranging everything I can for this trip to TX - I was planning on leaving this morning, but too much work (especially for ArtBeat) had me thinking one more day would be good to finish stuff... Promote for these shows this week, pay some bills, lock in the gallery artists for ArtBeat (and I did!!! Two more artists locked in today and we might just be done with our search - I will have them posted at MilwaukeeArtBeat.org by the end of this week!)
Also got a GREAT idea from another post from the amazing Derek Sivers: http://sivers.org/livecd
This would require that I have lots more CDs available to sell, which also means that I need to burn more CDs before I hit the road... might not happen, but I might have a little free time before my show on Wed. night. Staying with a good friend and her beautiful daughter Teylor in Tulsa tomorrow night... I met this girl when I was looking for venues in Tulsa way back in 2006 and I stayed on her couch the night of that first gig and we have been friends ever since! Yay!!!
Wed. night I play at Rendezvous in Sherman, TX - that gig was set up by my friend Oliver White, who is also kind enough to have me on his couch Wed. night! Oliver is an AMAZING artist I met in TX a few years ago. MySpace has it's good points, even though there is a LOT of crap on there - Oliver got a hold of me there and we hooked up this gig! Thanks, Oliver! http://www.myspace.com/oliverwhitegroup
Just sent a bulletin on MySpace about my shows.
Spent a bit of my day on Facebook - promoting ArtBeat. I still have 30 friend requests I have to deal with, but I should be able to do that Wed. & Thurs during the day. I have some free time before the gig Wed. night... the drive from Tulsa is only 3hrs, 10 min. I also have to create flyers for Break Time and the Field Office... should get those e-mailed out tonight.
Mostly been working on promoting these shows coming up, including the Shut Up Marie shows in Nov. (5th in Chicago, and 6th in Milwaukee). Locked in the closing band for Nov. 6th at the BBC - Government Zero will be playing that show with us!!!!!!!
Also found out that a friend of mine used to work at a radio station in Chicago and might be able to hook up a connection at Q101... I am working on that also this week... will have to try and mail a CD to this guy so he can get it to the right person!!!
So much work to do, so little time!!!!!!!!!! I need to start packing now!!!!!!!!!!!
Have a killer night, and keep loading your gun!!!
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Day 203
Day 203 of ANNIE B.'s D.I.Y. MAGAZINE (Post #16) "Annie could be the most hard-working woman on the indie music scene today." - George Radai, Deep End Productions. I promise to post blogs here, sharing some daily activities of all the work I do to get there until I win, and when I do, YOU can say you followed me all the way!
Yep, I DID get that iMix done - it's called GREAT GRRL MUSIC! Please look it up in the list of iMixes! Planning on making more when I have more free time.....................????????????????? So, I noticed on that Artist X thingy that Artist X is not really doing any better when it comes to improving his success. With all the marketing stuff there is out there that artists need to be doing, how can anyone get it all done??? I can totally understand how he's not doing any better. There's not time to get all the stuff done that any one artist has to get done.
Anyhoo, so I am finishing up those press kits tonight, making posters for the TX gigs, and also have to start burning more CDs for Plein Air on Friday. My fabulous boyfriend is helping me sell CDs and getting info to people... having a person to do your merch is crucial. I need Tshirts!!!!!!! I guess I should have some made, but I can't decide on a design. Maybe the Kiwi Cafe artwork would work well if Jesse Engelbrecht would get the stuff to me!
Anyhoo, Artbeat and TX is creeping up on me real quick-like! Better get back to work!!!!!!!
Yep, I DID get that iMix done - it's called GREAT GRRL MUSIC! Please look it up in the list of iMixes! Planning on making more when I have more free time.....................????????????????? So, I noticed on that Artist X thingy that Artist X is not really doing any better when it comes to improving his success. With all the marketing stuff there is out there that artists need to be doing, how can anyone get it all done??? I can totally understand how he's not doing any better. There's not time to get all the stuff done that any one artist has to get done.
Anyhoo, so I am finishing up those press kits tonight, making posters for the TX gigs, and also have to start burning more CDs for Plein Air on Friday. My fabulous boyfriend is helping me sell CDs and getting info to people... having a person to do your merch is crucial. I need Tshirts!!!!!!! I guess I should have some made, but I can't decide on a design. Maybe the Kiwi Cafe artwork would work well if Jesse Engelbrecht would get the stuff to me!
Anyhoo, Artbeat and TX is creeping up on me real quick-like! Better get back to work!!!!!!!
Monday, September 14, 2009
Day 200
Day 200 of ANNIE B.'s D.I.Y. MAGAZINE (Post #15)
I was up til 5am after discovering a new music site: www.thesixtyone.com... just over 12 hours later I already have 22 listeners for the Shut Up Marie stuff I posted, and I can't keep up with all the "hearting"! I am not one to miss any sleep, though. I slept happily until 11:30am when I took my 3rd phone call today... Don't people know that musicians rarely get up before noon????
Anyhoo, so other activities today - making 20 press kits for Theo to mail out, including creating the cover, re-vamping my bio, and other press kit stuff (like updating the listing of venues played,) all the Artbeat Thank You letters (FINALLY - what a slacker!!!) Getting these killer pamphlets printed, although that happened last night/this morning. I think I kept Theo awake.... I know I woke him up a few times. He's still crashing on my futon and I am not sure when he'll be able to get a place of his own, but he's a great guy and he can stay as long as he needs to if it were up to me!
Working on bookings for Shut Up Marie & for my solo & duo projects too... might have something for the duo in Nov., and working on an opening bill for Shut Up Marie (opening for my cover band Unnatural Act!) at the Penny Road Pub in South Barrington, IL. Good thing I have no problem singing all night long thanks to my amazing vocal coach Kelli Ann of Who Knew!!! Woo-hoo!!! The Musician's Atlas is what we're using to find venues and we'll be using it to find all the other stuff we need when the album is done.
Also studying this Artist X Music Marketing Project... trying to see how a guy who has a full-time job and is married would have the time to do all the stuff they recommend for him to do! Should be interesting to find out how the whole thing ends! My goal by the end of my workday today is to create one iMix for iTunes... a strategy recommended by one of the chapters in the project. I might be able to figure out how to get that done before I have to leave for the meeting with Artbeater Steve Daubs at 7:30 tonight!!!!!!!
Wish me luck!!!!!!!
Keeping loading your gun!!!!
:)
Annie
I was up til 5am after discovering a new music site: www.thesixtyone.com... just over 12 hours later I already have 22 listeners for the Shut Up Marie stuff I posted, and I can't keep up with all the "hearting"! I am not one to miss any sleep, though. I slept happily until 11:30am when I took my 3rd phone call today... Don't people know that musicians rarely get up before noon????
Anyhoo, so other activities today - making 20 press kits for Theo to mail out, including creating the cover, re-vamping my bio, and other press kit stuff (like updating the listing of venues played,) all the Artbeat Thank You letters (FINALLY - what a slacker!!!) Getting these killer pamphlets printed, although that happened last night/this morning. I think I kept Theo awake.... I know I woke him up a few times. He's still crashing on my futon and I am not sure when he'll be able to get a place of his own, but he's a great guy and he can stay as long as he needs to if it were up to me!
Working on bookings for Shut Up Marie & for my solo & duo projects too... might have something for the duo in Nov., and working on an opening bill for Shut Up Marie (opening for my cover band Unnatural Act!) at the Penny Road Pub in South Barrington, IL. Good thing I have no problem singing all night long thanks to my amazing vocal coach Kelli Ann of Who Knew!!! Woo-hoo!!! The Musician's Atlas is what we're using to find venues and we'll be using it to find all the other stuff we need when the album is done.
Also studying this Artist X Music Marketing Project... trying to see how a guy who has a full-time job and is married would have the time to do all the stuff they recommend for him to do! Should be interesting to find out how the whole thing ends! My goal by the end of my workday today is to create one iMix for iTunes... a strategy recommended by one of the chapters in the project. I might be able to figure out how to get that done before I have to leave for the meeting with Artbeater Steve Daubs at 7:30 tonight!!!!!!!
Wish me luck!!!!!!!
Keeping loading your gun!!!!
:)
Annie
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Day 199
Day 199 of ANNIE B.'s D.I.Y. MAGAZINE (Post #14)
Wow, lots has happened since my last blog only 20 days ago - the biggest thing is I am sick and tired of not having a bass player for my band, so I am learning how to play bass! Yep, Paul McCartney did it when the Beatles (or the Quarrymen?) needed a bassist! Why can't I? So far so good, we've had at least 3 rehearsals with me on the bass, and things are starting to sound pretty good. I keep saying to myself, "If only I had learned the bass years ago when I first thought of it... think of where I'd be now." But the fact of the matter is: Yes, I thought of picking up the bass years ago, and my singing suffered. I think it was that lifetime decision I made to give everything up 3 years ago to live out on the road - it got me singing 3, 4, 5 nights a week... my vocal chops HAD to improve. Now I can kind of let the vocal part go and concentrate on the bass. Lots of these songs I have sung hundreds (thousands?) of times and they are kind of in my blood... especially those early songs from when I first started writing like the "Kiwi Cafe" and "Girl of Secrets." This new instrument has been keeping me pretty busy, so my activity level when it comes to all the biz stuff is a little low right now. But I am enjoying all the stuff CDBaby founder Derek Sivers has to say! He wrote about a very cool project all indie musicians should know about: The Indie Artist X Music Marketing Plan. You can actually follow this plan YOURSELF if you are a musician/starving artist (LIKE ME!)!!!!!!!! Here's a summary of the project: http://gigdoggy.wordpress.com/2009/07/14/the-indie-artist-x-music-marketing-plan-on-the-go/
I can only hope I have the inclination to follow these steps put forth by the experts involved.
Also these past few weeks, I found 2 local recording studios for the new album. Need to visit & get some demos, but they both come highly recommended. I'll keep you posted!
Still waiting on the Kiwi Cafe artwork from Jesse Engelbrecht, I would have loved to have that ready to rock for this Friday's Plein Air show, but it looks like that's not going to happen. UGH!!!
Totally excited about Shelby Keefe in the Artbeat show for October. She's a trip and a half! I have to get on the appetizers for that show... I have been slacking a little since my Pop moved... There's always something going on there that I have to deal with.
So, that's my story for today. Oh, I FINALLY saw the Jersey Boys in Chicago this weekend! What I great show and now I need to buy all the Four Seasons records I can get my hands on!!!!!!!
Peace, Love & Light!!!!!!!
Annie
Wow, lots has happened since my last blog only 20 days ago - the biggest thing is I am sick and tired of not having a bass player for my band, so I am learning how to play bass! Yep, Paul McCartney did it when the Beatles (or the Quarrymen?) needed a bassist! Why can't I? So far so good, we've had at least 3 rehearsals with me on the bass, and things are starting to sound pretty good. I keep saying to myself, "If only I had learned the bass years ago when I first thought of it... think of where I'd be now." But the fact of the matter is: Yes, I thought of picking up the bass years ago, and my singing suffered. I think it was that lifetime decision I made to give everything up 3 years ago to live out on the road - it got me singing 3, 4, 5 nights a week... my vocal chops HAD to improve. Now I can kind of let the vocal part go and concentrate on the bass. Lots of these songs I have sung hundreds (thousands?) of times and they are kind of in my blood... especially those early songs from when I first started writing like the "Kiwi Cafe" and "Girl of Secrets." This new instrument has been keeping me pretty busy, so my activity level when it comes to all the biz stuff is a little low right now. But I am enjoying all the stuff CDBaby founder Derek Sivers has to say! He wrote about a very cool project all indie musicians should know about: The Indie Artist X Music Marketing Plan. You can actually follow this plan YOURSELF if you are a musician/starving artist (LIKE ME!)!!!!!!!! Here's a summary of the project: http://gigdoggy.wordpress.com/2009/07/14/the-indie-artist-x-music-marketing-plan-on-the-go/
I can only hope I have the inclination to follow these steps put forth by the experts involved.
Also these past few weeks, I found 2 local recording studios for the new album. Need to visit & get some demos, but they both come highly recommended. I'll keep you posted!
Still waiting on the Kiwi Cafe artwork from Jesse Engelbrecht, I would have loved to have that ready to rock for this Friday's Plein Air show, but it looks like that's not going to happen. UGH!!!
Totally excited about Shelby Keefe in the Artbeat show for October. She's a trip and a half! I have to get on the appetizers for that show... I have been slacking a little since my Pop moved... There's always something going on there that I have to deal with.
So, that's my story for today. Oh, I FINALLY saw the Jersey Boys in Chicago this weekend! What I great show and now I need to buy all the Four Seasons records I can get my hands on!!!!!!!
Peace, Love & Light!!!!!!!
Annie
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Day 179
Day 179 of ANNIE B.'s D.I.Y. MAGAZINE (Post #13)
This past weekend was great - Saturday U.A. played Russ' backyard party "Katzenjammer" (Russ plays guitar for Unnatural Act) and then Zoo Ala Carte on Sunday and it was great to hang out with Melissa's (best friend from college) family for the rest of Sunday afternoon! Was supposed to meet with Steve Daubs Sunday night to get a full update about his trip to the Ukraine and also talk about the Oct 9th Artbeat, but I was way too tired after my full day Sunday.
Scott Berendt is hooking me up with a song on the Buck's local artist CD compliation featuring songs from bands who play in the Atrium at the Bradley Center before Bucks games. I played there last January with my acoustic cover trio and Scott is supposed to hook me up with another gig like that this year. I dropped off my CD to Scott yesterday morning so I hope to hear from him later this week.
Anthony just talked to a bass player for the new project. Anthony and I met today to work on songs at his house and things are moving along with that project. Kind of in a new direction? I did e-mail another bassist from Craigslist this morning, too. We're trying to get into the studio to record a 4-song demo, but now we are not sure what songs to include on the demo. Changes in direction are making for some frustration but we ARE moving forward.
Also today I dropped off some promo materials for myself (solo/duo/trio) and for Unnatural Act for Johnny B. to get some bookings for us, perhaps at Rookies in Oconomowoc. We might have a few sweet & well-paying gigs in Sept. if he can pull it off. I need to check in with him tomorrow to find out more details on these gigs... he's supposed to meet with these folks tomorrow.
This morning I emptied out a big box. Believe it or not, I still have unpacked boxes here (I moved in a year ago), but that's because some of the boxes contain kitchen stuff & other stuff which I do not need to unpack here. Unpacking is still happening also due to the organization I desire. I can't seem to unpack everything at once, it gets too disorganized. But since I cleaned the hell outta this place last week, it feels sooooooooo much nicer, there is more room, and the energy is better. I hope to unpack & organize one box every morning until I am done. I think I can do that and be done in a week or two. Wouldn't that be fabulous?
Also last night, I visited my Pop. He and I played Connect Four. He liked that game.
Tomorrow night is orientation for JustFaith, through Three Holy Women Church. I am really looking forward to that project, and I hope I don't have time conflicts with it.
Well, have a great night and I'll see you again soon!!!!!
This past weekend was great - Saturday U.A. played Russ' backyard party "Katzenjammer" (Russ plays guitar for Unnatural Act) and then Zoo Ala Carte on Sunday and it was great to hang out with Melissa's (best friend from college) family for the rest of Sunday afternoon! Was supposed to meet with Steve Daubs Sunday night to get a full update about his trip to the Ukraine and also talk about the Oct 9th Artbeat, but I was way too tired after my full day Sunday.
Scott Berendt is hooking me up with a song on the Buck's local artist CD compliation featuring songs from bands who play in the Atrium at the Bradley Center before Bucks games. I played there last January with my acoustic cover trio and Scott is supposed to hook me up with another gig like that this year. I dropped off my CD to Scott yesterday morning so I hope to hear from him later this week.
Anthony just talked to a bass player for the new project. Anthony and I met today to work on songs at his house and things are moving along with that project. Kind of in a new direction? I did e-mail another bassist from Craigslist this morning, too. We're trying to get into the studio to record a 4-song demo, but now we are not sure what songs to include on the demo. Changes in direction are making for some frustration but we ARE moving forward.
Also today I dropped off some promo materials for myself (solo/duo/trio) and for Unnatural Act for Johnny B. to get some bookings for us, perhaps at Rookies in Oconomowoc. We might have a few sweet & well-paying gigs in Sept. if he can pull it off. I need to check in with him tomorrow to find out more details on these gigs... he's supposed to meet with these folks tomorrow.
This morning I emptied out a big box. Believe it or not, I still have unpacked boxes here (I moved in a year ago), but that's because some of the boxes contain kitchen stuff & other stuff which I do not need to unpack here. Unpacking is still happening also due to the organization I desire. I can't seem to unpack everything at once, it gets too disorganized. But since I cleaned the hell outta this place last week, it feels sooooooooo much nicer, there is more room, and the energy is better. I hope to unpack & organize one box every morning until I am done. I think I can do that and be done in a week or two. Wouldn't that be fabulous?
Also last night, I visited my Pop. He and I played Connect Four. He liked that game.
Tomorrow night is orientation for JustFaith, through Three Holy Women Church. I am really looking forward to that project, and I hope I don't have time conflicts with it.
Well, have a great night and I'll see you again soon!!!!!
Friday, August 21, 2009
Day 175
Day 175 of ANNIE B.'s D.I.Y. MAGAZINE (Post #12)
Today was a bad day 'cuz my boyfriend and I broke up. Lots of energy drained today, and I am sad.
That's one thing you need to know about moving your career forward. Do not stay in unhealthy relationships or unhealthy friendships. They DRAIN you, and Lord knows, indie artists need LOTS of energy in order to compete in this crazy business. Not that this relationship was particularly unhealthy, but it was unhealthy for a lot of last year. This year, it was really quite healthy, but it just didn't work out after all. It was ultimately about those deal-breakers, you know. Like, some people don't want their boyfriend or their girlfriend to maintain close friendships with the ex or ex's. Yep, that's a deal-breaker for me. I don't think there's anything anyone can say to convince me that it's perfectly fine & healthy if your boyfriend's best friend is also his ex.
Anyhoo, so I also ended up with a nasty allergy attack today, so not much was done today at all. I did get a phone number for a recording engineer that comes highly recommended by my friend Brian Douglas who works at Cream City Music. Brian also plays in a band called The Black Saints. I hope to see them soon!!!!!
Also just got another possible tips gig for Austin... it showed up in my MySpace in-box about an hour ago! It's pretty awesome how the energy starts flowing back to you: Putting out positive energy => more positive energy right back atcha'. Putting out negative energy => more negative energy right back atcha'! I am trying to keep the positive energy flowing and flowing with a nice, strong current. Breaking up with the boy who wants to remain best friends with his ex is probably a good move in that direction.
So, I need to get some rest. I also screwed up my back yesterday moving my P.A. head before doing my morning stretches. Gotta be more careful!
Have a beautiful night!
Today was a bad day 'cuz my boyfriend and I broke up. Lots of energy drained today, and I am sad.
That's one thing you need to know about moving your career forward. Do not stay in unhealthy relationships or unhealthy friendships. They DRAIN you, and Lord knows, indie artists need LOTS of energy in order to compete in this crazy business. Not that this relationship was particularly unhealthy, but it was unhealthy for a lot of last year. This year, it was really quite healthy, but it just didn't work out after all. It was ultimately about those deal-breakers, you know. Like, some people don't want their boyfriend or their girlfriend to maintain close friendships with the ex or ex's. Yep, that's a deal-breaker for me. I don't think there's anything anyone can say to convince me that it's perfectly fine & healthy if your boyfriend's best friend is also his ex.
Anyhoo, so I also ended up with a nasty allergy attack today, so not much was done today at all. I did get a phone number for a recording engineer that comes highly recommended by my friend Brian Douglas who works at Cream City Music. Brian also plays in a band called The Black Saints. I hope to see them soon!!!!!
Also just got another possible tips gig for Austin... it showed up in my MySpace in-box about an hour ago! It's pretty awesome how the energy starts flowing back to you: Putting out positive energy => more positive energy right back atcha'. Putting out negative energy => more negative energy right back atcha'! I am trying to keep the positive energy flowing and flowing with a nice, strong current. Breaking up with the boy who wants to remain best friends with his ex is probably a good move in that direction.
So, I need to get some rest. I also screwed up my back yesterday moving my P.A. head before doing my morning stretches. Gotta be more careful!
Have a beautiful night!
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Day 165
Day 165 of ANNIE B.'s D.I.Y. MAGAZINE (Post #11)
What's going on? I am blogging every day now! Oh, my, there must be some mistake!!!
No, no, my friend, there is not. I am actually keeping FOCUSED... remember, I was having BIG trouble with that not long ago! Just read yesterday's blog and I honestly have to admit I am surprised how well I am keeping focused!
Got the Artbeat THANK YOU's out, got the Des Moines e-mail list updated, in communications with booking for MOTOR, and sent an e-mail to the guys about rehearsing for the 21st at the Coach House. Sent the CD to Jesse for the cover artwork, and Theo is, AS I WRITE, building that database of the Midwest venues. Good thing Ralph and I are not working together since he would not be happy doing the work that Theo is doing to get us BOOKED... building that database, sending out e-mails, follow-ups, etc. Is it really the job of an intern to do that sort of stuff WHEN YOU HAVE NO INTERNS???
We've already got venues from IL, IA, WI, & MN asking about rates & avails. Not bad, "Intern-Boy"!!! And what I like about the online database we are using to build our own is that there is ALOT of information on each record for each venue. Capacity, genres, lots of contact into including MySpace links, percentage of cover bands vs. original bands booked, it's AMAZING!
Next BIG project: Working on cleaning out my e-mail in-box. Turns out that the girl who books bands & artists for MOTOR already contacted me earlier this summer and I never got back to her! Can you imagine that? Her e-mail got LOST in my in-box! NOT GOOD!!! Boy, does that make me look like a disorganized flake, or what??? So, I am doing my best to get rid of 200-300 e-mails out of my in-box every night. (No, Honey, you really don't want to know how many are in there right now.) I hope I can do it. It will still take me a long time to clean out my in-box, but I now know the secret: FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS!!!
Also started submitting for more Sonicbids opportunities. I guess since we got the GAP one, I should keep the good energy flowing!
Gosh, it seems like a lot got done today. It really does help - this blogging thing. You should try it!
Peace, Love, & Light!!!
:)
Annie
What's going on? I am blogging every day now! Oh, my, there must be some mistake!!!
No, no, my friend, there is not. I am actually keeping FOCUSED... remember, I was having BIG trouble with that not long ago! Just read yesterday's blog and I honestly have to admit I am surprised how well I am keeping focused!
Got the Artbeat THANK YOU's out, got the Des Moines e-mail list updated, in communications with booking for MOTOR, and sent an e-mail to the guys about rehearsing for the 21st at the Coach House. Sent the CD to Jesse for the cover artwork, and Theo is, AS I WRITE, building that database of the Midwest venues. Good thing Ralph and I are not working together since he would not be happy doing the work that Theo is doing to get us BOOKED... building that database, sending out e-mails, follow-ups, etc. Is it really the job of an intern to do that sort of stuff WHEN YOU HAVE NO INTERNS???
We've already got venues from IL, IA, WI, & MN asking about rates & avails. Not bad, "Intern-Boy"!!! And what I like about the online database we are using to build our own is that there is ALOT of information on each record for each venue. Capacity, genres, lots of contact into including MySpace links, percentage of cover bands vs. original bands booked, it's AMAZING!
Next BIG project: Working on cleaning out my e-mail in-box. Turns out that the girl who books bands & artists for MOTOR already contacted me earlier this summer and I never got back to her! Can you imagine that? Her e-mail got LOST in my in-box! NOT GOOD!!! Boy, does that make me look like a disorganized flake, or what??? So, I am doing my best to get rid of 200-300 e-mails out of my in-box every night. (No, Honey, you really don't want to know how many are in there right now.) I hope I can do it. It will still take me a long time to clean out my in-box, but I now know the secret: FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS!!!
Also started submitting for more Sonicbids opportunities. I guess since we got the GAP one, I should keep the good energy flowing!
Gosh, it seems like a lot got done today. It really does help - this blogging thing. You should try it!
Peace, Love, & Light!!!
:)
Annie
Monday, August 10, 2009
Day 164
Day 164 of ANNIE B.'s D.I.Y. MAGAZINE (Post #10)
Hello, Hello! Working today on getting all those long-overdue THANKS YOU's out to all the Artbeaters! Also need to send out that e-mail to all the new Des Moines fans from our show last Friday. Did sell a few CDs but I will be happy if we get paid better next time since we did not even get paid expenses (and that was actually part of the deal). But we did really have a GREAT time on the drive out - lots of laughing and bonding. The three of us work well together in the rehearsal studio, and now that I know we can get along fine on a 6-hour small-car drive, that's really a good sign. The show was great, not a HUGE crowd, but a decent crowd... again, sold some CDs, collected some e-mail addresses... moving forward in Des Moines!
Anyhoo, got an e-mail from Kandall Polster (welder artist from the last Artbeat) who is helping me get a show at the Harley Museum restaurant, Motor. Also got hooked up with a gig at Momo's in Austin through a contact there - John Doughty. Scott Berendt also hooked up a gig at the Coach House since he double-booked himself. (Oops!) But it feels REALLY good to be getting offers and calls now instead of always having to solicit the gigs, make the cold calls, etc etc etc. I guess hard work really DOES pay off!!!
New this week: my artwork for The Kiwi Cafe being done by Jesse Engelbrecht (gallery artist from the April Artbeat). His sketchwork would be PERFECT for the Kiwi Cafe album cover, so we are to talk about it tonight over the phone. (TOTALLY excited about putting out the album the way it should be, instead of burning copies for my shows every time!)
Also, I am no longer working with Ralph from Active Artist Management. I guess that's no surprise, since we have been butting heads since almost Day One. He is a good guy, but I know that we do not belong working together.
Thank goodness the dry songwriting spell over the last 3 years or so seems to be FINALLY OVER! Those 3 new songs we started working on at rehearsals are definitely worthy additions to the set!
Theo started e-mailing venues all over the Midwest last week so the band can start building a regional following. So far, we have been getting a pretty good response, but there is a great need to build an online database that we can use to communicate all activities, and find people's e-mail addresses quickly, since I notice that most responses do not indicate the venue/town they are representing. ANOTHER project!!!
I ALSO need to start working on contacting publishing companies for "What Do You Do"... since that song just does not seem to fit in with what we are doing right now. When I am going to find time doing that, I am not sure... but I hope to fit in in somewhere soon!!!!!! Anyone who is interested in interning for a record label based out of Milwaukee, please give a shout: anniebbaby@gmail.com. I know a LOT about the music business and I know how to make things happen, but with everything we've got going on, it can't all be done by just a few people! We need interns!
Have a beautiful day and NEVER GIVE UP ON YOUR DREAMS!!!!
Hello, Hello! Working today on getting all those long-overdue THANKS YOU's out to all the Artbeaters! Also need to send out that e-mail to all the new Des Moines fans from our show last Friday. Did sell a few CDs but I will be happy if we get paid better next time since we did not even get paid expenses (and that was actually part of the deal). But we did really have a GREAT time on the drive out - lots of laughing and bonding. The three of us work well together in the rehearsal studio, and now that I know we can get along fine on a 6-hour small-car drive, that's really a good sign. The show was great, not a HUGE crowd, but a decent crowd... again, sold some CDs, collected some e-mail addresses... moving forward in Des Moines!
Anyhoo, got an e-mail from Kandall Polster (welder artist from the last Artbeat) who is helping me get a show at the Harley Museum restaurant, Motor. Also got hooked up with a gig at Momo's in Austin through a contact there - John Doughty. Scott Berendt also hooked up a gig at the Coach House since he double-booked himself. (Oops!) But it feels REALLY good to be getting offers and calls now instead of always having to solicit the gigs, make the cold calls, etc etc etc. I guess hard work really DOES pay off!!!
New this week: my artwork for The Kiwi Cafe being done by Jesse Engelbrecht (gallery artist from the April Artbeat). His sketchwork would be PERFECT for the Kiwi Cafe album cover, so we are to talk about it tonight over the phone. (TOTALLY excited about putting out the album the way it should be, instead of burning copies for my shows every time!)
Also, I am no longer working with Ralph from Active Artist Management. I guess that's no surprise, since we have been butting heads since almost Day One. He is a good guy, but I know that we do not belong working together.
Thank goodness the dry songwriting spell over the last 3 years or so seems to be FINALLY OVER! Those 3 new songs we started working on at rehearsals are definitely worthy additions to the set!
Theo started e-mailing venues all over the Midwest last week so the band can start building a regional following. So far, we have been getting a pretty good response, but there is a great need to build an online database that we can use to communicate all activities, and find people's e-mail addresses quickly, since I notice that most responses do not indicate the venue/town they are representing. ANOTHER project!!!
I ALSO need to start working on contacting publishing companies for "What Do You Do"... since that song just does not seem to fit in with what we are doing right now. When I am going to find time doing that, I am not sure... but I hope to fit in in somewhere soon!!!!!! Anyone who is interested in interning for a record label based out of Milwaukee, please give a shout: anniebbaby@gmail.com. I know a LOT about the music business and I know how to make things happen, but with everything we've got going on, it can't all be done by just a few people! We need interns!
Have a beautiful day and NEVER GIVE UP ON YOUR DREAMS!!!!
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Day 160
Day 160 of ANNIE B.'s D.I.Y. MAGAZINE (Post #9)
Today we had a VERY productive rehearsal, and yes, we will be ready to rock the House of Bricks tomorrow night in Des Moines. 9 songs, 3 of which are VERY new (I have to memorize the lyrics for 2 of them tonight!!!!!) and the trip will be LOADS of fun! Mapquest says the trip is 6 hours and 4 minutes but with it now being "construction season"...
I still have to burn a bunch of CDs so I have product to sell tomorrow night, too...
So, I will meet Theo in maybe an hour at our rehearsal space to run through these songs one more time with him... he needs one more run-through.
FINALLY got the CDs mailed for our GAP performance for "Born To Play" on Aug. 20th, and e-mailed the posters. That GAP manager Joey Deitz is a swell guy, very helpful and totally excited about having us!
I better get back to work, just wanted to say HI!
:)
A
Today we had a VERY productive rehearsal, and yes, we will be ready to rock the House of Bricks tomorrow night in Des Moines. 9 songs, 3 of which are VERY new (I have to memorize the lyrics for 2 of them tonight!!!!!) and the trip will be LOADS of fun! Mapquest says the trip is 6 hours and 4 minutes but with it now being "construction season"...
I still have to burn a bunch of CDs so I have product to sell tomorrow night, too...
So, I will meet Theo in maybe an hour at our rehearsal space to run through these songs one more time with him... he needs one more run-through.
FINALLY got the CDs mailed for our GAP performance for "Born To Play" on Aug. 20th, and e-mailed the posters. That GAP manager Joey Deitz is a swell guy, very helpful and totally excited about having us!
I better get back to work, just wanted to say HI!
:)
A
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Day 159
Day 159 of ANNIE B.'s D.I.Y. MAGAZINE (Post #8)
The weekend was crazy and fun and Artbeat was a huge success! Honestly, I am not sure if I broke even or if I barely made enough to donate to Express Yourself Milwaukee, but I will be making a donation this week and getting that good energy out there! Thanks to all the Artbeaters for coming out and making Friday night fabulous!!! I also had a great show Thursday night with Scott Berendt at the Coach House, and we will defintley be booking more shows together - he's a very talented guy and lots of fun to work with!
This weekend we have another show at the House of Bricks in Des Moines - it will be with the acoustic trio since we are currently looking for a bass player but there is a kid coming in to check out the band tomorrow - Yay! Anthony and Theo and I have been working really hard this week on this show and it's really turning out to be pretty amazing. 3 new songs for this show and lots of great energy! 9 songs total so we are well on our way to that new album!
Theo has now taken over the job of booking and A&R for remedial children records. He's doing a great job so far and it's working out well since he loves to hang out online a lot (we are using an online database: MusiciansAtlas.com - an AMAZING resource!!! I started with this resource when I first started out on the road in 2006 and it easily paid for itself with one gig booked.) Way to go, Theo - you rule!!! Contacting venues in WI, IL, IA, MN, IN, ND, SD, MI, MO, KY and OH! Wow. No, WOW. Wowza.
Already gearing up for the next Artbeat - got a new gallery artist lined up - met this artist at the Artbeat after-party. Met some folks who really liked Artbeat and want to help promote the next show via their contact lists & other lists they know of. Networking and viral marketing, networking and viral marketing, networking and viral marketing, networking and viral marketing!!!!!!!
Hope all is well for you. Keep the faith, good energy and love flowing from your heart!!!!!!!
:)
A
The weekend was crazy and fun and Artbeat was a huge success! Honestly, I am not sure if I broke even or if I barely made enough to donate to Express Yourself Milwaukee, but I will be making a donation this week and getting that good energy out there! Thanks to all the Artbeaters for coming out and making Friday night fabulous!!! I also had a great show Thursday night with Scott Berendt at the Coach House, and we will defintley be booking more shows together - he's a very talented guy and lots of fun to work with!
This weekend we have another show at the House of Bricks in Des Moines - it will be with the acoustic trio since we are currently looking for a bass player but there is a kid coming in to check out the band tomorrow - Yay! Anthony and Theo and I have been working really hard this week on this show and it's really turning out to be pretty amazing. 3 new songs for this show and lots of great energy! 9 songs total so we are well on our way to that new album!
Theo has now taken over the job of booking and A&R for remedial children records. He's doing a great job so far and it's working out well since he loves to hang out online a lot (we are using an online database: MusiciansAtlas.com - an AMAZING resource!!! I started with this resource when I first started out on the road in 2006 and it easily paid for itself with one gig booked.) Way to go, Theo - you rule!!! Contacting venues in WI, IL, IA, MN, IN, ND, SD, MI, MO, KY and OH! Wow. No, WOW. Wowza.
Already gearing up for the next Artbeat - got a new gallery artist lined up - met this artist at the Artbeat after-party. Met some folks who really liked Artbeat and want to help promote the next show via their contact lists & other lists they know of. Networking and viral marketing, networking and viral marketing, networking and viral marketing, networking and viral marketing!!!!!!!
Hope all is well for you. Keep the faith, good energy and love flowing from your heart!!!!!!!
:)
A
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Day 144
Day 144 of ANNIE B.'s D.I.Y. MAGAZINE (Post #7)
Well, earlier this week, I booked 2 more gigs at the Klavier Lounge in Germantown - they are gigs where I play mostly covers, but hey, it's better than waiting tables!!! I also got a gig at The GAP for their Born To Play campaign which celebrates their 100th anniversary or something cool like that! This is not a paid gig, but hopefully it will bring some exposure since they are doing a big ad campaign to hype up the whole thing!
Today, however, I did not do much for my career, in fact, I am a little behind, especially when it comes to Artbeat! I had a family crisis late last week and I am still working on resolving the crisis, but it will be resolved in the next few weeks. I was up at 5:30 this morning to get some flyers and a promo kit to "Darlin" Nikki Janzen, the opener for Artbeat. Then off to pick up my mom & deal with the family situation all day today. I got home around 3:30 and needed a nap. In the meantime, I am now blogging on a computer that is sitting on a desk that is so full of papers and projects in the middle stages, it's hard to keep everything straight.
So, here I am , trying to refocus, as I wrote about last week. The band is not rehearsing this week, due to people out of town. But we will resume next week Monday, and we are now looking for a bassist. Two interested players responded to my craigslist ad, so I will investigate this week.
Just wrote a new song tonight, perhaps another that will be pitched to someone like Katy Perry, or maybe we'll keep it and make it work for S.U.M. or the other project. It's too new to know what needs to happen with it.
I did have a meeting with HeyWhatever.info yesterday and they are now handling my websites for Annie B. and for Artbeat! They should be able to make Artbeat's online network a reality before July 31st, so I am VERY excited about that! I found out about the company through Jim, the owner of the Coach House in Big Bend. He uses them for his website, and they seem to be very cool people! Totally excited about the new relationship!!! They are not only going to build my websites, but they will help in marketing & bringing in traffic - which is really more important than the site itself, in terms of what's going to help you sell products online. Please look out for www.annieb.net soon!!!!!!!!! Yay!!!
In other activity, the GAP store I am performing at in IL is very excited about the Aug. 20th show, and 15 sampler CDs for all store employees are being burned as I blog. Still undecided as of right now if I am bringing the full band or what. The sampler CD consists of "Everything", "You and Me", and "The Shining Light". I know that "Everything" is not a acoustic song, but we will be doing an acoustic version of that song at this show for sure.
I need to run off and drop off some quarter-page ARTBEAT flyers to Scott Berendt right now, so I will sign off for tonight...
Until my next exciting blog, have a GREAT evening, and keep loading your gun!!!
Well, earlier this week, I booked 2 more gigs at the Klavier Lounge in Germantown - they are gigs where I play mostly covers, but hey, it's better than waiting tables!!! I also got a gig at The GAP for their Born To Play campaign which celebrates their 100th anniversary or something cool like that! This is not a paid gig, but hopefully it will bring some exposure since they are doing a big ad campaign to hype up the whole thing!
Today, however, I did not do much for my career, in fact, I am a little behind, especially when it comes to Artbeat! I had a family crisis late last week and I am still working on resolving the crisis, but it will be resolved in the next few weeks. I was up at 5:30 this morning to get some flyers and a promo kit to "Darlin" Nikki Janzen, the opener for Artbeat. Then off to pick up my mom & deal with the family situation all day today. I got home around 3:30 and needed a nap. In the meantime, I am now blogging on a computer that is sitting on a desk that is so full of papers and projects in the middle stages, it's hard to keep everything straight.
So, here I am , trying to refocus, as I wrote about last week. The band is not rehearsing this week, due to people out of town. But we will resume next week Monday, and we are now looking for a bassist. Two interested players responded to my craigslist ad, so I will investigate this week.
Just wrote a new song tonight, perhaps another that will be pitched to someone like Katy Perry, or maybe we'll keep it and make it work for S.U.M. or the other project. It's too new to know what needs to happen with it.
I did have a meeting with HeyWhatever.info yesterday and they are now handling my websites for Annie B. and for Artbeat! They should be able to make Artbeat's online network a reality before July 31st, so I am VERY excited about that! I found out about the company through Jim, the owner of the Coach House in Big Bend. He uses them for his website, and they seem to be very cool people! Totally excited about the new relationship!!! They are not only going to build my websites, but they will help in marketing & bringing in traffic - which is really more important than the site itself, in terms of what's going to help you sell products online. Please look out for www.annieb.net soon!!!!!!!!! Yay!!!
In other activity, the GAP store I am performing at in IL is very excited about the Aug. 20th show, and 15 sampler CDs for all store employees are being burned as I blog. Still undecided as of right now if I am bringing the full band or what. The sampler CD consists of "Everything", "You and Me", and "The Shining Light". I know that "Everything" is not a acoustic song, but we will be doing an acoustic version of that song at this show for sure.
I need to run off and drop off some quarter-page ARTBEAT flyers to Scott Berendt right now, so I will sign off for tonight...
Until my next exciting blog, have a GREAT evening, and keep loading your gun!!!
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Day 135
Yes, here is where I post my activities and goings-on as a successful, be it "small-time" Midwest struggling singer/songwriter trying to "make it big"... hoping to give some insight to other struggling musicians and help them on their way, while they also may be able to help me on mine... it's about working together and your network of friends that will play a big role in your success. And, so, since my last blog..............
Guess what?! Shut Up Marie is now reforming in the Midwest (and I am sure you can guess how excited I am about that!!!) Woo-hoo!!! So, we started working on the songlist for this year's new album and I have found that this band actually has 2 different types of songs... and these two types of songs probably should not be on the same album, or people will be like, "What the hell kind of band are you guys? What kind of music do you play?" So now the band has to split into two different bands. Crazy, I know, but we will have musical and stylistic integrity with each project, which is very important. You don't want to be all over the place with your music. That's one thing I have learned throug the years. People like to know what you sound like, so they can "get into" it. They can't "get into" something that is all over the board. They would not know what to "get into". And they want to be able to explain you to their friends. They can't do that if you don't really have a well-defined sound.
So, as a result, "What Do You Do" is getting reserved for major label artists only. We'll be pitching it to the likes of Kelly Clarkson, Jewel, Michelle Branch, etc etc etc. It does not belong on any new album of mine this year. It will be one of those exclusive unreleased tracks that maybe you'll get to download after it's been re-recorded by some big pop/adult contemporary artist. (Unless you go to my MySpace page right now and get it before it gets removed from my profile.)
Shut Up Marie will remain intact, and there will be a new band project. Some sort of funky-folky-moody-gritty-cowboy-acoustic thingy... a direct descendant of my solo/acoustic stuff. Not much like S.U.M. at all. But fun, for sure!
In other news, Milwaukee Artbeat is coming along swimmingly. I have a TV appearance scheduled on FOX6 news here in Milwaukee on July 29th at 8:15am, and a radio interview on 91.7 WMSE at 2pm that same day! Woo-hoo!
This week I had an epiphany. It's actually a reiteration of what my manager has been telling me for some time now. I have to get a better focus on my goals. I have been all over the board with my 3 (now 4) bands and all the other projects I have going on like Artbeat, the duo with Scott Berendt, and etc etc etc! So, I am trying very hard to find out how to get that focus. It's kind of like what I had to do with the band... find out what the thing is really all about, make sense of it, and then start working towards only the most important & worthy, solid goals. Making sense of the music and making sense of how we can market it and make a good solid album... it just had to be broken up into two pieces. That ultimately will add more "projects" to deal with, but at least it's will just one band.
So, this epiphany came from this dream I had last night - I met this very small, young, blonde-haired, blue-eyed man who was an extremely successful magician. He did this big show somewhere and he was out in some lobby after the show and he was doing a little demonstration and he looked me right in the eye and said "If you want to succeed, you have to pinpoint where exactly it is you want to be, and start putting all your focus and energy towards that one point. You have to pinpoint that one little square millimeter in the miles of surface area out there and put all your energy towards it, and that's how you will jump-start the huge success you desire." Well, those words perhaps were not the exact s spoken to me in my dream last night, but it was something along those lines.
What I took from that is how I got all these things going on and how I need to just start focusing on the one thing I desire the most... my new band and my new album being recorded this fall. If I can make just that my focus and put all this amazing energy towards it, and keep putting more & more energy in that one little square millimeter, pretty soon the thing is going to explode, right? You can't keep putting all this energy into this one space or this one thing... pretty soon the thing gets overloaded and explodes!!! It's a real, scientific, quantum physics thing, I guess... the energy that we project and how it affects the world we live in and the lives we live.
So, I guess I am kind of going through a little transformation. My next few weeks has to be spent refocusing and getting a grip on how to put that energy into the band & the new album. Does that mean I have to give up all my other projects? Do I have to give up Artbeat??? (That would be a shame!) It's been kind of tough since my relocation to Milwaukee. Most of last year was spent managing everything that has to do with my parents, and I still spend lots of time doing that this year. But this year I kind of jumped into so many projects just to get back on my feet as an artist here in Milwaukee, get into the music scene here, and get a grip on Milwaukee. But now it's kind of become too much, I would hate to say I bit off more than I can chew, but I sure need to take a look at things and refocus.
Wish me luck!!!!!
Guess what?! Shut Up Marie is now reforming in the Midwest (and I am sure you can guess how excited I am about that!!!) Woo-hoo!!! So, we started working on the songlist for this year's new album and I have found that this band actually has 2 different types of songs... and these two types of songs probably should not be on the same album, or people will be like, "What the hell kind of band are you guys? What kind of music do you play?" So now the band has to split into two different bands. Crazy, I know, but we will have musical and stylistic integrity with each project, which is very important. You don't want to be all over the place with your music. That's one thing I have learned throug the years. People like to know what you sound like, so they can "get into" it. They can't "get into" something that is all over the board. They would not know what to "get into". And they want to be able to explain you to their friends. They can't do that if you don't really have a well-defined sound.
So, as a result, "What Do You Do" is getting reserved for major label artists only. We'll be pitching it to the likes of Kelly Clarkson, Jewel, Michelle Branch, etc etc etc. It does not belong on any new album of mine this year. It will be one of those exclusive unreleased tracks that maybe you'll get to download after it's been re-recorded by some big pop/adult contemporary artist. (Unless you go to my MySpace page right now and get it before it gets removed from my profile.)
Shut Up Marie will remain intact, and there will be a new band project. Some sort of funky-folky-moody-gritty-cowboy-acoustic thingy... a direct descendant of my solo/acoustic stuff. Not much like S.U.M. at all. But fun, for sure!
In other news, Milwaukee Artbeat is coming along swimmingly. I have a TV appearance scheduled on FOX6 news here in Milwaukee on July 29th at 8:15am, and a radio interview on 91.7 WMSE at 2pm that same day! Woo-hoo!
This week I had an epiphany. It's actually a reiteration of what my manager has been telling me for some time now. I have to get a better focus on my goals. I have been all over the board with my 3 (now 4) bands and all the other projects I have going on like Artbeat, the duo with Scott Berendt, and etc etc etc! So, I am trying very hard to find out how to get that focus. It's kind of like what I had to do with the band... find out what the thing is really all about, make sense of it, and then start working towards only the most important & worthy, solid goals. Making sense of the music and making sense of how we can market it and make a good solid album... it just had to be broken up into two pieces. That ultimately will add more "projects" to deal with, but at least it's will just one band.
So, this epiphany came from this dream I had last night - I met this very small, young, blonde-haired, blue-eyed man who was an extremely successful magician. He did this big show somewhere and he was out in some lobby after the show and he was doing a little demonstration and he looked me right in the eye and said "If you want to succeed, you have to pinpoint where exactly it is you want to be, and start putting all your focus and energy towards that one point. You have to pinpoint that one little square millimeter in the miles of surface area out there and put all your energy towards it, and that's how you will jump-start the huge success you desire." Well, those words perhaps were not the exact s spoken to me in my dream last night, but it was something along those lines.
What I took from that is how I got all these things going on and how I need to just start focusing on the one thing I desire the most... my new band and my new album being recorded this fall. If I can make just that my focus and put all this amazing energy towards it, and keep putting more & more energy in that one little square millimeter, pretty soon the thing is going to explode, right? You can't keep putting all this energy into this one space or this one thing... pretty soon the thing gets overloaded and explodes!!! It's a real, scientific, quantum physics thing, I guess... the energy that we project and how it affects the world we live in and the lives we live.
So, I guess I am kind of going through a little transformation. My next few weeks has to be spent refocusing and getting a grip on how to put that energy into the band & the new album. Does that mean I have to give up all my other projects? Do I have to give up Artbeat??? (That would be a shame!) It's been kind of tough since my relocation to Milwaukee. Most of last year was spent managing everything that has to do with my parents, and I still spend lots of time doing that this year. But this year I kind of jumped into so many projects just to get back on my feet as an artist here in Milwaukee, get into the music scene here, and get a grip on Milwaukee. But now it's kind of become too much, I would hate to say I bit off more than I can chew, but I sure need to take a look at things and refocus.
Wish me luck!!!!!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Day 108
Sorry it's been so long since that last blog! I AM going to blog til I win that Grammy - I promise!!!
So, here's what I've been up to... I went out of town on a little mini-US tour for about 3 weeks...
Started with a show in Des Moines on April 10th was amazing – we played to a packed house, opening for gb Leighton, and he was stellar and perfectly hospitable… the owner of the House of Bricks thought ahead and asked gb Leighton’s people if we could use their backline and it was not a problem. We left Milwaukee around 12:30 and had enough time to eat before we hit the stage. The crowd warmed up to us right away and I sold 14 CDs before we started driving home about midnight! Got home at about 6am and slept all morning and into the afternoon.. It was totally worth the trip, and I got a call back from the owner on Easter Sunday – he was very impressed with us and is totally looking forward to having us back!
The rest of the week was eventful, I had a solo show at a regular venue of mine (the Coach House Grill) on Thursday night before Des Moines and that was fun, and another solo show in Watertown, and that was another huge success. The owner of another bar I played in Watertown was there and asked me when I would come back to play for him. I’ll have to set it up again to play for Happy Hour at one bar (Riverview Water Trap), and then at the Uptown again that night. People in Watertown seem to like what I’m doing quite a bit!
Well, I officially took off for my solo road trip on Wednesday at about 1pm, and made it into Des Moines for my first show just in time! I wanted to have a little more breathing time, but it’s hard getting organized for these trips. Good thing I remembered everything… one time I drove out to a venue and forgot my PA speakers! I had to ask my landlord to drive out there with my speakers (the venue’s speakers were not right for my PA), so I offered my landlord $50 to make the drive and he was nice enough to help out!
The first show this week was at a place called Scooter and Bab’s and those folks were totally cool, it was a tips only gig and I sold some CDs and made some tips and had a groovy chicken salad for dinner. Fun people. I had a long drive the next day, so I started driving after the gig. (Quite a bit after the gig, actually… I met a guy named Tim and we hung out at the bar for awhile until I finally decided I had to start driving, at 1AM.) Got about 2 hours of driving in and decided to crash at the first travel center I saw, in the parking lot, under a light, with my car locked. My friend Edie bought me a killer travel blankie and pillow for Christmas, so I was able to sleep until about 9/9:30AM, and hit the road for Muskogee, OK.
Max’s Garage was a great venue; it used to be a car garage with four bays. High ceilings, totally keeping the garage vibe inside. I must have had another chicken salad… my usual fare. Started playing around 4:30 and people were generous towards my tip jar, plus the owner gave me a little bonus at the end of the night. I sold a few CDs and had a great time, but I should not have played that last set. My voice was tired and I had 3 more nights of performing coming up. Stayed with the owner’s friend, Billy. Billy was awesome, and he had to leave for work in the morning before I had enough sleep to start driving again. He woke me up to move my car with the house doggie, this cute female poodle, and I can’t remember her name right now. I left him one of my CDs and a thank you note. I had a great night’s sleep! Thanks, Billy!!!
The next night was in Denison, TX, at a venue where I have played many times before (Break Time), and they give the artists a nice guarantee, plus anything extra that comes in through the door. When I booked this show, the girl who I was on the phone with told me that the date I wanted was already booked, so I asked her if she could call the band already booked and see if they could switch to the following weekend, which was not booked yet. She was able to reach them that evening, and they had no problem switching their date. Nice guys! I slept in on Friday morning at Billy’s house, and got to Denison at about 5pm. Steve is the friend in Sherman, TX (town right next door – 5 minutes from Break Time) who I stay with whenever I am there, and he got switched to graveyard shift due to these hard economic times. He didn’t have to be at work until 9pm so we went out for dinner at a great little place called Cellarman’s, where they have tons of different beers on tap. We enjoyed crab cakes and shared beers & a pizza. Got in a quick nap before we both had to go to work, and when I showed up at Break Time it was empty but the usual crowd filled up the place so that by the end of the night there was a great crowd of beer-drinking fools!!!! Gotta Love Them Texans!!!!!
Stopped in El Paso for a mini "420 fest" and I had fun there - friend drove down from Albuquerque to see me but, I think he got to see me sing like, one song! Also got to see this great little band from the area, Ya Ya Boom. Loved 'em! Had a great night but not such a good morning since I got so drunk I was not ready to check out of the hotel when it was check-out time, so I slept in my car for another 4 hours and finally was able to keep down some food & start driving to CA sometime around 6pm.
The rest of the trip went well… I played the Shut Up Marie reunion show in L.A. with the line-up on the GIMMIE CD, and we had a great time!!! I wish I could go out there more often. Got to hang with the first friend I ever made down there, Lisle Engle – also a GREAT singer/songwriter – we’ve been friends since 1999 and he is good people. Got married a few years ago to a beautiful burlesque dancer Eliza Bane, and they just had a beautiful daughter, Sammy who I got to meet!
Got to see Luvie, Barbara, and Garrard, really enjoyed visiting my friends in L.A., and then up to Reno! Played shows in Truckee, Reno, and Fernley, and got to visit Karen, (Babe-Doll), and Kevin & Katherine, Bob & Kathy, former Beach Boy Adrian Baker, the whole Reno gang!
Next show was in Elko at Machi’s – where they do “Dinner & Annie B.” night – a fun night of great food, friends, music and fun! Hope to head out there again in the fall!!
Drove through to visit a friend in Wyoming and then stayed with another friend in Des Moines… racing back to Milwaukee to get back on my projects!
The July 31st Milwaukee Artbeat is the big project on my plate right now! Working on locking in the final artists for the show, and the gallery artists! It should be a great night! Please visit the ARTBEAT MySpace page to find out more! And tell your artist friends about ARTBEAT – we’re ALWAYS looking for great, interesting artists for the show!
Also working on my new album... the new band is called Annie B. & The Starlight Heroes but I'd like to change the name to the Starlights Hotels... I'll keep you posted! Also working on putting out a compilation CD on remedial children records of female bands & artists mostly from the Midwest! Keep your eyes out for that, too!!!
Peace, & Much Love! I promise I’ll write again much sooner next time!
Annie
So, here's what I've been up to... I went out of town on a little mini-US tour for about 3 weeks...
Started with a show in Des Moines on April 10th was amazing – we played to a packed house, opening for gb Leighton, and he was stellar and perfectly hospitable… the owner of the House of Bricks thought ahead and asked gb Leighton’s people if we could use their backline and it was not a problem. We left Milwaukee around 12:30 and had enough time to eat before we hit the stage. The crowd warmed up to us right away and I sold 14 CDs before we started driving home about midnight! Got home at about 6am and slept all morning and into the afternoon.. It was totally worth the trip, and I got a call back from the owner on Easter Sunday – he was very impressed with us and is totally looking forward to having us back!
The rest of the week was eventful, I had a solo show at a regular venue of mine (the Coach House Grill) on Thursday night before Des Moines and that was fun, and another solo show in Watertown, and that was another huge success. The owner of another bar I played in Watertown was there and asked me when I would come back to play for him. I’ll have to set it up again to play for Happy Hour at one bar (Riverview Water Trap), and then at the Uptown again that night. People in Watertown seem to like what I’m doing quite a bit!
Well, I officially took off for my solo road trip on Wednesday at about 1pm, and made it into Des Moines for my first show just in time! I wanted to have a little more breathing time, but it’s hard getting organized for these trips. Good thing I remembered everything… one time I drove out to a venue and forgot my PA speakers! I had to ask my landlord to drive out there with my speakers (the venue’s speakers were not right for my PA), so I offered my landlord $50 to make the drive and he was nice enough to help out!
The first show this week was at a place called Scooter and Bab’s and those folks were totally cool, it was a tips only gig and I sold some CDs and made some tips and had a groovy chicken salad for dinner. Fun people. I had a long drive the next day, so I started driving after the gig. (Quite a bit after the gig, actually… I met a guy named Tim and we hung out at the bar for awhile until I finally decided I had to start driving, at 1AM.) Got about 2 hours of driving in and decided to crash at the first travel center I saw, in the parking lot, under a light, with my car locked. My friend Edie bought me a killer travel blankie and pillow for Christmas, so I was able to sleep until about 9/9:30AM, and hit the road for Muskogee, OK.
Max’s Garage was a great venue; it used to be a car garage with four bays. High ceilings, totally keeping the garage vibe inside. I must have had another chicken salad… my usual fare. Started playing around 4:30 and people were generous towards my tip jar, plus the owner gave me a little bonus at the end of the night. I sold a few CDs and had a great time, but I should not have played that last set. My voice was tired and I had 3 more nights of performing coming up. Stayed with the owner’s friend, Billy. Billy was awesome, and he had to leave for work in the morning before I had enough sleep to start driving again. He woke me up to move my car with the house doggie, this cute female poodle, and I can’t remember her name right now. I left him one of my CDs and a thank you note. I had a great night’s sleep! Thanks, Billy!!!
The next night was in Denison, TX, at a venue where I have played many times before (Break Time), and they give the artists a nice guarantee, plus anything extra that comes in through the door. When I booked this show, the girl who I was on the phone with told me that the date I wanted was already booked, so I asked her if she could call the band already booked and see if they could switch to the following weekend, which was not booked yet. She was able to reach them that evening, and they had no problem switching their date. Nice guys! I slept in on Friday morning at Billy’s house, and got to Denison at about 5pm. Steve is the friend in Sherman, TX (town right next door – 5 minutes from Break Time) who I stay with whenever I am there, and he got switched to graveyard shift due to these hard economic times. He didn’t have to be at work until 9pm so we went out for dinner at a great little place called Cellarman’s, where they have tons of different beers on tap. We enjoyed crab cakes and shared beers & a pizza. Got in a quick nap before we both had to go to work, and when I showed up at Break Time it was empty but the usual crowd filled up the place so that by the end of the night there was a great crowd of beer-drinking fools!!!! Gotta Love Them Texans!!!!!
Stopped in El Paso for a mini "420 fest" and I had fun there - friend drove down from Albuquerque to see me but, I think he got to see me sing like, one song! Also got to see this great little band from the area, Ya Ya Boom. Loved 'em! Had a great night but not such a good morning since I got so drunk I was not ready to check out of the hotel when it was check-out time, so I slept in my car for another 4 hours and finally was able to keep down some food & start driving to CA sometime around 6pm.
The rest of the trip went well… I played the Shut Up Marie reunion show in L.A. with the line-up on the GIMMIE CD, and we had a great time!!! I wish I could go out there more often. Got to hang with the first friend I ever made down there, Lisle Engle – also a GREAT singer/songwriter – we’ve been friends since 1999 and he is good people. Got married a few years ago to a beautiful burlesque dancer Eliza Bane, and they just had a beautiful daughter, Sammy who I got to meet!
Got to see Luvie, Barbara, and Garrard, really enjoyed visiting my friends in L.A., and then up to Reno! Played shows in Truckee, Reno, and Fernley, and got to visit Karen, (Babe-Doll), and Kevin & Katherine, Bob & Kathy, former Beach Boy Adrian Baker, the whole Reno gang!
Next show was in Elko at Machi’s – where they do “Dinner & Annie B.” night – a fun night of great food, friends, music and fun! Hope to head out there again in the fall!!
Drove through to visit a friend in Wyoming and then stayed with another friend in Des Moines… racing back to Milwaukee to get back on my projects!
The July 31st Milwaukee Artbeat is the big project on my plate right now! Working on locking in the final artists for the show, and the gallery artists! It should be a great night! Please visit the ARTBEAT MySpace page to find out more! And tell your artist friends about ARTBEAT – we’re ALWAYS looking for great, interesting artists for the show!
Also working on my new album... the new band is called Annie B. & The Starlight Heroes but I'd like to change the name to the Starlights Hotels... I'll keep you posted! Also working on putting out a compilation CD on remedial children records of female bands & artists mostly from the Midwest! Keep your eyes out for that, too!!!
Peace, & Much Love! I promise I’ll write again much sooner next time!
Annie
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
1 Month, 8 Days
Well, it's now after midnight and yes, I did organize for an hour. I actually got a little more organized, and until I get totally organized, it will continue to be a mess, since there is always new stuff being added to the "pile".
Much to my chagrin, I found a whole lot of e-mail sign-up sheets that were never entered into my e-mail list in my computer. I guess I can dedicate an hour or two to getting rid of that pile every day until I'm caught up. Why do I have such a bad sense of organization??? Will these people even remember they signed up on Annie B's mailing list long ago???
Anyhoo, thanks for being there. I now feel like I have to answer to you, and I think it might help. God bless, have a great night, and I'll see you again soon!!!
Much to my chagrin, I found a whole lot of e-mail sign-up sheets that were never entered into my e-mail list in my computer. I guess I can dedicate an hour or two to getting rid of that pile every day until I'm caught up. Why do I have such a bad sense of organization??? Will these people even remember they signed up on Annie B's mailing list long ago???
Anyhoo, thanks for being there. I now feel like I have to answer to you, and I think it might help. God bless, have a great night, and I'll see you again soon!!!
1 Month, 7 Days
Here's the skinny: I have been working on Milwaukee Artbeat for 6 weeks now, and that's why I have not been blogging recently. The event was last week Friday, and it really went over well. Had to get this event organized and I'm glad I did! It was a huge success and I'll be doing it all over again in July. I wish there was more about it online, but there's just not. However, you can read all about it in the previews that have been published:
In the Shepherd Express!! http://www.expressmilwaukee.com/article-5928-a-cultural-community.html
In the Bay View Compass!! Twice!! http://bayviewcompass.com/archives/759, & http://bayviewcompass.com/archives/666
Had about 100 people show up and was able to make a modest donation to Express Yourself Milwaukee (www.expressyourselfmilwaukee.org). Did not make any money after that, but I spent close to $1000, so, to make my money back, have money to make a donation, and not actually lose money, well, that's pretty amazing! Ready to start planning the July ARTBEAT!!!
As far as my trip to CA, I have a good start on gigs lined up, and I need to work on that from now until I leave. This, an addition to doing my taxes and my parents' taxes. I hope I can get it all done, but I have found that my ablity to stay sober has really been coming in handy when it comes to getting everything done I want to get done.
I actually FINALLY put some pictures up on my walls tonight. I have been living here for about 8 months. I got some flowers from my boyfriend last Friday (to help create some good energy on ARTBEAT Day) and those are looking great. Doing what I can to create in my life and living space some good juju and feng shui.
Did get some bad news about a friend, my ex, in fact. He lost his very good job. I tried to get a hold of him and since he had a company phone, computer, and car, no one could get a hold of him. He ended up in rehab and hopefully he can learn to stay sober, but I can tell you, I know how hard it is. I do, I really do.
Today I was able to get posters e-mailed to a venue in Des Moines, I moved all the stuff that needed to be moved back after the ARTBEAT show on Friday (that was a TASK,) delivered a throne to a musician who left it at the venue on Friday, I got both my acoustic guitars fixed, and that's a load off... my new Taylor has had this rattle (I just bought it last fall)! The amazing guy at Cream City Music really did a great job. Got all my Thank You's out for ARTBEAT supporters/helpers, started working on the press release for the success of Artbeat, and got the new cover art going for The Kiwi Cafe CD. I received some good feedback & suggestions on how to make Artbeat even better next time, and those need to be filed. One of my biggest problems is my lack of organiation. Too many papers, too many things pending, not enough prioritization. It makes it difficult for me sometimes when I am looking for a paper I knew I wrote something on, and it takes a few minutes (or longer) to locate it. I wish I had a better system in place. I guess that's how my brain works. No real method to the madness, but somehow an effective madness.
How can I get organized? I could make a public statement to you all about spending 1 hour a day organizing, and report back to you on a regular basis, until this place is organized. Might not work 100%, but I bet it would help.
OK, I am making a public statement: I will spend an hour a day organizing all this stuff until it's completely organized. (When I am home, of course.) Did I spend an hour today? Not yet. Can I spend an hour right now? You bet. See you in an hour.
In the Shepherd Express!! http://www.expressmilwaukee.com/article-5928-a-cultural-community.html
In the Bay View Compass!! Twice!! http://bayviewcompass.com/archives/759, & http://bayviewcompass.com/archives/666
Had about 100 people show up and was able to make a modest donation to Express Yourself Milwaukee (www.expressyourselfmilwaukee.org). Did not make any money after that, but I spent close to $1000, so, to make my money back, have money to make a donation, and not actually lose money, well, that's pretty amazing! Ready to start planning the July ARTBEAT!!!
As far as my trip to CA, I have a good start on gigs lined up, and I need to work on that from now until I leave. This, an addition to doing my taxes and my parents' taxes. I hope I can get it all done, but I have found that my ablity to stay sober has really been coming in handy when it comes to getting everything done I want to get done.
I actually FINALLY put some pictures up on my walls tonight. I have been living here for about 8 months. I got some flowers from my boyfriend last Friday (to help create some good energy on ARTBEAT Day) and those are looking great. Doing what I can to create in my life and living space some good juju and feng shui.
Did get some bad news about a friend, my ex, in fact. He lost his very good job. I tried to get a hold of him and since he had a company phone, computer, and car, no one could get a hold of him. He ended up in rehab and hopefully he can learn to stay sober, but I can tell you, I know how hard it is. I do, I really do.
Today I was able to get posters e-mailed to a venue in Des Moines, I moved all the stuff that needed to be moved back after the ARTBEAT show on Friday (that was a TASK,) delivered a throne to a musician who left it at the venue on Friday, I got both my acoustic guitars fixed, and that's a load off... my new Taylor has had this rattle (I just bought it last fall)! The amazing guy at Cream City Music really did a great job. Got all my Thank You's out for ARTBEAT supporters/helpers, started working on the press release for the success of Artbeat, and got the new cover art going for The Kiwi Cafe CD. I received some good feedback & suggestions on how to make Artbeat even better next time, and those need to be filed. One of my biggest problems is my lack of organiation. Too many papers, too many things pending, not enough prioritization. It makes it difficult for me sometimes when I am looking for a paper I knew I wrote something on, and it takes a few minutes (or longer) to locate it. I wish I had a better system in place. I guess that's how my brain works. No real method to the madness, but somehow an effective madness.
How can I get organized? I could make a public statement to you all about spending 1 hour a day organizing, and report back to you on a regular basis, until this place is organized. Might not work 100%, but I bet it would help.
OK, I am making a public statement: I will spend an hour a day organizing all this stuff until it's completely organized. (When I am home, of course.) Did I spend an hour today? Not yet. Can I spend an hour right now? You bet. See you in an hour.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Day 4
I promise to post blogs here until I win a Grammy, and when I do win a Grammy, YOU can say you followed me all the way there!
Today is Day 4 of this little blogging project.
Yesterday and today were very productive, which is really good, since I go out of town tomorrow for 6 days. Not much work will be done while I'm at this weekend's festivities. Myself and 24 friends are renting a house for a birthday party & big wine-tasting weekend in Northern Cali!!! Woo-hoo!!!
Yesterday I landed a gig in TX, and I also got confirmation from JC at the House of Bricks for opening for national touring artist G.B. Leighton, in Des Moines at the House of Bricks. Totally excited about this opening gig, and I am working with a drummer (and as of today, a bassist) so I can play with a 3-piece band for this gig. Might not be able to do the whole 40 minutes with the band, but we can open with a few songs, do some stuff as an acoustic duo (the bassist plays acoustic guitar as well) in the middle, then close out the show with the band again. I've got my landlord, a graphic artist, working on posters for that show.
Also yesterday, I reactivated my Sonicbids account so I can use that when contacting clubs. It's much nicer for talent buyers to review my act with this online press kit, than going through MySpace and dealing with all the poo on there!!! This took probably 2 hours, since I had to upload songs, photos, I streamlined & updated my bio (like I try to do almost every week), I had to fix all the old info, and I had to re-do some other stuff like my press page. It's done and it looks great: www.sonicbids.com/annieb
I logged in to LinkedIn and found a totally FABULOUS recommendation from S.U.M. bassist George Radai. What a great guy, that George!!! So, I had to use part of that quote in my SonicBids bio as well.
Also started gathering info so I can write the bio for my cover band, Unnatural Act. The guys in the band love to e-mail info about pending band projects lined with goofy comments and remarks to the whole group and each other during the day. I find when I get caught up in this, it gets to be too much fun and I don't get as much work done as I should.
Also continued research and contacting clubs in TX & KS. Bernie's in Giddings, TX is a no-go... I have a gig in Des Moines the day before the only possible Giddings date - that would not work since it would be an 11-hour drive!!! Danny's in Topeka, KS might happen... waiting to hear back from Jason, the talent buyer.
Today is Day 4 of this little blogging project.
Yesterday and today were very productive, which is really good, since I go out of town tomorrow for 6 days. Not much work will be done while I'm at this weekend's festivities. Myself and 24 friends are renting a house for a birthday party & big wine-tasting weekend in Northern Cali!!! Woo-hoo!!!
Yesterday I landed a gig in TX, and I also got confirmation from JC at the House of Bricks for opening for national touring artist G.B. Leighton, in Des Moines at the House of Bricks. Totally excited about this opening gig, and I am working with a drummer (and as of today, a bassist) so I can play with a 3-piece band for this gig. Might not be able to do the whole 40 minutes with the band, but we can open with a few songs, do some stuff as an acoustic duo (the bassist plays acoustic guitar as well) in the middle, then close out the show with the band again. I've got my landlord, a graphic artist, working on posters for that show.
Also yesterday, I reactivated my Sonicbids account so I can use that when contacting clubs. It's much nicer for talent buyers to review my act with this online press kit, than going through MySpace and dealing with all the poo on there!!! This took probably 2 hours, since I had to upload songs, photos, I streamlined & updated my bio (like I try to do almost every week), I had to fix all the old info, and I had to re-do some other stuff like my press page. It's done and it looks great: www.sonicbids.com/annieb
I logged in to LinkedIn and found a totally FABULOUS recommendation from S.U.M. bassist George Radai. What a great guy, that George!!! So, I had to use part of that quote in my SonicBids bio as well.
Also started gathering info so I can write the bio for my cover band, Unnatural Act. The guys in the band love to e-mail info about pending band projects lined with goofy comments and remarks to the whole group and each other during the day. I find when I get caught up in this, it gets to be too much fun and I don't get as much work done as I should.
Also continued research and contacting clubs in TX & KS. Bernie's in Giddings, TX is a no-go... I have a gig in Des Moines the day before the only possible Giddings date - that would not work since it would be an 11-hour drive!!! Danny's in Topeka, KS might happen... waiting to hear back from Jason, the talent buyer.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Day 1 (actually, Day 2)
Ok, it's actually Day 5706 on my way to winning a Grammy... which is one of my 5 major career goals. I promise to post blogs here until I win a Grammy, and when I do win a Grammy, YOU can say you followed me all the way there!
I will hopefully keep blogging here even after I win that Grammy, but I am now obligated to blog here until I do win one. I have made a public statement, and I will come through.
So, like I said, it's probably more like Day 5706 (somewhere between 15 & 16 years) since I wrote my first song that I actually kept and recorded, and considered myself to be a bona fide artist... (That song was called "Follow Your Heart," and I wrote it in the summer of 1993. I could probably still sing & play that song today if I needed to. I have since written well over 300 songs. Some of 'em are pretty good, some are great, and some are not so good and you will never, ever hear them.)
That's when it all began, when I first started dreaming of winning a Grammy, and having my other 4 career goals. Those would be (1) hearing my songs randomly on the radio, (2) headlining for an audience of 10,000 or more, (3) going on a world tour with a real tour bus and real riders and hotel rooms and all that stuff, (4) I actually forgot the other one, but I will let you know if I remember what it is. Those first few are the best indicators that I've "made it," I guess you could say. I have actually toured the U.S., but it was in my car and most nights I did not know where I would end up crashing. I crashed in my car a lot that year.
Perhaps I have already "made it," since I only play music for a living. Isn't that reason enough to celebrate??? I also get some hosting gigs, but that's also being in the spotlight, so it kind of counts. (Sorry about the narcissism/need for attention. Maybe I didn't get enough attention as a kid, being 5th out of 6?)
Anyhoo, so I'll call this Day 1, since it's Day 1 of Blogging 'Til I Win A Gammy. Even though it's really Day 2, since I'd like my "start date" to be March 1. That will make my life easier... to have Day 1 on the first day of the month.
So I'll be writing about the things I am doing to "make it." The little tasks I perform every day or every week, what I am doing to get bigger and better gigs, other things I am doing to move my career forward towards that Grammy and my 4 (today it's only 3) other goals.
It's kind of like getting a chance to be behind the scenes and say "I knew her when..." in case I really do make it to the "Big Time." Wait a minute! "In case"???? Nope. That stops right here. Half the way to success is attitude and believing in yourself. Actually, it's more than half.
So, WHEN I make it to the big time, you can say you knew me when I was on Day 1 of my Blogging 'Til I Win A Grammy"!!! How fun would that be????
OK, so let's get started...
What did I do today?
Well, I slept at a friend's place last night (still trying to decide if this guy is my boyfriend... ??????) and he had to be at work at 6:15 so I was up at 5:50 and home by 6:30am which is very unlike me. I did get a lot accomplished today and that's because I got a huge jump-start on the day.
I helped shovel snow and had a great breakfast (like I do every morning... not the shoveling part, the breakfast part!!!) Had to be at a producer friend's house to edit a promo for www.milwaukeeartbeat.com - Milwaukee Artbeat is a new artist showcase I am producing and hosting. Fun stuff. Please visit the website for more info.
Got done editing around 2pm but then I got a call from the place where my parents live regarding my pop. He's got dementia and that can lead to aggressive behavior for some. Oddly enough, the video producer I am working with (www.xfactafilms.com) is also a social worker so he knows all about it... we talked about stuff for almost an hour.
Then I headed over to Bukalou, our web people for Milwaukee Artbeat, so they could upload the video. Hopefully they'll be able to do that tomorrow or sometime this week.
Send me an e-mail when you see our trailer up at www.milwaukeeartbeat.com, will ya?
Got home around 4 and sent out a few e-mails. I am trying to get 88.9 and the local arts/entertainment papers to sponsor Milwaukee Artbeat so I left a few phone messages, too.
Ate a turkey sandwich. An exciting day so far!
Also waiting on word from the House of Bricks in Des Moines to see if I can open for G.B. Leighton when he comes through. I know, Des Moines is 5 hours away, but I am headed down to L.A. for a Shut Up Marie reunion show at the end of April, so I'm trying to make that part of my trip down.
Went to the bank, they let me sneak in right as they were closing.
E-mails, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Last.fm, and Eventful came next. How can people keep up with all the online networks you have to do these days? Bugsy and I agree - it's a 40-hour a week job!!! And guess what....... now I have ANOTHER thing to do online... my "Blogging 'Til I Win A Grammy" blog!!!!!!!!!
Next up will be laundry (that's a break for me - most of the evening I am at my computer). Then I need to create a cool loop for the trailer. We're trying to fix the audio on the trailer, and that's my opportunity to put in a different loop for the background music. I enjoy that stuff... actually doing MUSIC instead of promotion, e-mailing, press kits, and all that jazz.
Last thing is to make my "to do" list for tomorrow, and I'm trying to read a little from "The Prophet" before I hit the hay these nights.
UGH!!!! I forgot to get a Thank You card for Nick at Sunny 97.7 in Fond du Lac!!! He interviewed me on the station last Thursday morning. Thanks, Nick!!!!!!!!
Have a great night. See you again in a day or two!!!!!!!!
I will hopefully keep blogging here even after I win that Grammy, but I am now obligated to blog here until I do win one. I have made a public statement, and I will come through.
So, like I said, it's probably more like Day 5706 (somewhere between 15 & 16 years) since I wrote my first song that I actually kept and recorded, and considered myself to be a bona fide artist... (That song was called "Follow Your Heart," and I wrote it in the summer of 1993. I could probably still sing & play that song today if I needed to. I have since written well over 300 songs. Some of 'em are pretty good, some are great, and some are not so good and you will never, ever hear them.)
That's when it all began, when I first started dreaming of winning a Grammy, and having my other 4 career goals. Those would be (1) hearing my songs randomly on the radio, (2) headlining for an audience of 10,000 or more, (3) going on a world tour with a real tour bus and real riders and hotel rooms and all that stuff, (4) I actually forgot the other one, but I will let you know if I remember what it is. Those first few are the best indicators that I've "made it," I guess you could say. I have actually toured the U.S., but it was in my car and most nights I did not know where I would end up crashing. I crashed in my car a lot that year.
Perhaps I have already "made it," since I only play music for a living. Isn't that reason enough to celebrate??? I also get some hosting gigs, but that's also being in the spotlight, so it kind of counts. (Sorry about the narcissism/need for attention. Maybe I didn't get enough attention as a kid, being 5th out of 6?)
Anyhoo, so I'll call this Day 1, since it's Day 1 of Blogging 'Til I Win A Gammy. Even though it's really Day 2, since I'd like my "start date" to be March 1. That will make my life easier... to have Day 1 on the first day of the month.
So I'll be writing about the things I am doing to "make it." The little tasks I perform every day or every week, what I am doing to get bigger and better gigs, other things I am doing to move my career forward towards that Grammy and my 4 (today it's only 3) other goals.
It's kind of like getting a chance to be behind the scenes and say "I knew her when..." in case I really do make it to the "Big Time." Wait a minute! "In case"???? Nope. That stops right here. Half the way to success is attitude and believing in yourself. Actually, it's more than half.
So, WHEN I make it to the big time, you can say you knew me when I was on Day 1 of my Blogging 'Til I Win A Grammy"!!! How fun would that be????
OK, so let's get started...
What did I do today?
Well, I slept at a friend's place last night (still trying to decide if this guy is my boyfriend... ??????) and he had to be at work at 6:15 so I was up at 5:50 and home by 6:30am which is very unlike me. I did get a lot accomplished today and that's because I got a huge jump-start on the day.
I helped shovel snow and had a great breakfast (like I do every morning... not the shoveling part, the breakfast part!!!) Had to be at a producer friend's house to edit a promo for www.milwaukeeartbeat.com - Milwaukee Artbeat is a new artist showcase I am producing and hosting. Fun stuff. Please visit the website for more info.
Got done editing around 2pm but then I got a call from the place where my parents live regarding my pop. He's got dementia and that can lead to aggressive behavior for some. Oddly enough, the video producer I am working with (www.xfactafilms.com) is also a social worker so he knows all about it... we talked about stuff for almost an hour.
Then I headed over to Bukalou, our web people for Milwaukee Artbeat, so they could upload the video. Hopefully they'll be able to do that tomorrow or sometime this week.
Send me an e-mail when you see our trailer up at www.milwaukeeartbeat.com, will ya?
Got home around 4 and sent out a few e-mails. I am trying to get 88.9 and the local arts/entertainment papers to sponsor Milwaukee Artbeat so I left a few phone messages, too.
Ate a turkey sandwich. An exciting day so far!
Also waiting on word from the House of Bricks in Des Moines to see if I can open for G.B. Leighton when he comes through. I know, Des Moines is 5 hours away, but I am headed down to L.A. for a Shut Up Marie reunion show at the end of April, so I'm trying to make that part of my trip down.
Went to the bank, they let me sneak in right as they were closing.
E-mails, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Last.fm, and Eventful came next. How can people keep up with all the online networks you have to do these days? Bugsy and I agree - it's a 40-hour a week job!!! And guess what....... now I have ANOTHER thing to do online... my "Blogging 'Til I Win A Grammy" blog!!!!!!!!!
Next up will be laundry (that's a break for me - most of the evening I am at my computer). Then I need to create a cool loop for the trailer. We're trying to fix the audio on the trailer, and that's my opportunity to put in a different loop for the background music. I enjoy that stuff... actually doing MUSIC instead of promotion, e-mailing, press kits, and all that jazz.
Last thing is to make my "to do" list for tomorrow, and I'm trying to read a little from "The Prophet" before I hit the hay these nights.
UGH!!!! I forgot to get a Thank You card for Nick at Sunny 97.7 in Fond du Lac!!! He interviewed me on the station last Thursday morning. Thanks, Nick!!!!!!!!
Have a great night. See you again in a day or two!!!!!!!!
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