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!!!!!

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

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!!!