Welcome to The Official Jennifer Vazquez Website!

Please feel free to browse around.  There is much to be enjoyed!   And… January’s FREE Download is up.  It’s a song called, “It’s Just Gonna Take Some Time”.  Promo Code: believe   Just type the code into the slot on the right hand side where it says, Promo Code, to redeem the song!  And now onto Blog Series # 8 of : “365 Blogs To Finding Pinocchio A Home”…

Blog # 8: Accessing the True Self To Create Abundance

Yes, accessing the true self to create abundance is the next theme.  And I find it perfect to talk about this now, at the very start of 2012.  I do not want to put my foot anywhere into 2012 without that foot being a part of my true self.  I will be the first to tell you that living in truth and being exactly who I am is not easy, until I accept that “that” is who I am, take it or leave it!

Sure, I have wished I was someone else more times than I would like to admit.  And yes, I have dreamed of having someone else’s life as well.  But in doing that, it has guided me in the opposite direction to having an abundant life.  In wanting what is not mine or is not in my reach has only made me unhappy and incomplete.

During 2011, a change occurred.  A part of me began to shift in my mind and body as I began practicing full acceptance of myself.  As I continued this practice, this inner completeness arose inside.  I am excited to continue this way of being and I believe that to do so entails my staying fully present each and every day of my life.  That is where true miracles unfold.

As I follow in this path and find the courage every day to stay in the here and now, allowing my true self to shine, I experience no struggle, no pain and no internal dialogue wondering if I am doing something wrong or if someone else is further along than I am.  That doesn’t even exist.  It all fades away and what is left is an inner calm that is indescribable.  The goal is to stay present as much as possible, so I can stop the ego from entering through that back door it feeds off of so excitedly when I am in my head and not present.  I see very clearly now that I have two parts inside of me, the true self and the ego.  It is up to me to be aware of both of them so I can choose to stop my ego from acting out.  And in that awareness, I am filled with abundance and calm.  And that feeling of lacking and pain, well, it just vanishes.  I see how the ego has fed off of me for so many years as I was in my head pondering and dreaming and staying disconnected to the present day.  Oh yes, the ego has had a blast… And I don’t blame him or her.  It’s just a part of me and now I can make sure not to have it control me.

So as I write blog # 8, I am quite certain that who I am now is not who I was a year ago.  It’s like I finally found the right pair of glasses and now I can see all aspects of my life and those of others, without judgement, and that has given me insight, clarity and the willingness to live courageously.  Simply put, where as a year ago I was a scared little girl dressed up in women’s clothes, hoping no one would find me out, today I am the start of a grown woman, an adult, comfortably accepting the little girl in me, who is now unafraid of her true self, and actually, is starting to see that it is in being her true self that abundance can now gently glide into her life, rather than rush in and out like a tornado.

And so, I share with you this song I wrote a while ago called, “This Is Your Life”.  In a nutshell, this is your life!  No one can do anything for you.  You are the one who must take the actions.  You are the one who must have the courage and faith to let go of the past and not stress about the future and start living the abundant life, that is already yours, if you decide to choose it right now, just as you are!   And finally, certainty lies in two places, the first is within your true self and the second is in the miracles of nature!  Take a look around and get out of your own head.  It’s then, and only then, that your heart will start to beat to the perfect melody of each day!  Give it a try…

In ending Blog #8, I give you my tiny little miracles that have come to me recently by taking one action at a time and being 100% myself:

1.  So, this past Tuesday, January 10th (4 PM ET, 1 PM PT) “Women Of Substance Radio”  played “Lone Pine” on “What’s On My iPod Show”.   In addition, on Wednesday, January 11th Women Of Substance Radio’s “HOT AC  SHOW“ debuted “Lone Pine”  10:00 AM – 11:00 AM Pacific (1:00 PM – 2:00 PM Eastern) on: www.live365.com/stations/breenoble .  And it will be in their top rotation for 3 months!

2.  What else?  Oh, I sent out 4 emails last week to a few music professionals asking for some feedback on “I’m Still Here”, the rewrite for “My Stepping Stone”.  So far I received one response!  The person said that after listening to the two versions a few times, they still like the original, My Stepping Stone”, better.  I will wait to see what others have to say.  I think this is a great way for me to stay in reality rather than in vagueness and confusion about the songs I am creating to be pitched to the tv & film world.

3.  So, “Lone Pine”  also aired on “Hay House Radio” on Friday, December 16th on their Second Episode.  I spoke briefly about what inspired me to write the song right before it.  You can also check out:  Lone Pine on You Tube

4.  In keeping current with Taxi, they have officially appoved and sent through 9 of the songs I have written thus far: “I’m No Saint” was sent to LakeHouse Sound.  “Don’t Make Me Say Goodbye” and “This Is Your Life” was sent to Munchkin Studios.  “Bend”, “Am I A Woman”, “Rain Fall Down On Me” and “Ceased” was sent to MCM Songs USA.  And finally, “Rain Fall Down On Me” and yes, “Pinocchio”, was sent to a music Licensing Agent!  I will find that boy a home!

5.  Two more things to share, one is that ”Lone Pine”, “Bend” and He’s Like Strawberry Milk” are playing regularly on Jango.  And I now have a total of 20 fans from that site!  I also have more data to see who my audience is, who is listening to my music and what other music they listen to.  And last week I received, for the second time, a PopScore of 84.  What that means is that my music was very popular with Jango listeners and as a reward Jango added 100 Bonus Play Credits to my account.

6.  Finally, “The Song Network” placed “He’s Like Strawberry Milk” in “Bert Gagnon Neon Productions Radio” rotation in mid November.

So, what is it that I have learned the most from all the actions I have taken since starting “365 Blogs To Finding Pinocchio A Home” a few months back?  I have learned that this game is not about winning.  This game is about growing and stepping into life fearlessly and wearing the shoes I used to wear, way back before life became complicated and the ego took over.  We were born with certain skills and qualities and personalities for a bigger purpose than ourselves.  As I explore this, day in and day out, I see that failure is nowhere to be found.  Just experiences and choices!

I hope to find Pinocchio the best home ever.  And I know that he will be guided to it when he is ready to leave me.  Until we meet again…

Blog #8 of “365 Blogs To Finding Pinocchio A Home” is right around the corner!

What will the theme of this one be?  Ah, I shall see what rings true to me. In the meantime, good news to share!

I was just sent “Women Of Substance Radio” Playlist  for this Tuesday, January 10th (4 PM ET, 1 PM PT).

“Lone Pine” will play 3rd on “What’s On My iPod Show”.  To listen & vote: http://www.live365.com/index.live

Then, starting this Wednesday, January 11th Women Of Substance Radio’s “HOT AC  SHOW“ will debut

“Lone Pine”  10:00 AM – 11:00 AM Pacific (1:00 PM – 2:00 PM Eastern).

Wanna spread some love?  Give a “thumbs up” or a “shout out” as you listen to “Lone Pine” at the above time over the next 3 months at:  www.live365.com/stations/breenoble  Or, just click on the widget at the bottom right of this page!

Abundance is what you already have within, not what you’re trying so hard to attain!

Welcome to 2012!  

Yes, 2012 has arrived.  I am looking forward to each and every day of it!  Blog #8 is coming very soon, but I wanted to give you January’s free download.  It’s a song I wrote a while ago and it is the perfect song to share with you at the beginning of this year.  You see, giving up is not in the cards I was dealt.  Never ever give up when you truly believe in something that makes sense and feels right.  “It’s Just Gonna Take Some Time”, that’s this month’s gift to you.  It’s truly one of my storytelling creations.  To grab it, go to the right of this page and put in the Promo Code: believe  

Enjoy!

Welcome to The Official Jennifer Vazquez Website!

Ok, the New Year is approaching!  Have you made your list of goals yet?  It’s a wonderful way to keep connected with what you have, what you want and what you truly need.  So, let’s keep the spirit of love & abundance alive!  The song I wrote, “Holiday Cheer”, is about being courageous, free of fear and about being of service to others. You can download it for free, if you have not already, until Jan 1, 2012. The Promo Code is “freesong”.  Just enter it into the space on the right hand side and it’s yours!  And Now…. Blog Series # 7 of “365 Blogs To Finding Pinocchio A Home”…

Blog #7: Reality vs Fantasy

Hope all of you are enjoying this Holiday Season!  2012 is right around the corner and I wanted to get one more blog in before 2011 ends.  Just to change it up a bit, I did a video blog for #7.  Enjoy and see you back here in the New Year!

Welcome to The Official Jennifer Vazquez Website!

 Instead of the free monthly download I give away, I am giving you one holiday song each week, until Christmas, to get you in the spirit. I’ll be putting up a “PROMO CODE” on my facebook “FAN PAGE” ONLY. Just go to JV FAN CLUB  and “like” the page, if you haven’t already. You’ll see the PROMO CODE on the left hand side, under my picture, in the “about” section. Just enter that code right next to the green “REDEEM” button, and click “REDEEM”. It’s that simple, so go get your free downloads for the remainder of December.  

FYI: My song, “Lone Pine”  aired on “Hay House Radio”  on Friday, December 16th on their Second Episode.  

Now onto Blog Series # 6 of “365 Blogs To Finding Pinocchio A Home”…

Blog #6:

Making “Uncomfortable” the “New Comfortable”

Where do I want to start?  Well, this is Blog #6 of “365 Blogs to Finding Pinocchio a Home”.  I committed to writing this blog series a little over two months ago, and I am finding out that by taking actions and having to report back here, to you, it is making this journey more about being my word than about getting somewhere or recieving something in return.  This blog is becoming my own reflective template and my own personal playground, where I get to have fun while I share the actions I have taken, day in and day out, towards finding Pinocchio a home.

Now, as I begin writing Blog #6, what comes to my mind is this phrase, “Dialing Pain”.  An aquiantance of mine called me up recently to ask for a little bit of guidance and feedback in reference to some pressures she was dealing with in her personal and financial life.  During the conversation, she said something about her “dialing pain”, and it stuck in my head, so much so, that I feel the need to talk further about it here.  This concept of “dialing pain” in our lives when pressures arise, rather than dialing love, peace, joy, gratitiude or humility.  I know that the habit I’ve picked up at an early age, when some pressure, tragedy or uncomfortable situation arises, is that of tapping into the pain and the helplessness of each situation, which immediately leads me into feeling sorry for myself, guiding me towards some type of unproductive and hurtful activity, usually involving food and over eating or spending money on something just to fill some void.

But I have been working on creating a new habit, for some time now, to deal with life’s daily pressures, one that is gentle on myself and positively effective.  It’s the habit of creating balance where balance doesn’t exist.  It’s becoming comfortable in uncomfortable situations and circumstances.  Making “Uncomfortable” the “NEW Comfortable”!  Did I lose you?  Well, let me explain it further.  For me, the best way to feel comfortable when I am faced with discomfort in my life, which, by the way, happens pretty regularly, is to dial into words like love, peace, joy, gratitiude or humility.  So, when something comes up that feels pretty shitty and is making me feel a bit off balance inside, I will immediately become aware of the feelings I am feeling, and then, rather than act out in hurtful ways towards myself, I act smart and write down my thoughts and take an action or two from what I wrote down that seems the most calm and clear to me, in regards to that current imbalanced situation.  This act of gentleness somehow guides me back into calm and serenity, rather than remaining in that very stressed out, unproductive, fuzzy place that is just so damn paralyzing!  So, you see, I create a balance where there is none, at that moment of imbalance.  And, in doing so, I stay away from the fatal question, why?  I ask loving questions like, “How can I get through this situation in a loving and respectful way towards myself and others?  What can I learn from this recent experience?  What can I do to create abundance around the imbalance.”  By becoming aware of my feelings, writing them down, taking actions from those written down thoughts and asking myself the loving questions, not the fatal one, I create comfort in my uncomfort.  I create balance rather than dialing pain.

What does this have to do with finding Pinocchio a home?  Well, to allow myself a real chance at becoming a full time musician and having placements on tv and film or having labels or publishers interested in my songwriting ability, I must create balance in an imbalanced entertainment industry that is present today!  There are so many ups and downs that occur each day that if I do not use productive tools to return me calmly, and pretty quickly, back to balance when imbalance stikes, I will have no chance at this goal of mine here.  It makes sense, doesn’t it?  So, I am following this theme of making “Uncomfortable” the “NEW Comfortable”, and easing my way into getting Pinocchio a home that way!

Now, let’s talk for a moment, if you don’t mind, about the number 365! 365 blogs! 365 blogs? Oh, boy, saying that makes it seem like a heck of a lot of writing.  And yes, it is.  Yet, at the same time, it’s not a lot at all.  It just depends on how I look at the picture I am painting here.  In either case, I am very hopeful about finding Pinocchio a great home.  And yes, there are no guarantees.  I don’t know for sure what will be as I continue on this journey and that’s totally fine with me.  I just want to follow through and learn from it all.

Now, before I jump into what’s been going on since I last wrote,  I want to talk about my favorite holiday that just passed.  Thanksgiving!  While it’s my favorite of all the holidays, it somehow throws me into an odd space afterwords, actually most all the major holidays do.  It’s like I start to compare my life to all the people in my life, past and present, here and gone, and I feel like I have not done as much or I don’t have as much.  But, when I take a moment to think, I find out that I don’t particularly like having a lot of stuff.  I used to when I was little.  I was a collecter of things, of chachkas, as I called them.  My room looked like a museum.  I’m not kidding!  Everything I had was alligned perfectly, from all my dolls, to all of my smurf and ceramic figures; each one had a specific assigned spot.  I just loved stuff!   But now, I like simplicity.  A part of that shift, I think, has to do with two specific experiences that have happened over the past 8 years.

The first one being my apartment burning down back in 2002 in NY, while I was in LA for 6 months, street performing and exploring the music scene.  A week before I was to return back home to NY, my apartment burnt down.  I came back home and found myself with nothing but a few boxes of memories that was, ironically, in perfect condition.  This fire was a clear sign to me that LA was where I needed to be and that life is short so I might as well start living it fully.  I chose to get back on a plane and officially move to LA and continue on the musical journey I had started 6 months before.  I remained there for 7 years.  The lifestyle was a simple one, and with that simplicity, I was able to do what I loved, music, for that time.

The second experience that got me in the habit of living in simplicity and not getting attached to material things happened only a few months ago, June 28th 2011, to be exact.  I came home from my “day job” around 11:30am and found that my house had been burglarized.  By the way, the job I have is not part of my vision as a singer, songwriter and creator, but it does allow me to move towards my vision without financial worry, so, it does works nicely, for now.  Anyway, they took 99% of all my music gear from my guitars, to my amps, to my keyboard, to my computer and hard drive, to all my hard copies of past music videos and live performances over the past 15 years.  And if that wasn’t enough, they took my personal files including my social security number.  It was a horrible experience and a challenge to get through, but I did get through it, one day at a time.

With this experience came yet another reminder that I must let go of things, material things, to let abundance come into my life in other forms and other ways.  And after the fear and anger and rage passed, I was left with the hope that things could return to normal.  And, I was able to replace most of what I had lost in the burglary.  I am feeling very hopeful now about life as a whole.  Oh, believe me, I asked why this and why that for a few days and then I started doing what I said a little while ago.  I started to work through the tragic experience on paper, writing down what was going on inside of me and slowly I got comfortable in this very uncomfortable situation.

It’s ironic what was occurring inside of me the day before this event.  I had been thinking heavily about going back into the studio to record this new song I had, “Pinocchio”, which this blog fully encomposses, but I wanted a real reason to record the song.  I was not ready to record a full album, but I had the itch to go back and record.  Then, a new vision arose inside of me which made perfect sense.  It was to start recording “singles” rather than full albums.  This way I could focus my attention on one song at a time, rather than a whole album of songs.  I could handle the marketing and promotion as an independent artist better by keeping my focus small.  Marketing one song to it’s fullest potential, rather than market an album half ass, made sense to me, especially in how today’s entertainment industy is going.  With this vision clear in mind, I wanted a sign, a specific purpose to start this recording process of “Pinocchio”.  And just to get you aquainted with Pinocchio, here are two videos of the song:  Pinocchio – Full Band at The Bitter End and Pinocchio – Acoustic Version at LIC BAR

So, that night before the burglary, I was feeling a bit restless and there were a few dvd’s my mom had left behind, which she borrowed from a friend of hers.  I figured I would watch them.  Do you know what they ended up being?  ABC’s top shows for this current season.  I put one of the two dvd’s in, and on the screen were a list of 10 shows to choose from.  I don’t know why, but for some reason,  I clicked on this show called, “Once Upon A Time”.  Wow!  Once I finished watching that beginning episode, which was not to be aired until a few months later, I got the sign I asked for and I knew that this show was a perfect reason to record “Pinocchio”.  In case you have not watched the show yet, both Pinocchio and Gepetto are characters in the show.  It’s a pretty solid show which I am presently enjoying each Sunday night.  So, anyway, I thought to myself, “Ok, now we’re talking, I can record this song and then attempt to pitch it to the music supervisor for the show”, which is Mark Isham.  I went to sleep that night very calm and serene.  I planned on contacting the producer that I worked with on last year’s album, “A Very Jenny Christmas”, Ron Zabrocki, when I returned home from my day job that next day.

And then… the burglary happened that next day while I was at work.  And then… my creative life was at a stand still for weeks…. And then, one day at a time, one task at a time, one breathe at a time, I got through the situation with calm, humility and patience.  And with the help of my family and friends, I was able to keep it all together.  And this is where the theme, “Uncomfortable is the NEW Comfortable”, comes in.  During those weeks, I found myself filled with fear and resentment and anger and then calm and peace and clarity.  And once I got myself to a solid point of balance, I called Ron up, and we recorded Pinocchio in a month’s time.

No, I did not put it up yet for sale.  Yes, I have a plan.  And I will share that with you soon enough as these blogs continue.  Until then, I just want to say that something wonderful can come out of the worst experiences if you just have hope and faith and follow words like love, peace, joy, gratitiude or humility and saying no to that concept of “dialing pain” and asking that fatal question, “Why Me?”  And in addition, I will say that I will never doubt myself again when I see others that have more than me.  I don’t need lots of stuff.  I’ll be more than happy with an abundance of experiences.  For those experiences can never be stolen from me.  They are mine forever.

Now, onto the meat and potatoes of this blog.   What’s been going on since Blog 5?  Let’s start with the most challenging action I took.  In Blog #5 I talked about my going back to the song, “My Stepping Stone”, and reworking it, using what Taxi’s feedback suggested as my main guide.  Well, I did it!  I took the action and yes, that little voice did find it’s way into my brain saying, “What do they know?  I don’t have to rewrite this song.  Someone will like it the way it is, eventually! ”.  But, I just quieted the voice and continued the task of reworking the song.  Why?  Because I said I would.  Being my word kept me on track.  It was interesting to give this older song a new feel and look. You might say I gave it a facelift.  And, as I did the surgery on , “My Stepping Stone”, a new face appeared called, “I’m Still Here”.  So what next? Well, now that I have reworked it, I’m onto the next part of the songwriting process.  I’ll be recording a demo of it so I can resend it to Taxi’s Critique Squad. I will keep you posted.

Staying on the Taxi front for one more moment, I wanted to share that I received news that two more of my submissions passed through the Taxi Gates.  And out of those two submissions, 4 songs passed through: “Bend” and “Am I A Woman” for one, and “Rain Fall Down On Me” and “Ceased” for the other!  I also received positive feedback on a few more of the songs I had sent in that did not make it through the gates for some reason or another.  I’ll just keep on listening to their feedback, applying changes and letting the rest fall into place.

What else?  I just got word a few days ago from Sonicbids that another one of my submissions was accepted.  I received a note from “Women of Substance Radio” saying they will be playing my song, “Lone Pine”, on their station.  I will keep you up to date with when they play the song when they let me know more. In the meantime, feel free to check out who they are and what artists they are playing.  So far I have sent in 15 submissions over the past 3 months, I have been chosen for two, I was informed from 5 of those sumissions that I was not selected, and I am curently waiting on 8 more to reply.  And that’s that on the Sonicbids front!

What else can I share? Oh, over the past few weeks I have been practicing my holiday songs for this Christmas Season. While I recorded the album, “A Very Jenny Christmas”, last year, I mostly focused on the vocals. This year, I wanted to focus on the musical aspects on guitar. It’s been a good experience in the process. What’s cool about most Christmas songs is that there are, in general, a lot of chord changes, and it is a great way to brush up on my chord knowledge in a fun way. Even though I have been playing guitar for 16 years, I feel like I’ve just tapped the surface of it all.  One step at a time, easy does it, and life will let me progress at my own natural pace with my growth as a musician.

On the business side of things, I put out my Christmas Newsletter on December 1st.  I chose to explore two business tools within the newsletter and spread the word on all my social networks like Facebook and Twitter.  One business tool I used was free holiday song giveaways each week until the 25th to get people in the spirit and allow them to listen to songs with no commitment.  The other business tool I used was that of a three day sale on all my albums.  I am very clear that as I share all this with you, I accept that in finding Pinocchio a home, I cannot do it alone.  ”The greater the team, the greater the team”.  I now accept that I will need a strong team of like minded people behind me to fully kick this full time career into full blast.  And these steps that I am taking, putting one foot in front of the other, is allowing me to observe my actions and the results, without judgement.  I can then notice what is, and isn’t working, with my music career and with my music business techniques.  And, rather than go lock myself in a room, or eat myself to oblivion, or just let go of all I have worked on because it’s just to much…  I get that it is impossible to do it all alone.  I need help.  I need people who know much more than I do,  and I need people who know much less than I, and I need the fans who truly believe in what I write and what I stand for musically, and as I practice letting go of control, the solutions will come naturally as I continue to take actions.  I don’t need to know it all right now.  I just need to keep focused on Pinocchio, improving my writing and doing the best I can at the business side until I am ready to take that next step of finding the first teammate to help create something greater than myself.

And I think I will end this blog right there.  Thank you for sharing these moments with me.  I wish you a beautiful day ahead and I will see you back here soon enough as I take more actions to move forward and get one step closer to finding Pinocchio a home!

Welcome to The Official Jennifer Vazquez Website.  Please feel free to browse around.  And if you like the site, feel free to spread the word to your friends and family.  

Now, instead of the regular free monthly download I give away, I want to do something extra special, so, I am giving you one Christmas song each week, until Christmas, to get you in the spirit!  What’s the catch?  I’ll be putting up a “PROMO CODE” on my facebook “FAN PAGE” ONLY.  Just go to JV FAN CLUB  and “like” the page, if you haven’t already.  You’ll see the PROMO CODE on the left hand side, under my picture, in the “about” section!  Just enter that code right next to the green “REDEEM” button, and click “REDEEM”.  It’s that simple, so go get your free downloads for the next few weeks!  Ah, life is good, isn’t it.  Enjoy!

Now, onto Blog Series # 5 of : “365 Blogs To Finding Pinocchio A Home”

Blog #5: I’d Rather Be Happy Than Right!

Where should I begin?  I think I want to talk about this tendency I’ve had, pretty much my whole life, of putting my time and energy into having to be right, rather than putting that time and energy towards being happy.  It’s utterly exhausting and pointless!  How many times have you heard that statement?  “Do you wanna be right, or do you want to be happy?”  Well, I know what my answer is at this stage of the game.  I want to be happy, and being right is no longer an option for me.

What has being right gotten me so far, anyway?  Let’s see… hmmm…. To be 100% honest, and this in very humbling and embarrassing to say, but I’ll say it because I want to get this point across clearly.  Being right has gotten me into unhealthy relationships over and over and over again.  It’s kept me oh so close to reaching my musical goals, but somehow oh so far away.  It’s kept my true heart hidden and my intellect strong.  It’s created a false sense of security and a warped sense of reality.  It’s made me think that I deserve it all because I work so damn hard!  Yes, being right has kept me in full control! And that’s what I’ve always wanted, isn’t it?  To be in control?  Day in and day out?  Protecting myself from never getting hurt, never feeling pain, never finding out what could be, if only…?  What was I thinking?  What was I doing?  Being right pretty much gave me a life filled with stress and lacking and insecurity.  Now, even though I would never take back the life I have already lived, and I am absolutely happy when I look back at all that I have achieved as a singer, a songwriter, a creator and a person, I do see now how I made myself miserable and how I made my life harder than it had to be.  And now, I smile as I am fully aware of who I have been and who I am shifting into.  There is no place for that lacking or that tugging stress anymore! Does this sound familiar to any of you?  Can you relate to any part of it or is this just me?  If it is just me, I’m the odd ball here.  But, I say, I’d rather be the “odd ball” here and be happy now!

So, why is this topic even being brought up in a blog about songwriting and finding Pinocchio a good home?  Why not?  This is perfect!  You see, in writing all this here, here on this page, I am standing up, naked, in front of you and I am saying, hey, I am not here to please you, I am not here to brag about anything, I am not here to prove myself right or prove myself wrong.  I am here to be a stand for taking one action, after the next action, after the next, and just see what happens.  And, when I do get feedback from someone who provides it, like the people at Taxi, which I will be talking about very shortly, I choose to shut my mouth, turn down the Wonder Woman in me, and listen to the feedback.  And instead of letting my ego wear it’s cape, I can go back and apply what they tell me to older and newer songs.  I want to be happy.  I know what being right has gotten me already.   And just to be clear here, I am pretty darn happy now, as I write this blog series.  Has there been any HUGE reason for this?  Not really, I am just aware of my life now and I am truly grateful for all I do have at this present moment.  I am at peace with what I am becoming.  I can’t really tell you what that is, but it feels warm and fuzzy inside.  I like it, I tell ya, I like it!

OK, so now that I just walked naked across Time Square for all you folks, it’s time I put back on some clothes.  It is a bit chilly outside!  And as I get dressed, I would like to talk about what has come into fuition from three of the actions I have taken recently.  First, let’s chat about Sonicbids. Sonicbids is an “online matchmaker” between bands and promoters and provides an electronic way for musicians to send their music to promoters and pitch for a gig, without having to spend lots of money on postage. Promoters can “shop” the site for musicians they like when they’re hunting for new artists. The site also maintains a list of available gigs, festivals, contests, radio stations and music project listings, so bands can see who is looking for artists and throw their hat into the ring when something appealing comes up.

I have been a member for many years and never really used their system to my benefit.  Since starting this blog, I have sent 15 submissions in.  Four submission responses have already come in.  Of those four, one put a smile on my face.  Hold your horses, I am about to share it with ya now… Ok, so last week I was informed by The Songwriter’s Network that my song, “He’s Like Strawberry Milk”, would debut on their show on November 19th, this past Saturday, on Bert Gagnon Neon Productions Radio.   It aired successfully and the song is now in their rotation.  I am grateful for the this baby step success and I do look forward to sharing more good news with you as it comes in.

What’s next?  Ah yes, Jango.  In a nutshell, Jango is a free internet radio station that plays what listeners want to hear.  Since starting this blog, I signed up as an artist and put my music on Jango.  The concept is that artists can pay for plays.  So, for instance, I paid $30.00 to have 1000 spins of whatever song or songs I allocate those plays to.  I can see who’s listening to my song and people can become a fan if they are enjoying my music.  This is great as it can grow my fan base, as well as just get people to hear my music.  Also, it allows me to target my audience, as well as where, what specific location in the world, I want my song to be played.

The good news is, I found out they were having a christmas song contest and I entered my original chistmas song, “Holiday Cheer”, into it.  I recieved an email a few days ago stating that my song made it into their Christmas Station.  The Christmas Station it will be played on during this holiday season is: Independent Christmas  I will keep you posted with Jango and what occurs as time goes by.  Oh, and my station on Jango is: Jen on Jango

So… what’s the name of this game I’ve been playing?  ”Taking Actions, Taking Actions & Taking More Actions”!  Indeed.  So, what’s next?  How about I chat a bit about the latest on my Taxi adventure into tv and film.  Would you like to take a little journey with me down “Critique Lane” with the Taxi Staff?  Ya?  Really?  Cool… Let’s go… Oops…. wait… before we go there, I wanted to say that I already recieved seventeen critiques from them and I have twelve more pending.  Of course that’s all changing day in and day out as I submit more, so I will do my best to stay present and up to date with it all.

Ok, so let’s journey into one of those critiques.  And I think it’s gonna be for the song, “My Stepping Stone”.  Before I explain my internal experience and struggles from the critique process itself, let’s look at what they were asking for below.

Here is the actual listing I submitted to:

FEMALE POWER POP/ROCK SONGS and/or INSTRUMENTALS a la Kelly Clarkson, P!nk, a CURRENT-SOUNDING Pat Benatar, etc. needed by an Independent Music Library/Publisher for the Film/TV placements and licensing. This company has signed and placed dozens of TAXI songs. He’s looking for empowerment songs with universal lyrics that can fit a variety of scenes. (Avoid specific names or storylines.) Lyrics MUST convey a fierce and confident independence from a female perspective. Vocal performances must be fantastic and song structure solid! He offers a five-year deal with a reversion clause for instrumentals and a non-exclusive deal for vocal compositions with a restrictive clause regarding placement in other music libraries . Broadcast Quality needed (excellent home recordings are fine). Please submit one to three songs online or per CD, include lyrics. All submissions will be screened and critiqued by TAXI and must be received by Friday, September 30. 2011.

Now, from this listing above, I sent in, “My Stepping Stone”.  To hear this song and read the lyrics just go to:  JenniferVazquez.com  (Promo Code: freesong)  And once the song downloads, just go to: Jennifer’s Store  to track 9: “My Stepping Stone” and click on “LYRICS”.

Here’s what Taxi had to say.  Just to be clear, this song did not pass into the company’s hands:

Hi Jennifer!

Wow, beautiful vocals! Thanks for the submission. This particular listing is seeking female anthemic songs in the vein of Pat Benatar with an edgy sound and universal lyrics. These songs must appeal to a vast audience and be interchangeable within scenes of various films, commercials and tv shows. After reviewing your submission, I felt that your concept “Stepping Stone” was a bit pigeonholed for only certain usage, rather than a vast message. I really loved your vocals and I do like the concept, however I do not feel that it is correct for this listing. I have made a few notes for you regarding how to strengthen your song in the song comment box of your submission. I want to thank you for your submission and urge you to continue writing! Thanks!

And here are further notes: 

Great message in this song. Lyrically and conceptually its a bit too pigeonholed for this particular listing. Melodically, would try to find a chorus melody that feels a bit more anthemic and catchy. You don’t have to end on the title “stepping stone” in order to make an impact. Try an alternate chorus, removing all melody and lyric from your head, and see if you can’t do it more justice! If it doesn’t work, at least you’ve tried and theres no harm done! Great start!

Now, what’s the greatest challenge here for me?  The greatest challenge here is to not make me right and them wrong, thus making me right, not happy.  Let me explain this further.  Out of all the songs I have already submitted to Taxi, 99% of them are already recorded professionally and are considered done!  So, as I received this comment and many more telling me to change this and restructure that, I felt this sudden volcano about to erupt in my brain!  This voice starts to shout, “ I CAN’T DO THIS!  It’s gonna cost me more time to edit each song, and then, more money to re-record it!  And you know know what?  Even if I do this, it won’t garentee me that it will make it passed the next submission I send this song into.  And finally… it’s just one person’s opinion and I think this song is just fine the way it is.  So, this song stays the way it is!  I will find a submission that does fit this song”

Oh yes… this is the ego!  This is that little snake that wants to make me right, and therefore, cause me to be unhappy.  ”Why not remain small and in control?  It’s nice to prove people wrong and then just stay stuck in my own rightness.”  No way!  I am so grateful that I can now clearly notice this voice for what it is.  I want to be happy, not right!  I already tried being small and invisible as I stated before.  It doesn’t work!  I want to be happy and what that means to me is attempting to make changes to certain songs.  If it works, great.  If it doesn’t, that’s fine too.  The point is, I am investing in myself and into my career to better my skills as a writer and a creator.  It’s a solid step that can allow more doors to open along the way on this journey, rather than there being no possibility for future doors because I already said there is no need to even look any further.  And, as for the time and money aspect of it all, well, time is what I make of it, and money can always be made!  No excuses.  Just actions to be taken.  Yup!  Now, I will admit I fear the possibility of loosing my present artistic authenticity by editting my songs to another person’s liking, but let’s not jump too far ahead.  That always seems to slow me down and make me crash into a wall.  I will trust in this journey and I will keep you posted on the rewrites and what I experience from it.

So, to end with, I will say this.  When I start to look at this clear vision of becoming a full time singer, songwriter and creator, and making money through tv and film, I feel this surge of energy run through my body that wants to shut down and say, to hell with it.  Let’s stay small, invisible and irresponsible.  But I cannot do this any longer.  I have a skill.  That skill is in creating and writing and singing.  And it’s my responsibility to do what I must to contribute to society using the gifts I have been given.  So, I guess that’s it then.  I will continue to follow through with this vision, this journey, from beginning to end, to “365 Blogs To Finding Pinocchio A Home”!  Thank’s for listening.  I am grateful to share this experience with whoever is reading this out there.  I wonder, are you reading this?  Am I talking to myself?  Does it really matter?  Hmmm…

Welcome to The Official Jennifer Vazquez Website.  Please feel free to browse around.  And if you like the site, feel free to spread the word to your friends and family.  That would be great!   And… November’s free download is up.   PROMO CODE: FreeSong  

Now, onto Blog Series # 4 of : “365 Blogs To Finding Pinocchio A Home”

Blog #4:  Security vs Freedom:

Where Will Life Have Taken You By Your 20 Year Reunion?

The Big Twenty!  I went to mine this past weekend at The New Rochelle Raddison Hotel.  As I type this blog I am thinking to myself, “Should I include my personal life into these blogs?”  The answer is yes.  Absolutely!  Life is what makes art happen.  So yes, let’s talk about this experience for a moment, if you don’t mind.  The main thought that comes to my mind is: Choose freedom over security and watch life start to open up.  Now, this does not in any way mean to live life like a gypsy, which I admit, I had been doing for many years.  Yes, I had been living day to day, not taking into account anything but my career as a singer and songwriter, my desperation in wanting to “make it” in the industry.  That, by the way, has not allowed for me to have much of a balanced life.  It’s like I was stuck in the air on a seesaw for so many years with The Incredible Hulk, my ego, as my partner and he wouldn’t let me down to feel the ground.  I never felt like there was anything terribly wrong with going after my dreams fully.  I thought it was a given that there really was no time to be a balanced person if I chose this career path and I would keep on going till I reached “SUCCESS”!  And then, then I could have a balanced life.  Then I would have the money, the fame, the time! Ha! Ha! Double Ha! That’s pretty funny.  Funny because it’s all much clearer now as I have been “returning to me” so to speak, over this past year.  I have found that being free has nothing to do with living life “in the air” or “with my head in the clouds”.  No, being free means that I choose what makes me happy .  I choose what makes that smile stay present.  I love the life I have already!  So, The Incredible Hulk can take a little seat on the bleachers as I begin to live a balanced existence, right where I am now.  That is definitely exciting and I kinda wonder what life will be like tomorrow and the next and the next.  The one thing that is consistent in my life is the growth of my awareness of myself and of others and that is shifting who I am becoming little by little.

We do not control much in our life, we just think we do.  That’s half our stress.  Thinking we have to hold this huge boulder over our heads, all by ourselves, every single day, and if it falls, well, make sure to beat yourself silly.  That’s right, you should have been able to do it all alone.  Who the hell could hold that boulder over their heads?  Really! Ya, maybe some muscle guy on Venice Beach, but he’ll drop it eventually too.

So, if we cannot truly control much, we really have no security.  Freedom vs Security.  Freedom vs Security?  Hmmm.  What if you really accepted that nothing in life is guaranteed.  Nothing, accept we are all gonna die one day!  Sorry to go there but it’s kinda funny.  I mean, if you accepted that life was to be lived and not to be held onto so tightly, wouldn’t that shift things a bit?  Freedom vs Security?  I choose freedom because that’s really all there is to choose from, so why not stop buying into all that pressure, having to keep working to keep filling a void that you think is there. There is no void.  We are already complete.  It’s just a shift in mindset.  Is the glass half empty or half full? That voice, that fear inside will cause you to try to look, live and be like the Smiths.  Just be free and throw that idea of security out the door and welcome in the calm.

What do we control?  We control the actions we take.  So as life is placed in front of us day in and day out, we get to chose what actions we can take to better ourselves, which will better others without us even knowing it.  Ok, so maybe this seem a bit mooshy to you, but by letting go of this false sense of security, you can choose to be happy in the life you are already living, no matter where it is that you are or have been in your life!  That, to me, sounds pretty darn cool.  No, I am not saying this happens over night.  It takes time and patience to change your habits.   But it’s all there waiting for you, if you dare.  If you like this idea feel free to check out these books: “The Art of Life”,  ”Infinite Self” and “Conversations With God”.

So, back to this past weekend’s reunion.  This was a great way to practice this whole theory I am speaking of.  I was not planning on going to the reunion, by the way.  Oh, just for your information, I graduated from Cardinal Spellman High School in The Bronx.  It was a great school.  I truly loved it and enjoyed being a part of the volleyball team and The Cardinal Singers and a part of the school musicals for three of the four years.  The first year I auditioned but didn’t make it.  I sang, “There Are Worst Things I Could Do”, from the movie, “Grease”.  I totally froze up and forgot the words!  I was so devastated and felt defeated and embarrassed.  It took me a few days to get past this and then I asked my mom if I could take voice lessons.  The next year I tried out again and I actually made one of the leads, Queen Aggravain, from the musical, “The Princess And The Pea”.  I continued to get leading roles for the next few years.  This is a perfect example of living life rather than keeping secure and safe and giving up when things don’t go as planned.  It’s a great way to stay small.  And even though I felt embarrassed and depressed, I chose to turn that experience around and make it a positive one.  I remember thinking to myself, how can I make it in the play next year?  How can I get more confident and not freeze up?  The answer, taking voice lessons and following through by going to the audition the next time around.  Yup.  Taking an action and following through on it.  That I could control.

Ok, so back to the reunion that I was not even planning on going to.  I think you are getting a good sense of my way of thought.  I have this habit of going on tangents.  I know, I know!  Just go with the flow and I promise it will all tie together in some way.  So, I was actually planning on going to LA for a few days for the TAXI ROAD RALLY which they hold every year by LAX. Do you remember in my last blog how I spoke of my taking a major step in my music career by joining TAXI?  Well, I did join it and I will talk about that in a moment.  Don’t worry, I am not forgetting about finding Pinocchio a home.  This is all going towards finding Pinocchio the best home ever.  It takes time and patience and putting one foot in front of the other, so that’s what this blog is.  So, I really wanted to go to the Road Rally, which is filled with four days of music supervisors, hit songwriters, showcases and seminars. I normally would have found a way to make it happen and just put it on a credit card.  But this time I was grounded and balanced.  I chose to not go and ended up canceling the reservation.  I could put that money I would have spent for this event towards submitting to Taxi and continuing to work consistently here in NY towards my music goals.  ”Freedom” allowed me to get my head out of the clouds and think straight.  ”Security” would have made me think I really needed to go to the Rally because of who I could have met or the contacts I could have made there.  When the time is right, the door that needs to open will open and I will step through it.  Bottom line, it felt right and I am glad I listened to my gut, not my intellect.  My intellect, because the ego gets stuck in there a lot of the times, makes me think that “I should do this” and “I should do that “, when really, all I have to do is sit still long enough for the answer to calmly come to me.  I am starting to witness that nothing good ever comes from force.

So I accepted The Taxi Road Rally was a no, no this time around and that opened up a door for me to go to the reunion.  I bought my ticket the day before sales closed.  A part of me did not want to go.  Thoughts started racing through my head. Where was I now in my life?  Should I be somewhere else?  Am I a failure because I have not accomplished what I told myself I wanted to accomplish?  Ah, all things that “Security” wants me to buy into. “Freedom” simply sat there waiting for me to take an action and buy the ticket.  But The Incredible Hulk was right there waiting for his chance to step in.   I wouldn’t let him in.  I took a breathe and stood still.  I knew I had grown tremendously as a person and as an artist and that my life was filled with powerful experiences, both good and bad, that made me who I am today. That was without question.  But what really bothered me was the thought that I would be judged for still being single with no kids, no house, not one ounce of “Security”.  Oh… “Security”!  Would any of this make me happy anyway if I didn’t have music in my life?  My body got thrown into a whirl wind of self judgment. “Security” vs “Freedom”?  I talked to a friend to help me see straight and that drew me right back into reality.  Freedom, thank you!  What I was reminded of was that at this moment in my life I was truly happy.  I am truly happy.  And in addition, at this point in my life, I am also in a very unfamiliar territory.  Unfamiliar because I have begun be aware of a new side of me, the side that isn’t seesawing with The Incredible Hulk.  The side that is filled with abundance and love and excitement and pure joy of living and just being totally calm with where I am in my life. That is so new for me.

So after going through this internal dance with The Incredible Hulk and “Security” vs “Freedom”, I put on something I felt comfortable in and I went to the reunion.  What a great time!  So many of my old friends showed up and yes, it was just a bit overwhelming.  I found myself wanting to run around the room and ask each person the main questions “Security” wants to know about them:  What have you been up to?  Are you married?  Do you have kids?  What do you do for a living?  It’s funny, these are the questions we ask as a whole to size up a situation.  Many were happily married with kids; very few were single.  Actually, anyone I spoke to who was single had already been married and were now divorced and starting all over again on a new path.  It was just fun to see everyone.  And it’s funny, everyone looked better this time around then I remembered from our 10 year reunion.  Crazy!

The difference between this twenty year reunion and my ten year reunion was that I felt completely whole and just perfectly calm.  it does help that I gave the ego the night off and I enjoyed the experience and talked to the people I wanted to talk to and pretty much danced the night away.  My feet hurt so much.  It was all worth it!  At the end of the night, the main coordinator for the event, Donyella, had asked a few days before if I would play a song and I said yes, it would just have to be unplugged.  So, at the end of the night, they called me up and I chose to sing, without hesitation, “Pinocchio”.  What a fun few minutes.  It’s really nice to just get up and improvise, unplugged.  Donyella held a mic up to my mouth and I started to sing “Pinocchio” with my guitar.  I felt connected to everyone in such a calm and non judging way.  It was a perfect way to complete the event.

So why am I bringing this into my blog?  Well, sometimes I am “on fire” doing my music and taking care of the business aspect of this music career of mine and when something comes in from my past, like a twenty year reunion, I find myself gaining a better perspective on life.  I find that where I am is exactly where I am supposed to be and I sit back and enjoy the ride.  I can allow the journey to show itself day in and day out without taking control of it.  This is just a continuous reminder that I do not run the ship.  The captain does, the one who I cannot see, but certainly, without a doubt, when I release the need to be right, I get the gift of feeling that presence and that calm that allows me to live life, and not survive it like it were a storm.  Yes, there are storms all along the way.  That, in my opinion, is to keep me alert and aware that life is here to be lived no matter what stands in my way.  ”Security” is the storm and “Freedom” is the calm.  I think that makes the most sense to me.

Let’s move onto the next part of this blog, shall we.  Are you enjoying this journey so far?  I hope so.  It’s interesting to do these blogs and not really have a clue what the heck I am gonna talk about.  I know it’s about the music, but the music doesn’t get written without the journey!  So, let’s talk about Taxi.  I had mentioned in Blog # 3 that I took a big step into finding Pinocchio a home and was going to join Taxi.  To recap, Taxi is the world’s leading Independent Artist and Repertoire Company giving artists real access to the people in the music business who have the power to sign deals and get music to upcoming television and film projects.  Well, I joined it and I have been working consistently submitting my songs for as many projects that come in that fit what they are asking for.  Before doing that though, I spent a day fully engaged in reading everything regarding the process and rules and how to best get the most out of Taxi.  After going through that I set up my profile and downloaded my songs to their server.  Taxi allows 50 songs to download.  I downloaded 25 so far that I feel are my best choices to submit.  As I record new songs I will add them to the list.

So far, I have sent in twenty one submissions and six of those submissions have already been critiqued.  The good news is that two of the songs I sent in for a tv project were accepted!  That means they have now gone directly to the source so the people who asked for the song will now listen to it!  Whether or not it is chosen is up to them, but finally I am going to be heard by the people who can place the songs I write and have an opportunity to make solid money from my music.  And that can allow me to become a fulltime musician without holding a “B” job.  Now, as for the other five submissions that did not make the cut, I can learn from it.  Here’s a comment that was made in regards to one of my songs from one Taxi’s staff members:

“You did a good job developing the melody arrangement from beginning to end. Your style keeps the song catchy as well I like the climax of the chorus. You did a good job developing the story line with a clever approach, but it doesn’t have that current style that would be competitive with the song mentioned in the listing. You have to find ways to connect youthfully with your lyric structure.”   taximusic.com

While this is only one person’s opinion, it is a good way to be present and learn from it for future songs I write.  No one ever really knows why a song is better than another when it comes to what song or music clip is chosen for a specific slot to fill a certain scene on tv, commercial spot or movie trailer, beginning spot, ending spot and everything in between.  It comes down to a decision made most likely due to a certain feel or vibe.  I am simply listening to each critique they send to allow me to become a better writer.  This, as I said, is a process.  All these blogs are documenting the results from the actions I am taking as I learn how this whole music monster works in regards to tv and film.  I will keep you posted as the submission critiques keep coming in as I continue to send them out.

Thank’s for taking the time to sit down for a bit and read another slice of the pie I am baking up as I continue on this journey to finding Pinocchio a home!  I hope you got something out of it and please feel free to share your thoughts below.  I would love to hear what you think.  I really would.

Welcome to The Official Jennifer Vazquez Website.  Please feel free to browse around.  And be sure to spread the word to your friends and family if you enjoy what you read and hear so I can continue to touch, move and inspire as many people as possible.   

Now… below, you will find the third blog series to: 365 Blogs To Finding Pinocchio A Home.

Blog #3:  Getting Out Of My Own Way

Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to obtain 100% of the energy and courage you need to spend every day of your life doing what needs to be done to achieve what is authentically meant to be?  How amazing would it be to live life to your full potential and have nothing stop you?  Wouldn’t that be something?  I want that!  What do I do to get that part of me to be consistent in achieving this current goal and every other one thereafter?  That is the question I ask right now as I write Blog # 3.

The past few days I have been working on a number of tasks to getting Pinocchio a home.  I took Pinocchio, which I recently finished recording with my friend and producer, Ron Zabrocki, and entered it in two reputable contests:  ISC and Annual Mountain Stage New Song Contest.  This action is my first step to allowing new possibilities into my life and a chance to gain exposure and win money so I can keep moving abundantly forward on my journey.  I refuse to stay small and invisible any longer.

I also just begun to research three specific supervisors to find out about them and what shows they place songs for. With this information, I can see if those shows work with my style of songwriting and music.  I have also added them to my social networks to follow their progress and stay close to what they are working on.  I remind myself, in the meantime, that what I have stumbled upon is not a race, it is a marathon!  So I am training for it as we speak.

So, to backtrack, today is Wednesday, October 26, 2011.  I remember about 7 years ago being exposed to so many open doors to get my music heard by professional people in the music industry when I was living in LA.  Day in and day out I had doors open for me and all I had to do was simply walk through each one to see what would happen.  There was only one problem I faced.  I almost never had the money to take bigger steps forward.  I was playing small in a big world and I didn’t even realize it.  And when I did have the money, I could never save it long enough to make it grow.  I was surviving, not living, one day at a time with no back up plan and I never saw that this thing that was stopping me time and time again was a major issue and needed to be taken care of.  This thing I am speaking of is self sabotage!  Yup.

I see it so clearly now and while I cannot say I will never self sabotage myself ever again, I can say that it is so in my face that I cannot ignore it anymore and now I can do something about it. I have begun to surround myself with a community of people who support my growth and help me stay clear and aware of this self-hating feeling I get when I get near a goal or right after I achieve some success.  Now I can choose to reach out for support rather than take a negative hurtful action that will take me back a step on my journey towards finding Pinocchio a home.

Just to be specific on how I have sabotaged myself, here is a little story.  About seven years ago I heard of a company called Taxi.  It’s the world’s leading Independent Artist and Repertoire Company that gives artists real access to the people in the music business who have the power to sign deals.  About eight years ago I was invited into a music group called Circle of Songs created by Jenna Leigh.  About nine years ago Jenna Leigh spotted me during my very first days of busking on 3rd Street Promenade back in 2002.  That day, she spoke of my talent as a songwriter, and a little while after that conversation she invited me down to perform in one of her songwriter circles.  I said yes and showed up!  I was in a circle of three established artists that night.  I was a newbee, I was intimidated, but I was determined to be a professional musician and songwriter just like they were.  Adam Watts was among the three artists.  He joined Taxi. Now, I am not sure when he did this, maybe he had already been with Taxi when we met that night, but I only found out a few years later at The Taxi Road Rally I attended in LA.  A handful of music friends over the years had mentioned Taxi and requested that I try it out.  They said it was worth a shot to spend the $300, try it for a year or so and see what happened.  I never joined.  I never had the money, and when I did, I would spend it so quickly, I’d wonder how it disappeared, and then, I had a good excuse for why I could not join it.  My fear and my ego took over when it had no place to do so.  Joining Taxi would have given me a real chance to get my music to legitimate people in the industry that needed music for their projects and artists.  I felt too scared of playing this game fully and I can see now why I avoided Taxi like the plague since then.  In my warped reality, I could do it on my own, I could be discovered busking on 3rd St Promenade, Highland & Hollywood, at farmers markets and festivals all over town.  Yes, I would keep control and stay away from the industry and the politics.  My ego was the root to stopping me every time!

If you are wondering what Adam Watts accomplished from his joining Taxi?  He’s done absolutely fabulous and he truly deserves it.  He’s a great songwriter, in my opinion.  I was an immediate fan the night we played together back in 2002.  Some of the projects he has written for are: High School Musical (2006), High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008),  The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008) and Lemonade Mouth (2011).

So, today I take a step forward on this journey to finding Pinocchio a home and I do this by joining Taxi.  I am letting go of the ego, letting go of control and taking on the possibility of having a beautiful future.  I am ready and willing to get out of my own way and see what that leads to.  I refuse to allow that voice inside of my head to stop me anymore.  Yes, that is a promise.  I am tired of playing small in this big abundant world.

And so here’s to another day of walking along a different path to finding Pinocchio a home…

Welcome to The Official Jennifer Vazquez Website.  Please feel free to browse around.  And be sure to spread the word to your friends and family if you enjoy what you read and hear so I can continue to touch, move and inspire as many people as possible.   

Now… below, you will find the second blog series to: 365 Blogs To Finding Pinocchio A Home.

Blog #2:   I Wonder… Does This Fear Ever Subside? 

I am letting you know from the very birth of this blog series that there is this voice inside of me that desperately wants to believe that I am wasting my time doing what I love most, music.  It’s telling me that no matter what effort and energy I put towards writing, singing and creating music, it will never be enough, so I can forget about ever doing it full time! I hear this voice so loudly in my head sometimes that I start to panic.  I want to introduce this voice to you now so that you can get a clear picture of my experiences along this journey, both internal and external.

So, the past day has been focused on me pausing and breathing, rather than jumping right into a full list of actions that will lead me toward getting my music out there on a larger scale.  I have been reconnecting with the idea that I do not control anything in my life no matter how much I want to believe I do.  My ego would make me believe I was a superhero if I let it, and the truth is, I have.  The problem is, while I can dress like Wonder Woman and act like Wonder Woman, I Am Not Wonder Woman.  No matter how hard I try, I cannot spin around and around and around and suddenly transform into this amazing superhero who can swirl her lasso in the air until that the perfect second arrives where she gets to be a hero and save the suffering people from the bad guys!  That would be pretty cool though, lassoing a few bad guys and throwing them on top of each other in a pile of tar, left for the cops to come and take them away!  But no, I Am Not Wonder Woman.

That idea lurking inside my head is the ego thinking I am in full control of directing every part of my life.  I have taken on the role of Wonder Woman for so long now that I’d gotten lost in the drama of it all, which then warped my sense of reality.  I have recently realized that to make great things happen and to touch, move and inspire others, I must simply be myself and let go of expecting anything in return.

I am trusting that whoever is choosing to read these blogs are people who are accepting and open minded.  And if you are not accepting and open minded at the beginning, I hope you give these blogs some time, and by the end, I hope you are able to attempt to be accepting and open minded.  I don’t want to be false with anything that I write and this is why I am giving you all of who I am, all of who I am hoping to become and all of who I was, so this all connects in some way down the line.

You know, I have such a different view now looking through these eyes of mine from when I did when I was 9 years old and growing up in Catholic school.  I was taught to fear God rather than develop a real relationship with this Higher Power, This Universe, this Larger Than Life entity, that surounded me day in and day out.  Over the years I have found myself lost in confusion and doubt about my purpose here on Earth.  I definitely lost my faith, although I would never have admitted that straight out.  But now, I am learning that to be abundant in love, in money and in happiness, I must be willing to let go of this false sense of control I’ve been holding onto for so damn long, and instead I must have a little faith.

So, I’m finally understanding, and slowly accepting, that I can either continue to control my music career all by myself and drive myself to insanity doing it all alone, safe in a cacoon like environment, where reaching success is as sure as my being Wonder Woman is true, or, I can simply let go and have faith and do what I am guided to do and just enjoy this process, and in that will come something new, if nothing else.  And to me, that sounds better than what I have been doing.

It’s funny, I really thought I was in control of my musical path and now I see I have not one ounce of control in it.  I would swear up and down to you that I could make this happen.  I believed deep down that eventually I would be famous and successful.  All I had to do was stay in control and map out my plan and follow through on my actions.  And do you know what would happen when I would take the last few steps towards each project I had mapped out and followed through on, because I thought it would get me to that dangling carrot?  Wonder Woman suddenly turned back into a simple lady, an illusion, a scared little girl who lost out on abundance each time because she took on the world all by herself and all she really had to do was be herself and let others come on in and help out. And why would they help?  Because they believed that was she created was worth supporting.

So I got a wake up call.  It was a gift!  What could happen if I just let go?  What doors and opportunities would appear if I wasn’t afraid of the chatter inside my head?  What if I started listening to that calm humming in my body to guide me, rather than me try to force something out of me that’s not me!  I believe that nothing great can truly occur in the absence of truth and love. With calm, patience and acceptance, I really see that now that I Am Not Wonder Woman.  I am Jennifer Vazquez.  I love to sing!  I love to write!  I love to create!  I love to make people feel good inside!  I hope that what I was put here on Earth to do is exactly what I love to do right now….music!  But… I’m open to finding it out humbly, in front of you, over the next 363 blogs that remain to find Pinocchio a home.

So, I guess what I really want to say here is that I admit I am powerless over controlling my journey.  Yes, Wonder Woman did her part and now she can gracefully return to her comic book and I can happily return to being me, simply a girl from The Bronx who has a lot of stories to tell and share with you!  And with that said, I am looking forward to tomorrow and what it will bring on my journey to finding Pinocchio a home!

Welcome to The Official Jennifer Vazquez Website.  Please feel free to browse around.  And be sure to spread the word to your friends and family if you enjoy what you read and hear so I can continue to touch, move and inspire as many people as possible.   

Now… below, you will find the very first blog to: 365 Blogs To Finding Pinocchio A Home.  I welcome you into my head for the next 365 Blogs…

Blog #1:    Who Knows What Will Happen?

Who knows what will happen?  I am here to figure it all out as I go and share every step of it with you.  So what made me think of this title?  Well, I have a song called, Pinocchio, and in many ways this title connects to the driving force in me right now.  This will all come out as the blogs continue.  For now, let me just say that I am a singer, a songwriter and a guitarist who has a very solid purpose, to be of service to others through writing, singing and playing music.

I love music!  I love listening to it, I love singing to it, but most of all, I love creating it.  There is no better sensation then when I sit down to create something and have no clue what will come out and then realize a few hours have passed and I am left with this new birth of a song.  It is pure inspiration that does this.  It always finds it’s way gently inside my mind, my body and my soul.  There is no other feeling like it!  It’s pure happiness to me.

So, where am I gonna start?  I think I’ll begin with a conversation I recently had with a tv and film producer.  I have been refocusing my career path this past year and a half towards getting my songs placed and licensed to make a full time living as a musician.  Having my songs in projects like TV and film would provide me with possible passive income, residual money, and that could give me the opportunity to record more music, play more gigs and reach more people on a greater scale.  That is the goal, to share my creativity on a greater level.  I have been doing music for over 15 years and while I have learned so much, I feel as though I am just beginning.  So, then, where am I going to start?  Right from the beginning!

Today I finished recording a new song that I truly love and believe in.   More to come on that soon.  All I want to say about it right now is it’s done and I have a few ideas racing around my head concerning where I would like Pinocchio to be placed, ideally in TV land, and I will share my ideas on that with you soon enough as well.  This song totally excites me to no end.  The producer for it, Ron Zabrocki, truly understands my style as an artist and he nailed the production of this song.

The main reason I recorded Pinocchio was for a bigger purpose than just to release it to my fans.  I recorded it so I could send it to a TV show that is about to air in the next week or so.  I’ll tell you about the whole story soon, but for now, let’s begin this journey!

What to do!  Hmmm.  Ok, I am going to take the advice from the tv and film producer I met up with and spend time today by putting one foot in front of the other, rather than dive in head first and drown of exhaustion half way through the swim.  Today I will spend some time online getting familiar with the top music supervisors for tv and film.  I think I may spend a few days doing this, but let’s play it by ear.  Maybe a top 10 wish list of supervisors.

The goal here is to make this fun and exciting, rather than scary and confronting.  See, that’s what stops me many times from playing the game fully.  Fear!  So many kinds of fear have come in over me during the past 15 years, particularly when I was at the verge of being signed by a label or I was in the beginning of working with someone solid in the music industry that could have helped the advancement of my career.   Sabotage frequently crept on in, without a sound, and then WHAMO, the deal somehow crumbled and the project quickly dissipated.  Well, I am now aware of this, and as I have been working through these fears and allowing myself a chance to be happy, I am finally willing to let go and let the powers that be help me out.  It’s called having Faith and I am on board with it.  I am ready to try something new.  I am ready to follow rules, to be a part of the community, to play big and let go of being small to please other small people.  I am letting go of my ego so I can really play this game fully and no matter what, I can sit here and write to you day in and day out about what it is I am doing.  The result is no longer a major factor.  It’s the journey.  And while I have stated that time and time again, this time it means something different.  Now, the journey is me simply getting up everyday and following a path I believe in and sharing the steps with you, the reader.

I think that will be it for my first blog.  I look forward to meeting you back here for blog #2.

Only 364 Blogs to Finding Pinocchio a Home!

Photography By: Hani Matkovic

Thank You For Stopping By!

As a token of my appreciation, I am giving you a free download every month.  For October, I am showcasing the song, Miranda, from my album, “Bend”.  This song was inspired after finding out that people lie and it’s just a fact.  Our job is to grow wiser and share our experiences with others to allow them to be aware of those not so truthful people out there.  Type “FreeSong” into the box on the upper right hand side where it says: Promo Code.  You will be asked to fill in your name and info so the song can be emailed to you!

Journal 

October 13, 2011

I am very excited to announce the beginning of my new blog, “365 Blogs To Finding Pinocchio A Home”, starting Monday, October 17th.  My newsletter just went up at  Jennifer Vazquez October News, so you can read all about what’s going on and learn more about this blog.  The blog will appear on the home page, this page of my website, so you’ll always be able to come back here to read it.

Ok, that’s that for now!

October 5, 2011

Hola!  October just snuck up right behind me.  I am filled with an abundance of  bubbly energy, as I have a lot of stuff going on right now.  My October Newsletter will be out soon to get you up to date with it all.  And, I am in the process of starting a blog, so look out for that very soon, it’s gonna be a lot of fun.  October’s free download, Miranda, is up so just type “FreeSong” into the box on the upper right hand side where it says: Promo Code.  You will be asked to fill in your name and info so the song can be emailed to you!   And if you have not signed up for my mailing list, please do so now and you can receive a free download of Miranda that way as well.  Pick your poison and enjoy the music.

September 19, 2011

Let’s see! A few things in the works right now.  Had a great gig  last week at The Children’s Hospital in The Bronx as a volunteer musician with “Musicians On Call” . I am so grateful to be a part of this organization.  It’s a wonderful way to give back to those who truly need some calm in their lives.  And I had a great gig yesterday at LIC BAR in Long Island City, NY.  Such a great space.  Here’s a link to one of the songs from the show I sang, “Pinocchio”, which I am presently recording with Ron Zabrocki.  I feel good things are coming with this song.  More to come as it all unfolds.  Very excited!

Video of my song: “PINOCCHIO” from LICBAR

September 1, 2011

Just checking in and wishing everyone a beautiful Labor Day!  I am busy recording new songs in the studio.  I will be chatting more about the songs soon enough.  Here is a little clip from one of the sessions this past week:  Behind-the-Scenes of my new song, “Meant To Be”.

August 22, 2011

I am back from Pittsburgh.  What a fabulous trip!  Special thank you to Cannon Coffee and Spin Bartini for having us play at their venues and have an audience that was so well receptive to all of us playing: Zachary Hudson, Jana Fisher, Achordial Brio and myself. One of my favorite parts to the weekend was playing Pink’s song, “Perfect”, with Achordial Brio: