From The Blog Series… 365 Blogs To Finding Pinocchio A Home Last night I had the pleasure of attending an inspiring NSAI event with my songwriting partner, Jason Waters, at Five Towns College with Grammy Award Winning Songwriter, Jon Vezner , as the Guest Speaker. Jason Waters, Jon Vezner & Jennifer Vazquez What a pure joy it was to listen to Jon’s well constructed and heartfelt tunes. There is nothing that gets me higher than experiencing a GREAT songwriter, up, close and personal. And, sitting in on that Master Class provided both Jason and myself with key reminders for what tools and rules allow for the creation of a GREAT SONG! (Be sure to check out Jon Vezner when you get a chance. He is not only a great songwriter, artist and musician, but a solid person all around. And while you’re at it, check out his musical partner Jeff Gilkinson! Wow, what a player and songwriter!) Here’s some reminders for ALL you songwriters out there: ~ TO BE EFFECTIVE as a songwriter, CREATE TENSION in the song, either in the Melody, the Tempo or the Lyric. ~ EVERY LINE of your song must act as an ACCELERATER for the next one. ~ SHOW IT! DON’T TELL IT! ~ BE SIMPLE:[…]
Songwriting
Blog #26: The Rewrite/Getting Out Of My Own Way
From The Blog Series… 365 Blogs To Finding Pinocchio A Home So, I have this song that I rewrote in a songwriting class that I took in May 2012. The song is called,“Getting Out Of My Own Way”. I wrote it out of pure frustration and fear. I wrote it to try to figure out why I wasn’t where I thought I should be in my life. I wrote it to find out why the hell I wasn’t able to find my prince charming. Well, as I rewrote the song a few months ago, the answers finally all came together pretty quickly. I knew what to do next; get out of my own way and let life start taking me where it wants me to go. Check it out below. If you would like to read the lyrics and some more on this topic just click here: Getting Out Of My Own Way Yup! I’m one step closer to finding Pinocchio a home. Can you say…. “Patience”!
Blog # 24: “The Hedgehog and The Fox”
From The Blog Series… 365 Blogs To Finding Pinocchio A Home Do you have a passion? Do you dream about what it would be like to be that amazing person you truly are, not only behind closed doors, but in front of everyone you encounter? What happens when our dreams and goals get sidetracked by FEAR? Well, I have been reading a powerful book called “Good To Great” by Jim Collins and I highly recommend this book to anyone who has a great passion for something they truly believe in. “Good To Great” speaks about many obstacles that stop people from going from being good to truly being great! I am gonna focus on one topic that Jim speaks of in chapter 5 which really hit home for me entitled, “The Hedgehog Concept”. So basically there is a famous essay called “The Hedgehog and the Fox” and the story goes that while the fox knows many things, the hedgehog knows one big thing. The fox tries every possible angle to catch the hedgehog, but every single time, the hedgehog comes out alive because it simply rolls up into a “perfect little ball” becoming a “sphere of sharp spikes, pointing outward in all[…]
Blog #16: Why I Need To Fail To Succeed
From The Blog Series… 365 Blogs To Finding Pinocchio A Home I know that making mistakes and failing is not a comfortable space to be in. I used to get extremely frustrated and depressed when things didn’t turn out the way I had planned. But a while ago, I was able and willing to see what failure really is and why it is something that I want to welcome into my daily life. Simply put, making mistakes and failing over and over again is the only way to succeed. As Ralph Waldo Emerson stated, “Men succeed when they realize that their failures are the preparation for their victories.” I am starting to find success in every mistake and failure that comes about. I am also learning to not ponder over where it is I am supposed to start and just take an action, any action that, in some way, surrounds my creative vision. Simply starting something suddenly eliminates the fear of taking the risk because when I am in action, and not in my head, I am just doing something active, which then gets me clear on what the next action is that I need to take. But[…]
Blog #12: “The Storyteller”
From The Blog Series… 365 Blogs To Finding Pinocchio A Home I am a storyteller. I have been every since I can remember. In each experience I had, a story would somehow arise. It started with poems, then shifted to singing acapello. Then I went on to perform in a few school musicals. Next thing you know, I am in my first cover band, which two years later turns into “Blush”, where we were playing just original songs. Then, finally I taught myself guitar. And that changed everything! It allowed me to create my own songs from years of thoughts written down on paper. I am a storyteller… Here’s a taste of what that looks like…
Blog #7: Reality vs Fantasy
From The Blog Series… 365 Blogs To Finding Pinocchio A Home 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!
Blog #4: Security vs Freedom
Where Will Life Have Taken You By Your 20 Year Reunion? From The Blog Series… 365 Blogs To Finding Pinocchio A Home 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[…]
Blog #2: I Wonder… Does This Fear Ever Subside?
From The Blog Series… 365 Blogs To Finding Pinocchio A Home 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[…]
Blog #1:Who Knows What Will Happen!
The first blog of… 365 Blogs To Finding Pinocchio A Home 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[…]