Join the journey with me… Jen’s 2015 Musical Vision Quest RocketHub Campaign!
In September 2002 I made my way from Astoria, Queens all the way across the West to Los Angeles for ONE MAJOR REASON – to street perform down on 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica. Why? Nick Casinelli, an A&R at Atlantic Records, told me I was holding back on stage. He wanted to see the blood, sweat and tears revealed in my performance.
It took me a few years from that moment to regroup and get myself on a plane to LA. You see, 3rd St Promenade would be the perfect place for me to get over my fear of performing live. I needed to let my audience in and remove the wall between them and me. I also wanted to sell the remaining 600 copies of my debut album “Another Day in the Dark” that were sitting in a box in the corner of my room. And finally, I wanted to grow as a songwriter, and being thrown into the unknown, absorbing new experiences, that would do it!
Well what was supposed to be a short 6 month stay turned into 7 years. I can’t even begin to tell you all the crazy stories, and the tiny little and BIG miracles that occurred throughout that journey! But I do want to share this one story that touched my heart tremendously.
The first night I went down to 3rd St to busk was one of the most horrifying things I’ve ever done. Setting up your gear, in front of everyone who’s pretty much staring at you waiting to see if you’re worth hanging around for, is not fun. It took me about a week to grasp the courage to do this. I had my permit. I had my gear. I was physically ready. But the mental part, that’s a whole other can of worms.
Anyway, I got through the first night. Amen for that!
Each day got a little more bearable. A few weeks in, this old man in a wheel chair sat himself in front of me for about an hour. As I was singing one of my songs, I can’t remember if it was “I Knew Her So Well” or “Feed Me to the Dragons”, he started to cry. I kept singing, as hard as it was. After I was done, I started to pack up my gear and he came up to me. He shared that he was homeless. He said I touched his heart and I brightened his day. We talked for a while and I got a sense of this man, not as homeless, but as a human being.
He would visit on and off and we began a friendship. It’s funny, I never did get his name. Somehow it was always anonymous. Anyway, I would just listen to him and share any words of wisdom I could. He talked about getting off the streets and that he was trying to get assistance from the government but it was hard if he didn’t have a place that they could mail paperwork to him. Listening to him was my way of being of service to him.
About a year went by and I hadn’t seen him. I thought about him often, though. Then one day, from the corner of my eye, I saw him again as I was performing. I finished my song and then went up to him, very happy to see him. We talked and he shared that he finally had gotten off the streets. He just wanted to come by and thank me and share the great news. The HUGE smile I had on my face was tiny compared to the one glowing in my heart. It was a gift to be a part of his happiness…
And there ya have it! One of many stories from the database in my head of all the experiences I was blessed to have and witness!
More to come…
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