Besides writing fiction, and producing dance music, I’ve been known to travel. The farthest trip was to Hong Kong, Singapore, and Bangkok from San Francisco. These days it’s mostly hanging out at Disney, on cruise ships, and Florida Tiki bars. But my travel adventures have influenced my writing and music.
So, in the spirit of fun, here’s a clip from the first tiki bar we stopped in after our recent move back to Florida.
Carnival Celebration Has made her way from Southhampton to her home port of Miami on her inaugural cruise. We were booked on her first cruise out of Miami (boarding tomorrow), but had to cancel when our new house build was delayed by three months. But no worries. We’re booked for my birthday next year.
The video is a beautiful show of light and music so don’t forget to click on the link to watch.
While I haven’t signed up officially to do NaNo this year, I have committed to finally finishing She’s Not That Good this month. I’m in the final editing stages of this particular draft (I’ve lost count), and should have it off to my editor next week. And then the next round begins… will this be the final draft before end of year release? I doubt it – lol! But each draft brings new clarity to the story.
So, if you’re doing NaNo and even if you aren’t, I’ve got a recommended playlist for you. This artist, Wolf Kier, is currently my favorite. His songs – lyrics, guitar, bass, drums, and vocals – really stand out for me. The first few times I heard him, I thought “David Bowie.” So check out my top 10 favorites on YouTube.
Oh wait, there’s one more favorite I can’t leave off the list. Consider it a bonus – lol!
And then there’s Summer Number One
See if you can find your favorites!
One of my favorite songs I did for 50/90 this year was a Laurie Anderson-style performance art song. Somebody had left a comment on one of my other songs about the similarity to Laurie Anderson and, frankly, I didn’t know who she was. So I listened to her “Red Dress” song and absolutely loved it.
So, being the author of Real Women Wear Red and songwriter of “Candy Apple Red,” I knew I had to come up with my own version of a Laurie Anderson song, creating a remix of “Candy Apple Red.” And now it’s on youtube. Hope you like it.
When I met my father, I had to reorder everything I thought I knew about myself. About him. About her.
I sat in the back seat of his car, directly behind him as I listened to the timbre of his voice, not the rich baritone I’d become accustomed to growing up with the man I thought was my father, which was just one thing I could barely wrap my head around.
I stared at the back of his curly white hair, noticed the blond, freckled forearms, so unlike the brown skinned other dad, who I could never look like. Or be like.
As the weekend progressed, I saw more and more of myself, not just physically, but in our interests, the jam on our chin at breakfast, and the way we respond to the world, the impulsiveness, the quick but short-lived temper. But mostly the music. The music blasting from his headphones as he sat alone in his recliner, totally immersed in the sounds flooding his ears. Mostly jazz and RnB with an occasional pop song by Bobby Darin.
This week we inch forward to the overwhelming praise and worship of mothers, whose job is very hard, no doubt about that, but, still, things are not always as they should be. Far from it. So, I’ll pay tribute to the romantic, larger than life man who was and is my father who never stopped loving my mother. Who said, “I’ll always have San Francisco.” I believe she still loved him at the end, too, if it is possible for her to love at all.
So here I sit at 5 am, missing my dad, and thinking about these 2 favorite Bobby Darin songs.
Beyond the Sea Live version with a drummer solo
Thinking about 50/90 starting this July and with our cross-country move happening in the middle of it all, I thought I’d do some prep work. I’ve been thinking about using YouTube this time (instead of Soundcloud or BandCamp), so I started experimenting with creating a video for a particular song.
My iPad suggested a “Golden Hour” collection from some footage of sunsets at sea from our November Panorama cruise. I wondered what song would work with that.
I dug through my recent songs I created for FAWM and “Waiting,” although still in raw form, seemed like the perfect song, waiting for that Golden Hour before starting the shipboard nightlife. Btw, a great way to listen to your song with fresh ears is by changing the context. You will hear all the imperfections.
This is what happens when you get a new kitten – lol! The oldest cat loves to sing, especially into the microphone, and has already left his vocals on this track in progress. Now the new kitten (shown in the video) is fascinated with Push2 and Ableton Live.
I’m calling it “Screamie and the Cats.” Check it out on YouTube.
Kickin’ it with DJ Kat 🎶 