Archive for December, 2010

Sleep? What Sleep?!

Thursday, December 16th, 2010

It’s now 7 in the morning and I’ve been up since 4. Yup, sounds crazy I know. I would be a little more worried about my well being if I hadn’t gone to bed at 8:30 last night so technically I’m doing okay.

A sound night’s rest has been particularly challenging these days since I’ve been preoccupied with the major life changing endeavour of finding a home and finally moving out of my apartment which I’ve been in for the past decade. Sadly, I’m not exaggerating.

Moreover, I’ve been up nights thinking about my album recording – going over the schedule, deciding what is the best way to record the guide tracks, checking off who I have to call… Suffice to say, there is a whole lot of planning that goes into recording. Just looking at my calendar you’ll quickly see by the amount of notes scribbled down and scratched out how taxing the process can get especially when you’re working with other musician’s schedules who are volunteering their time.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I’m not enjoying this it’s just that I’m eager to move on from the prep stage to the actual working stage of recording. That’s when you get to see the real fruits of your labour come to life and let’s pray that the end result will not be sour fruit.

Post Show w/Rae Spoon

Sunday, December 5th, 2010

For a Sunday night and with the Grey Cup to compete with, we had a surprisingly good show. The place was packed and with no seating room left to spare, people made full use of whatever standing room could be found.

The crowd was very receptive and oddly quiet and attentive but not that I’m complaining! Rae Spoon’s charming and quirky candor was a pleasure to watch on stage and had the audience cheering for two encores by the end of the night.

Being that it was my last show in a while, I decided it was high time to just finally let go and be myself. I know it sounds ridiculously cliché but it’s an issue that I’ve been struggling with for as long as I have been a performer. I always thought that it would be safer to censor myself rather than just say and do what came naturally for fear of offending or being perceived the wrong way.

I have to admit it felt really good. People are free to think what they please but at least this way I have first say on what that definition is going to be by staying true to myself.

Just the other day I heard a great quote recited by Nigella Lawson while in an interview on CBC’s Q with Jihan Gomeshi that speaks volumes on the subject of self perception and how we sometimes allow others to define us:

“What other people think of you is really none of your business”

I suddenly feel the weight start to lift off my shoulders.