This is Art!

Saw this outside of a gallery in Terrytown! From one artist to another, draw one line today in whatever form of art you practice! Write one melody, draw one sketch, sing a new song and be thankful for your gift to create!

Was the Music Industry Once a Monopoly?

I had an interesting conversation with a friend the other day about the state of the music industry, and the question came up…do you think the industry is better for consumers today or 20/30 years ago in the hay day of Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson, the list continues? His argument was that in the old system music was not a true capitalistic model, that the record labels controlled what was given to consumers who could not freely decide exactly what they wanted. His belief is that today artists can go directly to the consumer. They can do it on their own, put out their music and therefore give consumers more options. The true model of capitalism.

I don’t know about you…but I think that’s a load of crap! I don’t disagree that in the old system, not everything was perfect. Artists got raped by record labels repeatedly, and that was on a good day. Most days it looked more like a gang rape, or a pack of hungry wolves tearing someone limb from limb. But on a whole, it still worked better for artists than the free for all that is going on today.

Let’s treat music like a product, it is one in many senses. Now in any industry in America, there is some form of control, or regulation. For food and medicine there is the food and drug administration. For real estate there is REBY and fair housing. For the president, there is congress and the senate. And in slightly different markets like football, there is the NFL…a league of teams that agree on a given set of principles. And the list continues. Every industry has some sort of bench mark that says “this is good” or “this is safe for you to eat” or “this means that you are now a pro athlete instead of a college athlete.” Record labels used to be that for music. They helped weed through the numerous “wanna be’s” and separated the wheat from the chaff. And the consequences of this breakdown in the system are immeasurable.

Technology has made it such that we no longer pay for music. We share it with each other, download for free and just listen to free streaming on youtube. We’ve almost eliminated record labels…the so called “directly to consumers idea.” What would happen if we started getting food for free? Starting tomorrow you can walk into any grocery store and take a handful of apples and either take them with you…or just take a bite and then put it back on the shelf. Grocery stores would no longer have money to operate and would go out of business, farmers would stop farming because no one was buying their corn, so maybe they’d share a little with their neighbors and then eventually they’d stop farming. Same with butchers, same with the corporations making the cereal you eat in the morning or milk you pour in your coffee. Eventually, we would all starve! Yes, the consumers are the choosers in the end…but without the middle man, without the specialists, and the companies regulating all the choices, we would all have to be our own farmer, our own butcher, our own wheat processing plant, ect ect ect. And it’s the same with music. Eventually true artists will realize that music can no longer be a profession, only a hobby. And the greats will be lost forever to the majority of us. We’ll be left with the music that our friends do. Hopefully they’re good!

Said another way, lets say all of the sudden all the butchers and cereal companies in the country all of the sudden also started producing corn. Corn was everywhere…everyone was selling it, or giving it away. Everyone thought they knew how to grow it, how to package it, how to turn it into products even if they weren’t an expert. We’d have a lot of shitty corn! A lot shitty cereals, the price of corn and all related products would take a nose dive…and eventually we’d have the same result. Corn would lose it’s value, so people would stop producing it…and eventually it would dry up. Or, what if we went from 32 NFL teams to 70, and games were on every day. It would dilute the brand and no one would want to watch football anymore.

And what’s more, today artists have to put out an album every year to even stay relevant. Music get sucked in and spit out so quickly for the new flavor of the month, that unless you are constantly putting out something new, the public forgets about you, you lose your deal and go back to bartending at Chili’s. Does this make for great music? No, it makes for hurried creations that have not had time to live or breath. Like genetically modified corn that’s been injected with special fertilizers and hormones for quick growth. It’s unnatural! A great song like “Imagine” has to be lived. It has to come from experience, for hurt and pain, from real organic shit…and hope, and have time to find it’s voice and it’s life.

Record labels, though imperfect, at least were able to separate the wheat from the chaff. They put money into that really great corn and gave it to the masses; established it’s value and allowed it to thrive…allowing artists to make it a profession and continue producing what people loved. Was it a monopoly? NO, there were handfuls of record labels competing. Pushing dollars into their artists in hopes that America would love them and latch on! They provided some sort of control. How many really great artists have you seen emerge in the last 3 years? Maybe 3? 4? Is this the trend we want to continue? I don’t know about you but I do not want to eat a lot of shitty corn!

You Shook Me All Night Long!

On Saturday night my faith in music was momentarily revived by a band SO awesome, SO fun, SO completely committed to every move that they were able to transport me with ease back to an era that I was too young to even remember!

Rubix Kube is an 80s cover band that not only delivers every lick and every line of all of your favorite 80s jams, but also brings you all of the bad hair, the unfortunately unflattering (but somehow still totally awesome) outfits, and even all of that cheesy choreography that you can’t help but love! They performed at The Canal Room on Saturday night for a crowd of a good 300 people, all wearing headbands, sunglasses and so much neon that it actually made the sunglasses more of a necessity than a fashion statement.

I was quite possibly the only sober person in the room….but this sad fact did not hinder my enjoyment of this completely rockin band! This is one group that you actually don’t need to be drunk to enjoy (although being drunk certainly doesn’t hurt)** Normally, I might think it to be a bit of a sham to see a band with no original music…but Rubix Kube’s strength is their superior performance ability and the fact that they are delivering something unique to an over-saturated music market that continues to flood itself with mediocre, generic songs. Rubix Kube, however, performs the best of the best from the 80′s…all those songs that you want to scream along with and dance to without any of the extra crap that most bands try to extend a set with. But most importantly, they are true musicians! Every guitar solo was played with perfection by Eric Presti. The sax, synth, piano and string hooks that you remember from all your favorite songs were played note for note by their keyboardist named Sky (an incredible feat for a show of over 40 songs) and the two lead singers, Cherie Martorana and Scott Lovelady, delivered powerful vocals that would make Pat Benatar, Bon Jovi and White Snake proud! Rubix Kube even goes so far as to project music videos and band photos for all songs they perform on the wall behind the stage. One of my favorite moments of the night was marveling at how much better Brett Michaels looked before years of drinking, doing drugs, over-eating, and being stripped of all self-respect by VH1′s, The Rock of Love turned him into a middle-aged wash-up clinging to his former days by wearing eyeliner and paying trashy girls to date him.

The only downside to the event was that the room was so crowed with drunken buffoons that for a moment I wished I had
brought my slingshot! But even that was not enough to stifle the fun that Rubix Kube was dishing out like Santa Claus on Christmas morning!

Tickets for Rubix Kube at Canal Room: $15
2 drinks for my boyfriend and I: $20
Watching said boyfriend pour his drink on some drunk hoe in neon who kept trying to kiss him: priceless!

Check out Rubix Kube online at http://www.rubixkube.com. They play regularly at The Canal Room and I highly suggest putting on your high tops and legwarmers and dancing your ass off to songs from The Culture Club, AC/DC, Def Leopard, and many more of your favorite 80′s bands!

Tree Lighting Fiasco at Rockefeller Center

I wish I carried a slingshot with me everywhere I went. That way, I would be prepared to take action when I saw performances like the ones last night at the Tree Lighting Ceremony at Rockefeller Center. Now I’ve known for awhile that the music industry was in dire straights and quite literally grasping for straws, and I’m sure you have too, but last night was a shocker.

I actually found myself saying out loud last night, “Are you serious?” And not just once! Almost every artist offered their own unique kind of disappointment. Susan Boyle for example; can someone please explain to me how this woman still has a budding music career? I realize that she had a beautiful performance on Brittain’s Got Talent, and it was moving to see someone like her really have a moment in the spotlight. But the continual pumping of marketing dollars into her and putting her on major stages across the country is mind boggling. Since when did we let performers that consistently look like a deer in headlights continue to vie for our attention? There is nothing moving about watching a statue move their lips to some music, no matter how good their voice is.

And the Justin Beiber effect is another phenomenon sweeping the nation that makes me want to spew chunks. Just because there is one successful, talented and cute star under the age of 16 doesn’t mean that any cute, young 16 year old has the chops to cut it with the big boys (or girls) and that we should start scouring the nation like Harrod looking for Jesus to find another young clone to thrust into the spotlight in order to make a quick buck. Last night, Charise, who is supposedly the new hottest up and coming puppet of the music industry, delivered a robotic performance at best. Yes, she has a good voice and is awkwardly endearing…but there are millions of good voices and cute faces out there. What used to mark a star was their ability to put on a show, or write amazing songs, or do just about anything except stand there with a gimpish smile on their face and wait for their music to start. Last night Charise’s track didn’t begin properly and instead of turning the flub into a moment to shine, like any performer with any true credibility would do by making a joke, or breaking out into an accapella number…she stood there fidgeting and looking like shy Ronnie from Saturday Night Live. These are the moments that test real talent! When things don’t go perfectly, if you sink faster than an anchor tied to a kitten…then you are not ready to be performing on National television. Her pianist finally took the mic from her and said, “Gotta love live television.” “Are you serious?” Now, I can hear some of you saying, but she’s only 16, give her a break..and to you I would say, “Would Michael Jackson have waited for one of his brothers in the Jackson Five to snatch the mic from him and save the day?” Hell no! He actually had talent and knew how to command the stage! He was actually living in a time when record labels came to see you perform before they signed you and actually cared about putting their name on something that would make them look like they couldn’t tell a shining star from a crashing satellite.

To Charise’s credit, once the music actually started, she did recover and deliver a well sung song. But once upon a time musicians were not just about delivering the status quo…they were innovators, pushing music and performance to new heights.

But sadly one of the major problems with the music industry these days is that labels are putting no money into artist development. They are no longer looking for acts with serious heart and passion and signing them to multiple record deals in order to see what they can create and how they can evolve. They are no longer looking for those acts that might be slightly off the beaten path, but that just might change the way we listen to music. It used to be about inspiring music. It used to be about moving people! Now it is about trying to make a quick buck and jumping on any bandwagon that has had it’s 5 minutes of fame in reality television and riding it like a dog in heat until the wheels fall off. Please tell me how true art comes from this? If your answer to this question is “Hey, Don’t be Tardy for the Party is some good shit,” then please get in line for me to shoot you with the sling shot that I’ve now decided to carry around. It’s sad, but it seems that the days of Stevie Wonder and Bob Dylan truly are dead because those two legends would never get signed today. Stevie would get overlooked because he’s blind, and in the days of 360 deals, we aren’t sure how to pitch a blind artist to fashion labels…and Bob Dylan wouldn’t get signed because his songs aren’t the “run of the mill, proven formula devoid of any real heart and feeling.” And even if he did get signed by some miracle…they would end up auto-tuning his voice to a point where none of his raspy emotion could come through.

But it’s not just the labels fault! We are the ones buying this crap (or stealing it by downloading it for free and therefore eliminating the value of music altogether and perpetuating the problem). We have proven lately that musicians who take a risk and make innovative music are NOT what we want. We want people like Ke$ha and Kim Zolciak and songs telling us to make haste and not be late for the awesome party tonight…woooooh!!!

Annie Lenox though….now she’s still got it! Whether she’s singing a Christmas song or “Walking on Broken Glass” that woman sings her ass off and delivers a performance that moves her audience every time! Quite frankly, she single handedly saved the show.

Patience: The Fourth Step to Following Your Passion

Be patient!!!! Everything takes 10 times longer than you expect. There are at times exceptions to this, however, they are extremely rare. So if you love something then be prepared to work for it and most of all, be prepared to wait for it. Especially if you are in the arts. Unless you have a very famous family member then chances are that fame, fortune, and slutty groupies are not appearing over night like cash from the tooth fairy. But take heart, you are following your true passion and you are not alone!

In most industries when you offer a service you receive a payment for your work or your goods. However, the arts work more like a not for profit in which you offer all of your time and energy for an emotional reward rather than a monetary one. You will most likely be performing for free and spending most, if not all, of your leftover income after bills on things like paying your band, buying gear, paying photographers, reproducing head shots, recording, or buying supplies, ect ect ect. So as you watch your vacation dreams, new clothes desires, and love of dining at fancy restaurants flush rapidly down the loo….remember to have patience! This is what you chose. It’s difficult swallow at times but that gaggingly stoic saying about how good things come to those who wait (and who work their a#*! off I should add) is probably true. (For the love of God, please let it be true!) And while you do occasionally hear of the over night success story…most of the time that “over night” break was created by years of hard work, sacrifice, and an pain-staking amount of patience! So keep working and wait for that moment! If you have talent, faith in yourself and passion for what you are doing…sooner or later the world will recognize you! How long can you wait….that’s up to you and your heart to decide. But here are a few brilliant examples of people that had patience and kept on keeping on:

Jack Nicholson got his big break at 30. Morgan Freeman got his at age 52. J.K Rowling was a 30 year old single mom on welfare and got denied by 12 publishing Houses before she finally got a measly $1500 advance by a small British publishing house to finish writing Harry Potter! Robin Thicke is the son of a famous actor but still got shelved for years by his label who didn’t believe America would get his music. Katy Perry and Lady Gaga got dropped by their first labels…and weather you are a fan or not, those ladies are raking in the dough and living their dream. So yes, it sucks most of the time, and I’m the first to admit that, but perseverance and patience are everything! America is built these days on instant gratification, fast food, fast cash, and living in the fast lane. But dreams can not be made like a $3 hamburger at Mickey D’s. So don’t forget why you started on your journey and be willing to hold out for as long as it takes to make it right! Patience is a virtue!

Letting Go! The 3rd Step in Following Your Passion

If you have discovered your passion and have chosen to have faith in yourself and follow it’s path then I encourage you to also learn how to let go! This step in particular is one of the most difficult ones for me personally. I am a perfectionist, grew up in a church that my great grandfather built, have extremely successful parents and friends, attended Northwestern University and graduated with close to straight A’s and carry around with me almost everywhere that I go a sense of “should be and should do.” I feel sometimes that I should do something more practical, should be making more money, or should be doing this kind of music or that kind of music. The list is endless…but I’m slowing learning that it is nearly impossible to follow your passion unless you can LET GO of the word “should!”

Should! It seems like such a harmless little word. But this one word can kill creativity and passion faster than you can say it. Why is that? Well, it’s because following your passion is almost never the path of least resistance. It involves more risk than most people are willing to accept, which is why very few people have the courage to truly follow their passion. I risked everything when I decided to follow my dream to be a musician. I risked having a 3 figure a year salary, risked having years of work experience right out of college, risked my parents and friends thinking that I was foolish, risked many people thinking that because I was waiting tables at 25 years old, that I wasn’t intelligent or capable of doing something else and the biggest thing that I risked was security, embracing instead the possibility of actually failing at something that I loved. All of these things weigh on your heart and slowly suffocate creativity and joy if you let it.

“Should” also kills passion because it takes the joy out what you are actually doing! When you say to yourself, “Maybe I should be in a more practical career,” you are injecting negativity into the bloodstream of your passion by condemning what you are doing as somehow incorrect. Following your passion requires joy and acceptance of yourself in it’s fullest. There are many many musicians in this world today, and some much more skilled than I, but I come with my unique background, my own thoughts to express in their unique way…and so all my fears, and pain, hopes, beliefs and experiences come together in way that is unique from anyone else on the planet. Following your passion is difficult enough without injecting negativity into it on a daily basis. Let go of all the things you think you should be and instead accept what you are. And let go of all the things you think you “should” be doing and instead accept fully what you have chosen to do and fight for it tooth and nail.

Have Faith!!! The Second Step in Following Your Passion!

I was asked recently by a friend to talk about how to begin developing a career in the entertainment industry and I was happy to speak to her about some of the steps I took and am still taking to build an entertainment career. Unfortunately, there is no set path, no formula to success in this industry. I am still paving my way too, and it is difficult work…mostly uphill. However, once you have discovered your passion (which I spoke about last week) and have set out on it’s path, pretty soon afterwards the overwhelming obstacles in front of you present themselves and the doubt starts to creep in. It happens to the best of us, the strongest of us, and even the most determined. The second step to achieving your dream is often more difficult than the first! It is having faith!

Have faith! It may sound cliche…but you must have faith that even though thousands of people “fail” at realizing their goal each day…that for you the story will end differently! But don’t be fooled just because it sounds “cliche.” Having faith can be very challenging work! It is a daily commitment, one you must re-affirm again and again. We are human, and doubt is something that is engrained in our DNA. It sits right next to our confidence and taunts it the entire way saying things like, “You’re deluding yourself. You can’t do that. You’re not as good as him, or her, or you don’t have enough talent, education, or brains.” But it is precisely in those moments that we must reaffirm our faith and CHOOSE to press forward! As I spoke about last week, a passion is usually something we are born with, a deep seeded love for something that has existed in us for as long as we can remember. But having faith is a choice! It is a verb, which means it requires action and work! There is a beginning, a middle and an end! There is the act of choosing to have faith, then there is living in that beautiful place of pure faith, and usually, eventually that faith fades and doubt creeps in again and again and again. So when the doubt does find its way in, and it always does, remind yourself that everyone feels it, but heros do not turn away and run from it. Heros choose to believe and have faith that they can find a way to press forward. It doesn’t mean that they dont feel doubt or that it goes away…it simply means that their faith is stronger. I truly believe that faith is often what separates those who succeed from those who give up! So choose faith. It will save you! It is infectious, and if you have faith in yourself, you inspire others to have the confidence to do so also!

Here is one of my songs called “Fly” It was written about a time in my life when doubt was winning the fight….and when I had to make the choice to have faith one more time!

Discovering Your Passion! The 1st Step to Following Your Passion!

This is the first in a 4 week series of blogs about following your passion. Every Sunday for 4 weeks I will be posting a new step to help you keep the faith and live your dream!

Discovering your passion! It may seem obvious, but discovering your true passion eludes many people! Many set out in today’s society to do what will make the most money, or what their parents want them to do, or what will bring them prestige in their community. Those of us living in the art world know about passion all too well because it’s been living and growing inside of us for as long as we can remember. I honestly can not remember a time when I did not dream of being on the stage. From the time I was 5 years old I was pretending to lead a choir, dancing on the fireplace as if it were my stage, and singing at the top of my lungs to Gloria Estefan and Whitney Houston. So although it’s not always easy to walk down the artistic path…I have always known what makes me tick.

However, what I realized recently is that I have another true passion that’s not as obvious…and for those of you who haven’t yet consciously figured out what your passion is…maybe this will help you!

I realized that I have a passion for my faith and for religion. I absolutely love learning about other religious beliefs, why people believe in what they do, and the stories that have lead them to their faith. From the Bible, to Paulo Coelho, to books about Hinduism, Buddhism and even New Age beliefs like The Secret, I can’t get enough. Almost every in depth conversation that I have with someone, somehow finds it way to the topic of faith! I am happy sharing openly what I believe, and love to expand on my faith by learning what you believe! And so, I came to discover my second true passion: Faith! Anything that you love to devour, to learn about, or to speak about is your passion. It is something you are born with! You can deny it…but it will never go away and someday, somehow will find it’s way to the surface. It doesn’t have to be what you do for a career…if you love helping people, can’t stop talking about the homeless who don’t have warm coats in the winter, or love learning about the welfare system in America…then get involved, volunteer and find a way to spend your extra time organizing a coat drive, serving at a soup kitchen or working to improve the welfare system. The sooner you accept what you are and what you love, the sooner you will start to understand your purpose on earth! Be true to yourself and your spirit and the rest will start to follow! By discovering your true passion you are one HUGE step closer to being able to follow it and live a life of deep fulfillment.

Visit the blog next Sunday for the second step to following your passion!

September 14th; Give it All Up

Just finished a new song today called “Give it All Up!” I’m really excited to unveil an accoustic version of the song on Thursday, September 23rd at 8pm at Ella Lounge in NYC. I’ve been working on an entirely new set and will be performing 9 new songs that night!

“Give it All Up” is a song about giving everything for love! All you have, all you’ve worked for, and all that you are! Sometimes fighting so hard ends in heart break…but if you give it all you have, it never ends in regret! Completely selfless love. We don’t often love this way…the world does not teach us to love unconditionally. It teaches us about what we get in return. But true love is worth more than diamonds and pearls. It’s worth fighting for!

“I’d take the knife, I’d bare the sword
Like rain my soul I’d pour
Just to help you win your war…”

September 13th, 2010; School Clothes Shopping

Well, after almost 2 months off in music, I am back in the swing of things again and looking forward to getting new blogs and new song out there to all of you! I’ve been working with the amazing James Kinney on some new songs and will be performing them for the fist time on September 23rd at 8pm at Ella Lounge in NYC! The inspiration is flowing…

Voice Piece For Soprano
Scream
1.) Against the wind
2.) Against the wall
3.) Against the sky

MOMA atrium

June 27th, 2010; The Bitter End

Tonight at 8pm I have a show at The Bitter End! It’s a showcase for upcoming female singer/songwriters and each performer does 3 songs! I’m blogging about this today because I’m oddly nervous and it got me to thinking about what it’s like to live as an artist!

I’ve had countless shows in my life! Some 3 hours long, some a half an hour and most around an hour long! And you would think that after performing so many times that you wouldn’t get nervous anymore….but I don’t think that’s how it works for most performers. No matter how many times you do it, putting your feelings and your heart on the line is never easy! And in a live medium….a lot can go wrong! Now most of the time everything goes smoothly, and even when it doesn’t, you roll with it and learn that its not the end of the world…but that feeling of heading into the unknown and wondering how the audience will receive you is daunting! And of course it’s exciting too! But I’ve often thought…maybe that’s what makes so many artists crazy! Living day in and day out in that place of vulnerability….giving your heart to the world and not knowing how the world will treat it! That fear and vulnerability can be a beautiful thing if we learn how to channel it back into our music and immerse our hearts in our art and performances! But it can also be destructive and drive some to drugs and alcohol to escape those feelings of such strong self awareness! So I think it’s important to continue to strive to fully embrace ourselves as people and artists and to live as best we can with the knowledge that we are vulnerable. It’s not always easy, but it sure as hell never gets dull!

If you are in the New York City area tonight then come to The Bitter End at 8pm to watch me put my heart and my thoughts on the line for your musical enjoyment!

July 21st, 2010; A Dream in One Hand and a Venti Starbucks Misto in the Other

This post goes out to all the entrepreneurs and the dreamers out there………

Last night I watched a program on CNBC about Howard Shultz, the man behind the Starbucks you are probably drinking while reading this. I know a lot of people like to hate on big business, but I was so inspired by this man’s story last night that it is compelling me to dream even bigger today!

Howard Shultz grew up in the projects in Brooklyn and his only goal was to make it out. After putting himself through college he got a job working for Starbucks, that at that time sold only coffee beans and whole leaf teas. But after a trip to Italy where he saw people ordering fancy cups of coffee at local coffee shops, he came back to America and tried to convince the owners of Starbucks to sell coffee by the cup. No one else believed in his idea but Howard was persistant. And a few years later, when Starbucks was floundering financially, Howard was given a chance to buy the entire company. He had not a dollar to his name, statistics were showing that coffee consumption in the U.S. was declining and he had to raise 3.4 million dollars to buy the company! All odds were stacked against him but he was persistent.

I’m sure you know how this story continues because, today, around every corner in most major cities aross the globe there is a Starbucks! Howard Shultz is now quite possibly one of the most successful men in America, but he never forgot his roots. He still often puts on an apron and serves coffee at his local Starbucks and The company’s largest expense is on health care for their employees. More than the beans, more than the espresso machines, more than anything!

Now, I am not telling you to run out and buy a Starbucks, (although Mr Shultz if you read this, I would be a great spokeswoman for your brand) but what I realized is that there is only one true recipe for success; a die hard, unwavering passion for what you are doing and a work ethic that never stops even when all the odds are stacked against you! But not only that, enjoying the journey is also part of what brings success. I’m sure Howard Shultz did not try to take over the world with coffee and become one of the most successful companies in the world on his first day working at Starbucks . He simply had a passion for a great cup coffee and an idea. So he created one store, which led to another and then another and so on and so forth. If he had started on day one with the vision in his mind of becoming a world-wide coffee mogul, he probably would have crumbled under the weight of his dream and from the fetal position would have said, “There’s no way I can do that…it’s impossible”

I am very guilty of this pitfall to success. Dreams are great…but sometimes the end goal gets so big you can’t see the small steps it takes in between to get there. If we don’t enjoy our journey and stop looking so hard at the end goal, we get frustrated and angry. But anger does not bring success! Passion and love bring lasting success, so we have to stay in a place that allows these emotions to spring forth.

So today I am re-committing to live my life and my passion for music with that kind of die hard belief in what I create. That even though all the odds are stacked against someone having a successful career in the music industry these days, I will not give in to those that give me statistics and numbers showing the decline in album sales and the slump in the number of artists being signed each year. I’m going to remember to keep the faith, to hold on to my passion, and to do my best to never forget my roots; to remember that no matter where life takes me, I am still that small town girl from Michigan who came to New York with a dream in one hand and venti Starbucks misto in the other. So as you read this today, celebrate your dream! And no matter how old you are, or how many people discourage you, start taking one step each day to make your personal dream a reality!

July 16th, 2010; The Best of “Play Me, I’m Yours”

I’ve had some time to reflect upon my journey playing 29 pianos for “Play Me, I’m Yours” and what it has meant to me! The number of ways that I have been enlightened by this project are incredible!

I am extremely touched as I reflect upon all the people that let me know how inspired they were by my journey! And it is something that I didn’t fully expect! I had one follower send me a message after reading “The Imperfect Piano” post and say how deeply moved she was by my song “When it Rains” and by what I wrote about my experience! She said that I inspired her to look at herself and at her life in a new way; that she felt liberated and inspired. I was contacted by photographers who wanted to come along and take pictures of my journey, by someone who wanted to do a video interview with me about my music, by fans who started to appear at a few pianos, by another musician who wanted to play with me at a piano, and by a producer for NBC news who filmed a bit of me playing in Times Square and subsequently began following my journey and listening to my music!

I also learned a very important lesson about getting involved in your community! When I initially heard about “Play Me, I’m Yours” I thought, “Wow that’s really cool”. But after reading an article about it in the NY Times and learning a bit about the charity Sing for Hope I felt called to do something more, and to experience this work of art on a much deeper level! It was daunting and seemed like an immense amount work to play 29 pianos in 10 days while documenting everything on film and blogging about each day’s experiences…but something inside me felt the spark of excitement and I have learned enough to know that when you feel that spark, something inside of you knows that it is your destiny to follow that path…and that it will be life changing. And on this path I came across so many people over the last 10 days that had no idea that this installation was even going on or that said, “Yeah I heard about that but haven’t gone to any of the pianos.” I felt like shaking them and saying, “You are missing the coolest thing to have happened to NYC in ages!” And I honestly make that statement with the utmost sincerity! The number of people that came together, discovered or re-discovered their love for music, that found a new artist that they loved and could help support, or that simply went about their day with a bigger smile on their face, was incredible! We so often get consumed in our own bubble and don’t pay attention to all the amazing and important things happening in our community! I too am VERY guilty of this…but this project reminded me to open my eyes and my heart!

And as a musician I feel that I have earned some serious chops during this journey! Not only did it give me hours of practice, but I sang in 100 degree heat, with no microphone, with kids on each side, horns honking, sirens blaring, people taking photographs, teenagers talking to me while I’m playing, and all on pianos that were about a half a step out of tune! I even had a cockroach run over my foot while playing in Times Square! Talk about distractions and unusual circumstances….but, the show must go on as they say…and boy did I learn how to keep a song going while mayhem was breaking out all around me!

As I look back, a few moments in particular stick out as highlights! Playing the piano at the end of a pier in Riverside Park and having a group of 13 year old girls cheer and ask if they could get a photograph with me, an older man in Harlem saying that he and a bunch of little kids wanted me back on the piano because they were inspired by the music I was playing, a 10 year old girl who jumped on the piano in St Nicholas Park after I was finished and belted out one of my songs at the top of her lungs while her little brother leaned on the piano eating a hot dog! Singing an impromptu duet in Greely Square with a stranger, a woman who said I made her day in Riverbank State Park, and belting out a horribly sung version of Thunder road with a group of strangers at Astor Place!

From Battery Park to Harlem each piano offered its own unique story and put me in touch with someone special to teach to me a new lesson! I’m so grateful to all those that shared in my journey and met me along the way! And to my friends and sister who helped plan, film, and set up my blog….thank you!

July 4th, 2010; The Grand Finale

It is my final day of Play Me, I’m Yours and I have two new friends by my side to see me play my last piano! I met them when I played at Astor Place and they wanted to be a part of my last day! And that is what I think has been so special about this journey! The people! People that otherwise probably wouldn’t have crossed my path, and if they had, may have walked right on by! But these pianos gave us an opportunity to come together and share in an experience!

My last piano of the journey was at The Metropolitan Museum of Art and unfortunately whoever was supposed to have unlocked the piano probably celebrated a little too hard the night before and didn’t get up to open it! So I sang a song a cappella (an old hymn that I arranged into a spiritual after singing in a gospel choir in high school) in honor of my last piano and went to Central Park to play there instead! I must have played for 25 minutes and a huge crowd gathered to listen! Each time when I was about to get up, someone would ask me to play one more. So I stayed and performed all of my favorites and soaked up the last moments of being able to play a piano outside in the middle of the city. As always I met some lovely people, gave away a few CD’s and finally went home with a smile on my face!

As the fireworks glimmered over the Hudson in celebration of the 4th I reflected on all the pianos I had played in Manhattan’s many neighborhoods and I was so glad that I set out on this journey! In the beginning it was daunting, and I was nervous. I thought to myself, “maybe this is a stupid idea that no one will care about or be interested in. But like all great moments, projects, or journeys, in the beginning the magnitude can never be seen or predicted. Only by taking a leap of faith and embarking on a path that speaks to your heart can you ever really know what can become of an idea! When I set out on my journey to play these pianos I had an in-cling that it would excite me to get involved in a community project…but I had no idea how deeply and beautifully it would affect me as a person and as a musician. Each piano that I played and each person that I met had a unique and important message to share! I am deeply grateful for their inspiration.

….Stay tuned for a summary of my 10 days a video montage of all the highlights!

July 3rd, 2010; “The Words Don’t Have to be Beautiful”

It’s Saturday and I was not looking forward to making the treck all the way up to 145th St. but as always, once I got there I was very glad to have made the journey. I began at Riverbank State Park and after a few minutes of looking, found the piano under a swarm of little boys banging on it as hard as they could. I felt bad for the poor little piano taking a beating and told the boys that I was going to show them how to play it gently. So I sat down and played a few songs, the little boys got bored of course after about 3 notes and ran away. A few minutes later I was approached by a woman who had been listening and she asked if me I could play Fur Elise for her because she LOVED that song so much. Now, I hadn’t played that song in years, but my fingers found their way…and I played a botched, but decent version of the song. The woman left with tears in her eyes and said in broken English that I made her day!

These pianos seem to be a bit like Chinese proverbs…hidden with beautiful little life lessons. Each of these pianos has told me it’s own little story and has reminded me in a new way how to remain in harmony with the world and those around me. This particular piano told me a story about the human spirit. It said, “If it is beaten down by person after person, it makes a terribly unpleasant sound, the kind of sound that is written off as ugly or unworthy of being listened to. And if beaten down long enough pretty soon the entire piano is out of tune and can no longer make the beautiful sounds it once made.” I think it is a good lesson for us to remember this piano in our relationships with those around us…whether friends or enemies, family members or people living on the street. When we are careless with someone’s spirit, then we take part in hindering them from making the beautiful music they were made to produce. And we can never know what someone is capable of if we hinder them from reaching their full potential. That is why it’s so important to always do our best to love and encourage, especially for those who have taken a beating from life. That doesn’t mean that they aren’t responsible for their actions or their poor choices in life. It simply means that we are responsible for ours! And sometimes all it takes is one person to sit down and “play.” To treat someone with kindness and respect, and even though out of tune, the beautiful music created can lift another person’s spirit!

From this piano I went to St. Nicholas Park on 135th St and played a few songs while some very sweet kids stood around and listened. When I was finished I was pleased to hear one little girl sit down, and even though she didn’t know how to play, belted out a hilarious version of my song “I Wanna Love Somebody.” And she wasn’t intentionally trying to be encouraging…but her tribute was out of love and enjoyment…and so it made my day and lifted my spirit!

Finally I made it to my favorite spot of my entire journey playing these pianos. The Cathedral of St. John the Divine. It is one of the most breathtaking things that I have ever seen. Inside the cathedral were rows of stained glass windows, soaring ceilings and bible verses printed into the marble floor. The presence of God was palpable and I sat for a few moments on a chair and counted all the blessings that I have been given in my life! And then I went to the piano! Outside the cathedral and placed in a garden near an incredible statue that seemed to depict the defeat of Satan, sat a beautiful piano inscribed with, “The words don’t have to be beautiful. Sounds.” I got to thinking about those words as I played this gorgeous piano in a garden of peacocks (yes real peacocks). Although it can mean something different to everyone, I took it to mean that in the presence of God, what we say does not have to beautiful or perfectly crafted! We just need to make a sound…something….anything offered up will be heard! Whether a cry of anguish, a shout for joy, or an admittance of anger, doubt, or shame, it is all heard and accepted. We can really just be ourselves and make whatever honest sound we can or need to make, and it will echo in heaven and in earth like the ripples from a stone thrown into a pond…each growing and expanding and touching everything around it! I have said to many people who are truly close to me that I feel closest to God when I am playing and singing. And even though I know that he always hears my little little voice in a multitude of billions, today I really felt that he sat next to me on that piano and listened only to me.

July 2nd, 2010; Harlem and Central Park!

A piano by the pond at the North end of Central Park in Harlem. I took some photos there with a fantastic photographer named Josh Griffler and then asked some little girls if it would be ok for me to sit and play for a moment! They were more than happy to oblige and one insisted that she be the videographer. The other asked if she could sit next to me while I played and the third girl critiqued her friends filming skills! (I apologize for another video that will probably make you nauseous…but once again, they were so eager to help that I could not say no to having them film). An older gentleman leaned against the piano and listened intently! People gathered around and when I was done playing the little girl sitting next to me said, “please play another song!” So I did! I went back to taking photos and then an old man came up to me and said softly, “when you’re done with that we would like to have you back at the piano!”. It was amazing how many people just wanted to listen to someone play and sing…and I was very honored that they wanted so much for me to continue! And its not everyday that one gets to sit and play a piano next to a lake in the middle of central park…so I was quite happy to continue playing!

As I near the end of my journey I am trying to soak in each moment at these pianos and the spirit of solidarity that they have been bringing to the city! I hope that when they are gone we will still find ways to come together over music!

July 1st, 2010; The New Yorker’s Piano

On the corner of Bleecker Street and Sixth Avenue sits the most beautiful piano to date! A multitude of colors splashed all over with graffiti like flare and an intricately drawn character on one side of the piano that grabs your attention! I played about 5 songs here because no one seemed to want to take it from me…so like each piano says, “Play me, I’m yours, this piano was mine for about 30 wonderful minutes! I played a song that I love by the Black Eyed Peas called “Meet Me Halfway,” and as I was playing it struck me how much this piano reminded me of New York. 1.) because it was very near to the first apartment that I lived in in NYC, 2.) because it is on a very busy corner where a few different streets meet, the traffic is loud and the people are even louder! And 3) because the way that this piano was painted was so representative of New York City!

This is a city of people of all colors and backgrounds seemingly thrown together, one on top of the other in crazy disarray! And yes, It may look like a mess to the outsider! The streets don’t always come together perfectly and there are people screaming on street corners, cab drivers laying on their horns, garbage on the streets and the wildest hairstyles and clothing that you’ve ever seen! But somehow we all work together and live side by side to create this beautiful and bustling city called New York! And it really is beautiful! It isn’t shiny like Chicago, or on a white, sandy beach like LA, but New York’s beauty comes from its character…different in every neighborhood, but always dramatic, bold and splashed against the canvas of skyscrapers and brownstones with color and bravado! Just like this painted piano!

I fell in love with NYC the moment I stepped off the plane with suitcase in hand and dreams in my heart! Alicia Keys got it right when she sang “Now you’re in New York! Concrete jungle where dreams are made of, there’s nothing you can’t do, now you’re in New York! These streets will make you feel brand new, big lights will inspire you!…”.

Let’s here it for New York, New York, New York!!!

June 30th, 2010; Wednesday in the Park with Sophia

I played for quite awhile this evening in Tompkins Square Park and met quite possibly one of the cutest little girls alive. Her name was Sophia and she desperately wanted to film tonight’s video. So of course I couldn’t say no…and she actually did a great job! I’m pretty impressed! You may get a bit nauseous in the beginning…but it steadies after a few seconds

I don’t know that I learned anything profound tonight. But I enjoyed tonight’s piano so much! I played a few songs, and then a few others came and played and then I played again, and then a few other people. It was such a give and take, a show and tell of original songs and stories. Tompkins Square Park is right on the heart of New York City’s east village so is full of musicians and artists and creative types of all sorts. The caliber of music being played was absolutely incredible. Even the people you didn’t expect to really put on a show suddenly found their inner rock star and belted out tunes with the best of us. I wonder if this is what it was like back in the days before television, internet and cell phones. People just hanging out and performing for one another. I remember numerous times when I was a kid in school learning about different periods in history and thinking to myself…wow that must have been so boring. But OH cont-rare, we had an absolute blast tonight exchanging ideas and songs, and just listening to someone else perform. No one cared if the performance was perfect…it was a supportive forum. A “Let me hear what you’re working on right now” and a, “Wow, I really love the melody in that chorus.” I know I am no poet in the way I’m saying all of this tonight, but seriously, how cool are these pianos just out in the open for people to play? They are inspiring kids to learn music, reminding artists why we decided to walk down this difficult path, and prompting adults who have two kids and a successful business career to find their inner rock star. And it is so stinkin cool to watch it happen every night, in a different neighborhood and to an entirely different group of people. New York is coming alive! Maybe when I am done with this project and all of these pianos disappear I will have a performance party at my apartment and invite a bunch of people who are willing to perform for the group, whether it’s a monologue, a song, a piece of writing or a work of art! Because I am learning every day how much we all just want to be able to express ourselves and have a few people that are willing to listen.

June 29th, 2010; The Urban Race

Have you ever wanted a do over? To just say “take two” and start again? I know I have…more than once in my life and in more than one kind of circumstance! Tonight at my first piano of the night (piano 20 in my marathon to play all 29 Manhattan pianos) I had my friend TJ Rosenthal of the band The Bowery Riots meet me there to sing a duet! We sang one of my favorite Bowery Riots tunes “You’re Not Like the Other Ones” Now normally we do this song with me on piano, TJ on guitar, and the two of us singing. We hadn’t done the song in quite a while but decided to just give it a whirl anyway! Unfortunately, the piano was about a half step out of tune so sounded TERRIBLE with the guitar! Obstacle number one…so decided after the first few chords we should just scrap the guitar! Obstacle number 2…about halfway through the song I completely forgot the chords of the breakdown section! And I mean completely blanked and just started playing random chord progressions until I figured out what came next and could continue playing! DO OVER!!! “Lord, its me Jennifer, yeah you know, your sweet little Jennifer….well Lord, I’ve been a really nice girl lately and eat all my vegetables and say nice things to people all the time…so could you please just push rewind and let me do that again? Please, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!” Uhh if only life worked that way! But instead we face obstacles in life (and in music) and we just have to deal with it as it comes and do the best we can! Yes, sometimes we trip and fall flat on our face, but since we can’t get a do over….we have to do our best to just get back up with as much grace as possible and keep on truckin!

A friend tonight told me about an awesome race they do here in NYC called the Urban Race! Its an 8 mile race on the outskirts of Manhattan and along the way are 3 obstacles but they don’t tell you what they are! You are forced to meet them head on, running at full speed, and to do the best you can! But I was reminded of something beautiful tonight that we often forget. People don’t really care that we fall and are actually quite quick to forgive as long as the “trip and fall” is acknowledged and dealt with gracefully…and sometimes they even love you more for it! And I think it’s because we’ve all been there! We’ve all failed and wanted to cry out “DO OVER” or “take 2″ but if we stop taking ourselves so seriously and have a little laugh, it gives everyone else permission to enjoy our experience and help us get back up! I once saw Ingrid Michaelson play and she started a song with a terrible first note and started cracking up and then said, “I’m sorry,” we’re just going to try that again! The crowd went crazy with applause and cheers, as if to say, “we’ve been there too, and we’re so glad to see your human just like all of us.”

Piano number two for the night was on the steps of Julliard in Lincoln Center… so talk about pressure to perform! And on top of that, all the keys were painted white…which let me tell you, is trickier to play than it might seem. Luckily, having already “fallen” once in Central Park, I realized that its not as scary as our mind makes it out to be and that it’s not as hard to get back up as we think!

June 28th, 2010; What is your inspiration?

I’m now halfway through my journey for Play Me I’m Yours and went down to my 19th piano at Seward Park. It had been raining on an off for about an hour, so unfortunately when I arrived at the piano it was locked and covered with a tarp. But I did an interview there anyway and was asked, “now that you have one week down, and one more week to go playing these pianos, how does it feel to be halfway though your journey?”

Well, let me be blatantly honest with you…I’m unbelievably exhausted! I’ve been up just about every night until wee morning hours compiling video, editing video, uploading videos, writing, plotting pianos and asking friends to help me film (all in addition to the actual playing). But the amazing thing is…I’m also more energized than I have been in a VERY VERY long time! And that can only mean one thing! Inspiration! That fire that burns so deeply that even on the days when it’s hard to get out of bed in the morning…it keeps on burning, and re-igniting and re-invigorating your spirit! I received a very kind email from a friend today letting me know how much my blog and music means to him…that what I wrote about the imperfect piano and hearing me sing almost brought him to tears after a long, hard day at the office. He said, “I’m inspired.”

And that is truly the beautiful thing about inspiration. It is infectious; a wild fire that ignites everything it touches! I have been IMMENSELY inspired by all of the musicians I have met at these pianos over the last week and feel so blessed to have caught some of their flame so that I could pass it along to those I’ve come in contact with! And so halfway through my journey, more in love with music and filled with passion than ever before in my life I share a video shot in two locations. One an interview at Seaward Park piano and the other of me singing one of my favorite songs on Stone Street “I’m on Fire” by Bruce Springsteen. And I throw the question out to you readers…here in a forum where you can reply and post your thoughts…what is inspiring you right now in your life?

June 27th, 2010; “Work it Honey!”

I played 5 pianos today! It was a marathon in this nearly 90 degree and humid weather! From Chelsea market to Chelsea Square, Gansevoort Plaza, Stone Street and finally South Street Sea Port! Today was the annual NYC gay pride parade and if you’ve never experienced it..let me be the first to tell you…IT’S COMPLETE INSANITY! Rainbow briefs, feather headdresses and abs abs abs at every turn! I was exhausted, dehydrated and worst of all…I was feeling disgusting, sweaty and ugly in a tight dress that today was clinging to all the wrong places! ‘”Uhh, I can’t believe I have to be caught on film today,” I thought to myself. Then on my way to my fourth piano I caught a glimpse of a man in drag strutting his stuff down the street! This man was not just walking…this was a full on, and magnificent I might add, strut. His hips were moving so much from side to side that I started to hear drums in my head going bum bum ba dum ba dum with each step in his four inch heals! (Wow, “Note to self,” I thought) He smiled and waved and said, “love the earrings honey, work it” then kept right on going down the street.

In an infinitely better mood and with a little pep in my step, I continued on my way to my last piano for the day on South Street Sea Port! I had a few moments to myself at this piano…so I just played and sang, soaking up the time I had to just enjoy being in my own company. I stared out at the water and the ships going by and drifted away with my thoughts! I was playing my song “Tearing Me Down” and my mind wandered back to the drag queen that I’d seen on my way and his immense and beautiful confidence! A man that many people in this unfortunately closed minded world would look at and ridicule…strutted his stuff down the street with his head held high as if to say, “I’m here, I’m queer, and I’m fabulous! Love it or leave it people, but one things for sure…I love myself and I’m proud of the person that I am!” No one was going to tear him down…and that is just what my song is about…saying to that person who held you down or didn’t accept you for what you are, “I don’t need that in my life! This world is hard enough as it is…and I love myself too much to keep letting you tear me down!” If only we could all have that kind of self love regardless of the situation or whether our hair is perfect that day, or our dress is clinging to all the wrong places, or someone laughs at you because they don’t understand who you are! Take it from the drag queen and just “work it honey.” It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks! Hold your head high, put on your four inch heals, or sparkly star earrings, and say to the world “I’m here, I ain’t got no fear, and whether you love me or hate, I ain’t shedding a tear!”

June 26th, 2010; A New York State of Mind!

I’m in a New York State of mind today! After a delicious brunch at Public Restaurant and a little bit of unnecessary shopping I set out to Battery Park with my sister and video camera in tow. What an incredibly beautiful city we live in, yet so many of us New Yorkers rarely venture past our own neighborhood. I’m reminded of that Seinfeld episode where Kramer gets lost downtown and ends up on first and first crying out, “How can a street intersect itself? I’m at the apex of the universe!!!” I understand now just how he felt after getting lost in the financial district. There are no numbers there…suddenly all the streets have names and start to zig zag…it’s like I completely fell off the grid into an entirely different city. This “Play Me I’m Yours” 29 Manhattan pianos challenge has forced me to break out of my New York comfort zone and explore some areas of the city that I would typically never go…and despite the annoyance of getting lost, I am deeply grateful to be discovering some of my new favorite New York places! They are reviving my love for this incredibly diverse city.

Today was my first day at the tip of Manhattan. In Battery Park with the statue of liberty behind me, I couldn’t help but get a little choked up! You see, I came to this city from Michigan a few years ago to pursue my dream of being an artist, and sometimes I find myself in a New York moment and it hits me that I actually get to call this city home…and that even though I have a ways to go, I am still in this very moment living my dream! It’s so easy to get caught up in the hustle and to get frustrated when you aren’t in the position that you consider to be “success.” But often times if you just look around and accept each moment for what it is, you will realize that you actually have everything you ever wanted. Now that doesn’t mean that there isn’t more road to travel or higher mountain to climb, but many times as Americans (and almost always at New Yorkers) our view of success is so skewed that we take for granted all that we DO have and neglect to appreciate it because we compare ourselves with those who have more. Here in Battery Park, I discovered that “more” can be the robber of happiness! Every moment of your life is only a memory except for the exact moment that you are living in right now! So relish in that moment, savor it with all of your senses and forget about more! It doesn’t exist and it doesn’t bring happiness. The joy is in the now! Today as the sun was warming my skin, I sat down at a beautiful piano and let myself get swept up in the moment.

Afterward I ran to City Hall Park and to Tribeca Park. I met some sweet travelers at each place, made a few sad attempts at my classical piano roots and relished every second of it. As tired as I am, I will miss these painted pianos! They are reviving my music’s spirit and quenching it’s thirst for inspiration!

June 25th, 2010; What if Life Was a Musical?

One of my funnest nights to date doing my “Play Me I’m Yours” challenge of all 29 Manhattan pianos! I started at the piano in front of the Astor Place subway station and played a new song of mine called “Fools Gold.” As I was playing a small crowed formed around me and asked me to play another song. I decided to do a song by one of my favorite artists, “Bruce Springsteen.” Lord, my love for Bruce is almost ridiculous! I played “I’m on Fire” and when I was finished a man asked if I knew any more Springsteen. Do I know anymore Springsteen? Honey, does a duck with a hard on gather weeds? (Some priceless Aussie slang that I picked up living down under…definition: Duh! Of course!). He asked if I knew “Thunder Road” and offered to play it while I sang! This guy was KILLER on the keys and I was desperately trying to keep up and remember all the words…but just as I started to forget, a guy standing next to me that had remained fairly quiet up to this point, suddenly busted out singing! We were cracking up and singing at the top of our lungs and pretty soon everyone in the crowd was singing Thunder Road. It was like we were in a musical and everyone suddenly knew the same song! Wouldn’t it be great if life was like a musical? An almost constant soundtrack where spontaneously everyone would just break out into song with you? Or the guy you liked would suddenly profess his love by serenading you in the middle of the street while passerby’s danced in perfect choreographed moves!

Our musical concluded at Astor Place with “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” because mother brought her little girl up to me and asked if I would play it for her. This little girl, with wide brown eyes and vanilla ice cream dripping down her face was mesmerized. I wish these pianos could stay forever!

I then made my way up to Times Square! It was 8;45pm, the sun had set and the lights in the square made you feel like you were in the middle of a kaleidoscope! I almost forgot how amazing Times Square is! I sat down at the piano, literally surrounded by people and began to play. For the first time in my life I felt what it would be like to be a celebrity. Cameras were flashing everywhere, the crowd thickened and a few people even video taped my entire performance! I was bombarded by people asking to get their photo taken with me, and where they could buy my album! It struck me how interesting it was playing in this kind of environment. Normally as a musician you are on stage and separated from the people you are playing for. But here on the streets, people are gathering around you, looking into your eyes and talking to you after each song. It’s interactive and amazing, and incredibly scary! But it is opening me up even more as a musician to be SO present with the people I’m playing for! It’s a give and take. We are feeding off of each other and creating something together! Again, I wish these pianos could stay forever!

June 24th, 2010; The Imperfect Piano

Saint Marks Church on Second Avenue between 10th and 11th; a beautiful but modest church in a very urban park of only a few benches and some cobblestone. The piano that I found there was also modest to say the least. I stood and watched from afar as a few teenagers loitered around it, rested their bike against it, and one sat down and played a failed attempt at chopsticks. After a few moments I moved a little closer, and not long afterward a woman in her 30s with a single strand of pearls asked if it would be alright for her to play for a moment. The kids were happy to let her and when she sat at the bench and put her fingers to the keys, she said…”I haven’t played in ten years.” The piano was out of tune and her rendition of “A Whole New World” from Aladdin was rusty and full of stops and starts, flats when there should have been sharps and always a slight hesitation when her fingers were trying to feel their way for what was next. She asked if I wanted to play something too and so I sat down and played a VERY failed attempt at “Waiting in Vain.” It was so embarrassing and frustrating…why was this piano so hard to play? The lady before me had an excuse…she hadn’t played in ten years! But it seemed everyone who tried just couldn’t seem to play a perfect song!

To my surprise, it didn’t stop people from crowding around and leaning against this piano. Now forgive me for getting just a wee bit spiritual…I know it’s not always the popular approach…but we were playing in front of a church after all… and I couldn’t help but make the comparison between this sorry little piano, and us as people! How many times in life do we try so hard to be perfect, to sound or look beautiful, to impress everyone around us…but fall short. Life is full of stops and starts, sharps when there should be flats, and hesitation when we are unsure of what to do next. We are just like the imperfect piano. But just like the piano, we are also still able to create music and to fill the void with a sound so beautiful that it brings people near. We don’t need to be perfect…we simply need to be available for something bigger than us to come and to play, to use us as an instrument to create something inspiring! Whatever your religious beliefs are specifically…it doesn’t matter. What matters is that we realize that even though the world tells us that we need to be perfect, that we need to be a size four to be beautiful, to make over $100,000 to be considered successful, or go to an ivy league school to be smart…that these things are not what measure our worth. No matter how out of tune we are, we are capable of adding love and joy and music to the world in a way that no one else can, because no one else will ever be you! In this way we have an obligation to the world to be exactly who we we are and to create exactly what is in our heart to create…because if you don’t do it, no one in the history or future of the world will ever be able to. As imperfect as we are, we are unique! The woman who hadn’t played in 10 years found so much joy in simply being able to sit and play with no judgment. The sound of the piano didn’t matter. What mattered was the experience! And even through all of the stops and missed notes, the song was clearly recognizable and made everyone hum along! The imperfect piano has been the most inspiring one thus far, because I struggle with feeling like maybe I’m not cool enough…maybe my music isn’t “hip” enough, or like sometimes my life feels like a failed attempt at “Chopsticks.” But what the imperfect piano reminded me today was that, that’s ok! None of us are perfect, but we are still out their creating our own type of “music” and building our own life song. And even though there are a lot of bumps along the way…it is still recognizable as being imperfectly and uniquely ours!

June 23rd, 2010; I love people!

It was 93 degrees today in New York City….the heat was radiating from the buildings and the buses…and at 9am sharp I sat down at the piano in Herald Square. I was curious if anyone would actually pay attention this morning…because at 9am you know just about everyone on the streets is late to work. But sure enough, people stopped, and they stayed…and even if they walked by quickly…most turned and smiled. A woman even came over to me and said, “please don’t stop, I’m enjoying your music so much.” A moment into my second song a man hurried by in a perfectly tailored suit that probably cost more than my entire months rent…and when he saw me playing his anxious expression softened and he nodded and cracked a smile. What is it about music that makes even the most hardened of us stop and smile?

After playing a few songs, I myself had to hurry off to work. (Yes, musicians do often have day jobs!). 8 hours later and 8 hours more exhausted, I knew I had to head up to my sixth piano in Riverside Park. I was tired, my shirt was sticking to my back from the heat and all I wanted was a margarita and a lawn chair. I thought to myself, “if I just didn’t go…if I quit and stopped playing these pianos, would anyone know or even care?” But my mother and father taught me that the path to true greatness and self discovery is very rarely paved in margaritas and paper umbrellas. So for those of you who are following…I decided to go and to finish what I started. Along for the ride was my friend and tonight’s camera man, Nando, who when I first met him, was wearing a shirt that said “I love people.” (Which is very fitting for the insight I gained from tonight’s piano experience.) I arrived at the piano on the end of Pier 1. The city sparkled behind me and the water looked like a thousand tiny diamonds scattered across a bed of satin. The wind was in my hair, a lone kayak moved across the river and two rickety, painted pianos sat facing each other. The city was silent. Two young girls sat at one piano and I sat at another, until one of the girls said to me…”here, use this one, it sounds much better!” A stranger, offering to move from her place so that i could use the best. I didn’t have to ask…she just offered. And I sat down and began to play. Nothing profound…it wasn’t Mozart or Chopin or even Jeff Buckley! Just a simple song that I had written that came from the heart! The girls stayed to listen as did a few others who were walking nearby and everyone clapped when I was finished. The girls wanted to know more about my music, where they could hear me again and asked if I would take a picture with them so that they could tell all of their friends about me. An older man nearby said he played bongos and that he oughtta show me a thing or two. Musicians and music lovers were coming out of the woodwork, and even those who were simply there to listen, stopped to join in the music and the conversation. I asked them the question I had pondered earlier this morning in Herald Square and we concluded that music can give us pause because it speaks to something that is common among us all, our spirit and our heart. For a few minutes, young and old, black and white, tourists and native New Yorkers stopped labeling each other for moment and seemed to say, “I see you and accept you exactly as you are…and all that I want from you in this moment is for you to be open and share in an honest experience. In yoga they call this “namaste” or “I honor the God that is in you!” And I can’t possibly think of a better way to explain my hour with all of the people at the painted piano on Pier one than to say “namaste.”

June 22nd, 2010; The Caged Piano; Harlem Art Park

My second day on the NYC piano tour! We moved the show up to 6pm to beat the thunder storms that were marching our way like an ominous army of soldiers. Miraculously the army temporarily laid down their arms and the rain held out in time for me to make it all the way up to Harlem Art Park on 120th Street. But sadly…the piano was locked and gated, alone in a far off corner like a forgotten toy. Now a true New Yorker would have jumped that gate…but alas I am from Michigan and we climb trees there, not gates! However, we did get a glimpse of the piano in it’s zoo like cage and even did a little interview there. Catch it on you tube! It’s called “The Caged Piano.”

June 21st! “Play Me I’m Your’s” NYC begins!

Today was the first day of my journey playing all 29 Manhattan locations for “Play Me I’m Yours” and to say that it was a rewarding and touching experience is an incredible understatement!

My day began at 9am in Times Square on 42nd Street for the piano unlocking ceremony! I arrived to find the piano surrounded by press, staff for Sing for Hope, the artist Luke Jerram who thought up “Play Me I’m Yours,” and a few kids singing a Broadway show tune! It was a beautiful sight to see this multi-colored group of people circling this multi-colored upright piano in the middle of Times Square. I was lucky enough to be asked to play after the artist spoke and performed my song “When It Rains” and “Joey’s Song.” But the most beautiful sight of all was watching New Yorkers walk down the street in typical hurried fashion, and then suddenly stop, take out their headphones and listen for a moment. So often we get so caught up in our own world, our blackberrys and our ipods, that we forget to open our eyes and our ears and take notice of all of the special and unique moments happening around us! What a special gift we have been given by Sing for Hope and Luke Jerram to have something on our streets that, even if only for the next 10 days, pulls us out of isolated world and draws us to something bigger!

The second stop of the day was in Columbus Circle at the entrance of Central Park. I played a few songs and was interviewed by a few news networks here as well. Halfway through Tearing Me Down a HUGE circus-like band began playing nearby, and yet people continued paying attention and simply moved closer to listen. I had to laugh at the crazy juxtaposition of music, but also thought “this is what NYC is all about!” We are a melting pot of people, of music, of noise! New Yorkers don’t hold back and have learned to tune in and focus intently on what we want to hear, or to see, or to strive for! We have to! Because we are always competing with something louder or someone more talented or someone with just a little bit more experience. But that is what also makes New York City the most interesting city in the world. You have to buckle down if you want to make a dent in a city of millions of people with big voices and even bigger dreams! All of this insight and inspiration from one little piano, in one little park, in one little city in this great big world! If Luke Jerram were here right now I would give him one big high five!

My third show of the day was near the New York Public Library and my sister, her roommate, and one of my best friends showed up to cheer me on…which I am incredibly grateful for! But the coolest experience of the day happened at the fourth piano I played in Greely Square. I sat down and performed two of my songs, “Loving You” and “Tearing Me Down.” After playing, a man nearby commented on how much he loved my songs and asked if I knew the song “In the Arms of the Angel” by Sarah McLaughlin. I said that I “kind of” knew the song..but didn’t know the chords to play it on the piano. So he sat down and played and harmonized with me as I sang. In the middle of Manhattan, a city known for people that keep to themselves and wear a hard armored exterior, here were two individuals, one black, one white, and the two nearly 15 years apart in age, singing together in perfect harmony….spontaneously uniting to share in a common passion! They say that music unites, but it has never been so apparent as it was today!

Tomorrow, Tuesday June 22nd at 7:00pm I will be in Harlem Art Park to play and to listen! Check out some footage on facebook and youtube!

And see me interviewed by skynews and playing in Columbus Circle here:

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Strange-News/Pianos-Planted-Across-New-York-And-London-Bristolian-Artist-Luke-Jerram-Wants-To-Connect-People/Article/201006415653142?lpos=Strange_News_Second_Home_Page_Feature_Teaser_Region_0&lid=ARTICLE_15653142_Pianos_Planted_Across_New_York_And_London%2C_Bristolian_Artist_Luke_Jerram_Wants_To_Connect_People

June 20th, 2010; Preparing for “Play Me I’m Yours”

It’s Sunday night at 8:45pm and I’ve spent the entire day preparing for “Play Me I’m Your,” which opens tomorrow morning at 9:00am. The exhibit features painted pianos placed at various locations on the Streets of New York City. Originally started by artist, Luke Jerram, this installation fuses visual art and music and puts it front and center on the boisterous streets of New York City.

Last week I was inspired to play all 29 pianos that will be on the island of Manhattan. My journey begins tomorrow morning at 9am in Times Square and continues until July 5th at 6:00pm! That’s 29 performances in only 10 days! Along the way, in the tradition of NYC street musicians, I will have a hat out as I play and all money placed into that hat will be donated to “Sing For Hope.” http://singforhope.org. I’m nervous, but excited to partake in such an amazing cause! Sing for hope introduces students to the performing arts, brings live performances and workshops to hospital patients, and provides a network of support for performances and projects that benefit vital humanitarian causes and dismantle barriers to arts accessibility. Follow me here as I talk about each performance and post photos and videos (taken on my new Kodak Zi8) of each one! Tell your friends, tweet and see the full performance schedule under “shows” and of course on my myspace and facebook! www.myspace.com/jenniferleesnowden

Welcome to “In My Own Company,” in my own words!

I am a singer, songwriter, piano player, and lover of all things music! This is a blog about my journey through life, love, the craziness of the music industry and all of the inspiration I find along the way!