Whew! Got the Music Down

Well, last night I recorded five original songs, things I've been working on since last year. I've seemed drained through the whole process but I must admit, I'm grateful to have worked with four wonderful musicians who are hard to snag cause they're always working. Of course I'll probably change my vocals.

But I'm excited nonetheless. It's funny, bringing any project to fruition takes a lot more energy and planning and effort than you imagine in the beginning. But it's nice to see things come alive!

Hopefully I can share at least one or two songs with all of the people who bought my first CD.

Ciao for now,
Daph

V for Vendetta

Well, well, well…I HAD to go see V for Vendetta and as movies and thematic concepts go, I thought it was wonderful!!!!!!!!!!! I'm late to the game when it comes to the work of Alan Moore but after I got hooked on his graphic novel "From Hell", I figured there was no way I could miss out on the movie adaptation of another of his pieces. Although the mask is kind of creepy, it's a Guy Fawkes mask and fits integrally into the theme of the movie.

V is what the government would call a terrorist although he thinks of himself as a liberator. V opposes the totalitarian government of a futuristic England that sabotages its citizens, swiping them from their homes and testing them in the name of nuclear weaponry. Disfigured and having lost his true identity he takes on the role of the Everyman. A person who seeks to reclaim the dignity and hope that all of England's citizens seem to have lost. He happens upon Evey, an adult orphan whose parents were killed opposing the government and the two of them fight the regime by striking down those in the highest positions of power.

Of course, V has a contradictory trait of leaving roses on the bodies of his victims. A symbol of deadly love, maybe?

Anyways the movie mimics our current world governments to a tee. Maybe that's why the movie resonated with me in such a strong way. Check it out man!

B-Day Celebrations!

Alrighty! Last night I went to a birthday party for my friend Ilka Pinheiro at a restaurant called Edwards in Tribeca. Can I say I had a fabulous time? I didn't know anyone other than her there and I think that's what I liked best. I got to meet several of her classmates and friends. Most of them are artists like myself and it was wonderful to be surrounded by creative people who don't have the corporate stick stuck in their hindparts. Drinks were flowing and I actually at the rigatoni (which was delicious). Apparently Edwards is a happening place cause they just had the Sopranos' Premiere Party there. Who knew? Anyways I felt loads of positive energy. Maybe it's cause everyone was drinking, but for me it was because I was surrounded by so many people whose goals were similar to mine. I realized how long it's been since that's happened. Being an artist in New York (or any city for that matter) has long stretches of solitude when you've actually got to get the WORK done.

Met with Frank before all of this to go over everything that I'd need for the band's rehearsals next week. I've got loads of nervous energy (that I need to unload in a gym). But I'm excited nonetheless!

Later

Another Day in the City

Okay, I must admit that the last few days weather-wise have kept me in a tailspin. It's warm, spring is coming - no it's still winter and you better keep those short sleeves packed away. Of course I went out yesterday with a spring jacket on and the chill soaked right through my clothes. Ugh!

I'll be recording five of my original songs in a few weeks and I'm getting antsy and nervous. When you've created something, anything the process of watching it come to life can be a little surreal. The moments come and go in some sort of aggravated slow motion and you find yourself analyzing every moment trying to control the process. I'll be working with four players this time, great professionals and two whom I consider wonderful friends. Let me just say that professional musicians are magical to me; the way they amalgamate sound to create something beautiful and touching. First we have to rehearse and then it'll be off to the recording studio.

Reading a great thriller novel called "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt. It's set at Hampden College in Vermont and revolves around a close-knit clan of Greek scholars who take their classical studies to the extreme until they cross the unseen line in the sand. Tartt's prose is beautiful and provocative and I can almost see the movie in my mind as the paragraphs unfold. It's amazing to me, though, how there are secrets that even she (the author) doesn't reveal in detail. Of course it's interesting that I'm reading this because I have a historical book at home that contains plenty of Greek passages that I would love to be able to translate. Might have to get someone to help me with that.

Anyhoo, it's another day in NYC. I'm craving constant warm weather and sunshine instead of this teaser weather we seem to be getting.

Talk to you soon!

The Official Welcome

Hello Everyone and Welcome to my blog.

It's been a while coming since I've been focusing on some family business for a while. You may or may not know me yet, but never-the-less I'm here! Here I'll be sharing my thoughts, concerns, blatherings and insights as they come to me. I'll also let you know what's new with my music and career. It's March here in NYC and I'm sooooooooo glad that we're on the cusp of spring. I've been writing like a mad puppy over the last year and it's interesting to review the music and words that have poured from my heart. Althought not my favorite season, spring always represents burgeoning beginnings and this is going to be my best year yet! I'm also a brand new auntie and I have yet to meet my little neice. That's all for now. Talk to you soon!

Daphne Shawn