humming along (sorry for the pun)

really. sorry for the pun... couldn't resist.
it's been a month since "hum" was released and there's been some great stuff happening with it!

on the serendipitous front: Check out this poem that was inspired by "hum." I was so surprised and completely honoured to discover this! Christy Sundberg, from Iowa, is doing a project called 365 Days of Poetry - yup, for real, a poem a day - and came across "hum" on the AmazonMp3 site. Her writing is really great and I think she's so brave to commit to this kind of project! Here's her poem for today.

on the hilarious front: Apparently on digimode10.com, "hum" is #2 bestselling mp3, second only to Beyoncé's "Single Ladies"! AND it got a better rating than Beyoncé's. I don't know how they figure that... but I guess that means I'll be getting a grammy fedexed to me soon!



on the tickled pink front: The remix of "hum" that Hollis P Monroe did was in the top 10 on Stompy.com's Soul Chart this week! (And this is a legit site, unlike digimode.com!!) What is equally stunning is the fact that my acoustic version made it into the top 40 Downtempo Chart... this is an electronic music store and I really did not think the acoustic version would do well at all! Yay for open-minded music listeners!

on the share-and-share-alike front: I'm offering the "moment of creation" version of "hum" to everyone who joins my mailing list on my new website (top right corner of the page). This version is literally a live, one-take recording of the song as it was being written. I had never sung past the first chorus before, so it was all uncharted territory. For the full story of how it was written, click here. And, yes, I felt inspired by paperclips for this artwork...

on the truly amazing front (not related to hum): Did you hear kd lang singing "hallelujah" at the opening ceremonies for the olympics? I was blown away by her passionate rendition that was both heartbreakingly powerful and subtly hushed! She is one heck of a singer!

So that's that for now.
Thanks everyone for your outpouring of support for this ep!
... and Go Canada Go!

opera in the subway

tuesday night i was treated to an impromptu opera performance in the "place des arts" metro station (subway, for all you non-montrealers). an older woman was almost the only person on the opposite platform and had several hundred people as her captive audience. she was a little bit loony in the loveliest of ways and this is what she sang - check out the fellow subway rider who responds in song:



it was a priceless moment and i hope to use the sample in a future recording... so listen for it!

as promised, here's my semi-weekly update of where things are for the present recording:

• shine is now mixed and sounds great!!


• first mix of told you is done, just needs a bit of tweaking


• lovesong mix will be started monday


• hum remixes and album artwork are almost done

so things are moving right along, thanks to josé aguirre, who is doing the mixes, and to la hacienda creative, where we are doing the mixes.

also, big huge thanks to everyone who became facebook fans this last week! your support means the world to me!

no christmas baking... but

this last week has been filled with christmas preparations - no, not decorating - recording a version of silent night and getting things together for my holiday greeting download card.

i decided that i did, in fact, want to record myself with my flu-y voice, so a scratchy, a capella version of silent night is in the works. it's almost done and will be sent to all my facebook fans (it's not too late to get in on the action and become a fan)!

i was also getting my website ready to be able to sell holiday greeting download cards. the idea is that people can send a card to someone that includes a download of my song "coventry carol." here's a little peek:

other "coventry carol" news... it is for sale on iTunes and on the zunior website (where it comes with a PDF download of the artwork). But again, before December 1st, all facebook fans will be getting it for free!

maybe i'll bake some cookies next week...

roll with it... or knit as the case may be

i got a wee bit knocked off my feet last week by a rather brutal flu... NOT h1n1 thankfully!!

being in bed with no voice and violently coughing is not the most conducive situation for getting much accomplished. BUT, i did what i could, and what i did was this:

it's an idea i had for merchandise: a little knit patch with my logo on it, that can be sewn onto a hat, scarf, mitts. i want to try to make a "wristie" - what my family calls a wristband - with the logo.





i also tried knitting the logo for the record label my friend, hollis and i are starting (more on that later):




before getting sick, i did advance somewhat with the tunes:

• re-recorded backing vocals for a little blue (good thing too, cuz i don't think i'll be doing much singing for at least another week, unless i want to sound like i've been smoking and drinking whiskey for a good 40 years...hmmm maybe not a bad idea - recording myself singing like that, not starting to drink whiskey and smoke!)


• shine is almost mixed, just needs some last tweaks.
  

i also spent some time drinking tea (works to stop the violent coughing) and watching tutorials on how to mix, so i don't feel so clueless at the studio.

and now that i'm starting to feel better it's back-at-it-time!

it's the final countdown... doodoodoooodoo

at long last... i can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

this journey of producing my own music has proven to be very long and often arduous. the obstacles have been many, not least of which has been my own self. there have been times when i've felt crazy to keep pursuing this, times when i've felt ashamed at how long it's taken me, times when i've felt proud of my accomplishments and times when i've felt inspired, knowing that when i'm making music i am who i am.

at some point, i got so tired of saying "it's coming! it's coming!" that i just stopped saying anything. but now, the end is in sight. which really isn't an end at all, but very much a beginning. i have good people around me who are helping, pushing and encouraging me (THANKS!!!) i see what kept me from finishing in the past and i'm not letting that happen again. i'm overcoming the mind-killer that is fear and the shackles that are perfectionism.

so until this music is out my door and alive in the world, i will be holding myself accountable to myself in this forum by posting weekly updates. as of today:

• hum is mixed and ready for mastering


• 2 remixes of hum almost done (thanks to hollis p. monroe and leon louder)


• 3 songs ready for mixing (told you, take your rest, shine)


• for lovesong, strings need to be re-rerecorded


• for a little blue, backing vocals need to be re-recorded and arrangement arranged a bit


• a toi... still needs some work...

to show your support, i would so much appreciate you either joining my facebook page or my mailing list and sharing it with your friends. i need the word spread as far and wide as possible! THANKS!

thanks indiecan!

i had such a nice surprise last week. i was googling my name...
i know, i know... me me me me me.
actually i was searching my name to try to find a review of one of my previous releases that i remember coming across some time ago (does that justify it enough?).

anyway, my name came up on the indiecan.com site, so i went to check out why, and was ever so pleasantly surprised to find out that Joe, head honcho and the vision behind indiecan, had played one of my christmas songs on his show and had dedicated it to a friend of his and her newborn baby. The song was "coventry carol" (with a bit of "bring a torch jeannette isabella" mixed in) and, of course, is a christmas carol, but i was, again, pleasantly surprised at how beautifully the words of the song spoke to a new mother and her baby!

you can check out the whole episode here: episode 116
where you'll discover some great music, including a really
sweet song by rae spoon.

so a big thank you to Joe, who really is a huge supporter of
canadian independent music!!

my new favourite song

ok, so i've been listening rather obsessively to what i must only logically conclude is...my new favourite song. it's called "mutual admiration society" and it was passed on to me by my friend karen, an excellent editor and wonderful poet by the way, at a moment when we were mutually admiring each other's work.

so hold to your hats! it's a gooder!
i'll wait while you bask in it's glory...

teresa brewer singing "mutual admiration society"


...pretty great huh? i can't wait to do a cover of it at some point. do let me know how many days this catchy tune stayed stuck in your head. i'm heading towards 2 weeks!