make 2008 MY year of victory !

i did an episode last week for season 2 of that children’s cartoon i did last year that had me singing and talking funny—and i’m doing pick ups next week. i also finished my commercial voiceover demo (finally!) so i guess this means that my voiceover career is up and running.

what’s next?

i’m doing a mailing to let casting agents know what i’ve been up to— because they can’t give me the job if they don’t know that i exist.

i’m setting the dates to record my next CD this september, thanks to the jazzmobile win and my income tax stimulus check.

i’m hitting the gym every day for a month, to knock off the last of this day job chunk so i can take new photos for the next project.

onward and upward!

i won the jazzmobile 2008 jazz vocal competition – on juneteenth! i’ll post pictures on facebook very soon. in the meantime, read all about it here.

round 2 of the jazzmobile jazz vocal competition happened on june 12th and i made the cut, again. they eliminated 4 people. i am one of 4 finalists that are left.

if i’ve got an “A” game, a game face, or whatever they call it on sports night, i’d better bring it next week. round 3 happens on june 19.

round 1 of the jazzmobile jazz vocalist competition happened on may 30th. the good news is, they eliminated 4 people and i made the first cut! there are 8 of us left.

round 2 happens on june 12th. another 4 finalists will be eliminated. here’s the details – if you’re in nyc, swing by. (it’s free!)

Alhambra Ballroom
2116 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd.
Harlem, NYC 7pm
for reservations: 866 628 5052

okay, april is done and gone, and i haven’t recorded any new songs because i don’t have the money to pull it off. but two really cool things have happened since my last post:

1. i did SPONY (s.ongwriters p.itch-a-thon o.f n.ew y.ork) at the beginning of the month and one label exec kept my CD. that was cool, because it made me feel like i was doing something good with the songs i already had. and it was a great way to start the month.

2. i’m one of 12 finalists in the jazzmobile jazz vocal competition. there are three rounds that will have all of us perform somewhere in NYC—in the first two rounds, 4 people will be eliminated and in the last round, they’ll choose the grand prize winner and the runner up.

interesting aside: if i win, it’ll be enough money to get the recordings done.

i’ve been working towards writing more songs, really good songs. and as it turns out, somewhere within that “write better songs” process, i’m done with a 12 song cycle. if i keep going with this development, i won’t have to look back at any of the songs i thought i would use. i will have (more than) 12 songs that are fresh bright shining new melodies that tell a whole other story – a story that is closer to my truth at this moment than what i came up with several years ago.

this is wild stuff. i had virtually nothing in my hands then. i didn’t even know how to play guitar. and even now, i have rough sketches. but each one gleams at me, like a jewel. and i know what i have in my hand. i know what i’m worth. i know what i’ve got.

it’s like looking at a rock that resembles an ordinary stone to an untrained eye, and knowing that – if it’s cracked open properly and polished right (production!) – it’s really a diamond.

if all goes well, i’ll record these songs in april. pray for me.

on monday night, my boyfriend of two years asked me to marry him. and yes, i’m still in shock.

talk about making 2008 a year of victory. and it hasn’t even started yet!

in looking this over, i realize that 2007 wasn’t so bad. here’s my top ten:

1. i’ve written a new song cycle and iam so loving what i’ve come up with!
2. i play guitar now—not as well as i should, but hey, at least i’m playing it instead of wishing i could. and i’m getting better every day
3. i actually placed in some songwriting contests this year.
4. i’ve cleaned up all 3 of my credit reports and raised my credit score considerably
5. i live alone—what a luxury, and no easy feat in a money-draining city like new york
6. i got a passport and had a cool romantic fun-filled vacation with my friend! and in a foreign country, no less. (wow.)
7. i saved some dough for a change.
8. i gained weight, reigned it in and lost it all over again (i am especially proud of this one).
9. i introduced my friend to my grandmother this summer.
10. and last but not least: i did principal work in two national commercials and an indie movie, and i did voiceover work for a children’s cartoon!

it has been a great year. i was victorious. i wonder what’s going to happen next?