What a fantastic tour in Austin! Bob Story and I headed there for four days where we made many new friends, played fantastic music, ate great food, heard some amazing musicians across the city and spread some positive messages to a host of new audience members. Last summer, I put the intention into the Universe to go to Austin to play during the annual SXSW music festival and the results couldn’t have been better!

It all started with a discussion with a friend Diane Beerline who I met through a women’s networking group called Tobi Hunt Events. I mentioned I wanted to go to SXSW not knowing that she used to live in Austin. She mentioned a friend Riki Rushing who still lives there and that she might have a place to stay if we went. When I asked if she also might be willing to host a house concert she was hopeful. Several months went by and one night in November I attended Diane’s Private Quarters sales event. “You’ll never guess who’s here visiting me from Austin!”  Riki and I talked for a few minutes and she said she would love to host a house concert at her home, so the tour was on!

With help from Carla Currie at Journey Mates, we were also booked for a Sunday morning church service at Unity of Wimberly, Texas and we started putting together a concert with three other artists. We also ended up with a daytime gig at one of Austin’s infamous “Food Truck Courts.” No official SXSW showcase, but actual gigs where we would make money!

On Friday afternoon we checked out the SXSW madness for the first time. 2,000 bands (not a typo!) and anywhere between 250-350,000 audience members descend upon the city for the annual event. I have never seen anything like it. For several miles, it was non-stop music in every imaginable venue. From the rooftop of Whole Foods to tents in every open space and endless clubs, there was every type of music to be found. I would best describe it as Memphis meets the French Quarter during Mardi Gras! Let’s just say we felt a little old as we walked around. We walked for miles and enjoyed the free music. We didn’t have a badge or wristband, but we were still having a great time!

Our first concert was at the home of Riki Rushing and Allen Gilmer and what an amazing house it was! The glass walls paired with the Bose stick PA system we rented equaled and amazing sound! Brad Taylor from Austin on bass was an amazing person and player! The audience who was our age and older really seemed to appreciate an event over the SXSW weekend that was out of the fray of the 6^th Street madness.

We had a beautiful place to play, and amazing place to stay and a host of new friends and fans all thanks to Riki and Allen (and of course Diane who first introduced us!). We had a surprise visit by Allana and Marsh Lavenue who I know from Boulder (Andrea Ganley’s sister!) and had a fantastic evening. My manifesting skills were becoming quite apparent! This was going to be a fantastic weekend overall!

Me with the Lavenues

Bob and I with the amazing Brad Taylor on bass

We headed to the South First Food Court the next day for a fun lunchtime gig with Kit Holmes and Alan Peterson. Thanks to Shawn Madden for inviting us to SXSO1st and putting the whole event together! I had Facebook friended my cousin Clint Welden who lives in Austin a few days before and he showed up with his family. I hadn’t seen him in many years so it was really fun to reconnect. Fun music and food-as everywhere in the city! It was great to be a part of it all.

Next up our hosts for the next two days, Kit Holmes and Cynthia Millonzi gave us a tour of their house where we would perform the next night. We were to perform in the backyard, which was completely set up for a concert! It had a built in deck to serve as a stage, and huge sound and lights system. Amazing!

That night we headed down to SXSW again along with Alan Peterson who would play with us the next day. We made an appearance at the Copycats Showcase event on 6^th Street and ran into Ed Bonach who I had met at the Empower Music Conference and Posi Awards in January. OK, so it was very deliberate on my part! I wanted to see a showcase put on by someone I knew so that we could learn how to go about doing that next time. We had to park a couple miles away and had 15 minutes to get there, so we hired a bike taxi to take us. I walked in and found Ed right away, even though I didn’t even know for sure that he would be there. He gave us the inside scoop and now we know! Good manifesting!

We ended the evening by attending the Cult concert, which was on a massive stage in the park across the river. Actor Matthew McConaughey made a guest appearance on bongos. He lives in Austin and apparently plays bongos regularly on his back porch, naked. Locally this has earned him the nickname “Bongo Boy.” Pretty funny and he was pretty good!

Sunday morning found us performing at the Unity Wimberly where the amazing Kit Holmes is the music director. Wimberly is about 45 minutes north of Austin in the hill country. It reminded me and Bob of Northern Italy. The church is on 43 acres of lush rolling hills and used to be a retreat center. We were surprised that morning by a video crew from MTV who were on hand to film a baby being baptized for a documentary. In return for the synch license to use our original music in the piece, we will receive a DVD of the completed footage including the music. Not a bad deal seeing as they had three cameras and it was MTV filming!

The concert that night featured Bob and me along with Kit, Alan Peterson from Baltimore and Martha Hall Bowman from Indiana. We had a great time swapping songs and singing and playing on each other’s original music. It was a fantastic evening of music and fellowship and again we gained a host of new friends and fans.

Overall it was an amazing trip and I really could not have imagined it going any better. We even saw amazing music at the airport where Blues artist Carolyn Wonderland was playing, for free! That was some of the best music we heard all weekend!

My key takeaways:

-Manifestation really works! It took a lot of trust and faith that I would be able to put all the pieces together, but as soon as I stopped worrying about the details they all fell into place.

-I would “do” SXSW this same way again, but next year I am going to manifest an official showcase slot so we can get badges to attend the conferences and network with more musicians and industry people. The fact that we have now played in Austin to actual crowds will help us to secure a slot. I also have an idea of the venues in which our music would work.

-Even if we don’t get an official slot, there are many ancillary “festivals” going on at the same time that are hosted by various companies so there are ample ways to play-for free. None of the showcases pay, and in fact some of them ask the artists to pay to play. And for what? The remote chance that some music exec or label will hear them. From what I could see, it’s a huge long shot. I’ll stick with the paying house concerts and try to get a few free things thrown in as well.

-Having places to stay was key. All of the thousands of bands who flew in from around the world and stayed at a hotel and played for free were spending huge amounts of money in the quest to get discovered. I’m sure for some it worked out, but not many.

-The best part of our tour was the people. We went on pure faith, I having only met out two hosts once and very briefly. We had never met Brad the bass player either. But in talking with everyone on the phone, I knew we were all on the same beautiful page in life. I trusted completely that everything would fall into place for a great weekend, and it did.

Next up for me is my show in Boulder called MMMMMBoulder on April 6 featuring my band, Rebecca Folsom and Ash Ganley along with a host of short films, art and food. Then I am joined by my friends Lisa Simmons and Marco Cremaschini of Hippie Tendencies for a show at Shine in Boulder on April 28-fun!!

Touring wise I’m headed to Lawrence, Kansas with Shawn Madden for a concert on June 2, and I am working to manifest the same in Indiana with Martha Hall Bowman and San Diego with Teri Wilder. This is my year to tour the US and I’m off to a great start. If you want to see me in your city, say the word and I will manifest it into reality!

Once again at this year’s Boulder International Film Festival I had the pleasure (and the stress!) of coordinating the filmmaker liaisons and managing the VIP guests.

One of my many VIP driving trips in the car generously loaned by Flatirons Subaru

Husband Steve Aldridge serves as the bodyguard and this year we even had a 3-man security team which I also managed. Nothing went awry and we work hard to make sure our celebrity guests and VIPs feel comfortable and secure at the same time.

Lisa's Angels

My week started off with getting to know writer, director and producer Lawrence Kasdan and his co-writer and wife Meg as well as producer Anthony Bregman who were all behind the opening night film “Darling Companion.” Lawrence wrote “The Big Chill” and Meg compiled the soundtrack for that film. Lawrence also wrote Raiders of the Lost Ark among many others. They were both impressive and ever so nice. I took them on a driving tour of Boulder and they had nothing but great things to say about our beautiful city. Too bad the tax credits and rebates aren’t as good in Colorado for filmmakers as they are in Utah. “Darling Companions” was set in Colorado, but primarily filmed in Utah for that reason. Mayor Hickenlooper and the Colorado Film Commission are trying to change that. Even guest Pam Grier (Foxy Brown-more on her later) told Steve and I that she’s been working hard over the past 5 years to change the program. Read the pros and cons of a new proposal in this article from Westword.

Anthony Bregman, who’s credits include “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” among many others, was quite charming and he received the “Excellence in Producing” award. He has four kids, who all ski, on the East Coast where there isn’t much snow, mostly ice. His oldest kids are ski racers which makes a lot of sense! I offered to take him for some real powder skiing next time he was in Colorado. He mentioned that he is afraid to take his kids skiing anywhere else as they might find out what they’ve been missing and never go back!

Anthony Bregman, Meg and Lawrence Kasdan

Me and my very dapper hubby on opening night!

Friday night featured an interview with William H Macy. Ahead of his appearance at Boulder Theater, he stopped by the Bitter Bar for a VIP Filmmaker Reception. He graciously shook hands and posed for pictures and had a good time. As we walked him back to his hotel for a couple of media interviews, I asked one of the security guys to “take the back.” William H Macy said “Why would you do that?” I said “Oh, so we don’t have all of the women of Boulder pawing and groping at you.” “Why not?!” he said.

He then went on to tell me a funny story about a motorcycle trip he had taken with his buddies a few years ago, in January in Northern California. None of them were prepared for the cold and rainy weather the experienced, none had any rain gear at all. He had on full leather gear but was soaked in short order. As they pulled up the the five-start Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco, he pulled up the visor on his helmet and was instantly recognized by a wild group of women. They proceeded to jump all over him and the rest of the guys, putting lipstick prints on his helmet and elsewhere. The women were curious though why the men didn’t move after the initial crush. It turned out they were literally all frozen to their bikes and it took a bit to thaw out enough to even move. I told Macy that I was glad I had security at the back!

As we drove him to the Boulder Theater for his sold out Conversation with Ron Bostwick and to receive the Vanguard Award, was blown away by the line of people around the block. He was truly humbled by the attendance and the attention he received. He said he didn’t know what to expect from BIFF, but that it exceeded all of his expectations. He had commented earlier in the evening at how well run the festival is and how calm we all were-or if we weren’t we were great actors! I took that as a huge compliment, knowing how far we have all come and especially our ability to work with top-level celebrities in making them feel comfortable and welcome in our down home way that can only be found at BIFF. He even hung out in the Filmmakers Lounge after the Boulder Theater event to get to know some of the filmmakers in attendance.

Ron, William H Macy, Lisa & Steve hanging out backstage

I happened to be in the hotel lobby the next morning with his wife Felicity Huffman came in the door. The two embraced as if they hadn’t seen each other in weeks, though it had only been the day before. It was so fantastic to see such a loving moment of two Hollywood stars who are truly in love. It was really one of my favorite moments of the weekend.

Next up on Saturday was Martin Sheen. Steve and I had recently seen his most recent movie “The Way,” (now available on Blue Ray & DVD as Mr. Sheen kept saying all day!) which was written and produced by his son Emilio Estevez. It was a fabulous film about a father who takes a journey in his son’s memory on the spectacular Camino de Santiago in Northern Spain.

Mr. Sheen, 71 years young, was only in town for a day, but he gave us his all. I had him sign a few VIP posters and he made a point of jokingly saying “Look at that William H Macy autograph, hogging up all the room, I’ll make mine that much bigger!” He later asked us in the car as we picked him up if that “Macy scoundrel behaved himself” while he was here and “was he at least sober some of the time?” Again he was joking, referring to Macy’s character in the Showtime series “Shamless” (which is a must-see show if you haven’t see it yet).

Mr. Sheen was at BIFF to also have a sold-out conversation with Ron and to receive the Master of Cinema Award. Again, as we pulled up to the Boulder Theater on a bright sunny Saturday afternoon, he said “what are all these people doing here?” When we told him they were all there to see him, he too was blown away.

Martin Sheen does a little dance before stepping over a puddle at the Boulder Theater (courtesy of the Daily Camera)

After the event, as I drove Mr. Sheen out the back alley with Steve, Robin and Kathy Beeck also in the car, we came across a women who was very distraught on her cell phone. He asked me to stop the car and proceeded to roll down his window. “Are you OK?” The women who was still crying looked a bit stunned as she realized that it was Martin Sheen who was trying to console her. “I’ll be OK” she said. “Well can we give you a ride or something.” “No thank you though I’ll be alright.” It was quite a touching moment and really spoke to his genuine care for everyone, which came across in every moment with him. Later that night, Ashley from registration came up to me at the Biff After Dark party, telling me a story about a BIFF volunteer who came in to get her credentials, telling the amazing story of Mr. Sheen seeing her in the alley and offering his kind words. It was her turn to be blown away by the kindness.

After a visit at the VIP party in Centro, I had the pleasure of taking Mr. Sheen back to the airport.

We talked about how hard it has been for Emilio to get “The Way” out in distribution.” The film was self-produced by Emilio and family funded, with Charlie kicking in the last of the production costs so they could finish the project. He and Emilio then embarked on a 7-week bus tour to self-promote the film. It never really got picked up by a major studio, which is truly a shame. I encourage everyone to buy it or rent it when you can (it just came out this week so probably not yet on Netflix). It blew my mind that two major stars could not get funding for such a fabulous film and that it is languishing out there while such crappy movies get major distribution. As Mr. Sheen said, that is the reason that film festivals are so important. A father-son memoir with he and Emilio is also about to be released and I for one can’t wait to read it.

The rest of our drive was spent talking about the Camino. I have wanted to do the 800 kilometer trek for a few years after hearing about it from a colleague. The journey takes anywhere from 1-3 months if traveling on foot, and is a life-changing spiritual pilgrimage. I talked about wanting to do the journey with our sons when they graduate from high school and he kept telling me what an amazing family journey it would be. His biggest piece of advice was “lubricate your feet every day” or else you will suffer with sore feet and blistars! I thoroughly enjoyed our talk and as I handed him off to the DIA escort, he gave me a big hug and said “you take your lads on the Camino, you won’t regret it.” I drove away, thinking “this is why I love this job.”

The last VIP for the weekend was in town for the International Film Series, but Steve was assigned to coordinate her transportation to and from her showing and to take her to the BAD party at the end of the night. We met her at her hotel and she looked amazing! I commented on her fabulous leopard shoes and she jokingly said “they are yours at the end of the night.” She asked Steve who the VIPs were still at the festival and Steve said “It’s all about you tonight.” She said “Get out! If I had known that I would have worn my fro!” It was after 11 p.m. when they finally made it to the BAD party and it was really rocking by then. I asked if I could get her a drink and she said “Oh no honey, if I drink after 11:30 I start throwing shoes, and I know you really wanted mine!” Very funny and gracious as they all were.

BIFF Director of Digital Communications Brad Weismann meets superstar and his lifelong crush Pam Grier! He can die happy now.

Speaking of the lads, my son Brendan and Steve’s son Will also volunteered for BIFF over the weekend, helping out as ushers etc. at the venues. Both had a great time.

My son Brendan helping out on closing night

I did actually get to sneak in viewing a few films, though not many as you might imagine, but every one that I saw was outstanding as always. I heard nothing but fantastic comments from filmgoers and filmmakers alike, and it appeared to me anyway that more shows sold out this year than ever before. Job well done all BIFF staff! Every person is integral in making the festival happen and we all have such a great time with each other. That enthusiasm and friendly vibe comes across to everyone involved, from the filmmakers to the VIPs to the festival attendees. Here’s looking forward to another “Best BIFF Ever” in 2013.

Thanks to everyone who attended last night’s sold-out Holiday House Concert! It was great fun to perform for everyone and we also raised nearly $400 (with tickets and gin sales) for my favorite non-profit Growing Gardens.

I am so very blessed to be able to share my music, and carrot cake, with all of you! As promised, here is the recipe for my mom Carole’s famous gluten-free carrot cake. Happy Holidays!!!

Carole (& Lisa’s) Gluten-Free Carrot Cake

Cake:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
2 cups all-purpose gluten-free baking mix (I use the mix from Boulder-based Bella Gluten-Free-available at both Boulder King Sooper’s and online at www.bellaglutenfree.com)
2 cups sugar
1 cup crushed pineapple (1 small can), drained
2 cups grated carrots
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups oil (canola or similar)
2 teaspoons vanilla

Sift the dry ingredients together (very important!)
Beat the 4 eggs in a large mixer or bowl with the oil and vanilla.
Add the flour mixture and blend. Then add the carrots and pineapple.
Pour into a greased and gluten-free baking mix floured 9×13 pan.
Bake for 55 minutes. Let cool, then frost with:

Frosting:
1 8 oz block of cream cheese
1/2 stick butter
1/2-1 cup powdered sugar (depending on how sweet you like it)
2 teaspoons vanilla

Let the cream cheese and butter sit at room temperature (while making the cake) to get soft. Blend the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together in a large mixer or bowl with hand mixer. Sift the powdered sugar (to remove lumps) and add according to your taste. I use about 1/2 cup per 8 oz cream cheese. Frost and top with pecans if you like. Enjoy!!!!

I don’t know about you, but I have been feeling a major shift happening for quite a few months! There is a major shift in the energy of the universe happening at this time, and for some, that can mean that things feel in flux. I know that’s true for me! I was sent this update from Power Path in Santa Fe today and I thought I would share it:

“The Full Moon is Saturday, December 10 at 7:38 AM Mountain Standard Time. This full moon is accompanied by a total eclipse of the moon visible in North America. Needless to say it is a very powerful time and serves as the bookend to an intense time of change and acceleration that began on the New Moon on November 24. Definitely do something to acknowledge this day. Make an inventory of what has changed for you and spend some time dreaming big and thinking outside the box regarding your intentions. Stay away from anything negative and set your boundaries against what does not feel congruent with you. If people are melting down around you, hold them in compassion but do not join in the drama. Your actions speak louder than words at this time and the universe will take note of any fully committed action you take towards your intentions. Be sincere and know what you want. Take some action that indicates you really mean it.”

One way to take inventory of the things you no longer want and those things you do want to accomplish is to write them out. My friend Tessa Michaels at Living Through Spirit suggests examining at all aspects of your life from physical to mental, career to relationships. Take two pieces of paper for each category and on one piece write those things you want and on the other those things you no longer want. Be detailed and specific. Take the pages of the things you do not want and burn them, releasing them into the Universe and taking away the worry and burden behind them. Concentrate on the lists of the things that you do want and begin to work toward manifesting only those realities. Take action! Doing this on Saturday sounds like perfect timing. May all of your wildest dreams come true in 2012!

We ended our tour with a couple of gigs without the entire HT crew. Bob and I did a duo at the Can e Gatto (dog and cat) bar in Garde. It was a fun night playing in a very small but packed bar to an international audience.
 

We then were joined by Cesare and Massimo again for a gig outside a bar in the beautiful town of Peschiera. We have never seen so many beautiful cars and beautiful people! There was lots of dancing in the streets by the young and old, and it was a great final gig in Italy.

We also had a great deal of fun our last few days there. We were given a private boat tour and tour of the archeological dig of Sirmione by the amazing Mario Pagiaro (owner of Caffe Grande Italia where we also played) who’s family has lived in Sirmione for centuries. It was amazing to hear his stories of growing up in such a historical place.

 
That same night we attend a traditional Italian festival called a “Sagra” and had some amazing grilled meats, lots of vino and dancing to fun music!

We had an amazing 24 mile bike trek to the midevil town of Borghetto, followed by a fantastic lunch at a restuarnt by the river. To my surprise, no one gave me the evil eye in this 4 star white table cloth establishment when I came in wearing stinky bike clothes!

We ended our trip with a fantastic day at a huge Terma in the country, then a final dinner at QB-Quanto Basta in Colombare, Sirmione with Sylvia and Mateo who outdid themselves again!! I have never had such amazing, diverse food than at their restaurant.

Chef Mateo & co-owner wife Sylvia-”She is my dessert!”

Now back at home, here is my reflection on the trip (wrtten in the airport back home):
What an adventure it has been! 3 weeks with 8 gigs in 8 different Italian cities, from large to small venues, all to appreciative crowds who appreciated all of our music, from originals to funky cover tunes. The area in which we mostly played, Lago de Garda, is an international tourist destination, we often played to an audience made up of people primarily from Italy, Germany and the UK. It was a thrill for me to watch people of all ages and ethnicities dancing and grooving to our original music. While they may not have understood every word, they got the general feeling for the music and appreciated our musicianship and enthusiasm.

One song that was especially popular with every crowd was the Boomba Boomba Song or Set It Free. It’s all about our love for our dear Italian friends and the joy we felt both when they were here and when we were there. As Cesare likes to say when he loves something so much “It’s very boomba boomba!” thus the title of the song! Check out a live performance of Boomba Boomba here.

 Our hosts, Lisa Simmons and Marco Cremaschini of Hippie Tendencies, along with their dear friend and super fan Laura Giardina, bent over backwards to book us (grazie mille Lisa!) house us, feed us, show us their country and share their love. We will be forever grateful for their generosity and support, as without it we could not have made the tour possible.

Our musical partnership that began last September has been incredible. Lisa, Bob and I have written 7 songs together and we worked them up with the entire band and performed the majority of them during our Grande Tour d’Italia. All of the new songs I am using in my show have a common theme: Passione. I am living proof that it’s possible to live a passionate, full life and to manifest your wildest dreams. I started my professional musical journey ten years ago, and knew then that touring Europe would someday be an important milestone. The universe let me take the time to grow and become the musician I am today in order to be ready for this big step. I know that this is only the beginning of a long-term amazing musical partnership.

 Next up for me: writing a few more new songs together with Lisa and Bob, then recording them with the Hippie Tendencies band. It will be an international, virtual CD project, recorded in Italy and the US and mixed and mastered in Italy. Stay tuned for more on this exciting project and how you can be involved!

Future manifestation plans include touring different parts of Europe and the US with the new CDs (Hippie Tendencies is also working on a new CD project and both should be done around the same time). And, of course, spending more time together with our dear Italian friends. Thanks to everyone for their generosity and support during our three-week visit and for helping me to make my dreams a reality. Addio per ora alla mia amata Italia e gli amici (goodbye for now my beloved Italy and friends!).

Lots of gigs and fun being touristas!

Gigs:
Toscolarno Moderno at the Soltto Le Piante restaurant with special guest Titi Venturelli on sax. Very fun!

Bob and I stopped into Radio Vera for a live performance of the Boomba Boomba song and to promote our gig that evening. Lisa Simmons did a fantastic job of translating during the interview.

Next up was a fantastic gig at the Cafe Grande Italia in Sirmione, owned by the amazing the fantastic and oh so generous Mario Pagiaro. It was a very fun night at this restaurant on the lake in the histroric Sirmione with an appreciative crowd.

Then it was off to Florence for a very fun gig outside in a community park. Check out a live performance there of our co-written song “The Best of Me.” which is all about manifesting your dreams. It’s never too late, as witnessed by this amazing tour in Italy I’m on right now!! Click on the song title above to see the live video!

This was Lisa & I looking “Funky Fresh” for the gig!

Bob, Kelly, Steve and I then took a few days to sight see around to Florence, Cinque Terre and Venice.

Steve in Florence

Taking a very needed wine break on the Cinque Terre trail

Steve & Bob in Pisa

Eating squid ink pasta on the Grande Canal in Venice!

A quick detour for my marketing client Natural Merchants to shoot a promotional video at the winery La Cantina Pizzolato in Treviso.

A beautiful party given by Cesare Valbusa and Daria Toffali.

And back for a gig at the Plaza in Castiglione.

More things I’ve learned:

1) Italy is much more laid back than the U.S.
-We have been going at a much more relaxed and slower pace, enjoying each other and the music along the way!
-Food, especially pranzo (lunch) is very important. A two-hour lunch is the usual, and all businesses close to go home and enjoy family and community from 1-3 in the afternoon.

2) The tourist cities are super busy and hot in peak summer season. I would skip Venice in July. Some people from other countries (which will go unnamed, but are not Italy or US, and rhyme with Terminy and pants) have still not discovered the wonders of deodorant, yet insist on riding the Vaporetti (water taxis) while holding on the to rail above their heads. Other than the masses, Venice is beautiful.

3) Espresso serves several purposes and is drunk pretty much all day long:
-It’s necessary to get going in the morning after being up until 3 a.m. at the gig
-It counteracts the effect of the three bottles of wine at lunch and dinner, so that we can get back to work and gigging in the late afternoon
-It keeps the body plumbing flowing after eating mostly fromage and pasta for the past  2 1/2 weeks!

5) My favorite “Italish” phrase: “Awesomemo!”

6) The beauty of Italy flows through food, landscape, buildings, art, friendship and music. It’s all about amore here!

Last night was the final gig with the entire Hippie Tendencies crew, for now. Next up is a CD project that I am going to put together with Bob, that will incorporate all of the tunes we have written with Lisa Simmons, and will include all of the Hippie Tendencies musicians. We’ll record parts in the US and parts in Italy, then have it mixed and mastered in Italy. More to come on this exciting project!!

I have had a wonderful time here and have a few more precious days to share with my beautiful friends, who are more like family. I’ll write one more blog post on the way hojme to recap the last experiences and send links to some more live videos. Check out more pictures, including the boys driving Ferraris on my Facebook page. Ciao for now!

The adventure begins! We arrived on Tuesday this week in Verona. Lisa & Marco picked up up and we went to their Casa for an amazing lunch and of course lots of vino. No napping! We then went to Sylvia & Matteo’s restaurant QB in Brescia and received dish after dish of incredible “apperativo” dishes and of course, lots of vino!

Bob Story (my guitar player) and his wife Kelly were arriving much later and had quite the travel story, but I will let them tell that one as they want!

The next day we spent  making   gnocchi and enjoying the company of our hosts in their casa!

That evening we went to the beautiful town of Sirmione and enjoyed the sites and more food & drink!!

Wednesday we had an 8 hour rehearsal (!) at a studio near Pozzolengo in a beautiful house/studio in the country. That is the dream! To own a studio and agriturimo here in Italy where we can host touring musicians, allow them to record in the studio and have beautiful music 24/7!


 
We had a 50th Birthday party that evening for Marco, my husband Steve and Bob & Kelly’s host Laura, at a beautiful agritusimo in the country just 5 minutes from the studio. Lots of amazing food, drink, fun and music!
 

Friday Steve and I and Bob & Kelly went early to Parma to find some authentico parmesiano reggiano and to eat Parma proscuitto (along with authntico parmigiano and Lambrusco of course!) in Parma before heading to the private party we were performing at nearby.

The party was in the country near Parma in an amazing setting!

We had them dancing all night long! Then it was back home-at 4 a.m.!

After a few hours of sleep and of course more delicious food prepared by Marco, it was off to Gargnano to the amazing 5 star resort Lefay. A perfect evening under the stars, with a view of the lake, beautiful mountains and glorious surroundings. Lots of tourists from around the world enjoyed our music all night.

Things I’ve learned so far:

1) Musicians are revered here in Italy far more than in the states. We have been treated with respect, fed well, our music enjoyed and CDs purchased, and the pay scale is nearly double that in the states!
2) European tourists love American music-originals and covers-as English is the common language for everyone. They just eat up everything, dance to the music and welcome us with open arms!
3) I have eaten more in the past five days than I have in a month at home! I have to slow down or my performance clothes will never fit by the end!
4) I’m in love with Italy and certainly my Italian hosts and friends. The long-term dream is to spend a great deal more time here!

Today we went to a BBQ party in our honor and then a free night with no performances! Though of course we all made music together anyway! Even my husband Steve sang!

Three more gigs this week! More photos can be found on my Facebook page and more blog to come…

This past weekend I had the privilege of participating in the First Annual Bates Place U Rock Retreat and Concert Series in Orlando, FL. I have been involved as a Bates Place marketing/booking client, helping me to bring my “feel good” music to venues across the country. “What exactly is feel good music?” you may ask. We all struggled with that definition over the weekend, as it’s not a musical genre per se, but simply “music that makes you feel good,” no matter what the style. It’s been called “Positive” or “Conscious” music, but mostly the songs simply contain messages that are meant to bring joy, awareness, and healing to the world.

We began our journey with a two-day retreat hosted by Dr. Kelly Brady, a Doctor of Oriental Medicine, Licensed Psychotherapist , goddess and overall extraordinary human being. Kelly took us on a journey within, to learn about the key things we can do to be creative, from that joyful place within our souls in order to bring our healing musical messages to the masses. We talked about cultivating and nurturing the seeds of that positive energy, while acknowledging but letting go of the negativity that so often gets in our way of becoming our best most creative selves.

The retreat was entertaining, exhausting, enthralling and enlightening (and a few more e words I’m not thinking of at the moment!). It also served to bring a group of musicians together, many for the first time, in a uniquely heartfelt manner that would produce two amazing collaborative concerts.

The first night’s concert was held at Christ’s Church Unity. Though we had heard snippets of music throughout the two-day retreat, this would be the first time that all thirteen musicians had really performed in front of each other. Many had quick rehearsals before sound check to add others into their acts for background vocals, percussion, trumpet or sax solos and keyboard magic. It was a true collaborative effort. The concert was magical and enlightening, and each artist was incredibly diverse with his or her musical style. Everyone was outstanding in their own musical way and brought the joy of the past few days to life in their music.

U Rock Artists and Staff

The 2^nd night’s concert was in the John & Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center in Orlando, in one of their beautiful theaters. The songs changed, more collaborative efforts were formed and the audience ate up the entire 4-hour show!

The most touching part of the evening for me was a presentation by one of the two invited non-profits for the evening, Base Camp. The organization helps to comfort and nourish families of terminally ill children as their children undergo treatments at the Children’s Hospital of Orlando. A young girl named Marley, who had entertained us throughout the evening with her joyful shrieks of laughter and dancing, was there that evening with her family and best little girlfriend. At the age of 3 she was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. The doctors had little hope for her even after surgery and gave the young girl days to live. But the family refused to give up, and worked with their faith, along with the best that Western medicine had to offer, to try and save the life that had barely begun. Marley is now 7 years old and is in full remission. She touched all of our hearts and this “old soul” had many lessons to teach us about the power of faith and never giving up in life, no matter how dire the situation may seem.

The evening was a fundraiser for the Bates Place non-profit, which has been set up to help artists like me to spread joyful, uplifting messages to the world. Money was raised, with the help of the nation’s only singing auctioneer Mari Harris.

The last evening was spent conducting a very casual closing concert on the waterfront in Tampa. Held outside of an old Trolley Car warehouse and repair station (among other things!), it was a very special night of making music together and saying our long goodbyes.

Click here for a goofy video I took that night!

Lisa and Teri Wilder

I have to say that the whole experience far exceeded my expectations. We were well taken care of with fabulous food and food for thought, lodging and oodles of love. All of us connected on an amazing level, and musical collaborations born out of the process were outstanding, exuberant and many longer term than just the weekend performances. In fact, for those of you in the Boulder/Denver area, two of the amazing artists, Teri Wilder and Mari Harris, will be appearing live in my own backyard for a house concert extraordinaire on Saturday, September 10. Details to come!

Mark, Bates and Rique

Thank you Bates and the entire staff of Bates Place for letting us be a part of your dream to bring this amazing “music that makes you feel great” to the world. This is only the beginning.

I am part of the core staff of the Boulder International Film Festival, which just wrapped up on Sunday. As the Filmmaker Liaison Coordinator it’s my job to find and coordinate volunteers who will pick up and take care of all of the filmmakers who come to town for the festival. We have a great team of liaisons who take them back and forth to the airport and make sure all of their needs are met during the festival.

My other role, along with my husband Steve, is to help transport and take care of the celebrities who visit the festival. This year it was James Franco and Oliver Stone.

The best way I can describe James is “overwhelmed.” The young star (32) is getting a PhD in English Studies at Yale,  just finished a book, has a multi-media art exhibit opening in June in Venice, is on General Hospital, is nominated for Best Actor for his role as Boulder’s own Aron Ralston in “127 Hours” and is hosting the Academy Awards this coming Sunday! And I thought I was oversubscribed! His manager told me James has a true photographic memory. He can read through a script once and have his lines down cold for the next scene. That would explain in part his super human skills but still thats all got to wear a guy out!

So it was no real surprise to me that he seemed a bit tired during his interview on Saturday night. Aron Ralston’s introduction was fabulous and I enjoyed meeting him every bit as much as the star who played him in the movie. If you haven’t seen “127 Hours,” by all means go see it! Though the pinnacle of the movie is him cutting off his arm, it’s only 90 seconds of the whole two hours and is so well done that I only had to look away once! It’s a very spiritually powerful movie and an amazing story of courage and determination.

Oliver Stone was super lively during his interview and in person as well. He is so hyper intelligent that I really believe his brain is wired differently than most. Steve and I enjoyed his “testing” conversations with us and he was simply delightful to be around. Here is a photo of us at the end of the festival on Sunday before the rest of the crowd rolled into the bar.

Taking care of the celebrities is exciting but amazingly stressful at the same time. From making sure security is in place to seeing that they have every single need taken care of, it’s a lot of work. Overall it’s a great gig but we certainly didn’t get to see much of the festival from the front of the house.

Some of the other highlights of the weekend for me included opening night and watching “Troubadors” about the famous bar of the same name in LA that launched just about every musical career in the 70s; watching my son Brendan have a great time volunteering at the festival for the first time as part of the Youth Advisory Council; watching the movie “Freedom Riders” with our boys and meeting the amazing Representative John Lewis; watching my stepdaughter Kaity blossom as a reporter as she interviewed and photographed just about every filmmaker in town for the festival blog, (including an exclusive interview with Oliver Stone); and watching the crazy Karaoke show at Sushi Zanmai with Franco’s manager on Saturday night-if you’ve never gone you should! As I told his manager, “It’s so bad it’s hip!”

An eventful weekend to be sure! Come talk to me at a show and I’ll tell you more about my role at BIFF and how you can be involved in the festival next year!