I Heart Lowen & Navarro
Current mood: nervous
Category: Life

When I was in 10th grade, the first song I ever sung at the BVHS Talent Show was written by these guys. Maybe you've heard it on a tv commercial for a hotel..."We Belong."

Check out their new video here:

www.whatkindofworlddoyouwant.com/videos/view/id/884613


Recently, I read this article by Eric Lowen and it made me cry.

http://www.lownav.com/perfsong.html

These many years between CDs, paying off debt, finding a home, and settling down to some extent have left me often depressed and many of you have heard me complain about those who maybe weren't as nice as they could be to me in my years of struggling as a singer/songwriter, what might have gone better, or even where I just screwed myself. It's easy to focus on that stuff.

Well, this article is a serious dose of perspective. A magnificent example of a great attitude. I want to be more like that!

Let me focus on something positive right now. When I got the chance to open for Lowen & Navarro, they were two of the nicest people I have ever met--not just polite but genuinely interested. Opening for Dan & Eric was probably one of the most validating musical experiences of my life.

I haven't kept in touch but I do keep track, and I hope you will check out what they have been up to, and consider what you can do to make a difference for Eric and all with ALS. Just clicking on that video link up top helps:

By clicking on the video link, you will log a credit that earns the benefited charity -- in this case, Augie's Quest, an ALS support and research group associated with the Muscular Dystrophy Assn -- a buck or so for each click. You can also donate directly to the central clearinghouse, the California Community Foundation, if you so desire. But even without a direct donation, your clicks will help generate needed credits that will steer donations to Augie's Quest.

Currently listening : Echelon: The Te Deum Sessions Release date: 2000-02-01

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New Blog Home
Category: Blogging

I have been posting little blogs--bloglets(?) at my website for a while now. I think that’s going to be the home of my blog from here on out, so...

www.bekihemingway.com

until further notice. I’ll still post songs, shows, etc. here on myspace, and the link to this myspace is right there on the front page of the website, so you can easily commute between the two to get more info than you ever needed.

BTW, thanks to all the Colorado crowd who made it to Stella’s Coffeehouse on the 28th for our songwriter-in-the-round night. It was so much fun.

Hoping to do it again in the summertime with Sammy Horner from Glasgow, and in the fall with Jonathan Rundman from Minneapolis. Long shots, but a girl can dream...if you didn’t get two emails about that show and want to be on the list, you need to shoot me a note from the front page of bekihemingway.com to confirm that you are on the email list.

Just confirmed that Randy and I are off to play at Lifest together in Oshkosh in July. We’re pretty excited to take a musical trip together again. The Glasgow concert was so good to include on our vacation and we managed to raise a little money for IJM (www.ijm.org) thanks to the crowd. Thank you, crowd.

I have missed playing w/ him so much since he took his normal job. We’ll be making this a priority in the coming year!

Ok, bye for now. See you at the other site.

Beki

9:25 AM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

I find this to be true:
Current mood: confident
Category: Jobs, Work, Careers

I do not say this to be depressing or negative but when I read it in an article on Colorado singer/songwriter Jeff Finlin, I realized that the interviewer had articulately summed up a reality that I feel the weight of on a fairly regular basis:

I phoned music industry experts and put it to them: With so many new avenues for musical artists, with iTunes and MySpace, "American Idol" and YouTube, why can't Finlin find an audience? They said he might be too old, might have the wrong look, might just be unlucky.

But they also said I shouldn't buy into the myth that more avenues means more music gets heard. If everyone can be heard, they said, no one gets heard. The democratization of music can create a deafening roar above which original voices have trouble rising.

Ultimately, I have to be happy to make music for the sake of it, and be very grateful for those of you who are here listening. I am very grateful. Thank you!

Currently watching : Flight of the Conchords - The Complete First Season Release date: 06 November, 2007

10:28 AM - 4 Comments - 6 Kudos - Add Comment

Open Mic Night
Current mood: okay
Category: Life

Last night, we got bored and went to an open mic at Martini Ranch downtown just to play a few songs and see what the twenty-somethings were up to in LoDo on a Thursday night.

Set list:

Lose My Mind
Every Little Bit (Patty Griffin)
Hope Is All I Have

We didn't expect much but had a good time, met some cool people, got four free drinks, three free t-shirts, and free tickets to see the movie Juno next week. You just never know...

This morning, Randy made French toast and coffee and we decorated the tree. We realized that for the first time in years, we actually have a fireplace to hang the stockings by (with care, of course).

I wonder why I find complaining so easy to do when my life is so good. Next time you hear it, just tell me to shut up.
Merry Christmas.
B

Currently reading : Perelandra (Space Trilogy, Book 2) By C.S. Lewis Release date: 01 April, 2003

8:59 PM - 3 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Crooked Head Syndrome: A Long Melodramatic Blog.
Current mood: hopeful

"I need to get my head on straight"

It's a cliche that has just become literal for me. For years I have struggled with chronic migraines and today it has just been confirmed that part of my problem is that my atlas (the tiny top vertebrae holding up the entire weight of my head) is turned at an angle thus causing all kinds of problems and pain.

Alas, my head sits crooked atop my neck!
I have been told is probably the result of a car accident.

March 17, 1985

I am 14 years old and sitting on the shoulders of David Harvey, an 18-year old boy who works for my dad. He has the palest white skin and the rosiest cheeks and a brilliant British accent. He is shy and probably mortified that I have made him sneak down the stairs at McNichols Arena, nowhere near the seat numbers on our tickets.

Bono is climbing up on the speakers and striking that pose, down on one knee like he might propose to me at any minute if he weren't already married. He reaches down, I reach up. Four inches away. After being locked away in a one stop-light town for years, well, I don't know. It's just great.

And I, like a firework, explode
Roman candle lightning lights up the sky

In the cracked streets trampled under foot
Sidestep, sidewalk
I see you stare into space
Have I got closer now
Behind the face

Oh...tell me...
Charity dance with me
Turn me around tonight
Up through spiral staircase
To the higher ground

On the way home, David Harvey says "Click it or ticket" and I roll my eyes to remind him we do not (yet) have a seatbelt law in the USA. I buckle my seatbelt anyway because I have a crush on him. I am 14 so I have a crush on everyone, particularly with an accent. Roni, Renee, and I sing U2 songs at the top of our lungs for a while on the drive back to Buenie and they drift off to sleep. My eyes get heavy. David is the only one old enough to drive...

My eyes open just before the car goes over the edge. David fell asleep and I called his name just before we hit the post and went over the ledge at Como Pass. End over end and around three times. I keep my eyes open and count the rotations. I can see glass flying in front of the swirling headlights. It's beautiful! Then black.

Everyone is calling my name and I am dangling upside down from what's left of my seatbelt. Click it or ticket. Hmmm. I can't find my shoes. I can't figure out where the door is exactly.

Twenty-two years later...

In November, I walked the beach by Bono's house with Melanie and was struck by the challenges it must take to manage a large home, family, hugely famous band, not to mention saving the world.

"You must really have to work hard at keeping your head on straight"
I thought to myself.

I thought of our friend Peter (aka Duke Special) who has recently become an Irish rock star and how he is now realizing that challenge. I say a prayer for him to keep his head on straight. I pray that his family too will be rewarded for the sacrifices they are making now.

Because of my migraines, without regular medication, I would be weekly subject to debilitating head and neck pain that often includes nausea, sensitivity to light, loss of feeling in the face and arms, and the occasional wish for death. I know it will pass in 24-48 hours.

Interesting that one of my earliest and greatest inspirations and my biggest hindrances and challenges seem to be so intertwined.

Today, the doctor shot soundwaves into my neck right near my brain stem in an effort to begin the journey of "getting my head on straight." Wish me luck.

Currently listening : The Unforgettable Fire By U2 Release date: 15 June, 1990

4:17 PM - 10 Comments - 8 Kudos - Add Comment

My Blog is Being Deleted & Moved
Current mood: accomplished
Category: Blogging

Hey all...

Well, I graduated tour guide school yesterday and hit goal weight the same morning. I graduated top in my class so yaaay me. Two employers have already approached me about working for them as a tour guide/event coordinator etc. but I will wait until I get my current employer through the busy summer season.

I have decided to separate my personal and music life on myspace now that I am going to be writing for a new CD and need to look professional. Besides, I don't need all my personal stuff on display for potential booking people who might not want to know what I think about interfaith chapels, my weight, etc.

SO...this and all other blogs will be deleted over the next few days and this page will change to my MUSIC BIZ page.

I'll probably do another profile for personal stuff when the dust settles.

:)
Beki

Currently listening : We Walked in Song By The Innocence Mission Release date: 13 March, 2007

6:22 PM - 4 Comments - 6 Kudos - Add Comment