Wow, just to think that we started the Sukey Rose project almost a YEAR ago with my first Support Team meeting on March 19, 2008! The project really turned out to be a SUCCESS in so many ways and a GREAT LEARNING experience for us -and it’s not over yet!

Time has flown, it seems like it’s only been just a few breaths, but a lot has happened too. I’m so different than I was 1 year ago, in a really GOOD way. I’m bolder, I’m more driven and ambitious. It’s easier for me to say what I want, and not feel guilty for needing to say it. I’m becoming more at peace with being an ARTIST and calling myself a CREATOR of art. It’s what I do. I don’t think I could have said that a year ago. I was just a musician. Now I’m an ARTIST. I live to create. Which brings me to… album recording news! I’ve scheduled 3 days in March with Mr. Producer and hopefully we’ll finish the album in April. I finally sold my Alvarez guitar (I’ll miss it, it was always faithful) and put the money from that sale into the recording fund. And…. *drum roll*… I was offered and accepted a part-time day job! So it looks like I will be working part-time during the week in addition to working during the weekends. I think this is good, obviously to raise funds for recording and CD duplication, but also to help me practice more discipline. At least I’m hoping it won’t suck the life out of me. Cause I’m going to be ramping the whole ‘creating art’ thing to a whole ‘nother level. Ultimately my goal is to be a staff/paid working songwriter. But until then, I’m grateful (especially during these economic times) to have a part-time job opportunity come along. I’ll let you know if I survive my first week which starts this coming Monday. Happy March!

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So the last two weeks I’ve been making it a point to practice my set list of new songs at least once a week. This is after not touching the guitar or practicing since last August. This week I’m aiming to practice every other day and hopefully keep it up for the rest of the spring. A lot of people wonder if musicians are always playing the guitar and writing. It’s different for each musician I believe. For me, I’m not a prolific writer and I don’t try to write every day, if at all. Maybe I should, and I’ve tried. But I’ve learned that if I force myself to song-write it’s not as inspired or honest and I usually don’t yield anything I’m excited about. For me, song-writing is a cyclical thing. It’s like a well that fills up with water and when the water gets near the top, I draw from it, or rather, songs spill out of their own accord. Then the well gets kind of empty/low and over the months, it fills up again as life experiences happen. The last song I wrote was “Don’t Know Why” last August. It was inspired by a news item of a young model who had jumped to her death from a NYC skyscraper. You can hear it on the “HAVE YOUR SAY” page. Looks like Siren is winning that particular song shoot-out.

As I’ve been drawn to practicing the songs these past two weeks I can sort of sense that the well is getting close to the ‘full line’ and new songs may be pouring out soon. And when that happens, I just need to write, I want to write. So I do. I say a prayer and write and these songs come out. It’s kind of exciting when it happens and so hopefully I’ll be in song-writing mode soon. I’ve learned to just trust that songs come when it’s time. Sounds wierd huh? No other way to explain it. Divine inspiration and an open, patient heart.

As for album updates, Mr. Producer has prior recording commitments this month and next so we’re trying to block out some recording days later in March. Patience, patience is the key. Oh, and I have a date with a slice of pizza, vinegar and hot sauce sometime next week.

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Being an indie artist is nice because I get to chose what songs I want on my album. (Signed artists generally do not have 100% final say on it.) Having input on the songs is invaluable because sometimes you get too attached to a song that has huge meaning for you, but in reality, it might not be a good song. Those are the kinds of songs you can sing in your bedroom at 2am in the morning, but NOT put on an album. So it helps to have people share their feedback on the music because for me personally, I’m making music for others to enjoy, so it’s important that my albums contain songs that resonate with people.

Last week I had to come up with another track listing for the album so I could decide which songs I was going to record. Looks like I came up with twelve songs total. After talking with my management support team (3 people who help me stay calm and make decisions, all in exchange for never-ending gratitude and yogurt) about the overall mood of the album, we decided to put a more ‘optimistic’ song, “Confession” back on the album. (Originally it was kicked off the album last summer.) But it seemed that, especially in this time of economic hardship, having a song at the end that signifies some sort of light and hope would be a good capper. That said, there are two songs (”Siren” and “Don’t Know Why”) that are in a very similar vein so I need to drop one of them. BUT WHICH ONE? To help me make the decision, check out the new “Song Shootout” on the HAVE YOUR SAY page. Head on over and vote after you’re done reading this post!!!!

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