After so many theatrics for so long, going into the ceremony on Monday, May23rd, I had lost most of the excitement surrounding a potential win, but tell my heart that.   And tell the part of me that keeps believing in a songwriting dream, despite all the naysayers, all those who try to tell me that I need to ‘tone it down’ and keep the gayness out of the mix.   I was still hoping at the end of the day, I would have the best birthday present ever, a phone call, email, or some other incredible congratulatory message, thanking me for my contribution to the promotion of  LGBT music and community.   Oh, how sweet that would have been.

But, the results were nowhere to be found.   Not at the time, not on line, not in a Google search, nothing at all to be found on the winners of the OUTMusicAwards until two days later, when I finally discovered a column written by a journalist in Dallas, celebrating the work of a competitor and co-nominee for the Biello-Martin Love Song, Gary Floyd, who had several nominations, but also did not take an OMA trophy home.   It did not keep me from noting on his website how much I enjoyed his music, and congratulating him for his nominations, but I never heard back.

 Sometimes, I think being part of the LGBT community is all about the boys, never about the ‘girls’, but I will hold off on that sentiment, because I truly believe it is all about promoting love and light in this universe, no matter who wins.   So, congratulations Phil Putnam, for your winning song, Paris, may the award bring you much prosperity as you continue forward in your efforts to inspire upcoming OUT musicians ….

For the article mentioned and the winning artists, you can follow the results here: http://www.dallasvoice.com/winners-nights-outmusic-awards-1077650.html. 

Well, if you’ve been following the blog, you know that, also, ended up being a huge fiasco, because the money sort of went missing for a while, so I donated directly to Sylvia’s Place again ( so the kids wouldn’t miss Christmas), and then took the matter up directly with the powers that be at OUTMusic.   I am pleased to report all monies eventually found a home at Sylvia’s Place shelter for GLBT youth in NYC; however, even though I was assured the OUTMusic awards ceremony would go forward in the spring, I was not interested in making an investment again in an organization that seemed to be a bit disorganized and careless.

Well, here we are, all of the air out of that very hot balloon that was so inflated last Fall when I first learned I was nominated for the Martin-Biello Best Love Song of  the Year Award by OUTMusic (Troubadour of Woes, Oh Peggy, My Love).  I am still a nominee, and the awards ceremony is going forward on my birthday, and to tell you the truth, if I still had the bucks, I’d probably be there, just to see how it all pans out, but I’m out of funds now and back in the trenches, so will have to wait and read the news on line like many others, I suppose, so I know I’m keeping good company:)

But, Truth be Told, As much as I bitch, I’m really still hopeful that I will win, of course.   Because Oh, what a sweet birthday present that would be!   To learn more about the OMA’s, go to http://www.outmusicawards.com, or see the nominees below.   My congratulations go out to all nominees, and hope there is a great turnout tomorrow.   

For emerging indie artists like yours truly, the money to fund the creative calling has to come from other jobs in order to keep the dream alive.   It was always about the bucks-  “earn the money first” my mom used to say, “then you can have any dream you want”.  

A stout axiom in a decade when dreams died in the dust bowl and you could only eat what came out of a can, very well and overly preserved.  In her day, most were out of work and the dream was mere survival.  She loved music and threw away her own dream to be a concert pianist and composer to make sure I had what I needed (along with my 5 siblings) to pursue my own dreams one day.

Yet today, nearing mother’s day and the 15th anniversary of her death, I know mom would be the first one to tell me to believe in my creative dreams and give the music everything I have to give as my top priority, because this is the passion fueling my heart:)   

So, I write, create, continue to build the dream I started at the age of 13,when I wrote my first song.   I discovered quickly, music helped me tame adolescent angst and ease me into an often diffiult and arduous adulthood path.    Now, full circle, I discover the passion is still there, and I haven’t lost the dream.   It was there all along, waiting for me to re-connect.

If you are in the neighborhood, or close to the “77095″ zip code, shoot me an email, or check out my facebook page for an invite to this private event.    Or, send a text to 832-282-8766 to RSVP,  let me know you want to be included and I will confirm.   Please also see details at www.jameshurleymusic.com for the latest info on the house concert and his tour calendar for upcoming gigs and locations. This is a great opportunity to see James perform in a quiet acoustic setting, totally ‘unplugged’, so please let me know if you want to hang out this Saturday, with me, a few neighbors and friends, and James Hurley, whose musical style is described as “Americana on the Rocks with a Twist”.

If you love folk, any kind of  rhthym & blues or jazz groove,  you will love this zany, upbeat , outstanding singer-songwriter, who will be performing all original material.   I first met James Hurley at the Big Sur songwriters retreat hosted by Brett Perkins in 2008, and have been a huge fan ever since.    So, I am thrilled to host him tomorrow night in Houston. 

For more information on James Hurley, including CD catalogue, please visit www.jameshurleymusic.com.  He is also on sonicbids and myspace.

We are presenting the songs we wrote this week in a live concert at the Sequoias Retreat Center on Alba Road, in Ben

Preparations for concert tonight.

Lomond, CA.   Guests are encouraged to arrive around 7, and I believe we get everything going at 7:30.  As I sit here blogging away, I hear three part harmonies filtering through the air as teams prepare, rehearse, and get everything tuned up for their performances tonight.

I’ve rehearsed three songs, have one more to do, then it’s off to get all spiffed up for the show … I’ll be recording both sets ‘live’ tonight, so stay tuned to excerpts from the concert, wrapping up a rich and vibrant week of songwriting and singing in the California Sequoias.

]]> http://www.dream-singer.com/sequoia-songwriters-retreat-concert-tonight-in-ben-lomond-ca/feed/ 0 http://www.dream-singer.com/songwriting-collaboration-part-2-we-reap-what-we-have-sewn/ http://www.dream-singer.com/songwriting-collaboration-part-2-we-reap-what-we-have-sewn/#comments Thu, 20 Jan 2011 11:20:38 +0000 PhyllisATravis http://www.dream-singer.com/?p=438 Trying to grab a few minutes to write is next to impossible at a songwriters retreat because mostly I am writing songs,  and far away from my computer!  But, here you go, as promised, Part 2 of the co-write on Monday with Tom Steffen from Denmark.

After spending a few hours on the lyrics matching phrases we paired from the ‘free association’ exercise Brett gave us earlier in the day, we got together again an hour or so before dinner and man, magic was in the air!  You won’t believe this beautiful melody … “We Reap What We Have Sewn” .

Music and Lyric by Phyllis A Travis (USA) and Tom Steffen Frederiksen (Denmark):  Copyright 2011

Brett Perkins, our fearless leader, tosses out the phrase “It Happens to the Best of Us”, and then says, “Ok, start writing.”For 10 minutes, we had to ‘free associate,’ writing anything that popped into our heads, without editing.   As song-writing exercises go, this is one I remember from three previous retreats with Brett, and is my favorite, because it allows you to really go in any direction you want with no set structure.

After he stopped the clock, Brett gave us our writing partners for the day.

I got paired with a soulful balladeer from Denmark, Tom Steffan, who has given me permission to talk about him today.

He’s off no doubt writing our beautiful song, while I am here catching you up on the process of co-writing a song, which is different for everyone, but for me and for Tom today, it worked something like this:

Tom read what he wrote while I listened, then jotted down phrases that just ‘jumped out at me.’ Then I did the same thing, read out loud to Tom what I had written in the 10 minute exercise, while he jotted down notes that resonated with him.   Then we paired the phrases together.   Like a patchwork quilt, taking some from him, some of the fabric from me, until we had about eight lines cobbled together, which then also gave us the idea for the chorus.

That’s roughly the lyric so far … about a journey, children seeking wisdom from elders,  coloring inside the lines but outside the box, looking to the universe for answers …..

You’ll have to tune it for part 2, to see how it turns out.   Right now I’ve gotta blow this popsicle joint and start doing my part of this song.   We are writing melodies now, much like we did the lyric, then will cobble together the parts we like today at 3:30 when we meet again.   And from that process, a song will come to life …

I changed my guitar strings on Thursday, did most of the organizing last night, and now all that’s left is sorting out what goes where.   Looks like it will be a big bag and one small one, plus the guitar (I’ll gate check it)) and my laptop as the carry on.   Weather is supposed to be decent in the morning, and sunny all week in the San Jose area, so it should be a great retreat.

My cabin-mate is from NYC, a folk-jazz musician and musical playwright, so am really looking forward to meeting her and the rest of the songwriters who will be arriving tomorrow from all over the globe.    We have dinner at the ‘lodge’ at 6PM, then our first song circle (we each present an original song) and introductory meeting at 9PM.   Since CA is two hours earlier than Houston, I will be whipped this time tomorrow night and lookin to get some z’s …

But, I hope to blog every day, upload some photos while I’m there and let you know what it’s like hangin’ out in the CA Sequoias with some of the best songwriting talent around as I see old friends again, meet new ones, and soak up those CA rays!

Ok, this is the first challenge: can I blog from my DROID Pro and upload photos at same time?  Let’s see.

Well, I can do videos and photos, and also looks like I can upload videos and photos, but I don’t know how to insert files.

The really cool thing though cos I’ve got a voice activated function and I can just talk what I want to type and it does it!

It even does the punctuation for me when I say it, for instance, new paragraph.  Okay, that 1 it doesn’t know how to read yet.

But, you have to admit, this is a pretty cool function of the droid with this wordpress app.

Way cool!