Updates

Roam

Filed under: Music Genres, Updates — Hope on August 24, 2010 @ 2:29 am

Roam Band

So I hit up Rockwood Music Hall this past Sunday night, August 22nd, to go see some old friends perform in their newly formed band, Roam (which can be found here: www.facebook.com/Roamband). I have heard Jimmy (James Reeves) sing before, which is always pretty undeniably captivating, but this new ensemble is indeed something to make note of. There are 3 electric guitarists playing all at the same time, which creates an incredible euphoric experience, along with drums, in which the drummer, Joshua Brown, not only drums…but sings magical harmonies, backing up James. These rock songs aren’t your normal rock songs, they are lined with lyrics of love, longing and passion. They even switched gears at one point, from the edgy tunes, to do a folk song, in which one of the other guitarists, Paulo (I believe), revealed his amazing vocals as well. The talent in these dapper young rockstars is quite undeniable. I highly recommend you resist any silly urge not to check them out on Facebook…here: www.facebook.com/Roamband

My work here is done.

Show! Recoup Lounge September 25th

Filed under: Shows, Updates — Hope on August 22, 2010 @ 2:21 pm

Come one come all, bring your friends (21yrs.+) and your paw paw….

Rccoup Lounge (http://www.recouploungenyc.com/)

210 Rivington St (L.E.S.)

7:45pm

$10 cover

Update on Block Party & Caffe Vivaldi

Filed under: Updates — Hope on August 17, 2010 @ 1:09 pm

Thank you so so much to those who made it out to my last two shows! I was able to hit up the East Village and the West Village in one weekend.

The City Light Church blizzock partaaaay (block party) on Saturday (East 7th ST, btwn 1st Ave and Ave A) was a lot of fun, the weather was PERFECT! We had a few technical issues as the keyboard was overheated and we had to switch it out mid song, but it’s amazing that there was even another available to us. The band held it together, tried and true. It still played out very nicely and it was a lot of fun. I also enjoyed watching a crazy man point in random directions and dance in odd motions around the stage during our set. That might have been my favorite part. I’ve included a photo of him here, in which he looks pretty calm and euphoric.

Block Party 8-14-10

The other performers all sounded really great. I enjoyed walking to the different tables and was very tempted to buy something from just about every one. I only ate two hot dogs but I definitely killed a cupcake from Butter Lane afterwards and then I went along to play with the kiddies while monitoring the sack race game. They were excited to be able to win free prizes. Good times.

I was blessed to get a last minute gig this past Sunday night (8/15) at Caffe Vivaldi (32 Jones st, in the West Village). It was such a neat place to play. When I arrived I was graced to hear the beautiful voice of Denitia Odigie (www.denitiaodigie.com/), her music is that of an edgy alternative soul feel. I liked her so much I bought a c.d. My set went really smoothly and it felt great! It was a nice little acoustic show: David Glickstein (guitar) and Jason Arce (keys and sax) killed it in such a beautiful way. It was good to play in such an intimate place to such a new crowd. I stayed after to hear Blessing Offor (www.myspace.com/blessingoffor) perform, which is always an a fun, soulful, jazzy treat. He played a lot of love songs, I admit I cried during one. I know…sap.

Update on the Googie’s Lounge Show

Filed under: Music Genres, Updates — Hope on August 12, 2010 @ 12:22 am

For those who couldn’t make it out to Googie’s Lounge, above The Living Room, this past weekend, it was a great show. The band was tight and I didn’t forget any of my lyrics. ;) I did a cover of Cat Stevens’ song, If You Want to Sing Out, and I felt it went pretty swimmingly. Also we had a little bit of extra time at the end of our set, which I suspected we might. So without warning the band in advance I brought lyrics to a song I have been working on for the past year in hopes we could do a little improv music performance on stage. I asked my friend, Adam, who was going on after us, if he was ready to go on but he gave us the go ahead to do one more song. So while on stage I asked the band if they would be willing to try a little improv. It was my plan to just sing the melody I had written beforehand, but my piano player, Jason Arce, and my guitarist, David Glickstein, decided to take matters into their own hands and play something first that I should sing to…and I’m so glad they did. It’s funny because this song, “Island”, is all about letting go and moving in faith, letting go of control…. and the whole experience was exactly that for me. I began to sing to what they were playing and in only seconds it flowed together so smoothly and beautifully, it was truly an experience to remember. I was on a high for the rest of the night in awe of how amazing God is and how He works through us when we let go and allow Him to. And to my delight I woke up the next morning remembering the melody of the song and was able to record it. When I get a melody in my head for a song it’s hard for me to let go of and for so long I already had an idea of how I wanted this song to go, but I am finding joy in letting go of the way I see it and discovering that it can be better than what I imagined.
Before this show I didn’t feel ready to perform my own songs again and without asking for or seeking out this show and the next I truly feel that God plopped them into my lap and showed me it was His timing for me to perform again, not mine…and I’m so glad He did, because His timing is truly better. I feel alive again.

Googie's Lounge, 8/7/10

Googie's Lounge, 8/7/10

I was also blessed to hear Gideon Brown (http://www.myspace.com/gideonbrownmusic) perform for the first time. What beautiful music! Moving piano with incredible voices, so lovely and great meeting them as well. And my friend, Adam Sullivan (http://adamsullivan.com/), was wonderful as always, he ventured out and talked more throughout his set and I really enjoyed hearing the stories of his songs, it truly enhanced my experience.

Thanks so much to all who came and were able to share in this awesome experience. I hope even more can make it out this Saturday! Check out my Shows page for more info. ;)

It’s ABOUT TIME

Filed under: Shows, Updates — Hope on July 6, 2010 @ 8:39 pm

Finally guys, I’m back on the face of the earth!

And in celebration of me being back I shall sing….I’ll be gigging again starting this August, so be sure to keep checking out my site for what’s next. So sorry to keep my faithful fans waiting so long. The first show I have lined up is August 7th at Googies Lounge (at The Living Room), a nice intimate setting in the L.E.S. at 154 Ludlow St. NY, NY (http://www.livingroomny.com/googies) @ 8:30pm. AND IT’S FREE! So there’s really no reason you shouldn’t come.

Gideon Brown opens @ 7:30 and my friend Adam Sullivan (http://adamsullivan.com/) goes on @ 9:30.

The next show is only a week after on August 14th. Not sure of any details, other than that it’s an awesome block party and fun will be had by all who attend. Deets will follow when I have them, until then tweets about the fact that I can still sing. ;)

Thanks for stopping by!

Oprah Winfrey & Karaoke

Filed under: Updates — Hope on October 21, 2009 @ 12:35 am

A little over a week ago a close friend of mine suggested I enter Oprah Winfrey’s Karaoke contest. I thought about it a bit and figured if I was able to go onto the show and sing in front of thousands of people it could definitely help advance my singing career. When I looked into it I realized the submissions were due by this past Monday, October 19th. So I decided to take on the endeavor and I became more and more passionate about it each day. I was up late each night after work looking up lyrics to songs and finding their respective background tracks. My mind was constantly running trying to pick the perfect song. I knew I wanted it to be something fast because that’s normally what people sing karaoke and what I figured the judges would be attracted to.

My boyfriend really wanted to help me have the best submission, so he got it worked out so that we could go into a recording studio this past Sunday and get my vocals recorded professionally in order to have the best sound for the video. On Saturday I had pretty much decided I was going to do “You Only Get What You Give” by The New Radicals because I sing it pretty much every time I go to a karaoke joint. I love it so much it’s even my phone ring. But my boyfriend helped me realize that the judges would most likely want me to sing something by a female singer because in karaoke you should sound like the original artist. Sunday was the first day I actually had time to focus on my audition because of my work schedule. So I met my boyfriend around 12pm to really pick the right song and I decided on “Ain’t No Other Man” by Christina Aguilera. I listened to the song as much as I could, got the lyrics and background track and we headed to the studio. We were there all day from 3-8:30/9 and ended up getting a video we were satisfied with. We actually ended up not even using the vocal recording equipment and just the video camera because we realized it was against the rules to use any type of script, macro or automated equipment which would enable one to edit their submission. They wanted the raw video unedited. There were also other restrictions as far video size and file types. So we were at the studio for a long time trying to figure out how to get the video onto the computer, etc.

The next day, Monday, the submission had to be submitted onto the Oprah Winfrey website by 11:59pm Central time. So I got started early afternoon Monday and my friend who lent me her camera came over to help me work it properly. I implemented the files onto my computer, using imovie, cut out the one I picked and began trying to put it into the proper format to upload it onto the website. I filled out the info and submitted my file and the website said my file wasn’t the proper type, even though my computer showed me it was. I tried all I could, but the files I in the proper format either turned out too small or blurry. I called a friend who knows more about it than me, he couldn’t figure out the problem so I headed over to my boyfriend’s office to see if someone there could help. We ended up getting someone on the phone hours later and began sending him the files via the internet around 9pm. He helped us and when we finally got it in the proper and best viewable format it was about 12:15/12:30am (11:15/11:30pm central time). Our internet started acting up and every time we tried to upload the file the website crapped out. We then sent all of my info to be submitted with the video to the guy helping us so that he could try sending it in from his computer. Nothing worked…the website was too overloaded by everyone submitting at the same time. We tried until about 1:15 am and then when I got home I tried one last time but the upload page was no longer even available.

Even after leaving the office …when I thought nothing else could go wrong my subway card was used up and when I went to the MTA machine to get a new one my debit card was blocked for some odd reason. I ended up taking a cab and just having to use a credit card.

After all of that trouble I was so let down, because I truly believed I was going to have a chance. I was full of sadness and regret. But even throughout the whole day I was discouraged and full of doubt. Looking back I really wish I would have just had a better attitude despite my circumstances and tried with more hope and joy in the process, knowing that even if I couldn’t get my submission through it ultimately didn’t matter. I know that God knew this was going to happen and that He has a reason and a purpose and that He is always trying to teach me. I woke up this morning and finally made time for God, because I had pretty much shoved Him aside the past few days in my urgency to create the best audition.

I was so sad yesterday because it was like another huge reminder of the walls I seem to keep hitting when it comes to my dreams. But this morning I was reminded about what really matters . If you are interested in viewing my audition video you can go to this link:

Oprah Winfrey Karaoke Contest

What else am I going to use it for? Comments and critiques are welcome!

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog!

God bless!

Love,

-Hope

All Points West 2009

Filed under: Shows, Updates — Hope on August 4, 2009 @ 12:39 am

I was one of the many people to attend All Points West this weekend. It was a 3 day event at Liberty State Park. Friday’s line-up included Jay-Z, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Vampire Weekend and others. Saturdays 3 biggest performers were Tool, My Bloody Valentine and Gogol Bordello. Chairlift was also on Saturday, I love their hit song “bruises”. I only went on Sunday, unfortunately I wasn’t feeling good, so I ended up going pretty late. But I chose to go Sunday because Coldplay was performing and they are pretty much my favorite band of all-time. Also on Sunday was MGMT, Echo and the Bunnymen, The Black Keys, Elbow, We Are Scientists, Lykke Li and more. I unfortunately missed MGMT because they played pretty much the same time as Coldplay; I was quite perturbed about that. I heard the tale end of a song of theirs. I first arrived to the concert around 8:00pm or so and was very glad to catch the last few songs of Lykke Li’s performance. She had a lot of energy. I really like her sound.

There were 3 different stages throughout the park and Lykke Li performed at the Queen of the Valley Stage. MGMT was at Bullet and Coldplay was at the Blue Comet. There were a couple very intriguing abstract set-ups randomly placed throughout the park where people could sit or stand in the middle and they were lit up once it got dark.  Another cool thing was that there were 2 incredibly long lines of string with lit up balloons attached to them which floated above our heads around the park. There were also some merch booths, food tables, etc. I was very surprised to see that H&M had a tent set up with air condition inside, in which they were giving away water bottles and had a fun photo booth where anyone could get complimentary photos. So I jumped on that wagon.

It rained most of the day on Sunday, which is another reason I wasn’t so motivated to go early, but despite the fact that it stopped raining everyone still had to tread through the muddy sludge in the grass. It was incredible how dirty everyone was. I wore my rainboots, so I was pretty protected for the most part. Some people gave up and just decided to leave their shoes off, some people even left their muddy shoes behind. I saw several people with mud splatters as high as their backs.

Coldplay of course was awesome and well worth the trip for me. I was, however, surprised at how Chris Martin seemed to be having a hard time up there. I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was, his performance was still amazing and he sounded incredible, but there was just something hindering him a bit. It was like he was getting worn out very easily…of course he was running around a lot. They played all of my favorite songs, I even took a bit of video footage. Unfortunately my pictures didn’t come out very well, my camera isn’t exactly the best in town. Coldplay moved around between 3 different stages connected to the Blue Comet throughout their performance and at one point they came down into the mud and walked through it as well. There were also a few very entertaining points in Chris’s performance where he played off of his tiredness and acted like he couldn’t go on any longer, he went down to the ground a few times… it made us laugh. During the song “Yellow” these huge yellow balloons/balls came up from the stage somewhere and began floating above the crowd, it wasn’t too long before parts of those balloons turned brown from the mud.

Overall, even though I missed most of it, it was a pretty great experience. The night was very beautiful…I could feel a light breeze and see the moon so clearly. The view of Manhattan from the ferry was breathtaking.

The Doves

Filed under: Updates — Hope on June 4, 2009 @ 11:22 pm

Went to The Doves concert tonight at Terminal 5. The venue was pretty cool. My boyfriend and I stood on cushioned seats in order to see, it was pretty much standing room only. We went to the top (third floor), it was less crowded up there. The 2nd and 3rd levels had V.I.P. sections blocked off right by the balcony edges. I enjoyed it, but the sound wasn’t quite as great as it could have been. Perhaps I’m spoiled by sound of the album. I was surprised by how nice the venue was, especially for being so far on the West Side of Manhattan. They showed videos throughout the whole show on a big screen behind them, it was more entertaining than some shows that just shine bright lights or show swirlies on a screen the whole time. They came out for an encore after perhaps 3 minutes of clapping. I’d guess the audience was about 2,000 people maybe, give or take a thousand, kidding…probably 2,000, but I was never the best at guesstimating. The songs were pretty well balanced between their old and new albums, which I liked.

I scored a free ticket to a show the last week of May, one night after work. It was for The Roots, it was pretty dope. It wasn’t what I expected though, they actually had quite a few guest artists come on stage every once in a while to perform. I really liked the opening band, Elevator Fight. I had heard one of their songs before. The lead singer, Zoe Kravitz, Lenny Kravitz’s daughter had a really great stage presence. It was a fun unexpected thing to do.

I should really start making it a goal to see at least one live performance a month.

Album Release Show- Cancelled!

Filed under: Shows, Updates — admin on February 26, 2009 @ 7:28 pm

So sorry to inform you we have had to cancel the album release show for now. Thank you so much to those who pre-ordered tickets, we will indeed reimburse you and we deeply apologize for the inconvenience. We will let you know as soon as the album is ready for release.


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