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COLOR OF LOVE

Fri, 22 May 2009 16:56:00 -0400

Ok, so I've been looking forward to making this announcement for quitesome time, but wanted to wait until everything was in place.

So...now everything is in place and...I AM IN A NEW BAND!!!

So, I realize that might not be quite as exciting to you yet as it is to me, but just wait. ;)

The band is called "Color of Love," and you can check out our myspace here.

I should emphasize two things before you follow that link, though - these are not my songs, and I am not the one singing them in the recordings.So don't get confused and think I've given you a bad link. =) The songs are all by my friend and nearly-next-door neighbor Mike Ulrich, and the lovely lady singing is Mike's friend Teresa Eggers, who moved to NYC just after making the record. I am replacing her at live shows and on future recordings (we have some really fun stuff in the works!), and having a great time doing it.

Color of Love feels like a pretty big stylistic departure for me, but I have to say that I have become a huge fan, and the whole thing is really exciting. I mean, imagine you get this new album, and you're really into it, and singing all the parts in your car...and then, SNAP!, you are in that band, singing those parts for real! So it's a lot of fun, really challenging for me as a singer in a lot of different ways (I've just started my first voice lessons, which are fantastic!), and I'm really looking forward to seeing where things go.

I really hope everyone who reads this will check out the band and help warm up our myspace with friending and commenting and song playing and all that stuff. And, if you really like what you hear, you can buy the cd "Camphor Songs" on iTunes (or for a discounted rate at shows - we'd love to see you in person =) or CD Baby.

As far as exactly what "Color of Love" is like, in sound it reminds me a lot of The New Pornographers or Belle and Sebastian. CD Baby says Camphor Songs should appeal to fans of Yo La Tengo, Wilco, and The Shins, and throws us into Alternative/Experimental/Folk/Rock type categories. Our myspace says "Punk/Punk/Punk," but that's just for fun.;) Thematically, though, I think these songs are extra fun because they break out from the "relationship song" mold. Really, there aren't any songs obviously about romantic relationships. Mike writes about...uneasy relationships with technology? Existential crises? A la OK Computer, the folk/pop version...? Basically, listen past the poppy pretty silliness (at times), and you're likely to feel a little uncomfortable. In a really good way. =)

Thanks for listening!

some happy news and some free music

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 17:56:43 -0500

Ok, the happy news and the free music are mostly one and the same. ;)

So, the news is that OurStage.com (which is kind of maybe my favorite website these days) has once again featured me as their free download of the week, this time promoting my song "Honeybee."

Check out the official OurStage Blog to get your copy, and leave a comment if you get a chance. The people at OurStage have been very good to me, and I'd like to show them that I'm appreciative.

Also, while you're over there, scroll down a couple of entries and you'll see that one of my favorite OurStage artists, Meika Pauley, is giving away her fantastic album "Elijah, Drop Your Gun," totally for free on Amazon from now until March 10. I really highly recommend you check her out.

And, lastly, it's my sister's birthday today. I am very happy she was born and just wanted to share. =)

CMJ New Artist Feature, and July OurStage Results

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 22:55:33 -0400

Thanks so much to everyone who voted this month at Ourstage.com! I discovered several other artists that I really liked, and hopefully you did too.

Some of my favorites included:

Mieka Pauley
Waiting for Iris
Maria DeMaio

So...the competition was stiff, but the results are in, and "How We Go" got 4th place in Female Singer! ALSO, someone from CMJ (http://www.cmj.com) took a liking to Mimosa (which won first place in Folk last month), and included me in their July magazine.

I'm in a MAGAZINE!!! Like, a real print one. One that people buy!

This is my first appearance in glossy, and they compared me to two bands I really like, so I am super excited. Here's the page:

So anyway, thanks to everyone again who participated, and I encourage everyone to check out OurStage.com if you haven't, whether you go vote for me or not. It's a great site that I think really presents a huge opportunity for independent musicians.

Hope everyone is having a lovely summer.

shosha

Currently listening :
Elijah Drop Your Gun
By Mieka Pauley
Release date: 2007-11-01

OurStage.com, June and July

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:38:56 -0400

Thanks so much to everybody who voted last month on Ourstage! I was in the top 10 in "female singer/songwriter" and "acoustic" channels, and won the top spot in "folk"!

This month my song How We Go is in the top 20 again in the female singer/songwriter channel, so anybody who needs some more internet procrastination material or wants to discover new independent music should head over to Ourstage and vote!

Currently listening :
Loneliness Knows My Name
By Patrick Park
Release date: 2003-07-15

help with the "sounds like" section

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 00:40:12 -0400

So...I've been thinking maybe I shouldn't leave my "sounds like" section blank. I have been thinking P, who has taken it upon himself to crack the whip a little bit, is going to scold me for it soon, and I would like to pre-empt him. The thing is, I get very squirmy about filling in that particular section. I can tell you who I like, who I think influences me...but I am sort of at a loss as to who to best compare myself to. It's just hard to hear yourself, I think, in any way that brings accurate relativity.

Um, that sounded like science talk, didn't it? Not what I was going for. You know what I mean? (this is something they ask in California a lot...when in Rome...)

So anyway, I thought I'd put the question out to those people who are probably the best people to ask - the people who listen. So if that applies to you, I would be ever so grateful for any ideas for filling in this tricky "sounds like" section. Feel free to comment here or to write me privately. And while I will maintain veto power - I am not going to tell people that I sound like Hillary Duff, por ejemplo, - I'll throw anything you send me up for at least a couple of days. So here you go, your big opportunity to help me out, and/or graffiti my page.

Also, I just got a twitter account. Do any of you have a twitter account? (This is me sheepishly asking you to be my friend. I think I only have one right now, if I counted correctly.)

=)

Thanks. Love.

s

sometimes we draw roses / sometimes we're just ripping seams...

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 00:41:38 -0400

so I am taking a sewing class over the summer, and have officially made my first Kleenex holder. VERY exciting. wanted to show off:

The Front:

The Back:

The Inside (now holding my pass to use the sewing room):

And next week, on to pillow cases! I'll be making pajama pants in no time!!

=)

Currently listening :
Troubled Times
By Holcombe Waller
Release date: 2005-05-10

Thanks for voting! All 3 songs made the semi-finals...2 days left to keep voting!

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 00:42:12 -0400

Thanks SO MUCH to everyone who voted at www. OurStage. com. All three songs I had entered in the contest made it from the quarter-finals into the semi-finals.

Today is the official start of the semi-finals, and the order of the songs in the line-up has been re-randomized. At the end of the quarter-finals round, all three of my songs were in 1st place, but now I need more votes to climb back up. Voting should be even quicker and easier now that there are only 10 songs, and those of you who've voted before have already heard them.

To be clear - voting starts over each round. Your previous votes helped get me into the semi-finals, but don't count in this round. So vote again! We've got two days.
=)

Thanks so much for your help!!!

Currently listening :
Fireproof
By Dawn Landes
Release date: 2008-03-04

I have an announcement!

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 00:44:11 -0400

Did that get your attention? Do you feel like something exciting is just around the corner? Isn't that a nice feeling, regardless of what's around the corner?

I'm stalling, really. I think rarely do I write a blog with an audience so much in mind, and it feels kinda weird. I feel like I can't just make an announcement, though, without prefacing it with something. I mean, usually with blogs I just sort of wander around in my head and write it down and if people read it, ok. And if not, ok. But now I am actually writing a blog with the hopes that people will read it. And not just read it, but read it and take action.

So it feels weird. And because making an announcement in a blog is probably totally normal, that makes me weird?

Well, ok, now that we have that over with....

THE ANNOUNCEMENT

I have three songs that have qualified for the semi-finals at OurStage for the month of June, and although you cannot go directly to my songs to vote for them, there are only 20 songs in each category, so odds are if you vote 10 times or so, you'll hit one of mine. And maybe you'll discover cool new music, too. I definitely have.

Here's how it works:

You sign up for a free account (they really don't spam you, I promise), and then you choose which "channel" to vote in. You'll have two songs pop up, and you have to listen to at least 15 seconds of each. Then you just choose which one you think is better, and if you think it is just a little better or a lot better. That's it. And then you move on.

The songs I have in the semi-finals this month are:

Honeybee - in the Acoustic channel
Mimosa - in the Folk channel
How We Go - in the Singer/Songwriter (Female) channel

So, there you go. Announcement complete.

Thanks!

an aerial view of a coastal town that you once knew

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 00:45:23 -0400

sometimes places you have loved are beautiful from the sky. sometimes they aren't. here are some I like:

my favorite bit of sand in the world.

makes sense that she twists like this. this is first city I loved on purpose.

have you ever seen a city look more like a cartoon? this is Leiden.

the first big city I lived in.

despite everything, this one got me a little in the end, too.

where I grew up. used to be just the one house. now we are neighborly.

Currently listening :
Duncan Sheik
By Duncan Sheik
Release date: 1996-06-04

I know I know I know (you're still my love)

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 01:07:27 -0400

so I think probably most people would agree that blogs about concerts that they didn't attend are pretty boring. and yet when I go to a really good concert, I just can't seem to resist.

I had a conversation with my housemates-to-be a while back about the point of blogging. or I guess, lack of point? it is, I find, a difficult thing to articulate. I think it is a good and worthwhile endeavor all in all, but it is hard to explain, you know? like, why not just write in your diary? does anyone really care?

but I do care. there are blogs that I love. And I love looking back over mine and remembering where I was. And it's fundamentally different than a diary in some way that I can't quite put my finger on. It is still emerging, though, isn't it? We are still figuring it out. I think it is a medium with tremendous expressive potential.

that said, if the point of an blog is, in general, slightly dubious, then the point of a boring blog about a concert you didn't go to is even more suspect, right?

well, here goes anyway.

I went to see Tegan and Sara tonight. And they were reeeally great. Talkative and funny and likeable on stage and played all my favorite songs. Got my pop fix without feeling even slightly guilty about it. I know this probably sounds sort of technical thing to rave about, but their timing was PERFECT. like, so good that you notice it. Normally I think timing is something you notice only when it's off, but every single note they sang together they entered and exited with perfectly matched timing and inflection. I find that kind of thing really satisfying to listen to.

Also, they have the kind of voices that are better live than on the cd, which I think is rare, except in some cases of really low-budget cds, or early cds of people who haven't spent much time in the scary little sound box and are much more comfortable in a real room. But in this case, it wasn't that the cd was inferior, just that their voices were flawless live.

They also produce what I consider to be a very satisfying wall of sound - the kind where you can still hear all the sounds. I think maybe because their voices are SO treble, they can really blow out the bass without losing clarity, and so they can push out at both ends and make a huge stretchy tent of sound. Mixed in with acoustic moments (not folky, mind you, just acoustic) and pretty perfect harmonies...basically, The Con is a cd which should be played way loud. I have, evidently, never played it loudly enough. You should try it.

little green

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 01:09:36 -0400

so today, according to some people, is st. patrick?s day. so the djs at the local indie rock station are getting drunk in the studio and playing green day all day. it?s kinda funny. they like green day, evidently. they also have a "green day or not green day" segment, where they play some obscure song by either green day or some band that sounds just like them, and give prizes if you get it right.

also in the local news (local, as in, the news pertaining to my daily locale), there has been an orange tree in the street for 3 days now. unfortunately all the oranges are pretty smashed up...my harvest attempts didn?t go well, but at least I tried...now, I would think, if you had plans to put your orange tree in the street, that you might look into what day the trash got picked up so it didn?t just sit there for ages. but then, perhaps I am not the kind of person to throw away an orange tree in the first place.

in other news, I have a lot of economics homework due very soon, so I made a video.

I was feeling sort of inspired to sing by some harassment (ok, harassment might be a strong word) by some of my friends, and so I did, and it was fun, and I taped some of me singing and then played with it on my macbook until I was a giant singing neon quilt. I also did I chipmunks version, which I think is very funny and cute, but which I will not subject you to. but maybe later if I keep thinking about all that econ I should be doing...

anyway, it's posted in the videos section.

Currently listening :
39
By Lisandro Aristimuno
Release date: 07 August, 2007

yesterday I bought a husband (don't worry, not online)

Sat, 29 Dec 2007 14:52:25 -0500

yesterday I bought a husband (don?t worry - not online)

I was actually only looking online because I thought that would be easier...that I could at least discover if a nearby store (such as Target, to which I received a gift certificate for Christmas) might carry them. My internet search was mostly fruitless, however, at least partially due to terminology.

What I was looking for, you see, I have always just heard referred to simply as a "husband." Well, one can hardly google "where to buy a husband," can one? Although I will say such a search will yield oh-so-interesting results such as the following:

"I don't think we Western women will have achieved equality until we can buy some hopelessly mismatched man from an economically depressed nation."

Now that's not something that pops up in your general run of the mill Google search, is it?

Anyway, what I wanted, really, was a pillow. So I put "husband pillow," which was a slightly more accurate search, but still only turned up sports-themed husbands - are high school and college age boys really the target market for husbands? Weird. Anyway, I learned, through this search, that what I was looking for are also called "bedrests" and "boyfriend pillows."

Now, speaking of an interesting search, try "boyfriend pillow" and "japan," and check this out:

Which then led to this male version:

interesting, huh?

Anyway, I found my husband at Target. He is brown and fuzzy and only cost $15, in contrast to the cheapest ones I found online, made by Pottery Barn Kids and dubbed "boyfriend pillows" (but of course without the hand) - which were $75 plus shipping. In case you still don't know what I'm talking about, here's a portrait of the new man in my life:

I also found the most...well, the most green...chest of drawers yesterday at the Goodwill in Woodland, and by an amazing stroke of good luck, had just a few minutes earlier run into the one person I know who has a truck, who just happened to also have driven it to Woodland...so I bought a giant green chest of drawers for $25, and it has come home with me to solve all my problems. Well, at least all my small room storage problems.

And yes, it really is that color.

It's funny, because in the morning before going to Woodland, I'd rearranged my whole room, and had ended up leaving a chest of drawers sized space on one wall (ok, it was not a complete whim to buy a chest of drawers, but I wasn't expecting to get one so quickly). I should be clear that with a room the size of my room, and having made the decision to bring my great grandmother's sewing machine and table to California, I don't have a lot of options in arrangement. I was determined to make a change, though, and spent the morning dragging things around and trying to figure out a way to get a more home-y and pleasant vibe in my room. I think I did well because I slept very well last night and that's always the real test of feng shui, right? Well, it works for me. I am a very casual practicer of fung shui, and by that I mean that I buy into the idea that how you arrange spaces matters for how you feel, and can't be bothered in figuring all the rest of it out. I prefer feng shui by trail and error. Probably any actual practicer of fung shui would have a heart attack upon entering my newly arranged room, but for me it works.

Anyway, just wanted to share the successes and bizarre discoveries of Shosha's first full day back in California. Hope everyone had a Christmas as beautiful as mine, and that we can all manage to look to the new year with hope. (one has to say something cheesy about the new year, right? and at least I am sincere in mine...=)

s

Currently listening :
The Con
By Tegan and Sara
Release date: 24 July, 2007

video mix tape

Sat, 15 Dec 2007 14:59:18 -0500

Just a collection I've been collecting...and thought I'd share. It's all live performances except the first one, which is by someone I know is fantastic live but who isn't properly represented on youtube. And I thought the video was adorable. But everything else I chose based on the performance, not necessarily the song, although sometimes that too. These are people I like, basically, who have demonstrated on youtube or elsewhere that they are also very good live. Enjoy.

Kasey Chambers "Pony"

Anna Nalick "Wreck of the Day"

Jason Mraz "Sing Glory"

Missy Higgins "Where I stood"

Ray Lamontagne "Trouble"

Tori Amos "Caught a Lite Sneeze"

Kaki King "Playing with pink noise"

James Taylor and the Dixie Chicks "Sweet Baby James"

Ryan Adams "Oh my sweet Carolina"

Jolie Holland "Old Fashioned Morphine"

Hope for agoldensummer "Love like a chainsaw"

Lori McKenna "Bible Song"

Rufus Wainwright "Poses"

Jeff Buckley "Mojo Pin"

Iron and Wine "Trapeze Singer"

Joanna Newsom "Sawdust and Diamonds"

I am in love

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 15:03:49 -0500

Iron and Wine was AMAZING. I am totally enamored.

The show was in the most beautiful venue I've ever seen. Peter and I agreed that it was like a magical forest. I mean, what could be better than an Iron and Wine show, except maybe a magical forest? And really, what in the world could be better than an Iron and Wine show INSIDE a magical forest????

And it was lovely to see Peter. Peter - if you're out there - it was lovely to see you. =)

So he played with a full band. Eight people on stage. Two people on drum kits, two people on piano/keyboards, two people on guitars/basses, his sister singing and playing violin, and then the man himself, with a beard about twice the size of his head and hair twice the size of his beard.

They played almost every song with a full band, and it worked. And if you know Iron and Wine, you know this is a departure. Last time I saw him was in a sports bar in Charleston on the Creek Drank the Cradle tour I guess - just he and his sister, if I remember correctly. The thing is, there are all these little intricacies of guitar parts and counter melodies in the songs that are in the background, yet which you get so attached to, and you don't even realize how much you love them and how critical they are to the song until he pulls them all out and plays them with electric instruments. And it's as if everything that has been understated and beneath the surface all these years is pulled out into the open, and it's beautiful. I did think they played track 6 (do you know what I mean?) a little fast, but otherwise I was happily enthralled the whole time. Woman King was totally angry, if you can imagine. and they ended with the trapeze swinger or whatever it's called, for those of you I happen to know are in love with that song. Just him and his sister.

I never try to talk to people after shows (I was once in the bathroom at the Coffee Underground with Kris Delmhorst and never once told her that I think she is brilliant and I know all the words to all her songs), but I definitely wanted to run up to him and hug him and thank him for making my life better.

Which he has.

Anyway, just wanted to report back. Love to everybody
s

Currently listening :
The Shepherd?s Dog
By Iron & Wine
Release date: 25 September, 2007

new plants, new shoes

Mon, 06 Nov 2006 17:23:40 -0500

me, happy with my new plant, in my apartment in Buenos Aires.

me, happy with my new South American shoes, perhaps the strangest pair I have ever owned.