A new love for laryngitis...

In the ever-present quest to be the best "weekend rock star" I can be, I pushed it a bit too far this weekend.  As many of you already know, I sing for a band called Aftershock.  It is great fun, creative relief and an excellent workout.  This past weekend was a fine example of what happens when we hit overdrive.  We set up in record time, had few sound issues and had a fantastic crowd that danced almost immediately.  The rock gods shone their gelled lighting down on us and smiled.  We rocked hard and loud.  While a damn good time, it takes a significant toll on my voice.  The 5 am bedtime after unloading the van in the cold dark didn't help either.  Follow that up with great dinner company 12 hours post-gig and I am now working on a heck of a case of "no-voice-itis".  I am also coughing and sore.  It was completely worth it for the phenomenal opportunity to entertain people along the way. 

Thank goodness I am a tea lady...it is what is getting me through this post-gig haze.  My fan page is below...

Aftershock on Facebook

The Colors of Fall

Instead of doing anything creative today, I went for ice cream in Warwick NY. There is an amazing creamery there called Belvale Creamery with one of the most beautiful views of the Warwick Valley available. The ice cream is simply incredible (hence the untold amount of pounds I have gained because of it). During the summer, this place is totally mobbed. At this time of year, you can find yourself blissfully alone with this view. Just you and your ice cream can be at one with nature...and lots of ladybugs. There is a yearly phenomenon of ladybug infestations around this time of year. It always happens when the weather has been cold and then changes back for the one shot of warmth to end the season. Then they descend on the Northeast like a plague...albeit a really cute one.

Anyway, there is something magical about Fall. It can inspire deep emotions in even the most boring of folk. The beautiful colors, the crispness in the air and the wonderful fall crop bounty that is laid out at every market and farm. There is a promise of cozy fireplaces roaring and snapping. Even the dreaded snow that is bound to come can be picturesque I guess....

Many say that Fall is the end of nature's beauty. I don't agree. I think that Fall captures the essence of what the life cycle is. The leaves dying brings about a metamorphosis of color and grandeur that is never the same two years in a row. That is amazing if you think about it. Whatever your thoughts on the subject of Fall, you have to agree that it is nothing if not explosive in color. That and those pesky acorns that keep dropping on my lawn.

I have to go since a ladybug has just landed on my keyboard and is criticizing my alliteration usage. They are beautiful but truly harsh critics...

Enjoy the Fall!

So, I am a marketing gal. Aside from all of the "higher level" stuff that goes along with it, I have enjoyed the creative end of it immensely as well.

Over the last 5 years, I have become a self-taught graphic designer. I have learned Creative Suite on my own, developed materials for the company I used to work for and have started to do some logo development and branding.

Needless to say, I have a kick-butt profile packet instead of a plain-Jane resume.

I am starting to drive my bandmates a little crazy. They are psyched to see the cards, PPC ads and fan pages that I have started but are worried that I am going a little overboard sometimes. I just want to show everyone how much we ROCK.

On a side note, I guess I can consider myself a professional musician since it is the ONLY thing I am being paid for now. COOL! All of you musicians out there, please don't scorch me. I have been involved in bands for almost 20 years now and take it seriously. I would love to make it my only f/t gig if it could pay me what I had been making.

Anyway, I digress...

I am finding that to properly market a band, it takes a multi-pronged attack. Gone are the days of walking into a club and just saying "we ROCK" whilst the booker whips out their golden calendar. Now it entails websites and blogs and fanpages and YouTube videos and digital demos and just about anything else you can give (except blood...club owners don't like blood). This puts me roughly IN MY GLORY!!! I can make live videos, edit them, upload them and then stream them live from a netbook right in front of the booker! Talk about immediate gratification! I am happier than a pig in....well you know.

The best part of it? I can not only see the fruits of my labor harvested, but enjoy them in jams and pies through working the dates I book. It also helps that we are good. Not just good in the "my son plays the piano and he is so GOOD" kind of way, but good in the "Wow! You guys are FANTASTIC!!!" kind of way.

So, wanna book us?

Welcome Weary Creative Travellers...

Welcome to my humble blogsite.

I wonder if any of you have experienced the re-awakening of creative spirit that I have just recently? Here is my tale...

I have a degree in theater. A degree from a school that no longer has a theater department, thus rendering my degree virtually worthless. An undergraduate degree in theater means exactly bupkes unless you use it as a springboard into a MFA or similar. I also didn't subscribe to the whole "starving artist-cum-waitress" ideal. What that boiled down to was leaving my beloved theater to pursue more lofty (not to mention lucrative) goals. I got a job.

Fast forward 15 years...

Here lies Stacy...an out-of-work marketing and recruitment manager that finds herself searching for jobs in a market that does not look kindly on her.

Poor me...boo hoo...blah blah blah.

So I decided to siphon and supplement the creative juices that seemed to reduce down to a basic rue years ago.

Project 1:

For years, I have wanted to write a book. I have long been an enthusiast of paranormal (read: VAMPIRE) novels. I digest them like oatmeal. I also felt that there were many published authors out there that were not much different than me. Down I sat in front of the Word page, blank and mocking. But I was prepared! I had a theme and a general storyboard in mind!

Cut to Stacy, STILL sitting at her keyboard several hours later, unable to string ideas together in the fictional space-time continuum. Only 15 pages had been written.

Cut to Stacy several weeks later, still not able to write it.

How did I spend the time you may ask?

Productive right?

No kids (we used to be DINKS but now I guess we are SINKS) so who else do I have the time and audacious gall to lavish my expensive video equipment on? They are SOOOOO SWEEET though. And they make a KILLER stew if they step out of line...KIDDING! Just KIDDING!

Great....so NOW what do I do?

Stay tuned...