On the path, less so on the blog

"I am circling around God, around the ancient tower, / and I have been circling for a thousand years, / and I still don't know if I am a falcon, or a storm, / or a great song." — "The Seeker," a poem by Rilke in his Book of Hours (translated by Robert Bly)

Thank you for reading Bird in the Tree! Though I continue to write, I'm going on a bit of a blogging hiatus. Writing is much on my mind, in my hand and in song, though blogging (as I've been doing it) hasn't felt like the most accurate expression for me at the moment. While I play with other forms, you can find more of what I'm up to that's ready for eyes and ears at my Music Site HERE and on Soundcloud HERE. I'm also a contributor to No Depression which you can find HERE. And finally I'm a big fan of Instagram.  Stay in touch!

Patterns, tracks and a lone #pelican amid the gulls and geese. #Alameda #beach #sfbay

A photo posted by Deborah Crooks (@deborahrcrooks) on Dec 4, 2015 at 12:09pm PST

10 Ways to Get Unstuck & Finish What You Started

Making stuff — songs,  stories, magazines...pies — has been my through line for most of my life. Creating is for me one of the coolest things about being alive. How amazing it is that humans can make things out of 'nothing?' How much one can find out about themselves through doing.  Now I chart my fluidity, or my stuckness, by how my projects are proceeding. Usually there's a match up to what I'm feeling.  I'm likely stuck if I'm feeling frustrated, cranky, oppressed somehow or over-tired (in a way that sees sleep as a way out rather than as a restorative). I'm usually stuck if I'm feeling fear of some kind,  or that my circumstance is compromised. Over the years I've been fortunate to find several practices that have worked for keeping me, or getting me, back on track when I'm stalling out. As I've been working on getting my arms around a big project that has eluded me for some years — years in which I've actually completed lots of projects (albeit other projects) — I've been turning to my favorite ways — that don't involve plane tickets or other large purchases — to get unstuck a lot!

10 Ways to Get Unstuck & Finish What You Started

1. Do some yoga. Even five minutes of breath and movement can change your perspective. If you've never done yoga, try a beginner class or commit to learning sun salutations. I have a regular yoga practice so this has become built in. Now, if I'm resistant to my yoga practice,  I do what I consider my 'minimum RDA:' 20 minutes of my regular practice, including sun salutations, a few standing and some seated poses.
2. Vocalize. Another built-in for me as I regularly chant and I sing.  When I was going through a low period, I found these were things that made me feel better. Sound vibration and music affect us physically, psychologically, emotionally and spiritually. Make a sound=shift in consciousness.
3. Go for a walk outside, preferably up a hill. For most of my life (until recently), I've lived near some geographic feature I could ascend. Going for a walk + changing the view +breathing the air = gear change. But you don't need a hill. A walk around the block can do wonders. My new15 minute loop near my house gets my blood moving and... doesn't take me too far from what I'm working on.
4. Make/bake something easy. Often my stuckness is a result of being daunted by a project. Making something edible reminds me I can complete a project and also make something useful. When I was young, I liked to bake. Now I've been more into raw, vegan snack type things, that don't take all day and are truly nourishing.
5. Set a timer. Sometimes thinking/worrying about the thing I'm resisting — making that call, writing the next paragraph, paying the bills,  learning the new song that hasn't been getting in— than actually doing it. Setting a timer for a amount of time that's not overwhelming — 10 minutes to half hour — helps gets me started, which is key, and usually leads to completion.
6. Dance. Blast a favorite tune and go to town...even if town is in your living room. Dance is play and counters the over-seriousness business.
7. Mix up your usual routine so your usual sequencing is different.  Perhaps it won't offer up any resistance when approached at a new angle.
8. Take part in a challenge. I'm a big proponent of 'write a [novel, album] in-a-month' type challenges or Instagram # sharing challenges. They're manageable, they're contained and it helps to know you're not alone.
9. Reach out. Connect to another maker, or someone who is doing what you aspire to, or simply an old friend. Up the ante by writing a real old-fashion letter.  Write as a fan or to say thank you. Or write your friend to tell them the things you love about your life right now. Make it equal parts gratitude list and reconnection. Put your letter in an envelope with a real stamp. Walk it to the real mailbox.
10. Take time from social media. See what the vacuum left by Twitter and Facebook yields. 
11. Make a list. 10 projects you admire.  5 next steps to take. 15 things you've already completed. All the things you do well. Wow, look at that!

Project completion: Keeping Balls Rolling and Shows Going Amid Chaos

I pretty much run my life on projects. I didn't consciously plan this, but over time I've seen the pattern. There's always something in the works: a show, a poem, a song, a tour, a recording...a blog post. It's how I create order and meaning for myself, even as I know things run on their own time, despite my intention and bunch of calendar entries, and the world may perceive things very differently than I do.  I can't really tell what and how my project habit will add up to in the end, but I do know I feel happiest when I know I've made something — which I hope will be of some value — that wouldn't have happened without my efforts.
Such was the case for Saturday night's show, a showcase for six songwriters, three of whom would play in the round on stage at once. I've been doing these songwriter showcases every few months for the past couple years, rounding up five other artists and playing myself. It's not a unique formula —playing-in-the-round, one song at a time, is a fairly traditional way of sharing a bill — and we knew the venue well. But I started to freak a little when two artists had yet to arrive five minutes before showtime. I sent the first three artists up to begin and began texting and emailing the others. One confirmed straight away they'd be late due to a contentious commute. One artist (who I'd learn was not feeling well the next day) would not show.  My mind racing, I scrapped the intended order and made a game plan to swap out an artist every time they'd completed a turn of three songs. Amid the shuffle, I sat down and played my songs,  too anxious about how the whole evening was being received to feel nervous about my own performance (Perhaps that was the hidden benefit?).
In any case,  it all was fine. More than fine. The other artists were relaxed (and good at what they were doing) and the audience enjoyed themselves. Food and drink kept coming out of the kitchen, new connections were being made, and by the end of the evening I was enjoying myself as well. We'd done it.
Yesterday, we came home to a box of our newly-pressed KCDC "Your Own Reaction" CD. We first wrote these songs as a songwriting challenge in February 2013. We recorded them in September that year, and we've been overdubbing and then mixing up until a month ago as schedules allowed. We haven't been hurried or anxious about this project but we've kept it going, scheduling rehearsals, working with engineers and graphic designers and learning parts amid work and other projects and, in the case of our co-producer, a pregnancy and birth.  September of this year, we'll release the music officially and have a show.
There will be more to do between now and then, but yesterday, we turned over the CDs in our hands to check it all read correctly, then popped one into the stereo to make sure it played. We had run into a friend on our way home so we gave him one, too.  We felt pleased with our musical efforts. I noticed when I woke up this morning, I'd slept better than I had in weeks. Chaos and meaningless averted... for the moment!

Throwback Thursday: Portrait of the Artist as a Young Girl

Deep in storage, I found the box containing the kindergarden paintings my mom had saved. Tempura scenes of children holding hands, birds shaped like upside-down Ws flying in clear sky. Tempura on butcher paper holds up, pretty well: after all these decades tucked away, the painting colors are still vivid, the writing (from first and second grade) legible. Do they still used that cheap lined paper in schools today, the one with the dotted line in the middle of the height of a capital letter? 

Going through the boxes is part of a plot to clear more space in our basement, but the activity became one of those unplanned life reviews, as I sorted through old photographs, childhood artwork saved by my mother long ago, old clips and too many journals and notebooks that I don't yet have the heart to toss. What's striking from the early writing and painting is how well I knew myself; no questions there, just being in the moment, painting and writing it as it was. Also notable is a lack of post-creative judgement. How much of my adult life creative time can be wrapped up with getting myself back to a state of such in-the-momentness!

Wisdom Accrual: 16 notes to myself on my birthday

It's not a particularly big birthday this year, but it's far enough down the road that of course I'm taking stock after my latest turn around the sun. Have I learned anything useful past the 'all I learned in kindergarten?' Yes, some of those lessons carried through: daily painting (or art-making) sessions and naps are still a great idea. Bikes and birds are joyous things, being nice matters, and its best to watch out for boys like Charles Hoff who made a game of chasing girls by running them down and grabbing at them.
Mostly I learned in kindergarten that my existence was the tiny tip of a large iceberg of humanity stretching far beyond the scattered houses, canyon roads and apple orchards of our smallish town....which eventually led me through and to the BA, countless hours of post-graduate/extra-curricular study, 26 states, four continents, four guitars, two marriages, two houses, two cats, multiple dogs, multiple deaths, multiple therapies, multiple stitches, Catholicism, Buddhism, yoga, omnivorism, vegetarianism, veganism, pens, paper, art, music, bikes and birds to here, now.
What to make of this?
Notes from the road thus far:

1. Do your practice. (Everything is a practice, whether it's feeding the cat, chanting the sutra, taking a shower, loving your mate, facing the page, stepping on stage, etc. et al)
2. The forgiveness business. Even if it's painful as hell.
3. Have your feelings. 
4. Know what's yours.
5. Listen.
6. You can rewrite the story
7. Get clear. Be clear. (Are you in or out?)
8. Get out in nature. (The moon! The stars!)
9. Laugh.
10. Moderate consumption of all kinds.
11. Don't wait. 
12. It, everything, will change.
13. Honesty.
14. Gratitude.
15. Reverence. 
16. Love.

FarWest, MEOW & Little Bird

Aside from governmental wranglings, I hope you're enjoying this time of year as much as I am: Indian Summer is in full effect here in the SF Bay Area, birds are migrating and I'm just about ready to release Little Bird, the new 11-song CD I worked on much of the past year with producer, arranger and maestro extraordinare Art Khu. The CD is getting replicated as I write this (!) and the official release date is November 5. Woo-hoo! I'm really happy with how it sounds and how it looks (Harper Design Group did the graphics -see the cover above) and I'm that much more pleased and excited to get it into your hands. You can pre-order it HERE or find it at one of the shows later in the month.  

In the meantime, I've been enjoying the approaching season by playing lots of music around the Bay Area, at private functions and at home while gearing up for some travel this month to two talent-packed conferences.
First up, is the Far-West Folk Alliance Conference in Irvine. I'll be at the conference Oct. 11-12, playing a bunch of PGS rooms and soaking up all the other voices  who will be singing, playing and otherwise sharing their musical selves. Give a shout if you'll be there.
Two weeks later, I'm heading to one of my favorite cities, Austin, Texas, to perform at MEOW Con Oct. 24-26. The brainchild of music pioneer Carla DeSantis Black, who also founded the late-great RockerGirl Magazine, MEOW stands for Musicians For Equal Opportunities For Women, and is dedicated to addressing "the needs and challenges of women in the music industry today and to esnure women have a voice at every level of their music career." Thanks Carla!
And thank YOU for your interest in and appreciation for original music. There's a lot of shows coming up and I hope to see you at one or more of them.  www.deborahcrooks.com

Divinating Space: James Turrell at LACMA

In a few days we'll be in the desert. No it's not the best time to be heading through one of the hottest places in the world, but there' nothing so clarifying as a good sweat, a sun-baked sky and a wide horizon. I thought this on Tuesday while practicing yoga in LA during the West Coast's heat wave, trying hard not to slide off my mat, having driven down highway 5 the day prior. Pasadena is stop one of our vacation/tour/friend&family jaunt through the Southwest and Rocky Mountains. Pasadena is also the birthplace of my artist crush of the moment, James Turrell, whose retrospective at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art opened at the end of May. Turrell is obsessed with light: light as form, light as experience, as much as light as a tool. I wrote about my love of his Skyspace at the De Young Museum a few weeks ago. Gladdened by the opportunity to see a retrospective of his work, I toweled myself off after yoga and made my way to the heart of LA to view a career's worth of his projections, holograms, and rooms filled with light.
LAMCA wisely limits the number of visitors who can enter at once (my ticket came with an allotted time of visit) so as to maximize the works' powers of altering perception. The immersive, full-room light installation - Key Lime, Breathing Light - held the most power for this viewer, placing me in shifting lightsapes evoking dreams in the former, the experience of weather changing on a mountain in the latter. In two videos featuring the artist discussing his sky spaces and his Magnus opus, The Roden Crater in Arizona, he mentioned his interest in inviting the viewer not only to perceive, but to see themself perceiving. In almost every case I had the feeling of having entered a divinated space, a nondenominational church of light, a testament to Turrell's unwavering focus and clarity of vision. The videos, photos and sketches of the works he's creating at Roden Crater were worth the price of admission alone. God love a mad scientist realizing his vision.

Artist Interview: It's All Happening for Robin Yukiko

Running a songwriting workshop, teaching voice and piano, and generally impressing listeners with her stellar voice and high standards for composition, singer-songwriter and pianist Robin Yukiko quickly established herself in the San Francisco music community when she moved to California four years ago after stints on the East Coast and in Japan. As she prepared to release her new CD Love-War, she answered some questions about her musical background, recording her latest project and her next move.
Q: You were raised in a musical family and have lived and performed all over the world — how and why San Francisco? 
RY: Yes, my father is a jazz pianist and my mom has a killer ear for production. They were incredibly supportive while I was growing up (and still are) and encouraged me to follow my dreams, wherever they took me. I grew up in Orlando, a town that is just diverse and touristy enough to make you want to see the world. And spending time in Boston (where I have family and went to college) only fed my travel bug. But the turning point for me was, after graduating Berklee College of Music, deciding to teach ESL in Japan. I thought it was a great way to kill time, make money, and see the world. I had no idea I would fall in love with teaching and meet my future husband, a fellow teacher. After about two years, we were both starting to feel the strain of living abroad, but also the call of our future careers (for me, music; for Greg, astrophysics). When he got into a Masters program in San Francisco, it was perfect. I've been loving getting to know the SF music community and being a part of it.
Q: You're working on a new recording. How did you go about choosing songs and who to work with?
 RY: About eight years ago, I started recording what I thought would be my second album. But when the engineer transferred the files with a faulty cable, all the master tracks got corrupted. I was pretty heartbroken. I didn't try to record again until I came back from Japan in 2009. I spent a couple months in L.A. where I reconnected with my old band mates who had moved, and met Cori "Master Fader" Jacobs (an awesome musician/producer/engineer). I started piecing the new songs together track by track, thinking it would get done that summer, but issues kept cropping up. When I lamented to the friend I was staying with, he introduced me to his neighbor Will Kennedy (former drummer for the Yellowjackets). I got down a handful of killer drum tracks before I had to head to San Francisco. I continued things here, recording at the Musicians Union studio with Patrick Simms, and met some new musicians who were into the project, like Colin Williams, Jason Craven, and Elyse Ader (upright bass, electric bass, and viola respectively). My good friend William Ryan Fritch (a multi-instrumentalist I played with in Florida) added his orchestral touch to a few songs. We were still recording one track at a time, and all the while I was writing new songs that I wanted on the album. It felt like a picture I kept painting over as things were revised and my style evolved. I was running out of money too, and decided to do a Kickstarter which raised $2600. I was able to put out an EP version of Love War and give it to my Kickstarter supporters while they were waiting for the full album. I managed to make it back down to L.A. (hooray, Megabus!) and worked directly with Cori. In just a few days we finished up the entire project and created something I'm finally proud of.
Q: How did your songwriters' workshops evolve? Do you find teaching influences your writing? 
RY: Well, I've been accused of being impulsive (and there's some truth to that). When someone suggested I teach groups, I scheduled the first workshop for three weeks later, started hitting up open mics and telling everyone I met about them. I remembered a class at Berklee called Singer-Songwriter Workshop that was so good that I took it twice. I wanted there to be a group that could give honest and useful feedback (and be affordable to musicians). It started out with only a couple people, but word spread and now there is a small, but consistent group that provides invaluable insight to its members. After doing these for a while, I started to develop a philosophy and began writing articles for MusicClout.com. You can also find them in my blog at www.robinyukiko.com/news, but I encourage musicians to educate themselves as much as possible.
Q: Gazing into your crystal ball: What do the next 6 months look like for you? 
 RY: Well, I am thrilled to say that I will finally be releasing Love War on July 27 at the Hotel Utah! I'm putting a set together of my favorite songs from the album and will be rocking out live with the band. A week after the launch though, I'll be moving to Pennsylvania. I'll continue to perform online when I get there, but live gigs will be a challenge for a while as I'm also expecting a baby in November! But so far I'm doing my best not to let being pregnant affect my gazillion summer projects. I keep thinking of my favorite line from Almost Famous: "It's all happening!"

Artist Interview: Gone West with Jeff Desira

 If you're looking for a tireless supporter of other songwriters, an instigator of events that shine the spotlight on San Francisco's wealth of talented troubadours, and an example of one of those voices, look no further than artist Jeff Desira.  An accomplished multi-instrumentalist who's played in a bunch of bands, Jeff's diverse musical background adds up to a knack for acoustic balladry laced with catchy hooks. I first met and heard Jeff  at one of Alex Jimenez's Usual Suspects Songwriter Showcase where I was glad to find he was in the thick of recording his recent material.  He recently caught me up on his new project, his influences, the showcase he now hosts, and his experience as a songwriter on the East and West coasts.

Q  You were in a lot of bands before turning your attention to the guitar and your solo work. Was that a difficult or easy transition and what do you love most about leading with your own music? 

JD Before making songwriting on guitar my main focus, I played synthesizers and bass guitar in various band situations, starting from around 1990.
Transitioning from keyboard session work/playing keyboards in bands to bass wasn't so difficult for me, really. After auditioning for a band as a keyboardist, they admitted to really needing a bass guitarist and literally gave me my first bass: a 1954 Telecaster bass. I learned an 8-song set in about four weeks and we had our first gig. In hindsight, if I hadn't taken piano lessons first, I probably wouldn't have had a good understanding of how bass works. Bass is a much more physical instrument though, and requires a different kind of coordination. I ended up playing bass guitar from about 1991 to 2004, when I decided to start writing songs on acoustic guitar.
The transition from bass to acoustic guitar took a while longer, primarily because I was developing material on my own this time, and had a more intense focus on song arrangement.
I've been writing songs mainly on acoustic guitar for about nine years now, and I love that I get to incorporate all of the things I've picked up over the years and use it on my own recordings. For example, I'm currently recording an EP with producer/musician Scott Mickelson (Fat Opie) and now I play bass on my own tracks, sing backing vocals, write violin arrangements, play percussion — I can add anything I want as appropriate for the song. 

Q  Music in SF, Music in NYC, Music in SF: Discuss. What's different and similar about the music scene in/of both regions? 

JD  After playing in bands for about 14 years, I found myself writing songs on acoustic guitar for [another] three years. With the exception of an occasional open mic, I didn't really play out much. I then decided to move to New York where I think I really sort of developed my chops. In '07-'08 the singer-songwriter scene there was pretty thriving, and on pretty much any given night there was a place to play. All of a sudden I was surrounded by other songwriters who were working intensely on their own projects to a degree that I hadn't seen in SF. I know for a fact that it inspired a creative output in me to where I wrote a ton of material in a short period of time. I also think the level of appreciation for music and live performance is different there. I remember having a regular Thursday night gig at some infused-vodka place downtown, and the clients and staff treated me incredibly well. Everyone was really excited about hearing the live entertainment no matter where I was. I never felt that to them it was just ambient noise or that they were just putting up with it. I felt genuinely appreciated.
I eventually moved back to California in early '09. I literally moved straight from Brooklyn to the North Bay to take care of family and begin scratch tracks for my current EP with the late Kerry Garloff. During the process, Kerry admitted to me that he had cancer and insisted on finishing what we had started. Shortly after we finished recording the scratch tracks, Kerry passed away, leaving a message through his Mother asking me to finish my album. This is the album that I'm currently working on with producer Scott Mickelson.
After a couple years of hosting events and showcases, I finally moved back to SF where I found a new, developing singer-songwriter scene, comparable to what I had experienced in NYC. The level of appreciation for music here is still different from that of New York, but it's still so inspiring for me to be around so many talented and motivated artists with similar interests. 

Q Other than your latest mixes, what/who are you listening to now? What have you heard lately that made you go 'yeahhh!'?

JD I love well-crafted songs and find new music often through the suggestion of friends. The last thing I heard that really blew my mind was from local musician Brad Brooks — a song called "Night Fades" from his album Harmony of Passing Light. I'm also listening to Fat Opie's "Victoryville," Felsen's "Breaking Up with Loneliness," and from Brooklyn, NY, I'm listening to Brandon Wilde's album "Hearts in Stereo." From Melbourne, Australia I'm listening to Tim Reid's "Any Given Day."  Also on my ipod right now are Tim Easton, The Jayhawks, M. Ward, Guster, Glen Phillips....

Q Tell us about SF Acoustic Sessions, your monthly songwriter showcase.  

JD  I host a quarterly songwriter showcase, titled "SF Acoustic Sessions." I performed the very first one at 50 Mason Social House, but then I decided to simply host the showcase for other musicians and give them 100% of what's made from the event. The whole idea was inspired by a conversation I had with local musician Tom Rhodes about the use of the word "community." In order to have a community that works, you have to put in more than you get out of it. For this last showcase at Milk Bar, I hosted Chelsea Coleman, Jefferson Bergey, Aaron Ford, Tom Rhodes, and Liz Ryder.

My next big performance is at Lost Church in HSF. It's both a theater and live music venue here in San Francisco, where I've seen many incredibly talented musicians perform. I have a special full band performance planned for this show on July 25th, just two days before my birthday. 

Q How can folks find out more about the Lost Church show and have you any touring on the horizon to support the EP?

JD An easy and quick way to find out about them is to either go to my Reverbnation page or Facebook fan page, where I post my performances regularly. As for touring to support my forthcoming EP which will be titled "Weathervane," I'm looking forward to touring up and down the West Coast, as well as parts of the East Coast after it's release in the coming months.

Artist Interview: The Pete Ahonen Experience

Energetic, funny and passionate about making music, Oakland songwriter Pete Ahonen has been captivating audiences throughout the San Francisco Bay Area with his own brand of outlaw country/folk rock. Upon the completion his debut CD “In the Blood” (Lost Monkey Records), the East Bay native is poised to take his music to a wider audience. Ahonen recently answered a few questions about his influences, writing process and the making of “In the Blood.”

Q Who do you count as major influences?

PA: Mason Jennings, Tom Waits, Townes Van Zandt, [and] Shane Macgowen.

Q When did you write your first song? What's your writing process like?

PA: I learned to play guitar when I was 10. My neighbor was a church music leader and he taught me some stuff. Before I knew it, I was just spending a lot of time sitting in my room alone playing guitar and messing around with stuff to see what I could do. Around the age of 13, my musical cherry got popped, I guess you could say. I started listening to Freddy King and got really into it. I ended up writing a little blues shuffle about a girl who didn’t exist — and that was it.  I was hooked.  I was pretty self conscious about my voice at first, and then one day someone showed me Jimmy Hendrix. I learned that he was self conscious about his voice too, but I was so blown away, not only by his guitar playing — he was a killer songwriter, too.

Pete Ahonen and bassist Andrew Gibson.

I always enjoyed being creative and writing short stories and stuff. I could play guitar pretty well so I started turning those short stories into little ditties. My writing process is kind of like... I sit down, try and cultivate a mood... I’ll pull out a snippet of a line I wrote down while I was walking around somewhere, and try to channel a vibe or a feeling about it. If I sit down with the intention of writing a song, it’s bullshit. Nothing comes out. My muse is really about keeping myself fed with information and experience in order for something to come out. I spend a lot of time just sitting on my porch, and my neighborhood is kind of crazy so I get a lot of inspiration just from that. It could be a couple having a fight, or a drunk guy having a good ol time, or this a lady whose always looking for change in the gutters. At that point I’ll kind of hear the guitar or notes in my head, so I’ll try to hum a line and then it just sort of happens from there. And then other times, I’ll be trying to write a song for like two years and I just can’t get it.  It never gets finished. You kind of just have to let it come naturally.

Q How did you go about selecting the songs for this CD?

PA: Kind of like the song writing process, it’s in the song itself. The song will tell me that it’s the one for the album. Before going into the studio, I had a lot of songs in the hole, or at least parts of songs. And I think a theme kind of presented itself during the recording process. We recorded the first song, for example, and we were all like, wow,  this is a really special tune. And going in... I had no idea it would turn out like that.  I really think the musicians I play with are a huge part of that too. Every song we recorded had a different theme and the content wasn’t really the same, but in the end the ones we picked felt like they were from the same tribe and they were meant to be together on the album.

Q Describe the recording process for you? Did songs take on different directions in the studio?

PA: I think the songs took on a bit of a different direction, especially musically. The lyrics, and the tone was basically pretty dialed in already, but musically we would sharpen different things to kind of add to that mood. But I think that’s what happens when you work on something creative, everyone has an idea of what something should look like in their head...and your songs can be shitty if you go into it with that approach. You have a general idea, but it doesn’t mean anything until you put your hands on it and start working on it, and the smallest thing can change everything. You have to be flexible and open to where it can take you. I think it depends on what you value, and what you’re after. When you’re singing with intent and emotion and you say ‘I want to play my song well’, and you do it with feeling - maybe there’s a squeak, or something’s out of tune, but it doesn’t really matter. To me, songs are more about the experience and not about it being perfect.

To buy "In the Blood" and find out about Ahonen's upcoming live shows, visit: http://peteahonen.com/

Artist Interview: Roberta Donnay's Got Sugar

I met jazz singer Roberta Donnay more than 10 years ago through West Coast Songwriters, discovering one of the Bay Area's most multi-talented singers, songwriters and producers in the process.  Soon after meeting, I sought out the Washington, DC native's help producing an EP and received an education in musicianship, studio work and Buddhism as well as a finished project. Having written for film, TV and the UN, Roberta has an abundance of songwriting and vocal chops, working as a music supervisor for film and singing with Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks when she's not fronting her Prohibition Mob Band. However, Roberta's first musical love was jazz, and for the past five years she's been focusing her energies on the genre. On November 13, Motéma Music officially releases her latest CD, "A Little Sugar," a showcase of vintage jazz, blues and swing. Roberta discussed her latest project as she got ready for her CD release and tour with her Prohibition Mob Band.
Q How was the process of making your new CD different from your other productions? What can listeners expect?
RD: "A Little Sugar " is meant to transport the listener back in time, to educate, to inspire. Back to a time in music which is the roots of almost all of what we now listen to.  Born out of the blues, this was the music of the people, reflecting a time of great creativity, new inventions, the breaking away from stagnant thoughts and rituals of the past, the beginning of a certain freedom for women... and, of course, a time of great struggle, not unlike now.

Q What led to your decision to go back to focusing on jazz? How did your Prohibition Mob Band come together?  

RD: I grew up listening to Louis Armstrong, George Gershwin and Broadway shows as a young child.  But when I discovered Billie Holiday and the early women of jazz, this had my full and complete attention.  I've based my own sound and my own place of study on this era of music since the beginning of my musical life. I was always a huge jazz fan.  I was singing and studying jazz when I first moved out west.  My goal was always to become a great jazz musician.

My vision with this band came together organically. This music just made me feel happy. And I wanted to work with my friends, and with those whose style and ideas I admired.  I searched high and low to find some songs which weren't as well known, and picked the songs on this record from that perspective.  But the band itself was years in the making.  We experimented with the music in our live shows for two years before recording anything, and I based much of what we ended up recording on the reactions of the audience.  This project was literally focused on our audience more than anything else.  And being able to create a project with a great musical partner and bassist Sam Bevan, well, that made the whole thing easy.

Q How do approach balancing life touring with Dan Hicks and Hot Licks with doing your own material and shows?

RD: Carefully.  And I work long hours!

Q You’ve truly spent a life in music. Who and what keeps you inspired?

RD: Studying Buddhism, philosophy, history, the writings of Nichiren Daishonin (a 13th century monk) and the writings of Daisaku Ikeda has been a major inspiration for me for many many years.  I have always had a seeking spirit to discover the truth.  I would not have lasted this long in music if I hadn't found a way to grow as a human being and to be able to focus on the inside as my primary goal. 

To raise my life condition and to become the person I wanted to become and fulfill my true potential, well, that is a struggle against my weaknesses, my doubts, my fears, and the eternal struggle of good against evil.  I finally found that I had all this unlimited potential but when my major focus was on external things, I grew more dissatisfied with my life.

I believe that when we grow closer to our core existence, when we focus our energies on this relationship first, then the superficial existences have a tendency to melt away and what we find is an energy of pure light which is at the core of our being. If I feel joyful, hopeful and inspired, then maybe I can help another just by being there, to help make this feeling possible for another person.  But one has to be willing to dig deep, to throw off the transient outer layer of ego, and focus on (possibly) a higher purpose and create who we truly want to be.

If one can do this, then that is absolute freedom.  And so that is my goal for myself and others.  I wish  freedom for every living being equally in this world.  

Music which saved my life and inspired me to go forward.  Other great musicians inspire me and I'm thankful to all of them...  I believe that my musical ancestors—Billie, Ma Rainey, Bessie, Louis, etc —  are the ones who truly raised me, [and] I feel I owe a huge debt of gratitude to them.   

The great, great musicians who I've had the honor of working with, cause me to listen, [and] add to the joy I already feel.  Imagine being able to perform in an environment such as this!  I am very grateful for this life in music.  I actually can't imagine a more wondrous existence here on planet earth.  And, of course, having a wonderful partner to share this life with, that makes everything a million times sweeter.  

For more information about Roberta and "A Little Sugar" go to http://robertadonnay.com/

Artist Interview: Samia Shalabi

I first met Samia Shalabi in Mysore, India, when we both sang back-up kirtan for David Garrigues at a special performance at the Ashtanga Yoga Institute. I soon found out that in addition to singing and practicing yoga, Samia was an accomplished jewelery designer and goldsmith. In Mysore, when she wasn't busy rehearsing or practicing guitar, she was apprenticing with a master goldsmith. I caught up with Samia a bit after she returned home to Seattle.
Q: How and when did you start making jewelry?
SS:  In 1999 as part of a one year around the world journey, I flew to India The moment I stepped off the plane, I knew my life would be different. I spent 6 remarkable months traveling around the subcontinent, constantly being bombarded by the challenging experiences of traveling as a woman alone in a very different land. But at the same time realizing how extremely fortunate I was (and still am) to be there. India is full of dichotomies, and as I observed the extreme beauty and complete sadness I became enthralled with all of it. It made my mind go where it had never gone and I realized I could never go back to conforming to the way we do things in the West. I needed to figure out a way to get back to India and continue experiencing and creating relationships, learning from the deep cultures of the many people of India and the world. So, one day, I was in a small desert town on the border of Pakistan and India. A town called, Jaisalmer, I walked into a small shop selling silver jewelry. I went in the shop to buy a ring to remind myself to continue on trying to live my dreams and making it a mission in my life... I came out with the silver ring, along with many many other pieces of jewelry with the idea that I would sell it when I got back to the states and buy another plane ticket to India. Over the next several months my plans became more refined and after traveling to Nepal and Thailand, I arrived home. In a few short weeks, I sold most of the jewelry I had bought and shortly thereafter, in 2001, I started to make jewelry.
Now, over 12 years after my first visit to India, I am making jewelry full time, studying with two master goldsmiths in S. India and still living my dreams and traveling around the world...

Q: What other artists do you count as inspiration/listen to? Who are your important mentors or teachers?
SS: Inspiration… I am inspired by not one or two artists, I am inspired by artists in general, people who take risks to make the world a more beautiful place. People who speak out, who live their dreams, and create, inspire me infinitely. Specifically, my two goldsmith teachers, Krishna Balan and Jay Kumar in India give me so much inspiration. Their complete dedication and deep discipline is amazing to me. They have taught me so much, not only about how to make jewelry, but also about life.

Q: You live in Seattle but travel often; can you say how your home base and your travels, respectively, influence your work?
SS: Home is grounding, it is where I ‘make’ jewelry, it is where the business side of me is. Seattle is where I get it done and get it out there. Traveling is where I am inspired, it’s where I meet the beautiful, wonderful people of the world. My creative side flourishes when I am in new situations and in new places meeting new people. For me, this balance works.

Q: Along with yoga and jewelry design, you make music. How do your practices interact, intersect and or inform one another?
SS: It is all interwoven, and it all brings me to India, my favorite place on earth. I met my jewelry teachers while studying yoga in India and my music is mostly influenced by Indian Raga’s and Bhagan’s. I am so enthralled in all things India, but also like the modern take on it. So, that is what I do and that is how it has mixed in my life. The ancient knowledge and history of India with my own modern twists, and it flowing into my music, yoga and jewelry.

Q: What are you working on now [jewelry and/or music]?
SS: I am busy busy spending my days working on jewelry and evenings and weekends working on music. Hopefully sometime this year we (my husband and I, we make music together) will come out with an LP. We are hoping, for a mix of ancient bhajan’s and our own modern sound of folk with a bit of electronica. Keeping our fingers crossed it will happen!

For more information on Samia's work and her own blog, go to www.karazidesign.com and www.karazidesign.blogspot.com