Love for Whitney

In the middle of running my lines, notes and staging for Obeah Opera (the production I've been incessantly posting and talking about), my thoughts pulled me away from that place and onto the death of Whitney Houston.

Wow. It took a couple days, but her passing is actually just hitting me now.  When a celebrity dies young, particularly female musicians, I selfishly begin to think of myself because I endeavour to be on a similar path.  Of course, I'm referring to their upward paths, not their downard spirals. So many bright & successful talents suddenly lose focus and sanity for reasons us 'regular' folk never seem to understand. Why is that? What happens? How does it happen? As an artist who's getting deeper into her purpose and expending more energy into the performance industry, I often stop and wonder about these things. If I could talk to the ghosts of Whitney Houston or even Amy Winehouse... what would they tell me to look out for? What would they warn me to steer clear of? Do they have any regrets about their success, or even their demise? Why did they die so young?

I'm trying to stay balanced, but being an artist is like jumping off a cliff. Meaning, something a 'normal' person wouldn't do voluntarily. As an artist, you pretty much sign up for financial and emotional instability. But the hardship is endured in exchange for a life of PASSION and PURPOSE! Sharing my soul through a talent I've been blessed and entrusted with is incomparable to any other feeling I've had in this world. Trust me. The rewards are as great as the challenges are steep - this is why artists do what they do. And why they'll risk almost everything else to continue doing it.

I just pray that as I continue to do, I won't forget to be. I endeavour to BE healthy, present and whole in mind, body and spirit. The more we take care of ourselves first, the more we'll have to give.

Whitney... thank you for sharing your heart and your gift with us. You sacrificed much and we love you for it, even if we didn't always extend that love to you when you needed it most.

Rest In Peace,

xox

The image that always comes to my mind when people say
 "Whitney Houston".  So beautiful... regal & serene:

One of many rich, authentic performances by this Goddess:

If you have never performed on stage before, watch her closely in this clip... imagine how it would feel to hold and deliver all that power to so many people. Incredible! She's sitting down and she's still sweating for God's sake! Just giving, giving, giving of her soul! I live for this!

Transformation, Inspiration & Wotlessness!

Hello world!

I've been resisting the blogosphere because I didn't understand it's purpose for a musician. I've got music, photos and videos on my official website , what more could you want?

But I get it now. What my website was missing is ME! I'm more than a bio and some video clips or professional studio headshots. No one wants the candy-coated schpeal anymore, they want the truth. We don't just want to see artists perform, we want to SEE that artists are real people, with flaws and insecurities, mood swings and bad hair days.

That said, I wonder just how inconsistent this blog is going to be and if you're all going to think I'm a scatterbrained freak by the time I've made a few posts. Because while I'm very much a singer and songwriter by profession, there are a million other themes and topics that weigh on my mind from day to day (sometimes from moment to moment).

For instance, the past year has been one of monumental change for me. Since last spring to now, I got my first tattoo, got into a car accident, had a scare with my vocal chords, became vegan, started growing locs, took a 3-month hiatus from performing and played mas for Caribana for the first time (which was wicked fun, by the way). If I was blogging during that time, it would have been a hot mess! Or perhaps a very entertaining read, I guess I'll never know.

At any rate, this 3-month hiatus was just what I needed. I was already getting bored with my very short career and wasn't inspired to create or produce. So I sat this summer out and just let me be me. At first I felt silly, calling myself a singer yet not having any shows on the horizon and a very lazy dazy studio schedule. But I knew forcing it wasn't the answer, so while I patiently awaited the Inspiration Train, I had what might be the best summer I've ever had. I hit up the CN Tower, Ontario Place, Wonderland (twice), Sugar Beach, Beaches Jazz Festival and more.

Along the way, I did end up catching that train (better to wait for it then tear up the tracks in frustration). I'm working on a mix-tape and a full-length album (with Silver Roland) simultaneously, co-producing a fundraising event for SKETCH and finding my groove in the film/tv industry once again. I'm back!

Even with all that, I still have to say that Caribana was the highlight of my summer.  For real! I kinda felt like I was under water for a while and this was my 'coming out' party, so to speak, llol. If I learned anything during this whole transformation process or whatever it was, it's that there's nothing sunshine, Soca and a bikini can't fix :-)...