Dear Erykah Badu...

“What good do your words do, if they can’t understand you? Don’t go talking that shit, Badu…” – Erykah Badu in the aptly titled song, "... & On?". (Not to be confused with her first major release "On & On".)
 

I love that lyric because I’ve often wondered exactly that when it came to the beloved Miss Badu and her music. And I know I'm not the only one, because it's as if she released this track on her second album (Mama's Gun in 2000) specifically to address a selection of her oft-perplexed fans/devotees. 

Since her first major release “On &On",  it was clear from the start that she had something to say. Her music is jazzy, funky, soulful, sexy and sometimes odd - and I like that. But once in a while, I'd feel like I was missing a certain point she was trying to make or a poignant message she was trying to spread. Be it a peculiar lyric (usually a peculiar lyric), a political statement, or a straight-up weird music video, every so often she would drop a body of work that I didn't fully "get". And I always wanted to get it because I revere her so much as a pioneer of the musical genre that changed my life as an artist and a human being: Neo-Soul. 

So... my adoration for her music and divinity has always been mixed with a teensy droplet of frustration.  Sometimes I wonder if by the time I get around to deciphering one of her beautifully melodic riddles, my opportunity to implement the wisdom will have long passed me by.

Geeze... I'm so dramatic, eh? It's really not that serious and more often than not, I do get her (I think). So I still love her to death. And it’s also quite possible that I’m putting wayyyyy too much responsibility on a person that I’ve never met, to tell me something about who I am (understatement-much?). I just always thought, you know… that that’s what she was trying to do.

 

The Montreal Jazz Fest & me...

HELLOOOO Good People!

I hope you're all feeling nice now that we're getting some hot, sunkissed weather!

As an artist, my life can go from extremely uneventful to extremely awesome in a matter of seconds - and sometimes back just as fast, ha!  But keeping things positive... I'm writing to tell you about my experience at the Montreal Jazz Festival!

If we're friends on Facebook or following eachother on Twitter, than I may have blown up your timeline with one of my 10,001 posts about it last Friday *tee hee*. Alhough it was very much a "you-had-to-be-there" kind of experience, I still wanted to somehow share every blissful moment with everyone and anyone who cared!

This was my first time playing this festival and I had the best combo of talented souls with me for the ride: my bandmates Chris, Dave, Irina, Steve and the one who takes care of all things Lisa Michelle (including my heart) - Mr. Kirk Cornelius.  To those I know who really wanted to be there with me but couldn't, please KNOW that I received the love and good vibes you were sending my way and I even put it to good use!

Road-tripping started a little dreary.  We had to leave super-early in the morning, and it was raining like hell for a good chunk of the drive.  I was starting to fear that our concert would be rained out, but Kirk reminded me of how the sun came out just in time for me and my band to deliver an outdoor performance on Sugar Beach just last week.  Sure enough, the skies beautified hours before we took the stage at 10pm that Friday night.

Now, I'm going to put my cute, Canadian humility aside and tell you that the band and I MURDERED our performance, haha! Our one-hour set was heavily stacked with songs from my latest album "This Moment" (executive produced by Solitair... he's someone you should know) and a dash of contrasting covers. Like Blind Melon, kinda contrasting. But it was good! WE were good!

It was an outdoor crowd of perhaps 2000+ festival goers - the largest crowd I've performed for thus far. Well....... I did sing the national anthems at a sold out NBA game once, but that audience wasn't my audience. They left their homes to see a basketball game.  But in Montreal, it felt like everyone came out to love on the artists that night! They blessed us with positive energy from start to finish, even calling my name for an encore once I'd left the stage!  Like, OMG I wasn't expecting that! We were so humbled and happy and... unprepared, lol. We didn't have an encore ready.  And while I should be ashamed at my lack of foresight, a part of me reeeeally likes the idea that I may have left some people wanting more ;-).

And before you read too much into the wink at the end of that last comment, I'll end this with a few pics and video clips I hope you'll enjoy.  It was just one night, but I'm learning to cherish every good vibration that comes my way!  I've only got THIS life! and THIS moment!

Sending you love & support for your own dreams-in-progress!

xo

~ Lisa Michelle

 

(more Festival photos by suilenrock)

 

 "Let's Ride"

More footage from the Montreal Jazz Festival

Waiting in Vain

As a self-employed artist, things can feel awry when you're experiencing a whole lotta "self" and not much of the "employement" side of things.  But as always, things start to look up again once I remember the obvious: I am the employer.  I am in control. So what am I waiting for?

As a recording artist, I create my own work. That doesn't mean that I don't have help: My music is supported by so many talented musicians, producers, writers... and the best husband in the world (fact.). All of whom help me breathe life into my art. So when I say "I create my own work", I simply mean that I have to instigate the work that I wish to bring forth. I have to be my own driver if I want to maintain a satisfying, productive existence.

Sure, my network of artistic friends invite me onto their projects and shows from time to time - I am incredibly grateful for that.  And they are grateful when I do the same. This is something we do for eachother, because we all need one another's gifts and support.  But if we always wait until we were "picked" by someone else before expressing our artistic selves, we become the weak link.  We strengthen the circle of our community by being the creator of something new.

I have learned that I personally must continually express myself or I get bogged down. I get so full of ideas, love and inspiration, that if I don't find or create the opportunities in which to release them, it begins to hurt. It starts to feel like a burden, and all the potentially beautiful art suddenly becomes the bain of my existence.

As of right now? I know I have many, many words and sounds swirled up inside me that need to be released. I've been debating with myself as to how I want to do it this time around... another album? A new song? Or maybe even my first book or musical theatre production! (I felt some of you wince at that last one... sorry, but I really do have a soft spot for this oft-cheesy genre of entertainment :-).

Who knows. What I do know, is that something beautiful happens with every new creation:  I thicken my sense of purpose, I get to share a piece of my soul, I get to connect and collaborate with other souls and I always learn something new about me, about you, and how we affect eachother.

All fancy thoughts aside... I have work to do. Because whatever this next project of mine is, it hasn't fully revealed itself to me as yet.  Perhaps it will be soon, perhaps not-so-soon.  Just know that it's coming. And it will be good :-).

 Lisa Michelle
*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"waiting in vain" - bob marley
(my 1st ukelele cover :-P)



This Moment

I was in the process of creating a schedule. I know I could be so much better at everything that I do, if I was strategically organized & focused. As I presume most wildly successful people are. 

So I was set on putting together a schedule for myself -  blocking out time for exercise, meditation, writing, singing, research, promotion, connecting online and other things that are important to me. Just when I was feeling like a pro-star, filling my iPhone calendar like the good little entrepreneur I know I can be, something in my soul gave me pause.  The pause then whispered

 LIFE HAPPENS. 

And it has no regard for what you had planned next Tuesday at 4:35pm Eastern Standard Time.

You can go from broke to hitting the lottery. You can be having the world's shittiest morning, then be offered a promotion that same afternoon. The love of your life could  decide to take a job across the country. That starts tomorrow. You can fall in love a number of times. You can have a nervous breakdown. You can have a breakthrough.

Every experience has the potential to shift you in ways more profound than anything you could have planned.  The emotions, the adrenaline, the butterflies, the tears, the joy, the pain... they will remind you of your immediacy. They will remind you how important NOW is in comparison to your imagined tomorrow.

We need eachother NOW. We need to love one another NOW. We need to accept, respect and honour eachother NOW. 

So now... I'm still intent on creating my schedule. Planning gets things done.  Efficiently too, if done well. But when 'life happens', I will endeavour to bend like the tree my poetic sister had tattooed on her back... Ready to give, receive, share, move, love and grow... at any given moment. 

Even right now.

~ LM

Song of the day: "This Moment" by Lisa Michelle

Real love = Unconditional

<3 Love, in its truest form, is unconditional. It's the act of giving, and not expecting or demanding anything in return. It's the offering of your time, your heart, your efforts, your skills, your talents... without the expectation of gain.

We need to use this kind of love on everything and everyone. Let's take care of our children and our neighbour's children. Let's take care of our needs and the needs of others. There IS enough love to go around. But we all starve when we fail to spread it around.

Every life... being... thing... is worthy of it. <3

Awake in My Dreams

On stage @ The El Mocambo in Toronto. April 2012

This coming Sunday, I leave for the small town of Petrolia to play "Peggy" in the musical production of Godspell.  Ya, I had no idea where that was either. To my fellow perplexed Ontarians, Petrolia is just outside of Sarnia... a 3-hour westbound drive from Toronto.

I'll be gone for 6-weeks: May 13th until June 24th. Aside from fears of being homesick and not finding organic tofu in this obscure little town, I am very excited to be doing this because I absolutely LOVE musical theatre! Performing live might be my favourite thing to do, period. There's nothing like pouring your soul into other souls who stand there waiting to receive it. When I'm on stage, I get the instant gratification of knowing how or if I affect you, what sounds make you close your eyes, what melodies make you sing along... what makes you fall in love. It's turning me on just thinking about it.

I also love the 'community' feeling that comes with working in theatre. Theatre rehearsal schedules are always intense, giving you hours upon hours of time spent with your fellow cast mates and crew members. By the time you get through weeks of 10-hour rehearsal days, matinees, school shows and nightly performances together, you'll ALWAYS walk away with new, artsy friends and connections.

All that said, I haven't left town yet and I've got lots to do before I go. When I booked this Godspell gig months ago, I'd always thought the week prior to my departure would be a smooth one. Thought I'd be cold-chillin, getting versed in all the music they sent us ahead of time to learn, be completely packed and ready to go.

But as fate would have it, on Monday I performed a short set at the opening reception for b current's Rock.Paper.Sistahz festival*. It was a sweet time in an intimate, colourful space, inhabited by a graciously attentive audience. My faithful friends/players came with me: Dave on guitar, Chris on percussion. No stage or plug-ins, just a few original songs shared with a room full of souls. It felt so good!

Tomorrow morning. rather this Wednesday morning (geeze, where did the time go!) I have a third callback audition for another musical. And it's kind of a big deal ;-). I'm not at liberty to divulge any details about this one just yet, but believe me, you WILL know if I get it! Anyways, it's been stressing me out because there's a lot to learn and well... there never really is enough time for these things, is there? Please, please, please wish me luck, send some prayers, light and good vibes. I want this one. Badly.

Right after this big-deal-of-an-audition, I have a rehearsal with my scene partners for an acting class I have on Thursday, Friday I'm in the studio with Silver Roland working on my album, Saturday night I have one last acoustic gig at The Old Nick** and THEN... I finally leave for Petrolia on Sunday morning. 

Somewhere in between in all this, I really have to start packing, kiss my mother and figure out who's going to feed my husband while I'm away. And a bunch of other little things, of course. While I was stressing out about this long list of to do's I have to conquer, I decided to stop and give thanks. I'm thankful to be busy with work that I want to do. Every project I'm currently undertaking is something I have prayed for in some way or another. I am thankful to have purpose! And I am thankful that while "living the dream" isn't as easy as it seems, or even as easy as I, myself, expected it to be... it truly is living.

So getting back to business, I'm going to go over this audition piece one more time and then tuck myself into bed. Maybe I'll fall asleep, or maybe I'll get back up when I realize I absolutely must do just one more thing of that To Do list before I can get a good night's rest. Either way, I'll be dreaming. I never, ever stop.

~LM

* The rock.paper.sistahz festival is still going on until Friday May 11th! Do yourself a favour and check out some of the events before it's gone:

** If you don't think you'll make it to Petrolia to see Godspell, come take in my acoustic set at The Old Nick this Saturday night!  That's Saturday May 12th @ 9pm, 123 Danforth Ave. No cover!

*** You're still reading? You must really love me! Then I guess it wouldn't be too much for me to ask you to help me make my next album "Do You Believe", coming out this August? Pre-order your copy or donate even more to get some cool stuff!

In the Studio w/ a Champion

Studio time!

Last week I started writing the words and melody for a song called “Champion” over an instrumental Silver Roland (executive producer for this "Do You Believe" album) had sent me. We collaborated and co-wrote over my initial rough draft and boom goes the dynamite… I was in the studio this week laying it all down.

“Champion” is about wanting it all! Wanting to be number one, to be on top… to being the CHAMPION over your own life! Fortune favours the bold, not the modest or the uncertain. I spend enough time second-guessing and doubting myself as an artist that I wanted to go in the complete other direction with this song.

So with that, I pretended to be someone else as we came up with some of these words. Someone without fear or doubts about the future. Someone who not only expects challenges and obstacles along the way, they INVITE them, knowing they can conquer them all. This someone doesn’t just want to better… they want to be the BEST!

One can dream, right? ;-)

I only want the best
Cuz in my life I want it all
I don't take nothing less
That's the past tense
I'm moving forward

So not impressed
With the way they tell me I should be
I know what I need

I just gotta be the champion
The number one
Til I'm on top
I'm never ever gon' stop

I just gotta be the champion
The only one
Sittin on top
'cuz I just wanna be
I only wanna be
I just gotta be the

Girl... To be the one who rules my world... Won't be long before I see
See... My dreams become reality oh

I don't need to plead or wish
I won't stop, I persist
To do what I came to do

Ain't nothin' to it
Just watch me get down to it
I'm bout to turn these dreams
To possibilities