I love that song, and every time I say it or write it or type it I can be sure it will be stuck in my head for the rest of the day. So I thought I'd entitle this post 'On The Road Again' and share with you this song-stuck-in-your-head day that I'm about to have. And thank you, Willie Nelson, for writing such a pleasing song to have stuck in your head.
We're touring! Life is awesome. I am in my bunk on the bus at the moment and about to get up for a matinee. I apologize for the delay between posts. There was a LOT happening during rehearsals, and now we've been touring for a week already! I had forgotten how fast time flies on the road! Shows are going great. All I can say is SEE ONE if you can. It is a work of the greatest technology and skills available today in lighting, sound, lasers, pyro, and effects. It is thrilling to perform and, from what the audience tells us every night when we have the autograph line, thrilling to watch. Yeah!
Other than touring, what's been occupying my mindspace? Well, we had a pretty memorable election on Tuesday. And I look forward to catching every one of Obama's speeches because he delivers so well! And what a beautiful thing that we Americans have arrived at a place where we see more than the color of a person's skin. I am very hopeful for the future of our country.
Oh I wish I had more time to write today, but updates will follow soon, now that I'm back on track with this blog!
Love always!
Luci
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Omaha
What a place on Earth, Omaha, Nebraska!
I have never been to Omaha before, and I'm here for 2 weeks for TSO rehearsals (Trans-Siberian Orchestra). On the very first night I was greeted with a very Omahaian experience. I haven't yet confirmed with the natives if these are usual proceedings, but here's the story. I was exhausted. It was Wednesday night, Oct. 15th, we'd been flying all day, we were tired, nervous meeting everyone for the first time, and after landing, the only thing I could think of was eating (which I did promptly upon hotel arrival) and going to sleep. That I did immediately after eating. By 10:30 I was out! During my dreams I heard all all kinds of banging and yelling, kind of like, 'police, open your door, this is the police', etc. At one moment I was blessed with a flash of consciousness and suddenly realized that I was in a hotel, not in a dream, and there were people out in the hallway banging on doors screaming, "POLICE, OPEN YOUR DOORS, THIS IS THE POLICE!!". Naturally I wasn't properly dressed, and assuming the hotel was on fire, I got up and put on more appropriate attire. I walked to the door and sure enough out of the peephole I saw police. I was slightly shaking at this point, and slowly eased open the door. I'm not sure if I uttered the words "is the hotel on fire" before I realized that I was standing in a place I had never ever EVER been before in my life. Police were surrounding me, and to my left a lady cop was pointing a gun at my head.
It wasn't probably a whole second that passed by the time I had delicately shrinked back into my room and lightly shut the door, but how many different thoughts can pass through a person's mind in the split second a gun is pointed at your head! I guess the first thought was, "oh, she's obviously got the wrong person"; and then the usual shock factor, "holy %$&* there's a woman pointing a gun at my head"; the more big-picture, "oh my what a great new experience to add to the experience bank, to actually know what it feels like to have a gun pointed at your head"; the more equal rights, "at least it's a lady pointing the gun at my head, go her"; and then there was the great physical feeling of a deep darkness on my left side, knowing that bold black barrel carried the capacity to conclude my . And the ladycop was in full-on CSI gun pointing mode. I don't watch enough TV to actually know if I'm citing the right TV show, but she had two hands on the gun, arms straight out, legs spread wide, one in front of the other, and she was about 3 meters or so from me. AOH BABY!
After slipping back into my room, I wasn't inside for more than a second before they all came banging on my door. I took a deep breath and prayed there would be no gun pointing at me when I opened the door - by this point I was mildly shaking and obviously stuttering. I tried to be friendly and ask if everything was ok as they barreled in, gun pointed down this time. They asked me if I had heard any gunshots, and I thankfully said "NO", because it may have been my last considering the barrel I had so recently been looking into was vividly imprinted on my mind. They circled the room and whizzed out, a male cop asking me again on his way out if I had heard any gunshots. And that was that. Whew. What a special greeting to the friendly city of Omaha!
I found out the next morning that it was a 'really bad' prank call - I quote the girl at the front desk. Someone called the police station and said he had just shot his wife and himself and was lying on the bathroom floor of the hotel room directly across from mine. It turned out not to be true. One of our riggers was in the room across from mine and wasn't opening his door because he had earplugs in, and when he finally heard all the noise he thought it was his buddies playing a joke on him. I think they may have actually broken the door down on him, poor guy! So nothing to worry about, and what fun we 7th floor-ers had sharing our stories at catering the next day!
Omaha looks like it's going to be an exciting place! The tour's off to a BANG of a start!
Love,
Luci
I have never been to Omaha before, and I'm here for 2 weeks for TSO rehearsals (Trans-Siberian Orchestra). On the very first night I was greeted with a very Omahaian experience. I haven't yet confirmed with the natives if these are usual proceedings, but here's the story. I was exhausted. It was Wednesday night, Oct. 15th, we'd been flying all day, we were tired, nervous meeting everyone for the first time, and after landing, the only thing I could think of was eating (which I did promptly upon hotel arrival) and going to sleep. That I did immediately after eating. By 10:30 I was out! During my dreams I heard all all kinds of banging and yelling, kind of like, 'police, open your door, this is the police', etc. At one moment I was blessed with a flash of consciousness and suddenly realized that I was in a hotel, not in a dream, and there were people out in the hallway banging on doors screaming, "POLICE, OPEN YOUR DOORS, THIS IS THE POLICE!!". Naturally I wasn't properly dressed, and assuming the hotel was on fire, I got up and put on more appropriate attire. I walked to the door and sure enough out of the peephole I saw police.
It wasn't probably a whole second that passed by the time I had delicately shrinked back into my room and lightly shut the door, but how many different thoughts can pass through a person's mind in the split second a gun is pointed at your head! I guess the first thought was, "oh, she's obviously got the wrong person"; and then the usual shock factor, "holy %$&* there's a woman pointing a gun at my head"; the more big-picture, "oh my what a great new experience to add to the experience bank, to actually know what it feels like to have a gun pointed at your head"; the more equal rights, "at least it's a lady pointing the gun at my head, go her"; and then there was the great physical feeling of a deep darkness on my left side, knowing that bold black barrel carried the capacity to conclude my . And the ladycop was in full-on CSI gun pointing mode. I don't watch enough TV to actually know if I'm citing the right TV show, but she had two hands on the gun, arms straight out, legs spread wide, one in front of the other, and she was about 3 meters or so from me. AOH BABY!
After slipping back into my room, I wasn't inside for more than a second before they all came banging on my door. I took a deep breath and prayed there would be no gun pointing at me when I opened the door - by this point I was mildly shaking and obviously stuttering. I tried to be friendly and ask if everything was ok as they barreled in, gun pointed down this time. They asked me if I had heard any gunshots, and I thankfully said "NO", because it may have been my last considering the barrel I had so recently been looking into was vividly imprinted on my mind. They circled the room and whizzed out, a male cop asking me again on his way out if I had heard any gunshots. And that was that. Whew. What a special greeting to the friendly city of Omaha!
I found out the next morning that it was a 'really bad' prank call - I quote the girl at the front desk. Someone called the police station and said he had just shot his wife and himself and was lying on the bathroom floor of the hotel room directly across from mine. It turned out not to be true. One of our riggers was in the room across from mine and wasn't opening his door because he had earplugs in, and when he finally heard all the noise he thought it was his buddies playing a joke on him. I think they may have actually broken the door down on him, poor guy! So nothing to worry about, and what fun we 7th floor-ers had sharing our stories at catering the next day!
Omaha looks like it's going to be an exciting place! The tour's off to a BANG of a start!
Love,
Luci
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Music Has Power Awards, 2008
We had our annual Music Has Power fundraising event this week. It was absolutely gorgeous, and I participated in history by having the honor of sitting in the small audience of 150 while the one and only ODETTA performed. Who is Odetta?
Quoted from Wikipedia: "Odetta (born December 31, 1930) is an African-American singer, actress, guitarist, songwriter, and a human rights activist, often referred to as "The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement." Her musical repertoire consists largely of American folk music, blues, jazz, and spirituals. An important figure in the American folk music revival of the 1950s and '60s, she was a formative influence on dozens of artists, including Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and Janis Joplin."
She performed from her wheelchair, and when she cracked her mouth to sing the first note, the sound that followed nearly blew me away. Reverberating the room, this woman didn't need her pianist to keep the place mesmerized! I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. It is so powerful when you meet someone who commands and captivates just with her presence of energy. This woman did that. And her singing was unforgettable. Her voice penetrated beyond our ears, our skin, our organs, to something deeper that we forget lies within us. I wish everyone could have heard this beautiful lady. Go get recordings!!
I am always so nervous to ask to take a picture with celebrities, but with strong encouragement here we are: me and living history, Odetta.
In addition to Odetta's breathtaking performance, we heard a speech delivered by a man named Harvey Alter who had a stroke and suffered from Aphasia, a disease (simply stated) where you know what you want to say but your brain and your mouth don't cooperate, preventing speaking almost completely. He found he could sing happy birthday after going two years without speaking, and learned to speak again through singing. He delivered one of the most eloquent speeches I have ever heard, closing with, "You may think I have been speaking to you tonight, but I have been singing the whole time." Click here to read an article about Harvey in the New York Times.
You can read more about the Awards and learn more about the organization with whom I work, The Institute for Music and Neurologic Function by checking out the website: www.musichaspower.org
Finally, a picture I took Thursday night.
Love,
Luci
Quoted from Wikipedia: "Odetta (born December 31, 1930) is an African-American singer, actress, guitarist, songwriter, and a human rights activist, often referred to as "The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement." Her musical repertoire consists largely of American folk music, blues, jazz, and spirituals. An important figure in the American folk music revival of the 1950s and '60s, she was a formative influence on dozens of artists, including Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and Janis Joplin."
She performed from her wheelchair, and when she cracked her mouth to sing the first note, the sound that followed nearly blew me away. Reverberating the room, this woman didn't need her pianist to keep the place mesmerized! I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. It is so powerful when you meet someone who commands and captivates just with her presence of energy. This woman did that. And her singing was unforgettable. Her voice penetrated beyond our ears, our skin, our organs, to something deeper that we forget lies within us. I wish everyone could have heard this beautiful lady. Go get recordings!!
I am always so nervous to ask to take a picture with celebrities, but with strong encouragement here we are: me and living history, Odetta.
In addition to Odetta's breathtaking performance, we heard a speech delivered by a man named Harvey Alter who had a stroke and suffered from Aphasia, a disease (simply stated) where you know what you want to say but your brain and your mouth don't cooperate, preventing speaking almost completely. He found he could sing happy birthday after going two years without speaking, and learned to speak again through singing. He delivered one of the most eloquent speeches I have ever heard, closing with, "You may think I have been speaking to you tonight, but I have been singing the whole time." Click here to read an article about Harvey in the New York Times.
You can read more about the Awards and learn more about the organization with whom I work, The Institute for Music and Neurologic Function by checking out the website: www.musichaspower.org
Finally, a picture I took Thursday night.
Love,
Luci
Friday, September 12, 2008
Tickets On Sale!
Tickets just went on sale for Trans-Siberian Orchestra! Come to a show and have some FUN with me!!! I promise you'll love it!
Rock!
Luci
Rock!
Luci
Friday, September 5, 2008
News of Past and Future
Hello!
Happy September!!
Ahh, although I'm sad to leave my favorite month of the year behind, it's definitely going to be an exciting fall. First, news of the past: August was amazing and we had a fantastic birthday celebration in Savannah. A few friends and I went to the barrier island just off the coast of Savannah, Daufuskie Island. It was paradise. We swam, drove around in golf carts, watched the full moon rise on the Atlantic, and partied with the natives! It was such a dream! Huge thank-yous to my family for putting such a great party together for me! :)
Keep the haints out.....
The view from Daufuskie
Partying with the natives
Now news of the future: I will be touring with Trans-Siberian Orchestra this fall. If you don't know anything about this band, it's a rock and roll over-the-top Christmas show, and I'll be playing keyboards and doing some back-up vocals. If you do know a little about this band, you know it's a really fun, high-energy, blow-your-mind with sound and lights and fire kind of show! I can promise you'll have a good time if you manage to catch us somewhere. This show is so big that it takes 2 bands to cover the whole US within the Christmas season, and I am in the band that stays more on the east side of the country. Below is the schedule for the tour that I will be playing in. Check it out, and come see us!
Click on the website to see the full tour schedule and more:
www.trans-siberian.com
2008 EAST SCHEDULE
Sat-Nov-01-08 2 Youngstown, Chevrolet Center
Sun-Nov-02-08 2 Hershey, Giant Center
Wed-Nov-05-08 2 Wilkes Barre, Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza
Thu-Nov-06-08 1 Baltimore, 1st Mariner Arena
Fri-Nov-07-08 1 Charleston WV, Charleston Civic Center
Sat-Nov-08-08 2 Richmond, Richmond Coliseum
Sun-Nov-09-08 2 Columbia, Colonial Center
Wed-Nov-12-08 1 Jacksonville, Veterans Memorial Arena
Thu-Nov-13-08 1 Sunrise, BankAtlantic Center
Fri-Nov-14-08 1 Tampa, St. Pete Times Forum
Sat-Nov-15-08 1 Orlando, UCF Arena
Sun-Nov-16-08 1 Atlanta, Phillips Arena
Mon-Nov-17-08 1 Talahasee, Talahasee-Leon County Civic Center
Wed-Nov-19-08 1 Charleston SC, North Charleston Coliseum
Thu-Nov-20-08 1 Charlotte, Time Warner Cable Arena (formerly Bobcat Arena)
Fri-Nov-21-08 1 Greensboro, Greensboro Coliseum Complex
Sat-Nov-22-08 2 Raliegh, RBC Center
Sun-Nov-23-08 2 Greenville, BI-LO Center
Wed-Nov-26-08 1 Manchester, Verizon Wireless Arena
Fri-Nov-28-08 1 Atlantic City, Boardwalk Hall
Sat-Nov-29-08 2 Philadelphia, Wachovia Center
Sun-Nov-30-08 2 Hartford, XL Center (formerly Hartford Civic Center)
Wed-Dec-03-08 1 Montreal, Bell Centre
Thu-Dec-04-08 1 Ottawa, Scotiabank Place
Fri-Dec-05-08 1 Hamilton, Copps Coliseum
Sat-Dec-06-08 2 Buffalo, HSBC Arena
Sun-Dec-07-08 2 Albany, Times Union
Wed-Dec-10-08 2 Providence, Dunkin Donuts Center
Thu-Dec-11-08 1 Worcester, DCU Center
Fri-Dec-12-08 1 Uniondale NYC, Nassau Coliseum
Sat-Dec-13-08 2 E Rutherford NYC (Meadowlands), Izod Arena
Sun-Dec-14-08 2 Washington DC, Verizon Center
Wed-Dec-17-08 2 Pittsburgh, Mellon Arena
Fri-Dec-19-08 1 Lexington, Rupp Arena
Sat-Dec-20-08 2 Columbus, Nationwide Arena
Sun-Dec-21-08 2 Detroit, The Palace of Auburn Hills
Mon-Dec-22-08 1 Indianapolis, Conseco Fiedhouse
Tue-Dec-23-08 2 Grand Rapids, Van Andel Arena
Fri-Dec-26-08 2 Toronto, Air Canada Centre
Sat-Dec-27-08 1 Rochester, Blue Cross Arena
Sun-Dec-28-08 1 Lansing, The Breslin Center
Mon-Dec-29-08 2 Cleveland, Quicken Loans Arena
Tue-Dec-30-08 2 Cleveland, Quicken Loans Arena
Fri-Jan-02-09 2 Cincinnatti, Both Buildings (US Bank Arena)
Sat-Jan-03-09 2 Chicago, Allstate Arena
Sun-Jan-04-09 2 Dayton, The Nutter Center
Look forward to some exciting posts!
Love!!
Luci
Happy September!!
Ahh, although I'm sad to leave my favorite month of the year behind, it's definitely going to be an exciting fall. First, news of the past: August was amazing and we had a fantastic birthday celebration in Savannah. A few friends and I went to the barrier island just off the coast of Savannah, Daufuskie Island. It was paradise. We swam, drove around in golf carts, watched the full moon rise on the Atlantic, and partied with the natives! It was such a dream! Huge thank-yous to my family for putting such a great party together for me! :)
Keep the haints out.....
The view from Daufuskie
Partying with the natives
Now news of the future: I will be touring with Trans-Siberian Orchestra this fall. If you don't know anything about this band, it's a rock and roll over-the-top Christmas show, and I'll be playing keyboards and doing some back-up vocals. If you do know a little about this band, you know it's a really fun, high-energy, blow-your-mind with sound and lights and fire kind of show! I can promise you'll have a good time if you manage to catch us somewhere. This show is so big that it takes 2 bands to cover the whole US within the Christmas season, and I am in the band that stays more on the east side of the country. Below is the schedule for the tour that I will be playing in. Check it out, and come see us!
Click on the website to see the full tour schedule and more:
www.trans-siberian.com
2008 EAST SCHEDULE
Sat-Nov-01-08 2 Youngstown, Chevrolet Center
Sun-Nov-02-08 2 Hershey, Giant Center
Wed-Nov-05-08 2 Wilkes Barre, Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza
Thu-Nov-06-08 1 Baltimore, 1st Mariner Arena
Fri-Nov-07-08 1 Charleston WV, Charleston Civic Center
Sat-Nov-08-08 2 Richmond, Richmond Coliseum
Sun-Nov-09-08 2 Columbia, Colonial Center
Wed-Nov-12-08 1 Jacksonville, Veterans Memorial Arena
Thu-Nov-13-08 1 Sunrise, BankAtlantic Center
Fri-Nov-14-08 1 Tampa, St. Pete Times Forum
Sat-Nov-15-08 1 Orlando, UCF Arena
Sun-Nov-16-08 1 Atlanta, Phillips Arena
Mon-Nov-17-08 1 Talahasee, Talahasee-Leon County Civic Center
Wed-Nov-19-08 1 Charleston SC, North Charleston Coliseum
Thu-Nov-20-08 1 Charlotte, Time Warner Cable Arena (formerly Bobcat Arena)
Fri-Nov-21-08 1 Greensboro, Greensboro Coliseum Complex
Sat-Nov-22-08 2 Raliegh, RBC Center
Sun-Nov-23-08 2 Greenville, BI-LO Center
Wed-Nov-26-08 1 Manchester, Verizon Wireless Arena
Fri-Nov-28-08 1 Atlantic City, Boardwalk Hall
Sat-Nov-29-08 2 Philadelphia, Wachovia Center
Sun-Nov-30-08 2 Hartford, XL Center (formerly Hartford Civic Center)
Wed-Dec-03-08 1 Montreal, Bell Centre
Thu-Dec-04-08 1 Ottawa, Scotiabank Place
Fri-Dec-05-08 1 Hamilton, Copps Coliseum
Sat-Dec-06-08 2 Buffalo, HSBC Arena
Sun-Dec-07-08 2 Albany, Times Union
Wed-Dec-10-08 2 Providence, Dunkin Donuts Center
Thu-Dec-11-08 1 Worcester, DCU Center
Fri-Dec-12-08 1 Uniondale NYC, Nassau Coliseum
Sat-Dec-13-08 2 E Rutherford NYC (Meadowlands), Izod Arena
Sun-Dec-14-08 2 Washington DC, Verizon Center
Wed-Dec-17-08 2 Pittsburgh, Mellon Arena
Fri-Dec-19-08 1 Lexington, Rupp Arena
Sat-Dec-20-08 2 Columbus, Nationwide Arena
Sun-Dec-21-08 2 Detroit, The Palace of Auburn Hills
Mon-Dec-22-08 1 Indianapolis, Conseco Fiedhouse
Tue-Dec-23-08 2 Grand Rapids, Van Andel Arena
Fri-Dec-26-08 2 Toronto, Air Canada Centre
Sat-Dec-27-08 1 Rochester, Blue Cross Arena
Sun-Dec-28-08 1 Lansing, The Breslin Center
Mon-Dec-29-08 2 Cleveland, Quicken Loans Arena
Tue-Dec-30-08 2 Cleveland, Quicken Loans Arena
Fri-Jan-02-09 2 Cincinnatti, Both Buildings (US Bank Arena)
Sat-Jan-03-09 2 Chicago, Allstate Arena
Sun-Jan-04-09 2 Dayton, The Nutter Center
Look forward to some exciting posts!
Love!!
Luci
Friday, August 8, 2008
A Big Update (for a lot of lost time!)
WOW!
What a wild wonderful few weeks I've had – wait has it really been OVER a month?! What happened to JULY!!!
Well, here's an update that's slightly out of order. I just got back from a whirlwind trip around our great beautiful country. First to LA for a show with Moby, and then to Athens, GA for a spectacular cultural experience. Before this one of my best friends in the world was visiting me, Kyshona Armstrong.
The Moby show was for the LA radio station, KCRW. It was really cool concert in two parts, techno and live. KCRW actually recorded the show with cameras, and you can watch it if you'd like to. It is divided into 2 parts. Part one is the electronic techno portion, and part two is the live band portion. If you only have a little time, I think my favorite section was part 2.
Click here to see Part 1
Click here to see Part 2
It was really fun to play again and see some of the old gang. Also the performance was in Malibu, so seeing the Pacific ocean was absolutely a marvel for my eyes. GORGEOUS, and so very different from the Atlantic!
The Pacific
The show
The whirlwind trip to Athens was for my "family" and friend, Yelenia Joselin Casas. She turned 15 years old (when I met her she was 3, ahh!!!) and celebrated her quinceanos (spelled with a ~ over the "n") in the most grandiose birthday party I may have ever attended! A quinceanos is more than a sweet sixteen. It is, in the Mexican culture, when a girl becomes a woman. There was a formal dance, where Yelenia was escorted by her 11 male chambelanes (kind of like her chapperones or posse), and she took turns waltzing with each of them, dancing around them, being lifted into the air by them, yeah. Then 8 young girls dressed all in white with big green bows around their waists danced around Yelenia and the chambelanes, as Yelenia received her last doll, and her father put on her first pair of high heels. And boy those things were HIGH! I was impressed that she was able to weild a hoop skirt between 11 men while walking on pencil thin 5 inch heels and not tripping on the little half-pint princesses running around her legs… WOW!
Maria Reina Casas. The reason I was at this quinceanos.
I started teaching English to Maria when I was a freshman at the University of Georgia. It was a volunteer program organized through the Catholic social services, where once or twice a week I would go to Maria's and teach her English with the ultimate goal of her being able to obtain a good job. This was in 1996. Maria had recently immigrated to Athens, GA with her 2 children who were 8 (Irving) and 3 (Yelenia), to join her husband, Jose, who had already been working in the US for several years. They had followed all the immigration rules and Jose was months away from a candidacy for US citizenship when I met him. Oh I was delighted to learn that they were the very sweetest family! Always Maria would serve me some kind of Mexican delight as a thank-you for her English lesson. It was in her kitchen I first tasted gorditas, tamales, real Mexican-style guacamole, nopales, homemade salsa verde. Yum. She is a phenomenal cook and we still joke about her opening up her own authentic Mexican restaurant, because her food tastes better than any Mexican restaurant food I have ever tasted! Over the years we became very close, and it was absolutely thrilling for me to learn so intimately about another culture while sharing mine with them. So beautiful! Now I feel like they are my family, and even though I don't see them as often as I used to, I always try to make a visit for Christmas, and really special events - like this Quinceanos!!!
La familia
The Princess and her Princesslettes (I think Yelenia looks like a true princess! And her favorite color is green, so she had a totally green-themed party, how fun!)
The traditional dance
Presentation of Yelenia's last doll, while her dad puts on her first pair of high heels
Dancing around the last doll
After all the traditional festivities the room became a dance. An 8-piece Mexican band performed on a fully equipped stage, and everyone who had been sitting down during the formal dance rushed to the dance floor! Oh let me try to describe the HEELS these women were wearing! Absolutely amazing how they could move so quickly and gracefully in shoes so pointy and high. It was a true display, a feat of balance and posture. I spent most of my time with my mouth wide open staring in horror as I felt my own feet start to hurt inside my sandals - and I was sitting down!
Here is a zoomed-in shot of a few of the shoes I was astounded by:
Los padres de la princesa. Parents of Yelenia, Maria and Jose, during the dance.
A chat between dances.
Oh look how gorgeous she is! A true young lady!
And now for the final update, Kyshona Armstrong. She performed not one but 2 shows in NYC! She blew away the Bitter End -they were asking her why she doesn't live up here by the end of the night! And I had the pleasure and honor of performing a few songs with her at the Red Lion. She again had people walking out oo-ing and aah-ing, over her performance. Gooooo Kyshona! I am so proud of you! Check her out! And go to her myspace page and hear a sampling of some songs off her new album, Music.
myspace.com/kyshona
Soundchecking
In Action!
At the Red Lion
More to come, so much happening these days!
Love always,
Luci
What a wild wonderful few weeks I've had – wait has it really been OVER a month?! What happened to JULY!!!
Well, here's an update that's slightly out of order. I just got back from a whirlwind trip around our great beautiful country. First to LA for a show with Moby, and then to Athens, GA for a spectacular cultural experience. Before this one of my best friends in the world was visiting me, Kyshona Armstrong.
The Moby show was for the LA radio station, KCRW. It was really cool concert in two parts, techno and live. KCRW actually recorded the show with cameras, and you can watch it if you'd like to. It is divided into 2 parts. Part one is the electronic techno portion, and part two is the live band portion. If you only have a little time, I think my favorite section was part 2.
Click here to see Part 1
Click here to see Part 2
It was really fun to play again and see some of the old gang. Also the performance was in Malibu, so seeing the Pacific ocean was absolutely a marvel for my eyes. GORGEOUS, and so very different from the Atlantic!
The Pacific
The show
The whirlwind trip to Athens was for my "family" and friend, Yelenia Joselin Casas. She turned 15 years old (when I met her she was 3, ahh!!!) and celebrated her quinceanos (spelled with a ~ over the "n") in the most grandiose birthday party I may have ever attended! A quinceanos is more than a sweet sixteen. It is, in the Mexican culture, when a girl becomes a woman. There was a formal dance, where Yelenia was escorted by her 11 male chambelanes (kind of like her chapperones or posse), and she took turns waltzing with each of them, dancing around them, being lifted into the air by them, yeah. Then 8 young girls dressed all in white with big green bows around their waists danced around Yelenia and the chambelanes, as Yelenia received her last doll, and her father put on her first pair of high heels. And boy those things were HIGH! I was impressed that she was able to weild a hoop skirt between 11 men while walking on pencil thin 5 inch heels and not tripping on the little half-pint princesses running around her legs… WOW!
Maria Reina Casas. The reason I was at this quinceanos.
I started teaching English to Maria when I was a freshman at the University of Georgia. It was a volunteer program organized through the Catholic social services, where once or twice a week I would go to Maria's and teach her English with the ultimate goal of her being able to obtain a good job. This was in 1996. Maria had recently immigrated to Athens, GA with her 2 children who were 8 (Irving) and 3 (Yelenia), to join her husband, Jose, who had already been working in the US for several years. They had followed all the immigration rules and Jose was months away from a candidacy for US citizenship when I met him. Oh I was delighted to learn that they were the very sweetest family! Always Maria would serve me some kind of Mexican delight as a thank-you for her English lesson. It was in her kitchen I first tasted gorditas, tamales, real Mexican-style guacamole, nopales, homemade salsa verde. Yum. She is a phenomenal cook and we still joke about her opening up her own authentic Mexican restaurant, because her food tastes better than any Mexican restaurant food I have ever tasted! Over the years we became very close, and it was absolutely thrilling for me to learn so intimately about another culture while sharing mine with them. So beautiful! Now I feel like they are my family, and even though I don't see them as often as I used to, I always try to make a visit for Christmas, and really special events - like this Quinceanos!!!
La familia
The Princess and her Princesslettes (I think Yelenia looks like a true princess! And her favorite color is green, so she had a totally green-themed party, how fun!)
The traditional dance
Presentation of Yelenia's last doll, while her dad puts on her first pair of high heels
Dancing around the last doll
After all the traditional festivities the room became a dance. An 8-piece Mexican band performed on a fully equipped stage, and everyone who had been sitting down during the formal dance rushed to the dance floor! Oh let me try to describe the HEELS these women were wearing! Absolutely amazing how they could move so quickly and gracefully in shoes so pointy and high. It was a true display, a feat of balance and posture. I spent most of my time with my mouth wide open staring in horror as I felt my own feet start to hurt inside my sandals - and I was sitting down!
Here is a zoomed-in shot of a few of the shoes I was astounded by:
Los padres de la princesa. Parents of Yelenia, Maria and Jose, during the dance.
A chat between dances.
Oh look how gorgeous she is! A true young lady!
And now for the final update, Kyshona Armstrong. She performed not one but 2 shows in NYC! She blew away the Bitter End -they were asking her why she doesn't live up here by the end of the night! And I had the pleasure and honor of performing a few songs with her at the Red Lion. She again had people walking out oo-ing and aah-ing, over her performance. Gooooo Kyshona! I am so proud of you! Check her out! And go to her myspace page and hear a sampling of some songs off her new album, Music.
myspace.com/kyshona
Soundchecking
In Action!
At the Red Lion
More to come, so much happening these days!
Love always,
Luci
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Rockin'
Pics from The Little Death show Wednesday night. It was good. Hard. Rock. And very hot.
The rest of the week went by in a blur, work has escalated and I'm back to writing looooong papers, first time since college! Ah!
I'm sure some thoughts will surface soon, today I am thoroughly exhausted. :)
Love always!
Luci
Moby, donning the latest in lower east side moustache trends:
Cherie is my new back-up partner in crime!
It is absolutely impossible to get a shot of the whole band at once, but here's a good effort, with a LOT of action happening!
Aaron rockin' the kit
True romantic love:
My favorite part is when I get to play the tambourine!
The rest of the week went by in a blur, work has escalated and I'm back to writing looooong papers, first time since college! Ah!
I'm sure some thoughts will surface soon, today I am thoroughly exhausted. :)
Love always!
Luci
Moby, donning the latest in lower east side moustache trends:
Cherie is my new back-up partner in crime!
It is absolutely impossible to get a shot of the whole band at once, but here's a good effort, with a LOT of action happening!
Aaron rockin' the kit
True romantic love:
My favorite part is when I get to play the tambourine!
Monday, June 23, 2008
Solstice Came Summer's In
Hello!
So what a fantastic day it is! It's SUMMERTIME! Oh just the word gets me excited! So some really fun things have happened this week. First, to take up where I left off last Saturday, I DID take the challenge and go down to the Seaport while thunderstorms were threatening in every direction. The show was at first postponed and then cancelled. But it was not a wasted trip! I got to see, while SITTING OUTSIDE, one of the most spectacular Thunderstorms I've seen in NYC! My backdrop was the masts and ropes of an ancient pirate ship (or at least that's what I was telling myself as I lived out this adventure).
Thick lightening bolts and loud crashes of thunder were happening right above this majestic ship for a good 20 minutes. I was sitting under the corner of a rooftop, but with the occasional gusts got pretty drenched in the power and fury from the heavens. Ohhhh exhilarating! I was completely taken away from the concrete jungle and thrust out on the open seas, like I was fighting the roughest tempest in history with my mates tying down the deck and running starboard to port, and foodbags sliding from left to right, furniture roving in every direction, a shout from the captain to tighten up the sails....... Just before my imagination got too carried away, Alison greeted me and said the show was cancelled. I was like, "really? I just watched the most riveting show I've seen in weeks!".
Us pondering the weather before it became the show - just look at that cloud behind us:
So Friday night was another maritime adventure! To the lost kingdom of Redhook. Brooklyn. Via water taxi! Why? To scavenge the uncharted territory of the newest Ikea in America. HAAA! I only spent 15 minutes in Ikea (not including the checkout line), so the water taxi was really the highlight. Here we go leaving at dusk with the skyline getting smaller and smaller.
So the solstice was on Saturday, and there was a big yoga day in Times Square. Although I didn't participate, I did walk past and snap this shot. Amazing that THAT can happen in such a mayhem overloaded tourist-filled area!
Finally, I was fortunate enough to experience the very best sunset I've seen on NYC streets EVER, on the very day of the summer solstice, how amazing. The sun was casting the orangest light on the pavement and walking in that magical orange light was my goal until the sun set behind a cloud just over a building. The sunsets from a street perspective in NYC are interesting. You have about an inch of skyspace view between the tall buildings and skinny streets. But I tried to capture it on the camera in my phone. It's not totally accurate with the COLOR of the orange. Imagine the light on the street as way more oranger, and you will get an idea of how unique and beautiful this moment was.
Finally, I came across an old clip of a fun event we played for during the lost, unblogged-about months between the LuciOnTour posts and these new ones. We were in Austin Texas at the South By Southwest music festival in March. The show was a tribute to Lou Reed, with many different bands playing creative versions of his songs. Moby was asked to be the final act, so we did 2 songs and the last one was Take a Walk on the Wild Side with Lou Reed himself. It was really special to watch the avid Lou Reed fans crying in the front rows, in all-encompassing awe as they watched their lifelong idol perform one of the best songs in music history. I was honored to be on stage with him, singing doot-da-doots. Click here to watch the clip: Lou Reed and Moby at South By Southwest
More to come as life unfolds!
Love,
Luci
So what a fantastic day it is! It's SUMMERTIME! Oh just the word gets me excited! So some really fun things have happened this week. First, to take up where I left off last Saturday, I DID take the challenge and go down to the Seaport while thunderstorms were threatening in every direction. The show was at first postponed and then cancelled. But it was not a wasted trip! I got to see, while SITTING OUTSIDE, one of the most spectacular Thunderstorms I've seen in NYC! My backdrop was the masts and ropes of an ancient pirate ship (or at least that's what I was telling myself as I lived out this adventure).
Thick lightening bolts and loud crashes of thunder were happening right above this majestic ship for a good 20 minutes. I was sitting under the corner of a rooftop, but with the occasional gusts got pretty drenched in the power and fury from the heavens. Ohhhh exhilarating! I was completely taken away from the concrete jungle and thrust out on the open seas, like I was fighting the roughest tempest in history with my mates tying down the deck and running starboard to port, and foodbags sliding from left to right, furniture roving in every direction, a shout from the captain to tighten up the sails....... Just before my imagination got too carried away, Alison greeted me and said the show was cancelled. I was like, "really? I just watched the most riveting show I've seen in weeks!".
Us pondering the weather before it became the show - just look at that cloud behind us:
So Friday night was another maritime adventure! To the lost kingdom of Redhook. Brooklyn. Via water taxi! Why? To scavenge the uncharted territory of the newest Ikea in America. HAAA! I only spent 15 minutes in Ikea (not including the checkout line), so the water taxi was really the highlight. Here we go leaving at dusk with the skyline getting smaller and smaller.
So the solstice was on Saturday, and there was a big yoga day in Times Square. Although I didn't participate, I did walk past and snap this shot. Amazing that THAT can happen in such a mayhem overloaded tourist-filled area!
Finally, I was fortunate enough to experience the very best sunset I've seen on NYC streets EVER, on the very day of the summer solstice, how amazing. The sun was casting the orangest light on the pavement and walking in that magical orange light was my goal until the sun set behind a cloud just over a building. The sunsets from a street perspective in NYC are interesting. You have about an inch of skyspace view between the tall buildings and skinny streets. But I tried to capture it on the camera in my phone. It's not totally accurate with the COLOR of the orange. Imagine the light on the street as way more oranger, and you will get an idea of how unique and beautiful this moment was.
Finally, I came across an old clip of a fun event we played for during the lost, unblogged-about months between the LuciOnTour posts and these new ones. We were in Austin Texas at the South By Southwest music festival in March. The show was a tribute to Lou Reed, with many different bands playing creative versions of his songs. Moby was asked to be the final act, so we did 2 songs and the last one was Take a Walk on the Wild Side with Lou Reed himself. It was really special to watch the avid Lou Reed fans crying in the front rows, in all-encompassing awe as they watched their lifelong idol perform one of the best songs in music history. I was honored to be on stage with him, singing doot-da-doots. Click here to watch the clip: Lou Reed and Moby at South By Southwest
More to come as life unfolds!
Love,
Luci
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Thunderstorm
Ok, so I have just been lying on the bed looking out the window at the flooding rain during a most pleasant New York City thunderstorm. Amazing. Here is a view of what I saw.
I tried to take a picture from exactly my vantage point, but the window was closed and it came out very muddy. So just for the sake of art I opened the window and took this one. It was flooding in, but as soon as I cracked the window that smell of summer rain burst into the room and it was all worth it that my pillows got wet!
So watching the rain plummeting down and hearing the thunder (which has such a unique sound up here, very different from the thunder over the coastline of Savannah) I started thinking about energy. It is amazing how much energy is conveyed by the weather. On a sunny day, especially if it hasn't been sunny in a few days, you can physically feel the energy from the sun rays. It is warm and if you stop to notice how your skin feels, or how your breathing feels, or how your heart beats when it's sunny, you can tell there's an energetic difference than on a cloudy day. I think that's why several days in a row of overcast drizzle really feels like it sucks the life out of me. I imagine that's absolutely as low energy as possible that the sky can convey in the daytime. The clouds block the sun's vigor, the drizzle falling keeps everything feeling "down", and there isn't any wind. Ohhhh, the wind is so energetic. Those days in March, or when there's a windstorm in the winter, what ENERGY is felt when air suddenly starts moving so strongly! Out of NOWHERE! I love wind. But a good downpour, even without lightening and thunder, conveys nice energy too - driving, beating, pushing, grounding. Ohh, and lightening, how exciting! Every time a flash of lightening happens it's like it zaps me with a little zing of power. And in the evenings, when there's heat lightening, or even streaks, ohhh I can hardly contain myself. It's as exciting as fireworks for a five year old on the 4th of July.
Speaking of fireworks, I was planning to go to the South Street Seaport tonight to see Alison play with the Brooklyn Philharmonic, where they shoot off fireworks at the end. Well, not sure about that now that the sky has opened up! We'll see.
Just a little insight to my afternoon ponderings. Here's a picture that makes me smile whenever I look at it.
Love! Luci
I tried to take a picture from exactly my vantage point, but the window was closed and it came out very muddy. So just for the sake of art I opened the window and took this one. It was flooding in, but as soon as I cracked the window that smell of summer rain burst into the room and it was all worth it that my pillows got wet!
So watching the rain plummeting down and hearing the thunder (which has such a unique sound up here, very different from the thunder over the coastline of Savannah) I started thinking about energy. It is amazing how much energy is conveyed by the weather. On a sunny day, especially if it hasn't been sunny in a few days, you can physically feel the energy from the sun rays. It is warm and if you stop to notice how your skin feels, or how your breathing feels, or how your heart beats when it's sunny, you can tell there's an energetic difference than on a cloudy day. I think that's why several days in a row of overcast drizzle really feels like it sucks the life out of me. I imagine that's absolutely as low energy as possible that the sky can convey in the daytime. The clouds block the sun's vigor, the drizzle falling keeps everything feeling "down", and there isn't any wind. Ohhhh, the wind is so energetic. Those days in March, or when there's a windstorm in the winter, what ENERGY is felt when air suddenly starts moving so strongly! Out of NOWHERE! I love wind. But a good downpour, even without lightening and thunder, conveys nice energy too - driving, beating, pushing, grounding. Ohh, and lightening, how exciting! Every time a flash of lightening happens it's like it zaps me with a little zing of power. And in the evenings, when there's heat lightening, or even streaks, ohhh I can hardly contain myself. It's as exciting as fireworks for a five year old on the 4th of July.
Speaking of fireworks, I was planning to go to the South Street Seaport tonight to see Alison play with the Brooklyn Philharmonic, where they shoot off fireworks at the end. Well, not sure about that now that the sky has opened up! We'll see.
Just a little insight to my afternoon ponderings. Here's a picture that makes me smile whenever I look at it.
Love! Luci
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Lady Rizo's Girdle
It's a pleasure to be a part of the underground NY performer scene...
Click here to see a short clip of Friday's show
Click here to see a short clip of Friday's show
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Hot times in NYC
It's hot and humid in the Big Apple. I LOVE it!! So, I have always wondered why NYC is called the Big Apple, and here is what I found out from an internet source:
"The term, the Big Apple, was first used by in the early '20s by stablehands to refer to the New Orleans race track, then the king of race tracks. The name was later borrowed by travelling jazz musicians to refer to Harlem, then the jazz capital of the world. The dance, "The Big Apple," was all the rage in Harlem nightclubs in the '20s and '30s. In 1971, the term "The Big Apple" was revived as part of a publicity campaign to upgrade New York's image and promote tourism."
It's amazing how much of language is dropped or forgotten or kept, and how it evolves over time. Wow. So this week a lot of crazy things went on, most memorably the first ever GIRDLE, a show featuring female performers hosted by the one and only Lady Rizo. It was a smashingly successful mix of comedy and music, I had the pleasure of playing a grand piano with such a great band (hopefully someone took pictures and I will post them soon). That was Friday night.
In between rehearsals, shows, and the music therapy job, I go to yoga. HA! I know that must sound so cliche-New-York, but I have to say, I love it! I am doing it more to get a grasp on my wild thoughts than anything. I have discovered many things about myself during yoga. One thing is that I hold tension in my face muscles when I do absolutely anything it seems! From the simplest yoga pose to washing dishes to painting my toenails! I saw an older lady at the pool in Cabo and was totally SHOCKED how she could not keep her mouth still while she reclined on her lounge chair. It was moving, chewing, tensed up into a frown, pulled into a tight smile, AH! It never stopped moving. I fear I'm headed in that direction if I don't CHILL myself out now! GUHTRUDE!! So, plan for this week, learn how to relax the muscles in my face while doing tasks.
That's about it for now, must get on with the muuuuuusic!
Love!
Luci
"The term, the Big Apple, was first used by in the early '20s by stablehands to refer to the New Orleans race track, then the king of race tracks. The name was later borrowed by travelling jazz musicians to refer to Harlem, then the jazz capital of the world. The dance, "The Big Apple," was all the rage in Harlem nightclubs in the '20s and '30s. In 1971, the term "The Big Apple" was revived as part of a publicity campaign to upgrade New York's image and promote tourism."
It's amazing how much of language is dropped or forgotten or kept, and how it evolves over time. Wow. So this week a lot of crazy things went on, most memorably the first ever GIRDLE, a show featuring female performers hosted by the one and only Lady Rizo. It was a smashingly successful mix of comedy and music, I had the pleasure of playing a grand piano with such a great band (hopefully someone took pictures and I will post them soon). That was Friday night.
In between rehearsals, shows, and the music therapy job, I go to yoga. HA! I know that must sound so cliche-New-York, but I have to say, I love it! I am doing it more to get a grasp on my wild thoughts than anything. I have discovered many things about myself during yoga. One thing is that I hold tension in my face muscles when I do absolutely anything it seems! From the simplest yoga pose to washing dishes to painting my toenails! I saw an older lady at the pool in Cabo and was totally SHOCKED how she could not keep her mouth still while she reclined on her lounge chair. It was moving, chewing, tensed up into a frown, pulled into a tight smile, AH! It never stopped moving. I fear I'm headed in that direction if I don't CHILL myself out now! GUHTRUDE!! So, plan for this week, learn how to relax the muscles in my face while doing tasks.
That's about it for now, must get on with the muuuuuusic!
Love!
Luci
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Welcome!!
Welcome to a new blog!
I'm not on tour at the moment, so I thought LUCI ON TOUR might need a little rest. Thank you Dave Akins for setting up that page so awesomely for me! So it's almost summer, my very favorite season of the whole year (how lucky are we that it happens EVERY year!!!) and I thought now was a great time to embark on a new blog. Obviously I've missed a little time since the last Luci On Tour post (August), so it probably isn't worth it for me to even attempt to catch everything up to date. I will start from now, and if a good story or memory arises as I'm reporting the present I'll be sure to put it in.
So, to start, I just got back from a trip to Mexico. Since none of my single friends are getting married anymore, they're all taking trips for their birthdays! That works for me, to helps me get my fill of seeing the planet. I went to San Fransisco with my Georgia girl Melissa for her birthday in October, and I went to Cabo San Lucas with my Chicago/NY girl Alison for her birthday last week! It was absolutely beautiful and breathtaking. Check out these pictures we took.
The pacific's crash
Our hotel
Some locals
My FAVORITE! And he had great conversation!
Shopping with Alison and her sister Jen
Our horseback ride through the pacific desert and coastline:
That's me and Chocolata!!! Look at that VIEW!
Alison and Pistola
The hombres - at our favorite beach restaurant, The Office
Happy Birthday Alison!
Ok, so what's been happening on the music front? Well, excitingly enough I have been writing! I love it! It is thrilling. I have been fortunate to work with a producer who is helping me record the songs so they sound a little better than I can do by myself, hooray. A myspace page is coming soon so you can check out the song drafts, see what you think. I still play with Moby on occasion, although he's touring now with 2 percussionists, no keyboards this time. His rock/blues band, The Little Death, has been playing lots lately. We performed at Sundance out in Utah, South By Southwest in Austin, TX, and many venues in NYC. And we have a show coming up on June 25th! It's a lot of fun.
Ok, so I've spent all day setting up this new blog. Now I'm itching to get on to working on a new musical idea. Here we go!
Love,
Luci
I'm not on tour at the moment, so I thought LUCI ON TOUR might need a little rest. Thank you Dave Akins for setting up that page so awesomely for me! So it's almost summer, my very favorite season of the whole year (how lucky are we that it happens EVERY year!!!) and I thought now was a great time to embark on a new blog. Obviously I've missed a little time since the last Luci On Tour post (August), so it probably isn't worth it for me to even attempt to catch everything up to date. I will start from now, and if a good story or memory arises as I'm reporting the present I'll be sure to put it in.
So, to start, I just got back from a trip to Mexico. Since none of my single friends are getting married anymore, they're all taking trips for their birthdays! That works for me, to helps me get my fill of seeing the planet. I went to San Fransisco with my Georgia girl Melissa for her birthday in October, and I went to Cabo San Lucas with my Chicago/NY girl Alison for her birthday last week! It was absolutely beautiful and breathtaking. Check out these pictures we took.
The pacific's crash
Our hotel
Some locals
My FAVORITE! And he had great conversation!
Shopping with Alison and her sister Jen
Our horseback ride through the pacific desert and coastline:
That's me and Chocolata!!! Look at that VIEW!
Alison and Pistola
The hombres - at our favorite beach restaurant, The Office
Happy Birthday Alison!
Ok, so what's been happening on the music front? Well, excitingly enough I have been writing! I love it! It is thrilling. I have been fortunate to work with a producer who is helping me record the songs so they sound a little better than I can do by myself, hooray. A myspace page is coming soon so you can check out the song drafts, see what you think. I still play with Moby on occasion, although he's touring now with 2 percussionists, no keyboards this time. His rock/blues band, The Little Death, has been playing lots lately. We performed at Sundance out in Utah, South By Southwest in Austin, TX, and many venues in NYC. And we have a show coming up on June 25th! It's a lot of fun.
Ok, so I've spent all day setting up this new blog. Now I'm itching to get on to working on a new musical idea. Here we go!
Love,
Luci
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)