An amazing day with Jazz Masters Sheila Jordan & Cameron Brown/L-R Sheila, Kate Hammett Vaughan, Christie Grace Cameron & Lara Crema.

Quote of the week:

“Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best.”  ~Henry van Dyke

WOW ! Yet another full week with our fifth exciting week with Ariel Hyatt’s  Music Success in 9 weeks and the SAC gang ( Songwriters Association of Canada) as we took a look at specific ways to build our YouTube channel. Here is mine: http://www.youtube.com/ChristieGraceMusic . I began sharing home videos of  a few performances a few years ago, and look forward to trying out more artistic video productions in the near future. Thanks to YouTube, anyone, anywhere can now launch home spun to high-tech quality videos with the potential of them going viral. This is a rare phenomenon of course, but hey people do win the lottery. It’s amazing really,   because before the advent of YouTube it used to be that only the label supported artists had access to professionally produced videos, but now thanks to iMovie and ingenuity, it is possible for anyone, including we independent musicians, to create a signature video. For instance, check out this great video filmed from my hometown Thunder Bay: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAwmUBlqZmc&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

  The skies the limit now! I’m also really turned on by my online Berklee Music marketing class that I am enrolled in with our wonderful teacher  Jeff Straw of INgrooves. In last weeks lesson, for instance, Mike Dreese co-founder of the massively successful Newbury Comics introduced the concept of “time poverty”.  Mike elaborated on the idea that because we are all collectively “time compressed”, the ways that we communicate technologically need to be quick and to the point. Which supports the widespread burgeoning of YouTube ( Twitter, etc) becoming so popular as it is now the most rapid global means of communication available, not to mention downloading and streaming.

Another really inspiring experience was the opportunity to conference call with Dave Cool of Bandzoogle.  Our talented group from all across Canada, discussed highlights and challenges to date. Then relative to topics for writing a blog, Dave encouraged us to speak from our passions . He acknowledged how our journey may be overwhelming at times (uh huh) and emphasized anticipating the inevitable ups and downs that come with the territory. He also pointed out how blogs are not necessarily meant to win the Pulitzer prize with some weeks being better than others, as we each find our own unique voice. I sure found his comments helpful.

Then to blow the cap off the week, I participated in a powerful vocal workshop coördinated by Vancouver jazz singer and former teacher,  Kate Hammett- Vaughan. Along with 10 other  jazz singers we were privileged to be mentored by the illustrious 84-year-old  jazz master vocalist, Sheila Jordan from New York:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9ZpI4foexk&fb_source=message.  It was such an honor to spend time with Sheila and her bass player Cameron Brown which culminated in their marvelous performance last night at The Jazz Cellar. What an experience!

During our workshop I was inspired by Lara Crema’s beautiful jazz lullaby for her daughter Serafina and so in honor of our YouTube theme this week, I decided to share a video of my folk song I wrote for my daughter  “Ashley’s Lullaby” twelve years ago while driving up to a guitar workshop in Wells, BC.  My music has swung more into the jazz arena, but this folk gem has a very special place in my heart, and is a family favorite that still makes me cry! It was filmed at my daughters 8th birthday especially for my Mother. Ashley is now a lovely young woman but still lets me sing this to her from time to time. So for you soft-ees, you may want to get out your Kleenex. It was filmed and edited by my friend Miles McNamara. I never thought of uploading it till now, as I felt it was too personal and homespun, but this week I have also thankfully addressed my self-sabatoge- ing habit of perfectionism. So, here’s me throwing all caution to the wind with a walk down memory lane. I hope you enjoy it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CvB8lL_tHA.

I feel very fortunate for my rich experiences this past week and look forward to sharing more with you next week.

Happy Valentines Day!

Love,

Christie

I saw an amazing juggling performer at Cirque du Soleil last summer that blew my mind. “How does he do it? “ I gasped in disbelief! Yet, here I was saying the very same thing people often ask me. “ How do you do it Christie Grace”?  I realized I saw myself in that acrobats madcap act as I can swing in and out of haphazard balance in my life depending on which roles I am juggling.  They range from mother, wife, musician, designer and artist. To business owner, goldsmith, booking agent, housekeeper, cook, agent and a publicist, manager, band leader, recording artist, songwriter, business woman, student, shop keeper and… blog writer. In stride with every indie musician that I know, I juggle a myriad of roles directly and indirectly related to music making because it has become the basic requirement in our complex music scene. One of those central balls for a musician is our website. I began my first website with a hip graphics designer  from Nettwerk 12 years ago with the release of my first cd, Late Bloomer. It was so beautiful but was much more than I really needed not to mention the massive upkeep and costs. Similar to our family dog Danni Girl- I  soon discovered my website also needed its daily walk, play, swim, H20, brush, organic food and her cuddle. OK cuddling is pushing it but you catch my drift. For instance for the past year  in anticipation for my new site, I dropped the ball ignoring my current site www.christiegracemusic.com and during  my neglect it developed mats and started to get fat.  But not any more! …thanks to the inspiring tips from Ariel Hyatt’s “Music Success in 9 Weeks”: The WEBSITE, I’m back on it!

Believe it or not, one of my greatest challenges is that unlike the scientifically minded, funny folks portrayed in the current CBS hit nerd fest The Big Bang Theory, I am NOT a computer person. I work very hard to keep my computer cool and I am embarrassed to admit I have actually lost my grip over computer “issues”. So after recovering from panic from reading this weeks chapter encouraging us to review, claim and create every aspect of our site, I decided to avert any potential crash and burns and settled on updating my current site while laying the foundation for another one .

Even though there are  now fabulous sites like Bandzoogle and WordPress, that offer low-cost , easy methods for a computer novice like myself, I also have become a practical acrobat and fully recognize my limits . Subsequently, I have begun to understand in each of my site’s evolution, the purpose and platform my website provides and that to do it properly, well, it takes me a lot of time . It is a bit like songwriting in that it is an ongoing, living process that will eventually lead me into the next song, and the next site. So I’ll tackle another web adventure for my new cd release in Feb 2013 along with my capable design team Crocker Web Design.

In the meantime check out my webdog’s new shiny coat with many new additions including my exciting announcement about crowd funding for my cd . There’s also a new video of excerpts from some of my new songs and of course,  this heart stopping blog now in its third week.  Should you feel so inclined, do pass on any suggestions my dear reader that you may have to make your time in my site, more appealing to you. I am all ears. So, after I absorb a few more computer lessons , it looks like I’ll be adding web designer to the juggling mix while attempting to keep mats at bay. Happy trails.

Juliette Our Canadian Crooner

Trying to define yourself is like trying to bite your own teeth.  ~Alan Watts

I have a magnificently intense aversion to being put into a box and labelled. So as you can imagine, I have been very challenged by this weeks exercise in Music Success In 9 Weeks : THE PITCH . In chapter two, author Ariel Hyatt gives multiple sensible marketing reasons why defining my musical style in a 15 second “elevator pitch” is a must should I ever bump into Clive Davis on the way up. So with Greta Garbo gusto I threw myself into this challenging exercise.

For starters I listed off some early influences that shaped me to become the singer I am today. Like watching my talented Father , John McCullough sing his killer version of “If I Didn’t Care“ by the INK SPOTS  at his many gigs with the Roy Coran Orchestra. Or the first time I ever heard Ella Fitzgerald swing “Paper Moon” on a ’78 on my grandfather’s gramophone , and Nelly Lutcher ‘s R+B version of “Fine Brown Frame” that lit me up. Then the turning point was “The Juliette Show”. Every Sat. night after the hockey game, I was enthralled watching Juliette descend a flight of stairs in some glittery figure hugging gown. She was our very own Canadian female crooner. ”A star”. I recall my young 10 yr self vowing to myself, ” I want to be a singer like Juliette”. At school on the playground, I drove my friends crazy with my imitations of her! Imagine my thrill when twelve years ago, just before releasing my début cd, I spotted Juliette in the audience at the Centennial Theatre in North Vancouver. I took the chance to introduce myself and we had the best talk. In fact she introduced me to the late Arni May, who owned two Jazz club’s called Rossini’s in Kitsilano and Gastown. Thanks to Juliette, the Gastown Rossini’s venue became my first Vancouver Jazz Club for the cd release : LATE BLOOMER. Later, Kits Rossini’s provided many opportunities to play with Lynton Garner. I can’t tell you how important it was to tell Juliet directly, what a positive, powerful influence she had been to me. Other influences…were my charismatic Mother Kay McCullough . She was a tall, striking brunette who loved to sing and although she was not a performer per se, in our household, she rivaled Juliet …AND Elizabeth Taylor. Seeing Diana Ross & the Supremes live at Expo 67 . Diana was unforgettable. She was the coolest singer around… until I heard Joni Mitchell at the Mariposa Folk Festival . What a total contrast she was with her confessional writing style, long blonde hair, guitar  and dulcimer. Thanks to Joni I turned within and discovered the writer .

After daydreaming over the early days, I decided to focus more on the present and who I am now and to ask for some help from my friends as I went along. Brian Fraser creator of “Jazzthink”, kindly took the time to suggest describing myself  “like the taste of a fine wine – hints of this and that blending into something unique.” I loved this approach. Then I asked my astute hairdresser Kristy Davies to suggest essences of myself. “What’s an essence ?” says she. “Aspects of my personality” that you think set me apart from your other clients.” says I.”Statuesque comes to mind… sparkly , and yet weathered…mmm in a nice way,…to describe how you integrate your life experiences and always land on your feet”. Smiling, I added her descriptions to my long list of “self” definitions.

Once home I shared more ideas with my sage 17 yr old daughter who knows me very well and excels at metaphorical writing. We both dove into scribbling ideas and within ten minutes she had descriptions that made my heart pound with excitement: “tuned to a vision whilst in the key of reality”. We acknowledged they weren’t “it” for this exercise, yet Ashley provided the focus of what I wanted to say. I felt elated and stayed up till 3:45 a.m. writing like a fool and then sent my mini drafts to the wonderful Spider Robinson sci-fi novelist extraordinaire and musician. Later that day he generously offered helpful feedback and editing ideas : I’d even recommend tightening it a bit further, so it can be read slowly, languorously.” 

So…

Have I come up with the perfect pitch for me?  Well, you can be the judge. All I can say is, it’s as true to who I am that I can muster – this week. What I’ve learned from the process is this. That by defining myself I am not limiting my options, but actually expanding them. And, by comparing myself to other artists I am not trying to be something I am not, but simply painting a verbal hors d’oeuvre for a total stranger that could open a window between us…or not, for I certainly cannot be all things to all people. And distilling a weeks worth of notes into a 15 sec pitch really affirmed to me once again, that simplicity of thought in this cluttered cyber world, is indeed potent. As my hero Leonardo da Vinci once said “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”

So if I miss that elevator ride with Clive and instead get hit by his limo … and we happen to find ourselves in an ambulance together, it will be great because I’ll be ready and primed for when he asks :” what kind of music do you play Christie “? And I’ll be able to confidently yet nonchalantly say :

Christie Grace – An ambrosia of Ella, Stevie Wonder, Joni Mitchell & Bacharach déjà vu with a twist of Audrey Hepburn.

…then , I’ll sue him!

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” Steve Jobs

I think a lot about time. I think about how precious time is and how much I still waste in petty ways. I can’t turn back the clock or stop it, but I can control how I manage and respect it to make the most of whatever time I have.

 In a way each person is a walking metronome tuned to their own eternal timekeeper. For example, when I move easily with time, it feels like a green light drive through town. When I resist, or lose track it feels like it did just before Christmas when Buster’s towed my car. Lately our family saying “timing is everything” has become a personal reminder to get “it right” in my life, in my music and in my relationships. 

“For every minute spent in organizing an hour is earned”

Having released two Independant CD projects, I understand what it takes to encompass large, long-term projects while also juggling family life and my day job jewelry business. That’s why I began writing songs for my new CD two years ago as I work with the power of intention and daily lists. I  also understand what it means to take on far too much, split focus and lose momentum. Overall I can be quite organized in the things I like, but not so much in the things I do not. For instance, last fall while attempting to put together a marketing plan for FACTOR, I hit a wall and the deadline passed. Instead of beating myself up I realized the timing was off and I needed new organizational tools. Then I received an email to join the SAC (Songwriter’s Association of Canada) 9 week Social Media Challenge with a wonderful opportunity to learn new organizational approaches with a group of fellow musicians. Perfect timing!  So I ordered Ariel Hyatt’s “Music Success in 9 Weeks” and plunged into Chapter 1 on “Setting Goals” that included a feel good 5 sentence daily self pat on the back of positive things similar to the “Happiness Project” my daughter turned me onto.

After an inspiring live chat forum with Ariel and the other participants, I immediately threw myself into a frenzied state of maniacal organization over the following days that led to a nasty headache. My brain felt like it was bursting. I could not figure out how to integrate my tasks into an organized plan. I hit another wall. Fortunately, I had my first online Skype singing lesson from Nashville, which helped clear my mind along with a nap. Refreshed, I literally stepped back from all my notes and visualized what I needed to do. Slowly I began transferring my extensive  ”think big” notes to “post its” on my blank wall . It slowly came together in a way that made sense to me. I stood grinning at my wall of possibilities like a cheshire cat. I tangibly felt the tension in my neck and jaw gradually release and saw the lights turn green. Then I realized I needed a hard copy too. So I fumbled with an excel spreadsheet and methodically transferred my notes to a 12 page chart complete with dates and deadlines. 9 hours later… there it was. My master plan! What a thrill! Ok some computer wiz could have done it in much less time, but who cares? It’s my plan and my learning process. It’s been quite a week. I figured out how to load this new blog, wrote a 12-page framework (to be refined) for my 1 year Master Plan and I defined my 5 immediate goals with dates. Which of course, include crafting my marketing plan to create a well-planned cd release that is low on stress and high on fun. Which I hope you’ll come to by the way. So this is my kickoff to who knows what, yet one thing is very clear. No matter what happens, I will do my best to make the most of time.

Building the visual template

The "Think Big" paper trail

Page 1 of the 12 page master plan