Join the Party!

Whatup, MRF readers. Wanna come to a party - virtual/geek style?

I'm visiting my friends Jessica and Marc who are having a Halloween party tonight and webcasting the event.

To join the fun, on Yahoo IM, ask to join the conference blazer_marc. See you there!

Out Of The Closet

Well, internet, last night went great. I'm out of the songwriting closet.

I ended up going on around 9 o'clock. While I took Bubba's advice and didn't announce that it was original, Bryan was in the audience outing me every chance he got. Before I went on he told Gary Wasson (of the Spud Puppies) that it was my first time singing an original to non-relatives. In typical Gary fashion, he was awesome and supportive. He runs the open stage, and every musician appreciation night turns into a "musicians appreciating Gary" night. If you hit the Spud Puppies link, that's Gary singing on "5500 Days." Oh yeah, and Bryan told the guy at the table next to him, too.

Mike Retherford played after me. This was the first time I'd heard Mike's stuff and I am a fan. If there's a shred of justice in the world, Tim McGraw will buy this song. Hell, you might here Mike singing it on the radio one day. Bryan got to him too, and he came over to chastise me for not announcing that my song was original. Honestly, I was psyched he couldn't tell, since the others were written by established artists.

I have to admit several times yesterday I considered bagging the Barley Island night. Something about pouring my soul into a mic via my own words psyched me out and made me more nervous than usual. Since I didn't want to write a post titled "I Punked Out" I followed through. Thanks for all your supportive comments; they held me to task. Now I guess I need to get myself one of those snazzy myspace music pages like the cool kids. Audioweasal: I'm playing a private party this weekend. If you're gonna be near Memphis, come play bass for me. 8-)

Un Signo Di Dio

I've never had a Virgin Mary in the Glass experience or seen Jesus in my toast. However, today I looked down at the cord hanging from my guitar pickup and saw this:

I know, right? A freaking treble clef!

(My lips to Gods ears: I didn't contrive this in any way. I just saw it, lay down the guitar and grabbed the camera.)

If you didn't have music lessons as a kid, here's something for comparison:

It's no Shroud of Turin, but I don't think you can get a closer re-creation with a single strand of anything.

I'd be shunning my duties as a snake oil peddler if I didn't assign some heartfelt personal significance to this, so here goes:

I have a crazy goal to sing an original song in front of people who aren't kin to me. I find this tremendously scary, but in a moment of stupidity I confessed to my husband that I'd like to do it at an upcoming open mic night at Barley Island Brewing Company. Have I mentioned my husband doesn't let things go?

1. A reason this is scary: it's musician appreciation night at Barley Island's open mic. There will be lots of songwriters there. Yikes.
   
   
2. Another reason this is scary: I've not yet written a song I deem good enough to sing in front of non-relatives. It's four days from now. This is the only day I have off work between now and Sunday.

How can you help? Glad you asked: If you're a local MRF reader, come to Barley Island Sunday night around 6:30 or so and clap a lot. A diverse group of local acts comes out to this, so chances are good you'll hear something you like. Plus, their tasty Flat Top Wheat Ale does a nice job of taking the edge off stuff you don't like.

You non-locals (shout out to Wisconsin, California, and Texas) do what you do best and keep commenting here. You totally put the locals to shame.

Sigh. If my supernatural musical phenomenon means anything, it's time to stop procrastinating and write a song. Holy crap, I hope I can do this.

Party Like it's 1989

As promised, pictures from last night's party:

Al - the birthday boy!

Me, Bryan, Al & Monique in costumes that weren't costumes 20 years ago

Gretchen and Manny looking particulary fly

Showing off my ginormus hoop earrings, diagonal slash of blush, tri-colored eyeshadow, "I'm a Dukacrat" button, and a black hat that's almost invisible from the front.
(80s headware must always be secondary to hair height.)

Jeff swept the costume contest - it's all about commitment.

A very strong showing of the leotard/leg warmer combo by Renee

Monique, Peanut & one of the ZZ top guys

DJ Bryan on the miz-ike

Dress loud, sing louder.

What a fun night! I didn't start out jazzed about an 80s costume, the more we got into it the more fun we had. A few trends I'd completely forgotten about:

bandanas tied around legs
t-shirts defined at the waist w/ scrunchies
rat tails
two polo shirts worn together with upturned collars

Happy Birthday, Al. Your party won't soon be forgotten!

All About The 80s

Tonight, we're headed to Al's 40th birthday party. It's an eighties-themed karaoke event.

When my office was looking for a Halloween costume theme, I cleverly steered the conversation toward the 80s. I mean, why go to Goodwill to find two costumes when you can wear one twice? My evil plan worked. Now I get to rehearse the costume tonight and scan the room for ideas for my coworkers. (Did I mention there's a prize for the location with the best costumes? No? You just thought I was a real joiner. Bah.)

I went to Goodwill and found an iridescent purple and teal wind suit, with neon yellow-green-pink graphics on it. Then, of course one of the most pivotal parts of any female's 80s outfit is the hair. Luckily, I have a dark gift: I can make hair as big as all outdoors if I've a mind to.

I'll have pictures for the next post, but for now tell me your top 10 80s trends. I may need to incorporate them into my second costume of the season. I'll call it, "80s Part Two: Electric Bougaloo."