And just like that, 6 weeks are up and I'm getting ready to leave Houston. So of course I'll make up for the past week when I did not post ANYTHING on my blog. But since I'm busy packing I'm not going to do it all at once. So here's part 1:
One of the patients who has written 4 or 5 songs with Purple Songs (and who came in to write the first song I worked on this summer) wanted to write a song FOR Anita. Since she was going to be gone and I was here working without her, it seemed like the perfect time to write something and surprise her with it. This past week was mostly devoted to finishing up the song for Anita, called Purple Wings. We got another patient who had done one of the earliest songs (and who went with Anita to the Teen Choice Awards last weekend) to come in and sing the bridge and on the chorus. And then I had her sing part of her song over the end of Purple Wings (a little self reference a la "All You Need Is Love"). I also got one of the high schoolers who used to take lessons from Anita and who had been helping me earlier in the summer come in and play some electric guitar.
In non-music news, I finally took advantage of the hospital's employee perks. Shannon, one of the other interns, and I went to the museum of natural science and got a discount on our tickets to see the Terra Cotta Warriors exhibit. I was excited since I'd seen the actual palace with the Terra Cotta Warriors in Xi'An when I studied abroad in China. Unfortunately, after seeing the real thing, the traveling exhibit was a little disappointing. Seeing eight of them lined up along with some other artifacts doesn't quite capture the thrill of seeing thousands of them in the original setting.
One of the patients who has written 4 or 5 songs with Purple Songs (and who came in to write the first song I worked on this summer) wanted to write a song FOR Anita. Since she was going to be gone and I was here working without her, it seemed like the perfect time to write something and surprise her with it. This past week was mostly devoted to finishing up the song for Anita, called Purple Wings. We got another patient who had done one of the earliest songs (and who went with Anita to the Teen Choice Awards last weekend) to come in and sing the bridge and on the chorus. And then I had her sing part of her song over the end of Purple Wings (a little self reference a la "All You Need Is Love"). I also got one of the high schoolers who used to take lessons from Anita and who had been helping me earlier in the summer come in and play some electric guitar.
In non-music news, I finally took advantage of the hospital's employee perks. Shannon, one of the other interns, and I went to the museum of natural science and got a discount on our tickets to see the Terra Cotta Warriors exhibit. I was excited since I'd seen the actual palace with the Terra Cotta Warriors in Xi'An when I studied abroad in China. Unfortunately, after seeing the real thing, the traveling exhibit was a little disappointing. Seeing eight of them lined up along with some other artifacts doesn't quite capture the thrill of seeing thousands of them in the original setting.
Last night I played at my last Mucky Duck open mic. I really enjoyed playing there again this summer, and it was usually pretty well attended. Last week I went and wasn't really feeling well and there weren't a lot of people and I didn't play well and it just wasn't a good night, but last night was great. There was a really big audience (mostly thanks to these two sisters who sang with their dad and a stand up bass player and brought along most of their family) and some other younger artists a little older than me (including a girl who was reading Watchmen and a girl who played Damien Rice covers) who brought friends. And I sold a couple CD's, so that'll help pay for my gas on the drive back to MN.
I had made a poster for the Ovations gig on Friday, but then I forgot to save it onto my flash drive and just erased it from the computer. So yesterday morning I ran back to the office and made one really quickly, so this isn't my original one.
I spent yesterday afternoon in a separate studio working on a recording of "Time Passing," the song I wrote with Anita last summer for the Rothko Chapel service. I worked with Robbie, Anita's husband who is an incredibly famous producer and percussionist and who's done work with everyone from U2 to David Bowie to Pink Floyd to the Temptations to Rage Against The Machine, and has been a producer at Sugarhill Studios, a really popular studio here in Houston. The recording engineer was also from Sugarhill, and it was really cool to work with him and see all the different techniques he was using. For instance, he did multiple tracks of my acoustic guitar to add layers and fatten up the sound and would move the microphone each time to get different sounds. Anita and I had already recorded a very basic version of the song (just acoustic guitar and vocals) and we wanted to do something a little different for this recording, so we decided to use some more instruments. Robbie played drums, I put more vocals on, and we're going to add more later in the week. It's been really cool to go in a rework a song that we had already sort of finished, and have a brand new take on the song.
But I only have a week left! Actually less than a week. And there are so many restaurants, museums, and parts of Houston I've been meaning to go to...
I had made a poster for the Ovations gig on Friday, but then I forgot to save it onto my flash drive and just erased it from the computer. So yesterday morning I ran back to the office and made one really quickly, so this isn't my original one.
I spent yesterday afternoon in a separate studio working on a recording of "Time Passing," the song I wrote with Anita last summer for the Rothko Chapel service. I worked with Robbie, Anita's husband who is an incredibly famous producer and percussionist and who's done work with everyone from U2 to David Bowie to Pink Floyd to the Temptations to Rage Against The Machine, and has been a producer at Sugarhill Studios, a really popular studio here in Houston. The recording engineer was also from Sugarhill, and it was really cool to work with him and see all the different techniques he was using. For instance, he did multiple tracks of my acoustic guitar to add layers and fatten up the sound and would move the microphone each time to get different sounds. Anita and I had already recorded a very basic version of the song (just acoustic guitar and vocals) and we wanted to do something a little different for this recording, so we decided to use some more instruments. Robbie played drums, I put more vocals on, and we're going to add more later in the week. It's been really cool to go in a rework a song that we had already sort of finished, and have a brand new take on the song.
But I only have a week left! Actually less than a week. And there are so many restaurants, museums, and parts of Houston I've been meaning to go to...
Sorry, I forgot to post this earlier! Here's the article that I was interviewed for by Fortune magazine, "Eight Summer Interns Who Beat The Recession."
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2009/for
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2009/for
Last summer, I met Jawad, a guest artist who comes in to the hospital every month or so to play for the patients. He's a full time musician and his playing style is very similar to mine (except he's much much better than me). When I followed him around last summer he would start playing a song and I would sit and watch him, and by the middle of the song I could usually follow along with some of it, and then by the end I would at least have the basic chord progression down from watching him, and then he'd finish and we'd move on and start a new song and I'd have to try to learn a whole new one. He came the week before I got here and we played phone tag for a little, but he came back in last week and we got to play together. I was much better at picking up the songs this time, and with some of them I even got comfortable enough to sing along a little, too.
After we played we set up a little get together, and the next day the two of us met in Herman Park and just sat by the river and played. He taught me a bunch of songs (with a ton of new chords) and I got to play some originals for him. Despite being ridiculously hot, we ended up playing all afternoon before he had to go get ready for a gig.
This week the clinic has been pretty empty because it's Camp Perriwinkle week. Camp Perriwinkle is a week-long summer camp for cancer patients and survivors (and siblings) from Texas Children's Hospital. It's really popular and they have a large percentage of patients there. The counselors are great, and a lot of the doctors go to be counselors/on site doctors. We went up to visit for their Olympics day. They have a ton of games, from a big game of dodgeball using those balls that you put in water and they absorb it and when you throw them they just squirt water all over, a "style race" where you have to go through an obstacle course and show off your style (usually, the older the kids got, the slower they did the race because they had to get in all sorts of dance moves), and a tower building competition using shaving cream. And then they cover two counselors in food. Last year it was hot dog toppings, this year it was ice cream toppings. So two of the counselors had ice cream, strawberry syrup, chocolate fudge, whip cream, and cherries poured allllllll over them. It's really great to see all these kids, who I usually only see in the hospital waiting for appointments, running around and just having fun at camp. And it's even better that they can do it with other patients, too.
And then on the way back we stopped at Dairy Queen and I had a Thin Mint Blizzard. If you read my blog at all last summer you know how much I love Thin Mint Blizzards and how large a part they played in my Houston summer.
Today I went to work on a song with a kid. His mom approached Carol and I because his sister had done one and now he wanted to, as well. We hadn't found a kid for the morning yet so it worked out perfectly. It was a 6 year old but he could read and he was really excited. When I went over to ask if he wanted to write a song he got really excited. I went with them into their waiting room to start writing, and he told me he really liked dinosaurs so we talked about dinosaurs and decided to write a song about dinosaurs. It was actually about him as a dinosaur. He was Fire the Raptor (when he said this, his dad said "why, was he not doing his job well?" and chuckled. The boy didn't laugh. But I can see myself making jokes like that when I'm older). We sort of outlined his day as Fire the Raptor until breakfast, and then he got tired and said "that's basically all there is." So that was that...Even when little kids can read, there's the chance that something like this won't hold their attention for long enough. And that was definitely the case today. Oh well. And I was really looking forward to making a song about dinosauurs having breakfast...
Anita and I will be playing a show next Friday at Ovations, a really really nice night club where we played last year, too. I'm glad we get to do another show together this summer, and it'll be nice to have one last big concert before I head back to MN. And it'll give us another chance to sing "Time Passing," the song we wrote together last year. I'll put up the poster once it's finished.
Since I'm gearing up to leave Houston again, I'm trying to eat at as many good restaurants as I can. And it's working out pretty well. Anita's office had left over Niko Niko's (possibly my favorite restaurant here? really good Mediterranean food) today so I got to bring that home. And earlier this week I went to Star Pizza for the first time, which was great (I NEED to go again before I leave). And the other day I had a buy one get one free coupon for Jamba Juice, which I had never been to, so I went with one of the other interns from the art department. And last weekend when Chris was visiting we had Niko Niko's for dinner one night, went to Lankford's Grocery for brunch the next day where we had the Firehouse Burger (which was really good but was the absolute spiciest thing I've ever had), and Goode Company BBQ (I couldn't let him leave Texas without getting barbecue). But I've still got a pretty decent list of restaurants to go to before I leave...
After we played we set up a little get together, and the next day the two of us met in Herman Park and just sat by the river and played. He taught me a bunch of songs (with a ton of new chords) and I got to play some originals for him. Despite being ridiculously hot, we ended up playing all afternoon before he had to go get ready for a gig.
This week the clinic has been pretty empty because it's Camp Perriwinkle week. Camp Perriwinkle is a week-long summer camp for cancer patients and survivors (and siblings) from Texas Children's Hospital. It's really popular and they have a large percentage of patients there. The counselors are great, and a lot of the doctors go to be counselors/on site doctors. We went up to visit for their Olympics day. They have a ton of games, from a big game of dodgeball using those balls that you put in water and they absorb it and when you throw them they just squirt water all over, a "style race" where you have to go through an obstacle course and show off your style (usually, the older the kids got, the slower they did the race because they had to get in all sorts of dance moves), and a tower building competition using shaving cream. And then they cover two counselors in food. Last year it was hot dog toppings, this year it was ice cream toppings. So two of the counselors had ice cream, strawberry syrup, chocolate fudge, whip cream, and cherries poured allllllll over them. It's really great to see all these kids, who I usually only see in the hospital waiting for appointments, running around and just having fun at camp. And it's even better that they can do it with other patients, too.
And then on the way back we stopped at Dairy Queen and I had a Thin Mint Blizzard. If you read my blog at all last summer you know how much I love Thin Mint Blizzards and how large a part they played in my Houston summer.
Today I went to work on a song with a kid. His mom approached Carol and I because his sister had done one and now he wanted to, as well. We hadn't found a kid for the morning yet so it worked out perfectly. It was a 6 year old but he could read and he was really excited. When I went over to ask if he wanted to write a song he got really excited. I went with them into their waiting room to start writing, and he told me he really liked dinosaurs so we talked about dinosaurs and decided to write a song about dinosaurs. It was actually about him as a dinosaur. He was Fire the Raptor (when he said this, his dad said "why, was he not doing his job well?" and chuckled. The boy didn't laugh. But I can see myself making jokes like that when I'm older). We sort of outlined his day as Fire the Raptor until breakfast, and then he got tired and said "that's basically all there is." So that was that...Even when little kids can read, there's the chance that something like this won't hold their attention for long enough. And that was definitely the case today. Oh well. And I was really looking forward to making a song about dinosauurs having breakfast...
Anita and I will be playing a show next Friday at Ovations, a really really nice night club where we played last year, too. I'm glad we get to do another show together this summer, and it'll be nice to have one last big concert before I head back to MN. And it'll give us another chance to sing "Time Passing," the song we wrote together last year. I'll put up the poster once it's finished.
Since I'm gearing up to leave Houston again, I'm trying to eat at as many good restaurants as I can. And it's working out pretty well. Anita's office had left over Niko Niko's (possibly my favorite restaurant here? really good Mediterranean food) today so I got to bring that home. And earlier this week I went to Star Pizza for the first time, which was great (I NEED to go again before I leave). And the other day I had a buy one get one free coupon for Jamba Juice, which I had never been to, so I went with one of the other interns from the art department. And last weekend when Chris was visiting we had Niko Niko's for dinner one night, went to Lankford's Grocery for brunch the next day where we had the Firehouse Burger (which was really good but was the absolute spiciest thing I've ever had), and Goode Company BBQ (I couldn't let him leave Texas without getting barbecue). But I've still got a pretty decent list of restaurants to go to before I leave...
Sunday morning I finally got up the courage to go to Lakewood Church. Lakewood is this huge church in Houston that's run by Joel Osteen. He's a pretty famous preacher, and his services are always broadcast on TV and he goes on tour to give sermons all over (and you have to pay to get tickets, but not in Houston). They bought the old basketball stadium here and turned it into their "church." So there is stadium seating, and they converted two rows of bleachers into rocky waterfalls, there is a huge stage for the band that has a huge golden rotating globe behind it, and they have 3 huge LCD screens broadcasting the service while you sit there (since sometimes you're sitting so far away that you can't see it). I had no idea what to do when I got there (since it was built in a stadium and I'm just as unfamiliar with sports stadiums as I am with large evangelical churches), and found some nice old man who wanted to get us spots in the front since we were visitors. Unfortunately it was full already, so we had a side seat, but that's actually probably better. As soon as the service started, it was like the Christian rock Woodstock. They had a big band that just played really loud upbeat religious pop songs and a rotating cast of 8 or so singers (including one guy named Aaron in skinny jeans who worked with the youth group's choir). Finally Joel got up to address the congregation (I'm not sure if that's the right word here...) with his wife (who I didn't realize was also going to be speaking) and it was immediately apparent why this guy is a famous pastor. He has a pretty charming personality, the kind that basically just reaffirms the opinions you already had of Lakewood. His wife talked some, and then the band played more, and then some other people talked, and then the band sang, and then FINALLY he got up to give his sermon. I had been waiting for this the whole time (I caught myself a few times throughout the service with my mouth slightly open in shock), but unfortunately, his sermon wasn't that great. I was a little disappointed. So, all in all, it was a ridiculous experience (they had the entire basketball stadium filled with people), and I'm glad I went, but I'm not going to rush back there anytime soon. Or if I do, I'll at least sit in the back.
Monday there was a guest artist at the clinic. She plays in this group called Love Street Light Circus, which is sort of a Beatles tribute group, so she knew a lot of Beatles and oldies. I got to escort her around the hospital and take her to a lot of the places where I usually play, and it was funny to see someone else playing in my spots.
That night I decided to try a new open mic, the one at Last Concert Cafe. I had heard it was a good restaurant and would probably be fun, and I'd already done the Mucky Duck a few times, so I figured why not try something new. I got there and saw that it'd be a really cool place ot hang out, and I'm sure I'd love to eat there, but it didn't seem like the type of crowd that's most appropriate for my music. And the stage was outdoors. And I couldn't sign up since there was a high school metal band setting up their amps. So I turned around and drove back to Mucky Duck, and got there just in time to see him put out the list and I ended up with the opening spot (not too bad, not the best). It ended up being one of the most successful shows I've played there (and I didn't even play my best songs since I had played them last time). There was a father daughter duo who came over after and asked if I wanted to come over for dinner and collaborate with them, there was another guy who looked like he was in college there with a bunch of his friends, and my favorite player from last year was back. I don't know this guy's name, I think it's Leo, but he's an old guy who comes in and plays sorta jazzy songs about heartbreak and he has this really delicate voice, and now he has a green electric guitar. But he's so much fun to watch. I really wish he had a show all to himself there so I could just go watch him.
Also, a friend of mine from last summer showed up at Mucky Duck just to watch. He booked me a few times last year, so it was great to see him, and I sat down to talk with him for a while and he offered me a spot on a show he had the next night, and he'd try to get me some paying gigs, too. So I wound up getting another show for last night at this really nice bar/restaurant called Capone's, where I opened the night before this r&b group came on doing Mary J. Blige covers and stuff. And tonight I'm trying to play an open mic at Fitzgerald's which is supposed to be a great little Houston venue, it sort of seems like Minneapolis's First Ave. Anyways, it was a good thing I turned back to play at Mucky Duck.
Yesterday I went on this program with a bunch of high schoolers to learn more about health care as a profession. It started with us going to a hospital and observing an open heart surgery while one of the nurses talked to us and answered questions. I had never seen an open heart surgery, and I wasn't sure what to expect. I thought maybe I'd faint, maybe I'd go back to being vegetarian, maybe I'd decide it was time to give up guitar and enroll in medical school, maybe it was just like it looks on Lost, I wasn't really sure. Turns out none of that was true (but I did feel faint and had to sit down for a few minutes). Then we were introduced to various CEO's and high level people throughout the medical center and got to ask them questions. Unfortunately, there were a ton of high school students and then a handful of adults, some retired, so I was frequently mistaken for a high school student. But to make up for it on Monday a doctor mistook me for a resident. Take that, high schoolers! And one of the adults on the trip went to Macalester and her sister works for Target, so we talked about that for a while.
But I'm falling behind on Lost, so I need to get back to that.
Monday there was a guest artist at the clinic. She plays in this group called Love Street Light Circus, which is sort of a Beatles tribute group, so she knew a lot of Beatles and oldies. I got to escort her around the hospital and take her to a lot of the places where I usually play, and it was funny to see someone else playing in my spots.
That night I decided to try a new open mic, the one at Last Concert Cafe. I had heard it was a good restaurant and would probably be fun, and I'd already done the Mucky Duck a few times, so I figured why not try something new. I got there and saw that it'd be a really cool place ot hang out, and I'm sure I'd love to eat there, but it didn't seem like the type of crowd that's most appropriate for my music. And the stage was outdoors. And I couldn't sign up since there was a high school metal band setting up their amps. So I turned around and drove back to Mucky Duck, and got there just in time to see him put out the list and I ended up with the opening spot (not too bad, not the best). It ended up being one of the most successful shows I've played there (and I didn't even play my best songs since I had played them last time). There was a father daughter duo who came over after and asked if I wanted to come over for dinner and collaborate with them, there was another guy who looked like he was in college there with a bunch of his friends, and my favorite player from last year was back. I don't know this guy's name, I think it's Leo, but he's an old guy who comes in and plays sorta jazzy songs about heartbreak and he has this really delicate voice, and now he has a green electric guitar. But he's so much fun to watch. I really wish he had a show all to himself there so I could just go watch him.
Also, a friend of mine from last summer showed up at Mucky Duck just to watch. He booked me a few times last year, so it was great to see him, and I sat down to talk with him for a while and he offered me a spot on a show he had the next night, and he'd try to get me some paying gigs, too. So I wound up getting another show for last night at this really nice bar/restaurant called Capone's, where I opened the night before this r&b group came on doing Mary J. Blige covers and stuff. And tonight I'm trying to play an open mic at Fitzgerald's which is supposed to be a great little Houston venue, it sort of seems like Minneapolis's First Ave. Anyways, it was a good thing I turned back to play at Mucky Duck.
Yesterday I went on this program with a bunch of high schoolers to learn more about health care as a profession. It started with us going to a hospital and observing an open heart surgery while one of the nurses talked to us and answered questions. I had never seen an open heart surgery, and I wasn't sure what to expect. I thought maybe I'd faint, maybe I'd go back to being vegetarian, maybe I'd decide it was time to give up guitar and enroll in medical school, maybe it was just like it looks on Lost, I wasn't really sure. Turns out none of that was true (but I did feel faint and had to sit down for a few minutes). Then we were introduced to various CEO's and high level people throughout the medical center and got to ask them questions. Unfortunately, there were a ton of high school students and then a handful of adults, some retired, so I was frequently mistaken for a high school student. But to make up for it on Monday a doctor mistook me for a resident. Take that, high schoolers! And one of the adults on the trip went to Macalester and her sister works for Target, so we talked about that for a while.
But I'm falling behind on Lost, so I need to get back to that.
On Wednesday we looked for a teenager to do a Purple Song, but none of the teenagers seemed interested. One kid was really intrigued by the idea but wanted to come back and do it. But luckily we got a young boy who wrote a poem earlier that day and wanted to make it a song. I went with one of the high schoolers to listen to the song so we could try to record the instrumental during his appointment and then he came and sang his song. It was entirely in spanish and supposedly it was a Christmas song. Unfortunately, we didn't really get to do that much work with him. He had already written the lyrics, and they were just to the tune of some other famous song, so I mostly just tried to find chords to fit his melody and helped him record. My songwriting skills in spanish are quite limited.
Wednesday night, I went with the two college interns with the Art Department to Cirque Du Soleil. We got really cheap student tickets, but we had great seats. It was my first time being to a Cirque Du Soleil show, and it was amazing (and they have a great band playing all the music). If you get a chance to go see it, I definitely recommend it.
Friday was another Purple Songs day. I found a 14 year old girl who had done a lot of theatre before she had to spend long periods of time at the hospital. We started working on a song in the clinic waiting room (as opposed to the studio). Of course, then some lady came by with a big bag of jewelry and gave her a bracelet and was very huggy and motherly and quickly stole my thunder (not that I'm bitter or anything). But anyways, when I asked her if there was anything she wanted to write a song about, she started talking about how tied down she felt by her health. She wanted to be able to break free and get back to the things she used to do (dance, sing, act, etc). I helped take the conversation we had and change it into song lyrics, but her lyrical ideas sort of came in short spurts followed by periods of nothing. I also noticed she wasn't really looking at the page at all. We finished up some lyrics and got ready to move into the studio to start writing a melody, and her father pulled me aside to let me know that she has a brain tumor and it has blurred her vision to the point that she can't read and it's affected her short term memory. Luckily we'd done plenty of songs with kids who couldn't read, so I was pretty comfortable recording the song line by line.
We rewrote a few lines of the song just for simplicity's sake (so there'd be less to memorize) and then started working on a melody. I usually ask the kids if they have any idea how they want it to sound and then I just start playing some stuff and singing until they like something. We ended up writing a soft jazzy Norah Jones type pop song. Recording itself wasn't bad at all. We practiced each section of the verse a few times and then would record it, and I'd make sure to recite the line before she started so she could remember. And since she had singing experience, she actually listened to her vocal takes and would sometimes ask to sing it again.
And fun fact: One of the high schoolers had gone to the Coldplay concert a few nights before, so the melody of the song has line which is my attempt at making a Coldplay-esque line. I don't have a copy of the song here at home, but hopefully Monday I'll be able to load one onto the blog.
When we're writing songs with the kids, a large portion of how it actually turns out depends on the child. Some kids can't really read (which makes memorizing lyrics difficult), some kids can't really sing (which makes singing lyrics difficult), and some kids just end up leaving before their song is done. And I know this, but I was still feeling a little bummed out that since Anita left and I took over, I hadn't really worked with any kids on a song that might be selected for further production and would possibly could be included on the next sampler or sent to Continental Airlines. Sure I was getting in plenty of songs, but I didn't want it to look like I couldn't handle it on my own. Luckily, I think this song was really good, and it's nice to be reassured that I'm maybe slightly qualified to run the program while Anita's gone. We got a lot of compliments from the high schoolers and the other college interns when we played it for them.
Friday afternoon I went and played in the Renal Dialysis floor. This is for patients with kidney problems, and they're a very close knit group since a lot of them are there together on the same days. I went and played one song bed side, then a bunch of people came over to listen, and then one of the nurses brought out a microphone and was holding it for me while I sat and played and sang. I played a few more songs and then the woman holding my mic (it was a new woman at this point) started singing a gospel hymnal or something and kept looking at me, waiting for me to start playing the guitar to the songs she started singing. Then another nurse pulled out their karaoke machine and kept asking me if I knew particular songs. Unfortunately I didn't. They were CONVINCED I would know Hotel California, but unfortunately I don't...After they sang for a while doing karaoke I went back to playing bedside. I'm going back on Monday, and it's nice because even though I'm playing for a ton of people whenever I'm in the clinic or iinpatient, there's still a large number of kids who I don't get to play for, so it was nice to see some new faces.
While I definitely had a great living situation last summer while I interned with Purple Songs, this summer I'm in a much better location. The Montrose area has plenty of restaurants (Freebirds, this great burrito place that make really spicy burritos and has cheap guacamole, and Amy's, who makes the Mexican Vanilla that might be the best ice cream I've ever had), museums (the Menil, which I went to today for a few hours), and various other cool places (the Rothko Chapel, Half Price Books) all within walking distance.
Wednesday night, I went with the two college interns with the Art Department to Cirque Du Soleil. We got really cheap student tickets, but we had great seats. It was my first time being to a Cirque Du Soleil show, and it was amazing (and they have a great band playing all the music). If you get a chance to go see it, I definitely recommend it.
Friday was another Purple Songs day. I found a 14 year old girl who had done a lot of theatre before she had to spend long periods of time at the hospital. We started working on a song in the clinic waiting room (as opposed to the studio). Of course, then some lady came by with a big bag of jewelry and gave her a bracelet and was very huggy and motherly and quickly stole my thunder (not that I'm bitter or anything). But anyways, when I asked her if there was anything she wanted to write a song about, she started talking about how tied down she felt by her health. She wanted to be able to break free and get back to the things she used to do (dance, sing, act, etc). I helped take the conversation we had and change it into song lyrics, but her lyrical ideas sort of came in short spurts followed by periods of nothing. I also noticed she wasn't really looking at the page at all. We finished up some lyrics and got ready to move into the studio to start writing a melody, and her father pulled me aside to let me know that she has a brain tumor and it has blurred her vision to the point that she can't read and it's affected her short term memory. Luckily we'd done plenty of songs with kids who couldn't read, so I was pretty comfortable recording the song line by line.
We rewrote a few lines of the song just for simplicity's sake (so there'd be less to memorize) and then started working on a melody. I usually ask the kids if they have any idea how they want it to sound and then I just start playing some stuff and singing until they like something. We ended up writing a soft jazzy Norah Jones type pop song. Recording itself wasn't bad at all. We practiced each section of the verse a few times and then would record it, and I'd make sure to recite the line before she started so she could remember. And since she had singing experience, she actually listened to her vocal takes and would sometimes ask to sing it again.
And fun fact: One of the high schoolers had gone to the Coldplay concert a few nights before, so the melody of the song has line which is my attempt at making a Coldplay-esque line. I don't have a copy of the song here at home, but hopefully Monday I'll be able to load one onto the blog.
When we're writing songs with the kids, a large portion of how it actually turns out depends on the child. Some kids can't really read (which makes memorizing lyrics difficult), some kids can't really sing (which makes singing lyrics difficult), and some kids just end up leaving before their song is done. And I know this, but I was still feeling a little bummed out that since Anita left and I took over, I hadn't really worked with any kids on a song that might be selected for further production and would possibly could be included on the next sampler or sent to Continental Airlines. Sure I was getting in plenty of songs, but I didn't want it to look like I couldn't handle it on my own. Luckily, I think this song was really good, and it's nice to be reassured that I'm maybe slightly qualified to run the program while Anita's gone. We got a lot of compliments from the high schoolers and the other college interns when we played it for them.
Friday afternoon I went and played in the Renal Dialysis floor. This is for patients with kidney problems, and they're a very close knit group since a lot of them are there together on the same days. I went and played one song bed side, then a bunch of people came over to listen, and then one of the nurses brought out a microphone and was holding it for me while I sat and played and sang. I played a few more songs and then the woman holding my mic (it was a new woman at this point) started singing a gospel hymnal or something and kept looking at me, waiting for me to start playing the guitar to the songs she started singing. Then another nurse pulled out their karaoke machine and kept asking me if I knew particular songs. Unfortunately I didn't. They were CONVINCED I would know Hotel California, but unfortunately I don't...After they sang for a while doing karaoke I went back to playing bedside. I'm going back on Monday, and it's nice because even though I'm playing for a ton of people whenever I'm in the clinic or iinpatient, there's still a large number of kids who I don't get to play for, so it was nice to see some new faces.
While I definitely had a great living situation last summer while I interned with Purple Songs, this summer I'm in a much better location. The Montrose area has plenty of restaurants (Freebirds, this great burrito place that make really spicy burritos and has cheap guacamole, and Amy's, who makes the Mexican Vanilla that might be the best ice cream I've ever had), museums (the Menil, which I went to today for a few hours), and various other cool places (the Rothko Chapel, Half Price Books) all within walking distance.
Feuds! Conflicts! Lost! Why can't we all just get along?
For some reason, when I get into TV shows, I GET INTO TV SHOWS. On Sunday afternoon I started watching Lost, and I can't stop. It's so good. And I figure summer is the perfect time to get caught up in a TV show. Unfortunately, I'm so far behind that I'm watching shows from 2005. Yesterday at the studio/office I was talking to some of the other people who work there at lunch and we were talking about Lost. It was my first workplace water cooler discussion. I'm a real person now!
And while Lost did keep me from going to the Mucky Duck open mic last night, I have been doing things besides watching Lost. Not much, but some. Back at the hospital, it seems there's some trouble brewing. The high school volunteers and the college interns within the art department seem to be feuding. Unfortunately, I haven't quite gotten into the hospital gossip ring yet, so I don't really know the details. Regardless, there seems to be some tension over the arts and crafts tables.
Since I didn't get to do a Purple Song last Friday because of the play, I decided to try one today (and hopefully I'll still do one this Wednesday and Friday). Usually I like to work with teenagers, but I don't want to JUST work with teenagers so when I pick kids, I try to get some younger kids, too. However, after last Wednesday, when a lack of reading skills made learning lyrics very difficult for the girl, I decided that I wanted to look for a kid who was a little older today. Carol and I went to look for someone and split up and then we each found someone. Unfortunately, we don't like to have two patients who don't know each other try to work on a song together. Both were long term survivors (one was actually a sibling but that's ok), which means they usually only come in once a year. So unfortunately we could only do one. The boy I worked with is a "third culture kid," he's lived in 9 different countries so far, and he's only 14. His dad's job moves them around a lot, and they've been everywhere from Brazil to Indonesia to Paris to China. We started writing a song about constantly moving every two years or so, and it was nice to see this kid who clearly understood that he would make friends and then leave them, was also really excited and enjoyed moving to new places. While the songwriting went really well, unfortunately he wasn't really a singer, and in the end he was less interested in the singing part than the songwriting part. But still, even when I don't get a kid who is completely wide eyed and in love with the recording and/or songwriting process, at least it gave them something to do other than sit in the waiting room and play video games or worry.
So my window of opportunity for playing shows here in Houston is slowly closing (I'm only here for another month), and I've now started writing two other songs but not finished any of the others. So at the moment I'm actively working on about 4 or 5 different songs. It's getting to the point where I need to figure out how to achieve my musical aspirations, and how that's going to change once September comes and I have to start work. But I'll put that decision off for another night. I'm going to go watch more Lost.
I'm not sure why, but this song was in my head earlier, and I thought this post was going to have more conflict and stuff in it, but it doesn't really. Still, here's the Spice Girls.
For some reason, when I get into TV shows, I GET INTO TV SHOWS. On Sunday afternoon I started watching Lost, and I can't stop. It's so good. And I figure summer is the perfect time to get caught up in a TV show. Unfortunately, I'm so far behind that I'm watching shows from 2005. Yesterday at the studio/office I was talking to some of the other people who work there at lunch and we were talking about Lost. It was my first workplace water cooler discussion. I'm a real person now!
And while Lost did keep me from going to the Mucky Duck open mic last night, I have been doing things besides watching Lost. Not much, but some. Back at the hospital, it seems there's some trouble brewing. The high school volunteers and the college interns within the art department seem to be feuding. Unfortunately, I haven't quite gotten into the hospital gossip ring yet, so I don't really know the details. Regardless, there seems to be some tension over the arts and crafts tables.
Since I didn't get to do a Purple Song last Friday because of the play, I decided to try one today (and hopefully I'll still do one this Wednesday and Friday). Usually I like to work with teenagers, but I don't want to JUST work with teenagers so when I pick kids, I try to get some younger kids, too. However, after last Wednesday, when a lack of reading skills made learning lyrics very difficult for the girl, I decided that I wanted to look for a kid who was a little older today. Carol and I went to look for someone and split up and then we each found someone. Unfortunately, we don't like to have two patients who don't know each other try to work on a song together. Both were long term survivors (one was actually a sibling but that's ok), which means they usually only come in once a year. So unfortunately we could only do one. The boy I worked with is a "third culture kid," he's lived in 9 different countries so far, and he's only 14. His dad's job moves them around a lot, and they've been everywhere from Brazil to Indonesia to Paris to China. We started writing a song about constantly moving every two years or so, and it was nice to see this kid who clearly understood that he would make friends and then leave them, was also really excited and enjoyed moving to new places. While the songwriting went really well, unfortunately he wasn't really a singer, and in the end he was less interested in the singing part than the songwriting part. But still, even when I don't get a kid who is completely wide eyed and in love with the recording and/or songwriting process, at least it gave them something to do other than sit in the waiting room and play video games or worry.
So my window of opportunity for playing shows here in Houston is slowly closing (I'm only here for another month), and I've now started writing two other songs but not finished any of the others. So at the moment I'm actively working on about 4 or 5 different songs. It's getting to the point where I need to figure out how to achieve my musical aspirations, and how that's going to change once September comes and I have to start work. But I'll put that decision off for another night. I'm going to go watch more Lost.
I'm not sure why, but this song was in my head earlier, and I thought this post was going to have more conflict and stuff in it, but it doesn't really. Still, here's the Spice Girls.
The Mucky Duck was a little less crowded than I had remembered. In fact, it was more empty than crowded. Last summer the open mics I went to there were typically pretty well attended (by performers and non performers alike). But two of my friends who work with me at the hospital came to watch, and the guy who runs it remembered me from last summer, so it was still worth it.
Tuesday I brought Zach back in (he wrote the song last Wednesday with us). We rerecorded his vocals and then I worked with him to figure out what other instrumental and vocal things he wanted me to add. He's a teenager, so he actually had some ideas of what sort of feel/sound he wanted with the song, even though he didn't quite have the musical background or experience to express it, so it's been fun to try to figure out what he is hearing and find a way to add to that. This was probably one of the first times I've really been just a producer/background musician for someone else's song, as opposed to figuring out what I want in my own song or just singing a part and then leaving. Being one of the driving creative forces behind someone else's work is an interesting balance, because I have to make sure I don't just get lost and start adding things the way I would want them as if it were my song.
Wednesday was the first day doing Purple Songs without Anita. Usually I prefer to write with kids a little older (like over 10), but Wednesday's song was with a girl who was 7 (or 9...she was never consistent when we asked her age). When I went out to the clinic waiting area with my guitar to find someone to write a song, she got so excited she left her arts and crafts project (they were designing their own shoes). We wrote a song that sort of outlined her favorite day, which involved playing with her sisters and playing outside. One of the problems with working with younger kids is if they can't read, it's really difficult to record vocals. We had to go line by line and myself and Grace, one of the other interns, had to sing it with her. Once I finish putting some more instruments on it I'll try to post it.
Yesterday I was interviewed by Fortune Magazine for a piece they're doing on interesting summer jobs. From what I understand, they asked the Carleton Career Center for recommendations and a few other Carleton students and I were mentioned. The other Carleton student they interviewed, Kailyn Kent, is interning at Marvel Comics this summer, and I was happy that they chose two of us with arts related jobs. I'm not entirely sure what's going to happen with the interview, I think it's going to be part of an online gallery, but it was pretty cool to be recognized for what I'm doing.
Friday morning we didn't write a Purple Song because there was a big theatre performance by some guest artists in the clinic. It was a two man show on the history of Texas. They reenacted colonial expansion as a chase around the stage and the Civil War as a hoe-down.
But speaking of Texas, my friend from home shared this article with me (http://www.economist.com/specialreport
Tuesday I brought Zach back in (he wrote the song last Wednesday with us). We rerecorded his vocals and then I worked with him to figure out what other instrumental and vocal things he wanted me to add. He's a teenager, so he actually had some ideas of what sort of feel/sound he wanted with the song, even though he didn't quite have the musical background or experience to express it, so it's been fun to try to figure out what he is hearing and find a way to add to that. This was probably one of the first times I've really been just a producer/background musician for someone else's song, as opposed to figuring out what I want in my own song or just singing a part and then leaving. Being one of the driving creative forces behind someone else's work is an interesting balance, because I have to make sure I don't just get lost and start adding things the way I would want them as if it were my song.
Wednesday was the first day doing Purple Songs without Anita. Usually I prefer to write with kids a little older (like over 10), but Wednesday's song was with a girl who was 7 (or 9...she was never consistent when we asked her age). When I went out to the clinic waiting area with my guitar to find someone to write a song, she got so excited she left her arts and crafts project (they were designing their own shoes). We wrote a song that sort of outlined her favorite day, which involved playing with her sisters and playing outside. One of the problems with working with younger kids is if they can't read, it's really difficult to record vocals. We had to go line by line and myself and Grace, one of the other interns, had to sing it with her. Once I finish putting some more instruments on it I'll try to post it.
Yesterday I was interviewed by Fortune Magazine for a piece they're doing on interesting summer jobs. From what I understand, they asked the Carleton Career Center for recommendations and a few other Carleton students and I were mentioned. The other Carleton student they interviewed, Kailyn Kent, is interning at Marvel Comics this summer, and I was happy that they chose two of us with arts related jobs. I'm not entirely sure what's going to happen with the interview, I think it's going to be part of an online gallery, but it was pretty cool to be recognized for what I'm doing.
Friday morning we didn't write a Purple Song because there was a big theatre performance by some guest artists in the clinic. It was a two man show on the history of Texas. They reenacted colonial expansion as a chase around the stage and the Civil War as a hoe-down.
But speaking of Texas, my friend from home shared this article with me (http://www.economist.com/specialreport
Tonight I'm back to my love hate relationship with open mics. I'm playing at the Mucky Duck, a bar/music venue that's a really nice acoustic venue where I played a lot last summer. While it's always fun to play out, sometimes when you play an open mic, you're only playing for the singers waiting to go on after you. Luckily, Mucky Duck always seems to draw a good audience who just go to listen to music. And even when it's just artists, I get to meet a ton of other singer/songwriters. But it is kind of frustrating to just play 3 songs at a time and then have to wait till tomorrow night (speaking of which, I already have my tickets for harry potter!).
There was a couple of 40 year olds covering "Hey Ya" just now. And now they're covering chris cornell's cover of "Billie Jean." Don't worry, I won't play "Purple Rain."
There was a couple of 40 year olds covering "Hey Ya" just now. And now they're covering chris cornell's cover of "Billie Jean." Don't worry, I won't play "Purple Rain."
Today was Anita's (my boss) birthday. They had a surprise party/concert for her at "The Villa," this private home owned by the parent company of the parent company of Purple Songs Can Fly. It's a family with a lot of money who have been very generous in giving back to the arts, particularly music. This is where I played in January when I got flown down to play in their "Passionate Pop" concert. It's one of the nicest houses I've ever seen. Here are some pictures from January when I played here...
And this is where we perform. It's a LITTLE nicer than a Starbucks.
Anita loves purple (hence the name "Purple Songs Can Fly"), so for the concert, Anita's friend (the one with the cousin they tried setting me up with) asked me to play a purple song. In particular she asked me to play "Purple Rain" by the Minnesotan formerly known as Prince. I told about this artist I recently read about who did a Minnesota theme for a show and later said he had never even been to the city and only knew that Prince was from there. I said if Anita's friend only thinks of Prince and myself when she thinks of Minnesota, I'm ok with that. I also played "Dear Red Sunset," which is Anita's favorite song of mine, and tried to make it "Dear Purple Sunset," but didn't do very well with the last minute word change. Afterwards I got to talk to her friend from UConn and her husband who works for Sony Music. The two of us talked for a long time about the music industry in general. Then they brought out a big chocolate cake with BIG chocolate flakes on the sides.
I had dinner with my host family from last summer. It was actually their uncle's birthday and they were all having dinner at my host family's, so I got to crash their birthday party. Before going over I stopped and bought a couple pints of ice cream at Amy's, a very very popular Austin chain that has a store here in Houston a few blocks from my house. Their Mexican Vanilla is one of the best ice cream flavors I've ever had. Ever. And then their mother brought 4 things of Haagen Dasz. So we had a lot of ice cream. And she brought cupcakes, but I mostly focused on the ice cream. My host father and I talked about the book "The Omnivore's Dilemma" while we cooked the steaks (which were probably corn fed). At dinner the conversation started to steer towards their varying uses of technology, and I was asked whether or not I used Twitter and Facebook (my host family isn't on Twitter, but their uncle is). But anyways, for someone else's birthday I got steak and ice cream, what else could I have asked for? Obviously I'm not a vegetarian right now. I also was not a vegetarian last night when I went to Goode Company BBQ with my housemate and his girlfriend. Goode Company is a really popular, and rightfully so, restaurant here in Houston, and definitely one of the best BBQ restaurants I've ever been to. The sauce was amazing. Supposedly they also have a seafood restaurant and a Mexican restaurant. So I'll look into those. Maybe I can get fish tacos again (last summer I decided to try them and then was disturbed by how much I enjoyed them).
And today was my grandmother's birthday. Lots of birthdays today. Anita leaves tomorrow morning, so tomorrow will be my first day running Purple Songs, but I think I'll focus on playing for kids and doing office work because I have the high school volunteers coming in on Wednesday and Friday. I'm rereading Harry Potter to prepare for the movie.
And this is where we perform. It's a LITTLE nicer than a Starbucks.
Anita loves purple (hence the name "Purple Songs Can Fly"), so for the concert, Anita's friend (the one with the cousin they tried setting me up with) asked me to play a purple song. In particular she asked me to play "Purple Rain" by the Minnesotan formerly known as Prince. I told about this artist I recently read about who did a Minnesota theme for a show and later said he had never even been to the city and only knew that Prince was from there. I said if Anita's friend only thinks of Prince and myself when she thinks of Minnesota, I'm ok with that. I also played "Dear Red Sunset," which is Anita's favorite song of mine, and tried to make it "Dear Purple Sunset," but didn't do very well with the last minute word change. Afterwards I got to talk to her friend from UConn and her husband who works for Sony Music. The two of us talked for a long time about the music industry in general. Then they brought out a big chocolate cake with BIG chocolate flakes on the sides.
I had dinner with my host family from last summer. It was actually their uncle's birthday and they were all having dinner at my host family's, so I got to crash their birthday party. Before going over I stopped and bought a couple pints of ice cream at Amy's, a very very popular Austin chain that has a store here in Houston a few blocks from my house. Their Mexican Vanilla is one of the best ice cream flavors I've ever had. Ever. And then their mother brought 4 things of Haagen Dasz. So we had a lot of ice cream. And she brought cupcakes, but I mostly focused on the ice cream. My host father and I talked about the book "The Omnivore's Dilemma" while we cooked the steaks (which were probably corn fed). At dinner the conversation started to steer towards their varying uses of technology, and I was asked whether or not I used Twitter and Facebook (my host family isn't on Twitter, but their uncle is). But anyways, for someone else's birthday I got steak and ice cream, what else could I have asked for? Obviously I'm not a vegetarian right now. I also was not a vegetarian last night when I went to Goode Company BBQ with my housemate and his girlfriend. Goode Company is a really popular, and rightfully so, restaurant here in Houston, and definitely one of the best BBQ restaurants I've ever been to. The sauce was amazing. Supposedly they also have a seafood restaurant and a Mexican restaurant. So I'll look into those. Maybe I can get fish tacos again (last summer I decided to try them and then was disturbed by how much I enjoyed them).
And today was my grandmother's birthday. Lots of birthdays today. Anita leaves tomorrow morning, so tomorrow will be my first day running Purple Songs, but I think I'll focus on playing for kids and doing office work because I have the high school volunteers coming in on Wednesday and Friday. I'm rereading Harry Potter to prepare for the movie.
Profile
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92)
aaroninhouston- aaroninhouston
Syndicate
