The Vanity Belles

I know these two girls here in New York that make country music. World class country music. For those of you who don’t like country music, well then maybe you won’t be interested- but if you’ve ever enjoyed a Dolly Parton, Dixie Chicks, or Faith Hill song, then there is a chance you can cross over and dig on these ladies too.

May I introduce to you, The Vanity Belles- two women whom I admire not only for their musical talent, but for the way they treat people, the energy they bring to the stage and to their craft, and the massive amount of positivity they broadcast wherever they go.

They are close to reaching their $10,000 goal to record their new album- which I’ve gotten a sneak peak at and can fully give my testimony as to its quality and potential. If you have anything extra this month, I think this is a very promising duo to invest in.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thevanitybelles/help-the-vanity-belles-record-their-debut-record/widget/video.html

Boy Next Door Teaser Video!

‘Boy Next Door’ is a lust song. It’s the ache you feel when the person you want a chance at more than anything is so close you could touch him if it weren’t for fences and walls- both literal and figurative. The video was directed by Alice Millar out of Brooklyn/London. With help from artist Heidi Howard (also Brooklyn), the two of them hand-crafted the male puppet and his work-shed- and built the entire puppet concept and scene from scratch.

The video plays with the idea that when we are lust-struck, we are manipulated by our object of desire. When its mutual, we can manipulate them just as much as they can manipulate us. So I appear to be “real” in the video, and he appears to be the puppet- but nevertheless he is manipulating my thoughts, moves and desires.

We shot this in January 2011 and have been waiting through the summer to release this video- I’m so glad it’s coming out before Christmas so people can enjoy the winter feel of it throughout the season. It was so cold throughout the shots we could see our breath. And Alice had to color correct all of the footage to hide the pained red hue of my bare arms.

Taxes and Adulthood

I’ve been such a good girl this year. I fell in love, released an EP, submitted my screenplay to Sundance, got a full time job so I can record more songs, paid off an old debt, and went to the IRS this week to file and pay for my last 3 year’s worth of taxes that I never got around to doing.

I warn you, self employment is a BITCH. Everyone is supposed to pay social security taxes (the pay in system). If you have a regular employer, they pay HALF of what you owe in social security taxes. If you are self employed or an “independent contractor” you owe 100% of those social security taxes yourself- which adds up to about 10% of your earned income. That really hurts to pay in one lump sum. I made practically nothing for 2008 and 2010, but both those years I was working as an independent contractor, and 10% of practically nothing can still turn out to pinch hard.

But I’m clearing all the debris. Working full time in Chelsea doing everything I can to clean house as well as create new music and beauty.
I have 15 songs that all I want to do is put down in some studio somewhere so help me god.
Think I need to get more creative about this…

Visby. Gotland. Sweden.

I’m on an island in between mainland Sweden and Latvia- called Gotland. It’s owned and operated by Sweden, and this week there is a conference of sorts that my boyfriend is working at and we are surrounded by politicians, ministers, and all those whose livelihoods hinge upon their work. Visby is a community in Gotland famous for it’s 800 year-old castle. The architecture here is something out of one of Walt Disney’s dreams. There is a candy shop that seems like something out of a movie, and all the people look kind of like you’d expect out of a Disney movie- Stepford-like. The Baltic Sea is nearby and its warm. The temperature is basically perfect. The air blends with your body and you feel the sun and embrace the sun but you’re not bothered by it. The breeze sometimes hits your face just right to bounce some extra oxygen into your system, but it never fucks with your hair or makes you cold.

I must be in one of the most beautiful places I could possibly be for the summer.

I’m here to support my boyfriend. Meet his people, etc. Next week I’m meeting his mom, sister, brother-in-law and nieces. I guess he likes me. I’m just happy to be included and welcomed with such open arms.

I’ve been writing a couple new songs- my first song ever with bar chords. I’m very proud of myself. It’s nice to have a new foundation to sing on top of.

Writing will always be the aspect of this process that I love the most.

Here is where I am:

The Quest for Greatness

Have you seen Miranda July’s “are you the favorite person of anybody?” short film?

I’ve been thinking a lot about macro and micro love. Having a smaller number of very meaningful relationships vs. having broad, but maybe shallow affection. Because it is love that truly sustains us, coupled with a sense of purpose, I know that my own personal wellness hinges on how I design my life and how I dictate and direct the relationships within it.

I don’t want to die young with 10 million fans and no one to really call family.

just thinking about slow food, slow friends, and the personal fulfillment that comes with integrity.

I have a lot more respect for Leonard Cohen than Kurt Cobain.

Rome & Nathaniel Rateliff

I am in Rome and I am in love. Things are going great. I’m eating pesto and tonnarelli from molto bene Italian kitch vendors and making out in ancient cobble stone alleys with a man I’m in love with and life is good. The Italians worked hard and for a long time on building a truly fantastic city. I fail all the time at making myself understood, but still it’s nice to show up and enjoy a little of what they have to offer for a few days. And-uh make-uh fun of deir accent-i grazie mile!

May 26th I’m opening up for Nathaniel Rateliff at Borderline in London. I am really stoked to support him. The boy is hanging out and opening up for some highly respectable acts in indie/alt.country and americana. He’s got a very powerful and unique voice, a wise appreciation for space (my biggest pet peeve is when people neglect to use space and air). He’s really truly good. And I honestly rarely get excited about musicians that I meet. Plus he’s got this super cute picture in Q magazine that makes him look like a creepy trucker super-hero. Adorable.

I hope he lets me talk to him in May when I meet him. here’s a video:

Symmetry

I love Radiolab.

A South African Souvenir

I came to South Africa because immigration law prevented me from being with my boyfriend anywhere else. Swedes can’t stay in the US more than 3 months. Americans can’t stay in Europe more than 3 months (and I’ve got a lot of important work in Europe this summer), so if we wanted to hang out and see each other, we had to go somewhere completely different. We chose: Africa.

South Africa is culturally very similar to where we’re both from. They’ve got English speakers and an okay amount of internet. But there are a few dramatic differences.

The hardest thing about being down here though is not knowing anybody and having no solid home-base or comfortable work environment to get anything done. My guitarist Angela is back in New York. My drummer and manager are in London. All of the studios and sound engineers I want to work with are also far far away from here.

But we’ve managed to get a lot done anyways.

Through an old contact I got a hold of the founder and editor-in-chief at One Small Seed- a South African culture & arts magazine. I presented to him the idea of making a music video through facebook, a few days later he called me. 72 hours later, we were wrapping up our last minutes of shooting, pinching the sunset for the last of its magic moments, and hi-fiving each other for a job well done.

The song is called “Momma Says”. It’s the leading single off the EP I’m releasing this June 27th through Chess Club Records. The EP will be called “The Misuse of Chemistry”. The song is an anthem for every 17-year-old girl who doesn’t quite know what she wants to do with her life. Should she follow her parent’s advice? Or should she do what feels good and right to her?

The video is very summer-y. Considering we had no budget, only 1 day to shoot, and just met our team the day before.. I think we did a really good job.

Thank you so much Giuseppe Russo, Mike Leveson and One Small Seed for all of your help. You have been brilliant.

I’m performing several shows once in London preparing for the EP launch. So far I’ve got:

May 26th at BORDERLINE, supporting Nathaniel Rateliff
June 10th at OLD QUEEN’S HEAD with My Band’s Better Than Your Band
June 30th at OLD QUEEN’S HEAD, hosted by Chess Club Records

mark dem calendars.