A super soft t-shirt from SOL ANGELES, a cool new brand we're collaborating with this summer, more details to come (sol-angeles.com), a vinyl copy of our favorite record, Fleetwood Mac "Rumours" and a signed copy of “Undercover”!
THE SCOOP: To participate in this week's Giveaway, we would love for you to help us out by posting the cover of our new EP “Undercover” on your Instagram or Facebook. After posting the cover (see below) to your Instagram/Facebook, just leave a comment below letting us know where you posted the link (include your instragram name or name on facebook)! (and yes we actually check!:) A winner will be selected next Tuesday! (All participants names are submitted into a random app and the winner is randomly selected)
POST MESSAGES (or you can use your own, just include the link!)
Instagram: Check out the new @thejackandwhite EP “Undercover” on iTunes! #undercover
You all are so awesome to participate so we decided to randomly select three winners for last weeks giveaway, and those winner(s) from last weeks Giveaway are...
Grand Prize (J&W necklace/Worktapes CD/Signed Undercover CD):
THIS WEEK WE ARE GIVING AWAY THIS HANDMADE J&W NECKLACE (I WANT!!)
AND A CD COMPILATION OF OUR ONE OF A KIND ORIGINAL ACOUSTIC WORKTAPES NEVER BEFORE RELEASED!
JACK AND WHITE: THE WORKTAPES
And for the super fan, We’ll be giving away just ONE one-of-a-kind CD with 9 original worktape demos of the songs from Gemini & Winter PLUS demos of 2 unreleased songs that we originally wrote for Gemini! These worktapes have never been released and are unavailable anywhere else! The moment we finish writing a song, we record a very stripped down, bare bones version to get it down on "tape". A couple of them we only had half the song done, some of them have a couple flubs, some have a few different lyrics and some are more raw then others. We've even included two b-side tracks that have never been released. This is how it all begins boys and girls! Here’s the tracklisting:
1. Gemini (Worktape)
2. Double Trouble (Worktape)
3. Inside Outside (Worktape)
4. Telephone Games (Worktape)
5. Smoke and Mirrors (Worktape)
6. Feathers (Worktape)
7. One More Time (B-side Worktape)
8. Surrender (B-side Worktape)
9. Night After Night (Worktape)
10. On The Bright Side of the Bad News (Worktape)
11. The Grown Up Song (XYZ) (Worktape)
THE SCOOP:
To participate in this week's Giveaway, we would love for you to help us out by posting this video of our cover of ELO's "Telephone Line" (featuring our friend Fitz of "Fitz and the Tantrums"). After posting this youtube link (see below) to your Twitter/Facebook/Blog/Pinterest/Lockerz etc., just leave a comment below letting us know where you posted the link! (and yes we actually check!:) A winner will be selected next Tuesday! (All participants names are submitted into a random app and the winner is randomly selected)
Sorry guys and gals, I am a day behind, we'll just say yesterday was interesting! Anywho, it's a new day, I have the Londy Loo sleeping sweetly in the swing so I have a quick quiet minute to let y'all know we have a winner for last weeks Give Away!
And that winner is...
JESSIE GARBER (JN/@jessiegarber)!!! Woohoo!!!
Congrats Jessie on scoring a brand new pair of CASSETTE SHADES! You will be lookin' super hot this summer! Oh and a signed copy of the new Undercover EP! Yeah!!
Thank you to everybody for participating and helping us spread the word! We will start Give-Away #2 tomorrow so stay tuned, I am pretty excited about this one and kinda really want this prize for myself!!
(All give-away participants names were submitted into a Random App and the winner was selected)
Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and girls, lads and lasses, dudes and dudettes, guys and dolls, hims and hers, he's and she's...
Yes indeed, I had a baby, exactly two weeks ago already, and I don't even know how that's possible? Time is going so fast and I am making it a point to literally just stare at her with out blinking an eye, cause in the words of Aerosmith (or Diane Warren to be exact), I don't wanna miss a thing, and it is exhausting being this obsessed. Hence my reason for not yet posting here on the blog about the most massive, special, painful, emotional, incredible and all encompassing moment of my entire lifetime. However I am working on said post, and it will be up Monday. I can't wait to tell you all about her, if you follow me on instagram or twitter, you've already been inundated with about a hundred bajillion pictures of her undeniable cuteness, and I'm sorry, I promise I try to practice self-restraint, I try not to overdo it, but you guys, I can't stand it, she just slays me daily.
Until then I wanted to let y'all know that the JACK AND WHITE UNDERCOVER EP was released last week and is in the words of Little Caesars (Pizza), HOT AND READY!!
Have ya heard it yet? If you haven't I would certainly love for you to head on over to itunes and take a listen, click here to listen to full versions of the songs and perhaps feel motivated by musics magical powers to download it and enjoy it as the soundtrack to your summer! We had a good ol' time making this record, as we carefully selected the perfect covers from each decade, which resulted in six slammin' renditions of finely crafted tuneage.
So for the next four weeks we are doing a couple of fun and awesome Give-aways to help spread the good word of Jack and White.
This week we are giving away a super duper pair of our personal choice of shades, CASSETTE sunglasses, along with a signed copy of the new EP of course!
Take a look at these, how cool would you look in these? Cool to Very cool.
So what must you do to be eligible to win? Do at least one of the following:
1.) Post one of the followng messages/links to your twitter/facebook (or your own message, just include the link)
2.) Leave a comment below with your name, tell us what and where you posted! And for bonus points, let us know what your favorite track is off the EP :)
3.) Contest closes Monday night! WINNER announced Tuesday
4.) Ready.... GO!!!
PS- CD/Hardcopies are also available on our website JACKANDWHITE.COM for the old schoolers out there. As well, if you purchase the cd from our website you get a free download of our live performance of Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams". Just sayin' :)
If you want to take a listen to the EP before clicking on the "buy" button just watch the youtube videos below to get a taste of full length versions of the songs from the New Undercover EP!
1.) CALIFORNIA DREAMIN'
2.) TELEPHONE LINE (Featuring Fitz of Fitz and the Tantrums)
Maybe you've seen it, maybe ya haven't, but our official video for "California Dreamin" (which was originally shot for The Song That Changed My Life), was premiered yesterday at You, Me and Charlie. Watch if ya'd like, yes there is a strategically placed guitar, being over 8 months pregnant and in front of the camera is not my favorite. Nonetheless, thanks to an amazing crew, their tricky camera skillz and magic editing powers, this vid turned out nicely!
Speaking of "The Song that Changed My Life", if you missed the Jack and White episode the first time it aired last month, no worries, it will be re-airing next Monday, May 28th on BYUtv. Pretty cool lil' show to be a part of... loved it. If ya don't get BYUtv on your TV set, we've got ya covered, you can stream it online as well right HERE. Cool, so maybe watch it!?
The single is also available to download now exclusively on itunes! It is the first track from our Upcoming cover EP, appropriately titled "Undercover" which will be droppin' next Tuesday, May 29th! Pretty stoked about this one, I've always wanted to release a cover record... with literally a gajillion great tunes to choose from, it was challenging to narrow down the selection, so we chose a song from each decade, starting with the 60's until our modern day. Because of it's classic legendary status, you'll noticed we decided to stay true to the original arrangement of California Dreamin' and just give it a modern polish. However, with the rest of the tunes we made liberal use of our artistic license, gave 'em a lil' spin and took them to new places. We'll see how y'all respond, it's a challenging endeavor to take a hit song and honor it's original greatness, while making it fresh... making it your own. However it was a gritty and fun challenge that we really sunk our teeth into. Been working on it day and night for the last 2-3 months solid, which really helped this last trimester of my pregnancy kinda fly by, thankfully. We sure hope you dig it.
Anywho, there is a lil' something for everyone. Here's whatchya can expect:
60's: California Dreamin' (Mama's and the Papa's)
70's: Telephone Line with guest vox by "Fitz" of my fave, Fitz & the Tantrums (Electric Light Orchestra)
80's: Here Come's the Rain Again (Eurythmics)
90's: How's it Going to Be? (third eye blind)
2000's: Cry Me a River (Justin Timberlake)
2010's: Tighten Up (The Black Keys)
and speaking of tightening up... here goes another contraction. gotta run...
Yay for music and babies... kinda my favorite :)
ps- one more thing, The Girls with Glasses finally got a new website! Woohoo! gonna go now.
24 weeks... the only bare belly shot... and seriously that belly button popped around 3 weeks.
26 weeks... I thought I was massive
31 weeks...
34 weeks... thought I was in the clear... nope, here come the stretch marks...
37 weeks... no this is not photoshopped. It is real, and it is big, and it is dropping... more stretch marks
I am now 38 weeks, looking at these photos back to back for the first time and blown away by the evolution of this body. Some days I feel like it can't possibly stretch any farther, and yet with each passing week I am proved wrong, it grows and grows... and grows. This belly is large and in charge, I am stopped by strangers at almost every turn, persistent stares from restaurant booths, impulsive belly touching from people I've never met, free advice offered at every encounter, inquiries such as "are you sure you are not having twins?", and the older ladies insisting that I am having a boy despite me informing them that I am having a girl which has been confirmed by very advanced modern technology on multiple occasions, and if I had a dollar for every time I heard someone say "you look like you are about to pop!" I would be pushing the millionaire mark. Even Dave spouts quite regularly "man! that belly is crazy" as if it's the first time he's seen it... he sees it every day.
Indeed I am about to pop, and it is crazy, and while much of the attention at times feels awkward and unsolicited, I am very okay, and I'd have to agree with 'em, it is a site to behold, and while it happens to millions everyday, it is still a miracle and a wonder how a human being can grow within a belly, another human being. And in those moments when I am sitting and I instantly become claustrophobic and intensely aware of what I have deemed the pregnant "stack", where the boobs rest on the belly and the belly rests on the thighs and the legs become restless stumps with feet attached to the ends which I have not seen in months, and there isn't a single t-shirt left in my closet that will dare stretch to the borders of this watermelon sized belly, and I see this body in the mirror and I can't remember what it used to look like, it all is the most wildly miraculous reminder that there is a baby in there, a big healthy thriving baby, a pretty little eight pounder with round cheeks and a sweet plump pair of lips (according to the ultrasound) that I am about to meet in the flesh! AAAHHHH!!!
The doctor doesn't think we're gonna make it to that May 31st... and while I will spare you the details, apparently surprising and swift significant progress is being made. I've been walking, and contracting, and peeing, and making lists and finishing projects and vacuuming, wondering over and over "is this it?" and "what was that?!" and freaking out a lot because I have never done this before, and I don't know what to expect (even though yes, I have read "what to expect when you're expecting") and I guess I'm very scared of pushing this wonderous eight pounder through, and simultaneously thinking I'm so not ready for this and yet so very ready for this and want to see her now, but just need to fold some towels first! And I just keep thinking... I am having a baby!
HOLY MOSES!
I AM HAVING A BABY...
HALLELUJA, PRAISE THE LORD.
ps. lots of texts and tweets... is she here yet? Nope, i will keep you posted.
It's 4:10 in the am and I have given up... on sleep, on dreams, on control. Sounds irrational, thoughts usually are around this time.
Over an hour ago I was awoken (or is it awaken? honestly, grammar is at the bottom of the totem poll right about now) by the routine reminder that my bladder is intensely full. I try to muster up the gumption and motivation to roll from my right side, to my back, and then all the way over to my left side, then attempt to tumble my body over the edge of the bed, in hopes that my feet hit the floor... will I land it? I'm like an eight month pregnant gymnast with the agility of a turtle planning her dismount... no, I'm not looking for the gold, just the toliet. It's perplexing to me how difficult a task this has become for my body... it's as if I've come face to face with the summit of Mount Everest...
I feel heavy... physically... mentally.
And in those less then twenty routine steps to the bathroom, I've thought as many as a hundred fragmented thoughts that I don't know what to do with...
"you should probably just give up music"
"you don't have a car seat yet... but you already signed that paper at the hospital that you would have the seat, properly installed in your car... you gotta get on that, like, NOW!!!!"
"how many rolls of toliet paper do we have left?"
"If you don't take that meeting in New York next week you can likely kiss that opportunity good-bye... but what if you give birth on the airplane? do they do epidurals on airplanes?"
"what's happening to the thighs?"
"BABY CPR... that is important... YouTube it"
"Hey, all the underwear is in the dryer down in the garage, they've been there since... last week-ish... seriously, what are you gonna do when you have kids"
"oh c'mon, you know you can't give up music"
"the curtains in the nursery would be so cute with that pom-pom garland sewn on the edges that I saw on pinterest"
"Girls with Glasses..."
"you're probably never gonna sleep again"
"if you actually practiced the guitar, you'd probably be decent at it"
"maybe dave would appreciate something other then frosted mini wheats for dinner"
"you haven't read the scriptures in a long time"
"and... why do you keep buying lettuce, you know you're never gonna make the salad"
"remember how you paid $80 for pre-natal yoga classes... haven't been in over a month"
"you probably can't put the baby in the van with the band and drive around the country... but you can't leave her... you'll figure it out"
"Is it my turn to 'draw something'?"
"you are almost a year away from 30"
"I could be a way better friend... never called Monika"
"man i miss friday night lights"
"you're having a baby"
"maybe you should bolt the windows shut so she can't fall out of them"
"American Idol was crazy"
"I know I can do this, but can I do this?"
"luckily Dave is so emotionally stable"
"this bathroom has been cleaned like twice since you moved in"
"things will change"
"it's going to be hard... you are going to LOVE her"
Seriously, all of that. I turn my head to see that ugly clock light glowing in the dark... it's 3:02 am, looks like the un-purchased, uninstalled car seat will have to wait until the morning... but it is morning... Let's give it a couple more hours, or at least until Target opens... 8 am.
After unloading what felt like less then a mere teaspoon of tinkle (sounds silly to say tinkle, but I don't love the word 'urine' either), I stumble back over to the bed, and gear up to get back in... position the body pillow on the left, the small pillow on the right, the tempurpedic pillow under the king pillow and then try to nestle somewhere in the middle of it all, one of the pillows falls overboard, do I have it in me to pick it up? My head says try, but my hips say no. After nearly twenty minutes of readjusting and tossing too and fro, I realize that likely there is no comfortable way to do this. I look over at Dave, he is sleeping hardcore... I stare in envy. It is one of his gifts... it is not mine. I am happy for him... sleep while you can my dear, sleep while you can.
I lay there for a while, wrestling more consciously with those thoughts... and, I don't know. I just don't know. And I try tell myself that it is okay that I don't know. I try to be okay with being okay with not knowing. And then I realize I'm not, but that it's nearly 4 am, and perhaps this is not the best time to try to logically have it all worked out, nor will there likely be a good time. I'm not the first soon to be parent worried about how I'm going to do it, and I won't be the last... So I get out of bed, and here I sit, typing a blog that potentially I will read back when I'm in a more coherent state of being, and wonder why I thought it was a good idea to blast all these thoughts into the blogosphere. I'll want to delete it, but then I won't...
I'm looking out the window, and the sky is becoming brighter. I already feel better.
Jack wrote this song called "Heavy but we float"... and in this moment, in one of my heavier moments, I am weighed down by nearly thirty extra pounds and a world of fears and unknowns... I feel this lil' person moving around within this belly, and with her small swift kick there is this thought "what you really don't know is just how much you are going to love her"...
And I'm so thankful this is happening.... and I'm floatin'... like a feather.
A few random things that I find both funny and awesome:
1. DAVE RAY CPA:
Yesterday... the sun is still shining, and it's 6:30... seriously, how much do I love these longer days?! Anywho, I'm in the kitchen, making dinner (a rarity) actually it was Monday, therefore I was making breakfast for dinner (is that cheating? When will I ever learn how to actually make Dinner for dinner?) when suddenly, a loud and thunderous voice with awesome forced vibrato comes charging through the door, serenading me with this lil' gem of a... uhhh... tune, with these exact words:
"BROOOOOKE, why do you love me so MMUUUUCCCHHH?
Is it because I am Handsome, Funny and SMARRRRT???
OR is it because of my all out Sex APPEEEAAAAALLLL?!?!?!
Dave, yes, I love you because of all these things, but you forgot one thing... I mostly love you for your straight up serious SONGWRITING SKILLZ! Sometimes them CPA's are hilarious I tell ya, and have many wonderful hidden talents.
2. OOOOHHH...NIGHT AFTER NIGHT REMIX... YEAH! :
Okay, so you know (or maybe you didn't, don't want to be presumptuous) Jack and I have this song on our last Winter EP called Night after Night. Well this fellow connected with us and offered to remix our song into a Fancy Dancy Remix ready to be "up in the club" as they say (don't they say that?). And folks that is exactly what he did... I've never heard any of my songs remixed, so at first listen I kinda just laughed out loud, especially everytime I hear the part "YEAH"... oh man, I die. But then it really started to grow on me and before I knew it I had my glow sticks out and I was gettin' my dance on in the living room... totally by myself. Okay not really, but kind of, just minus the glow sticks, but myself... YEAH! Anywho, some people are really diggin' it and the young folks seem to think we're hippish and maybe a bit cool, however some others in a more mature age group of our demographic seem to think "it's kinda loud and has a lot of sounds in it... I think it was much better the way it was before" HaHa!
Anywho, it's fun and we appreciate our buddy, AKA the Electric Valentine for making this HOT Remix. Take a listen for yourself... could be good for the treadmill...
Oh and PS... lil' disclaimer, while we are very appreciative of this mix, it has been titled the "kids on drugs remix" Please note, We don't really advocate "kids on drugs", unless of course mom gives them some tylenol for when they have a fever.
Meet my friend Gabrielle Hansen, but really we all call her Gay... and I call her GayGay, along with this lil character, Mr. Dallen B, one of her four super hilarious and attractive children. Well GayGay (Gay I hope you don't mind that I call you that) has been bloggin' over the years here and there about the kids and her sports nut of a husband (and BYU bosom buddies with Dave Ray CPA), but in the last few months she has turned into a BLOGGIN' MACHINE! This gal has a gift for telling stories, for bravely and eloquently saying out loud all those thoughts we are all thinking, she tells it like it is, she is insightful and yet doesn't take herself too seriously... all in all, GayGay is a real kind of girl, the kind of gal that when you are reading her words you think "I just like her"... read it, you'll know what I mean.
I love supporting my friends, I am especially happy to tell you about "A Girl Named Gay" not just because she is my friend, but because I am a big believer in creative expression! You Go Gay! By the way, she is doing pretty much the greatest give away for HER birthday on her blog right now. Have you ever heard of LULU LEMON?!? I have a testimony of Lulu Lemon, Pretty much the greatest work out clothes of all time... I'm telling you, these pants make your behinder look so good you could skip the gym and just head straight to Target, and everyone in the check out line would be helpless to notice that perfectly round lil' keister, and they will wonder how you manage such a magnificent rear-end with that package of Oreos, bag of cheetos and gallon of rocky road that you've got kickin' in your cart, so naturally they assume that you must've just finished nearly killin' yourself in spin class to achieve that fine behind (yeah right)... welp forget the agony and pain, oh and sweat of spin class, all you need is the pants, they are truly magical... and expensive. And Gay is gonna get you the pants, with a $100 gift card! So quick, go read this postand then, all the others, cause she's just that good, that Gay Gay is.
In the month of December, we made a record in my living room...
My kitchen table turned into a recording console...
Building scratch tracks... I look mad, but I'm not...
This is Zach Hall, he takes videos and pictures...
I played the piano... Brad our manager played "Free Fallin"
Adam played the drums...
Jack played bass... and guitar... me too a little, we sang a lot
jack sat in that chair for a long time... we put tinsel on the light so we'd quit bonking our heads
We finished the EP in January. It is called "Winter"... we worked really hard on it. It's on iTunes... Trever Hoene took the picture, I made a record cover,
Jack made a video with the footage Zach Hall took for our song "Night after Night"...
I have fears... big ones, little ones, medium sized ones... served up like different size fries you order at McD's... "hi, ummm... i'll take the x-small fears please".
I have always been one that has been excessively afraid of a lot of things, from canned tuna and mayo to roller coasters, small fingers getting slammed in doors, teenagers, traffic jams under overpasses, halloween music, throwing up, clowns, escalators on the way down, and trips to the OB/GYN. The dark was always frightening to me, which is why my sister Katie Boo and I always shared the top bunk of our twin bunk beds. Seriously, till I was 17, when I moved out and had to sleep in my own bed in California, it was a traumatic transition to not have the boo by my side. I am not sure if it was the dark I was afraid of, or more of what I couldn't see in the dark, or what I might see... a ghost? I was scared of those too. Still am...
Then there are the serious things, stuff I don't even like to speak of or talk about out loud, the thoughts that torment my mind, what if's, worst case scenarios... generally involving loved ones, actually always including loved ones. Even the slightest idea of loss, or them getting hurt, physically, emotionally, spiritually is enough to create insta-puddles in my eye balls. These terrible inner torments can wake me just fifteen minutes into a mid-day Sunday nap. That is when it seems to strike, woken by the intense thud of my heartbeat beneath my chest, nearly to an audible level, like an internal fire alarm. The sound of anxiety... knowing that in life we are all vulnerable to such things.
Way back when, over the Christmas holiday, I came face to face with a fear, not the serious kind I spoke of before, but a medium sized-not so serious-but still quite scary kind of fear. My job requires me to do a fairly daunting thing on the regular, something that most people avoid like the plague, and for good reason... singing, performing, speaking and entertaining people is a really freaky thing.
Yes, it is a job that pretty much causes anxiety to reside permanently in the pit of my tummy. The kind that makes you feel like you might need to run to the bathroom real quick. Sounds fun doesn't it? It is... sorta.
I've always believed that I would never be able to sing the National Anthem. Not because of a lack of patriotism, indeed I'm proud to be an American but quite frankly the song scared the crap out of me to sing, (as does "oh holy night"). I have always sincerely believed with all my heart, that my 4-note ranged rhaspy vocalizer lacked the chops and capability to sing the it in a way that is honorable and respectful to the tune in front of stadiums of people... acapella.
I have been asked to sing the Star Spangle banner probably close to twenty times at some pretty legit sporting events that would allow me national television exposure and Dave Ray CPA to live his dream of enjoying floor seats, box suites, meet players and eat free hotdogs.... and up until now I have dashed those hopes and dreams and turned down the Anthem about twenty times. It was a contentious subject between us, I would explain "you're totally worth it, I just can't do it, basically it's the musical equivalent to jumping out of an airplane" Another fear I can confidently state that i will not be facing, ever, and I'm cool with that.
So short story turned long, I got a call from the Phoenix Suns the week before Christmas, they heard I was going to be in town, and was wondering if I could sing the National Anthem at the first game of the season the day after Christmas... My first instinct was to say no, like I had done the twenty times before, but then I had realized that I had yet to find Dave a gift for Christmas... I was struck with "crappy wife" guilt and starting thinking about how many times he missed out on cool games, and much it would mean to Dave if I took this opportunity in the face of fear so that he could see his Sun's play! It was SO the perfect present... so I told them, "maybe, let me think about it"... the thought made me feel sick inside. Fear does that...
I decided I had to sing it for someone, I needed and honest third party opinion. I had sang it for myself hundreds of times in the shower trying to convince my disbelieving heart that I could do it, only to be embarrassed for what the shampoo and conditioner heard. Jack happened to be at my house the day I got the call, we were finishing the EP. I told him, "Jack, you MUST tell me the truth", he said he would, after recording two records there's no BS going on in Jack and White. I sang it for him, it wasn't perfect, it was a bit shaky, but he said "Do it Brooke! You gotta do it!".
So I called back those Phoenix Suns and I told them YES. Aaahhhh! I wanted to throw-up (secondary fear). But then I thought about how stinkin' cool it was gonna be for Dave and my family to go sit in fancy seats at the game. So in secret I practiced, I told myself I could do it, I thought positive thoughts, and I imagined it going well. What was the worst that could happen? My voice would crack? I could forget the words? Then I remembered, Oh yeah, been there done that, in front of forty million people this one time on American Idol. I survived and the world kept turning, and VH1 turned it into a best week ever skit, sweet.
The day after Christmas came faster then I hoped, Dave could hardly believe that his dream was coming true! Ah that was a good feeling that fueled my fire and gave me a good reason to do something I was truly beyond scared of. Love does that...
Game time was upon us, with my whole family cheering me on we drove to the arena and were greeted by our host. I was surprised at how calm I felt, still scared, but calm. I had prayed a thousand prayers that day, sang it for my sister in the bathroom and now it was time to punch my fear in the face good and hard. They gave me an awesome Steve Nash t-shirt that stretched tight across my growing baby belly. Thankfully they also provided me with an awesome purple Sun's jacket to cover up my protruding belly button that demands to be acknowledged (i've tried everything to get this navel to calm down, band-aids, duct tape etc... no luck, so now I just dare people to push it, i'm weird). We stood underneath the tunnel and cheered as we watched the players run through, we saw Steve Nash, he is so cool.
They led me to the court, my family hugged me and took their seats, Dave gave me a quick kiss and told me "you got this", I could tell that even he was freakin' out a little for me. I was too. I had recorded my first note on my iPhone, this was crucial, if I started on the wrong note i'd be sure to have a Carl Lewis "Rockets red glare" moment. I listened quickly and handed it off to the gentleman who then gave me a microphone, I hummed it as I heard them call my name, the crowd was cheering, the room went dark as a spotlight beamed down on me, my heart was beating like a timpany drum, I was pretty sure you could hear it pulse through the microphone I was holding in my shaking hand. I took a breath, closed my eyes, my throat tightened and I started to sing "Oh say can you see!" I don't remember much after that, except for a humbling effect of the song, the high notes were high and the low notes were low... I remember nearing the big note, the one I had feared the most "for the land of the FREE!", and hearing someone cheer "yeah!" and then the home of the brave and it was all over, just like that! NO WAY, I did it! I had no idea if it was good, but I did it! Dave was proud, strangers gave me high fives, my family cheered! I admit, it felt victorious...
My brothers girlfriend had taken a video of it with her iPhone, against my usual will, my dad talked me into to watching it back... boy I was relieved! It wasn't anything fancy, quite simple, but on pitch and I had remembered the words 99 percent correctly.
A dear friend that knows me well asked me the next day on facebook how I've managed to do things I'm scared of, I don't really know... truth is I don't like facing my fears anymore then the next guy or gal. Believe me I usually take all measures to resist the stuff I'm afraid of, But there may be something that I dislike even more, and that is being controlled by fear, letting it take the wheel that directs my course, cause it usually means that I stop progressing, that I miss out on opportunities, that I don't get to have the experience, that I don't become what I'm supposed to become... I then live with the regret of knowing that I didn't do the thing I should of done because I was scared, and that is a feeling I fear more then fear itself. Sometimes it takes being forced to the edge, being faced with an ultimatum that shows you what you're made of, like jumping to safety from a burning building. Then there are times that we do it for the thrill. And Sometimes you don't do it for you, you do it for your sports nut husband, or you go to the OB/GYN for your scary invasive check-ups for that baby girl in your belly cause you'll do absolutely anything and everything you can to make sure she is healthy and ok, and you will labor through pain to hold her in your arms. Whatever the reason may be, we find one that is bigger then the fear, we find a little courage and we just do it, and somehow we survive...
I've discovered, Generally if an opportunity scares me a little bit, even a lot, then it's a good indicator that I need to take it... And there is nothing quite like doing the thing you thought you couldn't do.
Welp, For approximately the last four months I've been on the go, on the road, playing my guitar, singing songs, creating goofy girls with glasses videos, fixin' a house, recording records and oh yeah... keeping a big secret about another massive "little project" I've been hard at work on...
But it looks as though my belly is blowing my cover...
Yep, I'm havin' a BABY y'all! WOW, how weird does it feel to say that?! Super Weird and yet super awesome! I've always said I wanted to be an "M&M" a musician and a momma, and it looks like that is all coming to fruition in my twenty eighth... almost twenty ninth year of life (by the time she arrives), and I have to say while it came as a happy surprise, and at the same time, later then I ever expected, I'm feeling great about having a baby at this point in my life!
This little gal is already keepin' up with the crazy, in my Ultrasound we could see that we have a serious Rock n' Roll baby on our hands... by the looks of it, she's partyin' it up in there! My doctor said, "wow she doesn't sit still! " and Dave Ray quickly spouted "just like her mom!". HA!
my rock and roll baby at 12 wks, she's grown a lot since then
Truth is, I already worry about her every day, I just want her to be happy and healthy... She is probably already tired of hearing me say "are you okay?!" which apparently she can hear and feel the sound and vibration of my loud voice at this stage. Poor thing gets to listen to me babble and sing all day and night! She is also the size of my open hand and though her closed eyelids see light. She is also gettin' fatter and taller... cute huh?
Honestly, we can hardly wait to meet her, see her, freak out over her and just hang out with her and take her to Target and band practice, cause she is gonna be such a cool baby. Until May 31st I will just have to patiently prepare for her arrival. That is, if she arrives on time... and if she is anything like her mom, she'll be late. Actually I was supposed to be born on May 21st, and wouldn't ya know I decided to show up two weeks later on June 2nd. For all I know she could be born on my birthday just two days after... and I'd be a June baby giving birth to a June baby! Perfect Present...
Now, my rock n' roll babe and I must get back to recording a sweet new J+W EP due in January...
PS- This was a really hard secret to keep.
PSS- Thanks to my fellow girl with glasses and dear friend Summer Bellessa for making me this fun lil' video!!
IT IS IN THE AIR! This season has been over the top busy drizzled with gobs of crazy sauce! Have I lost my mind?! For sure!! The lil' list has been blown to smithereens, we are less then two weeks away from Christmas, and I am trying to figure out how in the world this could be true, as usual I have done zero of my shopping, my poor disheveled christmas tree has been shoved out of the way into the corner of my kitchen, and I am currently in the middle of the all consuming process of recording a second EP with Jack and White, pretty excited about it... fingers crossed you can expect to hear it in January! Oh and you can follow all our progress on our new Tumblr page: http://jackandwhiteandstuff.tumblr.com/
So literally the four days before my house became an explosion of studio equipment, guitars, drums, a tangled web of cables, ceramic animal sculptures, and ponytailed musician dudes, It was a major explosion of glittery goobery Girls with Glasses super Holiday Funnery! (Hmmm, looks like Funnery isn't a word, ah well, it should be). And when i say explosion, I mean explosion, we cooked, we baked, we lipsticked, we found interns, we recorded an original Christmas song (thanks Jack Matranga for your engineerial & mixing skillz) we sang, we danced, we Instagramed, we changed our clothes about fourty seven thousand times, AND we made a lil' music video...
Beyond our severe levels of exhaustion, we have fun we do, because we are the girls with glasses and we love Christmas, don't you love Christmas too?!
I've got so much more to tell you, but I just don't know when that will happen. I hope you are doing swell friends, lets all take a breath and remember that WE LOVE CHRISTMAS and the happy reason for the season!
HAVE A NEW CHRISTMAS RECORD!! You might remember a while back when I blogged about this amazing super group of musicians and listed their first album as one of my top five records of the year...
I was so obsessed with the record that I couldn't stop tweeting my brains out about them... well they noticed, and instead of thinking I was just a giant wierdo fan (and i am) they extended a warm invitation to me to come join in the jubilee of creating their Christmas record... and therefore I accepted with a spastic and enthusiastic YES tweet followed by an excessive use of exclamation points!!!!!!!!!!
So, I jumped on a plane for a quick 48 hour stop in Provo, UT to be a lil' fly on the wall and what a serious treat that was! Intensely musical dudes in thick rimed glasses and ladies with delicate voices of angels that harmonize like nobodies business, gather round pianos, guitars, drums, bells, glockenspiels, fiddles and microphones and outpours the sound of heaven!
The even said I could jump in on a few tunes and sing a bit on the mic with my foghorn-ish voice, nice of 'em. Oh and not only were they recording the Christmas album, but also a second hymn revival record set to release in the coming year, also got to take part in that... particularly on this one favorite tune of mine that we would sing in primary as kids, it was me and three dudes singing in harmony with a couple of guitars in a stairwell during a thunderstorm... MAGICAL! We'll see if the song makes the cut, hope so, cause it may be on the top of my list of fave recordings i've gotten to be in on... just sayin'
Anywho, you should really jump on this lovely holiday record OH COME LET US ADORE HIM by the Lower Lights... you won't regret it. They're just really really good... oh and here is a lil' behind the scenes vid to give ya a vibe...
I scored some major pieces while thrifting over the summer and intended on blogging about them and just never got around to it... but since my last post was upon the subject, I figured better late then never!
Here are a few of my favorite thrifted gems! Photos by this talented lady
Summer and I share a serious love for thrift store shopping, we're pretty much obsessed. This passion prompted our Recessionista mini-series on thrifting for the Girls with Glasses Show!
Not only does thrift store shopping save ya loads of cash, but it also gives your wardrobe and home decore a dash of originality and character. I've been resale shopping since I was a kid, I learned from my mama, and through all the different economic phases of life we always went back to the good ol' good will and D.I. not just cause sometimes we had to, but because it was fun! I've carried on the tradition and treat it as an art form, one that takes practice... and I love to practice! I really dig the deals, I get a major kick out of finding something unique for a couple bucks, I get super jazzed just thinking of how I can repurpose old furniture... the possibilities are endless! Kind of a treasure hunt of sorts, a challenge... to find that diamond in the rough!
You really don't have to spend a million bucks to look like ya did...
Have you seen this? Apparently millions have, I have not until five minutes ago... and that is precisely how long the video is. Obviously it impacted me enough to immediately feel the need to post it and share it with ya...
Sometimes we must be alone, whether it is self imposed or not of our choice, it can be both a place of comfort and emptiness... I've been there, and likely you have too... and that is okay, if not vital.
This is just something beautiful... an insightful interesting perspective...
PS- Should you go into the woods or city alone, please be very careful :-)
