On the radio-UH-oh! 5.22.12
Posted by Sound Semantics in allie's thoughts, our shows.add a comment
Wait… really?
It’s May already?
…
Whoa.
If 2012 is a day,
we are very late sleepers.
Ok, well, we haven’t only been sleeping. Though I do enjoy a late morning. 🙂
We’ve just been busy, living life. We’re doing our jobs, paying our bills, having adventures, gardening in the backyard, playing other kinds of music with other bands, learning to play new card games!, going to shows supporting our friends, taking classes, visiting friends and family… Lots of great stuff really that I feel lucky to be so busy with.
But lately I’ve begun to notice the ‘creative void’ left behind by the now-complete 2011 Song of the Week project. I think Eran felt that void since the beginning of the year. I needed more time to recuperate, but now I’ve also got those creative energies building up, wondering where they’re going to go. Luckily! we have some performances coming up that will fill the ‘void’ a bit.
We’ll be performing live, acoustic, on the radio this weekend.
Pop-quiz:
What’s this from?
Answer:
CLICK!
Portland’s local radio station KZME features a show called Hello Cruel World, and we’ll play a few songs and chat a bit with host JBJ on Saturday May 26th. You can listen on the good ol’ radio at 1071 FM if you’re local, but all you out of towners can also stream live at KZME.fm
Then on July 5 we’re playing at Mississippi Pizza, with our pals Brandon and Aaron (you may recognize these fellows from some earlier collaborations.) That’s Thursday July 5, 9pm, if you’re a local reader. This is our first show since February.
Hope you can join us!
Ok, shameless plug over.
That’s all for now. Just wanted to say hello to all you friendly folks out there!
Hugs,
allie
Halfway through? 6.30.11
Posted by Sound Semantics in allie's thoughts.2 comments
Well, today is June 30th, and you know what that means.
It’s Mike Tyson’s birthday!!
Also, we are (just about) halfway through our 2011 Song of the Week project.
Of the 25 videos in our 2011 Song of the Week playlist:
-15 are “real” videos — that is, not us sitting in front of the camera
-5 are covers, which means…
-20 are new original Sound Semantics songs!
Setting up for our first videosong, "Strongest Drug"
It’s both exciting and terrifying to think that we are only halfway through – not even, actually, we technically have one more week before we cross that line. This past month has certainly brought us to a bit of a ‘creative wall,’ as we struggle to stretch our own boundaries while still being honest–and trying to make something interesting and entertaining!
We had some questions lined up for ourselves in January, and I am still searching for the answers for most of them.
Like… Can we do this? That’s the creative/productive challenge element of course, and the answer is yes… so far. But six months is a long time, and there are another six on the way!
Or… What do people like? You know, ‘people.’ As in, ‘you’! That was the social experiment element of the project. It’s neat to watch what folks do and don’t respond to, repost, comment on or in any way seem to enjoy enough to make it known. But we definitely don’t have a real answer to this question and probably never will. Except, maybe, octopus puppets. That seems to be a sure thing. (By the way, you are also welcome to simply *tell* us what you like! ;))
And… What can we learn about ourselves, our sound, our process? The reflective element. That warrants its own blog post which will, I’m sure, be coming in 2012. I will say that sometimes it’s hard to see and accept the lessons when you are so busy planning for the next song or video. So, one thing I’ve learned is to try to s-l-o-w-d-o-w-n. Especially when it feels like you have no time to do so. It’s incredible what opportunities you can miss when you’re too busy ‘getting stuff done.’
Still from our "Blow Me A Kiss" shoot
I read blogs by other musicians, artists, friends and professionals and I really enjoy hearing about their learning process. Especially when it comes to challenging yourself. It’s encouraging to know that I (we) am/are not the only ones struggling to figure ourselves out. 🙂 If you have a story about a challenge you built for yourself, and maybe what it taught you, I’d love to hear it!
Well, happy July everybody. Here’s hoping for a creative, productive and HAPPY second half of 2011. Wow, the time flies!**
-allie
**Especially at 3am when you are trying to finish editing a video before morning and still manage to get some sleep… right Eran? 😛
Wave 3.13.11
Posted by Sound Semantics in 2011songoftheweek, allie's thoughts.add a comment
This post is coming a little later in the day than we’d like, but a busy weekend + the lovely spring-forward of daylight savings both had their way with us.
The lyrics to this one started out as a reflection on the recent natural disasters and tragedy in Japan. Turns out the song is also a reflection on my life, and what it means to hang on to things as time passes… or perhaps to be unable to hang on to them.
Hope you enjoy the song, and the longer days. Our thoughts are with those affected by the catastrophes in Japan.
-allie
Sound Semantics 