Okay, so Chicago didn’t work out right now. Through my confusion of trying to figure out where I was gonna live I started talking with Tyler. We decided that we’re going to try a move to the Twin Cities to live together and work on our Lucid Abyss CD!!! How exciting is that? I’m pretty pumped up about it. Things always happen for a reason…even if we can’t see what that reason is yet. Maybe someday I’ll get to live in Chicago but for now – I’m gonna get a GREAT opportunity to work with my friend creating music

I’ll keep you all posted on our debut CD! :)

LittleLisa

I’ve been planning a move to Chicago with my friend for a while now. Working 4 JOBS and trying to save up for the move. Ashley and I went out a few weekends ago to apartment search and we thought we found one in the Hyde Park area. The landlord seemed really nice and it was in a good location (three blocks down from OBAMA’S house!) But… he still hasn’t sent us the application for it and we’ve yet to hear back from him. Now, Ashley is looking at tattoo shops out in California (she’s a tattoo artist) and I’m stuck, yet again, in small town Iowa wondering what I’m going to do. I could still make the move out there but it’s hard trying to find a place on my own. Especially in such a big city, I don’t want to get stuck in an area that’s not good to live in for a young girl.

I wanted to move out there so I can audition at three different schools in the spring. but I don’t even know if I’ll get accepted into one – so that’s a pretty big risk to go out there and not know for sure if things will work out.

I just want the opportunity to gig, even join a band or create one and perform while I’m still young – I guess that could happen anywhere but my heart was always set on Chicago

I don’t know anymore… I guess I’ll keep searching and hope things turn around for the best. I gave notice that I would be out of my apartment here Jan 1st so I need to figure things out quick.

Aaaaah! it’s just so FRUSTRATING!!!

Ourstage.com has quickly grown to be one of my favorite sites! It’s almost overwhelming how much amazing music, people, and fans there are here. I have to admit, when I first started I was a bit intimidated and I thought to myself…“self, you’re not as good as these other musicians” and for a while I got a bit discouraged. But now I’ve come to realize that being in a competition with AMAZING artists is a GREAT opportunity! Forcing us to continually grow and develop our art and shaping us into better musicians. WHAT A GREAT THING!!!

There are many people on this site who have inspired me. :)

Another favorite site of mine, www.kompoz.com, helped me find my voice. I’ve only been really writing music since this last spring and I feel this site really BOOSTED my growth! On Kompoz you can browse through projects and if you find one you’d like to contribute on, you simply record your idea and upload your track as an audition to the project. You can experiment with different styles, work on your skills, or even create a VIRTUAL BAND! :)

With so many talented people here, I thought it would be a good idea to spread the word about Kompoz. There are a lot of artists on here that I would LOVE to collaborate with.

Think of all the Growth we can make, not to mention how fun it would be, if a bunch of us got together and created music!

Think of all the AMAZING music we can create TOGETHER and what it would bring to OURSTAGE!!!

www.kompoz.com <—- Go There! :)

It’s funny how things work out…

I’ve been wanting to get out of Creston, Iowa for a while now. I’ve always wanted to move to Chicago – Great Schools, Great Culture, Great Art. I never thought I’d be able to afford living there and was scared to make a move to a big city on my own.

My best friend and I got to talking the other day and we decided that we’re just gonna do it! Why not, right? We’re shooting for November and we’ve already started researching apartments (which actually aren’t that expensive) and she might get a tattoo apprenticeship at a shop out there and I’ll be able to get settled into the area and audition at schools for the following year.

I’M SO EXCITED! I CAN’T WAIT!!!

It’s so easy to get caught up in competition because that’s what we’re so conditioned to do – with everything. Maybe it really is just in our nature to want to be the “best”, and maybe there’s nothing wrong with that. Or could it be because we’re searching for approval or recognition for our efforts in whatever we’re choosing to do?

I’m choosing to create music. When a song of mine gets attention, it feels good. It means others connected with it, it made someone feel something or it moved them and that’s why I do it. To me, music is art that can move or touch people.

The more I think about it though – that doesn’t mean my songs that aren’t doing so well, in a competition setting, haven’t moved someone just has much as the songs that are doing well.

I’ll never know if something I’ve created has touched someone in someway. Even if it has or hasn’t, it’s still my creation – something that shares a part of me, like what I was feeling, a story, the lyrics that were wrote, the way something was sung. It’s me! We are all creators and when we create we’re sharing a part of ourselves with others. That’s why I think music is so beautiful!

Even if I were to write something that no one liked – it’s my creation, my learning process as a writer, my music journey and that, in itself, it’s pretty awesome!

We don’t need the numbers to validate us as artists. If we truly love what we’re doing that’s all that should matter, with the compeition being a bonus when you get positive reactions to your creations. Even if you get bad reactions to your creations, that too is a good thing. It helps shape you into the musicians that we can become, it makes us work harder, it gives us encouragement to learn more and better ourselves.

I don’t really know where I’m going with this or why I’m even writing it at 3am in the morning. This is just me spilling what’s on my mind to share my thoughts and see what others think.