shakeh: News

It has been triple digits here which is normal for the desert in August. I've sat in playing music at a couple of places and been very well received. Not sure how much longer I'll be here. Mom has shingles and I am taking care of her until she's better and it could be a few weeks or a few months. Funny how your life just grinds to a halt and your most important issues concern pills, rest, cooking, laundry, cleaning and lots of other stuff you never even think about at all. I am looking forward to being in LA on Friday and doing my gig at Namaste in Redondo Beach that evening. I have plans for central coast gigs also in September that I'm planning on doing so we'll see how it goes. Mom will be 85 in two days.

I had a wonderful time on my Northwest Gigs. Playing for the residents at Bellingham Merrill Gardens was so fun. They loved me and were such a great audience. Then I did the Seattle Premium Outlets Mall outside which is always a treat and after that on Sunday the Everett Farmer's Market outside. It was overcast, but no rain so we were ahead of the game. Made a lot in tips and got a lot of great comments.
My Mom has been having a few issues so I left the Northwest early to be with her here in Palm Springs until she gets back up and running at her usual warp speed.
Will be at the Namaste Cafe later this month with Dwain which I am looking forward to.

Wow.....I have been visiting this group once or twice a month and have seen a definite shift in the past two visits. People that stared off blankly into nowhere have a light in their eyes and are mouthing words and smiling and clapping and moving. To bring them joy brings me joy. I'm so lucky to be there.

I played in the lobby last Friday at the VA and had such a blast. I did mainly old favorites and walked around serenading the people waiting for appointments and etc. Some gave me candy, some gave me winks, a lot gave me thank yous and compliments and I felt really great. The power of music to lift, heal and inspire people is always amazing to me. And when I get to be the vehicle of that....what an honor.

Having gone through the ups and downs and challenges of being an independent artist and , currently, the financial restructuring that many of us are going through with these tough times, I am amazed at how many of us are reinventing ourselves. I feel like I am coming into the best time of my life. I am frustrated at not spending more of my time on my music. As an artist, I thrive on the open spaces of time, long walks, just being in a place of receiving. Right now I'm running around so much after the financial security that those pockets of time don't exist for me. But the up side is that when I do play I have a deeper appreciation for the magic of making music and the power it gives me. I have desperately wanted commercial success, attention, money, etc. over the years. But I never knew that what I'd get out of this journey was such an amazing feeling of inner peace, strength, satisfaction and appreciation for the sheer magic of creating and embodying music in motion. I'm grateful for Dwain Roque who plays with me so brilliantly, supporters like Bennett Zimmerman, Karie Hilary who is doing recording with me and doing such a phenomenal job, plus all of you who have seen me, bought my CDs, shared with me over the years. Some people search all their lives for magic. I just have to pick up my guitar. I'm a lucky, lucky girl!

There is always that delicious, tired but fulfilled feeling you get when you've done your last gig and it went well and you've got the gear all packed and are heading either home or to the next motel to crash. Playing The Porch on Friday night was a blast with a rowdy group of locals who stayed with me the entire 2 hours.
Paradise Store was way fun being outside on the patio with a killer view and a lot of fun folks. They have two locations for music and Bob is dedicated to keeping live music going on there which is wonderful since the Santa Barbara scene like so many others seems to be pretty bleak for us live music types. I'll probably go back there in the fall.
It's been awhile since I was doing 4 gigs in a row and travelling but felt so very good. Plus I was in beautiful places with killer weather and also staying with my good friends Sharine and Ron. At the end of the 4 days I was super, super tight on my playing and felt really back in the saddle completely.
While at the Porch, I saw an article on a local girl...I think she was 12 or 14 who is the newest up and coming country performer. She's opened for Meryl Haggard and done some other cool things. It always strikes me as so odd that part of someone's appeal as an artist is that they are as young as possible. If she was really fabulous but 6 would she be more appealing? What if she was as good as she was but she was 40? Less appealing?
For me, I wasn't a prodigy musically or a really cute young girl or came from a really supportive family for my music. I never felt that overwhelming support or security in what I was doing. It's always been a challenge to be better, put in the time to book gigs and submit your music and go to schmooze it or lose it events.
Like most musicians, I've spent a lot of time trying to figure out what I need to do to be "successful" and beating myself up a lot because I didn't feel good enough. But now I'm at a really clear place about what I've done because I would never have been the person I am without all of those struggles. I would never have been as good as I am if I hadn't come to LA and made my mistakes and gotten into debt and had those frustrations. I would never have written the songs that I've written or had the experiences that I have had without taking all the risks that I've taken these years.
My ultimate reward which I experience every time I play now is that amazing feeling of realizing that my power is in what I do. I move people. I connect with people. I lift people through my music and I get to fly myself. I am totally at one with what I do and grateful that I have the strength and desire to keep putting it out there and being a musician.
I am grateful for my talents and my artistry and am looking forward to whatever comes next.

Had 200 people at Atascadero State Hospital and had a blast. Big stage, fantastic sound system, and me with my guitar. Great to look out and see them digging what I'm doing wether a cover song or one of my own. Then last night I was the guest artist at The Porch songwriters at play evening and that was really fun. Had a very good crowd. Tonight I'm back there again doing my own show from 7-9 PM. I scoped out a bunch of wineries to play at for the future and it was a gorgeous day and drive. They all wanted me to taste wine, but I was driving, had to play last night and am a total light weight when it comes to drinking anyway! Good to be back in the "touring artist" conversation of my life.

It was loud, it was crazy, it was a blast. So great to have Dwain playing and a room full of people and be in the moment. I love what I do. Thank you!

The other day I did my volunteer time going bedside at the VA and each time I go in I find another scenario, gear up to do that one song that I know will lift their spirits or soothe them. Then I always thank them for being a veteran and their sacrifices so that we can be free in this country of ours. Each room I go into is a whole separate world of a person and their lives and where they are at this exact moment. Maybe I'm there for 5 minutes and I move on. But I give out 200 percent in that five minutes and I know I made a difference and that makes me feel sooooo good!

Things are changing...how many of you are saying that these days....have been so involved in making money and staying afloat that the music schedule has suffered. However, I've got the central coast in May and am working on dates here in LA and up north. I sound better than ever and am enjoying being in the conversation of being a musician as much as possible. Songwriters Sanctum last week was so cool. Reminded me of how lucky I am to do what I do and sharing with other talented people like Dale La Duke and Joyce Woodson was pure joy.

Hard to believe that Honey and I will be celebrating 20 years of marriage on St. Patrick's Day, March 17th.! We will be in Xtapa,Mexico...yes, I know there have been bad things going on with the banditos and the tourists, but we will be safe and sane in our travels. Looking forward to the trip and the beach and spending some quality time together.

I am sitting in a Comfort Inn in Atlanta having spent all week at a Medical/Technical conference on my day job and I realize after running my legs off, talking to tons of people and taking copious notes that I hate this....Where's my guitar when I need it....where's Shakeh the artist? I know I'm still there and I'm way cool and I'm so totally in love with what I do. So why am I not doing more of it? Dwain and I had such a great gig at the World Cafe and it felt so good. That being said, no more whining....I'm going to get on the phone and start doing some booking. The pity party is now officially over.

I just got my computer back today, Feb. 25th. after having it gone since the 11th. I can't tell you what a relief it is to be back in the saddle so to speak. On one hand, I was glad not to have the constant input. On the other hand, so much information is in the little beast it's staggering. Yes, I had backed up a week before....but I'm glad that the new motherboard is functioning well and we are back in touch with the universe at large.

On Monday I volunteered at the Brotman TCU and got to meet Fanny who was 94, into country music, so I played Crazy and I Walk The Line. She had grip like a truck driver and was sharp as a bell and when I asked her where she was going next, she said with a chuckle, "My next stop is going to be the underground motel". 94 and still has her sense of humor. I walked out of there greatful for having been exposed to such a vibrant, spirited soul who made me laugh out loud.

Yesterday we put the finishing touches on "Take Me To Jericho" at Steve Refling's studio. I have an acoustic version which I love and the full blown, rocking version will be mixed by the end of the week. Feels so good to be back in the studio conversation. Looking forward to my gig tomorrow night at Redondo Beach Center for Spiritual Living Namaste Cafe at 7:30 PM with Dwain Roque.

I had a great time last night being a part of Dave Strauss' Flat Cat Radio show online. Dave has been a part of the LA original music scene for a long time and has had this show for 3 years now.He has always been about helping his fellow musicans. One of the most fun parts was seeing and being added to his "Wall of Fame" because I got to see pictures of a lot of people that I know. We talked, spun some CD tracks, and I did some songs live. He's booked for months, but had a cancellation so I was able to get on. Check out the site at
http://www.flatcatradio.com Thanks Dave for supporting independent musicians and giving us this forum to strut our stuff and be a part of independent online radio. You rock!

Today is my birthday and I always email my list to get birthday wishes and find out what's going on with everyone else. Last night at Yoshi's in San
Francisco with Cyril Pahinui playing was really nice. The club is right there on Fillmore and quite an impressive place. I feel really blessed that I got to start off the year this way playing and promoting music and am looking forward to a great 2010!

Cyril wowed a full house and then I went on with Rafael and Karie and we were having a great time and then when I was ready to do my last song, "Never Been Cool", this man came in all lit up like a Christmas Tree and we both danced together which was totally spontaneous, hilarious and just plain magical! Sometimes I look at my life and I swear, you couldn't plan these kinds of things if you tried to!

Don Quixote's was packed and we had a great show. Karie and Rafael really came through for me. People showed up to decorate the stage with plants and beautiful Hawaiian drapings. The audience was very appreciative and I had a blast. At one point while Cyril was on stage I looked around and said to myself,"I did this, I created this". It was a good moment. Norm from KAPU said nobody had ever done as good a job as I did promoting a Hawaiian show here. So it was huge success and I'm very pleased with the results. This one lady named Patty sat in on pedal steel who had been doing it since she was 14 and was marvelous with Cyril and another guy on bass who was really good. They called up danceers including Chelle, Cyril's wife and one of my best friends. She is so graceful when she dances. It's incredible. I could not have started off 2010 any better than that. Mahalo to the universe and all who attended.

Yesterday's radio appearance at KSCO was way fun. Karie came with me to do percussion and background vocals. This station is adorable and has been there since 1947 with only 3 owners in its entire history. Right now my hair is done, my toenails polished...not wearing open toe shoes but one should always be prepared no matter what...going to do a quick run through at Karie's once Rafael gets here and then we do sound check at 6 PM and the show starts at 8 PM. First day of 2010 and I'll be doing what I love to do. Starting off the year right....yeah baby!!

A huge disappointment that my compadre Dwain Roque won't be able to make it up to do these shows with me. But, I rehearsed yesterday with Rafael Herrera and Karie Hillery and we sound great so I'm confident that things will go well. Tomorrow I do my interview and play live on KSCO in Santa Cruz on the Rosemary Chalmers show. Getting excited about the upcoming events this weekend!

Just got off of my interview with Lani B. at KZSC on her Breakfast in Bed show. We did a little bit of Never Been Cool live and played some tracks off of the CD in the studio. Feels good to be a star in your slippers....
And the beat goes on!

I have been diligently calling radio and press people to promote shows with Cyril Pahinui in January at Don Quixote's and Yoshi's in San Francisco. The club owners have given me kudos for my work so far. It's a lot easier making phone calls when people know the artist already!! But as the opener, I'm getting some exposure also which is fun. It's going to be intense the next few weeks, but I'm committed to a full house at Don Quixote's and a great show.

It's been a rollercoaster ride this past year. I'll be glad to see 2009 go bye byes, but I think it has also been a time to confront a lot of demons and reinvent myself. I promise more music in 2010!! Love my new song...."Take Me To Jericho". Greatful for my health, wonderful friends and family, my music and my life. Have a great Holiday!

I just booked some great dates for Cyril Pahinui to start the year off and will be opening on Jan. 1st. at Don Quixote's in Felton which is 10 miles from Santa Cruz with Dwain Roque. Cyril will also be performing on Sunday,Jan. 3rd at Yoshi's in San Francisco. Pretty cool!!!