Album Update! And Other Jazz...

Hello there!

Sorry I've been a bit of a stranger lately. Finishing up your last semester of college is no easy task, and I've been trying my best to balance everything.

So how have I been spending my time?

Well, I've been recording my full-length album piece by piece, and I must admit, I'm really excited based on what we've done so far. I'm hoping to finish all the major tracking by May, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we can stay on schedule. Without giving too much away, let me just say that this album is going to be VOCALS GALORE. I recorded some scratch back-up vocals for "Mirror, Mirror" just the other day, and I am so freaking happy with how they turned out. I can already see that this album is going to be so much more me.

Other lovely news: I wrote a new song recently that I'm really fond of. It's called "Lily" and it's about a little girl who wants to become a famous singer (hmm I wonder where I got that from). She eventually grows up to meet a guy who forces her to give it all up. Of course he doesn't do this in a completely obvious way - most manipulation is after all, unconscious. I'm not sure where I got the darker half of my story from, but I figure my own determination to avoid this fate has something to do with it.

Here's a pic from the venue where I debuted "Lily" for the first time! Taken at Vaudeville Park in Brooklyn, 2/28/12

One more important thing you should know: I am currently involved in a rock musical written by a colleague and friend of mine, Kelly Izzo.

What?!

Yes, it's true. I'm in a musical. Who woulda thunk?

The musical is called "Alice Unraveled" and it's the story of a girl who gets sexually assaulted and slips into Wonderland to cope with her trauma. My character is Alice's mother/The Red Queen, and I must admit I'm having a blast. The show is going up this Friday, and I think it's really a great chance for me to get up from behind the piano and get more comfortable with working the stage. Click here to check out the event if you'd be interested in seeing me portray an evil queen. Truth be told, I'm having way too much fun with that...

So why am I killing myself trying to balance all these incredibly time-consuming things on top of finishing college?

As a singer-songwriter, the most important thing is to step outside of your comfort zone and live life. Otherwise, I'd have nothing to write about! So that's exactly what I'm doing. Living.

I hope you guys are doing a little of that too. It's a hectic world out there.

Wishing you all some inner peace (and fun too!)

-Leila

News from a Sniffling Singer-Songwriter

Hey beauties,

Just thought I'd update you all - my show at S.O.B.'s went splendidly well! Not only was the crowd awesome (if you were there, thank you), but there was just such a great vibe in the room. I really haven't had that much fun playing in a while. There were so many new faces, and I met so many great people who were really just there to enjoy all the fresh, undiscovered talent that's out there. It's wonderful to know that people are interested in music beyond what's on the Top 40. After all, those artists had to start somewhere too!

Allen Stone (the artist I opened for) KILLED it. If you haven't seen or heard of this guy, check out this little clip of the show that night. I was even more impressed by his music when I saw him live, which is saying a lot. The guy really puts on a great show. I had so much fun, both performing and listening to all the other great acts.

Since the show I've been really trying to focus on my songwriting. I wrote two new songs, both of which are babies in need of some nurturing. For now I'm giving them time to grow into whatever they are supposed to be. Sometimes I wait a really long time before playing new songs for people - let's face it, newborns don't just start walking right away. ;)

I'll keep you guys posted! For now, I'm sniffling, drinking a lot of tea (and EmergenC), and trying to get over this cold before my recording session tomorrow.

Have a great week, everyone!
Leila

BIG SHOW TOMORROW!!

So I have a confession to make...

I'm a twin. I don't talk about it often, especially where music is concerned - but here's why I decided to bring it up now.

Tomorrow, we will both be headlining at the Bitter End, in NYC. Yes, she's a singer-songwriter too. Click here to check out Omnia's blog, and see what she's all about.

If you come to our show tomorrow, you will see that although we are both musicians, our music is completely different. Sure, our voices may share some similar qualities, but the songwriting styles are like day and night. I also must admit that in an attempt to separate myself musically from my sister, I was very reluctant to play the same show with her. Although we've played a few local shows together in the past,  I decided after my EP was released that it was time to separate myself from Omnia as an artist. When two musicians look as much alike as we do, it is very easy for people to get a little confused. Some may also ask why we're not in a band together, and the answer is that our music is too different. As my sister has referenced in her own blog post about the show, we are two different people with varying opinions, experiences, and things to say.

We hope to see you there!
 Leila


Check out the Facebook event for more details.

Hello Summer!!!

Hey all! Sorry I've fallen off the face of the earth for the past couple of weeks! I just finished my junior year of college, moved into an apartment, and started my new job for the summer. Needless to say, things have been a little nuts these days, but I'm glad to be back on track. Time to have a ball in good old NYC! (and Italy, which I will definitely have to post about as soon as I come back...)

My odd schedule for the summer has been making it super hard to book gigs, but I'm doing the best I can. As of now, I have a full set scheduled at the Bitter End on August 11. Although this seems incredibly far away,I'm super excited for it because it's my first time headlining there.

"What do you mean?" you ask. "Didn't you just play there two weeks ago and once before that?"

Well, yes. But I'll tell you why this show is different.

The past two times I've played at the Bitter End, I was a part of a thing called "Singer-Songwriter Sessions." For these events I would always play acoustic for exactly half an hour, and I would be one of many artists who played that particular night. "Singer-Songwriter Sessions" would also be on Sunday nights, which were sometimes difficult for people who had work or school in the morning. Nevertheless, I still had a great time, and I was happy to be a part of it.

The thing that separates my August 11th show from the past two Bitter End shows I've done is that this one is MY show. I'll be playing with a band for 50 minutes, and my sister Omnia (check out her website) will be opening for me - PS. she's awesome, and that's not my sibling-bias talking.

So that's just the beginning of what I have planned for the summer. Of course I will try to write and perform as much as I possibly can - that being said, I'll also make sure to live life a little so that I have something to write about.

Stay tuned.

Love and light,
Leila

PS - I'll be leaving for Italy next week, so if that's not inspiration, I don't know what is. ;)

HUSH, LITTLE BABY - Song Stories

Let me just start off by saying that my recital last week was a blast! Not only were there were tons of people there, but the energy from all of the people that came was just wonderful. So if you were in the audience, I tip my hat to you. It was truly a pleasure performing for you.

Let's talk about one of the songs. The first song that I performed in my set, called "Hush, Little Baby" is a song that I hold very dear to me. Sure, it's on my EP (click here to preview on Itunes) which already makes it pretty important, but it's so much more than that. Since I wrote "Hush Little Baby" I barely ever perform a set without it.

Why is that, you ask?

I guess you could say that "Hush Little Baby" is almost like my anthem. Every singer-songwriter has that one song that stands out a little more than than others, and for me, this one is IT. I think the reason why is that it really captures the conflicted emotion that every single one of us experiences. Have a listen, and try to focus on the words.

                                            

 If you still aren't quite sure what this song is about, join the club. I wasn't even completely sure when I started writing it - all I knew was that I was experiencing a mess of emotion and anxiety that I didn't know how to handle. If you've ever experienced anxiety, you know that there are sometimes so many things swarming around in your head at such a high speed that it's hard to distinguish one thought from another. After a while, your thoughts start to blur together into one complex blob of tension that weighs down your mind, and sets its heavy little butt on your shoulders. This song works the same way. If you can picture it, the piano riff that repeats over and over again is almost like someone constantly poking at you, waiting to see when will break down and smack their hand away. In other words, everyone cracks - it's human nature.

So where does God come into all of this? All you really need to know is that He (or She, or it, or whoever/whatever you think is up there, if anything) represents the hope that all of us want to feel at some point in our lives. I'll stay away from talking about my religious beliefs, but I think we can all agree that everyone just wants something to believe in. That something doesn't have to be religious at all - it just has to be something that gives you hope. Whether you have hope in another person, your plans for the future, or your dog, everyone is a little hopeful about something. That's why it hurts so much when these forces in your life let you down. Knowing that nothing always goes your way is one of the most is one of the most beautiful and heartbreaking parts of being alive.

For me, "Hush, Little Baby" represents the inner conversations that go on whenever I am too overwhelmed to take in what is around me. I'm sure you've noticed that the voices in my head are pretty patronizing, and some of your own inner conversations probably have that in common. No one really wants to break down, and we will do everything we can to talk ourselves out of it.

Here's to a hopeful week,
Leila

REHEARSALS, REHEARSALS, REHEARSALS!!!!

Here's the photo I used for my poster. You like?

This week is a crazy and exciting week for me.  As a Studio Composition (songwriting) student, I am required to have a junior recital, as a testament to the work I’ve been doing for the past three years. Well, guess what? My junior recital is this Thursday!!

So what does that mean?

1)  I’m finally doing a show at school that my mom can actually come to (i.e. one that will not involve drunk college kids)

2)  I can jazz it up with a fancy reception and Italian food!

3)  REHEARSALS, REHEARSALS, AND MORE REHEARSALS

The great thing is that I am more excited than nervous. I usually just get really anxious and stressed out during the week of an important show, but not this time. While I’m sure the nerves will kick in on Thursday, right now I’m just going to enjoy the fact that I can dress up (what girl doesn’t love that) and play a 10-song set with my band.

Speaking of the band: damn, is this gonna sound sweet!! Drums, bass, guitar, piano (obviously) and five amazing backup vocalists. Not to mention that I just decided over the weekend to add cello to one particular song. I’ll be playing what I believe to be the best songs I’ve written over the past three years, meaning that I will settle for nothing less than an awesome show.

If you’re in the area and you’d like to come to my recital, it’s on Thursday evening at 7:30, in Room 0081 of the Purchase College Music Building. Also playing will be amazing singer-songwriter Dana Mancuso (piano-chicks unite!), so you won’t want to miss this!

Wish me luck!!

Leila

 

Monday: Song Stories

 Although it's past midnight and technically Tuesday, it's pretty much still Monday to me. I've been up since seven in the morning, which probably seems like a treat to some of you sleep-deprived workers/students out there. Getting to sleep until 7AM used to be a dream come true, yet now I found myself groaning every time my alarm clock sings to me, whether or it's 7 in the morning or 12 o'clock noon.

Almost exactly two weeks ago, I wrote a song called "Monday." Yes, this song was actually written on a Monday, and it is actually about Mondays (how mysterious). That day, I sat down at the piano with the intention of writing a song, though I didn't know what it would be about. I wasn't directly inspired by anything, and I was completely distracted by the entire mess that had been my day so far. Then I realized that all my distractions and lack of inspiration had just inspired my song topic.

Let's think of everything that Monday means to most people: work, getting up early, stress, the start of a new week, the end of the weekend (i.e. back to reality), and let's face it: leaving the people you love to go do whatever you have to do to pay the bills. Whether that means going to your job or classes, it all pretty much ends up being about the same thing in the end: money. If you're lucky, you love what you do and actually enjoy going to work every day. Regardless, for a lot of us (even musicians, believe it or not) there is a bit more to life than work, and it is these simple life pleasures outside of our careers that keep us going. There is a reason why we look forward to Friday, and it isn't just that the simple fact that the work week is over. For some of us, it is that there is someone we're waiting to see who we've been missing all week.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xkBq-4OQ84

Reach for the Sky: Is any topic too ridiculous for a song?

So here's my predicament for this week: I have to write a song about Buzz Lightyear for my next master class. Think I'm kidding? Well, I am absolutely, positively, 100% serious.

I guess I should give you guys a little background. Aside from being a singer/songwriter and trying to actually make it in the music industry, I also study songwriting at the Conservatory of Music at Purchase College. SUNY Purchase is a wonderfully artsy place full of inspiration and people who are not afraid to express themselves. Sometimes people's sense of expression can be a little alarming, but hey, whatever floats your boat. 

Anyway, I take a master class in composition and my professor likes to give assignments. My particular weakness in songwriting is writing to a topic, so naturally my assignment for the week would be to write to a topic. That's all fine and dandy. I don't mind a challenge, even if I complain about how unfair it is the entire time. However, only at Purchase College would I be forced to write about something so quirky and utterly ridiculous: Buzz freaking Lightyear. 

Don't get me wrong - I adore Buzz. This all started because a girl in my class was carrying something (though I can't remember what) with Buzz Lightyear on it, and I just so happened to express how much I love Buzz. Little did I know that I was digging my own grave, because suddenly my professor's face lit up with excitement and he said "Yes! That's your assignment for next week. You're going to write a song about Buzz Lightyear!"

So here I am, completely clueless about how I'm supposed to start this song. I guess I'll just have to do a little Toy Story research (i.e. watch the movies a few million times) before I figure out how I'm going to do this. By Thursday. Wish me luck - I'll need it!

Reach for the Sky!

Leila

Introduction: Inspiration, Ideas, and Experiences

I think the question of the day is, why would someone who writes songs also need to have a blog? Considering that I'm always working on a song of some kind, you'd think that I wouldn't need to express myself any further.

Let's think about this. In life, do we ever really get to say everything that we want to say? Usually not. There's always just a little more to say than what has already been said. What I'm starting to understand more than ever is that a song is only a 3-minute representation of the actual life events that surround it. So from an outside point of view, I'm forced to leave out a lot of details. This seems unfortunate in a lot of ways, but I'll tell you why it's not. It is often these unsaid details that make a song beautiful. Just because you didn't hear me mention what I ate for breakfast that day, or that annoying thing my ex used to do, doesn't mean that I didn't express these things in some way. Context is everything, and this makes writing very subliminal. So does performance. If you wonder why I pound my fingers down on the keyboard during that chorus, or why I always look like I'm dreaming when I sing that verse, it's because of the context. You might not know why I'm singing the words that I'm singing, but I do. And if you asked me to, I could look back and describe to you in detail all of the 7 million things that were going on in my life at the time when I wrote that song. 

I suppose now would be the time to introduce myself. My name is Leila, and Eric Clapton spelled my name wrong. I guess he's awesome for writing a song with my name in it to begin with - I mean, L-A-Y-L-A would be the most obvious spelling. But hey, I like to think my way is better.

Like Sir Eric, I write music. I think it's safe to assume that you've realized this by now, but there's no harm in stating the obvious. I've been writing music since I was eleven. Technically I used to make up songs in the shower when I was in elementary school, but I suppose those don't count since I never actually wrote them down. All of those little songs were about ridiculous things like Elmer's glue and Crayola crayons - I guess as a child I would either be considered weird or cute, depending on your standards. 

Despite all the songwriting speeches I've been giving you, I really started out as a singer. Singing was probably my first love, and I still love it more than anything. A lot of singer/songwriters don't put a lot of stock in the "singing" part of their title, but this is one of the most important parts of my music. I take the singing part just as seriously as the writing part, because as I briefly mentioned before, performance has a lot to do with the way a song is perceived. That being said, I write my songs to suit my voice. This could  be a slight problem if I ever have to write for another artist, but I'm not sure I would ever want to do that.  If context is everything, I probably couldn't handle giving my song to another singer that didn't live through the specific experiences that I did while I was writing the song. This may seem amateur, but I suppose there's a little bit of childish pride in all of us. At this point in my life, I'm just not ready to let go.

The piano was my second love. Don't get me wrong - I didn't treat it very well, and I neglected it pretty often in many ways. I rarely ever practiced in the traditional sense of practicing, and this is probably why I don't sight-read or do any of those things that crazy pianists do. As soon as I figured out that I could use the piano to accompany my singing, I began to write songs. And that was pretty much it for me. Of course I was still playing piano all the time, but let's just say that scales and Bach inventions unfortunately took a backseat after that.

For now, that's all you really need to know about me. I'll try not to pour my heart out too quickly, and I'll try even harder not to give away all the background of every song I write. My only hope is that you can reflect on your own experiences as you listen. 

With love from a humble singer/songwriter,

Leila