Lesson on Writer's Block: Go to Italy

I couldn't be more excited right now. In two hours I'll be leaving for Italy, which means I'm about to partake in two weeks of memorable experiences. Considering that I'm leaving so soon, I should probably finish up the rest of the packing I still have to do, but I couldn't fight the urge to write this little blog post.

I have a very funny feeling that this trip to Italy might be the cure for my writer's block. The thing is, being a songwriter is much more complicated than just being a musician (not to say it's better or worse - it's just different). Classical and jazz musicians need to practice for hours a day to keep up with their instruments, and this kind of dedication sometimes requires a bit of isolation from the outside world. Unfortunately, the ability to write usually competes with this necessary isolation, because staying locked in a room all day doesn't inspire someone to write anything meaningful. A huge part of being a songwriter is living life so that you can write about it, and that's exactly what I'm about to do. I'm taking a step back from the piano, and going out to live life for a little while. The truth is, most inspiration comes from the outside world, not the practice room. So maybe I'll find it in Italy. 

Who knows? Maybe when I come back I won't be able to stop writing.

Ecstatic beyond belief,

Leila

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. ;)

Negative Inspiration = Creativity x 100

I have to admit, sometimes it is much easier to write a song when bad things happen. I suppose this means I'll be writing a song soon. This week is full of negative inspiration and I'm hoping this negative will spiral into a few great songs in the process. At the end of it all, I try to tell myself one thing: Even if an experience was completely horrible, the best way to make light of it is to write a song about it. If I can do that, then no experience is ever a waste. I'll also know that when I look back at the negative experience I'll always be able to see at least one positive thing about it: that I was creative.

I hope you guys forgive me for this melancholic post of mine, and I'll definitely be posting again later on this week. Hopefully by then, I'll have a new song to tell you about.

Wishing you all a better week than I'm having,

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