That now cliche quote from “A Tale of Two Cities” pretty much sums up my 20s: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”  It’s hard to believe that at the beginning of the decade, I was still in college.  That seems like a lifetime ago.  I think the 20s are akin to purgatory… it’s this odd time between childhood/dependence and adulthood/independence where you’re forced to figure life and yourself out before you can move onto the next phase with a higher understanding.  It’s probably when people make most of their biggest mistakes (the fun ones and the REALLY not fun ones…).  I went into my 20s with a one-track vision: become the most famous singer in the world, and be like 100 pounds thinner.  Neither happened, and as I sit here this morning, I can honestly say “who cares.”  I have learned to let go of so many things in my 20s.  I let go of the idea in my head of the person I thought I was supposed to be, which was mostly routed in what I thought OTHER PEOPLE thought I was supposed to be.  I learned to let go of friends and situations that did nothing to serve me, but instead held me back and brought me down.  I learned that loyalties should not go unchecked.  I learned what it takes to REALLY have good relationships… and that I should never sacrifice myself for the happiness of someone else.  If someone cares about you, they will always try to meet you halfway.  I have learned to not hold onto the past and to not be afraid of change.  One of the best things I did for myself in my later 20s was to sell or giveaway everything that wouldn’t fit into the back of my jeep, and move to the west coast.  I sacrificed proximity to my friends and family, but it was necessary for me to feel like I could stand on my own two feet.  With that said… I also learned I have the best family in the world.

The last year, I have been teaching music a tremendous amount, and it has given me a completely different perspective on myself and the kind of person I want to be for the next portion of my life.  Life is all about reciprocity, and I feel like giving to and sharing with my students has brought me so many blessings.

Most importantly, I learned that happiness is a choice, and I hope that I can remember that even in my most difficult hours.

So what are my birthday plans?  I am going to celebrate my further step into adulthood by honoring all things childlike.

I’m going to Disneyland!

This morning I got some really sad news.  Two of the parishoners at my church here in Santa Monica were killed by Somali pirates who hijacked their boat in the Indian Ocean.  Most of you have probably hear the story.  Here it is for those who haven’t:  http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-oc-yacht-couple-hijacked-somali-pirates,0,4704165.story

I didn’t know the couple personally, but I was filled with such a profound sadness and terror.  I immediately flashed to what it must have felt like in those last few minutes… having an absolute sense of lack of control and probably disbelief that life has all come to this moment.

And it makes me feel really ridiculous for complaining that I don’t want to get out of bed.

It may sound cliche to say, but moments like these really do give you an appreciation for your own life, even with all its annoyances and difficulties.

I wanted to write more, but for now I’m going to actually get out of bed and have a GOOD day.  Hope everyone else does too!

(way to be vague)

Anyway, I stumbled across a funny post on the internet this weekend… about me of course.  I used to google my name regularly, just to see what new “info” was out there… I haven’t done it in a couple months.  But this past weekend I was feeling a little under the weather, so I stayed in and spent many, many hours on the interweb.  I found this posting on the Ellen DeGeneres show page of all places.  It was posted under a video of Teri Hatcher on the show… I have no idea what made this guy post the following about me there, but here it is:

“i’m an old retired fart from wisconsin and I used to milk cows for a livin, til one day , my wife said to come in out of the rain and watch that Ellen show, and i did . Thanks Dave. Just teasing ya. I was surfing through you tube today and i came across a female artist that i think you might be interested in.She must be fairly new because there aren’t that many hits on her site as of yet.the singing artists name is Leah Driscoll and some of her songs are as follows.”Mr. Do Wrong” and “Thief Of Love”- ” Only In My Dreams” I have no clue as to whether or not someone has picked her up as a client , but i think she has talent as a singer/songwriter and is easy on the eyes. But then hey i’m 59 and everything looks good to me. Love your show and your great sense of humor Thanks again Dave Seymour”

Well, that made me laugh and it made my day.  Glad to know there are people out there like Dave Seymour from Wisconsin.  Here’s the link, but you gotta scroll down a ways to find it.

http://ellen.warnerbros.com/2010/05/teri_hatcher_gets_a_stinging_surprise_vod_0514.php

I’m re-posting a video I recorded last year of “Ain’t No Way” by Aretha Franklin.  It’s the only one of my videos that steadily gets comments… I could say “I have no idea why” but I know why… when you sing a song that means something to you, that you really FEEL, it’s effortless and it’s just “right”… and the humanity within all of us seems to be able to sense that.

Here goes…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqd0wPGrlnQ

Hope everyone’s loving the summer!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=vD0kzDlOOC0

First off, I love you Ft. Lauderdale, but I don’t know how people can tolerate this kind of humidity.  I’m used to it to an extent…goodness knows New England gets its share of humidity in the summer, but this takes humidity to an all new level.  The upside is that my voice feels great (I often use a humidifier at night in LA because of the dry air).  The performance was  great and the audience was really enthusiastic and supportive — and they reeeaaallly got into it when I started singing “Pride”.  Extra special thanks to Corrie, Misty, and Diamond (who drove me to and from my hotel multiple times so I wouldn’t have to hang out too long in the heat – THANK YOU DIAMOND!!!).  I also must express my love for Miss Jujubee from RuPaul’s Drag Race, who was also a performer at the festival.  I saw Juju perform WAAAAY back in the day when I was still living in Boston (we actually discovered we have some mutual acquaintances).  She’s the best!

Every time I perform, especially if it’s in a new place with new people, I always learn something… often, it’s what NOT to do.  There were multiple performers all day of varying levels of notoriety… and temperaments.  Something I will never understand is how easily some people find it to be complete divas (not so much in voice, but in demands) and feel that they’re entitled to do so regardless of any of the circumstances.  I realize that a lot of people have baggage and sometimes it causes them to act certain ways… but such a blatant disregard for other people on such a colossal scale blows my mind.  I try to make sure that everywhere I go I’m as nice as possible, because having the opportunities to perform is not a right, it is absolutely a privilege, and a privilege that a lot of people work very hard for for a VERY LONG TIME to have.  And the other thing I learned a while ago is… this industry is really small, so it really behoves performers to act respectful to everyone they meet.

So back to LA I go!  It looks like I’ll be back in the studio recording my next single in the next few weeks… should be an exciting project and I plan on documenting the steps fully so keep an eye out.

And once again — thank you Ft. Lauderdale for inviting me out and for the love!

June 2010 – QVegas Magazine – Battle on the Dancefloor

So back to the “Catholic Conference”… our choir was asked to sing with one of the performers at the concert, John Angotti.  Mr. Angotti had visited our parish a few months prior and I sang a portion of one of his songs.  At some point, he asked our music director Dan Houze to have me sing a little something at the congress.  Said song is included in this post.  My friends from home or anyone from Windham who used to come to our Chamber Singers concerts will fully appreciate this one — it’s very Gospel-y and is the type of song I suppose I became identified with.  Admittedly, I’ve listened to this song on repeat since I got it.  Some may call it ego (…ok, many my call it ego!!!), but for me, it’s exactly what I described above — being totally in tune to the universe and my spirit, and letting it take over, and I can’t get enough of hearing what that sounds like — and here’s what it sounds like!  :-)

Thanks and Praise (with Leah)

http://www.leahdriscoll.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Thanks-and-Praise-with-Leah.mp3

On Memorial Day, I was down on 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica and picked up a copy of Billboard from a magazine stand.  It was so fun to stand there and excitedly flip through the pages looking for my name!  (Granted, the mag was a week behind — now two weeks behind — so the song was only #39… but it was still cool!).  I keep meaning to post a picture of the mag with my name in it… I’ll get to it eventually.  :-)

I’m so glad summer is upon us.  Like last summer, I’ll be spending some time recording new material here and there.  I’m starting to feel some creative inspiration again… despite how I try, creativity is certainly not something that can be forced, much like many things in life…

Have a good weekend everyone!

Florida Agenda – Song of the summer