One more week!

A week from tomorrow, my first CD will be released.  As the days rush past me and the date gets closer, I am having to let go of a little of the control that I so enjoy having, as lead times become too long, shipping becomes too expensive, and I am just supposed to be ready.  And “being ready” is something that I definitely ought to be by now.  I’ve been dreaming of this day longer than most girls dream of their wedding day.  I remember buying my first keyboard and thinking to myself, “no matter what anyone tells me, one day I am going to record an album.”  That was in about the fifth grade.

I didn’t really expect it to take this long…in college, I made a lot of basic recordings on my computer, got them onto cassette tapes, printed out black-and-white jackets and gave them out to people I hoped would understand.  I loved every part of it–from writing the songs to designing the tape cover.  A lot has changed since then–from recording technology to my ability to print in color.  The songs have changed since then, although this project has a lot of my earliest songwriting on it.  What hasn’t changed is my love of the art.   Writing songs has always been a part of me, something I could set down now and then but never for long.  Finally being able to record this material “the right” way looked for a while like it may never happen.  Life got in the way and then got back out of the way, and here we are, on the verge of unleashing it on the world.  And hopefully this is just the beginning.

“Making it big” has never really been the goal.  What I’ve always wanted more than anything is to write the songs, play the music, and find my audience….the people who “get” it.  And to be able to afford to do that.  This isn’t my first step to seeking out a record deal–I want to BE the record deal.  I want to choose my producer, graphic designer, photographer, and I want to do business with people I like and want to support.   This project has been all of that and so much more.  I’ve been extremely fortunate to have some of the best talent in the state and beyond to choose from when it comes to these things. (See this earlier blog post crediting the folks involved with the project.)

So, next weekend, there will be a big party to celebrate.  It’s the completion of one milestone on the road to a dream.  But I like to think we won’t be celebrating just my dream, but the world of possibilities out there for any and all of us to follow our hearts to what we really want in life.  I don’t know if I’ve ever been busier than I am right now.  But I don’t think I’ve ever been happier, either.

For anyone interested in the CD, it will be available at the party.  We’ll have some merch to sell, we’ll do a couple songs (“we” = my guitarist, Ryan Horn, and me) and we’ll all have a heck of a good time.  If you’re interested in the details, please be sure to check out the Release Party page on this site.

So far, the response has been fantastic.  Thanks everyone for all of your support!