It’s the third week of our new “Mondays On the Move” series to promote freedom of movement for all people. Sarah and I have been choosing a different spot around Brussels, Belgium each Monday, where we share one of our migration songs with you. The first Monday, we talked about the project and sang…
Tag: performance
Gotta get out
Most days, I live in my mind. I staff museum sites at a park, and there are many hours of the day where my own inner voices carry on a heated dialogue while I intermittently sit, stand, and talk with visitors. This winter was a rough one for me, both emotionally and for my immune system. On…
Pitch and Pivot and Pitch—Repeat!
I stood up last night in front of a group of entrepreneurs and pitched my business. I had just come up with a new idea for a way to package my product the night before. This shift is what I have heard referred to in my class as a pivot—a change in business plan, product,…
Where nearly no one knows my name
For much of my life, I have felt like an anomaly. These past few years of moving around, I thought I had found peace with this feeling. Tonight, I went to my second ever open mic in Lowell at the Back Page. All day, I had felt in a bit of a funk, not myself….
Make the audience your friend
In my experience performing with ukulele in hand, I have found that befriending the audience helps alleviate much of the stress from being vulnerable on the stage. When I befriend the audience, I am no longer standing up there in front of a bunch of strangers. I can create a temporary community with everyone in…
Performance do’s and don’ts
In my last post, I began a dialogue about musical performance. This dialogue was inspired by a fellow musician, who wrote to me recently with questions on the subject. One her questions was how to remember music when you are in front of an audience. I reflected on this question. Remembering lyrics has always come…
A need for sharing our stories
Time banks are on the rise, and a skill I am offering to my community is that of songwriting. I offered a songwriting demonstration at the Merrimack Valley Time Exchange Skills Showcase last night in downtown Lowell at the LTC. It was a work night, but many folks came out to participate. I played a…