Last week was Malcolm and my official first week of work as startup entrepreneurs in proximity to one another. We are not starting off fresh as spring daisies, but we are present and passionate. For the past several years, Malcolm and I have been working together from a distance with very intermittent opportunities to work…
Tag: singer songwriter
Carte Postale no. 6: Tic Toc to Prescott
Malcolm has spent the past several days in Colorado, visiting with friends from our cohort at Prescott College. From Denver to Boulder to Durango, he tasted espresso and sat in a beautiful cathedral and beyond. Update on animals: back in Rockport, on a morning before I departed, across the street perched the largest bird I…
Carte Postale no. 1: The West Awaits
I know that Malcolm was a member of a band for a period of his life because he told me once not to worry about people not liking me as a performer. Did anyone throw rocks at you? he asked me. No, I responded. Then you’re fine, he said. Rocks? Seriously? I asked. And there…
(Don’t just) Wade in the Water
I vividly remember my AP Psychology class in high school. The main reason I remember is because my teacher was so very inspired and impassioned with the subject. I loved going to his class, where I felt that my presence was valued and I was almost always pleasantly surprised by the information I gleaned from…
Serious about songwriting
Committing to a craft full-time is serious business, for me at least. It is scary and involves some serious butterflies of the fearful, unnerving variety. I incorporated a songwriting business nearly a year ago, and I have been devoting a percentage of my time to do it ever since. I love songwriting. I am learning…
All by myself
It can feel pretty lonely up there at the mic, and I have found ways to avoid direct contact with the audience while I am performing. I often sing with my eyes closed. It helps me to feel the rhythm and to focus on the story of the song. Somehow, with my eyes closed I…
Artist or Busk
Do you ever feel like you are in limbo? In my post-doctorate life, I feel the weight of what comes next. It haunts me day in and day out. When I ponder the question, it is clear in my mind what I would like to be doing, but the desire is a daunting one to…
Songwriting Step II: Making the words appear singable
The next step in the Story-to-Song process is to prepare the text for the first singthrough. I take that big block of words all strung together and shape it to look like one long poem. This essentially means looking at the text and imagining reading or singing a line of words. Inhale, speak or sing…
Marieke is Guiding Song 