music

Songwriting Workshop /  by Michelle Cowan

Believe it or not, I had never been to a songwriting workshop before this year.  I've written songs with others, read books, and done a lot of self-teaching.  But this experience was different.  I knew it would be.

The past year has been filled with classes and learning.  I realized that, if I want to get anywhere in the music business, I will have to be at the top of my game.  And that means getting better at anything I'm already good at, like singing and playing the piano.  I'm usually very focused on developing totally new skills and learning brand new things.  However, the people I see who are successful take what they excel at and focus on making that part of themselves the best it can be. This realization led to me signing up for voice and piano lessons again, not to mention a few audio engineering courses.

A fellow songwriter friend, Monique Grezlik, and I drove to New Braunfels and spent two days luxuriating in our craft.  The workshop was led by Susan Gibson, best known for her song Wide Open Spaces, performed by the Dixie Chicks.  Let me tell you, she has dozens more that are equally fantastic.

Anyway, the simple act of setting aside an extended block of time for my craft made all the difference.  I wrote a new song, worked on others, learned new exercises to get the creative juices flowing, and met fellow songwriters who I hope to be friends with for many years.  Some co-writes are guaranteed after this adventure.

I want to encourage you all to set aside a big block of time for you to work on whatever your creative passion is. A couple hours here and there is fine, but a full day devoted to your craft yields serious results.  I liked having the time structured and guided, and I certainly took breaks. But the main thing is that I made the time, and the muses showed up.  If it happened for me, it can happen for you.

I posted a video of a recent song I wrote called This Time. I didn't write it during the workshop, but I performed it in a show afterward. Head on over to my new Video page to check it out and enjoy!

Go creative energy, go!

No Resolutions /  by Michelle Cowan

I know that I haven't written anything in quite a while, and I'm not even sure when I will get back to it.  I make no promises—no resolutions.  This goes for booking gigs, too. 

This music business thing had me flying high for a few years and seemed to gain momentum, but keeping that momentum requires a lot of energy from me. Therefore, I've decided to form a band.  Soon, I will be coming out with a three-song release showcasing some great work over the last couple of years.  But I am also determined to record and release a full-length album with a band of my own within the next three years.  That's the next project on the horizon.

I hope to grace your ears soon with acoustic versions of new music, for yes, I still write music every day.  I just also happen to be in the middle of learning about contentment with a life that doesn't drive me absolutely crazy with too many commitments and too many projects.  As an artist, I am called to share something special with the world.  My contribution hasn't come to fruition yet, so please be patient as the multiple ships I've set sail come back into the harbor at their own time.

Basically, I'm forming a band because I need help, and I can't do this alone.  I can't not do music.  I can't stop performing. But nor can I create the music that's in my head on my own. 

More soon ~

Silence /  by Michelle Cowan

I love silence.  I like my house to be totally quiet because noise and activity easily overwhelm me.  I’m in love with silence.  It holds within it something beautifully eerie, sacred, and open.  In silence, I can hear thoughts and let them go.  I feel connected to what I’m doing and connected to where I am.

To some people, this seems strange—for a musician to prefer the quiet.  I’m constantly humming tunes, making up songs, and generally thinking of music.  But with all that music in my head, why do I need it everywhere around me?

Now, I love a good concert.  I love entering into a zone that envelopes me in sound and lights and people and total and utter stimulation.  Euphoria.

I specifically go to concerts for that experience. In day-to-day life, I prefer silence.

Enjoying silence most of the time allows for a dramatic shift when I do turn music on.  The contrast between silence and music brings the house to life in a new way.  I start smiling.  I start moving.  I start feeling better. My mood shifts just a little.  Silence in the house is one kind of treat; sound is another.

I regularly go into the living room, sit at the piano or on the couch with the guitar, and play. I’ll sing most of the time, too, letting the vibrations engulf me. I might write songs, learn new ones, or ramble on in an improvisational stream of consciousness, searching for total immersion in the music or new songs I haven’t found yet.  Whatever the mode, I love floods of sound.  The more sound, the better.  I wish I were an entire orchestra sometimes.  And maybe, somehow, that’s what I truly am.

I am a symphony of sound.  Inside me lies every note that has ever been played in this world.  I feel it, and I think that other musicians feel it, too—like we’ve heard it all before, been it all before, and are trying to find it again. Perhaps that’s why I’m so easily overwhelmed by other stimuli. I’m already so full of the magic of music.

Music is my gift. Where it comes from, I don't know. I write this to answer those that would question my love of quiet and to encourage them to find the beauty in it, too.  Music fills me so completely that I have to blot out the outside noise now and then (or most of the time) to hear the sounds that want to manifest through me.

In the end, silence is the way I hear music, and music is the reason I love silence.

No More Dying /  by Michelle Cowan

I felt like I was dying. That’s the best way I can describe it. I would be sitting at my desk, staring at the computer, feeling the keyboard under my fingers, and I would think, “I’m going to die.” Not a suicidal thought, just a premonition.  If I continued to sit there, at that job, in that building, doing the same thing every day, I would die. This I knew.

So I quit.  After four months of torment, fear, sadness, bingeing, resignation, anger, meditation, crying, praying, thinking, journaling, and dreaming, I quit. When I made the decision to quit my well-paying, full-time, insurance-providing job, I felt free. I felt like I could live in the world again.

I told my boss about my decision four days after I made it in my heart. I had discussed the choice with people, who mostly reacted positively.  I was rather shocked at how responsible they seemed to think I was.  I doubted I would be able to get myself to focus each day, trying to find work as a musician and writer, but they seemed fairly certain that I would do it. It occurred to me that I might be far more mature and reliable than I estimated. Perhaps I am.  Perhaps I’m not.  That remains to be seen.

I have been self-employed for three days now.  I have a few solid clients with Rock Star Writing and Editing already. By a few, I mean 3-5, and only two of them are booked for more than a single project. In music news, I couldn’t get any other musicians to sign on for the second Mi’Show, which is happening on May 4. Nonetheless, I have a nice vision in my head of a solo concert, so I think it will work out.  I have a lot to say to my fans right now, and perhaps I need an entire two hours to say it to an audience.

I have little idea how I am going to make ends meet. At this point, I don’t even know if I’m approved for individual health insurance.  If I get it, how will I pay for it?  My decision to leave my job seems increasingly insane.

Still, I do know one thing. The thought of going back to my old job upsets my stomach, up into my throat. I don’t want to go back. It was certainly not a bad job.  It was the best job I’ve ever had.  I was paid handsomely for work that, honestly, wasn’t that difficult. I liked the people there.  The office location was beautiful.  People appreciated my writing and editing for the most part, and I got to contribute in many other ways to the company.

Nonetheless, I was going to die.

Today, I don’t feel like I’m going to die.  Today, I feel free.  I feel afraid.  But I also feel free.  Part of me is strapped down by thoughts clambering for me to find more work, more money, more gigs, more everything. But another part of me knows that I will always have everything I need.  I just don’t know what I need yet.

I watched the sunset today from my car.  I was coming back from a recovery meeting that focuses on steps 10, 11, and 12 from the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous.  We call it After Nine. The concept resonates with me.  We focus on spirituality and on our connection with others.  It lines up brilliantly with something my last sponsor told me. She said that recovery is really about three things:

  1. Connecting with God
  2. Connecting with others
  3. Connecting with ourselves

That’s what After Nine is about. I may not fully ascribe to everything the Anonymous programs typically stand for, but I do feel that this part of it works for me.

I feel that something in this universe knows more than me—can see farther than me—even if that something is nature, pure and simple. There is a future and a past where I do not exist. I exist right now, in the present. And right now, the present is a pretty uncertain place. Or maybe it’s the most certain place. 

In this moment, I know that I am sitting here, writing this post, choosing words.  I know those things.  I don’t know the future.  I don’t know how long I will be able to work for myself or even if I will be able to work for myself at all.  I’m not sure what I’m going to do with music or if I will really find the new outlets I need.  I’m scared that I will not find what I need to make this life work.

But maybe a higher power will give me what I need instead.

Maybe I don’t have to know.  I am trying.  The bottom line is that I am putting one step in front of the other.  Even in my darkest times over the last few months, I did not stop getting up in the morning.  It became very difficult to do so, and I would procrastinate on taking that first shaky step out of bed in the morning. But I kept living life.

I gave it my best.  Yes, my best sucked a lot of the time, but I gave it. I am giving it.  I have goals for how many hours I want to work each day.  I have specific milestones I want to reach. But I don’t know if I will manage to work that many hours or reach those milestones.  I don’t know if I will achieve my goals, and I also don’t know if my goals are really what my goals should be.  I’ll go after them, but I hope that the universe/circumstance/God/Goddess/whatever takes me to the best place for me.

I keep thinking that Houston, Texas, does not reflect my values and isn’t nurturing me the way it once did.  Perhaps it’s time to move on.  However, Houston Community College has a great music production program that I want to complete, and I treasure my friends and other connections here. How will I know whether to stay or go?  Time will show me.

I canoed almost 15 miles down Buffalo Bayou last Saturday with some friends. I felt my smallness.  The boat wasn’t very big at all, but it was certainly bigger than I am.  The canoe seemed so insignificant compared to the trees and the steep, sloping sides of the bayou.  The sky was so much taller, and the city streets so much more massive than anything I have ever been or created.

I quit my job. I play music. I write.  I edit.  I look for work.  I look for ways to feel in touch with the world. That’s what I’ve done. That’s what I’m doing.  And a whole big world continually expands and engulfs all of it.

I’m glad I quit my job.  I’m glad that I can go anywhere in this big, wide world. I don’t know if it ever dawned on me so fully that I can truly go anywhere and do anything.  I’ve known that at an intellectual level, but I’ve never put it into practice.  Since I was a teenager, I’ve had a plan for everything.  I always follow the plan, and when the plan inevitably does not work out, I make another plan.  How about not making a plan?  I don’t mean discard my personal work schedule, goals, or other organizational tools.  But how about loosening my grip on those things?  How about life not being my plan, but instead, the way I do things?

Thinking about plans in that way helps me understand that I don’t know the outcome of what I’m doing.  I don’t know what will evolve out of my current efforts.  But my current efforts feel right.  I love writing.  I love inspiring others.  I love talking to other people about the things I’ve learned in life.  Perhaps these things will come together in a life I enjoy—in a life I want to live.

I’m going to die—eventually. But I’m going to live right now.  In my uncertain, unsteady, bewildered, inquisitive, sometimes frantic and afraid, sometimes peaceful and confident way, I’m going to live. I’m going to put one foot in front of the other and see where it takes me.  I’ve heard phrases like that for a long time.  Now, I’ve given myself a chance to really feel what the words mean. In a way, I want God to show me that she really is in control, that my life is okay.

I don’t want to binge and cry away my whole life. I want to write, travel, love, play music, give, and enjoy.  When I tell you that you can make any choice and do anything, I mean it.  Every decision ha consequences.  And guess what, I can deal with those consequences.  You can deal with those consequences.

I’m not going to tell everyone who hates their jobs to quit them. I am going to tell you to listen to your heart. Your heart knows when it’s dying and when it feels alive.  It knows how to live.  I don’t know how it knows, but it knows.  I feel it in my spirit.  I am shared out of my boots, shaking, weirded out, and totally puzzled by what I’ve done. But you know what? I’m allowed to make a giant mistake.  I’ve never let myself do anything that I thought would be a huge mistake, and even with that kind of forethought, I’ve still made too many mistakes to count.  I’ve always avoided any major choice that I thought could turn out very, very badly. 

Well, this time, I see the possibility of failure.  I recognize it.  And you know what?  It’s worth it.  Failing would be better than never trying at all.  At least I’ll be somewhere different when I hit bottom. And maybe that’s all my heart needs: something different.

Heart, I won’t let you die, especially not in front of a computer screen.

Recovering Just in Time for Storyville on Sunday /  by Michelle Cowan

After a three-week bout with illness, I'm back in the land of the living.  This has been a time of relearning how to give control over to a higher power.  I am once again committed to my own personal practices of meditation and of the 12 twelve steps.  Thank goodness for sponsors and divine intervention. 

My anxiety has been so high lately that I cannot help but see the cracks in my recovery... especially in my ability to release control.  Trusting is difficult, but nothing helps me understand how to trust like a period of time when my body--something I am particularly close to--behaves in ways I don't understand and can't seem to control.  My body is miraculous.  Its healing power is phenomenal.  I am repeatedly amazed.  My body's resilience reminds me to trust it more, rest it more, and not to push it in order to distract myself from emotional turmoil. 

I am now forced to face the tough anxiety and emotions I've been having this year.  I cannot force-feed my body or over-exercise it to make feelings of physical discomfort replace the deeper emotional and mental discomforts.  It has been a difficult time, but it has consequently put me back on track.  I am trusting every minute--for healing and for joy.

And it's a great thing, because I have an important event this weekend.  Storyville, the jazz group I sing in, will be at The French Corner on Sunday at 8pm.  Read more about it on my Upcoming Gigs page.  This is a major concert we've been working toward for a while.  I'm excited to share the interesting things we do vocally with an audience.  If you are in Houston, come out!  I'll be happy to talk with you about all the craziness that has been happening lately.

"When it rains, it pours," they say.  For me, when it pours, it's never all bad or all good.  It's always a mix of a bunch of everything.  And I'm proud to say, I can take it... and give it back over to a higher power ;)

Winetopia on April 30 /  by Michelle Cowan

Come out to Winetopia (www.winetopiatx.com) on Saturday, April 30, from 8-10pm.  I'll be playing, and they'll be serving up fabulous wine and artisan beer for everyone.  Even if you don't drink, come out for the atmosphere alone!  It's been a while since my last solo public gig, so I'm ready to go with new songs and an eagerness to see everyone again. 

Houston has been annoying me lately, so come out and make it feel a little better ;)  Your presence alone makes it possible...

Saturday, April 30
8pm - 10pm
No cover

Winetopia
6363 San Felipe St., Suite 240
Houston, TX 77057
www.winetopiatx.com

Letting Go and Embracing the Music /  by Michelle Cowan

So much is going on in the music-sphere lately!  I have a musical theater audition coming up and a great jazz festival on the weekend of January 30th.  These endeavors (along with opera training, writing songs, learning to record, and--oh yeah--regular life and work) are keeping me on my toes.  Change is in the air, and I'm learning to let go.  Status quo is comfortable, but it may be the enemy to happiness.  I must be willing to let go of what I have now, even though I love it, in order to see the next chapter in my life.

This is an exciting time.  Slowly, I'm learning to go to bed without finishing every task, to take the events and curves life throws as they come (instead of spending every moment trying to avoid them), and do what I love without fear.  These elements of life are key right now.  As life gets busier, I want my internal world to grow calmer.  I am sleeping a bit more, which has helped.  And I'm telling people about  my dreams, wants, plans, and loves.  It's time for a change, to let go of what I don't love and walk toward the new... even if it means giving up a few things that help me feel secure. 

There's nothing wrong with holding security close at times, but there's also a time to let go.  I'm learning this.  Always learning...

~~

And I have to throw in an advertisement for the jazz festival I mentioned.  Check out my Gigs page for more information.  

Trinity Jazz Festival
10th Annual ~ One of the Top Small Jazz Festivals in the Country

Check out www.trinityjazzfest.net for the full schedule.  I'll be singing with Storyville, an amazing jazz group led by Paul English and Horace Alexander Young III.  We will be doing vocal arrangements of instrumental compositions by Bach (Yes, Bach!) jazz style.  We sound amazing, and the rhythm section playing with us will add to the perfection of this music.  Trust me, you WANT to hear this.

The festival lasts all weekend, from Friday, January 28, through Sunday, January 30, and you should definitely go see the headliners and other performers.  But Storyville will be performing (for FREE) only on:

Sunday, January 30
10:30 a.m. and 12:30 a.m.  (pick the time you want to come)

at

Trinity Episcopal Church
1015 Holman @ Main
Houston, Texas 77004

Our Sunday performances are absolutely free!!

For more information, go to www.trinityjazzfest.net.

Short and Sweet /  by Michelle Cowan

I realize that my posts have been incredibly infrequent and short lately, but that’s what happens when life gets busy. Music, recovery, love, life… I’m growing in multiple areas. If you were hoping for a long, detailed entry about my latest exploits, unfortunately, I still lack the time to provide it. But I will tell you where I’ll be playing this Friday at 6pm: Craft Salon!

PROW Houston is putting on a major shindig called Heart of Texas. There’s a $20 door fee, but inside you’ll find local food, local art, wine, and a silent auction—all benefitting three local charities: R3, New Spring, and the Museum of Cultural Arts Houston (MOCAH).

It’s a great way to support good things in Houston. Learn more about it on my Upcoming Gigs page. Or at the Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=143097409067867.

Since I rarely get to catch up with you this way, I hope to see you there. Perhaps soon, my buzzing thoughts will make their way onto the computer screen. Until then, keep loving!

Feels Like Falling /  by Michelle Cowan

As I watch myself back on the video I am including in this entry, I am reminded of just how awkward watching myself perform is. I started to try to extract the audio so that I could avoid posting the visuals but ultimately decided that it wouldn't be worth the effort. Other people watch me perform all the time; I figure you can take it. But it's odd to see myself from another the other side of the stage.

Anyway, this song, "Falling," was written over a span of a few years. First, I only completed a chorus, until I forced myself to finish out a couple of verses and a bridge about a year and a half ago. I always disliked those verses. Parts of them were enjoyable, but as a whole, they were rather disappointing and, ultimately, annoying. I threw the song in the closet, never to be revisited. It was too painful to play the fun little chorus and then have to endure the awkward stanzas in between.

Nonetheless, the chorus stayed in my head, despite what I think is a soundly unpoetic hook. "Falling into a hole"? Really? But it turns out that that phrase describes exactly what I want it to describe. And this week, I revisited those verses and cleaned them up. Now, the song expresses something special, with pieces written over two years ago combined with what I feel today.

At first, I thought the song was about those moments in life when I feel like giving over to the eating disorder, when I want to let all of my neuroses, depression, and anything else "diseased" take over. I want to sink into bingeing or starving or reclusiveness during those times. The song seemed to center around those periods and the fear, sadness, and anxiety that accompanies them.

Over the years, however, I have observed that many times when I have the feelings I just described, I am not surrendering into the eating disorder. I am surrendering to my feelings. The song is about giving over to something entirely different. It's about a release that leads to something positive and healthy if I allow it to happen.

Participating in eating disorder behaviors is actually not anxiety-provoking at all. It's the feelings that surround it that send me into a tailspin, the feelings that make me turn to the behaviors, the feelings of guilt after I let my eating disorder run wild. All of those emotions cause fear. Disordered behaviors mask emotion and authentic truth.

The most potent feelings of helplessness I've ever experienced have been related to the moments when I allow myself to feel instead of participate in my eating disorder. It's overwhelming to feel incredibly sad, confused, or lonely. The intensity of my need for alone time frightens me at times and feels dangerous, even though it may ultimately be healthy.

Now, I've learned that it's okay to sink now and then into despair. I always reemerge. It's okay to spend introspective time alone for long stretches. Likewise, it's perfectly fine to dismiss all of my obsessive thoughts and do FUN things, even when there are certain tasks I feel I HAVE to accomplish. It's okay to go out and waste time alone or with others, even when laundry or other obligations loom. It's okay to come home from work and relax instead of pay my bills immediately.

Nonetheless, all of the "necessary" tasks generally need to be completed, and knowing this can result in incredible anxiety and indecisiveness. It's hard to let myself be. But it's necessary. It's essential to let go of everything sometimes and allow life to flow through me. I may cry, I may laugh, I may shut the blinds for a while and revel in solitude. The more I can associate these activities with things other than the eating disorder, the easier it is to do them without guilt. I can enjoy myself without food (even though I can also enjoy myself with it). I can feel sad and not try to shove it away with a binge or an eight mile run.

I can surrender to my intuition and do what I feel instead of what I think I should do. The release is scary sometimes and feels like falling without a net.

Those are the thoughts for today, accompanied by "Falling," the little song I'd like to share with you today. All my best ~

New Website /  by Michelle Cowan

I'm working on putting together a new website. For now, I'm trying out a Wix flash site. And since I'm super-cheap, I'm using the free version that still has the Wix ads on it. Hey, I want to test drive before I commit.

Anyway, take a look and let me know what you think either by commenting here or sending an email from the contact page of the new site.

Here it is!
www.wix.com/Mickster7/Michelle-Cowan

Sample from Sugar Hill /  by Michelle Cowan

This morning, I rocked out at Sugar Hill Studios here in Houston, where Chris Longwood recorded eight original songs of mine. I went prepared to do four songs, but we ended up recording live takes instead of isolating vocals and instrumentation. We wrapped up much earlier than expected and with more to take away than I imagined.

I'm happy with the results we achieved in very little time. It's amazing what high-quality equipment can do! (Along with being well-rehearsed beforehand...) Have a listen:

She's Lovely
http://sites.google.com/site/michellecowandownloads/downloadables/01She%27sLovely.mp3?attredirects=0

I hope to build on the tracks we made today, adding harmonies, other instruments, and percussion. Now that I leaped over the hump of my initial anxiety, I feel much more hopeful about creating an album one day in the very near future. I encourage everyone out there to risk doing things you feel inexperienced at. What you learn is worth feeling stupid for a little while.

I seem to expect myself to be an expert in all realms of music, but I'm not. Hiring expertise and remaining teachable proved to be more than worth it.