Day 25 in the Studio

Walked out of the Studio today like I was walking on a cloud. What amazing day! Yeah, I'll say it again what an amazing day. We are embarking on a new song, kind of retro, Motown feel but with modern sounds. What's that, well it's fun, energetic, get up and dance kind of music. I remember when I was around 14, 15, 16, our Saturdays were dedicated to house cleaning. We did the works; dusting, sweeping, mopping, dishes, bathrooms...and the first thing we would do is put on the music. Really it's the only thing that made it fun. And for some reason I still like to have music going when I wanna get motivated. It works for me, I guess everyone has their own way to groove, for me it's the jams. I love music and how it can make you happy, silly, funny, sad, melancholy, make you sing at the top of your lungs while your driving, does anyone else do this? I know you do, and really feel like you sound just as good or better than the artist, that's ok

. Back then I wanted to sing like Donna Sommers, than it was Barbara Streisand, Minnie Ripperton, Chakka Kahn...then I became more mature lol and I wanted to sing like Natalie Cole, and Diana Ross, well as you can see the list goes on. I love the different eras, it is amazing to me with all the years of recording history that people are still able to create new songs. I know it hasn't all been said and done, there are a lot of talented people out there. And I think the key is knowing who you are, your abilities, and of course your message. My music is about who I am, where I've been, and where I'm going. The guys are doing such an incredible job of building that timeline through music.

I wanted to have a small kids choir come in and sing on Good Times. Sam had asked me to come back into the Studio around five o' clock and re-sing one small part on this tune. It just so happened that I left the Studio around four o'clock, went to pick up Rocky, then to pick up Dusty from school, then back to the Studio with the crew, Felice met us there, the kids and I had a quick bite to eat. Then it was time to get to work. I sang the small part Sam had requested, then I thought well Dusty knows the words to the song...why not let him sing on the chorus. Not exactly a kids choir but he was so excited about it. We filmed him and Rocky in the Studio and yes even Rocky got in on the recording. Oh so precious, it was so cute to hear their lil' voices singing out. Rocky called out Dusty's name so we just built on that for our intro. Totally cute! I just can't wait for y'all to hear it!

I have in my hand my practice cd for our ballad which we have appropriately named "I Do" for you know who...you guessed it my Sissy and Nandy. She has decided on a wonderful Fiesta theme for her wedding. So bright and festive, full of life just like her. So I have been looking at a lot of different ideas for projects that will be hand made such as: napkin rings, ring bearer pillow, anything that will add a special touch to that very special day. My joy is full and God never ceases to amaze me by His goodness.

And finally our first six songs are off to be mastered, we are so close, and what a joy to be able to upload the songs so you can hear them. It will mean our dream, our vision, for this project has come to fruition. If I have not told you lately, let me say thank you for reading, commenting, supporting this project. I am having the time of my life, thanks for sharing it with me.

<3 Lizzi

Day 24 in the Studio

Good Morning, today is gonna be a great day. We have some friends visiting from Aguas Caliente Mexico and we will be showing them San Francisco. Sometimes we take for granted the beauty that we are surrounded by. And they have waited their whole lives to cross the Golden Gate bride and experience one of our beautiful cities. I am so excited to see it through their eyes. Pretty sure the weather will be perfect, since we've had a couple of scorchers. I don't know about you, but I hardly slept last night.

So, weird, unexpected things happening in the Studio. We met yesterday around one o'clock and were determined to complete our lovely ballad (musically) and possibly start a new song. The guys asked me what direction I would like to go for the next song, it's wide open for any style. Wow, honestly I don't know! Well John went out for a break and came back with some chords and a beat. But...the system just wasn't cooperating, they tried to shut everything down and start again, reconnect everything to make sure wires weren't crossed. The MIDI just wasn't recording, by this time it was around three o'clock. All of a sudden the light, the fan, and the video production system turned off. Now it doesn't take a genius to understand that this just is not gonna happen today. I was disappointed but I know there are things that just can't be controlled. Today was one of those days and it was squelching hot. I don't know about you but this heat makes for a fussy Lizzi.

Sam went straight to the Studio from work and set to figuring out the problem. Not even sure what time he rolled in (it had to be past 1am), I guess the beauty and reality of the project is that "this is real life" and we all know it's not always smooth skating, we come across hiccups in the road and it may shake us or even knock us down, but we get up and keep moving forward. And that's what we'll do...keep moving forward, hang in there with us you'll see it'll happen.

In the meantime we are off to San Francisco to enjoy some nice fresh air, and enjoy the beautiful sight that is San Francisco.

<3 Lizzi

Day 23 in the Studio

Hello, seems like forever since I've sat and written my blog. Last week the boys worked on a couple of things, where my presence wasn't needed. Then they went to Las Vegas to watch the WEC championship fight between Cruz and Benevidas at the Palms. So I haven't been in the studio for a week. I know we are behind schedule because Sam has told me several times. But my daughter Felice is back in school so I no longer have the luxury of going into the studio daily. Really we are about fifty percent complete with the recording. Sam is nearly ready to master the five songs and release them. Song number six is almost ready, so I went into the studio on Friday around 2:00 pm and we worked on lyrics for the outro of our ballad. This took about 15 minutes if even that. The song resolved itself beautifully with the simplest of phrases.

Then John went in the vocal booth and laid down the scratch vocal for me. To finish up our session we decided on the right key for me to sing the song in. The boys will be on a video shoot on Monday so on Tuesday they will complete it musically and make me a cd so I can begin practicing it. I'm pretty sure inspiration will start us on a new song. But my question is what do you follow a ballad up with, we'll see right. So time wise for me I'm not really sure how we will schedule our studio time. Maybe evenings will work better now. But, I'm sure it'll all work itself out.

<3 Lizzi

Two Days of Rest

Sometimes things just fall beautifully into place. This week has been a great example of everything being in alignment. I had a couple of days in the Studio where we completed the lyrics to two songs, then I had a few days off. This really wasn't a scheduled selah, but the boys needed to complete the two songs musically before I could go in and sing the lead vocals. Of course the ballad may need some key changes, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. It's great when each song just seems second nature to sing. Once I memorize the words that leaves one less thing to worry about. Which makes for a superior lead vocal.

I have had much to do these days off. My son has been away at Royal Kids Camp this week, so I made it one of my goals to go through and clean and sort his room out. I also needed to do some deep cleaning, some delicious baking (my bananas were screaming to become bread), I also made some fabulous berry muffins. I just love baking, I used to think that would be my profession of choice. But then I began with the Taqueria, and decided I loved cooking. I collect cookbooks, among many other things like: vintage buttons, electricity conductors, stamps, I love vintage things, there's so much history, character, and detail in the simplest of things. That's why I love buttons, because they were the first apparel accessories, and many were hand painted, or carved, really little pieces of art.

I was able to get a lot accomplished this week and it feels good. But I absolutely can't wait to see my baby boy. He's my little sidekick, he loves to hangout with me, eat what I eat, likes Subway sandwiches, sushi, fruit, he's totally happy with a salad for dinner. Sam pretty much detests veggies so to have a son that loves them is pretty odd. Anyways so excited to pick him up tomorrow. I will be back on track on Monday, in the meantime I will have some much needed home time.

<3 Lizzi

Day 22 in the Studio

Oh my goodness, a truly beautiful ballad. We completed the second verse today, nothing like celebrating love! Who doesn't love that warm cozy feeling you get when you think about love. John was totally on a roll, the inspiration was just flowing so I just went with it and took it in. I can see the song being created in stages, but the most incredible part is when we get to sit back and listen to the whole song.

So now we will move onto the lead vocal to Paradise of Life. I really like the rhythm of songwriting to recording that we've got going. This way I get to sit with each song a few days, practice it, get used to it, decide how I want to attack it, than I get to record it. Of course John and Sammy give me direction as well, you'll see in the You Tubes how they gently redirect me at times. Being sensitive to the artist is critical at times because when your in that sound booth it's just you and your voice and any mistakes you make are clearly heard. There was that one day while singing that I was getting so frustrated with myself that I was pretty close to tears! Oh the song Good Times caused me a tough time, but in the end it came out great. Tomorrow will also be a great day since I get to sing DISCO, woohoo fun!

Much <3 Lizzi

Day 21 in the Studio

This weekend just flew by. I was so excited about going camping, it reminds me of when I was a little girl and our whole family would go. My Daddy loved camping and although us kids must have been a nightmare to travel with, my parents did it. I remember waking up to chorizo, eggs, and papas (potatoes) yum. I think when you're a kid you attach yourself to certain aromas, I remember the smell of coffee percolating on the grill, the Bonfire burning for warmth, tortillas slightly charred. All these smells are comforting to me.

This is an annual trip, the first weekend of August and it's on! Dusty experienced his first camping trip at just one month old. Abalone Diving in Mendocino, such a beautiful place, and what a scenic drive. Really just crossing the Golden Gate Bridge makes it special. Sam & I decided that for our next anniversary we will walk across the bridge together. Told you I was starting a Bucket List. This is something we have always wanted to do, and we always try and do firsts together. Even driving on a new freeway is monumental for us. We just noticed one of our favorite landmarks was knocked down, it's a cement factory right off of 280 which we always called the chicken factory. We told our kids when they were little that the chicken sat at the very top, laid eggs, and they rolled right down the egg shoot. Sad to see it go, wish I had taken a picture : (

Anyways camping was super fun, the weather was great, the food amazing, the people were fantastic! I have never seen a group of people come together and serve, share, show love, respect, and patience towards one another like this group of friends and family. The adults took time to play hide n seek with the kids, allowed them to participate in the pounding of the abalone, and although it is hard dangerous work diving for the Abalone, the men never complained once. Needless to say the spread of food was amazing, tri-tip, chicken, hot dogs, hamburgers, fresh Abalone. Oh I ate too much, but I knew this wasn't gonna happen again until next year. But it didn't stop with dinner, oh no, we had fresh peach cobbler, brownies, smores, so much deliciousness... Something about just getting away, breathing the fresh air, looking up at the stars, taking walks by the river, relaxing, and enjoying each others company is refreshing. Now if they could just get some towers up there so I could use my cell phone and iPad that would be perfect.

As wonderful as it was, it was great to come home to a nice HOT shower, and my comfy, cozy bed, what can I say I'm a city girl! I was anxious to get back into the Studio, we need to try and stay on our schedule. So today we completed the second verse to Paradise of Life; sweet Disco beat, easy flowing melody, this is gonna be a good one to do housecleaning to (I think some days we could all use a little motivation). As usual I laid down my scratch vocal to complete the song, and brought my cd home to practice. This is a fun song, it's about living life to the fullest, you don't need anything but a positive, and thankful attitude to be happy. Making life what you want it to be, just like my lil' Rocky, he just hears a beat and he happily begins to do his wiggle dance. Nothing matters, sometimes he wants me to dance with him and he'll grab my hand to come, and just start dancing, absolutely priceless moments. There is so much we can learn from our children, much of it we know, but we forget because we're too busy being responsible. It's okay to let your hair down once in awhile and enjoy what we work so hard to preserve. We will continue to try and capture the magic of music so we can pass it on to you.

<3 Lizzi

Day 20 in the Studio

Great day in the Studio, my husband Sam brought in his Boss and co-workers to eat and hang out while we worked in the studio. A very nice group of six men, funny to put a face to the names you hear your spouse talk about. We had a good time, their all a hoot, especially his boss JB. Sam showed them a couple of songs that are ready to be mastered, which they liked very much. After they left back to the office, we settled in and John began playing a song on the keyboard. Well you know what happens when John has a song in his heart, that's right onto song six! This one is a beautiful ballad, a true love song. They recorded a portion of the song and John laid down a scratch vocal of the chorus. Again truly amazing to witness a song come together from just a simple thought, to a melody, to lyrics, to recording the music. Technology is amazing, but even more so is the creativity God gives us to create something from nothing. This is the beginning of a beautiful and memorable song. I am so happy and proud of this project because it has already surpassed my expectations, it's tested the very limits of my singing and writing ability. I know that anyone who is interested in music, recording music, or writing songs would benefit from watching the online webcast. I am learning so much about what I love to do...make music. It feels great when someone takes you to higher place of learning and that is exactly what the Iklectixs are doing for me. We can touch people through our music because music moves you, it can reach where no one else can, your very soul, because we were created to sing and praise with our voice, our hands, our feet, and there is much freedom in rejoicing. I hope our music will inspire and move you a step closer to fulfilling your own dreams.

<3 Lizzi