But if The Doors Are Open, "I'll Be There."

As a singer, it is my job to find tunes that fit my tessitura. 

If I have the opportunity to serenade a roomful of folks, I want to try to champion my efforts by doing a song that properly fits my voice. This means that I should know every lyric and every nuance of the songs chosen and must also  be open to speculation if I forget even one lyric or utter the song a little different than what the listening audience knows. 

But even while doing cover songs, we as singers still work hard to try to create our own distinctive sound. Lately, I have had this willingness to just  experiment from the confines of the bandstand in front of whoever is there and so, I decided to start sharing my original compositions more and more because I am not just a cover artist; I am a songwriter. 

Such was the case the other night when percussionist, Rick Santa, asked me to co-host their open mic night at Hat City Kitchen in Orange, NJ. 

In spite of all the talks of the coronavirus, I feel that there is a sort of healingness in music and so, I showed up ready to sing. 

If God put me on this planet with a purpose, my duty is to share my gift and talent and so I did. The Corner Pocket Band was subtle and flexible which made it easy to be able to flex with them as I scanned the crowd and tried to send out some encouragement to the people and the establishment which saw less of a crowd because of growing concerns of their customers about the pandemic, as I sang the words to my song "I'll Be There." Please check out a snippet of my performance 

here: https://youtu.be/QRWA0FvntKs

It always feels good to be able to do my own material and to see folks who are open-minded and willing to participate in my effort of getting people to have some type of response to what I am doing. 

I guess I will be home working on my music and craft until everything passes over. This is a time where we can focus on improving who we are and getting things done that we need to do until the light at the end of the tunnel appears. 

I won't say that I am not scared of becoming ill with this ailment but in growing times of uncertainty and unrest, I think this is the perfect time to even if you stay home from everything else, to make it to church on Sunday morning. Why wait until you actually get the disease to access God?  

Use your smarts. Be safe out there. Wash your hands. I see people who come out the bathroom stall and leave the lavatory without even sprinkling a bit of water onto their hands. 

Do you know if the person who touched the doorknob you just touched before you did, just picked their nose or sneezed without washing their hands? You just never know. 

Let's stay safe. If you feel sick, stay home. If you feel under the pressure and not sure of how to handle all the news reports, have an intimate conversation with God and see what happens. 

We should be actively praying for a healing over the world. I'll play it safe and be at home doing everything I can to keep my mind engaged and not get weary and lazy but on Sunday morning if the church doors are open, "I'll Be There."   

Please check out the original version of my song "I'll Be There" on Spotify here: https://open.spotify.com/track/11V3lJph5uzycZa2Qa8azp?si=wZKX5QifQMC_mYkMXAyFiw

Thank you for checking out my blogpost.

God bless you all! 

Dust Yourself Off and Enjoy Life

“A winner never quits., and a quitter never wins”

– Napoleon Hill

I had it all mapped out. I was going to venture this new territory and skate my way to challenging my fear of falling flat on my face. Confidently, I perched on a set of wheels beneath my feet thinking, I got this. However, I was so inundated with fear that I hardly wanted to walk with the skates on, though I had to in order to try skating for real.

At first, it was a guided situation. I was being pulled across the rink by the crutches of my friend’s hands, pulling me to skate. I floated right along with him but, every so often, I felt myself losing balance.

I decided that I could not let my entire time be spent that way. I wanted to try it on my own. All the possibilities of me skating on my own, were cooking. I got onto the rink by myself, but if it weren’t for the guard rail, I would not have been able to get on that slippery surface on my own, at all. 

I looked at my friends dancing and skating backwards and me, I was taking baby steps, holding on to the rail, all around. I actually was able to go around the rink three times. I feared falling and thank God I didn’t fall on the rink. Where I did fall was outside of the rink with skates on trying to walk down the little step down they had to get to the locker area. I am not writhing in pain and ironically, it was falling that fine-tuned my thinking and made me dust myself off, no longer fear falling and made me decide to get onto the rink by myself and without another’s assistance realizing that I am a masterpiece in progress.

I can’t believe that the simple act of skating made me pay close attention to my posture when I am walking. It made me feel okay with the speed of going slow so I could actually get comfortable with the motions. I also learned that what we gain is also what we lose. I gained confidence in trying and lost fear of falling and hurting myself. How cool is that?

Are you someone who enjoys the art of roller skating? If it is not the fun or the adventure, it is the music that the deejay is spinning while people roll to his rhythms that drive my interest. My latest video for my song, “Enjoy Life,” a dance tune with lyrics by Stephanie Jeannot and music by Mike LeShore, is definitely, the type of song that fits the mold of a song that you would hear at a skating rink. It is fast paced. It is danceable. It has a lot of energy and it is catchy. 

The video was edited and produced by me, Stephanie Jeannot with the help of my dear friend Stuart Thomas who helped to record many of the scenes featured in this visual slide show of frames. I hope that you will take the time to check out my creative videography project here: https://youtu.be/alV2ULnr9z8 

Thank you for making my life, that much more enjoyable. Have a pleasant week!