Let's face it, life takes courage! Courage to make decisions, the courage to admit when you've made a mistake, the courage to plow on ahead no matter what, the courage to do your own thing. . . life takes courage. . . 

And also commitment. Commit to whatever decisions you make, commit to owning your life (mistakes AND successes), commit to keeping going no matter what, commit to doing your own thing. . . 

And, of course, you can't do any of those things without confidence! This, for me anyway, is the hardest part. Sometimes I just have to put my confidence mask on and say, "okay, this is it, breathe and. . . Go!"

Sometimes it works and sometimes I fall flat on my face!

Mistakes are very worthwhile if we learn from them. . . hopefully, I've learned from mine. Made a few expensive ones this year. . . T-shirts that nobody wants and reusable shopping bags that nobody wants. . . sigh. . . won't be doing that again any time soon! No one can say I didn't try! Mistakes are what keeps us striving to do better, to be better!

Even though I make mistakes (performance as well as life choice mistakes!), something keeps me going. Many times I have been tempted to throw in the towel. Might be easier just to fade into the background. Easier? Safer? Better? Probably not! 

When you are driven by a passion to do what you do, the difficulty is not in the doing, the difficulty is quitting!

I keep wondering what I'd do if I didn't play music. Keep my house cleaner. . . maybe. Spend more time with my furbabies. . . probably. Be happier. . . probably not!

So, I muster up the 3 C's. . . Courage, Confidence, and Commitment. And YOU help me. . . yup! You give me courage, you give me confidence, and I am committed because of you. You, reading this blog, you who send me emails, you who have bought my music, you who share your thoughts, your life and dreams with me. . . I am committed to you! And I thank you, from the bottom of my heart!!

Out of necessity, I have been able to figure out how to do a lot of things on our computer. Built my own website (yep, those point and click instructions were mind bending, ha, ha!) Figured out how to get a decent sound on a digital recording system using an interface (I did have to figure out what the heck an "interface" was!) Figured out that an "update" was NOT dinner and a movie and that Lol meant "Laugh Out Loud" (honestly, I did have to ask when I first started on FaceBook!) Yes, I've come a long way. . . 

Not too terribly long ago, I wouldn't go near computers, I saw them as evil aliens. It was actually a Buddhist Nun who changed my mind. I was taking some classes in Buddhist Meditation that was being taught by Kelsang Chenma. I would stay after class and have some great conversations with her until one day she said she was no longer going to be teaching the class, someone else was going to take her place. Wanting to stay in touch, she asked for my email address. . .uh, email? And so my love/hate relationship with computers began! 

That was years ago but the lingo still boggles my mind. . .ethernet, WPS, DAW, hard drive, software, upload, download, SSID, security key, network key, gigabytes, megabytes, USB, flash drive, modem, router, it's a foriegn language! Not to mention a book FULL of passwords. . .ugh, the "p" word! 

It always seems that when you install a new device, the instructions take for granted that you KNOW these terms! That's when I shout, "CAITIE!" (my daughter) she is my tech help. She has saved me from throwing my computer out the window MANY times. 

But, I have come a long way. . . and have a long way to go. I do enjoy learning though, especially when I can apply it to music. I'm online, the music business is online and that, my friends, is the bottom line! I am all over the internet these days. . .Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, iTunes, Spotify. . .it gets a bit overwhelming at times! 

Being "online" is only part of the music biz. . .being "visible" online is the other half. I won't even pretend to say I understand algorithms (yet another computerism!). . .but I DO know that the more interaction you get, the more visible you are so. . .if you like to go to YouTube, here's my channel. Or, if you prefer Facebook, or Instagram.The more interaction, the better! And if not mine, another favorite musician! Like, share, comment, it all helps being visible.

Speaking of music. . .I have been working on home recording lately. Although it's not without it's own set of frustrations, recording, for me, is much more intuitive to figure out than a lot of other computer based things. I'm pretty happy with the results I'm getting. I recorded 3 cover tunes to submit to a special program put on by Women of Substance Radio called "We've Got It Covered." I did have them mastered by friend and fellow musician, Matt Steady (he is wonderful! Check out his music  HERE! ) I am proud to say that all 3 songs were accepted! It's the first time I have submitted my own home recordings and that makes this especially sweet! The program will air later this month and I'll be sure to let you know when. Just for you, I would like to share the songs now, before they air for everyone else. . . the mastered versions: 

Angel From Montgomery, The Book of Love, and Yellow 

I do hope you enjoy them, I had a lot of fun recording them! 

Guess that's enough rambling for now. 

So, until next time, 

Love always, 

Alison