Elizaveta Ephemeris

So You Think You Can Dance, Strep, Dragons, Dreamer Kids and Journeys

How is that for a blog entry title?

Anyway, just a few minutes ago I got an email that my song 'Meant' will be featured on tonight's season premiere episode of So You Think You Can Dance. Wow! I will have to watch! Very excited. Over the past year I have received so many emails from people who used 'Dreamer' as their dance song - for recitals, flag routines - you name it. I do like that show a lot. Every time I have watched it I have walked away with a firm decision to take up dancing again. Er....OK, soon.

Unfortunately no celebratory glass of wine for me tonight. I have been sick with strep throat. Let me tell you: don't get it. I don't know how I picked it up, but chances are it was at the elementary school where we did our first Dreamer to Hero Art & Music Workshop a week and a half ago.

The workshop was done as a collaboration with my designer and art partner in crime Missy Washington of i102fly - she did the art portion of the event, while I did - guess? - the musical part of it, obviously. The kids were 8-9 years old and there were about 20 of them.

Halfway through the workshop I recorded the kids singing a part for my new song HERO. Yes, the one with the choir at the end. After that, Missy led them in an arts and crafts endevour.

Let me tell you: who needs high end gadgets or materials? She brought supplies from a Re-Use outlet and we made Superhero Machines from cardboard, discarded plastic, CDs, old packaging and other bits and pieces. The idea was to show them that sometimes even though you don't have the ultimate raw material/situation/resources to work with, you can still come out on top, be creative and come up with something amazing - and that applies to everything in life, in my opinion. The kids made some really incredible things and it was really inspiring to watch them.

We had a brilliant time and I can't wait to do it again. It was also filmed (by my friend Julien Lasseur), so in the next week or so we will post the video summary of the event.

Here is myself, two young Dreamers and Missy of i102fly.

A good time was had by all.

 

Speaking of the Choir for HERO: a huge thank you to all who submitted their recordings and videos. We had plenty recordings and the choir is sounding great! We may still ask fans for more videos, but we may be ok, too, we'll have to cut to song and see what happens. The best part about it is that for the first time I have engaged my fans in something active and something collaborative. It generated so much positive energy - I am definitely doing to do this again.

Later that week we also shot a little video for the acoustic version of a new song called Dragonslayer. The song is in the electronica genre and one of the ones I have been producing myself recently. I am pretty proud of it. The acoustic version works really well, too.  Here is a still from the shoot:

So now there are all sorts of videos in the pipeline.

However it was that weekend that I got very sick. I tried my best to stay off the antibiotics, but it turned out that I had strep throat, and it was rather virulent. It was so bad that I felt a slight sore throat Sunday morning and by Sunday night I had no voice whatsoever.

I did all my natural remedies, as usual and they helped a lot - but after a week in bed I was still in pretty bad shape. As much as I try to avoid medication (due to a very negative experience in the past I may speak about here later sometime) I had to give in and take one because now it's less than two weeks before I leave for Europe - my London show is on the 30th - and then Paris - and then TED Global. There's lots to do and I can't just keep riding this infection out.

Fortunately the antibiotic seems to be doing its job and I am better, except for a nasty cough that comes and goes, so no singing for another few days.

And now back to work.

Here is also a photo from my photoshoot with Belathee Photography a couple of weeks ago. Those girls are so good! And so fun to be around! Can't wait to work with them again.

 

Woke up early, headpiece-ready

...for a very fun photo shoot with friends/fans and great photographers duo Annabel & Dorothee of Belathee Photography.

I had a brand new headpiece to model that Missy of i102fly had custom made for my Moscow show, and I felt like it needed some proper photos - I wasn't wrong, I think we have some amazing pictures now. It is actually made from coral leaves which I found while on vacation in the Caribbean. It was my first time there and I loved it, and then brought the coral back in my suitcase. (Disclaimer: no live coral was actually harmed!) As a result, my suitcase smelled strongly for fish when I opened it, and so did all my clothes. The coral pieces had to bake in the sun and air out a bit for a few days, but they still smelled a bit like fish when Missy customized them into a headpiece and I took it to Moscow for the performance, where it was a big hit.

I am a little fuzzy and tired because the last few days were quite packed, between getting ready for the show, some private lessons I am taking, meetings etc. Starting this weekend I will have a somewhat slower stretch until my departure for TED & Europe in early June. Slower not in the sense of less to do - but just less deadline-oriented. Although hmmm..... maybe not:) Well, it is ok. I am happiest when I have a goal and I am working towards it. Maybe it's a Capricorn thing - I am like a mountain goat, slowly but surely finding my footing and climbing the mountain.

The show the other night was a lot of fun, sold out and we also shot it on video, so I am looking forward to seeing/hearing it. This was my first time in a long while performing with a full band - drummer, guitarist, bassist and myself on keyboards and guitar. I also performed two brand new songs, including Hero on which I play electric guitar. It was an early night, meaning that it was at 8 PM and I had quite a few kids in the audience. I had four little girls sitting in the front row staring at me, which was a bit distracting at first! They were incredibly cute. At the end of the show as I was packing up, two of them approached me, hand in hand, and asked whether they could be in my band. Victory! 

I have an enormous amount of music work to do but it's all very exciting. The Russian songs are taking shape, too, and I think I have my first Russian single for sure.

In about a week and a half I also will go and record a children's choir with a bunch of 3rd graders to add to my Hero song - and Missy and I will hold our first ever Dreamer Workshop for kids.

Work, work, work, work - play, play, play, play.

I really must stop neglecting this blog. Here, I said it: this is my new resolution. I think, however, this happens because I post on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, as well, so sometimes I forget. It is no excuse, however, because in writing longer passages that are not mere impressions or soundbytes, I seem to find a rhythm of a kind and make sense of things that happened over time.

March was a bit of a whirlwind. I performed my first show in Moscow on March 8th, at Oldich, which is a lovely venue. It was sold out and the audience was warm and welcoming. I can't wait to go back and also release my Russian language collection of songs, which I have also been working on. Here is a little video the venue put together:

Elizaveta @ Oldich Dress & Drink from Elizaveta on Vimeo.

 

At the moment I am a bit tired after a rehearsal, so I will fulfill my writing promise tomorrow. I am performing this Wednesday and really looking forward to it. Tomorrow I get to wake up early and keep on working...

But I do have something to share with you first, and below is my Newsletter I just sent out today:

greetings my darlings - this is one packed email, so please read carefully!

                                                         ***

I. I have been hard at work on the new record, which will come to you in two EPs. I have been producing a lot of these songs, which is a brand new thing for me - both nerve-wrecking and incredibly fulfilling.

I need your help! One of the songs is called HERO. It is very special to me in this whole group of new songs and will definitely be a single, maybe even the first one. It also features a large choir at the end, of people who are all singing in unison. Since I can't really afford to record the Los Angeles Master Chorale, and I would love these to be REAL people, not software, here is my idea: why don't YOU sing on it - and be in my video?

Let's do this and make one giant choir!

So here are the details:

1) Email us at team@elizaveta.net with CHOIR in the subject line: we are already compling a list of people who are interested and in about a week will send out the email with all the information you may need.

2) FAQ: you don't have to be an amazing singer. You don't have to be in my area: you could be in Russia, Siberia or France. You DO have to record yourself with your  computer or smartphone singing the short & simple melody (that we will provide to you) and email it to us. You can sing by yourself or with your child, aunt, friends - the more the merrier! Even better: videotape yourselves singing and upload it to YouTube, send me a link, and you will get a cameo in the HERO crowdsourced video. 

3) What will happen: We will take all these recordings, mix them together and: hooray! We have a huge choir for my song:) IMPORTANT: I can't pay you for your time or effort. But I will thank you personally on camera, add your names to the album liner notes, and host a special Google + chat for the participants only + send you a handwritten card.

II. I am performing next Wednesday, April 10 here, in LA, at the Witzend.We will be filming it for my live EPK and will need your lovely faces there! I will perform HERO for the first time, have the audience join in on the song and record it, too! So in a way, if you are at my show this coming Wednesday, you are ALREADY in my choir - how amazing is that?:)

Also, I will be joined by the amazing Michael Valerio on bass, Jimmy Paxson (who featured in my Capitol Sessions) on drums/percussion and Ben Cassorla on guitar. My new Flower Alchemist guitar (made by James Trussart, in the photo above) will be making an appearance, as well.

You are advised to purchase tickets now because it will sell out, so do it HERE. It is all ages & $10 to get in. There will be some kids there, so don't hesitate to bring yours!

However: If you are elsewhere and can't attend, join us in a Google+ Hangout! Make sure you sign up/add me on Google+ HERE or show up at the link in real time. We will launch a public Google+ Hangout just before the show starts, I will say hi and then you can catch some of the music! This is the first of many Google+Hangouts to follow, so make sure you are in my Circle;)

 III. Finally: I wanted to share with you that I have parted ways with my record label Universal Republic. I am utterly and forever grateful to them for making Beatrix Runs happen and the last two years were amazing. But - I believe that the future belongs to a different model, and I am already half-way there. I have many, many songs to share with you in the coming weeks and months, and being an independent artist is the right thing for me at this time. 

Thank you for sharing this road with me. I love you.

PS: my new Flower Alchemist guitar, made by James Trussart

 

 

Adventures, TED Global and new songs

January was good to me.

First, I have a new furry friend. She arrived one day and I saw her skulking around the yard - very shy and unsure. I fed her some tuna. Over the next two weeks, she kept coming back, getting closer and closer until I was able to pet her. She turned out to be a little affectionate kitty, who loves cuddling, even though she is a bit skittish. She became my personal 'hot water bottle' and we spent a number of hours just relaxing and cuddling together. I had not realized how much I missed having a cat around.

Finally, as it was very cold, she started sleeping inside the house. At that point I decided to take her to the vet, to check her out and make sure she was spayed and had all her shots. When we arrived there, he scanned her - and lo and behold: she 'beeped'. Yes, she had a chip and a previous owner.

I was very embarassed because instead of feeling relieved, I burst into tears and had to put on my sun glasses. I drove home, inconsolate, and made the phone call to the owner - who actually turned out to be out of the country!

Anyway, fast forward to a couple of weeks later. It turned out that the guy who originally adopted her found out - the hard way - that he was extremely allergic to cats. He had to give her back. In that place, there were other cats and apparently they kept beating her up. In fact, I could see that: she is a lover, more than fighter - anyway, she must have run away and found me, instead.  He was relieved that I was willing to keep her and even showed up at my place with ten pounds of cat food, her health certificate and a cat carrier. Happy ending. 

And here is Ponyo (yes, that's her new name) looking very smug, cuddling up:

I also went to Sundance for the first time and performed there. I met a multitude of interesting and lovely people and got to drive around Utah. I almost hit a deer. I got lost a couple of times. I did see a couple of films, but mostly spent time exploring. I would like to come back next year. I watched a Korean film called Jiseul  which tells the story of 1948 Jeju Massacre in Korea and some 120 villagers who hid in a cave for 60 days from soldiers who were under shoot-to-kill orders. It was a beautiful film, but I had to walk out after the first 30 minutes when rapes and killings started. I am a softy.

Ok, to change the subject: I have been invited to perform at the TED Global Conference in Edinburgh, Scotland, in June. It is a huge honor. I am incredibly intimidated. But seriously, I performed at TED here, in Long Beach last year, but it was a late night unofficial performance. This is going to be part of the official line-up, alongside with the speakers, and I will get a chance to collaborate with other artists who have been invited. Can't wait to get the list and more details. And I LOVE Scotland. 

I am also performing in Moscow, March 8th! At a beautiful venue called Oldich. Believe it or not, this is my first official concert in Moscow. It is timely, because I have been putting together my Russian EP, too - yes, five original songs in Russian. 

If you have friends in Moscow, let them know about this performance. I am excited!

And - I just came back from somewhere completely different. Anguilla... place where pirates hid their treasure years ago and noone has found it yet.

I have also been playing guitar quite a bit - both acoustic and electric.

 

 OK, back to work on new songs. They are shaping up just fine, but there is still quite a bit of work to be done.

Here's to Life

I came upon this song recently and I loved it so much I decided to do a cover - but in a very different style than the original. However this interpretation by Shirley Horn is so incredibly touching because you can just hear her whole soul and life in the phrasing. Just listening to this song, I know I would have loved to meet her.

I just spent a few days in the snow, in the middle of nowhere, tiring myself out every day. If you have never tried cross country skiing, give it a try. It will work you to the bone but also give you a feeling of incredible peace. The cold, the effort and being in nature combine to cleanse you of everything you don't really need. It was a perfect ending to this year and an incredible jumpstart to my new athletic routine. I don't think there is one muscle in my body that has not been worked after the past week.

At some point, after a day of snowfall, we did an outing into the forest. Yes, there is a road here, in the picture, except it's not really there under all the snow. We were the first ones to make tracks.

Anyway, back to the song. Here are the lyrics below, and on this birthday I would like to say that my wish is to live my life in the spirit of this song. Life is crazy sometimes, it's unpredictable and oftentimes heartbreaking. But I will continue to persevere - and celebrate - life. What's more, I promise to be more cognizant of my own gifts, opportunities and blessings, as I go through the next year. That applies to people, as well...

And the most brilliant line of all: 'There's no yes in yesterday'. Indeed.

Here's to Life

No complaints and no regrets.
I still believe in chasing dreams and placing bets.
But i have learned that all you give is all you get, so give it all you got.
I had my share, i drank my fill, and even though i’m satisfied i’m hungry still
To see what’s down another road, beyond a hill and do it all again.
So here’s to life and all the joy it brings.
Here’s to life the dreamers and their dreams.
Funny how the time just flies.
How love can turn from warm hellos to sad goodbyes
And leave you with the memories you’ve memorized
To keep your winters warm.
There’s no yes in yesterday.
And who knows what tomorrow brings or takes away.
As long as i’m still in the game i want to play
For laughs, for life, for love.
So here’s to life and all the joy it brings.
Here’s to life, the dreamers and their dreams.
May all your storms be weathered,
And all that’s good get better.
Here’s to life, here’s to love, here’s to you.
May all your storms be weathered,
And all that's good get better.
Here's to life, here's to love, here's to you.

 

 

Finally, in 2009, as I started this blog, I wrote a poem to myself, on my birthday. Here it is below. I re-read it every year to remind myself how far I have come, even when it doesn't feel that way. I also re-read it to refresh my own inner map. Our inner countries may not change greatly, but as we travel our internal landscapes we may find shortcuts, scenic routes or shelter we never knew were there when we started.

 

Message in a Bottle.

 

I write this message

to the future me.

Right now I am standing still

if only for a moment

but the dawn is breaking

and the ship shall sail soon.

Hills and valleys behind me

memories, choices and

accidental encounters;

all that has faded.

I write this poem

for you, dear strange girl.

For you are more special

and loved

than you have allowed yourself to be.

But if you are, indeed

the future me

then you already know this.

You have opened your heart

to the shimmering wall of water;

the endless sky of possibility

and forgiveness

for such as myself

who belongs to yesterday.

Armed with imagination,

faith, music

and a treasure map

I light a candle for you,

then put down the guilt,

fear, shame and uncertainty.

Let them stay here;

you deserve to be new

I have fought for you

and now I can rest.

Be free and weightless

be kind, joyful and true.

Believe in magic

trust yourself

love completely.

The ship has sailed

I am standing on the dock, waving.

Happy birthday.

 

 

Anti-Lamentation

 
Regret nothing. Not the cruel novels you read
to the end just to find out who killed the cook.
Not the insipid movies that made you cry in the dark,
in spite of your intelligence, your sophistication.
Not the lover you left quivering in a hotel parking lot,
the one you beat to the punchline, the door, or the one
who left you in your red dress and shoes, the ones
that crimped your toes, don't regret those.
Not the nights you called god names and cursed
your mother, sunk like a dog in the livingroom couch,
chewing your nails and crushed by loneliness.
You were meant to inhale those smoky nights
over a bottle of flat beer, to sweep stuck onion rings
across the dirty restaurant floor, to wear the frayed
coat with its loose buttons, its pockets full of struck matches.
You've walked those streets a thousand times and still
you end up here. Regret none of it, not one
of the wasted days you wanted to know nothing,
when the lights from the carnival rides
were the only stars you believed in, loving them
for their uselessness, not wanting to be saved.
You've traveled this far on the back of every mistake,
ridden in dark-eyed and morose but calm as a house
after the TV set has been pitched out the upstairs
window. Harmless as a broken ax. Emptied
of expectation. Relax. Don't bother remembering
any of it. Let's stop here, under the lit sign
on the corner, and watch all the people walk by.

Dorianne Laux

 

 

 

NYC II

The City can't decide whether it wants it to rain or not. After the deluge of yesterday, it is still pondering, so I did get rained on a couple of times throughout the day, but it was very minor. All in all, I do prefer this weather to the stifling heat of yesterday.

Obviously it's all about me, so theretofore I brought the rain to NYC, didn't I? Anecdotal evidence: when I was in Austin, performing, we arrived to heat and three-month draught. Within 12 hours of my arrival, a thunderstorm came to pass (short, but effective), and the day was saved. 

Maybe not all my doing, but a girl can feel important: why not?

After getting rained on and finding refuge in a French bar:

I found shoes! Fortunately for me, it's sales season. Gloves, shoes, flower dress and NYC is my oyster...err... apple. Right??

Tomorrow is my performance and I am in the mood. Let's do this. Tonight I'll read some poetry and try to imagine what it is going to be like when I come and stay in NYC for a whole month, doing a residency - it's in the plans - being here certainly makes me want to dress up and strut a lot more than Los Angeles ever has. It could be dangerous! But life is short. Why not?

 

The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.
(Michelangelo)

NYC

I am in NYC, and after riding bikes in Central Park and getting a near heatstroke (try climbing a hill on a bike in humid 100 degrees!), I went to my rehearsal and found myself racing down the street through a thunderstorm. As we rehearsed in a cubby hole underground, the roof started leaking. So, all in all a day of brilliant adventure, which also included great food, which is not at all unusual in New York.

In other news, my iTunes Session Release has climbed the charts and here I am at #13:

We also re-mastered & re-released my older EP Breakfast with Chopin - you can now find it on iTunes and it deserves a whole separate blog entry for itself, but for now, here is the new video we just made for the title track. We enjoyed doing this and I am glad Breakfast with Chopin now has a video all its own.

 

 

Tomorrow I am doing some press, rehearsing some more and Friday is the show. I'll be happy to celebrate this release in NYC, the city where I was born. It doesn't ever make it easy for me, but I love it very much. Who wants easy anyway? Not me. Ok, sometimes. But tonight I am here, I can feel and hear the buzz of the Big Apple and I am looking forward to the next two days.

summer is here

The acoustic release of the iTunes Live session (videos and audio) I did with string section will be out next month - July 17, 2012, to be precise. I will be in New York then, and do a very special release show July 20th, at Rockwood (main stage).

I have been working hard and trying not to lose my mind, but it's not always easy. The road walked between art and normal life is particularly thorny sometimes. Ah, but here is the trick, if only I was always this wise:

 

Fortunately I have been performing, and that always helps. I have also been getting into live looping and other interesting things, and having a weekly opportunity to experiment has been a huge blessing.

Tomorrow night is the last night of the residency, and I'll have some kids joining me on stage to sing Dreamer (yes, from that same choir that covered it at their recital).

 We are almost done digitizing the Beatrix story picture map - found within the record's physical packaging - launching soon with all the new content within the brand new site. We made it interactive so it's easy to follow the adventure, and also add your own bits and pieces down the line.

 

I have been performing. Writing. Pondering. Practicing Flower Alchemy.

The digital map of the Beatrix Runs story is coming along nicely, as is the new site.

To stave off anxiety, I have been reading more poetry and working on songs which require a lot of vocals. I find that curiously calming.

Sometimes poetry is ornate like a piece of baroque furniture.

But sometimes it is simple without being simple. It is almost like code. There are some poems that seem to speak to the mind behind my over-active mind. They hypnotize/slow me down and I manage to zoom out from the immediate drama that my brain is chewing over and over.

The one below is from a poet I don't know well - in fact I found him surfing the internet, only to realize to my shame that he was one of the key authors of the 20th century.

Final Soliloquy of the Interior Paramour

Light the first light of evening, as in a room
In which we rest and, for small reason, think
The world imagined is the ultimate good.

This is, therefore, the intensest rendezvous.
It is in that thought that we collect ourselves,
Out of all the indifferences, into one thing:

Within a single thing, a single shawl
Wrapped tightly round us, since we are poor, a warmth,
A light, a power, the miraculous influence.

Here, now, we forget each other and ourselves.
We feel the obscurity of an order, a whole,
A knowledge, that which arranged the rendezvous.

Within its vital boundary, in the mind.
We say God and the imagination are one...
How high that highest candle lights the dark.

Out of this same light, out of the central mind,
We make a dwelling in the evening air,
In which being there together is enough.

Wallace Stevens