Hi there! It’s been a long long long long time since I posted on this blog. There’s lots of reasons I could give…one being the little man that I gave birth to in Nov. 09, another was me thinking that I could could stop taking my meeds and still function. I started to wonder when I could no longer focus my eyes or think straight though a very very foggy brain. I hadn’t realized over the last 14 months how affected I was until I started feeling better. So now that I am, it’s time to get onto more important things! Let’s talk about my lovely friend Donna DeLorme!

Donna was diagnosed with MS in 1996, after a few bouts with optic neuritis. She was told that her MS was relapsing-remitting and that she would not likely have many problems. This wasn’t to be so, and just two years later she started having tingling and numbness in her right hand, a foot that dragged when she was tired, and blurred vision. As with anyone with a busy life, (I’ve been guilty of this for the entirety of my life so far) she ignored her body and symptoms and continued to work, even taking a very stressful job ’99. Within two weeks, she was blind in one eye, could barely walk and could not move the right side of her body.

Donna is one of the bravest people I know. She managed to keep her independence for many years by setting up a business and working from home. She eschewed the MS injections as they were not helping and making her feel horribly ill. She’s managed all this time with supplements and exercises, diet modifications and lots and lots of water…but unfortunately MS has her firmly in it’s grip and last year after quite a long stint in a care facility, she truly thought that she wouldn’t be able to come home again and would have to give up her beloved kittehs, Pita and Pepper. I’m sure it was through sheer force of will that Donna did come home, she managed to get things sorted with the help of friends and family and move into an apartment better suited to her needs and arrange just enough home care to get by.

Last July Donna went to Costa Rica to undergo Angioplasty treatment (read about CCSVI here) but was under-treated according to her latest diagnostics. Angioplasty for CCSVI is a hot topic, and is quite controversial, and many countries, including Canada do not allow the procedure. Here in Britain, the first treatments were done at a private clinic in Ediburgh in October of last year. So though you can have the procedure in the UK, it is not something available under the NHS.

We all had such great hopes for her treatment in Costa Rica, and to anyone who knows Donna, just the dramatic change in the way she looked after treatment was enough to make us believers. Unfortunately, her symptoms didn’t improve enough to give her the life-changing results that we were all hoping for. She needs further treatment and perhaps stents to keep the veins open and the blood flowing and that means a second treatment in America. Family and a few friends paid for the last procedure, and cannot afford to do so a second time.

Here’s where you come in! This is your chance to make a real change in the life of someone wonderful….someone who is a huge supporter of great music, a fighter, a lover, a loyal friend, someone who doesn’t take life for granted. So many of us never think about getting out of bed in the morning, being able to take ourselves to the bathroom, or make ourselves and our loved ones a meal. I can’t imagine not being able to reach out an pick up my son, to throw him up in the air while he squeals with delight…so many things
that I do without thinking on a day to day basis that are a struggle or just plain impossible for Donna. we’re putting together a wonderful compilation of great music…songs donated by some of the best musicians that can be found. All proceeds will go to help pay for Donna’s procedure. In the meantime, read her story, peruse her blog, and give a little something to help her out. Just a quid if you’ve not got much…believe me, it’ll help. We’ll let you know when we get the comp underway! Thanks for listening and for your help! Much love, Lo.

Just a bit of interesting yet slightly distressing news today. In a deal that is the first of it’s kind, Emusic has come to an agreement with Sony to include their back catalog that is over 2 years old to be included in emusic’s non DRM a la carte monthly download service.
When I initially heard this news, I was quite pleased.  Large record labels have seemed to be quite skeptical in the past about the financial viability of non-DRM download services.  But you can’t argue with the numbers.  Emusic has over 400,000 subscribers and even at a conservative guestimation are bringing in over 3 million a month.  The main complaint that I’ve had with their service ( I was a member for over 2 years) was that after I was finished getting all the cool independent and obscure stuff I wanted, that there were a lot of mainstream things that you couldn’t get on emusic.  I’m sure this causes a lot of fluctuation in business, and often people will let their account drop for a few months while new tracks are added.

This is why I was initially excited for them.  Having all of Sony’s back catalog over 2 years old means they will be about to have a lot more mainstream stuff such as Michael Jackson, Billy Joel, etc.  But upon hearing that part of the deal was that they would raise their prices and offer less downloads in their monthly packages, I started to get angry.  How much money does one company need?  Why does every download service, especially one that is growing and doing well, have to try and compete with itunes? And, When a company is doing well, what is the pull to sell your soul in order to make more money?  If you are struggling, I might be able to understand.  But 400,000 subscribers a month?

The bigger, better, faster, more scenario doesn’t seem to work in my mind.  I hearken back to days of old when Mom and Pop shops lined the streets of the small town in which I grew up.  They served a loyal community of buyers, they made enough money to survive, and they stayed in business.  In days of most people in small town America owning a car, and Super Walmart and all that, this model clearly no longer exists…except for pockets in very rural loyalist communities in the US.  So the question is, am I up in arms over something that needs to happen?  Do emusic NEED to play in the majors in order to stay alive in the future?  Or could they continue to exist on 3 million a month and growing?

According to quotes from several articles that I’ve read, they were intending to raise prices anyway and just looking for a good excuse to do it, and that’s fine.  But don’t expect hardcore emusic loyalists to understand why you now have much more to offer so are deciding to charge more and offer less.  That’s called greed, and it’s something that has fueled the music business since it was a business.  It’s also the thing that many of the indie artists that have stood by you from the beginning are trying to fight against.  Just a little something to think about.

Earthtimes Article

New York Times

Music Ally

So having a tour that was almost exclusively house concerts this year was a blast.  There’s nothing like getting to play to groups of under 40 each night, the connection you can achieve with your audience is astounding.  There’s a real conversational banter that opens up between you and your audience and it makes me realise how much I always hated playing club dates…and why I was always happier playing places like the Yellow Door and Ginglik.  Aside from that, getting to stay somewhere cool each night, rather than some overpriced rat trap with someone else’s hair on the sheets was amazing.  Aside from that, people letting me use their kitchens….personal tours of new cities….and just an all round feeling of welcoming into new/old groups of friends was stunning.  
Thanks to everyone! Here’s some great pics from the shows!

There are way more photos to post and lots more here if you’re interested.

USB Sticks

Fecking Airlines

Continuing Saga of Sonicbids

So lovelies, it’s been a while! I’m back to talk about my Buy Nothing New for a Year Project. Next month, it will have been one year since I started. It hardly seems possible! For those of you who are not familiar with this challenge. Here’s what I’ve restricted myself from doing…

No new stuff! This includes,

• Clothes
• Gadgets
• Makeup
• Erroneous bath and shower products (can only buy what you NEED)
• No going to the hairdressers
• No furniture
• No housewares
• No new crap!

Here’s what I allowed myself to buy if I needed

• Food (of course)
• Secondhand goods from Charity Shops if I needed them
• Stuff from Freecycle if I needed it
• Items for my trades, (strings, gems, beads, ect)
• Things you can’t buy used (lightbulbs, panties, ect)

So I did pretty well. Did I actually go an entire year without buying anything new? Not really. Here’s what I cheated on:

• I bought a new lappy before I came over to the UK to live. Truly that falls under the needed for work thing, but I could have bought a used one again but I didn’t.
• I bought some lipstick because I ran out.
• Some of the things we needed after the move were bought by Steve
• I had my hair cut before I left the US, but I didn’t know back then that it wasn’t allowed (since then it’s been cut by Steve)

I’m sure there have been various other infractions over time…but these are the ones I can think of at present.  It’s been a good year,  I think that I will try to continue as best I can and certainly to buy nothing new, wisely.  I’ve learned a lot in this past year and really wish I could have back all that money I’ve spent over time on shit I just don’t need!  Makes me a little sick to my stomach to think of things I’ve bought in the past and then contributed to the landfill a few short years later.  I’m sure the thousands of dollars could have been much better employed somewhere else.  As the song by one of my fave solo bass players says….You Can’t Throw It Away (There’s No Such Thing as Away). 

So since I feel I’ve vastly improved the quality of my life by this little challenge, I’ve now started thinking about what’s next.  One of the things I’ve been proudest of in my life was how books have steered me, changed me, molded me, inspired me.  I used to be one of the most prolific readers that I knew.  The time that I used to spend reading books, I now mostly spend on the Internet.  There’s got to be some balance between these two things no?  So my next challenge is to join a library (too bad London doesn’t have any good ones to read one book per week and write about it.  I’ve also joined LibraryThing at the suggestion of the lovely @secretlondon  So have a look, send me a suggestion for a nice read and I’ll let you know how it goes in the coming months.  I’ll probably start in January this time as I’ll be on tour for most of November and December but who knows, maybe I’ll get a head start!  Much love and thanks for all the love and support lots have you have given me this last year.  You know who you are! xoxox

[I started this a couple of weeks ago...and since then Steve has written a couple of blogs with his take on the same issues....Is he stealing from me?? I don't know. But after watching Hedwig last night I think I'm going to have to keep a closer eye on him. ]

The musicians life is a hard one. Not only because most people regard creative fields as a hobby rather than a real life job, but also because of our willingness to do everything speculatively in hope that something will eventually come of it. Steve told me once that “we’re our own worst enemies because we love what we do” and that is so true. Now I can hear someone out there now saying…”stop complaining….you may not get paid much but at least you love your job!” Yes, and the age-old saying that you can’t live on love alone certainly applies here.

For many of us, there is no school that can teach what we do. Our work is a mixture of years of real world study, fleeting emotions, tragedy, and hope. Every note we write a piece of history saved from the ashes of charred memories. Every song a blanket woven from future hopes and past disappointments. Yet we are seen as children, refusing to grow up and get a career.

This is never so apparent as when you are managing your own career. You’re expected to have a middle-man of sorts in order to be taken seriously. If you don’t have a label, a manager, a publicist, and a booking agent…then you are obviously an amateur. I get so frustrated constantly explaining to people that I have no desire to be famous. I want to write, I want to perform, I want to connect. I also want to be paid fairly to do these things…but I don’t need a private plane and millions to be happy. I’m happy with train fare and a few thousand extra in the bank.

So as a singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist with 20+ years of experience, why is it that people still expect me to do my job for free? I’m not talking about recorded music here, I’m talking about playing shows and festivals that are patronised by thousands of people.

While I don’t think that anyone has a right to a living just because they are a talented musician…I also don’t think that people have the right to deprive me of a living just because we’ve created a culture that feels that we shouldn’t have to pay for music. The inequity that exists in the world of music is part of the problem here; the whole rock-star dream. Much like the American dream….it’ll just cause you to live aspirationally rather than practically and that can be a dangerous pitfall.

The problem comes when I voice this to others. Unless this person is a seasoned musician…these words will cause me to lose credibility. How can I say that I have no desire for fame and fortune? Isn’t that the reason that one becomes a musician in the first place? To avoid studying medicine, or the law? To avoid being part of the establishment?

Deciding to be a musician is not a quest of avoidance…but a labour of love. There are quite a few assumptions that we need to get over…

1. Wouldn’t it be great if everyone knew who you were?
No, this would suck. How would you ever live a normal life? Imagine having video chat open ALL THE TIME. Think you have lots of people in your life now who like to tell you how to live? Imagine having hundreds of thousands of those, even millions. Nice.

2. It’d be cool to be treated like a rock star all the time.
Again, your record label is happy to spend YOUR MONEY treating you like a rock star and other people will be willing to do the same because they think fame is some magical dust that will rub off on them. Once you’re out of money and hit songs it’s back to being NORMAL. Additionally, being treated like a star doesn’t make you a better musician…as a matter of fact I’d imagine it has the opposite effect.

3. Doing a huge tour across the world is fun.
No, it’s really not. Ask anyone who has done it. Grass roots tours with people you like are much more fun because you’re hanging with friends and leaving more time for exploration and doing it on your own terms. You don’t need to answer to anyone and your schedule is your own.

I don’t have answers for all the problems that exist in our lives as musicians. I do know that I’m beyond happy that I am able to do what I love for a living…but, until we change our thinking about what it means to be a musician I can’t see our lives getting any easier. But I suppose as Al Bernstein once said…“Easy doesn’t do it.”