Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Orchestra...

Today was definitely not as exciting as our week in the studio, but it was still pretty great!

I slept in lots...haha...But after I woke up, I practiced my voilin, did some laundry, and responded to some important e-mails. Pretty normal day until...

Anna met Sammy at Brentwood Baptist Church to discuss some important music-related things...She brought me with. Sammy told me to bring my violin, so I did! (I'm so obedient! ...haha) When I got there, he introduced me to the orchestra director for the church. Yes, the church is so huge that they have their own orchestra! So, I sat in and played with them. The music was so beautiful. Nothing super difficult, but I really enjoyed it. They asked me to play with them in church on Sunday! Yay! Anna might join the choir there too! It's pretty nice...Everyone was so nice to me, and I am really excited to get involved in a church here. I've only been here for a couple weeks, but it's really important for me to get involved in a church family. What a wonderful way to be involved! Praise the Lord!

I had been wanting to find some things that I could do to keep myself busy. I missed playing my violin for things, so this is the perfect opportunity! It's mine! Anna's music has been providing such wonderful opportunities for me, but now I have another one that is from my music! Cool...

After that orchestra adventure, Anna and I went to the Publix grocery store to get some milk and bread. We had been out of milk for a week! (I love milk, so that was difficult for me to handle...) And I just finished the bread today. I had the end crust piece with a slab of turkey for lunch...It was dry. Ugh. But this bread should be much better! I hope...Haha! But, instead of just getting the necessities, we got something a little extra...We bought this delicious coffee/brownie ice cream! I'm not exactly sure what it was...but it was good. Good is an understatement, but I am speechless; it was superb, fantastic, delightful, delectable, amazing....those types of things. :) I enjoyed it. We watched Project Runway while pigging out. Just kidding. We didn't eat that much of it. I shoved it in the tiny freezer. Somehow, I found room...We are going to eat the rest later. :) MMmmmm....

Now, it's bed time. Tomorrow morning, I am meeting with a professor at Vanderbilt University to discuss violin lessons. It should be a great experience! I like driving to Nashville....I feel so independent! Anna has to work in the morning, so I am dropping her off. It will be another busy and exciting day in Nashville! (and Franklin....) Good night everyone!

Friday, January 15, 2010

Studio (Day #5)

I'll try to make this blog a little shorter, because I always write so much! Oops. I get excited and then I get carried away....that seems to happen a lot. Haha...anyway!

This morning, I woke up (officially) at about 10am. That's so late! Wow. I must have been tired. I say "officially" because my boyfriend texted me earlier this morning to say good morning, and I don't even remember what I said! Haha...I was awake enough to know I was talking to him and that I was really happy!

Anna and I went to the studio at 11:34. We were supposed to be there at 11:30, but we were late. Oops! Thankfully, they weren't even ready to start anyway. Once everything was set, Brennan started doing more guitar stuff. He got a few things done when suddenly, Billy's phone rang. It was Adam McCants. He pitches music to TV/film. We had a meeting scheduled with him over lunch, and we almost forgot! So, we rushed to the Royal Thai in Brentwood. The food was delicious, and he was very polite and gentlemanly. (Is that a word?) He reminded me of Zach in so many ways! That might sound strange, but I didn't mean it in a weird way.

After eating, we went back to the studio. Brennan finished his guitar stuff. Then, the three of us headed out to the Battle Ground Brewery? Or something like that. It was a live broadcast all over the world. We sang some songs, and we had some great fans from Chippewa listening. We also got free food. Delicious.

Now, we are in the studio. Anna just finished her vocals for the new song, Someday. It sounds beautiful. It's been an adventurous day....just like the rest of this week was!

Tomorrow is Daddy's birthday! Anna and I are going to Skype with him. I'm super excited to see my family again. I also get to have a Spyke date with Zach. It's just going to be a nice day.

Cool beans.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Studio (Day #4)

An interesting day?

This morning, I woke up to somebody knocking on our door. I stood up too fast to get to the door, and I kinda completely blacked out, so I couldn't really see what was going on...plus, I didn't have my contacts in. It ended up being my roommate, Rebecca. I knew I was supposed to be babysitting her boy today, but I didn't realize it was that early. So, she went off to school, and I stayed home with her sick little boy. :( Poor little guy...

After getting ready for the day, I went upstairs to check on Brady, and he was just watching some TV. I joined him for awhile. We watched some Spongebob, and goofy shows like that. Haha! Then, we played a game of Sorry Slider. I had never played it before and I accidentally won! I didn't mean to...I wanted him to! So, we played again and he definitely won. :) The rest of our time together, he played computer games on my computer. Haha...How exciting.

After that, I attempted to make myself decent looking so I was ready to go to the studio with Anna as soon as she got home from work. I was all ready, but I wasn't feeling good...at all. So, I layed down in my bed. I was half asleep for awhile, while texting my love. Then, Anna came home and we had to book it to the studio.

When we got there, Greg Hagen was recording some sweet guitar stuff for Anna's album. (I still didn't feel good at all, so I just relaxed on the couch and soaked it all in...)

Then, Anna and I went to P.F.Chang's for dinner. We shared some sesame chicken (delicious) and chatted about all this music stuff. The waiter was super friendly. Apparently, he is a producer of some sort, and he gave us his information...and he gave us free dessert!!! MMmmmm...

Now, we are in the studio with Billy's son, Brennan. He's also a fantastic guitarist and he's only like 19 or something...Cool. Studio work is awesome. I think Anna is going to record some vocals tonight too. Busy night. It's just beginning. Crazy week, and crazy day.

Nashville is definitely the place to be. Fun. I'm so glad that Anna's here. That's probably why it is such a cool place! She's wonderful. My sister!!!

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Studio (Day #3)

So many amazing things happened/are happening today!

1.) One of my roommates knocked on my door around noon when I was practicing my violin. She told me that somebody wanted to come and see our room. (We are trying to move out...) Here's the deal. We wanted to move to a different place by the beginning of February, but because of our lease, we were "stuck" until the end of February. UNLESS...somebody decided they wanted to move in for February. And guess what? This lady came to see our room today and loved it! She layed down her deposit today!!! So, Anna and I get to move into the downstairs apartment of a house (or as I like to call it, a mansion) in just a couple weeks! How cool is that? (Other than all the crazy cleaning I had to do today, that was so exciting! I cleaned like a mad-woman!)

2.) I talked to my mother on the phone, and my parents are paying for me to get a fancy pickup (or pick up, or pick-up...or whatever it's called...) for my violin! Now, I won't have to play into my singing microphone when Anna and I perform. That'll make it easier. Plus, it will sound lots better! It's a pretty pricey thing, but so worth it! When I talked to Fred at the Violin Shop, he explained everything to me, and now I'm excited. I just have to figure out the details like: how long will it take? Could I please borrow a loaner violin? haha....When can I get it done? ...and exactly how much will it cost?

3.) When I went to the violin shop, Fred also gave me the number of a man who teaches at Vanderbilt. I called him up today, and we are going to meet sometime this week to figure out details. I might be able to take lessons from him! He's classically trained, and Fred said he plays all types of music. I am finally going to become a fiddler! Wahoo! That makes me happy.

4.) Anna and I are in the studio now. (Not Billy's....we went to Ken Lewis' house/studio to put in the drums and bass. It's wonderful! Matt Pierson is doing the bass. He's fantastic. Ken Lewis is doing the drums. He's fantastic too. What an experience.

What a day! I'm sure more wonderful things happened, but I can't quite remember.

Funny story...I made tea this morning and then forgot about it. Oops. By the time I remembered, it was cold. So, I went to heat it in the microwave. I continued to clean while it was heating up...Then, I forgot about it again. This happened a couple times. I made the mistake of microwaving it with the tea bag still in it. Apparently, that's a bad idea. By the third or fourth time microwaving it, the tea bad kinda opened and the tea looked discusting! So, I dumped it out and started all over again. This time, I stood by the microwave and waited until it was done. I didn't set it down until I drank the whole thing. Haha. All that work for a mug of tea! Yikes...But it was delicious!

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Studio (Day #2)

Today was another wonderful day! Wow...I had no idea there could be so many great days in a row.

I got up bright and early again this morning. I dropped Anna off at work and went home to get ready for the day. I read my Bible, read some of my other book (Fearless by Max Lucado), and practiced my violin! It was a productive morning.

Then, I made a turkey and cheese sandwich for lunch. Sadly, it didn't turn out so well. I had no idea you could be bad at making a deli sandwich...But, I managed somehow. The bread was a little dry, and I couldn't find any mayo...So, it was just dry bread, turkey and cheese (I couldn't find the sharp knife, so the cheese was really thick...).

But, it provided all the protein that I needed to successfully make it to THE Violin Shop! I drove all by myself! I was very proud (and still am). It's such a cool place, and Fred Carpenter is so nice! He took a look at my violin, and helped me out with some things. I might be buying a pick up for my violin, and he gave me the number of a man I might take fiddle lessons from! Bellevue is a pretty place. The drive over was lovely.

Right after that, I picked Anna up from Starbucks...I was waiting for Anna to get done working, and just sitting in my chair attempting to read my book. But, there was an elderly gentleman just staring at me. It was super awkward. He was sitting right next to me and watching me. I was so uncomfortable! ...I don't think he was trying to be weird, but I definitely couldn't concentrate on my book. Haha! Oh well...

Then, we went to the studio to continue working on the other songs! At the moment, we are at Blair Masters' house and he is adding the cool keyboard stuff...There's sweet organ sounds, and everything like that! Yay.

Oh! Today, a friend asked me what I'm doing with school and everything these days...I was going to e-mail her and explain, but I figured other people might be curious too. So, I'll explain now:

I am kinda taking a leave of absence this semester. Last semester, I attended Drake University in Des Moines, IA for violin performance. My professors were disappointed that I was leaving, so they arranged everything with the school so I can return in the fall. They're holding all my scholarships! It's wonderful...This semester, I am obviously living in Nashville with Anna. We are recording her album and performing. I contacted Drake to see if I could take some classes online while I'm here, so I'm going to take music theory and possibly ear-training as independent study courses. I will also be taking lessons with somebody...Nothing is completely set in stone yet, but it's all in progress!

Tomorrow is going to be another great day in the studio...

Monday, January 11, 2010

Studio (Day #1)

Today, it officially feels like I live in Nashville. Amazing.

Anna and I are spending all week in the studio with Billy (her producer). Today and Tuesday, we are planning the last 4 songs for her album. She started to lay down the guitar tracks for a couple songs. We also recorded some scratch vocals. Tomorrow, we will do the same for the other couple songs. It's so exciting to see how all the recording stuff works. We are jamming, planning, and imagining what it will sound like by the end of the week after all the (professional) musicians add their stuff: drums, guitar, keys, and all that cool stuff! She wrote some wonderful songs that nobody except Billy and I have heard so far...So just wait until you can hear them!

Wednesday, some of the studio musicians are coming to start laying down their tracks. It's all coming together. I think Thursday is some more of the same...Thursday night and Friday, we start with the vocal tracks! Crazy. I'm so blessed to be a part of it all!

I also get to start "managing" some stuff! Anna and I searched for cool venues in Nashville, and we got their contact information. Now, I get to plug it all into an excel spreadsheet. Haha! I feel very important. As long as she calls the places, I would be happy to find all the phone numbers. :)

I'm really excited to start performing lots again. Since I was at school (Drake, last semester) and Anna was in Nashville, we didn't get to play many shows...We were so far away! But now, we can really start performing together again. And once the album is released, we will be playing tons of shows! Hopefully we will be touring some, and doing our school tours. What an adventure. I am so excited.

At the moment, Anna and Billy are jamming out to one of her new songs! It's awesome...I am sitting on a couch-thing that is breaking. Actually, it is kinda saggy in the middle, and every time I move, I cracks a little. Yikes! It's comfortable though. And I just ate my dinner: a little bag of fritos, a slice of pecan pie, and for dessert, an oatmeal cream pie! What a lovely evening this is.

Tonight, Anna and I will be working out and then writing more music! I'm not exactly sure what else yet, but it'll be great. Nashville is such a wonderful place. It's definitely a place where dreams come true.

Maybe I will end up going to school here...or maybe even living here someday...Who knows? Anything can happen if you just believe. (Ok...That was a cheesy quote from the Hilary Duff movie, "A Cinderfall Story"....Haha! I love that movie!)

I am going to take some pictures of Anna and I in the studio this week, so you'll see what we're up to soon! :)

Sunday, January 10, 2010

My first Sunday in Nashville...

Good morning! Today is a beautiful Sunday in Franklin, TN. There was frost on the windows (and we had to scrape), but it's still a sunny and beautiful blue day!

Anna and I got up bright and early this morning so I could take her to work at Starbucks! Normally, I sleep while she gets up and toils away. But this time, I got up too! Trust me. There's a good reason. I dropped Anna off at work so I could take the car to meet Zach's mom! She happened to be driving through Nashville, so we're going to hang out!

At the moment, I am just hanging out at Starbucks, sipping my white chocolate mocha. It's delicious. Today is going to be a nice day. I am going to run some errands: return some things at Walmart and...Oh wait. That's probably it. Oh well!

I'm not really familiar with the area yet (since I just moved here, and this is the first day I've had a car while Anna is at work). I might drive around and find the library... It'll be an adventurous day until I go back to pick up Anna from work. I'm not saying that it won't be fun after that. Oops! It kinda sounded like it. We will have adventures together after that. She is in the process of writing another song! So, we'll probably work on that. Fun.

Plus...I have another Skype date today. :)

Have a wonderful Sunday!

Saturday, January 9, 2010

First blog EVER!

Wow. This is my first blog ever! How exciting...

At the moment, I am in bed just thinking about everything that is going on these days! Crazy! Recently, I moved to Nashville and am living with my amazing sister, Anna Johnson. She is a very talented singer/songwriter, and I have the pleasure of being able to perform with her!

Over the past couple months, we have been working on her first professional, nashville-quality recording! How cool is that? She hired some REAL professional musicians like Andy Leftwich (my favorite), John Catchings, Byron House, Dennis Holt, and many more! It's been a fantastic experience, and I'm excited to see what's going to happen next! I'll keep you updated...

Ok. I will admit that this whole blog-writing thing is really stressful! Haha...Thankfully, I got the serious stuff out of the way. Now I can be my normal, goofy self! :)

Guess what? I used skype for the first time today! It's a little awkward, but I loved it. I talked to my best friend. It was our little date, and it made me so happy! (He's a little far away right now, so that's how we get to see each other.) That's another new thing that's happened to me lately!

Everything is good. Being in Nashville, being in love, and being happy! What could be better? Praise the Lord for everything that's been happening lately! It's wonderful!

It's been a good new year. Happy January!