Susan Boyle, Libby and me

Ok, so by now everyone on the planet, give or take a few, has clicked on a time or twenty ( I am guilty ) to see the wonderful clip of a shy, 47 year old Scottish woman sing "I Dreamed A Dream"  ( I would also recommend checking out her "Cry Me A River" rendition as well ) on youtube. Susan Boyle auditioned on "Britain's Got Talent." When she walked out before a cynical audience dressed in what appeared to be finery from the 1950s the audience gave her a hard time and the judges rolled their eyes. They figured she would be like so many other delusionals of all ages, shapes and sizes, who have appeared on these show. But one never knows. So she sang a lovely song and the world has embraced her talent. 

Ok, and now for those of us who have not yet stepped into the spotlight. Like my incredibly talented sister, Libby. Libby sings the same sort of songs that Susan Boyle does: standards and showtunes. And Libby can, vocally, knock it out of the ballpark. The main difference between these ladies is that Libby is Scottish-American and Susan is Scottish. Oh, and Libby is a redhead ( Scotland, btw, has the highest percentage of natural redheads in the world and that is not including Scottish-Americans like Libby and my two redheaded brothers ). And then there is the OTHER difference: Libby is 56 rather than 47. 

I know that Libby is not alone. There are so many incredibly talented singers out there who do not fall into the generic young and beautiful category ( and too often falling into the can't sing their way out of a paper bag category as well ). Shows like Britain's Got Talent and America's Got Talent are godsends because even if it doesn't mean that all of us who are not beauty queens or kings and who are older than 28 ( the oldest one can be for American Idol and for the record industry the cut off age is even younger ) can still continue in our dreams.

Now if there was only a show where I would not fall through the cracks. I am a singer songwriter who is 60 and have written around 10,000 songs ( some of em are really good too! ). But there is no show for older people like myself that showcases singer songwriters. They all go for the cover tunes, which I do not sing. But if I can get my sister Libby to "go for it" by entering AGT. I would have no problem standing on the sidelines and cheering her on to victory. Yes, she is that good!

Today I broke out with my keyboards ( that I play horribly ) and hooked up my little 50 dollah machine with the microphone and recorded a couple of songs onto my photo booth video feature. I was rather pleased with the result. Now for the tech dummy to figure out how to upload them to youtube and then I too can become a video star... 

SAC 

Hopefully soon... the woman with a voice

I love craigslist. It is wonderful for yard sales and also it is a place where one can contact and find music people. The other day I talked to a producer who lives in Palm Desert. Ok, so he does not record HARD ROCK ( I am 60 and I wanna be a rock star. Isn't that what people want to do when they turn 60? Ok, maybe not... ). But he has been playing keyboards for over 35 years and he has a studio and his rates are reasonable for church muses ( church muse: poor artistic relation of a church mouse ) like myself. Of course my biggest problem will be getting to where he has his studio... who in my family can I bribe?????? Right now David the producer is working on getting some things done in his studio ( upgrading it ) and he will call me next week. And I am excited about this as I might FINALLY be able to get some songs recorded professionally. My dear brother Hal suggested that I learn garageband and get a mike. Thanks, bro! The only problem is that I am REALLY BAD on keyboards and I can honestly say I have no burning desire or any desire WHATSOEVER to play ANY instrument other than VOICE. I do not know who it was that wrote the unwritten law that if one sings they should also play an instrument and of course that especially applies to songwriters. When one finds him can they tell me WHO it is so I can slowly torture them slowly so they scream for death for coming up with that unspoken law? To turn my straw into gold I am not gonna spin some tune on any instrument besides a microphone.  And any goldmeisters out there will need to do all the mechanical, electrical and tech stuff. Woman with a voice, that is me.

Oh one last word here, READ LIBBY'S BLOG! She is a great writer and she will have you snickering away with her mad cap adventures of losing weight to look sexy and hot while trying not to eat things that are BAD FOR YOU and taste like heaven divine ( note to Libby: this does NOT include that fiendish potion known as "Diet Coke." ).