LaZae

Screw Academia

Posted by LaZae on February 25, 2007

Alright let’s not screw the whole academic system….let’s just change the way we let it rule our lives.

So I want to start off with saying that I think school is wonderful and I am greatful for my education but I think that as individuals some of us need to stop being dictated by our acadamic background. School is just a template for the real world. The real world throws curve balls and is ever changing which school doesn’t always prepare you for so it’s up to you to be flexible.

With that said, I’m really excited about writing today because I made some more discoveries about myself that can really improve my overall writing style. I think it’s really great to take classes in school and go to seminars and conferences on songwriting, but I think too much of that can actually put restrictions on your writing. At least for me that is. I realized that I pay too much attention to form. Yes, I know form is really important because it gives the song structure, but I think that if you think too much about structure it can hinder your style. And not to put down any of the great writers who write books on songwriting, but if you are too academic about writing instead of just LISTENING, you can really miss out on the sound and feeling which makes a song great. I mean that’s what music is all about right? It’s an aural art not always visual (and I say not always because there are some of us who see music visually in our head as well). Some of the best musicians don’t read any music but their hearing ability is incredible because they really listen. Yes, I do listen, but I think I start to get caught up in the academic side too often so I am going to make it a point to listen more and read less. Let my ears and soul do the writing. I’m going to use the left side of my brain instead of always letting my right side put in its two cents.

In other news related to school….I’m almost done with the first course I enrolled in through this distance learning college. I do have my associates degree in Commercial Music with a focus on audio engineering, but I want to get my bachelor’s degree completed. I only have 30 units left! So after this week I’ll be one unit closer to being done hahaha. I just took the easiest course to get the ball rolling. I’m going to take my final exam sometime this week so wish me luck!

Felice

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We ain’t leaving til 6 in the mornin’ (the studio that is!)

Posted by LaZae on February 19, 2007

I came out to LA on Friday thinking I was going to only spend time with family and friends. Nothing went as planned, but that’s a good thing! I had a lot of fun.  Instead I got a call on Friday night to come hang out in the studio with some producer friends. So for the past 2 nights I’ve been there ALL night. This morning I didn’t get home until 10am! It was so much fun. I got to do some collaborating with this really talented new artist. I really like collaborating. This was very different from how I’ve been collaborating lately because we were all there in person instead of someone sending me a track, me writing to it and then sending it to them for feedback. This was immediate feedback….we could bounce ideas off of each other and after a while we started to kinda read each other’s mind and finish each other’s lyrical or melodic idea. It’s the best feeling. I want to do a lot more writing with these guys….the whole experience was amazing.

Oh by the way….I had some folks asking me for a link to my photo on the cover of “Read My Mind” so here it is….

yea I know my face isn’t in the picture and I remember when we took this shot I was like “I don’t want to be the headless woman!!” But I really like it now that the cover photo has been out for a while because it all ties in together….it’s like a series of pictures that all relate since the cover of the 2nd single is a picture of my homie the bighorn sheep The painting I am holding also has a lot of meaning because it is Brandon Flowers’ grandfather. So there it is. You can check it out on Wikipedia.

Well I’m going to start winding down to go to bed at night like normal people! No vampire lifestyle for me tonight hahaha! Hope everyone had a good holiday weekend.
much love,
Felice

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