Sunday, July 24, 2005

Entry #169

Greetings! I know I haven't written in about a month; that was due to my travel log program being broken but now it's fixed! Thank you Ben! It's really hot in NYC these days. Yesterday we took a bike ride to Rockaway beach which from our place, is thirty miles! It was very hot but it was a great ride (we ate pizza along the way). Last week we did another show at Dag plaza in front of the waterfall. It was a sweltering hot day. How do I know? I broke a string! My strings were too hot and twang! It popped. I want to say a public,' Hey!' to my brother Loren who lives all the way across the country in Washington state. Check it out; that's my garden! Thanks to my new travel log program I can include little pictures of what I'm talking about. Does anyone know who Ani Difranco is? She's great. Check her out by googling her name. She's having a tendonitis problem due to the fact that she plays SO MUCH GUITAR. She tours constantly and has been on tour for probably 16 years. I feel for her because I have a bit of that same problem myself. You only have two wrists (most of us) so when you get the message from your body that it's time to chill out on whatever you're doing, you have to listen. I haven't been playing as much guitar, only for my shows and practices, and I've given up knitting completely for the time being. This typing thing is still a problem so I don't do it that often. The amazing thing about bodies is that they DO heal up if you give them enough of what they need and stop doing the thing that's damaging them. It kind of took me a long time to really start taking care of my body. I'm really thankful that I've started being healthier though. Bike rides really burn it all right through. Hmm, I just woke up and it seems I don't have a whole lot to say. All of you readers TOTALLY ROCK! Keep it up! ~Jessica~

Wednesday, June 29, 2005

Entry #167

On Monday night, I went into Euphoria Studios with Jared Booty, Dave Dawson, and Justin Wallace and filmed 5 cover tunes. Pietro Rotondo recorded us. THANK YOU gentlemen! We did Complicated by Avril Lavigne, You were meant for me by Jewel, I hate myself for loving you by Joan Jett, Crush by Jennifer Paige, and Time of your life by Green Day. It was fun. We recorded at Euphoria Studios in Manhattan from 10pm-  to about 12:45 am. Justin was doing us a favor by sitting in on bass and he did a bang up job! They all rocked it.  I have been reading a book that I picked up at a stoop sale here in Brooklyn called, Native New Yorkers. It is about the Algonquin Indians who lived right here in N.Y.C. and all over New York State for up to 9,000 years before the Dutch arrived in 1524. Apparently there were up to 15,000 living in the five burrows of NYC and they had nearly no negative impact on the land. One thing they did not have back then though was the ability to make their own gravy! (Gravy is the stuff that drips on you from the air-conditioners in the windows above when you are walking down the street on a hot muggy day!) Anyway, I am thoroughly enjoying the book. It is really making me look at the land differently, knowing that there is so much history here and that a lot of the history has just been cemented over.   until next time,   Jessica  

Monday, June 20, 2005

Entry #166

The idea is to make it look effortless; the reality is that if it were that easy, everyone would be a rock star. I think it is pretty funny when someone who has never even been in a band wonders why it is so hard to keep a band together or heck, why there is any difficulty at all in doing this music dream. If I just tell myself that it is ALL hard and frustrating but at least when I am doing music, I am doing what I love, then when it becomes synchronistic it is like a fresh breeze (unlike the breeze that blows up through the subway grates in the street(egads!) Yes, there are many moments of grace but if you go thinking that all of life should be easy like that and fun why, that is when the hard and complicated stuff comes up and bites you in the backside.   ~Jessica  

Thursday, June 16, 2005

Entry #165

Whoa! We just rode through the big, huge, splashy rain drops and thunder! We were on our bikes and man, did it start POURING! That is part of a New York City springtime. Nice big wet drops of rain to completely soak us to the bone as we rode all of 14 city blocks!  Yesterday we took a bike ride down in the Red Hook district of Brooklyn and through Carroll Gardens and got some nice exercise. Then we went to the Park Side Lounge and heard some excellent Reggae and I got up on stage and sang! It was F.U.N. As I write my hair is dripping down my back. I should be drying off and instead, I am documenting!   Jessica

Wednesday, June 15, 2005

Entry #163

We played an afternoon concert at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza yesterday afternoon. I played with Dave, Jared, and Byrne. Thank you to all of you who came out to hear us! Yes, it was hot right in the blazing sun but we had a blast. We tried out a few of the new cover tunes and people were digging it.  It is very hot here these days; hot AND muggy! You would think it was already August, but no it is just the very beginning of summer. My backyard is amazing! I planted flowers in all these different colors and kinds, seeds for flowers, and GRASS! Yep, I hand tilled the dirt that WAS our backyard and spread grass seed and watered it religiously. Now we have an amazing yard filled with color!   ~Jessica  

Sunday, May 29, 2005

Entry #162

Ah life; it is so beautiful here these days. Spring is gorgeous in New York. I walked around Brooklyn checking out a few stoop sales today (Sunday) and played some music with a bassist named Byrne Klay. Yesterday we walked around Soho and had a great day just tooling around the city. Right before the rain came we took the subway home; it started as we were underground. Time certainly does move faster on the weekends. Last Wednesday night I met Dave Dawson and some new musician friends down at the A&M Roadhouse for the blues jam hosted by Big Ed Sullivan. I am looking for a lead guitarist and a bass player so I had some folks meet me down there and a few of us got up and played Summertime. It is always fun to get up and wail! Seriously, that is the most fun thing to do. 3 fun things; Swinging on a swing set, standing in the ocean and, wailing at a jam. It was fun walking around Brooklyn today in the sweet sunshine. I listened to my ipod. I have some great music on there. We are going to Santa Fe, New Mexico this week! I am so excited! I love the desert.   Sorry for the lack of paragraphs; this is just a ramble!   ~Jessica Star~  

Monday, May 23, 2005

Entry #161

I played at Pier 63 last Saturday for the Harbor Festival. What a trip! I was at the end of the dock, a place called The Frying Pan, on the stage. The combination of the room and the water below made quite interesting acoustics. It was not really an echo, more of a watery reverberation. There were two little girls dancing in the middle of the room; they looked like butterflies! I had a great time playing. That is really all I have to say right now!     ~Jessica  

Monday, May 16, 2005

Entry #160

Life; what a journey! Here, it goes very fast in many ways including life lessons. There is no sparing the lessons here. Today I played at the Fabulous 5th Avenue Street Fair with my friend Helen. It was really fun. The sky was overcast and it kept barely showering on us all day. We were on an uncovered stage so we had to keep our eyes on the weather the whole time. It was a fun day. It actually turned kind of hot towards the end. I saw some folks that I have met through playing in the subway. You know, there is a lesson that goes something like this; when you let things in life just flow and not try to control the outcome, it goes a lot better. Today was just that. I mean, you have to do your work and your job in making things happen but there is a whole level that you cannot control and that is where the beauty is. There were also a bunch of sweet stoop sales today that I went to (and scored at). I do love a good stoop sale; they are the NYC equivalent to the garage sale (because most of us do not have garages). To all of you who read my travel log and do not sign the guest book to let me know that you were here;               Whassup!!!!!!!!!!!   Ya! I love to hear that you read what I write! I changed the pictures around on the gallery page so check that out. Alright, This is the conclusion of this entry.   ~Jessica    

Saturday, May 14, 2005

Entry #159

Yesterday, Friday the 13th, I played music with Helen in preparation for the show tomorrow on 5th Avenue in Brooklyn at the street fair. I went to the most rockin' party last night at my friend Rose's Upper East Side rooftop! My friend Alan Watt from Northern California is in New York so he met me there with his daughter and we partied! What a view! It was so nice out too. It is really spring. Tomorrow I play the street fair; that will be fun. Once again, rock on! Jessica

Thursday, May 12, 2005

Entry #158

One thing to remember is to keep your sense of humor. If you do not have one, develop one fast! Humor is so crucial, at least in my life. Your perception IS your reality. What kind of lenses are you looking through? I have another thing called, " Be good to yourself day". It is simply that when your inner critic starts beating you down "being helpful" well; you counter the thoughts with pretty much the opposite of what your inner critic is telling you. If the voice says your ugly, look at yourself in the mirror and see your inner glow! If they say you are hopeless, that is exactly when that sense of humor comes to rescue you! Laugh at the critic! It is not easy because that inner critic has spent a good deal of time working on you and probably in a means to make you a better version of yourself. Most of the criticism is self-defeating and unhealthy. Ah yes, I do deal with my inner critic. I spent some time today recording one of my songs, "The River". I am really liking how it is coming along. Also spent time finding my new band. Yesterday I played briefly in the subway. The energy was kinda warped down there and I took the hint to get above ground, just as the police came to do something I did not really want to know about. It is all energy. Did you know that before the tsunami hit the land, the animals knew to go to higher ground? Intuition is our guiding voice (not the inner critic!) and keeps us safe and in the right flow. Wow, what a lot of advice I have today! Mostly it is for me to remember but if it helps you on your way, rock on! Enjoy, Jessica

Tuesday, May 10, 2005

Entry #156

From a conversation with a new friend; "You must be a very concious person to see the beauty in others. Yep, life is a real challenge eh? I love living my dream. So much to say on that topic! It is hard. It is easy and it is hard all the time. Even when I lived in N.California by the beautiful ocean and went to the beach all the time, it was easy and it was hard. Balance seems to be the thing to strive for. I think we are all born with a dream and it is our responsibility to develop it and build our lives in a way that helps us to live our dreams. Tricky stuff though, really. Then you have to make it look easy! Good luck! They say the world is completely upside down as far as honor and truth getting hidden in the background and selfishness and materialism being the attributes that get applauded. Good luck listening to your inner guidance!"   keep your sense of humor or, develope one fast!   Jessica Star

Monday, May 09, 2005

Entry #155

Hey cats! My goodness, it is SO beautiful here right now with spring doing its thing! Today I played in the subway at Jay Street in Brooklyn. I like the Brooklynites. I played in Penn Station last week without any amplification and that was silly. Actually, it was humorous watching all the people running this way and that for their trains as I was singing and playing in this huge space where no one could hear me. Someday I will laugh at all these experiences. Rock on, rock on, rock on!   ~Jessica  

Monday, April 18, 2005

Entry #154

Wednesday, April 06, 2005

Entry #153

Greetings from Mt. Shasta, California! I have been in California since last Tuesday and spent the first half of my trip down in Sebastopol. I had a great show on Saturday, April 2nd at the Ace-In-The-Hole Cider Pub. So many of my friends were there! It was a big reunion for a lot of people and a send off party for a woman named Kishma (spelling?). Kishma is moving to NYC and it was perfect that I should come from there to play music for her send off. We had an after party at Alan Watts house with just a hand full of people and it was really fun. Gregg Tilles, my former long-time guitar player or, I guess you could say he is the guitarist I play with when I am on the west coast, played lead guitar and ROCKED! Alan Watt played bass with us and gave us the most needed bottom end; thank you Alan! Paul Human opened up the show for us with very interesting music; very haunting and mystic. I could easily see Paul playing a show in the village in NYC. Thank you Raven and Bruce for the beautiful posters that we put all over Sonoma County and for the great advertisement in the Bohemian! It had been a long time since so many people all in one audience had loved me up! This was ten years of friends gathered in one venue! I play this Friday up in Ashland, Oregon opening for Kan Nal; that will be a fun show. I am thoroughly enjoying my time out here in Northern California. I guess it is spring finally in NYC! From the mountain, ~Jessica Star~

Tuesday, March 22, 2005

Entry #152

Hey, two journal entries in two days; not bad! I played in the Jay Street subway tonight and my friend Helen Gassenheimer joined me on the violin and sounded fantastic. She sang with me too and that was like hearing an angel. I have met so many interesting people while playing down in the subway. There are a lot of musicians in New York. Tomorrow is our show at the Bitter End with the full band. I will be in Northern California next week. I am so excited. The beach is calling me; the one where I wrote The Ocean. I was thinking about spinning fire down there at night with some of my friends. I have been practicing my poi spinning getting ready for this summer. I want to be able to spin fire and do all sorts of new moves. Do you know how excited I am to be in Sonoma County? REALLY EXCITED!!! We are going to party. ~Jessica~