Anyway...when you stop in to visit my schedule on my myspace page, and mark all nearby performances on your calendar (hint, hint!), please make sure to listen to the song that I recently posted called, "Back to Piano." It's off of my new CD, so many of you have heard it, but for those of you who haven't — listen to it and then rush to iTunes and buy it!!
About "Back to Piano," here's the story...
A few years ago I took some time off. I wasn't playing shows, writing songs, or even practicing music much. Why? Because I thought that my time was better spent working in Mexico helping out with my husband's non-profit, Simply Smiles. (www.simplysmiles.org) Don’t get me wrong, it was a really wonderful and amazing time. The immediate gratification I received, knowing that I was making a difference — even in the smallest of ways, was so motivating that I decided it was a better use of my efforts. It was an incredible year, I enjoyed helping out with the projects we were working on, but there was clearly something missing — and it made me quite cranky and miserable. (Sorry, Bryan!)
A friend of mine named Madai, who grew up at the children's home that I continue to visit in Oaxaca, Mexico, still works there as an employee. One day, she pulled me aside and asked me why I wasn't playing shows anymore. I was surprised that she cared about my music career or even thought it was important, but she did. She actually went from questioning me, to scolding me, and then told me that I was wasting my talent. Huge wake-up call.
The week after my scolding, a group of volunteers came down from Connecticut to help build a few homes in the local garbage dump for needy families. All these people are from the town where Bryan and I live, so we had a great week working, eating tacos, playing with kids, and hanging out. One of the guys in the group, John (a fellow musician), borrowed my guitar a few times to play around and sing a few songs. We got to talking about music, I played him a few of my songs, showed him my website, etc., and that was that — instant friendship!
A few months later, Bryan and I finished working with all of the volunteer groups, said our good-byes, made return travel plans, and got on a plane to come back home. After sleeping for a few days, (you get really tired down there!) we both got back to work. He was working on fundraising for Simply Smiles, and I made a decision to get back to focusing on music; writing new songs, playing shows, you get the idea. After a few days back to work, I got a phone call from my new friend, John.
John designs and builds big beautiful homes in Southern Connecticut, sometimes tearing down an old one to make room on the property for the new one. To get to the good part of the story...when people move out of their homes, they'll sometimes leave behind an old refrigerator, stove, or even a piano...and that's exactly what happened! I got a call from John, he offered me a piano, I said, "YES!” and he was at my house within the hour accompanied by a moving truck and some strong guys. And just like that, I had my piano. It was awesome.
I wrote, "Back to Piano," a few days later and if you listen to the lyrics — they're all true..."I head down the hallway, walk through the door, see my old friend, sit and stare at the keys, they're out of tune, but it doesn't matter, I'm back to piano...” I'm so lucky! This was an amazing gift, and I'm so so sooooo grateful. (Thanks, John!) I wrote the majority of the songs for my album, "Stay", on this piano, I practice on this piano everyday, and I'm going to keep it forever, even when I'm rich and famous!!!
(Unless of course, someone steals it - I do have a bit of a history...)
Good story, right? Hope it brightens your day!
Here I am at my piano.
Rock on, my friends.
Rock on.
