Lyric Writing…it’s a balancing act

Today, I thought I’d share this writing exercise I did recently: To write from your gut instinct…no thinking. Then identify what words you chose to use as INTERNAL (describing thoughts or ideas) or EXTERNAL (describing how someone/thing looks, sounds, tastes, feels to the touch, or any action):

Idea boost: Who: Barmaid; When: the morning; Where: driving to work

A sheet of frost on all my windows blocks my vision making it impossible to pull out from my driveway.  The unforgiving cold is incredibly bold; movement and comfort mean nothing to it.  Exhaust overcomes any remnant of my perfume and takes yet another hint of beauty from my day.  There are no flowers, no green, and color is but a crushed memory where dirty snow now lives.  The stickiness of my vinyl steering wheel reminds me of the barstools I’ll be serving tonight.  The music circa 1989 mixed with second-hand smoke takes me back to my gigging days.

The PURPOSE of this exercise? To create a balance between INTERNAL and EXTERNAL lyrics. Vwala!

Artwork by fantastically talented artist/illustrator Dave Catrow.

Ba-bye.

Fail Big!

My cousin Heide has been sending me homework assignments in preparation for “The X Factor” audition (Sunday, March 27th). This week was titled “Fail Big!” Immediately, it calmed me down as I’ve been stress’n about the whole process. The best part of the email for me was this:

“Ultimately if you fail, you still really succeed because big failures usually result in something equally interesting and often reveal something you weren’t expecting.  Besides, it’s always interesting to see the result of going all out, regardless of the final outcome.“

I have already met and connected with some amazing people, stirred up some  old personal “muck” (which has lead to some great healing), and faced fear. Pretty cool way to fail big!!!

Sooo…I hold my arms out wide and continue to flyyyyyyyyyyyyy!

 

Photo: hipmonk.com.

Ba-bye.

SkaieBird & Byrd Sing!

I had the honor of rehearsing with world class vocal coach Debra Byrd (known as ‘Byrd’-okay, how cool is that!?!). She has sung and recorded with the world’s best recording artists and is the vocal coach and arranger for American and Canadian Idol (…and this is just the tip of her talent iceberg!). Yup! I am going to audition for Simon Cowell’s new show “The X Factor” on March 27th and, I must confess…I am scared shi*less!!!

Still…my journey to the LA Sports Arena, where the auditions will be held, has already been amazing. I will continue to share the steps I’ve taken, including the highs, lows, cools, and woes, but will now leave you with this pearl Byrd shared with me during our session: “Bring the joy!”

Whoo-hooooooooooooooooo!

Okay…well…at least it’s a start.

Skaie & Byrd

Oh, an awesome “shout-out” to my cousin Heide for getting me into this mess…haha…just jiv’n. In all sincerity, I am very touched by your thoughtfulness.  Heideeeeeeee-ho!

Ba-bye!

Where I Belong?

Here’s a quick vid where I’m describing where I’m at working through a new song. Notice, too…I just got a cut and new color! Back to my dark roots!…uh…that’s not punny!

Ba-bye.

Inspriation.

Hello. My name is Skaie (sky) and this is my very first post on “SkaieBird Sings”, an on-going digital journal of my songwriting and the mental “pulling-my-hair-out” process to getting something real out of my head, on to the computer and into a song. Sighhh…breathe. I PROMISE to keep these entries SHORT and SA-WEET, and hopefully interesting. I’ll post all kinds of crap that inspire me and fun stuff that makes me giggle…damn, I love to giggle and LAUGH!

These are a couple photos of my inspiration board (thank you, Oprah!), and on it,  is a new quote (“Say yes, and you’ll figure it out afterward),”by the hilarious heroine Tina Fey in an article titled “Tina Fey’s Aha! Moment” sent to me by my wonderful cousin Heide (thanks HO!). By the way…that’s me and Matty sliding down the mountain of money. Cha-ching!

Ba-bye.