New Beginnings

Time has flown since my last post. It has been a rich and challenging year, including a performance with a string quartet, a fascinating tour in Taiwan with "les Grandes Gueules," some duo shows in the U.S. that also let me reconnect with some dear friends, recording a new album with a contemporary composer, and trips to Munich, southern and western France, and Italy. There have been some wonderful creative moments as well as some disappointments and soul-searching moments, but today the overwhelming message from all of it is to find a way to keep going, no matter what! Get things done and get them out there. Of course, all help and encouragement are appreciated. :)

Here's a lovely pic of some newborn pandas at the Chengdu Giant Panda Research and Breeding Base in China. Sending energy to help them along!

All the best,

Vicki

There's Hope at the Post Office!

It's a familiar, worldwide phenomenon: surly postal workers. Paris has no shortage of them, especially at the central post office, which is open 24/7. So imagine my surprise the other day when I stepped up to the window specially reserved for colorful collector stamps. Don't ask why, but about 6 months ago I was seized by the desire to deck my missives with pictures of yellow labs or national monuments, as opposed to the generic long strips that save time but tend to depress. As usual, the middle-aged, bespectacled woman - the same one I'd seen at least 15 times - greeted me with an obligatory grunt as I asked for a booklet of 10 pretty stamps. She showed me a board with a few different options, I painstakingly made a choice, then she said, "Wait, there are more on the other side." "Uh oh," I said, turning the board over, "It's getting complicated now!"

Was it my rather awkward turn of phrase? My implication that a good selection of stamps was complicated? My choice of spring flowers? I'll never know, but her reaction was among the best I've encountered in 18 years in Paris: a totally unexpected, hearty cackle accompanied by a genuine twinkle of the eye. "Ah, complicated, indeed!" she echoed, then voiced her hope that the flowers would hasten the arrival of spring. Our little moment actually turned into a chat, which made my day, or possibly my week! Month?

Update

Hoo boy, it has been far too long since my last post. Life keeps getting in the way, then flying by.

My second album, "am I am," came out in April on Juste Une Trace, and we had a wonderful album release concert at the Café de la Danse in Paris. I had a very exciting month of July doing the Avignon Theater Festival with the electro a cappella group "Les Grandes Gueules" and managed to get away to Budapest for a few days in August. The fall has brought other new adventures, such as recording the fourth album by "Les Grandes Gueules" for Sony Music, arranging four-part vocal music for two jazz choruses using ProTools, and performing at album release events for composer François Elie Roulin's "Le Catalogue des Rêves," for which I also wrote some lyrics.

All in all, a great year, with several dreams coming true. So very lucky to do what I'm doing.

And on a furrier note, I welcomed a 6-week female kitten named George into my Paris home, after she was found abandoned in the Belgian woods. Amazing how much one critter can change the energy in a space and between people! Hilarious and fascinating.

All the best,

Vicki

Muffin Top!

Only 2 weeks to the official release of "am I am," and amid the excitement of hearing it on the radio, giving interviews and working on our live shows, what is the one phrase that keeps popping into my head?

"Muffin Top"!

Why? Why? Because I recently read that this expression will soon be in the English dictionary; it is now a legitimate phrase describing the roll of midsection fat that protrudes from a pair of too-tight, low-riding jeans! Personal trainers are now devising specific exercises to work on/against the Muffin Top. Some people accept and embrace the Muffin Top. Some couldn't care less about the Muffin Top. For some reason this phrase has taken up residence in my brain, making me smile even as it distracts me from more important things. How long will it last?

While I'm at it (Muffin Top Muffin Top), here are my concert dates for the next few months:

April 20 - showcase at Café de la Danse, Paris
April 28 - live performance on "Le Fou du roi," Radio France
May 5 - Hôtel Bel Ami
May 6 - Strasbourg, eastern France
May 27+28 - Théâtre de Poche, Sète, southern France
(Muffin Top)
June 20 - Boeuf sur le Toit, Paris
July 3 - Rethel, eastern France
July 8-31 - Avignon Theater Festival
July 11 - Burgundy, central France

All the best,

Vicki
P.S. Muffin Top

Building

The "am I am" album release happens in just a little over a month, on April 18th. On April 20th, my group will do a set at the prestigious Café de la Danse in the hip Bastille district. On April 28th, we're doing a well-known radio show called "Le Fou du roi" on France Inter, a major national station!

It's exhilarating and scary at the same time to make progress toward a dream. I can't thank my friends, family and followers enough for keeping me going, and keeping it all in perspective!

More soon.

All the best,

Vicki

Words I Miss

The European adventure continues, with linguistic surprises at every turn. Now and then a really obscure word pops into my brain, and I think, "What a great word, haven't heard that in about fifteen years! How can I work it into a sentence?" And then, "Will anyone understand it? Will they appreciate the beauty and silliness?" Alas, most of the time all of this starts and ends in my own little head :)

Here are a couple of examples:

Glib - Maudlin - Gams - Catarrh - Snicker - Caboose - and that old favorite, DUDE!

Feel free to add more!

Here's a pic from a festival we did outside Paris last November.

All the best,

Vicki

Let's Make It a Good One!

Just a word of greeting, to thank you for a thrilling 2010 and create some good vibes for an even better 2011! Just got back from a very cold trip to the U.S., to recharge my batteries, you might say. Celebrated my return to Paris with some gorgeous wine and cheese, so things are good.

Again, all the best, and thank you for your support. More soon!

Vicki