Mime alert!

It's been ages since my last post - life has a way of getting in the way! The last months have been extremely busy, with some new studio work, another trip to Italy to perform, and just a general burst of outgoing energy: developing contacts, working on new ways to get my creative work recognized, and sending out the first five tracks of the CD to various people in the music industry. Reactions have been encouraging, and three more tracks are currently in production. The music is fun and authentic, and I'm thrilled to hear the album's identity coming through, one day at a time!

Yes, these are busy times - in my world, and all over the world, as you know.

And in the midst of it all is one ongoing theme: the mime. Coincidence? You be the judge.

During their visit to Paris last August, my teenage niece and nephew expressed their eerie fascination with the mime culture in France. Each time we sat down at a sidewalk café, I could feel their attention wavering and glances straying, in hopes of spotting one such silent, mysterious artiste on the street. They finally got a glimpse of one near Montmartre, but felt strangely paralyzed when they tried to get closer. My niece recalled a mime accosting her for money when she snapped his picture at age 11. Possible mime trauma?

A few months later, I got a surprise letter from my 9-year-old nephew. It seemed there was one question in his mind that was so pressing that he took pen to paper and sent it off across the Atlantic as fast as he could: "Vicki, are there any mimes following you?" A legitimate question - and one I had to admit I couldn't answer! Thus began a few weeks of glancing worriedly over my shoulder, just in case.

And one day in November, I auditioned for a theater company that does various shows all over France. When I asked what kind of performances they wanted me for, they asked, "Well, have you ever worked with mimes?"

Should I be scared, or embrace this new calling? Will singing and miming ever mix?

Questions? Comments?

Happy Holidays - wishing you all the best for 2009!

Vicki

Something to celebrate!

It's a strange, surreal time, between the financial crisis, U.S. election fever, searching for a record label/producer/editor/booking agent, and finding the time to finish the CD. So naturally I was overjoyed the other day when I received a very fancy letter from the Bureau of Naturalization (whom I've been in touch with now for 2 1/2 years) saying "I'm pleased to inform you that you've been French since September 15." YIPPEE!!! Or YOUPI !!! in French. Anyone who has ever attempted to obtain official status in a foreign country will tell you that it involves years of cringing and kowtowing. So it's a wonderful gift during this challenging period; it means I can now work legally in any E.U. country and don't even have to give up my U.S. citizenship! Just gives me a little more geographic freedom, and a heightened feeling of acceptance in the place I've lived for 15 years now.

On that note, check out my new haircut - looks suspiciously like it did when I was 5, but who's comparing?

Almost August

Hello, I'm back! The last month was crazy in a beautiful way. Visited with my wonderful cousin and his partner. Did another concert in Turin, Italy and am looking forward to more possible projects there. Hooked up with two more dear friends, in Italy (near Pisa, fabulous villa high in the hills, complete with swimming pool and scorpion) and in Morocco! Went to some friends' wedding in Tangiers and experienced no end of colorful sounds, images and emotions. To Westerners it was one surprise after another, from the welcoming cocktail (a glass of milk) to the dainty paper bags laid on each guest's plate (to take home the leftover scores of tasty pastries).

AND the first 5 tunes are mixed and ready to be shopped around to record labels! It is my goal to find a supportive structure for this album (press agent, booking agent, label for marketing and distribution), so if anyone out there can help in any way, please let me know! Can also send the new tracks to interested parties!

Happy August to all - Vick

P.S. Here's a shot of me trying on a Moroccan gown at designer friend Mahmoud Benslimane's atelier. He does beautiful work and is a sweet character.

Summer creations

Hello - seems like it's been a long time! Continuing the series of challenges which seems to be defining the year 2008: just got back from a debut performance with Italian vocal group Dejavo' in Torino, Italy, led by jazz vocalist Roberto Demo. It was an exhilarating experience complete with mouth-watering pizzas, gorgeous mountain scenery, kind, funny, creative people and...cute dogs! What could be better‽ (That is an interrobang, by the way, as one dear friend - who knows who he is - would be quick to tell you :)

Now in Paris for awhile and getting back to the album, which is really taking shape now. It's a great feeling! (Name that ad from the '70's. :) Wrote this song a while ago; the lyrics are kooky and critical. Thinking of putting it on the album if we can get the arrangement right. Any comments are welcome as usual!

GRAY MATTERS

Growing up with Star Wars
You never think of our wars
Thought life was Darth and Luke
Now I see it’s all a fluke

Who are the bad guys?
Tell me
Who are the bad guys?
Can’t see
Who are the bad guys?
Tell me
Who are the bad guys?

Eliminate and placate
Replace to fit your own pace
Delusions of wisdom
Aggression for freedom

Who are the bad guys? etc.

The world is smaller but the gaps are wider
Can’t tell the fly from the spider
Black and white are fading away
Gotta get used to the gray

Good guys and bad guys
Truth in a disguise
Obi-wan beat Anakin
And Vader loved a woman

Who are the bad guys?
Tell me
Who are the bad guys?
Can’t see
Who are the bad guys?
Tell me

Who are the bad guys?

Stretching

So much has happened since my last post! It has been a scary, emotional and exhilarating time. Met up with some dear, hilarious Williams friends in Rome over Easter and got a crash course in the history and correct usage of the bidet. Realized how much I love my X-large black fleece mittens which temporarily transform my hands into flippers. Did my first solo piano-vocal concert. Premiered a new show with the cutting-edge a cappella group "Les Grandes Gueules," roughly translated as The Big Mouths or Gullets. Worked on new tunes and arrangements for the forthcoming CD. Was invited to join two new vocal groups: Attache Parisienne in Paris and Dejavo in Torino, Italy! Performed in a prison. Traveled to Belgium to lead a vocal jazz workshop as part of a self-improvement weekend led by a wonderful Gestalt therapist. The two days also included long hikes in the Belgian Ardennes. It was a stretch to work in such a different context, but it turned out to be a beautiful, intense, instructive experience with a lovely group of people. I wish them all well and thank them for their enthusiasm in discovering vocal jazz!

Here's a photo from the first hike. Temporarily shed the Parisian persona and caused some chuckles with my brand spankin' new blue hiking boots!

Happy Easter!

This is many people's favorite holiday, and I have to agree. Free of the pressure of Christmas shopping, massive food quantities of Thanksgiving and nerve-racking firecrackers of the 4th of July, Easter provides a gentle yet festive segue into Spring. Gotta love that! Of course the bunny/egg vibe and chocolate don't hurt either. :)

So in this spirit of changing seasons, here's another snippet from my forthcoming album - albeit shot in a black-and-white November setting (and skillfully edited by Gildas Bocle'). As usual, all comments are welcome!

Wishing you well.

Linguistically challenged

It's one of those days - random words from different languages clouding my ability to make coherent sentences (this one just took 10 minutes)! Aufmerksamkeit, gentil, ragazzo, alors, lass' es dir gut gehen, cerniere - no rhyme or reason to them whatsoever. Just need to go with it!

Ready for a deliciously monolingual vacation -

For the guy in plaid

Things are usually pretty tame in Paris as far as fashion statements go - fancy, often black and chic, but not much in the way of fuchsia hair or creatively placed tattoos. Every once in awhile, though, someone stirs things up with a refreshing fashion SCREAM. Take the woman I saw meticulously burning a pattern of cigarette holes into a flowery scarf the other day, or the bald guy with the dreadlocked dog. The past few weeks I've been particularly intrigued by a guy who hangs out in the metro (Paris subway). From the waist up, he looks pretty mild-mannered and could be a waiter, banker or mailman. The neck down tells another story: every time I've seen him he's been wearing the same short brown plaid skirt and pink knee-high socks with pink slippers. His mood is usually somewhere between seriously pissed off and generally disappointed, though his constant muttering falls on deaf ears among the blase' Parisian travelers. Would love to know the WHY and HOW of this guy, but until the right opportunity comes along to introduce myself, why not dedicate this artsy video - in Japanese - to that somewhat forlorn guy in the metro?

Comments? Questions?

January fog

Something about January in Paris is really heavy. The holidays are over, it's gray, and people generally seem more miffed than usual. Is this in spite, or because of the new non-smoking law in all restaurants and cafes, which miraculously took effect on January 1st?

Whatever the reason, I shall now attempt to perk up the sluggish ambiance with a musical snippet, which I hope will be a hit on the new CD - hope you like it! (Video shot and edited by Gildas Bocle')

Gaudi' and pickle relish

Sometimes you just have to say "What the ----?" and roll with it - like the other day. Was in Barcelona, Spain, in a taxi just after discovering the most beautiful, inspiring building I've ever seen (and it's not even finished!), Antoni Gaudi's Sagrada Familia temple, and suddenly a long-forgotten condiment came to mind: pickle relish. I have absolutely no idea why. I was never particularly fond of pickle relish and barely realized its absence after so many years of living in Europe. But it's true, in all my travels I have yet to see pickle relish in another country. And now here it was, in my brain, popping up every half hour or so for the rest of the day, interfering with (or perhaps embellishing) my visit of this unforgettable city. It then came up so often that it lost all meaning and the syllables became like a foreign language. Picklerelishpicklerelishpicklerelishpickle... Has this happened to you?

On that note - another video, with subtitles due to bustling Paris street noise!

By popular demand...

Here are a couple of photos of me in action - one fun, one slightly psychedelic. They were taken by Alexandre Tome, by the way, and the black and whites in my other posts are by Hermine Cleret. Good stuff.

Off to Barcelona for a 2-day mini-break before the January onslaught!