If you live in Provo and you have not gone to see Fictionist live...
a) ...you are the scum of the Earth.
b) ...you have not yet lived.
c) ...you are missing out on the best musical experience in Provo.
d) ...you will forever regret it once they're the next big thing.
e) ...there is still time to repent. Next time, BE THERE.
I haven't written much new music lately because of school, but I'm always writing down little tidbits of ideas in case I do find some time to put something together. I have a Post-It note app on my iGoogle page with tons of possible lyrics or song titles just sitting around waiting to be made into something coherent. Now I just need to find a decent amount of time where I'm coherent....
One idea I got for a song that would play right into a music video is a song about the little things in life and why it's important to be able to recognize them. The video would consist purely of close-ups of sweet, little things that are small but wonderful, like when a guy puts his hand on your lower back (I looooove that) or when a bird hops really close to you. We sometimes forget to appreciate those things. I'm a little hesitant to write on a theme like this since I'm always fighting the tendency to be didactic. It's just easier to say the "moral of the story" straight out, but that defeats the art and the fun of music...usually. I occasionally allow myself to err on the side of preachy, and I think it works in some cases. "To The Sky" is a good example of that. It's not really supposed to be a deep, mysterious song, and the music goes along with that. Simple chords and strumming patterns, not too many instruments, and sparse harmony. However, the simplicity of it sometimes drives me a little crazy, so I try to avoid writing like that too much. I really wish I had more time and a more organized mind....I have so many ideas and plans and vision for what I want my music to be, but right now what I really need to do is focus on school and my health and spirituality.
My biggest musical outlet for the time being is Jazz Voices, which is, of course, the auditioned jazz choir on campus. I am so, so glad to be in this group. The audition process was interesting. At first, there was only intended to be one group. two hundred-ish people auditioned, and then 20, including me, were invited to callbacks. You could tell that Allen, the director, was having a hard time deciding who to select for the 8-12 person ensemble. He had all the guys leave early and asked all of us girls for our opinions after telling us about each guy and his experience. I was impressed - many of them had sung in prestigious jazz choirs before, and one or two were in the renowned BYU band Synthesis as well. He didn't want to have to choose between them all, but the music department couldn't fund the hiring of two instructors for two groups, and this wasn't even his full-time job, so he couldn't exactly be here all day.
Well, lo and behold, we were sent an email the following day informing us that we all had made it into Jazz Voices! Besides two fellows who ended up dropping because of time constraints, we all met the following Thursday for our first rehearsal. Allen informed us that he was going to try something new; the whole group would sometimes perform pieces together, while other times we would be split into a smaller group and a larger group. As it turns out, I was selected for the smaller group - four guys and four girls. Allen told us later that this is the group who he had originally selected to be the Jazz Voices, before he decided to take everyone. So that's exciting! I've never made it into such a small auditioned group before here at BYU. There are just wayyy too many talented people around. I've been having a LOT of fun singing with such crazy-good musicians. Our small group sounds fantastic. In fact, if you're in the area, you can come see us at the Covey Center on September 27th or on BYU campus on September 28th when we perform with the jazz bands.
Alright, enough of that. I need to finish up soon because I'm getting dollar tacos with some good friends at El Azteca tonight. It's been a long day - 9 hours of class and work with only one half hour break to maintain my sanity and grab lunch. So I think I deserve a little break, don't you? Afterwards, I'll be up reading about children's folklore and schist formations until I conk out.
Here are a few more pictures of my life recently. Enjoy!
Until next time,
Tasha
