Before I tell you a story... I have to start with a short prologue...
Sunday night, well Monday morning, 3 AM... I'm watching Shakespeare in Love and getting a little teary eyed. Now, I love it whenever I cry, I just like the feeling... I know I'm weird. So whenever I get into these cathartic, melodrama kind of moods I start thinking about my life. My career, Everything that's going right, but mostly what's not going right. All of these feelings lead to me saying to myself ( I know this is so movie, but I also love real-life "movie moments") "I just need a sign to know that what I'm doing is right, that I'm on the right path..."
Cut to 11:00 am, Monday May 10, 2010. My phone won't stop vibrating. I finally wake up to see what is going on, or who's calling me and there are 8 Comment Notifications from youtube. I thought to myself, "Oh more people saw it...yay!!!" But what struck me was that they all happened within two minutes... Then I see a text message from my cousin/manager, THE FABULOUS MAYA WASHINGTON, that she emailed Perez Hilton this morning. I then read the last comment and somewhere in it it says "thanks Perez for the link!" After peeing my bed, and cleaning it up (joke) I ran to my computer to find out that, indeed, Perez Hilton TWEETED about my GLEE audition video! Saying "Gay for Glee.... LOVE it!" So I'm talking to Maya, going crazy writing about it on my Facebook and when suddenly I see on a newly requested friends fbWall that I'm on advocate.com!! That my video is in the Entertainment News section of their page!!
Anyway, I wanted a sign. I got one! Thank you God, thank you universe. I'm on the right path, or so Perez Hilton thinks...
XOXO
Monday, May 10, 2010
Saturday, May 1, 2010
It's been a LONG TIME....
Ok. So when the say "at first you don't succeed..... dust yourself off and try again....?" Well get out the dustbuster, swiffer, and what have you... I haven't blogged in a WHILE... Here's why...
I really don't have an excuse other than not having it together, and letting my wandering mind... wander... I was doing well that first week, I just lost track of things. And next thing you know, it's three months later.
Here's what I've been up to...
All the way back in January, I impromptu went to NYC to audition for Hair on Broadway... Let's just say people in NYC are CRAZY for sleeping in subzero temperatures to audition... When I arrived at 7:15 AM!!! - there were already over a THOUSAND people in line! Long story short I didn't get seen, but as I do. I went back to my friend's (Chris) apartment and recorded a video of me singing and put together a package and brought it back to the castings office. Gotta be assertive, right?
Also in January, I became part of a project that is still in the works right now... Speaking of "works" it's going to be in the Summerworks' Concert Series. It's called "Prison Dancer: The Musical" It's a show based on the Filipino prison that danced Michael Jackson's Thriller and whose Youtube Video went VIRAL!!!! I play the head Choreographer... The concert will be happening in August 2010.
Feb was a working month. At the spa with a couple small gigs. And then came March...
I was cast as TOOTLES in Neptune Theatre's production of Peter Pan. If you're wondering who he is. In the movie "Hook" Tootles is the one who "lost his marbles..." I arrived here on the 16th and rehearsed until we started previews on April 13th and officially opened the 16th. We run until May 30, with a possible extension.
So what also happened in March was that I shot an audition video for Glee!!! In January sometime my fabulous cousin, Maya, told me that the show was doing an online casting call... and I was like " WHAT!?!?!?!? I NEED TO BE ON THIS SHOW!!!!" So after planning my video concept I shot it with her help, as well as with the help of my amazing bro, Michael. The result was a video of me singing the song "Love You I Do" from Dream Girls. Fox still hadn't put out any info on their casting so I just had the video waiting to be released, like hungry lions in the Coliseum. But to my dismay, Fox came out with the rules and it them stated that submissions had to be from a select song list, which did not include MY SONG. We were only to sing certain songs from the show. Anyway, without my "team" I enlisted the help of my roomie, Stephen (who's playing Peter) and Zak (who's playing Curly) to help me with my new video shoot. I figured out the concept and Zak shot the new video. We finally put it up on Myspace to find out that the site CRASHED!!!!........ CRASHED!!!!!! Fox, then, extended the submission deadline by three days and when they did my new video got over FIVE THOUSAND VOTES!!! IN THREE DAYS!!!! I also posted the videos on Youtube, to try and get more people to hear and see me!
So that's me in a nutshell right now... Trying with all my might to get myself out there so that I can BE ON GLEE!!!! SO HELP ME OUT!!!!!!!! Watch my videos and tell everyone!!!
I will be posting the links and videos in just a sec!!!!
XOXOXOXO jeigh :)
I really don't have an excuse other than not having it together, and letting my wandering mind... wander... I was doing well that first week, I just lost track of things. And next thing you know, it's three months later.
Here's what I've been up to...
All the way back in January, I impromptu went to NYC to audition for Hair on Broadway... Let's just say people in NYC are CRAZY for sleeping in subzero temperatures to audition... When I arrived at 7:15 AM!!! - there were already over a THOUSAND people in line! Long story short I didn't get seen, but as I do. I went back to my friend's (Chris) apartment and recorded a video of me singing and put together a package and brought it back to the castings office. Gotta be assertive, right?
Also in January, I became part of a project that is still in the works right now... Speaking of "works" it's going to be in the Summerworks' Concert Series. It's called "Prison Dancer: The Musical" It's a show based on the Filipino prison that danced Michael Jackson's Thriller and whose Youtube Video went VIRAL!!!! I play the head Choreographer... The concert will be happening in August 2010.
Feb was a working month. At the spa with a couple small gigs. And then came March...
I was cast as TOOTLES in Neptune Theatre's production of Peter Pan. If you're wondering who he is. In the movie "Hook" Tootles is the one who "lost his marbles..." I arrived here on the 16th and rehearsed until we started previews on April 13th and officially opened the 16th. We run until May 30, with a possible extension.
So what also happened in March was that I shot an audition video for Glee!!! In January sometime my fabulous cousin, Maya, told me that the show was doing an online casting call... and I was like " WHAT!?!?!?!? I NEED TO BE ON THIS SHOW!!!!" So after planning my video concept I shot it with her help, as well as with the help of my amazing bro, Michael. The result was a video of me singing the song "Love You I Do" from Dream Girls. Fox still hadn't put out any info on their casting so I just had the video waiting to be released, like hungry lions in the Coliseum. But to my dismay, Fox came out with the rules and it them stated that submissions had to be from a select song list, which did not include MY SONG. We were only to sing certain songs from the show. Anyway, without my "team" I enlisted the help of my roomie, Stephen (who's playing Peter) and Zak (who's playing Curly) to help me with my new video shoot. I figured out the concept and Zak shot the new video. We finally put it up on Myspace to find out that the site CRASHED!!!!........ CRASHED!!!!!! Fox, then, extended the submission deadline by three days and when they did my new video got over FIVE THOUSAND VOTES!!! IN THREE DAYS!!!! I also posted the videos on Youtube, to try and get more people to hear and see me!
So that's me in a nutshell right now... Trying with all my might to get myself out there so that I can BE ON GLEE!!!! SO HELP ME OUT!!!!!!!! Watch my videos and tell everyone!!!
I will be posting the links and videos in just a sec!!!!
XOXOXOXO jeigh :)
Monday, January 18, 2010
Day 2 and 3!!
Saturday marked Day 2. I worked then attempted to come home and write a song before I went to my friend Alicia's Birthday. Unfortunately, I didn't write one in the hour that I had between getting home and getting ready to go out. I really should have stayed in, it WAS Day 2! But someone, Micke, said that my social life can't suffer during my year's endeavor. So I didn't let my social life suffer went out and enjoyed it!!!!
So I woke up this morning to go to work (after sleeping a measly 5 hours) and swore that today I would write two songs, one for Day 3 and one to make up for Day 2.
Song 2 came to me as many songs do, making up a random melodic line with lyrics, then playing around with the chords on the piano further it. It's short and sweet and like most of the songs that will be posted will need more work, but the rough idea of the songs is there. It's an "I'm in love!!!" song, that still may need a bridge or something like it.
Song 3 came to me after I played around on the piano with a chord progression. I liked the sound of it and made up a lyric. When I do this I basically say random things until I like the direction or theme that I'm going in. This song developed into what I thought sounded like a lullaby. So I tentatively call it
"Lullaby of the Lost"
So, I hope you like something even a lyric or a melodic line, my voice singing or maybe my outfit or my damn RED EYES (SO tired)
I'm still getting used to this daily writing project I've set out for myself. I hope that as the days go on it will hopefully come, not easier, but more freely. I know I have lots of ideas inside it's just a matter of finding them. Or simply releasing them to make room for other better ones. It's like I've hoarded all of these possible songs in my head, and I need to clear them out to find if there are some treasure in there! Only time will tell!!!!
xoxo jeigh
p.s. it's 2:45 am and I have to work at 10:30...gross...
So I woke up this morning to go to work (after sleeping a measly 5 hours) and swore that today I would write two songs, one for Day 3 and one to make up for Day 2.
Song 2 came to me as many songs do, making up a random melodic line with lyrics, then playing around with the chords on the piano further it. It's short and sweet and like most of the songs that will be posted will need more work, but the rough idea of the songs is there. It's an "I'm in love!!!" song, that still may need a bridge or something like it.
Song 3 came to me after I played around on the piano with a chord progression. I liked the sound of it and made up a lyric. When I do this I basically say random things until I like the direction or theme that I'm going in. This song developed into what I thought sounded like a lullaby. So I tentatively call it
"Lullaby of the Lost"
So, I hope you like something even a lyric or a melodic line, my voice singing or maybe my outfit or my damn RED EYES (SO tired)
I'm still getting used to this daily writing project I've set out for myself. I hope that as the days go on it will hopefully come, not easier, but more freely. I know I have lots of ideas inside it's just a matter of finding them. Or simply releasing them to make room for other better ones. It's like I've hoarded all of these possible songs in my head, and I need to clear them out to find if there are some treasure in there! Only time will tell!!!!
xoxo jeigh
p.s. it's 2:45 am and I have to work at 10:30...gross...
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Day 1- Putting myself out there...
Welcome to Jeigh Sings Songs!!!
This is a blog following a journey of writing songs. A YEAR in songwriting to be exact. I got an idea last year to do this when a friend, Lindsie Grey, started a blog about photographing a beard a day(http://beardaday.tumblr.com). I loved the idea so much that I took it and changed it to writing a song a day, for an entire year.
I used to write quite often, but with my focus not really being focused I stopped writing around four years ago. Wow, it's sounds a lot longer than I thought when I write it down. Many reasons kept me from writing: singing on a ship, partying too much, singing on a ship, working and partying too much, and singing on a ship again! Each time I would go on a ship, I always had the plan to write songs, save money and come home and record. I failed three times. So after the third time I decided it was time to stay home and work on singing on land, in general. I soon started singing at open mics (music theatre ones) and soon started doing cabarets, and auditioning for music theatre shows. This focus on auditioning, trying to get an agent and working at the same time left me still unable to focus on my writing.
Fast forward to the "Aha!" moment of the blog and to force myself to write everyday. Whether it be good, bad, horrible or great, I would write at lease one song a day, video record it and put it up on a blog (this blog) and see what I come up with within a year.
You see, my other problem is this. I can't figure out my sound. What I mean by this is that I don't know know what style of music I want to sing. So I'm hoping that I don't write the same song everyday for 365 days, but rather evolve into what will become "Jeigh's Sound!" It sounds stupid, but it is essential before I pursue my recording career.
Now, I had hoped to start this blog on Jan 1, but I didn't make that deadline - it's about the process, right? - So I'm starting today (Jan 15th in my head, even though it's technically the 16th) I promised someone (Maya...) that I would start today. So I am! I wrote a song when I came home from work, after watching "what no to wear" and "say yes to the dress" (I get very easily distracted as you may already know by now.) So here it is!
So I woke up this morning with a bbm from my friend Micke saying "Here we go 2010!! It starts today" I responded "what starts today? the rest of my life? He said "Yes! The new year." There was a pad of paper and a sharpie beside my bed. I grabbed it and started writing the first thing that came to my head.
Forget about what's happened
And all they had to say,
Cause starting from today, your beat is going to change
nothing can stand in your way
I write usually thinking of lyrics and melody, then go to the piano (with my BASIC piano skills) and find the chords. SO cut to tonite, morning, when i finished it and realized that the chords in beginning of the chorus are the same as the verse of Christina Aguilera's Beautiful. Anyway, I didn't copy it, it just ended up that way. So I hope you like the first song "Start"
If you find yourself on this page because you happened to find it, Welcome! If you like what you hear, tell people about it. If you don't like what you hear, F@$% YOU, haha, no tell me what I could do different. Like I said, it's about the process. Whether it be good OR bad feedback I'd lke to hear it!
If you're hear because you know me, I hope you like what you hear, and to you too, tell me if you hate it!
Xoxo Jeigh :)
*So the song won't be posted until tomorrow, because it's too late and i can't sing it cause my parents are sleeping. boo....
So tomorrow( the REAL 16th there will be TWO video posts!)
This is a blog following a journey of writing songs. A YEAR in songwriting to be exact. I got an idea last year to do this when a friend, Lindsie Grey, started a blog about photographing a beard a day(http://beardaday.tumblr.com). I loved the idea so much that I took it and changed it to writing a song a day, for an entire year.
I used to write quite often, but with my focus not really being focused I stopped writing around four years ago. Wow, it's sounds a lot longer than I thought when I write it down. Many reasons kept me from writing: singing on a ship, partying too much, singing on a ship, working and partying too much, and singing on a ship again! Each time I would go on a ship, I always had the plan to write songs, save money and come home and record. I failed three times. So after the third time I decided it was time to stay home and work on singing on land, in general. I soon started singing at open mics (music theatre ones) and soon started doing cabarets, and auditioning for music theatre shows. This focus on auditioning, trying to get an agent and working at the same time left me still unable to focus on my writing.
Fast forward to the "Aha!" moment of the blog and to force myself to write everyday. Whether it be good, bad, horrible or great, I would write at lease one song a day, video record it and put it up on a blog (this blog) and see what I come up with within a year.
You see, my other problem is this. I can't figure out my sound. What I mean by this is that I don't know know what style of music I want to sing. So I'm hoping that I don't write the same song everyday for 365 days, but rather evolve into what will become "Jeigh's Sound!" It sounds stupid, but it is essential before I pursue my recording career.
Now, I had hoped to start this blog on Jan 1, but I didn't make that deadline - it's about the process, right? - So I'm starting today (Jan 15th in my head, even though it's technically the 16th) I promised someone (Maya...) that I would start today. So I am! I wrote a song when I came home from work, after watching "what no to wear" and "say yes to the dress" (I get very easily distracted as you may already know by now.) So here it is!
So I woke up this morning with a bbm from my friend Micke saying "Here we go 2010!! It starts today" I responded "what starts today? the rest of my life? He said "Yes! The new year." There was a pad of paper and a sharpie beside my bed. I grabbed it and started writing the first thing that came to my head.
Forget about what's happened
And all they had to say,
Cause starting from today, your beat is going to change
nothing can stand in your way
I write usually thinking of lyrics and melody, then go to the piano (with my BASIC piano skills) and find the chords. SO cut to tonite, morning, when i finished it and realized that the chords in beginning of the chorus are the same as the verse of Christina Aguilera's Beautiful. Anyway, I didn't copy it, it just ended up that way. So I hope you like the first song "Start"
If you find yourself on this page because you happened to find it, Welcome! If you like what you hear, tell people about it. If you don't like what you hear, F@$% YOU, haha, no tell me what I could do different. Like I said, it's about the process. Whether it be good OR bad feedback I'd lke to hear it!
If you're hear because you know me, I hope you like what you hear, and to you too, tell me if you hate it!
Xoxo Jeigh :)
*So the song won't be posted until tomorrow, because it's too late and i can't sing it cause my parents are sleeping. boo....
So tomorrow( the REAL 16th there will be TWO video posts!)
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