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I’m looking forward very much to the two concerts this month. And then I am excited about getting started on a new CD. This one is going to be totally different!!! But let’s stay in the present. The time will come. 
I was feeling lost, lonely and somewhat neglected
Then I wrote you a letter that I later regretted
Cause my fears arose and I suspected
That your hesitance to answer showed that you rejected.
So I took all the worries, the fears, hopes and dreams
And I put them in a heart-shaped box with intricate scenes
Turned it over to the universe, to do as it best deems,
a vulnerable child with impossible schemes.
You said you understand, that you sometimes felt that way
Just like I described, when feelings rise and sway.
You told me not to worry, that we’d surely find a way
However that may be, we cannot know today.
The finishing touches for the new CD “On My Own” have been made. Tomorrow it will be sent off for production. I feel like a little kid anticipating Santa Claus! I can’t wait to hold it in my hand.
Now that the books are published and the CD is finished, I thought for a moment that things would calm down and I might live a normal life. But when I think about what is planned for the near future, it doesn’t look that way it all. It won’t be quieter, just different.
So what is this CD about? Well, I am still convinced that my faith in the universe carries me to places beyond my wildest dreams — or at least pretty close. There are haunting old patterns and dignity to be upheld, old habits to be broken, questions of love from various perspectives, expectations, the painful experience of loss, memories of past regrets, even a dose of depression. I guess it’s another CD about life.
It was one more step along the path, a handful of valuable new experiences, an intense process of working with other people — and depending on them! I’m quite happy with it.
Last week I recorded the last song for the new CD: On my own. The finishing touches will still take some time, but it looks like it will be ready in time for the first presentation in Vienna in September. It has been an exciting process, with a challenging new element: a band! As soon as I can, I will post a few new tracks here.
The first two days in the recording studio have come and gone — with my band! It was a wonderful experience, and it’s so nice to have company, rather than doing it on my own. And it’s not just any old company, but a wonderful combination of musicians!
That goes right along with the few pages I read recently in a book by Anais Nin. (I’ve been reading that book for at least a year, but there are just too many other books that get in the way.) She talks about how important it is to have the interaction with other people. One can only go so far in isolation. But when we have the exchange of experience with other people, both sides learn and profit.
In the same passage, she also discusses the importance of dreams — whether waking or sleeping. Our dreams sneak up to the surface and offer us guidance from the unconscious (or the universe). They help create goals, or simply give input as to how to go on from here.
Whatever. That’s what’s on my mind on this cold, rainy Easter Monday. But now it’s time to get ready for a friend from Vienna who will arrive later this afternoon. And then I need to prepare for the new work week. I was going to say: “get ready to face reality” but that isn’t so clear. It’s a matter of perception and mood, which I won’t bother to go into at this point, because I’m hungry and it makes more sense to cook some lunch!
Happy Easter!
It was a while ago, this first and only (until now) gig with a band, but it was fun! Since I knew I would be nervous, I asked Heinrich to film it, so that I could get my own impression after the concert.
Today I managed to upload some of the songs from that concert onto youtube. Just search under my name. You’ll find them. And for “Waitin” you have to scroll down a bit. This will give you an impression of the band.
It certainly makes a difference when I’m accompanied by such fine, sensitive musicians! It was a wonderful experience — so much so, that they are going to record my next CD with me. We are just getting started and it will take a while, but there’s no hurry.
This is a wonderful opportunity to thank the guys: Hubi Sander, Philipp Sonderegger and Martin Summer. They are great to work with, great musicians, and I look forward to more work together.
We didn’t get to rehearse much for the concert. I think only one time we actually had the whole band together, but it worked out fine. 
My personal favorite:
As of now there are 13 songs for the new CD. But one never knows…
Well, not exactly a storm, but there has been a whirlwind of activity. Dreamwings set off a flurry of activity — indirectly. “A thousand tiny steps will bring the change we need…” and I’ve taken a few hundred tiny steps since writing that song.
That’s the funny thing about some of my songs — I write them on a whim of inspiration, and understand them better as time goes by. It is a strange process.
Meanwhile, I’ve started a 3-year course to improve my non-musical career opportunities, moved into my own apartment, and am presently working on new material for a new CD, which I plan to begin recording in February. Since the studio is rather elevated, I figure by then there won’t be much snow to deal with.
But it’s not just because of the snow. I am also working on improving my voice and guitar playing. That’s a common thread in my life: never stay in one place or stuck at one level — even though I to tend to take my time about moving on. Slowly but steadily I progress. There is always room for improvement.
The new CD “Dreamwings” came out in early December. I am quite pleased with the results on the one hand. One the other hand, I already know what I need to focus on to make the next CD even better. But it’s time for a break now!
Recently I attended a weekend seminar on communication. On the first day, we were asked to make a poster and introduce ourselves. Of course I mentioned the music, as that is part of me. Well, on the third day, we had the evening off and someone asked me to sing. I didn’t have my guitar with me, and was too tired anyway. (The seminar was great, but it brought up a lot of stuff and took a lot out of me.) So I gave her a CD. I always have a bunch of CDs in the trunk of my car. One never knows!
A few of them decided to go to the seminar room and listen to it. More followed. There we were, around 15 people, sitting there, talking, drinking wine, and listening to my CD in the background. I was quite tickled about the attention.
In the course of the next day, around 8 people approached me at various times to ask if I had another CD. They wanted to buy it! So I sold 8 CDs. That was a thrill! And it was a wonderful experience for relative “strangers” to want a CD. I can understand that my friends would want one, but people who barely know me!?! Holy moly!
Such an experiences is wonderful. It gives me the sense that I am on the right path. Thank you, Higher Power, for the occasion!
Well, the new CD is coming along. There’s just one more song that needs some guitar work done. The cover is a work-in-progress as well. There were some unexpected developments, which prolonged the process. But as the saying goes (in German): Good things take time to develop! So I am patient and grateful that I have creative friends who generously offered their help on the spur of the moment. Even my cat has offered his help. During one of his more awake moments, I asked him how he would imagine “Dreamwings” and this was his response:
I have a website at www.alicemansfield.net and I recently noticed that a lot of people looked on my birthday a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately, my computer savvy doesn’t extend to websites, so my friend’s son set it up for me. That means I can’t change it myself. Thus I have come to the conclusion that I need to connect it with a blog in order to make more frequent updates.
Then, for example, I could have written that I worked on my birthday. I am a counselor in a sheltered living project for the mentally disabled. I really enjoyed work that day, because we had cake for dessert and some of them sang Happy Birthday. A couple of troublemakers thought they were being outrageous by singing Christmas carols. They knew exactly what they were doing, but I wasn’t offended.
At present, I am working on a new CD. As usual, it is not on schedule. A string of unexpected events bumped me off schedule. But, do I give up? NO!!! It will probably be done before Christmas, but I’m not making any promises. As soon as it’s ready, I’ll post a few songs. They aren’t quite ready yet.
For those who have been to my concerts, there will be several older songs, but also some new ones. And some of the older ones I rarely played live, so you’ll probably think they are new. That’s good! Then you’ll think I was even more productive!
I felt kind of sad at the prospect of this CD being finished. Two CDs in two years, to use up the old material. I needed to get the songs recorded for closure, because a new period of my life is beginning. It has already begun. I didn’t see myself writing many songs, and I’ll really miss going to the studio. To my surprise, I already have a handfull of songs in the works, so maybe by next year I’ll be ready to go back to the studio again! That would be nice. It is a wonderful place to be.
Well, that’s about it for now. I just wanted to at least write one post, since I noticed that someone already strayed by here and didn’t find anything!
