naomiland

sitting on my hands

not in some pervy way, ok?
just feeling the stress today.
so many decisions to make and i'm trying to sit still and let the answers come to me.

last weekend i was running through paris with my amazing aunt mimi...museums, cafes, cabarets, restaurants, street art, gypsies...yes, i almost got conned.

it's amazing - you think you're so worldly (well i do, at least) and next thing you know you're falling for the oldest trick in the book.
i was given a gold ring by an evangelist.
she was lovely until i walked away with it. then she came after me.
yup. that's how it happens. well, to be fair, i kind of knew what was going on - told her that since someone apparently lost it (she pretended to have found it on the ground) i would take it to the police and report it. she didn't like that very much. but i wanted to see how far she was willing to go with the scam. and then i decided that it was time to send her on her way with the ring. i guess i didn't really want to witness her full potential.

is life that boring that i need to provoke con artists in the streets of paris?

i don't think so. it certainly wasn't boring that day.

i have decided that in my next incarnation i will be a french cabaret singer. actually, i think it will be this lifetime. and maybe some german, too, cause that stuff is oh so dark.
i had the opportunity to study cabaret in college, but i didn't really get it then. didn't understand the politics involved. it's all really interesting stuff.

looks like i might be back in the US for the elections. i really miss home and i can't wait to get back.

and tonight i'm going to wear a cowboy hat and play my most "americana" songs at a pub in islington.
of course, all the country-ish songs are about death and fun stuff like that (at least mine are) so it should be an uplifting night.

xo
terra

eek

i'm so excited.
playing new songs and old songs with the guys who play music with me and i haven't been this excited in a long time.
i am happy.
truly happy about the way these songs are sounding.

everything is a bit crazy and stressful and uncertain, and i am feeling more fulfilled and more satisfied than ever because i am making the music i want to make and loving it. i am singing the way i want to sing, playing what i want to play. i am being creative in the way i want to be creative. it's a fantastic feeling and i wouldn't trade it for all the record sales in the world.

it also helps that i believe that these songs, done in the way they are going to be done, will bring all the other sorts of success i would like to have. including the record sales. we will see. but i believe in what i am doing. 100%
there is no one to blame but myself if i do not make the music i want to make this time...if there is anything i have any regrets about, it will be entirely on me. and i am so ready for that responsibility.
hindsight is such a crazy thing. especially when you can forsee something and choose to push it aside. hindsight is painful at that point.
a lesson learned.
honesty with oneself.
painful shit.
we move past it, though.
and take from it what we can take.
and so it goes.

ok - back to the music.
the music is what matters.
not the other shit which sometimes accompanies it.
the truth, not the facade.
just the sound and the authenticity of that sound.
everything else is just noise.

an exciting moment for human rights

because most news having anything to do with human rights is really awful, violation after violation, here is something wonderful:

just go read about it on arlan's blog. easier than trying to write something which she has already written so well.

for all of you who can now legally marry the person you love - congratulations.
for everyone who is now one step closer to being acknowledged as a legitimate member of society with the same rights as any other member of this society, it's about time. sad that it's taken this long, and yes, this is only one small step, but it's one step closer, and i'm grateful for that.

lots of love
terra

last night at the troubadour!

was fun fun fun.
haven't had that much fun on stage in a while, so thank you to those of you who made the night what it was!
tequila shots with my new girlfriends was a blast...
got home way too late...or early, i guess is more accurate...
and so much happens in the time i've been away from LA.
reconnected with an old friend and found out that he is now the lead singer for a band we both love. they're coming here in september, and i can't wait to see him and see the show.
feeling the joy of sunshine here in london.
it's perfect weather.
the pigeons are feeling the love, as well.
it seems like every time i look outside i see pigeons procreating.
it's gross.
saw some on top of a monument in central london on my way to the show last night.
looked out the window and was like 'why is that one pigeon on the other pigeon's back?' and then...ewwww...i understood the reason. gross.
salvador realized today that we don't really have birds over here on the east side. only pigeons.
as soon as we go west the birds begin to sing. but here it's just those lovely winged rats.
fucking.
uggh.
anyway -
life continues to get stranger every day.
i'm just trying to coast along with the ups and downs and enjoy myself a little bit.
i love my new loop station.
was so much more exciting last night - trying to coordinate my feet and hands and voice. felt like i was doing a spastic little dance at certain points in the evening, triggering the loops with my feet while playing the song. i hope to become more graceful sometime in the very near future.
someone i work with at island thought i made a racist comment when i pointed mentioned the japanese people from the last troubadour show. she didn't realize that i was actually talking about people from japan who came specifically for the show. thought i was pointing out the fact that last time there were a bunch of asian people in attendance! hahaha
was a funny moment.
had to explain that they were actually from japan. no, i was not calling out the various ethnicities of my audience.
it is interesting - seems like every show there is at least one group who has flown in from another country.
last night it was canada.
i'm getting very spoiled by my international fans, though....starting to expect it.
don't let me down, guys!
buy your plane tickets now!
just kidding.
a good 8 hour drive from the north of england will suffice.
hehe
anyway -
going to get ready for rehearsal tomorrow.
i can't wait to play with the guys again.
this time it will be bryan on drums, salvador on bass and my friend giorgio on guitar.
giorgio and i have been playing a lot of music together and i want to see how it works with him in the band.
that's all for now.
xox
terra

and another thing.

i don't have much to say.

i'm working on something which i think will be very cool.
the people in my life tend to get a bit confused when i tell them about it, so i won't tell you about it at this moment. i will instead wait until it's done or well on its way to being done, and then i shall let you in on the plan.

i'm also working on something very cool for my next london show on may 13th. next week. at the troubadour.
learned a little more about my loop pedal after the last show and i can't wait to try it out again.

the last show, by the way, was amazing if only for this reason:

20 people flew in from japan for the show.
yes - you read it right.
i was kind of in shock, to be honest.
i definitely owe them a show in japan now. i think if any group of 20 people fly in for one of my shows, especially from half-way around the world, i should return the gesture with a show in their country. it's only fair, right?

what else....just learned of a potentially amazing thing which i might have to do this summer. would involve driving a car from rhode island to mexico. don't know if it's happening yet, but if it is then you can be certain that i will take that opportunity to play as many shows along the way as i can manage to book.
oooo i hope it happens.
if not then i will find another way to tour the US again, and soon, because i miss my country and my friends and fans from the east coast to the west coast, north and south, and i cannot wait to see you all again.

it's been way too long.

anyway - going to watch 'the birds' now. i need a break.
when all else is up in the air and completely nuts, there is always alfred hitchcock.
and obsessive cleaning.
and cleaning obsessively while watching hitchcock.
my house sparkles, let me tell you.
sparkles and shines.

xox
terra

when all else fails...

...to make me happy...

i will soon have this amazing image of my dog elliott on my wall.

courtesy of animal aritst mitch henderson.

:)