“You Are”
I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am to finally get the ball rolling with this mysterious song i mentioned a few weeks back. (Release date pending)
There’s no real short way of telling the story… at least, where it begins … but I can tell you how it ends.
For Christmas this year, my sister was thinking about things to gift our mother … she brought up that while she was up at my mother’s house with her kids one day, she was organizing some dusty things in her entertainment cabinet when she came across an old cassette tape recording of some original music my mom wrote back in 1981. She was 23 when she wrote and recorded these songs in hopes to “make it” in the industry, back in London, where she lived. I had never heard any of these songs until December this year.
As many of you know, or don’t know - i come from a family of musicians. I’m not new by any means to any of this, but how I choose to approach it is a little different than a lot of artists of our time. I don’t like to put myself completely out there - and that’s a reason I play the part that I do in the band I play in. I have it in me to front a band, as I used to a few years ago. I just lack the writing direction or ability to create something that intrigued me. My mom would listen to what noise my band, at the time, had created and try to offer her hand in helping compose a song with me… which I blew off … as most teens do - “whatever, she’s my mom she doesn’t know anything”
If I had just been a little more open minded then … I wonder where I would be now.
A little more about my mother - all my life, she has been a very strong minded, stubborn and extremely independent woman. I get a lot of my strength from her, which is also a vice at times, ha. She is not one to show emotion….ever.
Listening to the lyrics she had wrote about feeling this love flow through her veins, singing about the soul mate she had believed to have found… it was like I was seeing into the past, a side I never knew. I was emotional over it for many days as I listened to it on repeat… and through all this, I feel like I know her better than 17 years of living with her, all because of a 3 minute song. I felt a lot of her words channeling a parallel love I feel for Jinxx… Needless to say, I’m still emotional even thinking about it.
My sister thought of the idea to re-record one of her songs, both her and I singing it - as a gift for her this Xmas. I told Jinxx that night and sent him the crappy recording - he was immediately on board and started to figure out the guitar part. He even plays a bit of violin on the track ;) He has such a beautiful style of playing dark acoustic songs. (check out the acoustic album the dreaming put out… “dreamo” … perhaps you’ll reconsider if you think i’m bullshitting) he was the glue that made all the pieces stick together in recreating this song.
***In no way, shape or form is my intention to “exploit” or “use jinxx’s name to gain fame” blah blah blah. If these are your thoughts, check your attitude at the door and continue reading. This isn’t about me. It’ isn’t about him. This isn’t about BVB. This isn’t about My Satellite.***
Giving it to her on Xmas and watching her face as she realized the chord progression she had last heard maybe 30 years ago was the biggest rush of fear, love, excitement, and emotion. It was very reminiscent of what the fall of the Berlin wall must have been. I don’t ever feel like I’ve ever been that close to her in all my life. She is one of the only people I’ve worked my ass off to impress, and still I get little validation… but when I finally do receive it, I know it will be because I did something worth her validity.
I want to make it - this.
Part of the Xmas gift was the song itself - but this is where you benefit in an entirely non-self serving way.
My mother is an animal rescuer and certified wildlife caretaker and has spent thousands of dollars of her own money rescuing cats, getting them vet care, and finding them new homes. She usually puts these animals before her own needs (dentist, food, visiting her daughters lol) She is in collaboration with a charity and rescue team in Sherman Oaks, CA called Cat Connection which is part of Beverly Oaks Animal Hospital. Now that she has given up music, animal rescue is her only passion.
With the release of this song, ALL PROFITS will go to Cat Connection Animal Rescue which will help many helpless cats receive the emergency vet care, food, surgery, medications, spay/neutering, housing, fostering and rehoming that they need to survive. We can all make a difference in this world, even if it is an eye for an eye… nothing is ever too small to matter.
Your .99 purchase will feed a kitten. Your illegal downloading / uploading to the internet / youtubing of this song will kill a kitten.
The choice is yours. Think about it.
Looking forward to releasing this as soon as Jinxx gets back from South America - Hopefully by the end of this month! Fingers Crossed!!! Thank you all for your beautiful support and listening to a little part of my life. I hope this makes you as excited as this makes me <3
