The Music Community I Want to See...

I’ve been trying to write this blog for a long time, since the EP was released in November. Sometimes I’ve been very happy and loving about the recording process, but too busy. Sometimes I’ve been angry and frustrated about the process, and what I wrote wasn’t productive. Mostly, though, I’ve been overwhelmed.

I am incredibly proud of the work that my team and I did on the E’ville Experience’s first EP. It was more work and more money than I ever thought it would be, but the product speaks for itself. With “Dare Me” at over 25k streams on Spotify and the rest of the EP catching up, numerous Spotify Playlists adding our tracks, fan response and growth, I can’t help but feel that, for a first attempt, it went very well. I also was very vindicated reading what my team experienced (check out Murmur’s thoughts on the process here, and Genesis’ thoughts here). I’m so proud I helped make that real for them.

I had many mixed emotions while trying to write my perspective because, well, I was jealous of Nick, Genesis, and even Bill. I am jealous, still. When I first started working on music seriously, I wanted someone to do for me what I am doing now. I wanted someone to organize everything. Pay for everything. Put all the pieces together. Take care of me on studio days. I wanted to be the piece of the puzzle that sings, plays some piano, and writes music. I was happy if that was ALL I did. But here’s the truth: that’s not a realistic expectation, for ANY member of a band.

Nick and Genesis both wrote about loving studio time. About having time to try creative things, about being fed and taken care of. It’s harder to have that experience when you are the person 1. scheduling the amount of time in the studio and paying for it, 2. buying lunch and snacks for the team, 3. being the point person ON studio day.

Rose singing in the studio while Bill records and mixes.

Bill and I are the only 2 people on the team that were at every studio day. I wanted to make sure everyone had everything they needed and were taken care of. Drum day, bass day, guitar day, vocals day, that was the general order. So on vocal days…who was taking care of me? Especially vocal days where Nick was present for backup vox, I was absolutely still making sure everyone else was taken care of first. Bill has always been an excellent partner in the studio, he gets the best out of everyone he works with, but it’s not his job to bring lunch for the talent. It’s not his job to make sure I have everything I need to be delivering my best performance. That’s…my job. Because I’m not a piece of the puzzle anymore. Now I’m the person in charge of putting all the pieces together.

That’s why I’m changing my expectations from “I want what they have, I want to be taken care of” to, “I’m so proud that I’m a leader that gives people what I wanted in my career. I want an experience for my team that was what I always dreamed I would have.” I’m going to keep trying to create the music world I want to exist, and I’m going to continue treating the musicians around me how I always wanted to be treated.

I would like to talk about my team, though, because they’re amazing.

Photo by Bryan Flores From L to R: Rose Gonzales, the Ghost Guitarist, Murmur, and Genesis Valentine

Genesis wrote about her audition experience, and I need to tell y’all a secret. I paid her to attend that audition. I had a terrible experience with my drummer right before we found Genesis. He quit less than a month before a gig I was excited about and I could tell my band didn’t trust me to find us another drummer. To earn the trust I knew I deserved, I didn’t just post fliers and hope for the best. I went looking for my dream drummer. I went to GigSalad and looked through their drummers for hire, I needed someone professional and incredibly talented because they didn’t have much time to learn our set. I reached out to a few people and asked them to come to the audition before I came across Genesis’ profile.

I can’t tell you how blown away I was by her work. Genesis has a great social media presence with lots of top-notch videos to judge her talent. Her energy was magnetic and her drum work had some great rock influences that I related to right away. I wanted her to be my drummer immediately. So I asked her to attend the audition….and I paid her $25 for a 30 minute audition. I didn’t offer that to anyone else auditioning. I’ve never paid someone to come to an audition, and I don’t know if I ever will again. But I can tell you, Genesis was worth it and I have never regretted it.

The discussion after the auditions was simple. Genesis was the best. Here’s what I sent her after the audition:

“It was an easy decision. Your professionalism when we first met you was great, but somehow your chops were even better! We love the work you've already done on our songs and we are so excited to play live with you! Bill (our producer) also thinks you're a great option for studio work, so if we enjoy working together, we can hopefully keep working together even after this gig.”

Genesis at El Rio, October 2019: Hold on to people that are as excited about The Nightmare Before Christmas as you are!

Genesis has become a real part of the E’ville Experience family, and it’s hard for me to imagine a different drummer at this point. Which could be problematic, because she is in so many incredible bands. We’re just trying to make it big before her other bands do. I say that often, jokingly, but in reality, it’s probably true. She was always going to do great things. I’m honored to be a part of her story.

I worked hard to find Genesis, but, I work hard to find all the members of my team. Like when I found Bill, which is an experience I am grateful for every time I listen to the EP.

When the E’ville Experience decided to try recording, the band had lots of ideas for how to get it done. I’d done enough, uhhhh, “home studio” setups to know that it is a challenge to get right. So I looked up local recording studios to see what it would cost. I requested a quote from Skyline Studios and it was VERY reasonably priced! So we decided to try to do a live recording of the band, all playing together, to get our song “Olivia” down. When we arrived for recording, our engineer was Bill Snyder III.

I don’t have good luck for many things. I don’t win on scratch tickets. I don’t win raffles. I never win call-in radio contests. But I have VERY good timing for life events. And meeting Bill was some of the luckiest timing I’ve ever had.

Bill in the Studio

Bill is way too good to be working with such a green band, but I think he saw our raw talent. I remember being in Skyline Studios, we had the take we wanted, and Bill was doing some VERY QUICK mixing. I hope he heard the potential the song had, and he was trying so hard to make it sound amazing in almost no time at all. He did a spectacular job, and I tipped him $100 after that session. I’ve been a gig performer for a long time and I know what a $100 tip would mean to me. I wanted him to know how grateful we were for his work, because I could see his talent from a mile away.

Bill went home and, on his own time, worked on the mix for “Olivia”. By the time he was done with it, and shared it with me, it was….it was how I heard the song in my head. I just can’t tell you how much I struggle to make the things in my head translate to the real world, but Bill is one such translator. Every track he works with us on is better for his input. He’s great at being an outside, unbiased voice for the band. He worked with us on the EP from the very beginning, from choosing the songs and order, to recording each song in the studio, to mixing every song and giving feedback on the masters (done by Waltz Mastering). He’s a vital part of our band and, again, I can’t imagine not working with him. I am honored to be a part of his story as well.

Which leads me to Murmur: AKA Nick.

Rose and Murmur onstage at El Rio 2019

There is no the E’ville Experience without Nick. He recently made a birthday post for me that said, “When Murmur originally reached out about collaborating with other musicians, Rose was the first one to respond. That initial collaboration blossomed into the E’ville Experience as we know it today.” Well, that’s kinda true, but not really the full story. We met at my favorite place to get work done, Black Diamond Café, during their Open Mic. Nick enjoyed my Ida Maria, Steven Universe, and Pokémon covers, and I loved his guitar work. However, he had another band, Toadhouse. And they were good. I mean, really good. I didn’t even THINK to ask him to work with me because he already seemed to be in a successful band. I met a drummer at that open mic as well. I started working at that drummer’s family’s restaurant so I could ask him to drum in my band. That was the start of the E’ville Experience.

That’s when Nick made it clear that he was looking for collaborative opportunities. I JUMPED at the opportunity, I RESPONDED SO FAST to work with him, he’s such a talented guitarist. I didn’t know this at the time, but he is more consistent in his rehearsal than ANY musician I’ve ever met. He truly loves music and I appreciate how open-minded he is about influences and ideas. He’s the other essential part of the band. We understand each other very well, and when we don’t, we talk as long as we need to until we do.

I think Nick would have been fine without me, but I hope I’ve helped him on his guitar path.

The band has disagreements, the band has fights and awkwardness. That’s how you know we’re honest with each other. We always figure it out. We work through the uncomfortable. We find the best solutions. Nick and I are in talks right now about what the next stage of the E’ville Experience looks like in terms of getting us out of COVID-19 and getting back to collaborative music (I can’t wait!).

The first EP was amazing, I learned so much, and the next round of releases will be better for it. Now instead of waiting to be discovered so someone can give me the experience I dream of, I’m making my goals happen for myself and giving the people I work with the best experience I can. Being the change I want to see has never felt so literal or possible as right now in this moment.

Thank you for listening to our music. We love what we do

Top L to R: Rafael Chacon, Murmur, Nick Lovato, Bryan Flores, Bill Snyder III, Elliott Blake, Desire Lacap, and Jonathan Garcia

Center L to R: Rose Gonzales and Genesis Valentine

A Reflection on Recording - Written by Murmur (AKA: Nick Banuelos)

I had been in the studio a handful of times before recording with The E’ville Experience, and with each session my love for studio work grew. There's something about being in a room shut away from the world creating music with a group of people you love and respect that resonates with me in a way that nothing else does. It feels like you're cracking open some great secret of the universe that you get to bear witness to. You leave feeling powerful with the memory tattooed to your mind and a hunger for more that never leaves you.

     So needless to say, I was extremely excited to enter the studio and record what would be the E’ville Experience’s first EP. Much of that excitement stemmed from my confidence in the team behind this project: Rose Gonzales, the perfect voice to match the caustic aggression of my guitar playing, fearless leader, snack provider, one of my best friends and a literal angel in the face of stress; Genesis Valentine, badass drummer extraordinaire, certified superhero and a joy to work with as well as perform with; and Bill Snyder III, who by chance ended up behind the boards for our early single “Olivia” and has proven his worth time and time again since. With these three locked in, we got to work on the EP.

Bill Snyder III working on “Oliva” June 14, 2018

     For the most part, recording went smoothly. I obsessively practice my parts for fun anyway, so for the vast majority of the songs it was simply a matter of figuring out what parts went where and playing them a few times. There were a few exceptions of course, most of them small suggestions by Bill which always led to improvements. But one session in particular sticks with me because it completely changed how I view this particular song.

     It was the last session I had for guitars. I powered through the first of the two songs without a problem and, feeling confident in myself, foolishly skipped a food break and continued straight into recording guitars for “Bullet in Flight”. “Bullet” is a song that changed a lot from the early demos, morphing from a synth driven groove to a shreddy 80’s jam. Anyone who had seen us live at that point would have been familiar with the fast, scratchy riff that led the song and continued throughout. Playing that riff for an extended period of time never failed to tire me out, and the thought of having to play that riff over and over again for 20 some odd minutes filled me with dread.

Murmur (AKA: Nick Banuelos) recording guitars for “Lightspeed”

     So the time came, I did two passes of the song and was exhausted pretty much right away. I was in the middle of cursing myself for not taking that break before I saw what I had come to recognize as Bill’s “hmmm” face. Usually this means he had an idea, and given how done I was with the riff, I was down with whatever he had in mind.

     “I dunno about that riff, it's a little too repetitive.” said Bill, his voice echoing in my headphones. “Is there something we can do to break things up a little?”

     The hamster that occupies the space where my brain would be began to run in his wheel.

     “Actually, I think I have an idea. Let's do another take and you guys lemme know if this works.”

     So we start again, I start playing the riff and so far nothing has changed. But when the verses came, I added in a pause to the riff which gave the whole song some much needed space while giving my hands a brief rest.

     Judging by everyones reactions, it was a good move to make.

     It was little moments like these that had a surprisingly large impact on the songs themselves. All of a sudden, the material that Rose and I had worked on for months started to evolve into something more defined. There was a togetherness about the music that got me excited for the future of what we were making. I could hear these songs being played on radio, I found myself daydreaming about complete strangers enjoying our music, I imagined fans at our shows singing along to our songs. 

     For the first time in my career, something I was a part of felt substantial. The music we made together during this time is truly the best music I’ve ever had the fortune to have a hand in creating. It's visceral, powerful, and an unapologetic reflection of the people who made it. It’s both a big “hello” and a tease at what comes next. It comes at a time of great change not only in my life, but what feels like the world. 

     I’ve always believed that everything happens for a reason, good and bad. While I’m sad that I won’t be able to celebrate the release of the EP in person with everyone, this still feels like the right time to release this music. To me, the songs reflect three things that I imagine echo in all of our lives: urgency, aggression and, most importantly, hope. Urgency to act in the face of corruption, aggression in the face of injustice, and hope for a better tomorrow.

     This might be a less than ideal time to release music, but for this EP and what we have to say, now is the perfect time. I can’t wait for you all to hear what we’ve worked on.

the E’ville Experience EP will be released November 20th, 2020

The Thrills and Folly of 10k Streams

One of my main goals for “Dare Me”, our latest single release, was to finally get over 1,000 streams on Spotify for 1 song. I have some other songs up, but I didn’t put the work into promoting them that they deserved, and they were mixed and mastered at an amateur level. I was just excited that my music would be up, online, and available for people to listen to.

“Dare Me” was different. I watched so many vlogs, read so many articles, every single person saying something different about how to get attention to your music. I listened to hours of music and reviewed it on SubmitHub so I could get my song listened to with free feedback. I asked everyone for their ideas, everyone I knew. I knew I was asking enough people when someone said, “Have you considered trying to go viral?”. Yes. Yes, I have. I was officially scraping the bottom of the barrel, but I had time and was willing to try anything (especially if it didn’t cost me money).

I wrote a press release. I submitted the song to every applicable blog, as many playlists as I had time for. I updated my website. I paid for a promo video teaser. This was much bigger than a Facebook post, begging my family to listen and share (which I also did). At least, I hoped it was. I don’t think there’s a secret recipe for “making it big” (other than lots of money, of course). There’s hard work, luck, and timing. I put so much hard work into this release, but I know that doesn’t always equal the payoff we hope for.

In this case, we reached 1k streams in under a week. We’re at 10k in just over a month. Not only did the song start strong out of the gate, it’s holding momentum. People LIKE it. We have new followers and fans that are excited about us. In some ways it doesn’t feel real, because I’ve released music before and it’s never been like this. If I’m being honest, though, the entire thing makes me feel like I need to move the goalposts for the next release.

First of all, I know Spotify doesn’t mean everything. Sometimes it doesn’t mean anything. We get percentages of pennies for those streams. We aren’t on any of the editorial playlists, which is where you can really catch people’s attention. And there are so many streaming services now, maybe I should be caring more about our SoundCloud numbers, our Pandora standings. Maybe I should be focusing on selling vinyl of our EP and make some of the money I’ve spent back.

This industry is so nebulous, so random. If I do everything exactly the same for the next song, there’s no guarantee that it will be met as well OR that it won’t do much better. I just have to keep trusting my ear, my voice, and my music to be worth the work, whether or not they get the response I’m hoping for.

If this blog post has made you think that I will never be satisfied, you are correct. However, I am very proud of our Spotify stream numbers. They do make me feel like I’m on the right track. Thank you each and every person that has listened to “Dare Me”. You make me (Rose) and the band feel heard and understood. I might always want more, but I know better than to not be grateful for what I have. THANK YOU!!!! 10K STREAMS!

Dare Me

As August 14th draws nearer, I feel my anxiety jump. This song is the best song I will release so far. It is radio quality, recorded on stellar equipment with an incredible band and an awesome producer. The message is perfect for the moment, seeming to have been written in anticipation of the world exploding into riots and turmoil. Early reviews from people that don’t care about our feelings have been excellent and encouraging.

Still, here I am, freaking the fuck out. I HAD A PLAN! I had so much marketing worked out! I had work divided between me and Nick (Guitarist extraordinaire) and ideas for parties and promotions, tours and merch! There was a ton of work to do, but FUCK I was excited to do it. And then, well, you know, 2020 and the Coronavirus came along.

I’m not here to beat a dead horse, I know we’re all done with COVID-19 (even if it isn’t done with us). I think aspects of this time are making me a better performer. Tighter restrictions lead to ingenuity that can produce some of the best art ever (also, some not so great art lol). I’ve watched many live streams now, but some people are finding ways to make them special and intimate despite being remote. Those people are changing how I see entertainment and helping me adapt my ideas of what a release party could look like.

Let me tell you, our fans deserve a kick ass release party. I had a BANGER planned for our EP release. I wanted talented dancers, amazing music, and the drinks flowing. I still want all of those things, but I’m going to have to get creative to keep it interesting and fun for everyone. Our fans are the only reason we are still moving forward right now, I won’t let them down. I’ll never forget when Nick turned to me after a show and said, “I’ve never had someone sing along with an original band song live before…” and it was the best feeling. That feeling that someone cared enough about our music to learn EVEN A TINY BIT OF IT is the reason we release music.

Also, it was a Halloween show, so we looked fantastic!

So keep up the fight, fans and fellow performers! We’re figuring it out. We’ll get there. And if you need to listen to “Dare Me” for some encouragement, me too. It’s been pushing me forward this entire time. I hope you like it. Also, sign up for our newsletter for updates on when we’ll be releasing more music! We need your support moving forward more than ever!

In Search of the Perfect Artwork

Finding an incredible artist to interpret music into visual art was something I KNEW I had to do for “Dare Me” . I love this song so much, and I want everyone to hear it. One of the best ways to catch someone’s attention and get them to listen to your song is to have eye-catching artwork (in theory, obviously I know nothing about this in practice since my #1 listener every month I’m pretty sure is still my mom). I wanted something to reflect the EPIC music video I have planned.

I just happen to know someone that makes EPIC art! Her name is Cora Jaeschke and I met her at my regular haunt, Black Diamond Cafe. It’s a coffee shop where, pre-Coronavirus, I used to sit for hours working on music, eating paninis, and ordering coffee and beer until I was pleasantly buzzed and useless at working anymore. Cora had art on the wall there that I was obsessed with, and eventually bought from her. I’ve attended an art show she presented and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a piece from her that I didn’t like. I wanted her to draw my band.

Here’s the story of Cora taking what I give her and making it amazing (spoilers, I’m a REALLY bad artist):

This is definitely the quick version of the story, because I went back and forth with Cora on changes SO MANY TIMES, and she was great. We worked hard to make sure each band member felt comfortable and confident in their portrayal. The general tone of the piece, how it’s muted and gray outside the painting, but vibrant and fire shades inside the painting, should evoke the music video PERFECTLY!

Everyone will have to wait until we can film the music video to see how it relates, but it will be directly referenced.

Cora will also being doing our EP cover art. I recommend you buy our vinyl, we’ll have to have this “Dare Me” artwork included there for sure!

Welcome, Murmur!

As the E’ville Experience has developed, we’ve found ourselves embracing stage personas more and more. I (Rose) have personally always had another persona take over when I go into performance mode. She has better breath support, she’s more clever, and she doesn’t apologize and back down immediately in a tense situation. I wish I could be that person all the time, but I do NOT have the energy for that.

That’s why I’m excited to introduce everyone to Murmur, Nick Banuelos’ new demon persona! It’s fitting that we welcome him today, since it is Nick’s birthday! A rebirth is ALWAYS welcome when we’ve done as much growing and learning as we have this past year.

So much has changed since we first became a band. We’ve had some members move on, we’ve brought on some new people, but Nick AKA Murmur and I have been the constant. We’re almost finished recording an EP in a studio with a producer that has elevated our music to new levels and we’ve learned so much through that process. Also, we’re good friends that are on the same page in developing this band and that feels like the biggest accomplishment yet.

Having someone else with a similar process and style is EVERYTHING. Nick makes life 100% easier because he is a great musician with an incredible work ethic. His family supports him like mine does, they all understand some of the sacrifices we have to make to be successful. It’s the kind of partnership that you can’t force, it just has to happen. I am so glad Nick Banuelos was born, and I can’t wait for everyone else to meet Murmur. He’s an evolution that you’ll love, we know it.

Happy Birthday Murmur AKA Nick!

"Olivia" Music Video Release Date!

I know I’ve been talking about this video for SO LONG! I’m sure many thought it wouldn’t happen (there was a little bit of time in there where I thought it might not happen…) but it is done, and I AM SO STUPID PROUD!

It was an incredible team effort, dating all the way back to when we recorded the song! No, before that, the Ghost Guitarist wrote “Olivia” YEARS ago! This song has been in progress for literal years and I just knew it was worth all the effort. That’s good, because my faith was tested many, many times. There were always incredible people helping me, though. Big props to Bill Snyder III, especially. He did a mix of “Olivia” that blew my mind when I heard it. He did it on good faith, as well, before he really knew the band. I’m gonna make sure that investment of time and effort on his part pays off.

My band, the amazing E’ville Experience (seriously, follow us on all the socials, I work hard to make those pages productive and pretty), recorded that entire song, LIVE in the studio! We nailed it on the 11th take, but it was a long day. That was back when we had Chris as our drummer (instead of our featured drummer, Genesis Valentine), and he did an awesome job, especially because he didn’t have a ton of studio experience at that point. None of us did.

I got that mix back from Bill and I KNEW I had to make a music video for this song. And not JUST a music video, a music video WORTHY of this song. It was basically an impossible task.

One of my best friends and FAVORITE photographers of all time, Jacqui June Whitlock (Follow her on Facebook here and Instagram here), had volunteered to make a music video for me. She’s incredibly talented, so I jumped on that offer as soon as I could. I also asked another close friend, Kristina “Starla” Islas, to be in the video. While I’m a solid chonk of a person, Starla is a wispy, ethereal beauty. I have very dark features and she has fair features. When she smiles, she looks so genuine. When I smile, I look sarcastic. It was the perfect dichotomy for this music video.

June had a few ideas for the video, I had a few ideas for the video, it was pretty loose. I just expected everything to come together. I had never made a music video of the scale I was imagining in my head, but I was still very confident. I shouldn’t have been.

The shoots went great, the footage was so high quality, I was sure we would have a video put together a couple of weeks later. June made me a promo video that BLEW MY MIND, and my expectations soared even higher. That’s when I noticed something… you see… we had done a lot of filming in a bed with a mirror next to it because it made for really pretty shots. But, well, that much bed and mirror footage starts to look like…

a porno

It wasn’t porn, obviously. Starla and I never grope each other or even kiss (SPOILER ALERT!). Still, it wasn’t clear why we were in the bed until the second verse. I talked to June a bit about it, and thought we could add one more shoot to cover the first verse. We had already done EXTENSIVE shoots, one at Soundwave Studios in Oakland in their Stage Room, and one at my apartment, for that bed/mirror scene (every time I type it I’m like, “Why didn’t you realize this would look like a porno?!”). I didn’t think of it at the time, but I was asking a lot of June. She wasn’t being paid for this, I just wanted the video to be the best it could possibly be and didn’t think about other people as I should have.

Leading up to this LAST video shoot, my band was rehearsing for a gig at the Milk Bar in SF. I, like an idiot, decided it would be a good idea to schedule a video shoot with June and the most people we had filmed with thus far AFTER my band had a rehearsal. OH, and June and I didn’t have time for a production meeting leading up to the shoot (something I refuse to skip again), so we weren’t on the same page.

AND THEN I GOT A FLAT TIRE ON THE WAY TO THE SHOOT

So, yeah, that did not go as well as I’d hoped. I asked June to get the shots a certain way, and I could tell she wasn’t enthused by the idea. I insisted, though, because I had an idea of how it would look that I was married to at that point. I was so frustrated at the end of that day.

The video shoot had been so awkward, I was hesitant to reach out to June again. I knew I was at fault for how things were coming together (or NOT coming together). I wasn’t giving this the energy it needed, I wasn’t thinking about the people helping me, I messed up in a few places.

When I finally did reach back out to June, she was nothing but gracious, promising me an edit by the end of the week. She was going back to school and didn’t have a ton of time, so it was taking a while to get it together.

When I did get the edit, it wasn’t what I had imagined. I was so flustered, because I knew June was busy, I knew I was asking for her to translate the images in MY HEAD, and that’s not fair. I asked if I could buy the footage and do the edit myself. I felt gross the entire time, because OF COURSE, ZERO DOUBT IN MY MIND, June is a better film editor than I am. I just had a very specific idea in my head and I wanted to make it happen.

I got the footage mid January, though June didn’t let me pay her (talented friends are the most amazing blessing in the world, find them and KEEP THEM!!!).

I finished editing yesterday. That’s over 3 months spent editing! The footage is incredible, and I did feel a great sense of accomplishment working on it. I got the feel and story told that I wanted. Seriously, though, there’s no way I should have expected someone to do that much work for free.

Never again. I pay artists that work with me, they deserve it. Editing jobs get brushed under the rug sometimes, but this work is crazy and important.

The video will be released May 10th at 10pm PDT and I would be honored if you would watch it

Found: The Next Level

I’ve been so stressed. Everything happens all at once, and our previous drummer (Chris) taking off put very real pressure on me. I’m proud of how I’ve handled this particular challenge. Not all of my recent challenges, but I did help find us a kick-ass drummer. And, oh man, she is SO kick-ass.

But, first, the failure. Before my drummer jumped ship I had the FINAL shoot for our music video organized for last weekend. I was so excited to finish up this video I had been imagining for months now. Then, when Chris left, I went into a super-focused mode. Unfortunately, it wasn’t super-focused on the video shoot.

My videographer has also been very busy, and she didn’t have an opportunity to meet with me ahead of the shoot. We tried to digitally figure out the shoot as much as possible, but I didn’t give the shoot OR my videographer enough attention. Predictably, it didn’t go as well as I wanted. My videographer did what I wanted, because she’s a professional, but we didn’t get it as polished as we could because I had heaped everything on her last minute.

It wasn’t fair. I should have cancelled the shoot as soon as Chris quit, but I wanted it so bad. I’ll definitely remember this lesson for next time I have a huge project thrust upon me. Focus on what needs your focus. Push back what you can. The people around you will appreciate you whole-assing one thing vs. half-assing two things (thanks, Ron Swanson).

Parallel to this frustrating shoot, was a success story. I worked so hard on drummer auditions. I wanted Nick and Elliott to feel confident in my ability to keep this band running, but I’m not sure they were. One of my band members suggested we ask Chris if he would consider coming back, just for the 1 gig.

Ouch, my pride.

Especially because I had already asked Chris if he was out for the 1/24 gig at Milk Bar, even though he had previously agreed to the show. He was out, he stated. and I didn’t argue, people have a right to quit and that’s fine. But I do struggle with the idea of chasing a drummer that obviously wasn’t interested in playing with us anymore. What would he contribute to the show at that point? Would he care?

I wanted to be angry, but there wasn’t time. Instead, I let another band member reach out to Chris (my pride wasn’t worth not having a drummer, and there’s no harm in asking) and I went into overdrive finding someone NEW to be our drummer. If my team wasn’t confident we could find someone, that was on me. I needed to prove that I am a leader that can find someone. And not just someone, someone that will bring us to the next level.

My BFA is in Theatre, Acting/Directing, so I know a few things about auditions. If you want great people to audition, you have to make those great people aware of your auditions. I went to Gig Salad and found some local drummers that looked promising. I asked them to come to auditions, and they agreed. We had 2 drummer auditions signed up before we had posted a flyer anywhere.

I did post a flyer on our social media, asking for drummers, and I was so grateful to all of my music friends! Everyone I know that has music connections in the area shared it! It was an awesome reminder of how great the community I’ve found is. We filled out more audition slots, and I felt reassured in my own abilities. I also couldn’t believe how amazing the talent we had auditioning was. Suddenly, we had a full night of professional auditions coming up, when previously the band was worried no one would audition at all.

The auditions were such a success! As soon as we arrived for the auditions and set up, I knew we would find our drummer that night. We had an extra audition show up early because they enjoyed our music and wanted to make sure they had an opportunity. We played with talented musicians and struggled at the end of the night to talk through all the pros and cons of each drummer. We landed on the perfect candidate, though. Genesis Valentine.

She’s incredible, a true professional. I feel the pressure lifted from my shoulders because I trust her completely. The rest of the band knows how great she is, too. Hopefully we all learn, improve, and move to the next level as a band. While we won’t have Genesis forever, we definitely could work with her on our EP! Come to the gig and let me know how great you think she is!

Check out our calendar for more information on our gig at the Milk Bar in SF! I’m so proud of the work we’ve done and I can’t wait to share it with you!

The E'ville Experience

Instead of hibernating this winter (my usual, cold weather go-to), I formed a band. 

It was interesting how it came about. I always knew I needed more backup because I LOVE being able to focus on singing and performing. The Ghost Guitarist has been doing such a great job of simple guitar backup, I hadn't really been pushing the issue. But going to open mics in the area made me realize how many incredible musicians are looking for more playing opportunities. 

I met Chris, the drummer for The E'ville Experience, at the Black Diamond Cafe's open mic. He was actively looking for playing opportunities, and I wanted to get to know him better to see if he would be a good fit for my band. I found out he worked down the street from my home, at Best Coast Burritos (BCB), my favorite local taqueria. So, like a normal person, I got a job at BCB so I could get to know him better.

It turned out to be a really good day job, and, even better, Chris turned out to be a cool, smart guy who was also really amazing at drumming. Now, I'm the friendly, local burrito woman. And Chris is the drummer for The E'ville Experience.

When it became clear that we had an okay sound, but could fill it out a bit more, Chris brought in Elliott to try out on the bass. It wasn't the best rehearsal, honestly. The group didn't sync up as I'd hoped when we found a really talented bass player. And Elliott was, without a doubt, an incredibly talented bass player. After that experience, I walked away wondering if I was the problem.

The Ghost Guitarist assured me that the problem was him. He is a Ghost Guitarist for a reason. Everything was getting bigger, everyone was dedicated to the band, everyone wanted to play for an audience. Those were counter to the Ghost Guitarist's instincts with music. He's always been a "behind the scenes" person, and not only do I not begrudge him that, I am GRATEFUL for that. Because now I have a dedicated sound person. Not many small time bands can boast a sound person with such a great education, passion, and dedication to sound OR their personal band. The Ghost Guitarist becomes more of a ghost...

So now I needed a guitarist. This was really personal to me, as guitar is what most of my songs were originally written on. The guitar interpretations were the clearest to me in all of my tracks (except for vocals) and I knew it would be a tough bill to fit. Imagine my surprise when another open mic participant at Black Diamond Cafe turned out to be the perfect answer. Nick had band experience and practiced constantly. His sound reminded me of the 80's and 90's in all the best ways, while still being new and exciting. When he announced he was looking for more playing opportunities, I was like, "I got to know Chris better by getting a job at his restaurant...I can't just get another job every time I need a new band member..."

Luckily I didn't let a little thing like avoiding people in general stop me from reaching out to Nick. We brought Elliott back in and suddenly, everything seemed to work. The balance was good. The music we were playing had been elevated, AND it was well balanced because the Ghost Guitarist was adjusting our levels on the fly.

I'm excited as we approach our first show together at Cochina, which promises to be an amazing backyard music festival. If you want to see our work, head to my YouTube page. I post videos after every jam session. I love this band, I hope you do too.

Oh, we're called The E'ville Experience because we were formed in Emeryville (E'ville), California.

Back in the Saddle

Singing in front of people is something that feels natural to me, and I love that. There's a part of me that clicks on when I get onstage, a kind of "Sasha Fierce" takeover. I am so grateful. I consider my performance self to be much better than I am at being around people in general, but she is also quick, witty, and very poised. She is exhausting to be, but someone I envy most of the time.

I'm naturally an introvert. I spend most of my time throughout the week alone, recharging, and I am extremely happy that way. The people I do see are people I'm very close to, or people that I run into through the course of my day-to-day chores. Sometimes I am lucky enough to find a place that I have to go to AND I love the people there. Black Diamond Cafe is one of those places.

Their Open Mic (which I was lucky enough to perform at last Friday, 3/10) is a really wonderful place of expression and openness that makes anyone feel at home. I was thrilled to share some songs and I can't wait to go back. I haven't done Open Mic Nights for a few years, so it's nice to get back into the saddle and sing live. The audience was supportive and engaged and the host was clearly invested in the program.

Here's  video of me singing my first song of the night, "Still Alive" from the video game Portal! In the future I'll try to make sure we get my entire set recorded.

I'll perform at Black Diamond in the future, they have Open Mic on the second Friday of each month so that's a safe time to stop by if you'd like to hear me sing! While you're there, you'll probably hear some hilarious stand-up, heart wrenching poetry, and a lot of great music. See you there!

Open Mic at Black Diamond Cafe

I go to Black Diamond Cafe about once a week. It's the best place when I'm working on a project, but need a change of scenery. That's why I am so excited they have an Open Mic every second Friday of the month! I love making music, but I don't have a full band right now. Doing a full gig with an entire set up is something I aspire to, and it would be awesome. In the meantime, I love playing scaled back, stripped down versions of my music.

I'm so excited for the songs I'll be sharing! I have some covers to introduce my live music style, and we'll do an effect free "Trains" as well. If you can't make it out to this performance, don't worry. It's an open mic, there will be others ;)

The Ghost Guitarist

After I put up the "Plateau" cover video, I realized I should explain the Ghost Guitarist.

You can see a hand on the left side throughout the video playing guitar, but why isn't the guitarist's full body in the video? Why does the camera point AWAY from them? WHAT ARE YOU HIDING?! 

Well, that's Isaac. And he doesn't love cameras. Or being the center of attention. Even when we take a group picture, Isaac is the one hiding in the back. But he loves playing guitar, and I love focusing on singing and expressing a song. I might put up some videos with me playing keyboard while I sing, or playing ukulele, but ultimately I am a singer and that is what I love doing. I'm so grateful and incredibly lucky to have an excellent guitar player on hand to help lay down tracks, play guitar for my videos, and jam whenever I feel like it. Even if he isn't so excited for people to see him doing it.

And then there's Jesse. I've written about him before and he's had influence on every single song on my album so far. He contributes, usually, about 50% to a track we're working on. He does almost all of the backing tracks. Drums, bass, keyboard, he is incredibly talented on many instruments. Jesse does most of the producing work. So why isn't his face plastered all over my promotional images?

The amazing people I work with are not making music for the attention, likes, or even really money (although it would be great to make a living off of our art). We LOVE this music and we wanted to find the best way to get it to people. Since my education and experience is in performance, my face is the one you see. I love being on camera. I love performing for people. I am the only one of the three of us that feels comfortable being the main attraction in this way. 

You'll probably see more videos with my favorite Ghost Guitarist (wow, that is such a cool title. I'm just going to start calling Isaac that in this blog). You'll definitely hear more songs with Jesse's tracks on them. I'll try to sneak some pictures and videos of all three of us onto this blog as much as I can. They are a major part of my music's process, and I want to share all of the process with you!

The Meat Puppets "Plateau" cover is up!

Sometimes I feel very confident in my music. Like when a set of lyrics syncs up perfectly to the music I'm writing for, or when I get a recording that I love on the first take.

"Plateau" was not that way.

This is a new process for me, I don't usually film short videos. I knew I wanted to show y'all my face though, so I figured out a way to do it. I didn't have money to invest in a camera, but camera phones are getting better all the time. I did have lots of recording equipment for the music at least, I thought that would be pretty simple. And then I have a basic movie editing program, so I can put the recording over the video. EASY!

My first attempt to get this video was ALL the way back in November. I had a video file that was too large (too high of quality) for the simple program I was editing in. After many compression efforts, I decided to throw in the towel. It hadn't been my favorite recording. The video was pretty good, but my vocals could have been better.

The next time I tried was in December. It took a while, but I got a video I liked and the vocals were better. I was so spent after we finally got it, I saved everything so I could work on it the next day. When I went back to listen to the track again, I was furious.

There was a blip in the track.

I have a fairly old music mixing program, and every now and then a piece of the recording will be randomly cut out, or a weird blip will be added in, slightly throwing off the timing. It's annoying because it sounds bad, but it's more annoying because it stops lining up correctly with other tracks OR a video. That's exactly what happened here. I had an extra half second in the vocal/guitar recording that wasn't in the video recording. I couldn't get them to line up correctly, as the blip was in the middle of the track.

UGH.

Which brings me to yesterday. I knew I wanted this video to be done by January 20th, so yesterday was my recording deadline. I set up my camera, and after many takes (It's taken me longer to get a take I like as I go!) I finally had it all ready. The part I had thought would be easiest had taken me 3 months of frustration to get right. Now began the part I thought would be tricky, lining up my vocal track to the video file.

And that took me about 20 seconds. 

The good news is, I do think this is the best recording we did out of all of them. I learned a lot about camera angles on my singing face while setting up this shot numerous times. I feel much more confident about the editing process.... but I sincerely hope my next video recording goes better than this.

Enjoy "Plateau"! You can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qL1zpcR1cLo

Where Art Takes Us

I just read a really inspiring post from Patton Oswalt that addressed what steps we can take to fight the new status quo in a helpful, productive way. He recommended tuning your TV to ANYTHING other than the inauguration, and then he recommended supporting small and local struggling arts. It is a beautiful gesture of love and support for anyone that isn't marching or protesting in another way, but wants to.  I loved the idea of art taking our country in the right direction, with or without a crazy person at the steering wheel.

I realized I should release something new on January 20th to give people wanting something else to tune into a Rose Gonzales option. Of course I would love it if you bought my music on iTunes or added it to playlist on Spotify (they even have "Scorch the Earth" with the correct spelling up...finally :D), but you can also find my music on YouTube. I'll post a video of me singing a cover I love tomorrow morning. 

You'll be able to find that here

I think I'll spend the 20th writing lyrics. I can't stand feeling useless right now, and trying to put my angry energy into productive creativity has been helping me prep for Rose Gonzales, Pt. 3. I hope you have a wonderful weekend, friends! Be safe out there, no matter what your plans are!

This picture WOULD be very realistic. Except my work space is almost never that clean ;)

2016 Wrap Up!

While my entire Facebook feed has informed me that 2016 was, in fact, the worst year EVER, I hope I look back on it as the beginning of something great. I launched my music out into the world this year. Not all of the world heard it, but I did it. I've sold songs on iTunes. I've streamed music that people actually listen to on a regular basis. That's really awesome! 

It can be easy to look at people successful in the music industry and think that you haven't accomplished anything at all. Ariana Grande is 23 and she's been nominated for 4 Grammy Awards. I just turned 29 and finally have 7 songs up on iTunes. It's not a good comparison.

But the most important comparison is the one to myself. And I have 7 songs released from my first album this year, as compared to 0 songs released from the dream album in my head last year. That feels like a huge accomplishment and I'm really proud of myself. I'm also very excited to have that number increase next year!

In addition to more music, which is always goal #1, this year I hope to have more content up for you here. I have some videos of me singing that I want to get up. I hope to turn this into a weekly blog where I can tell you about my process, my music education, and what led me to music in the first place. I will probably do some live performances this year too, so keep your eyes peeled for dates. However, My first goal for 2017 will be the 3rd part of my album release. But that may take a while. I want to put 5 songs out this time. We'll see if I can make that happen.

One final note here, "Scorth the Earth" is still up on Spotify ;)

Scorth the Earth

I listened to the tracks in Rose Gonzales, Pt. 2 so many times. I wanted to make sure they were perfect.

I double checked each track I uploaded. I had to make sure everything was correct.

After looking at the title "Bullet in Flight" for too long, I had to look the word "bullet" up to make sure I had spelled it correctly.

And yet, it was not careful enough. 

I was up at midnight, waiting to put my music on RoseGonzalesMusic.Com. I uploaded the music, made sure it worked, and then went to iTunes to see if the music was live and available for purchase yet. It was up and available for purchase, but something was not right.

"Scorth the Earth"

"Oh no." I said, to myself, in the dark, at midnight. "Oh no, no, no, no, no, no...."

It was an excellent Shia LeBeouf impersonation, but my heart was beating so fast I thought I might be having a heart attack. I wasn't lying in my last blog post when I said that I don't have a handler, a manager, a PR person, none of those extra, super helpful people. This was all my fault. I immediately took all the music down from iTunes and all the other stores and re-uploaded the music under the proper titles. Double checking, triple checking, quadruple checking the spelling of everything. Sleep was ruined for me. I couldn't get over how much I had messed up.

Of course, the incorrectly titled song didn't come down immediately. iTunes still had the "Scorth the Earth" version for sale well into the morning hours. Luckily, by that time I was able to see the humor in the situation. Anyone that downloaded "Scorth the Earth" would have the ultimate Rose Gonzales easter egg. 

It isn't on iTunes anymore, but you can find it on Spotify under the WRONG title as of this posting on 12/15/2016 :)

Check out "Scorth the Earth" on Spotify here: https://play.spotify.com/artist/6Ohnq2s0m61IuvKyCMfGyo?play=true&utm_source=open.spotify.com&utm_medium=open