Sonia H. Journal
July 1st, 2008 Looks like I missed another month of journal entries again. With the web service I have, there's a way to track how many hits I receive on my site as well as where those hits are coming from. I noticed that my website as graced one of the Harmony Central Forum Boards again. I tried to click on the "link" to the thread that contained my website and it told me it didn't exist?!? Hmmm....Makes me wonder if someone's bashing me again....:) Or if someone was checking out an old post I made that I totally forgot about. I hadn't logged on to this forum board since September of 2007 or so and I believe this was an older post. The post was about some of the problems I had in the past with some of the musician's I've worked with's girlfriends. And since my posting was somewhere near or before September of 2007, I'm sure there's been many more "incidents" since then:) But what I've also come to realize with all these "incidents" is this.....Whether it's a friend, lover, boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife, etc.....or any other "difficult" relationship with anyone that's turned into more of a "Frienemy" (Friend+Enemy), sometimes it's best to cut your losses and like the old movie says RUN FOREST RUN!!! Of course you can substitute "Forest" with any name you choose:) Also there's an old song that's become somewhat of my "theme song" lately. "Your Enemy's Can Do You No Harm....Cuz You Know Exactly Where They're Comin' From....But Don't Let A Smile And A Handshake Fool Ya....Listen to me Brother I'm Just Tryin' To School Ya". One of the Best Songs ever written I tell You What!!! May 4th, 2008 Just noticed I haven't made a journal entry in the last two months. Things have been going pretty good. Cash flow's getting better, more gigs are coming through and I finally got a new pair of glasses after having to wear the same pair of broken glasses for over a year. Can't complain....All's going pretty good so far....:) February 20, 2008 Interesting last couple of days. Looks like I'm the target of bashing again. So I retaliate and now I need "anger management" so to speak. Anyhow, when people I never met before post stupid comments under my advertisments for my jam and delete me from their myspace after they post these things, and I'M the one that needs anger management. GEEZ!!! I've since deleted the myspace bulletins they commented on so I guess it's "my word against theirs" now. But I don't give a shit. I'm so tired of these Bluezers anyway. January 13, 2008 HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!! Looks like I missed the month of December but I'm back!!! I've been on my computer quite a lot lately. Maybe a little more than I should but got lots of new pics on this site. Check out the "Photo Albums" I created on my Photo Gallery Page. I've created different "albums" of The Office Pics, The Wild Coyote Pics and Older Pics from 2004-2005. That way I can fit more pics on the site and keep updating with new pics as they arrive:) I also have NEW SOUND CLIPS!!! CHECK 'EM OUT MAN!!! Got some new software that I can cut and paste peices of songs into one "montage" of clips from some of the great musicians that have cruised by my jams. Looking forward to a Better 2008. See ya soon!!! November 2, 2007 Once again I missed another month of journal entries. I have to admit I've joined the "Myspace" craze myself. Never thought I would but I did:) I keep the gigs up to date on this site, but I know I need new pictures DESPARATELY!!!! I used to HATE myspace but it does seem to help a lot with promotions and getting people to my jam. Thanks again Myspace friends for all your support!!! Been really busy. I got Tuesdays at The Office and Thursdays at The Wild Coyote. Yes Folks!!! The Wild Coyote!!! Even though my Saturday afternoon jam didn't work out there, I got a Thursday night deal that's fair enough for me and it's been lots of fun!!! I'm hoping it continues. I'll be featuring LOTS of great musicians this month. So keep checking back with me either here or on my myspace to find out the who, what, where and whens of all the goin's on!!! And I'll try to get new pictures up on this site ASAP. I PROMISE!!!!:) September 3, 2007 I haven't been keeping up with this journal as diligently as before I know. But lots of crap has been goin' on. I've been hangin' in there best I can considering the circumstances. Hoping for some kind of light at the end of the tunnel here. As most of my friends know, my son's been in the hospital for an extended length of time healing from a back surgery. He was almost going to be released this week but now he has a rash on his face that looks like it might be chicken pox. I don't know what else could go wrong here. This whole situation has been a nightmare. Along with this, I'm dealing with some moron that's been posting these weird "suggestive" posts in my guestbook for the last several months now. I have it set up where I can approve submissions before they're actually posted and I approve theirs anyway. Why? You ask!!! Because they might think I'm stupid just "don't get it". But I actually post them up there for the world to know how PATHETIC they are. Even if they do this anonmously their patheticness speaks for itself. So they might think the joke is on me when the joke is actually on THEM!!! July 18, 2007 Well, it looks like I missed another month's journal update and more than half of this month's. Things haven't been going so well for me as most that know me know. But as my "myspace mood" states...I'm "thankful" of the support given to me during this diffucult time. "I wanna Thank You for letting me be myself again...." May 11, 2007 Missed last month. Lovely month it was, having my car stolen and all...Some really Stupid, Stupid STUPID people out there, I tell ya what!!! Especially the ones who think they're doing the "right thing" when it's so so so SO WRONG. I guess the light at the end of the tunnel with all this is THEY are the ones that have to live with their STUPID selves the rest of their STUPID miserable lives.... March 13, 2007 I have a few minutes to write a few lines. I missed my journal entry for last month. It's been a somewhat stressful time for me since December so I haven't been keeping up with this journal as much as I used to. The gigs at The Office are going pretty good. We added Wednesday nights to the schedule as well. Plus it looks like things might start happening at the Comedy Club again. Hope so. Gonna see about getting a happy hour Saturday or Sunday afternoon thing going somewhere as well. A bad cold had me feeling pretty crappy and cranky last week, and I was kind of running off at the mouth a bit. But I guess I just had to get it out of my system and say what I needed to say. I might have lost a myspace friend in the process (at least one that I know of). I had no beefs with the guy. Hardly know him actually. But some of his top myspace friends have become my "top enemies" over these last number of months or so. I've had my ups and downs with this blues community. I've met some really good people. But there's a select few that are in a community all their own…A COMMUNITY OF DUMB ASSES!!!! Like everyone else, I have my good and bad days. Some days, I look, feel, and sound great, others not. I find it amazing how most of the people that have commented on my "look" and/or other things are WAY uglier than me!!! But I've been through this before. If you don't worship their stupid asses the way they think you should, they start getting mean and talking trash. I like to give everyone a fair chance to play at my Tuesday night jam. I don't close things off to the "in with the in crowd" people since most of them consider me "in with the OUT crowd" anyway. But when people get out of hand and rude to others, that's when I draw the line. I was told a couple of weeks ago by a young guy that's been going to my jam, that my jam is the most fun blues jam he's ever been to. I do try to keep the fun alive and the conflicts down to a minimum. On Tuesday nights, I try to be fair and let anyone that's there to jam (regardless of skill level) get their chance to jam out and have a good time. But when they get rude, refuse to listen to others, and become combative, it's time for them to fly. January 28, 2007 January 28th, 2007!!!! WOW!!! How time flies!!!! Thought I’d better get a journal entry in here before I miss this month, too. Well, there’s been a lot of changes as I’m sure most of my homie don’t you know me’s are aware….Last month, .I had to move out of Alhambra suddenly with very little notice so my Christmas and New Year’s holidays were pretty much shot due to the stress of having to find and move into a new place a lot sooner than I expected. Don’t know the name of the band or artist that does this song but there’s a very poignant phrase in the song that fits well with what I’ve been dealing with these past couple of months. There’s a verse in the song that goes, “Every new beginning is another beginning’s end.” As most of my peeps know, I’ve moved the Tuesday night jam across the street from The Airliner to The Office. So the beginning of the jam that started several months ago on Sunday afternoons at The Airliner and was moved to Tuesday nights has ended because I was tired of being stepped on by the ridiculous promoters that want to book 20 bands a night and use all three stages to do so. With being so fed up with being stepped on, insulted, and even at one point robbed by the riff raff that’s been traipsing through The Airliner Club now, I booked Tuesday nights across the street at The Office. This of course, created a stir at The Airliner and ended what was supposed to be a Monday night jam there before it even began. And to heap tacky onto tacky, I was informed of the cancellation of the Monday night jam in the middle of a Sunday afternoon jam I was booked to do at The Airliner earlier this month at they’re very poorly promoted “BluesFest”. One of the owners was even there that day and let us set up our stuff, bring our people in to support us and the bar, only to find out two hours into the gig that our Monday night jam was cancelled before it even began. I made it no secret to The Airliner that I was doing Tuesdays across the street and they had plenty of time to say “See ya later” but decided to do so in the most inconsiderate kind of ways which has been nothing new there, considering the experience I had at that place. It’s a sad situation when they become so concerned about getting people into the club that they don’t pay attention to what TYPE of people they’re bringing in. Over the months that I was doing the jams at The Airliner, I saw the place gradually deteriorate from a beautiful older style building, to some thing that now looks like a high school in a bad neighborhood with graffiti all over the walls and bathrooms that are completely trashed. I knew it would only be a matter of time before something really shitty happened and sure enough it did. I heard through the grapevine there was a shooting over there last Sunday. Because of the “last minuteness” of all this, people are STILL calling and/or going The Airliner asking about my jam and they have to tell them we’re across the street now. On a more positive note, the feed back I’m getting about The Office from the musicians going to the jam is much more positive than any feedback I received about The Airliner. Karma’s a bitch isn’t it?!? November 24, 2006 Wow!!! The month’s almost over already….We are officially in the holiday season. I feel better so far about the holidays this year than last so I guess that’s a good thing. In the recent month or so, I’ve been through some changes that feel to be creating a better vibe around me and my “situation”….:) I find it amazing how much working or just being around very negative people can have an effect on a person’s emotional and/or physical health and outlook. Since I left a job assignment that had its share of negative, crap ass people, I’ve noticed how much better I feel as well as how my situation seems to be gradually changing for the better. Over the years in various situations I’ve been in, I’ve come to the conclusion that many people don’t really grow out of the adolescent stage. They choose to remain petty and find great importance out of stuff that doesn’t really matter in the whole scheme of things. For example, there have been many women that I’ve known in my various work and/or social situations (office, music circles or otherwise) that never seem to grow out of that “mean girl” stage. And what I’ve noticed in the work environment, is they go to “work” but don’t even come close to getting any actual “work” done. They spend their whole day talking about each other. (Even though they act like the best of friends face to face.) They talk about their lousy relationships, the cute new shoes at they got at the mall the other day, how bad of a job their co-workers are doing, etc….They do everything and anything BUT actually get any work done all day long!!! And from what I’ve encountered in past experiences, the ones that really take the cake are the “church going” types. They claim to be such an adamant member of their church and do so much “good” for their church and/or community. But from what I’ve noticed, they’re the ones that talk the MOST shit and play the most games. I guess they can go to church on Sunday, and assume their “God” will forgive them for being such bitches and assholes during the week. That’s one of the main reasons that organized religion is SO not my bag. I’ve been a victim of these “mean girl” types way too long and now that things are changing around me, I’m hoping I never have to work or be around them again. I know that might be wishful thinking, but one can hope anyhow. What the really sad part of this all is, these “mean girls” (and guys) probably have no clue (and never will) of how much hurt and pain they can create in the lives of innocent people. October 13, 2006 EEEEKKKK!!!! FRIDAY THE 13th!!!! Well I found a place to live closer to LA for now. I'll have to wait and see how it works out. It's a little bit of an adjustment for me....I must say. I'm in Alhambra for now. So it's pretty cool and quiet so far. It seems when people sign my guestbook, it has a tendency to cut off messages that might be too long. I got a pretty interesting one today that I did end up posting. But I still wonder if everyone at this guy's work gathers around to listen to the sound clips for a ????!!! I guess my fans AND my foes can fill in the blanks from there!!! Oh well, opinions (good or bad ones) are like you know!!! And we all have 'em:) If what the rest of that post said was a negative, I guess it's a good thing, they didn't hear my previous clips which I got dissed to no end about:) I know my pics are still low budget and actually so are the sound clips, but I'm having a great time with these jams and that what counts! September 22, 2006 Thought I’d better get this journal entry in for September before the month’s over:) I’ve been going through some moving stress lately and it looks like I’ll be moving way out towards San Bernardino area. Who knows, maybe the change will do me good. All the options around here seem to be falling through, so it looks like San Bernardino might be my only option. I’ll still be doing my Tuesday night jam at The Airliner, but I can’t continue doing the Monday and Wednesday nights at The Green Turtle nor do I want to. We had a little “incident” come up Monday night over a bottle of water one of the jammers brought into the club. One of many “incidents” that seem to occur frequently at The Green Turtle that has me pretty much turned off to that place for good. How they’re staying in business this long is a mystery to me. I did what I could to promote the jams I was helping out with there...Knowing that people who lived really close by would rather drive out to The Airliner than go to any of The Green Turtle jams. One friend of mine in particular who was willing to give The Green Turtle “one more chance” after a negative experience there over a year ago. He told me after the scene he witnessed on Monday night, he’s never going back again. Why promote a club that rushes up to you as soon as you walk in the door to order one of their overpriced drinks, and then tells people if they don’t order anything they have to leave?!? So maybe someone might not be ready to order anything right away...But what’s going to keep them there to feel like ordering anything in the first place when there’s so much pressure and tension put on them to do so?!? Just as much as I’m not going to work and sweat my ass off for the VERY LITTLE amount of money I got to help out with and promote the jams there to be disrespected and see others disrespected the way I’ve seen (as well as the many horror stories I’ve heard) by some idiot that doesn’t know SHIT about running a club!!! With all this other stress going on in my life, The "GREEN TURD HOLE" is the LAST thing I need!!! At this point, the only thing that would probably get me back over there is a change of ownership. I guess we’ll see what happens….. 8-14-06 Just couldn’t resist putting another journal blurb here since this was such a funny, absurd occurrence. I was cruising the craigslist ads the other day and there was a posting looking for a female “musician(s)” that didn’t necessarily have to be that good as a musician, but only had to look good playing their instrument NAKED!!!! I thought to myself, how absurd!!! So I replied to this idiot stating my opinions of their “artistic project” and they’ve now replied back to me TWICE (once from a nameless source and the other from this “Talent Manager” named Jennifer Welton) saying I’m a pervert, older, overweight, past my prime, and should respect their work and leave their young, “talented”, beautiful people alone. I was expecting a nasty reply, since I did state my opinions, knowing that they would state theirs maybe once, but TWICE. They even referenced the nude paintings on the walls of churches and went into all this bullshit about me having no respect for “artistic” beauty. Well the old paintings I remember on the church walls were of women with REAL tits and ass not this plastic silicone bullshit most of these glamour bimbos are peddling. And of course there was a reference to none other than the pictures on my website which I’ve been dissed about before. OK, so I’m using one of those little Kodak disposable cameras and I don’t shell out the cash to get the sexy glamour shots on my website, or go out of my way to be Miss Super Sexy Goddess. I learned I DON'T HAVE TO!!!! I realize that I’m older and overweight, but I’m not trying to be some stupid glamour queen. My website has pics of gigs, friends, jams, etc…because that’s what I want to do...bring people together for the fun and the music. Not turn it into some stupid slut ass strip show. I know certain people’s opinions about me are pretty mixed as far as my “look” and/or talent, but I frankly don’t give a shit. Because one thing I know for a fact is……A crowd of musicians and fans has been gradually building up that respect me, love the jams at The Airliner and other places, and have really helped me out during some of the rough times I’ve been dealing with lately. I wouldn’t trade that for all the silicone or liposuction in the world!!! So, for your information, Miss Jennifer Welton Bimbalina Bitch, I don’t have to be part of some stupid slut-ass side show to get recognition in this music biz. But obviously…..YOU DO!!! 8/12/06 It's been a trying time these last few weeks. I got a bunch of gear stolen late last month and had to get myself a new bass. I'm really thankful for all the love and support I received from all my jammin' buds that helped me out with last minute equipment needs. It's a lot of hard work being a musician and sometimes you start to wonder if it's all really worth it. Most people think it's all fun and games, but some of us know better. Especially dealing with this scene out here in LA and finding places that are even worth playing in where you don't have to deal with all the presale bs and other stuff. I've really been digging this Airliner gig. It's so NO BS with a great owner and staff. For a while I gave up on calling other clubs to get other gigs just because I hate dealing with the bs and double talk or in some cases just plain rudeness. Another prime example of club owner bs....I was mistakenly listed in the Southland Blues Guide to play at this one club on Thursday night. A few people started calling me up and asking me "so are you playing or what?" So I figured what the heck, I'll see if I can actually play there since people want to go and see us. Well I called the owner of this bar and she told me that my band's not going to play there anymore because the guy that booked me had a falling out with another guy that's a friend of hers. Now is that BULLSHIT or what?!? Me or my band had NOTHING to do with this conflict, but now I'm 86'd due to guilt by association!!! I guess when you have a rich husband that buys you a bar and boobs, you don't need to use your BRAIN!!! Anyhow, I do have some extra time on my hands, due to changes in my work schedule, so I'm going to keep trying to find another location to have a weeknight jam. Hopefully I'll have some good news on that end in the near future. 7/16/06 Well...The gig at Angelo's Pizza in Pomona got cancelled. Strangely, kind of a bummer and a relief at the same time. I really wasn't into the drive out there and dealing with the stress of trying to get there before 6pm on a weekday. Which would have meant driving through rush hour traffic at the worst possible time of day to make it there on time. But I did have a few new things lined up that I wanted to try out over there. Oh well, maybe another time and place. The gig on Friday with The Micheal Cherri band was loads of fun. Nerve-racking at first I must say.....playing lots of new material (stuff I haven't performed live before) with musicians I met for the first time the night of the gig. But the guys were really cool. I hope to get another sub opportunity again with them and have more time to prepare (hopefully:) Micheal (aka Cherri) is a gorgeous, charismatic frontman who puts on a great show. Anybody in the OC area (Yorba Linda to be exact) should check them out. His band is one of the regular bands there at The Canyon Inn. I'm so greatful for all these new opportunities. And I'm feeling really blessed to be connecting with so many great musicians over these last few months. Peace out bruthas and sistas!!! 6/17/06 I figured it's time for me to put my journal entry in for the month of June. I've been recording almost every jam session since we started last month. I should have some new sound clips from the Airliner jams up on the site really soon! Low budget they (the recordings) may be....But tons of fun. So once again, poo poo on you all you Harmony Central no life forum boarders!!! All that "bad press" last month from some of those forum board dudes brought over 1000 hits to my site and might have brought people to The Airliner out of curiousity if anything else:) So like I had said in my last journal entry, the bad press can be turned around and made into good press if you know how to work it thay way. And it looks like I managed to work it that way:) I'm having so much fun with this Airliner jam, I wouldn't mind starting another one soon possibly on a Monday or Thursday night. Not sure if it would be at the same place or not, since I'm just in the "thiking about it" stages right now. I don't want to burn myself out with working almost every day including weekends PLUS doing these jams. But it would be cool to have another Sonia & The Situation jam night available for some of my jammin' partners who can't make it to the Sunday jam. Ta Ta for Now!!! 5/18/06 It's AMAZING how some people have nothing better to do but bash others. I guess at some point, I replied to an ad someone had looking for a bassist and he posted my sound samples on a Harmony Central disscussion forum and now I'm getting all these hits on my site and a "discussion" taking place about how terrible I am. Oh well, I guess even bad press can be good press if you can turn it around in your favor. I never claim to be the "best" at my vocals or bass playing. I just love music and love to have fun with it. And I'm better off not working with losers such as the idiots posting on that board anyway. I know in any performing situation, you set yourself up for insult but some people really take it past the point of reason. Oh well....Can't do anything to change their opinion, I can just keep doing my thing and they can keep doing theirs. I guess this journal is putting me in the "drama queen" category. I better check my guestbook now for all the "You Suck" posts. And damn right, I pay the $11.95 a month to maintain this site so I can put the posts I want in my guestbook and write whatever I want in this journal. Drama Queen or not. 5/15/06 We had our second consecutive jam at The Airliner this Sunday and hopefully the pattern of each week being better than the last will continue. Had a great time yesterday. Some really wonderful musicians stopped in and made it a Mother’s Day to remember. Unfortunately, over the last couple of weeks or so, we lost a great musician, Joe Osuna. I don’t have all the details as to when this happened. I received the information from someone who also didn’t have all in the details. Since I didn’t know Joe very well, I might have been one of the last people to find out. I had asked him a few weeks or so ago about playing in the house band for my Sunday afternoon Airliner jam. I would see Joe around the various jams over the last couple of years and only knew him up until recently as “Little Big Man” (a nickname given to him by a friend of mine in the jammin' scene). Even though I didn’t know Joe very well, I knew he was very much a pro-level player. Joe was one of the best guitarists and vocalists that I’ve seen at these jams. He was not just pro-level in guitar and vocal ability, but in attitude as well. In all the times I would see him at the different jams, I never once heard him bad mouth or complain about any of the other musicians or act like he was too good of a player to be on stage with certain people who might not be considered “pro-level” by others. He will always be someone I consider to be the best example of what a real pro-level musician should be. Someone that all the really discriminating “pro-level” players could have learned from. If they would only get their heads out of their “pro-level” asses long enough to learn anything at all. Rest in Peace Little Big Man. 4/23/06 Hmmm.....Guess I'm ruffling some feathers here by just trying to help out my fellow musicians and spread the word about some of the problems that bands have experienced booking gigs at BB Kings. I just got a response from a guy who claims I'm "fuckin' crazy". Well if trying to help someone that's trying to spread the word about the shadyness and disrespect that most if not all bands are dealing with in booking a gig at BB Kings, then I guess I'm the fuckin' craziest one of all!!!! If they only knew exactly how BIG of a problem this has become with LA clubs, maybe they'll think I'm not so crazy afterall. I almost did a gig there myself about a year ago and decided against it after reading the contract thouroughly. But maybe I "read" things a little more thouroughly than most people do and in turn have been lucky enough to avoid some prepostorous situations. There was another person who didn't seem to read my orignal message I sent about this a couple of weeks ago. At first she responds in a really nice way wishing me luck and plugging her radio station in my guestbook. Then a couple days later she responds AGAIN in a really nasty way making stupid accusations. At first, I was going help spread the word about her site because I thought it seemed like a pretty cool thing, but now I'm going to delete her posting off my guestbook once I figure out how. On her site she mentions another venue that's also gradually going down the toilet like BB Kings and how great of an "atmosphere" it has. Well, what if I told her that a lady that contacted me about a year ago, who was at the time working for BB Kings, offered me free food and drinks if I can show up to BB Kings and PRETEND that I'm an "important" industry person. An "industry person" that's there to see the bands playing that night. This particular lady is NOW booking gigs at that venue in Long Beach that has such a "great" atmosphere. Granted, the venue in Long Beach hasn't gotten as bad as BB Kings, but from the way things are going, it's just a matter of time. Any others I might've offended with the BB Kings e-mails, I apologize. But PLEASE people, before you respond to me with a bunch of nastiness, maybe you should read things a little more carefully and understand that I sent these BB King's e-mails with the best of intentions. 4/17/06 Thought I'd better put in my journal entry for the month of April here. Over the weekend I suffered a bit from the "Overbooking Blues". My gig for the 14th at The Stagger Inn was postponed till the 29th because the owner booked a private party without informing the booking guy. Oh well, these things happen. Had to make a bunch of last minute phone calls and send a bunch of last minute e-mails to make sure people knew that we weren't going to be there on the 14th. It probably worked out for the best anyway since the 14th was rainy all day and into the night. Things are progressing slowly but surely. I'm networking with a lot of great musicians and having so much fun in the process. I like to have fun with my music. The ego trips, competitiveness, cutting the other down thing is sooooo not my bag. I can only wish that others felt the same way I did but I can't change someone else's opinions. I can only do what I can do and have a whole lot of fun in the process. 3/8/06 I have to say that Saturday night at Jimmy's was a great night musically and a disaster finacially. I should've known better booking a gig through someone I met on craigslist. I was "guaranteed" by this guy that I would make a minimum for the band, but it turned out the owner didn't even know we were going to be there and said if the bar didn't make a certain dollar amount he couldn't pay us. You know the same old Boo Fucking Hooo Hooo Hooo bullshit about "I bring in a band and pay them and they don't draw and I end up paying out more than I make." I understand their plight, but I know I did what I could do in the short amount of notice that I was given to bring in people and make this thing happen. This guy told me less than a week before that it was a "sure thing" and the only sure thing it became was a financial disaster!!!! But, I must say.....we all KICKED BUTT!!!! Some great musicians stopped by and sat in and it was a musical blast!!! I just wish these people that own these bars had their shit more together. GEEEEEZZZ!!!! 2/25/06 I just realized that I dated my last journal entry '05 instead of '06. Big ooops! Been doing my best to keep this site as up to date as possible. Been a really weird month for me with work related changes, family illness and drama, etc....So I had to put some things I had in the works on hold for a bit, but I'm gradually getting back into the swing of things. Got a gig at Jimmy's Bar & Grill in Fullerton next week. The 4th to be exact!!! I'm so stoked!!! I've sat in with other bands there when I used to live in the OC so it should be lots of fun to have a gig of my own there!!! Once again....Stoked! Stoked! Stoked! Really looking forward to hanging in the OC again and I'm hoping to see some familiar friendly faces at good ole' Jimmy's:) 1/26/06 Well it's almost the end of the month....Soooooo, I guess I better put in my monthly journal entry. Don't have a lot of new news to report unfortunately. Still workin' the circuit, making the phone calls, and hopefully getting more gigs soon. The thing at the Anarchy didn't work out into a weekly thing like I was hoping it would have, but I'll still be back there from time to time to jam a few. Been sittin' in at Angelica's lately when I know the band's that's playing. It's really close to home so that helps where the convienience factor is concerned. It's a really fun place....Hope to get my band a gig there soon! Red Rooster's jam will be starting up again really soon, too. Always a pleasure to hear Robert Lucas sing and play! Brother Louis Leon always runs fun jams....Looking forward to what's comin' up:) 12/29/05 Well looks like I’ve made it through the month of December. By the skin of my teeth, I must say. Don’t want to be all Bah-Humbug on ya’all but I’m SOOOOO glad all the holiday bullshit is almost over with. I’ve got to say this month has been a tough one for me with last minute work changes, losing hours that I was hoping to get for a little extra holiday $$, illness, and not to mention... last minute changes about a week before my gigs earlier this month that had my nerves completely shot!!! So basically things started getting a little weird around Thanksgiving and are now finally starting to calm down a bit. I just wish I wasn’t so broke. With the end of the month (and year) approaching, rent is going to be due once again. I know I’ll manage, I always do, but I wish at times I didn’t have to cut it so close. Some might think my approach on things doesn’t make sense and some might even think it’s stupid or not practical. But it works for me and like Sinatra sang, “I did it MYYYYY way....” 11/10/05 I was just making an entry in this journal and the internet went down. I guess I wasn't supposed to write what I wrote:) One thing I got to say though, is I can't help but feel "avoided" lately. I guess I'm the type of person that needs to plan, schedule and be one step ahead.....I just wish others would be a little more timely and reliable in getting back to me and letting me know if they can commit to gigs and rehearsals (the dreaded "R" word!!!). That way I can plan, schedule and be one step ahead of the game. Guess I'd have to become a solo act to have that. Starting the "day job" thing again.... This is almost the end of my first full week back to the 8 hour grind. And I'm taking the bus to boot! My car hasn't completly left the building (or should I say avenue) yet, but it's just more economical in these trying times. Wasn't too bad yesterday, but today was a little bit of a nightmare getting there and back. Luckily it's only one bus and a pretty straighforward route. And even more so luckily, it's not my ONLY source of transportation. 10/9/05 Have to say I've had an unusual turn of events in the last couple of months. Things have been a little tough lately and I'm dealing with my own version of the blues. Been staying home a lot since I started working full time at home and I got to say it's a good thing and a bad thing at the same time. I've been going a little stir crazy and have been wanting to get out and network more, but I have to be home a lot to make the money I need to make to survive. It's a Catch 22 in some ways. But I know working at home is what I need to be doing right now and hopefully soon I can get back out in the scene more and do some more gigs either with my band or playing bass in another situation. I know everyone needs a bass player so once I get caught up a little more, I can get out there and start networking and eventually gigging. Things just seem to be moving a lot slower for me lately for some reason. I feel like I'm growing as a musician but have been somewhat stifled in other areas of my life. I guess that's why the call it the blues...... 9/24/05 Need to vent a bit here....I received a reply from a guitar player responding to an ad I placed in music connection about a month ago. What he told me all the more confirms what I wrote in my journal about four months ago about these people that post ads on either music connection.com, recycler.com or craigslist.....It's usually the exact same people that either post (or in this case respond to) ads over again and over again and NEVER find what they're looking for!!! Basically what this latest loser told me was "I'm looking for something more, together...Further along" Well let me ask you something BUCKO!!!! If YOU'RE so fucking together and further along, what are you doing looking for guitarist positions in music connection.com in the first fucking place!?! I had thought my last ad had long since expired and I pretty much am done with looking for musicians through any of those sources anyway. Because like I said, it's usually the same group of losers posting and responding. It's just mc.com keeps their ads up longer than the others. I really hope this last guitarist that just responded to me looks at my site again one day and reads this. Because another thing I'd like to ask him is....If he wants something so much more together and further along...Why doesn't he get something together his own damn self?!? Then he'll see just how fun it is to deal with losers such as himself!!! 9/20/05 Turn and face the strange.....Looks like I'm using another song reference, but it's basically what I've been experiencing lately "Changes". I've gone back to work at home full time and will be putting more focus on putting the right band together and getting better gigs. I know my methods might not make sense to everybody, but they're working for me. For example, I received a really "disturbed" e-mail from someone who had mistaken my intentions when I sent out invites to my hurricane benefit jam. Obviously this person doesn't know me very well and since I didn't recognize the e-mail address, I don't believe I know him or her. But whatever their problem is, they need to solve it and leave me out of it. I'm neither a publicity hog or trying to be the next big thing out there in the music scene. I'm happy as long as I can get my fun party gigs and everyone enjoys themselves. By the way....thanks so much to Gilbert, Jerry, Charlie, Louis, Tony Ibarra and the other musicans that came to my jam and helped me and my Situation have a jammin' good time for a good cause. I've resolved not to waste time on people who want me to operate on their terms. I decided not to be bothered with the musicians that want me to do things "their way" like when they don't want to play keyboards because they want to only play another instrument in this band or they don't want me to include other people and pay them just as much when these other people are doing just as much work. All I have to ask them is....How many clubs did you shop demos to? How many phone calls, follow-up phone calls, and even more follow-up calls did you make to make the gigs happen? And how much work are you doing to get future gigs? I'm not saying that they didn't help me on my path of musical growth and I appreciate the rehearsals, recordings, and equipment, but at the same time the price I've been paying of bad attitudes and stubborness is becoming much more trouble than it's worth. So once again, thanks to those who are working with me in a positive way, I'm feeling really good about the line-up I have now and hope we can continue working together in harmony. 9/1/05 Well, folks as REM so eloquently put it....It's the end of the world as we know it. It's a shame how the goverment is using the hurricane tragedy to gouge gas prices once again. What's it going to take to make a difference? Does anyone even give a shit anymore? Definitely not the government from what I can tell. President Bush described this as a "temparary disruption" in a press conference this afternoon. Does he even know what the fuck he's talking about? I have extended family out near New Orleans who I'm sure are feeling a little more than "temporarily disrupted" right now. I just hope I hear from them again. 8/11/05 Have had limited access to a computer so I haven't been as active on this journal as I used to be. Back at Little John's again! Hopefully I can turn into somewhat of a "regular" there if this gig goes well. I really dig people who'll work with me without the "what's in it for me" attitude. I've really dug most of these places I've played at recently and have also been able to develop more of idea of what venues will work for me and which ones aren't quite my scene. Had a really strange experience with this lady at this place called the Rim Ram Club in Santa Fe Springs when I tried to see about getting a gig there. I understand that what my band does might not be what works for her venue, but she was just plain nasty and rude! I guess some of these people can be from what I've heard, but so far I haven't experienced anything quite like her. Who wants to have to hear all the jokes about having a gig at a place called the RIM RAM CLUB anyway!!! I've met with Sandy at the Redwood Room in Maywood.... She's the coolest of cool! And this old guy Toad from the Toadstool Bar in South Gate. Really cool old cat. Should have something coming up there next month hopefully. I really dig the people at both of these venues and they're really gracious to me. My band and I don't need to waste our time with the rude asses like Little Ms. Annie Rim Ram no how! Well that's all for now folks! Take Care..... 7/15/05 FINALLY!!! Get Me A Gig is on the Sound Samples page!!!! I'm here burning cds right now and the computer is responding VERY SLOOOOOOWWW..... But at least I'm starting to feel like I'm accomplishing something. I'm going to insert a little text box on the Sound Samples page next to the song so everyone can understand what I'm talking about. Basically it's a sarcastic little ditty about today's music scene here in the City of The Angels. Ready for a move to Vegas Baby!!!! After the last two years of trying to put a steady working band together and get worthwhile gigs out here, I'm almost ready to.... 7/9/05 Once again last night was the NIGHT OF THE NO SHOW. When I got to the Global Cafe yesterday, my son asks me "What's going to happen if no one shows up?" I told him, "Well I guess it will be another night like the last time." Guess I shouldn't have expected too much else. I know that a lot of people were skiddish about going out due to what happened in London. But there was some people who I know, that I've supported their gigs, and who live in the 818 that I was halfway expecting to see. Along with a lot of the other musicians I've supported and been to their gigs about 7-10 times in the past year, show their appreciation by attending a total ZERO of mine. I've made a resolve to only go to my own gigs for a while. Probably for quite some time. Maybe tonight at The Royal Westwood will be a little different, but I doubt it. 7/5/05 I'm so fucking fed up with that localendar website. It's down again and now I've got to get all my info on another page. That will be coming soon. Got to go back to the house and find some of the info. We got the Global Cafe gig this Friday the 8th, Mr. T's Bowl on the 17th and The Redwood Room on the 23rd. Also we have a tentative gig on the 30th at the 1160 Club in Hollywood. My computer access is very limited now and some of these computers here SUCK!!! Gotta forgive me, I'm just really frustrated right now... 6/14/05 For those of you who've viewed my site before you can probably see that I've made some changes. I discovered something that I've been trying to figure out for weeks and I'm so "f"ing proud of myself!!! I discovered how to expand the width of the page where I can ad pics, text and graphics across the screen so everything doesn't look like it's all pushed over to the left. Again, I'm so "f"ing proud of myself. Had a little scare with this journal thing, though. When someone accesses the journal section of the site here, they can type whatever they want in the text box where I do my journal entries. Luckily it doesn't save that way or someone could get away with typing something like "Hey Sonia! You're ugly and your music sucks!!!" And I wouldn't know a thing until I opened my journal page again. After the "run-in" I had at Steve's BBQ last week, I wouldn't be surprised if someone did do that. I probably pissed a couple people off there by speaking my mind about something really crappy that was going on over there, but oh well. Don't need to be in with anybody's in crowd. Just wanna play. Don't need to sit in with other muscian's bands that don't support me and my gig's. Or be billed as a "Special Guest", let's make that "Special UNPAID Guest" indefinitely just to make someone else money and make their band look good. Had enough of that crap. Might as well get my own gigs and make a portion of the bar. I know that's not much but it's mine without all the BS. If I really was after the money in this music thing, I would be singing songs like "If I was a Rich Girl, na na na na na na na na na, I'd have all the money in the world if I was a really rich girrrrllll" Not my bag, though. But what I would like is the chance to play with MY band and possibly make some $$ in the process. Looks like Steve's BBQ isn't going to be the place to make that happen, though. Oh well, plenty of other venues. I think my friend Just Dave has the right approach by not booking gigs at the "typical" blues venues. Most of the same bands and musicians go to these typical blues venues, and they've kind of taken them over. And if you're not part of their clique, you shouldn't be there. At least that's how they try to make you feel. And unfortunately, from what I discovered at Steve's the other night, is that the owners of these clubs are accommodating that kind of behavior. 6/2/05 Well last night was a total bust:( Didn't make it to 14 Below because my car died. Still don't know what the exact problem is but hopefully it won't cost a fortune. Seems like every time I move to a new place I start having car problems. I'm so tired of nothing going right. I feel cursed. I'm sure I won't be booked at 14 Below or through this particular booking agent again. Oh well. Seems like I'm getting the more worthwhile gigs on my own anyway. It was weird even before the car thing happened I just wasn't "feeling" this gig, if you know what I mean. I guess it was some sort of premonition or something. I feel bad though....Kelly the drummer was already on his way there when the car thing happened and I had to call the club a couple of times to leave him a message. I'm probably being perceived as another "flaky musician" to the 14 Below people. I know that I'm not, but I'm feeling like crap right now.... 6/1/05 Got some down time here at work so I'll write a few lines. Was hoping to get the new original tune "Get Me A Gig" up on my sound samples page. Unfortunately the version I have is to large of a file to upload so I'll have to record a shorter version. People are digging that song and I'm really getting antsy here to get it up on the site. Hopefully soon. Got the 14-Below gig tonight. Went by there yesterday to drop off flyers. Looks a lot like Molly Malones inside the place. Too bad they don't have a bass rig like Molly's though. The Stardust gig went really well despite the other band's guitarist's wife's drama. Note to musician's wifes and girlfriends: If you don't want your man to be part of the club scene and around women....FIND YOURSELF ANOTHER BOYFRIEND!!! "Groupies" are part of the whole musician scene and if it's too much to handle, then you need to be with someone else. Please excuse me for being harsh on this topic but I've been caught in the middle of too many band member wife/girlfriend drama situations to feel any differently about this. I had one experience about a year ago that was really upsetting and since then I'm really intolerant of that kind of crap. The scene making and drama's gotta go when you're doing a gig. And anyone who's responsible for creating that kind of drama shouldn't be there. Gotta get back to work..... 5/20/05 I'm SOOOOOOO tired. I have some down time here at work, so I thought I'd write a few lines. It looks like I just might have found a guitar player!!! Ironically it's from the ad I had posted on the bulletin board at these lock-out/hourly studios in Vernon. Most of the bands that rehearse there are those dark metal or punk types but I did get two calls and looks like one of the two is going to work out. I got very frustrated with the recycler, craigslist, and music connection ads. I did meet two guitarists that were good and I still would probably consider them in the future if this guy doesn't work out but I had to run through A LOT of muck just to find these two good guys. What I've come to discover, is that most of these people that post their ads in recycler, craigslist, or mc NEVER find what they're looking for. Like the guy who's been looking for the young jazz vocalist for over two years now. Or the other guy who is looking for his "Rock Chick" Ann Wilson/Pat Benatar type of vocalist. The same guy had ads out a couple of years ago looking for his "Blues Mama" Bonnie Raitt/Susan Tedeshi type. I was getting really frustrated with this whole racket, because initially I thought it would be a lot easier if I played bass and placed ads looking for a guitarist. Granted, I did get a lot of response even after mentioning it's not a paying situation yet, but NO follow up after I sent my contact info and a link to my site. I know we can't suck that bad because the clubs want to book us knowing that we're a "start up" band with not much of a following yet. But I guess with most of these guitar players, it wasn't "their thing." It would've been nice for them to let me know though, don't ya think?!? Anywhooo....I've been having all kinds of fun playing bass. Even though it's only been about 8 weeks that I've been playing bass steadily, I'm taking to it like a fish to water. Most people can't beleive I've only been playing bass for that short of a time. Granted I'm not the slap happy bass soloist yet, but that will come in time I hope:) I might go to the Blue Cafe tonight and see Eric Sardinas. I'm REALLY curious to see what's going on with that situation. I heard his bass player (who's been with him since the beginning) is not with him anymore. Imagine if I could play bass for Eric Sardinas!!! (Wishful thinking I know) But it doesn't hurt to dream. If I could travel the way he does, I would probably go for it if the opportunity ever came to pass. (Again, wishful thinking I know) Now that things are starting to move a long with new band members and gigs coming up, I'll be updating my photos soon once I get some of the drummer and guitar player. Hope all's going well....HAPPY FRIDAY!!!! 5/14/05 Well folks looks like my calendar isn't working....Hopefully the localendar site will fix itself soon. I checked out a friend's site that uses the same service and theirs isn't working either. Guess it's a systemwide thing. Anywhooo...for anyone who might be wondering....I'm going to be at The Stardust on the 29th of this month Memorial Sunday. And the only other thing I have lined up for now is The Redwood Room on the 16th of July. I'm sure they'll be more between now and then and I'll keep you posted as things keep happenin:) 5/12/05 This is still in the formation stages. Just like the band:) It's getting there, though. I'm still ironing out the rough spots but so far it's going pretty smooth. I have the open mic thing tommorrow. Hope to get some more gigs to brag about here soon...
