THANK YOU Marc, BD, Anonymous, Edwardyne and Andrew!!!

ENDLESS THANKS TO OUR NEWEST ANGELS:

Marc J Filippone, B. D. Suisse, Anonymous, Edwardyne Cowan and Andrew Tappon!

I am so incredibly grateful for your generosity and support!

As soon as the CD is pressed, I will make a full accounting of where all these wonderful donations are going so you can see your money at (specific) work Public Relations-wise.

Also-

all vocals are OFFICIALLY IN THE CAN, people.

I apologize as i am indeed way further ahead on the cd than the blog indicates-

but i'm taking copious notes and will soon bring you back into the process.

My goal is to really try to have this whole thing out around Thanksgiving because so many of you have sweetly asked if it would be ready for you to give as holiday gifts. 

I will resume with THE BALM IN GILEAD part II hopefully later tonight.

I just have to re accompany myself on the piano to the final vocals and re- orchestrate around them.

Also, have my string players coming in this week and must have all their charts ready and clean by thursday.

So....

lots of work to do and being done...

which i will share with you momentarily.

in the meantime-

thank you all so much for your support and your emails filled with love, encouragement and fantastic advice.

I appreciate it all, my clever ducks.

more soon-

xo

dl

THE OFFICIAL CD COVER......

Hello my little chicklets!

The official CD COVER of "Old Friends" (and by an overwhleming majority) is......

GRANDMA!!!!!

Now, the only question is...

what color should my name be in? 

White (like it is above) or.....

a little more sepia-ish:

The other picture of my face with the autumn leaves will be on the back.

thanks SO much to everyone who offered their opinions...

it was so incredibly helpful to hear your thoughts and reasons as to why you preferred one over the other.

Any complaints or comments can be sent directly to Mr Jack Cummings III, Artistic Director of The Off Broadway Company, The Transport Group (www.transportgroup.org) as he literally threatened to never speak to me again if i chose the other one.

HAPPY AUTUMN EVERYBODY!!!!

"bok bok"

xoxo

dl

GREAT VOCAL DAY

Today was a great vocal day.

Thank Christ.

Ask any singer and a "great vocal day" comes around once maybe twice a month.

It's not that you sound like absolute rat shit every other day it's just...

a minute amount of a difference (in how it's all coming together for you vocally)-

that when you're standing in front of a microphone-

can make a HUGE difference.

There are so many variables to where your voice is on any given day-

your diet, sleep, water, drink, warming up, warming down, seasons, allergies, tension, stress, a woman's cycle (sorry guys), how much you sang the day before, whether you slept with the A/C on or off, the rising of the moon, the Return of Saturn, whether the restraints in the mental ward are tight or loose...

it's ridiculous really.

As a natural control freak, I used to absolutely wig out about this when i was younger. That was until i saw an awesome interview with Harry Belafonte where- after he had just sung brilliantly on some chat show- had mentioned that he was not having a great vocal day but, 

"ya know....ya just wake up in the morning, figure out where it is and you work with it."

That's pretty much been my motto ever since and i've been MUCH happier for it. Trust.

Anyway-

today was a really really great vocal day.

I was clear, rested, had some sweet 'spin' going on....

so i not only recorded vocal tracks for two new songs i went back and basically re-recorded almost every lead vocal on every track i've put in the can so far. About......six? Yeah. Six.

I'm having a ball editing the vocals now.

it's always so much more pleasant to listen to your own fucking voice for hours on end when you're not thinking you're the greatest hack that ever lived.

Ahhhhh, good times.

good times.

Anyway-

burning through some music over here-

will catch up where i left off on the second half of the BALM IN GILEAD song, i promise. But in the meantime, let me leave you with one of my favorite quotes about singing:

"Before i was a perfectionist. I was never 100% happy with any performance. Now... I've accepted what life has put into my voice."

have NO idea who said it.

I clipped it out of a newspaper years ago and it's just been up on my wall ever since.

oh...

and one more thing before i let ya'll go to sleep...

quick recording tip.

When you unplug your refrigerator to record stuff.....

really really really try to remember to plug it back in.

Especially when you've just bought groceries the day before.

I'm actually wondering if i should put the cost of all the shit that died a very sad and tragic death my fridge on my CD budget.

Ok loves.

Goodnight.

More soon.

Promise.

xo

dl

Why Carol Burnett is awesome.

Carol Burnett is awesome because she has agreed to write my 'CD Essay'.

The CD Essay is...

even tho I buy CDs, and should have noticed this practice-

the essay that someone writes about you and you put it in your CD booklet.

While i understand the reason for it...

the idea of it is a little uncomfortable to me.

I just...

feel like the music should speak for itself and....

if someone's reading the essay it means that they've already bought it anyway-

cause it's IN the booklet...

sooooooooo, it seems a bit like getting a letter of recommendation to publicize?

But.

I also understand it's the thing to do....

and....

I wanted to find someone that I'd worked with who i felt really got me.

Who i was, what i did, how i participate in this crazy world of music and theatre.

And for me, that's Carol.

For those of you who don't know-

Carol wrote an autobiographical play called Hollywood Arm with her daughter Carrie, and Hal Prince cast me to play Carol as a young woman.

It was one of the most magical times of my entire life, not even so much working on the play but working with her. She is, one of the most extraordinary, selfless, loving, giving women I have ever met in any capacity and I am proud to have had just a little sliver of life with her.

Anyway.

There are so many more reasons why Carol Burnett is awesome, of course...

but, this is today's.

She is truly a class act.

xo

dl

Somewhat good news.....

Regarding the complete melt down of my MONUMENT song files...

the VOCAL has remained UNSCATHED!

So.

YES!

Slight victory.

I can now just back track and use the vocal as the guide-

and orchestrate back around it.

at least, the time it took to figure everything out on this-

the pedal steel guitar sound, the timing, the charts-

that work is already done.

i just have to go back and re-record it.

shouldn't take me more than 2-3 hours.

she said optimistically.

Thanks for all your emails of support regarding my minor meltdown last night.

It was 3am, i'd been working all day and I was just really not coping all that well.

But.

This is good news.

This is great news actually.

I am grateful for this favor from the Universe.

Thank you.

xo

dl

SHIT! Shit shit shit shitshitshitshitshitshitshit SHEEEE-IITTT!

I have re-record the whole MONUMENT song.

mother.

fucker.

That's it.

Garage Band and i are getting divorced.

I don't care how "sorry" he is.

Oooooooooooh...BALL sack!

It was truly my favorite recording thus far.

everything included...

instruments, vocals...

just..

lost.

I...

I'd fill you in..

but...

I just can't even write anymore about it right now.

I'm not even pissed i'm just....

deeeeeeeeeeeeeeevastated.

suffice it to say.....

NEVER FUCK WITH THE TEMPO IN THE MASTER TRACK when you have to send your files to SOMEONE ELSE'S COMPUTER for MIXING.

God.

DAMN.

it.

devastated.

xo

dl

CD COVER... OPINIONS PLEASE!!!!

Alright my love buggies.

My AWESOME, BRILLIANT, GENEROUS, GENIUS friend Robbie Rozelle has been working with me tirelessly on narrowing down two possible options for the CD Cover. 

While i think I might have a small preference for one over the other.... 

I'm really wanting to know what you all think.

Please tell me which one you think best encapsulates what your impression is of the CD so far (by reading the blog here)....

First one: Self explanatory

(I leeerrrrrvvv the very subtle autumn leaves Robbie put in there 'cause i described this album to him as having a kind of 'autumny' sound).

The SECOND option....

This is a picture of my grandmother when she was a baby, posing with her sister.

She's represented by a song on the album.

I'll hesitate saying anymore about this photo for fear of swaying you emotionally....

but i'll fill you in later.

So....what do you think? 

We have the same eyes.

I've always loved this picture of her...

and I especially love how it's slightly worn and has some tears.

it looks....'loved' to me.

this picture.

Anyway-

Robbie and I are fascinated to hear your thoughts!!!

Please put a comment down....

or email me at dlc@donnalynnechamplin.com if you'd rather it be a private convo.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU so much Robbie and everyone who chimes in!!!

xoxo

dl