Laura Harley

Thanks to all who were at The Cat Club show last night! I really enjoyed playing last night. I mean, I always do, but after playing so many shows in the past couple of months I find I’ve gotten into a rhythm and a flow with my performances. So many things just come naturally at this point that I can really just sink into the emotion of each word. Here are some photos from the show:

I’ll be heading back to Minneapolis in a couple of days and will be there for a few weeks. Between now and when I leave on Thursday, I’m moving to a new apartment here in Hollywood and working on writing. Lots to do, but it will be good. My next show is in Minneapolis at Acadia Cafe on Friday, November 9th at 8pm. Looking forward to playing there again!

I’m looking forward to my show at The Cat Club tonight! I go on at 8pm and will play a special acoustic set. I would love to see you there!

Last night I played at the Crimson Spot open mic at the L.A. Baha’i Center. It is such a great open mic—-lots of support for each other, lots of laughter, lots of talented artists of all ages, backgrounds, and genres.

Today in between other work I’m working on squeezing in some writing time. Things have been busier than expected and there have been some personal challenges to get through, but I’m still trying to make writing a priority in the midst of it all. One day at a time, one note at a time….

I played another show at Borders last night. Every time I do a Borders show, it’s a little different. Sometimes I play in front of the little cafe inside the store, sometimes they set up chairs in the middle of the store. Last night they had a little stage near the cafe. Here are some photos from the evening (Don’t be alarmed that it looks in these photos like there’s a ghostly hand about to snatch me up! Really, it’s just a Borders Halloween promotion I just happened to be standing in front of ):

These shows at Borders have been really confirming for me. You get such a cross sample from the population coming in the door while you’re playing. At a club, there are still a range of people that come, but it’s not as big of a population sample and most of them are people who regularly go to clubs or are really into music. But people at Borders are more of what I think of as the general radio audience. There are families, people of all ages, people of all backgrounds. It was so cool to see so many different kinds of people come through the store, pause and come over when they heard me, and then have them sit down and listen. It makes me feel like those same people, if they flipped through channels on their radio and heard a snippet of a song of mine, would keep my song on and listen. Very cool!

Also, I have to tell you that I had a moment on stage last night where I totally, and I mean TOTALLY, blanked out on the words to one of my songs. It’s a weird phenomenon since I sing it all the time. And the worst part was that for some reason it struck me really funny. So, I’m up there with a bunch of people watching me, and I’m singing and at first it’s like a non-sensical combination of words from different verses. And that seemed funny enough, but then because I was concentrating so hard on trying not to laugh at myself, I couldn’t think of ANY words and I basically started CREATING words. Nonsense words. Somehow I got through it and by the chorus I could remember the words again. And I didn’t laugh out loud. How’s that for professional? And, you know, I’m not sure if anyone noticed. In any case, I hope that doesn’t happen again, and if it does, I hope I can get through it in the same way and just laugh at myself after the show!

Last night I played at the Borders in Canoga Park. I got to play to lots of new people again. Yay! And there was this little boy there named Vincent, who was super adorable. He looked to be about 3 years old and he danced to my songs! And after I finished playing he came up to me, did a “blowing me a kiss” motion, and walked over to explore the keyboard and guitar. Boy did he like that guitar! (I mean, to be fair, who wouldn’t—-that Breedlove IS beautiful. :)) His dad had to carry him off so he would stop playing and they could go home!

Tonight I play another Borders and then at The Cat Club on Monday night. Here are some photos from last night. The one of me having some water is for my wonderful friend, Michelle, who is a voice therapist and, after seeing me play a show recently at which I didn’t sip water between songs, gave me a very sweet but firm talking to about staying hydrated :). Very kind of her. See, Michelle? I’m doing better!! Love you.

Last night I played at the Karma Coffeehouse in Hollywood. I got to share the stage with many very talented artists and nice people. It was quite a diverse night—-everything from alt country/ bluegrass to classical piano. Here are some photos of my performance:

Tonight I have the night off and Friday and Saturday I’ll be playing some shows at a couple of Borders here in Cali. I really like those shows for the reasons mentioned here.

And of course on Monday I’ll be doing an acoustic showcase at The Cat Club in West Hollywood at 8pm.

Oh! And I started another new song. It’s still forming, but I can tell you one thing about it…..it is SASSY.

Well, I’m back in LA LA land and I’ve been working the past 2 days on a new song (which I wrote about in a previous entry). I’m excited about this one. I worked on it for a couple hours yesterday and then got to a point where I’d heard it too many times to be objective about it anymore. So, like many writers, I took a break from it and came back to it this morning. That first listen the day after is very important, because it’s the once chance I have to hear the song with fresh ears and hear any weak spots. I observe my reactions to that first listen very carefully because it gives me excellent clues about what I need to change. And after that, the song starts feeling like it’s part of me again and it’s hard to be objective.

But that first listen also makes me sort of anxious—before I hit “play” I start thinking, “What if I hear it today and think it’s awful? Then I’ll have to start all over again.” So, today I hit “play” and, happily, it still sounded good to me! In fact, if I might say so, it sounded even a little better than it sounded yesterday. Yay! So, now I’m putting the finishing touches on it and then I will share it with another human being for the first time and see what he thinks. That’s the next step.

So, I’m writing a lot and doing open mics to promote my show at The Cat Club in West Hollywood on Monday, October 29th at 8:30pm. Hope to see you there, kitties! Meow!

Yesterday I spent the afternoon doing some promotional work for my next show in Minneapolis (on Friday, November 9th at Acadia Cafe at 8pm). It felt great to do some music-related work! And I’ll get to do more soon because I’m leaving for L.A. again on Monday. I’ll be playing at The Cat Club in West Hollywood on Monday, October 29th at 8pm. While I’m there I’ll be doing lots of other music-related things, and chief among them is songwriting! I can’t wait to get back to it.

Also, I’m sure many of you have noticed how painfully S-L-O-W my website has been lately. We’re switching it over to a new service, so soon it should be much faster and easier to use! During the switch, you may have trouble accessing the site, but come back the next day because any problems should only last a short time.

Photo by Clark Patrick Photography

Well, my ability to keep writing music while keeping up with other work didn’t last long. I think it lasted 2 days before things got even busier. And it was a busy-ness that I haven’t experienced before—lots of things in my life are accelerating. A lot of it is very positive and exciting. In fact, in the last week I’ve had some of the most precious and inspiring moments. But, even when one is busy with exciting and positive things, it can still be stressful and tough to adjust to. I’ve been feeling very tired. But I can see the light at the end of the tunnel—I’m slowly adjusting and think I will soon be able to get back to writing in moments here and there.

It’s funny how even in the midst of extreme busy-ness and stress, I’ve been having little moments of peace. In those moments I remember that my life is happening right now—-like, right NOW, not in the future when I am less busy (not sure if I ever will be less busy anyway). And because I only have this one life, and this one chance to live it in a meaningful way, it makes the fatigue ok. The work I am doing is very meaningful to me. But sometimes, when I am really fatigued, the moments of peace go away and I just feel like the weight of the world is on my shoulders. I think we all feel like that sometimes. But then usually I just say a prayer and get through the day as best I can and inevitably, when I wake up the next morning, I feel better. Thank God for sleep and healing dreams and the gentle feeling of morning. And little moments of beauty help, too. For example, look at this amazingly beautiful rose a friend gave me this week:

That kind of natural beauty totally slows me down and reminds me why I’m here.

This week I’m busy with work and preparing to go to L.A. for more shows again next week. And, speaking of shows, here is another new photo from my show at the Varsity a while back: