Laura Harley

I’m on my way to Minneapolis today, and then on to Ann Arbor tomorrow for a workshop related to my volunteer work with the Baha’i Faith. We’ll be talking about (and then starting!) some neighborhood-based activities aimed at spiritually empowering children, teens, and adults to transform themselves and their communities. I’m looking forward to meeting many wonderful people there and to learning with them.

After that, I’ll be in Minneapolis in time for some more of this same kind of work. I will also get to see my family on Labor Day, which will be awesome. I can’t wait to get in some family time—I miss my sis, her husband, and my parents a lot! Hopefully I will get a chance to squeeze in some time with my friends while I am there, too. Then, its back to LA again.

Last night, we went to this beautiful lookout spot in the hills at sunset. I took a few photos of the views of LA.

It was very beautiful.

And I just finished a new song! I’m at that stage with it where it is just so exciting to sing it because it is new and about my life right now and I FEEL it so much. I am planning to sing it at the house concert I’m giving on September 5 in St. Paul, MN. If you want to be there, email me at contact[at]lauraharley.com, and I’ll send you the info.

More soon….

Since I’ve been spending so much time in LA, I’ve had many experiences that could really only happen here. You know, moments where you find yourself saying “ONLY in LA!” Some are fun like star sightings (recent sightings include Aimee Mann and Michael Penn at Target last weekend and Malcolm Jamal Warner at the movie theater). Some are un-fun like people I see who have plastic surgery addictions and almost don’t look real—-very sad.

But my favorite moments are the ones that remind me of the glamour and wonder of that partly mythical and partly real place, Hollywood. The other day I had one such moment. I was rushing to see a friend of mine play on the other side of the city. I had just finished a phone meeting that went overtime and I was fumbling with the directions to the club in my car, when all of a sudden I looked up and saw something that made me slow down. As I turned my car onto Hollywood Boulevard, the sun was setting and lighting the sky with brilliant oranges and pinks. Black silhouettes of palm trees towered over me on each side of the road and on my left, windows in the mansions in the Hollywood Hills reflected the sunset. It was so beautiful it took my breath away. Since I was driving, I couldn’t take a photo right then, but I went there the next day to try to capture a little bit of what I saw. This just gives an inkling:

Something about that sight transported me. I got little butterflies in my stomach and felt in awe of the glamour of Hollywood. Visions of movie stars from the ’50s filled my mind and, for a moment, I felt like I was part of it all—like I was one of them—driving down Hollywood in a powder blue convertible with the wind in my wavy hair and movie star scarf trailing behind me. (I actually drive a 2000 Saturn, have straight hair, and was so stressed that day that I didn’t have the presence of mind to accessorize.) I vowed to remember how special it is to be able to spend time in this place where dreams can suddenly come alive and cradle you; stolen moments in the midst of the LA madness.

The past few weeks have been really full—-in terms of level of busy-ness and level of intensity. There have been lots of challenges in my personal life and lots of decisions to be made in my professional life. It was kind of a roller coaster, but I’m feeling hopeful and good about it all now. Highlights in my music world have included:

–Filling lots of CD orders! It has been so much fun to get CD orders and send off my new music to people. And I have been so touched by the feedback. Thank you!

–Playing a fun show at Plum’s in St. Paul. Thanks to everyone who came out to the show! I had a great time. It felt like a performance where my piano playing reached a new level. I’m feeling like things are coming even more naturally which enables me to really sink into the songs and fill them with everything I’ve got.

–Seeing some of my fellow musician friends here in LA at a party this weekend. It was great to re-connect, make some plans to play shows together, and share challenges/ learning of being independent music artists.

–Finishing the first draft of my upcoming book and having the first reader/ editor review it! More info on that coming soon.

And this Saturday, I’m looking forward to seeing my friend and excellent music artist Jane Fuller perform in Sierra Madre at Cafe 322 (322 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre, CA). She’s invited me to sing a song, too, and I’ll be going on around 10:00pm. It will be a really fun night—come on out if you are in the area!