The ASCAP Expo - A Weekend in LA.

This past weekend was the ASCAP "I Create Music" Expo, which I attended for the first time. It was a hefty price (even after my West Coast Songwriters discount it came to 3 whopping hundreds) but totally worth the cash.  Myself at 1,400 other music-loving folk spent 3 full days, as in 9am til midnight, talking about everything in the world of music creation.  I was definitely overwhelmed at times, being surrounded by such beautiful, talented and driven musicians, but the biggest takeaway for me was inspiration.

Among the many panels, a few stand out for me; Linda Perry offering her critique and support of the audience's original songs, meeting Marc Wood (manager for Imogen Heap), Listening to A Fine Frenzy and Ariel Hyatt of CyberPR discuss the ever changing world of social media and online networking, and even meeting Jill Sobule - the woman who trail-blazed the fan-funding of an album, directly leading me to launch the "Be A Part of Whitney Nichole's First Record" campaign (which is still running, and we've already raised almost $1,000!  Truly a weekend full of pioneers in this new music industry we all find ourselves in.

If you can believe there were bigger names, I also saw John Mayer, Jason Mraz, Tricky, Ludacris, Quincy Jones, Justin Timberlake and Bill Withers speak.  Yes, John Mayer is exactly as cocky as you think he is - even using the term "bangin' hot chicks" in his interview.  Jason Mraz is surprisingly tough looking, until he opens his mouth and a tween's voice comes out.  It was interesting to learn that Justin Timberlake is immensely humble, and I found him to be way more experienced and mature than his SNL skits lead on.  My absolute favorite celebrity speaker was Bill Withers, and if you don't recognize the name, shame on you. One of the greatest songwriters alive, and he was down to earth, hilarious, hopeful and inspring.  Among Bill's gems: 

"When you're 3 feet tall at 18 years old, a basketball just ain't the right gift for ya."

"A&R stands for antagonistic and redundant. Some people just don't get it."

"Allow yourself to feel, and you just might get lucky and be a conduit for something profound."

In reference to a question to JT about being sexy, "Now wait a minute, how come you gotta talk to him about sexy?"

Lucky there were some wonderful bloggers at the event, so even if you couldn't make it, you can check out videos and articles here.

No Place I'd Rather Be.

There is no better feeling than being in the studio, planning a record of your own songs.

Yesterday I spent 3 hours after work in the studio with Adam Rossi (The One) working through some of the songs that are going on the record.  Usually when I do 3 hours of anything after a full day's work, I'm miserable and exhausted.  But there's just something about being in the studio that gives you energy you never thought you had.  I totally understand how people can spend 24 hours straight in those places.  They are kinda like casinos in that way.  Except without the depressing old drunkards and skanky waitresses.  Point is, I could have stayed forever.

Special treat of the evening was Niall documenting the experience with his photography skills.  He is such a wonderful support for me, and without him, this record would not be happening.  It is that simple.  So from now on, he shall be known as, Niall David; Executive Album Producer, Photographer & Spoon Specialist.

Searching for The One. Producer, that is.

Finding the right producer is kind of like finding "the one."  There are plenty of fish in the sea, and you go on what feels like a million first dates.  That initial meeting, where you try and find out if you like each others (musical) style, and if there's any chemistry.  some make promises they can't keep, others completely misrepresent themselves.  Sometimes you know immediately if they aren't your type.  In fact, I knew right away when Producer D-bag said to me, "What's the point of live instruments anyway?  The hits are in programming these days..." that we had no future.

Then there are the more promising "first dates" that just fizzle.  I once met with a producer who talked a mean game and promised the world.  He very charismatically told me that he was going to make me 'the next big thing.'  Sidenote: I have no desire to be the 'next big thing.'  Regardless, he had neither the vision nor the talent to back it up.  Finally there are the producers who fib and pad up their experience, only to then buckle under the pressure of recording a 3 song demo.  This process can be daunting, and as all my single ladies can attest, there are just too many Mr. Wrong's.

And just when you've given up hope that anyone will ever get you (or your music), there's the moment you somehow meet the right person.  The moment you just know in your gut that this is the one I've been looking for.  It sounds cheesy, but when I met Adam Rossi, I had that feeling where it just clicked.  In that first meeting we talked about what we were looking for in a project, what he's done, what I've written - and for the first time I was able to really communicate my vision for this record.  He gets it, and I totally dig him for that reason.

I'm a lucky girl, and I can't wait to get back in the studio!!!

My First Record

This is something I've been dreaming of my entire life.

I am about to embark on the making of my very first album. Well, its not my first time in the studio, or even my first time taking part in an album - but this one will be mine. All my music, my ideas, my voice. The songs I've written over the past few years will finally become a finished piece of work, something I can be proud of, something that represents me, as an artist.

There's something about moving to San Francisco that has made this finally happen. Something about the energy here, the people, the beauty. I am more focused on making this record a reality now, because all of the sudden, I feel like I am where I am supposed to be. I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing. And it feels good.

I'm selling my car to pay for this record. If you can believe it, that doesn't even cover the cost. So I'm also going to be taking on a loan to make it work. At whitneynichole.com I've made fan-funding an option, and for those of you who like my live music and the demos I've made, you can easily donate to the album and get some really cool things in return.

It might take a while, but I'm going to keep track of the whole process here, at my, ahem, blog. If for no other reason that a journal I can look back on when I'm telling my genius musician granddaughter why music can be a viable lifelong career. This is just the start...