Thank You, Mercury!

Mercury is retrograde and this one has brought me a new cell phone and blue tooth and a cleaned out computer with a spruced up operating system and new programs. Keywords here: technical stuff. I haven’t had a blue tooth before, so I’m getting used to that. And my computer is happy to have had an overhaul.

Mercury retrograde can bring up technical problems, communication misunderstandings, travel delays and past relationship/projects coming back from the past. It’s a great time to get organized, re-group, and re-think how to move forward when the time is right. It’s also been great for healing past issues for me as well.

I wrote a new song this week, so I’m glad that this Mercury retrograde gave me my songwriting habit back. I’ve written 2 songs this month. I’m being given some art supplies next week, so my painting and drawing outlet is also returning. I used to create a lot of artwork and haven’t for years. This is all very healing.

Blessings!
Laura

You can hear 4 songs from my new CD at:
www.myspace.com/lauracohnmusic
Where Music Meets Artistry

Bitter/Sweet

My friend, Marie, had a stroke over the weekend. She just turned 84. She was on medication for strokes but it made her sick and she stopped taking it awhile back. She’s back home now, but she’s not doing all that well. I know these things are part of life, but I feel bad she’s going through this. She doesn’t sound like herself when I talked to her.

I didn’t realize how sad I was about it until I tried recording vocals in the studio tonight. Things just weren’t coming together and we had to stop working on them. My producer, Robert Eibach, put some great drums down on “Carry Love With You” after that. He is really awesome and did what he could to make me feel better.

I guess I need to become a better actress so I can perform no matter what is going on in my life. Maybe I’m just raw from a combination of consecutive changes that have happened in the last 6 months. What’s funny about it is now I’m closer than I’ve ever been to achieving my real dreams in life. So now I get what bittersweet is about.

Blessings!
Laura

You can hear Robert’s work on my songs at:
www.myspace.com/lauracohnmusic
Where Music Meets Artistry

Music Videos, Etc.

I’ve been checking out music videos, websites and live concerts on the internet this weekend. It helps me to see what other artists are doing in the mainstream. Mostly I’ve been looking at female artists because I’m a girl and I need to see what they’re doing. I enjoy all the creativity and how different people are expressing themselves.

We’re going to be re-designing my website when we release the new album so I’ve been paying attention to which sites I’ve had more fun going through. I really like the website Norah Jones has for her work. She’s got such a great vocal style. It was interesting to see what Jewel has been doing over the years. Her non-profit work was really nice.

Avril Lavigne’s website had some cool stuff. Her music video for “When You’re Gone” made me cry. The actors they cast did a beautiful job with the story and the editing was brilliant. I like Sheryl Crow’s newer videos on her site. She’s really come into her own artistically. That’s good to see. I love seeing artists thriving in success.

Blessings!
Laura

You can hear studio tracks for my CD at:
www.myspace.com/lauracohnmusic
Where Music Meets Artistry

Recording

I was in the studio last night with my producer, Robert Eibach. I played him the new song I wrote and he said we were putting on the CD. So we recorded my guitar part and lead vocal for it. It was a good session. Robert and I have a lot of fun working together. He’s very supportive with me and I appreciate that.

It was a good thing that I had practiced the song so much this week. That made the recording performance really solid. Now my cat, Macey, will get to hear me work with the track so I can write harmonies. Pretty soon she’ll be able to sing my songs. When I adopted her, my friend told Macey that I would be playing music for her.

I was listening to some old recordings that I did with my bass player, Scott Riedle, years ago when he and I were married. He’s in love now and is so cute in love. I’m excited to meet his future 2nd wife. I can really hear a difference in my vocal technique. There were some things I did before that were nice, but now my style is more developed.

Blessings!
Laura

You can hear 4 studio tracks Robert produced at:
www.myspace.com/lauracohnmusic
Where Music Meets Artistry

New Song

I’ve been practicing the new song I wrote last weekend. When I write a new song I usually have to play it around a hundred times to get it into my body’s memory banks. My cat, Macey, looks at me funny when I play the song over and over and over again when I’m practicing. It’s the first new song I’ve written since I got her.

I haven’t been focused on writing new material because the songs on the CD have captivated my attention. Writing harmony parts has been where my creative energy has gone. Learning the lead vocal on the tracks has also been taking time. I need to sound like my album when I sing live. Or at least I think so.

This song just needed to be written. It came from a place of emotion that wasn’t going away and the lingering stuff inside me needs a voice. I’m playing the song for my producer tonight. A couple of friends have heard the song and think it should go on the album. It’s always the songs that I feel the most vulnerable singing that people like most.

Blessings!
Laura

You can hear other songs going on the CD at:
www.myspace.com/lauracohnmusic
Where Music Meets Artistry

Loving Life

A friend was telling me she thought I would be great doing something that would require that I relocate to another city. My response was that it sounded interesting, but I love my life and wouldn’t want to leave where I am. She told me that was really special because she doesn’t know of many people who love their life

That got me thinking. I remember when I didn’t love my life at all. I really wanted to be able to love being alive, but I was not pleased with my circumstance. I’m not sure what the turning point was exactly for me, I just know that I wanted to feel better and I was determined to find what was going to help me do that. A lot has changed since then.

I think that pain and discomfort can be a great motivator. I know for me, I’m a person who wants comfort, security, love and peacefulness around whatever is happening with me in my life. I know my seeking kept bringing me to God because I prayed for Divine intervention a lot. I just felt too small and insignificant to think I could change much.

Blessings!
Laura

You can hear my prayer to God, “Wakantanka” at:
www.myspace.com/lauracohnmusic
Where Music Meets Artistry

More about Macey...

My little cat, Macey, gets cuter everyday. She smiles a lot and she likes to hold her tail straight up in the air with a curl at the end like a question mark when she walks. She follows me around the apartment, from room to room, when I’m home doing things and loves to wake me up in the middle of the night so I can pet her and give her kisses.

She’s a mommy’s girl. When I wake up in the morning I always find Macey sleeping next to me wrapped up in a ball or stretched out on her back. She has a white belly and looks so adorable to me when she rolls over like that. It’s nice to have such a happy cat. She always puts me in a great mood when I’m with her.

Macey likes these small aluminum shiny bright colored balls and looks like she’s playing soccer when she gets running around with one. She keeps me thoroughly entertained when I’m home. It’s so much fun to watch her do her kitty thing. Holding her is also pretty special because she hugs me when she’s in my arms. She is such a love.

Blessings!
Laura

You can see a picture of me with Macey in the photo gallery at:
www.myspace.com/lauracohnmusic
Where Music Meets Artistry