Week of Photos and Music

This has been the most magic week ever, Malena and I have had so much fun! The kind of fun that is a LOT of work , mind you, but we wouldn'thave it any other way. The CD is coming together, we spent last night making practice tapes, and going over song lists, deciding what we are going to record and who might play what. ( we may have worked a little to late as I recall at one point pairing an old Boiled in Lead song by Todd Menton with an even older Buddy Holly song and really getting excited about it )

Getting to play together in person and for real has been an amazing expierence for me, just as far as actual music goes this week. Malena is one of the best singers I have ever heard. She has an amazing voice and songs that I have always wanted to do, but have never been able to because I simply cannot sing them, are now not only possible, but magic. Isobel, by Steeleye Pan is one that comes to mind. Magic, pure magic. Also Post Mortem, an old Flash Girls song, that I have performed and recorded with both Flash Girls and Folk UnderGround , has undergone some serious changes. She sings it the way I heard it in my head when I wrote it. I didn't know that it could be that beautiful, or haunting or magic, she takes every word and every note and makes them pull at your heart until it may break. I knew she could sing , of course, she has been doing nothing else since we first started talking on the phone, but hearing her in person is like remembering something you lost at the begining of time, and had forgotten, but always knew was there.....

Ack. I have long ranted about the impossibility of actually describing music , or talking about what music sounds like. There are writers that can do it. Adam Stemple does in " Singer of Souls" ( coming out this summer from Tor Books ) , and Emma Bull did it briallently in " War For The Oaks " and Charles de Lint and Sharon McCrumb also come to mind, but I myself cannot. We will just have to get this CD done and post some MP3's and you can give it a listen yourselves.

Did a lot of photos shoots this week, ending up with Dr. Dan Johnson in a graveyard yesterday. As soon as Malena gets home and sorts thru all of the disks we will have some to post, both the candid shots we have been hearing people like and the professional ones that will be making it onto the CD. Karen Garland ( who also happens to be my baby sister ) is going to shoot us at Mini Con tonight. It is not ACTUALLY our first gig, but Malena is going to sit in with all the various acts who are coming together to make this concert tonight. I think we have Folk UnderGround, Bedlam Band, 2/3 of the Tim Malloy's and Steven Brust all doing Something tho we are not at all sure what is going to happen, except there will be a LOT of dancing and we may have one or two Lorraine a' Malena songs that will be coming out for the first time.

Did I mention that I got to wear false eyelashes this week? Talk about new expierences...( no, I would not describe that bit as " magic" )

Tomorrow Malena goes back home, and tho I am sure this will please her family to no end, I will say this: I will miss her. Really, really miss her.

Love and music, Lorraine

Photo magic

Some weeks take forever, and some weeks fly by faster than possible. This is one of the fliers. Being with Malena is about a million times better than talking with her on the phone and sending e-mails back and forth. And doing music with her , singing , playing , working out the songs and the cd together is pure joy and magic.

We've learned three new Neil songs this week and got some new ideas about what it is we are going to record and how we are going to go about it. We had our first pre-production meeting yesterday with Adam Stemple, our producer ( www.adamstemple.com ) and we have worked out dates, times, booked the studio, confirmed the other players, worked out some of the bugs and ate a lot of pastries. ( never underestimeate the power of Pastry in the making of an album )

Today is all about photos, we did our first photo shoot on Tuesday night and got some wonderful shots, we WILL be posting pics on the website, hopefully tonight. Today Lisa Mutch, a photographer from Minneapolis is coming out to shoot us in multiple costumes and make-up. ( I am learning a LOT about make-up this week. The " just a little subtle for day wear " make-up is more than I wear on STAGE and for photos shoots, yea gads! Malena is RIGHT of course and it looks otherworldly beautiful , but it is all new to me. She knows some cool traick, she does )

She is setting up the sets for the shoot today, and I am hoping that she can teach me how to move and sit and smile just like she does. In one easy hour. Keep your fingers crossed for me....

Love and light, Lorraine

Music and Magic

Hi! It's me, Malena. We're finally together! Wehooo! I arrived at the airport safe and sound. I brought so many gowns I had to pay extra for the weight of the luggage. Hee hee
Lorraine took me for a walk in the snow when we got home. Man! I forgot how cold winters were in the north! Of course, she thought it was a "Nice warm day". I was dressed like a Yeti, and my nose holes still froze. It's beautiful here. When you live in LA, you forget what wide open spaces look like.
Today we started learning our songs together...in person. Neil taught us two new songs today, "Butterfly Road" and "Adam and Eve". I can't wait to sing them. I felt like a child waiting to go into a candy store. Yeah!
We'll be trying on our Alter Ego corsets and doing our first photoshoot today. Lorraine has no idea what she's in for. I doubt she will recognise herself. Cool Witchy Photos coming soon!
Love,
Malena the Yeti