Snapshots & Somethings

Good day fine folks! Here's hoping this message finds you well, and happy on this fine Spring, err, Winter's day. It is SO green out there, the trees are starting to sprout again. We had snow for about two weeks  and it  was so great, to get out there in that crispy, cool,  bright, white. Today however, not so sure about this rain and all the mud...it's nice not having to do the chores associated with winter (shoveling, scraping, slipping etc) but snow helps with finding the "Christmas Spirit" of things. I suppose for me it does, anyway. Spending most of my Christmases in a seasonal country, one with WINTER, that is, it's a strange feeling, looking out the window to a sea of browns and greens. Just the other night while at a family gathering, I was reminded one has to make and create the Christmas Spirit themselves! Good point. I do remember some wonderful Christmases spent in Bermuda, hanging out on the beach, So, yeah, I guess I have to make a point of finding it and creating it myself! Perhaps practice a few Christmas Carols for my gig this weekend....

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This past weekend, I went to the neatest, coolest, oldest and funkiest music venue I have ever been to. The Mühle Hunziken is an old mill that was converted into an awesome place for Live Music about thirty years ago. It's a lot like a museum in a way, filled to the bring with the neatest stuff and nooks and crannies everywhere, spiral staircases, balconies etc. We were gifted tickets (my husband and I both have birthdays in November) to see an ACDC cover band called "Whole Lotta DC." I have to be honest in saying that I wasn't too interested in seeing a Swiss ACDC cover band.. but I was SO wrong. They were an amazing band (complete with bag pipes!!) and the place was MAGIC; there was magic there, TOTALLY. Here are some photos.. it is such a special place and I can't WAIT to play there one day myself :)

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It has been pretty hard to choose which photos to share, I took SO many! Check out their website, in any event, it really is a super spot. (Website is in the link in the venues name above the photos.)

In other news,  we released our brand new OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO last week for "Donal Og/ Apologies," music from my latest record "CHAMELEON." The video was shot in the Lanark Highlands of Ontario as well as in Almonte's Textile Museum. My friend and dancer, Sara Corbett put together some moves for it, and Kaylen Prescott was the Videographer, you can find more about him at Rip Roar Productions! It was an awesome day spent out there shooting and here are some out-take shots from that sweet September day!

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And in case you didn't see the video, HERE IT IS!! Please share it, I would LOVE to get it out there, a lot of effort and work went into the production of this, the music, and everything... So, if you like it, that would be awesome!! Introducing "Donal Og/ Apologies"

Okay, well that is IT for THIS Wednesdays ramblings...

Hope you enjoy them :)

We Are Warriors

We might not be fighting a war, half naked, wearing pelts to keep us warm, with purple lips, lice filled hair, our bodies caked with mud and blood. We might not be fighting herds of axe carrying humans leaving hoards of the dead in our wake. No, we are living in a much later time, somewhat as barbaric but nowhere near the days when humans believed the Earth was flat. We can, however, still be warriors in our own right.

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Every person is fighting something. I wake up some mornings, groggy, fighting the desire to return to my dreaming. Instead I focus on my breathing and prepare for the day ahead, visualizing what will become of it. Centering myself in light and hoping for a fresh perspective, hoping for the essence of positivity.  Some mornings I am too tired to meditate on this, or too busy/late to think about it. Doubting if any of it works anyway.  Focusing on what is good in life, does not always make me feel good. My inner fight between resistance and doing is constant. Game of Thrones or Guitar? Sweeping or Singing? Hiking or Hiding? There is always a choice and always an opposite. I am always in the "throws." Assuming you are too, what is the secret? To do or not to do.

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Speaking of TWO MINDS... here is a song from my new RECORD featuring JOFO https://soundcloud.com/secretchameleon/two-minds JOFO has also just released an awesome record... Check HIM out HERE

We always get through, don't we? One foot in front of the other. I suppose there are ways to enhance our days, perhaps meditating on the good stuff, incorporating that into our daily lives (like I try to do in the mornings!) Maybe those seemingly small things are what makes it all okay at the end of the day.  I do know that all of it takes hard work. It is true that nothing great comes easy and fast. I was having a conversation with a friend of mine yesterday, about the music industry (a can of worms!) She is just about to release her first album and is feeling defeated. I too feel this on a regular basis, there is nothing quite like comparing ourselves to others!  I am almost ten years in and am working on NOT doing this. Still, we bust our butts and climb that mountain! There is no try, there is only Do or Do Not. (Thanks Yoda) That inner fighting continues "Am I good enough?"  Quieting the negative and holding onto your Warrior. This is what matters....

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There is so much noise out there though! So many people with so many opinions. It is so hard to figure out what to learn from and what to leave. Don't we all get mixed up sometimes? Where to draw the line, what to keep and what to discard. It's funny, someone will mention to me after a concert, how touched they were by my performance. I need those words of encouragement! Sometimes though, 'the not so pretty' stuff sticks and I find myself in the middle of singing a song, thinking about that time someone told me they didn't like the song. That I shouldn't sing it at all. If only we could hold on tight to what matters and let go of what does not. It is a constant struggle though, isn't it? Oh to be a warrior!!

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I can only do what is best for me and hope that in some tiny way I am getting through to someone out there. It is true, not everything I do will resonate in a positive manner, but I will do my best to fight the resistance within, release the harmful thoughts of others and be that warrior!! 

Hugs and Love from a computer somewhere..

Lindsay xo

Come People

There is a river rushing outside my window. You can hear it and it runs pretty quickly especially after a long rain, which is happening right now. The river here is not one for diving into, as it is mostly shallow, but it is crystal clear and you can bend down to drink it's glorious cold right from your hand.

I also hear the harmony of bells from the sheep and miniature ponies, grazing on the long green grasses in our fields around this old farm house.

I Love to open all the windows and just revel in all the sounds that are flowing in. The days and nights are getting colder though, and this unique soundtrack will be missed. Living here in Switzerland is different from our Canadian life, but similarities balance both. The food may taste a little different, friends and family have different ways and faces and the hills around here may be a little steeper than those in the Gatineau.

Bottom line though, I have learned through travel and massive change, that you will be who you are wherever you live. You will find things that piss you off and you will find ways to bring joy into your life. You live with yourself your entire life and the way to get through it is not running away hoping for a deep, profound change from within. This ideal/new “solution” will last until the newness rubs off, and then it's back to you again. You with all your fear, strength, insecurities, happiness, anger; over all mood swings (that may or may not be a part of your life.)

Some folks look at me with stars and dreams in their eyes when I talk about living between two countries. For the most part, I do not see it that way. I used to, when I first came here forever ago, it was so new and I was given a fresh perspective for awhile, but me and my life will follow me wherever I go, there is no escape! There is only will. Will to keep going, will to better oneself, will to face fear, will to accept fear, will to conquer fear, will to eat better, will to be better, will to make art (in some form) a part of your life (cinema, art exhibits, baking, reading, music, whatever, there is so much choice in artful ways!!)

Finding the will to teach and to learn is also fundamental. Finding that balance between hearing and being heard...There is no simple way to blast through this cosmos, we are all one in this case, and we can all do it. I suppose accepting that there will be days filled with frown and days filled with smile, and sometimes the two shall meet. Wherever we are in this world, one foot in front of the other, trying to find our way through this beautiful and sad place, knowing we are not alone in the battle but rather we are one. Now HERE is a profound and beautiful heart lifting song that might just hammer that last nail in about what I am going on about... Music speaks louder after all! Introducing Xavier Rudd's COME PEOPLE.