Deliriously happy after our third rehearsal in Texas.
DUDE. The craziest thing happened at CMJ.
I only went to one panel, "The Art of Storytelling." Showed up late and had to stand in the very back, but right off the bat, I noticed this cute songwriter on the panel. She had crazy hair and a bow tie; and was kind of neurotic but in a good way. The producer sitting next to her was spewing off a bunch of depressing numbers on the music industry and I wanted to vomit. Songwriter girl shut her down, and then switched the conversation to self-care. I decided I wanted to be her friend.
Then the panelist sitting next to her figured out she'd gotten a huge cut on Kelly Clarkson's album and started flipping out.
Q&A time came around, and I asked her how I could find co-writing partners without seeming like a creepy stalker. Right away she was like, Just say hello. I'd be friends with anybody in this room.
I called bullshit (in my head. duh).
But get this: I walk up to the table afterwards, and nearly double over. Turns out, I ALREADY FREAKING KNEW HER. Not only do we share the same booking agent, but we've hung out...like, gotten drunk, sung karaoke and eaten pizza at 2am hung out.
WE ARE SO FREAKING BLIND we couldn't tell. Neither of us were wearing our glasses. Just...wow.
Then it hit me! When we first met, she asked me for my record. Not only did she actually listen to it - but she'd emailed me with all kinds of nice things to say. She even asked if she could introduce me to some of her licensing contacts.
I had no idea she was an established songwriter. None.
You know what I call that? I call that shit "God showing off."
Oh, and yes, we totally killed our CMJ showcase. Download the set for FREE!
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I just got back from a 10-day run of shows in Texas. The ONE weekend I was in Austin to play at MEOWCon (a women's music conference), my cousins were in town looking at colleges. Total coincidence. So duh, why not host a family reunion and then completely surprise me by bringing my entire extended family to the show?
I missed a bunch of the conference because I was busy with other shows, so I kind of expected to have -4 people at my showcase. Instead, I got a full room and 15 family members sitting in the front row screaming their heads off. God showing off, I tell ya.
It was just one of those magical sets. I was all smiles. Mom cried. A random girl I've never met cried. Toby Keith's session players stood in the back watching, arms folded, and afterwards couldn't stop telling my bandmates how much they loved it (which, of course, I completely missed). Then this writer from Rolling Stone tweeted that it was the best showcase at the conference. (!!!!)
You're voice has gotten stronger, my brother-in-law even told me.And it's true. I can own that, because I put in the hours. Literally: after my plane landed we did three fucking rehearsals in thirty hours. And they were a blast.Later that week, I arrived in McAllen, TX to headline at Music Under the Stars, where a girl who'd seen me play last year surprised me with this gift:
And that...well, that just made me smile.
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Thank you, Reverbnation! (FREE STUFF!)
Last week I was selected for the Artist Spotlight on Reverbnation. Reverb is the online music hub to over 3.23 million musicians, venues, and labels. In one week, I picked up more fans than any single piece of press EVER (probably combined), and got bumped up to the top 10 Songwriters in NYC. God bless ya, internet.
So I'd like to extend a BIG ASS THANK YOU to you for being a part of this.
You know that CMJ Showcase? As part of their new pricing model, Set.fm has asked me to give it to you! FOR FREE! HERE IT IS! Seriously. Please have.
Sending so much love from my little nook in Brooklyn,
Aly