Happy Birthday

     It's my birthday.  It is also the 3 year anniversary of my first recorded track.  Three years ago today, I was living in Scobra's studio at the foot of the Hollywood Hills.  Wu Tang Killa Beez came over the night before, for what could be called a very wild recording session.  Due to the 'wildness', this session stretched straight into my birthday.  I had never sang in Scobras studio before, I was just sitting in the corner, acting invisible, and penning what I hoped would be future lyrics to songs.  That's how I started out actually.  I would sit in the studio during recording sessions, and write lyrics to hip hop beats.  Practice makes perfect, right?  RIGHT!
     So the clock tolled, and I turned 19 (goodness, what a baby!... Still am I suppose).  I kept writing, smiling, and nodding my head to the beat.  One by one, the guys laid down their verses.  Christ Bearer, Monk, Irie.  Killa Beez classic members.  Here's where I get real honest:  The gal they brought in to sing the hook... well... it was a wild sort of night.  She had hit her wall, and was passed out asleep on the couch.  As much as everyone tried, there was no getting her up to record.  Suddenly, I was the only girl left standing (or at least capable of standing) in the room.  Everyone turned my direction, and it was clear that they meant for me to take her place.  No one (including Scobra) had ever heard me sing.  Let alone heard what words I might write to sing.  The pressure was on, and to be quite frank, there was not a lot of room for 'ifs ands or buts'.  I was TOLD to stand up and sing something into the microphone.  Luckily enough for me, I had already written a verse to that very beat.  I stood up and laid down my verse in one take.  When Scobra said 'cut', to my completen surprise, the room errupted into cheers!  Holy crap!  I guess they liked it! ? ! It was all so sudden, and dramatic.  What a birthday present!

      Well, that's the story of how I started in music.  Three years ago today.  You can listen to that very moment on the song Vetted.  Just click on the title to this blog, and it will take you to a page with the muzik.
      So thanks to all the true Wu-Heads.  Thanks to the gal who passed out.  Thanks to Scobra for sweating and bleeding out years of underground hip hop to get to where he was with the Killa Beez at that very moment.  And thanks folks, for creating me.  They told me that my birth announcement was a sign posted on the front door of the OK Hotel that said, "No jam session tonight. -Baby".  And so on the 12th day of Christmas, here I am.  I may not be 12 lords a leaping, but I'm one sassy little lady a singing :)

xoxo
-Dion

Bright and shiny

     Okay folks it's 1/1/11.  I don't know what that necessarily means, but it seems momentous none the less.  So it's a new year, a new day, NEW.  I am downright jazzed for what's a coming with all this new-ness!  We have been rehearsing like mad, working on making the live show bigger and better every time.  This will only continue and increase in this coming year.  Along with a sweeter live show, we have new band members joining the ranks to make it an even tastier deal!  We have also come up with some super-cool-top-secret surprises for all the listeners within these next few months.   This is in no way intended to be a cop-out, but administrative work on  our team is huge and hard.  Thus, we have a radical new game plan (that is not any easier, but far more effective) to get all things out and about (all things meaning our music and media...). 

     For me, I also have some 'changes' or 'resolutions' that are being put into place for this new year.  All of which will directly benefit the sound, look, and longevity of the band, and hopefully myself as well ;).  I must admit, that one of these is cutting out sugar... not in my voice or attitude, just in my eating habits...  Boo for me, but yay for me.  It'll be a good challenge though, along with waking my booty up earlier to get some fresh air.  I'll tell ya right now, my daily routine at this point involves waking up, and slogging to work at my desk or computer as soon as the coffee starts brewing.  Then, I usually remember I have a life to tend to just in time to do dishes, take a shower, oh! eat something!, and then off to work again.  Until... until I can't any more... Usually in the wee hours of the morning.  Then I close my eyes for a bit, until they open again, and I start all over.  Ahh well... This year, the idea is to incorporate more fresh air, and regular additions of leafy greens to all my meals... But enough of that!  My boring old life is not as sweet on the ears as I hope our music is! 

     I am also happy to report that we have a really great show coming up in February that we are working on very hard right now.  We'll be playing Art Attack (second Sat. of every month) at the MIX in Georgetown.  It will be the inaugural February Freak Fest!  Freakish attire encouraged!  But mostly, it should just be a proper carnivalesque throw-down.  We will also be incorporating a vaudeville show into it all.  Good old-fashioned entertainment for all!  So stay tuned on that front, as the lineup is evolving and getting better every day :)

     So happy new year!!! Happy 1 day!!!  Happy everything, and may everything (although, realistically, let's just say, "the important stuff") be happy all year round!

xoxo
-Dion

Keep it at a whisper...

     Oh my!  I have been working at a frantic pace these last few weeks.  It seems as though ever since that snowstorm hit, so did a flurry of work that needs to be done.  Writing, reading, rehearsing, creating, networking, follow up,  ... cleaning...  But it has been good for me (or that's what I tell myself).  I have been gaining new skills, honing ones I didn't even know I had, and stretching the ones that I regularly use to the limit.  The best thing about all of this activity, however, is that it is building up it's own momentum.  Folks are stepping in, and taking on their share as this creation takes on a life of it's own.  If this creative endeavor (RTB) was a baby, you better believe it is now going to take a village to raise this thing right!  Luckily enough, a village is forming.
     As I prepare myself to exit 2010, and enter the new year, I must pause and think on what the last 12 months have provided.  Scobra and I have now been in Seattle for the duration of a year.  While I love and often miss LA and my friends there, I do not regret our choice to head north.  The creative freedom here is abundant.  We have FINALLY been able to join forces with like-minded individuals and feed this lovely beast to the point where it is now larger than either he or I could have imagined.  After 2 years of a duo act, we now have... I loose count... Somewhere in the ballpark of 10 people on our team!!  Very gratifying indeed!
     So as I look ahead to the year to come, I get a jazzed feeling about it.  More dancers, a set designer/art director, projections, drums... Oh! The list could go on!  Plus, we will FINALLY (come hell or high water!) release our full length album.  We will hit the road and tour.  We will have a real damned website.  The live show will be even more spellbinding and cohesive.  We Will Rock You (in an un-rock sort of way)!!!
     We will close out this year with a show on December 23rd at Skylark Cafe.  It is a fund raiser for Northwest Harvest (local food bank) which makes me feel good and helpful.  And it will be the best show yet.  You know why?  Because each show that we do, is better than the last!  That's why!

     So LOOK OUT 2011!  'Cause we're coming in with a bang!  No fear.  No regrets.

     Oh yes!  And as for the title of this post:  I wrote that because when I sat down and started thinking about what I wanted to write here, a million things came to mind that are not yet developed enough to disclose.  These ideas are in their first trimester, so to speak.  We have some VERY EXCITING and radical projects in the works... However... My policy is to not speak on something that I have not yet gotten on it's own two feet.  So, as much as I would like to tell you all these wonderful things, whisper them in your ears to not yet be repeated... I cannot.  But I DID want to whisper to you that there are whispers yet to come.  And when those whispers grow feet, I will no longer whisper, but rather turn it up to 11 ;)

Over and out,

-Dion Vox

P.s. Check out our fly new song (not fully finished, but the glorious ideas are there) called A Little Bit Closer:  http://www.reverbnation.com/ramonatheband

Blizzard!

     Well, by most people's standards, perhaps Seattle did not just experience a full-on blizzard.  But by Seattle standards, I would say that Monday evening was as close to a blizzard as I have ever seen in the pacific northwest.  For most folks, it was probably a hassle.  But for Scobra and myself, it was adventure time (and maybe frozen toes and nose time).  Scobra busted out some epic snow-driving skills in my little Geo Metro (think go-cart car) in a city full of hills.  The worst part of it was the other drivers on the road... Not trying to be mean here, but if every other car on the road seems to want to make it impossible for you to get where you need to go... well then... Do a Scobra!   Pass all 18 cars that were clumped ahead of you up the hill, using every lane, park, and then watch as only 2 more of the 18 actually make it up.
     The other nice thing about this weather, is that it gave us extra studio time.  We recorded two new songs, and have been working on several more.  We had a kick-ass rehearsal on Tuesday night with the whole band, and are getting ready to rock out some brand new songs in our live set!!!
     Oh, and yesterday was turkey day... I was unfortunately under the weather myself.  I made some sourdough stuffing for the family feast.  But by the time I got there, all I could do was sleep on the couch and drink tea.  Kind of pathetic.  But everyone took good care of me, and I am happy to report that 12 hours later, I am on the mend.  I may even get a chance to eat my first bites of stuffing for left-overs lunch.
     What I am buzzing with excitement about right now however, is how wonderfully team RTB is growing by LEAPS AND BOUNDS!  It seems as though all of these people with wonderful taste, personality, and skill, are coming together to CREATE.  Create what they do best and what they love.  And it all comes together into a larger concept.  As I may or may not have mentioned before, I believe we are leaving the information age, and entering the conceptual age.  What a concept, eh?  And I am pleased as can be to have so many people around, full of information and a discerning eye, to create such concepts.  :)
     But now it is time for me to go, and create some more!

xoxo
-Dion

Focus

     I admit, it has been a few weeks since my last post.  So much has happened within those few weeks, that I am hardly even sure where to begin!  Scobra and I went on an adventure out to Montana, where we played a short set in a biker bar... HILARIOUS!!! And also a good story - 5 minutes after we pulled into Butte at my friend Emily's house, we were greeted by a stretch Hummer that took us to the Party Palace.  Busted out a song there, and checked out a few other local spots with stages before getting back into the HUGE limo and getting some shut-eye.  That was my first hummer limo experience... but not the first time I've sang in a biker bar...  Montana was a nice breath of fresh air though.  Scobra and I got both some literal fresh air out in the country, and also left a nice path of new friends of RTB along the way.  So look out Big Sky country!  We'll be back with a sweet vengeance.
     I would also like to shout out and show our appreciation to Emily and Mike Mulligan.  They were our kind and generous hosts in Montana, and Emily was, and continues to be, a great resource for booking and promotion.  I feel very lucky to have such kind and helpful friends!
     Other quick and pertinent update:  We have a show coming up this Wednesday at Contour in Seattle.  This will be our second show with Luke on stage with us, thus filling out the sounds of the set along side Brett.   I'm diggin' our ever-growing line up, and I truly enjoy the added energy and company on stage :)  I'm also very excited for everyone who is coming out to the show.  I'm excited to see and hang with folks, and to wrench it up a notch and put on the best show yet!      
     Scobra has also kicked our online interaction with folks up to 5th gear!  He has put soooo much energy into the organization of everything RTB and internet related.  What I can say about that (other than my everlasting gratitude for the painstaking work that he has done) is that now we have the ability to really reach people, have them reach back, share, etc. via the internet in both world-wide, and location specific scopes.  It has been very powerful to realize the... well... POWER, that it is giving us.  Communication is key, and Scobra has really spent some time creating that very key.  So I guess this is both a "thanks" and a "look what we are up to!" paragraph.
     We are continuing our diligent work on putting final puzzle pieces together for our album, and the launch of it as well.  Starting to get together the tour, website, merchandise, and all of those little details that can boggle the mind if you look at them all at once.  However, the boggle is becoming clearer by the day, and we are suddenly finding brilliant friends and cohorts to jump aboard at every turn.  This network is becoming a versatile and diverse dream team.
     Per usual, I suppose, I have close to a zillion things on my plate - all of which are creative.  A more recent, personal creative venture that I have undertaken is free-lance writing.  In fact, I am currently working with a writer on several screenplays, and looking to expand my professional writing prowess even further.  I have been realizing with startling clarity that I can actually create and encourage creativity as my day-job!  Now I also want to be careful about my use of the word "day-job".  When I used this label before, it generally pertained to a work situation that garnered stable pay, but not necessarily dealing in the work that I would like to be doing.... Can anyone say waiting tables... ?  But now I find that my outlook is changing.  I am beginning to believe that I can create my own job that serves me both financially and creatively... that I would do during the day time... So I am reinventing my perception of the phrase 'day-job' into being: What I do during the day to get paid.  I am not big on thinking about money all of the time, and money does not govern what I create.  However, the reality of every independent individual on this planet (that I know of...) includes some form of payment for goods (food, shelter, -the basics-), and I want to create a new way of earning my living on this planet that feeds not only my belly, but my soul!
     As I look up at that last paragraph, I feel a little funny.  It is the longest paragraph in this post, and yet I am not writing directly about RTB.  I would like to add that my ultimate vision for this is to create a platform through RTB and all of our collective creative endeavors that enables creative individuals of all formats to be able to live their lives sustained from their true work.  -True work meaning what they really love doing - something that comes from their soul.  A few weeks ago that would have seemed much more abstract and unknown to me.  As in, a nice idea that I will struggle with for a long time in order to manifest it into being.  But now I am feeling that it is a nice idea that I am engaging with, interacting with, and creating amidst the struggle the very fabric of my dreams.

-Dion Vox

Whirlwind

     So while I had intended to post something weeks ago... My weeks have been chock full, and all over the place.  Quite a whirlwind of activity has been going on in camp RTB, as well as in my mind.  Since I last wrote with that link of the video of our show at the Mix, we have booked several shows coming up (we booked 3 shows in 2 days this week!).  We are also quite the multi-tasking entrepreneurs, and so both Scobra and I have been working on several other projects as well.  With a happy heart, I will proceed to list off a few of the projects that we are now working on.
     We got a 'green light' so to speak on a job doing music supervision to a feature film.  This is not only exciting because I love both film and music (thus making this job a perfect marriage of my pleasures) but because we are working with a long time family friend of mine, Josh Vancil.  I must admit, having lived in NY, LA and Seattle, and with many family members in the film industry, I know what a potential snake nest a film production can be.  Yet, knowing that we will be working with someone as solid and sound-minded as Josh, makes many of my worries fade away.  I can handle the difficulty of creating illusion on a massive scale (something that goes rather unrecognized to those that have never done it), but I do not care to tangle with insanity and massive ego dictating from the leading position.  This is not always the case in film by any means, but rather, almost always the case ($ people etc.).  So I am happy to get the opportunity to work with Josh, as he is true blue.  :)
     Another happy thought, is that this coming new year will be bringing us lots of friends and visitors!  All on the creative front at that!  Our friend, and brilliant producer, David Hauser will be coming up to work with us this January.  The details... well, I can't go too deep into them at present, but it should suffice to say that we will be working on our upcoming album (which has been a long time in the making, but when you hear it, hopefully you will agree that it was well worth the wait) as well as an original musical penned by Mr. Hauser, with yours truly singing the lead.  I don't know if I have ever mentioned this on here before, but I fairly cut my teeth on stage by working in musicals for several years straight.  While I am a staunch skeptic of the genre itself (I can't say that I like the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, even though I have performed in it...) there are some true gems in it as well.  I would also like to add that it was the BEST training ground possible for performing.  To put it simply:  if someone has just payed $50 to see your show, it is a Sunday matinée, and the house is less than full of geriatric patients; you still have to give every single audience member their money's worth and more.  Even if you think that the music, story, lyrics, etc. are ridiculous.  If you can still manifest enough energy to pull off a successful show under those circumstances and to get everyone in the audience jazzed, even a tough audience in a club with your own music seems a lot more enjoyable!  But enough about me, the point of this paragraph is really to tell you all that David's musical is NOT terrible, in fact, I quite like it.  And I quite like the fellow as well.  So look forward to the new year with posts of our happy progress with him-
     In another vein of thought:  I have taken on several jobs as a free-lance writer.  I have discovered the perfect day job!!! (not that it is my only day job...)  And so for these last few weeks, I have been working daily on that.  These jobs have been mainly scripts for screenplays and television shows, which is right up my ally of training and preference.  And through them, I have also come to realize a strength of mine that I hope to develop further into a job skill in the future.  I am good at (and enjoy!) helping creative people get their ideas on to paper in an organized and timely manner.  And then also being able to help them hone their ideas further through feedback and editing.  Basically, while I now have a new part time job, to be added to the plethora of other part/full time jobs that I have (RTB being the fullest of them all) I am excited because I feel that this job could grow into a fuller job as well, thus perhaps cutting a less desirable job out of the picture... Hey, a gal can dream, can't she?  And if it can be dreamed, it can be manifested.
     Lordy!  I could probably wax on further as to all of my exciting new ventures and adventures, but I run the risk of writing a short novella in the process.  But one other VERY EXCITING bit of news that I would like to relay to everyone is the growth of our band.  We now have live saxophone and guitar, amongst other instruments to be shortly added on stage.  These are thanks to Brett and Luke who have joined harmonious forces with us.  And of course, to top it off, we have Heidi and Marcia dancing with us, the little foxes that they are!  Our production side of the show is also growing by leaps and bounds.  Hair and makeup is all done by Marcia Burgess (this is her true art form!! Believe me!), and we have further fashion developments (as in costumes) coming our way thanks to Jennifer Charkow.  We are looking to keep things growing, and to hit the road for some long awaited tours this coming year.
     In short, I'll try and keep this short- so stay tuned for further details and developments!

p.s. Here's a shot from our last show :)

xoxo
-Dion

Underground Carnival

Hot Damn!!!! I'm not sure that I have the capacity to write much more than that at the moment.  I've been grinding harder than a grain mill (I don't even think that qualifies as a nerd joke...) on our live shows and oh... about a million other details pertaining to the RTB outfit.  I will write much more in detail later.  But as it now stands, our show last night at the MIX was wonderful!!!! Live sax by Brett, and foxy moves by Marcia and Heidi.  Good show all around!!!!!!!!

Click on the title of the post to see a little footage that a friend in the audience captured.  It's rough, but glorious footage.  No touch ups here ;)

xoxo
-Dion