Lonnie's Blog

Update 21 Feb, 2008

Hi!!

Holy sh*t! It has been almost 2 years since I have updated this website- for those of you who remember, I went to China to teach music in September 2006 and since then so much has happened. For one thing, I couldn’t update this website thanks to the firewalls in the People’s Republic of China. Who knew I was a threat to communism? But now I am in glorious Australia where speech is free and I am able to get back to business. So the biggest thing is that I GOT MARRIED!!! While I was on a break from teaching I came to Australia and fell in love with the most amazing man who is now my husband. Geoff is my soul mate- I know, I hate that term too, so cliché, but there is no better way to describe him. I am now writing proper love songs and weirdly it is harder to write happy songs than sad ones, who knew?

I was updating my Myspace blog fairly regularly while I was away but I thought I would get this one back into circulation now that I have time and access to it.  I am going to start putting together a new album soon and hopefully take advantage of the neighbour who has a recording studio. I was able to listen to a boatload of new music while I was away because I had a ridiculous amount of time on my hands. It was weird to be more connected to the ‘real’ world via the internet from so far away. I went to Hong Kong a lot to get a dose of civilisation but every time I went back ‘home’ to mainland China, it just felt like returning to a new planet. China is a trip. It wasn’t very inspirational creatively unfortunately and I am sure their government wouldn’t appreciate the songs I wrote about my time there. That being said, I really miss my job- teaching English through singing. It was pretty much my dream job and I am going to try to get something here that cancompare. As long as I can do something that involves singing, I will be happy. I am going to try to post some new music really soon and get back to writing and recording while I have some spare time. I will be in Europe and North America for a month in April and May and may do some shows then. I will keep you all posted! I am going to re-vamp this website with the help of my Canadian brother-in-law Jamie so please be patient.

Until then, peace, music and love.

Lonnie xxx

Update: July 24th/06

So the BIG news is that I have been offered a great opportunity teaching music and arts at a bilingual school in CHINA!!!!

I think this is an amazing chance to travel and do something different and important so I am leaving on Saturday, August 26th to Hong Kong. I have to keep telling myself this to counter the fact that I am freaking out and wondering how my life will be and how I will survive without my beloved friends and this amazing city.

Piano's has offered me residency for the month of August so hopefully some of you can make it to my last 3 NYC shows, on the 6th, 13th and 20th, with special guests and opening acts. Better late than never that I get residency at a sweet venue like that.

I keep walking around the city wondering where I am going to find a good coffee and bagel in Shenzhen. Hopefully, once I get settled in, things will fall into place and I will find everything I need just like I did when I came here. Change is good and this should be a very interesting experience. When I got certified to teach English as a second language, who knew I would be able to teach music instead? The school sort of headhunted me for my arts background and seem very happy that I agreed to take the position. Hopefully I will be able to play out in Hong Kong and expose my music there.

So as my last 4 weeks here approaches, I can honestly say that this has been an amazing ride and I am going to miss this city like nobody's business. Hopefully everything will be just how I left it when I return.

Oh yeah! How could I forget this? YTV in Canada is airing the show "15/Love" now on Monday nights at 730pm. I am featured in episode 7 playing and singing. I filmed that last summer while I was in Montreal. The show is also airing in France. I am very excited about it and they are also using songs on other episodes. I am singing "Heaven" and they are using "Take Me As I Am" as well.

Also I am doing a recording project for NYU and my band and I are getting together to do a rock and roll version of "One In A Million" that I will post on the website and my MySpace page as soon as it is done.

I LOVE recording so this will be fun and it is so nice to be included. That's it! Thanks so much to Pete Harris for taking care of me and my website these past 2 years. I am hopefully going to take over once I am overseas. We'll see how that goes seeing how un-savvy I am on the computer. I am learning though! Honestly

Love and peace. L

Update: June/06

Happy Summer 2006 everyone!!!! Again it seems crazy that we are already into the middle of the year when I am still thinking about the long, cold winter we had.

So we have a big show coming up (see above) and I am enlisting the help of my two dear friends - Mary Hanley on backup vocals and Diana Breen on flute!!!! Also my overly talented drummer Aaron Brooks is lending a hand so it should be a great show. I finally enrolled in school and am getting certified to teach English as a second language. Hopefully, I will find a good job for September and be able to teach and distort some poor innocent students minds!! Think of the damage I could do ... my girls and I have come up with the 2006 Summer Fun List and I am looking forward to knocking them off week by week and being a tourist in my own amazing city. I am off to the Montreal Jazzfest for the third year running at the end of the month and am looking forward to seeing all my friends from last summer. Well, I hope everyone is doing well and please join me in cheering on the Edmonton Oilers on their journey to bringing the Stanley Cup back to Canada where it rightfully belongs. Luv Lonnie

Update: April 1/06

Happy Spring!

I can finally feel the warmth in the air and smell the flowers. It has been a long, cold winter and I am so happy that the nicer weather is showing itself. It has been a few months since I updated and had a live show. I am hoping to have a gig soon with my band but it takes a little longer to coordinate 3 schedules than one I have found.

In the meantime, I recorded a new song with a new engineer, Seth Rothschild. Those Three Words is available on the Lonnie's Songs page on this site. I wrote this song for my father in the summer when I was in Montreal working on "15/Love".

Speaking of that TV show, they have licensed 2 songs for the third season and they will start airing new episodes in the early summer. I know I am very late in discovering the joys of the iPod and iTunes library, but better late than never. I am building a huge itunes library and loving all the music I have amassed so far. How great to have every song a favorite one. Genius for sure!

I am in the midst of a stressful move, which will hopefully turn out beneficial in the long run, although I have had many last minute misgivings. You never know what you have until it's gone! I hope to get to the Calgary Stampede in July and maybe do a little Canadian tour in the summer. As always, I will update. Have a great Spring and see you soon. Luv L.
Update: Christmas Eve/05

Greetings from Vancouver, Canada, where I am spending the holidays. A quick update and best wishes to everyone at this time. I am going to be playing a show with my groovy bass player Vance Loiselle this Tuesday at the "World Famous" Marine Club. I am especially excited about this gig because this is the first venue that I ever did an open mic night with my own material 4 years ago. I have a special place in my heart for this campy, old school dive which I love.

Reflecting on the ups and downs of 2005, I am SO happy to live where I live and I have the BEST friends in the world! It makes all the difference in the world to have a great posse to enjoy the city with. Highlights were playing in Austin, Texas, meeting Robert Plant there and releasing my second CD - "Live Your Life." Spending the summer in Montreal and camping on Lake Ontario was an especially good time and working on "15/Love" made me feel like a real rock star.

On the downside, I lost 3 friends unexpectedly and tragically and those events really forced me to think about what it all means and what is really important to me in my life.

I am hoping to be able to start working on the third album soon and record it at home with some of my new musician friends.

All in all, 2005 rocked but I am looking forward to an even bigger and better new year. Best wishes in 2006 and I hope we all get what we want and are super successful.

Bacci - Lonnie xxo

Update: September 12th/05

Greetings! I am back in my beloved New York City which is gorgeous anytime but especially in early Fall. I had such an amazing summer in Montreal and met some outstanding people who I know will be in my life forever. Big thanks to Eric and Ona for being such perfect roommates and hosts.

I wrote a bunch of new songs and even learned a cover, (gasp!) that we recorded the day before I left right before a memorable going away party that lasted a little late for a weeknight.

The biggest highlight was appearing on the TV series "15/Love" as the 'girl playing guitar' on episode 7 of the upcoming third season on YTV (www.15love.tv). They really made me feel like a little rock star and the cast and crew were so welcoming and generous. I worked for 2 days on two different scenes and got to play "Heaven" from my debut CD 'Travelling Alone.' I was so honoured that the writers and creators Karen Troubetzkoy and Derek Schreyer actually wrote me into the script when they found out that I was going to be in Montreal for the summer. It was weird to be on the other side of the camera but kind of cool too.

Of course I am thrilled beyond words that the NHL season is almost back and I am going to try to make it to as many games as I can to make up for the drought last year. My big dream is to sing the anthems at a game someday. How appropriate would that be?

I have lined up a few shows for September and October and hope to sell lots of CDs so I can start thinking about recording all this new material for a third album. All in all, it's great to be home and I had an unforgettable summer vacation. Back to business!

Cheers and GO CANUCKS GO! luv L!

Update: August 2nd/05 - Montreal, Quebec, Canada

I can't believe it's been over a month already since I relocated here for the summer. Jazzfest was great and Pat Metheny was the guest performer all festival. He is a great musician but I kept getting distracted by his incredibly bad hair and funny facial expressions!

I just got back from four days of camping near Picton, Ontario at the private beachfront property of my friends friend and it was amazing. Right on Lake Ontario, where I probably swam about 15 kilometers and the water was warm and clean, like a huge lap pool. I played a private show on Thursday night on the beach for the owner and his close friends next to a bonfire. I have jammed with some people and played a short set in a little bar in St. Anne. In the meantime, I am singing at home a lot and my friend Ana is doing harmonies and my friend Eric is playing harmonica. I am going to look into gigs soon. I didn't really know anyone when I got here so my base would have been pretty small but I have managed to amass a nice group of folks now to come out. I miss New York like mad but this has been a nice break and I am learning the art of relaxation without guilt - what a concept! I am going to figure out the future in the next month and work on getting some shows here in the meantime. Also I just added the lyrics to my songs on the website in response to a request, so look here for those. Hope everyone is having a great summer. See you soon somewhere! L.

Update: June 20th/05

HI All!

Well, I can't believe it's June already and I have been in new york for a while now. I will be spending the summer in Montreal to go to Jazzfest first off and then just hang out and regroup a bit.

I just finished recording my second 'bootleg' cd with 14 more tracks which brings the count to 4 cds with 2 releases and 2 sort of demo style. There are samples of all on the on this site.

Hoping to see some great music at jazzfest in montreal and maybe gain some new fans north of the border in my mother country.

Happy Canada Day for july 1st and take care! L.
Update: April 25th/05

Wow! What a great time we had at the show at Kenny's Castaways last Wednesday, for the Indie Sounds NY launch party. My band rocked out with Aaron Brooks on drums and a new awesome bass player, Bob Getz, who was flawless despite only one rehearsal.

We had a huge turnout and thanks again to everyone who came out to support and appreciate independent music- especially mine! I am lining up more gigs soon and of course will keep you posted.

Good news from Canada where the TV show "15/Love" (www.ytv.com) has renewed the license for the song "Heaven" from the "Travelling Alone" CD. Not only are they kind enough to pay me but they are also running the song during the end credits and I am honored to be part of the show.

Spring in New York City is beautiful and I am enjoying all it has to offer. If you aren't on my mailing list and you want to be, please click on the Lonnie's List link on the left of the page.

Hope everyone is happy and healthy. Keep in touch. Peace. L.

Update: April 5th/05

Hi everyone! Well, I am back from Texas and even though the weather was great down south, I am happy to be back in rainy New York. I definitely had some excellent experiences at SXSW and I fell in love with Austin. I returned more determined than ever to make this whole 'music-as-a-career' thing happen.

My two CD's are now available on CD Baby (see the store) and through that, I have received some indie radio interest in Europe. The next live show with my band is in two weeks at Kenny's Castaways (see above) and although I am frantic for a bass player, I am certain that it will all work out. My drummer Aaron is still rocking out with me and I so appreciate that. I am looking forward to seeing the Sun here, recording some new songs and continuing to try to affect as many people as I can with my music. Take care and drop me a line anytime. L.

Update: February 7th/05

Thanks to everyone who made it out to the CD release party on January 25th. My recently formed band rocked the house with Aaron Brooks on drums and Kelly Friesen on bass. What a difference it made to have them playing with me. See some photos from the show here. Still waiting to hear about the SXSW Festival in Austin in March and since I have 1,000 new CD's to peddle, my next goal is to book some more live shows in New York at some new venues. I am rehearsing with my band once a month to keep sharp and expand our repertoire. That's all for now. L.

PS - oh yeah - I MISS HOCKEY!

Update: November 29th/04

This year has flown by so quickly, I can hardly believe it. I am looking forward to getting back to Canada for the holidays. The new CD "Live Your Life" will be released in early 2005 and of course I will be having a big CD Release party for it.

In the meantime, I am writing again and trying to find some other musicians to start playing with. The push for a manager and label will begin in January. Since there is so much musical talent here, it isn't hard to go out every night and see amazing bands. I am trying to stay inspired and not discouraged by the throngs of other people doing the same thing as I am and hone my 'uniqueness' whatever that may be!
Have a great holiday and keep in touch if you can. L.

Update: October 19th/04

Hi! I have decided to make this a little bit more casual as a website and as long as I can keep updating it myself every once in a while, I will. Notice how I am speaking in the first person now! It seemed weird to refer to myself as a third party ...

I just finished remixing the last CD and I think it finally sounds how I want it to sound. Now the task of getting together photos and artwork for the packaging and distribution begins. Sometimes that is more work than the actual recording but I am going to try to get it out soon.

The TV Series 15/Love is apparently doing well in Canada and France and I am hoping that they will be picked up by a US company so it gets some more exposure. I sent in my application for the SXSW Festival in Austin in March 2005 and I pray that I make the cut.

The compilation CD for NYCares is in the makings and they are trying to have it out by the end of this month. The next two shows that are coming up for me are exciting because they are in new venues; ALIBI and PIANO'S in New York. In December I am returning to Vancouver, Canada for Christmas and maybe a show as well.

Because of the NHL lockout, I have been forced to find an alternate sport to divert my attention to and baseball is the winner. The NY Yankees are one game away from getting to the World Series and for reasons unbeknownst to me, I actually care! I MISS HOCKEY SO MUCH!!! I really hope that we have a season this year and all my hockey-loving friends are crossing their fingers.

I am hosting a WOMANROCK event this Wednesday at the Living Room. The topic is "Optimizing Your Guitar For Studio and Live Performance" and I, for one, will be taking notes. Too bad I just got out of the studio! On the topic of studios, I have found a great engineer here and hopefully we can work together again - Michael Nirenberg of Norberg Studios - who was patient, professional and understanding in remixing songs that, as my bass player Vance Loiselle likes to point out, are all on "Lonnie-time."  Don't ask!

Anyway, thanks to everyone who has kept in touch with me via email and phone calls since January. It means so much. I miss my friends and family terribly and I can't wait to see you again in a few months. L.

Update: September 3rd/04

Lonnie is working on remixing her second full length CD and will hopefully release it in late 2004. She recorded a new 13 song, very sparse CD (guitar and vocal only) in New York in August to get a feel for her new material. Three songs from the 'Traveling Alone' CD were selected and licensed for a TV show called '15 Love!', to be aired in Canada and Europe. Check out the YTV website for scheduling-episodes #2 and #4 have lots of Lonnie's music in them. Also, she was flattered to have been asked to contribute a track from her second CD for a benefit compilation CD for New York Cares. In the meantime, she is happy to be living and playing in New York.

Keep in touch and take care - L.