Vancouver Burlesque Family Picnic

Blue Morris and Connie Cahoots are planning a "Burly-Q Barbeque" for the Vancouver Burlesque Community.

Remember those days when families and companies had annual picnics? We want to have the same for this family!

WHO: Burlesque performers, producers, fans, and friends are all welcome. We would especially like to encourage newer performers to come out and get to know more of the people in this wonderful community.

WHAT: There will be no performances, just a time for all of us to get together and have some relaxed fun eating, drinking (discretely), playing games, sharing upcoming plans, and enjoying time with each other without being at a show.

We will bring a small barbecue, some food and snacks, hula hoops, and frisbees. Please consider bringing your own food and beverages as we will have a limited supply.

WHEN: Saturday August 10th starting at 3pm.

WHERE: To be announced

DRESS: There is no dress code. Dress however you like.

RSVP:Please RSVP on the Facebook invite.

Beautiful, Not Perfect

The goal of a musician is not to play a song perfectly, it is to play a song beautifully.

I spent some time with a student this afternoon who has been taking guitar lessons with me for about a year. She knows her chords and scales, she has good technique, she has an understanding of basic music theory, and she loves music.

That's a great place to start. As an artist, that is just the beginning.

For a student of music, dance or any art form who is considering performing for others, making a living from their art, becoming an artist, there is still more work to be done.

An artist must be proficient at her craft and also reach people with her song.

This is what makes the difference between those performers who we think are "pretty good" and those performers who amaze us on stage. We can see that they are proficient at their art, but we can also feel what they do on stage. They "reach" us. Their performance does something to us. We feel moved by the experience.

It is one thing to learn how to do something, it is another thing to be an artist.

I hope that doesn't sound daunting. In fact, I think it's quite easy, though it does take time, practice and self-reflection....

Read more: Beautiful, Not Perfect

Blues for Carly Rae Jepsen

One of my students found this interview of Carly Rae Jepsen on YouTube in which the odd-ball interviewer Narduar reminds Carly of a song I wrote for her many years ago that she sang with us, under duress sometimes. (haha!) It's 2m15 seconds in....