“Music to my ears”
“Music is the international language”
“Music makes the world go round”
Ah, music. And there is LOTS of it out there! I have to say that I like all sorts of music but of course my favorite is country, being a country singer and all. Next to country, is good ‘ol rock ‘n roll. I was a teenager in 1980’s raised on bands like April Wine, Bachman Turner Overdrive, Journey, Chilliwack, Streetheart (all great Canadian bands of course) and many others are part of this short list.
With todays technology and youtube there are no limits to the music that we can access. But just how much should we access for free to our ipods, ipads and cell phones? In this age of digital downloads, streaming, facebook, youtube and this list goes on and on and on, there are many avenues to ‘pirate’ music thus obtaining music for free. Sure there are a lot of superstars out there making millions of dollars so they’re not going to miss a few lousy bucks. But, what about the artist that’s out there trying to make a buck. Trying to afford the travel to tour, the recording costs, the album costs, etc. One might say, ‘well that’s their choice to be a musician’. Yes, we all have choices. Just like you made a choice to do the job you are doing. So what if you were asked to do your job for free or for very little money? Wouldn’t you feel under valued? As musicians, we are trying to share our music with the world but please help us continue to do so by paying for it.
As artists, we have to travel in order to get out there to perform our music to a live audience and we travel to music conferences to either showcase, attend sessions about the industry and to network. I just recently attended the Western Canadian Music Awards better known as “Breakout West” in Whitehorse , Yukon Whitehorse
I have been quite busy lately with traveling, practicing, performing and buried in paperwork - doing the business part of my music. Now with the cooler weather upon us, nothing warms me up better than a big ‘ol pot of homemade soup. Never made soup? It has to be the easiest thing in the world. All you need to do is:
. get a big pot
. put some olive oil in
. chop up an onion or two
. depending on how much garlic you like, add a few cloves or so – finally chopped or use a garlic press
. add the onion and the garlic to the heated up oil (not too hot)
. add some chopped up chicken or ground turkey
. while this is cooking add some spices. My favorites are cayenne pepper and vegetable salt
. once the meat is cooked add
. chopped up carrots, celery, potatoes and whatever other vegetable you like
. add some chicken broth. My favorite is the Imagine brand. A little more expensive but it doesn’t have msg or yeast extract in it.
. Add enough broth to cover all the vegetables and then some
. cover, turn up the heat and bring to a gentle boil and boil for approx 15 min or until the veggies are cooked
. if you like your soup with a little more zing, add a can of crushed tomatoes.
Enjoy a great bowl of soup along with my song “Harmony”. Visit my website http://www.shellydubois.com/
Musically yours,
Shelly
