I find the more I get to know the tools available through social media the more I am enticed to keep searching for hidden treasure. As with any tool we use our beginning stages can be bumpy. The options and information available can be overwhelming.

When I first created a MySpace page I was caught in that cycle of being overwhelmed and not knowing what to do or where to go next. I didn’t revisit it for a while. I noticed that a lot of my musician peers were using it as a marketing tool. They were setting up communities of other artists as well as their followers. They were not only reaching out to many new listeners but people were finding them. In the past we had to do lots of shows to build our mailing lists and hope that people didn’t delete our emails announcing shows.

Now I can build relationships by being in contact on a more regular basis. The key is to make the most of each connection without getting to “in your face” or intrusive. I really like the birthday reminder for your friends list. I received a birthday card from a band that requested to be on my friends list and I actually listened to their music and checked out their web site because of it.

Next time: Pitfalls

One of my assignments for Web Elements is to discuss the explosive popularity of social media sites such as YouTube and Flickr. What makes them so attractive? How can the power of social media be leveraged? Is there a cost?

I was discussing this with my sister yesterday and it lead in directions that I had never imagined. We started out innocently enough and soon were having a heated and thought provoking debate on the psychology and our societal structure that had lead us to a void which social media somehow fills.

Let’s start at the beginning. When we were, kids TV was our babysitter and our void filler. Both our parents worked 50+ hours a week. I don’t know how they did it but they manged to raise 7 fairly normal and rational children who in turn are working on raising 22 of their grand-kids. Only now the “babysitter/educator/void filler/ ___________ (fill in the blank)” is the Internet and all it has to open their eyes and minds to.

Social Media is HUGE! What void did it fill? I believe it filled several voids. But the most basic and primal need it filled is our desire to connect with other people. We are social creatures and somehow we have lost the ability to reach out to our neighbors and communities. We are suffering from disconnection in the physical sense and finding it on our computers.

    I am in the process of making a CD.  Though I have several recordings of performances and mixes of various sessions, I have not released a CD that I feel is ready for pubic listening.  This process began two years ago when my husband booked me some time in a professional studio. Squam Sound, www.squamsound.com, in Ashland NH is owned by Randy Roos. He teaches at Berkley and is an amazing guitarist!  I felt cery comfortable talking with him about my lack of experience in the area of recording.

My first two hour session was a disaster! I was so nervous and I could not get into the music. I found the studio setting to very confining. When I returned for another session, almost a year later, I was feeling more confident. I had spent a lot of time outlining what I wanted for each song. I decided to add djembe and congas to the mix. We set up the space so that I could stand and move while singing. It was so much fun to look through the tiny window into the next room and see my percussionist, Peter Lawlor, playing. The creative energy of music is enhanced when I can share it with other musicians both on the stage and in the studio.

I hope to have the CD done in early spring. I will continue to journal this adventure as I feel it will be a great learning experience to share

Peace, Audrey

Happy New Year! As the new year knocks on our door we are all probably wondering what will 2008 bring us. I am looking forward to more opportunities to develop and share my music. I just got booked at a new venue in Sandwich, NH called Mocha Rizing. This place is really cool and makes a mean cup of hot cocoa. I will be playing there on March 2nd from 11am-1pm. If you are in the neighborhood stop by.

I have lots of plans in the making for 2008. I hope to release my CD before Winter is over and I am working with some very talented and wonderful people. I also want to branch out into the seacoast area for solo gigs and collaborations. If you are a musician in the seacoast area and have some info on where to play please feel free to connect with me. www.audreydrake.com

Wishing you all peace, love & light in the new year

Audrey

Last night I had an amazing musical evening with friends at Giuseppe’s in Meredith! Sundays are open stage night which I have been going to since I was a teenager. I even met my husband there! An impromptu gathering of talented friends turned into a wonderful concert. Thank you to Lou, Paul, Peter, Lisa & Harmony!

I often journey back in my mind to the house I grew up in, the house I got lost in opening iron latches and peeling paint off horsehair walls. A New England farm with acres of fields and trees to explore, with a barn so big my little eyes could not see around its big red doors which held up the sky. Where I came from holds as much mystery as where I am and where I am going to. I am bits and pieces of all who have touched me as I compose my story. As I turn each page and write each new line the mystery unfolds. The mystery of life. www.audreydrake.com

I am a musician, poet, healer, teacher and student. I am learning how people communicate and network on the web. Much like the beginning of a new song I am trying to find the right path. For now I choose to play the student as I jump into this new realm. I hope to learn more about these technologies and how I can use them in my professional life.

Peace, Audrey