It's ALL worth it.

When you first record a song in a recording studio, you think it's going to be simple stuff, right? Walk in, hit the record button, sing your song, walk out and have said song in a day. Boom. I can tell you this - the word "Boom" is not an appropriate word for this process. More like... "aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnddddddddddddd....................................................................iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt'ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss............................ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssstttttttttttttttttttttiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiilllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll...........nnnnnnnnnnnooooooooooottttttttttttttt...........ddddddooooooonnnnneeeeee.................." Ok, you get the idea. I walked into my first recording studio experience with my wallet, my iPod and my piano. Yes, my PIANO. I'm not talkin' one of those little 44 key casio keyboards . No, no. I'm talking my....::::looking on ask.com for how much an upright weighs::::....roughly 400 lb piano. Yup! I thought "I have to record my song on the piano I use for writing so it sounds good, right?" Oh, Lana...(cuz that's what my peeps call me...you can call me that too. No you can't)...you stupid, stupid girl. A recording studio HAS a piano...several, in fact. And ridiculous software. And experienced engineers that make stuff sound sick - in a good way. Not only that but I wasn't leaving the studio in a few hours with my finished song. Try a few months...and then a few more. In other words, there's a lot more to recording a song than sitting at your own piano belting it out in your living room on a cassette player -- excuse me, iPhone app Voice Memo. That being said... after all of these months... meeting and working with crazy-talented people along the way... singing my ASS off...guess what!?!?

IT'S DONE. 

MY NEW SONG "100" IS COMPLETE.

That's right, everyone. You read correctly. My first song with producer Steve Catizone, many other great musicians and me - we did it! So, here's what you'll need to prepare for what's coming to you in the next few days:

1. Excitement

2. $0.99 to purchase "100" from iTunes (or Amazon, Rhapsody or Nokia)

3. Excitement

4. A kick-ass sound system (or mp3 player w/ earbuds) turned up SUPER DUPER loud

5. Excitement

6. A room with some space to jam 

7. Some more excitement

8. Friends and Family that you will share it with (and that, hopefully, also have $0.99. If they don't, be a pal...lend!)

9. Oh...um...Excitement

10. And FINALLY...Your ear. Not just to hear my song (obvi) but because you'll need it to hear me shout this from my rooftop:

                                !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So remember - just ONE WEEK from today. ONE WEEK. You will be singing along to my new song "100." As one of the musicians on this song said to me in a very late recording session one night (technically, the wee hours of the morning): "Here's what I picture when I hear this song: Driving down the highway, windows open, song cranking out of my speakers. It's just that kinda jam." And that, my friends, is what makes this process ALL worth it. :)

dreamBIG,
Arlanna

A Whole New World...and then some...

It's crazy how time gets away from me. For the last year and a half, unbeknownst to me, moments that just seemed like life passing by were slowly building the melodies that woke me from sleep and fell from my finger tips onto my piano. I must admit, the songs that have been bursting out of me at what seems like the speed of light have given me experiences like none I've ever known before. Not only do I feel that these songs are some of the best I've ever written, but I've been working with people whose talent has made them shine and sparkle, the way I knew that they could. Problem is - none of YOU have heard them yet. That is all about to change in just a few weeks. Think of my songs as an ice cream sundae - we have poured on the hot fudge. What's left is a spiral of whipped cream, your favorite topping and a cherry. It hasn't been an easy year, that is an understatement. However, rather than suffer, my songwriting has dug to newer and deeper depths; depths I never even knew existed.

Along with personal experiences that have beaten me up emotionally and put me back together again, there have also been many changes, one in particular that towers high above the others. This change is where my new chapter began. About seven months ago I found a new 'home' for my music. My new home is a place where my trust hasn't been flung against the wall a few hundred times, hung out to dry and left for dead on the side of the road. This new home is called Sanctum Sound / Serenity East Recording Studios in Boston, MA (sister studio Serenity West in LA, CA). After months of research, talking with studio manager after studio manager, making and breaking studio tour appointments, I finally kept one. The studio manager informed me that, by happen-chance, I would be able to meet the owner/producer, Steve Catizone, the day I was set to go for a tour. He lived in LA but was coming through Boston for a few days (as I was later informed he tries to do on a monthly basis). I took this as a good sign, along with the fact that Steve had already emailed me with answers to every question I had, answers I had been looking high and low for. Off I went to this little hidden jewel under the streets of Boston's Leather District. When I opened the door I was greeted by a place that I am pretty sure I had dreamed of before. Tiny lit candles lined the walls and floor, buddha statues, bright blue stones, deep red carpets and smoky-colored walls surrounded me. The smell of incense, the phone ringing from one of the many rooms off in the distance and, what stuck out for me that I had been missing before - music. OTHER rooms with OTHER musicians recording THEIR music. This was a working studio, a thriving business filled with people who actually gave (and still give) a shit. I remember looking up to see framed records of some of Serenity's recording artists past and present - records I actually own and listen to. I had a great feeling until I noticed that Steve wasn't there. I didn't have a lot of faith in people for many reasons and, for just a moment, I faltered. Maybe this wasn't my home after all. Just when I was ready to throw in my towel and call it a day, the door flew open and my "studio tour" turned into a one-on-one meeting and listening party with the person who would soon take on the role as my producer.

Since that day in early February, my little babies have grown into the songs that they were meant to be - full of a rich, driving energy, soaring to places they had only hoped to touch in the past. If not for the hard work, confidence, talent, encouragement and patience of my producer, my songs would still be resting quietly on my laptop in a four year old version of Garage Band, for my ears only. 

Seven months have passed and I'm absolutely dying for all of you to hear what's been going on in my life.  My songs of old (of which I am still very proud of) were let out of their bags prematurely; unfinished and severely lacking. This time around I am promising myself to borrow some of my producer's patience and hold off until things are 100% ready. Until then, whether you love it or hate it, my music and I have found a place where we belong. Stay tuned and thanks for reading! ;)

dreamBIG,
Arlanna