![]() So, finally I'm writing the big announcement on my blog! After months of moving thru the recording process, I spent the end of March, in a very intense deadline process of finishing the CD! Everything was down to the wire with the finishing touches and getting the Graphics and the Mastering finished and off to the printer to get the disk back in time for an island tour with my mom and her new book. I wanted to blog at that time as it was such a sureal and powerful experience peaking with my most powerful Labyrinth walk performance at St Paul's after the full day of Mastering. The experience was profound as what was channelling thru me were very guttural vocals and strong drumming, full of powerful grounded energy of roots and messages of being fully embodied on the earth. We are here to be creators. We are created and born of creation, here to embody the creative life force! At the time, I could only think, "This CD is the biggest creative project I have ever completed." I felt like I had been thru an initiation and truly given birth! As soon as I got the CD, I was on a whirlwind tour of Vancouver Island with my mother who had just released her new book about our life in the wilderness! We moved there when I was 10. http://yvonnemaximchuk.com Since then I've taken a several weeks to let my baby mature and develop a little, full-fill most of my indiegogo promises and learn about the next steps in promoting and marketing a CD! The feedback has been great and people are loving the new recording! I'm excited to begin working with a publisher and sharing this labour of love on a larger scale, Including a Vancouver CD release tour kick-off in late August or Early Sept! Check out the Album here.. http://www.weebly.com/weebly/main.php Thanks for all your support and partnership! Follow your Bliss, Pure Love Aloha, Theda
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![]() Photo by Dee Gandhi Well, I feel like I've been in a time warp tunnel! Last June, 2012 I set out to record a CD of my written songs by the end of July, that turned into an indigo go campaign and a September goal, which extended to November, and now it's already the end of February and the CD is nearly finished. It's certainly not as if I haven't been fully engaged with this recording since June. I have! It has been the main focus of my life these past months, while I also work to make some money and play the odd gig here and there and heal from a few physical set backs I've experienced over the past 2 months. Recording vocals with a cold is not the easiest thing, and then getting my last 2 wisdom teeth removed a couple weeks ago, well, that limited the singing for a bit as well. I am also preparing for the inevitable CD launch and a joint tour with my mom's new Book in April. The time is rolling towards me at swift speeds. But I am happy to report that the CD is for real nearly finished. Slow and steady wins the race. This project could've been done much faster, if I was working full time with a producer, but my wonderful producer Sam Ryan only has a limited amount of time each week, about 8-12 hrs, so in between, I work on recording my vocals at home and having material ready for him to work on in the studio. He also does a wonderful job mixing and developing the music tracks! I am doing my best to create a beautiful recording that I am proud of and feels and sounds professional and well done, while also retaining the energy, essence and integrity of my songs. I feel we are doing a god job, and 12 of the 13 songs are nearly finished. I must now design the CD cover and then figure out how to get the word out there, and I'm sure that means staying more on top of the social media aspect of it! As well as reaching out in other ways! Oh well, I'll be starting with a tour on Vancouver Island in mid April and organizing a CD release party in Vancouver in the next few months as well! I will keep you posted! I've got a few events coming up as well. Mar 1, I'll be performing a solo improvised sound healing concert in Chilliwack, and have a few other events coming up (check out my events page.) Last year was amazing and I am looking forward to being back there! Oh and I almost forgot! The title of the CD has not revealed itself to me as of yet!! I am considering offering it up for ideas at this point, since the time is ticking and the name is still not clear to me yet. Any ideas or suggestions? Thanks for your Support and Love, Love,Theda ![]() * (If you want to pre-order or contribute to the new CD that I am recording please go to the Music page of my website) http://www.thedaphoenix.com/music.html Wow! What a wild adventure, tons of work and a great learning curve!!! I am very pleased to report that we surpassed my funding goal, with over 131 funders, over $5000 was raised for the recording of my new CD!!!!!! Thank you to all of you, my wonderful fans, friends and family that believe in me so much and continually reflect to me how much my voice and music contributes to them and others and needs to be heard. I feel like I have a huge cheering section and have finally grabbed the ball and run onto the court ready to play full out! It really is up to us to jump and trust that the net will appear!! (Photo by Dee Gandhi) Life is our playground, a blank canvas waiting to be filled by whatever we imagine. We are the ones who get to create whatever it is we dream. By being willing to take the steps, the actions, to play the game, to risk failing and falling is the only way to see them come true. We can hear these words a million times, but until we actually do it, we will never know. It takes courage, and a willingness to not know the answers or how its gonna turn out. Letting myself be okay with not knowing and remembering that i am here to learn and grow, discover, uncover and be who I really am and express what I came here to give to the world, is key! I believe we all have a gift to give and a difference to make, and often it is our greatest challenges that fuel us and also become our greatest gifts to ourselves and others. I am in the process of recording my written songs, and choosing what direction to take them, what instrumentation and feel to best support and showcase the songs and make them beautiful and listen-able to a wide audience. This is my current challenge, and I am up for it! We are almost halfway thru recording and have been working on this for 2 months already. I expect the CD will be finished in the mid-late fall and will keep you posted! Even tho the indiegogo funding campaign has ended, I am still accepting contributions, pre-orders of the CD and offering perks if anyone is interested. Every penny raised will go towards making a great product and sharing it with you! To Pre-Order or contribute cick here... http://www.thedaphoenix.com/music.html Thank you so much for all your love and support! Blessings, Aloha, Namaste Theda Watch the campaign video here.. http://www.indiegogo.com/theda?c=home&a=892712 ![]() Wow, it's finally happening. After 2 weeks of painstaking preparation for my Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign to gain support for the release of my first singer/songwriter Record, I finally launched it last night! I am excited and a bit numb.. there is part of me, that gets so nervous about putting myself out there to move forward with my dreams and goals and be successful, possibly my ego, afraid to toot my own horn or be rejected or ridiculed. I know I have been bold and courageous at moments in life, but there still seems to be this scared little girl who hides inside of me tugging on my sleeve to stay hidden and small. "Well" I say, to my sweet, scared little girl, "...we are going to move forward and keep putting ourself out there, and I will be right here to hold your hand and keep you safe. Remember, whatever happens we can handle it. I'm here for you!" And with that, I take my own hand and step forward out of the familiar comfort zone, into new and unfamiliar territory. Acknowledging where I'm at in life, asking for support, owning my talents and greatness and shaping my own personal destiny! I am proud of my work on this recording, it has been challenging for me in the past to record my songs, since I want them to be great and the perfectionist in me is afraid to fall short. Now that I am doing it, engaged in the proccess, it is exciting and enlivening. I'm looking forward to getting to work full steam ahead on the recording this week as I'm heading back into the studio with Sam Ryan on Friday and need to be ready! I'm so grateful to be able to work with him and bring these songs to life.. I'm also very proud of the work I did on the fundraising campaign itself! Please check it out and if you feel called to support my new CD, please do. I am so grateful for your support and interest in my music and journey, thank you for sharing it with me! Together you will help me reach the world with this music medicine of love!! THANK YOU SO MUCH! VIEW THEDA'S INDIEGOGO CAMPAIGN HERE... http://www.indiegogo.com/theda?a=892712 ![]() Well, it would appear that there comes a time in life when after years and years of doing the same thing (that seemed so exciting and adventurous when you first began it).... the same way over and over with pretty similar results, one starts to get somewhat bored, or perhaps disillusioned, feeling down, depressed, agitated, frustrated, unfulfilled, as if life and time are passing me by and somehow I am not doing what i came to this earth to really do!! Regardless, all the signs are there..... something needs to change. There is alot I don't know about the music industry, and I'll admit that I've allowed myself to feel a little intimidated by the whole scene. So many differently elements, from the music creation and production, to booking and promoting shows, online presence, marketing, promoting the music, website stuff, royalties, licensing etc... I feel so behind and it all seems so daunting and never ending. I have not even begun to approach the idea of record label or management, except that several people in my life repeatedly tell me i need a manager, someone who knows the industry and can help manage my career, get me gigs, help my focus, market me, etc... When i was living in Ottawa, I got to experience the joys of having a promoter for local shows, thank goddess for Maike! who, fueled by a relentless passion, would endlessly poster all over town, attending every event she could, to spread the word about the power of healing sound; music that soothes, uplifts and transforms the spirit! She, would also tell me to get a manager. And I, the eternal doubter. Have I really been allowing my frightened inner child to overpower my drive and passion for music? When I first started performing, I did so with such bold naivety and freedom in the newness, like the innocent child following and creating the dream. But who am i fooling really? others? myself? The recurring question lurking around every corner of my mind.... "am i really good enough?" at this point? for a manager? I must need to do more work, more practicing, more learning, more writing, more focusing. And surely no manager would be interested in an artist who has such personal doubts about her art and abilities. And yet, let me just say, that when I am in the presence of people who believe in me and my talents and gifts... that a powerful thing happens, an effortless ease, beauty and magic unfolds from my lips as i sing, and my fingers just seem to find the most beautiful notes and chord progressions and something profound happens. I am in the zone, with the music, listening, and the song enters me and moves into the souls of those receiving!! It is exquisite and i feel at one with my soul and my purpose for being on the planet. I am connected and free, i am the song and the song moves thru me. Well, that is when I am improvising, or channeling, or singing intuitively as I like to call it. But it also goes for singing my written songs. When i am invited to perform and people have come to hear me and be in that intimate space with me and are so open to what I have to share... I feel deeply connected with my audience. For they are what really makes this so fulfilling to me. Honestly, singing for myself, is not the same. Something happens when I sing for others. It becomes bigger than me, for it includes all of you. And it is that deep communion with music and the listener, that really lights my spirit up!!! Even singing in my kitchen for one person fills me with joy! So yes, I know i have something to share, there is something authentic in the music that people connect to. And i know it is time to set it free, to let go of the perfectionism and be willing to step out onto a bigger stage! And yes, i do mean that literally! It's time to sing and share what I do that comes naturally, as I am. For this is what people seem to love. I know I do! It is once again time to acknowledge the psychological barrier of fear and take action regardless, and giving the scared little girl inside me a big hug! Knowing that we all have that little part inside of us and that the only way to set it free is to spread our wings and come alive! I am so grateful for all the support I have received along my journey. Honestly, the feedback given me has been profoundly positive and encouraging and I shall continue to follow the call in my heart, trusting and loving this journey every step of the way. Thank you for the privilege of singing to you. All my love and gratitude, Theda Today, I begin to dive into building on this website, a new platform for sharing my music. and inspirations. I am grateful to Cora Flora for initiating something I can now swim inside and develop and watch grow! Many years i have struggled with how to market and what image to project and brand, when all I really want is something beautiful that represents the essence of me! However, the essence of me is a vast and dynamic thing, so i suppose the intention is to choose what I what to project from this site here to you! I am so grateful for the gifts that come to me in this life and the amazing power of attraction. The power to call in the perfect people and connections that resonate with my own frequencies! This life is a gift for us to co-create. And we can trust that the perfect situation will be brought to us to match where we are at and what we are ready for!
I am ready to dive in, step up and share in an ever expanding way! Being in Ottawa has allowed me the opportunity to be fully received for all the gifts and teachings that come through me. The more I step into my own leadership and offerings, the more supportive I feel to others wanting them to shine as well. It is only in the times that I am playing small within myself, allowing fear to take hold, limiting my natural expression, that feelings of jealousy, insecurity and petty ego arise. It is helpful to remember this as it steers me in the direction of sharing my gifts and passions with others, knowing that as I am fully alive in life, it inspires others to shine too! So let's Shine baby shine!! Blessings and Gratitude! Theda |