The Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

...deserves the most wonderful song of the year...request my Cookies at your local radio hub today.  In case you for got how much you love it, click here... ;)

 

New 'Toon!

Just posted a new Car-toon!  Y'know, there's an inherent beauty and sense of freedom in cartoonizing one's self.  You always have a good hair day, your make-up is always perfect, and you can draw whomever you'd like to accompany you in the hijinks.  Thus, The Mavericks are my special guest...click HERE to enjoy! 

WYCDelighted!

Danielle and Rob Stone, WYCD

The key ingredients to having a good time?  Mexican food, tequila, great friends, and great tunes...always have them on your party shopping list!  I debuted a few new tunes and met some friendly new comrades.  It's always fun to discuss favorite stores at the mall and the virtues of google-ing one's self during commercial breaks (c'mon, you've done it, too. Admit it!).  Thanks to everyone who came out to Detroit's 99.5 WYCD's Thursday Night LIVE...until next time...

...Oh, and don't ask where we found a giant mallet in a radio studio...that part's still a blur...  :/

Here We Go...

Inspired to try a little something new, I decided to pay homage to that Corleone inside all of us and bring you this little nugget.  I hope it's a video you can't refuse (ba dum bum). Dim the lights, pour a glass of fine Chianti and enjoy!!!

Ain't she a Beaut?! :)

Here she is...wish me luck!

Accord-ing to Some...

...the mind needs to stay fresh, and to do so one must reawaken it with a challenge every now and then.  Having said that, my vintage accordian will arrive Friday!  Indeed, I will be channeling my inner Yankovic and smiling as wide as the ivories come this weekend.  I make you this promise:  I will post pics and a video of what I've learned (be it Twinkle, Twinkle or Bohemian Rhapsody) within a week of its arrival.  Now, I'm off to think of a name (doesn't eveyone name their accordian???).  Wish me luck!

Full Circle Moments

Oprah's good for a number of things: inspiration, Welcome to Sweetie Pie's, and coining a phrase.  I mean, she's practically made it an art form.  From "wrap my brain around it" to "aha moment", she's the queen of quantifying a feeling and wrapping it up in a cute little phrase-package.  So, thanks to her I can say I have finally had a musical "full-circle moment"...and I have photographic proof it wasn't just a beautiful figment of my imagination. 

You all know my musical inspirations include The Mavericks (namely Raul Malo and Eddie Perez- both for very different reasons) and my hope was to someday see a reunion and meet the men behind my fascination.  Check!  The moment finally arrived when I met them all at their CD preview party in Nashville a few weeks ago.  The new tunes are phenomenal, as expected, with stand-outs including "Born to Be Blue" and "Come Unto Me". Raul was as gracious and charming as ever which further strengthened my resolve to follow his precise career path.  As for Eddie...**sigh** The only thing I can say is: Purple.  Velvet.  Jacket. Of course he was wearing purple velvet!!! He's Eddie freakin' Perez - he can do whatever he wants! Our conversation was a blur...probably something about world economics or Dick York vs. Dick Sargent.  All in all, it was truly a dream come true...still can barely "wrap my brain around it".  Thanks, Oprah.

Under the 'Cover'...

The cover of Detroit Live Magazine is a cozy place to be...I think I'll set up camp right here for the month of April...

New Car-toon!

The face and fashion of country music seems to change as often as Carrie Underwood at the CMAs. Is it still cowboy hats and Nudie suits? Or maybe we're feeling a bit more adventurous (Affliction T's? Seriously?). Whichever fancy frock wins Flavor of the Month, one thing is certain, it'll change. While I tend to rely on closet staples (white tank, jeans, nehru jacket, feather boa), I realize image is everything, well, something, and navigating the treacherous waters of fashion often require Water Wings. Such is the topic of this month's Car-toon...

SNEAK PEEK! Shhhh...

...don't tell anyone I posted this video of my yet-to-be-released (yet-to-be-recorded) new single "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On"! Inspired by my witnessing of the sacred honkytonk mating ritual night after night, I've relayed my experience according to my foggy, gin-soaked recollections...oh, and this vid from Detroit's Best Country, WYCD is in sepia tone for no other reason than I like sepia tone... ;) Hope you love it as much as I do!

One of my Faves...

In order to shape the future, we must remember the past...

Thanks WYCD!

Had a blaaaaast on 'Thursday Night Live' with Coop at WYCD here in Detroit! Debuted some new tunes, gave away tons of free goodies, and was so happy to meet YOU! Thanks so much for comin' out, cheering for the music and laughing at all of my jokes. My favorite moment: seeing my Dad walk into the room wearing one of my t-shirts, awwww. Until next time, 'YCD...

Furry Fun!

It's an honor to be recognized by the Dearborn Animal Shelter for their Ladies' Night Out, March 30! It seems like only yesterday we picked up our little Maple, all squatty-nosed and full of energy. Her shnoz is a little bigger now (as is everything else!), but she's maintained the energy of a Red Bull on steroids...having a sugar rush...after 10 cups of coffee, and we wouldn't have it any other way. The Dearborn Animal shelter is doing great things for animals in the entire metro-Detroit area and it's my pleasure to spread the word...I'm flattered to be honored for something I love doing anyway! Click HERE for all ya need to know...

Deeeetroit LIVE!

Had a blast on the UDetroit: Detroit Live (DL) radio broadcast yesterday morning! Good people doin' great stuff for The Motor City. Click here to check it out. I was the musical guest (which is awesome), but the other guests were from a POPCORN store! Even more awesome, right?! Yes, free samples were involved. Forget Eggs Benedict, nothin' says 'good mornin' like a tub (yes, tub) of Chicago-style corn.

Daydream Believer

RIP Davy Jones...

Detroit Live Magazine

Keep an eye out for my article in Detroit Live Magazine next month. Had a great chat about life, love, and music last week at Starbucks and can't wait for the article to come out. It's funny how grande, nonfat, half-caf, hazelnut lattes facilitate loose lips!

Artist of the Month

Michigan Music Hub is a super neat-o website for a myriad of reasons, but for the sake of this post, two specifically: 1) They've managed to use the word 'hub' in their title. It's both descriptive and fun to say, so for that, kudos. 2) They've bestowed upon me the title of 'Artist of the Month' for February! Check it yo...

New Fan Page!

I'd been trying to avoid it for years, but finally had to take the plunge...a Facebook Fan Page (cue trumpets)! The thought of waiting for people to 'like' me awakens long-sleeping anxiety the likes of which haven't been seen since the first week of 7th grade. Alas, they say taking the leap into FB Like-dom is where it's at, so who am I to argue? Go ahead and 'like' my page if for nothing else than the music player - it rawks...hard. My super-duper web dude even added a 'like' box to this very website for easy 'liking' capabilities. Feel free to post whatever you feel...words of encouragement, skin pics, it's all good. I must say I feel a bit more tech-savvy knowing I have a fan page...I just may be inspired enough to try one of those cellular telephone thingies everybody's been talking about. ;)

New Music Player!

Check out my new, fancy-shmancy music player under the 'music' header in the toolbar...it's super cool! Now you can stream all of my tunes in their entirety for free due in part to a service called SoundCloud...which sounds like such a pretty way to listen. It's not SoundUnicorn or SoundRainbow, but it's still sounds pretty neat. Thanks to my incredibly talented web-dude (proper title?), Lee. He's always finding new ways to accomodate my every web-related whim. He's da man...do we still say that? Enjoy! Keep an ear out for new tunes in 2012!!!

J'aime la France!!!

The Walk of Shame just keeps meandering up the charts abroad and surprising the hell outta me at every turn. This time, #29 on the French Country Music chart! I've gotta say I'm honored, humbled, and hungry...seriously, just say 'French' and the 8-year-old inside my brain starts craving McDonald's french fries.

Mall-velous!!!

Had a great time ushering in the holidays at the Westland Center in Westland, Michigan! It's always fun goin' home again especially since my first job was in that very mall. Ahh yes, I remember it well: The Pretzel Peddler, 1995. My purple apron dusty from the hailstone-sized salt granules coating our golden creations. Tongue frozen from the Mountain Dew slush hidden beneath the register console. The side orders of orange jalapeno cheese made all the more neon by the fluorescent mall lighting. Good times. Wait, where was I? Oh yeah, holiday celebration...great crowd, great radio station sponsoring the event (Fresh 100.3), Noah Munck (Gibby from iCarly) was there as was my talented friend Steve Byrnes on guitar. Until next year, Westland...