Category: Gigging

Thanks in Advance

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First, I have to mention my son hit a homerun today in T-ball. Hello, Mr. Awesome!

Ok, now onto the real business here.  I’m ready to play out this Saturday night. Excited about singing, playing, getting all dolled up – the usual stuff. But more so, I’m excited about bringing people together, seeing friends from a past life that I had tucked away for so long, and welcoming in soon-to-be friends who come to listen for the first time. (If I forget to say it at the show, thanks for taking a chance on an unknown kid.)

Here’s the thing – it is truly my pleasure to play for you. I consider you to be music connoisseurs and artists. I couldn’t have a better audience for sharing my artistic passions with. So, as my son would say, “No, seriously,” thank YOU.

See ya at the show!

DoYour Best – It Is Truly All You Can Do

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First, I want to say thank you for all of the wonderful birthday wishes back on August 18th.  My lack of acknowledgment until now is not a sign of me being unappreciative of your sentiments – because I truly do appreciate your thoughts and well wishes.  The fact is that I have been out of sync over the past few weeks.

Many of you know that for the past couple of years, my dad has been battling kidney cancer.  Last year, he moved in with my husband, son and me, and up until a few weeks ago, he was doing well enough.  But then he changed.  Whether it be his body had hit the tipping point where the drugs just didn’t work any more, or somewhere in his subconscious, he said, “I’m done,” I’ll never really be sure.

In my heart, I’d like to think it was the latter.  I’d like it to have been his choice.  One last kick in cancer’s face, where he didn’t let it get the best of him.  Instead, he said, “Cancer, you don’t own me.  I do.  You can have this rickety old body, I’m done with it.  I’ve got a lot waiting for me in the next life, and quite frankly, I’ve done all that I can to be the best person I could in this one.”

You see, my dad did do the best he could.  I really came to see that as I watched him in these last days – his last with us.  It’s not anything he said or did to convince me.  Rather, it’s all the stories of his life relayed to my siblings and me by his friends and family, that stand as proof of his existing each day giving his best.

It amazes me, the number of people who reached out to visit my dad, and those who have called or sent their memories via email or letter.  Cousins, in-laws who were more like siblings, best friends from his high school, Airborne, and back-packing days.  People who had journeyed with him, shared meals, and mostly laughter.  Ladies – of course the lovely ladies (he was a good looking guy after all, not to mention that charm).  And even his high school baseball coach who told us after all of his years of coaching and the hundreds of kids he’d worked with, that my dad was “one of the good ones.”

What a tribute to this person who did nothing more than his best and expected nothing less from his children.  I remember all he and my mom ever asked of us kids was to “do your best.”  It was that simple.  No expectations of straight A’s or high-paying jobs, fancy cars and big houses.  (Heck, he never even pressured me to have kids – well, sort of.)  Just a clear standard to guide us, a standard as unique and personal as we each are.

As I watched the remainder of my father’s life here pass, I began to truly understand and appreciate this value.  Do your best – it is truly all that you can do.

So, I’ve been doing my best over the past few weeks, which have been difficult to put it lightly.  I realized that my focus had to be on ushering my father gracefully from this life to the next and being present to my family as we support each other through this process.

My apology that this means I will not be performing for you this coming Sat., (Sept. 8th) at SOhO.  It was a tough decision to make, because I kept hearing that old line, “The show must go on,” in the back of my head.  But for me, I know in my heart that a show at this time, it just wouldn’t be my best.  And well, if I’m not giving it my best, then I’m cheating both you and me.  So, I’m going to have to let this one go until I can be truly present to performing for you.

Until then, my family and I sincerely thank you for your support, thoughts, and prayers.

All my best,

Tina Sicre

Some of my memories for you…

The Cover Song Challenge

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Note:  Tina Sicre Live at Soho (Santa Barbara), Sat., July 14th, 6:00-7:30pm.  Call club for dinner reservations at 805.962.7776.

A couple of days ago I opened up my set list to requests from you.  I meant to say specifically, requests for Tina Sicre songs, which I’m happy (and able) to oblige you on.

One of the best set lists ever. U2 knows how to tackle covers.

But then there were a few of you wise guys who made requests for covers.

Covers??  (Said in a high-pitched voice.)

Yikes!  Now those are tough.  I mean, I’m a songwriter, an original, quite possibly a diva, if you’ll allow me my moment.  When I play at home, I play my songs.  When I play out, I play my songs.  Me, me, me, it’s all about me.

Ooops — I know I’m not supposed to say that, but the truth is I find it easier to be me than try to be somebody else.  Think about it — if you’ve ever heard me do a cover, you’ll recall that I never quite do them the same as the original.  In fact, usually not remotely close.  I remember the boys in my old band, 12 Stories used to say, “Tina, if you knew anything about music, we wouldn’t be any good.”  (I choose to take that as a compliment, thank you.)

So, we can claim that my inability to do the right thing by way of a cover song is because of my artistic interpretation, but really, who’s kidding who here?  I’m really just either lazy or not smart enough to figure them out the right way.  Ha!  The truth is, I’m musically illiterate, so it’s a major challenge for me to cover a song.

With that all out on the table, I’m up for the challenge to take on a cover for you.  So, go for it — hit me with your best shot.  And if I cover it during a live show or even a video, then you’ll receive a big fat thank you, along with a TS T-shirt, and maybe even a signed copy of my CD.

 

So, Where Was I?

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Little Girl, Big Guitar on Stage
Little Girl, Big Guitar on Stage

I can’t tell you how excited I am to be playing live at Soho (Santa Barbara) in a couple of weeks.  When I stopped playing a while back, I really only wanted to take a little time off…

At the time, I was playing 4-5 gigs a week, booking out 3-4 months in advance.  Living on the road, for so many years without a real break, well, it wears on you — and that’s not me complaining — it’s just the nature of things.  I needed a break.

Everything in my life was about playing music.  I literally ate, drank, and pee’d it.  I absolutely loved it, but I just needed a vacation from the non-stop, on-the-go lifestyle.  (Again, not a complaint.  I am so grateful for my time on the road.)

Here’s the thing, I loved it so much, it never occurred to me that I could take a break.  Then I thought, “Wow, a week off would be nice.”  (But come on now, I’m sure we’d all agree, a week is never long enough for a vacation.)  Since I was my own boss, I thought, “Hey, why don’t you take a month off?”  So, I made the executive decision, and did.

Then a month turned into two, and two into four, and for reasons that I’m not going to go into here (that’s another story), I just never went back to it.  That vacation helped me realize that as much as I loved what I was doing, I was no longer in love with how I was doing it.  The romance of the road life was gone for me.

And so I stopped.  That was 7 years ago, I think.  Not really the kind of day you mark on your calendar.  What would I call that anyway — “The day I quit pursuing my dream?”  It’s gross even writing it now.

The point is, I never intended to quit.  I just needed to put it all on hold so I could try other things, see what else I could do and be.  Maybe fall in love (for good this time) and have a baby?  Not to mention, get a steady paycheck for a while.  If you’ve ever lived hand-to-mouth depending on your passion to be your livelihood, you know what an unfair and worrisome burden that can be to place on the love of your life.

In any case, 7 years later, I’m ready now.  I’m creating again in new ways I hadn’t imagined I could before.  Seems that break did me some good in exploring the possibilities and expanding my potential.  I’m writing new music, collaborating with new musicians, and even writing love stories (ya, go figure, after all of those break-up songs).

And of course, none of it would feel right without gigging.  I’m doing that too, but the how I’m doing it is going to have to be a little different this time around. I’ve got a family — a little boy at home, a pretty cool husband to go along with him — and I’ve no immediate plans to crawl into a bus and live on the road again (unless that bus is big enough for all of us to live in style, and see the world while we’re off making music for a living).

So, I’m staying close to home, playing selectively, working to bring you the best I have to offer in the best venues, and spending the wee hours of the night working on my novels.  With that said, my first gig home is on Sat., July 14th at Soho in Santa Barbara (6-7:30pm).  I can’t wait, and I am really looking forward to singing for you again, seeing familiar (I didn’t say “old”) faces, and sharing a sweet memory with each other once again.

This gig, I’ll be solo — just like the old days.  And here’s to you…if you have a song you want to hear, make your request now.  I want to know what you want to hear, so hit me with it.  Post your request in the comments below.  Email me at tina@tinasicre.com.  Tweet @tinasicre.  Post on my Facebook wall at www.facebook.com/tinasicre.musician.

The night is ours, and I want to show my appreciation for your support by bringing you a taste of the music we used to share.

As always, thank you for your support and friendship!

All my best,

Tina Sicre