hello there, dear peoples.

whenever i don't write for a very very VERY long time here, i feel real strange about trying to write something... because it feels like hundreds of years have passed, and what can one say after a hundred years... nothing specific.

i know so much has happened... but what?....

i'll just try to search my brains for pieces of past and future information i can try to share with you all...

so, i went to see "Citizens Band" a couple of nights ago, down by the water in the old Spiegel tent. Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls, and also of herself solo, and very wonderful musician, was kind enough to invite me, and i was kind too, and invited Nicole Atkins, a very wonderful musician, and also of Nicole Atkins and the Sea, who was kind enough to come with me... and so we were all very kind.

At it was a wonderful show, and after, Amanda was kind enough to remind me that me not writing about anything on myspace for such a long time, is uncool to the max(not her exact words...). So then i said "but i never really go there, it'll be not for real... and so it's nice of me to have the people that put stuff up say 'Not from regina'"... And she said "No, you are very wrong, it's impersonal, sit thee down and write something"but she said it in a kind way. So i'm gonna write this in my email, and then have them post it up, and hopefully it'll be alright... but to be honest, i think it's intimidating to write words when and if you have no music playing... and if you have music playing then it's a song... and this is not a song. cause there's no music. And so on and so forth forever. Anyway,

i had an amazing spring last spring. i got called up and asked if i wanted to see an unfinished Disney movie called "Narnia: Prince Caspian". I said of course, i love movies. So me and my manager went to a movie theater all by ourselves, and were shown the movie by Monica (who ended up being my Disney fairy godmother, but i didn't know it at the time) and it was incredible on all kinds of levels... actually some of its magic was from being unfinished- one minute there's an animal, the next it's just a pencil drawing... all the centaurs were just guys pacing around in funny pants... i loved everything about it, but then it was over, and i was supposed to have drinks with my very good friends. Who canceled on me. So i went home. And wrote a song for the movie, and i was sure no one would let it actually be in the movie. But they did. And 3 days later i was in London, at Abbey Road studios, listening to Harry Gregson Williams, the composer of the score,
and very talented and lovely human, record an 80 person choir... and i was meeting Andrew Adamson the wonderful director, and all the amazing people who work on movies, and then going into Studio B, the one and only, and recording "The Call" into Beatles gear... in their room... with Strings and a horn and a harp... yes, i know. it sounds like my own Disney movie... but it was real, and it was awesome, and i still can't believe it happened... at the premier i had to hold it together when i heard the song come on, for the next 15 minutes my knees were shaking... movies are intense... i'm so happy i had this experience...

After i got back, i recorded on Ben Folds' song "You don't know me". I knew of him, but I met him for the first time in the studio. He was immediately cool. Funny, nice, and also good. That's important if you are to sing with someone. You want them to be like that. His new record just came out and we are going to do the song together on Conan O'Brien, (who rules!... in a non- evil- power- hungry way), and i'm very excited. I may even get to be on TV standing and not sitting, for the first time ever... though i may get spooked last minute and beg Ben to let me sit behind the piano and hide as usual... Ah... i just made myself nervous and it's not till Oct. 2nd... yes... the feeling of utter fear and panic, so familiar and yet new and terrifying in its own special way every time...

Then summer. Or, now summer. I'm lost in the present, past and future tenses of this post.

Summer.

I had the chance to do 3 days on the True Colors tour with the one and only Cyndi Lauper. She is indescribably great. The tour was a benefit for gay rights. Gay rights, in a free and equal country, should be implicit. That's the point of equality. It's equal. Everyone gets to have it. Somehow , someone didn't get the memo with the whole "inalienable rights" thing, and so they are not. Then again, they got the memo about guns just fine. Not seperation of church and state, though... Who is in charge of handing out these memos? It's bizarre. Then again, we are a lack of a heart beat away from having a very innexperienced woman, (an insult to all actually deserving women out there) possibly lead our country off the deep end of the edge of human reason... but that's a much longer post...

Let's see. After that the only thing i can tell you about is the awesome tour bus dance party Tegan and Sara, and their whole band, had the last show i did with True colors in DC. We had flashing lights, even. They are the funnest and awesomest twins i know, (and just because i don't know that many twins doesn't mean they are not the highest caliber of awesome and fun)...

Then, just when the world was at it's most full of "how did all of this amazing stuff just happen, all in a row like that?" I was invited to open for the incredible Ani DiFranco in Philly. I loved playing that show. And i absolutely loved meeting Ani, because i have loved her music since i was 16... and because of what she meant to me as a teenager... and because i could not have imagined her to be any cooler and smarter and more inspiring and beautiful than she was in real life. That woman is amazing!

So... a lot more things happened... a record has been started, and not finished yet... a rainy and incredibly happy show was played in Brooklyn, with Dan, Eleanor and Surai on strings, and special guests Only Son and Reggie Watts helpin' me out in the big big swimming pool (thank you everyone who sported the wet puppy look, stood in the rain and hung out! special thank you to Brumstix, i will have to write back to you dear peeps at some later point, when i can do it justice, but let me say it is such a thoughtful and touching and beautiful gift you made!!! i love that book...)Outlands festival was amazing, and i got to hear Tom Petty live for the first time ever... He and the heartbreakers were incredible...I will try to write more some other time... thank you for reading this long thing, if you were able to.... and i wish you all a wonderful, happy and healthy time out there... in the big big world...

regina