i ALMOST made it through january unscathed....
almost.
january 2009 was probably my busiest, craziest, most diverse, intense month ever.

starting with a Women in Government gig in St. Petersburg, FL on Jan 2 - i love doing gigs for this group. i had the opportunity to sing and talk to this amazing group of women who all work as reps or senators across the country. they have a 10 year commitment to raising awareness and helping eliminate cervical cancer. good people doing good things. gotta love it!

i flew home on the 3rd, then jumped in a truck with my band (jesse, dennis, and michael) sunday morning to head to upstate NY. we did 3 gigs - one in rochester at the Loving Cup - a wicked cool place with great vibe and food and coffee and beer. this gig was a Yellow gig but also a benefit for Melissa's Living Legacy Foundation - Teens Living With Cancer - a wonderful woman, Lauren, runs the org b/c she lost her teen-age daughter (Melissa) to cancer. i met her thru the LiveStrong Young Adult Alliance and she is one of the warmest, coolest moms i have ever met. the boys and i really enjoyed this gig -and Lauren let us crash at her place, where she fed us and made us feel right at home. again, can't beat good people doing good things.
then we headed to Elmira - my home town. i visited my old High School SHS and spoke to kids in health classes, and met with my FAVORITE teens... the CAP teens... and we ROCKED the Hibernians (my dad's irish drinking club)! this gig was a BLAST. with wonderful guiness on tap and cool, fun home-town peeps coming out to support on a tuesday night - it was so cool. my dad's buddies helped me decorate the place, and i passed my big, plastic donation vagina around for donations and their generosity was overwhelming. either that, or they just wanted to put their fingers in the donation vag!!!! ha!
then it was off to Positively 4th Street in Troy. my home away from home. artie ALWAYS makes us feel welcome, and ALWAYS makes sure we have a good time! when i was diagnosed, i had to cancel a gig at P4th to get my hysterectomy. artie and the bar sent me a card - signed by EVERYone - and then again when i finished treatment. he is a friend to the end. for sure.
then we came home - north shore of boston - and did a Yellow gig at SOMA - this cool restaurant that Qwill (jesse's solo project) had been playing as a residency for 6 months. it was GREAT to be home and have our FRIENDS come out and support and hear what the 4 of us are doing together. great crowd. great times.
one note on these upstate NY gigs (and soma) - these were the first gigs that michael miksis played with us.... and they were/he was FANTASTIC. miksis plays with jesse and dennis in their band The Resonance - so i've known him for a while, and LOVE how he plays bass. so basically, one by one,have managed to get all the boys from The Resonance to be my band. i am a very lucky girl to have (what i think to be) the BEST band in boston backing me up. for real. with dennis on the drums, miksis on bass, and jesse on guitar - i feel like we are going to GO places! and we are.
:)
SO - after NY - it was off to ISTANBUL again!!! i can't explain how cool it is to be in another country, and share my story and music with men and women who can only understand me through an interpreter. to see people react and to feel the connection is surreal for me. i did a huge media event with other survivors and people in the community speaking up and educating the press about cervical cancer and how to prevent it. it was very cool. and i also got to sing and speak to peeps at GSK (who makes cervarix - an HPV vaccine that is available over there - though not yet here in the states) - where they wore headsets so the interpreter could simultaneously speak as i shared my story and songs. this trip proved, once again, that people connect with people - that cancer is something NO person wants - and that music is indeed the universal language. not to mention the sound guy ercan (i called him charlie!) and his friend took me out my last night there and made sure i had a GREAT time.
and i did! can't wait to go back.
SO after istanbul - it was back to florida - orlando this time - for a gig with Lab Corp. about 250 of their sales reps sat and listened for an hour as i sang, and talked, and shared pics through my powerpoint presentation about my life before, during, and after cancer. the tears, hugs and standing ovation (i call it the "trifecta!") told me they got it. they were moved. they cared. and hopefully they will carry that passion and reaction back to work.
i flew out right after my presentation to north carolina, where i had the same gig (sales reps for Lab Corp) in Pinehurst. despite the early time (i had to do this one at 8:30am.... TOTALLY challenging for me!), the trifecta told me they understood, and would take my story back to the office, and to the doctors they interact with day after day. i LOVE doing these kind of gigs - where i feel like i plant a seed, and then the hundreds of people go out with that seed and plant gardens... one person really CAN make a difference. ..
i believe it.
so THEN came my last 5 local Yellow gigs. salem, ma DEFINITELY knows all about the HOOCH - for sure!!! between the kick ass posters my friend Johnson designed hung ALL around town, and the local papers doing great articles about the gigs and the message... it was unavoidable for the people in salem to NOT know that i was singing to save the cervix ALL over town!
we did FINZ - the restaurant underneath my apartment - with a WONDERFUL local band, the Speakeasys, and pinned EVERYone with a Save the HOOCH pins, drank special Yellow drinks, and rocked it all night long.
Then came Yellow brunch at 62 on the wharf the next morning - just jesse (qwill) and i.... an acoustic performance with a full house eating AWESOME food along with bloody mary's and mimosas... AND my friend and WONDERFUL celebrity make-up artist Debra Macki painting eyes for people.... it was packed. it was fun. and it was effective!
Then there was Lynn Arts that day, that evening - at the Neal Rantoul Vault Theater. unfortunately, i got VERY sick after brunch and was NOT able to do that gig. SO, in true Team Yellow spirit - jesse, dennis and michael rocked in my place, along with Kirsten and Dave, and the Erinn Brown Band. the message continues EVEN when i'm not there. that is cool.
SO THEN - i got a couple days to rest up before the BIG gig at the Paradise in Boston. of course, in true north east fashion, there was some crazy weather that night, so it was tricky to get anywhere. but the night ended up being fantastic! with ashleigh and magen starting the night, then qwill, then the boston horns, then casey desmond, then pat mcgee, then ME and my kick ass band, and closing with chad perone.... think about it! it was a SUPER special night. my 4th time playing that room... and i love it just as much as the first time. with the help of production manager billy bud - and the entire staff at the dise - i will always be grateful and never forget how lucky i am.
and FINALLY - #100 Yellow - my 40th birthday - here, in Salem, MA at the GULU GULU Cafe - i had the BEST birthday EVER! i had my favorite bands and friends rock it with me all night long. RSVP, Bottle Red Step Dog (my cover duo) Chris Keating, Corolla Deville, Sea Monsters, Qwill, and then me and my band.... it was absolutely incredible. the GULU was packed with my friends and i can still feel the love as i sit here today. i am so lucky. and i know it.
happy birthday to ME!!!

SO what is the "almost"??? well - as much as i LOVED each and every gig, i overdid it a bit... and ran myself into the ground. with all the travel and the go go go and how i love to celebrate.... my body did not quite keep up. i ended up in the ER 2x during the week of my final gigs... i was dehydrated and exhausted and needed fluids pumped into me... and then - i REALLY hurt myself when i was loading out of a gig, carrying heavy equipment, and slipped on the ice. oops. totally pulled something in my back (or so i thought) after the FINZ gig on saturday the 24th... then continued to push though all the gigs (other than the Lynn Arts gig) the rest of the week. i knew i was in pain... but i didn't know until the sunday after my birthday gig that i actually had a TORN ligament in my back as well as a BULGING disc right next to it. all i can say is OUCH!!! it hurts. bad.
so i've been in my bed - unable to move or take care of myself (or my dog, Harold). if it wasn't for momma BAIZ (old school spelling) coming to town to take care of me, i don't know what i would do!!! she is the best, and has been sleeping on my couch, and walking my dog and feeding me and EVERYthing.... i love her LOTS and am SO grateful that i have her, by my side. the pain i have is intense and incapacitating. they (docs and PT) say that i will be like this (meaning immobile) for a couple weeks more, and that i won't be back to my"self" for a couple months. SUCKS BAD!!! BUT, i'm trying to look at the bright side and think of all the emails and work i can get done on my laptop... all the sleep and rest i can get caught up on.... the weight i will probably put on..... and the quality time with my mom!
gotta look at the bright side... or else i'll go CRAZY!!!

SO there it is. i made it through cervical cancer awareness month - and hopefully made a difference - with the help of my band and my friends and family. i can't wait until i'm feeling like ME again - because there is LOTS more to do...
like Uganda. and Calcutta. and......
always more to do!!!

THANK YOU ALL for your support and love.
hope to see you soon.
x
cb