Its been two weeks on the road and we’re still alive! ha. Only one encounter with the police since we last spoke (no biggie ;P). Lessons learned:
Getting people out to shows is NOT easy. Just making a facebook event and inviting people to it IS NOT ENOUGH. With all the junk that goes on the internet these days its rare for people to really filter through all the invites. You have to make invitations PERSONAL. That’s the gift of the internet! To bridge the gap between people sitting in front of their computers and whoever is providing the entertainment.

Also, do what you can to remind the people without being annoying. For example, I update my status letting people know that I have a show that day, maybe the day before, but instead of shoving it down peoples throats repeating the same information, I hide it in new information. I’ll post a new video showing us on tour, then mention that I have these dates still going on. Or I’ll post pictures as I’m on tour, to promote the show… Give more content to promote whats already been said. Be creative!! Use your creativity that you already have in your art, and apply it to your marketing campaign!

Well there’s two more Amanda cents. Here’s another video blog!!!
Show in San Francisco TONIGHT (details here),
Davis June 1st, then back down to San Fran and Petaluma. Details here.

Follow our minute by minute progress on our respective twitters:
http://www.twitter.com/AmandaHolmes
http://www.twitter.com/JuliaJara

Read Julia’s blog here

Life is best when I’m on the road There’s nothing better than meeting new people, playing music, and traveling up the PCH. I may have lost my car keys yesterday in the gazillions of sand grains that make up Pismo Beach’s coast line…. BUT. Every tour I’ve done, there’s been some kind of car trouble. Tour #1, locked keys in car. Tour #2, car window broken and ipod stolen. Now, tour #3, lost car keys had to have it towed to get new ones (see picture here). Only this time, it happened right at the beginning of the tour (day 3) instead of at the end. I’d like to think that we just had to get it out of the way earlier than later

Shani is getting her Masters this summer so I couldn’t tour with her again BUT, we are having a reunion show at Genghis Cohen June 9th (details here). Instead, I got my roommate of the last four years, Julia, to come on the road with me! We made our first video blog, pretty entertaining if I must say so myself Check it out:

We will be on tour until June 9th in Los Angeles so come out to see us live!! Tour dates/locations/times here. Or you can go to my myspace.

To follow our random adventures on a daily basis, you can follow us on twitter at:
@AmandaHolmes or
@JuliaJara

Hey hey

I’m going on tour again! This time its a quick few dates from Los Angeles to Davis and back down.

Check out the Facebook event here

You can follow my day to day adventures on my twitter at www.twitter.com/amandaholmes

Let me know if you’re planning on coming! Here are the dates:

Wed 5/19: Java Jones 5pm
6560 Pardall Rd, 
Isla Vista CA (Santa Barbara)

Thurs 5/20: The Porch 6:30pm-9:30pm (A couple artists playing!)
22322 El Camino Real, 
Santa Margarita (Near SLO)

Fri 5/21: The Ugly Mug 6pm
4640 Soquel Drive
Soquel, CA 95073 (Next to Santa Cruz)

Sat 5/22: Somewhere on the street in downtown Santa Cruz
Follow my twitter to find my location: www.twitter.com/amandaholmes

Thurs 5/27: Orchard Valley Coffee
349 E. Campbell Ave,
Campbell CA 95008 (South bay)

Fri 5/28: Barefoot Coffee Roasters (TBA)
5237 Stevens Creek Boulevard
Santa Clara, CA (South Bay)

Sunday 5/30: Northgate Mall (Foodcourt!!) 12-2pm
5800 Northgate Mall 
San Rafael, CA 94903

***Mon 5/31: Rockit Room 8pm***
This bar is 21 and up, but its definitely one of my fav’s from last tour!
Other performers include:
Chantelle Tibbs: http://www.myspace.com/chantelletibbs
Joshua Thorton
406 Clement Street (between 5th and 6th ave)
San Francisco, CA 94118

Tues 6/1: Delta of Venus 6pm-8pm
Guest performer http://www.MartinPurtill.com (He’s fricken brilliant. come)
122 B Street
Davis, CA

Fri 6/4: It’s a Grind- (TBA)
1800 Polk St (between Jackson St & Washington St)
San Francisco, CA

Sat 6/5: Whole Foods (I LOVE playing here. Great tips
621 East Washington Street
Petaluma, CA

Wed 6/9: Genghis Cohen************ Last SHOW! w/ guest Shani Shousterman! 8pm
$5 Cover (All ages)
740 N. Fairfax Ave,
LOS ANGELES. 90046

one of my favorite quotes, if you’re not growing you’re dieing.

I have a month left of my college career, it feels like a lifetime I’ve been here. This last friday I put on the largest concert I’ve ever played. I figure, when’s the next time I will have these resources at my fingertips to do something this epic, better use them before its too late. So I rallied the troops, 15 musicians to come share the stage with me for one final performance at Ground Zero, our trusty on campus venue that I’d played oh so many times. The whole experience felt like I was looking at it from the outside, reflecting. Thinking about my very first time performing with a band at the Knitting Factory freshmen year, singing on the streets of hollywood to try to sell my last few tickets for the promoter :) 

I sang in the streets of USC just like I did freshmen year, but this time, I had the college radio station, KSCR, sponsor the event and set up speakers so my voice reverberated throughout the quad. 

I had a flyer designed (Jackie ***** did an amazing job btw), and I littered the campus with them. I had announcements up on the main USC page for student access. I even bargained my way into getting Baskin Robbins to sponsor the event and give away free ice cream! Every little piece of the puzzle was thought out, all the way down to excel sheets and a glockenspiel.

With a week to go, and my first band practice coming up, I was feeling pretty confident about the whole situation. Then life threw me a curve ball, as it always tends to do… A week before my grand debut, my grandfather passed away. I can’t tell you how much it shattered my heart. I thought I had the world in the palm of my hand, everything in control, until I got the call that sent my family rushing to the hospital.

When someone you love is in jeopardy, its amazing how everything you thought was important or stressful seems to dissolve and become so small in comparison.

When it came to the night of my performance, I was sitting outside getting mentally prepared to go on, I vowed to myself that I’d go up on stage and sing my heart out for my Grandpa, make him proud, and do it for him. Because he loved me, and I loved him back. And thats when it hit me. The love that my grandfather had for me was bigger than one show, one performance, one good note, or one bad. What I did that night wouldn’t define who I was, whether I did good or bad was insignificant. Just the simple fact that I kept going in those last few days, even though all I wanted to do was sit and cry my eyes out… The fact that I even pushed myself to put on such a large production. The fact that I always aim for the stars when others settle for the sky. He loved and believed in me for that. 

Thats when I realized that I had already made him proud, I’d already succeeded. There was nothing I had to prove. I had arrived, and all I had to do was enjoy it. 

The simple matter that I didn’t have to try, made everything better, I had better pitch because I didn’t worry about hitting a mark, I recovered faster because it didn’t matter when I messed up. I didn’t worry about what the audience thought of me, because when its all said and done, everyone thinks differently, and as long as I was happy, enjoying every moment, then and only then, would I be the best I could be. 

Thats why I had the time of my life that night. Thats why I had one of my best performances I’ve ever had with a band. Because I didn’t have to try. I just was. I accepted me, and lived in that moment. No worry, no nerves.

Four years ago, I wouldn’t have picked up a guitar and sang in front of more than four people. That night, I opened the show with a solo performance, just me, my guitar, and a room full of people. 

Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. Everyone has people that they look up to, and wish they could be as good as them. Its good to have goals, and be surrounded by people that are doing things grander than yourself. But every once in a while, when you’re feel inadequate in comparison to someone else… Look back at where you’ve come from. Look at the people that look up to you. And most importantly, find it within yourself to be happy and appreciate it. 

Everyone has their ups and downs. This last week was such an extreme up and down I could have been the new roller coaster ride at six flags. I’m sure in a couple months time, I’ll be out on my own in the real world, and start at square one, all over again. Like college never happened. ha. But thats what being alive is all about. We live and breathe. We get the wind knocked out of us to appreciate the simple task of inhaling and exhaling. 

One chapter in my life coming to a beautiful end. Next chapter even harder than the last. But I’m going to do it with my friends and family by my side, because no matter where life takes me, I love them with all my heart, and I’m lucky enough to have them love me in return. THAT, is what its really all about.

Thank you to everyone that came to the show. And for those of you that couldn’t make it, you can hear the new track “Came to us in Mexico”  off the upcoming 4th album “Chasing the Sun” here: http://tinyurl.com/y4ywo89

The rest of the album scheduled to release sometime before… the earth freezes over.. :) 

xx

Guess what… I am in the midst of releasing ANOTHER EP. This will be my fourth EP. I’m starting to get quite a bit of experience with the creative process that goes into making an album. I’ve written about my discoveries from my past album on this blog: http://amandaholmes.com/blog/?p=143

But our motto for THIS album:

“Its good… But let’s make it great.”

Kevin Rivers produced my last album, and words cannot describe how fantastic he was… So we’re working together, again Thats why I say “OUR” motto. Because really, this album has become a team effort. The best team you can have is people around you that push you to be better, and make you rise to their expectations.

We’ve spent the last three weeks picking the songs, producing the sound/vibe/feel for every song, and then orchestrating all the parts for every song, and we don’t stop working on it until its really absolutely the best it can be… What a feeling. To work on something relentlessly until you feel it can’t be any better. And when I say the best it can be, truly great, I mean the kind of great where you hear it and it makes you giddy inside because you think you’ve just created something genuinely extraordinary. The kind of feeling where you can’t stop smiling because you know that its just SOOO COOL. Thats how I feel… About EVERY SONG.

Don’t get me wrong, it took some dedicated hard work. We start at 9am, and end around 12 or 1am. Thats 15 to 16 hour days, with a few meal breaks here and there. And there have been times where we’ve wanted to chop off each other’s heads saying, “What do you mean its not good enough???” 

But in the end, I am feeling more prepared than I ever have. Every song has its own distinct sound, and every song is different. Its been a real character builder working on this album. There are two songs particularly that are seriously cool. We both stepped completely out of our comfort zones and made something that sounded cool, forgetting for a second that everything has to be “commercially viable” or like everyone else. I admit, I was afraid to make that jump, but in the end, I think its going to be worth it.

I’ll give you an example. One of the songs is called, “Putty” this song has been a favorite among my male fans because its really more rock oriented. Its more gritty, and higher energy than my usual songwriting. Well Kevin and I sat down with it, I told him I wanted something like Eleanor Rigby by the Beatles, and all of a sudden, Kevin arranged this song into something brilliant. Now, the whole song is focused around a killer string section. It borderlines a classical genre more than rock or pop. Its orchestral with many intricacies and parts that really mimic the vocal in a sweet syncopated way. But still with a distorted guitar, and drum accents… Its… GREAT. Giddy in my chair because I can’t believe it turned out that awesome, GREAT. Every verse, every chorus, we slave labored over for hours to make sure it had those moments where you just love it.

So thats what I’m doing right now. Every spare minute, second, hour, I am working on the new album with Kevin Rivers. I must also mention that three of the five songs on the album I co-wrote with Brittany Crawshaw. A huge majority of the reason why this album is shaping up to be something great is because Brittany pushes boundaries. She writes the kind of lyrics that will be in history books some day, lyrics that leave you thinking, layered with imagery and wisdom beyond her years… And her musical sensibilities are naturally exquisite. She really does have a gift for creating, the kind of creating that breaks down the box that everyone else lives in, and rebuilds it into something of her own. Unique. Genius

So basically, I’m working unbelievably hard, I’m battling for greatness (with every inch of muscles and energy I have), and I’m blessed to be surrounded by not only geniuses, but people I love, respect, look up to, and challenge me to be bold. What could be better? (I’ll give you the answer to that question, and that would be… Nothing. Nothing is better than this feeling.) So I leave you with this message, strive to be greater, and if you can’t do it yourself, find someone that challenges you and do it together.

love,

Amanda

P.S. Album will be released physically on April 9th at USC’s Ground Zero. Be there

Nothing in life is under your control. You can try really hard to make plans, but in the end, life brings unexpected circumstances which completely screw you up… The only thing you are truly in control of, is the way in which you decide to react.–I had an epiphany last week. –Since I am in control of my own thoughts and reactions, I chose not to care about the let downs, and criticisms, but instead, enjoy the moments and keep going.  Understand that if I choose to see let downs as learning experiences, then they’re not bad experiences at all, they’re what I make of them… Nothing is a failure, unless you decide its a failure. It was an interesting experiment…

Example, last week was CRAZY. I decided to react positive and hopeful, in an environment of let downs. Look where it got me…
On Monday, I entered a Grammy University contest against a bunch of Los Angeles bands, to open for major label artist Anjulie. Turned out, I made it into the Top 5 bands in the competition!! Celebration! Unfortunately, I didn’t make it into the top two.  But the night of the performance, instead of staying at home and pouting, I went to the event. Glad I sucked up my pride and went, because I ended up meeting a bunch of awesome people, and afterwards hung out with Rickey Minor himself! If you don’t know who Rickey Minor is, you should. He’s the musical director for American Idol, he was telling me about his schedule for the next month, he would be working with Jennifer Hudson, Celine Dion, and Carrie Underwood. In just the following three weeks. Life is what you make of it…

The next day I auditioned to open for Steve Miller Band!!! I walked into the audition not caring what the judges thought, I didn’t care if I messed up, or if I would get the gig. I ended up having a great audition, wasn’t nervous at all because I genuinely enjoyed the moment. Turns out.. I didn’t get that either… ha. But one of the people judging ended up offering me a gig the next day! woohoo. Life is what you make of it…

Then, the following day, I went to a mixer. Instead of sitting in the corner waiting for people to talk to me, I ran around introducing myself to everyone there! Ended up, I was offered a gig to sing the national anthem at the opening hockey game for the Reign, at the Civil Business Bank Arena! ha. Life must be what you make of it…

So basically, I think that you just have to keep going. You aren’t going to win every one every time. Its not an equation where 2+2=4. Music is biased and personal. Some people will like you, and some won’t. You just have to keep going, blindly, without faulter, and enjoy yourself. Of course it helps to have amazing friends and family around

There’s another Amanda Holmes epiphany, brought to you by the world of positive thinking. ha.

Check it out. Here’s a video of me singing the national anthem for thousands of people at the Citizen bank business arena

I went to see Joss Stone live in concert tonight. I was in tears watching her on stage. Watching her sing so effortlessly on stage, the big production, the connection to the audience, it all just made me think how happy I would be to do that EVERY DAY. I couldn’t hold back the joy that flowed through my body like a gust of wind taking me away. 

After the concert, my roommate Julia and I waited outside the door for an hour hoping to meet Joss. She ended up coming out because Julia made friends with her friend (ha), and voila! There is Joss Stone! And I hand her my demo and tell her that she is the reason I’ve become the artist I am today. She was so kind and actually took the time to listen to me talk to her Magical. A look into what a successful career in the music industry is like… Her advice for me, “Just don’t sign to a record label and you’ll be fine.” ha.

Its times like these that make me know I’m walking the right path. Follow your heart and good things will come Here’s a video I made the other day, enjoy!

 

P.S. I’m playing at the Pig N’ Whistle Thursday October 8th at 7:30pm, All ages, $9
P.P.S. I’m playing at Linnaea’s Cafe in San Luis Obispo Friday October 9th Info at myspace.com/amandaholmesband

I’ve been doing a bunch of street performing lately. Like I mentioned in one of my last blog entries, it can be very difficult to play in Los Angeles where they always need you to bring your own crowd… So I’m working at building my fan base by playing to new people!

A great place to play in Los Angeles area is 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica. All you have to do is go to City Hall down the street and get a license. Then you can play to the masses! I’ve seen many singer/songwriters start on those streets and really build a strong following. 

The key concept that I’ve learned about street performing is, its not about the tips. Yes the tips and cd sales can help, people signing up for your mailing list is a great thing as well. But more importantly, its about building recognition. There are days when I’ve played my best, and not even made enough money to pay my parking meter. Then there are other days where I’ve made enough to consider street performing as a day job… During the hard days, I just keep reminding myself that I’m building a following. Its not easy. Being an artist isn’t easy. But if you keep working at it, and you become a familiar face, familiar name, momentum will build. 

So if you start to get discouraged, just look at the bright side, maybe you didn’t make much money today, but lots of people heard a glimpse of your music, maybe they didn’t stop today, but maybe they’ll stop another day…

The other day I performed on the street corner next to USC where all the students stop and wait to cross the street. I thought it would be a great spot since its a captive audience that can’t leave! However, people completely ignored my existence and pretended I wasn’t there. Yes I cracked a bunch of jokes so they’d look over and laugh. But most of the time I sang to the back of peoples heads. I thought the day was a complete failure, and then I found this: http://universityparkfamily.ning.com/photo/amanda-holmes-entertains
Someone took a picture and put it up on their blog! Awesome! I also had a bunch of people I didn’t know recognize me later that week… 

Build that fan base. Persistence and Patience are important to success.

Here’s a video of Jack Kovacs and I:
p.s. I don’t know why these videos pick the most unflattering pictures of me imaginable… It won’t let me change the picture…

Hey hey

Life is AMAZING. First day of Senior year at USC today. So funny looking back to freshmen year when I was sooo terrified and thought that I was completely incompetent and would never succeed in anything! ha. Well now I’m happy, confidant, and doing MUSIC.

I have two shows in the next two weeks, one tomorrow August 25th at Crane’s, 1611 El Centro Hollywood CA 90028 8:20pm, FREE, so come! Next September 3rd at House of Blues upstairs Voodoo Lounge! $10 but there are 8 different songwriters playing and they’re all terrific! Info on myspace.com/amandaholmesband

Here’s me covering Build Me Up Buttercup, hope you enjoy!!

Jack and I playin at the House of Blues (sunset)

Tonight I got the privilege to play at the House of Blues!! There were some great singer/songwriters there!! Some wonderful people came out to support. And I got to play with Jack Kovacs. My life was complete. 

A little lesson about Los Angeles music scene:

Since there are so many bands that play around LA, the venues started this thing called “Pay to Play.” Unlike anywhere else in the world, musicians line up around the block to PAY the VENUE to play. Leave the perimeter of LA, and VENUES pay MUSICIANS to play. This makes the most sense considering musicians are providing a service. Its like if an artist paid you to take one of their paintings…

This is what makes playing around Los Angeles hard because everywhere you go they want you to bring out a “draw” of people. You can only ask your friends to pay $10-15 cover to come see you play at a venue a few times… After a while, its hard to keep fans coming back… Proving to be a very viscous cycle.

For those of you that didn’t know… Welcome to the world of “Pay to Play” where the artists get man handled by the promoters. Granted, I am educated in the numbers behind the shows and I do know that promoters are put in this position because their cut of the deal is VERY SMALL. Even on a large scale, promoters can have a hard time making money. Sooo. Thats the dealio on the Los Angeles music scene for independent artists

NEXT SHOW, Tuesday August 11th at Crane’s on N El Cid, right off of Hollywood Blvd by the Fonda Theater. Info on my myspace. Should be fun! Cool, small dive bar that plays music 5 nights a week! Free! Come party with me!

Wish me luck, tomorrow I audition for a talent show for TV!! ha. How fun is my life!!

In baseball they always say its 10% physical and 90% mental. I feel majority of the time, the equation for success is 10% skill, 90% mental strategy. How many times have you been on a roll and then completely sabotaged yourself!! Choked. Feared failure and given up. Or just never tried at all for fear of being wrong or falling on your face… I feel I’ve started to notice a trend that some of the most influencial, successful people, have their mental game under control. Its not that they necessarily excel at some skills, its their uncanny ability to go for it and not worry about failure.

Today I started thinking about the future, how am I going to succeed as a singer. How am I going to pay my bills? Survive? How can I build a following of fans? How can I tour around the world? As I started to ask these questions I started to feel weight on my words. The more I thought about it, the deeper I dug myself into a hole of worries, fears, and anxiety.

I guess I’ve decided not to over think things. The minute I stop worrying and thinking about all the ways something could go wrong, and just DO IT. I realize that things are a lot easier to obtain than I thought. You just have to act. 75% of success is just showing up. So many people are astonished that Shani and I booked our own tour by ourselves. But really, its just about calling enough places. We called each venue about ten times, over the span of four months, and eventually we got the gigs booked! Its easy to sit and doubt yourself, worry about failure and rejection. But if you can feed off of that challenge and use it as a drive for inspiration and determination-you have won the war. 

So whatever it is that you’re wishing you’d done, or want to do… Stop thinking. Stop waiting. Stop day dreaming. Let your body do the actions, your mind will follow. You can be completely self conscious, with no faith in yourself, but you show up and go after what you want…. You’ll make it. If you keep at it for enough time, you’ll make it. Takes rejection, time, and an unwavering concentration on the goal.

My epiphany of the day

The whole tour, compressed into 2 minutes of highlights check it out!!!

Go get my new album, “Savory Second” on iTunes!! Only $3.96!!

And if you could, leave a critique, rating, of the album on itunes, so other people can see!!!

And if you want more, From My Heart is on there as well, only $4.99!!

www.itunes.com/amandaholmes

This last month I’ve been on tour. I’d get out of bed, excited for what the day would bring. Have you ever felt that? The moment you open your eyes you don’t want to go back to sleep because you can’t wait to start your day. I had an epiphany. I live my life either planning the future, or dwelling on the past. This tour, I lived in the moment. I soaked up every second. 

This last month I have lived out of my car. Crashing at friend’s houses. Sleeping on couches, lazyboys, floors, and a bed if I was lucky :) A month of playing show after show after show, meeting sooo many people along the way. It felt soo good to know that when Shani and I would walk into a coffee shop, we knew that majority of people that sat down to listen, would buy a cd. Not only would they buy a cd, every gig people would ask us to sign their cds! ha. Last year we signed probably a hand full of cds, this year, majority of people asked for our signatures! ha. (Good sign of improvement :) 

On numerous occasions people thanked us for making their day. THAT is the kind of influence I want to have on people. THAT is why I’m doing music. To interact with people, and hopefully inspire them to feel!

Shani and I did it all ourselves, all the booking, getting on the radio stations, getting in the newspapers, everything! Its actually pretty easy to call up a newspaper and ask them to put your show in their calendar. It just takes organization, and perseverence. People are busy, so we had to call everyone anywhere from 5-20 times to get them to respond.

In all, I’m done with the tour, but I could go on another month! And then another after that!! I couldn’t think of a better way to spend my time! Living out of a car, seeing the world, meeting so many people, playing music EVERY DAY. Not one day went by where I wished that I wasn’t performing that day. Every day was an exciting adventure

Every show is SOO different. A crowd can drastically change the atmosphere depending on how negative or positive they are. There were shows where I felt like I hadn’t gotten any better and all my practice was for nothing. Then the next show I’d feel like I was on top of the world! ha.

Music takes persistence. When you feel you’ve failed, you can’t give up, its that failure that drives you to be better. Its a constant battle. But every once in a while you get to the top of a mountain and you can appreciate how far you’ve come

All I have to say is, I am soooo unbelievably blessed to do what I love Still have a ways to go before singing is my sole income paying the bills… But I’m closer than I was 2 years ago, or even 6 months ago. And I will make it. Because I have faith. Because I have friends, family, and now fans, that believe in me. Because I won’t take no for an answer.

Thank you to everyone that has been supportive of me.

love u all

Amanda

In the last three days of the tour we had five shows! Talk about going out with a bang!! We played two gigs the last two days.  We ended in Novato California with my family and friends It was wonderful to end the tour with a full room!! I had a blast on this tour, I’ll be posting a video with highlights later Here’s the last video blog:

Two shows on the second to last day of the tour, check them out. We meet nice people, and drunk people. ha.

Back down from Oregon we finally land in Sacramento again. Martin played with us again, and Kyle joined in. Both of these musicians I have to say, blow me away. So inspiring to see great music Check it out!!

Getting towards the end of the tour… Good to see family in Portland

Another tour blog!! Hangin in Portland!! Playing at Mt Tabor Legacy

Hardships on the road, we get our car window smashed…. Check it out.