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12/29/07

What I've Been Up To...

Trust me, I am no big deal. I’m just a music lover. When I find a sound I love, I roll with it and tell anyone that would listen about it. That’s how it all started. I saw Darien Brockington perform and fell in love with his voice (yeah, just his voice! Lol!). I seeked him out and eventually developed a friendship with him. As I got acquainted with his music catalogue, I started to tell people about him especially when his album came out. Time went on and everyone who knew me, knew about Darien’s music. I even managed to get him some radio play out here. Some time in April, with Darien and his manager, Monty’s okay, I started the official Darien Brockington group on Facebook. This is where everything started to jump off for me. I began meeting more people, fans and networked with DJs and promoters. Some came up to me while I was at a neo soul show featuring Eric Roberson, recognizing me as the group’s leader and thanked me for starting it, saying that more people need to know about him. The same thing happened when I saw Darien and Little Brother perform in Toronto in July.

In September, I met Jorge through my group on Facebook. He runs Nuground Music which helps promote independent artists and in fact, he had helped promote Darien’s album by developing a mixtape with him. By October, I was helping him promote an in store appearance that he arranged for Little Brother at the beginning of their Get Back tour which also featured Darien. When the tour touched down in Toronto, D took me aside to talk some business that he needed my help with. I was totally floored by his request at first but it gave me a boost. Honestly, I was nervous because up until that point I was doing everything on my own accord and this time I was asked to do something specifically. Eventually, I took it as a compliment and a sign of respect of all the work I’ve done. Darien and I speak on a regular basis now and I’ve given him a lot of leads, info and ideas that he’s been quite appreciative of. My goal is actually to get him a show of his own in Toronto and we’ve gotten inquiries about that so we’ll see what the New Year brings.

Now, I officially help run 4 groups on FB and there are more projects coming. The first one, of course, is Darien’s group which has close to 200 members. Secondly, I’m doing admin for HoneySoul.com which is an amazing site that a mutual friend of mine and Darien’s runs, Vonnie. I was totally thrilled when she asked me to help because her site (http://honeysoul.com/) has a huge following and currently the group is thriving quickly with over 300 members to date. The other groups were formulated through Jorge and I’ve done most of the admin. He introduced me to Daru (http://www.myspace.com/rusic), his sister Rena (http://www.myspace.com/renasongs) and Reggie B (http://www.myspace.com/reggiebplaneth)whom are very talented artists/producers that I’m working closely with. Daru & Rena’s group is officially launched and Jorge and I have been working to create a buzz for them. Reggie’s group won’t probably be launched until the New Year because I’m still working on it. They’ve been fun to work with so far and are all very sweet.

I’m still in awe of all this but I’m excited. I look forward to see where all this takes me. People have told me that I have a way words and that I’m personable…I suppose I never really listened or paid any attention until now. Seeing all the things that have developed over the last 2 years can only be attributed to God’s blessings and for that I am thankful.

Watch out, world! Lady Vee’s comin’ thru! LoL!

12/26/07

Looking Back…2007

It’s almost the end of ‘07 and I can’t help but think where the hell has the year gone? Every year around this time, I start to think back and reminisce on all the things that have gone on. 2007 was a HUGE year for me.

It seems a big part of my year were concerts. I saw John Legend twice. First I had front row seats to see him in Toronto in April and the second time was when I traveled to Philly in July. I also met him twice and I was thrilled about that. I saw Eric Roberson in June and was right in front for that one too. Meeting him was a milestone for me because I can now officially saw that I’ve met my top 4 male singers… John Legend, Dwele, Darien Brockington and Eric Roberson. I saw Raheem Devaughn in March while I was vacationing in Charlotte, NC. In May on my birthday weekend, I saw Jon B perform. Then at the end of June, I went to an amazing concert. The line up was Donell Jones, Carl Thomas, K-Ci & Jojo, Jagged Edge, SWV and New Edition. I also saw Darien & Little Brother 3 times…once in March when I went to Charlotte and twice in Toronto in July & October. The most recent show I went to was to see one of my most fave. Hip Hop groups, Slum Village and got to meet them as well. My cousin, Jojo also took me to 2 concerts which I enjoyed as well. We went to see Mathew Good and Dashboard Confessional.

This was also the year for travel. I went on 2 trips. In March, I went to Charlotte, North Carolina for a few days to hook up with some friends, namely Nancy and Darien. It was quite the experience for me and I enjoyed it immensely. At the end of July, I went on a road trip with Tracey to New Jersey and Philly. The main event there was that John Legend was throwing a private show and party for members of the John Legend Network. That was amazing too. It made me realize how important it is to get away and I hope to do more traveling in the New Year. To see more on my trips, I have a section of my website dedicated to them. I still have to work on the Philly section but Charlotte is all finished. You can see this here: http://www.geocities.com/ladyvee76/travel

Not all things were good this year. I won’t dwell on the bad things but I will talk about one thing because I’m still struggling a bit with it. I lost a good friend in September. Her name is Elsie and I met her through work. She was a patient of ours and passed at the age of 60. Elsie was one of the kindest people I know. We were quite close and often she would come by the office just to see me. I also used to up to see her because she just lived up the street. She was especially there for me when I was going through some personal struggles, always making sure to drop by to check on me or call. When she had an appointment, I used to meet her outside to help her across the street especially when there was a lot of snow and ice or just simply to help her with the doors because she had a walker. She died unexpectedly on September 21. Elsie got ill and went into the hospital and passed about a week later. What pained me the most is that I was sick with bronchitis and couldn’t go to visit her; I never got to see her before she passed. To this day, I miss her…I don’t think I will ever stop but at the same time, I try and smile, thinking that I know that she’s watching over me. R.I.P. Elsie

I’ve gone through a lot of personal growth this year that I’m very proud of. It’s too much to write about now though because I’ve been up to a lot lately. I’ll save that for my next entry. All I can say is I’m a lot more confident and a little less shy. People have said this to me before but I didn’t really start to take notice of it until the last few months. I know my strengths and can actually take compliments instead of getting all awkward and brushing them off. I’ve surprised myself a few times because I am getting noticed/recognized and people whom I hold in high regard have asked me for help. It’s still all new to me but it makes me feel real good in my heart even though I’m still “wow” about it all.

I met a lot of new friends this year too. I finally met Nancy in person when I went to Charlotte in March. I was introduced to my friend, Tracey through a mutual friend of ours, Christine. I met my friends from the John Legend Network in person when I went to Philly this year: Deedra from Houston and Jenni from Oklahoma. Jenni’s husband, Rashaun is a professional football player. For a period of time, he played for 2 Canadian Football League teams Toronto and Hamilton so Jenni and I managed to spend some time together while they were here. I also went to my first football game ever with her! I met a few new friends via Facebook (FB). 2 people in particular stand out and they are Michelle and Jorge. Michelle’s from New Jersey and has become like a little sister to me. We met by having the same interests in music and built from there. Jorge, I met through a group I started on FB for Darien. He did a bit of promo work for Darien and I messaged him to inquire about it. We eventually graduated from emails to the phone. We talk practically every day and he’s probably one of my closest male friends. He’s from Springfield, MA but lives in Puerto Rico. Some of my friendships have grown as well, mainly 2….Vonnie & Darien. I met Vonnie through Darien in a round about way. Vonnie runs a website called http://www.honeysoul.com which showcases some of the best in soul music in all its wonderful forms. Shortly after D & I finally met in person, she did an interview with him which is how I found her site. It turns out she and Darien are really good friends. We corresponded through myspace here and there then she found me on FB. We are now in contact often and I also help her with some administration stuff. She’s one of the sweetest people I know and funny as hell! Darien and I have come a ways since the first time I saw him sing in Feb ’06 and I’m proud to call him a friend. He’s really down to earth and just an all around cool cat. In October which was the last time I saw him, he asked me to help him out with some business aside from what I do for him already so we are in constantly in touch. I don’t have a whole lot of friends but what I do have is a small bouquet of people whom I care about and cherish. I hope these friendships continue to flourish for the years to come.

All in all, 2007 was a very good year and I look forward to an even greater 2008!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

12/8/07

Poetry Corner

I've gotten back into writing poetry this year and I just realized that I haven't posted the following 3 poems so here I go:

Lady In The Mirror (written Sept 20/07)

Full of doubt, shyness and lack of self esteem but managed to pull through somehow
Looking for love in all the wrong places and didn’t realize until now

Heartbreaks and heartaches, struggles and strife, learning from experiences over the years
Losing touch with and obtaining new friends, sharing good times, laughter and tears

Who was it that I saw in the mirror then? No one cuz sometimes I hated to look years ago
When I did, I saw so much depression and self dislike. That’s why I didn’t, I felt so low

That was the past and now it’s the present
I’m a different person today but my transformation wasn’t very pleasant

Obtaining love for self was difficult and coming out of my shell was hard
The process seemed very challenging to let down my guard

Looking at the lady in the mirror now and who do I see?
Someone who’s stronger and more confident, it’s me!


Crush (written Aug 31/07)

You’re a great person but you’re also a fantasy to me
I have a crush on you and I don’t know what to do
Every time I think of you I smile
Sometimes when I’m low, thoughts of you keep me going
You seem so far away to me, out of my reach, out of my league
What you do captivates me like no other
When I see you, I’m mesmerized by you
In awe of you, amazed by you
You intrigue me, make me wonder what it would be like to be with you
You know I’m there, never ignore me and always smile when you see me
It feels good to communicate with you, be near you and in your arms
Shyness gets in my way when I talk to you or see you
I’m afraid to say how I feel, afraid that it’ll ruin where we are now
Worried that I’ll get turned away or shut down
So I’m just here, always in your corner, thinking of you, supporting you
And until I have the courage tell you, I’ll just enjoy my crush on you



Lonely Girl (written Aug/31/07)

Hey there, lonely girl
Hiding behind your smile
Pretending everything is alright, ignoring your sad heart

Hey there, lonely girl
Struggling to be okay
Crying when alone, wishing to be in someone’s hold

Hey there, lonely girl
Worrying your pretty little head
Wondering how to cope, sometimes thinking there’s no hope

Hey there, lonely girl
Just barely getting by
Trying to do what’s right, keeping everything inside

Hey there, lonely girl
Doing what she can
Often overlooking herself, making sure loved ones are okay

Hey there, lonely girl
Keep your head up high
Know that there are people that care for you and think of you all the time

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