LEMONADE! and a bonus lemon tree right in your backyard (or front yard), just for putting the intention out there and detaching yourself from the end result.  Don’t believe me?  I’m not even close to kidding.  Sure, life doesn’t always work out the way we hoped, dreamed, or planned- but that’s the most exciting part!  The uncertainty- the gray area- is the best part.   Everything is what you make of it, so make it something beautiful, learn from it, and grow from it, and you will continue to feel the amazing-ness of life in every breathe, every conversation, and in every moment the sunshine kisses your skin.

Why am I so annoyingly positive and optimistic?  BECAUSE I’M EXPERIENCING THIS RIGHT NOW.  

HOW, you might ask.  Well, in my last post I talked about this meeting with songwriters and a web show.. having a set list of songs to play and playing shows around town.. and how hard life has been.  At this very moment, my skin is just oozing with excitement that just can’t be contained because (drum roll please)… 

I will be getting on an airplane to Nashville in 4 DAYS to record a 3 song EP (all co-writes with wonderfully talented LA based musicians and singer/songwriters) which is all paid for.. and I will be meeting with record label execs and some of the industry’s top songwriters at a very intimate music retreat!
 

To top it off, I made my Kickstarter goal- which proves that.. you get back what you put out there.  The more you believe in something, the more passionate you are, the more likely everyone around you will feel it and want to contribute in some way (even if it’s just an encouraging high five).  

What have I been up to?  Well, since you asked…

Finishing the re-writes on the songs we’re taking to Nashville and Recording the basic tracks which have been sent over to the studio already! WOOOO!  Spending a lot of time in the booth- getting used to being behind the mic in a recording studio… drafting and re-drafting my goals (because, it’s important to keep a vision of what you want your life to look like from the little things- like how am I supposed to stay healthy on a crazy schedule.. to the VERY BIG HAIR AUDACIOUS things- like for me, performing as Glinda in Wicked on Broadway by September 2022).  The web show has somewhat fizzled since our last Kung Fu Panda extravaganza because both Samira and I have become very busy bees.. I am performing Monday-Wednesday nights at open mics to just get out there and become more comfortable with my new songs and I actually have my first real live show at a tiny little venue called Cafe Muse this Saturday at 9 pm in West Hollywood.  I also have recently been asked to play a set at the infamous Whiskey a Go Go on Sunset Blvd just by having my page on Reverbnation.com.  Crazy Cool.. I am hoping to do that when I get back from Nashville. 

You see, I still don’t have a band- I just have some awesome friends who help me out from time to time.  I’ve been really lucky that way.  But I’m hoping that sometime soon I will have a band of my own and I’ll be rocking out shows all over town. 
Right now, my set list looks like this—

1.Mess of Me
2. Nobody Wins
3. What I Learned
4. Dream Chaser
5. Love is Hot
6. Jack n Jill

I have other songs in progress, but they are waiting to be played with and brought to life— so until then, I have just enough to play a short set around town. WOO WOO. 

side note: i am so incredibly blown away by the talent in this town.  there ARE amazing people out there.. who are incredibly talented.. and there is MORE THAN ENOUGH to go around. 

Everything I put out there, is literally coming around full circle.  I remember saying to myself just a few months ago- it would be so cool to have someone pay for me to go to Nashville to record (because I had heard that some lovely talented girl had this kind of opportunity).. and sure enough, a few months later I was asked to go to Nashville to record.  Granted, not everything is paid for, but I knew I had to get there some way some how, so I got creative.  And here I am,  beyond ecstatic to be leaving for the trip of my dreams right now.  

So, to you I say- do it now. Do it now. Do it now. Figure out what you are cost passionate about/ what you are best in the world at and find out how you can make money doing it. Not a job out there already? Create one!

The sky is the limit. So get out of your own way and decide what kind of life you want to live. E choice is yours.

Til next time.

With SO much love and gratitude,
Michelle Antoinette Call

You’ve never looked so good.  Did you lose weight? Wow, it’s been too long. I figured it was about time for an update.. a lot HAS happened since the last time I wrote you (about five months ago). 

First of all, Happy New Year!  I can’t believe it’s already March.  What a crazy year so far. 

Where do I even begin? Okay, well, to recap on the events I mentioned in my last update- Samira and I made our way back to the Law and Order: Los Angeles set before the show was shut down and they kicked off the lead actor (Skeet Ulrich), the footage to the music video we were shooting for that San Diego artist somehow got deleted and disappeared into thin air (total bummer), I’m still in the process of recording my album (and have written a ton of new songs (3 of which are brilliant) and fired my guitarist (which lasted all of two seconds).  I also may or may not have had a love affair with an actor you may or may not have heard of.  JUICY.  I’m not telling.  As far as my new songs go, one of them came to me in my sleep. YES- IN MY SLEEP.  The words woke me up and would not let me go back to sleep until I recorded this one phrase.. “God if you’re out there, I know you’re listening- please go with him” which I would then go on to finish writing the following day.  I am not much of a religious person (although I was born and raised Catholic) but this song was inspired by the Divine, and I’m certain it is for my grandfather.   

The new and fun and totally exciting stuff:  I have been writing a TON and absolutely adore my producer who has been more than generous with studio time, given my current financial situation.  He believes in me so much that he recommended me to a group of songwriters and I am now their next assignment!  I basically gave them a rundown of what kind of artist I am, the kinds of songs I see myself singing, and where I see myself in 5 years (a hugely successful country music star winning ACM awards and CMA awards.. maybe a Grammy).. and the nine of them go off and have a month to write one song each.  In April, I go in to their meeting and they pitch their songs to me- if I like any of them, I can have them to perform, record, and do whatever I want with!  This is an exciting opportunity for me because although I can write songs, not every songwriter is a singer/performer and there are songs out there that just NEED to be performed and heard.  It’s a beautiful thing.  I can’t wait to see what they come up with.  

Next on the list is my new adventure with my bestie, Samira Mostofi- a silly web series that documents our experiences on red carpets and at big important Hollywood events called Hollywood Adventure (for HollywoodJunket.com).   Our first adventure was the Red Carpet at the Oscars.  We were able to go to the Food and Beverage Preview where Wolfgang Puck told us a little bit about his food choices for this years Academy Awards Governors Ball, then we went to a few “walk through” events where we got goody bags and got to taste all sorts of food and beverages from local restaurants, and finally we got to hang out on the Red Carpet the day of the Oscars.  That was so much fun.  Granted, you don’t see all of the footage we shot because of something I like to call… editing… so at times we sound a little silly and seem a little stupid.. but it’s all in good fun. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=jd18AU6_k54 You can see it there. 

Next, I went to the screening for Mars Needs Moms (which I made me both laugh and cry- oh, Disney).  The next morning I woke up at the crack of dawn and made my way over to the Beverly Hilton Hotel to interview the filmmakers and the cast at the Junket.  This was AWESOME.  I can’t wait for the footage to go up.  I’ve NEVER done anything like this before, so you’ll have to forgive me- I’m pretty sure I turn bright red in one of the interviews because I was so nervous.  You wait outside the rooms until they call you in.  Once you go in, you put your stuff down, jump into the chair seated directly in front of lets say, Joan Cusack who plays “Mom” and Mindy Sterling (aka Frau Farbissina from the Austin Powers series) who plays “Supervisor” and then they tell you your 5 minutes starts… NOW.  These ladies were EASY to interview because they were so sweet and talkative.  Did I mention I love both of these ladies and I shook their hands and chatted with them for 5 minutes on camera? Freaking UNREAL.  I’ll keep you posted on when these interviews go up- I’m sure I’ll be doing more of these screenings/junkets with the lovely Samira and I’m sure I’ll get better at them with practice too.  

As for now, I’m sure this wonderful opportunity will lead to some incredible adventures or possibly blossom into another amazing opportunity altogether- I’m not sure what the future holds.  All I know is that as soon as I have a set list of songs to perform (which will be in the next month or so) I will start performing locally, finish my recording (which is rather expensive) and then YOU can be my biggest fan.  Woooo.  No, really.  Will you? 

It hasn’t been easy, these last few months.. in fact, it’s been really hard.  I’ve been sick more in the last 6 months than I’ve been in the last 6 years.  I’m so far from financial stability it isn’t even funny.. but I think the whole point is that this struggle is what makes me who I am.  If I can survive this crazy mess I call my life at this moment, I can survive anything.  And.. it could always be worse (knock on wood).  Once you hit rock bottom, there’s only one way to go but up, right? I’m SO ready for up.  I’m officially a starving artist :) Speaking of starving, I’m going to go eat some cheerios.  

p.s. it’s all really happening.  you just have to have a little faith. did I say a little? I mean  A LOT.

love love love love love love love love love love love.  Do you feel the love? LOVE.

I’m sitting in a Starbucks in Santa Monica, going over my bank statement for the last month.. attempting to budget myself- because after all, that is the smart thing to do.  Since I’d rather update you- you being anyone interested enough to continue reading- I’ll put off my budgeting once again.

Anyway, in the last two months there have been a serious chain of events that have brought me to this moment right now.  An overview: I got a new job (at lululemon athletica in Santa Monica- which I love), a water pipe burst in my parents house resulting in a complete and total move to a rental house, my laptop was, once again, destroyed by the water damage, I moved to Hollywood with my best friend/partner in production- Samira, we then found ourselves on the set of Law and Order: Los Angeles , I co-wrote a hit song with a very talented singer/songwriter, I turned 24, found a guitarist, lost my phone and credit card, and found out that the guy I had previously dated for some time off and on had a pregnant fiancee who he had been with for 6 years.  

Talk about a rollercoaster. the last two months have been absolutely crazy between work and moving and emotional breakdowns, family drama, boy drama, and being sick  for a ridiculously long two weeks.   However, I am in SUCH a good place right now and wouldn’t have changed the last two months for anything in the world.  Do you believe that everything happens for a reason? Or that if you put an intention out into the Universe that it will manifest in one way or another— most likely if you’re passionate about it (at least that’s my take on it).. well I DO.  And everything that has been happening has been so amazing in a way that is preparing me for the next moment, for the next person I’m going to meet, for the next song I’m going to write, for the next opportunity that will bring me closer to what I have wanted my whole life.. to be a hugely successful country singer.  and I believe that it is happening and has been happening for a long time, but I was never really ready for it until now.  

It has been clear to me ever since I can remember— going to the Academy of Country Music Awards as a kid I would look up at Reba or Faith Hill and think- that is going to be me some day.  I was made for the stage and that’s all there was to it.  I knew it then, and I know it now.  But it is more than just the fame and fortune that I want.  I want to move people— to connect with an audience— to make them feel, like REALLY feel what I’m singing- it’s unlike anything else.  There’s a lot more to it, and a lot more that I intend on accomplishing with my fame and fortune.. but I’ll save that for the book I’m going to write ;).  

Of course, the fame and fortune is an awesome perk, but I also realize that it entails giving up my personal life and privacy to a certain extent.  That’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make because singing is the only career  in this life where I will be truly happy and at my fullest potential… some where down the road I would love to do Broadway.. we’ll see :)

Anyway, back to my parents house- it is under construction and for the next 6 months they will be living in a beautiful house on a lake in Toluca Lake… which is how Samira and I wandered onto the set of Law and Order: LA.. us inside kids call it lola BAHAHA.  They rented the lot next door to our house for the catering trucks and let us eat their food .. so when Samira and I went to thank them for the hospitality, we started meeting crew members.. along with Skeet Ulrich who invited us back to watch more filming at the other location.  We hung out on the set all day, chatted with the crew and Skeet on short breaks and managed to get invited back to the set by Skeet himself.. let me tell you just how hard it is to get on this set— It’s nearly impossible.  but we’re pulling all sorts of tricks out of our sleeves to make it back there.  If it doesn’t work out, no big deal- but that day was awesome.. If the flood never happened, and my mom didn’t choose that house to move into, it would have never happened..   Meanwhile, Samira and I are shooting a music video in San Diego in the very little free time the we all have (All being us and the singer/songwriter).. it’s been a challenge, but when it’s time- I’ll give you more details.. it’s gonna be good though- you can bet on it.  

In other news, I co-wrote a song that is a hit.  I’m so proud of it and am so beyond ecstatic to have had the opportunity to create something that was so organic and awesome.  I’m hoping to get a legit recording of it in the next few weeks.. get it posted.. create a Myspace and all that jazz so you can have a listen!

I ended up moving to Hollywood just by chance, got super lucky with a sweet deal on a two bedroom/one bathroom on La Brea and Hollywood.  After chatting about our very disorganized plans to move to Hollywood with a server at a  bar/restaurant I used to frequent at The Grove (pre-flood), he told Samira and I about an open spot in the building he manages and the rest is history. We moved in a month and a half later..  It’s pretty awesome and Samira and I are very happy with it.  It’s a great place to start out and right where we both need to be.  

Oh, and it was my birthday too- September 29- I’m a libra…  It rained a little .. and then there were two rainbows in the sky.  That night, I met a guitar player through a friend who has been nothing but awesome to me and if you ever come to a show, you might get to meet him.  He’s a cutie.. and single ladies! (sorry Taylor- I’m hoping that if you read this you don’t get this far) so I’m hoping that draws in a solid girl fan base :) hahahaha just kidding.. no but really.  

If you’re still reading this, kudos.  I’ll end it here but know that what you think about most, whatever it is that consumes your mind whether it is negative or positive- is creating your reality..  I highly recommend reading The Secret, The 7 Spiritual Laws of Success.. or listening to Brian Tracy.  Totally life changing- for the better.  

I wish you the best.  ’Til next time.