Ponderings

by on

IMG_9758RINSE – REUSE- RECYCLE.  I was just thinking that it’s kind of like that with life too, not just our trash. I reach this time of year and I start thinking back on what worked/ what didn’t/ what I need to improve, and I forgive myself. I rinse the muck that only weighs me down. I decide to reuse the gifts and inspiration that I’ve been blessed with, refine them, and recycle in the sense that I’m gonna throw them back into the universe to be picked up by some unsuspecting soul for whom my music may someday resonate. OK, so maybe it’s far fetched… but I woke up this morning with those 3 words in my head. Probably because my six year old twins berated me for forgetting my reusable shopping bags at the market yesterday.

Compilation CD benefitting The Alliance for Children's Rights Speaking of my kids… my daughter Jette appears on the new Blue Élan Christmas compilation with her debut performance of “Santa on Vacation.” You can check it out HERE (https://soundcloud.com/cindyalexander-me/santa-on-vacation-featuring-6-year-old-jette-betrue) . The 17 song cd benefits The Alliance for Children’s Rights, a 5 star charity which protects the rights of impoverished and abused children so that they have safe, stable homes, healthcare and the education they need to thrive. 100% of label profits go to the charity. ‪#NoBrainer‬. Please consider purchasing here: www.blueelan.com/store. Features great songs by Janiva Magness, Rusty Young (Poco), Jack Tempchin (Eagles songwriter), Rita Wilson, Colin Devlin, Janey Street, me and many more. I hope you get a chance to add these tunes to your holiday collection.

I just got back from my last Home Invasion concert of the year in Texas. Ali Handal and I had a blast. If you care to follow our antics, please “like” my music page on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/cindyalexander.music).  I post a lot of videos when I am on the road. My “Traffic Jams” with Ali have become quite popular! Please email me if you’d like to schedule a Home Invasion (private house concert) for yourself! They are super fun and affordable. I’m trying to keep my tour schedule up to date at Bands In Town – it’s a good way to track me and see if I’m in your area.

Before I head off to my new imitation/ poor man’s Temperpedic Bed (my latest obsession…it really did cure my back ache!), I wanted to send you my very best for the Holidays. I hope you continue to find beauty and magic throughout the New Year, and may your life be blessed with health, happiness, love, laughter and beautiful music.

Peace out, p-nut (aka Cindy Alexander)

“Let me be clear
It’s a Happy New Year
What’s broken is still in our hands
You’ve got the pieces I’m missing
And I’ve got the plan…”

~ From “For Auld Lang Syne” available on A Blue Élan Christmas or Christmas is Here (EP)

by on

#Thankful.

Thankful for you, thankful for the blessings of family, love, health & the gift of music.  Praying for Peace during these trying times.  Sometimes it’s hard to get on stage and be funny and clever, and sing when there are other people in pain – but then I remind myself:  Music has always been a source of inspiration, hope and healing.  It’s something that unites us at any age, and can be used to pay it forward.

My partner label Blue Elan Records has created something special:  “A Blue Élan Christmas”  featuring my cover of “Christmas is Here,” my original song “For Auld Lang Syne” AND the debut of my daughter Jette Betrue, singing the first song Chip and I ever wrote together:  “Santa On Vacation.”  If there is only one song you check out, please check out Jette’s – I PROMISE you will smile: CLICK HERE to LISTEN.  12279132_10153804221675528_4386075115452810722_n

Jette: Mom, am I famous yet?
Me: Kind of.
Jette: Then can I have a facebook page?
Me: No.
***she farts***
Jette: How about a page for Princess Flufferina? ‪#‎6YearsOld‬

Also featured on this fantastic 17 song compilation are my friends Janiva Magness, Colin Devlin and the legendary Jack Tempchin (hit songwriter for the Eagles), Rusty Young of Poco, Gary Hoey, Rita Wilson and many more.     100% of label profits will benefit the Alliance for Children’s Rights, a non profit organization that provides free legal services to many at-risk youth in the Foster Care System.  The album is available now on iTunes, Amazon, and through the Blue Élan website by clicking here.Please join us in supporting this wonderful cause by purchasing this great album.
iTunes: http://apple.co/1Qx9gHF, Amazon: http://amzn.to/1NFWH6X

Also, please mark your calendars.  I’ve got  full length headlining set on Wednesday December 9 at Saint Rocke in Hermosa Beach. We’ll be playing acoustic so that you can hear the lyrics 🙂  Joining me on stage will be Ali Handal, Tina Trevino, Chip Moreland and Carl Sealove.  Surprise Special Guests too! Tickets available HERE,  Reservations highly recommended. Dinner there is yummy.

I’ll have the “Blue Élan Christmas” cd as well as all of mine for stocking stuffers.  If you don’t have the new EP “An American Girl” yet, you can get it by clicking here.

Saint Rocke
December 9, 8 pm
Reservations highly recommended ~ food is yummy!

Warmest wishes for a beautiful holiday with the ones you love,
Cindy aka p-nut

by on
An American Girl EP Cover
New EP! To be released 10/9/15

NEW Music  And it’s because of YOU!

September 16, 2015

Let’s face it – indie artists have no careers unless they have amazing, supportive Fans like I do.  It’s because of you that I was able to put out 6 records on my own and it’s because of My Fans that I now have a record deal with Blue Élan.   It’s because of my Fans that the last CD “Curve” reached a broader audience – word of mouth is the best promotion that I could ever have.  So I think you get the point.  It’s because of people like YOU that I can and will continue to make more music.  And thanks to Blue Élan, my new partner/ record label, I get to do it more often 🙂 

I know we’re in a digital age, but there’s something really special about holding music in your hands – a tangible representation can be a deeper connection.  I personally love opening up a CD package, reading the lyrics and adding it to my collection that I can see and touch, as well as hear.  Call me old school or old fashion – that’s OK.  I’ll own it.  I’m ….an adult (with a very active inner child).

So I made this CD for You and Me – a Limited Edition pressing that, not only will be signed personally by me to all those who PRE-ORDER it by OCTOBER 2, but also contains 3 acoustic mix bonus tracks that won’t be available on the iTunes version.  Besides this offer through the Blue Elan Website, you’ll only be able to get it at my shows.

American Girl is, in some ways, an extension of “Curve,” where Dave Darling and I dipped our feet into the Americana world with some rootsy instrumentation.  This time we’re fully committed.

I started writing the songs for this EP while I was on tour earlier this year.  The long drives gave me time to think.  Kevin So (my guitarist for the April ’15 Southern swing) asked me, on the road from Charlotte back to Nashville, how I began in the music industry…  and stories that I hadn’t told for many, many years (some that I had forgotten) unleashed a torrent of emotion and a flood of memories.   One of those memories was the original recording of  Tom Petty’s “American Girl” for the movie Sugar & Spice.  On the EP, you’ll hear a new, and probably surprising take on the same song.  I would say I’ve learned a lot, experienced a deeper level of love and loss, and redefined my dreams over the last 15 years since I first recorded it.   Also on the EP, and of great importance to me, are the originals:  “Play” is an anthem about the healing power of music, and “Monarch” is a song inspired by the book Hope’s Wish, about a little girl named Hope Stout, whose amazing legacy includes the March Forth With Hope Foundation.  The tune “See You In L.A.” was originally written with and about my friend Anna Danes, a beautiful jazz songstress who just recorded her album that includes a samba version of the song.  Of course, I couldn’t help but infuse a little bit of myself – and the song addresses one of my biggest lessons in life: Patience.  “Burdens and Bones” is perhaps the most personal.  Although it comes off as a feel good rocker, it’s actually about a very dark time in my life that I can now sing about from a place of strength and wisdom.  It’s about the challenges I faced as a young woman who met the notorious wolves in the music business when I first started.

And here’s the coolest thing – “An American Girl” is  the first in a SERIES of EP’s that will come out over the next year or so.  I’m already at work with Colin Devlin (of the Irish band The Devlins) on EP number 2.
#LUCKYGIRL

To hear a sampling of all of the tracks & PRE-ORDER autographed copies of  “An American Girl,” click here:  BLUE ELAN RECORDS – STORE
Orders will be shipped on or before October 9.

You can also purchase and have it signed in person at the EP Release Show. Tickets for the Hotel Cafe EP release show on October 10th in Los Angeles are here:
HOTEL CAFE OCTOBER 10, 8 PM DOORS – SHOWTIME 9 PM SHARP!

Shake it Shake it Yeah!
Shake it Shake it Yeah!

Thank you so much for reading, for being a part of my musical life, and for your continued support.
With love,
Cindy Alexander aka p-nut

PS:  Click here to see How We Got the Cover & Back Cover shots for my new EP…