Ponderings

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FINALLY!

Hi and thank you for stopping by!  I hope you are well and safe during this crazy time.  At long last, I am ready to share new music with you!  The first single from my new record, While the Angels Sigh, is available now HERE.  https://cindyalexander.lnk.to/trytrytry

PREORDER:

You can preorder the new record (starting on 2/24) with some cool bundles (autographed cds – while supplies last, limited edition t-shirt, handwritten lyrics, private zoom serenade, etc.)  in the Blue Élan Records store.

ABOUT “WHILE THE ANGELS SIGH”:

Here’s an article from https://www.broadwayworld.com/ that sums up the new album perfectly: 

During the most stressful time of her adult life, Cindy Alexander wrote and recorded her tenth studio album. Through the most trying of conditions; her mother dying from dementia, navigating through the pandemic and civil protests, all while teaching her twin daughters from home during the “Safer at Home” order, Cindy’s strength and creativity came to the fore. While the Angels Sigh, set for release on April 23, 2021, is at once a musical affirmation of personal power and grace, and an acceptance of human weakness and fallibility. Cindy has written a songbook for the “sandwich generation,” with wisdom for millennials, and gratitude to the generations that came before her.

It took two years to curate the song list with executive producer and label co-founder, Kirk Pasich. “It was two years of me digging deep, during a dark time, to believe in myself and my musical mission,” Cindy explains. “I committed to sharing my truth and my passion, to work with people who could help me manifest my vision, and seized the opportunity to create without being edited, censored or silenced. I am so very blessed that Blue Élan Records gave me that opportunity.”

Cindy entered Sage & Sound Studio at the end of 2019 with a dream team of musicians, led by producer/bass player Sean Hurley (Vertical Horizon, John Mayer, Colbie Caillat) and producer/drummer Victor Indrizzo (Alanis Morissette, Chris Cornell). The first song they recorded also happens to be the first single, “Try Try Try,” a co-write with Cindy’s career-long collaborator, Grammy award-nominated producer and songwriter, David Darling. The song is about trying to connect and reignite the passion, when life gets in the way and distracts us from what really matters. While writing, a distracted Cindy had fallen and broken her elbow and wrist while running to make a meeting. It was Kirk’s idea to record a second “live” version of the song as an acoustic ballad, turning a sexy bar burner into a trippy, hypnotic siren song.

Other star players on the album include guitarist David Levita (Alanis Morissette, Lana Del Rey, Sheryl Crow) and piano from Michael Farrell (Alanis Morissette, Macy Gray). Second single,”Broken but Beloved,” a song about impermanence, was recorded with Grammy award-winning producer and engineer Ross Hogarth at Sunset Sound with Cindy’s dear friend and touring buddy, Michael Bacon (one-half of the Bacon Brothers and award-winning composer) contributing cello from his studio in New York.

The remaining songs were recorded during lockdown last year, from home studios to social distanced recording sessions, tracks were transferred back and forth throughout the year’s quarantine before finally finishing up in Cindy’s bedroom at her new home in Big Sur. Although the creative process was a challenge, the result is a triumph. While the Angels Sigh is an achingly personal album that speaks to and for all of us, and a musical tribute to a broken but beloved humanity.

OH AND THIS HAPPENED:

The photos for this record were taken by the iconic Tom Gundelfinger O’Neal.  He’s the genius behind the Crosby, Stills & Nash cover for Deja Vu and some of the most famous photos of Joni Mitchell.  Yeah, I’m pinching myself over the whole experience.

I NEED A HUG!

Hope to see you on the road when the Covid curtain lifts.  We’re long past due for a hug.
XO
pnut

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OK, I admit…it’s been awhile.  Rather than posting here, I’ve been draining my brain on Patreon – writing and recording a record in front of the Pnut Gallery and virtually “quaranteaming” in that little corner of cyberspace.  If you ever want to get into the minutia and check it out, it’s HERE.

So where have I been the last year?  To catch you up, here is the short version:

Song selection and producer selection for my upcoming record took a VERY long time – a huge emotional roller coaster for me.  Meanwhile, behind the scenes, I was driving back and forth from L.A. to Palm Desert to take care of my Mom, who was battling a rare form of Alzheimer’s/dementia called Posterior Cortical Atrophy with Lewy Body Disease.

I finally started recording a year ago October ’19 with a dream team (think of the amazing musicians behind Alanis Morisette’s latest record, Kacey Musgraves, Lana Del Rey, etc…) – Sean Hurley, Victor Indrizzo, David Levita and Mike Farrell.  Sean and Vic sat in the producer’s seat and led a very collaborative recording process.  Most of it was streamed live for the Pnut Gallery! We finished 8 tracks and then I spent a couple months recording vocals at home.

My work was continuously put on hold.  Those of you who know me, know that my family comes first.  Mom’s disease was progressing rapidly and over Thanksgiving, she broke her hip.  In addition, my ability to care for anyone was halted for a few weeks in late January/ early February by some “mysterious virus.”  Later, we figured it was probably Covid-19.   I started on track 9 with Ross Hogarth – our last day in the studio was March 12, just before the country shut down.

Overnight, I became a 5th grade school teacher – supervising my kids on zoom school.  We were on full lock down.  I broke quarantine only to see my parents, and be with my Mom for hospice.  My Mom passed away on May 26, and it can only be described as a watershed event in my life.  I go into detail about it in my Patreon blog.

It’s only recently that I’ve been able to be creatively productive again.  I worked with Sean & the Dream Team, passing around tracks between our home studio to finish up a new song, and then wrote another song which I recorded just as a piano vocal.  Ross and I got back to work this month and we are almost finished with one of my favorite songs on the record – just waiting for the back up vocal stylings of Bernie Barlow to put the cherry on top.  Time to finish the artwork.

But, I must digress! I have left out an important part of the story!  After Mom died, something shifted in me.  We all have those dreams that we put aside for “some day.”  Well, I finally decided that some day is NOW.  My family and I picked up and moved to Carmel Highlands – a slice of heaven at the top of Big Sur, my favorite place on earth.  Born and raised in Los Angeles, I was witnessing a city becoming a stranger to me.  The anxiety of the pandemic, the riots, the fires, a steep rise in crime…all of that figured into our decision.  I wanted to find a place where we could all breathe again.  And I did.

From a song I just wrote:

Someday’s now
Someday’s when
We decide to start all over again
And take the road that leads True North

I hear a calling
From a sacred mountain high
300 miles from a life I leave behind
There’s no guarantee, except maybe…True North

I cried to Mother Nature
My orphan soul’s in danger
Certain of my mission
She held me in submission
And whispered in my ear
Welcome home

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is so much more to tell, but I’ll save it for later.  New Music coming soon.  In the meantime, please stay safe, be well, and if you have time, visit me in the Pnut Gallery.

And please vote.

With love,
Cindy aka Pnut

 

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Art by Jette Betrue Moreland, age 10

As you come down from your sugar high, let’s segue from Spooky Season to Holiday Season with new music for your playlist!

Besides being a gorgeous Christmas classic that I’ve always adored, “Do You Hear What I Hear?” has a greater message that goes beyond the seasonal story line. Let us all “pray for peace everywhere.” What a blessing it was to create music alongside: Sean Hurley (bass), Dave Levita (Guitar), Victor Indrizzo (drums), Ginny Luke (violin) and Kenneth Crouch (piano), with Kirk Pasich producing and Zackary Darling engineering. You can add it to your favorite streaming platform here.

The video for “Do You Hear What I Hear?” was beautifully filmed and edited by Blue Élan’s own Dee Galipeau, and features footage from our recording session. It’s exclusively available for members of the Pnut Gallery On Patreon here. For as little as $2 you can join the fun here: patreon.com/cindyalexander.

I will be live streaming portions of my recording sessions with an all star band next month for my “Nuts.” Want to be a fly on the wall?  Want to hear the demos? They are all in the Pnut Gallery!

Hope you enjoy “Do You Hear What I Hear” as much as I enjoyed recording it for you.  Wishing you a wonderful holiday season filled with peace, love and beautiful music.

XO
Cindy aka Pnut