AT LAST

And I'm not talking about the song, although I do/did sing it on the gig in San Pancho, Mexico; I'm talking about finally getting some of the footage from my famous CD release "DecaDance", back in July of 2015, up on youtube.
Just go there, put in my name, add "Live at Hugh's Room, Toronto", and you'll see five clips #'s 1-5 under that name.
Then you can watch the one from San Pancho too.  It's there too:
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=zoe+chilco+san+pancho

WHAT GRADE AM I IN NOW?

Sort of too bad that school stops, isn't it?  Where we are safely categorized and informed and graded. Don't have to think at all.  At least that's what it was like when I attended school, back in the dark ages.


Well, now I'm on my own, and still stupid a lot of the time.  I received an email the other day, which was asking for stories; 'write for a better world', and because youtube was taking nine hours to upload one lousy video, I decided to write by bit.  It wasn't until I finished that I scrolled farther down on the email to see that the invitation was to kids in grades five to eight. Dang!!


Not that what I wrote was going to make a better world anyway; just me rambling on as usual.  But because I went to all that trouble, I will share it here (after letting you know that now on youtube there are six new videos - the first five uploaded with ease; - the five are live at Hugh's Room, and the 6th is in San Pancho, Mexico). Just search under my name.
  Nope, just the five are up.  the computer is going to shut down before #6 uploads.  oh well.
Here's my blather:


I was watching one of those American sit-coms the other night, which in general are silly, with their laugh tracks and obvious jokes, but this one was presenting some thoughts on the very real dilemma of the world today, in particular with the government recently elected in that most powerful country.

At the end, they ran a piece of the speech given by Martin Luther King, the famous “I have a dream” part, and as that old black and white footage reeled on, I suddenly was overcome with tears.  “Hey!” I thought, “Have I lost it?  Watching too much TV?, and not getting enough exercise?”

But I realized pretty quickly why the sadness was so overwhelming.  I had been alive when King gave that speech; I was a young adult, pregnant with a child, and pregnant too, with all the hopes that the 60’s generation had engendered. There was so much then to be hopeful about: the civil rights movement; the women’s movement; the changing freedoms in society; and of course, the music, which had us all singing our truths and idealism.

What a changed world it is now, with not only the actual climate, by our own doing, wreaking havoc everywhere, but as well, the climate in people’s heads being so frightening. Terrorism, yes, intolerance, greed of the corporate world and the rich one percent of the population, children murdering each other in schools for a mobile phone, police brutality, the endless hate and wars that are perpetrated.  It’s too much, sometimes, and I realized that in my heart I felt like it was too great a loss. What happened?

Greed and ingratitude happened; selfishness, power of a few, lack of caring. It seems as if no one wants to take time any more. Well, most working people don’t have any time, since their salaries, and those of the CEO’s are so disparate, and families go without basic needs. And those who do have some extra cash spend it on every new gadget that comes along to further reduce their time with real people; gadgets that allow the big interests to follow our every move and control us even more with the information they glean from us.

What happened to us that we no longer think for ourselves the same way; or feel connected the same way?  Maybe some people would say they are more connected via the internet. I hope they are, in good ways, keeping the things that matter most to us as the priorities. Maybe it’s just me, needing to re-involve myself as I did back then. Maybe I need to have a virtual pregnancy, to give birth to some new hope.

There are many people and groups who work tirelessly to change all the evil in the world, and I appreciate and support them when I can. I like to make music, write songs, connect with people via the melodies and emotions and thoughts. I can use my compositions to get the messages out there to people in language that goes beyond borders. I can remind people to feel what they feel.

Thank you, Martin Luther King, for living and informing and acting. Your dream lives on in many hearts.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

We're well on our way now, since it's already Jan. 8, and so far, it's an OK year, but the bad things keep going on, as I guess they always will.  Thankfully, the good things last too (as I say in one of my songs).  Let's hope the good outweighs the bad.  Wishing you all a great 2017.


Here's a picture of me-by-the-tree on Christmas Day,
and then some photos of the last night of the year at Hugh's Room, in Toronto, which unfortunately, may be closing permanently.  Let us pray that it doesn't; it's such a great venue.


And by the way, I am finally starting to get some clips of my DecaDance CD release, which took place at Hugh's Room, all the way back in July, 2015.  So much footage; so little time (not to mention I don't have any editing tools, and didn't even get the footage until Dec. 2016).  Just try and stop me now.....May get a few songs up this week on youtube. 


Meanwhile, the photos:

Chris Whiteley, lots of instruments; Zoe, John D., sax

O Tannenbaum.....

Michelle, Beatrice, Zoe

Ron J., Diana Braithwaite, Zoe, John D., John Sheard, piano, Michelle

Ron Johnston, bass; Vine Maccarone, drums; Beatrice; Zoe, John Deehan, sax.