How I Got Into Music

Music was always a part of my life.  I grew up singing in the choir at church and also participated in the worship band during college. I've always wanted to be a singer.  I had a keyboard all through high school and college and wrote my own songs but I never had the gumption to go public with my music until something big happened to change everything.

It was a catalyst and a shift in paradigm for me that drove me to relentlessly pursue music.  I thought I had everything figured out.  I graduated from high school, went to college, got my four-year degree, and began climbing the corporate ladder.  I did everything according to that plan and excelled at my job.  But then I got laid off because of the economy and those plans came to a halt.  What challenged my thinking at that point was that if I did everything the way the world wanted me to (going to college and getting a real job) and even that didn't work out, what if I pursued what my real passions were?

So, I decided to go for it.  I started learning some songs and writing and before I knew it I was ready to play my first show!  It was quite interesting.  Rob and I were event planners for an apartment community and we decided to put on a show for the residents right there in the clubhouse.  We had practiced a few times together but were completely nervous about the whole thing.  About 15 people showed up and we did a mixture of covers and originals. Everyone loved it!  They even signed up to my mailing list.

Ever since then, I knew in my heart that I needed to pursue music.  Actually I think music is pursuing me in some ways.  It's had a hold over me ever since I could remember.  The lay off simply opened my eyes to just how strong the hold really was.

My advice to anyone wanting to go into music or pursue their passions is to go for it.  What have you got to lose?  Find a way and figure out how to do it.  Even if it's just a little bit!  If it doesn't work out then do something else.  When it's all said and done, you will regret mostly not the things that you did, but the things you didn't do.

It's Too Late to Apologize

Last week Rob and I spent the evening shooting a really neat video of us doing a cover of "Apologize," by Timbaland/One Republic.  The process only took a couple hours and the results were great! We found a warm and homely room in our apartment clubroom that we thought would be the perfect backdrop.  It worked like a charm.  :)

Here is the video.  Watch. Subscribe. Share.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRRD7rH0RBs

I'm Going to Remain Silent

So we're in the car traveling back to Charlotte for a show right before Labor Day.  We see state troopers and police vehicles every 10 miles on the I40 stretch between Memphis and Nashville.  I'm driving, and I get comfortable using my handy-dandy cruise control to make certain I don't go over the speed limit.  We get into a congested traffic area.  The speed limit is 70.  A truck/construction thing is in front of me and abruptly slows down to 62.  I look in the rearview and notice a black SUV with lights in the dash.  They haven't turned on yet, but I slow down even more just to be on the safe side.  Ten seconds later, the lights come on. "We're getting pulled over," I said to Rob who was half asleep.

After pulling to the side, all the images and thoughts from #ferguson began to race through my head.  I tried to think back for the past several miles, "Did I do ANYTHING to break the law?"  I couldn't come up with anything.  So I put both hands in the 10 and 2 position on the wheel and just waited.  Luckily before the #ferguson incident happened, I had already done an extensive internet investigation into police misconduct and in particular, traffic stops.  I was painfully aware of profiling, arrogant/condescending attitudes demonstrated by some (not all, but enough to be weary of all) police officers, and what's more sobering- the fact that they (the police) can legally lie, manipulate, and intimidate you into getting you to do what they want which most of time involves giving up YOUR RIGHTS!  I prayed that I never got into a situation where I'd have to assert myself to a police officer but lo and behold it happened.

Two officers get out and approach my vehicle.  They come over to the passenger side.  One officer bends down through the passenger window and says, "Ma'am I pulled you over because," (get ready for the worst crock of bull I have ever heard from an officer's mouth) "your tag is partially covered and you got too close to the vehicle in front of you."

He then asked me for my license and registration.  Then came The Questions.

Now, before I get into what happens next, let me tell you the real reason why they pulled us over:

1.  We have out of state tags

2.  We have a back seat full of stuff

3.  We're an interracial hippie looking couple (enter Rob's hair) 'who probably has drugs in all of that stuff they've got in the back seat'

But he couldn't say all of that because that would be profiling.  So he came up with the other lame excuse.

Back to the Story:

While collecting my documents, he starts the questioning.  "Where are you coming from."

We answer and say "Memphis."  I can tell from his glances that he wants to know what's in the back seat.  Our back seat was pretty full.  We had lots of camping supplies, my merchandise suitcase, Rob's drum, and our clothes suitcase.  In my mind I'm thinking, "I'm only answering one nosy question and he better not ask any more."

Then here he comes with a second question.  "Where are you headed, back home to North Carolina?"  An assumption he made based on my license and tag.

I looked at him in the eyes and said, "I'm going to remain silent."

He said in a joking condescending manner "You're going to remain silent?"   Almost as if what I just said was incredibly stupid and proposterous.

"With all due respect, sir, I'm going to remain silent," I repeated.

He steps away from the vehicle and speaks to the second officer.  I heard him say, "The driver is not talking.  They are coming from Memphis, and they're going back home to North Carolina (still going with that assumption, heh?).  She gave me all I asked for though, so ..... (I couldn't hear the rest.)

He comes back to the car and gives me back my documents and tells me to drive safely.  I said ok and thank you and drove off as fast as I could.  No warnings, no ticket, no citation.  That's how I knew his reason for pulling me over was baloney.  I believe that officer really wanted to search our car.  According to the Constitution, they legally can NOT search anything without a warrant or in the case of a traffic stop - reasonable suspicion (i.e. a bag of drugs laying around).

Unfortunately with the recent influx of police misconduct and murdering of unarmed individuals, I've developed a heightened sense of mistrust when dealing with anyone in law enforcement.  Their job is to Stop The Bad Guys. However, the supposed "war on terror" and "war on drugs" has made innocent US citizens targets.  In essence, a lot of innocent people now become The Bad Guys.  Additionally, incidents like #ferguson and #trayvonmartin have fed into the racial divide and it is so easy to get caught under the cloak of racism.  Don't get me wrong, racism is a huge issue on its own, but this phenomenon goes far beyond race.  There are people who wish to subject everyone, not just minorities, to a totalitarian climate where no-one is free and where democracy is dead.  We can see it happening everyday in laws that are constantly being implemented making it hard to vote and easy for law enforcement and government officials to kill without any repercussions - The Police State.

The Police State, oddly enough, has been foreshadowed in mainstream music.  Click here to learn about that.

Pop icons like Beyonce, the Black Eyed Peas, Rihanna, Brittany Spears, and so many others all have performed on live TV and in their music videos with a militarized police force looking dance squad showcasing it as "glamorous" and "hip."  The link I shared is a site dedicated to addressing symbols displayed in pop culture that speak to a hidden agenda.  Now you may not subscribe to all of that and that's ok, but the particular article that I linked to specifically dives into facts about how the police state is being showcased in mainstream music.  Anyone with eyes and ears will see the parallels between what they are showing in the music videos and what's going on in the world today.  It makes you wonder if there is more to it than art mimicking life.  All of this "art" was created before the recent law enforcement attacks on American citizens.  And it is far from "glamorous" and "hip."

Learn your rights.

Be ready to assert those rights.

And most importantly, get reconciled to Christ.  Death is not the end.

9-8-7 Tour Recap Part 3

Well, I know it's been too long since I last visited the tour re-caps, but there have been lots of new updates that have demanded my time.  I didn't want to leave anyone hanging, so here is the last installment of my East Coast Tour re-cap. We last left off at our city-walking extravaganza in Brooklyn!  After that, we headed north to a small town called Croton On Hudson about an hour north of Brooklyn.  Here is where we met a lovely distant cousin whom Rob cyber-ly met through his genealogy research.  He's really big on family history.  She was kind enough to let us spend the night and she also invited friends and family over for an intimate house concert which turned out to be a highlight of the entire trip.  Not only did we get to hang out with family, but we enjoyed sharing our passion of music with them.  It was even fun to integrate a bit of technology into the mix with a live streaming Hangouts on Air show.  And to our sweet cousin, thank you so much for the love and hospitality you showed us.  I am glad to have you as part of my family.  :)

You can check out the show we did here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbiWr7WhJKc

As we continued on our journey we arrived to our next stop about an hour late due to NY traffic.  Oh what a pain it was.  On top of that, it rained the whole time.  We arrived at our destination to find a handful of smiling, beautiful faces eagerly awaiting their entertainment for the night.  It was a house concert in the Baltimore area, that also happened to be a ladies night.  Not by design though.  That's just they way it turned out.  The amazing host had a great basement party room where we performed.   It was very fun and intimate.  There were also a lot of women with natural hair there, so I got to test out some of my natural hair songs from my upcoming album, "Crown & Glory."

Thank you Lydia, for being such an excellent host!

And our final stop was the ever popular Ebenezers Coffeehouse in D.C.  We gave Rob the night off and I performed solo to a house of about 50.  Not bad for my first time playing in D.C.  It was a phenomenal experience.  The venue is a quaint, intimate, artsy type place.  The kind that gives you the feel of elegant hippie when you walk in.  I opened for a very talented married couple, the Kelly McCrae Duo.

We performed on the upper level where the main room is, but never mind the loud coffee grinding noises, the audience reception was incredible.  Everyone really enjoyed my show and I for one had a blast.  :)  After being on the road for a whole week, this show was the best ending to a great tour.

Here is a video of me performing "Every Time" from my album "Genesis."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdrAUjpoesk

To all who helped with the booking and planning for this trip, I give a big heart felt thank you.  And to all my new friends I made while traveling, let's keep the momentum going.  Rob and I really enjoyed you and we can't wait to see you the next time.

Check out earlier recaps here and here.

This is probably my last blog of the year, so have a safe and happy holiday season and please tell Santa to bring me some new red shoes.  :)  Love you sweeties.

Your Fan, Anitra Jay

My 8AM Morning Connect

Sitting on the porch this morning enjoying the morning air. I hear all kinds of birds and there is a light misty fog hovering in the atmosphere. I've got my Bible and my exercise materials ready to connect to God, our creator- body and soul. I'm realizing that I've got a lot of thoughts (negative and burdensome) hovering just like this fog. My goal is to release that weight, so that I can foster peace in my own personal atmosphere. I want to join today with an open heart and a present mind. As God helps me release the weight, I receive peace, productivity, and positivity. I wish the same for you. May your stress and negativity dissipate like the fog. -Anitra Jay

Top 10 Reasons to Support the Genesis Project

I'm making a new album and I'm so excited about it.  It's my greatest pleasure to write and produce my inner most thoughts into a cohesive musical story on CD.  But, did you know that an average CD can cost upwards of $5,000 and even more depending on the level of need?  That's huge.  What a lot of musicians are doing these days is something called fan-funding.  It's when you offer unique and personal incentives to your fans in exchange for their donation to your music project.  Often times this approach is accompanied with pre-sales, in which you can buy a cd or digital release before it's available to the public.  Consequently, I've decided to try it out.   My fundraising goal is $2,000 to help supplement the costs of production.  It's called the Genesis Project. So without further ado, here is a list of TOP 10 Reasons why you should support the Genesis Project:

#10 - Because your dollars directly support independent music.

#9 - Because you can create a unique experience with me, the artist.

#8 - Because you will play a major role in producing a music album.

#7 - Because depending on your donation level, you could get the entire digital album before it is released.

#6 - Because even at the smallest level ($2), you will help in my mission to share Jesus' message of salvation to others.

#5 - Because it just feels good to help someone else.

#4 - Because you will support an artist who makes powerful and uplifting music.

#3 - Because your piggy bank could stand to lose a few pounds.

#2 - Because, you will become an Anitra Jay superfan.

And finally, the ultimate reason why you should support the Genesis Project is because:

When you plant a seed, you reap the crops.

To donate to the Genesis Project, click here.

Don't have the cash, no worries!  You can still help out by spreading the word.  One of the things you can do to help spread the word is head over to my facebook page, and share a track with your friends.

Happy planting...