Darci Monet

Alright...I'm gonna make this quick cuz I'm REALLY tired and ready to curl up on my couch with a movie. Of course, I say that now...

So Friday night was STRANGE. On a personal level, I sang "just okay". I am my harshest critic, as I'm sure most musicians are, however I've had some real vocal struggles as a result of my chronic sinusitus this last couple years so it's been a real struggle to sing lately. Friday night was WORK. So, the best I can say for myself is that I somehow managed not to crash and burn entirely. I opened with Elton John's "The Bitch Is Back," cuz I thought it would be humorous as the very first Fame At Fuel winner (that's me, in case you hadn't heard it a thousand times already) to open the whole show with that song. I actually VOLUNTEERED to go first for that reason. I think peeps got the joke (especially the contestants), but unfortunately, the sound SUCKED. Seriously, seriously, seriously sucked. Which did not help my ragged little voice, but...I got through it and the audience seemed to like it. The judges were complimentary enough, telling me it was obvious that it took me a bit to settle into the song. I'd agree with that cuz I was feeling squirrelly about my abilities that evening, after all. Not an excuse, just a reason. Well that AND. THE. SOUND. SUCKED.  Did I mention the sound sucked? And it didn't improve on the second contestant's song...or the third...or the fourth...

But I digress.

My song in the second round was "September"...as in one of the brand new songs off my upcoming album (it's on this page - go listen, will yuz? then pre-order a CD, thank you very much). I was going to wait till later in the competition to throw in original material (provided I was still in it) but I was anxious to test it out in front of a new crowd and I figured since a couple of the judges were "industry folk" (Interscope and Universal, FYI). It certainly couldn't hurt. I did not mention that I wrote the song before I started singing because I just wanted to see how the audience would react to a song they'd never heard before. If it couldn't keep their attention, then it wasn't a keeper. Well...very fortunately the audience responded with enthusiasm when I was done. So yay me! And yay Jeff Fedak who wrote the song with me!   However...one of the "industry" judges, told me in a nearly unintelligible Scottish brogue that I sang it very professionally and it was technically good but I "need more lyrical passion" ("ya need more leed-eecal posh-un"). I was fighting to keep a straight face...CUZ IT WAS MY SONG!!! I have to say that the one thing I've never been accused of when performing is a lack of passion...and certainly not while singing MY OWN SONGS! LOL! So...I don't really know where his mind was on that one (perhaps at the bottom of his cocktail glass), but that was a minor hiccup compared to some comments others got. I got off easy that night, generally. And I'm not even upset at him saying that, cuz chances are if he thought that then probably one other person at least might have been. And as a judge I was always a stickler with contestants about really feeling it when they sing, so it's a note I will take to my next performance, cuz what's good for the goose is what's good for the gander. I am nothing if not fair! OH alright, at least I try to be.

But it was STILL funny.

And my crazy little sister Mandi, who is also competing, got up there to sing after me and bellowed into the microphone, "she WROTE THAT SONG, by the way!" DOH!   So my cover was blown. But because of it I was approached by a gentleman in the audience who is a record producer who said he really liked the song and asked if I had a website where he could hear more. I was happy to give him my card, having no idea who he was, but I had noticed his bleach blonde crew cut and genuine ear-to-ear grin from the stage while I was singing. He had come out to just enjoy the singers and he was THAT GUY you always want in an audience that is really having a great time and encouraging you with their bobbing head and smiling face. I believe his first name was Jeffrey. But I can't remember his last name but it sounded similar to that hot Croatian Dr. Kovac (sp?) that used to be on ER. Oh dear God, I'm soooooo terrible with names that way! I swear sometimes I'd forget Clive freakin' Davis' name if I ever met him in person.

Now, I would actually love to give you all some juicier details, because so much more was going on and going wrong that I'm surprised anyone involved in putting the evening together or competing got through it without a nervous breakdown (well, there WERE tears, come to think of it) but a) I don't fancy myself a Perez wannabe and b) I don't want to potentially disrespect or embarrass anyone, especially any contestants or the marvelous people who run the bar, cuz they have been so kind to me and that place is my "Cheers." I WILL say this, though...no one's poo smells so much like roses that they can get away with getting sloshed and acting an ass in a public forum when they are supposed to be present to share an "expert" opinion. At least not in MY book. I don't care WHOSE name is on your resume or HOW MUCH MONEY is in your bank account. You can't demand respect cuz of what you've got on paper, you must command respect because your actions prove you deserve it.

And that is all I have to say about that.

Oh...I should also note that they will not be eliminating anyone till week three. There are only ten contestants altogether and since half the points come from audience voting, it's a smart move for the club business-wise. But the votes are cumulative, so I have to drum up supporters every week if I want to win THIS time. And I do want to win. I wanna get this CD done, dang it! So, like last time, I will give you a weekly report for as long as I'm in the competition on what I sang plus interesting details along the way. But if you're a local...don't wait for the book...see the movie first, if you get my drift.

DARCI'S SONG LIST:

Week One: "The Bitch Is Back" (Elton John) and "September" (me!)

Week Two: Hmmmmmm...we shall see...

So I'm sitting in my mom's apartment with my little brother who just came home from work and is eating the leftovers from my breakfast with my grandmother. He's a spoiled boy. I am all packed and ready to leave for the airport in a couple hours, saying goodbye to my beloved upstate New York for God knows how long this time (last visit was three years ago). Not a lot has happened since my last missive, except a visit to the Saratoga Racino with Mom on Sunday (which is a combination racetrack and gaming casino, slot machines only for some reason). Had fun there, though it was really busy cuz it was pouring rain that day and no one was betting on the races. I came out $30 ahead, which is good.

Monday I spent the day waiting for my friend Rob from college to drive up to see me...he lives in Long Island and his family lives in Albany...and THAT'S a lot of driving just to see me in podunk little Johnstown...in the pouring rain. And our cell phones were out of commission cuz of the weather, too. So it was a lot of waiting and being bored and NOT having a last minute lunch with a friend who lives here in town who I'd have liked to see one more time before I left. However, the weather obviously cannot be controlled, and since I hadn't seen Robbie in over a decade (in person, we've talked and such), I REALLY wanted to see him.

He's a pain in my ass. Surriously. He always had been. He's ornery and mean to me. He insults me and makes fun of me. He's a bully. Aaaaahhhhhh, but it's just cuz he used to be able to get such a rise out of me when we were kids. He can't do so nearly as easily now. He's all, "Oh Fartsy, you're no fun anymore!" Nyah nyah! But he loves me. And tells me so whenever I hear from him. So it's a love/hate thing that's been going on for...many many years. Too long. But it was nice to see him and catch up. We laughed a lot, anyway. And I gave back as good as I got. He forgets that I'm a MUCH different girl than in "the old days".  

So that leads to this morning, breakfast with Dad and Mima. We tried one diner but it was packed and they were understaffed so we went to Forever Young''s, which is run by a sweet Asian lady who also waits tables there. Food is KILLER. One thing I must say about upstate NY...there are the BEST individually owned restaurants you will EVER eat at where I'm from. Seriously. And CHEAP! Can't beat yummy, cheap and non-corporate! L.A. pales in comparison. In fact, L.A. pales in comparison to Nashville in that regard, too. Actually no...I'll go so far as to say that L.A.'s food SUCKS in general.

That said...how the hell did I get this ass???

Anyway...my time here is nearly at an end and I even though I will have an overnight in Vegas this evening, I am not looking forward to going back to that smog-infested cess pool in which I live.  When you grow up in this area, you take for granted how very beautiful it is, especially this time of year when everything is lush and green. You don't realize what you've got till you leave it. And Johnstown has really cleaned up over the years I've been gone...new businesses both chains and mom-and-pop, the dilapidated, abandoned leather mills torn down or reconstructed for new businesses, the streets cleaned and the greenery kept up. Now that I live on top of a block of cement, I relish the times I can come here and enjoy the quiet, the fresh air, Mother Nature and - probably most importantly - people without an agenda. Folks up here have their jobs, their kids, their friends (whom they've pretty much known all their lives) and just live their lives. When they ask you, "So, what do you do?" they really want to know and converse...they aren't thinly veiling, "What can you do for my career?" beneath the question. It's been refreshing. I feel relaxed, de-stressed and ready to hit the ground running when I get back.

Gotta go...Mom's coming home soon to take me to the airport and I need to spend my last few with my brother. This will be my last blog till I'm back in town...and then I will have a rough mix of a new song to upload for you! See? There's a reward for all your loyalty in reading my ramblings.

Tuesday afternoon, 3:30pm pst. Off to upstate New York. 5:30 flight out of Burbank to Vegas. There for six hours, lost all the money I budgeted to play with there in the airport the first hour (of course). And they didn't even have any COOL slots there...like All That Glitters or Milk Money. I should have taken a cab to the nearest casino and lost it in a FUN machine. I certainly had the time.

Tuesday night/Wednesday morning at approximately midnight. Red-eye from Vegas to Philadelphia, sitting next to the world's worst fidgeter. I got elbowed and kneed more times than I can even count. And he did a lot of huffing, which indicated to me that he didn't really relish that the juicy girl had a seat next to him. I could be wrong, but I'm usually not about these things. He tried to switch with a very skinny woman in front of us before we took off (I think she was his wife, but for whatever reason it didn't work out). So after two full hours of his childish antics, I decided that instead of scooching my butt as far off the seat and into the aisle as possible out of consideration for his comfort like I would normally do (and had been doing), I hunkered right in - AND hogged the arm rest on top of it. Have a pleasant flight, doo-doo-head.

Wednesday morning approximately 8am est. Connecting flight from Philly to Albany. Uneventful.

Ride from Albany airport (the very first international airport in the country, I might add...just a little trivia) to balmy Johnstown NY with Dad. Incoherent. Dad is a morning person. I'm soooooo not. And it didn't help that I had just been up all night being pummelled by a stranger. And that the drive is about 45 minutes long. Poor Daddy.

Home. Hug Mommy. Cry cuz I'm so tired. Nap.

Baby brother Travis comes home from work. Hug him. Cry cuz I'm STILL so very tired.

Burgers on the grill with the fam. It's not a family barbecue without my Dad engulfing the entire grill with flames at least once. He says the char is "good for your teeth."

Travster has a softball game that night. Now...the weather was GORGEOUS...nice and cool, almost chilly once the sun went down (unusual for upstate NY in August), and he was playing at the very same field that my Dad used to play at when I was a wee small lass without a care in the world. Me and my sis JodiAnne would run around like crazed little monkeys, digging for quarters under the bleachers and playing in the dirt pile that was inexplicably next to it. The concession stand had THE BEST french fries (apparently they still do, but I was too full of charred burger to try them after all these years...DEVIL!). Afterward, the bowling alley that sponsored Dad's team would have the whole team over - children and all - and Mom would always get a Bloody Mary and Dad would have draft and Jo and I would run around like (now uber-filthy) crazed little monkeys some more, playing pinball and climbing up on the pool table and generally behaving like we were NEVER allowed to at home. I cannot remember the owner's name at the time...but that was a GREAT man. He loved having us all there. All that said, it was a real treat for me to get to watch my brother play ball (seeing as how I missed most of his childhood as I was off chasing my musical dreams and never saw him play ANY of his sports), especially in that field. I could see the stars. I could breathe fresh air. I was CHILLY. It was exactly how I wanted to spend my vacation. AND we won the game by one run in the last inning. It was all very Rockwell.

Today. Woke up, cussed because the only coffee Mom keeps in the house is half-caffeinated. WHAT'S THE POINT??? Not very Rockwell.

Went and had a desperately needed pedicure to disguise my monster feet. I paid ten dollars MORE than I do in Los Angeles. Wha fuh...????  Clearly...no competition in good ole Fulton County, the once world capital of leather products, now home to abandoned, dilapidated leather mills. And Johnstown Nails.

Spent the afternoon with my grandmother, whom I call Mima (mee-ma). She has recently been diagnosed with mild dimentia. She's 84 and healthy as a horse otherwise. She plays golf in the summer and bowls in the winter, both several times a week. I have often joked that she will outlive us all cuz she's just too stubborn to pack it in. So it was weird when she couldn't remember what she'd just asked me literally two minutes before and would ask again. And again. And again. She has no trouble remembering people though, but since it's not very often I get home, I wonder if this is my last visit with her where she knows who I am. It's disconcerting. Fortunately, working with twenty-two month old twins a few days a week has taught me patience with repetition, so it was a little bit of work but I still enjoyed our visit. Mom, on the other hand, is pretty much gonna blow a fuse with frustration any day now. You have to know my mom and grandmother to understand why this is actually comical to a degree.

Dinner with a former classmate and her husband, whom I'd never met. We went to Romana's, the greatest Italian eatery in all the world! Conversation was interesting...they are very clearly Republican - the husband has been in the Coast Guard for ten years and hasn't had to set foot in Iraq as yet (though he did say he wished he would because it's "such good money"). I've found that a lot of people in the service have an entirely different outlook on what's going on overseas and are also privy to info that we simply do not get from our news sources here. I am not a liberal. Nor am I a conservative. Nor am I willing to discuss such things in depth on a blog. As a musician, I don't feel called to get political in my music or career in general, really. And while I enjoy a good, intelligent debate, I'm on vacation. So I just smiled and nodded and and laughed but wished my friend could get a few more words in herself. It was still a pleasant evening and I really enjoyed it, but I just don't feel like I got much time to visit with my friend. That's what you get when a shy girl marries a people person, I guess! LOL. Fortunately I will probably see her again tomorrow night...

AT MY CLASS REUNION (*cue suspenseful B-horror-flick music here*). Yes, campers, that is the true reason for my vacation. That and I haven't been home in three years. 

So tomorrow night's the informal gathering. At an annual block party at one of the bars that's been in town since before God invented hair. Oh, you just KNOW they're going to be selling wine out of the box! Cuz that's how they role in Johnstown. Yep. Home sweet home!

In short (okay, not nearly as short as I'd intended), I'm having a good time. I'm relaxed. Somewhat. The thought of seeing long lost classmates tomorrow night is a little terrorizing for someone who naively promised at 18 to come home famous but hasn't. I'm at peace with this and have been since about three years after I graduated. But will THEY be? I suppose I'll find out soon enough.

Stay tuned for part two coming soon.