Have like, um, I think I have a, a little bit of a connection with young women in a

way, or women that some people might not expect or see right off the bat. And I
think there's like a very thoughtful group of people who are, you know, the kind of
people who read between the lines and know that, like the stuff that people put
out, it's not all about just rhyming words together or, you know, a simple melody.
Like there's a, there's an intention that comes through. So I feel like it's met
somewhere with a like mic.
I'm like, you know, constantly learning about myself and sometimes I'm definitely
on my own path. And uh, you know, I love the idea of honoring that and, and feeling
like there's a real merit to turning inward and like asking yourself, what do I,
what do I wanna write today?
Like, should I even be writing today? Or how do I wanna be creative? Cuz sometimes
I wanna do something else that I'm not even good at. And, um, card I woulds younger
daughter, I think is 16, and she came with him to the meeting and she was like, I
told him no, that he worked with, that he brought down, they were, he's so kind
like what JJ Abrams said. I mean, he's got a big heart and really special like
fantastical kind of kind of guy. So I mean, I, I would say that was like top four
surreal moments.
Like one of those things that you don't quite know how to get ready for. Like were,
well I, I, I think I've kind of said before, like I, I feel somehow in some of my
titles yeah, I, they end up sort of reflecting back to me where I'm at in my
version of like, the concept of the American paint me, paint me the color blue,
paint me the color light blue, and uh, like Norman Rockwell.
And then it got me thinking about Norman Rockwell and how so many of his paintings
in the fifties kind of summed up where the American dream was at. And then I was
thinking about where the American Dream is at now today. And I just thought, gees
like nor Norman effing Rockwell. Like what would, what would he think? Like what,
what would everyone exclamation point on the current state of hit the record mostly
with him. Although I did have about three tracks that I had done a couple years
ago, um, before I started working with him that I wanted to put on the record.
And, um, I had never worked with him before. Uh, but the first day I went down to,
um, meet him, he was like, I just wanna play you a couple chord progressions and
see if you like them. And um, so we sat down and played a few progressions and I've
said it before, but I actually asked him, am I allowed to have that?
Like, can I have ownership over those six chords because I know I can write
something beautiful. Um, and he was like, of course he's, he's so casual about it,
but he's pretty prodigious in his like musicianship. Um, so yeah, we just, I mean I
was totally not expecting to be in a writing mode and um, as soon as we did that
first song, love song, we wrote it in an hour. I mentioned to him that I had had
this song, a long song, like a seven minute song that I was journaling and could he
record me acapella just to hear what his mic sounded like.
And so he recorded me acapella and then, uh, like started playing piano over it. He
just came up with a piano part. And so we had two tracks in a couple of hours and I
was like, this is, not only is this going so quickly, but it's really like good,
like, cuz I can pull back objectively and look at stuff like, some of the stuff I
do is like trash.
And then the other stuff I'm like, um, after doing a few songs I was like thinking
this is kind of gonna have a singer songwriter feel to it. Like maybe not too much
additional production other than some surf elements. Surf Love Sublime, I love this
track. Totally unexpected that I was gonna do it, but my label InnerScope, uh, is
was making a documentary about Sublime's life story and asked me to do a cover. So
I did it, I did it with Andrew Wat and got a couple of Long Beach players and a
couple of, you know, amazing musicians to jump on the track and yeah, yeah, yeah,
yeah.
Comment. Uh, I, I think they like it. I think like we're all a little bit, um,
surprised that it's on, you know, being played on certain stations at all just
because it was so much for their documentary like it, and they're, I know they're
touring like Sublime with Rome, but one and two has been announced. So we've got
some European and UK shows, but around here we are doing, um, a show at the Greek
in San Fran. We're gonna do the Hollywood Bowl, right?
Um, so some really cool open air venues and yeah, we're, we're pretty much do a
song with her for the title track and I was like, yes, let's do it. So I rode a
bridge for the stuff she had already done and then Miley jumped on and did the
second verse. So yeah, it was funny and we shot a really funny video.
My managers helped me up the stairs, still haven't mastered the art of walking in
heels. I'm super grateful for them, uh, Ben and Ed and for this award. I'm really
glad that they're here with me that I was singing in for about eight years, um,
before I met them, a deal I made for 11 records for nine good records. I was ready
to make a lot of record acknowledgement and also super grateful. What's good about
it is like I really believe that what's reflected some way a mirror to what's going
on in your inner life and it's given me a huge opportunity to look inward and to
look at my family of origin, look at my lineage, see what's going on up there, take
a minute and think about my grandma who fell ill to two days ago.
And goodness in me, I pretty much specifically got from her.
So I'm really hoping that she takes the turn for the better back in the north
country. You know, very lucky to, um, follow my muse for the last 18 years since I
was 18. And um, you know, sometimes that takes for, for me as an artist that's
taken me like super far away from music into other mediums and other job
opportunities that have nothing to do with the arts at all. And, uh, really love
that. You know, what I've come to understand is that if you follow what you're
interested in, you'll end up being the most creative in that field.
Even if, you know, get a nine to five say that the way I live my life is my poetry,
my love making is my legacy and I get to make music in between. So thank you so
much. Congratulations. It's really nice to be in a room and, and thank wildfire
wildflower cuz that was the first time I got to say what I really felt about my
family. It's really nice to have the opportunity to be more diacritic as an artist
and songwriter in such a huge way who can, what they're thinking and then sing
about it.
So thank you guys for letting me up here. And also I'd like to thank Carol Kinzel.