Making music here, there and everywhere

It's already OCTOBER! And a lot is going on. So the for the few of you who read this, here it comes:

I took my LSAT last Saturday. Needless to say I am relieved that for the next month I can focus on my early decision application instead of studying profusely. Scores get sent out Oct. 31st and I am anxiously awaiting that number which really determines a lot for my future.

I sang and rapped on a great track with my friend BioLogic for his EP that dropped on September 30th. It's called 'The Rising Sun' you can find it here (<click). Its a beautiful hip-hop song with conscious lyrics about our consistent ability to make choices for our lives and the undeniable interconnection we all experience. Working on that track was really fun. I wrote my parts and recording everything here in the bay and then sent them off to be mixed into the track. It's pretty amazing being able to make music with people without being geographically close. Speaking of which...

I am very excited to finally be working on a collaboration with a couple of my very dear friends and extremely talented emcees - Ace 1 and Progress. (You may know them as Alex and Kallen.) We have talked and talked about putting something together and now we have a deadline thats lighting the fire for all of us. Ace gave me the beat some time ago (years now?) and I have used it many times as inspiration to write to and freestyle over. Now I have the honor of singing a hook for it and today I'm going to spend some time trying to get it just right. Vibe of the song? Think: feel good, driving, upbeat, sunny day jam like Ice Cube's "It was a good day". I can't wait to put a smile on and throw some soulful riffs over this beat! Keep you posted...

Now for an update on some more local endeavors:

I've reconnected with a friend from high school who has been producing stunning electronic tracks under the title Mad Zach. His style is unique and heavily analog-inspired with samples often originating from a collection of casette tapes and freaky (in the best way) old synthesizers. Lucky for me, I was invited to work on a track with this mad genius and its currently in the final stages of production. An epic and odd arrangement, "Heartbeat" features both fierce and playful verses and a hypnotizing hook. We blended our styles in a fresh way and this is definitely a new approach for me - I dig it and I think you will too. Check out Mad Zach's amazingness here (<click)

I've been waiting for months to release my upcoming single 'Lose My Grip' and I couldn't be more excited for it to drop THIS THURSDAY OCT. 11th! Produced by my good friend DJ Fishlove, this track is very mellow-dub, electronic and all you little wompers out there will feel this one in your subs. The lyrics are from a poem I wrote back in 2004 which is rather haunting, so we paired the intense emotional quality of it with a soothing groove. This track is the first of its kind from me and I have to say I'm loving venturing out into the electronic world. Many thanks to DJ Fishlove for letting me throw this track out there now, we could have worked on it forever but I think you will agree that its pretty sweet just the way it is.

10/11/12 "Lose My Grip" on iTunes, Spotify and Soundcloud

Finding inspiration, putting down roots.

Today marks exactly one month since my return to San Francisco. I have reconnected with old friends, made many new ones, and been blessed to see some things that have left me thoroughly inspired... I spent a week on a lake in rural Idaho with some friends and their family, learned how to waterski, hiked, swam in alpine lakes, cooked, ate and relaxed. Getting the long view is always soothing for the soul and I recommend some serious quiet time with Mother Nature for anyone finding themselves frustrated, antsy, or depressed.

This past Sunday, I made my way to Outside Lands music festival in Golden Gate Park to catch some quality musicians. I had the privilege of seeing: Franz Ferdinand, City and Coulour, Regina Spektor, Electric Guest, Santigold, Jack White, and the man himself - Stevie Wonder. Obviously Mr. Wonder was unbelievable to see live. His voice is as clear and warm as it ever has been and I loved everything he had to say to the massive crowd that gathered to listen his legendary voice. He spoke about being about it rather than just talking about it, voting for Obama in the upcoming election, and the beauty of making sweet love, all of which I strongly support.

I missed Allen Stone, my new favorite artist, because his set was at 12:15pm. So I made sure to buy tickets to his late night show at the Rickshaw Stop and holy shit was that a good call. Hands down - this was one of the top 3 performances I have EVER seen (and I've seen hundreds). He is so jaw-droppingly soulful, interactive with the audience, joyful, passionate and fun to watch. If you don't know him - listen to him right now. Favorite songs from his set - 'Sleep' the single off his recently released album, and 'Is This Love' a beautiful take on a Bob Marley classic.

I've also started studying for the LSAT (Law School Admissions Test), which is adding a new element of discipline and academia to my life that has been lacking. It's always important to continue to challenge oneself and to continue to learn, so I'm taking a stab at this law school thing. Eventually I would love to go into work towards human rights and social justice - more specifically with refugees and/or immigrants. Needless to say all the formalities of studying have given me a serious itch to play and write music.

One of my friends from Boulder, who goes by BioLogic (check the soundcloud), graciously invited me to make a guest appearance on his upcoming EP. I'm excited to say that I'm currently writing to a couple different of different beats he passed my way so I'll make sure to let you know when those drop...

Find what inspires you, keep finding it. Find where you are most inspired, sink your roots in deep, and remember that even if you leave this place - it can NEVER leave you.

Be Love.

Paris

Album Release Show and the BIG move

If you were lucky enough to come out to Shooters in Boulder on July 12 for my album release party - you were part of the best night of my life thus far. A lot of people came to show support for my album and I'm so grateful for all my friends who rocked out on stage with me. Special thanks to Kallen and Quinn for repping me so hard and making the night pop off. I debated on whether to sell my CDs or ask for donations and settled on giving them away for free. Thanks to everyone who came to meet me, donated, grabbed a cd and had it signed! I have been carrying them around in my purse and passing them off to pretty much anyone who will take one. All the responses I've gotten about the album have been overwhelmingly positive - and I find myself inspired to keep writing and creating new music.

That being said - I am in a whole new environment which is very different from Colorado. I arrived in San Francisco at about 1am Friday and have been settling in. Driving across CO, UT, NV and CA for 2 days gave me a lot of time to reflect on my life in Boulder. Living there for 5 years introduced me to my nearest and dearest friends as well as a number of incredible musicians that made my record possible. In a lot of ways I honed my voice and artist identity there and I can't help but wonder how thats going to change now that I am back in San Francisco...

I am really hoping to put a band together and do some shows out here to promote the album. Last night I checked out a friend's band - Mary Jones' Light (.com check em out!) - at the Rockit Room and was thoroughly inspired. There is nothing quite like a great group of musicians having fun on stage together and I really miss that aspect of playing. I wrote a new song last week inspired by my latest break-up. It's very soulful and has more of that old school feel like my track 'bittersweet'. I'm feeling my blues roots rising up, itching to be tended and nurtured into growth.

More music on the way...

Love.

It's finally here! How it happened....

Hey friends,

I cannot express how much this album means to me. It represents my journey into myself through love and relationship and my development into a better woman. I guess it has been my entire life in the making, but the last 4 years for me have been all about writing and producing this record. I was blessed with a lot of amazing resources for this project and I'd like to share with you how and who made it all happen:

First I have to give lots of credit to Eligh from the Living Legends crew. I met him in 2008 at a Legends show in Boulder and he gave me the space to share my voice and invited me to make some music with him. After writing and recording 'No Flowers' Eligh shared some of his incredible beats with me and I immediately began writing 'Patience', 'Fade Away' and 'Better Woman'. He generously gave the tracks to me to develop my own sound to and I couldn't be luckier to have him as a friend and fellow artist.

My aunt, Bonnie Hayes has been a songwriter, singer, musician, producer and all-around musical badass for as long as I can remember. She took the time to help me further develop all the tracks on the album. With her guidance I was able to create a solid framework of tracks for many of the songs, and many of the vocals were engineered by her in her studio in California. There are alternate versions of 'Fall Behind' and 'Bittersweet' that I created with her which I may release in the future. These alternate versions also feature my dad, Kevin Hayes, on drums. He showed me the path of the artist since I was a baby and that has shaped me as a performer.

My album would not have been possible without the work of composer, vocalist and musician-extraordinaire Paul Fowler. I met him through my studies at Naropa and he became my private voice coach and mentor through creating this album. He was my partner in producing every single song (besides Let Go which I pretty much did entirely alone) and brought the essence of the album to life. With his knowledge of the voice and of music, we built 'Fall Behind' and 'Bittersweet' into epic, soulful, tunes from the ground up - You hear his amazing skills on the keys on both of those tracks. He also did a tremendous amount of pre-mixing and editing. And I must sum it up by saying he changed my voice, ultimately made this album happen, and changed my life.

Immersive Studios in Boulder, CO was my home away from home for the past year. Working as an intern there for owners Steven Vidaic and Mike Yach, I was lucky enough to get to work on my album while learning about running a studio. Steven and Mike mixed and mastered my entire album for me, bringing years of experience and wisdom to my project. Steven also assisted me with some arrangement and added his talents to 3 of the tracks. Not to mention they are great friends to me and just such wonderful people.

This is getting lengthy so I just have to mention a few more people:

Colin Hayes - My older brother whom I love tremendously and admire so much as an artist laid some sick guitar down on 'Better Woman'. Momma - I don't even need to explain how all of your support made me - and this - possible. Mikee T - A great friend an amazing musician in Colorado whom I had a short-lived band experience with was kind enough to rip some funky electric guitar on 'Bittersweet'. Aharon Bram - One of my closest and dearest friends from California, who shot all the wonderful photos for my album and website. We had so much fun shooting! Eric Nowels - Who helped me design my website and album artwork - making it look amazing!

And finally I have to shout out to myself. I have never been more proud in my life. I worked so, so hard for so long to make this possible and now my dream of my debut album is a reality. I did this album independently so that I would not have to compromise myself or my art for anyone else. This is an honest expression of who I am that I hope others, like you, can resonate with and find some words that make you smile, or cry, or dance, or remember. This album is for you and for me to revel in together for many years to come.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

LOVE AND GRATITUDE!

Paris