Sunday, August 21, 2011

PERFORMANCE @ CIELO NYC

Last week on Wed, August 17th, I was introduced as a special surprise guest for Producer/DJ Franke Estevez, at club CIELO located in the meat packing district of NYC to perform my new single, Free My Spirit, during his birthday celebration.


The crowd was amazing! As always, Wednesday nights are notorious for the die hard following that Producer/DJ Little Louie Vega has created, naming it "A Roots Party". Everyone knows, (especially house heads) that Wednesday nights are the best nights to get your dance on. As a result, I caught butterflies in my belly before I actually got on the mic and sang. Once I got behind the DJ booth and saw that huge crowd dancing - some of them tourists from around the world and some of them NYC locals - I conditioned myself to keep thinking, I got this! I'm a diva! What made it a little easier for me was when I told myself that one day I'd be singing in even bigger places than this - like Madison Square Garden, because if there are stars out there already doing it, then I can do it too! I just had to believe that I was already BIG.

I don't know how I pushed through the fear, but I did. Maybe there was some sense of safety since I stood behind the booth and couldn't see the audiences facial expressions to tell if whether people enjoyed it or not. Not before long, a swarm of curious onlookers surrounded the booth and lifted their cameras and iPhones up to video tape my performance. That's when my courage boosted! Thank god! Because I busted out a few high notes and had to have the balls to sing with real feeling & emotion.


Actress Sharon Stone & Artist Jasmine Clemente
Afterwards, the night was topped off when Actress, Sharon Stone, (Basic Instinct / TriStar Pictures) complimented me on my performance and actually asked me to sing twice! I was beyond flattered! Here I was hoping to do a great job for the club's audience, and surprise-surprise, a Hollywood Actress walks in, appreciating my talent with a major applause! Not bad for my first performance at Ceilo. I must say, I'm looking forward to the future! Dreams do come true.
FREE MY SPIRIT available for download now!

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Music Video Feature

Yesterday on Saturday, August 14th, I was featured in a hip hop music video directed by Exile Ramirez that took place in a secluded loft tucked away in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

Back in the 90's, I was a huge hip hop fan but after the tragic death of 2 Pac & Biggie Smalls followed by the music's content which became more and more violent, I began to lose interest. However, despite my previous judgments on hip hop, I enjoyed being on set with an up & coming hip hop Artist named SeeS for his new video, BANG BANG! Now I know what you're all thinking... The title sounds like the song is about busting caps, murking nicca's and doing drive by shootings but it's not! It's actually about achieving financial prosperity. And although hip hop has been stigmatized for promoting bling-bling, this video didn't reak a thing of superficialness. It basically expounded on the American Dream, promoting that sky is the limit when you work for what you want. Who can't relate to that?

Hence, I enjoyed my time on set, especially since the vibe of the whole cast and crew was so warm and down to earth. In the past when I was featured in other hip hop videos (who's artist will remain nameless) I had felt disrespected by the way some of the rappers spoke to the females on set, as if they should run to them and bow down to their every command. But not these guys, SeeS and Fantom; they were confident enough to deliver a stellar performance and even personally thanked all of the members for their patience, hard work and willingness to commit to staying on set from 3PM until 1:30AM. Now that's what I call a crew of professionals who showed appreciation for every detail that went into creating the finished product.

On set with...
Actor Doug Drucker & Artist Jasmine Clemente
Artist Muse & Artist Jasmine Clemente
(Check out her upper back Tattoo of the Egyptian Feline Deity Bastet)
Actress Chrissy Stewart & Artist Jasmine Clemente




Tuesday, August 9, 2011

PAID ARTIST'S VS STRUGGLING ARTIST'S

There are many stages to an Artist's career. The first is when you have the desire to create whether it's a song, a picture, a script, etc. And usually it's considered a hobby when you're doing it just for fun. But something happens...

As you delve into the arena of your soul, allowing your talents and gifts to emerge by taking action by bringing it from the imagination into the physical realm, you suddenly notice your skills getting better and better as time goes by. Either your vocal cords get stronger, your drawings get more detailed, or your script dialogue gets more emotional, etc. Then you realize that maybe this is something you should do for a living because you want to spend more time on it - like full time, instead of part time.

But how do you take that leap from leaving your day job, into having an artistic career that you can pay the bills with and even more so, prosper magnificently from? The answer: PAPER WORK.

I'm sure that most of you have heard many successful Artists admit to getting jerked in the beginning of their careers. Either they didn't get enough royalties, percentage, points, and/or proper credit for their idea. Thus, they may have had a hit single and/or appeared in a blockbuster movie but was still existing as a struggling artist, just scraping by to make ends meet. As a result they go back to waiting tables, getting an odd job, or room mating with 3 or 4 other struggling artists to share the cost of living expenses. Well... with that being said, it is extremely important to learn the BUSINESS if you are indeed  planning a career in SHOW BUSINESS.

The thing is, if you don't do your homework by reading books such as ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE MUSIC INDUSTRY Written by Donald S. Passman, THE PLAIN AND SIMPLE GUIDE TO MUSIC PUBLISHING: What you need to know about protecting, and profiting from music copywrights Written by Randall Wixen, and, ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE MOVIE AND TV BUSINESS Written by Gail Resnik and Scott Trost amongst many others, then you won't build the stamina to sustain a promising career that will allow you to never have to go back to having a day job again. Nothing against having a day job, but if you want to truly be successful as an Artist, it doesn't have to remain a hobby forever!   

Friday, August 5, 2011

SPIRITUAL CENTER

Yesterday on August 4th, I participated in a New Years Day celebration given by BRAHMA KUMARIS: World Organization which marked the beginning of the "turning over a new leaf" in one's life. The purpose of coming together in the middle of summer, (different from American's who celebrate the countdown on December 31st) is to listen to our spiritual guide speak about the wisdom of universal love.

In the heart of Midtown Manhattan at Subud Center, (www.subudnewyork.org) about fifty people sat in a tranquil open space meditating with the help of our guide directing us to silence our talkative minds. Speaking in detail, she told us to put our thoughts about work, relationships, finances, troubles, wants and desires away in a briefcase and lock them up. And when we feel the need to go back into our briefcase and reopen it, leave it there, be still, and just breathe. The goal for this exercise - achieve clarity.

After she had our full attention, she stated that the beauty of God is that all of his children come from different backgrounds, ethnicities, religions, cultures and walks of life, and yet still we are all one because behind the costume of our bodies, we emanate from his spirit which is love, truth, abundance and peace.


Finally, one by one, we all took turns walking up to the alter where we each received a ribbon tied around our wrists to symbolize our spiritual connection to each other in this circle of life. But that's not all! We even received separate blessings similar to fortune cookies except that these truly touch the heart. Mine says:
You have the ability to see the value of every  moment, the power of every thought, and the beauty of every soul.