SAVE THE DATE: NOV 26!

Anna Laura Quinn headlines the Lost Church in North Beach and I get to warm the stage for her!

I’m so excited about this show! I’ve known Anna Laura Quinn for many years and this is the first time I get the honor of opening up a show for her at The Lost Church‘s new location in North Beach, San Francisco.

There are so many reasons to come to this show: First of all, Anna Laura’s masterful vocal performance and sweet, welcoming energy and warmth will make you feel all of the love. Second of all is that I get to sing you my original tunes and tell some tales of my own as well. Thirdly, we maaaaaay be doing some harmonious singing together as a treat šŸ˜‰ AND The Lost Church is one of the more enchanting and intimate venues in the city.

It’s a great way to spend your time digesting the Thanksgiving offerings from a few nights before. Bring your family, relax with some refreshments, and make sure you catch Anna Laura before she heads back to New Orleans!

Tickets HERE!

See you THERE!

Songwriter Showcase 11/10!

This Thursday my guest is singer-songwriter Chris James.

“Singer-songwriterĀ Chris JamesĀ has a reputation for performing several hours a night, with original songs that sound like covers, and cover songs that sound as good as the originals. Ā His rich vocals and honest writing style tug at the heartstrings with a soulful grit and emotion that gives even his most tender pieces a rock nā€™ roll edge. James strives to put forth well-crafted, memorable songs with an unbridled spirit brought to light.”

Make some plans to be entertained and drink some yummy wines at Blush! Wine Bar from 7-10pm this Thursday 11.10.22.

Muah!

EmZis

10/13 Songwriter Showcase!!

Coming up on October 13th, I’ll be joined by the soul-stirring Bobby Jo Valentine.

Bobby Jo Valentine is a multi-faceted and sought-after speaker, songwriter and storyteller who grew up on the windy seaside of Northern California.

Heā€™s been called a hopeful, realist poet and a musical philosopher for the people. His songs are both earthbound and mystical, and speak to the gentle, everyday awakenings of an openhearted life.

I’ve known Bobby Jo for many years, and he has always been such a beautiful reminder to me that the power of well-crafted storytelling is inescapable.

His vulnerability and openness make him a truly unique and captivating performer.

Bring your ma, tell your friends, and heckle us over various varietals.

Mark your calendars and see you on the 13th!

9/22 Songwriter Showcase!!

THIS THURSDAY, Sept 22, I’m joined by the fabulous Amber Lee Baker!

If you’ve ever attended the Cotati Accordion Festival or have been a fan of accordion music in the Bay Area in general, then you will certainly recognize this bawdy beauty!

“With two albums and multiple tours under her belt, sheā€™s found a fun niche scene as part of the Accordion Babe Pin-Up Calendar revolution, entertaining audiences all over the Bay Area of San Francisco.

Her style has been described as Folk Cabaret and Bawdy Singer-songwriter. A little bit show-tune, a little bit blues, and a little bit folky rock-n-roll – and a whole lot of soulful fun!”

Come on out to Blush! Wine Bar for an evening of song-sharing and storytelling.

Bring your ma, tell your friends, and heckle us over multiple multipulcianos or merlots.

See you Thursday!

Songwriter Showcase Sept 8!

With special guest Francesca Lee!

For the past 6 months or so, I’ve been coordinating a Songwriter Showcase at Blush Wine Bar in the Castro district of San Francisco. I’ve been fortunate enough to have been gifted a regular spot at this neighborhood establishment to design however I like. So I decided to carve out a space for my fellow songwriters and storytellers, and so far it’s been a complete blast.

My calendar is up to date with all of the upcoming showcase dates and guests for the rest of the year, so please check it out and mosey on over when you have a Thursday evening available.

This week I am so excited to invite Francesca Lee! Francesca is a San Francisco-based singer-songwriter specializing in Introspective Dream Pop. Think Fiona Apple meets Jeff Buckley. Merging elements of Folk, Jazz Pop, Electronica, and Indie Rock. Her single ‘Paper Hearts’ is available on iTunes.

Additionally, Francesca is a songwriting coach, having taught workshops at the Freight and Salvage, and also teaches guitar and piano lessons.

She is also a music coordinator for Bread & Roses, a local non-profit that specializes in bringing live music to underserved communities.

I guarantee we are all in good hands with her and I, personally, cannot wait to swap songs with her. See you at BLUSH!

I’m Doing a THING!

My friend Antonia Miran has invited me to be a part of a very special evening. I took my mom to see the first event at Stagewerx and we were both deeply moved by all of the very personal and impassioned stories. It left us both reflecting on our own stories in a way that we hadn’t had the space to do in a while.

The theater was sold out for this event, so I do recommend getting tickets as soon as possible and to be prepared to find yourself encapsulated in good company and personal reflection.

“This is a show about lifting up women’s voices, rewriting old narratives and sharing wisdom in community. It would mean SO much to see you all there, not just supporting (me) but also the other amazing women who will bravely be getting up on stage and sharing personal stories from their lives. We promise you a beautiful, impactful evening that will leave your heart bursting to the seams.” -Antonia

As a songwriter, story is integral to my way of life. It has been medicine for me since I started this journey at the age of fourteen and has been a part of my education for far longer.

Click the image to purchase tickets and I hope to see you there. <3

New Songshare Showcase: Blush Wine Bar!

A bi-weekly event showcasing the Bay Area’s talented songwriters.

Elaine Ryan will be my first guest!

There was once a magical bookstore/cafe in Oakland that hosted live music for local and touring acts. It was a special place in that there was nothing else in the Bay Area like it. It was called the Octopus Literary Salon and, unfortunately, it closed down a couple of years before the pandemic.

I was fortunate to host a songwriter event at the Salon once a month and it was always such a great musical conversation, and I always left feeling inspired.

Fast forward three (or four) years and, not only has the Salon moved on, but so has a large population of our performers, musicians, artists, and writers.

Along with the culling of the population of creators, we have lost a good number of venues that were an important part of the Bay Area songwriter ecosystem. Places beyond open mic nights, where songwriters can really stretch their wings and tell a larger portion of their stories became another sad statistic of the toll of the pandemic.

Fortunately, some of the places that are left are actively working to find ways to bring the community back out into the world. One of these places is Blush! Wine Bar in the Castro.

I’ve been performing at Blush for many years as a member of the Americano Social Club, and it has been a gathering spot for locals and visitors alike. Now, the wine bar has offered me a bi-weekly spot all to myself (squee!).

When will I have a better excuse to welcome my songwriters back into the fray? Can’t think of one. Now is always the only time.

You are officially welcome to the first (of many!) Songshare Showcases at Blush! Wine Bar. I have a calendar of local writers on the horizon and I cannot wait to see what conversations take place among us.

First on my list is the soulful songstress Elaine Ryan! Originally from Vancouver by way of Maui, Elaine has a LOT of gorgeous stories to tell. When she isn’t writing or performing, she is helping other musicians to connect and grow with her various platforms including Unicorn Sync.

Come join us on July 9th from 7-10pm as we tell tales, share tunes new and old, and see what new truths we can uncover. I’m so excited to be hosting this new event at one of my favorite haunts in San Francisco.

Check out my calendar to see who I’ve got on the list, and I’ll see you at Blush!

This Saturday, opening for Blues Legend Tia Carroll!

From Almost Famous Website

I’m so excited to have been invited to open for one of my favorite humans and one of the Bay Area’s finest blues vocalists, Tia Carroll.

“Powerful and smoldering blues and soul luminary from the San Francisco scene, performing a range of original music and timeless standards. Celebrated for her weekly radio show on KPOO 89.5FM San Francisco, Carrollā€™s voice moves and astounds. In her worlds, ā€œitā€™s show time, yā€™all.ā€’

Tia Carroll has recently been nominated for a BMA for best Blues Soul Album and it couldn’t be more deserved. I’ve worked with Tia on stage and off for many years and I cannot give you an example of a more inspired, more luminous, and more phenomenal human being than she. You don’t want to miss the opportunity to see her in this context.

Make a date to spend some time with us in the wine region of Livermore California (It’s a wee bit of a secret treasure). May 14th, 6pm.

Get your tickets here and we will see you there!

So…about our bodies….and our governing bodies. And why the twain shall never meet.

Today I was informed that the supreme court is planning to essentially overturn Roe vs. Wade.

What decade is thi…? oh yes.. some bullshit irrelevant 2thousand something.

It doesn’t matter because it never really has.

We are still grappling (and have been for eternity) with the same patriarchal talismans that have been betrothed to the same white men with money as have been for generations. Women make “baby” steps every year toward some goal of “equality” or “recognition” or “accessibility” to our own right to operate on this planet as fully actualized human people since civilization established a foothold on the illusion of industry and equality under the eyes of “God.”

“God.” What is the definition of “God?” I’ll tell you what I understand of it:

Women. Women are the definition of God.

God created mankind. Yes? Well….according to the creationists, God created Adam and Eve. Well… FIRST God created Adam and Lillith who (Ugh) wanted to be on top so she could receive carnal pleasure (because why wouldn’t someone want to also receive pleasure from the act of making a human person?).

“Ctrl. Alt. Delete!” Said Adam, and THEN Eve was born. The childlike “Oh dear, let’s not make THOSE mistakes again” manages to eat the apple that the death noodle told her was the ultimate yum, and there we have the “original” sin.”

‘Can’t have THAT’, said “God.” And all of human suffering was then betrothed to Eve. Poor dear.

When do fairytales become folklore? When does folklore become doctrine? And when is a doctrine deadly?

Ultimately, people are the value of the industrialized world. If they weren’t, Bezos and Musk wouldn’t have the scandal they have with unionization and the labor force not to mention the majority of the world’s wealth. But this isn’t. fucking. new.

And, I would argue, that women are the creators of that value (When I say “Women” I include all people with baby-making internal organs. Unfortunately, as a society, we are so arcane with our understanding of the scope of human expression (and genitals) that I must simplify us all to the title “women” at this time. Sincere apologies to everyone in the gorgeous spectrum of human gender expression. Please know I am including everyone with baby-making superpowers when I say “women”).

Women literally create the labor force. Women create the force of all will. We create the thinkers, and CEO’s, drivers, Influencers, artists, change-makers, poets, musicians, actors, crafts and tradespeople, and any title you can christen with any value of any time. Women have made people since the beginning of time. And people make of themselves what they will. And women do their best to guide and then watch and then bear the brunt of the retaliation when people end up not being what society deems fit. So, ultimately women create and then assume all responsibility for the hereafter.

BUT GET THIS: Even when women cannot support the people that they create, (EVEN WHEN WOMEN DO NOT CREATE!) because women themselves are human beings with human upbringings and influence and environmental/social/familial susceptibilities, women are still worthy of protection and value. By virtue of being human AND women, we are worthy of respect and protection. End of story.

We (women) are here because we have been brought here by a power greater than our own understanding. Just as men are. We are placed here in bodies that function beyond our command. Just as men are. That does not mean that we are here to be commanded. It means we are to be understood and protected and valued. Just as men are.

Men get to be empathized with. Men get the ‘I’m so sorry you have a boner that you cannot control in pre-algebra.” “I’m so sorry that Sally didn’t accept your invitation to senior prom when the whole varsity football team told you that you had it in the bag.” OR ” I’m sorry that little nerdy miss videogame said she wasn’t into making out even though you both LOVE playing Fortnight on a Saturday with her younger brother.” Basically, I’m sorry you have a boner that you have been conditioned to outsource.

That is not our problem. WE had to wait until 2005 for urologist Helen O’Connell to give us a map of our clitoris because we couldn’t see it without an MRI and microdissection of cadavers (IT’S INSIDE, not INVISIBLE!). Prior to that, we were duped into believing that we had an “orgasm button” inside of us that was literally claimed in the name of a man (Dr. G Spot) that doesn’t exist!! If this “spot” was true, the orgasm gap would be less of a problem. We had to go home or find a place to hide when we had overwhelming feelings of exposure for which we could not find refuge. We had to awkwardly explain to our mothers when we started bleeding unexpectedly from our nether regions why their maxi pads were disappearing at an unreasonable rate.

I love the whole argument, “Show me!!!” “Show me how you suffer more than we!” Because every time we try, you behave as if we just ripped off your dicks and served them to you with a nice Chianti. You. Don’t. Care.

True story: I once had a boyfriend that was SO squeamish about menstrual blood that he literally thought I was intentionally trying to bleed on him when I would get my period during sex. He asked me “Aren’t you on the pill? Shouldn’t you know when it’s coming?” To which I replied, “It’s a vagina, not an excel spreadsheet.”

BTW: Why do you present this as more of a threat than an invitation? Genuine curiosity is infinitely sexier. Just saying. Seriously, just being interested goes a long way.

There should be government agencies like the CIA and FBI DEDICATED to ensuring that all women have the right to full and complete bodily autonomy.

There should be entire wings of government on alert when women and children are targeted by acts of war. There should be allowances and open forums by governing bodies for women to speak about what they think would rectify a situation. And those words should be regarded with the same respect and calculations as those who measure economic and social trends by the dollar. Weapons should be regulated. Dictators should be…not allowed to be.

She should be free to say ‘no’ with impunity because her heart is regulated to the pulse of all humanity and she knows when “no” is actually or eventually a genuine “yes.” Even if it will never be a “Yes” to the problem at hand, it’s a “yes” to the continuation of solving the equation of human evolution.

The female body should be worthy of legislative protection because without a woman’s body there would literally be no governing body or civilization to protect.

But this shouldn’t even be an argument. People with vulvas and vaginas are capable of creating the human workforce, loveforce, peaceforce and they do not need a government to dictate when and how and why.

Women are God. Find your place in her kinship or just

..step aside.

FUCK.

Save The Date (ADVANCE NOTICE)

Just about to surface

Hello beautiful people. I am giving you SO MUCH advanced notice for my album release. I’m looking forward to this one.

Please save the date for Feb 17th, 2023. It will be at the gorgeous Firehouse Arts Center in Pleasanton California.

There will be new and old songs, many stories, and opportunities to commune about our mutual experiences. I’m so excited for this one and can’t wait to share the new songs with you.

More to come, but please mark your futures with this experience and I promise we will enjoy every moment of it together.

If you can’t wait for stories, there are a bunch of local shows and a tour coming up in August. Have a look at the shows page and come on out! I miss your faces.