Ha ha! In the words of Nas/ Diggy Simmons..” Made you Look” ..lol! Not Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, but Michael Jackson, host of the Artists Mastermind Group. I had the awesome privilege of attending this event on Thursday night and oh what a nite! I had a very good time mingling, listening and learning from those of us who are involved in the arts to some degree. I strongly recommend mastermind groups no matter what you do!

A mastermind group is simply an alliance of two or more individuals dedicating themselves to a specific goal. A “coordination of knowledge and effort, in a spirit of harmony, between two or more people, for the attainment of a definite purpose.” (Napoleon Hill)

The benefits of having a supportive mastermind group are plenty:

1.You have a group of people available to help you succeed.
2.You get the benefit of differing perspectives, input and feedback.
3.Your mastermind team can bring resources and connections to the table you might not have had on your own.
4.You receive accountability and inspiration from the group, thus enabling you to maintain focus in achieving your goals. (Dale Carnegie)

As a music business entrepreneur/songwriter/producer, I think it’s important that you find some like-minded people in your area who you can connect with and possibly network with on your journey to SUCCESS. Here are just a  few pics from that gathering..enjoy!

As ususal, Friday nite was time out with the girls and that is always refreshing to me. One of my favorite spots is Luna de Noche out at Northpark..love the mexican food and especially the customer service. I’ve gone sooo many times until they all know me now. I love sitting out on the patio enjoying their complimentary chips and salsa, while having an engaging conversation with the girls. The weather was really nice but the birds were a little annoying at times. For some reason, they felt the need to fly really low this time and almost everyone there had a moment where they had to dodge, lol!

Saturday was rainy, so I stayed inside most of the day and caught up on some much needed reading. That is one of my favorite things to do.. I love books..even the smell of them..LOL! Okay that may be taking it a little far, but truth is.. I do. I am a ferocious reader. I try to read or own the books that are New York Times bestseller’s and USA Today’s bestsellers. I am currently reading “Secrets of the Millionaire Mind”… great book!

Sunday was a lazy day for me…I stayed in my lounge wear alllll day! Did some more reading and surprisingly I didn’t work at all. I don’t get a chance to cook a lot, but I did on Sunday…I smothered some chicken, with mash potatoes and gravy and mexi-corn. Watched some TV..love Basketball Wives..very proud of Shaunie, Shaq’s ex wife. I love anybody who is executive producer of their own show…overall…I just chilled…

Hope you had a wonderful weekend as well… Smile with me :)

Shoot anything. Share everything. Well maybe not everything…only the things that matter to me and the things I think you might be interested in seeing. This is what my new toy allows me to do and by the way its not the toy that some of you were thinking about and commented on.. ( you know who you are :) We live in a 2.0 world , web based communities, video-sharing, blogs, content sharing and interaction with other users etc.

What’s special about the Flip Video Ultra HD is that it’s simple and the video quality is amazing. It allows me to digitally record up to 2 hours of video, I can upload to my computer via usb that’s already attached to the camcorder, I can upload directly to my youtube channel or my site, I can freeze frames and make a snapshot …I’m soooo excited. It’s small, very compact and fits in my pocket! How cool is that!!

I just might do my own music video or movie lol!!! Stay Tuned! You don’t wanna miss a thing..Smile with me :)

There’s an old saying that “All work and no play makes Jill a dull girl”…As you may have gathered from my blogs, there is absolutely nothing dull about me. My life is filled to the brim with a variety of activities, travels and truck-loads of fun. I work hard… therefore I play hard.  I try to hang out with the girls at least once a week or every other week.. to relax, let my hair down and enjoy living.  I look forward to girls night out especially since I work in such a male dominated area. You don’t find to many female producers in the music industry, so most of my time in the studio and at music functions is spent with men…I don’t mind that but sometimes I need some “she” time .

Well last night we graced the Glass Cactus with our presence..all five of us. The live band was on point,  the food was delicious and the view was breath-taking…we laughed, we had great conversation….it was a beautiful thing spending time with them. I am blessed to have friends in my life who share their lives with me and allow me to be…. me.

Are there any friends in your life who allow you to be YOU?

Drop me a line and share your best friend forever/girlfriend stories!!

I wasn’t afraid of trying…I was afraid of failing. But then I faced my fear of failing and it became my reason to keep trying. And now I am loving the challenge that change brings! Today I made some serious progress..I tried some new things, some new techniques…so proud of myself..lol! Oh don’t get me wrong, I still have a long way to go but at least I’m on my way.
I was terrified of having to learn something new, not just anything..specifically..audio engineering. No I will not be professionally mixing/mastering my own music, I leave that to the pros. But in putting together this show, there are certain aspects of audio engineering that I must learn and know. As I have previously said, I am use to just getting behind the mic (with this kind of show) and doing my thing and leaving the rest up to my engineers.
But when I met with one of them he said “Tina you can do this”…I thought to myself, there is no way, no how. He had more faith in me than I had in myself…funny huh? See, for me this went beyond sequencing, which I can do in my sleep…so I was terrified, nevertheless up for the challenge.
And that wasn’t the only change, that wasn’t the only challenge. I also wanted my sites to be in a format in which I had a little bit more control. There are also aspects of it that I have to learn as well. But I’m not afraid anymore! I rise each morning looking forward to the challenges of the day…cause I know in the end, the change that a challenge brings, can only lead to my personal growth. Smile with me :)

Life certainly has a way of testing you..they even say God will test you. I often wondered why God, being All-knowing would test anyone? Simply because he already knows what we are going to do and how we’re going to do it… when and where. He even knows before we do…so I have come to conclude that being “tested” is more about us and for our good. Remember being in school? We’d have a lesson on a particular subject matter that was always followed by a test on Friday. And of course we were admonished to study for it.
Well the teacher knew the answers to the test, but it was important that we know the answers as well, in order to pass to the next level or lesson. By being tested it showed our strengths and weaknesses, it showed areas that we needed to improve in… it showed how well we were listening and our ability to retain, recall and apply. More importantly, the testing prepared us for life, for the real world.
I had a little test today… almost failed it. I could have responded positively or I could have reacted negatively. My first emotion was not a good one cause I really wanted to tell somebody off. You know, give’em a piece of my mind..lol. Until I realized that what was happening to me was going to happen to me over and over again, due to no fault of my own but that of human nature.
After calming myself down, trying to figure out the answer to this test that I almost failed, I switched gears and opened up my facebook page for no particular reason…so I thought. As soon as I logged in, the first notification on the page was from a long time friend of mine who I haven’t seen in years. It was short and simple and it read.. “JUST DO WHAT YOU DO”… That was my answer to my test!
And so I decided at that moment to release those negative emotions and thoughts and just do what I do. That test prepared me for what’s to come and that answer was twofold..it show me my weakness, but it also made me stronger. I can’t control what others do, but I can just do… what I do. Smile with me :)

My mother always said that if you want something done right, sometimes you have to do it yourself. With that being said, today I am having to learn some new things, operate in some new areas that I am not particularly crazy about. But in the end it works out for my good by increasing my value. After all knowledge is power, but applied knowledge is even more powerful.
As a music producer, I can hear and see the direction that a song/music should take,in my head long before I strike a note on my keyboard. I can hear the instruments, the parts, melodies, harmonies and supporting roles, I know what the final mix should sound like…and so it is with my overall vision. I know what direction I need/want to take with my new show, but articulating that at times as well as delegating can be challenging. Trust me, I tried that! I found out that people don’t always possess the skills they say they have…not trying to be mean…it is what it is. Hope you’re still smiling with me :)
These past few weeks, I have been developing a new show that I will be launching soon. I am having to operate in areas that I am use to other people handling. Truth be told when it comes to a show like this, I am use to just getting behind the mic, do my thing and let others do what they do best.
But I have come to realize that everybody doesn’t have the kind of time that I have to give to the production of a show like this. It’s been frustrating for me to have to wait until people have the time to do what I need done, when I need it done.
So now I am having to be a producer/director for a different kind of project. Still music related but with other elements thrown in. Like formatting the show, engineering, post audio stuff, finding or writing bumper music, loops, beats, getting clearance, making sure contracts are signed etc. … I generally leave that up to others, all but the music segments. Nevertheless, because I am on a schedule, I can’t afford to wait until others have the time.. So I just had to learn to dive into the ocean and either swim or sink… I’m swimming baby!!
I’ve had to stop and take the time to ask questions, read books, watch videos..but I am determined to do whatever it takes to achieve the standard of production that I am use too. Holla!
I have been going through my arsenal of loops/beats all morning to use for the breaks in the show. When I can’t find what I am looking for, then I create my own. No I am not a beat-maker and I don’t write songs using loops. I have had to purchase these things for my show and some came with my DAW’s/ software that I already possessed. I never thought that I had a need for them, but they sure do come in handy now.
I am learning new things and I am always a student. If you ever stop growing, you simply… start to die.

Well let’s get it popping! Last night I went to the Dallas Mavericks game against the New Orleans Hornets and there were two reasons that I was so excited about.
Reason #1: Jason Kidd… enough said! LOL!!! I love watching that man…play ball… Hmmm.
Reason#2: Darren Collison, point guard for the New Orleans Hornets…this guy has some awesome skills on the court. Besides not being able to keep my eyes off of Jason (and the Mavs), Darren completely had my attention. He is such a great basketball player, this guy would just come out of nowhere and score. I can see why he was named WESTERN CONFERENCE ROOKIE OF THE MONTH. The passion in which he played the game and the focus that he exhibited on the court was exceptional. I am glad the Mavs won, but I have to admit, I almost began cheering for the Hornets because of Darren’s drive and determination. He’s one to watch!!

On the other hand, I am always in marketing mode at any given time, so one of the most intriguing things that I noticed at the game was that throughout the game there was music! As I looked around, I spotted a local DJ spinning mixtapes. Yes, mixtapes are very popular at sporting events. One mixtape contained mainstream artists and another one was comprised of those that were local, independent and unsigned. I thought to myself what another wonderful and FREE avenue for indie artists to get their music heard before thousands.
Think it’s hard? Well, not in Dallas. No sooner had the thought crossed my mind, when an announcer appeared on the jumbo screens and introduced the Dj for the game , but she also extended an invitation to others who wanted the opportunity to be a guest DJ at a future Mav’s game. To qualify you must BYOM (bring your own music) and meet other requirements. I must admit that this is one of the many promotional activities brought to you by the Dallas Maverick’s Organization. Check with your professional basketball team and see what promotions they are having at their games.
But my point is, it’s a great opportunity to get your music heard if you can get it on a hot promotional mixtape (not intended for distribution), find and network with a DJ who works the games, and see what happens…
This can also work at the High School level for pep rallies, dances, proms etc. And as my custom is, I’m about handling the business of music..for more on DJs, Mix Tapes, and Copyright Law visit my music business site at www.indiemusicblueprints.com

Doing what I do best!

I try to catch some zzzzzz's whenever I can..

People often glamorize and glorify the life of a producer…but truth be told, it’s hard work if you take it serious. Long days and even longer nights can be difficult at times….Often you are away from family and friends, sometimes days and nights run into each other and you lose all since of time…but in the end…it’s worth it. Smile with me :)