new album- april 11, 2006
i can't wait to finish. so far everything involving this project has felt great. for a long while now, i've been working on new songs that would fit with older ones I wanted to record. thanks to a generous friend, i was able to leave the confines of my computer and try out an actual recording studio. normally, i'd be reserved about my work, but there's just something special about this whole project.
i've been recording at three pear studios in andersonville. it's crazy to think that we've clocked in almost 40 hours there. the studio has been an amazing place for me. i love going home after a long session and smelling like the studio's glade plug-ins. seriously, it feels like home sometimes. i am currently in the mixing stages and hopefully soon the music will get mastered.
i really should save some of this for the liner notes but, i just want to give shout-outs to maggie and marion for their continuous lending of artistic abilities and gabe for his tremendous support. incidentally, if some of you are wondering about a david letterman update, gabe is still in the crazy letter writing business. he hasn't heard anything back but his hope is unbreakable. my thanks to everyone who have taken time and sent mr. letterman any messages. last but not least, i want to thank roger, resident engineer at three pear. dude, your ear is crazy with precision!
special thanks to all the musicians for the lending of talents.
thanks everyone for stopping by. hopefully the next time you hear from us, it'll be on a cd package and all.
imelda.
update- december 5, 2005
Dear Friends,
So, now that everyone is back into the flow of the week, and partied a little for the weekend, I just wanted to say a sincere thank you to EVERYONE that came out.
It was a great gig on Friday, and we got the perfect number of people (85) , and we really filled the room, and it looked great, and hopefully you all thought it sounded great.
Everyone that got a shirt should know that they are now highly coveted, as we've received requests for more, but only the 40 first arrivals were lucky enough. ;-) Perhaps there will be more next time, or perhaps not... :-)
But Mega-Thanks to everyone that came out and special Mega-Thanks to Marion, Anna, Moby, Papa Weber, Trish, Zoe and Max, our fantastic Friends that got the even more coveted Crew Shirts. :-) And made the event a success. And Marion's amazing eye for detail that made the video perfect. Go Crew!
Thanks to the Fairmont for letting us use the beautiful Moulin Rouge, and especially to Banquets, and Engineering for all there hard work. Personal thanks to Mr. Zotoff, Wayne Hearth, and Mike Lynch, as well as Jose Haro and Glenn Meridith who helped me out.
And, lastly but not leastly(?;-), thanks to the Sala Cafe peeps and there help with e-mailing us out to there list, and to anyone that supported and brought people and showed the love.
The VHS of Imelda performing was sent out, and will be in the Late Show's hands by 10:30 a.m. Tuesday (12/06) morning. Keep the fingers crossed and think positive thoughts. I hope you enjoyed the show, and if you didn't make it, we'll see you next time!
Sincerely,
update- february 16, 2005
So i guess this is when I finally get my shit together. Lately I've been thinking about how I could get this done. I think about it when I wake up, when I ride the train, and right before I go to bed. The answer, I know, is simple. I have to go out and gig. I have been playing more than before. I've made up my mind to do one open mike each week. I know it doesn't seem like much but for some reason, I feel when I go to a specific open mike too much, I'm some how bothering the people. Maybe once I stop thinking like that, I can get over it and gig more.
I've been trying to find time to work on the new CD. I have a few songs I find myself excited about, but I have yet to sit down and see them through. Every second I have, I'm secretly working on the song list. Random pieces of paper tucked away in various pant pockets.
I've recorded my cover version of Take on Me. Thanks to Maggie for uploading it and thanks to Anna and her folks for letting me use their beautiful piano. Moby, Anna, and I spent a Friday night recording it. We used my sm58 mike to record the piano. I know it's not the clearest sound, but still, I'm proud of it.
I wonder if one day, I'll get to record in a real studio. Sometimes I ache for the sound of a well recorded instrument.
I have a gig lined up for early March and maybe an in store performance. I'll email everybody the details as soon as I have it. In the meanwhile, I hope you enjoy Take on Me.
the aftermath- November 14, 2004
I don't think I've felt this combination of exhaustion and excitement since those guys were here filming us 8 months ago. The last couple days have been so much fun for me, not just because the show finally aired but for the fact that Maggie & Marion flew to Chicago to see it.
The night the show aired, the Wyndham hotel did a great job of setting up a space for us. We were able to watch the episode on a projection screen. It was truly surreal. Both Gabe and I had no clue as to what the episode would look like especially since it was edited simultaneously with the highly advertised "Jewish Rapper," Mr. Etan G.
In the end, we were really happy with the outcome. There was only one thing that bothered us. Near the end of the episode, Phil said that we had disappointing ticket sales- approx. 109- the truth is, though we didn't reach the capacity of the Aragon (4500) I was never disappointed by our turnout. We had estimated it to a final 150-200. Admittance and CD sales from the Aragon show were saved into what I like to call the Mimi Music Fund. This fund has allowed me to purchase a kick ass mac that will help me record a second CD.
Gabe did want more people to come but I was just excited that we had as many as we did. The audience was full of close family, friends, and friends of friends. Everybody did a great job of trying to get the word out in under 72 hours. It's not easy to convince people to come to a show were the main attraction is a complete unknown. Many of the new friends that I have made in Chicago had never heard me before so I really appreciate them giving me a chance.
The whole hour I felt as if I was just watching a home video. I don't think I've fully processed it yet. I'm still really grateful to everyone. NOW did a great job of putting me out there, and I would be a real loser if I didn't atleast try as hard as Gabe did at making this dream into a reality. How many people can say that their job is what they want to be doing? For some reason it is so hard to just try. Sometimes I feel like everyone around me is trying so hard, and I'm in the corner waving.
So far the best thing to come out of all this is the recent activity on the website. Maggie had just installed a webcounter on Nov 7th. Before the episode aired the count was at 143. When we got home after the screening, we were floored when we saw that it jumped up to 297. As of now it's at 426. You can't imagine how excited we all are. More than that, there have been some GREAT and KIND emails from strangers who gave us feedback on the show and on the music. It amazes me how sweet these messages have been. I can't believe that people would take the time out to let me know what they think. As soon as my day off comes I'm totally writing everybody back.
I want to thank everyone who showed their support. Many people came out to watch the show with us and alot of people have let us know that they have it waiting either on VHS or Tivo. I can't believe that we could be Tivo'd.
This morning Maggie left for LA and Marion for NY. I miss them already and want them to know that with Gabe- they are the only reason we've come this far.
i thought i'd poke my head out and announce the show.
forget the OC, survivor, and joey for one nite. instead please
watch the discovery channel and check out what unbelievable
things happen when out of nowhere someone tells you for 3
days you can drop your job and responsibilities and just do
what you've always dreamed of doing.
the show is called "no opportunity wasted". it airs thursday,
nov. 11 at 8pm eastern/7 central.
i'm asking filipinos, lag grads, old friends, new yorkers,
chicagoans, please REPRESENT and check it out.
if our part of the episode is not enough to sweeten the pot- how
about a jewish rapper?
thanks for reading.
please pass this on.
tuesday morning- march 23, 2004
i can't believe that it's finally over. It's so strange, i was busy perfecting the art of procrastination and then out of no where this happens.
last night was definitely the best gig i ever had. we had approximately 200 people show up and i was just so grateful to everyone. the aragon ballroom is such a beautiful space and the sound really showcased the music.
here's the set list:
1. monster
maggie and marion helped me put it together and it really flowed well. my favorite part of the whole show was when the audience started clapping to "i killed my star." i think the film crew will end up using it as the one song they will play in its entirety - at least that's what they told gabe. the cover song also went well and everyone seemed to get a kick out of that, it rocked!
having the film crew around was actually not that distracting- they were so nice and genuine that it felt like we were hanging with friends. they stayed with me throughout the whole "shopping for clothes and getting all dolled up bit" It was painful at first but by the time i met andre (hair god) and kirsten (make up maven) i was so relaxed. they were both so kind and welcoming i really had no choice.
by the time we got to the aragon for sound check- i was so excited and scared. seeing my name on the marquee was so awesome and when we all walked into the aragon, we were all in awe at the size and beauty of the space. all the guys carried my stuff in and the stage was quickly set.
the whole time this was happening, i finally got a chance to practice- and i just could not believe that i was so lucky to be there.
the last 4 days hit us so quickly and i think about it like it was a dream that never happened.
right now, i just want to thank EVERYONE for coming out and really representing! it was so sad to see everyone go.
HUGE THANKS to maggie, marion, adam, moby, felix, mike, juan, jessie, and anna for being part of street team and special thanks to adam's folks for the use of their van.
gabe, i love you! thanks for getting all this started.
hopefully, i can keep this up... love, Imelda.
sunday morning- march 21, 2004
hey guys - you probably won't get this til the whole thing is over. but i wanted to make sure i wrote this before sunday night.
it's 5:28 am sunday morning and i just wanted to say thank you. in just over 14 hours i'll be on stage and everything that we've been doing will finally come together.
right now, i have no idea what will happen. but here's a list of things i'm sure about:
gabe really loves me, my family is proud is of me, i have the greatest friends ever, and discovery channel rocks!!!! The love and support I've gotten is overwhelming and the greatest hope I can have from this experience is to make everyone proud.
i am probably the luckiest person in the world. and thank you does not express enough.
love, imelda!
tuesday nite- january 28, 2003
maggie's working like a demon on the site. i can't wait to see it. zoolander is playing on my dvd- cracks me up, "for serious." on a side note, will ferrell is on the cover of a running magazine, try to look at it and not laugh.
anyway, if anyone is reading this right now, let me just say thanks for checking out the fruits of maggie's hard labor. i only wish i had a gig coming up to go along with this long awaited site. luckily i am working on some new material. i'm hoping to finish it soon.
chicago is cold, snowy, beautiful and gray- and i have to wake up at 5:40 am. goodnite.
thanks again- imelda.
gabe & imelda
imelda.
2. sweet sigh
3. and more
4. the words
5. little piece
6. champion
7. far away close
8. safe
9. i killed my star
10. midnite mellow
11. cartoon junkie
12. leaving the house
encore
1. " a cover song"
2. toast
maggie, marion, and gabe are working fast to keep the momentum going. we are supposed to send a cd to someone from j records so we're trying to get something together fast.