This is for my viewers who look for the pictures in every text, magazine, or book they pick up…and really for everyone…
Our SOLD OUT Jimmy Maks CD Release Party this March was a complete blast thanks to not only all of our Kickstarter supporters, but to everyone who showed up, called, and gave their love!
I had my first appearance on 89.1 FM KMHD with Norman Sylvester and Band! It was such an honor!
Were bringing back our Living Room Session Videos! These videos started as my youtube posts of me on my keyboard singing my own arrangements of covers. I put a pause to them to start playing more live shows, and record our first ever album. After realizing those were our most popular videos, we thought we’d welcome them back with more intent and higher quality! To get a chance to vote in which arrangements we include in our official Living Room Sessions, join our mailing list!!
And of COURSE we’ve been kicking it at our weekly home base on Wednesday nights at the Gemini with Jacob Merlin! These nights have become very special to us, getting to meet new faces and friends, and also share the stage with world class musicians!
Well, well, well. Here’s to a HUGE bite of humble pie that I’m getting ready to take. I want to thank all of you for your patience and support even in spite of my fumbling and falling behind on maintaining the website and updates! SO, to keep you all in the loop, here is what I am getting ready to do by the end of April:
Update the online calendar ( CHECK THE CALENDAR HERE )
Give you final totals for our fundraiser we did with the release of our first EP “Free To Live” Live At the Aladdin back in December!
Get out a newsletter with updated information by May
Get you all exclusive Living Room Session Videos
Update you on our crazy plan to completely change the way we approach music and YOU our supporters
I am so excited for this summer. The calendar is already beginning to fill up and we’ve only just begun! I’ll have pictures soon from our cd release, as well as video of our performance thanks to our friend Wiley Parker (@Wileyfilm).
Thanks again to all of you! Were getting ready to expand our reach beyond Portland, thanks to all of your support!
When I walked into the dim lit room, my ears were filled with music that landed me in another world. I didn’t know names like Mel Brown, or Renato Caranto. I had no idea that these musicians had ties ranging from Bernard Purdie, The Temptations, all the way up to Grammy Award Winning talent. That, honestly wasn’t even necessary. All I knew was these were classic sounds, with fresh energy that not only gripped my young ears, but would set me on a course that would forever change my musical journey. At the age of 19, I was introduced to this venue: Jimmy Maks.
At that time of my life, I never would have imagined the very stage that changed my musical life, would be the place that would offer to host my very first CD Release party (as the Sarah Billings Band). After 7 years of visiting and listening to the immense talent that has lined the stage at Jimmy Maks…they have decided to give us a shot! I have the opportunity to introduce not only my first personal project, but also my first ever self titled EP, at the venue that has inspired so many musicians and patrons. I’m determined to hand pick, shape and craft this set to the fullest of my ability, and am proud to put this show together with some of the finest, undiscovered talent Portland has seen….I want to to give Jimmy Maks, what it gave me 7 years ago. Fresh new sound, and energy, and a show that will forever linger in the walls of this venue, and in the minds of each one of you that make this very special night, truly what it could only be with you there.
Down to brass tacks! Were throwing a party for our CD Release on Friday, March 9th, and we want YOU to join us! We’ll be at nationally renowned jazz club, Jimmy Maks, celebrating with world class musicians, and the band will be playing a killer show! Come join us! Doors are at 6:30pm, and the show starts at 8:00pm. All ages are welcome until 9:30pm, but the second set is 21+. Tickets are $10. Make your reservations NOW at Jimmy Maks. Tables are already being reserved!
We have sent out our newsletter update and are happy to share with you the Living Room Session were doing to celebrate our 12 Days of Christmas “give-back” campaign! Living Room Sessions was something I started for our youtube channel to perform some of my favorite covers for your guys, right in my living room.
This recording was done in our rehearsal space with the whole band this time around. A pretty rare Living Room Session occasion. I hope you guys enjoy!
Don’t forget to check your emails for the newsletter! If you’re not on the mailing list, then click the purple link to j”Sign Up For My Newsletter” on the home page. Love you guys!
Day 7, 8 were not missed! Thank you again to everyone who has downloaded our “Live At The Aladdin” album and shared it with their friends as well! Your support is immensely appreciated! Please continue to spread the word.
Head to iTunes and rate the album! Let us know what you thought! Let the world know! Click here to rate it Thank you again friends and family!
So many people have stepped up to help support the efforts going on in the Horn of Africa with Africa Response. Here’s a word from our friend Kerri Craig who is living right now in Nairobi, Kenya! What an honor that she has taken the time to share her thoughts with us! Check out her blog at http://ponderingandmusing.wordpress.com/about/ . Were making a difference, friends. We really are.
Doing My Part
I live in a borrowed land. It is a land where the values of life are not weighed easily. The mundane choices of each day cannot be simplified into “Do have a latte or a cappuccino?” “Do I wear the brown shoes or the black ones?”
Instead the daily decisions of life here for many include questions like “How much must I sell myself for to buy food for the week?” “Do I pay rent or buy something for dinner?” And for some the question has been “Do I take the healthy children and find food & shelter leaving the sick behind, or do we all stay here and die together?”
No parent or person should have to make choices like this. I believe that we all have innate value given to us by our Creator. He desires more for us than this. And to that end. so that none will lack, He put us in community with one another. We were meant to live in relationship with one another, passing on the blessings we have received so that others too may share in the joy of abundant life.
But we don’t, and we all have our reasons and excuses. I cannot blame others for faults that I have myself. Yet I hear statistics like “…22,000 children die each day due to poverty. And they “die quietly in some of the poorest villages on earth, far removed from the scrutiny and the conscience of the world. Being meek and weak in life makes these dying multitudes even more invisible in death.” (source) and I realize, I MUST be part of the solution. But how? It seems so large a problem, my little bit that I can do is not enough.
Then I am reminded of the story that the late Wangari Maathai told about the hummingbird. It’s not about how much you do, its whether or not you did your part. So I’m doing mine. You can do your part by participating in the “Africa Response”. If you text “ACTNOW” to 48510, you can donate $10. Get 5 friends to join you and collectively you have fed a family for a month.
We use social media to invite people to a party, or share a funny story. Let’s also use it to make a difference, and actively be the change we want to see.
