Welcome to the new Baby Steps!

Hey there everyone!

Welcome to the new Baby Steps. Of course, I just installed this program and may have screwed it up... so hopefully you're all reading this! This list will allow people to subscribe and unsubscribe directly. I've been told that it'll also let me do all sorts of other kool things, but I haven't learned those yet. =)

First off, some of you may recall that 3 years ago I planned benefit shows following the terrorist attacks in the U.S. I'm pleased to say that I'll be hosting another one to mark the third anniversary. It'll be a depressing day to read the newspapers or watch television, so I want to celebrate the lives of the people who died and those who survived rather than spending more valuable time wallowing in darkness. Music is light and it will be a beautifully lit night. I'll have more details soon. Just don't make plans for the evening of Saturday September 11th!

I mentioned in my June update that I'd been dealing with a difficult situation that I wasn't yet ready to talk much about. As you know I've been recording in recent months, working on two separate CDs with two different friends of mine as producers. One of my collaborators was the wonderful Edward Hutchison. Easily one of the wittiest, kindest and most talented people I ever met, Eddie and I became close first as former teacher&student turned friends, and then much more so while we'd philosophize for hours at a time on the phone and worked side-by-side in the studio. Ed passed away on May 30th. We were halfway through the record.

Along with being a great producer, Edward was a wonderful songwriter, a brilliant guitarist and a Juno-winning engineer. But most of all, he was a very special friend. He had a huge heart and an unshakeable belief in my music which touched me tremendously. We butted heads like a married couple on occasion but always made up and were closer than before. Never in my life have I been hit with personal and professional devastation simultaneously. It just about levelled me. I loved him dearly and I miss him everyday.

The album I was making with Ed is extremely important to me, as it was to him, and will definitely be completed. That's not even in question. However, it's still much too fresh now. It will be my next album. In the meantime, there was a whole other CD being worked on at the same time and work on that continues. I'm very happy with where it's going and next month I'll have a track online for you all to check out!

I wrote a song for Ed two days after his funeral. I decided to record it a couple of weeks ago and boy was it ever difficult. I knew I'd only be able to get through it once without completely breaking down so we just hit record and I sang it once and that was it. It's far from perfect, but it's pretty hard to sing when you're trying to keep it together. Luckily, I got through it. I'm sharing the song on my site for anyone who'd like to hear it. Listen to God's Pick here.

Lastly, thanks to everyone who was involved with Girlz Doin' Girlz on June 30th! Be sure to tell your friends that you cherish them. They are precious.

Only love, Tanisha