My first video post of the week: I heart Bobby Marley

A few years ago, I had a friend ask me a great question that got me thinking. He said, "If you could go back in time and see any musician play live, who would you want to go see?" I was a little surprised by my automatic response because the first person who came out of my mouth was "Bob Marley." I don't personally play and sing reggae very often...but I love me some Bob Marley. I love the upbeat vibe, and just how it makes me feel. Maybe it's partially because I remember listening to Bob Marley on our family vacations to the beach. But for whatever reason, out of all the great musicians that I would love to hear play, what sounded the most appealing to me was to hear Bob Marley in Jamaica in a small venue (I envisioned a little palm tree hut or something) listening to him play his songs on his acoustic guitar. I still kind of dream about what that would be like.

So I decided for one of my first "cover" posts, I was going to start with one of my favs, Bob Marley. It seems fitting for this Summer weather I guess.

What about you? If you could go back in time and see any musician play live, who would you want to see and hear?

Things for me are shifting...

Happy Summer Everyone!

These last few days have been so beautiful here in New York City. In fact, yesterday evening I took a jog around my neighborhood and soaked up every minute of it. I saw American flags waving in people's front yards, kids playing games in the street, old couples enjoying the night on their front porch, and the golden hue that covers everything for a brief moment while the sun sets. It only lasts for a short while, but it is arguably one of my favorite times of the day. What an amazing time of year this is...so worth the wait in my opinion.

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. I decided that during the month of July, I was going to gather myself together, reflect on what it was exactly that I was doing, and I was going to get clearer on my vision for my future. For a while, I've been feeling like I've been living in "default mode," which to me means, "coasting." I wasn't very clear on why I was doing what I was doing, and it started to get fuzzy...my purpose that is.

So here we are now already approaching mid July somehow, and I've actually discovered a lot in this short time of reflection. As far as my music is concerned...I decided that I am going to guard my time a little more carefully. This to me means that I am shifting things around a little...my priorities I guess, and the way I choose to spend my time is going to be more carefully assessed. Time is so valuable. So I decided that with regards to my music, I am going to be focusing less on playing live shows all the time, and more time on writing, and sharing my music online. I will play shows still, of course! But I may only do one or two shows in New York City every season, and then I'll continue to do little tours here and there, and on top of that...I'll continue writing, and posting video's and free downloads, and all that great stuff. I want to reach more people, but if I play a ton of shows in New York City, and if that takes up most of my time, funds and energy, then I won't have as much time and energy to write and share my music with all of you that don't live here in New York! And since I currently can't go visit all of you at the moment, then I will just visit some of you, and then will share music online with the rest. So there you have it, that's my new plan.

Other areas of my life are shifting as well, and it's so refreshing. It feels a little empty because I'm getting rid of the overload, but I know that in time it is going to feel so good, almost like the way you feel after cleaning out your closet. I actually started writing a song about this whole process this week, and hopefully I'll post a video to share it with you in the next few weeks once it's finished. My goal is to post one video a week. Today I'm going to start with a video that I am so excited to share because I got to be a part of this amazing group of other singer-songwriters that are based out of New York City, and it has all been compiled here on the NYC Music Collective page. If you want to hear some great artists and singer-songwriters...seriously, go check it out. You'll be pleased you did, I guarantee it. I'll post my clip from the NYC Music Collective here for you to also see and hear. Feel free to share it, and be ready for more to come soon!


ARTIST 05 - Bianca Merkley from ROCK*iT FiLMS on Vimeo.



With love always,

Bianca