Estelle dreams
Last night I dreamt I was on a planet shaped like a doughnut peach. You know the ones I mean, they are also called "saucer peach", "belly-up peach" or "UFO peach". This planet was the exact shape of that peach except it wasn't all rosy with tangerine and sunshine hues, it was covered in lush green grass. As I zoomed through the sky beyond the stratosphere into the sapphire of space, it was somewhat strange to see this fat green ''belly-up peach'' below me. I landed without a bump and the soft grass embraced me like a squishy duck feather and down duvet. The entire planet was an island spa. Hot tubs and plunge pools, candles reflecting a soft ethereal glow, the place was full of very good looking healthy humans, all chatting and laughing and having a great time. I was welcomed warmly and given a shiny crystal glass of something purple and sparkling.
It's been on my mind all day, this dream. Not because I am keen to analyse it for hidden meanings but because it felt so good to be there. I felt light and free and comfortable on this soft green peach.
Johannesburg makes me feel this way. Despite it's ragged edges, like wearing a harsh hessian vest I am at home in Jo'burg. It's up there with the most dangerous cities in the world, but her passion and her pace makes me feel alive and welcome and safe.
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| Troyville sunset Johannesburg 2007 |
Jan writes ...
Bonita, like most characters who appear in our songs is a figment of our imagination ... She was conjured up with words and music ... the sum of our experiences, hopes, dreams and observations.
The story of "The Sound of You " continues - the album is one chapter closer to being ready to record. What a lot of work … What busy bees we are! For anyone who thinks music is all fun and games - well it is! I love what I do and just wish there were more hours in the day to do it! Come and live with me for a day and see - maybe that should be one of our Pledge Music Rewards to help fund the studio time ... What am I bid?
I wake between 5 -7 a.m.(depending on the time of year) and ease into the day by communicating with people on line and plotting and planning the day ahead. After a healthy breakfast - maybe spinach, lentils or beans, eggs with lots of garlic and chilli - I'm ready to go - how about you? I usually work on projects early in the morning whilst my mind is uncluttered. So it's on to the studio computer to tackle whatever my iCal tells me needs doing - I spend a lot of time making lists and find multi-tasking keeps every task fresh.
Creatives have to be creative about everything including paying bills. Every day without fail I have to chase someone who owes money or a company that's lost the invoice etc. It's never been any different. Keeping track of registering my music and where it's been used can be overwhelming. Paperwork could overtake my life very easily. I spend so much time chasing royalties and sometimes it's been cheaper to just give up and walk away. Remember it takes the same amount of time to write $0.30 in an accounting ledger as $3000. And then there's the time consuming bureaucracy of life to deal with …
By lunchtime I am usually feeling pretty buzzed - maybe that's from the constant supply of coffee and dates and walnuts - what I call my 'brain food' and I am well and truly ready for a break and a treat. I often walk along the river to the pool and try and swim 1/2 mile and then sit in the sauna and contemplate life and relax. Then back to a glass of fizzy water with lemon and cyder vinegar and a few more beans to propel me into an afternoon of attempting to finish matters in hand.
Times in the day have a different feeling - The evenings are still full of creativity but there's a different pace from the excitement of a new day. In the summer I love to walk but now it's getting cold and darker I am ready to huddle up in front of the computer and work on line. I'm ready for the night shift after something to eat and a glass of wine or two, feeling relaxed and content with an air of satisfaction. It's great completing tasks and ticking them off the list. My life is one big computer game.
I love communicating with people on line and of course my on 
I work on my music with Logic Audio and for quick edits use Audacity. Recently I have been experimenting with Adobe Premiere for video and edit images and photos in Adobe Photoshop. I use a series of old Macs to run the software along with the ubiquitous iPhone and Pad. But to get to this stage I have had to put in so many hours of work - paid and unpaid. We never stop learning. I feel fortunate that I can put my hands out and touch the inspiration that feeds the creative thoughts captured in music and art a lot easier than when I first started. Now i know for certain that writers block - like any creative idea - is just a figment of our imagination.
PS I do eventually go to sleep around 1AM and maybe watch a little something in bed but I'm usually snoring around 5 minutes into a film - life seems a lot more interesting.
PPS and yes I do get out and about ... anymore beans anyone?
Chico Reminisces...
Just having returned from Bolivia where proper Spanish is spoken I learned that the correct title should be "Latina Bonita" so I'm changing the name. The experience was wonderful, the music magical, the people welcoming and warm and the response extremely enthusiastic. There were many "Latina Bonita's" there and I realized that as we all know beauty is in the eye of the beholder, this is exactly who she is. She is the dream of any man/woman whomever he/she is and whomever he/she dreams of, of course when it was written it was and is about a woman, the woman, the dream, the out of many who comes the one, the one.
More postcards from Bolivia...
Photos by Dion "Funktastik" Sumi
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