2012 IS MY YEAR!!!

This year is simply out of control.  I am overwhelmed by the support of my friends and fans (which are one in the same), and the opportunities they have provided me!! I pinch myself all the time and thank the good Lord for surrounding me this year with such amazing people.  I have learned this year, more than ever before, that everything happens for a reason, and that everything will work out in the end.  I am sooo happy with life, and pinch myself and regularly ask 'Is this all for real?'  I am going to be doing some catch up blogs to get you up to speed on 2012.......

I am one of the newest additions to WILD RECORDS!!

Back in January I auditioned for WILD on a whim, with one song I wrote and a Janis Martin cover 'Here Today and Gone Tomorrow'.

I played my first show as a WILD RECORDS artist on March 31, 2012 at the Observatory in Santa Ana as apart of their showcase after being totally bed-ridden with the worst strep throat I have ever had that whole week, but the show must go on! HEHE

Thank you Marlene of The Rhythm Shakers for the photo.

Sound-Check!

Thanks Jim Harris for the pic.

Thanks Bebo for the pic.

Thanks Michael Stadnick for the picture.

WILD RECORDS photographer, the most talented Daniel Funaki of Funaki Photography, captured this photo!!

Set list:

I Said I Loved You No More.

Where Ever You May Be

Pale Moon-Betty Cody Cover

I went to audition for Wild Records, not expecting anything to come from it.....

BOY WAS I WRONG!!

This is only the beginning, and if the beginning is this great, I soooo am looking forward to the future. 

Thank you friends for taking this ride along with me.

MUCH LOVE AND GRATITUDE TO YOU ALL!!!

XOXOXOX

P.S. I have a facebook fan page, be a pal and like it? MARY SIMICH

Pale Moon

I fell instantly in love with Pale Moon when I first heard Betty Cody singing it!! The only thing I have every purchased on eBay was the 78 of this record; once I heard it, I had to have it!!

Hear about Betty Cody from Betty herself:

I love this song, and this is just my silly attempt at trying to sing it!!

Happy Trails!!

xoxo

oxox-I Want to be a Cowboy's Sweetheart-xoxo

These photos were taken by one of my very talented friends!! Jessie Stopnik of the blogs, Jessica Stopnik and Miss Messy Jessie!! We have another photo shoot in the works!! She knows her way around a camera and is for hire! So HIRE her!!

I edited this one for fun!

I'm in a bit of a cowpoke mood today, and I had been meaning to learn this song for awhile. So I did, and made a silly little recording this afternoon....what do you think?

Happy Trails to you!!

I Wanted a Hippopotamus for Christmas.....

........but I got something much better. This here is my favorite Christmas dress. It was decided that for the evening I was channeling Miss Yvonne.

Being silly in front of the Christmas tree!!

This dress was hand made for me by Mr. Tiny of Mr. Tiny's Southside Market, and of the Wacky Tacky blog. The top is made of an old table cloth that was beyond repair, and thrifted green fabric makes up the skirt. The shoes were thrifted long ago.

What a nice guitar, to bad it doesn't belong to me!!

But why should I covet someone else's lovely instrument when for Christmas I got a MOUSEKULELE!!!

To be quite honest I was not hip to the Mousekulele until I saw one in my friends studio, and thought it was the neatest. I have a cheap ukulele that I taught myself to play on, but this is much more than just a regular old ukulele this is a Mousekulele. This ukulele was produced by Oscar Schmidt, but the graphics which make it super awesome were created by my friend's Kevin and Jody! I am not going to lie, I am a crier. When they gave it to me in front of a room full of people I started crying, I was beside myself. Go ahead laugh at me, but at the end of the day I am crying with a beautiful ukulele in hand.

I am so grateful for my new Mousekulele!! It is way easier to care for than a hippopatomus.

And I leave you with a little jingle I was messing around with this evening with my new Mousekulele.

Winter Wonderland

I was invited to the Candlelight Processional at Disneyland this year. What a treat!! It was a wonderful way to get into the Christmas spirit. It consisted of one thousand candle-bearing choir members, and the story of Christmas read from the Bible by Gary Sinise (Lt. Dan from Forest Gump). It was a great experience. Of course the occasion called for a new outfit. And of course Mr. Tiny, of Mr. Tiny's Southside Market and the Wacky Tacky Blog, had something up his sleeve.

Styled head to toe by Mr. Tiny.

Hat, shoes, and glasses thrifted many moons ago.

The sweater was found on a recent trip to Palm Springs.

Mr. Tiny found the sweater and knew he had the perfect fabric to match in his arsenal.

(Notice the candlelight pin. My mom always seems to have just the right thing in her jewelry box!!)

I am so blessed, and so very thankful for all my many talented friends and loved ones.

Peace and Love!

Count Your Lucky Stars!!

Well Howdy!! Western wear and cowboy tunes are some of my most favorite things. I think its in my blood. My grandfather was an Okie, and he grew up listening to The Light Crust Doughboys and Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys. He came from a musical family. My great great grandfather was a well known fiddler in Oklahoma, and my great grandfather believe it or not, was asked to play with the great Bob Wills himself. I am not sure how true that is, but it seems like an awful odd thing to make up!! Anyways, it is in my blood to be enamored with western swing, and that I am!! I love listening to my grandpa's stories about his childhood, he said his grandfather and his dad would play the big barn dance every weekend. How neat!! He recounted fondly the times he would sit around the radio and listen to W. Lee O'Daniel out of Texas. As much as my grandfather loved western swing, my grandma thought and still thinks it is equally distasteful. When they were dating Bob Wills and the Texas Play Boys toured out to California, he tried to take her out to see them, and she was totally disinterested because that was "hillbilly music"! Whatever you want to call it, I love it!! And talking about it now, has made me want to talk more about it to my grandfather.

Photo: Bea White

Photo: Bea White

Hat/Belt: Thrifted (Different stores)

Shirt/Shoes: H-Bar C Garage Sale (What a steal! Since it was old she gave me a deal on it!!)

Skirt: Handcrafted personally for me by Mr. Tiny of Southside Market.

I wore this outfit to go out and see my pals, The Lucky Stars!!

They are the finest western swing California has to offer!! They will keep you on your feet.

Sage, the lead singer, is one of the most clever lyricists around.

I don't know who was responsible for this shoot, but wowie!!

One of the sweetest guys I know Dave Stuckey singing this last one!! He's the best!! I meant it!!

I hope you will get out and see these guys one day, I promise you'll love it!!

Happy Trails!!

River, River of Love so Wide.

This is one of my favorite places to get away from it all. Up until recently the river has run dry. The other night I convinced some friends to go on a drive, we ended up here. People make fun of me for my love of stars, but they don't seem to understand that they are few and far between in my town, the light capital of the world. We beat out the clouds the other night and got to look up at stars. I looked out the car window, and then immediately pulled over. It was nice, even if just for a few freezing minutes (48 probably not freezing to the rest of the world, but I am a Southern California girl) to be out in the middle of nowhere in complete darkness, and be able to look up at a speckled sky. While on the side of the road, I heard the river running...

The song Big Wide River of Love came to mind.

I'd like to introduce you to Petunia and the Vipers!

It Ain't

The Ugliest, Bitterest, Coldest, Dreariest Place I've Ever Seen

-(I don't think that about this place, its just a nice song!)

Cold Heartbreaker

These guys are incredibly talented, kind, and warm.

I can't speak highly enough of these guys, I really look forward to their return!

I love these guys and if you live in Southern California, they will be here Feb 2011.

Check them out at PetuniaMusic.com

P.S. You're welcome, for introducing you to your new favorite band!!

Indian Summer

This is one of my favorite dresses, and I will say that about each and everyone.

Dress hand-crafted by Mr. Tiny of Mr. Tiny's Southside Market and The Wacky Tacky Blog.

Belt and shoes thrifted.

The combs in my hair belonged to my Great Aunt Billie.

Turtles are some of my favorite animals because they are low maintenance and harmless. One day I want to have a tortoise named Lollipop. This turtle belongs to my friend Amber Foxx. What a lucky duck that Foxx is for having such a nice turtle. And I ain't lion.

Blogging

I will be doing a new post very soon!!! I have put this off for quite some time now.

It Is Summertime!

It has been a good seven days. New records, dancing, DEVO, Chuck Berry, good friends.....SUMMER!!

Brittany and I.

Chuck Berry in the background!!

Chuck Berry in background!Last but not least, DEVO!! I really hate DEVO fans, they are all old and grumpy. But I still love DEVO. I made it to the front of the stage, caught some bouncy balls and rubbed Mark's stomach!!

Records!

I stopped in at Vinyl Solution and the Goodwill. I picked up some records.

Recorded at Marineland in Pedro before it fell into the ocean! Stoked!!

Almost passed this up, then I saw Link Wray...Sold!! For having Andy Williams on it, it is a fantastic record.

Beach Party Tonight!

PHOTOS BY JESSICA STOPNIK!

Where's the beach?

It's right here!

Me, Jessica, Keith

CATALINA DAY 3!!

Last Day in Catalina! Not to interesting, just relaxing. Went to breakfast, then to the arcade. This time we got an engineers cap. Just havin' fun!

Tiki Playsuit by Mr. Tiny of Mr. Tiny's Southside Market.

I love this sign!!

CATALINA DAY 2!!

On Day 2 we went and walked around, then we went to the silent movie. The silent movie this year was, "Her Wild Oat" it was really good. The organ player was amazing. I could sit in that theater and listen to the 80 year old Paige organ for hours on end. I LOVE IT!! Then I went and got ready for the dance...the whole point of the trip. The dance was put on by the Art Deco Society of Los Angeles. It is a blast.

Near the Casino!

Also, near the Casino

Side note....We were in line to buy tickets for this, and some guy walked up to us and offered us free tickets!! He said he gave them to us because we looked good, how sweet.

This is my 1930's gown.

This is Katherine Brooks and I.

This is Rob and Ashley.

This is a picture of me dancing with 92 year old Bill Hill. (Not of Billy Hill and the Hill Billys.) He has been living full time on the island since 1963, but her first went to Catalina in 1919. His family has owned property on Catalina since 1890.

CATALINA DAY 1!!

We took the Catalina Flyer over there on Friday morning. We ate lunch at Jack's. (Bob Decastro was there.) We went and walked around. We went to the arcade, got some prizes. Then ate our weight in maple ccokies and juice. Then we did some thriftin' got some cool stuff. Then off to the organ concert and movies.

CRABS? What is going on? On our trip to we always encounter some sort of weird animal life. Either deformed in somewa Catalina y, or in a strange place. This was pretty weird seeing a crab this far away from the water. Last year I saw a pigeon with its eye hanging out, and the year before a one-legged seagull eating a jellyfish.

CLOSE UP.

I left my hair in pincurls on the boat and for part of the day, then I let my hair down.

I really love this outfit. I love lots of color.

They have phone booths in Catalina. I take a picture in one of these every year.

This is on our way to the Casino to see the free organ concert with the movie. The organ is a paige organs that was built in 1922?! I love it, and I could listen to organ music all day.

This picture does not do this place justice. It is one of my favortie places in the world. IT IS AMAZING. There are twinkle lights in the ceiling. It is stellar. We went to go see Robin Hood...but we really just went for the organ concert that comes with it if you go to the movie.

SERIOUSLY THOUGH.....IT'S MY FAVORITE.

CATALINA!!

There is a lot more to come, but I am tired. So here is just a taste.

MR. TINY!!

MR. TINY!!

Bob Decastro and I at Jack's. And I quote, "You....(pause) are really tall."

He is a journalist for Good Day LA.

MUCH MORE TO COME!!

Ian Whitcomb

Ian Whitcomb was apart of the British Invasion of the 1960s. His big hit was "You Turn Me On"!! He can now be seen playing with the 1930's dance band, Janet Klein and her Parlor Boys. With the occasional heckling from the audience, (hehe...me), he will play "You Turn Me On".

He's still got it.

THE ALLAH LAS

I WENT TO WORLD GALLERIES LAST NIGHT, AND REALLY ENJOYED LISTENING TO THE ALLAH LAS!!!!

CHECK THEM OUT.

QUITE, POSSIBLY THE BEST NEW BAND I'VE SEEN IN A LONG TIME. REALLY EXCELLENT. SOUNDED LIKE IT WAS STRAIGHT OFF A TEENAGE SHUTDOWN ALBUM.

GOOD DJ TOO.

THRIFTING!!

I got out early and Chris had the afternoon off, so we went out thrifting today. I got a new hat, I got a donkey charm for my charm bracelet, and I got a bamboo bracelet that is supposed to look like tortoise. Then I got some records...

This one is great.

Let's just say that this is neither the first nor the last Sons of the Pioneers record I have bought.

YES.

It has been a great week for records. I found some jems yesterday too!!