don't have time to slow down even when i'm flattened...

i had SO much to get done this weekend, but woke up half paralyzed saturday morning with my back wrenched. it takes something like that to get me spending quality time stretching on the floor. sad. was so stoned on painkillers that my legs were heavy and my fingers were hilarious. and then laughing was hilarious. then everything was hilarious.

this saturday the bandlings & i have our first "far enough away that we need to stay over" show. some sort of landmark. i've performed spoken word in London, but music is bigger-better-different. very excited. and amused. and constantly full of glee!!!

just have to get through the two awesome shows this month, then december & january are for songwriting & catching up with the world.

Saturday October 24th - see you there!

don't miss this show!!! might be our last one of 2009.

Spoken Word Feature - Oct 25th.

Fascination Street Toronto
at
The Smiling Buddha
961 College Street, Toronto, Ontario
Pay-What-You-Can, 8pm
Hosted by Mindi St.Amand, featuring Leigh Beadon, Adam Christie, Cynthia Gould, Laura McCoy, Linda Mercer, slowly slowly, and Jim Taylor.

It's officially fall.

How is that even possible? But here I am at Word on the Street, buying as many books as I can afford / carry.
Fall always makes me assess the year, and the speedily passing life that I'm creepily vaugely near the middle of. It's so weird.
I have a feeling it will be a good, productive fall & winter. Much on the go. Many great plans. Catching up on a few things I'm behind on. Hopefully there will be some quiet weekends curled up with tea & all of the books I'm buying today.

I'm also writing another book of poetry this winter. It's time to turn all of these "half page of scribbled lines" notes into an actual project.

Time for another lap of the magazine section... Can never have enough Canadian books & magazines!
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4 COOL EVENTS. (2 are mine, 2 aren't, but i'll be there having fun!)

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SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 19

Pic a Deli, 670 Fourth Line, Oakville
(at Speers Road in the Royal Bank Plaza)
High Heels Lo Fi, Corporation, and Loaded Dice
@ 7:00 PM - $10

Loud live music + a nice cold beer = a great Saturday night!
myspace.com/highheelslofi

***If you live in Oakville, have a car, dig transit, please come out!
We need some bodies here!!!


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WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 16

BAM! Youth Poetry Slam

7:00pm - 10:00pm
The Central, 603 Markham St (bloor & bathurst)

Hosted by PAN
$5 cover
Feature: Mike Bryant <<<<<
Facebook Event


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TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 22

blueVenus' "Grin" CD Release Concert Party!
8:00pm - 11:00pm
REVIVAL, 783 College St. (at Shaw)

myspace.com/bluevenusmusic
Facebook Event


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FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 25

Stillepost.ca Fundraiser
Poor Alex Theatre
772A Dundas Street West

Dead Sexy Sheila
High Heels Lo Fi
The Whole Entire Universe

PWYC event. Doors open at 9 pm.
Facebook event

big show - friday sept 25th!

Cannot believe fall has fallen

Due to health issues, I'm not permitted to have any stress until at least New Year. However, when I look at the infinite ToDoList for this fall, it's kind of giving me the willies. As Robert Rankin would say, "it gets the wind up".

I guess my only option is to take the advice I always give others. Make a list. Breathe. Do some of the list. Eat sleep breathe. All you can do is all you can do, right?

Perhaps after our two september shows the band can take a break to work on new material and just chill a bit. Although there is still a LOT of stuff to be done with the new EP... Getting it available online and sending to publishing comapnies and making press kits and getting photos done for that and losing 5 pounds before the photo shoot and I'll have to go shopping and... And...

And this is my brain spiralling out of control again. Just from ONE item on the list.

I've always been this way. Well, for the past 7 years or so, anyway. Can't really see me slowing down, that would be boring. Aye, but pacing myself. There would be the handy dandy trick.

So here I am on a subway, venting. Getting my thoughts in a row.

Weird world, this is.

One thing that is going to be convenient is some Art Bar stuff that will force me to arrive 2 hours early for 4 weeks. This will give me an actual pocket of writing time. Sitting quietly & writing is a total luxury. I am really looking forward to this new poetry collection. It's going to be very eclectic and offbeat, and different than much of my stage stuff. Different is good.

Oh yeah - I have a spoken word performance on october 25th. Details forthcoming. Will be my second reading of the year. Hmmm. Slow year. Slow is good. Mind you, I've had 7 shows with the band, so it all evens out. Even is good. To quote Mark Forward, (hope Meesh reads this!) "it's all about balance".
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songwriting weekend & poetry collection & new pens

For ten years, every Labour Day weekend I was immersed in the 3-Day Novel Writing Contest. I completed it every year, whether the novel was 80 pages or 120. Some years SUCKED. A few were good. One was awesome. Every time was a huge learning experience and a soul wrenching trial-by-deadline.

Then I took two years off. one decade was a completion. It was solid. I was good with it.

This year, I have a four day weekend, and am going to concentrate on writing songs. I have lots of housework, a food fair, and movies to watch. But by Monday night I'll have serious progress on some new material done.

It's weird when i'm in songwriting mode. I listen to music on the subway and at work, but I refuse to listen to anything vaguely in our genre. so i listen to piano jazz, lounge, prog rock... The Gene Harris Quartet, Thievery Corporation, Hawkwind. An odd mix of interesting textural stuff that won't get a pop hook in my head.

I do think I'm getting the hang of this songwriting thing. It's not "rocket surgery". Nobody will be injured if I do it wrong. And there is sort of no "wrong" anyway. If it sounds like a song, if it feels complete, then there you go! But I'm really trying to push it... to write hooks, and a catchy chorus, and a good build, and have my limited guitar ability work for me, not against me. (Don't even get me started on how Mandy & Roy forced me to do a "punk guitar solo" at our last gig. jesus murphy.)

I'm also working on some poetry. This winter I want to complete another poetry collection. I don't know whether it will end up as a CD, a zine, a self published chapbook, or if I'd have the guts to write a full book of poetry and send it to actual publishing houses. I've read a lot of the brilliant poetry that comes out in Toronto, and I don't know how my work compares. My poetry tends to come out rambling & conversational. Which is my genuine honest style and I dig it, but might not be "marketable". Whatever. write first, analyze everything to death later.

Plus, it's September. Time for new pens & notebooks! I love buying writing supplies. It's a sickness.

another silly video

Check out this video: We have a gig in Oakville

Hello world

I haven't been blogging much lately. Just random tidbits & funny weblinks or videos that I find. Time for a real update... While I'm on my way to a songwriting date with Miss Mandy. Time is doing extra weird things this summer. Everything is a super rush except for the blissful afternoons of great food, drinks, and conversations with awesome people.
The EP is nearly done - just one more tiny guitar bit then mixing. "Big Dumb Rock Songs" will be available at our show on the 15th. I'm so proud of this project I could bust. I was pretty excited about the first HHLF demo, but the band has totally changed direction over the past few months, and these 5 songs really show what we are now.
But we need some new materials for upcoming gigs, so we'll be crankin out some new tunes this week

I've also been super busy with art bar stuff. There is a lot to be done each week, and I need to overhaul my system so that I don't miss anything. Plus I'm running my yearly theme night on august 18th - the poetic essence of country music. I've booked the most amazing lineup - I'm thrilled that so many wonderful people want to play along!!

What else... Ah yes, I've been painting this weekend for the first time in a while. I've had a comissioned piece on the go that tooka awhile to get crackin because I wa so stupidly stressed out that I couldn't sketch calm. At all. It was freaking me out. I've never had a block like that before. But then, I've never had two big chunks of my hair fall out before, so who know's what's what. But all is truckin now! I think when I get this piece done I might have another clearance sale and try to get rid of every one of my paintings in the house. Clear house, clear mind. Or something :)

In other news, raccoons have ripped open part of the house at the corner of the shed-room. Wtf? We totally have the money to get that fixed. Gak

Almost there... Strawberry margaritas & sunshine & writing!!
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Photos from The Final Pour:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cynthiagould/sets/72157618002178192/

where on earth will the bleeding hearts and the artists go now?

This Saturday, May 9th, is Last Last Call at The Renaissance Cafe.

i'm ferklmept just thinking about it.

that's where the first HHLF gig was. i've hosted so many shows there. i've performed both spoken word and music there, and shown my paintings. i've hosted the Toronto Tinfoil Hat Contest there. what other venue would let people hold "Kindergarten for 'Grown-Ups'"? HHLF jammed with bass & drums for the first time at the Ren. Mike & i held our 10th anniversary party there, and my 6 month old nephew Jack was bouncing on the bar "dancing". on the day we went on an open house tour and fell in love with our home, we went to the Ren after for a drink & discussion - and when... i think it was Colleen, asked how the house was, i just burst into tears because it was so perfect.
four days later, on the day we bought our house, our agent & the house inspector had to meet somewhere for a quick coffee to go over everything, and even though the Ren was closed, Randy saw us through the front window, let us in and made us coffee.

those couches have heard so many wonderful conversations. that stage has held so much wonder & beauty & honesty & warmth.

where on earth will the bleeding hearts and the artists go now?

High Heels Lo Fi...

Our next gig is Sunday May 31 at Annie's on Queen!


High Heels Lo Fi - live at the Reverb

more more more

i feel like i'm just not producing enough in the way of art.

could it be as simple as the clutter and lack of space holding me back?

i'm going to try this experiment... totally GUT my art room and start over. fresh space for fresh ideas. room for painting, writing, and guitar. will pitch or give away everything else in that room that isn't art supplies or tools that will be used in the next 3 months.

this should be interesting.

also, i need to create more time for sitting on the deck with friends. there is a lack of that. and it's finally the season to come out of hibernation.

things & links & rambling

i have a google profile: http://www.google.com/profiles/cynthia.gould

i have a twitter: http://www.twitter.com/cynthiagould

i have a band: http://myspace.com/highheelslofi

i have a powerful need to find out how to run on less sleep, so that i can exercise more. why does my body actually require 8 hours? doesn't that seem like a LOT? too much?

i am behind on a billion little things. trying desperately to catch up.

must plan an afternoon on a patio to unwind!