Fearless Music TV debut! Upcoming Album! Cake Merge!

So I’m in the process of getting ready to move into a new apartment and instead of addressing the daunting task of packing everything I own into cardboard, I turn to my favorite procrastination enabler: la computadora. BUT I really DO have pertinent updates (lots of them actually), so I guess I’m off the hook . . .

Ok, so here’s the REALLY big news of late: last week Evan and I recorded a performance for the show Fearless Music. If you haven’t seen the show before, you should definitely check it out: http://www.fearlessmusic.tv/. It airs Saturday nights on Fox at 12:30 (so technically Sunday morning). It is going to air sometime in the next couple months, and it is broadcast all over the US of A, as well as a few other places like Brazil. I understand it will also be aired on the campus TV network at most colleges in the states, so for those of you who aren’t a thousand years old like me, maybe you know what that is. I have been wanting to be on this show for a really long time, and it was really surreal for it finally to happen. I was sitting in my apartment freaking out and trying to drink tea and practice and not sweat too profusely beforehand, and it occurred to me that there are bands I really look up to who have been on this show. Ok, if you know me, you know I’m mainly just talking about the Dresden Dolls, my all-time favorite band. I think this was the first time I can say I’ve really done something that some of my 'idols' (i dislike that word) have done. I know this sounds like a lot of cheese, but that’s gotta be a good sign, right? So I was practically on the verge of vomiting every internal organ I have for a couple days before, certain I would bomb the whole thing and choke during the interview (the producer, Jaime, interviewed me before I played). Here I am freaking out:



But . . . against my usual pessimistic worrying assumptions, I neither bombed nor choked! Evan played like a fucking champion, which he is. Champion. And I didn’t, like, vomit onstage or start crying or speaking in tongues or anything, so I consider it a win. Here we are not sucking:





AND, bonus, there was another film crew there who interviewed and filmed us for this music reality show called Ragged Road. That will be aired on a YouTube sponsor channel (it’s sponsored by Macy’s), as well as on PBS. I’ll get back to you with dates and details when I get that info. They were basically a bunch of fucking adorable college students (that sounded condescending, sorry) who are all interested in music industry careers of some capacity. And they were all so enthusiastic and nice . . . here they are:



2: I have begun work on my new album. It feels so good to say that. And to actually, you know, mean it, and not just be talking about some imaginary world in my head. This time it’s real, baby! Not only am I recording, but I’m recording w/ a fucking brilliant producer, Dan Romer of Drawing Number One Productions (he records a ton of amazing people who I love & you should too like Jenny Owen Youngs and Ingrid Michaelson). Check: http://www.myspace.com/drawingnumberone

And I also have added a couple more videos to my YouTube channel. A lot of you have probably seen these, but if not, here they is:

Amnesia (recorded w/ Evan @ a practice session) . . .



Holden Caulfield (me and my new life partner/guitar) . . .



Speaking of YouTube, I want some opinions. I want to post more, really I do. I want to be, like, interesting and post little 'vlogs' to go along w/ my song recordings, but I don’t know if musicians can really do this w/out looking like huge tools. Thoughts? Should I just stick to singing and the sporadic written word of the blog?

Ok, now I’m out of actual news and am just avoiding packing—but I really do want to say this. I’ve been thinking lately about how utterly amazing it is when listening to one of my songs makes other people want to create something. Like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMcYR5WZHNU or this: http://www.haileywojcik.com/images/jaketrustydino1.jpg or another thing I can’t link to yet, but it’s in the works (it involves puppets!!!). When I think about people doing these things, I just fucking love the world. And I know that sounds egotistical, but I mean it in more of the communal-hippie-art-fest way,
not the vain artist way (not that most artists, including myself, aren’t somewhat vain). And even just getting messages and comments from people. It really means a lot. In general I simultaneously hate and love the connection that technological advancements afford us (mainly because I think it usually creates a false sense of connection, and really just makes us more isolated blah blah blah . . . or maybe not more isolated, but it sure emphasizes the present isolation . . . and I suppose it does
make us more isolated), but mostly right now I'm feeling really good about it. Anyway, this is degenerating into a cliche argument about technology, when really all I want to say is that I’m so glad to be connecting with all of you on whatever abstract level we are connecting on. And I love to see the art you make, and to be a part of that.

And I wish I could bake you all a cake.

But then some of you are probably vegan and some of you probably can’t have sugar or whatever or can’t agree on whether icing or frosting are the superior cake topping . . . Furthermore, I would want to personalize them so they seem more cakey and less spammy, but I don’t even know all your names, and that would take a really long time. I would need something like a mail merge button, but I guess since it’s cake it’d have to be cake merge . . . I don’t know. I guess that won’t happen.

But i love you . . .

So I guess I'll leave you w/ this picture. It's one of olafer eliasson's waterfalls on the brooklyn bridge as I waited in line to see Amanda Palmer at Spiegeltent last week. Ain't life grand?




xxx,

h

on the sand of Fire Island's shore ...

I hope you liked the self-important rambling of my last post, 'cause i've got a lot more where that came from...

I am trying to finish two songs, but I can't and they are DRIVING ME COMPLETELY CRAZY. So i am breaking to write this blog and give you an update on the fabulous life i lead.

well it has actually been pretty eventful of late.

Last weekend I went to Fire Island and was so so so lucky to get to stay at the summer beach house of the amazing Evan Sanyour, (who has been accompanying me on cajon and other cool percussive objects for the past several months.) Let me share with you some pictures (taken with an actual disposable film camera I might add—it’s so retro! Seriously though, Evan’s son was taking some pictures with it, and he kept asking me where the viewer screen was and “how come I can’t see the picture I just took?” Oh, I felt so ancient ... or just tragically unhip) ...


                                                          

   Waves are amazing.

        

                          

    Me trying to be cool in my 'famed' white sunglasses... i wish i was as cool as the stop motion version of me!!

                                 

                                          

  I got (horseshoe) crabs at Fire Island!      

                                             

            

   Percussionist extraordinaire, Evan Sanyour. Plus some random people who don't know their picture is on the internet.

                

  The second set of footprints is not Jesus. I repeat: NOT. JESUS. I was already planning on emphasizing that, and then I heard THIS story on npr and it was further solidified...                             

                                                                  

  sunrise on the beach

                                      

 before they got burned and elephantitis-ed to shit...

                                                

is this shell not the perfect guitar pick?

       

So I was trying to forget about the aforementioned (in the last post) Fucked-Up Bullshit ... and actually succeeding for a while! The ocean does that. The house is actually right ON the beach and you can hear the waves crashing up onto the beach day and night. I normally am a horrible insomniac and MUST have my laptop playing something in order to get to sleep ... not so on Fire Island. Waves are so fucking unbelievable. They’re so easy to not think about, but when you stare and them all day, I guess it starts to sink in. (And I mean that in the least trite/least stoner-ish way possible.) I feel some sort of hypnosis looking at them. And I didn’t really realize it before, but being so close to the ocean…it demands all the senses. You don’t live by the ocean, you live in the ocean. It’s olfactory, tactile, visual, etc. etc.

And then there are the stars. And the moon … it was a “Spielberg moon,” as Evan said, on our ferry ride to the island. It was like a big sliver of orange cut out of cardboard for a school play, just hanging there over the water. It was so windy and my toes were freezing, but it was really (and I don’t use this word) sublime. I felt like I hadn’t seen the stars/sky/moon in a year … and I pretty much haven’t I suppose. And I though, Fuck, as long as this indescribably beautiful thing is here, how could I possibly be distraught about The Fucked-Up Bullshit?

My only regret is that I didn't make it to the lighthouse. Another one of the many songs I have started and not finished yet is about a lighthouse. A haunted lighthouse ... oooOOOoo. Oh well, next time. But I do think that the perfect setting for an artists' retreat/colony would be in a lighthouse. Think about it, all that solitude ... the ocean, the waves, etc. etc. Somebody give me a grant to live in a lighthouse for a month so I can finish some songs!
As soon as I got back, I realized I had gotten a pretty nasty sunburn on my feet/ankles of all places, and it had caused my ankles to swell to approximately three times their normal size…So I’ve been sleeping pillowless and w/ my legs propped up on the back of my futon like I’ve just taken a hit off a turkey baster and am trying to get preggers or something. (Which I am not. Let’s clear that up.) They have almost deflated, but are still oddly red. Not that I care; it was so worth it.
And just in case you haven’t had enough…I can quickly sum up another recent experience. I saw the famed Abyssinian Baptist Choir up in Harlem … and let me just say, Holy shit (no pun intended). It was unbelievable. I am pretty sure that I would be okay… Truly OK… If only I could be surrounded by this gospel choir at all times for the rest of my life. Just singing in my face. If I didn’t already know music was the most powerful thing in the universe, I would know it now. I was sitting in the front row. If it weren’t for the whole Jesus thing, I’d convert. But anyway, I was really there for the World Science Festival, so it wasn’t “mass” or whatever, which was good. They sang about a dozen songs, did a libation ceremony and skipped all the crazy Jesus stories. Best of both worlds.

So for all two of you that are still reading … that’s all folks. More verbal diarrhea is to come I’m sure.

You are truly amazing,
h

Succubus in the City

Up to this point my pattern has been to post blogs only when I really have something to announce, but I suppose this could be considered a deviation from that ... (I'm just preparing you for what may be an anticlimactic entry).

Anyway, I promised myself I wouldn't be one of those People Who Blog About Their Personal Lives (I guess by personal lives I really mean relationships, since what isn't personal really?).

So I won't.

But I will say that it's been some fucked up bullshit beyond all comprehension for the past few weeks.

And I am clinging to the hope that it will all add up to my Magnum Opus.

I've been writing a lot and I have a couple songs actually finished. I can't wait to record. This finding-a-good-and-affordable-and-compatible-producer/engineer is harder than it looks. But I am still finishing this new crop of songs anyway, so that buys me a little time--and if any of you happen to know (or be) someone who fits the bill, please let me know.

On a random note ... like most subway riders (I assume), I take pleasure in being nosey about other people's reading materials on the train. I see a lot of really great looking pulp novels with really awful covers. I forget some of the best titles, but I just wanted to share one with you that I just saw. It definitely takes the cake. The title was (I kid you not): Succubus in the City.

My next album title? I think so.

Anyway, I wonder if it just came out because of the Sex and the City movie debuting this weekend ... maybe the girl wanted background and was on her way to the movies ... or whatever. Anyway, it made me smile and think of how glad I am that this book exists.

Oh wait, but you have to see the cover to get the full effect. (check out the blood cosmo!):



It has been so warm and beautiful here the past couple days. Summer brings about a whole new set of senses it seems. I don't have AC, so my windows are always open and the sounds permeate the apartment. It's kind of like a beautiful John Cage piece or something. At least when it isn't just annoying fucking noise pollution. Tomato, TomAHto I guess. Ice cream truck music, skateboard wheels rolling on pavement, the quake of approaching subwoofers, alley cats in heat below my window, ambulance sirens, the squealing brakes of the elevated train, the rattle and hum of my neighbors' air conditioners. (I'd rather listen to the din of the neighborhood than have one of those obnoxious things clattering and whirring next to my head all day ... at least I say that now ...). Makes me wanna record it for the Magnum Opus.

Yeah.

So that's it I guess ... I told you it was anticlimactic. Unless of course, you are truly satisfied just by seeing the cover of Succubus in the City (as you should be).


'Til next time,
H. N. woiychieck

AMAZING fan-directed video for "Luck"!!

I am completely speechless right now.

A phenomenally talented gentleman by the name of mister charles barton directed, created, conceptualized, animated, etc. this amazing video for my song "Luck"...It is so fantastic, I don't even know what to say, except check it out for yourselves (and tell your friends). And don't forget to leave comments telling mister barton how great it is, because it is... Ok, enough talk; go check it out:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=8EJXwd1d0jA

Canadian Debut! Dino Costume Creations! Ravings and Ramblings!

Hi there,

So, I’m making my Canadian Debut this weekend, eh? I am so excited! My video for “Dinosaur Bone” is being aired on national Canadian television show, Dave’s Indie Rock Talk (D.I.R.T.) this Sunday, March 9th (and again on the 16th.) D.I.R.T. Airs across Canada on StarChoice Satellite (ch. 323) and Express-Vu (ch. 258) Satellite Networks, and the Novus TV network (ch. 4) in Vancouver on Sundays at Midnight, Pacific Time. It’s an awesome show and I’m so excited to be a part of it! Check out the website at www.dirt-tv.com

And speaking of “Dinosaur Bone”... How much do i LOVE this?! Click the link below and just look at the fine craftsmanship... (You may have to scroll down a bit, there are 2 photos...)

http://www.haileywojcik.com/photos.html

This amazing, crafty, talented bloke, (also a member of the Certain Scientists Street Team...) made this dino costume after reading my foray-into-martha-stewart-living-how-to-blog, “On Making A Dino Hoodie.” He’s giving me a run for my money! Seriously, this rocks, and props on the teeth. Thank you so much for sending this in! Anyone else have dino costume pics? Send ‘em thisaway: dinohoodie@haileywojcik.com

In other news (please brace yourself for some rambling...)

I’ve been writing a lot of new songs. Which is good, because I was starting to think I’d forgotten how. I was feeling really blocked for a few months. I felt like I didn’t have my usual antennae out – or at least not being so thrilled by what they pick up. Am I getting old? I kept thinking of this blog post of Amanda Palmer’s (Dresden Dolls singer), whose blog I read obsessively... Anyway, the post was all about getting older and “learning to feel less,” and how “You cannot protect yourself from sadness without protecting yourself from happiness.” Coupled with this ad I kept seeing on the train: “Do you forget about peanut butter when you get old? Or do you get old when you forget about peanut butter?” I don’t know.

I think living in New York, as stimulating/exciting as it is, presents an interesting, near-constant, catch-22. There is so much more to take in here, but people get to a point of having their jaded attitude and having their guard up too much to enjoy/absorb it. At least that’s how I was feeling. And so I started just forcing myself to write down every stupid thing I thought of, or disconnected thing that I noticed again. (This sounds so obvious, I know, but don’t underestimate the power of self-censorship.) Anyway, it seems to have done some good because I’ve got a few new songs going. And I guess that’s my point. So be on the lookout for some new recordings... And those of you in the NYC vicinity, I’ll be debuting them at my upcoming shows this month.

That is all for now.


pieces,

hailey

On Making a Dino Hoodie...

On Making a Dino Hoodie...
Over the past month I’ve gotten a lot of messages regarding my dinosaur costume/hoodie. A lot of people have asked where I got it and I’ve responded to most of you by now...but I just thought I should go ahead and post my dino costume secrets here anyway for all interested parties...

Said costume is the homemade creation of myself and my lovely & crafty girlfriend Faith. We spent a loooong time deciding how to make it; I did consider buying one, but I couldn’t find what I was looking for exactly (plus they’re hella expensive.) So we decided to make it instead (which was, of course, more fun), using... (I put this in extreme detail in case any of you are as craftingly challenged as I...)

1) Stretchy hoodie and leggings (mine are American Apparel)
2) Acrylic paint (i used yellow and green of course)
3) Needle & thread
4) 1 sheet of craft foam, (white) approx. 1/4” thick
5) 2 sheets (1 black, 1 white) of sticky-backed craft foam, approx. 1/8” thick

Faith is responsible for the awesome spikes, which she cut out, painted and sewed along the spine of the hoodie. Then she made a tail out of foam as well (painted,) and this was sewn to the leggings. So basically I made the eyes and nostrils out of the sticky back foam and stuck ‘em on the hood...just cuz I’m lazy like that and when it comes to crafts I like to think of myself more as an “ideas person”...

So there you have it... if/when you make your own dino hoodie all i ask is for you to please please PLEASE send me a picture! Either send a link via myspace or send me an email w/ attachment to dinohoodie[at]haileywojcik[dot]com. I have a dream of making a photo gallery of people in dino costumes and putting on my site...help me make it a reality, will you?

Love Always,
Hailey