Lyrics and Pictures

The last two weeks since I posted have been fairly normal, not crazy at all. I can't sit here and lie to you guys about how I've been busy, it's not true. I mean I've been working and tired as hell, but between the never-ending winter weather and the year flying by so fast (It's already March, what?!?!!) all I've really wanted to do is write some new lyrics… and perform. Last weekend I went to NY to see some old friends and watch SNL Live with Lena Dunham and the National, amazing, only validating that my purpose to want to perform is not for nothing! I have a friend that opened me up to this cute venue of an open mic and I'm going to be hitting that up this coming Tuesday. It's called Melodies Cafe  and it's right here in Ardmore! Come on by if you're in the area, hopefully I'll get to sing, apparently it's very crowded and a lot of people don't get to perform on their first try, but watching the local talent will be just as enjoyable as well, so make your way on out if you can!

Here's a little something I'm working on. Hope you enjoy, Let me know what you think!

I don't want to look back
The faith in us is what I'll lack
But I can't bear to look back
And see me without you

Feels like a depression
Almost wanna give up
Like feeling you're in second place
Unknowing if you'll make it to the front of the race

Didn't say we never fought together
Sit back
Lay in bed
Write this song and I remember
Playing reckless with you
Begging, Begging, Begging
Only cause of you

Cause Sometimes I'm not sure
This love for you feels so insecure
But I'm tired of starting over, not giving up
Just can't tell if this feeling is enough

You'll never let me go
Trapped perfectly for you alone
Can't say that I'm complaining
Being with you is exhilarating!

And though sometimes I'm not sure
This love for you is my only cure
Not starting over or giving up
I know this feeling is more than enough©
As promised, the pictures of my New York City adventures!

Me and the Boy :) at 30 Rock

WOOO SNL! It was so amazing!

(Part of) The CMU Gang! (Brandon, ME, Joe, Alex;MIA:Julia, Derek, Arjun)

Add Raquel and now it's a Family!
Guess now that I've posted those lyrics above I have to add the music and post it on my SoundCloud for you to listen. ;) Awesome, I have homework for the weekend! Stay Tuned!

© All content and images used on this site are owned by Samantha E. Bowen for use on this site only. Unauthorized use of all or any content included on this page is prohibited as enforced by copyright laws.

Vulnerability at it's Best... But There's a Birthday on the Horizon!

As some would say, I spoke too soon. And a few years ago I probably would have been the type to regret being so open about something that I wanted because then when I didn't get I'd have to tell everyone that it didn't work out. And that, my followers, is much more difficult than just you knowing yourself.

The phone rang while I was in a meeting with my two managers at work (one of my part-time jobs) and something inside just told me that it was them calling. I had been waiting all week and with the encouragement of my family and friends was feeling hopeful. Then the buzz of the voicemail hit my phone and I felt it vibrate in my pocket! I could not have been more anxious to leave the meeting so I could run to the hall and listen.

Finally I found my opportunity… "Samantha, thank you so much for your email and your time… at this time we have decided to go with a stronger candidate… We wish you the best of luck and please keep in touch for future opportunities." As I head back into work with my friends and managers I could feel the tears swelling up behind my eyes, but if there was something about myself that I knew it was that I have a resilience that others would envy, and that's something I'm proud of. So I put a strong face on and went about the rest of my work day with a smile. I clock out. I say goodbye. I head home and the second I walk through the door I saw the cupcakes that Brandon had bought me to make me feel better, but the tears just didn't stay inside.

So, of course, I did what any logical 23 yr old (soon to be 24, OMG!) girl that has received way to many rejections for her sanity would do. I ran to the shower with my speakers and blasted sad music while enjoying the longest shower of my life. In case you haven't tried a shower while crying, I would definitely recommend it because your face is going to get wet anyway, so you might as well just shower during the process! Two Birds, One Stone.

Okay, enough with the sad shit. Just for the record, I'm not some ignorant sad girl that isn't looking at the big picture. I really wanted (still want) this position, but the tears and the emotions I felt were not all due to the rejection of the position. It was more because when you're almost two years out of college and still finding your way in life and have not an iota of an idea in what direction it's going, it's easy to feel anxious and despair - hence the crying shower scene. No… no I don't have a picture of this, apologies :P

I had a few bites of the yummy cupcakes and decided that I would get all my sulking out last night because in less than 3 hours it was going to be Brandon's 24th Birthday! So he let me cry on his shoulder and vent about what I'm thinking about for life and the future and being happy and NOW it's Friday and I have to just buckle up and wear a smile because it's a day for celebration! (I am aware that there were an absurd amount of "ands" in the last sentence, but I.Don't.Care! That's my sentence and I'm sticking to it!:D)

This morning I sang "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" and gave Brandon one of his gifts, which he absolutely loved! That made me so happy! We woke up to find out that our heat is broken for the day, so my apartment is a popsicle, fortunately I have friends in high places. Which really means that I am at my friend, Marine's, place eating Berry Crumble, Nutella and blogging before I head to work. I also have to finish the last preparations for the surprise I have in store for Brandon tonight. I'll probably write again on Monday morning to update on the fantastic weekend plans.

Guys, I'm happy! I have great things in life, I'm healthy and I have people around me who love me! No more tears! And I am happy that I put myself out there because that way for those of you reading and for those of you just of college feeling rejected… Take it from someone that graduated from Carnegie Mellon University (A Top 30 School) with a degree in Economics, it's not easy. And it's especially not easy when you don't just want a job, you want the job that is going to make you happy. Maybe that's my thing, but I know that when I nail that one job that I know I want, it will be much more gratifying that just having a paycheck and benefits to say that I have a paycheck and benefits without any enjoyment of going to work. I want to love my job and I know I will! ;)

Most of my friends and family said "SAM! It's a sign that you shouldn't be cooperate (even though you can)! You should SING!" So I will sing! I wrote a new song today and I decided to open a sound cloud and upload the Explosions (A Capella) - Ellie Goulding Cover that I sang as a sound test. Hope you enjoy it.. Just click the image of Ellie Goulding below and it will take you to my new SoundCloud.

Have a great Friday! Chins UP! And Happy Birthday Brandon! :)

-Jam

The Waiting Game

What's been going on in the last week and a half? So much. I'm currently participating in the game that most college grads are forced to play for at least a few months, my case years. I mentioned in my last post that I had an important interview coming up for a job that I am more than excited about and it's done. It happened! And now I wait. I can't tell if I'll regret writing about it so openly because I have yet to find out about the decision! I'm fairly certain I am a top candidate, which some of you may think as great because it means that I'll definitely get it, but that's not entirely true. And worse, knowing that I'm so close is going to crush me if I don't get it. The position goes so well with my background and I think it would be great fuel for more writing!

While I waited… and continue to wait. Here are some of the things that I did and kept me entertained in the last week and a half when I wasn't working or singing.

In the last week of January I visited some family up in NY and CT because a year had passed since my amazing Aunt, Tanya Tutiven, passed away (mom's sister). We all gathered, had a mass ceremony and then caught up with family while remembering her beautiful smile and memories. Even though this picture was taken a few weeks ago, I thought it would be great to share a picture of some of my family members since I haven't quite gotten to do that yet. I'll have to remember to write a post about the amazing people in my family and get everyone familiar with them. Here is my mom on the left, me in the middle and my Aunt Pam (mom's sister) on the right. Us girls are always trying to live up the fab!

This is the card that I gave to Brandon on Valentine's Day. I laughed out loud when I saw it and it made boyfriend chuckle, too! As you guys saw from my last post, I'm not much into that cheesy stuff, though I shouldn't shun it considering the wonderful Vday we had. I worked on the actual day of celebration, but who cares! Hallmark can't tell me what to do! We decided to celebrate on Saturday instead and enjoyed a lovely meal at this new restaurant that we tried in the city called Valanni. It was a tapas style dining experience and my only failure during the meal is the fact that I managed to not take one picture of the amazing food, but I don't feel too bad because in these days of social media, twitter, instagram and blogging (we all know I'm a huge fan of all those apps) it's hard to get some alone time to just sit and talk to each other without the disturbance of the phone going *BING* with some external and insignificant alert. It was nice for both of us to enjoy our time with just us.

After dinner, though, we headed to the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts because Brandon purchased tickets for us to see the Philadelphia Orchestra perform Rachmaninoff. It was so good and refreshing. He knows how much I love music but most concerts are always the popular radio hits and classical music is what I actually grew up on and how I learned how to read and practice music. We had box seats and everything. I do have some snips from inside the theater looking down at the orchestra for you to enjoy! It was absolutely gorgeous inside and reminded me of my dad because he is always finding new events to take me to when I visit Miami.

Pretty Right?

Okay, so then came the week of the Interview and it was supposed to be on Tuesday as I mentioned in my last post, however due to weather conditions which are, by the way, becoming most annoying as I'm desperate for some sign of Spring, the company postponed the interview for safety reasons. I really appreciated that. Anyway, Thursday arrives, my interview date, and here is some snip snaps from that day.

I love this outfit! It's chic and still professional! A friend of mine told me I looked perfect for the part. I had a badge and everything which was exciting. I crossed out the company and location for obvious reasons but if I get the job I'll definitely share :D. Look at the inside of the building, how pretty! I think that overall the interview went well. As always there are questions that are unexpected, but I think I handled them the best that I could, hopefully I get a chance to share my creativity with them more! To get my mind off the stressful times Brandon and I headed out to the outlets to see if there were any good deals left over from President's Day, but we're all about saving right now so we were pretty pathetic in our shopping spree. However, I did see these amazing oxfords and I thought they would be so cute for spring! Brandon wasn't shy to show his disgust for them however, fortunately we had a big laugh about it! Especially because I mentioned that girls don't dress for guys, especially when my guy has been with me for over two years. That's it, he loves me already and I'll promise not to wear the oxfords around him, just like how I don't wear my flower printed pants around him either.

Do you like Oxfords? Tell me! I wanna know how everyone else feels about them!
As we walked away from the shoes, regrettably, we laughed together because he agreed the shoes would be better than me getting bangs. But what's a girl to do when she wants to change up her look! I did some research and found a way to give myself some fake bangs for a one day do. And I LOVE it! Brandon even gave me kudos on finding a way to change it up, looking realistic and not compromising. I genuinely can't get real bangs even if I wanted them (which I don't, just to clarify - I just like mixing things up occasionally) because my hair is curly and that would not make for an easy hair routine, not to mention the horror of growing them out. I'm happy with my hair right now. Still, you have to see how great this came out!

Pretty cool right? If you want to try to it at home, here are the steps! Let me know if it works for you!
1. High Ponytail
2. Take half of hair in pony and bring to the front, bobby pin!
3. Wrap the back portion around the top like a bun!
4. Style and fix to make it look as you wish! ;)

Finally, this week has gone by a bit easier because I had not one, but two, nights to indulge in my 2014 guilty pleasure… The Bachelor! I know, I KNOW! How sinful! I have genuinely never watched the show before and had no interest in it before this season and the way I got into it was because Brandon's sister joked about it and I saw some updates on E!News. When I realized that he's hispanic, I couldn't hold back. For anyone watching the show and wondering if that really is how hispanic guys talk to girls the answer is not so black and white. You have the classy hispanic men who, though they do not speak english perfectly, still are able to communicate in a way that is not seen as condescending or shallow, overall they're very chivalrous. Then you have the macho macho hispanic guy that is usually from South Florida (I'm allowed to say this because I'm from Miami, otherwise back off! This is my hometown, so only I can make fun) and he will touch your face all day while baby talking you and asking you for little kisses, "aye dame besitos." It's just TOO cheesy and it is so funny! By the way if you're ever having a day when you're feeling a bit down, go read the twitter feed for #TheBachelor and I can guarantee you'll be laughing so hard your abs will ask for forgiveness. I saw this on Pintrest last night and was cracking up!

Well, it's time for some breakfast and more waiting. Hope you enjoyed and wish me luck!

Happy Valentine's Day Laugh!

I found these two gems and thought "what a better way to celebrate Valentine's Day (the most commercialized of Hallmark Holidays) than to get a little laughter out there!" I want to take a small music break and put some smiles on peoples faces. I would like to point out that I notice a lot of people getting defensive, posting all these "I don't believe in Valentine's Day" or "I date myself and I'm happy" tweets, but no need to be so bitter. In Spanish when we say Happy Valentine's Day we literally translate it to "Happy day of celebrating Love and Friendship", which I like a lot more because it does not hone in on all the pressure to not be single today and as far as I'm concerned I get much love from my family and friends! So regardless of whether or not you are dating someone today, know that there is someone out there thinking of you and loving you! :)

Best Romantic Poem

Best Cute Stuffed Animal
Hope you all got a few laughs out of these classic creations that I found! Happy Valentine's Day to all my lovely readers!

xoxo Bisous! xoxo

SamJam

Catching Up is Hard To Do (Part II): Singer, Producer, Engineer...Night Owl

I've had the desire to start a blog for some time now, but finally I feel like I will be able to share my experiences and life in a way that will show meaning to my goal. Everything I've been through has shaped the person I am today and the reason I do what I do. My only hope is that you fall in love with the story of my life(though there is still so much to it left) and the soundtrack that's being built for it. This post is actually coming at a good time because in these last two weeks I have regained my abilities to be a Night Owl. Apologies for waiting so long in between posts, but I've had little time to update on my whereabouts because I'm creating these whereabout experiences. I figure what would be a better way to catch up with the passed 3 years and the passed 2 weeks but to incorporate the two.

Let's pick up where we left off in my last post, Junior Year at Carnegie Mellon University and I am in my first recording class. It came so naturally to me, not just telling people what to do when they were in the booth (Brandon says I can be bossy sometimes, I think I'm just a natural leader) but also having the ear to pinpoint good takes vs bad ones and edit the right musical information to tracks. That may seem like a bit too honest to admit that I enjoyed having the power to tell others what to do, but it's true. It's an art really, to get it down to a T. There are people who are "bossy" and there then are people who are "leaders". My professor noticed my ease with leadership immediately. I never told anyone what to do, I made they feel comfortable enough with themselves so that they did what I wanted them to without them realizing that I had been gearing them in that direction from the beginning. And despite what anyone may think, that is art. I had people requesting to work with me as an engineer because of all the fun and laughs that I brought to a studio session while still getting work done efficiently. To be completely honest, I think that the reason that most engineers are successful is when the engineers themselves are artists because they understand what it feels like to be exposed and have everyone around you listening to your art while you're trying to record something creatively. In this case especially, because most artists would come and use the studio for free since they knew that their session would be educational to a class of 30 people. Now, on top of having your own criticism (which is the harshest) and that of the engineer/producer (second harshest) you also had a group of 30 college students watching your every move and hearing your every mistake. It may seem easy enough, but it's nerve-racking to say the least.

One of the artists that came in frequently was a local Pittsburgh Rapper, named "Freestyle" at the time. He currently goes by "Frzy" (@Frzy) and has a wide following, having worked with a number of famous national and international artists now. Good friends now, he always likes to pretend that he had his eye on me before I even tried to become his engineer of two years, but who knows the truth. The facts are that after one session with him I came out of my shy shell (tongue twister? "shy shell") and sang for him in the hopes of working with him as not only an engineer but as a guest artist on one of his tracks. Of course, my engineer professor was taken aback because he had no idea that I was a singer, as well. He only really trusted me for the engineering skills. Slowly, I proved myself though. I should mention that during this time the Teacher's Assistant of the class was Andrew Goldberg, a graduate student at Carnegie Mellon receiving his certificate in Music Engineering and Production was the one who gave me the most mentor like abilities to learn everything faster. He noticed my ease with the soundboard immediately and had already become very good friends with Frzy, so needless to say the three of us became a dynamic trio in the studio, where I spent most of my nights for the first half of my Junior Year in college.

3am Studio Session Nov. 2010
Andrew took this picture I'm pretty sure, either him or Free. Just this picture alone pretty much sums up Junior Year of CMU, as well as, the last two weeks. Since I last wrote I got a second job, applied for another more permanent job and continued working at my current job, all while writing, recording, singing, practicing and attempting to squeeze time in with my friends and boyfriend. For those who don't know my job that I already had is in retail. I'd be more explicit about which company I work for, but since I can feel myself having the urge to write more about it in the future I don't want to put myself in a compromising position. My new job is going really well, but I tend to want to keep things private until I know they're really going to work out. Maybe I should stop that and get more music out, too (something I promise to have done by the next post because I've been on it for the last two weeks like a mad woman)! And finally, there is the new job that I am interviewing for that I am definitely not going to make public so as to not jinx it, but I'd really appreciate the good vibes for the final interview, which is early next week! I've just been the busy bee trying to fit it all in and truthfully, I love this much more than feeling as if there is nothing to do, even if it causes a little Stress here and there.

Following my sleepless nights at CMU I was faced with a big decision for the second half of my junior year. Since before I started college, I had decided that I was going to study abroad in Paris, France. I had already been accepted into a Parisian Abroad Program for Economics/Business and awarded a small but worthwhile abroad scholarship from CMU. But now I had a family in the studio and I really didn't want to leave it, I wasn't sure if it would be the same when I returned.
I'll have to elaborate on my amazing experience in France one of these days so I'm sure you've figured out what decision I made and I can say with confidence that I have no regrets. When I returned Senior Year to CMU I earned a spot taking Andrew's position as TA of the Engineering class and even got a job as an engineer for the CMU School of Music doing live productions, as well as studio productions. With this kind of access to the studio you can bet that I had a lot of time to record my own things here and there.

I soon graduated to become what most college graduates are these days… unemployed. Haha, I seriously just chuckled to myself as I was writing this. I should save my post College drama for another post, but needless to say, it took a bit of time before I really was able to hone in on what I wanted, where I wanted and decide HOW I was going to get it.

My good friend, who helped me set up this blog is going to help me figure out how to add MP3's to it, so if the next post doesn't have a tune up for you to listen to, I'll be pretty upset with myself because there are no excuses at this point, especially with how hard I've been working to get some stuff recorded. The only real set back is me! Yesterday my engineer/co-producer, who will be introduced later, sent me some of the demos that we had worked on and I liked what I heard, but when I listen to myself I don't listen to it subjectively. You'd think "Yeah, right… you LOVE how you sound!" or "Yeah, right… you're too critical on yourself". But it's actually not true. I can compliment myself just as well as I can criticize myself, but the real issue is that I've worked with different record labels and so many music companies in the passed that I know what they're looking for. As I continue the story of my journey, I'll elaborate on how one of my specific jobs once upon a time was to just listen to demos and accept or reject them before they went up to a higher management to accept or reject. I know what music moguls will give the time of day to and I know what they won't. For that reason, I hear something of mine and I immediately think 'how long would I listen to this for until I turned it off?' If it's less than 30 seconds, then it's no good and I have to keep working at it. I did an a cappella version of the song "Explosions" by Ellie Goulding just as a sound test for adjusting levels and surprisingly I think I like it better than some of the other stuff I had considered doing, so I'll upload that on next post while I continue working on my original Minted Tunes for you.

Have a great Thursday, and I hope to have made this week's snow day pass by just a little smoother for those of you out there in the Northeast!

Post Grammy Thoughts and Feeling Torn by the "Business" of Music

The rest of my Bio Catch Up will be coming soon but I need to stay relevant with what's going on now, too! Otherwise, I'll always just be behind! So for that reason, here's a small post on Post Grammy Thoughts. Although over 72 hours have passed since the sensational 56th Grammy's I thought it would be appropriate to wait it out before commenting on it to read up and hear how others have felt about the night of music. Here are some of the more popular comments that I've gathered and what I think. I've added some pictures for those of you who missed it and for those of you who didn't, then purely for your enjoyment!

Lorde: She's possessed when she performs
Yeah and it's scary and it's weird, but you know what, at least she's performing. Don't criticize the way she feels her music! Criticize how she receives her awards… Even at 17 I think it's possible to say more than "blah" when winning a supremely high honor. Though in her defense, she probably wasn't expecting it. I don't know why because that song "Royals" is so good, it just makes you jam out in the car when riding to work realizing you rather be driving anywhere else at the moment.

Katy Perry: And on the next American Horror Story: Coven
HA! Who could complain about this comment when it came from Neil Patrick Harris, hilarious! So her performance was a bit over the top but she was having fun and sang well. I think Neil Patrick Harris' comment is funnier to talk about than the performance just because it fits the scenario, oh so well!

Taylor Swift: Almost broke her neck with her whiplash head banging performance
Yes, well, we already know that T.Swift can be a bit cheesy with her performances (maybe a lot cheesy) but if her whiplashing hair is all you can talk about then I would say it was an overall success. She may have exaggerated but at least she can write a song and she sounded great Sunday night!

Beyonce and Jay-Z: Too racy for primetime television, They're obsessed with themselves, Why is her hair so wet
Okay, I'm going to address all three of these popular comments. First of all, have you seen what is on TV these days? I understand that Beyonce is a role model for young girls and that the last thing we need is to objectify women, but she just had a baby and wants to show off her body. Just let her have it! It just seems that in a time when Miley Cyrus can grind on Robin Thicke wearing virtually nothing, having Beyonce grind on her husband would not be too bad. Having said this, I will recognize, however that the Miley/Thicke fiasco was on MTV and the Grammy's are on Network Television, but this is coming from the parental audience that at the time of their adolescense watched Madonna come out of a giant cake in a stripped down wedding dress while singing "Like a Virgin" and making love to the floor. It seems you guys turned out alright if you're being protective over your kids so… just relax. Finally, if your kids are younger than 9 years what are they doing up passed 8pm anyway?
Oh My God! Yes! They are TOTALLY obsessed with themselves and each other, that's undeniable. If there is ONE thing that I can comment about the appropriateness of their show is that maybe for this one five minute performance Jay-Z didn't have to grab and tap Beyonce's ass while she continually touched her crotch, maybe? Def. But I mean, they're one of America's power couple, what do you expect.
I don't even know why talking about her hair matters, I just know it's something a lot of other people found important. I mean, okay, her hair sucked and it looked wet. A high bun would have done more for her, but at the end of the day she can probably sing better than you guys out there talking about her hair because there's nothing else you can pick on so just drop it. I'm sure she's talking to her peeps about what new hairdo is coming up next for her as we speak.

--- Segue --- If you really want to be upset about something, be upset about something real, not superficial like hair. For example, Beyonce released her new album about a month ago and everyone is raving about how special it is because as she states it was "all about the fans". I am going to preface my disappointment by saying that I have not listened to the album (on purpose) so that the following can be as objective as possible. I found it really manipulative to release an album exclusively available for digital download only (meaning that there are no physical CD albums available for purchase). Other artists have, in the passed, had contracts to release their albums on only one platform perhaps before releasing physical albums to be purchased at stores such as Target, Best Buy, etc (such as Taylor Swift's album "Red" which released exclusively on iTunes for the first week before becoming available anywhere else - but eventually did). In June 2012 Rihanna was named Best Selling Digital Artist Ever with 47.5 Million digital downloads since 2005 and as I'm sure you already see coming that position can easily be beat now by Beyonce. I just don't think it would be fair. Rihanna and the other artists at the top of that list (BEP, Eminem, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Lil'Wayne, Beyonce, Kanye West, Britney Spears) received that recognition for having so many digital downloads and loyal fans on top of their physical albums which were released at or around the same time. As you see Beyonce had already made the top 10 at the number 8 spot, so it seems fairly obvious that she will kick it out to the top and get passed 47.5 million digital downloads when she has 9.5 Million Instagram followers, 13 Million Twitter followers and nearly 56 Million Facebook followers. This doesn't include the fans that are not into Social Media and usually buy physical albums but are now resorting their only digital download availability. It seems a bit harsh, but I was just sad about the whole thing. And for the record, I love "Crazy in Love" - classic Beyonce - and most of her other passed singles including everything Destiny's Child. Unfortunately, I guess at the end of the day… music is a business.
--- Segue ---
Everyone else at the Grammy's was either amazing or just okay because there wasn't much controversy said on them - Macklemore and Ryan Lewis with Madonna, FABULOUS! Personally, I think that the two best performances were that of Kendrick Lamar and Imagine Dragons, as well as, Pharrell Williams with Daft Punk, Nile Rodgers and Stevie Wonder! Amazing! Both of those performances really took completely different genres and made something unique together, which is what I love about music the most. Even with the comments that were mentioned on the artists above, it's easy to pick on the little things when they're putting themselves out there to entertain for us. And even if it's not the best, I respect all of them, because they have been brave to put themselves out there for us. Some performances are better than others and it's funny to look back at them, especially since I want to entertain you all and keep you laughing as well, but I think we should mostly give them our support!

If you haven't listened to the entire Daft Punk Album, which won Album of the Year by the way, go do that NOW! Congrats to all the winners! I hope to see myself up there with them someday! ;)

I'm off now to do some recording and make music :D See ya later!

References - Artist images taken from the following pages:
Katy Perry - http://catholicendtimetruths.com/page/2
Taylor Swift - http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/taylor-swifts-dancing-jay-zs-3065948
Beyoncé and Jay-Z - http://www.popsugar.com/Beyonce-Jay-Z-Grammys-2014-33682098
Daft Punk, Nile Rodgers, Stevie Wonder, Pharrell Williams - http://www.prysmradio.com/2014/01/daft-punk-grammy-2014/ and CBS.com

Catching Up is Hard to Do (Part I): Learning a New Medium and Acting Behind the Scenes

I woke up this morning to pure white. As most of you already know it's a winter storm in the northeast today and tomorrow. I figured it was a good day for a post since a lot of you are not working today and will be able to enjoy some story time with hot chocolate and an outstanding view from your window. For those of you in the heat of the west coast or sunny Florida I took a picture for your liking. It's really quite wonderful as long as you're inside looking out.

The next two blog posts are going to be a bit long. Ideally I would have started this blog three years ago so I wouldn't feel as if I needed to condense the important details that have gotten me to where I am today into two blog posts. If I blogged every small event that lead to large life lessons one at a time it would take forever, not to mention that cliffhangers at the end of each post would become annoying to bear. On the other hand if I attempted to do it all in one I'd either have a novel that would have most of you with visual problems from staring at the screen for so long or I'd have a half assed version of what took a while to accomplish. Well, let's get started.

Remember earlier when I said I was very shy about solos? Right, well that did not go away overnight. For a long time I told everyone around me that all I wanted to do was produce music, learn what goes on behind the scenes. Well, I went to Carnegie Mellon University, searched around and inquired 'til someone finally gave me the answer I was looking for. Music Technology and Production is what it was called and music production is what I learned.

By the time I learned that there was a program in which I could study and learn the methodology behind recording, producing and editing music it was a few weeks before the end of my freshmen year in college. There was nothing I could do at this point but to wait 'til the following academic year to enroll in classes where I'd work directly with a sound board and other artists. So what's a girl to do, oh I know! How about I bug everyone I know in Miami (where I spent my summer vacations with my family) about getting me in contact with a studio for me to work in. I didn't care if I had to clean the bathroom to get a sneak peak into the studio - well, that's not true, I'd mind a little...okay maybe a lot - but the point is I was willing to get in and be surrounded by the environment. I kid you not I once interviewed at a recording studio that told me I'd be cleaning bathroom most of the time while occasionally getting in on sessions and I wanted that internship, but that's another time.

So, I'll save you from reading the boring 'he knew her who knew him who knew them' schpeil and cut to the chase, which is that I got in contact with a man named Hal Batt. Hal owned a small studio in North Miami called AfterHours Studios and for some reason he took me in to intern with him. The only reason I could see him taking me is because he saw my passion otherwise how was I genuinely going to help without any knowledge of how to use all the very expensive equipment with all the nobs and buttons. I felt like I was in a cockpit of an airplane staring down at the soundboard awaiting me. Not as if I was going to be able to even touch the beautiful buttons before learning how to get my hands dirty learning all the background work first.

Fortunately, I am quick learner. In just two weeks I was helping out with setting up and tearing down sets in the booth and the control room for multiple sessions throughout the day. For those of you who still believe that recorded music is like live music, boy will you be surprised with what you're about to read. It's public knowledge, but simply most of us are ignorant to the truth that marketing the music is sometimes more important than the music itself. It's really a fascinating process in which all the different instruments that you hear on a record are recorded separately on their own track. It took us a whole week to get one song completed with horns, piano, voice, guitar, bass and drums because each instrument was recorded on it's own day.

To put it quickly I ended up working there a lot that summer and even became a vocal coach for some of his artists working directly with them during their recording sessions. I believe that as a vocalist myself I was able to form a connection where the artist felt comfortable working with me as an engineer, an advantage that I've found has stuck with me and continued to use in the future. One of my biggest advantages being my ability to communicate in Spanish because in Miami there are a lot of people that want to sing in Spanish even though they don't speak Spanish, but it'll sell more, right? And that's all that matters. This handy language knowledge comes to use later, as well.

Back at Carnegie Mellon Sophomore year I was told that I still couldn't take my recording classes because I needed to take Music Theory Prerequisites ... I guess the best things are worth waiting for. Fortunately, I passed with flying colors and broke my professors and classmates expectations about how well singers were with music theory. It's an ongoing joke that vocalists are the worst at music theory and practice, but I was one of four students in the entire class, as well as the only vocalist, that earned an A that semester. To those around me there was nothing that could be said about me that was stereotypical.

Another year and no recording experience, so I decided on a different route and applied for an internship with Sony Music Entertainment. You're thinking 'Yeah, Right... Like she can get an internship on the first try with one of the four biggest labels in music'. Well, before I continue, I should mention that though I only applied to Sony BMG, I must have applied to well over 15 positions. I specifically remember having dinner with a family friend after two months of no response from Sony. Over the two months of no response I had been offered countless internships with Citbiank, PNC and other similar financial opportunities. It's true that I love math and my econ major but I wanted to use it in a different way. So I held out, hoping for it to pay off with word from Sony. At this dinner reunion I will never forget being told "You had offers given to you already and you didn't take them? ... That's stupid! You're stupid!" Of course I was offended but I was 20 years old and didn't really know if I had made the right decision since all my friends had their internships set and I was only one still waiting for a miracle from a one in a million chance. Offended, I left upset and feeling doubtful. Two days later I got a call to come in for an interview at Sony Music Latin. A week later, and I was hired as a summer Intern with Sony. I hardly ever spoke to the family friend again, but I repeatedly used to think about what I wish I had said to defend myself from such narrow-minded thinking. It's that kind of doubt that I can't let guide me or stand in my way of what I want. If you're not with me, then I can't afford to waste my time with your negativity because I have places to go a future to make.

Working at Sony as a Digital Marketing Intern was amazing. I wish I could go into the nitty gritty detail of what I worked on and the projects that allowed me to learn even more of how the music industry is shaped and how much effort is put into the smallest of details to ensure an artists success, but I fear I'd only get into large trouble with such a private and well known company. What I can say is that I made a lot of friends and the work environment was amazing. The meetings were eventful and I learned more than I thought I could have ever taken with me to have in the future. Even better, now it was on my resume and I had that background that tied my Econ and business studies along with my passion for music. I was only too excited to get back to school and learn the next part of the 'behind-the-scenes' process that I had been waiting for since two years back.

Finally, junior year at Carnegie Mellon University (2010-2011) and I made sure I was the first to sign up, plus I had priority being an upperclassman. I now sat in my first recording class. The second half of this story is where it really gets good and where I honed in on my new found ability to be a leader in the engineering chair. It just came too naturally to ignore.

Born Into The Stars... It's Not For All of Us, But I'll Make My Way There

If you followed me on Twitter this passed Saturday then you already know that I did not pass on through to the second callbacks for the Network Television singing competition "The Voice". The entire experience has me still thinking a lot about how it affects the artists when you get out there and try despite your odds. As long as you feel good about you, then that should be all the preparation you need.

I arrived at 6:06am to the stone building under the grey of the rain, power walking as if the mass of people arriving to the same place may make it one spot in front of me. Though I'm an hour early for my audition time I am still behind well over 500 people waiting to make it inside, meanwhile only thinking of how I'm going to keep my guitar dry from the rain during the wait. Finally we slowly started making our way inside the building and it fascinates me how in a time where everyone is competing for a small number of slots we all still come together in support and encouragement for the sake of feeling better about the nerve-racking audition ahead.

"Where are you from?", "What song are you singing?", "What's your style?" and the comfort taken in knowing more about others and their journey to this audition allows us to feel a togetherness while standing in this insane line for over three hours to sing for a man for 45 seconds with the high probability of rejection. I particularly took to this one girl who was in front of me in line, let's call her Kate. After a quick conversation she had picked up on the fact that I had auditioned last year and gone through the process once already. A friendship is born. From that moment on she clung to me with dear life in what I believed was a desperate search for connection amongst the thousands of competitors and honestly, I didn't mind. Kate was extremely sweet and if she was with me standing in line putting herself out there for everyone to hear all I could imagine is that she had the voice to match. Coming across as confident at first, I realized, was just the façade for her true nerves.

"Is this shirt silly?", "Should I change the song I'm singing?", "Hat or no hat?", "Does my hair look too flat, I can pick it up?", "What happens when we get to that room?", "How many people are allowed inside at a time?"... I guess knowledge really is power.
The lesson to this is the more you just get out there and think less about the result and more about the confidence and character you'll build, you will realize how much more prepared you feel for these moments. Her nerves were getting the better of her and it was for small things that at this point could not be changed. What if her shirt wasn't that great, would me telling her that it was not the best really help her at this point? Nope. So I went for the high road and said to just think about the music and be happy with your performance. She was too kind and I almost felt like I had become a mother figure, which I will openly admit gave me more confidence about how secure I felt over the process of going through an audition. It's just a fact that the more you practice something the better you'll get at it.

Bag check lines, registration lines, and waiting until finally we were divided into groups of ten and brought in to audition in front of our Network TV Producer. Last year I left and didn't question it much because though I thought I sang the hell out of my song I didn't think anyone else blew me away, which left me thinking that maybe I didn't blow the judge away either. But after this Saturday I heard some incredible voices that I believed surely would get passed to the second round even if I was not a part of those chosen... but I was wrong. No one from my group made it through. And it just reminds me that we are all in this together with talent and not, like some famous people and their kids now, born into the stars. We have to go through the "no, thank you's" and learn to pick ourselves up for the next audition or the next crowd until we are one day told "You have a callback".

Kate didn't make it either and we never said goodbye, but I saw her before I left the convention center and despite her rejection she had a full family waiting for her with arms wide open congratulating her and expressing how proud they felt of her for going through this difficult selection process. I think having our family and friend's support means the world to us after giving it our all for a one in a million chance, so I felt happy seeing her leave with a big smile on her face.

The point of this entry is not for discouragement, no, but rather to show those out there that I'm human and may not always make the cut, for now. I say in my little blurb on the right hand side of the page that this is to read about the ups and downs of someone that is not walking the red carpet... yet. ;) It's easy to just have the luck of being born into the stars of fame (though they still have the difficulty of proving to us that they deserve to be there) and while real-estate in the star world is tricky to obtain, I'm looking into the market there and I know there's a spot reserved for me.

Singing and Playing Guitar for a New Recording
I'll be there and I'm taking all my followers, readers, fans, family and friends with me for the ride. I don't want you to feel discouraged because of one, two, or 47 rejections. Rather I want it to make you stronger as it made me stronger and left me feeling more knowledgable and confident to go do more. To celebrate the confidence I felt on Saturday I met with my friend and producer yesterday for a recording session of some special treats that I have in the works for my followers. It may take a little longer than usual but it will be well worth it. I am proud to say that after over six years of being in the studio and hearing my voice in a professional setting where no flaws can be hidden, I was finally able to appreciate my voice yesterday without criticism and say "Damn, Sam, that sounds good!". It feels good to believe in myself and know that others believe in me, too, which is why I appreciate you reading.

To make matters better, I got home and hit the gym before celebrating a delicious dinner with Brandon and some late night TV! Nothing like a little work out to always pump up your mood.
'Til the next post!

Auditioning for "The Voice"... Again: Possible Reality Series Superstar!

Here we go again! This Saturday I am going to be getting in line at 6am in the hopes of being chosen among hundreds of thousands of talented individuals - meanwhile praying hopefully that my vocal chords will cooperate at such offensive hours of the morning. It's exciting, scary, long, fun and new, but most importantly it's performing... it's me.

Five months ago I woke up on a bright Saturday morning heading into New York City for my "Voice" audition and to my delightful surprise, see the sunrise in Times Square. If you've ever been to NYC it's doubtful that you've ever seen Times Square for it's full beauty because it's usually filled with tourists, businessmen, fashionistas and taxicabs. But this morning was not like that. It was crystal clear and I was able to admire it for all it's really worth. It's hard to describe unless you see it for yourself, fortunately for you I took a picture for your liking.

Why the picture is so small is beyond me, so I guess you'll still just have to wake up at 5am to see it for yourself one day, it's worth it.

So I made it to the line and I waited... and waited... and waited. Once I finally made it into the building is when things got interesting. But why would I spoil it for you now. I'm doing it again this Saturday (which means you already know how the last one ended) and I will be walking you through every step of the way on Twitter and Instagram (@samjam_music).

Last August I was more timid of being who I was as an artist. And though I gave what I thought was the audition of a lifetime - covering Led Zeppelin's "Since I've Been Loving you" - it wasn't enough to push me through to the next round. It's possible that I again don't make it passed the first round, but what's it going to hurt to try. Maybe a Hispanic is what they're looking for this season, it's all about what they're looking for and what kind of viewers they can attract.

Thus, to attempt to win them with my look (if at least that) and up the ante for my competitors I went on a mini outfitting session yesterday.

This is what I wore last year, sans my adorable grandma and cute aunt (dad's side of the family). I love those pants by the way, I don't care how loud you think they might be. Brandon has officially named them my "Fancy Pants".

Above is my mom's personal favorite from the outfitting session, though I may freeze given the less-than-admirable weather up north, so we nicked it. I'll make sure to update you all on what I decide the day of. My posts on Twitter and IG will begin quite early as I mentioned, so if you're sleeping in (which is what any normal person does on a Saturday) make sure to follow my feed to catch everything as it happens in order from beginning to end. At the very least it will be fun to read about the process of auditioning for one of these Network television shows and hopefully it can help you decide if it's something you want to try for the next season! For anyone joining me on my journey it is important for you to know that if you are not chosen and your talent is beyond words, don't let it bring you down. You are amazing and someone someday will realize this and you'll be all they ever want to choose. As long as you can make yourself happy with who you are don't let others rejections shape you.

As always, thanks and hope you enjoyed reading! I'll catch you guys Saturday Morning!

It's A New Year, Let's Catch Up

It’s a new year and a new day so from here on out you’ll be reading a lot about me, my music, my journey, my funny stories, my friends and hopefully you’ll be able to relate and get a good laugh and feel inspired, while enjoying the Minted Tunes. My name is Samantha Bowen, but I’m SamJam to anyone who knows me. I live in Philadelphia, PA with my boyfriend, Brandon and travel to visit my amazing family in Miami, FL often enough to enjoy the beaches and views without getting too tired of the humidity.

What a way to start the new year with the chilly temperatures and snow, but I don’t mind it much as long as I’m indoors. This gives me the perfect opportunity to sit back with some hot cocoa and write to the followers out there looking for something new (Minted) to read.

A Little About Me:
I’m 23 years old and a musician, hence the Minted Tunes, and I live in Philadelphia, PA. Home is way down south at the tip of Florida, also known as Miami.
My parents met in Guayaquil, Ecuador. My mother was born in NYC but studied medicine down there and my father was born in Ecuador and working. They met, the loved, they had me, fairly straight forward. Then moving to the US Hot Spot Miami, FL. For a lot of people reading they may expect some sappy sad story about their divorce, but truthfully, that’s not going to happen. They’re happy wonderful people and I couldn't be more content with our family dynamic. So what, it’s a little stressful sometimes, but who can complain about getting twice the amount of gifts on Christmas?


Back to me, I’m an only child by technicalities, but in reality I have brothers and sisters close to me.

When I was eight years old I started taking music lessons on the advice of my elementary school music teacher at the time. What she saw (or heard) in me, I’m not quite sure because she mentioned the idea to my mom after hearing me sing “The Bunny Song” with all my other schoolmates, who were probably wondering "Why does our education include singing this dreadful song?” . I immediately began learning my third language, music (I am fluent in both Spanish and English). I was part of the Miami Choral Society! It sounded so prestigious, until they quickly changed the name to the Miami Children’s Choir. Kind of a let down because now everyone knew they were coming to listen to kids sing their versions of elementary songs while a man waved his hands in front our faces in the hopes that our eight year old ADD minds would follow before realizing how we’d become performing monkeys… and our parents were paying for it! What a laugh! All jokes aside, I loved being a performing monkey. I loved the applause, the smile on people’s faces, the standing ovations, the request for more and most of all the actual act of performing, singing and making people laugh. Oh wait… I still love all those things.

One year into it, I got my first rejection at the heart wrenching age of 9 when I was told that I was not ready for “Intermediate Choir”. So I continued on in Beginner’s Choir for another year before making it to Intermediate. Two years there and I was off to Advanced Choir, where I was chosen for the kid’s roles in the Florida Grand Opera. Now this was a real stage and at real venues. I got to act and sing and dress up and being chosen, I felt so special. No one mentioned these dreams become harder to fulfill when you’re older?! … I’ll save the ‘live and learn’ bit for later. As I mentioned I was moving on up and most of all, I was learning a lot about how music worked, how to do the fun things like improvise and take on solo parts. I could never admit that I wanted to sing a solo, I’m not sure why, but I had this shy front that I would put on despite how hard I worked to make sure that I worked well with my choir mates. There was one thing I knew for sure though, I was heading to HighSchool, 14 years old now and I wanted to go to Arts School. Yes, I am good at math and science and blah blah blah, but I wanted to be a goofball and prance around singing like the performing monkey I mentioned earlier. Months of practice and training and my audition for New World School of the Arts in downtown Miami had arrived. I could elongate the nervous wreck I was that morning or talk about my ridiculous interview answers, but the point is… I MADE IT and I could not have been happier!


NWSA Senior Show Case (I'm on the far left)
My four years of high school at NWSA could be a whole book in itself so it’s difficult to condense but I’ll mention the most important detail which is that I grew as a performer (and a person) so much. I was so shy when I first started my vocal lessons, simply standing and moving my mouth to expect the wow reaction I had received at age 8, but that wasn't the case anymore. I had to learn more about moving, acting and performing. Let’s just say that by senior year I had mastered my craft… at least among my peers. I had the best class and group of people in my choir and at school. Everyone was always really supportive and talented so you genuinely felt you wanted others to do well and I finally started auditioning for solos.

I remember one time my mom said “Sam, why don’t you audition for more solos and sing out more?” and I said “Well, no one asks me to..”. My mother quickly responded “Sam, no one is going to ask you to be famous…”. Finally, the response I needed to motivate me to get out there and just say ‘hell with it’ if they don’t like me, they don’t like me and I’ll sing elsewhere. After the many awards and recognition I received at New World School of the Arts, I graduated and head to the Northeast (where I’ve longed to go since before I could remember) to Carnegie Mellon University. Another book could be written here about pretty much everything, but this is about the music, the Minted Tunes to follow. I graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Economics, a minor in Music Technology and a Certificate in French and Francophone studies. Yes, I studied abroad in Paris, France and had the time of my life, but that’s for another post. The really exciting stuff is how I took on the task of learning how music is recorded and working behind the scenes in the CMU Studio. I pretty much became the Head Engineer’s right hand and gained my new skill of recorded music. It’s with this knowledge that I am able to now record anywhere and everywhere. It's with this how I’ll be able to put my tunes up for you to listen to and comment on.


3am Recording Session at Carnegie Mellon
After I graduated, I worked a bit, then got signed to an independent record label (whole separate post about that to come) then left them and moved to Philadelphia to keep working at an independent music label as an A&R Coordinator, sing and live with my too-good-to-be-true boyfriend that supports my little kid dreams 100%.

The people I met along the way and the troubles and joys I’ve been through to get to where I am today, to feel comfortable enough to put a non-perfected video up of me fiddling around on my guitar is just too long to fit in this post, but no worries I’ll elaborate on the little details of my journey slowly but surely with pictures, laughs and most importantly music. I just wanted to catch you guys up on a bit of me and how I got here.

This video (link below) was taken just two days ago in Miami with my mom. She caught me and I didn't realize ‘til halfway in. I’ll be recording the full version of this Cover sometime this week and will hopefully have it up by the end of next week. I am such a perfectionist that I would never in my wildest dreams put something up that I didn't think was 100% but as my mom says “Fuck it”. It’s a new year and I’m going to get out of my comfort zone to just put myself out there. Take it or Leave it, Love it or Hate it.

Thanks for reading and hope you’ll keep following me and my Minted Tunes ;)

"Please Don't Stop The Music" (Cover) - Rihanna