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The Story Of My Scalp 

Hello beautiful people! I'm back with a new blog entry, and apparently it's been over 2 years since my last post. Well, I have a good reason for getting back to it and I'm excited to share that with you.

I've been updating my website recently, with the most notable update being new photos by the incredible Denise Grant- along with a new look. This new look is a big change, one that is getting noticed and prompting questions- so I wanted to answer those questions here.

Yes, I'm bald now. No I don't have…

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Final blog- Songwriting/Blogging Challenge 2015 

Just getting this in under the wire! I procrastinated once again, even though we had six full weeks to write and produce a song to pitch to Matt Dusk- here is the ORIGINAL CHALLENGE from Matt himself.

Even though I didn't have time to create a full-fledged production for a professional pitch, I had to throw something down for this idea that came to me late last night. I was getting desperate for inspiration so I began checking out Matt's online presence, looking for insights into his life and interests…

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Week 6- Songwriting/Blogging Challenge 2015 

I'm a witness, miracles do happen! I'm done this week's challenge hours ahead of the deadline, and it's all thanks to co-writing. First, allow me to outline this week's challenge- we had 2 to choose from, or we could do both: the first one was WRITING FOR RADIO (link here) and the second one was WRITE A HOLIDAY HIT (link here).

While I would have loved the challenge of writing a holiday song, when Michael Proudfoot approached me to do a co-write for the radio edit challenge, I was all for it. He already…

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Week 5- Songwriting/Blogging Challenge 2015 

This week's challenge got into writing for a TV series- check out the details HERE. We were looking to write emotionally-charged music to match the show's content. I spent the whole week off and on writing whenever I had the chance, but didn't sit down to try and record something in Garageband until today as I did not yet have a complete song.

It was a frustrating week- I had certain ideas and images, particularly that of a "Dark Seed" which I wanted to explore- but I couldn't figure out exactly what I…

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Week 4- Songwriting/Blogging Challenge 2015 

Well, it's official- I missed the week 4 deadline. But only because I've had a most amazing and intense gig week!

I knew I would be in trouble this week. As soon as my challenge for last week was done, I knew I wouldn't have the same kind of time to devote to this challenge during week 4. The reason? I had three different shows to prepare for this weekend, each one requiring the learning, transcribing, charting and memorization of the lyrics and melodies written by 3 skilled and prolific songwriters…

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Week 3- Songwriting/Blogging Challenge 2015 

I feel like I'm back in university pulling all-nighters to get papers done! Except in this case it's not quite midnight, and I think I'm going to get my song done and blog posted just in time. How did this happen? I swore I wouldn't be last-minute like last week- except that last week I missed the deadline by about 4 hours, so I suppose this week is actually an improvement. Always look on the bright side of life!

Of course, the fact that this week's challenge only required one minute's worth of music…

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Week 2- Songwriting/Blogging Challenge 2015 

"Julie makes a mockery of Songwriting Challenge by submitting a parody." That's the headline I'm imagining for my blog entry this week. And I will tell you why very shortly.

First let me mention that I did my first co-write ever this week, with Roger Beckett- had a great time and made some progress on a song idea for the Week 1 challenge. We are hoping to get that song finished and submitted for Matt Dusk's consideration by the end of this 6-week challenge, which is the final deadline.

We were also…

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Week 1- Songwriting/Blogging challenge 2015 

This week: Getting inspiration from Jimmy Webb- and how I managed to avoid writing anything.

Well, the latter is true- I spent some time at the keyboard, did my research by giving all the songs Matt mentioned a good listen, brainstormed song ideas, and in the end have not yet written one verse or chorus. I do have an idea for a song that I will play around with later tonight, but in the interest of getting my blog out on time I am starting here.

The song idea came to me last night as I was listening to…

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Songwriting Challenge 2015 

Hello all!

Wow, it's a bit scary to look back and see how long ago I published my last blog entry. Ever since my adventures in Hong Kong, I have been focusing on freelance music work and neglecting my solo efforts. Well, starting today I'm officially re-dedicating my efforts to writing original music for myself and others- thanks to a challenge from the Songwriters Association of Canada, an organization I joined recently. I only just received word that there was space for me to join this challenge last…

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Back on the blog train 

New month, new blog- and I see it's been almost 2 months since my last entry! Well I won't lie, coming back from Hong Kong was a big adjustment. Going from having a full-time gig to virtually no gigs is inevitably blues-inducing. But it was great to be reunited with loved ones and friends- with their help and some positive thinking, I'm getting back in the swing of things (pun intended).

For this blog I'm going back in time to my first couple of weeks back in Toronto, when I spent some time getting to…

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