Caroline Waters’ Vocal Freedom Blog

Entries categorized as ‘Life and Career’

My Tribute and Rascal

March 5, 2010 · Leave a Comment

As I venture farther and farther into my Exposed musical adventure, and as I receive more and more feedback from angels on my tour, I realize more and more how much I have learned, not only from those who ventured before me, but also from what the journey itself has taught me.

I have labeled this new album a tribute to some of my favorite heroes and heroines in songwriting, such as Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Suzanne Vega, Jennifer Warnes and George and Ira Gershwin. And as I receive the most amazing feedback from audience members and people who just happens to find me on the Internet, I understand on a deeper level just how much these people have shaped my life and music for the better.

Peoples Parties

Joni Mitchell was my first teacher in the art of playing guitar and singing from the heart and soul. Her album, Court and Spark, healed my heart over and over as I practiced every note and every syllable exactly the way she did it. The reason I chose Peoples Parties for my CD is because I can relate so much to every single person she describes. It makes me laugh and reminds me to have compassion for myself and others.

Song of Bernadette, Famous Blue Raincoat and Gypsy

Jennifer Warnes, Leonard Cohen and Suzanne Vega was referred to me by my dear friend Stefanie Stroh, the very last time I spoke to her. She disappeared after almost finishing her year-long vision quest, backpacking around the globe, and vanished only a day away from home. Stefanie loved Jennifer Warnes’ renditions of Famous Blue Raincoat and Song of Bernadette and urged me to get her album. She also sent me a copy of Suzanne Vega’s Solitude Standing. These songs carried me through years of desperately seeking Stefanie, who is still missing to this day.

Just the other day, as I had just finished my performance at Life on Wilshire, a man approached me, introduced himself as Steve Postell, Jennifer Warnes’ guitar player, expressed how much he enjoyed my set and wondered if he could have one of my CDs and release party fliers to give to Jennifer. I was of course thrilled and gave him two CDs:) Don’t you just love how synchronicity works?

Summertime

Anne Brown made George and Ira Gershwin’s Summertime famous in 1936 as the first Bess in Porgy and Bess. She was my first voice teacher and remained my good friend and mentor until she passed away at ninety-six. This amazing woman, who refused to perform unless they changed the law to include “colored” people in the theatre, back in the day, helped me through the toughest years of my life. She treated me like a star when I felt like a complete failure in most arenas, as I was slowly recovering from a car accident that left me with a amnesia and brain damage. Through her guidance, I was able to sing from my heart with no holds bar, effortlessly and powerfully.

My Cat, Rascal

I feel unusually calm, as I sit here with my green tea latte at Starbucks in Culver City, finalizing the set list for tomorrow’s release concert at Kulak’s Woodshed in North Hollywood. It is perhaps the sadness of my beloved cat Rascal’s imminent departure that is laying so heavily on my chest… She has been with me for almost twelve years, and just like my childhood dog, Hippie, she has been part of all my creative adventures with a constant outpouring of adoration and unconditional love. I will sing for her tomorrow night, for her life and her love, as I share my tribute to those who have touched me so deeply with their song.

Thank you, Joni, Leonard, Suzanne, Jennifer, George, Ira, Anne and Rascal! You live on forever in my heart and in my song.

Here’s Rascal :)

And here’s my all time favorite tune, Song Of Bernadette, as I sing it on my new CD, Exposed.

Love and Blessings, Caroline

Categories: Caroline's Concerts · Healing · Liberation · Life and Career · Self Empowerment · Songwriting
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What I Learned from the Gnarly Bug

November 15, 2009 · Leave a Comment

Loosing weight, the hard way

It was just before summer. I had finished my new CD, Exposed, and was hanging out in Oslo, Norway, to visit friends and family and see how I might proceed with marketing and such. I felt sluggish, energetically, in spite of the fact that I was very happy with the new CD and excited to promote it. Feeling overweight and out of shape, I decided in my mind that I needed to loose about twenty-two pounds.

Shortly after I returned to LA, I got hit with a bug that sent me into the hospital with acute colitis. I lost twenty-two pounds in three weeks, the exact number I had intended to loose. It was the weirdest thing. I couldn’t really understand why I got so sick, since I was eating fairly healthy and also had stepped into a healthier routine in many ways. The hospital couldn’t figure it out either. Was it simply the power of my intention, without properly specifying the method of accomplishment?

Changing my life for the better

It wasn’t fun, I can tell you that, and it has taken several months for me to be able to eat normal food again and take a walk without feeling out of breath. But somehow, the whole incident has changed my life for the better. Being so completely dependent on other people for help and so completely unable to make things happen the way I was used to making things happen, by pure force, I somehow opened a new door to my existence.

I have achieved humility, appreciation and the ability to more fully receive the love that others have for me. And I have achieved a new perspective on time, one that lets me breathe and take the time it takes to do whatever is needed. I have never before allowed myself this luxury, of letting life happen in its own sweet time. I’ve always felt a need to force things or make them happen. But as a result of this newfound humility, and consequent ability to receive life in a more organic fashion, I have gained tremendous momentum both in my career and in my personal life.

In just a few months, I have gained clarity in how to proceed with my music and performance. A tour of Scandinavia is in the works, a beautiful lover has arrived to accompany me on my journey and synchronicity abounds. I am in the flow of something real good. It is as if I have stepped into the next chapter of my life, where things move faster while I get to relax and enjoy the process. To my surprise, the weight has stayed off, in spite of the fact that I have gained back muscle and am eating much more food on a regular basis than I have in the last twenty years.

Receiving all the love that abounds

I don’t feel sluggish anymore. I feel eager to seize the day and see how I might contribute to the community at large with my music and being, receiving all the love that abounds in the process. Last Thursday at TID Kafé in Oslo, was a perfect example of this new gift of being, this perfect flow. The house was packed with the most loving audience ever. I sold more CDs in one setting than I ever have. And my heart was completely at ease, flowing over with appreciation for all that is, even the gnarly bugs that appear to rack havoc in our lives from time to time…

Here’s a link to Dancing In the Nude, a video snippet from the last concert and the lyrics below so you can sing along if you like:)

Dancing In The Nude by Caroline Waters
©2009 by Redhead Records. All Rights Reserved.

Dancing in the nude

Getting in the mood

Laughing as I groove into my

Being fully alive, feeling the drive

To be completely wild and seeing

All my worries fade away

As I begin to seize the day

I reach for my spirit in the sky

Flying high, not questioning why

Categories: Caroline's Concerts · Healing · Liberation · Life and Career · Self Confidence · Self Empowerment · Vocal freedom
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It’s Time to Celebrate!

June 3, 2009 · Leave a Comment

Signed, Sealed and Delivered

Exposed by Caroline Waters

I am deliriously happy to announce that my new CD, Exposed, has been delivered to the plant and is being printed as I write this. I am embarrassed to say that it took me some time to arrive at the deliriously happy stage, because I was still in obsessive work mode and could only think of what I needed to do next, like organize a release concert and tour and distribution and radio promotion and all that jazz.

The Beauty of Celebration

Coming from a family of highly effective worker bees, the need to constantly produce results is deeply embedded in my constitution. However, I have come to appreciate the value of celebration and savoring more and more. As a result, I am committed to creating a way of proceeding with everything in my life from a place of celebration.

The beauty of celebration gives everyone involved a chance to give thanks, to acknowledge and be acknowledged, to deepen our love for each other, to appreciate the fruits of our labor from new perspectives, to savor the journey itself and to allow ourselves to be inspired to even more joyous creations in the now. I love this!

The Power of Surrendering and Trusting

I realize how much of my life have been spent in a problem solving mode, getting from point A to point B, overcoming obstacles and hurdles, crossing off tasks in a list and achieving various degrees of success in the process. Even the celebrations have had an element of a need to achieve in them.

So now I am thinking, “What if I just let myself celebrate and savor without worrying so much about what it’s gonna look like or how it will be received?” It’s a frightening concept, to be less in control of the outcome, but also appealing. The notion that I can step into a place of surrender and trust that the idea of celebrating alone will attract a chain of events that will be pleasing to everyone involved is a new one for me.

The Art of Receiving

Esther Hicks channels the idea that if we stay out of the details as much as possible and focus on the art of receiving as much as possible, all will unfold that much more deliciously. This idea has also been my experience. The more I can keep my control issues at bay and simply receive the gifts of what I have summoned in my creatively inspired adventures, the better of I am.

My resolve is this: to celebrate the unfolding of the journey of this new CD as joyously, curiously, childlike, inclusively, blissfully, organically, socially, wildly unusually, serendipitously, romantically, gently and lovingly as possible. I welcome all who wish to join me in this adventure, to celebrate and co-create and dance with me. Let me know your thoughts and how I can be of service with my song and being in your joyous unfolding:)

Caroline Waters Exposed

If you’d like to check out my new CD, which is a collection of songs that have helped me through times of great adversity and songs written by some of my favorites heroes and heroines in music, such as Leonard Cohen, Jennifer Warnes, George Gershwin and Joni Mitchell, click here!

Love and Blessings, Caroline

Categories: Healing · Liberation · Life and Career · Self Confidence · Self Empowerment · Songwriting
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Exposed

January 29, 2009 · Leave a Comment

New CD in the making.

I am working on a new album entitled Exposed. The idea is to explore just how honest I can get with my vocal expression. And, since I am accompanying myself on guitar, there’ll be no hiding behind anyone else’s musical genius in performance. My intention is, in the naked simplicity of my being, to reach a new level of vulnerability. It is my desire to connect with each and everyone who wants to listen, naked to the bone and with no holds bar.

The Healing  Power of the Wider Perspective

Have you ever experienced how events that in the moment fill you up with anger and self-pity can turn into the greatest blessing when seen as a vital part of a chain of events that has lead to where you are today? Discovering how different experiences look from a wider perspective has blown my mind completely.

I just finished writing my first novel, which is based on some of the most dramatic events in my experience.  The process of writing, in itself, has forced me to evaluate my life, the good and the bad, in a whole new framework.  As a result, I have reached a deeper level of loving acceptance for myself and for each and everyone who has graced my path so far.

The songs that I have chosen for the new CD are powerful reflections of that level of understanding.

More to be revealed…

Love and Blessings, Caroline

Categories: Healing · Liberation · Life and Career · Self Confidence · Self Empowerment · Songwriting · Vocal freedom
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Being Totally Alive in Paris and Oslo!

November 2, 2008 · 1 Comment

From Fear to Success

Caroline moments before her recent concert in Oslo, Norway.

Caroline moments before her recent house concert in Oslo, Norway.

I was fortunate enough to experience a most magical promotional tour to Paris, France and Oslo, Norway this fall. My intention with the trip was threefold: To celebrate my sister’s birthday at the Lido in Paris, to celebrate my brother’s birthday at his beautiful home in Oslo, and to introduce my new CD, Being Totally Alive.

Paris made me nervous, since I had a bad experience on my last trip there, some 21 years ago. Long story short, I was assaulted and left with a strong sense of fear and disempowerment for many years to come. Since then, I have had great sadness about Paris, specially since it is regarded by so many as a city of beauty and romance.

This time, my dear friend and amazing actress Judi Beecher just happened to be finishing up a movie just as I arrived, which synchronistically created the opportunity for me to spend a whole day taking in the beauty and history of this magical city with someone who also could hold space for my experience. And by sharing my experience in this new time-space reality, I was able to release the fear of it and more fully realize the beauty of my life as it is today. Pretty cool, huh?

The Power of Celebration

This is how I see it: I made myself go to Paris because I was determined to celebrate my sister on her birthday. And because of my determination to celebrate and appreciate, I was given the opportunity to heal. Being Totally Alive was created from this point of view and in celebration of the love that connect us all. As a result, doors are opening that I never ever even knew existed.

Some people call me crazy for staying in the game of show business and for stubbornly moving forward with my dream building, not matter how gloomy the illusion of economy gets and no matter how many obstacles seem to be looming in the distance. But I can assure you that it is worth every breath of my being to stay in celebration, to let my creativity blossom and to let my heart sing whenever possible.

As previously mentioned, I was also determined to celebrate my brother on his birthday. And as it turned out, he generously offered to host a house concert with me singing and playing at his beautiful home in Oslo this last week. The turnout was simply amazing. I sold more CDs than I thought possible. And, as if that wasn’t enough, one of my most favorite musicians of all times, renowned cellist Aage Kvalbein, came by to see me.

My Meeting With Aage Kvalbein

Aage Kvalbein and Caroline Waters
Aage Kvalbein and Caroline Waters

Aage and I first met when I was fifteen years old and played second violin in the National Youth Symphonic Orchestra of Norway, where he was one of the cello instructors. I remember how he took my breath away by playing Flight of the Bumble Bee with incredible ease and emotion out on the lawn at lunch, just for fun. He later accompanied me both in concert and on television when I released my first CD, Compassion. Listening to Aage’s albums over the years have been a great inspiration for my composer self. He totally made my day at the end of my concert when he told me how much my music moved him and how he would love to co-create something with me in Norway next year.

Here’s a song for you! Sing along if you like:))) Being Totally Alive

Love and Blessings, Caroline

BEING TOTALLY ALIVE by Caroline Waters

I have been so ironically delusional
Suspicious and judgmental
Erratic sentimental
I’m sorry that I let you dwn
It took me a while to come around

I hope it’s not too late for me to tell you that I’m sorry
I hope it’s not too late for me to tell you not to worry

I’d like to start all over if I can
Take you hand and walk together while we figure out a plan
To explore what we would like to feel and taste and see and learn
To be free from all the stuff that keeps us from our being

Being totally alive
Being totally alive

I hope it’s not too late for me to tell you that I miss you
I hope it’s not too late for me to tell you I want to kiss you

I’d like to start all over if I can
Take you hand and walk together while we figure out a plan
To explore what we would like to feel and taste and see and learn
To be free from all the stuff that keeps us from our being

Being totally alive
Being totally alive

Categories: Getting out of denial · Liberation · Life and Career · Self Confidence · Self Empowerment
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Passionate Musings Become Reality!

September 12, 2008 · Leave a Comment

My apologies for being somewhat delinquent in the blogging department… My excuse is that I have been passionately engaged in reinventing my audiovisual presentation to the world. And, today, I can proudly announce that my passionate musings have become reality.

The new Caroline Waters website was launched last night, showing video clips from concerts, films, music videos and the theatre, audio clips from every song on every CD I have made so far, a fabulous new store and much, much more.

And… the new CD, Being Totally Alive, will be released in concert Upstairs at Vitello’s in Studio City on September 23rd. Amazing musicians, cellist Carter Dewberry and floutist/ saxophonist Katisse Buckingham, will be joining us as well.

And soon, very soon, I’ll be back to tell more stories on the magic and power of Vocal Freedom.

Love and Blessings, Caroline

Categories: Life and Career · Self Confidence · Vocal freedom
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Nurturing the Child Within

May 16, 2008 · 5 Comments

How I broke the cycle of codependency

About seven years ago, I found myself sitting in the sofa in my living room, unable to move, feeling completely helpless. Long story short, I was heartbroken from having invested a big chunk of myself into a relationship with an addict. And as a result of repeatedly not heading the deafening warning bells, I had tricked myself into believing that this person could provide me with the nurture that I needed, eventually, if I just loved them well enough. And as I sat there, as the walls of my illusion came crashing down, leaving me freezing cold and naked to the bone, all I wanted to do was cry for my mom to pick me up. Except Mom was long gone and I had no more brilliant solutions to keep me afloat on that big river in Egypt. It was over.

As I sat there, feeling the excruciating magnitude of my loneliness, without moving to fix it, the feeling intensified to the point where I thought I was going to die. And as I let myself fully embrace the death of me in that moment, a shift happened. That very moment is when I learned to nurture myself from the inside. I got up from the sofa, sat down by the grand piano and began to sing, “It’s gonna be alright you know, little angel. It’s gonna be alright you know, little angel of mine.” I finished the whole song in less than half and hour, and to this day, it is one of my favorite tunes.

Little Angel to the Movies

Little Angel was just picked up to be in the final scene going into the end credits in a movie called, Next of Kin, and can also be found on the Venus Envy CD. I have enclosed the song for your listening pleasure and the lyrics, so you can sing along:)

Love and Blessings, Caroline

Little Angel by Caroline Waters (Get the CD)

It’s gonna be alright, you know, little angel
It’s gonna be alright, you know, little angel of mine

I’ll hold you close and I’ll keep you warm
Cause I love you so, little angel of mine

No one’s gonna hurt you now, little angel
No one’s gonna hurt you now, little angel of mine
I’m gonna take care of you, little angel
I’m gonna take care of you, little angel of mine

I’ll be your mom and I’ll keep you from harm
Till the end of time, little angel of mine

You’ll never be alone again, little angel
You’ll never be alone again, little angel of mine
It’s gonna be alright, you know, little angel
It’s gonna be alright, you know, little angel of mine

I’ll keep you safe and I’ll let you cry
Then I’ll see you fly, little angel of mine

It’s gonna be alright, you know, little angel
It’s gonna be alright, you know, little angel of mine

Categories: Codependant no more · Getting out of denial · Liberation · Life and Career · Love and romance · Self Confidence · Self Empowerment · Songwriting · Vocal freedom
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Being Venus

March 7, 2008 · Leave a Comment

The secret to attracting a new lover:

Have you ever felt like no matter how hard you try to accomplish something new, you seem to run in the same circles, attract the same kind of people and make all the same mistakes? It is the strangest thing… You think you have learned from your experience, have a solid vision of what you want to achieve and have a pretty good attitude about moving forward. And then, before you now it, you get slammed with some annoying mirror image from the past.

The experts tell us that our conscious experience is primarily governed by the subconscious mind. This means that we need to reprogram our subconscious mind to cause real changes in our lives. This can be done in many different ways. One way is to keep thinking better feeling thoughts about any given subject and thus gradually move up the vibrational scale until we meet our goals. The better we feel about what we want to accomplish, the more in line we are, energetically, with our desires, the more likely we are to succeed.

The most commonly known method to speed up this process is hypnotherapy. Another, not as well known but, in my opinion, equally effective method is through the power of music. Since we are, essentially, seeking to change the vibration of our thought patterns, music, being one of the purest forms of vibration, is an excellent way to powerfully affect our subconscious. Think about the songs that put you in a really good mood and makes you feel like you can accomplish anything. For many of us, it feels even more amazing to sing and dance along with those songs. Imagine how you would feel if you were to write a song about exactly what you want to attract, and to sing and dance that song until you become the song itself. How would that make you feel? Pretty good, yes?:)

Venus Envy

How I came to embody Venus, the Goddess of Love

I had just given an intimate concert at the Water Lily Cafe in Topanga Canyon, when a dear friend approached me. She said, “Caroline, how come almost all of your songs are about unrequited love? I sense this incredible longing in you for a romantic partner. Are you happy?” I didn’t know what to say at first. Was I happy? I was working a lot, for sure, and feeling a tremendous amount of satisfaction in all my creative endeavors. But it was also true that I was feeling an intense yearning for a partner. “I’m not sure how to go about attracting a new lover,” I said. “It seems like I keep meeting people who are emotionally unavailable in one way or another.” My friend laughed. “And that surprises you?” she said. “Just listen to the words you are singing. You are a powerful creator, Caroline, and seem to be manifesting exactly what your songs are about. Why don’t you write some new material, about what you really want, and write as if it is already a reality? I bet you’re gonna notice a big shift.”

That same evening, I wrote the song that was not only going to bring me my new lover, but also an amazing record producer named Greg Matheson, a great new solo album and a license deal that landed me on a compilation CD with Dianna Krall, Norah Jones and Natalie Cole. As you may have already guessed from the headline, here’s the song I’m talking about: I Am Venus

Embodying Venus has been the most powerful decision I have made in my life and career. As a result of identifying with the Goddess of Love, I have come to love and appreciate myself, life itself and every single being I encounter with greater joy and intensity than I ever could imagine. My perspective of the world at large has also shifted dramatically, as it has become clear to me how we create our own reality and how easy it is to make it better. I just love how this stuff works! Try it sometime, if you haven’t already:)

Love and Blessings, Caroline

PS. If you’d like to sing along with I Am Venus, you can click on the link above, and here are the lyrics:

I AM VENUS (CD available at carolinewaters.com)

I am Venus, I am love, I am sugar from above

I am temptation, gratification, mystification and revelation of all

I am Venus, I am love, I am sugar from above

I am sensation, unification, the inspiration and destination of all

I am milk, I am honey, I am better than your money

I am milk, I am honey, I am

I am milk, I am honey, I am better than your money

I am milk, I am honey, I am, I am

I am Venus, I am love, I am sugar from above

I am temptation, gratification, mystification and destination of all

I am heat and desire, I am dance in the fire

I am an ocean, always in motion, I am devotion, uh, a locomotion of all

I am milk, I am honey, I am better than your money

I am milk, I am honey, I am

I am milk, I am honey, I am better than your money

I am milk, I am honey, I am, I am

Categories: Liberation · Life and Career · Love and romance · Self Confidence · Self Empowerment · Songwriting · Vocal freedom
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