Sup everyone. I am back in the big sweaty fat lung of Beijing. 22 million people, I feel very impressed and slightly oppressed by this air. Don’t get me wrong, I love Beijing, but, this kind of weather is to be avoided by not being in Beijing in July-August, when it turns moist in a not so sexy way.

I just landed last night. Was just in one of my favorite places in the world. Get hip, from Vancouver, head north on scenic amazing route 1, past Hope, and turn left at Boston Bar. There you will find REO Rafting Resort. www.reorafting.com Simply one of the most beautiful places – fresh, spiraling trees that reach like fuzzy green arrows towards the mountain peaks spotted like cows, sitting fat around the perimeter of the resort. Then, the Nahatlatch River, a glacial fed river, crystal hypnotic jade color, rushes by, it’s melody like thousands of voices whispering and singing, all the time…It is so peaceful. And I assist taught a songwriting retreat with my mentor/friend Pat Pattison (author of acclaimed “Writing Better Lyrics”), songwriter/performer jazz pianist Bonnie Hayes, and songwriter melody maker Steve Seskin, and another assistant teacher, Don Osborne, out of Vancouver. We had 19 people in attendance (I am told much smaller than in previous years – boasting 30-40). I was sort of happy to have such an intimate retreat with so many music enthusiasts.

I taught a morning movement class (we called it yoga, but it was movement/breath/awareness practice) for 30 minutes, and then we’d all sit down and object write for 30 minutes. Then we’d chow down on the most amazing home cooked breakfasts (oatmeal with raspberry puree and syrup, for example) before beginning master classes with the folks I mentioned above. GREaT learning for anyone at any level. It was incredibly inspiring.

I also conducted a vocal gong fu class the 2nd to last day, and the response with the immediate results was really fun to experience. because many of them didn’t believe they could harness the power of their voices, and yet they were accessing their range and power to support the sound. Cool. Oh yah, it just so happens in Beijing there was a quick article about my vocal gongfu lessons. I gave one to a reporter, who then wrote about her experience, and advertised my email address. So cool, I’m getting some great responses from it. The link to the article (scrolll half way down, you’ll see my photo) http://www.timeoutbeijing.com/features/Around_Town/12381/Classes-and-clubs.html

Overall this retreat which I first attended in 2003, was the bomb. I really hope that the weather in BC improves so the owner, river master and fellow songwriter, Bryan Fogelman can continue to operate it. This year in BC the weather has been raining and cold, which is super strange, and affects small resorts in the mountains. So, if you are in that area in August, I highly recommend staying a night or 2 and delighting in one of my favorite places. I made sure to put in an order of sunshine for the area, so don’t worry about a thing. Facilities are superb, staff are beautiful, river guides are experienced and awesome. Check it out.

So August is going to be my busiest month yet. The Heavenly Stems (my rock outfit) is playing at VA Bar August 13th. I’ll swing some jazz with my quartet on August 26th at VA Bar. Oh, and Beijing Midi Jazz festival August 27th – You’ll get a jazzier The Heavenly Stems…

Hope you are all well, where ever you are. I will be more conscious on writing blogs…I got a few more Chinese Medicine experiences to tell you about. Next time. Love and light *** Jess

PS. I’m on itunes. i do facebook, i just got the twitter (like me, come on), lots of my drawings and other photos on my picasaweb and i think i’m now a google plus girl. Yo! Share it out -

Oh…I do love a good metaphor.

Pat Pattison, my teacher from Berklee and good friend, is re-vamping his “Writing Better Lyrics” book. He’s asked a few of his students to contribute, so I feel like I’ve gone back to school with the exercises in metaphor and object writing (sensational writing). I LOVE IT. Here are a few of my recents:

Quality 1 Concentration– Target idea 1: Meditation

sit bones like little triangular shapes planted into the floor, eyelids closed over, i observe the other senses. acute sounds step forward, car tires pressed into asphalt wooshing past, bus revving like a tired heavy elephant, carelessly exhaling black acrid gasses, birds high pitched squawks crack the silence, staccato notes shot across the yard into my room, my mind takes another turn, towards what my breath is doing. it lingers soft at the nostrils, waiting for my diaphragm to pull it in, down it goes like a rollercoaster or a bird swooping it glides into my guts like water filling a chasm, oo, my lungs opening like an accordion’s folds they stretch wide as though they are lit up with light, the lethargy and languid emotions are invigorated and moisturized like little cobwebs unfolded and stretched long, hwooooahhhhh they are carried like debris with the long river exhale that flows up and out to a vast sea. My spine is a pillar made of small smooth bones stacked like a stone sculpture that is pulled by an upward current, lifted and floating in a soft state of consciousness, little veins pulsing a heart’s beat like little bobbling undulations the buzz low and resonating almost inaudibly bass like a pedal note sticky powder rasping dragging across a heavy thick string at the base of my spine. thoughts tumble towards the breath that now feels like a cascading waterfall that magically circles back up to recycle itself. peering towards the soft places of a third eye, two purple dots face each other in an orange light, essences and hues of a thousand sunsets that smolder at my forehead. my skin relaxes until i do not know it anymore, the bones are still and silent, the breath is no longer an issue as i swim emptily into a deeper, calmer space, where nothing lives, where everything counters the nothing, and my spirit celebrates an expansion and dissipation into a light that i become.

Quality 2 Myopic – Target idea 2: Flirting with a boy

it’s not very clear, like a dirty lens light dust like flour fuzzy figures fanning limbs head blobs turning and morphing into thinner than fatter shapes, a crowd of bodies standing sculptures lean in as i step towards them. this boys brown ginger eyes saucers of light linger on my face, i feel my cheeks pull wider, chin and eyes bow bashfully towards him then the ground, i glance up and his gaze is like a beam that transfixes and immobilizes my being. i drink in his long tawny body, my left leg turns towards him, my hips follow and face his grand figure, his lips parting like curtains, shiny white teeth stand dazzling in his smile, warm like a whiskey dizzily dancing in my skin, i surrender my eyes to his gaze, permit him take his mental photographs, my right hip and shoulder swirl to the left as though i’ve dropped an anchor and cannot stop the force of my momentum… it is strong currents that flow from behind me towards him, this handsome man who holds my gaze like a swami holds the snake high and attentive, in love, from the basket. his fingers floating towards my bare shoulder the tiny many grooves of his fingertips drifting delightfully descend upon the concave dip in my shoulder, easily sliding across my taut collarbone that bows across my chest holding open the chest as a gush of energy like a fast deep water pours from my heart. durrrrrr

Quality 3——– Sherlock Holmes – Target idea 3: Reading my new lover’s mind.

I spy through the thick cut glass the enlarged colors that flower around his eyes in this direct white sun light, flecks of yellow like grains in wood radiate from the black hole, a deep dark ring of ebony outlines the array like deep colored gems that sparkle from his sockets. Long eyelashes flicker like butterflies, i am caught in this visual gazing, i follow this imaginary beam into his being, like a soaring ninja i fly and soar down into his chest, then circle up into his head, i stop this fantasy and fly back into my self, inviting anything he’s got into my space. i hear my own thoughts like little burrs in a field i brush by them and they hook into my consciousness, as i search for little clues and hints in his mannerisms, movements, body language. words he emphasizes bold in font, i see capital letters somersault towards my ears, reading every little space and line as they blend with the words and his subtle intentions, we teeter on the thin taut line that is tethered to each of our hearts, carefully we step in a slow dance that ricochets and ripples the long rope with a vibrating desire. i pick up each crumb he drops to examine it closely with my eyes, devouring each one like a morsel of affection.

new york city
august 2010

Jess Sings Spike Hill, Brooklyn

hot child in the city. that’s me. and hot is definitely a description that suits this time of the year. dear lord, summertime in new york city is very much like baking in a concrete oven. even the parks are smoldering. the first few days were stunning weather. cool and sunny, with clouds shape shifting across the sky in the wind. i think just for old times sake, new york is giving me some real good august heat. fortunately for me, i am just visiting.

i have been meeting up with new and old friends, mostly all musicians, from berklee, from china. the world gets smaller and smaller. it’s been so cool to see such high caliber players, to hang and jam with super-joy-filled songwriters, to communicate and share in the language of music. fun.

the other night i saw the Boston Boys, which is Eric Robertson (the writer, singer & badass mandolin player) + guitar (Stash), sax, bass & drums (Nick Falk). super good. like watching bluegrass/jazz on mdma. ha ha. really. and jamming with them later on a rooftop racks up with many of my superb memories.

i went to a jazz jam session in astoria sunday night. i sang two songs, and everyone enjoyed. i think it’s the light in which i am singing that warms rigidity and soothes alot of people’s heart chakras.

i am extremely grateful to my way of living. being able to practice awareness in my yoga/movement/meditation, and practicing it all with life is a way to set the mind free of all the cacaphony that bombards us from the outside as well as the stomping grounds of our minds. the mind likes to be busy in thought, and the practice calms this mental square dance so that the heart can express itself with out the taint of ego-centered blah blah blah. what i notice in new york city among the musicians (who are all excellent in their craft) is a dissatisfaction in the over life they are living. not all * of course,  but there is this mentality that new york is hard, the economy is down, and people aren’t interested in coming out. another belief is that there is a lack of community in the music being created because it is so hard to retain players for a project because everyone is doing the make-money hustle. i see that nyc has many many benefits, and i see the downside. beijing doesn’t have as many high caliber musicians, but it does have a healthy way of existing for the creative musician. it’s been good for me, all these years there. i am able now to project this way of life to no matter where i live. world, here i come.

stay tuned for more bloggin.

Greetings earthlings. I am on a different planet at the moment. It’s called the Beijing traditional courtyard home. It translates as the finest real estate in the center of this ever-changing, constantly-under-constuction megacity. I have been blessed graciously by a friend to house-sit for the month. So it is morning, and I sit under the big old trees, a bricked central yard with herb gardens and greenery speckled by sunlight through the leaves. Birds sing mid morning melodies, insects buzz and flip and swirl mid air, the breezes laugh and lilt along my skin, my hair. This dear fans, is my favorite place in Beijing so far.

I live in paradise

At first, when my friend asked me to stay, I had huge considerations come to mind. After about 5 minutes of perplexing, it donned on me how this was an opportunity for a very needed holiday. So I moved in last week, with full intentions to make this a month of creativity. The 2nd day was filled with musicians – I invited jazz piano, bass, drums and guzheng (chinese zither) and we jammed on a few themes while a few friends sat in the sun and enjoyed (we thank the friends who served us up afternoon summer cocktails).

I meditate and do yoga here, and pick up my guitar to sing the song of this courtyard. So far, there are 3 new songs. One called “Arun’s Dreaming” which I will put up on youtube in a few days…I’m just working out the synergy of singing & playing & knowing the words well. I also brought a massive blank book that I weave and draw and write words and metaphors of love, nature, and sunlight. It is divine.

There is also a friend’s dog staying with me for 2 weeks, who is very very very disliked by the 5 cats that live here. The cats have staked out their territory, and are hunkered down til I put the cockerspaniel-ish dog into the room for naps or evening. There is a big black leader cat I refer to as “grandfather” and he meows at me and curses me for about a half hour. Sometimes the other cats will come out and join in on the boo-hissing me for bringing such a being into their yard. I’m sorry pussycats, this is the way it is. Get over it. Can’t we all just get along? This triggers a new Chinese Chengyu成语 that I regularly use now, which talks about a man who is only passionate about fishing the moon from the lake – a futile effort. The saying is SHUI ZHONG LAO YUE  水中捞月

I will be in an Andy Lau movie – we shoot in July before I head back to the US for a month. Andy Lau, for those who may not be familiar, is like a TomCruise/George Clooney movie/music star from Hong Kong. He’s huge. And his co-star is Gong Li, the queen of Chinese movies. This is gonna be a great experience. I love entering this world of dramatic energies and egos and fame. It’s all a big interesting game.

My trip back to the US will bring me to Pittsburgh to reunion with family and friends. Then onward to New York City, where I will be moonlighting with jazz bands in Manhattan & Brooklyn. The schedule is set – you can check out my friend Sean Nowell’s blog (www.seannowell.com) and the first week of August, I will be playing 3-5 compositions per gig with the Swedes. Sweet. Then, tentatively, I’ll be in San Antonio, Texas to play with the ever-amazing jazz pianist/composer Barry Brake. I will play songwriter concerts and sing jazz with him. He’s great. One time when he was living in BJ we did a jazz gig together. At one point during a jazz tune’s ending, he starts screaming out, “hey do you know Careless Whisper?” I said, “Sure, mostly!” and he bounces the band into the melody of George Michael and I start singing…it was great. We also flipped Autumn Leaves in to Summertime. Maybe next time we do a seasonal theme – Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most and Baby It’s Cold Outside to be included. haha.

The other piece of exciting news in my next step – I am currently planning a cultural-spiritual-creative musical exchange project (to be held in a very amazing place in Europe that I will disclose to you as it comes), as well as developing my own business strategy. The ideas are getting more clarity & purpose, shape and form with each conversation I have. I am quite a dreamer, and it is very helpful to have more pragmatic minds around to mix the dream with the practical application this work requires.

I recently sent an email out to fans asking for connections to possibilities – maybe a good friend of yours is a music supervisor in the movie industry, and would  consider my music for their next tv series or movie, or perhaps you know a producer who likes to hook up people like me with really new interesting talented artists for collaborative songwriting…whatever the hookup (in Chinese we call this guanxi关系.  It involves sharing because you love it yourself. We all share the good things we find with our loved ones, and this natural form of love is where I am working from. I am getting a more consistent roll of emails from friends and fans near and far thanking me for my music. How it has helped them, or inspired them to create their lives from a more positive place. That’s beautiful. Thank you all for your feedback. Please keep it coming! jessmeider@gmail.com

Ok. I must get on with it. There is a big bath running. The trees send their hellos to you all, and I send out love and light…Peace

PS. Check out my friend’s new book. He is one of my favorite teachers ever. Max Strom “A Life Worth Breathing” which is just his very simple mind speaking onto the pages. Really inspiring.