Shennie Smith

After recording at the studio on Saturday, Anine and I went downtown with Matt and Tucker. It was fun, but I definitely noticed that I need a break from Santa Barbara. I LOVE being there and I love everything about the place, but there's just so much to do there that I can't fully relax. On Sunday we decided to drive down to my psychic in Malibu, and she told me a lot of valuable things. For one, she told me to begin thinking about myself more and not constantly worrying about other people's well-being. I guess that's very true... It does take a lot of energy, but I just want everyone to be happy :) . I realized , though, that I need to focus a bit more on myself and remember to stay grounded and focused. So Anine, Veronica and her boyfriend Ola and I decided to drive to San Diego for two days. We left yesterday (Monday) morning, and its soooo chill to hang out with them and not think about anything that's going on in SB. I just have so many dreams and plans that I'm constantly acting on, which is good, but I needed a break. We're still in SD (it's Tuesday), and we are going to the beach now and then driving home.

I'm at Playback again, recording the songs I've worked on with Matt Lawrence of Burnt Matches. We're recording four songs; Smitten, Broken Night, Down and Savior. I wrote Savior when I was in Norway this winter, and Matt actually learned it only about three hours ago. Hehe so obviously he is quite the musical genius and I'm excited to be working with him :)

My friend Anine flew in to LA yesterday, and she arrived in Santa Barbara around 6 pm. It was so good to see her again! We ate dinner, talked and did nothing, and then went to bed. Poor little Anine was tired and jetlagged:(

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCjaQJ9J7U0 - Pics from the filming of Little Girl accompanied by a still unfinished version of the song . 

I haven't written anything in a few days because the internet isn't working at my house... It's really annoying. But it's all good, especially because my dear friend Anine is flying in from Norway today! I'm picking her up right after school, and I can't wait to see her :)

We have finished the filming of "Little Girl". I am proud, happy, anxious, and I'm really sad it's over! It was so much fun. Yesterday we got the last footage needed, I was wearing a black wig, black dress and crazy eye make-up. We went on location to Cachuma Lake and found a really cool tree that I got to climb and sing in, and then we filmed me sitting by the lake and later me waist-deep in the lake. IT WAS COLD! But soooo fun and 100000% worth it because I think it turned out great. One of my favorite scenes was also shot yesterday; it's a close-up of me crying blood. Looks SO real, thanks to Veronica's secret miracle recipe of fake blood. What a multi-talent!

So I just got home from a long but fantastic day of shooting some really really good scenes for the video. First we did a few flashbacks from my life, with a cheating and violent boyfriend, and then we had one of the little girls I babysit come in and play me as a little, scared girl. She did a great job, and so did my "boyfriend". The next thing we shot was me dressed as a fairy, dancing around at the beach. Umm yeah  I know, right? I just had to fit that in there somewhere :P BUT! I'm not exactly dancing normally, I'm completely psycho, with jerky and twisty movements. SO FUN! Of course the crew did an amazing job yet again; Veronica, Andy, Michael and Arren are so chill and easy to work with. I CAN'T WAIT TILL TOMORROW! DAY 3! Black wig, black dress, teardrops of blood and a jet black lake. yay! happy and bubbly and light. Hmm

Second day of the shoot! It's 8 AM and we start shooting in two hours. I can't wait to work with these amazingly talented people again, and I'm so excited cause I get to wear my fairy costume! And there are going to be fire spinners behind me. Yay :)

I haven't updated this blog in a while due to my super busy schedule when it comes to school and work. It seems like I've had a million tests and papers and readings to get done, and I've been working a bit as well. Although I'm busy, I absolutely LOVE it and enjoy every moment of it:) I've decided that stressing out about things is no way to deal with life. I used to get a bit stressed but I realized that it was doing more damage than good, so now, if I ever feel like too much is going on, I take a deep breath and calm myself down, asking myself this AWESOME question that helps me get through anything: "will this matter in a year from now?" haha it's so simple but it's so magical.. depending on the answer, I'll decide how to assess the situation and what to do about it. I'm at a coffee shop studying for my business class right now, and my mind is wandering toward everything I want to do when it comes to the business side of music and everything. My mind wanders too much!! Ugh. I have a recording session scheduled at Playback Recording studio on Wednesday so I'm excited for that. And I can't wait to start filming my video on Friday! Wohoooo..:) ... I hope you are having a great day, and if not, ask yourself; will what's upsetting me really matter in a few years from now? Hmmm..

After working hard on school and music for so long, sometimes I feel like I forget how to just do nothing. So now I feel like I'm getting sick and I'm forced to relax, which is actually pretty nice. ..... I am still super excited about the Dirty Bubblegum photo shoot, I have found a wonderful and talented photographer for the job. On the other hand, I am sad to say that my Dirty Bubblegum photographer, Karla Maleski, will be moving back home to Michigan in June. We're gonna miss her so much!!! I am of course very happy for her though, because I know she's made the right decision. As long as she's happy, I'm happy :) Other than that, I don't think anything new has happened. ..... Oh... And something you do today will change a person's life forever! Don't you love how that happens?? Have a great Tuesday :)

I woke up at 7 this morning just like I always do, and today my internal alarm clock was more annoying than helpful.. I'm tired!!! Out of all the twenty people who spent the night at my friend's apartment, no one was awake. So I decided to go for a walk, and I ended up at starbucks downtown and I have no idea how to get back cause I walked for like two hours. Haha... I love being lost sometimes... Not knowing where I am or what I'm doing is strangely comforting to me. It means that anything can happen :) . I've been less productive this weekend than since I can remember, and it's really helped me relax. Thanks to Emily for taking me away for the weekend! Our little lovers trip has been awesome. Who needs boys when you've got an Emily? Not meeeee... Hehe

Emily and I drove up to Santa Cruz last night to meet up with her parents and stay at their friend's house. When we got here we discovered that the heaters don't work, so it's freeezing! Were breathing out white air. How do you say that in English? Anyway today we are gonna go for a run by the beach and walk around and then go to dinner at the wharf. I think that's the plan. Her family is sooo sweet, and it's actually really chill to get away from everything although I love SB. The only sad thing is that I forgot to bring my guitar, which I'm really really bummed about... I might have to buy a new one! Ohhh noooo. I'll get to spend some lovely quality time with my dearest Emdawg so that's wonderful and I'll have to focus on that instead of the lack of my guitar. Iiiii loooooveeee Emilyyyyy!!!<3 yay. So I should go spend some time with her. Bye <3 ..... PS! 30 seconds to mars will be in SB may 14, and I am sooooo going! It's my future husband.. I'm gonna be mrs Jared Leto soon. I promise.

I woke up at 6 am this morning, completely super awake. Without realizing what I was doing, I jumped out of bed, put on my running clothes and went for an hour long run. Still don't know how that happened, haha.. I feel good now though. Then I went to my business class at 8, and now I'm at a coffee shop working on getting my songs copyrighted. It's quite an annoying process, especially since the internet here is super slow. But whatever, I'm gonna officially own my songs soon! Yay! I'm going shopping for my video with Veronica today, and I have to find a good photographer for the Dirty Bubblegum project. Let me know if you wanna do it ;) . It's gonna be fuuuunnn, wohhoooo. .... Then I have my marketing class tonight, and when I am done I'm heading straight to Santa Cruz with my girl Emily.. Emdaawwg as I like to call her.. Haha I am such a nerd. ... Have a great day, everyone! Smile and be happy :) <3 <3

Happy Wednesday everyone!! It's been raining all day in SB, which I absolutely love... It reminds me of Norway, and it calms me down... Which helps boost my creativity! I had lunch with Veronica and my web designer, Michaela Karlsson, today. I am so lucky to have them in my life, they both inspire me in every possible way. Michaela and I were brainstorming about my record label/artist foundation Dirty Bubblegum (Records) that I started in late December of 2009. She and I are going to design the website for it together, and she's gonna create it. It will be featuring the work of the talented ladies I work with as well as information about each of them, and the purpose of the website is to portray the message and purpose of Dirty Bubblegum, who's mission statement is; "Dirty Bubblegum Records offers a combination of different forms of art that are created and fused together by a team of innovative, dynamic and fearless artists. The product of our team’s collaboration becomes visible through the self-expression of our musicians, resulting in a thorough, all-round personal image and products inspired by and created around the musician in question". ..... The ladies who will be the first to be featured on the website are Michaela Karlsson (web and graphic designer), Veronica Vanglin (filmmaker/producer/director), Karla Maleski (photographer) and Shennie Smith (musician and owner/founder of DBR), and as we develop the website and foundation we will add new unique talents to our team. We have already planned out a sick photoshoot for next weekend, and I can't wait to see my girls bustin out their hotness and power in front of the camera! Yeeeeaaaaahhhhhh... :) Michaela and me :)

I've been working on songs with my CRAZY and insanely hilarious and musical genius friend Matt Lawrence. He is the funniest person EVER and I cannot stop laughing whenever we hang out.. Haha. He's in a band called Burnt Matches, they have really good music and put on great shows. You should definitely check them out at http://www.myspace.com/burntmatchesmusic. We wrote a few songs together last summer, and we're gonna record them in the last weekend of March. Dude, they sound SO good! I'm super excited for this :) . We're working on some new stuff as well so that's awesome. .. Our band name is Talsexanity -- Talent, sexyness and insanity. wooohooooooo. Kind of a joke, but whatever. ... Right now I'm hanging out with my roomate/wife Eli and my little sugarpuff Emily, who are so funny.. Hahahaha. I'm so lucky to have the friends that I have. I am SO thankful to have so many wonderful people in my life, both here in Santa Barbara and in Norway. THANK YOU FOR BEING IN MY LIFE!! yaayyy yaaayyyy

All that we are is a result of what we have thought. -Buddha

Had a wonderful and productive day today.

OK so here's the thing. Wilcat is a gay bar in downtown Santa Barbara, and they're having Lady Gaga night on Sunday. So, naturally, I HAVE to perform! I HAVE TO!!!! I love Lady GaGa and I LOVE singing her songs, so I have to make this happen. I wanna dress up as her and perform like her and just be her for one night. I'm going to call them tonight and make this happen.