How I started performing publicly in the first place.

I've played piano since I was wee, picked up the guitar at eight, and the accordion at fifteen. I did a bunch of theater, and I was in chorus. But I didn't play my first solo gig until I was about 23. That's pretty old for the singer-songwriter thing. Most folks I know were goin to open mics in high school, and plenty even had gigs. I remember going to see my good friend John Whitaker play at coffeeshops, along with a hundred other screaming girls.

Anyway, it wasn't until I was dared by one of the bartenders at Air Devils Inn that I had my first legitimate gig. He knew I played, and he just booked me on a Sunday night. I sang almost entirely covers, and I played only the guitar. When I sang an original, I didn't tell the crowd I'd written it. (It took me about a year to 'fess up to my originals. Silly, right?) But it was really fun, and the stage is a very comfortable place to hang out for a few hours. Then I got paid, and a light bulb went off. I started a weekly Sunday night gig immediately.

A few months ago, a video production team came through town and asked me to stop by their mobile studio. They plopped me on a stool and asked me to talk about that moment when I realized I could actually be a musician. It seemed like a harmless task, so I obliged.

Now, several months later, I am told they chose my "Aha Moment" a a finalist out of the thousands they collected around the country. You can watch it here: www.ahamoment.com/vote/brigid and you could vote for it. Voting for it isn't really a big deal, but if I'm in the Top 25 vote-getters by October 15, then I win a cool new Flip Cam, which I promise to use for exciting video blogs. There are some other pretty cool videos there too, and you can vote for more than one. Three total are from Louisville. I thought that was pretty cool.

1 comments

  1. Girl, we's always believed in you! Just keep yo chin up and keep banging out them songs.

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