Monday, July 21, 2014

Musician Spotlight : Ashley Monical

My great friend, Ashley Monical just got out of the studio recording her latest record. With Beaumont's own John Evans in the producer's chair look for this new set of songs to set the foundation for Ashley's future. 

Never heard of her ?  You should.  Catch Ashley Monical in some of the best listening rooms and Americana venues across the south from Texas to Oklahoma. 



Before she ever stepped onto the stage at Saxon Pub or greeted a packed field of revelers at Larry Joe’s Music Fest, Ashley Monical had a music video go viral -- in Turkey. 

An iPhone rolled March 2010 as she her then band mate, Ian Lee rehearsed, “Gelevera Deresi” for a Turkish Festival in Dallas. A favor for a friend, Monical and Lee nailed the accents and dialects of the foreign lyrics, drawing praise from the packed crowd, many of whom had fond memories of the famous folk song from their childhood in Turkey. The impromptu backstage video was posted on YouTube, then picked up by Turkey’s largest newspaper, which put it on their website’s front page. The video grabbed more than 200,000 hits and garnered legions of loyal Facebook friends and fans for Ashley (then Nicole) Monical. 

The awesome reverse-motion video of the song fortified her Turkish fanbase.  Monical and Lee learned the entire song backwards so that the lip-motions would match the finished video. Amazing and beautiful -- check it out HERE.  

A baby of the 80’s oil boom raised by Texas expats in Jakarta, Ashley learned at an early age that the world was a big place, traveling the globe from Bali to Boerne before she was 10. She grew up singing Everly Brothers at her parent’s parties. Her father loved to tell stories of his college days in San Marcos where he saw rising stars like Stevie Ray Vaughn, George Strait, Joe Ely and Jerry Jeff Walker in Hill Country honky tonks, as a burgeoning Texas music scene unfolded. And the more she heard, the more she wanted to be a part of it. 
Ashley Nicole Monical | Map of the World

Ashley’s debut disc, ‘Map of the World,’ dropped late 2010 with support from three videos: “Holdin’ on to You,” “Map of the World,” and "“Gelevera Deresi,” each of which give a glimpse of Ashley’s acting ability, harkening back to her days at ACC where, as a young student, she starred in numerous productions (including a topless scene in Euripedes Bacchaes, no less.) 

Her career built momentum with solo shows in Austin and San Marcos, slowly gaining recognition as a voice that’s going place through song swaps and open mic nights. In 2011 Ashley ended up in Hollywood for the second round of American Idol. Dismissed after the second round, what appeared to some as failed attempt at supposed stardom was for Monical, a precious lesson of who she wanted to be as a singer/songwriter: 
and it was not the American Idol. Following the AI episode, Ashley dropped her middle name for good and left behind childish things to pursue her spot on stage as a singer/songwriter, all grown up. 



Late night picking sessions in a South Austin backyard lead to Monical’s collaboration with San Marcos sweetheart, Halleyanna in their much touted project, The Wildflowers. Ashley’s smooth and soulful voice blended perfectly with the Texas rasp and romance of Halleyanna’s and the two hit the road as The Wildflowers. They toured throughout Oklahoma, Colorado and Texas roads all the way to Terlingua. The Wildflowers shared a stage with some of Americana’s finest: Shovels and Rope, Joe Ely, Slaid Cleaves, Bri Bagwell, and Uncle Lucius, among others. They were regulars at Houston’s best kept house concert secret, Wing Man Ranch, where they opened for Steve Polz. The bandwagon was rolling along, but the ladies realized that they both had big dreams all of their own. So they took a deep breath and gave each other a strong hug, but didn’t say “goodbye,” just “not now.” 


 

In 2012 Ashley played Friday happy hours at world-famous Poodies Hilltop CafĂ©. On a lark she entered a couple of her songs in Larry Joe Taylor’s Texas Coastin’ & Cruisin’ Songwriters’ contest at the fabled Spicewood, TX dive bar. Three rounds later, she walked away with the Grand Prize and tickets for two to LTJ’s annual Songwriter’s cruise. Larry Joe liked what he heard and has numerous times invited Ashley to showcase her powerful voice on his stage. Recently she was the talk of the campgrounds after her stirring performance around the campfire song swap session one night. But her highlight was singing for a wild and whiskey’d up crowd of over 10,000 at the finale of LJT’s Music Fest that week at Melody Ranch. 



With family roots that dig deep into Texas dirt, Ashley Monical carries on the laidback traditions and barbed-wire determination passed down from her parents. She is a love child of the new millennium: spiritual, soulful, bohemian but savvy, sophisticated and worldly. She’s making a mark on the Americana music scene as a ray of soulful sunshine and peace with a voice that commands attention; a Texas wildflower with a voice to set the stage on fire, but Turkey loved her first.

Sunday, July 20, 2014

silent sunday



Independence Pass
July 2014

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

This is my Site



I've been thinking about writing for too long.  Now i am writing.  i like to hyphenate. a-lot.  i like lower case letters and random. use. of. periods.  

this is my site and here's how i see it unfolding: 

Music Monday -- finding new music is my favorite. music monday will be my excuse to get to know musicians (better) and give some good, (virtually) unknown music some well deserved attention. if i happen to book a few cabin concerts along the way: so be it.  I'm starting with musicians that either a) i know personally 2) i have met or iii) i know someone who knows them so i feel like i have a kevin-baconesque connection to them.  From there, i will branch out to musicians who are perfect strangers, but whose music i like and who deserve attention. 

Tell it Like it is Tuesday -- put my personality in a kettle for about an hour and it will boil down to nothing but my opinion.  i have great insight into... well, all things really, and even though i give it freely, i feel the need to express myself. even . more .  on tuesdays I'll review products, services, maybe even movies--basically whatever i want to tell you about, i will.  Tuesdays will hopefully become a place where i shamelessly hawk great products that people will send me for free so i can plug them and make them soar off the shelves at Amazon, a'la Oprah book club.  i'm not too proud to whore myself for free stuff -- but only free stuff that i actually LIKE.  

for What it's Worth Wednesday -- my opinion of products is second only to my opinion of other people's lives. for What it's Worth is my advice column.  More erma bombeck than ann landers.  think of it as group therapy.  Anonymous request for help with a web of opinions to contribute for the betterment of all.  sometimes a guest will sit in my chair. 

Thinking Out Loud (thursday) -- This is my weekly essay blog.  if i had a syndicated column--this is it. my words about me. personal, true and if it hits the mark i'm aiming for,  funny, poignant and provocative.  but no pressure and no promises. 

Free for all Friday -- indulgences for my rants, raves, a guest writer here and there, throw light on great hidden interweb stuff and generally let it all hang out. i mean, it's friday. 

Saturday -- i know myself.  seven days a week is a tough regimen.  Saturdays we'll go dormant.  get out of the house.  get some sun.  turn off the monitor. 

Silent Sunday -- Photo of the week.  Maybe by me.  maybe my kid or maybe a Facebook famous photog friend.  few, if any restrictions, but the photo will do the talking on sundays.  we all need a little quiet. 


so there's the plan. come back on Friday to see how it goes.  

txsjewels

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

permission slip

i give myself permission not to change. for the next thirty days i will not dwell on anything that i want to be different. for the next thirty days i will steer my thoughts into the direction of loving and accepting all things exactly they way they are in the present. i break from guilt . for the next thirty days i will consciously rebuke guilt when it enters my mind.

i love my authenticity. i will not hide it anymore. for the next thirty days i will create loving thoughts about myself. i will steer my thoughts into the direction of loving and accepting all things about myself the way they are at. this. moment.

i embrace gratitude. i surrender to complete thanks. without tug of resentment at my back.

for this moment. i receive the love that surrounds me. i accept . it all.

2:29 am saturday, may 22 2010