The Palermo File - Part 5

Only a few weeks left before leaving Palermo. Autumn is a very exciting season here with extreme storms and hot days following each other. It's gonna be hard to leave. But it was hard to leave Paris all the same and I got over that, didn't I? :-) I really should shut up about this now, because hey, still a few weeks to go! A few weeks to spend writing and even shooting a video with Turbo Turbo and of course for some more swimming in the sea, eating delicious Sicilian specialities and spending time with new friends.

Actually, -hard as leaving Palermo may be- at the same time I'm looking forward to coming back to The Netherlands and play! We're going to do try-outs (trying out The Palermo File songs ofcourse!) at special locations throughout the country in November and December. Take a look at the agenda regularly and well...get your tickets! Hope to see you!

Daisy x

Oh, and in the photo? That's how we do lunchbreak here. Sigh...

The Palermo File - Sweet Beginnings - Part 3

Nope. Still not tired of living on an island where swimming in the sea is part of my daily routine. Don't be fooled though, because I do get some work done and I think The Palermo File is shaping up quite nicely already. I've finished up the writing of a few songs that I'm pretty sure I'll end up recording. It's really not that hard feeling inspired and energetic here (not even the extreme heat of this week can stop me :-)
Playing live here is also great and rewarding. I had a great time again at La Sirena Ubriaca and Piazza Mercato! All thanks to my new friend Angela, who's been getting me great gigs. Looking forward to more. :-)

Worlds Collide

Isn't it weird to be completely uninspired? Have you been there? I've felt that way for a while. Nothing too awful; I just didn't feel like doing much. Or anything at all...

Maybe it's got to do with the fall season, but honestly, I don't really know. The good thing about this lack of inspiration is (I should say 'was', because I'm pretty sure it's over and done with now) that I simply didn't care that I was in this situation, so I didn't worry about a thing. I just stayed there - stuck in my head - accepted it and sat it out....and really relaxed my mind. :-)

And maybe this is why I didn't see it coming: The Winebar Tour is starting. I'm very excited but haven't fully gotten out of my hibernation mode yet...a weird sensation, as if worlds collide! It's time to dust myself off and get my act together. It feels good. The shows are going to be acoustic sessions and amongst the 'old' songs is some new stuff that I wrote in Palermo.

The Winebar Tour starts tomorrow November 7th and only a few days after it ends, in December, we're off to Paris. We're going to stay there for 2 months. I'll be performing and working on the new songs. I can't wait! I always wondered what it would be like to be in Paris for more than just a few days and now I'm going to find out! Yes, yes, I'm feeling it now! Pure bliss!! That thing I wrote, starting this post, something about being uninspired...what was that again? Did I write that? No way, can't be...it wasn't me. :-)

All about the videos

From sunny Palermo still I'm greeting you! We've wrapped up the videoshoot for Homewrecker and it's been an exciting and intense experience. I'm dying to tell you all about it, but I don't want to give away too much too soon. We've been working with a great group including a few incredible actors (more about them soon). Check out Maarten J. Boer and Ewoud Bon working on set on these 2 pics.

Furthermore I've got some news. The video - by Turbo Turbo- for my song Crazy has been nominated for the Dutch Music Video Award- Shoot-me Festival! Congrats to Turbo Turbo and Terrence Sinclair for his amazing performance in it.

Have a great weekend! Cheers!

Breaking Away

It's hot. It's sunny. Every single day! And I'm so used to it. :-) Our days here are laid-back no matter how much work we're doing on some of them. Still, I have to realize that we'll be taking a short break from Sicily soon, but I'm glad to say it's for a nice purpose - we're going to the Netherlands to perform at Spijkenisse Festival on Saturday. Soon after we'll be flying back to Palermo bringing with us director Maarten J. Boer (Rotterdam-based filmcompany Turbo Turbo) and Ewoud Bon (camera). They'll be shooting the music video for the new single Homewrecker! The beach bit will be shot at Nino's Beach in Cinisi, the place I mentioned before. I feel great about shooting it there, especially after meeting Nino earlier this week. Enough about the video now. Gotta leave something to your imagination, right?

I'm currently reading a funny and very interesting book that I found on the bookshelf in the apartment. It's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the night-time by Mark Haddon. Just thought I'd let you know.

Driving and Spotting

Today we're going to continue our drive across the island. We've started it yesterday by driving southwards from Palermo to Agrigento - from there it was on to the west where we had lunch in Sciacca (with amazing sea view). We're going to experience a lot more of the island today as we'll drive to the east and learn more about the Etna and its area.

Last night Marco and I had a great time with Maurizio and Andrea (both of them are running Visit Palermo) and their lovely daughter Martina in Cinisi where we checked out a bar at the beach where we might just shoot a part of the video. It's a cool place with a few unexpected elements as you can see in picture. So who knows...:-)

Now what are we still doing inside the house? Let's hit the road!

The Magic Rooftop that we are or are not stuck on.

I'm writing from our rooftop again. I know, it seems as if we're stuck on this little piece of Palermo. Well, believe me...we're not. Although maybe we should be, because somehow it leads to productivity (why am I suddenly obsessed with productivity? Unhealthy). Not only do songs that I'm happy with emerge on this terrace - ideas and plans for the video do too. We had a short get together here with Maurizio yesterday regarding the videoshoot. He has a location in mind for the party bit of the video. We're going to check it out very soon!

Last night Marco and I went over to Piazza San Francesco. A pretty piazza, that's obviously very well known by everyone here as the place was packed. Lovely atmosphere and delicious food at Antica Focacceria. Check out Marco looking relaxed and satisfied. :-)

P.S. Did I mention the rooftop's great for reading as well? Haruki Murakami's the word.

The daily walk

Our daily walk from Via Dante to Teatro Politeama, from where we walk some more...Feels good!

Love's the word

I've been trying to take nice pictures but I turn out to be technologically challenged. Think: camera battery charger left at home and general clumsiness. But hey, nothing's stopping a girl with an iPhone and an Internet connection.

Love's the word at Villa Filippina where we saw a live performance by Angelo Duro last night. Cabaret, in Italian of course, which we don't speak. I admire his powerful voice and band. Another discovery after a beachy afternoon in Mondello, was that one can actually spend all their money on booze here - should they want to - as food is often included.

Can't wait to see what more Palermo has to offer, but I bet it rocks.