THE RED FLOWER PRESS: POSTS

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The Girl Code is the tenth episode of The Simpsons 27th season. Its first segment holds a delightful scene at Springfield Elementary:

Principal Skinner: “Welcome to computer coding class, which, uh, replaces our last educational fad -mindfulness. Did anyone ever figure out what that was?”

Class: “Uh… Uh… Uh…”

Milhouse: “Uh, shutting up?”

Principal Skinner: “Sure. Why not?”

I just love the definition of mindfulness as ‘be quiet’ because it is impossible to argue with. The episode came right to my mind, when I heard about J.O.M.O.

Oh no, another hipster acronym? Probably, but this one might interest you for the Joy of Missing Out may be a form of liberation.

Do not worry, we are not talking about happiness through alienation (never worked for me), but the ability we have, but which we increasingly give up, to enjoy the here and now. that is, it is mindfulness with a touch of happiness.

You not only do not do stuff, you choose not to do them! I have already written about the right not to do things, which sometimes seems like a taboo. Well, J.O.M.O. is not about defending a right. It is about having a choice. What kind of choices? All kinds, from staying informed but not watching all the news (is it just me?).

It has also to do with not feeling pressured to watch all the series and, instead, rewatch an old movie or maybe go back ten pages in the book I am reading, just for the pleasure of rereading a passage.

The way I see it, J.O.M.O. has mainly to do with knowing what your priorities are and recognizing that for every door we open, several others remain closed. It is not possible to do everything, all the time, and this is not easy for me to recognize.

I am usually that person who is constantly applying for calls, while looking for gigs in the summer and (why not?) filling out forms for artistic residencies during the winter. Not to mention the “almost finished” article that the magazine asked me to write . .. last year. In short: I am the one who tries to open all the doors or at least peek through the keyhole.

As much as I love what I do, it is always necessary to know how to put limits on the to-do list. After all, not even the most organized of the agendas can change the fact that there are only twenty-four hours in a day, regardless of how many activities you schedule to perform.

As much as “overcoming internal challenges” is a frequently repeated subject nowadays, there are times when the best thing to do is to embrace external limits and invite them to dance.

Be seeing you!

G.F.

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The first time I dealt with “fine art” here, I spoke about the importance of curatorship for any project. Today I would like to deal with a related theme, or rather, the next step: what to do with those projects that have been curated by you and were sent to some call, but which were not selected.

The situation is not pleasant at all. Any process of submitting an artistic project to any selection is a very laborious task, both from an intellectual and emotional point of view. There are always forms to fill out, documents to send, audio samples or videos to edit… It is exhausting and takes a lot of your time. When we finally get to the end of the process, and after gathering everything we have been asked to do and double-checking that all the links work and that the spelling is correct, there is a lot of relief involved.

I am not certain “relief” is the best word in this case. Perhaps “mission accomplished” best describes the feeling of triumphantly hitting the “send” button. But life goes on and there are always other tasks awaiting, So you go on minding your own business, until that moment arrives: suddenly, you realize that the next edition of that festival you submitted for months ago is about to happen, and the chances you will part of the lineup are, well, zero.

It is a difficult moment and it takes time to get over it. The good news is that the more time passes and the number of wins also increases, the more easily you see the small defeats as less important parts of the game. You also learn that the important thing is to keep playing the game.

Okay, so you have learned your lesson and you want to stay in the game. Good! This is where I can help you with a lesson I learned from customizing and recycling my clothes: no piece of clothing is useless. The half-forgotten piece in the back of your closet only needs repurposing. Believe me, it always works!

You know that dress that one day gave you so much joy? It can turn into a skirt and bring you even more happiness in the future! Same goes for that now-forgotten pair of pants that might turn into your favorite shorts next summer. T-shirts? They are a world in themselves! Cloth leftovers, sequins, embroidery, anything goes to make Tee look just like you.

In the same way, maybe that project that has not been accepted in a selection (yet), would become simply irresistible with a few small changes here and there. It all starts by re-reading your project again. As good as it might be, there will always be room for some change.

Perhaps the main objectives are not very clear and you can go into further details. Sometimes the problem is just the opposite: too many details. In this case, you need to better condense your ideas and get straight to the point. Another item that always deserves a review is the target audience: is it clear who your project is for? Updating your budget may also be a good idea. Are the costs the same? In the case of tours. extra attention with food and transportation.

As you can see, even without changing its main objectives or compromising its artistic integrity, the possibilities of adapting the same project to different calls are many, and the gain in terms of time is enormous. Upgrading both your wardrobe and your career can be easier (and faster) than you think.

Be seeing you!

G.F.

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Last week I told you about the celebrations for the tenth anniversary of my first album, including a new single release, Jules & Jim and live congratulations on the date and very kind words from the host of my favourite radio show called Jazz Livre (Free Jazz).

The host, Sidney Ferreira, described me as “a tremendously jazzy singer and songwriter”. Is not it beautiful? I was so happy! It meant the world to me, beacuse the curation of the Jazz Livre is simply amazing. This compliment, along with homemade popcorn and a glass of champagne, and wow, what a Tuesday night!

The thrill do not stop there, oh no! The next task I took on, also brought tears to my eyes.

In order to apply for a scholarship, I needed to update my CV. By the way, how long has it been, since you updated yours? In my case, I would say it has been ages and the reason is simple: I do not tend to think about those lines that are supposed to chronologically order the highlights of my existence.

I am not bragging about it at all. In fact, I really admire people who can keep their resumes updated. It is quite a healthy practice and can teach you valuable lessons, if you think about it. Certainly, a few pages are not capable of defining a person, but if your resume cannot be seen as the complete script of your life, it can at least have the importance of, say, a well-written movie synopsis.

After all, those few lines are the first, quicker impression you can get from the oeuvre, and in a world where the average attention span hovers around three seconds, a well-written resume may be the tie-breaker between grabbing the attention of your reader or being left out.

Therefore, I would like to invite you to think about how your synopsis is going. Is it fun? Dramatic? Affirmative? Does it point in any direction or is it more like a set of intertwined experiences forming a circular pattern? What would you change about it, and what information would gain more prominence in a new edition of it?

After tackling the long-postponed task and finally updating my resume, I can say that the payoff is immense. You realize that you have done much more interesting things than you recall, and surprising yourself is an incredible feeling.

So, if you, like me, are a little slow when it comes to updating your CV, maybe this is a good time to roll up your sleeves and get yourself prepared for future harvests.

Be seeing you,

G. F.

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Do you remember what you were doing exactly ten years ago? I do.

It was hot summer night in Rio, and it was the date of the release of my first solo album (Geisa Fernandes, 2013).

On that very special night, several things turned out just as I wanted, several others did not. I remember many friendly faces and a long time signing dedications on the CD booklet. And above all, I remember that it was a happy night.

They say that memory is half editing room, half filming and I am sure that, if I were to try to remember every detail of my magical night, I would probably flourish a lot. You know how memory is.

For this reason, I will stick to a single, indisputable fact: The night was happy because, as my own manager, I fulfilled my part of the agreement with the venue and with the musicians and because, as an artist, I gave the best of myself., and this trait I can proudly say I have maintained over the last ten years.

That said, I would like to share with you another moment of this beautiful night that turns ten today and that occurred on my way back home: in the car full of things (and if you have already produced an event, you know what I am talking about) I thought about my to-do list for the following day. And if you have understood the lesson here, you can consider yourself a real pro.

Enough lessons, it is time to celebrate! My new single Jules and Jim hits streaming platforms tomorrow. Click here to pre-save.

And to prove you that I am really serious about celebrating every achievement, it is time for some champagne, too. Cheers!

Be seeing you!

G.F.

p.s. Times were different and that’s why there are very few video recordings of this show, but you can go back in time with me here and here.

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Sunday, January 15: The Red Flower Press completes two years of existence, and the story of this blog begins, oddly enough, with a podcast.

It all starts at the end of 2020 (yes, that year…). I had dedicated practically all of my time to producing QuaranJazz, a weekly podcast of interviews with musicians from around the world. I did not know at the exactly what I wanted with the podcast,at first.

Looking back to that timet, I think that we were all kind of lost. Anyway, Quaranjazz primary goal has always been to offer my fellow musicians the opportunity to talk about their projects, which had been abruptly cut due to the pandemic.

What did musicians do during social isolation? What were your fears and hopes? How did you take your projects forward and maintain contact with your audience? Honestly, I think of QuaranJazz as a musical portrait of that year of fear and loneliness.

Fortunately those days are over, but the podcast episodes remain as a document for posterity and yet another tool for understanding a very particular phase of our recent history. I am very proud of this project, created and developed in very precarious conditions, but with a lot of determination.

The following year vaccines began to be applied and the word quarantine, finally, ceased to be used in everyday life. QuaranJazz had completed its cycle and its mission and it was time to move on to new projects. I confess that until then I had never tried a blog, and it took me a long time to find a format that worked for me, both in the frequency of posts and in terms of content.

Content was quite an issue indeed, because after the tremendously introspective experience of QuaranJazz, I wanted to be able to talk about various things related to music, from reviews to personal stories, passing through career management tips, but the biggest challenge was finding the middle ground between information and reflection.

My intention is that you can go back and reread the texts, regardless of the period in which they were written and find something you can relate to. Like good old friends, we can stop and pick up the conversation at any time and it will always make sense, it will always feel good.

This is also how I feel about singing, and maybe that is the reason why I like so much writing to you every week.

My red flower and I sincerely thank you for the company.

Be seeing you!

G.F.