tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55552896740322896792024-03-19T21:28:11.287-07:00Monique's music notesMonique DeMoulinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460515931031367209noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5555289674032289679.post-20750954185592244232015-12-30T21:38:00.001-08:002016-01-13T11:05:09.127-08:00The 58th Annual Grammy Awards!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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With 2015 coming to an end, it seems appropriate that on the last day of the year I highlight the truly remarkable achievements of the last 12 months. In some ways, I'm still pinching myself!<br />
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January saw the release of my first all original album. I was over-the-moon excited. "9,000 Miles" was six months of hard work, dedication, and full support from my Grammy award-winning producer, Bill Hare. Oh, and a lot of love. Did I have a favorite track on the album? You bet I did. But wait till you hear what happened next!<br />
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In May I became a Recording Academy member. Thrilled really wouldn't cover my excitement. To have the opportunity to listen to music being submitted for a Grammy is an honor. To network with, and make important life long connections in the industry is priceless. Suddenly I had the opportunity to talk with the movers and shakers, artists I had not connected with before....and you know what I found amazing? They were so nice. Down to earth and happy to help me in any way.<br />
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And then in July......My song "Drive" (My favorite track) from the brand new album was submitted in the running for the 58th annual Grammy awards in the Best Rock Performance Category. (This is where I'm still pinching myself) Yes there were other Indie artists, but here I was among AC/DC, Neil Young, Keith Urban ( Mr. Dreamy himself) and many others. I was excited, nervous, scared, all rolled up in a big ball of AWESOME!<br />
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You don't get much time to be dancing through the rainbows with butterflies, because now your main job is to promote your song to anyone and everyone you've connected with in the last two months. Voting members of the Recording Academy. From July until October, I estimate having sent out 500 CD's, along with 1850 personally addressed emails promoting my song to each voting member of the Recording Academy. It still makes me smile when I think of big names in the industry listening to my song and sending back their thoughts and congratulations on a job well done! We were basically all vying for the top five spots on the ballot for each category. If you made the top five, you are considered nominated. It was a long shot. But I had to try!<br />
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Simultaneously.....I was spending hours each day listening and keeping spread sheets of other submitted music. Giving my own feedback of their material. Wow...what an experience. I'm not alone in saying it was exhausting, but glorious and exciting too. It's something I will never forget.<br />
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At 5am on a very cold November morning, after hardly sleeping, I sat at my desk, waiting for the final nominees to be released via the Grammy website. One category at a time, like it was dial up internet they came down. "Song of the year," "Album of the year," "Artist of the year."...on and on. And there is was, Best Rock Performance!<br />
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My name wasn't there!!<br />
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I took a deep breath, and then smiled. There is a next year, and I'm very excited for all the final nominees, as I know how hard you have worked. And you bet I'll be right back at it next year! In fact, as of this writing, I have two more songs in the works, and a television interview getting ready to release. Much love to all of you that continue to support me on this crazy journey I call the music industry.<br />
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Until next time!<br />
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Monique<br />
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<br />Monique DeMoulinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460515931031367209noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5555289674032289679.post-71328116732187537522014-03-19T09:08:00.001-07:002014-03-19T09:53:57.984-07:00Ellie Stone Photography<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO4ab8lwqPPV7hdNAMBBD__jjApGoLzusCgLN7khOjjn6H5tqFoe0IzUH665KqFnw46bx0EubLGTQ1lmCyygLdkXXFI3ut7GnIjQ3r68PokKm296574XasKYMnM5_15QRohliToYtK4tQ/s1600/67865_10201707401830429_1358201776_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO4ab8lwqPPV7hdNAMBBD__jjApGoLzusCgLN7khOjjn6H5tqFoe0IzUH665KqFnw46bx0EubLGTQ1lmCyygLdkXXFI3ut7GnIjQ3r68PokKm296574XasKYMnM5_15QRohliToYtK4tQ/s1600/67865_10201707401830429_1358201776_n.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ellie Stone<br />
http://www.elliestone.smugmug.com<br />
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<span id="yui_3_8_0_1_1395193597620_196">Ellie has a magnificent combination of </span><span id="yui_3_8_0_1_1395193597620_188">passion, enthusiasm, and skill in photography!</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_8_0_1_1395193597620_194" style="background-color: #0f0f0f; color: #87878c; font-family: Karla, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-top: 12px; padding: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<a class="links" href="http://www.apertureacademy.com/instructor-ellie-stone.php" style="color: #96de00; cursor: pointer; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="top">Ellie Stone</a><span id="yui_3_8_0_1_1395193597620_193">'s experience with photography goes back 30 years. Her photographic interests are quite broad; from landscape to wildlife, weddings to photojournalism, portraits to night photography, and even the fast action trickery of sporting events. Years ago, Ellie combined one of her passions with another and plunged head first into volunteering for animal welfare. Ellie has spent time in Africa, volunteering for Elephant Voices Conservation and Research Project, and the Mara-Noboisho Lion Project. She provides valuable information, along with wildlife photos, which aids in the ongoing research of these projects. Ellie also volunteers her photographic talent on a weekly basis for the Humane society, where her high quality images help homeless pets find their new forever homes. Her work proved remarkable, and she quickly received notoriety by being published in magazines and newspapers.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_8_0_1_1395193597620_198" style="background-color: #0f0f0f; color: #87878c; font-family: Karla, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-top: 12px; padding: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span id="yui_3_8_0_1_1395193597620_197">As a teacher, Ellie's passion, enthusiasm, and affection for capturing the beauty of the world through photography is infectious. Teaching is one of her tremendous strengths as she has an uncanny skill of listening and understanding her student's unique ways of learning. By doing so, she caters to each student's learning style so her students maximize their photographic learning potential.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_8_0_1_1395193597620_200" style="background-color: #0f0f0f; color: #87878c; font-family: Karla, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-top: 12px; padding: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span id="yui_3_8_0_1_1395193597620_199">Besides Ms. Stone's obvious passion for photography, her diversity and interests are infinite! She is a triathlete, accomplished equestrian, chef, business woman and gifted runner. Ellie qualified for and competed in the Boston Marathon in 2011, the most competitive marathon in the world, and re-qualified for 2012. She currently resides in the SanFrancisco Bay area.</span></div>
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<br />Monique DeMoulinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460515931031367209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5555289674032289679.post-89278939677801052992014-03-03T10:27:00.003-08:002014-03-03T10:27:48.113-08:00Monique say's "Goodbye" to the Record Label<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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For many artists, signing a record deal is the ultimate dream come true. It means that someone bigger than you believes in your craft and hopefully can use everything within their power to help you reach a bigger platform. Many of you know that one year ago I signed a record deal. I was super excited! Who would have thought that after 20 years in this industry, many releases, and working my ass off, and let's face it, I'm not 19 anymore, a label wanted ME! I'll be honest here, I was very much looking forward to someone else taking the reins for a bit, allowing me to focus more on my music.<br />
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But this is what I realized in the process......<br />
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Signing a record deal means that before you make ANY moves, regardless of what it is, there's another entity that has to approve it. That took some getting used to. It also meant that there was one more person that got a chunk of my rewards. But perhaps the one thing that was my deciding factor in NOT re-signing my contract when it termed a week ago was that in the scheme of things I realized that I was trying to write songs that would please them, instead of staying true to myself. Somewhere within the last year it started to feel like a job instead of my passion, and that wasn't going to work for me! Music is the expression of feelings with instrumental behind it, and it's vastly important to me that each time a fan downloads my music that they're getting everything I've got, and listeners aren't stupid, they'll hear the difference.<br />
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I do want to say that I'm not against record labels, AR peeps, or any other companies associated with management of artists, I'm always open to new ideas, this was more about me taking the reins back of my career and releasing some really great music.<br />
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So what's next? Well, a date has been set for the studio to start writing my first album. A collection of original material. My guess is that the process will be quick with Bill Hare at the controls, and I'll be so excited to share the album with everyone.<br />
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Thank you to so many of you that support my dream!<br />
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Monique<br />
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<br />Monique DeMoulinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460515931031367209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5555289674032289679.post-9051826930730823012013-11-14T23:39:00.003-08:002013-11-14T23:39:55.346-08:00The next chapter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Sometimes along life's journey there are difficult choices<br />
that we have to make to reach that ultimate goal you've set for yourself. It's important to keep that dream in sight, dogging the curve balls, and working hard to stay on course.<br />
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Recently I made the decision to dis member my band. It wasn't an easy decision since the guys and I are extremely close, but what I've come to realize lately is that my true love is to write. The ability to create a story that anyone can relate to, and then sit with my amazing Producer Bill Hare and give life to that story is something hard to describe. It's something you breathe and can't imagine being without.<br />
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I'm definitely not saying that I won't re-visit the band idea again,<br />
I'm simply going to enjoy what I love the most for a while. There are so many songs just laying under the surface for me. It's time to let them out!<br />
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Monique<br />
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<br />Monique DeMoulinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460515931031367209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5555289674032289679.post-43916313161499365012013-10-12T11:03:00.000-07:002013-10-12T13:51:51.611-07:00The dark underbelly of Rock n Roll<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Besides having talent, the single most important thing you could wrap your head around in the music industry is the business side. I'm speaking from experience when I say that no one is going to watch your back but YOU! You have heard the phrase, "Knowledge is power"? Arming yourself with the basic foundation of how the industry revolves, and how to protect your product is key. I say "product" because let's face it, that's what we are. We spend countless hours honing our craft, standing on every platform we can find shouting "Look at me!", while trying to find that back door into the spotlight, then we have to find that edge over all the millions of other very talented artists doing the exact same thing, and it's important to understand that along the way you'll encounter what I like to call.....PREDATORS!<br />
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Like any business, you will encounter those that do not want you to succeed. They may see you doing something you love, AND making money at it, or perhaps jealousy has reared it's ugly head and deep down they realize they do not have your drive and determination, and will do whatever they can to throw you off track. Honestly, this is where you'll need to dig deep and stay true and on course with your goals for your career. I personally have always taken the stance that we must support others, share their music, talk about what they're doing, and support their dream as well, and if you think about it, if you are supporting THEM, they will support YOU!<br />
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There are many ways in which a Predator in this industry may try to push you off course. If you're a Songwriter, be careful about who you share your music with. I personally have a select group of industry people I will bounce new music off of, and I learned this the hard way having a song stolen from me. Fortunately with the CDbaby Legal team and ASCAP behind me, I was able to recover my song. This brings me to another point, please, copyright your material asap. If I hadn't copyrighted my song, I would not have been able to prove the copyright infringement had taken place.<br />
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While it's great that as your career grows you will find a bigger web presence surrounding your music, I have found that it also brings out the unscrupulous as well. I have found websites selling my music for triple the price I do, my cell number listed along with my email address, (which explained why I was getting very strange voice mails), and a record label claiming I was signed to them. WHAT? This particular label even had the balls to link their site to mine. Fortunately, most of these "low lifes" will back off once you threaten legal action, so I would recommend a music industry attorney. I have a great one! Google yourself!- find out what you're being linked to out there!<br />
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Lastly, keep in mind that since you are putting yourself out there in a very big way with the Internet being a very powerful tool, you will encounter the weirdos too. I've gotten the obscene, right down to a guy that wanted to buy my shoes. This one got a little crazy, as it came into my Facebook messages, and although I blocked him, he would simply create a new profile and message me again. As of now he has stopped, but my point is that some people have nothing better to do, and see your high profile image and need to feel important. Ignore these messages, and NEVER respond publicly to these people. My experience has been that if they don't see you squirm they've got nothing! Ignore the idiots. You wanted your name and music out there right?<br />
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I could type forever with stories like above, but my point is this, we do what we do because we love it right? We want the world to know who we are, appreciate our gift of music, and be acknowledged and a force to be reckoned with, but do it smart. Arm yourself with as much information as possible.<br />
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I hope this helps everyone in some way.<br />
Until next time!<br />
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Monique<br />
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Monique DeMoulinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460515931031367209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5555289674032289679.post-88626521082777711162013-09-05T06:27:00.001-07:002013-09-05T06:27:05.904-07:00"The Box" Press Release<br />
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11px;"><b>PRESS RELEASE<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></b></div><div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11px;">For immediate release</div><div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11px; min-height: 12px;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11px;"><b>Editorial Contact:</b></div><div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11px;">Monique DeMoulin, Recording Artist, Songwriter</div><div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11px;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Email:</span> Monique@moniquedemoulin.com</div><div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11px;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Phone:</span> 661-269-5507</div><div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11px;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Website:</span> http://www.MoniqueDeMoulin.com</div><div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11px; min-height: 12px;"><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11px; text-align: center;"><b>Monique DeMoulin, Songwriter & Recording Artist, Released Her Newest Single, A Moving, Heartwringing Original Song, “The Box,” In Collaboration with Fellow Recording Artist Rick Tucker and Grammy Winning Producer Bill Hare</b></div><div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11px; min-height: 12px; text-align: center;"><b></b><br />
</div><div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11px; text-align: center;"><b><i>Fresh on the heels of the successful release of her original song, “Part-time Princess,” and signing with Larchfork Publishing and Rock Garden Conspiracy, LLC/Gold Pan Records, the prolific and immensely talented Monique DeMoulin has released “The Box,” now available on cdbaby and iTunes.</i></b></div><div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11px; min-height: 12px;"><b><i></i></b><br />
</div><div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11px;">San Jose, CA – immediate release – On the heels of the release of her newest single, <i>Part-time Princess</i>, Monique DeMoulin, vocalist, songwriter and recording artist, announced the release of an original song and her first single from her upcoming EP with Larchfork Publishing and Rock Garden Conspiracy, LLC/Gold Pan Records. <i>The Box</i> is a deeply personal song to Monique, and she is excited to bring it to life, thanks to her collaboration with Rick Tucker and Grammy Award winning producer, Bill Hare. </div><div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11px; min-height: 12px;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11px;">“’A little girl writes…a little girl heals.’ Those words have deep meaning to me,” said DeMoulin, describing her newest single, <i>The Box</i>. “This song is a personal favorite for me. I love the universal message it conveys, and that message is, that healing a childhood pain can often become that thing that moves us into a fulfilling path as an adult. There is something so bittersweet about a child missing a parent, but that doesn’t mean she can’t have happiness in her life, too. And that is the core of this story: Life can be rough at times, but there is still happiness to be found – and happy endings.” </div><div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11px; min-height: 12px;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11px;">DeMoulin is currently in the studio working on her first EP, performing with The Monique DeMoulin Band, and supporting independent artists as DJ “Missy D” for Jam City America radio.</div><div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11px; min-height: 12px;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11px;">To learn more about Monique DeMoulin, or to contact her, visit her website at http://www.MoniqueDeMoulin.com and her blog at http://moniquesmusicnotes.blogspot.com/. You can download her music at http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/monique-demoulin/id412669997.</div><div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11px; min-height: 12px;"><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11px;"><b>About Monique DeMoulin<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></b></div><div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11px;">Born in Palo Alto, CA, Monique attended Adrian Wilcox High School in Santa Clara, where she formed her first band, Hexagon, with Bill Hare (who is now her producer). In 1983, she participated in the Miss Teen California pageant and took first place for her talent. While attending Sierra Nevada College in Incline Village, NV, Monique studied music and vocal performance, and received the Jim Paris and Bank of America music scholarships. After college, she found herself in the position of being a single mother, and dedicated herself to her five children, rather than music as a profession. This choice ultimately benefitted her by adding an incredible richness to her life that would take her talents to another level. </div><div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11px; min-height: 12px;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11px;">In June 2010, Monique released her first single, <i>Have I Told You</i>, which topped the charts on cdbaby™, making it to #1 in the Smooth Jazz category and #2 in the Adult Contemporary category. A few months later, she released, <i>What Makes You Stay</i>. It also topped the cdbaby charts, as #1 in downloads in the Vocal Pop category. In July 2011, she released her stunning version of <i>You're The Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me</i>, the famous classic written by Jim Weatherly (“Midnight Train to Georgia,” “Neither One of Us”). Following its release, Monique was contacted by Weatherly about recording his not yet released song, <i>It Wasn't Me</i>. With his support, Monique and her Grammy-winning producer, Bill Hare, developed and released <i>It Wasn't Me</i> with the spirit, sound and exciting styling that is uniquely the "Monique spin." </div><div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11px; min-height: 12px;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11px;">In 2013, Monique’s career stepped into high gear with the release of her sassy, girl-empowering original song, <i>Part-time Princess</i>. As a result of this song, she signed on as a recording artist with Larchfork Publishing and Rock Garden Conspiracy, LLC/Gold Pan Records (http://rockgardenconspiracy.com). <i>Part-time Princess</i> was then opted to be used in the short film, “The Adventures of Shelby.” Her passion for helping other independent artists live their dreams led her to becoming a very popular DJ (“Missy D”) and station manager for Jam City America (http://www.jamcityamerica.com).</div><div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11px; min-height: 12px;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11px;">Monique currently resides in San Jose, California, where she performs with The Monique DeMoulin Band, is working on her first EP, and continues to give life her sublime and enchanting Monique spin.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiH4b6uubIFQFQwgODNSBqiBrsjfuOw9dG4NzZeYMCkGz8ULOzcNJzPd3VtDvwoVrygsmIOk25LfTo_Ghh6OTKyjnNqj9pZ1m8L19uccfEHtfUkoNvMn232oe4ZK3A2byPLPRSg9S6VPQ/s1600/The+Box+cover+-+final_rev1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiH4b6uubIFQFQwgODNSBqiBrsjfuOw9dG4NzZeYMCkGz8ULOzcNJzPd3VtDvwoVrygsmIOk25LfTo_Ghh6OTKyjnNqj9pZ1m8L19uccfEHtfUkoNvMn232oe4ZK3A2byPLPRSg9S6VPQ/s320/The+Box+cover+-+final_rev1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11px; min-height: 12px;"><br />
</div>Monique DeMoulinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460515931031367209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5555289674032289679.post-6649732735708582252013-08-24T11:09:00.000-07:002013-08-24T11:54:06.857-07:00"The Box" ....... A personal journey within a song!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju-9jyl6nTQFKzBy-xswlXwKepYNLTQN-3NEAsSJiGlDomLP4rrBBfgQ1L6FOxyVqSsOCZGUzcc-qC8TRR7DNYVyQjUHn6X_PTtwi7lQFPQM1Ht_UQBJOu0OmS0ri1zs1f6wYaseLr8lg/s1600/The+Box+cover+-+final_rev1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju-9jyl6nTQFKzBy-xswlXwKepYNLTQN-3NEAsSJiGlDomLP4rrBBfgQ1L6FOxyVqSsOCZGUzcc-qC8TRR7DNYVyQjUHn6X_PTtwi7lQFPQM1Ht_UQBJOu0OmS0ri1zs1f6wYaseLr8lg/s320/The+Box+cover+-+final_rev1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photography by Nicole Dalhuisen Photography</td></tr>
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<i>As most of you know, I recently released a tune titled, "The Box", an emotional journey of a little girl holding onto a dream in her tight little fist. To say that writing "The Box" was difficult would probably be an understatement, but like many musicians, sometimes songs close to us need to sit in the vault until we're ready to re-visit them. Writing the lyrics was the easy part, they were something that kinda just poured out of me, one of those Thirty min deals, it was the music I struggled with. The lyrics are powerful, so the music needed to be just as intimate. I have Rick Tucker of Rock Garden Conspiracy/Gold Pan Records to thank for finally, after two years of sitting on the song, giving the song life. Rick wrote a beautiful basic melody line on piano and helped spark something else within me to bring to my Producer Bill Hare. </i><br />
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<i>Recording day: I was actually nervous for Bill to hear what I had so far on the song. Being that he's a Grammy award winning engineer and Producer, the bar is very high when I walk through the doors of his studio, but, I knew I had something very special. Bill liked what I had so far and we proceeded to lock ourselves in the studio for the next Twelve hours. Bill's wife Jennie was nice enough to throw us food and coffee here and there and by the time evening rolled around we had laid some great tracks. Sometimes it's very difficult to block off that much time with Bill as he's hugely in demand, but I know he knew how much this song meant to me, and how long I had waited to write and record it, and there was no one better than HIM to help me make that happen. </i><br />
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<i>The song in it's released form is very close to that day I left the studio. Very little has been added since. It was important to me that the song remain very true to it's original form. Not over done or over produced, simple yet intimate. We accomplished that. </i><br />
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<i>"A little girl heals"</i><br />
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<i>Monique</i><br />
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<i>Special thanks:</i><br />
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<i>"The Box"© Monique DeMoulin, Rick Tucker</i><br />
<i>Engineered and Produced by Bill Hare</i><br />
<i>Single Photography: Nicole Dalhuisen</i><br />
<i>Photo editing: Cherie Davidson</i><br />
<i>Model: Kayla Dalhuisen</i><br />
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<i><br /></i>Monique DeMoulinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460515931031367209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5555289674032289679.post-23973090275006861572013-07-23T21:45:00.002-07:002013-07-23T21:45:32.810-07:00Bill Hare, my producer, my friend.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's almost comical to me that I've been accused of being verbose with my blog, and yet I sit here and try to articulate just the right words to express my gratitude and love for this man right here.............><br />
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I've known Bill for over Thirty years. We grew up living next door to each other, and along with that came forming a band, and a deep connection of mutual respect and friendship. Life took many twists and turns for us both, Bill and his Mother opened a Recording Studio, and I ran off and got married. Then in 2010, after a short stint with another Producer, it seemed natural to me that I work with Bill. I'm not really sure why I hadn't before. I guess I kind of felt that my commitment level to my career wasn't to the point that I could work with someone of his caliber yet, that maybe I needed to figure out first what I wanted. I mean, he's working with major Labels, huge names, why would he work with me? It was really then that I discovered some awesome things about myself too.<br />
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See, Bill is the kind of person that guides an Artist with an easy hand, he's laid back, goofy as hell, and probably the most gifted musician I know. I don't even know how many instruments he plays, but I can tell you that every song I've released, he's played the majority of the tracks. He's known all over the world for his Engineering in the A Capella world, been portrayed in the novel "Pitch Perfect", he's received probably over 100 CASSA awards, and last year, a Grammy! Or is it two? A Capella Groups from all over the world line up to work with this man, and yet, (Don't tell anyone) many times he's pushed aside work for ME! How lucky am I?<br />
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Bill's taught me a lot. Both in my professional world, and personal life. I've learned that many times I will stumble in this crazy business, but I'm to suck it up, deal with it, learn from it, and get right back up! I've learned how to listen and appreciate all different kinds of music, and hear what's there, and what isn't. I've learned the ability to sit behind the board and literally feel him work. I've learned that when I'm sitting in the vocal booth and he pops into my headphones with direction, I know he knows what I'm capable of, and he knows how to get me there! He did pop in and call me a "Bitch" once though. I think I still owe him one for that!<br />
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I've also learned over the last three years how crucial a supportive producer can be in a music career. Someone who listens to your ideas, shares thoughts without criticism, can stand back when your adamant, and can follow behind you making sure you're grammatically correct. (He's not getting his hands on this blog post)<br />
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The interesting thing about Bill, and I relayed this to a reporter last year when I was asked, " What's it like working with a Grammy winning producer like Bill?" To which I replied, " I don't know, he's just Bill." Bill is one of the most down to earth, modest people I know. I know he's proud of the Grammy that sits in his Studio, but he's even more proud of all the great music he's mixed and mastered.<br />
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Bill, I know I can speak for all the thousands of talented musicians who've had the pleasure of working with you when I say, 'Thank you". Thank you for believing in me, and sharing your gift with us!<br />
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Now get back to work!<br />
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<br />Monique DeMoulinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460515931031367209noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5555289674032289679.post-72876540217983848842013-06-29T22:29:00.000-07:002013-06-29T22:29:02.769-07:00Me and my crazy life!I actually found time to watch a movie last night. I had never seen Julia and Julie, the story about a blogger who was working her way through the Julia Child cookbook. It did keep my attention, although several times I thought to myself," I should be actually doing something!" It did remind me that I needed to write in my own blog though. I'm surprised Cherie hasn't poked me with a reminder.<br />
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Life with the band is finally settling down. We've brought on a new Bass player, wait....I should probably back up. Two months ago the band went through a total reconstruction. Upon losing our drummer, (eh, it happens) we decided everyone would switch instruments. Yup! My Guitar player Lorenzo Soto is originally a drummer, so he moved to Drums. I will say, he kicks some major ass! My Bass player Eric Alvarado, who is originally a Guitar player moved to Guitar. Cutie pie Paul on keys is the only member that stayed where he was. (I've never seen Paul at a gig without a smile) This meant all we needed was a Bass player. Yea, back in the day Bass players were a dime a dozen. Where did they all go? We found Michael Riehle and we're essentially spending loads of time re-learning the same songs on different instruments. We did manage to pull off a couple gigs during this time, but hey, this is all a process right?<br />
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I've just finished recording a new song with Bill Hare that I'm totally excited about. "The Box" has been an emotional ride for me since shelving it two years ago, but I was able to come back to it finally and it sounds really great. I'm anticipating it's release in July. They say that every musician has a few songs that sit on the shelf till their ready. This would be the case with "9,000 miles" as well. While "The Box" is barely in the can, Bill and I have started another tune I've recently pulled from the vault, and it's coming along nicely. It's funny though how lyrics that seemed so cool a year ago sound stupid now. So as Bill works the music, I'm re-writing lyrics.<br />
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Life with the Label is....well, strenuous. Yea, that's a good word. I guess their working on a tour with Live Nation or something, so there's a push for me to finish all my original songs, hence the late hours, way too much coffee, ( If there is such a thing) and pushing myself to the limits in every aspect. But hey, be careful what you wish for right?<br />
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Oh, I met the love of my life too. Somehow in all the craziness THAT happened. At some point down the road I'll share the details, but for right now the details are all for me.<br />
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I hope that everyone is happy and enjoying the start of their summer.<br />
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See you soon!<br />
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<br />Monique DeMoulinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460515931031367209noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5555289674032289679.post-6014137208407653222013-05-30T13:22:00.001-07:002013-06-04T10:33:38.251-07:00I found this on my Facebook wall this morning! Post from Mercury News, San Jose!<span style="font-size: large;">Milpitas hills producer helps San Jose vocalist advance career</span><br />
<a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/milpitas/ci_23347259/milpitas-hills-producer-helps-san-jose-vocalist-advance" target="_blank">Milpitas Post Staff</a><br />
Posted: 05/29/2013 02:52:48 PM PDT<br /><br />On the heels of the <a href="http://moniquedemoulin.com/press-release-may2013.php" target="_blank">release</a> of her newest single "<a href="http://www.moniquedemoulin.net/part-time-princess.php" target="_blank">Part-time Princess</a>," vocalist and songwriter Monique DeMoulin of San Jose has also signed with Larchfork Publishing and Rock Garden Conspiracy LLC/Gold Pan Records as their newest recording artist.<br /><br />DeMoulin, a disc jockey ("Missy D") for <a href="http://www.jamcityamerica.com/" target="_blank">Jam City America</a>, credits her original song "Part-time Princess" as the turning point of her career. It was produced by Grammy-winning producer Bill Hare, who lives in the Milpitas hills.<br /><br />"This is such an exciting year for me," DeMoulin said. "With the independent release of 'Part-time Princess' on iTunes and cdbaby.com, everything started to shift. I went to NAMM with my single in hand, my tiara in place and my dream in focus, and this part-time princess was determined to fully live her dream and I met Rick Tucker from Rock Garden Conspiracy, became a part of Jam City America, my song 'Part-time Princess' was opted to be used in a short film ('The Adventures of Shelby'), and before long, I signed on with Rock Garden/Gold Pan Records."<br /><br />DeMoulin's current projects include her first EP, featuring her rendition of "Have I Told You," as well as original song, "The Box," a collaboration between DeMoulin and Tucker. Other songs in development include "Sober," "Slow Burn" and "Walk Away."<br /><br />The EP will also include a duet with DeMoulin and Tucker on the song, "Sweet Memories."<br /><br />DeMoulin is busy writing and working in the studio, and outside of that, performs with <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MoniqueDeMoulinBand" target="_blank">The Monique DeMoulin band</a>.Monique DeMoulinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460515931031367209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5555289674032289679.post-84233543399839226352013-05-23T09:54:00.000-07:002013-06-04T10:36:39.328-07:00<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPS'; font-size: 11.000000pt; font-weight: 700;">PRESS RELEASE </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlGYwsNcYSErAK0Weu4rATOoSt-eqnfSqCrB0lG_7LOyUpSVHmdECC4SKcroXUCnEh-O0_4yBlzD80hoL8MoKbXaAI3Efb9bkpLURAtlfWPRlJb2vxWIxetC6LpWEVg6pZ0x0Hx2_XtUU/s1600/band-shoot-mo-solo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlGYwsNcYSErAK0Weu4rATOoSt-eqnfSqCrB0lG_7LOyUpSVHmdECC4SKcroXUCnEh-O0_4yBlzD80hoL8MoKbXaAI3Efb9bkpLURAtlfWPRlJb2vxWIxetC6LpWEVg6pZ0x0Hx2_XtUU/s320/band-shoot-mo-solo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPS'; font-size: 11.000000pt; font-weight: 700;">Editorial Contact:
</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 11.000000pt;">Monique DeMoulin, Recording Artist, Songwriter </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 11pt;"><a href="mailto:monique@moniquedemoulin.com" target="_blank">Monique[at]moniquedemoulin.com</a><br />
Website: <a href="http://www.moniquedemoulin.com/">http://www.MoniqueDeMoulin.com</a>
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<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPS'; font-size: 11.000000pt; font-weight: 700;"><b>Monique DeMoulin, Singer and Songwriter, Signs With Rock Garden Conspiracy, LLC/Gold Pan
Records; Announces Original Single, Part-Time Princess, Used in New Short Film, “The
Adventures of Shelby”</b>
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<i><b><span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPS'; font-size: 11.000000pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700;">Recording artist and songwriter, Monique DeMoulin, is having an exciting year with the release of her
original song, Part-time Princess, signing with a record label, interviewing independent artists as
Missy D for Jam City America.... In her words, she’s “living the dream.”
</span></b></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 11pt;">San Jose, CA – immediate release – On the heels of the release of her newest single, Part-time Princess,
Monique DeMoulin, vocalist and songwriter, announced she has signed with Larchfork Publishing, and
with Rock Garden Conspiracy, LLC/Gold Pan Records as their newest recording artist. DeMoulin, a DJ
(“Missy D”) for Jam City America, credits her original song, Part-time Princess, produced by Grammy
winning producer, Bill Hare, as the turning point of her career.
</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO01lzt6EqftwL0b6Q0IUy8w2iY18QY1DU76PJ9qvZVhVjHGDRoGwUjoScDUVj4T1HmYUNxW81MaCVrpTR4_IiGjWF742C8X0sMWDjTcyTxmuaaDnuADe9vVaxma9Vz-I2j4DKEAGjTc4/s1600/705290_467971323259570_1331310465_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO01lzt6EqftwL0b6Q0IUy8w2iY18QY1DU76PJ9qvZVhVjHGDRoGwUjoScDUVj4T1HmYUNxW81MaCVrpTR4_IiGjWF742C8X0sMWDjTcyTxmuaaDnuADe9vVaxma9Vz-I2j4DKEAGjTc4/s200/705290_467971323259570_1331310465_o.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 11pt;">“This is such an exciting year for me,” said DeMoulin. “With the independent release of Part-time
Princess on <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/monique-demoulin/id412669997" target="_blank">iTunes</a> and <a href="http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/moniquedemoulin22" target="_blank">cdbaby.com</a>, everything started to shift. I went to NAMM with my single in hand,
my tiara in place, and my dream in focus, and this part-time princess was determined to fully live her
dream—and I met Rick Tucker from Rock Garden Conspiracy, became a part of Jam City America, my
song, Part-time Princess was opted to be used in a short film [“The Adventures of Shelby”], and before
long, I signed on with Rock Garden/Gold Pan Records!”
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 11pt;">Current projects include her first EP, featuring her sublime rendition of, “Have I Told You,” as well as the
original song, “The Box,” a collaboration between DeMoulin and Rick Tucker. Other songs in
development are “Sober,” “Slow Burn,” and “Walk Away.” The EP will also include a duet with
DeMoulin and Tucker on the song, “Sweet Memories.” Monique is busy writing and working in the
studio, and when she’s not in the studio or on-air, she’s performing with her band, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MoniqueDeMoulinBand" target="_blank">The MoniqueDeMoulin Band</a>.
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 11pt;">DeMoulin is not only advancing her own career, but is passionate about helping other independent artists
live their dreams. “So many positive things are happening, including the partnership of <a href="http://www.jamcityamerica.com/" target="_blank">Jam City America</a>
and <a href="http://rockgardenconspiracy.com/" target="_blank">Rock Garden Conspiracy</a>, making it one of the first independently owned companies solely focused
on the advancement of unsigned and independent artists. This is very exciting for the music industry, and
those who work so hard to put out incredible music, and devote their lives to their talents. And now that
RGC and Jam City have been accepted in to the Aha Radio network, more incredible voices and talents
can be heard than ever before!”
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 11pt;">To learn more about Monique DeMoulin, or to contact her, visit her website at
<a href="http://www.moniquedemoulin.com/" target="_blank">http://www.MoniqueDeMoulin.com</a>, and her blog at <a href="http://moniquesmusicnotes.blogspot.com/">http://moniquesmusicnotes.blogspot.com/</a>. You can
hear some of her music at <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/monique-demoulin/id412669997" target="_blank">http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/monique-demoulin/id412669997</a>. Learn more
about Rock Garden Conspiracy at <a href="http://rockgardenconspiracy.com/" target="_blank">http://rockgardenconspiracy.com</a>. </span></div>
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Monique DeMoulinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460515931031367209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5555289674032289679.post-15873205618743543222013-05-12T20:50:00.001-07:002013-05-12T20:50:22.100-07:00The Monique DeMoulin Band <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/R0X7PPMcWcw?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
The Monique DeMoulin Band<br />
Live at Neto's in Santa Clara, CA<br />
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The Monique DeMoulin Band was formed in 2011when Monique decided to take her voice live. The line-up includes Lorenzo Soto on Drums, Paul Smeets on Keyboards and Guitar, Eric Alvarado on Bass, and Branden Retter on Lead Guitar.<br />
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" What I love the most about the band is the fact that we are all so close. Yea, rehearsals get a little crazy, and no one is excluded from being picked on, but we're all there for each other no matter what."<br />
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What's very unique about the Monique DeMoulin Band is each member sings, so they are able to perform live with multiple harmonies, even jumping in with lead vocals to give Monique's voice a break.<br />
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The Monique DeMoulin Band is a Top 40 Cover Band sprinkled with a few original tunes!<br />
To inquire about booking, please contact them at Monique@MoniqueDeMoulin.com<br />
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Cheers!<br />
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Monique DeMoulinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460515931031367209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5555289674032289679.post-66697077031733463192013-04-17T10:01:00.000-07:002013-04-17T10:01:09.448-07:00My first trip to Rock Garden Conspiracy!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can you say "Shure endorsement?"</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rick Tucker plays "The Box"</td></tr>
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I recently returned from my first visit to Southern California to spend some time working AND playing with Rock Garden Conspiracy/Gold Pan records, the label I signed with back in February. As I cruised the freeway on my six hour trek on a Friday afternoon,windows down, and the music blasting, I had a lot of time to anticipate my busy weekend ahead, but also to reflect on exactly how I got to this point. Short and sweet, I worked hard, never giving up on the dream I was living!<br />
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I arrived at Rick Tucker's house, CEO of Rock Garden Conspiracy mid afternoon and it was like old friends getting together for beers! We'd spent so much time talking on the phone, that we were able to jump right in and get to work on going over songs we're working on for the release of my first EP. I was anticipating and a bit nervous though about a song titled "The Box". I had written the lyrics almost two years ago, and because I was so close to them, I shelved the song, until now. Rick and I sat at the piano, and when he started to play it was that "Coming Home" feeling, and I cried. I loved what I heard, and knew that Rick had captured my emotion behind the lyrics perfectly. My Producer Bill Hare once told me that every musician has that one song, sometimes many that they just can't write, and I<br />
guess "The Box" was that song for me, but being that the lyrics are so important to me, I'm thrilled they have come to life.<br />
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After a restless night in my hotel, ( I don't sleep well in strange places) and since I pulled a blonde move and forgot my Laptop, (Rookie move) I mentally prepared myself for a bright and cheery Studio session with a Producer for Aaron Ellis, another Rock Garden Conspiracy Recording Artist. Aaron had written a song titled "Friends", and everyone involved thought it would make a great duet. Enter ME! I had to learn the song very quickly, essentially improvising my own arrangement, and record my part with a Producer I had never worked with before, a very new and anxiety induced feeling for me. I would have given anything to have Bill Hare there with me, but it was time to put on my big girl pants!<br />
With Rick Tucker nearby, the Recording went off without a hitch, and it was off to work the rest of the day on other songs I'm writing. Unlike "The Box", a slow pretty ballad, "Sober", a more upbeat Country/Pop tune, depicts a once close, yet very confusing relationship when there is alcohol involved. My co-writer Catherine Delgadillo has put some amazing Guitar licks on the tune, and let's just say the lyrics will grab your attention.<br />
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Back to the hotel to attempt a power nap was unsuccessful. I was performing that evening with Aaron Ellis, who's amazing by the way, for a bunch of associates of the Record Label, and it was the first time the Label would see me LIVE! I sucked it up, and worked the room like it was any other performance. It was decided that Aaron and I would perform "Friends", and for a brief moment I thought, "Oh my God, I'm gonna blank, I don't know the song well enough without holding the lyrics, I'm gonna fall on my face in front of all these people", but my mind didn't blank, and the duet was beautiful, and I will never forget turning to look at Rick Tucker and Ed Cohen's faces, eyes closed with huge smiles! The funny part of the evening was the breakdown of the gear. When I perform here in the SanFrancisco Bay area with my band, I'm used to pitching in to haul the PA, even in heels, so as I'm speaking with people after the show, I noticed from the corner of my eye, a guy struggling to get the cart loaded with speakers out the door, I rushed over to help. We got the gear down the ramp and over to the van. I had started to help him load when I hear the booming voice of Rick Tucker behind me, " What do you think you're doing? You don't load gear!".....lol<br />
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Over breakfast Sunday morning, Rick Tucker, Ed Cohen, along with their wives and I pow-wow'd over the many details of so many things in the works for me, and discussed their recent partnership with Jam City America, an Internet Radio Station I DJ for. After way too much Chicken Fried Steak, we rolled back to the Ranch, (Rick Tucker owns a Horse Ranch) and did a Photo Shoot of the official signing of my contracts, followed by Champagne and Pringles. Yup, I said Champagne and Pringles.<br />
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It was an awesome weekend, filled with a lot of "Firsts" for me, and I truly appreciated being so well taken care of by not only Rick Tucker and Ed Cohen, but Rick's wife Brenda was amazing!<br />
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I hopped back into my car, it was time to switch gears and make the long drive home. I was kinda glad I hadn't decided to fly. Although I was anxious to get back home to my son, it gave me a good chunk of time to reflect on the entire weekend, and how far I have come so far.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sealed with a kiss!</td></tr>
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Monique DeMoulinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460515931031367209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5555289674032289679.post-57678874320906709152013-03-04T06:42:00.000-08:002013-03-04T06:42:01.609-08:00Monique DeMoulin signs with Rock Garden Conspiracy/Gold Pan Records<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj13tDPaFXAgUa_4b4B9vfhCgwrPBeK65L-p2610SBNVwJijK5LdhSsoPp-oTjOzZ6vrM_X1Kf1INrBlVH2PA44wMUYKKd-bli17prGndouPiqw9Pg4QmQbvDefcOyJjXo-CBP5ZALq8ok/s1600/90Gold+Pan+Logo+(Transparent-Png).png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj13tDPaFXAgUa_4b4B9vfhCgwrPBeK65L-p2610SBNVwJijK5LdhSsoPp-oTjOzZ6vrM_X1Kf1INrBlVH2PA44wMUYKKd-bli17prGndouPiqw9Pg4QmQbvDefcOyJjXo-CBP5ZALq8ok/s320/90Gold+Pan+Logo+(Transparent-Png).png" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.rockgardenconspiracy.com/" target="_blank">Rock Garden Conspiracy/Gold Pan Records</a><br />
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They say that if you dream BIG, and work hard you will achieve your goals no matter what it is. I'm here to tell you that that is exactly the case. I'm very happy to announce that after many years of hard work, dedication, discipline, and of course everyone who stands next to me in support, I've signed with Rock Garden Conspiracy/Gold Pan Records and Larchfork Publishing. This has been MY dream, to join a team of professionals that will take me to that next level, who believe in not only my talent, but my vision. </div>
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Don't think for one minute that this means I get to lay back and enjoy the ride now though. I will be working just as hard, if not harder, but I will have Rick Tucker and Ed Cohen right beside me, along with the rest of the team at Rock Garden Conspiracy!</div>
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Remember something, if you can envision it, it's obtainable!</div>
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Monique DeMoulin</div>
<br />Monique DeMoulinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460515931031367209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5555289674032289679.post-46860695808641360802013-02-07T11:49:00.000-08:002013-02-09T18:56:29.718-08:00The "Missy D Show" with Monique DeMoulin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3StjLED-_I8zVUXkzSnax1vbW95xfMZ-YW6j15aIPFjX45uyACF27T1s53ngat8YB73EqYRr1tAJliwV73cOqxeMOtOwFfsE48BhpYDEDh-DusDvhyb6O7cJZ73ufvNj8agIwrWoczhs/s1600/MD_Black.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3StjLED-_I8zVUXkzSnax1vbW95xfMZ-YW6j15aIPFjX45uyACF27T1s53ngat8YB73EqYRr1tAJliwV73cOqxeMOtOwFfsE48BhpYDEDh-DusDvhyb6O7cJZ73ufvNj8agIwrWoczhs/s320/MD_Black.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The "Missy D Show" -- Live every Tuesday at 1:00PM Central Time on <a href="http://jamcityamerica.com/">JamCityAmerica.com</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #cc0000; font-size: small;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div>
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<i><b><span style="font-size: large;">---></span> <a href="http://www.moniquedemoulin.net/missy-d-show-promo.mp3" target="_blank">Message from Missy D...</a> <span style="font-size: large;"><---</span></b></i></div>
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I am very happy to announce that as of Tuesday Feb 5th 2013, I have joined the team at JamCityAmerica Radio. Jam City America is dedicated to featuring Independent Artists and their music, and after doing an interview with them myself, it became very clear to me that being apart of their team was right where I needed to be. As an Independent Artist myself, I totally understand how important it is to give other Artists the platform to be heard, and the response has been overwhelming. Artists from all over the world have emailing in music along with their Bio to book a spot on my show.<br />
I will tell you this, the amount of undiscovered talent out there is mind boggling.<br />
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If you're interested in being featured on my show, please send me Three original tunes, along with a Bio and any links where our listeners can learn about you to Jamcity@live.com. Please put in the subject box " Missy D show" interview.<br />
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Visit the Jam City Website at JamCityAmerica.comMonique DeMoulinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460515931031367209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5555289674032289679.post-87962220008738170912013-02-03T21:44:00.003-08:002013-02-03T21:44:50.521-08:00Part-time Princess...Now available on iTunes!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/part-time-princess-single/id592007653">Part-time Princess</a><br />Monique DeMoulinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460515931031367209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5555289674032289679.post-37735114432618825412012-12-26T09:36:00.001-08:002012-12-26T09:36:08.158-08:00Finding the balance<div align="left"> With 2012 coming to a close, most of us reflect on what we have accomplished and set new goals for the coming year. We call them New Year's resolutions. Eh.... I've never really been one to wait until the end of the year to sit back and say, "Okay, time to set some goals". I do this all year long. We all live crazy busy lives, balancing the things we HAVE to do, with the ones we WANT to do, but finding that balance sometimes is not an easy task. </div><div align="left"><br />
</div><div align="left">For me, finding the balance between my son, working a full time job, (Yes, I know this isn't something I talk about much) the band, a solo career, and everything that goes along with all of this isn't easy at all. But I have found that setting your priorities FIRST is the trick. For me it's my son. I won't lie and say I haven't gotten caught up in a new song release and all the exciting things that come along with that, the work involved, but I guess this goes back to, we are all a work in progress! We are all trying to find the balance. I'm lucky that I have a job I love, and it pays the bills, therefore it comes second! My boss and I have had many conversations about the fact that he's felt guilty sometimes that I work for him and not working on my music full time. How lucky am I that I have a boss that feels that way? He's an Artist, so he gets it, but as I tell him, until I can get to the point that my music pays all the bills, he's stuck with me...lol I should mention that I'm extremely grateful that my work schedule is planned around gigs and studio sessions. How many people can say that? </div><div align="left"><br />
</div><div align="left">So as 2013 creeps upon us, I want to say "Thank you" to everyone in my life. My kids for the joy they bring me, my family who supports, my friends who encourage, My Producer Bill Hare who donates his time and energy to help bring my music to life, my boss who is not only a dear friend, sharing his life and business growth experiences with me, Cherie Davidson for her gift of word, the band for their complete dedication of the music we play and their friendship, and to the many, many fans that buy my music and share it with others. Without you guys none of this would be possible.</div><div align="left"><br />
</div><div align="left">May 2013 be awesome for all of you!</div><div align="left"><br />
</div><div align="left">Monique</div><div align="left"><br />
</div><div align="left"> </div>Monique DeMoulinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460515931031367209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5555289674032289679.post-75521131708332105032012-11-16T10:28:00.001-08:002012-11-16T10:28:19.527-08:00What does it take to be successful in the music Industry?What does it take to be successful in the music Industry?<br />
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I would love to say there is a formula you can follow that will guarantee your success in this very competitive and complex Industry, but there just isn't. I get emails all the time from Artists just starting out that ask, " Can you tell all your secrets to help me get a leg up in this crazy business?" I'm always happy to share what works for me, along with what hasn't, and it's been a pleasure, especially with the younger kids to share my journey thus far! I've compiled a few questions I get asked most often and thought I would share them with the rest of you as well.<br />
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Q: I'm only in High School and feel like the music world is so far out of my reach. What can I be doing to get noticed?<br />
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A: Well first off, High School is where I first started. Get involved in every musical available to you. Join the choir, and participate in talent shows. Remember that most High Schools offer Scholarships towards college, in my case they were music Scholarships. Also, talk to your music Director. Lots of times they have been involved in the music Industry as a Profession and they have lots of words of wisdom. Don't forget that there are tons of Community theatre groups out there for teenagers.<br />
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Q: I love writing lyrics, but sometimes I get stumped and frustrated. Do you have some advice for not hitting a brick wall with my writing?<br />
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A: Sure, Walk away and work on something else! Every writer experiences writers block, and the trick is to know and accept that your at a fork in the road and to let it rest a bit. So many times I have started song lyrics and had to shelf them until I decide where I want the story to go. Your NOT a failure when this happens, but chances are the lyrics are important to you, so let them breathe a bit. It will come to you. A side note. Try writing about only the things you know. It's so much easier. I myself have a couple songs lyrics that sit in the vault till I'm ready to visit them again.<br />
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Q: I wanna be rich and famous. I'm a great singer, and I've attached a song I wrote a couple months ago. Can you listen and tell me what you think?<br />
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A: (This was a Fourteen year old with an amazing voice) but I didn't care for the song. This was my response:<br />
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Hi there,<br />
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You have a beautiful voice. Tell me a little about you. My only suggestion would be to hone in on your songwriting skills. Figure out where your strong points are, where are your weaknesses? Practice makes perfect! This is a great start. Study chord progressions, and network with other musicians. You can learn a great deal from their experience. ( I try very hard to keep things positive with the younger kids. They have the whole hormone thing goin on, and who am I to crush a young girls dreams of being rich and famous. I've been there! However, as a musician you HAVE to be able to take constructive criticism.<br />
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And lastly, the one question I get the most:<br />
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Q: What's the ONE most important thing you can advise to further my career?<br />
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A: There is NO one thing. In this Industry there are no rules, so you try many different things. If that doesn't work, try something else. There is no handbook, but I have a few suggestions. Networking with Industry Professionals is a must! Producers, Artist Development people, labels, other musicians. Social media is a huge one. The internet has given all of us Independent Artists a huge platform. Share your music, talk about your experiences. But be cautious. The internet can be a powerful tool. Once it's out there, it's out there! Find a Producer! When I hear Artists say, " I don't see what the big deal is about having a Producer" I have to laugh. A Producer is the one person closest to you and your music. If they are a good one they will bring out the very best in your ability, and advise you both personally and musically where your next steps should be. And most importantly, NEVER GIVE UP! I know personally how difficult this can be. Doors close, emails never get answered, blah blah blah, but remember this, this is YOUR dream. Own it. Perfect your craft, and push hard. When you fall, get back up and push harder! No one can do this for you. If you want it bad enough you'll do the work!<br />
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Monique<br />
http://www.MoniqueDeMoulin.comMonique DeMoulinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460515931031367209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5555289674032289679.post-75733142185013133812012-10-22T10:14:00.001-07:002012-10-22T10:14:03.213-07:00Can I write a hit danceable Pop song? You bet your ass I can!To be honest, for the last week I have been pondering, "What will my next blog post be about?" The conclusion was to relate the last two months of my life. A new song experience. I'd love nothing more than to tell you, " It's been totally easy" but it hasn't. Virtually every song I have released has been a ballad. I love singing the ballads, but I wanted to write something that moved. Something very Pop and danceable. How hard can it be right? This kind of music is what I listen to all day long! So determination kicked in. I started researching different chord progressions in Pop music. Where does the bridge usually formulate? Building a vocal hook. ( This is the part of the lyrics that stick in your head) and learning new engineering software to help me move tracks around. During this process the song was passed from Producer to Producer, listened to by several Industry Professionals who all had suggestions to make it better. So I made changes, and more changes, literally sleeping with this song. I will be honest and say that for the last two months I have done little else. I would lay in bed at night thinking, " If I bring the guitar in here, or add a kick drum there..." I pushed away any form of a social life because it would take away from time I could spend on the song. I've been accused of being obsessed with it, but Perhaps obsessed is a little dark to say. I would say that I totally believe in what I'm writing, the concept of the lyrics, faith in my ability, and driven to get the message out! And it's paid off. Boy have I learned a lot, and I'm happy to say that in two weeks we enter the studio to record a final version of my very first, all original upbeat Pop tune. For all of you that follow my music, this one is gonna blow your mind!Monique DeMoulinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460515931031367209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5555289674032289679.post-32087082932479976682012-10-07T09:34:00.001-07:002012-10-07T09:42:01.850-07:00From this moment forwardWriting for me has always been the easiest way for me to express myself, so when it was suggested to me I start a blog depicting my journey, it made sense. But where do you start? Let's not go backwards, that's not really my style, I'm goin with right here, right now! With a few pertinent flashbacks along the way!<br />
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My life is crazy! In a great way. When you make the commitment to pursue your passion, everything else takes a back seat. You spend huge amounts of time honing your craft, researching different avenues to showcase your craft, building doors to walk through when there isn't one in front of you, and building a network of Professionals that I have found offer their support and guidance as you wade through the mud.<br />
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There is no handbook for the music Industry. You try one avenue and if that doesn't work you try something else. It's a process. You stand on this platform and yell, "Here I'am" and hope someone notices. You rely on friends, family, and supporters to share your links, talk about your music, see your live shows, and hope you catch the eye of that one person in the Industry that can change your career.<br />
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Because I have this slow burn, this incredible drive that never leaves me, I push forward everyday, creating new ideas, writing new songs, storyboarding new videos, collaborating with other musicians, and performing live with the band.<br />
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But, this kind of drive comes with a down side as well. Of course I make the time for the special moments in life, but this kind of commitment requires a complete lifestyle change. You spend less time just hanging with your friends, and more time focusing on your dream. People don't always understand, I get that, but this is MY dream and no one can live it but me. I'm creating my path in life, and no one can walk it but me.<br />
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I'm doing exactly what I want to be doing.<br />
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<br />Monique DeMoulinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460515931031367209noreply@blogger.com0