Glo's Week in Review - Vol. 4

Welcome to my new weekly newsletter providing you a quick look into what's currently happening with Gloria Miller Music!

Let's get started ...

This Friday, February 27, I’ll be performing at Bayou Cajun Restaurant and lounge. Here are the details …





Friday, February 27th @ 7 p.m.
Bayou Cajun Restaurant & Grill
2060 N. Humboldt Blvd.
Milwaukee, WI 53212
(414) 431-1511
www.bayoumilwaukee.com
Featuring Sam Steffke on Keys!

This past Saturday, February 21, I performed at Centennial Bar & Grille for the first time and it went great. It was such a pleasure performing with Hal Miller (Bass) and John Hefter (Keys). For that night we decided that we would all go by the last name “Miller” and I would introduce Hal and John as my cousins. Just to give you a slight visual, here’s a pic of John. Hal’s coloring is of a similar nature so the audience had a lot of fun with us … and trust me, we milked the whole cousin thing for laughs the entire night!

Many cities around the world have gone “smoke-free,” however, Milwaukee has not fully jumped on the band wagon with this concept so I am including a link where you can take action for smoke-free workplaces in Wisconsin. I urge you to take action and spread the word!

Click on the link below: https://secure3.convio.net/ctfk/site/Advocacy?_oo=kHJYhRPz_EhwNz6dXyAyqw..&id=325

A couple times a month I am blessed to get the opportunity to sing for the elderly and on Friday, February 20, I performed at Aurora Adult Day Center. For this center I’m usually the birthday act and we sing, dance and generally have a fabulous time. Here’s me with a couple of the birthday girls. I’ve been singing at Aurora since last summer so we have a growing list of favorites that I have to do every time I’m there. Of course, I have to do the Birthday song, and there’s no way I can leave that place without singing “Amazing Grace.” Every one in the place joins in on this one, including the staff!

On Sunday morning I went to my sister and bro-in-law’s new church, International House of Faith, where they serve as pastors. Admittedly, it had been a while since I’ve been to church and I really have no excuse. The service was so beautiful and I cried through most of it. I don’t know if that’s because I’m a heathen … LOL … or if I was just caught up in the Spirit! I choose to believe the latter. So, if you’re looking for a place of worship in the Milwaukee area, check out their website: http://www.heavensgateministries.net/.

In today’s economy there are just a few things that you can buy for under a buck. Music is one of them. Did you know that my music is available on I-Tunes? For just $0.99 you can download one of my songs. Visit: www.gloriamillermusic.com/music to download!

If you haven’t already done so, please join my Facebook Musician page: www.facebook.com/pages/Gloria-Miller-Music/9486129890. My goal is to grow this page to 1,000 fans. So far the count in 89. You can help me reach 100 fans by next week.

Well, that's it for this week.


I welcome your comments, thoughts and/or rants. Or, if you just want to give a "shout out" I'd love to hear from you.


Until next time ...

Glo!

http://www.gloriamillermusic.com/

Glo's Week in Review - Vol. 3 - Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Let me start by thanking all of you who came to my Valentine's Day show at Twist 'N Olive. We had a standing room only crowd, thanks in part to the efforts of Tracy Anderson, who has been helping me with booking and promoting my shows!

Joel Freishinger was my accompanist for the night and with his skill and expertise, we were able to move seamlessly through many genres of music, including a hip-hop version of "My Funny Valentine! Thanks to Joel's drum machine and amazing left hand keyboard bass playing, our duo gig felt more like a trio gig!

The highlight, however, was when my friend from high school who I haven't seen for over 15 years walked in with her husband. Brenda (Humphrey) White and her husband Troy drove all the way from Chicago to Delafield, WI (which is almost an hour past Milwaukee) just to come to my show. It was such a pleasure to see her and it brought back so many awesome memories ... like when we used to color our hair with kool-aid! LOL! I'm not even joking.

On Sunday I had an impromptu performance at The Baby Grand in Brookfield. On Saturday, I forgot to bring Joel his pay for our gig so we arranged to meet at The Baby Grand where he was playing on Sunday. The event was a mix of Broadway and Jazz music, featuring Billy Kirchen (http://www.billykirchen.com/), Rachel Exner, Sue Russell & Gail Valenti. My main reason for going was to pay Joel, however, I was more than happy to join in the performance when so graciously asked to by Billy.

First, I sang "Fever" which has become one of my favorites to perform, and then Billy asked if I'd sing "Summertime" with him as a duet. Never one to turn down a chance to sing, I agreed and we did a fabulous, totally off-the-cuff version that was a beautiful mix of Billy's pure Broadway sound with my laid back Jazz styling that breathed new life into this classic song. Good times ...

In last week's newsletter I shared the Nick Name Guy's website with you and one of my fans, "Scuba Judy" shared her nick name story on their website and with me. Here's the address again if you want to check it out: http://www.thenicknameguy.com/.

My next performance is at Centennial Bar & Grille. Here are the details ...

The Gloria Miller Trio

Saturday, February 21 @ 9p

Centennial Bar & Grille

10352 N. Port Washington

Mequon, WI 53092

(262) 241-4353

My good friend Jeannine Rivers, an amazing singer in the Milwaukee area, asked me to fill in for her as she's recovering from vocal rest, so I get to work with her fabulous musicians. I've actually worked with John Hefter (piano) before, but this will be my first time working with Hal Miller (bass) and I'm thrilled.

So, if you looking for something to do this weekend and you're in the Milwaukee area ... I'd love to see you out!

Lastly, also this Saturday, February 21st, I'm meeting with my producer to start discussing my new CD due out later this year. Please stay tuned for updates on how the project is progressing!

Well, that's it for this week.

I welcome your comments, thoughts and/or rants. Or, if you just want to give a "shout out" I'd love to hear from you.

Until next time ...

Glo!

Question: Does (or did) being single make you feel embarrassed or empowered?

It’s always around this time of year that being single is magnified in the light of Valentine’s Day. As I was contemplating my singleness a question flooded my thoughts… Do I feel embarrassed or empowered as a single person?

Most days I would say I feel empowered. Why? Because I’m taking care of myself, I create my own happiness, and I love the fact that I am solely responsible for how I spend my time. Admittedly, I do spend a lot of time by myself, but I rarely feel lonely. There always seems to be so much to do with working fulltime, running my music business and trying to stay connected with friends and family, that when I do have down time, I’m usually too tired to feel lonely.

Not that I never have moments of loneliness, because I do. It usually sneaks up on me and I’m always surprised at how palpable it can feel. I am very thankful that the lonely times are few and far between.

So, I ask you … Does (or did) being single make you feel embarrassed or empowered?

I welcome your comments, thoughts, and/or vents and invite you to subscribe to my weekly blog and join in the conversation!

Confessions of a Self-Help Junkie!

Hi, my name is Gloria Miller and I’m a self-help-aholic!

I remember laughing at my friend Kimberly whenever she was chattering away about the lastest self-help book. I thought those types of books were for wimps, and I wouldn’t be caught dead in the “Psychology” section of a bookstore.

Well, that was then and this is now …

Then … in love, in my late 30’s, thriving career, waistline tight.

Now … dumped, in my early 40’s, challenging career, waistline gone … enter self help!!

I like my self-help administered directly to the brain via IPOD, either in the form of an audio book or podcast. This week I tried a little experiment to see if I could go a week without any self-help of any kind. Here’s how the week unfolded (or should I say, unraveled) …

Monday: I felt fine, no problem.

Tuesday: Still fine, but a little edgy.

Wednesday: I felt strange, confused and lost.

Thursday: My daily workout routine was out the window and I found myself sitting on my couch like a slug.

Friday: I wake up bear hugging “The Power of Now,” but I have no idea how the book got in my arms.

Saturday: I stayed in bed all day.

Sunday: I binged on junk food at a Super Bowl party.

The next Monday: I'm back on self-help ... I listened to two Joel Osteen podcasts and all is right with the world!

Today as I write this, I admit that I’m thankful that there are tools that we can use to support us through the transitions of life! According to “Body for Life for Women,” I’m in the 3rd of 4 phases of a woman’s cycle and let me tell you, aging is not for wimps! I learned more from that book than I wanted to, but knowledge is power and I find the more I understand about what’s going on in my body, mind and spirit, the easier it is to stay positive and focus on ways to feel better instead of being stuck on “why is this happening to me.” And the “this” can be anything …

If you’re facing your own “this,” I encourage you to face it head on and not shrink in fear. Learn everything you can about it because no matter what you’re facing, good or bad, there is always a root cause. If the root cause is positive, you’ll want to learn how to cultivate it. If it’s negative, you’ll want to know how to uproot it.

Self-help is my way to stay the course and face whatever my “this” happens to be at any given moment. What’s yours?

I welcome your comments, thoughts, and/or vents and invite you to subscribe to my weekly blog and join in the conversation!