Watching the red carpet polarizes my mind. I think dresses and suits are the most fun thing in the world and yet the magazines and bodies showing them seem toxic to my mental state. So I tried to walk the fine line of enjoying the bright colors and artistry while ignoring the overemphasis on the bodily perfection. I like Helen Murren’s red dress the best and I think “There Will Be Blood” was a refreshing piece of honesty and eccentricism. Joe and Whitney came over to my Dad’s house with Megan, Ellen , Jacki, Acacia and my brother. Jimmy had a new song which I wish I could have paid more attention to. He writes and writes and plays without care for what the outside world thinks. His own standard is far higher than the public’s anyway and it suits his music. I showed off that new song about tea and told Whitney I was reading the novel by Mike Gyulai, “Midnight in Rome”. Mike went to highschool with me and I can’t wait to get to the meat of this abroad adventure. Of course, we both went to UCLA and took off at the end to live in various countries, so I am longing for some anecdote in the book that is not so familiar to me. I’ll let you know how it goes. I ran into Taylor Bentley on the street yesterday too, so it feels as if the past is converging on me a little bit. I’m honestly a bit overwhelmed and as usual, music simplifies it all. I revel in focus and process. I look at wedding dresses and smile to hear that my father told Whit to tell his “bride” something. Jacob is coming over for dinner tonight and Joe is learning Vanessa Van Spall’s tunes so both our bands can play together. I’m having trouble figuring out how to play music on mog.com and I really want to get that going. I have a profile. Is it like pandora.com, but with blogging after you hear everything?

Grace writing this one- this new song is complete, thanks to Joe’s arrangment help. I’m currently calling it “Hot to Make You”, which will make more sense when you hear it. Now we’ll see what melodic bass groove he comes up with for it. Whit keeps playing something different every time, of which I favor the West African rhythms. And speaking of Whitney, he proposed and I said yes! So Whitney and I are engaged, and today the band plays a Friday wedding that I hope will be only more glittery in the rain (it is indoors granted). He bought me a ring, but we need to size it and replace the two outer stones, so I’m torn about whether or not to wear it out on my pinky until we do that, just to be able to show people what a gutsy, fantastic man he is. I think diamonds are boring and only valued for their size at first glance, so the ring he got me is quite different and perhaps I’ll put it on flickr or be able to show you in person! He and Joe will be watching the Oscars at my Dad’s this Sunday and I am excited to vote on the possibilities. I’ve only seen “There Will Be Blood”, which I highly reccomend as an example of great acting. My friend Jacob found yet another Orson Scott Card book in the “Bean Series” and I’m almost through “Shadow of the Hegemon”. I wonder what it would be like if these little battle school kids wanted to conquer the music industry. I had lunch with Isul Kim yesterday and we just got so empassioned about all the choices we are making and all the results we are seeing. We are very lucky as female musicians to have the support that we have and I think I could have lunched with her for 2 more hours, had I not had the constraints of the dayjob. Well, I will go back to hearing vibraphone accents in my head for the new song and telling people about our March 9th show with Rattail Butler and Robyn Harris at the Make-Out Room in the Mission. I hope you are having a lovely Friday despite the gray and I would love to know what you think of everything that’s going on!

My dayjob boss has changed flights a gazillion times in the last 24 hour period and there was construction on the Bay Bridge last night, so I didn’t get to bed till 2pm. Yes yes, and I am somehow awake and alive and it must be because I had a great time with all of you last night at the Rock-it Room. The sound guy Tim was so helpful and Amaya is such a solid band- I really digged their version of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and can’t wait for their upcoming CD. Thanks to Juliana, Xylar, Claire, Acacia, Mark, Jacob, and everyone I didn’t get to say hi to who brought friends. A shout out also to our new friends Josh, Carol, Susan, Jim, Wendy, Lisa, Jesse and Spencer! What a positive audience! Pics of you will be up on the website today or tomorrow, and please send more to gracewoods(at)gmail.com to make the album complete! I enjoyed talking about gigging and the surrounding clubs. I’m very nervous to get the keyboard looked at, since the power cord was having such a problem. During “Rising Tear” Claire and company got bubbles out of who-knows-where and started blowing them onto the stage. Then Juliana and company started throwing red and white carnations in between songs. It felt like super friendship day instead of Valentine’s Day, until Whitney got me up to dance to Amaya of course. How’s your day going?

Good morning. Grace writing this one. While my friend in the cubicle across from me recieves a dozen roses at the dayjob I prepare for a grand show tonight and for Whitney and Joe to have the car packed so we can leave when I get home and sound check in time to relax with all of you. I think I’m more likely to buy a dozen wine bottle openers that say GWT on them than a dozen roses, but perhaps that is the mentality of a crowded mind and a jaded heart. The stage at the Rock-it Room has monitors so we will actually hear ourselves play the new Stevie Wonder cover. And former American Idol finalist and Latin sensation Natalie Amaya, our headliner, is so luxuriously confident, with a voice like butter with cinnamon. Last night our friend Rebecca got lost driving to our apartment. While she drove Slim Critchlow stopped by and we reveled in the great video footage he shot of our CD Release. I’m about to upload it to this site once I can open it on this computer. It was wonderful to have his contribution and get to know him better. Then we ate dinner- Whitney is a very good cook- must be the Italian genes. And we drove to Yoshi’s to see Jenna Mammina play. What an exquisite example of confidence and unique vocal tone. She believed every word she sang. I had my white nectar tea, which is a pretty name for something that isn’t nectar at all, but I like pretty names and was therefore drawn to it. I want to go to the “Bitter End” tonight and have fish and chips and have the boys talk Basketball and cross our fingers for the primaries. I have written a new song I can’t wait to show you as well. And I am still as random and grateful as ever. Hope to introduce you to some of my friends tonight. Thanks for listening.