Natasha Miller: News

Singing holiday songs in July and August isn't as strange as it sounds. It's been SO much fun! We have a beautiful collection of songs both from the live at Yoshi's taping and new studio tracks featuring Steve Erquiaga on nylon string guitar, and Adam Theis on trombone! I think our arrangement of "Amazing Grace/Twinkle Twinkle Little Star/Silent Night" will blow everyone away. It's incredible, and the arrangement was delicately crafted by Josh Nelson in L.A. Release date is tentatively scheduled for November 8. I'll let you know more when I know...
Have a good labor day!

Natasha

Help me help the Midway Shelter for abused women and children. I'm going to be presenting and performing in a concert on Fri July 27th and I'd really appreciate it if you could come, or donate if you cannot.

Natasha’s Summer Concert for the Midway Shelter - 7:30p
Friday, July 27th, 2007
First Presbyterian Church :: 2001 Santa Clara Avenue Alameda CA 94501

Featuring Natasha Miller, Jeremy Miller, Marcie Brown & Isabelle, Dan Foltz and his students and special guest Jeff Oster and Kelly Park!

Price: $15/adults, $10/seniors, $5/kids
TICKETS AVAILABLE AT THE DOOR/PRE-TICKET SALES AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST BY CONTACTING GINNY AT (510) 523-2377 OR KATHY AT (510) 748-8410

Please come with your family and friends and support this wonderful Alameda organization!
SPONSORS: BANK OF ALAMEDA, FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH & ALAMEDA HOMELESS NETWORK.

To make a donation: Alameda Homeless Network, P. O. Box 951, Alameda, Ca., 94501. For information call 510 523-2377

Hi everyone. Well, tomorrow I play a Bread & Roses concert at Chrysalis in Oakland. I'll be solo/acoustic gtr and singing. I'm glad to be doing it, but it makes me sad sometimes to see people hurting so.

Then on Fri I'm performing in Oakland at noon, then Anna's in Berkeley in the evening. Come out if you can... would be nice to have smiling faces in the crowd.

I'm looking forward to a week of cycling, running and hanging out on the beach as much as possible. How about you?

So, I went down to LA for a quick visit to the LA Film Festival with a friend. It was a beautiful day, just perfect for a red carpet sighting. We had front row seats to the stars as we hoovered down a burrito before the screening of the opening film "Talk to Me". Here's who was there: Don Cheadle, Martin Sheen, Cedrick the Entertainer, Andy Garcia. The movie was excellent. Very well done, and a great story.

The party after was fun. They put out a good spread which I avoided in lieu of free flowing Cosmo's. Boy was I tired the next day! I met a lot of really great and interesting people, who were all very intrigued that i wasn't in the "business". I danced to a DJ with complete strangers and made a bit of an ass of myself I think. I talked to Don Cheadle who I admire very much, and told him of course how wonderul he was in the movie. Then I asked him if he had gained weight for the part (first mistake), and then when he said "no" I followed up with, "Wow, the camera really does add 10 pounds" stammering I added, "That's a good thing". Thankfully he had no idea who I am, and we will probably never meet again, but that doesn't keep me from feeling like a total idiot! It's good to be annonymous sometimes!

Is that correct grammer? Anyway, I had a wonderful recording session on Fri at Bay Records. We re-recorded "As the Years Come and Go" with a beautiful arrangement by Larry Dunlap that included a string quartet which meant I sang, and played 2 violin parts! I was exhausted after that!

On Sun I sang to a sell-out crowd of 36,000 people at the A's game (it was father's day) both the National Anthem and God Bless America. It was incredible to hear the crowd singing along with me!

Then I headed over to the hotbed of activity in Danville, where I took in a show of the very witty Johnny Steele and a few of his friends. That was certainly a different kind of night than I'm used to, but refreshing to do something different.

Oh... and I saw an incredible movie. It's called "Once" and was shot in Ireland. If it comes to your town... please see it! http://www.oncethemovie.com
I'll post the new arrangement of As the Years Come and Go soon.

N

It was a BEAUTIFUL night! I was with good friends, and stood on the field as people passed by. A VERY good looking crowd. I saw many people I knew (Drew Harrison, Jim Harrington, Dawn, Larry, Kris). It was certainly an event. Seen and be seen for sure!

But then the Police came out and played flawlessly, but with a maturity the crowd (even me) wasn't ready for. They re-harmonized, transposed and rearranged the songs sometimes to the point I didn't recognize them except for the lyrics. Sting sang the harmony, ditching the melody a lot of the time. You couldn't even sing over his harmonies because they had changed the chord progression so that the original melody clashed. UGH! How frustrating! They nailed Roxanne though, and if they hadn't I would have been one seriously disgruntled fan. They are my ALL TIME FAVORITE band. I just wish I could have had a nostalgic experience, and not such a confusing one.

Stewart Copeland played his ASS off, was in great shape with an incredible energy. Sting was practicing his tantric restraint I guess, and Andy was just happy to be on the stage again. He's a terrific player, but could have shown off a bit more for my tastes.

We walked to the BART after with about 20,000 other people. I was sure the overpass walkway was going to collapse. While waiting for Jaci and David to join us, I was told by a few that I looked like Sigourney Weaver, and had I heard that before. Funny. Some people actually think I am her. Isn't she about 15 years older, and about 6 inches taller? Things could be worse, I guess.

Would I see the Police again? Not unless I could be their musical director. In my dreams...

Hi there- I just scheduled my June newsletter to go out. If you're not on the list, please send me an email that says you'd like to be added to it.

I've also added and updated a bunch of things on my "Friends and Fun" link. Check it out! http://www.natashamillerweb.com/links.html I haven't added all the books I've read because there are too many. I hope to have it looking better soon.

Tonight I saw Dayna Stephens at Yoshi's! Wow! Friday was Aja Vu then later Michael Mannring at the Jazzschool. Incredible!!! Last night I saw a KILLER movie... "Knocked Up". I was really surprised and impressed. It was so well written and acted and directed! The birth scene was a little too much, sort of like the Borat Wrestling scene in comfort level.

The BiG thing for this week will be the Police show on Wed! I'm so excited, I can't stand it! I have good seats too, and will enjoy every last dripping moment!!!

As always, thanks for listening!

xo, N

Click here for a great video. Watch at least half of it. It will make you smile for sure!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uFY4uJMpm0

I have attended 3 benefit funtions in the last 7 days. I think it's important to see the world outside your own, and do what you can do to help. Tonight's event was the Alameda County Food Bank's Empty Bowls soup dinner fundraiser. http://www.accfb.org What an eye opener to the incredible need for feeding our own neighbors, friends in THIS country.
Last night I went to a fundraiser in Oakland for Babtunde Lea's daughter who was a star athlete and suffered a terrible injury that has changed her life. An incredible outpouring of the Oakland music community as well as all over the Bay Area came out to perform to help raise money to help Tanya and her family. It was a spectacular night of music that lasted 4 hours!
Last Thursday night I went on a "Blue Moon" Sail that was a benefit for the Treasure Island Sailing Club http://www.tisailing.org and their at risk youth program. There are so many opportunities for giving out there. Look for them when you can, and consider what you could do to make the world more comfortable for someone else.

Thanks for reading.

xo N

I just uploaded a new song that I recorded at Bay Recorders in Berkeley. It's called "Hypnotized" and it's written by Joel Evans of Cinemasters. Cross your fingers he places it in a feature film. That's what he does...

Click it:
http://www.natashamillerweb.com/audio/NATASHA_MILLER-Hypnotized.m3u

As many of you know, I wrote a song on my first CD called "Zena" after meeting this clairvoyant in NYC. Well, after 6 years, I went to see her last night. I took my daughter with me, but she couldn't give her a reading because she's not yet 16.

I had a reading and just enjoyed the mysticism and drama about the whole thing. Zena is a great personality- wouldn't allow us to photograph her, though she is a beautiful woman in her 60's I would guess. Listen to the song here: http://cdbaby.com/cd/nmiller to get the "vibe".

I'm back from NYC and am already planning my next trip!

I was (once again) feelin' fine until I got up this morning. OUCH! The Bay to Breakers was truly spectacular! It was a perfect day in so many wonderful ways. The weather was cool, then warm. Sun shining, blue skies and a million strangely dressed (or completely undressed) people parading, running, walking, waddling through San Francisco. I did my best to run up the Hayes Street hill (1/2 mile) but decided one block short of the top to rest. Next year I'll catch it!

The concerts will start up in June, so I'll see you at one, if not before.

xo N

Good morning. I just finished the 5k, what a beautiful morning along the water!

So I've heard from many of you about my going to NY. I'm only going to be traveling there every 5-6 weeks and will be there for about 5 days at a time, not the other way around.

And thank you so much for your support and encouragement about my writing. It's been a wonderful challenge! Of course you'll be invited to the signings! We'll make it a party!

I was at Jupiter last night and had a great time listening to Dave and Zoe Ellis. There's a photo of me, Joan Rosenberg of Yoshi's, and Lisa Bautista on my photos page. "The Three Most Powerful Women in the Bay Area Music Scene".

Have a great weekend! Remember Mother's Day is tomorrow!

I went out on a lovely J105 on Wed night compliments of the great Anthony Sandberg and Rich Jepson!

I'll have to say, our boat was ROCKIN' with the finest and most fun crew I've ever sailed with. Our delightful captain was none other than John Racanelli (who definately has pirate in his blood). He was co-captained (at least that's how it seemed to me) by the wonderful John DuPerry who was the expert strategist and loves a good race! Then there was the glorious Barbara Llewellyn who got soaked in the first 15 minutes, but smiled the whole time! And the spunky Liz Becker who I was so glad to reconnect with. Her incredible 83 year old father came too, and boy was he tough! And dear "XL" Ray... (he's really tall), the strong/silent type. We got that wine opened and threw it back in no time at all, and enjoyed a warm-up session (our fingers were frozen) at Anthony's place with the participants of the other 4 boats.

Of course, DuPerry and I gave a mini-concert and everyone went home happy. That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it!

Hi there! I started swimming last night! It was 91 degrees here in Alameda, so I thought it was time to re-join my good friends at the Master's team. Running a 5k this Sat, then Bay to Breakers next Sun! Oh, and I"m finally going sailing tomorrow night! Then it's off to NYC for an extended Memorial Day weekend. I can't wait!!! Music? Oh yeah, working on the Christmas CD, and planning a few concerts over the summer. East Coast tour in Sept.

And you?

xo, N

I just back from a great bike ride to Lake Chabot. For those of you who knew me "when", you're probably wondering what has happened to me. As Greg says, "I've grown up". There was a nice 1 mile winding hill climb that I nailed, and 26 miles later I'm back here in the comforts of my beautiful home typing out my achievements. I'll let you know later how wobbly my legs are...

The Phonofly CD release party was a BLAST!!!!!! Thank you to my friends that came! They sounded great, and it was a fun night! Photos are on my myspace.com site:
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewPicture&friendID=166807452&albumId=577938
Off to teach a class at the Jazzschool. Have a great Sunday!

Natasha

My brother Justin's band Phonofly will be having their CD release party THIS Thur in San Francisco. There is NO cover, and it starts at 9p. I'll be there selling CD's for them! See you there.

http://www.phonofly.com
Thur, April 26
Mojito
1337 Grant Ave
San Francisco, CA 94133

I'm in L.A. this weekend with my brothers for a songwriter's convention. I know that sounds a bit strange, but it's been cool! I've run into people I haven't seen in a while, some friends, and met some great new people like Jeff and Todd Brabec who are lawyers in the entertainment industry –good, funny guys– and have written a book that is considered to be the "bible" of the music business: http://www.amazon.com/Music-Money-Success-Insiders-Industry/dp/0825673267/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-0658953-0932743?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1177115553&sr=8-1
I also ran into the great musician Chris Brubeck and his wife Tish. It's been non-stop and a flood of information. I just got done listening to Bill Withers and Hal David talk about songwriting. Yesterday it was Jimmy Jam and other pop/hip-hop/R&B producers. It's a love fest of songwriters and producers all under one glorious roof. Although it's raining here, and the PumpAudio concert will no longer be at the pool, the trip has been a blast! I'm off to the Kintting Factory for a show, then maybe the Sunset Strip to the Whiskey, etc. if I can make it 'till then. I'm exhausted!

Natasha

Yeah, I forgot to tell you. I've been encouraged to write, and write is what I'm doing.

I'm writing a book about marketing and promoting events, modeled after my Jazzschool workshop called "Sold Out! How to Fill the Room at Your Next Concert". This has been a popular class at the Jazzschool in Berkeley, and I love teaching people how to achieve success! So, now it will be available to everyone!

Details on this to come.

xo Natasha

Hi there- It's been a while, I know. I've recorded 2 new songs, and they're on this website, click "music" and "Before I Die" and "Saving Grace". I am also working on finishing up the Christmas CD for release at the end of this year!

I'm leaving for L.A. with my brothers next week to attend the ASCAP conference for songwriters, and am really excited about the trip!

I'm also planning a trip to NYC with my daughter in late May and working on setting up an office there to work bicoastally. I'll be teaching, performing, and doing marketing all within this GREAT business of music!

I'm basically re-working my life so that I'm doing and being what I want NOW, instead of waiting for it to happen, and paying attention to things that distract. I suggest everyone do the same, as this life on earth is just too short.

Best to you all, and thank you so much for your support, encouragement and light!

Natasha

PS Check out jazzschool.com if you're interested in taking some really cool music classes!

Hey there people- I'll be singing for you on Thur at the Warriors Game. (the National Anthem, of course) If you are there, find me and say "hi"!

If you're not, but are reading this... email and say "hi".

Thanks!

Natasha

My life has been a bit (ok, a lot) of a wreck lately, and I completely forgot that I hadn't written about the Yoshi's or Kuumbwa shows yet. We had a great time on stage, and everyone seemed to love the "new sound". Even the skeptics! Thank you so much to all that came out again. The photos of the audience are on this site under photos. Check yourselves out!

I was also in the studio last week recording my 2 new songs "Saving Grace" and "Before I Die" plus one for the new Christmas CD. I''ll get a sample up ASAP. For now there is a track of "At Last" in the Music section from Yoshi's. Tell me if you like our arrangement.

Thanks for your support!

Natasha

Watch me and Bobby on KGO/ABC’s View from the Bay that we taped today. It was so much fun! A very special thanks to Marshall Lamm for setting it up for us!!!!

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=whatshot&id=5071064

The cut "Unchain My Heart" from "I Had a Feelin', the Bobby Sharp Songbook" has been licensed to be in the feature film "Baker Street" and will be released in the US by Lionsgate. The movie stars Saffron Barrows and Jason Statham both from England.

I drove down to L.A. with my incredible 11 yr old daughter Bennett to take her to her first ever Grammy Awards show! First of all, she looked stunning! Second of all, the squeals and shrieks that came out of her mouth were priceless. Then there was the POLICE!!! My oh my was that incredible! Next year I hope to be nominated for my Christmas CD, that is if I get it out in time.

Happy Valentine's Day to those who care, and especially those without a significant other. The peaks aren't fully experienced without the valley's.