DANI ELLIOTT

Hey guys!  So I’ve been working on a new record and as part of that record I did a music video for one of the songs to give you a visual as well as aural preview of what this project is shaping up to be like.  I got to work with the ridiculously talented Rae Maxwell (www.raemaxwell.com) and Lauryn Hopwood while I was in Toronto in early February for some work with the always lovely Sheryl Crow and these ladies knocked it out of the park with their work.  These are some pictures from the shoot in Toronto.  I’m so excited to share the video with you-it’s almost done so keep an eye out!

Pearl Harbor cont.

I’m in Hawaii!  Which can mean one of many things-there will be lots of pictures and subsequent blogging.  So get ready!

 My first installation if you will, is on Pearl Harbor.  I ended up sitting next to a woman on my flight to Hawaii who works there and I don’t know why it hadn’t occurred to me before to make this a part of my trip.  It’s such an important part of our history and not often you get the opportunity to visit, so I had to make it happen. I had a morning free while we were in Oahu and took TheBus from our hotel to Pearl Harbor.  Public transit is pretty easy to use and only cost $2.50 for essentially a two hour trip. (Make sure you have exact change!) After a very exciting ride with the most colorful bus driver I think I’ve ever had, even by NYC standards, I was there about an hour later. (She would get out of her seat at stops and very firmly tell passengers, especially Japanese tourists, that THIS was their stop.  She also stopped for a minute to pick up lunch from her friend and chat…Hey! We’re on Hawaii time!)

Most of the pictures I’ve posted here are of the USS Bowfin, a submarine used in the Pacific during WWII, and also of items from the Navy Museum.  There are other areas you can visit across the harbor such as the Memorial, the Air museum, and the USS Missouri but I was on a fairly tight schedule and you usually have to do the guided tours of those which can take up to 5 hours.  If I get a chance to go to Oahu again, I would definitely like to go back and see those as well.

Here are some pictures of the MLK Memorial with some of my favorite quotes from the wall surrounding it.

The Best Day Of My Life…so far.

Today a life long dream came true.  I met Stevie Wonder.  Not only that, but I shook his hand.  Not only that, but I sang with him.  How did this happen?  Why did this happen?  I don’t know and I’m not asking.  I’m just accepting and feeling abundantly grateful and appreciative.  I should probably say that there was so much more to this day than meeting Stevie…

I happen to be lucky enough to currently work for one of the most wonderful women in music…and the world, Sheryl Crow.  Sheryl asked Nayanna Holley & I to come with her to sing at the dedication of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in D.C. and that is how the best day of my life came into motion.

Stressful travel involving screwed up subways, a minor car accident, and a bumpy train ride from NYC to D.C. aside, we started our day at 8:30 am on Oct. 16th, 2011 and went over to the memorial.  As the morning progressed, I started to fully realize what a special day this was and how lucky I was to be a part of it.  Thoughtful, reflective, and inspiring words and songs were said and performed by such influential, intellectual, and historical figures such as Dr. Martin Luther King’s children, (who have now convinced me that public speaking is a genetic gift), Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, poet Nikki Giovanni, actresses Cicely Tyson & Diahann Carroll, Reverend Al Sharpton, a cappella group Sweet Honey In The Rock, and of course President Obama-what and eloquent and gracious man.  To see and hear him speak in person was really quite an experience.

It was an absolute honor to just be in the presence of people who had spent time with, carried on the ideals of, and were inspired by Dr. King and what he stood for.  Without getting preachy, it’s so very easy to forget what a short time ago it was that an event like today never would have happened; let alone be led by an African American President.  But the overall theme of today was really not to just reflect on the icon of the man Dr. King was and how great it is that this beautiful monument is now in place, but to look forward and to have it stand as a reminder of the work socially, politically, and spiritually that needs to be done in our country.  That tearing others down for our own agendas gets all of us nowhere quickly.  And that above everything else, we are all here, experiencing all of this together, no matter race, religion, age, or creed.

As I thought this very moment couldn’t get any more amazing, who other than Aretha Franklin, my and so many people’s musical compass, comes to the stage to sing…let me say this is where I had my first cry of the day. Tears of joy though!  Not trying to be dramatic here:)  Then, my world exploded wide open and the musical love of my life, Stevie Wonder came and sang “Happy Birthday” to commemorate 50 years from the day of Dr. King making his monumental “I have a Dream” speech.

Just when I thought it couldn’t get ANY better from there, Nayanna & I get to sing with Sheryl…and then Stevie is backstage.  I somehow manage to muster the guts to shake his hand.  The events that followed are fuzzy as I became an immediate emotional mess of happiness and shock after releasing my bear grip on him.  

So you’re probably thinking, “It can’t get much better than that!” Well it does.  There’s a finale, and Stevie asks Sheryl & the so so lovely (& killing!) James Taylor to come on stage to sing “Love Train” as the finale for the show and Sheryl brings us out with her to sing.  At this point, I’m thinking, this is it.  This is the pinnacle of my career.  I have reached it at 26 and there is no way it can get any better and I am A-OK with this realization.  But wait, what’s that? Stevie wants to take a picture with all of us, you say?  Who do you think gets to stand next to him with their arm around his waist while he continuously sings the hippest little improvised lines as “picture taking music”-hello!  Oh, and now Stevie has a song he’s writing that he wants Sheryl to sing with him.  So Sheryl, Stevie, Nayanna, and I go back to the green room where there is a keyboard where he just sits down and starts playing this song that’s just bits and pieces of beauty.  Sheryl starts coming up with some words and Nay & I start singing backing parts.   This is where I stop and happily so because this is where it doesn’t get any better-and it can’t possibly.  

People always say good things happen in threes.  A friend of mine told me that today I got 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and beyond.  You know what?  She’s right.  And for that, I am eternally grateful.  Grateful to sing.  Grateful that I get to play music for a living.  Grateful that I not only saw and heard people and things today that most people only dream of seeing and hearing, but that I got to do it surrounded by the wonderful people I work for and with and the amazing minds and talents of the activists, political figures, and musical greats that made the dedication of this beautiful piece of art and history what the MLK Memorial is.  And that, was the best day of my life…so far.

*All Photos courtesy of Chris Hudson, www.chrishudsonphotography.net

NOLA, part deux.

NEW ORLEANS!  WE FINALLY MET!  And it was beautiful…

I can’t believe it took me 26 years to finally get down to this great city but I’m so happy I finally did.  Mostly because there is some serious food to be had…and did I eat…

First things first, I got to stay in a very schwanky hotel which doesn’t hurt much, so thanks Ritz-Carlton…

After getting settled in, it was of course time to eat.  Thanks to awesome dude/previous Nola resident Glenn Patschka (of Ollabelle who you should totally check out: http://www.ollabelle.net/fr_splash.cfm), for pointing Nayanna & I, (http://www.myppk.com/PPKs/indexC.aspx?PPK=944) one of the great musicians in Sheryl’s band, in the direction of Mandina’s (http://www.mandinasrestaurant.com/) where we had the most ridiculous gumbo I have ever had the pleasure of consuming.

Post said face-stuffing meal, we had to walk off our incredible lunch at the risk of having to roll ourselves onstage the next night, so we wandered around the French Quarter and came across some pret-ty cool stuff.  Of course there’s the classic Mardi Gras paraphernalia of masks, beads, and the occasional voodoo item which can easily be found strolling through the neighborhood.  But then there are the unexpected finds like Meltdown (http://www.yelp.com/biz/meltdown-new-orleans) which offers the most refreshing and flavor-accurate popsicles I’ve ever had the pleasure of cooling off with.  If you are ever in The French Quarter, particularly Dumaine St., you have to stop by and try one or five of their great choices such as the salted caramel or pineapple basil or thai coconut curry.  AWESOMETOWN.

After much wandering, window shopping, and popsicle sampling, we decided it was time for a nap before dinner, which was at the fantastic Mr. B’s (http://www.mrbsbistro.com/).  Also in The French Quarter, this place gifted us with some serious BBQ shrimp…followed by various very well executed classic Nola faire for our mains…followed by a white chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce…followed by a weeks worth of marathon training sessions at the gym…or not.

We ended the night at one of the city’s fixtures, Cafe Du Monde (http://www.cafedumonde.com/), where we had some incredible beignets. In dictionary, see ‘Heaven’.

On our way back to the hotel we fittingly came across a brass band that was just downright killing it. What a great day in a great city.  New York buskers better up their game:)

I thought this would be a fun final installation to the summer tour with Amos so here it is: A BACKSTAGE LOOK AT JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE!  I’ve always wanted to know what happened on tv sets and how it all came together and I’ve been lucky enough to see it a few times now and thought maybe some other people might have inquisitive tendencies too.  

The crew at the show was super organized while also being very helpful to us and let me tell you, that place is one well-oiled machine!  

A quick rundown of the day: we got there around 2:30 pm and went through a hallway featuring pictures of Jimmy with various guests.  Most of them are Jimmy & the guests taking part in some skit or fun game, which is where I happened upon the Boyz II Men shot:)

We did a soundcheck at the Bud Light stage which basically just involved us playing through the two songs we were going to do on the show a few times while our crew & Jimmy’s crew worked out sound, blocking, and lighting.   After that, we shot a quick bumper, which are those short 5ish second spots that get shown between commercials for the show that’s currently being aired.  Ours was the band following Amos down the stairs…I opted for flats for this as I was having visions of me taking this opportunity to trip not so gracefully down the stairs and land in some very awkward position and Jimmy’s people seeing it as such great comedic fodder, they would have no choice but to use it to my nationally syndicated embarrassment.  Ok, let’s leave crazy land now….

After a free hour or two we went and shot the two songs, shook hands with Jimmy, called it a day, and made our way over to the ridiculously good Umami Burger (http://umamiburger.com/) where I ended the day with a cucumber mojito and truffle burger.  I’ll say it again: best.job.ever.

Here’s a link to the episode:http://abc.go.com/watch/jimmy-kimmel-live/SH559060/VD55140232/jimmy-kimmel-live-818