Tripping to Alaska

To prepare for a trip of this magnitude you must do a few things:

Put everything you own onto someone else’s lawn and assess,

Test your packing abilities,

And lastly make it there with everything you need and most of the members,

We boarded the plane

And 6 hours later we arrived in Portland!

We met with our Portland Family,

Had an amazing meal (picture omitted to protect computer from drool.)

Went hiking,

And loitered in caves with our Cousin!

Then Back on the Plane

To head to Alaska!

By the way, this was only Day 1 :)

Isn't Monday when things usually slow down?

We're on our final days of our Alaskan tour :(  

Instead of slowing down as tour tour comes to an end we're actually speeding up.  

Sleep in a place where the sun's always shining is optional.  (A song comes to mind :) )  We'll just have to catch up on our sleep another time.

Today we're going White Water Rafting on the Kenai river and possibly taking a Plane tour of the surrounding area!  After that?  Who knows!  Maybe we'll see you!

Due to the number of worried phone calls from family members because of the lack of activity on our blog I will be redoubling my efforts :)  There will also be a complete account of our entire trip coming soon where you will see pictures of our amazing adventures and energetic endeavors.  If you're too anxious to wait for an in-depth account check out our Twitter (run by dad):  

http://twitter.com/shaelaurel

I.I.U. Yesterday: Learned about coal mining, concert in Healy AK, met great people, 4 wheeled till 1am in the snow. Awesome! 6 am call for Denali!

Instant iPhone update: It's almost midnight here and it's still light out! Fabulous breakfast in Palmer, drove to Healy and went whitewater rafting!

Instant iphone update: We have now officially been awake for 23 hours! We just arrived in Alaska. Our beds are calling. Tomorrow? A new adventure!

Early... :)

This is probably one of the earliest days in my life.  Alright, maybe not that early, but 4:30 still is pushing the limit!  This insane hour is all due to our new tour starting today in Alaska just 12 short hours away!  The plane is ready, the people are pumped and it's wheels off and we're ready for take off.  If anyone is feeling spontaneous and wants to join us check our tour schedule http://shaelaurel.com/ShaeLaurel/ShaeLaurel-Tour.html and we'll see you there!  Just, don't wake up too early :)

TV shoot Day 2!

We “Break Free” and do some fancy shooting! 

Andy riding in our producers Maserati!

Kat dolls up for a fashion shoot!

TV Shoot Day 1!

We met with the crew at our campsite in the afternoon.  It was a great chance to get to know everyone especially because we will all be traveling together for the next week or so! 

We made some major changes to our Tour Bus to prepare it for the show (besides cleaning :). One such change was the huge ShaeLaurel sign installed on the side of our RV!

Before:

After:

Isn’t it lovely!

We did some sample shooting with our amazing director Scott and expert camera genius Randy.

Christian Rocking Out!

Me doing schoolwork.  Why they thought this was interesting I will never know!

Twirling in a field…

Camera Term of the day:

Two eyes:  A ‘non-profile’ shot.  You always want a full face or both of a person's eyes in a shot.

Schedule Update

From the thick of it…

There has been a change in plans and the date for the shoot has been moved.  The live show filming is now SUNDAY rather than tomorrow (Saturday).  We’re sorry for the short notice, we just found out ourselves.  The reasons for the shoot changes are all good; they liked the work that we did today so much that they are planning to do some more similar filming again tomorrow!  We’ll keep you posted.  We should have some pictures of our latest shoot up soon on the blog!

Again that’s Sunday, April 26^th, at the Central Florida Fairgrounds in Orlando, FL.  The official time is 6 pm but the time is subject to random acts of production far outside our lowly understanding.  Thank you for sticking with us.  The overwhelming responses we’ve received mean the world to us.  We couldn’t do it without all of you!  Hope to see you there on Sunday!

More...:)

The latest on that TV update:  We are in between test shots right now!  Our RV now bears the ShaeLaurel logo on both sides.  The crew is amazing and very talented we can't wait to start filming tomorrow!

TV and our latest adventure!

Okay, so here's the skinny...

We just got a call from A network! We've been talking to them for a while
about doing a Reality TV show on our family and our travels and
they've responded with a resounding yes! This means that we'll be
moving onto the next step: a pilot! We will be spending the next
couple of weeks before our show in New York filming with the amazing
team from Lightship Entertainment to present to MTV in June!
Our first day of filming will take place at the Central Florida Fair
near Orlando on the 25th where we will be putting on a live show. The
show will take place just before dusk so probably about 6 PM in front
of the ferris wheel. The show will not be in any kind of brochure or
announced at the fair so we need your help! We need a screaming crowd
at the shoot so that the network can see what kind of a band we are! If you
are in the area please come down and show your support! Admission is
$8 for the whole fair so we'll be giving out a Free SHINE CD
to every screaming audience member who comes up to us and let's us
know they've read this e-mail. Plus you'll have the chance to be in
the film! Once again it's going to be on the 25th around 6 PM at the
Central Florida Fair in front of the ferris wheel! Thanks for making
this show a reality! Hope to see you all there!

Our new CD Shine has finally arrived! I am writing this on Dad's iPhone so it won't let me post in the text section :) More exciting news to come!

New CD Update...

There was a mistake at the mastering house and our new CD
Shine was not be ready when we had originally planned.  The CD is in a holding pattern right
now while we work things out.  This
will probably mean that the release date will be closer to my birthday, which
means twice the party!  Who doesn’t
want a ShaeLaurel CD for their birthday? 
I’ll be sure to post up the new release date as soon as we find out when
that will be. 

New Website!

We just uploaded our new Website!  We're so excited.  Andy has been working on it for a while now and it's so cool to see it working live.  Check it out and let us know what you think.

Our official CD release date is one week from today!

My official Birthday countdown: 21 days!  All I have to do is say 19 and Mom and Dad start freaking out!  It's the little things in life :)

The rest was almost written...

Have you ever stared at the clock and known that the time you have left and the time it would take you to get to your goal don't add up?  I thought I had had those moments but I didn't realize how wrong I was until I stared at the clock on February 5th.  We hadn't had internet in a week and I was drowning in mail.  I almost didn't notice the notification about the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest at all, but there it was, in all its shining glory.  The Deal?  Submit an entire novel for review and hope that they like it.  The prize?  Besides glory and eternal bragging rights, a $25,000 contract with one of the biggest publishers in the country.  Penguin.

We’ve established the fact that I am crazy.  Those who know me know that I often go out on a creative limb at least once during all my projects.  It’s a constant battle against the clock and I’ve cultivated a taste for victory. 

The Contest was open, the submission process had already started and thousands of authors had already submitted their novels for review.  They had heard about it months, even years in advance and had carefully prepared their novels for submission. 

I looked at my book; partially edited, slightly dusty and definitely unfinished and compared my time frame.  3 days to finish the book, write a pitch, edit and submit.  Not so hard right?

If there were any doubts in my family’s mind, there aren’t any now.  I am definitely crazy.

I spent every second between recording sessions in my little corner writing.  What started as a 10,00 word ending soon turned into a 24,000-word 2-day marathon.  I had an amazing editing team; my family and our friends from Alaska and somehow we managed to pull the whole thing together.

I finished the novel at 10:30 the final night for submissions. The closing was at midnight and so, right on cue I entered my book at 11:59:55.  With only 5 seconds to spare I was shaking so hard I almost missed the submit button!  I had to wait for an excruciating minute before I got my final confirmation.

Since that time I have spent all of my free time sitting and staring at the clock.  On March 16^th I will find out if my book will make it to the next round.  Keep your fingers crossed!  The results will be posted up on the Amazon Website.  Whatever the results we’re going to have a party.  Thank you for your support!  I’ll let you know as soon as I hear anything!

Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award website:

http://www.amazon.com/Breakthrough-Novel-Award-Books/b/ref=amb_link_83562311_3?ie=UTF8&node=332264011&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=1VCK6A889K7K33B0TD4M&pf_rd_t=1401&pf_rd_p=468873791&pf_rd_i=1000336691

Update!!!

From Pics

We’ve been working like crazy.  Our new show is so close to finished that we’re all going crazy!  We got the final artwork on our new cd and it should be out in time for the Miami Dade Fair on the 26^th!  We’re going to be performing our new show on stage officially for the first time then, so if you’re in the area be sure to stop by and see it.

It felt so good to finally perform again after rehearsing for so long.  Our audience at Lakeland was wonderful and we got to catch up with some old friends.  Also our producer and choreographer’s daughter (they’re married, we like to keep it in the family) came with us for a day.  She was awesome and a great help.  We performed A Second of This, a song off our new CD for the first time on stage.  We got a great response and had a blast.

From Pics

To answer your questions we did get to meet and talk to Switchfoot at the South Florida Fair.  We were also right up front during their concert thanks to Lisa Dudding and our security guard friend.  All and all it was an amazing experience.  We can’t wait to go back next year!

From Pics

South Florida Fair (Posted late because of lack of internet)

Whoo hoo!  We’re at the Fair!  It’s so fun to be out in the sun playing music together as a family!  We’re on the Dodge Stage right across from the main stage, which holds such acts as The Marshal Tucker Band, Lady Antebellum and Switchfoot!  Maybe we’ll get to meet them.  We have back stage passes…

Studio, studio, studio.

We have been holed up in the studio for the past few days recording our new CD.  It has been an amazing process and we’re all excited about the originals and brand new music that we are adding to the mix!  We have also been putting together a new show.  We’ve been in rehearsals for it all week, and it’s been a blast.  I can’t tell you too much because that would ruin the surprise but I can tell you that there will be some new styles of dance involved.  Can anyone say “Swing”?  Uh, oh!  I’ve said too much!  Let’s just hope that our choreographer doesn’t get wind!  I’ll sneak in some more as soon as I get the chance.

Brand New ShaeLaurel Update!!!

Kathryn Adopted a Plant!  We are still searching for a suitable name.  He is a sensitive basil who likes traveling to exotic places and sitting in the rain.  If you can think of a name please write!

Andy has taken his casual sewing practice to the next level and now has become a proficient self-tailor and pincushion!

Mom has been very busy cooking up a storm!  Her culinary experiments have soared to such heights as Chicken Parmesan and homemade Pizza bagels!
Dad has been writing music so often that his fingers are practically glued to his keys.   He’s costing us a fortune in goo-be-gone!

Christian has been editing the latest ShaeLaurel movies as well as our own adventures into movie land like our own production of Wonder Woman played by Kate.

And me?  Well, I’ve been doing research for a book!  The challenging kind, you know; the kind that requires you to watch movies that you never really had time for and hold small cute fury animals with big eyes and yoda-esk ears. 
This Sugar glider (Tucker) has been filling me in on its life and likings for my latest book Another Place to Fall.

Segway Madness!

Want to see more?  Go to: http://www.choosesarasota.com/Shae_Laurel_at_SunNFun-a-961.html

On Tour!

We kicked off our new tour this week, traveling all over
Florida in our big green tour bus:

No matter how many years you spend performing there are
always new things to experience, new surprises that make life interesting and
this new tour has been no different.

The first surprise came when we were performing at The
Gardens where the stage is entirely unique

Then there was North Port Performing Arts Center with its
absolutely gorgeous theater Lovely back stage area, great food, fun lighting, and a full
house

Not to mention a hydraulic stage that transported us from
below the stage!

At our performance at Sun N Fun we met Craig Shipp who let
us try out his Segway! 
Of course just riding the Segway wasn’t enough and so Kat
decided to try playing the violin and riding at the same time:

It’s been a great tour so far and we can’t wait to see what happens
next!

The New Year...

I hadn't realized until I posted, but that was the first blog of the new year!!!!  That makes this the second...

Charging...

This is now my favorite word.  Charging.  It implies an onward rush of motion, speed, and intensity and also the availability of power.  Ahhh, power!  That elusive three-pronged wonder that is wired to our lives.  Power has become all the more special in mine because of it’s painfully-apparent absence.  My computer was once equipped with the amazing ability to charge at will and hold on to every hurt with all it’s heart.  Now it has abandoned all such dreams forever.  This stark and glaring realization forced me to drastic measures.  And so it was with a heavy heart my brother Andy my sister Kat and I took my poor ailing Macbook to the genius bar where I was given the heart-wrenching news that my battery was 'consumed'.  

If anyone has ever been told that their computer battery has been 'consumed' then you will know how it feels.  For those of you who haven't, it's something like hacking your guts out with an ice pick, tossing them into a blender coated with the sour sting of lemon and turned on high while being pulverized by all the spare change you've ever had in your life, served with a twist of costumer service.  

There was only one good thing that came out of the whole experience and no it was not the fact that they cleaned my computer screen, although that was a nice bonus.  The only redeeming factor was while they couldn't fix my battery (because they couldn't), they could repair the small crack on my computer top caused by over-exuberant slamming and weak plastic.  This whole procedure would replace the top of my computer including keys and be absolutely free because Apple is just cool that way.  The only down side was that they would need to keep my computer for....3 DAYS!!!!  If anyone has ever met me outside the show, you'll know that my computer is usually glued to my side and is the only thing besides my iPod that I always pack with me.  My computer is like an extra arm and the decision to leave it behind, alone in a strange mac store all by itself was excruciatingly painful.  What if they forgot to leave the night light on and it got scared?

Alright, so maybe I exaggerate, but can you blame me?  Wait, that question was rhetorical.

Well, to make a long story longer, I got my computer back yesterday all shiny and happy (with a clean screen too!)  and I expect to receive my mail-order battery in...well, the mail, today or tomorrow!  Because of this whole dilemma I now know more about batteries and how to make them last than I ever wanted to.  Things like each macbook battery only has 400 charge cycles (as a minimum) and then it is classified 'consumed'.  Even partial charges count as partial charges, so the best thing you can do is leave it plugged in but give it some exercise (leave it shut down for 2 hours fully charged then run it to the ground and charge it back up) every month.  As if I needed to know all that!  If anyone else has experienced this problem and wants to commiserate I will be on blogger and available for whining between takes in the studio.  Ahhhh, the studio...now that's a whole different story...