Life at Open Heart Publishing

Posts Tagged ‘jennifer mayes’

Open Heart Publishing announces the premiere of “The Cave of Colors,” an Open Heart Opportunity Project. The focus of the event is “The Cave of Colors,” a children’s book with accompanying audio that was conceived and written by children. 100% of the profits from sales of “The Cave of Colors” will benefit a charity of the childrens’ choosing.

The story of “The Cave of Colors” revolves around a magical place called The Cave of Colors, wherein everything you say and do happens.

Sunday February 28, 2010. Doors open at 12:45 pm at the Center for Spiritual Living facility at 4801 Spring Valley Rd (at International Pkwy.), Dallas, Texas 75244.

Meet some of “The Cave of Colors” children, buy your own copies of this charming book, and get more information on this and other Opportunity Projects.

Also featured at the Premiere will be “An Honest Lie, Volume 1: Encouraging the Delinquency of your Inner Child,” a short story anthology, and “A Children’s Book of Necromancy,” a spell-binding book by Debrin Case.

Musician Lisa Umbarger, of The Toadies and Tile, is here to talk about the soundtrack she and Jennifer Mayes developed for Open Heart Publishing’s book The Cave of Colors, a product of the Opportunity Project.

Welcome, Lisa! How did you become involved with Open Heart Publishing and The Opportunity Project?

Debrin Case had talked to me about Open Heart Publishing and his many projects. I was really intrigued with “The Cave of Colors” because of the co-creation with the brilliant minds of children. I love the idea of allowing a space for their minds to run free.

And you ended up developing a soundtrack for the book. Musically, what were your influences for the soundtrack?

I really didn’t think about or intend a musical influence for this project. I had the pleasure of watching the children in the creative process and I just tapped into that. The music strayed pretty far away from my rock background. We started with a normal rock bassline and it turned into something quite different.

What is your writing process normally like when you’re going to work on a song?

Jennifer or myself will usually have an idea for a melody or a “riff,” and we play around with it until it becomes a song. We work well off of each other. She adds a dimension to a song that I would never think of and I believe that I do the same for her. That is the beauty of working with another person … their energy coupled with mine takes the idea to unexplored places.

Tell me about your past in the music industry.

My first band, The Toadies, was signed to Interscope Records. We released two full length albums and an EP. We contributed music to many sountracks, including The Crow II and Cable Guy. Our first CD, Rubberneck, went platinum and was very successful.

And what’s all this about you being an ewok?

There is a wonderful story about how I used the money I was paid for playing an Ewok in Return of the Jedi to purchase my first bass. So, George Lucas may or may not have been my musical benefactor. I have been invited to attend many conventions and I have declined them all. Although I have participated in the Make-A-Wish Foundation. I could not turn down a sweet kid who wanted a signed picture of an Ewok. Oh, and I still love Star Wars as much as I did when I was a kid.

I understand the soundtrack to “The Cave of Colors” includes guided meditations for adults and children. Is meditation a big part of your life?

Meditation is very important to me. I have experimented with many types of meditation for years, and oddly enough, one of my favorite places to go during meditaion is to my cave.

In addition to making music, what other areas of the arts do you pursue?

I paint and sketch. I did alot of artistic work for The Toadies as far as t-shirt design and band bio art. I also designed The Toadies logo. I was in the fourth grade when my first painting was displayed in a museum. I was so excited when my paerents took me to see it.

I would have been excited too! Some of your Dallas fans are wondering about the show that was to be the Toadies’ last, at Trees. The show was delayed for several hours and you ended up not playing with the band, to fans’ disappointment. Would you like to share that story?

I was in Scotland at the time. It was a trip that was planned for a few months before the show. The show was scheduled with the knowing that I would not be able to attend. My parents, however, were there because they were the band’s biggest fans. I would have really liked to have played!

How did you and Jennifer Mayes meet, and what other musical projects are you two affiliated with?

Jennifer and I were introduced to one another through a mutual friend. We hit it off right away and are really comfortable writing and playing together. I have a great respect for Jennifer and her talents. I have tried to start a few other projects after the Toadies, and none of them felt as artistically freeing as with TILE (the project Jennifer and I started). Jennifer moved to Portland in August, so we are redifining the collaboration and playing with distance.

Who or what has been most instrumental to your development as a musician?

Definitely, Todd Lewis. He taught me how to play bass. I did not play before I joined the Toadies. I learned as we went along.

That’s amazing. What advice would you give to others who want to be professional musicians?

Follow YOUR dreams. There are always people who will tell you what you should and should not do, and they have no insight into your inner workings. Only YOU know what is right for you. This sometimes means that you will go “against the system.”

What was your favorite part of working on “The Cave of Colors” soundtrack? What was the hardest part?

I really loved doing something different from the usual music I write. It was a great stretching exercise. The hardest part was making sure that we stuck to the children’s vision.

Here’s a hard question for any artist. If you had to choose just one of your five senses to keep for the rest of your life, which would you choose and why?

I would choose the sense of touch, because I could still create art and music with this sense. I would still be able to “hear” the music through vibration and I would be able to create art through feel.

Good choice! Did you get to read “The Cave of Colors“? What did you think of it?

I think that the kids have done a brilliant job.

Finally, if you could talk to yourself when you were a child, what would you say? Do you think you would listen?

I talk to my child self all of the time! I love re-connecting to the innocent free idealistic part of me. I would tell myself that all of the dreams you have been dreaming will come true. I would listen to that!

Hear Lisa Umbarger and Jennifer Mayes’ band TILE here: http://www.myspace.com/tilemusic and read about The Cave of Colors here: http://debrincase.com/blog3/2009/03