It took a while, but last Monday we finally got to hand over Anle's very own music video and song 'My Favourite Things' at an intimate and very special evening with her family at the Crystal Towers Ruby Bar in Canal Walk! Yet again I have found working with Reach For A Dream a true priviledge and meeting Anle and her family has been a wonderful experience. As a songwriter it is these rare opportunities where I get to give back, that make sense of the journey I am on. Meeting Anle, writing the song, having her in Selwyn Shandel's studio for a day and then seeing her arrive in a limo complete with red carpet so that she could be a star for a day, was WONDERFUL!
These projects never happen on their own and without the tireless work of the RFAD organiser Christelle, the amazing generosity of Indigi Productions and Selwyn Shandel and the unending support and video editing by my boyfriend Mike - Anle wouldn't have gotten to reach her dream. But despite all the effort that went into it and how much she loved her song and video, the truth is she really just loved being with Mike and Indigi Producer Craig Ross. She was completely taken with them and it choked me up to see how caring and entertaining they were with her. Two big guys turned to putty in her hands - they kept her laughing the whole night and her mother said she is hoping to come and visit us whenever Anle needs a lift of spirits. What a compliment!
Last Tuesday 16th Nov we made our way through to Selwyn Shandels Indigi studios in Seapoint to spend the day with Anle who I have written a song 'My Favourite Things' for. It has been a very slow project in coming together, as I first met Anle and her mum Annie back in January and somehow the year has run away from us. A few months back Selwyn and I laid down the track and sent it through to Anle to learn and on Tuesday she got to experience being a recording artist for the first time in her life!
She arrived dressed all in pink and very nervous about being in a studio. We had to make sure that we kept things really simple and not too intimidating for her, and she and I sat in the studio together pulling faces and making silly noises to get her relaxed. Selwyn was a legend as always - opening his heart and studio to the project with amazing generosity, while my boyfriend Mike was there as the 'cameraman' and captured the day on film which he is now tirelessly editing just like he did with Song for Julie last year.
Once again this has been a humbling opportunity to give back as a songwriter and play a small part in making this young girl reach for a dream while she battles with a devastating illness (Ataxia Telangeicstasia). To meet her mother and get a small insight into their family and the boundless love they give to Anle has been inspiring and I cant wait to give her very own music video very soon!
We have been hard at work editing the video of our 2 days with Lize last week so make sure that she has a fantastic way to remember her experience of learning & recording it. I can't wait to post a video of it when it is all done - she is such a sweetie! Below are some emails from her Mum and Genevieve from Reach For A Dream with their feedback on 'Song for Julie' and the exciting news that it will be played at their AGM at the end of the month to 320 guests! I am thrilled!!!
"Hi Verity,
The song is beautiful!!! I can't believe it is Lize singing. She is really a popstar!!! She was very excited yesterday when I played it for her. It sounds so nice. We also played it for some of her friends & in the office and everybody was so excited! They say is is very beautiful and such a innocent and beautiful song. Brought a lot of tears to peoples eyes. Lize is still very excited and just wants to sing!!!
Genevieve asked whether they may play the song at their gala evening before 300 people and I told Lize that she really is a popstar now. Thanks a lot for making this dream come true. July is also excited about the song! Everytime we play it she comes running to Lize.
Regards
Lorette "
"Hi Lorette
Verity just sent me the final version of Lize’s song. It sounds fantastic! It is absolutely amazing. I know they are working hard to complete the music video too. I played the song for our ladies in the office and they LOVED it. My branch manager said it would be truly special if we could play the song at our gala evening coming up on the 24th of October? She certainly is a pop star in the making so please tell her we would be honoured to play her song for the 320 guests!
Sending all you lovely ladies a big hug and wishing you a beautiful day.
Kind regards
Genevieve Rossouw
Marketing Coordinator"
A week ago I was a bundle of nerves waiting for Lize and her mum and sister to arrive at my home so that I could teach her the song I had written for her for Reach For A Dream. After chatting to her mum Lorette, we decided that I would suprise her with a song about her best friend - her jack russell 'Julie'. Now - of the over 300 songs I have written - one for a dog was going to be a first for me! I got Lorette to send me pics of Julie & Lize as well as ancedotes about their relationship. Before I knew it I had a song coming together that was so catchy that my poor boyfriend and a friend visiting from the UK couldn't stop singing the chorus!
But... the true test was going to be Lize. Her whole family along with Julie arrived last Monday and after we had broken the ice with juice & biscuits I sat down and sang the song to her.
She was very shy and nervous but seemed to really like it, and finally joined me at the piano to sit on my lap and learn to sing it herself. It was a pretty emotional experience to hear this little 8 year old girl start singing a song to her puppy, and everytime the chorus "Oh Julie..." kicked in we had Julie at our feet wondering why we were calling her!!! By the end of the afternoon we were all thick as thieves and she was ready to go home and practice for the recording studio the next day.
Tuesday saw me arriving at Selwyn Shandel's studio in Seapoint nice and early and the two of us got started on recording the backing music for the song. He is a wizard in the studio and before I knew it "Song for Julie" had piano, guitar, bass & drums laid down and we were ready for Lize. She and her sister Estelle had decided to sing together on the choruses and the girls arrived ready to tackle it. I think they were overwhelmed to be in a studio with gold & platimum records on the wall and to hear the backing track now complete. My sister had brought her studio manager Terence along to film the day and he did a stirling job getting it all on tape (a video will follow soon)!
There wasn't a dry eye in the house when Lize started singing & I kept her company in the studio to help her get her pitching right etc. She is a very brave little girl and just got on with singing into a mic for the first time in her life really well! Estelle joined us for the choruses and it was so cute to hear the two of them singing together. It was an incredible experience and now we are editing all the footage to be able to give her the song and a video to remember the day by.
What a priviledge to be able to use my songwriting in such a rewarding way!
When I was shooting with Journey to the Core they were keen to film an interview with Mimi who was my first Live Your Dreams artist. As luck would have it I needed to be in Jozi for a wedding and the JTTC team made a plan to meet Mimi and myself at Toneworks Studios in Bryanstan to get footage of us hanging out and doing our thing. It was awesome to see her again and to hear how well her career and album is doing. I am so stoked I took a risk and funded her first demo without even having heard her sing! Just goes to show that it pays to go gut instinct!
Here we are holding her album Essence of my Soul (that the demo Live Your Dreams paid for made possible) and won her best Jazz newcomer at the Metro FM Awards last year. Talk about musical dreams coming true!
I have just come across the most phenomenal story of a group of friends cycling from Cairo to Cape Town to raise money for an organisation called MILLENNIUM PROMISE and after looking through the site, the pics of their epic journey and the villages they are helping throughout Africa, I was moved to make a donation to help them reach their $300,000 target and encourage everyone else to do the same. These are the kind of endeavours that make my soul sing - they prove how one small group of individuals can change the course of the world and make a huge impact by taking action and giving back.
Four reasons why you should support - a note from Didi - the girl on the road:
1. I’m breaking my back out here - You don’t cycle from Cairo to Cape Town everyday, particularl y if this means spending the next 6 months with 7 men and their combined sense of humour. I have cycled 5000km so far.
2. It’s for an awesome cause - The Economist magazine (June 2007) describes Millennium Promise’s results as “astonishing”. This initiative is not about endless giving and handouts. This is a research-based plan that has an end in sight for each village within the program. After 5 years of funding, a village is sustainable and 5000 people are free of extreme poverty.
3. I hate bikes - No really. Like all my team mates, I know very little about bikes, have not really done 
much cycling before, and until recently didn’t know how to change a tyre… I’m learning.
If you feel that one of these is reason enough to join my cause, please make a donation of any size. Your support means the world to me, and more importantly, will make a dramatic impact on the ground.
Please follow our journey via our website - MILLENNIUM CYCLE FOR CHANGE and see if you can donate something towards the cause.
And I WILL see you in Cape Town!
Continue reading "On The Road to ending poverty in Africa..." »
In August I spoke at the UCT Graduate School of Business – Women in Business Conference, and during my presentation I mentioned that as a result of starting the Lucky Packet Project I was made an ambassador of education for www.intec.edu.za and get to award R5000 bursaries to people I meet through my work. A couple of weeks back I received an email from an MBA student who had heard my speech and he sent through an application to study Textile Design. I was blown away by how much he has achieved already and as an MBA is hugely expensive, it felt right to help him further his studies even more so that he can go into the fashion industry when he graduates.
We met for coffee at Melissa's in GreenPoint where I handed over the bursary and it was awesome to meet someone who took the chance to ask for the support they need in reaching their dreams. I look forward to Zameer keeping me posted of how is course goes. It truly is a priveledge to be able to assist people in this way!
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