-Been a great week for songwriting. Ellis Miah (his pooch Roscoe above), Seth Van Paulus and I are working on a country song for a stunning 16 year old Native-American girl. She is the new Patsy Cline with an iconic, rich, classic voice well beyond her years. The song is being written on top of a sweet and brilliant guitar motif that Seth came into the session with. I also started creating a new song with Guy B and Leo Moctezuma. -A good one too. I hope we finish it.

Darryl Stephens and I are constantly working on our original soundtrack for a movie we've written. I can't wait for the first reading. I'm excited to hear how it reads. The potential for this project is SCARY. The songs are fun. We're kinda giddy about it.

I don't talk about it much but I'm also a vocal coach. It's beyond rewarding on a regular basis. I work with some pretty extraordinary artists. I ALSO music direct. Hello Mr. Hyphenate! Tonight I had a productive rehearsal with a boy band I M.D. called Skyline (in photo below). We are back to work after a short hiatus. The group has gotten their business together, they're working with new management & now they're putting together an EP that they can shop to labels. It's a matter of time for them. They are talented, good guys.

I have a bunch of other projects rolling around in my head that I've got to put down on paper. I've got a little creative bottle-neck happening. It's time for a plan of action. I'm obsessed with finishing what I start & I've got a TON of writing and producing to do for various projects. But I'm getting it done... sometimes I just have to relax and not get wound up about it.

I finished editing my "Pop Goes The World" Performance but I haven't figured out how to add video here yet, but a link I CAN do. This video was my first experience with editing in Final Cut Pro. I'm in LOVE! -Kicks IMovie's ass. :P To get things done as an independent artists, you've gotta be a one man band. Producer, editor, promoter, booker, publicist, etc. Look ma, I'm a video editor. :P

CLICK HERE TO WATCH VID!

Have a great week!

Slow and steady...and stubborn...wins the race

I'll keep it super short this week. I'm working tenaciously on a bunch of projects. Weirdest thing to me about being an independent artist is...no deadlines. So I'm plugging away at:

-My songwriting demo
-Editing my Pop Goes The World performance
-Fleshing out the website
-Working on music for a play I'm covering a few songs and creating underscoring for
-The album, the album, THE ALBUM!
-Working on music production for "Coyote Roadkill" with D.
-Writing for and developing some promising artists...

...and currently enjoying some red wine and chilling out for a moment while I contemplate and plan for the next few days.

This week's GREAT news is that Carmen Perez's new dance single, "Overload", which was co-written by myself, Carmen & Ellis Miah entered the Billboard charts. Carmen deserves ALL the success and I pray her single goes straight to the top! Feel free to check it out on ITunes.

Favorite tracks for the week are the ones I'm working on for the play I'm providing music for, Praying Small, written by the BRILLIANT Clif Morts. It will be playing at the Noho Arts Center soon. I'll keep you posted.

God Give Me Strength by Burt Bacharach & Elvis Costello & Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen. Both songs are masterpieces & I am humbled as I try to create my own versions of each song.

Have a brilliant week & if you live in LA, stay dry!

House painted, week in progress & this weeks top tracks!

GOAL: Keep it short and sweet this week!

First off, for those of you who don't know me and/or live in LA, this is my cozy & humble abode. I just painted it which was a four month extravaganza that I thought would take two weeks tops. But it's pretty near done and I can move on to bigger and better thangs. And that is that. Scene. :P

2010 is feeling good so far. I've got a bunch of projects cooking, one of my best pals on the planet, LEO, is home from the P!NK tour, I've been contacted for a couple interesting producing/recording projects & I'm back to eating well (also LESS!), exercising & chilling on the booze (I love the word booze, don't you?)...YES. I'm feeling great.

Tonight, I'm tackling Final Cut Pro. I'm slightly intimidated but I've always got performance video to edit & iMovie just ain't cutting it, especially when lip synch is involved. I might break down and get a six pack at the corner bodega before the night is out. -So much for drinking less booze in 2010. :P

The other big project is the album...another overwhelming, huge-ass project. I had an amazing phone meeting with Rich Overton, a brilliant music manager/PR/hustler I'm going to be working with this year. We discussed the differences between doing an LP and a full-length album. I was leaning towards LP (less than 10 songs) for financial and time reasons. Time and money: the two greatest excuses on the planet for artists! Can I get a witness?!

Well, apparently an album (10 plus tracks) is given more attention than an LP (less than 10) by magazines, reviewers, etc. Currently, I've got 8 tracks for the album, which would make it an LP. -So we discussed alternatives for adding 2 more tracks. I could (and probably will) add 2 tracks with minimal production (AKA me & a piano), but the challenge will be to create a cohesiveness between these piano songs and the rest of the album. In short, I'll figure it out. Deadline to finish album? April 1. In the meantime, I've gotta find some genius up-and-coming producers to do remixes for my dance single, "Missing You". Any suggestions?

Short and sweet...right.

I thought I'd share my track favorites for the week. For links to hear the songs go to www.kylepuccia.com. Have a beautiful, productive week. :P KP

Mary J Blige: Kitchen: This song is fun and clever. Songs this clever are NOT easy to write. Quintessential Mary. One of my all-time favorite voices in popular music.

Robin Thicke: Sex Therapy: No description needed.

Alicia Keys: Empire State Of Mind (Part II) Broken Down: Much better than the radio version in my opinion. A nostalgic love letter to New York.

1st Monday, New Year, Great Music!

Happy New Year!

I'm gonna go ahead and say I'm really happy we're in a new year. 2009 was a good one for me, but through the face of adversity. -And we artists face enough daily adversity without the addition of global economic adversity & the adversity of human rights inequality...to name a few.

But I've found that artists are generally a stubborn and tenacious lot, so my friends and I put it into turbo boost to make '09 work as a SEED PLANTING year. I'm going to list my 3 favorite '09 highlights for two reasons. 1. As a wise, past teacher often said, "throw bouquets on your past victories" & 2. In hopes that it will inspire YOU to look at all that was good in '09 so we can travel together into '10 with lighter, more victorious hearts.

1. Pop Goes The World! My friends Guy, Kevin, Brad & I mounted the biggest show that I've ever been a part of in Hollywood at the Avalon. This benefit concert for LIFEWORKS featured major pop stars such as JoJo & Blake Lewis and was an amazing production!

2. My beautiful & talented client, Carmen Perez, hit number 10 on the pop UK charts with "Emergency", a song that was co-written by myself, Carmen Perez, Ellis Miah and J & Sweet (Jennifer Lopez's "Love Don't Cost A Thing").

3. Long time friend and artist Darryl Stephens and I have written a feature film with original pop/rock music!

I also had the honor of working with dozens of brilliant artists writing songs, developing voices & inspiring confidence. This daily achievement reaches beyond any monetary success that I will achieve in this lifetime!

This year will bring a new album, a new single, a new manager. All in the works.

My postulates are:

My music is placed in film and on TV, my dance single goes top 10 on the Billboard charts & my video is #1 on Logo's click list. My music will be nationally reviewed and appreciated.

I am offered and accept a publishing deal as a songwriter with a substantial advance & earn at least 3 major placements with a major artist/major label. My income as a songwriter is my bread & butter. I continue to write songs to add to my catalogue, develop a system of organization/identification and produce them at a very high, sellable quality. I work with Kara DioGuardi, Linda Perry, Butch Walker & P!NK as a songwriter.

My income as a performer is greater than the investment I put into it. I will put together and perform a show of cover songs which sells out MBar in which I sing and play piano for myself. I will be payed to perform at at least 4 Pride festivals. I will perform CD release parties in LA and NYC.

My career as a voice teacher/vocal coach will at least double, if not triple in clientele & income. I will do a series of podcasts focusing on specific areas and techniques of singing. I will record and create warm-up CDs for the male and female voice which I will sell online and at various stores. I will be hired as celebrity vocal coach/judge for a major or cable TV reality talent competition.

This year's Open Artists show will feature MAJOR artists such as P!NK, Mary J., Sam Sparro, etc., will be brimming with major celebrities/VIPS & will yield at least a 10K profit for Lifeworks. I will perform at peak health and energy with new, exciting material. Production will be smooth, organized and the energy will remain positive, light and fun.

I will work on the set of a major motion picture as vocal coach, music director, and/or vocal arranger.

I will be offered & accept a paying tour as music director for a pop band/group.

I will maintain this blog on a weekly basis. :)

My income will be at least double.

I am in a position to buy my first house.

I am the happiest, busiest & healthiest I've ever been.

I fearlessly move forward with purpose.

I inspire others to go after and achieve THEIR dreams.

I will leave you with a LINK to this fun home video shot by amazing friend and business partner Phoebe Carter & featuring my super-model pit-bull Bella Puccia of my rendition of Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen.

What is your 2010 game plan??

Yours in music, Kyle