Interview With The Doctor, Nick Walker

MindSick Interview with Writer, Brittany Hreha

Interview With An Actor, Elias Dudgeon

Interview With An Actor, Nolan Kenmonth

Malinka Inspires Soulful Connection & Community

 

Malinka performing at Paschal Winery in Talent, Oregon

The newest craze in the Ashland music scene specializes in a beautiful blend of world folk and gypsy music, hence the name of the band, "Malinka: World Folk".  Spear-headed by the creative talents of Yelena Valerievna, the lead vocalist and guitarist, Malinka has been performing about Rogue Valley in a variety of places from Paschal Winery to their upcoming show at the Black Sheep Pub & Restaurant.

During the lockdown of Covid19, Yelena found herself isolated and in need of some creative expression.  A born and bred Latvian, she found solace in the music from her family's origins,those of Russian folk and Romani songs she fondly remembers singing well into the night at her childhood family gatherings, her uncle on guitar, her mother dancing, and her grandmother's sweet voice echoing down through memories.  Her grandmother, Valerievna explains, had a beautiful voice and talent for many instruments, thus this music is that of Yelena's soul.  So it was this music she found herself learning and playing every night and during the isolation of 2020, she found solace.

However, these songs, she explains, are not meant to be solo, romani music is part of a collective. Therefore, she was led to reach out to others, via online sites such as craigslist, and was first connected with Stephany Smith-Pearson.  Meeting first outside, then later Smith-Pearson came over every week and although sitting outside maintaining the social distance requirements, they still managed to form a warm connection.  

Later on, Tim Kelly discovered them via another online site and the band slowly began to emerge.  Together, the three began performing, discovering the beautiful sounds coming forth from their creations and also realizing how much affection they shared for one another.  From there, their first gig was booked at Paschal Winery.  

Then, a week before their debut performance, Stephany brought in Lawrence Newcomb, a clarinet performer, who joined and the band was fully formed. 

That next Sunday, the four had their first gig, Yelena Valerievna as lead vocalist and guitarist, Stephany Smith-Pearson as vocalist and on mandolin and accordion, Tim Kelly on the upright bass, and Lawrence Newcomb on the clarinet and soprano saxophone.  Yelena is grateful for her bandmates, grateful for their friendship as well as their talents.  Stephany brings such a gift with her harmonies and talents on her instruments, Tim with his classical training is a gem of a bassist, and Lawrence rounds it out with his divine soloist skills breathing life into the the music with his melodies.  

Malinka is quickly being known and loved throughout the Rogue Valley and Yelena believes its due to the need for connection and community which was lost during the pandemic.  Through the music, the history of Yelena's culture and personal family background is shared, with hopes that even though a language barrier, connection of the heart can be reached.  Audience members are encouraged to dance and be lively, this music is to be shared within a vibrant community forming into family.

Yelena believes that a thriving artist is one who continues to grow in their art, something that is different for everyone.  Right now, she feels herself to be a thriving artist, because daily she picks up her guitar to practice, sing, and perform, finding that her songs evolve and are reaching new horizons, and in that deep satisfication of her soul, she finds herself thriving in all areas of her life.

Malinka performing at Water Street Cafe.

For more information about Malinka: World Folk, check out the links below:

MalinkaWorldFolkMusic

https://archive.org/details/zvezdochka_202105

https://archive.org/details/malinka-ochi-chyornie_202107

https://archive.org/details/malinka-kalinka

Interview With An Actress, Becky Durango

The Emo-Me Years! Journaling Through The Years Episode Four

A Message From The Undead, Count Dracula

Interview With An Actor, Roy Von Rains, Jr

Interview With Actress, Anastasia Juliet Eismann

Interview With An Actor, Jesse Riker

Endings Are Inevitable.

… And if we get to see tomorrow

I hope it's worth all the wait

It's hard to say goodbye to yesterday

… And I'll take with me the memories

To be my sunshine after the rain

It's so hard to say goodbye to yesterday

It's So Hard To Say GoodBye To Yesterday

These past few days I have been reflecting upon the endings of events, both in my life personally and universally.  Throughout the last year, the world has been in shutdown due to a global pandemic for which the majority of time many wondered when it would finally have its ending and life could go back to normal.  What we call normal life though being is really a fallacy of our own making, a means to define and structure our lives to fit comfortably within our internal and external peace of mind and is truly fleeting in its stability.  Such as the 'Before Times' as referred to the Pre-Pandemic Era of 2020 have had its ending and will not return.  Thus, we have learned that what we deem normal is fleeting, irrelevant, and not truly, in fact, real.  And now, we can even see the light at the end of the tunnel of this Covid19 reality, at least, what it was we experienced before is now ending and turning into a different reality of such.

Everything has an ending so much as everything has its beginning.  I have experienced this first hand throughout my life as I live the bliss of the magical moments of togetherness in a variety of situation and thus also suffer the extremity of pain when that time of my life comes to its fruition and those that peopled that time of my life move forward as I do as well.  There is, then, a bitter heart break in that finality, one that should we reunite in whatever fashion, upon we realize that that moment has passed, is mere memory to be relived fondly, but never to come again. 

To everything (turn, turn, turn)

There is a season (turn, turn, turn)

And a time to every purpose, under heaven

A time to be born, a time to die

A time to plant, a time to reap

A time to kill, a time to heal

A time to laugh, a time to weep

To everything (turn, turn, turn)

There is a season (turn, turn, turn)

And a time to every purpose, under heaven

Turn! Turn! Turn!

In fact, the construct of this linear time that is our reality is truly always passing away, each second dissappearing into the ether as truly as we live.  Truthfully, each word I type is part of that mere seconds of time that soar by as my fingers spill over the keyboard, the thoughts flowing from my mind, expressing the profundity of the lesson to be learned and impacted into our psyches.

If, then, time is fleeting and the present only a momentary reality, if everything that begins has its ending, the best way to live is to enjoy the moment in itself, not agonizing over the good-bye, longing for the hello.  Yes, mourning the heart-break in saying farewell is a necessary part of life, grieving is a part of healing and all of our evolutionary process.  However, if stayed there too long, space is not created to make way for the new beginning yet to come.  It is true that in every beginning there is an ending, but similarily in every ending there is a new beginning, and onwards we go.

So, thus, the true power of living a joyful life is to practice the mindfulness of presence, of being in the moment, spoken widely by the wise ones of all the world religions and spiritual practices.  Yes, this is hard for all to truly embody but nonetheless something vital to strive ever towards in our personal journeys.  

For in living in the moment today, we build the fabric of the memory to uphold and treasure as we progress forward in our lives upward evolutionary movement towards our highest self and ultimate goal of pure soul identity.

There are places I'll remember

All my life though some have changed

Some forever, not for better

Some have gone and some remain

All these places have their moments

With lovers and friends I still can recall

Some are dead and some are living

In my life I've loved them all

In My Life

Thank You, Pedro! #texanspaniard #patreon #shoutout

Clearing space for my pool!! #catmamavlog

In Memory #harryanderson #charlesrobinson #lukeperry #valerieharper #cat...

Interview With Actress, Erin Jennifer Rose

Interview With Actor, Noah Fitterer

Interview With Actress, Lia Rose Dugal

Remembering Catherine Hansen #memorial

Thank you, Corky! #patron #cookingwithcorky

Dear Markie Post: Journaling Through The Years Episode Two

Gig Worker Full Time

 Gig-worker: a person who works temporary jobs typically in the service sector as an independent contractor or freelancer : a worker in the gig economy. Gig workers have freedoms that most full-timers only dream of: setting their own hours, working from home, being their own bosses.

As I write this, I am sitting in the living room of what I deem a real live "Hobbit House", where I am currently dog-sitting for two adorable pups named Chester and Puck.  The gig is pretty laid-back.  I've been able to work out while simultaneously logging onto another one of my gigs (winks), see: playing double duty at the gig life, as well as shoot out some emails, work on a script, and create this blog all while working the 'normie' pay the bills job.

In my now way distant past, I held the normal 9-5 jobs, from being a full-fledged elementary teacher to working retail, while deep down the desire for flexibility and freedom in earning a living was a burning desire I yet felt comfortable expressing.  Furthermore, the regular life of the 40 hour a week cycle proved to be a detriment to my mental health, resulting in the discovery of my bipolar diagnosis which put me on the journey towards recovery, finally proving ultimately that I am not made for the normal society approved employment. 

The life of a gig-worker may look somewhat glamourous and desirable; in some ways it is quite enjoyable and I am beyond grateful that my life has, at last, led me to this means of thriving.  But it was not easy and it did not come with several uphill journeys of struggle and suffering.  Indeed, there can be a marked degree of sacrifice in the gig worker's world that may not be that of one who works the full time 9-5 shift at an established company.  

Yes, we may have the flexibility of defining our own schedule, but what we have in freedom, we lack in definition; being our own bosses means that there is no one else is motivating us to work or telling us we have to, but ourselves.  Then again, there is the flip side to this, being our own bosses means there is no one telling us to stop working, no alarm going off informing us the day is done, no punch card to hit time-out, no PTO to allow us the freedom to vacation or staycation; being our own bosses means that there is no one motivating us to rest, but ourselves.

In the very early days of my gig-worker's life, pre-Covid19 (you recall the Before Times?), the clients were scarce, gigs were few and far between, work was unstable and hard to obtain, life seemed more of an uphill battle than any thing mirroring enjoyment.  So many times I asked myself why I had chosen this life, wondering if I should just throw in the towel and go for that 9-5, but something stopped me from accepting any position in the normal sphere of reality, some strength and abiding belief in myself, perhaps buried and unseen to myself, that fueled me forward in the pursuit of creating my own universe.  This even when times were so very tough and I, not knowing, how the bills would be paid and always wondering when the next source of income would come down the pike.  

Not so anymore.  I find myself with a plethora of steady, increasing clients within the framework of the myriad of gigs I partake, whether it be modeling, to nannying, to pet-care, or whatever it may be, so that my income status has increased from below poverty to low income, a small step, yes,  but significant in the boost of one's confidence.  Also, I find myself in the black every month, seeing the slow increase of the savings as well as the slow decrease of the debt, followed by the rising of the credit score.  

Yes, I know I'm a ways off from financial freedom but finally I feel comfortable within the confines of adult career life in that I feel responsible, an increasing sense of self sufficiency, and an end in sight when it comes to the debtor's prison I have found myself within for some time, but now feel as if I have discovered the key to my release.

Truth be told, my career path mirrors that of my emotional and mental health paths, in that, I have had to forage my way, throughout a myriad of conflicts (mostly that in my own mind), battling my way through to truly understanding what it means to be fully human, authentic and free.  In the aptly called "Before Times", I felt shame for not living the normal life, having the 9-5, the 2.5 kids, the mortgaged house and garage, the retirement account, you know, the American Dream, as it were.  Honestly, as much as I felt the shame from not submitting to the status quo, or the pity as seem as destitute in the eyes of family, friends, and society, I also felt the constant desire to break from the confining structures of social norms and choose the path less traveled.

Now, as we begin life in this post-covid reality, I recognize a shift in the understanding of 'gigworker' as acceptable and, even, admirable, perhaps even a certain type of normal.  After experiencing a world wide pandemic, what is normal anyway?

The hustle of a gig worker's life may not be for all, but for me I live my employment as a sense of adventure, viewing it through the lens of the child-like wonder within my being, dutifully recording my work done in my TWO paper planners and inputting my income and outcome on my spreadsheet, which shows my monthly as well as yearly earnings and expenses.  Thus, I have proven to myself capable of that which I always felt insufficient.  That then might be the real value of the gig-worker's life, is the growth of one's own soul development and self love.

Making a living in this economy moving forward will not be what it once was, in our parents and grandparents lives, nor should it be. We as citizens of humanity should never cease to evolve past the confines of social dictates, recognize the dichotomy within us all, and, in that, never fail to seek out, find, and love our thrive.