The P A R T Y { r e c a p }

What an incredible week. { and long too.. }

I started pre-sales on February 7th, and 7 days later released the CD at Rugby in Georgetown. People asked me all week " Are you excited " & obviously, the answer was yes, but this was also my first album, & I knew I had the support of family and friends but I was still nervous about the reactions to it. The lyrics on the album are sort of diary entries that rhyme to me, so of course, it's vulnerable.

After several days of being trapped in the snow { and not having a car for 10 days } I was worried also... would the CD's get here on time? Will everyone make it? ... I got to the Cafe that morning and didn't quite get to hang all the decorations I had imagined because a brunch crowd came in but nevertheless I think it was just enough to be special to me.

The dinner crowed lingered, which had me on my toes, but soon, friends and family packed in- and with every new face through the door, my heart pounded with excitement, I had no idea so many people cared so much, and whew were they dressed to the nines....

I even got on the bar to sing - and boy was it hard to sing loud without a mic. But looking out and seeing faces from so many years passed... just meant the world to me. The night was a huge success both for the album and for me.

And if you don't have your copy yet.. what the heck are ya waitin for? CLICK HERE TO ORDER!

Pictures....enjoy, loves.

I have to run for now but please come back for more pictures.... :)

The Release P A R T Y / 2.14.1010

Today is a huge day for me... it is the day I get to share this huge project with you all.

It is hard to imagine that when this blog first started I was just starting in the studio and now, dozens of boxes fill my room with copies of the CD, for you! Tonight is the party @ Rugby Cafe in Georgetown (Wisconsin ave. & M Street) , They sort of had a brunch crowd early today so I didn't quite get to finish decorating :( oh well, less christmas lights than promised, but nontheless, candles, etc abound. Oh and lots of Valentines Candy!

It is the first beautiful sunny day in weeks & I am greatful for that. I am also greatful for everyone who is coming especially those who traveled long distances to get here. And for those who can't come for their mail-orders. I am just so proud and overwhelemd with love right now, honestly....

Ill post this blog as is, and come back after the party to fill you in.

Something came in the M A I L

It has been snowing for 6 days straight in Washington D.C. and I must say it is quite lovely. Everything is beautiful and white, and inside? With School and work canceled all week I got so much me time to work on the party plans. and sleeping. mmm sleeping. and important hobbies of mine like... hot cocoa making. ;)

snow snow snow

On the one day the roads were almost cleared however [ before mother nature crapped on us again] a package arrived for me from builtbyicon music ... & by package I mean, dozens of boxes...that's right.

...THE ALBUM HAS ARRIVED...

My very first original full-length album " hey mom, look what i can do! " arrived in the mail. At least the first 1,098 copies. ( whoa buddy!) Me and my mom had made it out of the house for the time in days and My dad texted saying they had come! I was thinking in the car " i wonder what that many CD's even looks like...." wow.... i could not have imagined. { EPIC } I guess I should have thought about where I was going to keep them all?

[pictures to be added tonight]

I opened up sales online as well so if you aren't going to be here Sunday for the PARTY be sure to CLICK HERE {as many of you lovelies already have } to purchase yours for only $10 ! It means the world to me to see so many people from my past and present supporting me by getting one & I sincerly HOPE that you all love it.

I am counting down the days with 1) excitement 2) fear 3)happiness 4)hope 5)love and 6)anger towards mother nature.

....until then, loves.

oh S U M M E R how i miss you

I have been snowed in for 4 days....


.... with my parents


and this video makes me want summer SO BAD....

say s o m e t h i n g

So a while ago I blogged that I finally met one of my favorite singers Greg Holden after corresponding via e-mail for a few months. At Greg's show, his friend Ian Axel played, who was equally amazing.

His song " Say Something" was so incredible it brought me to tears. I've been trying to figure out the chords for weeks....

This week Greg posted a cover of it on you-tube. And so I posted one to. I guarantee you will like this song so much you will listen to Ian's, Greg's And mine.... Although I promise mine is the worst.....

what a small W O R L D

So through You-Tube , Myspace, etc I have been able to talk to some of my supporters who are from all over the world, and it's such a surreal thought to think about.

One of my fans ( i'll leave his name out ) usually checks in to make sure I'm happy in all of my pursuits etc. This morning he told me that he had onced lived in the DC Area ( back in 2007) when we continued talking about it and his adventures here he said he dated a girl from AU ( which is where i go...) and that she took a theatre class and had to see the shows in the department. ( that is usualla requirement for students in theatre courses) and that he had to see Hamlet at AU back in 2007...

it just so happens that i was Laertes in that production of hamlet.

he immediatly rememberd " that girl with great abs" ... now i know what your thinkin and all i can say is, you had to see me then lol, i was in crazy good shape and I did a 15 minute sword fighting sequence in what was basically a bra as I killed Hamlet in the final scene.

thats a picture of me washing my hair backstage in the dressing rooms before the show.... see, i was workin on the abs that year lol!!

When we made the connection he said " ha this is soooo nuts, when i saw you on youtube i always thought you looked eerily familiar but i could never put my finger on it" He also told me to hug the person who did costumes for the show, which made me laugh. So BTP, this ones for you!

Ganymeade F A L L F E S T I V A L

About 2 years I got asked to be an actor in the annual Page-to-Stage new play festival at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, I played a lesiban named Brook Lynn. I always laugh when I say that name... Anyways, the show was a great expierience, and in the process, I became friends with the director... John C. Bailey ( a great talent in the area)

John asked me back this past fall to be an actor in another new work for Ganymeade's Fall Arts Festival, and the following week to co-headline with local talent Ezmo in a " Girls with Guitars" Rock concert, how cute is that? I definitly could NOT resist!

Today, only moments for Snowpocalypse 2010 started.... ( see photo below)



...I picked up a copy of the DVD from my performance from that night, and whew, this is the first time I've seen live footage of myself like that. The guitar was not very loud on the camera, so I wasn't critical of that. My voice, suprisingly, I thought sounded pretty darn good! I was most critical watching myself as a performer... i look down a lot, and I mumble in between songs haha....

Anyways, here is a little clip from that night, enjoy :

Internet P R O M O T I O N

Self-Promotion:yeah...its awkaward.

About 2 years ago, I got to meet the AMAZINGLY talented Damien Horne through my family's continued work with Samaritan's feet. Damien is a singer who literally went from being homeless on the street with his guitar and a dream, to making a living off of his music. Damien works under Big Kenny and Rich in Nashville and his manager, Bill Moore, gave me a little tid bit about "the industry":

Basically he said: Someone [manager, record company,etc.] can think you are great...but they won't take you on if they don't know that others also think you are great. Part of one's want to work with you as an artist is knowing that others appreciate your art. With this being said, numbers matter. According to him... 500 fans- is easy. That is your friends, your family, people who know people who know you.... everyone from your uncle peter and that boy you kissed in truth or dare in 7th grade...thats easy.. Your first 5,000- that's your hardest. these are the people who do not know you, do not know people who know you, and like you even though you are not famous yet. ( i love these people) Once you get those people... "people of the business" can take you more seriously, seeing as how your draw is more credible. They can put your album in stores and make that 5,000 -50,000.

This can be quite awkward especially if you are in the 12-25 year old range, as I am, because you are constantly judged, etc. and having to convert your friends into fans is, well....not a comfortable process.

For me, I also had friends suggest the different internet sites used for networking- so I went for it...where all of my peers could see... Facebook First. I started with a group page, as opposed to a fan page. For one, I don't see the people in it as fans, but rather, supporters, people on "my team"...and i like it that way. (...I really do love and appreciate every single person in this group, and they are so much more than numbers)The other benefits to a group, is that you can message your members, which for me was a great way of keeping people updated very rarely, but on big things going on in my music career, without them having to come back and check all of the time... So this is my page:


You can click here to re-direct yourself to the page, and Join if you haven't!


lastly through a group, i am able to invite my members to different " events" . This is great for spreading the word for local shows and collaborations! Here is an example of an invite i was able to do for a show I did with my great friends Justin Kredible, Terrence Cunningham and The MakePeace Brothers this past summer at BloomBars


Next, was You-Tube. You-Tube is incredible, and i hardly remember life without it. following singers like Julia Nunes and Kina Grannis on You-Tube is a huge reason why i learned guitar, pursued song writing, and got active in internet networking. This is my page now:

I love my you-tube subscribers, I do my best to thank every single one of them. I am up to 200 and something... which may not seem like a lot but the cool thing is very few people I know have you-tube so these are primarily strangers who have somehow found me through the ever bizarre internet, many of them are international - this is something I appreciate SO much.

the list goes on...

Twitter... Myspace.... more to post later on the process of spreading all of this!

my funny V A L E N T I N E

So this happens every year...

I just happen to be single at valentines day. ( or for the whole year) ...

and then, I think a boy is pretty special & i want him to, you know... be my valentine!

It's cool because, when your single, and someone is your valentine it's like an excuse for one day to have a:
" could-you-one-day-be-my-boyfriend" trial run
and because of the sheer romance that surrounds the day, it gets to be far more magical than a normal date, or first date.

and let's be honest people, I'm an artist. A girl. I'm a sucker for romance. I am espeically a sucker for romance sung to an acoustic guitar.

so i wrote this song for this year:

"My Valentine" and you can download it for free of of my myspace music page:

http://www.myspace.com/hopeleigh

i hope you like it~

by the way, i recorded it in one take via. my iphone, sorry it isn't the best!

B E Y O N C E ?

This week is "Doopleanger" week ( spelling??) anyways, I guess it's a week trend on facebook to make your profile picture a picture of the celebrity that most people tell you that you look like, most often I get Kelly Clarkson or Terri Hatcher.

My little sister decided to put a picture of me into a " trace your face and find your celeb twin" and i have 97% in common with BEYONCE.....

well now i can die happy.

p.s. i wonder what the three percent differences is??? hmm.... i just dont know ?? ;)