Happy Halloween! What's really scary, though...

Happy Halloween! I went for a walk tonight in my new neighborhood - Whole Foods was packed - with Brentwood families and dogs (yes actual dogs) in their costumes... I overheard a 20 something Yoga Bunny on her phone saying, "I guess they wouldn't want sugar free chocolate?.." lol! Later I saw some kids out trick or treating with pumpkin buckets in hand - still a bit of an odd sight as we didn't have Halloween growing up in Australia. On the way home I had a sudden craving for a BLT so I stopped at Subway. A homeless guy shuffled in and asked for a glass of water and the staff eyed him kinda suspiciously as he got a cup and shuffled out again. I paid for my sub and as I was on my way to the door, feeling for my change in my pocket, I saw the homeless guy sitting alone out the front, hunched over a duffle bag with his back to the wind that was picking up just after night fall. I thought, "I must have a dollar to give to him..." then realized I didn't have any ones left only a ten... For a split second I tensed up and thought, "one's enough, ten's too much!" Then with sudden clarity I realized, how in the world would $1 be enough? How is $10 enough?.. So I took out my ten to give to him, suggesting he get something to eat. When I got closer and looked into his face I saw he looked a lot like the dad's and grandfathers my sister, Tania, and I used to play cover gigs for at Bowling Clubs and Football Clubs in country Australia. Yellowing but combed back white hair and a ruddy, open face. My heart went out to him - no matter what chain of events led him to be without a bed or home to go to. Anyway, I looked into his eyes and gave him what must have been a bit of an awkward smile and the ten dollar note - and felt good about it. When nothing goes your way for a long time it's easy to assume it never will and so the downward spiral quickens. I don't know what else to say about that. I'm afraid of sounding preachy. But pictures of a hand, like a rudder, in the wind keeps popping into my mind - along with another of turning a canoe with one hand in rushing water. It seems to me we are in a position to slow each others downward spirals - if we want to.

Hear my song "Reality Check" on "Army Wives" this September!

I'm totally psyched to be lettin' y'all know that my song, "Reality Check" will appear in an upcoming episode of the hit Lifetime drama, "Army Wives"!!

I've posted it on my player here if you wanna have a listen. This song's always been one of my faves!


F.
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#3 on this week's Music Network Top 30 Country Chart

My sister, Tania Kernaghan, is a country singer and entertainer in the land down under. I wrote a bunch of songs for her new album, "Livin' The Dream" and I'm chuffed to report that the first single is one of my songs... "Second Time Around" just came out and is up another spot to #3 on this week's Music Network Top 30 Country Chart.

Woo hoo!

For more about Tan check out www.taniakernaghan.com

20 Ways To Maintain A Healthy Level Of Insanity

A good friend sent me this in an email recently. It's good to laugh! Here's to not taking ourselves tooooooo seriously....

20 Ways To Maintain A Healthy Level of Insanity

1. At Lunch Time, Sit In Your Parked Car With Sunglasses on and Point A Hair Dryer At Passing Cars. See If They Slow Down.

2. Page Yourself Over The Intercom. Don't Disguise Your Voice.

3. Every Time Someone Asks You To Do Something, Ask If They Want Fries with that.

4. Put Your Garbage Can On Your Desk And Label It "In."

5. Put Decaf In The Coffee Maker For 3 Weeks. Once Everyone Has Gotten Over Their Caffeine Addictions, Switch To Espresso.

6. In The Memo Field Of All Your Checks, Write "For Sexual Favors"

7. Finish All Your Sentences With "In Accordance With The Prophecy."

8. Don't Use Any Punctuation

9. As Often As Possible, Skip Rather Than Walk.

10. Ask People What Sex They Are. Laugh Hysterically After They Answer.

11. Specify That Your Drive-through Order Is "To Go."

12. Sing Along At The Opera.

13. Go To A Poetry Recital And Ask Why The Poems Don't Rhyme

14. Put Mosquito Netting Around Your Work Area And Play Tropical Sounds All Day.

15. Five Days In Advance, Tell Your Friends You Can't Attend Their Party because You're Not In The Mood.

16. Have Your Co-workers Address You By Your Wrestling Name, Rock Hard.

17. When The Money Comes Out The ATM, Scream "I Won! I Won!"

18. When Leaving The Zoo, Start Running Towards The Parking Lot, Yelling

"Run For Your Lives, They're Loose!!"

19. Tell Your Children Over Dinner. "Due To The Economy, We Are Going To Have To Let One Of You Go."

And The Final Way To Keep A Healthy Level Of Insanity.......



20. Copy this and Send an E-mail To Someone To Make Them Smile..
It's Called Therapy...

Mahalia and Jimmy Barnes at The House Of Blues in LA!

Last night Dan and I went along to The House Of Blues here on Sunset
to catch Mahalia Barnes' first gig in the U.S - followed by a top notch set from her dad, Jimmy - who happens to be an Australian rock icon. It was fantastic!! Mahalia wailed with her soul and blues infused set and Jimmy let loose with some of his classics that have pretty much defined the Aussie Rock genre over the last 20 years. The room was packed with smiling, very Aussie looking faces. The air of excitement and pride was palpable as the band launched into classics like Khe San, Lay Down Your Guns and Working Class Man. Thanks for a great night, Jim!

ps! Mahalia's new album is available in the U.S on iTunes USA.

Why I love LA...

Last night we were poolside under a starry sky with Tiki torches flickering and Sangrias in hand... That's December in LA for ya! Dan and I had a great night celebrating our friend, Rafa Sardina's, 40th birthday in true Californian style. Rafa's a multi Latin Grammy Award winning producer and engineer and on top of that I can honestly say he is also one of the nicest, most wonderful people I've ever met in all my years in the music industry! They went all out and had two bands playing - with pa and lights of course! It was a good vibe vortex and I enjoyed meeting his wonderful array of friends from all over the world. What is it with Spanish people?.. I don't think there's an ugly one among them! lol. We reckon we had the best Mexican food of our lives last night, too... A small catering company set up a grill in the backyard under a tree and treated us to hand made tortillas and soft and crunchy tacos crammed with seasoned pork and onions and cilantro... Locals might wanna check out "Tacos EL PAISA" 323. 588 6618

The Billboard Film & TV Music Conference

It was with some trepidation that Dan and I packed an overnight bag and headed into the Sofitel Hotel for the Billboard Film and TV Music Conference... What to bloody wear? Would we know anyone? Would I feel "like a shag on a rock" !? (That's Australian for "out of place and feeling like an idiot" lol!) I took a deep breath and walked into the crowded lobby sporting my unassuming little laminate that read, "Fiona Kernaghan Music"... Yep, that's us! Before I knew it I was comfortably carried along on the good vibes generated by the eclectic and friendly creatives who'd coughed up plenty of green to be there with an ear to the ground an eye on the future. The overall mood was really positive and pro active. The first panel I listened to included composer Marc Streitenfeld talking about his relationship with director, Ridley Scott. We got the inside goss on Marc's process and checked out samples of his incredible work in films like "A Very Good Year" and "Body Of Lies" (both with Russell Crowe). That was incredibly inspiring! And it set the tone for the rest of the 2 day conference. I was inspired, enlightened and... had a lot of fun. Dan and I ran into a few friends including Jewel Coburn of 10/10 Music in Nashville, rising star composer Kristin Baum and the irrepressible Charlyn Bernal from LA's Ascap office. Here's a pic of us in the green room right before Diane Warren accepted her Billboard Career Achievement Award...

Me and the editors of Billboard magazine - Bill Werde was great!

Daniel Kresco, Charlyn Bernal, me and Brendan Okrent.