Lady Gaga's 'You And I' Cover by me (Chiki) From my MiniVan!

I've been putting up cover videos and having so much fun doing it. There's a few more on my YouTube Channel. I've been doing about 1-2 videos per week.

Check back for more videos!

-Chiki

2011 and believing in yourself

We continue to make music, we continue to be inspired. This has been such a long process and we finally feel that our music has hit the point where we're getting the response we are looking for and it's consistent. :)

This past Holiday we had a wonderful time with family & friends. I hope the same for you. I sometimes look around at all the abundance and count my blessings. Other times, I feel that there is so much wasted extra resources (the abundance) that could be given to some people who are starving and have no shelter. Like, when I hear of hundreds of thousands of dollars being spent on one person's holiday gift, I can't help but think of how selfish that is when little babies are starving to death.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to 2011 and our video and our single release. We're not divulging any information yet because we just want it to be the best surprise!

For now, you can visit us at http://www.modernkindmusic.net for updates!

Talk soon!

Christine
pop is best served up as a side dish to life

Should an Artist decide what an artist is?

Recently Lady Gaga did an interview for Q magazine and she said she doesn't think Paris is an artist.


I think Lady Gaga is creative but I also think that she is a product and has merchandised herself as such. Does someone who has made a business out of herself have the right to decide who is an artist and who is not?


I'm not standing up for Paris Hilton but more the thought that anyone should decide who is a 'true artist' and who is not; especially one that is so successful.


On another note, Lady Gaga has also said that she was a theater student and 'studious' in high school and there were 'blonde' girls that did drugs and 'didn't give a F***'. Later, Lady Gaga goes on to say that she did drugs to help her with creativity and her music as well as she later became a blonde. I think this is a case of Pottle vs. Kettle = both are black.




Pop is best served up as a side dish to life.
Christine Sebastian
Mom and the Pop Life




Image: Rex

I really am a Mom living the Pop Life

That's me with the elbow and blonde braids in the middle in 2007 with my beautiful dancers at on of our first we performed at. I look rather lady like with my black pleather boots and fishnets. :)

When I decided to make this blog, I really wasn't sure what I wanted it to be about. I mostly think I wanted it to be about pop culture and how it impacts motherhood, society and children of all ages.

To an extent, I still feel the desire to write about these things.

Now I realize that I really wanted a place to write down my thoughts. Some people would get a journal. I want to be public. One of my purposes in life is to entertain, to engage and to inspire. My whole life I've always been fearless when it comes to my work; and especially when it comes to my music. My husband and I are both songwriters and after the children are in bed, we go down to the studio and write music.

In 2006, my husband and I began developing music and me as an artist. At that time, I had a one year old and a two year old. I was not in shape. I wasn't even in any shape at all in fact! I had put on fifty pounds. I started to work out, diet and ALL of the weight came off. I found a choreographer, interns, a band and even got a prominent music manager. I did this while also keeping a household, going to play dates and Gymboree classes.

Here was this suburban mom with her suburban friends coming to her shows at some not so 'mommy friendly' places. It was a movement. I didn't know it at the time because I was driven by my passion. It was saying a mother can still follow her dreams. She doesn't have to forget who she is.

My husband and I wrote songs that were relatable to what we were feeling. Impeccably produced by my husband Marcus who also worked with New Kids on The Block, our music was described as rocket fuel and explosive. Like 80's music with modern spin, it was electronic, rock, and theater camp. Songs like Wheel of Life outlined how we needed to live for today and not feel bad for ourselves-to just go for what you believe in and follow your dreams.

Monotony is a song about feeling trapped in your life. You ask yourself why you're living this life? My husband and I had so much fun making this music. One of our songs 'Too Much Funn' garnered the most interest and even got featured on Kiss 108.

On stage performing this music, I am space camp, pop queen who had outrageous costumes and a larger than life persona. The show was part Rocky Horror Picture show, part Metropolis but a low budget version!

After some excellent press reviews, I found myself going from small venues to opening for successful artists such as Kat Deluna, Leona Lewis, Maroon 5 and many more.

The music world, especially the pop world is a small one. Sometimes another artist can get inspired by your work. Well, an artist, a popular one did get inspired. Not only did she get 'inspired' by our lyrics but by our sound, show, my persona, my backstory/bio, my press clippings and our marketing. Unfortunately this person was signed by a major and going after that is kind of like a mouse vs. a lion. After all, a signed artist has more talent than an unsigned one, right? Even if that is not true, it's sort of like the rule in this business. Besides this, we don't agree artistically with what this artist has done with our ideas and would never want to be compared with this person.

I got down about it because we poured so much energy into it--not to mention all of the awesome and talented people who worked on the project. I gained weight as a result of letting myself get down and lost passion for something I've always loved.

So, my husband and I started over. We are writing music from the heart. Just like in the Johnny Cash movie, we asked ourselves 'if we were to die tomorrow, what music would we be making?' We have created a whole new sound and we're singing together. :)

As one of my favorite motivational speakers, Dale Carnegie once said "Vitality shows in not only the ability to persist but the ability to start over.

So, we are both working out and getting into shape, eating healthy and it's been a great influence on our girls who see their mom and dad not only doing something they love but working together for it. As parents, it's so important to make time for ourselves so that we have more to give to our children. Dreams don't have to stop being followed.

We are working on a new music video that will be released early winter and hopefully in time for the holidays. More details coming soon!

Pop is best served up as a side dish to life.

Christine

Introducing: LaRoux on Good Morning America

LaRoux has been an artist I've been following for some time. I am sooo very excited that she is here in the states. She definitely reminds me of the Eurythmics which makes her even more fabulous! This British TALENT import is skyrocketing up the Billboard Charts here in the US. 'Bulletproof' isn't even my favorite song of hers. I love 'In It for the Kill'--I listen to her while I am cleaning. :)

Here's her live performance on Good Morning America.