Hanging with Dad

Due to recent events, my father flew up from Louisiana.  I got to hang with him for a while before he flew back out.  In a rare treat, I was able to convince him to go karaoking with me.  He hasn’t sung in a while, but he’s still got it.  Thought I’d share the video I took of him.

Enjoy!

We’ll Miss You, Uncle Jim

A long time ago, back in Taiwan, my father befriended a young man two years his junior. At that time, I don’t thin either of them knew that their friendship would span over 40 years, marriages, three kids, a divorce, many businesses, three countries and two continents. I’m now sitting at this man’s funeral, representing both my dad and my mom, who both couldn’t make it to their friend’s wake.

Over the years, the man I knew as “Uncle Jim” had been, at first, the driving force of their family, striving for business success for his family. In his later years he became the levity of that same family. The ice breaker and the joker to release the tension in the situation.

I grew up with his kids, considering them my cousins for all of my life. And when my parents were going through a heinous divorce, it was my Uncle Jim and his wife Lily that offered me a place to stay, away from the madness of home. Their family will always be family to me, no matter how much time passes between us.

Then on January 3rd, the unthinkable… Uncle Jim was struck by a car. He was in a coma. Then on the 8th, the day of rest, he passed on, 61 years old, leaving a wife and two grown children. sitting here at his wake, surrounded by mourners and the plethora of flowers purchased in his honor, I still cannot believe he’s gone. His face doesn’t look like him; devoid of his laugh lines.

I wish my father was with me, but he couldn’t get a flight until next week. My mother and her husband are out of the country and aren’t scheduled to return until March. So I sit here in the place of one of his oldest friends: my father. But I also sit here for me. To say “thank you for everything”.

Uncle Jim’s time on this earth meant more than he’ll ever know to my family.

R.I.P. uncle Jim.

James Jin-Ching Shao
1950-2012

Happy Thanksgiving

I’m grateful for the beautiful day outside and for every new day I’m able to wake up and move closer to my goals.  I’m grateful for the successes I’ve had this year and the successes I have to come.  I’m grateful for all the new friends I’ve made this year and all my old friends who have supported me throughout this journey and who continue to do so.  I am thankful for my health and well being and those who facilitate it.  I am grateful for the roof over my head, the money that keeps coming in to pay everything that needs to be paid to keep everything running, and the good sense to know how to properly utilize it.  I am grateful for the job I had and am looking forward to the better job I will get soon, that will help me get closer to my goals to multi platinum rock star status.  I am grateful for my family who have been understanding during this time and my former bosses and co-workers who have been gracious in helping me out through this time.  I am grateful for all the talents that God has blessed me with and the lessons that God has taught me along the way, which has made me strong enough to face this, so I was able to bounce back faster than I would have in previous incarnations of myself.  I am grateful for the adore that suitors have shone me, whether long term or short lived.  They made me feel beautiful in their affections for the moments I was with them, and for that, I am grateful.  I am grateful for my fans, both old and new, who have supported me throughout all of this.  I am grateful for you.  Thank you for sticking by me, supporting my music, and supporting my career.  You make it all worth while, and for that, I am most humbly grateful.

Happy thanksgiving.

Love always,

-Janifer xoxoxoxo

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

For those that don’t know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  If you are in your 30′s and are at risk, please get yourself checked.  If you’re in your 40′s, please start getting checked.

My friend Shelley is a 2x survivor of breast cancer and this year was one of my featured supporters while I was on Karaoke Battle USA, and to be quite honest, I wouldn’t have been able to do it without her, so I wear pink for her, and also for both of my grandmothers who died of other cancers within the last ten years.

Which is one more thing I want to touch upon.  Cancer in itself is deadly, no matter which variety it is.  Get checked if you’re at risk.  It’s a hard battle when diagnosed and even if you did see the movie 50/50 in the theaters, it’s a whole lot more anger driven and complicated when you’re in the thick of it.  Just get yourself checked and stay healthy, for all of our sakes… including mine. I want to see you at my next show.

♥ Janifer

Help support the cause by purchasing items at the breast cancer awareness site (facebook link): https://www.facebook.com/supportthefight

You Should Never Judge a Book By it’s Cover

Last night I went to two live band karaoke nights.  One at Rock & Rose hosted by Brandon Bain with Crash Course Karaoke.  As promised, since Alan Bigelow, musical director for the band became my 600th fan, and since they learned Heart’s “What About Love” for me (and requested that I come out to do it), I had to show up last night.

So after coming from the gym, I went over to check out the scene.  There was an intimate crowd of some of the regulars, some new faces, and the raucous of a live band venue.  After all the logistics, I went up on stage.

Now, for those who don’t know, I’m generally not dressed like the way I do in half these photographs.  The beauty in how God made me is I don’t look like what I sound like, and visual perception is always what throws people off when people see me.  When I walk up to a mic, even when warned, it takes me opening my mouth for people to realize what the heck is going on and by that time, it’s too late: I have them.  Last night was no exception.

When Crash Course started playing the first couple notes of “What About Love” some of the audience in their 30′s – 40′s who recognized the material looked up.  It wasn’t until I was into the third line of the first verse:

The love I’m sending, ain’t making it through to your heart.

did I get everyone’s attention.  Of course, this is the belt verse, and I think I even got the attention of people walking down the street outside.  Once that line hit though, I noticed one of the guys in the audience who was watching awestruck go up to Brandon and give him a pound while looking and me and Brandon looking at me too.  My brain is thinking:

Did Brandon put money on me or something?

The song turned out great and it was a lot of fun to perform.  The band did a great job and the crowd was really receptive to it.  Afterward, I went up to Brandon and I asked him what that pound with that guy was all about.  He said “That’s what you make people do, Janifer when they hear you sing”.  What?!?  *SMH*

Janet, who is an aspiring singer and a regular live band karaoker asked me if I’d be willing to go to another live band spot that night at O’Flanagan’s.  I agreed, so she, I, and another one of her friends met up with a second friend and headed to the second spot for live band karaoke with the Human Karaoke Experience hosted by Dancing Joe.  The place was packed, partially for the Yankees vs. Tigers ALCS title, however there were plenty there for the karaoke.

Since I was running on fumes that night, I started falling asleep, despite the fact that it was noisy, so my friend Janet, was kind enough to give me her spot on the spot.  Within the list, I saw that they had the Allman Brother’s song “Whipping Post” and it was enough to make me want to do it.  I’ve never done it live band before, but I suspected with the live crowd, it was certainly going to be a worthwhile experience.

Now, this past week, heck, let me be honest, this past month has felt like an entire lifetime, and when I saw “Whipping Post” I knew it was going to be the perfect song to help me vent out everything I had gone through.  When Janet asked me what I was going to sing, I just warned her “they’re not going to see what’s coming”.

After the Yankees lost to the Tigers and the band took their 15 minute break, and a few more singers went up, it was about 11:45PM and I was called up to take the stage.  Someone who had seen me at another live band event ran up to me and gave me a hug and warned the band “OMG, I saw you at {____} event!  She’s really good!”  and ran off.

To  wake myself up, I let the musicians play the intro and started dancing to it to get myself into it.  Once the intro was done, I started in and built up into the roar by fourth line.

He took all the money…

Yeah, I altered the line because “She took all my money” makes little sense when you’re a straight woman, and I sure as heck wasn’t going to say it was my money he took!

By the chorus hit, there was a thick standing crowd of spectators around me who were slack jawed and rowdy.  They had no idea what hit them.  For those who don’t know the song, there are pretty long instrumental intermissions between versus.  I just started to groove and air guitar.  I lost myself in it.  As I said, pretty long ass week.  This is my alcohol.  Just before the last verse, I took off my glasses, and the crowd seemed to know what was going to happen and the raucous from them got louder.  I put them away behind me and just ripped through the final chorus, hair flying, ending the song on my knees.

By the time I got up, I was back to being me again, and at some point I think I might have needed security.  A whole lot of people were coming up to me from all over the place.  One described it as me being “possessed”.  I think of it as me being “unleashed” it more like it.  I’m glad everyone enjoyed themselves.  I was so exhausted though, that afterward I left.  I did stop by the fan page and thank the bands for letting me share their stage.  Hopefully some of their regulars that were that night will check out my stuff, like all of you have.

Thank you for all the support, and I’m looking forward to taking what you already know and experienced for yourselves and bringing it to the rest of the world.

Happy 600 Day

Today marks the day where I celebrate hitting 600 “Likes” on my facebook fan page!  Thank you to all of you for making this happen!  I definitely couldn’t have done it without your help.  To celebrate, on Thursday, I’m going to be going out Rock & Rose after I hit the gym to sing some live band karaoke with Crash Course Karaoke, hosted by Brandon Bain, lead by guitarist Alan Bigelow, who incidentally became my 600th fan.  The band was the same one who backed me on a recent video I posted (“I Want to Know What Love Is” – you can watch it above).

Through a suggestion I made a few weeks ago, they’ve added Heart’s “What About Love” to their song list and have requested me to come by and sing it, so in honor of Alan becoming #600, I’ll be stopping by Rock & Rose on Thursday night.

Some other quick news before I go:

• Just did an on-camera interview for a artist web series called Capsulocity, which will be debuting soon.  I’ll keep you posted.
• “One More Time” is starting to get some serious interest in the clubs.  Requests are starting to come in for a club mix and it’s not even on sale yet!  Sale date coming soon!
• Show coming up on the 12 for Vinny Vella industry night, and it looks like I’m also being booked for a show this coming holiday.  Yeah, they’re starting to come in.  I’ll let you know which ones you can buy tickets for.

Thanks for helping me get this far.  Let’s make the next 600 a cakewalk!

Love u!

A message shared.

Jessie J, I know exactly what you mean.