Welcome to the Official Website - Tara Hawley - Journal http://tarahawley.com/journal.html Tara Hawley: Journal Jannis' PHPRss class - http://www.jannis.to/ Sat, 30 Jul 2011 17:16:19 -0700 http://tarahawley.com/journal.html#19 Notes From Tara...]]> http://tarahawley.com/journal.html#19 Welcome to the Official Website - Tara Hawley - Journal The Lazy, Hazy Days of Summer... http://tarahawley.com/journal.html#67
I think I've been in a bit of haze, not only because it's been a hot summer, but because it's also been one of those busy, pull-your-hair-out trying to digest all of the new technology seasons. My laptop crashed. Anyone who's talked to me in the last couple of months knows I should've had a formal funeral for it; it was with me for 8 years, and I took it hard. I actually haven't given up on it yet and am gearing up to reinstall the operating system once I'm sure I recovered all of my files from the hard drive. (Okay, so I'm sure I transferred them, but a girl has to be absolutely sure in such matters! There's something so final about wiping your hard drive clean!)

I do feel like a major geek, and totally proud of it, now that I fully recovered my own files from my crashed computer thanks to a phone conversation with a friend more knowledgeable than I in this department. (Thanks, Bill!) I was devastated to think I had lost my files--yes, I had a lot of them backed up, so no need to yell at me for being completely negligent, but, being the type-A personality that I am, I would have mourned the loss of even one, solitary file. So, I now have a one TB Hard drive that is hooked up to make nice little system backups for me. Perfect. I still have some software to load and learn how to use all of this new stuff--slowly but surely...

In other news, the website has gotten a little facelift, as I am sure you have noticed. Thanks to Erin Stevens for the new photos of me on the banner and bio page. There are a few more on my Facebook page as well and some more to come.

Also, I'm excited about the concert coming up on August 27th, "Music for the Soul: Spirituals and Hymns," at Maple Heights Presbyterian Church with Matthew Skitzki. It's a chance to do some songs that I grew up singing and introduce a few newer songs as well. We're also going to be joined by special guests, Brad and Nik, from the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus. We hope you can join us! (All of the info is on the Calendar page.)

I guess that's all for now. I hope you are enjoying your summer! Say hi on my Facebook wall and let me know how you are doing!

See you soon...

~Tara ♥
]]> http://tarahawley.com/journal.html#67 Sat, 30 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700 Welcome to the Official Website - Tara Hawley - Journal “Another Auld Lang Syne: Just Learning as I Go”¦” http://tarahawley.com/journal.html#58 So, I guess I never get any better at updating this journal more regularly! Here we are at the end of another year. Can you believe it? While the year has seemed long in some respects with its changes and challenges, in others, I feel as if it has flown by, like a whispering breeze on a summer’s eve. I think I say that because I have many lasting memories of moments this summer, which went way too quickly, and of this year in general. I hope your year has been fabulous in one way or another. Sometimes we have years where big, happy things overwhelm us and cause celebration, and others are marked with sorrow, where the little moments of happiness are accentuated by the deep contrast of pain. I pray that, whatever happened this year in your life, you have found moments of happiness and joy and remembered the blessing of life itself.

I find myself in that place right now—a grateful place, and what a reflective and humbling place that is to be. Among many things, I’ve had the opportunity to meet and work with some fantastic musicians and make friendships that will take me into a new year full of new adventures. I’ve changed how I look at things even more this year, another blessing. We so often look at unfamiliar things with fear of the unknown instead of facing them as adventures—moments to really feel alive and breathe in a fresh breath.

At some points in our lives, we all long for something different, pray for a break in our routine, but then we shy away from it when it confronts us and calls our names. I’ve learned that we can either grit our teeth and get through the ride or we can throw up our hands and let the ride thrill us with each unexpected turn. The outcome will be the same, for “it’s a great and terrible and short and endless thing and none of us come out of it alive,”* but the difference for each of us will be how we chose to live within each moment. I’ve always known this and tried to live by it, but I’m learning the truth of living it on a new level than before. It’s amazing how many Christmas stories confront us with this truth. We watch year after year as Scrooge looks back on his life in regret, and Mr. Bailey realizes what a difference his one life has made on so many others. The key to all of these Christmas stories is that it is never too late to change how we see things and how we choose to show love. Every moment holds a chance to make a lasting impression”¦

And, speaking of adventures in life, I should tell you that I’ve got a new project or two in the works, which I’ll hopefully be telling you more about in the near future. I’m very excited about all of the new opportunities I have been given this year and am so happy that I can do what I love to do and share it with all of you.

Thanks again for all of your support and prayers and for passing the word about my music on to others. It means so much and is at the heart of how this music thing gets done. We’ll post new pictures as events happen and update you, as usual, on the News page and Calendar. Keep a look out.

I hope your holidays bring blessings; your new year, unexpected joys in unexpected ways... Let go of your expectations, let life surprise you, and, good or bad, greet each day with a grateful heart”¦

Find the wonder in your wander”¦

~Tara ♥


(*quote from “P.S. I Love You” 2007)
]]> http://tarahawley.com/journal.html#58 Mon, 20 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0800 Welcome to the Official Website - Tara Hawley - Journal “Music and Fashion are always a passion”¦” http://tarahawley.com/journal.html#54 ...especially during Fashion Week in Cleveland! Dr. Donald Shingler, Founder and Director of Fashion Week Cleveland, asked me to bring a little music to the fashion again this year--to the VIP party to be exact. This year, the event was held at La Place in Beachwood, and the VIP party was located on the upper level, overlooking the seemingly endless red-carpet runway lined with little white chairs for viewing The Cleveland Fashion Show at 10pm. (The picture in the photo gallery only shows about half of its length.) I was fortunate to be able to share the VIP space with some great people from Sushi Rock, a fabulous sushi restaurant in La Place. They served a variety of sushi and chicken hors d'oeuvres and were kind enough to treat me to a little sampling post-performance; the food was really delectable! Gotta go rock some sushi there soon; I'm more of the veggie and/or crab/lobster sushi type (which was fabulous!), but maybe I'll be brave and venture into some hard-core sushi someday soon...

Pre-show was a lot of hard work for everyone, setting up and getting a boutique mall turned magically into a fashion runway, tango dance floor, VIP party room, and, well, you get the picture! It's a wonder we all looked fashionable by the end of it all! The air hung heavy that evening, humid and threatening rain. It only actually rained while we were loading up the equipment, of course, (so thankful it didn't rain while we were loading in!!) but it was quite hot, which translated into the venue being quite hot as well. I'm happy to see from the photos that I didn't look as melted as I felt, but I did notice the chocolates were starting to get a little soft around the edges--yes it was that hot!

With a lot of hard work, the evening went as planned besides the air conditioning lagging behind the muggy evening temperatures, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Thanks to all for the nice comments about the music! It was fun to sing in such a lively, yet spacious venue and watch the creative fashion flow in and out of the space. Among the VIP attendees were Miss Ohio, Lindsay Davis, as well as Christopher Boyle, the Black Tie Gala's featured designer who has designed for celebrities such as Jessica Alba and Ashanti. You can check out his beautiful collections here.

I hope you get a moment to check out the pictures from Fashion Week posted in the gallery, and I look forward to sharing more news with you soon! Enjoy your summer... It's certainly flying by already.

'Til we meet again... Ciao, baby,

~Tara ♥
]]> http://tarahawley.com/journal.html#54 Mon, 14 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700 Welcome to the Official Website - Tara Hawley - Journal "If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies”¦" http://tarahawley.com/journal.html#51 So, as most of you have noticed in the news section, there have been some major changes in the last couple of months. It’s hard to adjust to major changes, isn’t it? I love Meg Ryan’s line from You’ve Got Mail: “People are always telling me that change is a good thing, but all they’re really saying is that something you didn’t want to happen at all has happened.”


Sometimes that’s how I feel about major transitions in life, but yet I know that change, even though we may not have wanted it to happen, may be the vehicle for bringing something new and wonderful into our lives—something that could not have happened had the change not occurred. As I have mentioned, I really do believe that God has everything in His care, including my life and love of singing and music. I’m learning lessons of trusting in God and letting go”¦letting go of fear of the unknown and taking time for reflection and giving thanks. Singer/Songwriter India.Arie puts it so well: “I have learned that you must be willing to let things and people go to really enjoy them being in your life.”


Therefore, I really am excited about the opportunities that lie ahead—building on the past, yet looking forward with hope toward the future! I wish I could share them all with you now, but, in time, as I am able to do so and as things happen in more certain terms, I will do my best to keep you all posted each step of the way. Please continue to support me by calling in to the radio stations listed on the website and requesting me! It’s hard to keep momentum sometimes in this crazy music world, but, with your help, it can happen! It’s so great that you keep checking back here and continue to tell others of my website and music. I hope you will continue this great journey with me”¦

From my passionately musical heart,

~Tara ♥
]]> http://tarahawley.com/journal.html#51 Sun, 11 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700 Welcome to the Official Website - Tara Hawley - Journal A Time to Give Thanks”¦ http://tarahawley.com/journal.html#41 Hi, everyone! With all of the site updates, I haven’t been very good at keeping up the journal communications, but what’s new, right?

I just had to take a minute to say hello and wish everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving! As the holiday season arrives in a flurry, I’ve been trying to reflect on all of the blessings given to me. While life can be difficult at times, it’s so important to remember all of the wonderful things we take for granted each day. And speaking of thanks, I want to send a shout out to Rebecca and thank her for all of her help with updating the look of the website!

Right now, I’m sitting here, enjoying Andrea Bocelli’s new Christmas album My Christmas. And let me just say that it has definitely exceeded my expectations. I expected great, but it is better than great. David Foster has outdone himself, yet again, with producing and arranging this amazing album and using Andrea Bocelli’s talent to the fullest—he has the special knack of getting that out of people. You think a certain artist is great already, and then he just accentuates it even more”¦ How inspiring, to hear and feel beautiful music like this... Just what I needed...

Okay, so back to my journal entry. I wish I had some great jokes like Josh Groban manages to post all of the time on his blog—you’re making it difficult for all of us other journal-ers (not a word, I know...) to look good, you know that don’t you, Josh? Seriously, it’s a great blog, if you haven’t checked it out.

Let's see... Some new photos have been posted in the gallery, finally! I got to meet Robin Swoboda (host of Fox8 TV’s “That’s Life” weekdays at 10am), and that photo’s been posted in the gallery as well. We’re looking forward to performing some Holiday songs at Laurello Vineyards for sure in December and maybe a few tomorrow night, if we feel in the mood! It’s such a great time of year; we hope to see you very soon!

Keep spreading the word of TaraHawley.com, high and low! Oh, and don’t forget to request my songs on 91.5FM. (See the news page for station number info!) Again, thank you for all of your support—each kind word, guestbook entry, call to a station—it means so much more than you could ever know...

With a thankful heart,

~Tara ♥
]]> http://tarahawley.com/journal.html#41 Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800 Welcome to the Official Website - Tara Hawley - Journal Summertime and the Living is Busy... http://tarahawley.com/journal.html#26 Dare I say it again? Yes, it has been awhile! But, for all of you who have received my news e-mail and checked out our “Latest Updates” on the Home Page, a lot has been going on lately, which is great news!

One of the most exciting things happening right now is that my new songs are getting air play on Gary Rhamy’s radio show on WSOM AM 600!! For those of you who have asked, four of the six songs being played on the radio are newer recordings than are on the website at this point in time. Call or e-mail Gary and request the songs! (The station number & links are on our Home Page.) It’s been so much fun to tune in online and hear them being played this week, and we’re looking forward to meeting Gary at Leo’s this weekend! Thanks so much, Gary, for playing the songs and announcing my website on the air. We’re so thrilled to hear that they are being received so well!

We have some other things in the works as well, as always, that take a lot of time and energy—I’m having the time of my life, but it can be exhausting... So, if I don’t post as often as I should, know that I mean well, am having fun making music, and am busy working all of the time toward making new things happen! Ah, there’s the rub! You have to make news in order to post it, but then you have to have time to post it after making the news”¦There certainly are not enough hours in the day”¦!

What else”¦? Thank you all for your continued support. Please continue to pass the word along to friends and family—it means so much to have people come out to hear my music, sign the guestbook, request my songs, refer us to new venues & events, and so on. We couldn’t do it without you, and everything you do in support is greatly appreciated. I’m looking forward to seeing you all out and about throughout the rest of the patio season! Our venues are so lovely and so much fun!

Isn’t summer just...well, s’wonderful?

~Tara ♥
]]> http://tarahawley.com/journal.html#26 Fri, 10 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700 Welcome to the Official Website - Tara Hawley - Journal Hope Springs Eternal... http://tarahawley.com/journal.html#25 The year is flying by already with the quiet hope of summer’s coming whistling in the wind”¦ the quiet hope of things to come”¦ With the season’s change, the opportunity comes along for us to re-think, re-focus, and try new things—so I thought I’d catch you up with the new things going on here.

I’m so excited to have the new tracks up on the website! Thanks to all of you who have sent your comments! It’s always great to hear feedback about the things I’m working so hard to create. We’ve got some more tracks and things in the works, as always, and greatly appreciate your support and kind comments, ideas and suggestions.

On that note, please take a few moments and sign the guestbook! It’s been so fun to see the comments, and it will be great to have some of the wonderful things you send us/tell us about the music, performances, etc. on the site. The more the merrier! :o)

Another note of news: We will be playing at FashionWeek Cleveland 2009’s Black Tie Gala. I’m really excited about being part of this event—it’s such a great opportunity and should be a fun evening. It seems like it’s been a little while since I was part of the fashion scene in Cleveland—maybe I’ll run into some people I used to do fashion shows/shoots with”¦Who knows?

As a prelude to that event, we attended the FashionWeek Cleveland “Meet the Designers” VIP Party at XO Steakhouse downtown on April 17th. It was a perfect excuse to put on a new cocktail dress I’d had hanging in my closet for quite some time and eat some delicious hors d'oeuvres. (Their mint chocolate mini-cakes were fantastic! Picture the goodness of Thin Mint cookies made into a gourmet treat”¦yum”¦)

Weather-wise, it was such a lovely evening for mid-April! The night brought out the fashionable side of Clevelanders from all sides of town, who converged and walked through the Warehouse District streets, making our own Mid-Western city feel like a big NYC scene of fashion, surreptitiously over-priced drinks, and perfectly good, gentle lighting (indoors and out, but of course)”¦

That’s about all for now, I guess”¦ The Laurello Vineyards gig was a lot of fun on Saturday—a busy evening and a great crowd. We’re staying busy, adding more songs to our playlist, and gearing up for the 2009 patio season, which will soon be upon us! Keep checking back! We’ll have more news for you soon”¦

Warmest spring wishes to you all,

~Tara ♥
]]> http://tarahawley.com/journal.html#25 Tue, 28 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0700 Welcome to the Official Website - Tara Hawley - Journal Post-Valentine's Day Post... http://tarahawley.com/journal.html#24 Hi there! I just wanted to write a quick note and say how much I enjoyed being out at Laurello Vineyards on Valentine’s Day! I had a great time performing love songs for this sold-out special event at the winery and felt very at home there. The food was fabulous and the staff was extremely nice, making us feel very welcome and excited to be performing for the first time in Ohio’s wine country.

I’m looking forward to going back in March and once a month thereafter for 2009. So, there are plenty of opportunities to find an excuse to take a little weekend adventure and see us there.

Feel free to send us your comments and keep passing the word along about the website! I’ve been so blessed with the opportunities I've had over the last year, and I’m praying that 2009 holds the hope of many more...

Stay well & stay warm,

~Tara ♥
]]> http://tarahawley.com/journal.html#24 Wed, 18 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800 Welcome to the Official Website - Tara Hawley - Journal In the Bleak Midwinter... http://tarahawley.com/journal.html#23 Okay, so I guess it isn't that 'bleak,' but it is January in Northeastern Ohio, which doesn't bring much sunshine but certainly lots of snow and cold temperatures. So, anyway, for those of you who have wondered what I've been doing over the last six weeks or so, here's the wrap up!

Even though I haven't been out performing much during this time, I've definitely been hard at work. We decided to take advantage of this time to record some new demos, because, just like everyone else, we had so much free time over the Holidays...Okay, so not really! We've been cramming like college freshmen to get this stuff done on weekends and late night evenings in the midst of 'regular' life, our 'day jobs,' and all of that. We've been arranging, recording, mixing, and, of course, re-mixing. All in all, things have gotten done in a very efficient fashion, but, as with anything worth doing, it does take time...

Now, I'm happy to announce that a couple of tracks are ready to go, and you'll see them on the website shortly, with a few more coming after that. Check them out and let us know what you think! We always love hearing from you!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and great start to 2009! I’m looking forward to heading out to Geneva's Laurello Vineyards next month for the first time and, then, every month this year. Check out the calendar for specific dates and updates, as always, and check out the photo gallery for some pictures of me in the studio. (Special thanks to Wesley for the photos!) Here’s to a wonderful 2009!

Warmest Wishes,

~Tara ♥
]]> http://tarahawley.com/journal.html#23 Sat, 24 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0800 Welcome to the Official Website - Tara Hawley - Journal