Serina Jung: News & Jjournal

When I was a little kid, someone (I don't rememer who) told me to stick to singing because I couldn't draw for beans. I believed that person because, quite frankly, I really do suck at drawing. But 7 years ago I gave in to the urge to buy paint and canvas. It was on sale at Michaels and I had been thinking that if I never actually tried to paint I'd regret it in my old age someday. For seven years, my art went straight into the closet after it dried, until my good friend Ruth King told me I should at least hang it up on my own walls. So I did... and here's another confession: I just love my art. It's not about perfection, it's not about anything other than the fact that I can lose myself completely in the act of painting. I lose sense of time, problems, concerns and whether or not what turns out will be "good". I don't feel like I have to analyze and construct as I do with songwriting. It's very liberating and I've come to the conclusion that my art is an expression of feelings and thoughts that I cannot express similarly in song.  I've selected a few of my favorites to show you in the Photo Gallery section. I hope you like them as much as I do. But if you don't that's okay.... it's just art :-)

Well, it's been two years since the public saw my face on a stage and it was really sweet to be back on the old Stardust stage... well a new stage now that the place has expanded. I performed this past weekend for a wonderful audience who told me they enjoyed my French (yes, I sing in French on the new lullaby cd). My friend and guest performer was Lisa Firestone.... yeah, baby, Lisa is gorgeous, sings like an angel, writes songs that can (and will) make you laugh or cry; she's slaving away on her 4th ro 5th cd. Check her out at www.lisafirestone.com. I'll see if I can get a hold of a pic or two of that performance to post for you. Now that the lullaby cd has been released to the world, it's time to begin work on the new album. I'm thinking it'll be recorded within the next 6 months or so. A trip back to my acoustic R&B and rock roots for sure.

I'm proud to announce that the lullaby album is on it's way to CDbaby and to the downloading world. A few more days. Ah... another baby born (this one didn't hurt one bit!). Keep you eye out for STARRY NIGHT: Lullabies for Little Ones. Hey, you even get to hear me sing in French.

I'm still soaring.... I had the most intensely wonderful mind-body experience of my adult life. 4 amazing days of Qigong at Qi Revolution, mingling with like-minded folks, meditation, yoga and breathing techniques to blow the mind and open the heart. Check it out if you're inclined.... www.qirevolution.com and iqigong.org. Very cool stuff. My favorite quote from Jeff: "Life's too short to wear anything but an expression of love on your face". Okay... sounds so hippie.... but isn't it true? It's really neat to re-enter the "real world" and still be able to keep the Zen feeling with me. Maybe there's some slow, trance, semi-acoustic seeds germinating as a result. I'll keep you in the loop for sure! Lullaby cd is done... in production/press. Should be available for download or hardcopy sale in about a week. (insert smile here).

Hey there world, friends and family.... I've been talking about it for ages and it's finally done. Last week, I recorded the lullaby cd - 13 original songs. None of that rock-a-bye business where the baby gets to fall out of the tree! Ha ha.My wonderful friend Lisa Firestone, who is an accomplished singer and songwriter in her own right, accompanied me on keys. It sounds amazing and I can't wait to share it with you. It'll be a few weeks.... gotta mix/master and press them. I'll keep you posted.

So, I've been getting emails... where are you? whatcha been up to? That sort of thing. Well here I am. I've not gone anywhere. Life just kinda happened. In the two years since I "disappeared", I had my second son and then became a single parent. And like the millions of other single parents out there, I was on stun for a while, while I pieced myself back together. The upside to "trial by fire"? Life is good. I'm stronger and hey, I've got plenty of material to draw my future songs from! Speaking of songs.... expect news of that lullaby cd I've been promising you. I swore I'd never write a mushy, gushy baby album. Never say never, I heard.... but this isn't mushy or gushy. It'll be awesome! I promise :-)

I'm BAAACK!!!! And so happy to be here. Lots of life stuff happened and needless to say, anything that rocks the boat (or tips it over) will get the creative muse flowing again. Of course, you'll have to get the juicy details from my next set of songs - which are always part autobiography, part imagination, and part wishful thinking.

Hi friends,

Check this out:

UCF did a T.V interview with me as a featured guest in Jan 2006 and
someone liked it so much, they posted it on You tube.

Here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRY1t4soV9g
The UCF students did a good job and it was fun. It sill airs as a repeat quite
often, I'm told.

Just wanted to share the good news :)

I'm pleased to announce that after 3 months of modified bedrest, my second son was born, super healthy, in February - a natural birth - my eyeballs rolled in my head but I felt like a warrior goddess when he was placed on my belly to admire. Okay, now I can get back to that lullaby cd once I get some sleep .... sleep? what sleep? ha ha!

I dedicated intense creative time to finishing the songs for the lullaby cd and I'm proud to say that I completed it in just over 3 weeks.This isn't your typical rock-a-bye mushy album, by the way. A lot of thought went into making the songs inspiring, descriptive, positive and soothing. I'm very proud of the result and simply can't wait to send it out into the world. I guess I've been incubating these songs for four years and just needed a "window" of time to put them on paper. Recording begins next week.
- I'll be in touch soon.

Dear friends,
It’s been about two years since I hit the stage - a much needed break that began with the intention of a six-month sabbatical. Well, life has its own flow and that’s how it is. I’ve enjoyed the last two years, doing 'other' things and, in spite of my best efforts to “get away”, I’ve been more creative than ever. Ruth King, John Gallagher and I finished writing a preschooler album a couple of months ago. That’s in production - I’ll keep you posted on when you can expect to get a copy for the young'uns in your life. Also, I’ve picked up the thread of where I left off working on that lullaby cd I began when I thought that newborns slept all the time (leaving me with oodles of time. Yeah. Right). I’m kicking myself in the butt to finish it before the end of the year so you can expect a February release (before my second newborn comes along). As for my next solo cd of grown-up music, well, I’ve got the tunes but not the time to record it yet. So, for now I’ll play them for you in live shows and keep writing! Promise.

My first album, simply titled "Serina Jung" has sold out. I think CDbaby has the two last copies (www.cdbaby.com/all/serina). For now, I 'm not re-pressing more copies, but I do have plans to do so sometime in the future, re-mixed and maybe with a new tune or two on it.

PayPlay.fm - is an MP3 download store that is selling my second cd, Sparrows. They've got a nice easy-to-use website that is a great no-nonsense place to buy MP3s. No software to install. And since they're regular MP3 files, they'll work in every computer, and any portable player. Here’s the link to check it out - either for yourself or for a friend: http://payplay.fm/serinajung2
Much of my music sales is coming from digital downloads lately. There are tons of neat places where you can buy just one song at a time or make your own compilation cd for less than what you'd pay for in a store. So, in the next newsletter I'll fill you in on some places where you can find some great music in any genre you like ... including mine!

Have a fantastic day. All the best, Serina .

Has it really been so long since I've blogged? Oh well, here goes. I took ages off, originally intending only to take a few months to "recharge" my batteries. I rode with a digital recorder in my car and one day realised I had tons of new song ideas. Enough for album #3? Yes indeed. In the meantime, I got together with Ruth King and John Gallagher often enough for us to actually complete writing 22 songs for our first pre-schooler cd, which is in production as I write. The funny thing is, none of us ever dreamed of writing for kids. What began as pure joking silliness at the kitchen table turned into a real source of fun and pride. It's an excellent album and writing with them just for fun was exactly what my tired "batteries" needed. Release for that album, which goes under the group name "Jung King Gallagher" is tentatively set for this fall. Also, I'm taking piano lessons this summer (cuz my piano skills are pretty pathetic!) in order to complete the music for that lullaby cd I began three years ago, when I thought mothers had oodles of time on their hands. But I digress.... the songs for that album are written but the music is incomplete. I might add a couple of French songs - after all, I do speak French so why not? I'm guesstimating a fall release for that cd too. And my 3rd solo cd? Well, I'm aiming for a December recording. In the meantime, I'll begin to perform again, in the Orlando area, this summer. It's good to be back. Thanks for hanging in there so patiently.

I've got two new paintings to show you. I'm thinking I'll do a music-and-art show for you sometime this fall. New songs, new art - all of this is just flowing together, you know?

All this time off is finally yielding some really neat songs. Can't wait to share them with you. AND... Ruth King and I are talking about a huge show this fall. This one's gonna rock your socks off! More on that when the details are in place.

I just came back from a weekend in Ft.Lauderdale, hanging out with three Nashville publishers and 25 very talented songwriters from all over the country (and Germany!) Not all of the songwriters have websites, and there isn't room here for all of their addresses anyway, but if you're a fan of my music, you'll definitely want to check out: www.BarbaraCloyd.com, www.laurablackley.com, www.BradConnerandLongshot.com, www.bukstel.com, and www.burtonmusic.com. It was great to hang out, talk shop and play tunes around the firepit. My creative batteries are charged... the new songs are churning!

Happy New Year! I spent it quietly, with friends and family - which was fantastic. I hope it's a great year for you, filled with fun, adventure (woo hooo!) and lots of love.

Finally... a moment to tell you how my Nashville trip went last month: Awesome! I was in Nashville for only a few days but I fell in love with the place within an hour. What a fantastic city for an artist or songwriter to live in. I headed up there with (very talented) musician and friend, John Gallagher, and we got to perform at the Bluebird Cafe (www.bluebirdcafe.com) which has been a dream of mine for many years. We bar hopped on the main strip and got to see 5 incredible bands in under two hours. Needless to say, I'm going back!