Home is Where the Heart is

Helloooooo
I've just woken up from my food induced coma
I was out for a while
I ate so much food it's not even funny.
I actually think I ate more the day after than I actually did on thanksgiving day. Leftovers are seriously the bomb though. We made turkey club sandwiches and turkey and biscuits and pizza with other leftovers on it and I ate everything. The only thing I didn't get to eat much of, and I'm really upset about, is pie!! I made four pies and I only got two really small slivers. Not fair.
Anywho, I hope everyone's thanksgiving was amazing too. Here's some pictures to take up some space so I don't have to think of something to write at the moment:

my smile was always my best feature anyways...

 

Family game night,

where we act like mushrooms

or something like that

 

post thanksgiving meal..

I swear we love each other

sacrificed my life teaching my cousin how to snowmobile

but it was worth it

underneath that face mask is a smile

 

Here is an explanation of where my musical talent comes from

we all sing, we all play an instrument, we all know what's up

 

 

So there's a short synopsis of my Thanksgiving. I spent it with my lovely family doing random stuff like playing charades and snowmobiling and playing music until the wee hours of the night. I wouldn't have traded those days for anything. I always like to say, my family may not have it all together, but together we have it all. (I'm so sentimental, I know) 

Something else super cool happened too. My cousin Steven and I wrote a song!! Well we didn't finish it, seeing as he's back home now. But it's super cool and we really like it and I think we laughed more than we actually sang, but hey! It was a good time. I'll post about that later 'cause it's sure to be a hit... if I do say so myself.

Anyways, Saturday night there was a falcons game (home town hockey team) and I sang the National Anthem at it. That was pretty cool. It was kind of like my first performance back home since I got back from Nashville so it was little nerve racking for me. Like, my old friends from high school were there and people I worked with last summer were there and well, the whole town was there, so yeah. I had some people watching me, no big deal. I posted the video on you tube if you want to see it... It's pretty cool. You should watch it, just sayin.

I was sitting at the piano today and I was writing a song about being home and what not. My favorite lyric is:

"It takes you home

where the weight falls off your shoulders

you don't feel alone."

That just rings so true to me right now. I know that no matter where I go or what I do, I can always come back home and feel welcome. This song can kind of go the other way too, because I'm leaving for college shortly and I won't have the comfort of home to come back to every day. I'll be on my own, which is exciting, but scary at the same time. I know I'll have an amazing time and meet so many more cool people, but I'll still miss home and miss the comforts it gives me. No matter what though, I can always come back, no matter how many times I've been knocked down off my feet. That's the gist of this song, it's about how the world can be an "ugly, cruel, and mean old place" but everyone back home will still be there and you'll be okay.

So enough of this deep stuff, I just thought I'd share a little inspiration with you all. Maybe you wanted to peer into a songwriters head once and see what it's like, I dunno. There's a lot that goes on up there... it's a busy place.

I think that'd be kind of a cool idea. Sometimes when I write a song, I should share with you guys my inspiration and the story behind it. That way when you hear it, you can be like "oh yeah I totally hate that guy she's singing about too!" I might be doing that periodically, so make sure you keep reading these... duh.  

 

So now that it's socially acceptable to sing Christmas songs, I hope you all put your favorite Christmas cd's in and dance around like sugar plum fairies

the view from my window right now is very Christmas-y.

that's why I said that



I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday night.

God bless

 

-Madeline



 

 

 

 

 

Happy Turkey Day!

Today is the day before thanksgiving....
We made it.
Give yourself a high- five because...
We survived the cleaning, the whining, the cooking, the baking, and the endless hours of stressing.
Speaking of cooking.. look what I did today.....

Festive holiday cooking brought to you by Madeline

(yes there's a piece of pie missing)

(actually, there's more than one missing)

 

oops.

How can you bake all that food and not help yourself to a piece of pie? I guess it's possible, but not for me. I like my pie.
So! Four pies, two batches of cookies, lots of deviled eggs, and a vegetable tray later.. I'm finally done. I still have to make a LOT more food tomorrow, but I got the annoying stuff out of the way.
We do Thanksgiving BIG here at the Consoer household. And to add to that.. we make every single thing home made, even down to the cocktail sauce. I always say, "Go homemade, or go home!"
If you bring a store bought pie to our door, better leave it right there. Honestly though, there is nothing on this planet better than homemade anything.. it's true!!
While I was cooking and baking, I was definitely listening to Christmas music too. no shame. Not the pop, new stuff though, it HAS to be the classic Christmas music. Like Bing Crosby, the Vince Guaraldi Trio, Charles Brown, or anything from the Trans-Siberian Orchestra is all amazing and makes me so happy. It's just so classic and perfect and original and I could listen to it over and over and over!
My favorite Christmas album though is anything Michael Buble. His voice is butter (I have a crush on his butter-like voice, does that even make any sense?)
My dream is to make it so big, I can be the kind of famous where you have more than ONE Christmas album. I want like six of them. I'm not even kidding either. I would so put a Christmas tree in the recording studio too and wreaths, and bake cookies and pies and I would go all out every single time. Guys let's aim for it!!!! Help me, ok? Keep supporting me just like you're doing so amazingly already, and once I get to the point of my first Christmas album, there will be no stopping me! To Christmas, and beyond! (Sorry, that was lame, I know)
Well that about did er for me. I don't have any other exciting news to share with you all, except that I'm so excited to stuff my face tomorrow with marvelous food. I hope you all eat too much and enjoy you're wonderful time with your families. Thanksgiving is about being thankful, so remember to count your blessings and thank God you've got friends and family to surround yourself with. He's the reason we have Thanksgiving anyways!
Love you all so much..
I'm thankful for YOU!!

-Madeline

I'm Dreaming of a White... Thanksgiving

It's still a little too early to be singing Christmas songs.. but ummm, there's about eight inches of snow on the ground right now and it has my holiday senses tingling. I really don't understand why there is no thanksgiving songs... I mean, yeah what the heck would we sing about.. pilgrims? Seems good enough.
Alright so anyways, today I woke up healthy and happy!! Well, I'm always happy honestly, just happier than normal today. The flu has run it's course and I'm back on track. Meaning, running around the house like a chicken with it's head cut off, trying to clean and get ready for thanksgiving. (actually it should be turkey with it's head cut off... get it?)
I'm also writing like a mad woman. The words are just spinning around in my brain, screaming at me to come out. So, I've been a slave to all those words, writing them down and hammering out chords and what not on the piano.
All my songs come from experience, and then sometimes I exaggerate and make it sound like I had the worlds worst heart break, when in reality I ended up okay in the end. Just a couple of days ago I got to see someone I hadn't seen in a while and I missed him so much it's not even funny. We talked for what seemed too short of a time, but what time we had was so worth it. He makes me happy, and that's just fine. So guess what y'all... I wrote a song about it! It's pretty cool. I like it. I'll be posting it on youtube pretty soon so in the meantime, go on youtube and subscribe to my channel so you can be one of the first people to know when it's posted! woohoo!!
Let's see, so today I went to lunch with one of my best friends and I was really excited about that! I haven't seen her since I left for Nashville and that's a long time. We ate and talked and ate, and then talked while eating and ate while talking. If you can't tell already, I love eating. It's a favorite activity of mine. I don't love it as much as music, but it's a close second.
Okay so anyways, I received the almost finished product of my EP and let me tell you guys, it's amazing!!!!!! It sounds so incredible.... I couldn't believe my ears. It was insane!!! I loved it! (Thanks David Hall) 
I say "almost finished" because there's still a few more little tweaks to make and then it will be perfect! Then it's a waiting game for you guys as to when I release my music ;)
I can't wait for you all to hear it. I know for sure that it will bring tears to my eyes seeing everyone listening to what we created. It'll be like listening to my diary... which is kind of scary actually.. but I know y'all don't judge. ...right?
Either way it doesn't matter. The emotions really play through each song, I think it's clear how I was feeling when I sang each one. I go from having fun and living it up, to innocence, to hurt and heartbroken, to passionate and indifferent. That's a lot of adjectives, but hey, I have a lot of feelings. My EP is like a wild roller coaster ride, where you go up and down and upside down and side ways and all around, and in the end you're left wondering what the heck just happened. (in a good way of coarse) Gah! I could go on and on and on, but I'll shut up now, I've got to leave something left of a surprise for you.
Now is the time of the blog post where I sit back and thank you all so much for everything. You all are amazing and I'm just so thankful.
Love you all..
God bless

-Madeline

Some days are diamonds, some days are rocks

Tom Petty is a pretty cool guy. I always find myself humming his songs, or quoting his lyrics.. hence the title. The words to his songs aren't just run-of-the-mill lyrics. They always mean something, or have double meanings, or have cool back stories. I love looking into them and learning more about them.
That's the kind of music I like. The kind that makes you think.
That's the kind of music I want to create.
Today was not a diamond day, it was a rock. I woke up at 3 am sick as a dog. I was so cold I couldn't get warm and I had a fever, plus a headache, and all that other good stuff that comes with having the flu. It gave me a lot of time to reminisce on my time in Nashville. It seems like that was the highlight of my life so far.
There I was, laying on the couch with a thermometer in my mouth, a glass of ginger ale by my side, and a notebook for writing my thoughts. I found myself writing about how much I miss Nashville and all that came with it. The music was amazing, the experience was unforgettable, but the people left such big impacts on me. They taught me so much about music and the business of it all, I wish I could talk to them and ask them questions forever and ever. I left that city nothing other than immensely grateful and hugely inspired.
But then there's reality.
It waits just around the corner to slap you in the face.
And slap me in the face it did. I came back home to bank account notices, college letters, and a house to clean before thanksgiving. (woohoooooooooo)
Being back home isn't all that bad though.. I get to see my dad now, which I love! He's just the best dude ever. I love him :) (insert that red heart emoji that every teenage girl uses)
I also get to eat snacks out of the pantry whenever I want! Because a hotel doesn't have a pantry, or snacks, so this is awesome! I get to sleep in my own bed... and take showers in my own shower... and drive my own car. I have my old life back! But hopefully it doesn't stay so plain-Jane for long.
I give voice lessons to these two little girls who are the cutest most wonderful little things in the world. I love every second I spend with them. It's also pretty cool to share what I love most, and be able to teach it to someone who looks up to me and aspires to be like me someday. Their mom told me that the youngest of the two had to make a poster for school on what they are most thankful for, and she put a picture of a piano and said she was thankful for "the piano and Maddie Consoer". That honestly made my week. Those girls, and that whole family, is soo sweet. I just love it.
I also have this "wall of goals" now in my room. It's pretty cool. I took notecards and made a giant time line all across my wall. Starting with this month, and going all the way through to next year. It has short-term and long-term goals that I can keep track of so I can keep my eyes on what's really important. Of course most of those goals are music oriented, but some of them are just for fun. Like for instance, I have one under December that says "read 5 more books by Christmas" and another that goes into next year says "learn a new language". I love those. It's something new and exciting, yet it's broadening my views on things and making me smarter. I once told my dad that I wanted to be the smartest woman in the world. He told me, "well go and do it!" So that's what I'm going to do! Make amazing music and become insanely smart! So pretty much, take over the world.
Just kidding!!
So when I think about it, today really wasn't a rock at all. I had the chance to reflect, and in turn I become so much more thankful for the things God has blessed me with.
Looking towards the future, all I see is good things.
And that makes me extremely happy.
I am more focused on my music now than I ever have before. Nothing on this planet makes me happier than my music does. I'm so grateful to be able to share that with you and let people in on my little piece of happiness.
Love you all so much..

-Madeline

I'm Back!!!!!!

Hey everyone!

So sorry I disappeared for a while......  I was doing some pretty amazing things.

Anyways! These last two weeks I have been in Nashville recording my official, brand new, first EP ever! And what an incredible experience.  I was introduced to so many amazing people and found out so much about myself and my music that I will be forever thankful to have been a part of this. I truly feel I'm changed in a very, very positive way.

So, I'll start from the beginning for you all, and give you snip-its of awesomeness so you can hopefully see into what I accomplished. Recording music is a gift, and when you un-rap the finished product at the end, it's so unbelievably beautiful and rewarding that it's overwhelming. Here's just a peak at my overwhelming gift and what you can expect from me in the very near future!

Day 1: I had a vocal lesson with the incredibly amazing Brett Manning. I had a ridiculous experience, as if I had opened Pandora's box, and magic and crazy awesome things came out of my voice and I hit notes I never knew I could hit. But hey, what did I say about Brett? He's amazing.
Later that day my mom and I dressed up like ninjas for no reason, (seeing as it was Halloween night) and the producer of my EP, David Hall, invited us to the studio to check things out a little before stepping in and doing tracking the next day. So we talked, looked at cool stuff, then took a selfie...

How cute.

 

 

So anyways...

 

Day 2: In the early AM, we stepped into the first day of tracking for all the instruments on the album. I knew from the minute I walked in, the bass player, the electric guitar player, the acoustic guitarist, the drummer, and the pianist, were all a part of this amazing dream and they were all there to help me achieve my goal. There's only one word to explain how I felt; blessed.

I watched my songs come to life and presented in living color and I was completely blown away. (cue the Carrie Underwood song going through your head right now)

Here's just some pictures of some of the instrumentalists and how tired I looked after this insanely long day...

 



This is the drummer, he was awesome.

well, everyone was awesome, this picture just turned out the best.

Here you see me in my natural habitat:

The vocal booth.

Here you see me strikingly disgusting looking and very tired.

 

 

Where did I do all this fabulous recording and stuff you may ask? Well, of course, at the one and only:

BLACKBIRD STUDIOS!!

I put it in all caps because it's really important and I'm afraid if I don't give people and things their proper credit and identification then I might be in trouble, and worse yet, I would feel extremely and terribly bad if I forgot ANYBODY at ALL!

Okay, moving on again... (squirrel)

 

Days 3 through 14 are all a blur and I'm not even going to attempt in trying to mark down what I did each day, seeing as that would end in an utter disaster. So, the day after tracking I stepped into studio C and started laying down smooth vocal tracks. Haha just kidding about the smooth part, I just sang by guts out and put my heart and soul and being and everything I possibly had into the vocals of my songs and gave it everything I possibly could. If you don't hear and experience the emotion when you listen to my songs, then I think you have something seriously wrong with you. (911 please, we have an emergency)

David Hall, the unbelievable and marvelous producer I was so privileged to work with, helped immensely in getting that emotion out of me. He put me in different rooms, he sat me down, he stood me up, he gave me different mic's, he danced, he gave me scenarios, basically he did everything he could to help me. And now, I will share some pictures for your viewing pleasure:

 

Just me taking a selfie with my friend Mic

 

Oh, am I supposed to sing into this thing?

Gotcha

 

This manager, JP, stopped by and gave me amazing advice..

No big deal..

 

Just one of the super cool background vocalists I got to work with, Jason.

P.s. he does a sick Luke Bryan impression, kinda

 

Vocal coach Brett Manning, random girl, producer David Hall

just kidding... that random girl is me.

Oh, and for those of you who don't know this already, Hunter Hayes is one of my
biggest inspirations. He is incredible, aaaaaaaaaaannnndddd I maybe have a crush on him but that's beside the point. Anyways, for inspiration purposes, David printed off a picture of my boy Hunter, except with a photo shopped mustache, and taped it in the room for me to see... to "inspire" me...



 

 

 

Anyways, vocal tracking days were tiring to say the least, but I loved every single second of them. David kept calling me a "race horse" because I just wanted to go, go , go, and hit all the notes and stretch my vocals to new heights and never ever stop. But just like any athlete, I had to take breaks and rest too. Your vocal chords are a muscle too, and just like any other part of your body, they can be overworked, and they need time to recover. After each session of recording I would go home and eat dinner, but I couldn't utter a single word because I was under vocal rest. (no, not vocal arrest.)

Except one night, I sang karaoke....

 

shhhhhh, don't tell David

 

I'm going to skip over details and jump right to the almost end of the story because I can't wait any longer! The best, most truly satisfying moment of all of this, was sitting down and listening to the almost finished product. When I was placed in front of a set of speakers and David began to play the beginning of one of the songs, "Her", I felt chills run up and down my spine and butterflies flying every which way inside of me. The verse played and the chorus orchestrated itself, and when the bridge beautifully echoed through the room, tears welled up in my eyes and I couldn't hold my emotions back. I was left motionless, I couldn't believe this was MY music. The song I was listening to was mine. I heard the story played out in front of me once more and I felt the exact same way I did when I wrote the song. I sat in my chair with my face in my palms and let every tear out that was inside of me. The feeling was indescribable, the feeling of being so blessed, so honored, so thankful, so humbled, all at the same time is incredible.



actual photo evidence I was sobbing:

rare indeed.

 

I offer all of this to God in heaven. He gave me this opportunity and I took it and ran with it. I trusted David to create this music, and what we all came out with was a work of art.
I'm still speechless as I write this blog today. I can't come up with words to type that perfectly describe how I felt and how I feel today..
A never-ending thank you to all you guys for your support.
Speaking of:
I have over 10,000 views on my blog!!!! HOLY MOMMA!!
Thank you all so much for helping me achieve my goals, and making my dreams a reality. I am blessed beyond my own belief and to be able to share this experience with everyone is amazing.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!
I can't say it enough..

Love you all!!

-Madeline