The Art of Collaboration

My producer Damien & I goofing around while collaborating on a new song.

Aside from my daily dose of caffeine in my hot cup of happiness whether it be Dunkins, Starbucks, Micky-D's or even the homemade Nespresso there are very few things that really make my heart skip a beat and get me moving. Sure life is full of surprises and exciting situations like finding $200 on the floor at the local Dollar Store (true story) or getting surprised when a friend you haven't seen in years shows up at your door.  Yeah, these are some pretty great moments, but they just aren't the same as what I am talking about.

What I am talking about is as an Artist.  See what a lot of people don't realize about being an artist regardless of your craft whether it's dancing, singing, writing, acting or painting - the road to success can be very daunting.  Life as an artist can be very challenging and a struggle.  But hey, this Greek blonde girl loves a good challenge!  Sure what we see on TV is the success and all the glitz and glory but the road to that level of success is one not for the faint of heart and one very few can ever traverse.  So as one of these artists who knows all too well what it means to have to fight for what you believe in, the everyday surprises and excitement sometimes just aren't enough to really make your heart skip that beat.

Here's what I mean: there are those obvious ones like getting to perform in front of an audience or signing a contract.  Having someone recognize you for the first time on the street or ask for your autograph.  But above it all there is one thing I find more rewarding than anything most would think to be that "heart-skipping" moment.

Now I know what you must be thinking, "How is that not the heart-skipping moment? I would give anything to be on a stage in front of people."  And yes I understand that.  Yes, nothing compares to standing on the hardwood floors of Madison Square Garden to sing your nations anthem or to have fans asking for an autograph and picture.  But still there is one thing that really rises above it all; the successful art of collaboration.

Yep, the successful art of collaboration.  I know it may not make sense at first but there is something so much more profound in the experience of being a part of a collaborative effort focused on your career.  It is so essential in order to have a strong network of support around any artist and their craft.  At the heart of that network is where everything happens.  Together we cram our brains, share our hearts and dream the dreams that we only wish we can make a reality.  It's in those moments where strokes of genius make the heart skip a beat.  These are the moments where we as a "team" collectively envision making something out of nothing and rely on one another to build on the dream and build each other up in order to make it happen.

Because of these moments we can sit back and watch our success of a concert tour, a CD release or a new music video come to fruition.  But it's all for not if you don't have the right people and team all excited and working toward the same goal.  It's in those moments where dreams become reality and my heart skips a beat.

Blessings, Love & Music,

Ava xo

www.avaaston.com

Collectible Junk

Derek Jeter swings for the fences for 3000th hit.

Do you ever have that itching sensation when you visit some peoples homes?  You know when your skin crawls at the sight of the inch of dust that collects on top of their valuable collection of collectibles?  Or when everywhere you look it's like a museum of creepy porcelain clowns that look like a horror film? Or the 100 framed pictures of Derek Jeter and all of his baseball cards and magazine covers?  Yeah, me too.  There is just something so wrong with the "need" to collect this junk.

Call me the Anti-Horder or whatever you wish but this Greek Girl and her touch of OCD "Offended by Collections Disorder" is about to clean house on some people.  Have you ever seen that commercial where the woman grabs hold of the Swiffer duster thingy and starts cleaning her friends house? Yeah? Well that's me.  I cannot stand it when stuff sits and collects dust on so-called priceless artifacts shrouded in plastic or behind a glass case.  What is the point anyway?  Why have the stuff if you aren't ever going to use it?

Don't get me wrong, I get the point that some people enjoy doing this kind of thing and it's a pastime for a lot of Americans to collect things.  At least if you are going to do it, make sure it's not offensive and blatantly the only thing you decorate with.  I can see it now after Derek Jeter's 3000th hit this weekend, Mr. Bricks will start sleeping with NY Yankee bedsheets.  Oh wait, my mental eyes are burning!!! Ahh what was I thinking?!? That was a terrible image I can never replay in my precious Greek noggin.

Now okay, amazing as it is, I get that if you caught Jeter's 3000th hit you could add it to some collection and let it sit on the wall of your home and show everyone who comes over, or you could have sold it to some other sucker for $250k and then stick your thumb in your buddies eye.  But who in their right mind would pay for that ball? It's just a ball and all it would do is just sit on a wall and collect dust anyway.

I know what you're thinking, "Come on Ava, there must be something you collect?" I admit, I have two collections:

1. My money and it's kept in the bank.  It's not collecting dust, it collects interest.

2. My ticket stubs from the national anthem's I performed for major sports teams.  Those are kept in the back of the closet in a Tupperware container and have no value accept in the memory they serve me.

Call me guilty but at least they aren't plastering the wall or some creepy collection of dust collecting dolls.  Either way, if you are going to have a collection there have to be some simple rules to avoid crossing over into the "Hoarder Zone".

1.  The collection MUST be of sentimental value and not based on monetary value.  It's not like you can retire off that crap anyway?  That is what a 401k is for.  Unless you can afford buying Picaso's and Monet's but seriously if you could, it would be a tax shelter and not so much of a collection to retire from.

2.  If it collects dust it's not valuable enough and must be either sold, donated or tossed out.  No questions asked.

3.  You don't prominently display it or parade it about when your friends come over.  It's like whenever I hang out with Mr. Bricks he insists on showing me his clown collection It's so bad he sometimes walks around his house in his old face paint and clown shoes. Now that is just down right scary!

4.  It must be simple and it must be able to be put away and kept out of site. No dust collectors allowed (see rule #2).

Well, happy day!

Blessings ~
Ava xo

P/S ~ Rule #5 says, if you collect my music you can collect anything you want even if it collects dust.  (wink-wink) http://www.avaaston.com/store.html

Why Do People Name Their Cars...

Lightning McQueen, Just love him!

So it is probably no surprise that I love the movie Cars, (especially knowing my love for animation & cartoons) and I'm super excited to see Cars 2 when it opens June 24th!  I remember when my niece & nephew were so into it when it came out I was thinking gee what is all the hoopla about? Then one day I sat down to watch it while I was getting my car detailed at one of the in & out joints in northern New Jersey and I was immediately taken.  Before I knew it almost the whole movie went by & my car had been sitting outside done for almost an hour....   It's amazing how two little things animation and a cup of coffee can amuse me.  ;D I think "Lightening Mc Queen" is a very cool name and I love his character, so adorable!

I guess you could say I have had a few cars in my day.  Truthfully I think there is a part of me that was a motor head in another life because, I love cars.  I really do, (not quite as much as I love my sneakers), but I have a definite love for them.  When I see a car that I like, my heart skips a beat.  So sometimes I have to wonder in my Greek coconut, was I a greaser in a former life?...  Cauz there is just something magical about a quality built piece of machinery whether it be a classic car or a new car, it is just plain hypnotic to me.

So I recently bought a second car since both my sweetie & I can't be in the same place at the same time ~ all the time...  As usual I had to pick out a name for the car, and it got me to thinking.  Why do we name our cars (well those of us that do anyway, why do we do it)?  Meet Johnny Jetta.

Meet my new ride Johnny Jetta

Here are the names of a few of the cars I have had in my day.  Of course my dream car is the Bumble Bee Camaro from the Transformers movie...  Maybe if Mr. Bricks would get off his duff and quit eating McRrib sandwiches all dang day long & finally get me a record deal - I would be able to go get my dream car Bumble Bee...

This is my dream car!

Til then a Greek Girl can dream, and drive a few of the cars below:

Saab~a~rina - Saab 9-5 Arc. Very nice car, with a lot of bells and whistles ~ but she was aging and she liked to make frequent trips to the nearest Saab dealer and have me deposit $100.  So they could hook her up to a computer and turn off the light that was on and proceed to tell me "oh nothing is wrong we turned off the light".  Usually this would be followed by another trip to another Saab dealer or mechanic to find out miss Saabarina needed hundreds if not thousands of dollars of TLC.  So she was retired...

Saab~a~Rina R.I.P.

A few more of my previous car friends:  There was "Prissy Passat" ~ a VW Passat, Jimmy Jaguar ~ my dad had a classic Jaguar, well one more year and it would have been a classic, that is until I wrecked it at the beginning of my senior year of high school.  ;( Thankfully I was not hurt too bad, and one of the reasons I tend to drive like a granny even to this day.

Well friends I hope you all have cute names for your cars & that you drive safe!  Have a beautiful day!

Blessings ~
Ava :D

Secret Saturdays...

Secret?  Nah, it's no secret ~ all my blog friends know that every Saturday I post my animated series "Ava the Diva".  Summer is officially here & all of our favorite TV shows are on hiatus (re~runs).  So I decided this would be a good time to rerun 
"Ava the Diva" & let everyone who has not had a chance to see just how much muckery Mr. Bricks can bring into a day... ;D Below is episode one.  "Ava the Diva's First Sold Out Concert, Part One".  Hope you enjoy & have a beautiful day! 
Blessings ~ Ava xox  

Facedown vs Planking

Me planking (or so I thought) as a joke to Mr. Bricks ;D

So what is up with the "Planking" rage all of the sudden? What I can not seem to wrap my noggin around is why on earth people are all of the sudden so excited to lay down - on things?  I was working out one afternoon and I get a text from Mr. Bricks....   "Ava, have you heard about planking?"  I'm thinking... hmmm planking, what the heck is he talking about now...   Mr. Bricks have you been drinking?  I text him back "I'm working out, I'll be done in another hour or so, ttyl" He proceeds to continue to text me like something ~ really important is going on...

So I decided the following weekend to take a photo as a joke of me "Planking" (or so I thought I was planking) in front of my dream car the Bubble Bee Camaro.  So come to find out, I was actually not planking at all, I was "Facedown".  How did I learn this you may be asking yourself?  Well wouldn't you know it, old man Bricks has found the clarification to inform me that I was not planking and I was in fact facedown.  He even sent me the link to the video to prove it....

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2011/06/15/dnt.facedown.craze.king?eref=igoogledmn_mpvideo

So here I am about a month or so later sitting here asking myself, why on earth does my manager Mr. Bricks know so much about "planking" & "facedown", yet I still do not have a record deal? So now I know what he spends his time doing, that is besides eating McRib sandwiches all dang day long...  He spends his time reading up on things like planking when he is supposed to be getting me a record deal (just sayin). I think I am going to tell Mr. Bricks that I think planking is really cool and that I would love to get a picture of him planking in between my two tour buses when they are parked side by side loading up for my US Tour.  Yeah, that's a good idea. ;D

All joking aside here because we all know I'm all about laughing and having a fun time, but really I do not condone ~ anything ~ that can possibly cause harm to yourself or others.  Life is precious, I do not feel it wise to risk life and limb just to get a "funny" or outrageous photo.  I heard on the news a few weeks ago that someone was even killed falling off of a balcony trying to get a photo of themselves "planking".  So of course have fun, take risks, live your life to the fullest - but do not do anything just for the "shock" value of it.  In this humble Greek Girl's opinion, it is simply not worth it.  (in full disclosure, my "planking/facedown" photo was taken in a parking lot away from any space any car could drive on) :D Be smart blog friends!

Have a beautiful blessed day!

Ava :D xox

Whistle While You Work

My producer Damien & I in the studio, he sure is one funny guy...

Do you have one of the jobs where you sit a cubicle all day and listen to the person next to you whistle all day? That would make my coconut explode. Then there are those Cubicle A-Type  Personality Dwellers (CADS) that you can hear their every perfect phone conversation  with every girl with a heart beat who this CAD has buffaloed into thinking she was special.  Makes you want to sprint into his cubicle when he takes one of his frequent breaks to visit the bathroom so he can check himself out in the mirror and hit redial on his phone and tell the unsuspecting lady just what a jerk this guy is.

I am lucky, the only cubicle at my job is the recording booth....  The only thing I have to listen to is the sound of my own melodies & my producer Damien saying "That's Hot". Which is actually quite funny, because he is a big guy with a wicked sense of humor which makes for lots of goofing around at times.  But hey, like they say "if you can't laugh... you might as well be 6 ft under".  I know I don't want to be there anytime soon, so I plan to keep on laughing.  So I hope you enjoy the little clip of Damien & I doing just that, goofing around while working on a new song.  Looking to have this song finished mid July and God willing a whole new project done by my B~day in September.

Have a beautiful blessed day my blog buddies!

Ava xox

Cap'n Crunch Walks the Plank

A breakfast with this is not Greek Girl approved

Have you ever noticed how guys can not just eat one bowl of breakfast cereal? Well, I am going to appoint myself as the Czar of  Breakfast Stuff (BS) and let you know that you should not be listening to those BS commercials.  Otherwise you will have to Leggo the Greek Girl's Eggo, just sayin'.

I know I know I am always harping about "you are what you eat", but really I can not say it enough. It's OK to have a bit of "bad foods" once in a while but really.... Capt'n Crunch for breakfast? Not so much, it is more like a dessert... and like a handful, not a bowl.  Sorry to burst anyone's sugar coated cereal bubble.

You only have one body and it really is a miracle.  What you put into it is really important, that's why for breakfast I'm all about egg whites.  Almost every day I have egg whites and a Thomas Light whole grain English Muffin with smart balance & peanut butter on it (peanut butter is a super food btw).  If I don't have egg whites, I usually have a 0% Fage Greek Yogurt (we talked about this in a blog last week).  Of course I wash it down with a coffee....  BTW are you following my coffee every day on twitter? hmmmmwww.twitter.com/avaaston  @avaaston ;D

I get that kids & even grown ups too like cartoons and all, but I have spent time in the cereal isle, and honestly it is really hard to find even one cereal that is balanced and "good" for you.  It's either too high in sugar, or not enough fiber & protein.... Also the serving size is generally 1/3 of a cup.  We all know that most people do not measure out their cereal before they eat it. So most people are actually eating like 3-4 servings of cereal... this makes for a lot of muckery.  Mood swings, and irritability from not having a balanced breakfast.

So take it from this Rock Chick ~ cereal.... not such a great choice for breakfast.  For me it's all bout being healthy, feeling good and being in shape for performances for my music & acting.  No matter what you do in life, it's important to be the best you can be, and eating a sugary cereal for breakfast is not for champions.  ;D just sayin.  If you absolutely have to have a cereal, best to read the label and make sure it has whole grains & a proper balance of protein, fiber, low sugar, and make sure to measure it.  I use lactose free skim milk, however there are lots of healthy choices for your cereal: almond milk, soy milk, rice milk, whatever floats your cereal boat.  A better choice for a breakfast cereal is steel cut oatmeal, Yummo!

After a Greek Girl approved breakfast you should be all ready to put on your sneakers for a kick butt workout! Go out & have a super spectacular day!

Love & Blessings ~

Ava :D xox