i love crazy love

I was practicing for our wedding in St. Bart, and was learning Crazy Love by Van Morrison. I had edited the lyrics a little bit to fit the occasion and didn't realize how universal the song was until my son came up and asked if I wrote the song for him. I was a little perplexed and flummoxed and asked him why. He said, "because I give you crazy love Mommy!"

As a songwriter, it's always a rare gift from the Gods to write a song that is universal and speaks to listeners on many levels. I think Crazy Love does just that and I was inspired to create a slideshow to my arrangement, to honor little ones that give us their unconditional crazy love. It is kinda crazy.

i love tori

We have been rehearsing for our upcoming performance at Caffe Vivaldi on April 15th and we're doing a combination of cover songs and original songs, most of which I am singing on. (Yes, alot of people don't realize I've had a career as a singer/songwriter and can check out my original music at www.myspace.com/pilleybianchi)

But back to the point, we're doing our arrangement of "Pretty Good Year" by Tori Amos and it prompted me to revisit her video from her 1994 release "Under the Pink". I could just watch it all day long, it's so beautiful from every perspective. The music, the cinematography, the choreography, hair/make-up. It's totally timeless and such a little vignette of art. She's a total goddess of the piano and voice and if you have a moment, check out the video.

i love the french caribbean

I had a wonderful time in the french Caribbean in St. Bartholemy last weekend performing for Karen & Buck's wedding at Hotel Christopher. (Directly above) It was breathtakingly beautiful and I had a blast exploring the small island in my little rental jeep. I admit I was a little nervous at first, but my french slowly started coming back to me along with my skinny hair-pin turn mountain driving skills. I became quite acquainted with Maya's, the yummy gourmet deli and stocked up my little refrigerator at my Villa overlooking the sea. It was fantastic sipping rich bordeaux, with creamy brie & crusty bread watching the sunsets overlooking the cove above.

Karen & Buck's wedding was elegantly casual and chic. They had wonderful ideas for music choices that were a little retro and completely matched the setting. They were an inspiration to work with. The bridal party & Buck entered to "59th Street Bridge Song", with the children walking to "Linus & Lucy" from Charlie Brown. Karen was a vision when she appeared to Van Morrison's "Crazy Love" which I arranged and sang for her. Their recessional was happy & fun loving, just like them to U2's "Sweetest Thing". It was the sweetest thing as the sun slowly dipped over the Caribbean.

i love phish

It's been a busy March with some very different wedding locations and super fun, creative clients. Our first couple this month was Ronit & Adam, who got married at a sweet, intimate bed & breakfast. They love everything Phish, so we added 2 new Phish songs to our repertoire per their request. Ronit walked down the aisle to the quartet playing "The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday". So sweet and pretty. For cocktails we added "Let me lie" and "If I Could" to our existing arrangement of "Wading in the Velvet Sea." Both are beautiful compositions that naturally lend themselves to orchestration. Trey Anastasio did a performance of "Let me lie" with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra that is gorgeous. Please check it out below. We transcribed and arranged this for string quartet and are so loving adding this piece to our repertoire. Thanks Ronit & Adam! They will be sending us photos when they return from their honeymoon and I'll give you info on Ronit's gown.

i love Jung Lee & Fête

I absolutely adore and love working with Jung Lee & Josh Brooks at Fête and their amazing team. (www.feteny.com) Their TV show "Wedded to Perfection" on TLC is airing this week Monday - Thursday at 11:30AM. For the weddings featured on Monday & Wednesday we were very excited to provide the ceremony music.

Jung has exquisite taste and I not only love her musical suggestions, but I always look forward to meetings in her office to see what she is up to with her designs. There is always some new gorgeous color scheme, beautifully set tables, exotic chandeliers sitting about amidst beautiful flowers and lush fabrics. I feel like I am entering a candy shop that is always evolving.

And on the day of the event, arriving amidst the creative chaos that magically comes together at the perfect moment, it is like being on a movie set that on cue delivers the perfect amount of fairy dust for the one and only take.

She's just amazing.