I remember the first time I ever saw a Vespa scooter. I was in 7th grade and watching one of those lo-fi indie music videos for the song “Chick Magnet” by MXPX on one of those late night Christian music shows they showed on TBN. The guy in the video whizzed around on his little scooter and my heart just swooned. I told God right then and there I wanted one of those some day.
A cliched thing for a Junior High Schooler who was just getting into Punk Rock and Ska Music, I know (go Third Wave!) But I didn't care. Hell, I’m now in my 30’s and Ska is still one of my all time favorite music genres (that and most showtunes ;-)
This was also around the time I got into playing electric guitar and especially the electric bass. I was completely inspired by Mike Herrera, the lead singer, songwriter and bassist for MXPX (well him and Five Iron Frenzy). This opened up a whole new world for me that helped me get through High School, College and led me to get hired to play bass and sing background vocals for a variety of Christian music artists when I later moved to Nashville TN to try to become a professional songwriter.
Most of the events that occurred during those years of my life were complete and total head decisions and not at all what my heart was really telling me to do. But the one thing that carried through for most of that time was my love and fascination with Vespas and retro looking scooters in general.
So just after graduation from college at Berklee College of Music, I spent a year working and saving up the money to buy one. This was ONE dream I was going to fulfill before I died, or at least before I got too old to get comfortable riding on one. And I did. It was the first major purchase I ever made in my life and this beauty was ALL MINE. No auto loans, no debt.
Even though I always LOVED Vespas, I did end up buying a Yamaha Vino 125 instead. A scooter that looked like a traditional Vespa, got better gas mileage and cost me like $1500 less. She was a beauty. I was elated.
Everyone in my life thought I was crazy. A female, 25 year old, bassist, who drove a hipster scooter, lived out of her worn out Converse All-Star sneakers, and dreamed of writing and directing movie musicals with empowering messages for women with fun original soundtracks. I moved from my tiny town in the Hudson Valley New York to Nashville TN, Country Music City USA. I moved down there with a handful of song demos and a couple of completed screenplays with original theme songs composed.
My first feature length script I wanted to produce was “Crazy Like Me Too (aka the Commitment-phobe)”, a Pop/Country movie musical set in Nashville with a hipster songwriter who drove a Vespa as the lead. Was it slightly gratuitous? Probably. Was it also EXTREMELY therapeutic for me to write? Absolutely!
This screenplay never ended up getting produced. No surprised there. As a woman who always dreamed of encouraging and empowering other women and teen girls through positive arts and media, I sure did struggle with a lot of anxiety and fear issues that prevented me from pitching and promoting myself. Hence, leaving me stuck in a life of mediocrity for more time than I’d like to admit. Which seemed to only get worse as I got older.
But no more! I am woman on a mission who is determined to get something positive out of my disappointments and seemingly wasted years in life. Which is part of how this book
Better Late Than Never” came to be.
So on a positive note, all my struggles and perceived “weaknesses” have given me a TON of inspiration to write and create positive work (books, music, musical plays and merchandise for my side business Affirmations Gift Shop). So it’s not all bad.
Anyway back to the scooter. After being in several very painful motorcycle accidents on my beautiful Yamaha scooter and driving it until the ignition stopped working and pretty much EVERYTHING on it had to be replaced, I gave up the scoot-scoot life. And ya know what? I’m OK with it now.
I lived a dream a lot of people don’t get to experience and it fulfilled it’s purpose in my life.
Now I have a pop song written on the very Country sounding Mandolin called “Before I Die (You Only Get One Life)”. Keep a look out for the track on Apple Music, Spotify and everywhere else you can stream music. This song came out of a very rough period in my life as well, but the main lyric applies to all seasons.
“No more wasting time…You only get one life.”
Which is a constant reminder to me and hopefully anyone else who hears it to follow your heart and create the life YOU WANT because it’s your life and you only get ONE.
So it seemed only fitting to design this new shirt I’m selling on my websites with a picture of MY ACTUAL scooter. Back in the day I named her “Roxy” and she became a symbol of freedom from other peoples expectations and a reminder to follow MY DREAMS- no matter how large, crazy and impossible they seemed to others.
And this message is still the anthem of my life today.
Tell yourself today “No more wasting time…You only get one life.” It’s time to create the life YOU WANT and it’s BETTER LATE THAN NEVER to try.
A cliched thing for a Junior High Schooler who was just getting into Punk Rock and Ska Music, I know (go Third Wave!) But I didn't care. Hell, I’m now in my 30’s and Ska is still one of my all time favorite music genres (that and most showtunes ;-)
This was also around the time I got into playing electric guitar and especially the electric bass. I was completely inspired by Mike Herrera, the lead singer, songwriter and bassist for MXPX (well him and Five Iron Frenzy). This opened up a whole new world for me that helped me get through High School, College and led me to get hired to play bass and sing background vocals for a variety of Christian music artists when I later moved to Nashville TN to try to become a professional songwriter.
Most of the events that occurred during those years of my life were complete and total head decisions and not at all what my heart was really telling me to do. But the one thing that carried through for most of that time was my love and fascination with Vespas and retro looking scooters in general.
So just after graduation from college at Berklee College of Music, I spent a year working and saving up the money to buy one. This was ONE dream I was going to fulfill before I died, or at least before I got too old to get comfortable riding on one. And I did. It was the first major purchase I ever made in my life and this beauty was ALL MINE. No auto loans, no debt.
Even though I always LOVED Vespas, I did end up buying a Yamaha Vino 125 instead. A scooter that looked like a traditional Vespa, got better gas mileage and cost me like $1500 less. She was a beauty. I was elated.
Everyone in my life thought I was crazy. A female, 25 year old, bassist, who drove a hipster scooter, lived out of her worn out Converse All-Star sneakers, and dreamed of writing and directing movie musicals with empowering messages for women with fun original soundtracks. I moved from my tiny town in the Hudson Valley New York to Nashville TN, Country Music City USA. I moved down there with a handful of song demos and a couple of completed screenplays with original theme songs composed.
My first feature length script I wanted to produce was “Crazy Like Me Too (aka the Commitment-phobe)”, a Pop/Country movie musical set in Nashville with a hipster songwriter who drove a Vespa as the lead. Was it slightly gratuitous? Probably. Was it also EXTREMELY therapeutic for me to write? Absolutely!
This screenplay never ended up getting produced. No surprised there. As a woman who always dreamed of encouraging and empowering other women and teen girls through positive arts and media, I sure did struggle with a lot of anxiety and fear issues that prevented me from pitching and promoting myself. Hence, leaving me stuck in a life of mediocrity for more time than I’d like to admit. Which seemed to only get worse as I got older.
But no more! I am woman on a mission who is determined to get something positive out of my disappointments and seemingly wasted years in life. Which is part of how this book
Better Late Than Never” came to be.
So on a positive note, all my struggles and perceived “weaknesses” have given me a TON of inspiration to write and create positive work (books, music, musical plays and merchandise for my side business Affirmations Gift Shop). So it’s not all bad.
Anyway back to the scooter. After being in several very painful motorcycle accidents on my beautiful Yamaha scooter and driving it until the ignition stopped working and pretty much EVERYTHING on it had to be replaced, I gave up the scoot-scoot life. And ya know what? I’m OK with it now.
I lived a dream a lot of people don’t get to experience and it fulfilled it’s purpose in my life.
Now I have a pop song written on the very Country sounding Mandolin called “Before I Die (You Only Get One Life)”. Keep a look out for the track on Apple Music, Spotify and everywhere else you can stream music. This song came out of a very rough period in my life as well, but the main lyric applies to all seasons.
“No more wasting time…You only get one life.”
Which is a constant reminder to me and hopefully anyone else who hears it to follow your heart and create the life YOU WANT because it’s your life and you only get ONE.
So it seemed only fitting to design this new shirt I’m selling on my websites with a picture of MY ACTUAL scooter. Back in the day I named her “Roxy” and she became a symbol of freedom from other peoples expectations and a reminder to follow MY DREAMS- no matter how large, crazy and impossible they seemed to others.
And this message is still the anthem of my life today.
Tell yourself today “No more wasting time…You only get one life.” It’s time to create the life YOU WANT and it’s BETTER LATE THAN NEVER to try.