NY! NY!

I had a blast this past weekend.

I went to NY with my Gospel Choir and we visited a church in Harlem, 2 schools, a Jewish Community Center, and Lincoln Center was the last stop. Amen.

I had a great time debuting my demo songs at Jazz@ Lincoln Center! Now onto finishing my album!

My choir is dolng big things. big things. If only you could see us. Well...I guess you can...
go to Waltcunningham.net and there will be a list of our performance appearances.

Our goal is sing music of hope, faith, and inspiration. Plain and simple. Plain and simple.

I realize that my blogs have become less catchy and I apologize for that...I'll hit you up with better posts soon.

But in the meantime, go to Waltcunningham.net!!!! :0)

The Secret Life...

My goodness..."The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd totally just rocked my socks.

It all started on an unusually warm Friday night in September, when my best friend and I went to go see "A Family That Preys". Now...I love Tyler Perry, but that movie detracted from my life. HOWEVER, Lou and I got to see a trailer for the movie "The Secret Life of Bees"....we both became very excited. I, because my celebrity crush (Nate Parker from "The Great Debaters") is in it, and Lou, because it is one of her favorite books of all time. She turns to me and says "we have to read this book"....only to say, about a month and some later, I am a pridefully joined the group of women who call this book one of their favorite books of all time. Great read. And what I really liked was the great one-liners sprinkled throughout the book. I want to encourage you guys to read this book BEFORE seeing the movie. I know, I know....the temptation is strong, but be strong! Indulge in a Penguin Classic, will ya? Just to make me happy and then jump on the Hollywood bandwagon. Now, I am not saying that the movie won't be good...for I am about to go pay $11.00 to go see it....I am banking on it to be a pleasurable experience. HOWEVER, I know that there is nothing like a good book. Amen for GREAT WRITING. Just what I needed in this crazy world of economic downturn, incompetent presidents, and just hatred in many realms of society. This book speaks to the wonder of love and the power of love. Call it a chick book/flick...call it what you want. But I am better for having read it. Amen.

Shout out to Sue Monk Kidd for a great classic.

My Debut

I should be reading "The Secret Life of Bees" right now...but I felt compelled to write a blog.

So. In about a week, I will be debuting myself as a solo artist at Lincoln Center (Oct 28th). I am excited. A few years back, I promised myself that I wouldn't go down this road which would lead to disappointment. But God had other plans. Now, I am not saying that He wants to make me a superstar, but He definitely wants me to sing. And to this, I say "Ok God- Use me." Easier said than done. Nonetheless, it will be done.

Sometimes I think about how harmonies and great lyrics and beautiful voices can make my heart skip a beat. Nothing else can do that--except for true love (and I haven't experienced that yet!). If I took away ALL of the fears about people's judgment of my art and my gift, I could honestly say that singing is the love of my life. I used to think that being a musician is nothing compared to being a doctor, a professor, or a CEO. But one day, I woke up and God was telling me this: "they all need you. Doctors, professors, and CEOs need music"...now, they don't need me per say, but music is something that everyone needs. I rarely meet a soul that does not let music into a very sensitive part of themselves because of its capacity to enlighten, bring joy, bring tear, and bring healing. God wants to use me and I cannot fight it anymore.

I heard my demo on Saturday morning and there was nothing that could have brought more joy to my heart (other than falling in love and/or seeing my mother again). But alas, he is waking me up....God is waking up this droopy Blackbird that has been singing in the dead of night for too long.

It's time to take my chance.

Home Sweet Home

On Friday, October 3rd, I went home.

Home to me is Brooklyn, NY. However, home has taken on a double meaning. It also means Chicago. I flew into LaGuardia Airport and NY felt like what Chicago felt like to me when I lived in Brooklyn. Roles have not only overlapped, but reversed as well. Strange.

After a few minutes of analyzing this, I was back to normal (never been good at adjustments). Now, the reason I was home was to celebrate my dad's 60th birthday. We had a nice party for him at the house and I was again flooded by the feeling of "man, I have sooo many great friends in NY! I miss seeing them all the time!" We had a blast! My dad's party was open to everyone so my friends were able to come and boy oh boy did we make a night of it. If you recall, my pre-Chicago posts are all about my friends.

If you take nothing from this, just remember to always have a great core group of friends.

As you can see, there isn't really much to this post, but to say to my friends: I love you guys.

Thanks for making home feel like home.

BK fo' life :0)