News

*Hey there -*		*2003*
Welcome to my site. I want to thank those of you who have been so supportive and encouraging in this long process of getting my CD completed and my business up and running. This has been a long road with many speed bumps, including a seemingly endless administrative quagmire. I am grateful for the enthusiasm and encouragement of so many of you who are hearing the CD for the first time, and want you to know that your energy continues to fuel me.
* * * * * Highlights - I cannot possibly share with you all of the highlights that I have experienced since this process began, but I would like to share a few that stand out to me most, in chronological order:
hearing the songs come alive as the musicians played and sang on them, and receiving so much positive feedback to my songs from those same musicians and writers that I respect so much, sitting in with Teresa James' band in LA, which was my initiation to performing live with a band, being talked into my 1st meeting with a publisher, and having him listen to my CD in it's entirety while we sat there, and having him love it, meeting some of my favorite writers and giving them copies of my CD, namely Kimmie Rhodes in Austin, and Tony Arata in Nashville, having a friend of mine walk right up to Mr. Willie Nelson in the Austin Airport to give him a copy of my CD, trading CDs with Rusty Wier at the Saxon in Austin and having him ask me for my autograph, learning that a very successful Nashville recording artist was singing along to my CD in her car after I had sung along to her music for so many years, giving a copy of my CD to the Secret Service at the Governor's Mansion in Austin for President-Elect George W. Bush and Mrs. Bush, and receiving a hand written note from both of them thanking me for the "great CD!", my first TV taping, The David Fuentes Show, in LA, with a viewing audience of 2.5 million viewers, my CD Release Party, hosting Western Beat in LA in March. It was magic, and singing at my Dad's high school reunion in Montgomery, W.Va.

"Work hard/Play hard" - I have tried to live my life by that motto and that has particularly been the case recently. I initially decided to record a CD when I did in hopes that it would generate enough income so that I would no longer need to work full time, providing me more time to write. The irony is that the opposite has been the case.
	During the making of the CD my songwriting had to take a back seat to learning about recording, producing, mixing, mastering, performing, art design, web-site design and more than I ever thought I would need or want to know about computers. At one point I thought I was nearing the end of the decision making process when I stopped by the graphics company that was preparing the film to see how the layout was coming along, and Steve said that I needed to choose a color. My response was that we had already discussed that I wanted black and white on one side and sepia on the other. When he told me how many different colors of sepia there are I nearly fell out of the chair. Yellow sepia, orange sepia and brown sepia, 20 something varieties on his computer alone. I believe my response was something to the effect of "I give up."
People have asked me if certain details on the CD were accidental, and my initial response is, "No". Nothing has been an accident. Certainly not the songwriting, or the selection of musicians, the selection of the studios or engineers, the photography or artwork, or even what part of the project was completed in each city. Every comma is where it is and every font is the size it is because a very deliberate decision was made. Don't misunderstand me. I am quick to say that my songwriting is inspired, and I believe that it comes from God. There have been too many Saturdays that I turned off the phone and made a pot of coffee and stayed in specifically to complete some songs and then wasn't able to finish a single one. Then on the other hand, I'd have five minutes to kill while I was waiting for someone to pick me up at my house, and they'd stand outside for a minute while I finished recording whatever I had just come up with while I was waiting for them. To me, there is no doubt that it is out of my hands. Certainly I do my part, and there is a craft that can be studied, but songwriting is not something, in my opinion, that can be planned or controlled. It is not a tax return. There is no right and wrong way to do it, and a whole day can be invested sometimes with seemingly very little to show for it. It's aggravating in that way, and yet that makes it that much more exciting when a song is finished. I feel like each song is a gift, and it's a great feeling to finish a new one. Upcoming events - The "Dates" page will have current tour information. I hope you will check that regularly. Keep your ears open in Austin. If you hear my songs on the radio I'd love to hear about it. Keep your eyes open in LA. I understand that The David Fuentes Show has a viewing audience of 2.5 million people, and I've been told that the show I taped with them is currently airing in the Los Angeles area. *Radio airplay -* Thank you so much to those of you who have been requesting my songs. I really appreciate it. If you would like to help generate airplay please feel free to call the following stations anytime: KGSR: (512) 390-KGSR (Austin) KUT: (512) 471-2345 (Austin) KFAN: (800) KFAN-107 (Fredricksburg) * * * * * *Y'all come back now -*
I hope that you will make it a habit to check back to this site. We are constantly booking shows and will be adding new information to the site regularly. I am writing again and gearing up to tour, so I hope to see you very soon! Thank you so much for your interest and for your support. I'd love to hear from you. - Arleen