Say Yes
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Say Yes

"Yes" opens doors. Not necessarily the ones you are knocking on. Sometimes the goal in mind totally falls through but some other magical thing happens instead. By accident? Random luck? I think not. I KNOW you know what I mean. 

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Daughters & Mothers...Mother's Day 2018
blog Shelly Peiken blog Shelly Peiken

Daughters & Mothers...Mother's Day 2018

“I’m losing my lip line,” my mother assessed as she regretfully stared at her reflection in the vanity mirror. I was standing beside her looking up. What on earth was she talking about— ‘Losing her lip line’?? Where did it go? Now I understand.

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For Love Or For Money
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For Love Or For Money

There’s plenty of talk about how the music business is thriving and worth billions. It's all true except that those billions aren’t making their way to the pockets of the writers who create the product that make a music business possible. 

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Reconsidering Nashville
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Reconsidering Nashville

I seem to fit in better now. Maybe Nashville has changed. Or maybe I’VE changed. Or maybe I used to try too hard to fit in. Now I’m comfortable just being myself. Maybe that’s the key to life in general.

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Teachable Songwriting
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Teachable Songwriting

For a successful destiny, one has to have the fire in their belly—which is usually recognized at a young age—and the desire to communicate within a 3.5 minute boundary. If these parameters are already in place then maybe one can learn to get better. 

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Living Room Live
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Living Room Live

I’ve narrowed a 7 hour audio book down to an hour’s worth of the best bits. I put a mic and an amp in the corner of my office and every night I've been firing up the purple lights and running through the script. I'm enjoying myself immensely. So are my cats. I'm not sure how to proceed next, but I'll figure it out. One foot in front of the other. Like everything. If you build it they will come. 

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Bruce on Broadway
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Bruce on Broadway

I wonder if I could do a one woman show too…"Confessions of a Serial Songwriter." Except mine wouldn’t be on Broadway and I wouldn’t be Bruce Springsteen. Hopefully some people would come.

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What's Next
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What's Next

Indeed, life, career, love have their ups and downs. Perhaps the lulls are necessary, albeit not as thrilling, as the excitement. I’ve always enjoyed unscheduled time to collect my endless thoughts. Examining is where we get material. We need to take time to replenish. 

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10,000 Hours
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10,000 Hours

Sometimes I feel invisible. I am a singer/songwriter who has yet to write a hit. I go to a party and when you ask what I do I tell you: I wake up every day and write songs. It’s like breathing. 

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#Us Too
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#Us Too

When it comes to the MeToo movement, Songwriters are not immune. As sole proprietors and small business owners, we are currently unable to unionize. We have no HR departments, no sexual harassment protocols, no real recourse. We only have each other. So where does a female songwriter (or artist or composer or producer) go when a line has been crossed? SONA is stepping up.

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Back Down To Earth
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Back Down To Earth

Looking out the window of my west bound plane, taking in what just happened, I’m filled with so many thoughts. Adam is worried. He suggests after all the excitement and euphoria I’m going to crash. Post GRAMMY Depression. I won’t. I’m pretty sure I’ll be high for a while. 

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Confessions.