http://lynettediaz.com/blog.html Lynette Diaz: Blog Jannis' PHPRss class - http://www.jannis.to/ Sun, 02 Sep 2012 16:54:42 -0700 http://lynettediaz.com/blog.html/losing_a_friend__a_different_kind_of_earthquake__and_angels
Where to begin with this update”¦my last note to all of you was late-May and, well, music was on my mind and community. Christchurch was moving into winter and the City vibe was one of creativity brewing alongside those famous NZ lattes.

Then, came news, really bad news of the kind that alters your perspective on living. I got a call one night in late May. My mentor and musical soul brother, Pete, was in the hospital”¦cardiac arrest”¦stable but condition unsure etc. Well, two and a half weeks went by and so much happening in between, but in the end, I lost my friend, a dear friend, one of my best of friends. He was young and vibrant and charismatic and kind and generous and non-judgmental and community-oriented and loved his children. He gave the biggest hugs and had the broadest grin imaginable, and he was a talented musician in the process of recording a solo Cd of original music.

Talk about lessons, big lessons. Talk about grief, wow, in bucket loads and in waves. But something else emerges in the spaces of emptiness. Sitting with the emptiness is hard, but it’s a time of reflection. It’s when the tears flow and the heart aches, but it’s also when the poems come or the light bulb ”˜aha’ moments happen. It’s when I feel my connection to something greater and profound. The superficial veil disappears when someone close to you passes, especially one so young. It’s the nitty gritty essence of living that becomes important. Pete lived his life around his ”˜Circle of Friends’. His friends were his community and he had many circles that have interwoven since his passing. We’re making music together and find ourselves reminiscing and planning the completion of his Cd. We find ourselves comforting one another and smiling and hugging more when we greet each other, knowing that is exactly how Pete would do it.

We wrote music together and performed as a duo for four years, his lead guitar backing my music, and my vocals backing his music. In January 2012, we went into the aptly named, Angels Gate Recording Studio, to begin recording tracks for his solo Cd and a special track, ”˜Angel’, that was a song we had co-written several years ago, but never properly recorded. We laid the guitar and vocal tracks in January and left the song unfinished while we awaited a friend to put the final touches on the song with her delicate cello. Months passed and as Pete worked on the other songs in studio, we put ”˜Angel’ aside. It wasn’t until Pete’s passing that the cello part was put down and the song completed.

Angel has just been released as a single. It is a song that speaks from the heart of despair. It's a lamentation for help from within and beyond oneself. It's a call to the Divine. It was a song that spoke to us deeply, and we played it at each gig. At the heart of our music, we have always tried to speak our truth and act with love. How simple it is. As Pete used to say, “love is the way.”]]> http://lynettediaz.com/blog.html/losing_a_friend__a_different_kind_of_earthquake__and_angels Sun, 22 Jul 2012 16:46:35 -0700 Laughin' Lovin' Teasin' Talkin' Huggin' Cryin' Livin' Before Dyin' - Lynette Diaz - Blog http://lynettediaz.com/blog.html/christchurch_update__free_music
Normal in Christchurch means lots of road detours, as the infrastructure is being rebuilt, and ever changing landscape, as landmarks...such as tall buildings... gets demo'd here and there and everywhere. Ah, but alas, where there is destruction, there is rebirth and growth. That is also evident all around, including interesting community projects getting under way, people gathering with visions of the future, arts/musical venues getting on with entertaining people. Ever evolving, ever changing!!

So now, musically, and speaking of community, I've just made, 'Me For You, You For Me', available as a free download on my Reverbnation profile. Just hop onto my mailing list on this site, and shazam!, 'tis yours :-)

This original song was recorded in 2010, as a contribution to the 'Merging Landscapes' Song of Community Cd. The track includes New Zealand guitar legend, Graham Wardrop, on guitar and Singer-Songwriter, Diana Hickey, on backing vocals!

We're one great big community! Thanks a bunch for taking the time to read this post and hope you are resonating to the highest vibes of life! xo Lynette]]> http://lynettediaz.com/blog.html/christchurch_update__free_music Fri, 25 May 2012 16:49:30 -0700 Laughin' Lovin' Teasin' Talkin' Huggin' Cryin' Livin' Before Dyin' - Lynette Diaz - Blog http://lynettediaz.com/blog.html/earthquake_update__christchurch__one_year_ago_today
I need to write this blog, my brain saturated with memories and melancholy and inundated recently with images of the past year. The NZ media has been reliving that day in pictures and stories for at least a week now, and it brings it all back to the forefront of the psyche again....in some ways, it's even worse, because there is time to process those pictures in a way that wasn't possible when living it in that moment.

I was chatting with a friend today about the ordeal of getting my two high school boys home from the City Centre. Their school in the middle of the worst of it...How the texts were sporadic and all I really knew after three hours was that they were walking out of the City towards home, but not knowing which direction and with whom they had gone with...I was unable to reach them, the roads being inaccessible across the water. Another friend frantically looked for them, but didn't know where they had been evacuated to. In the end, they were safe...with family friends...but it took me over 24 hours to finally reach them, by bicycle. Then, we walked home through grey streets filled with liquefaction, over torn roads and a tattered bridge to our tattered house.

So a year on, here I am, spilling my guts about one of the most heart wrenching days of my life...and unbelievably grateful to be able to tell it, to be able to hug and hold those closest to me. Tomorrow, there are families and friends of 185 people who cannot do the same for those they lost. Everyone in our City is acutely aware. We share this pain. We all lost our innocence that day and most lost so much more. Kia Kaha Christchurch]]> http://lynettediaz.com/blog.html/earthquake_update__christchurch__one_year_ago_today Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:51:52 -0800 Laughin' Lovin' Teasin' Talkin' Huggin' Cryin' Livin' Before Dyin' - Lynette Diaz - Blog http://lynettediaz.com/blog.html/earthquake_update__christchurch__deja_vu_63_and_more
There was another serious 'event' this past Monday, 13 June. A series of new tremors were unleashed beginning with a 5.6 early in the afternoon, followed by a shallow whopper of a 6.3 just 80 minutes later. This has triggered aftershocks that have been steady for three days now.

What can I say, this City that I call home for the past six years, is suffering. It's landmarks all but gone, it's people scarred, scared and battered to varying degrees. Lives lost in the last year and many have simply moved on, weary and hearts torn.

I keep wondering what's in store for this region, it's people, my neighbors, my friends, and also for my family and myself..I know that like the unstable ground beneath me, there are changes afoot. I am contemplating the 'what's next', as I know that it's not a time to be still.

Just last week, the Dalai Lama made a special visit to Christchurch. Bringing heartfelt messages of compassion, strength and love to the people of Christchurch. I wrote this message for a friend, shortly after his visit, as she was lamenting on the upheaval in her life.

"What a journey life is...the Dalai Lama was here in Christchurch yesterday and his message for all of us in transition from the earthquake was to remember we are not the tragedy but to remember to embrace our self-respect in order to... move forward..he kept saying rebuild, rebuild...and it wasn't just the buildings he was talking about. Life is a series of quakes that constantly transform and force us to rebuild. Best wishes to you on the journey"

I know it's time to 'move forward'....that message was intended for me, as much as for the original receiver...it's just a matter of figuring out what my 'rebuild' looks like...I see music..always music...and laughter..always...and of course my family...but what else...stay tuned...whatever the rest...I will be embracing something new!]]> http://lynettediaz.com/blog.html/earthquake_update__christchurch__deja_vu_63_and_more Wed, 15 Jun 2011 16:53:20 -0700 Laughin' Lovin' Teasin' Talkin' Huggin' Cryin' Livin' Before Dyin' - Lynette Diaz - Blog http://lynettediaz.com/blog.html/earthquake_update__63_christchurch_february_22nd_quake
My heartfelt sadness goes out to all those families who have lost loved ones. We are all connected and the sadness is palpable in our city.

Many people are leaving the city, some temporarily while others will never return to their homes. The enormity is still just sinking in. All the places I play my music are in shambles, the studio in which I record is in shambles, some of my musical friends have lost their homes and there is at least one known and respected muso in our community who has lost his life.

All I know, is that we'll eventually create something out of the rubble. Maybe a beautiful eco city that revolves around a sense of community giving and spirit. I truly do believe that life is beautiful, and yes it is up to each of us to make that so..

Much love to you all xoxo]]> http://lynettediaz.com/blog.html/earthquake_update__63_christchurch_february_22nd_quake Fri, 25 Feb 2011 16:54:42 -0800 Laughin' Lovin' Teasin' Talkin' Huggin' Cryin' Livin' Before Dyin' - Lynette Diaz - Blog