Casting “Anti-Agency”, New Hope for the Industry?

A post from my music blog – follow!

Music. Good Energy. Love.

As a singer (or actor or dancer), you get bombarded with all of these expectations from the the industry, from society, from really everyone that isn’t your mom and dad. I’ve never been a fan of this. People who know me and are following me on this musical journey know that developing an “image” has been harder for me than any other thing in this process. The fact that I have market myself with photoshoots and Ashley Xtina stickers, is a whole lot more stressful for me than writing good songs, putting out great music and performing on stage. Because in the end that’s what I am, singer, a songwriter, not a brand, right? Right? (Hahahaha)

I know nothing about fashion, or make-up or even how to dye my hair really. But I do know what I like, what I don’t like, what I can afford and what I wish…

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Ashley Xtina Music – Metropolitan Room New Talent Industry Showcase

Reflecting On My Music Career in 2013 – Things to Remember in 2014

Here’s to a great new year and my new blog dedicated to the progress of my music career! Follow and share – http://www.ashleyxtinamusic.wordpress.com 🙂

Music. Good Energy. Love.

2013 was a year of ups and downs for me in my personal life and music career. Relationships ended, new relationships started – but most of all I was inspired to move on because I learned to believe in myself and believe in my music.

I’ve worked hard and now I am working even harder for the exciting things I have headed my way in 2014. The EP “Stability” is in the works, getting a band together (possibly), I’m setting up gigs in and out of New York and have several meetings with some very powerful people lined up. I have been lucky, I have been blessed but most of all I’ve never doubted myself.

I did however start to overthink the business side of things, and I think that might be a common issue among up and coming artists. We try so hard to make it, to get noticed…

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Support the Arts – Help a Songwriter out :)

Hi everyone! Aside from a blogger I’m also a songwriter – I just launched an Indiegogo to help fund my first EP ever. Please find it in your hearts to share this with anyone you know that can help! xoxo

Donate HERE

My name is Ashley and I am a 21-year-old songwriter from New York City. I’ve started this Indiegogo campaign to raise money for my first EP titled “Stability”. This EP is a collection of 4 songs that I’ve been working on for the past few years and I am finally ready to share them with the world!

Songwriting has been a huge part of my life since I was 13 years old. Opening up about my feelings has never been easy for me so songwriting has always been so cathartic for me when life just doesn’t make sense anymore. As a young woman in my twenties, these feelings of being lost and not knowing what I’m doing or what I’m supposed to be doing with my life come quite frequently but there is one thing I know for sure and that is that my writing can help people.

I am not looking for fame, or to make millions off of  tours and little Ashley Barbie dolls – I just want to be able to properly record my songs so that I can share them with the rest of the world.Hopefully with the money I get from this campaign, I can do exactly that.

What I Need & What You Get

I understand that $2,500 is a lot of money, but there are a lot of things that go into producing an EP. The money that is donated to this project will go to covering rehearsal space, studio recording time, paying the band and the producer, transportation costs, post-production and marketing. As with anycreative project, there is a lot more that can come up, all the more reason for me to need your help.

If I don’t reach my goal, the recording process probably will not happen for another year or so until I can come up with the money myself. I have already waited long enough to get this project going, please don’t let those songs sit in my journal another year!

You can donate by clicking HERE.

Hard Out Here: For a Bitch, From a Bitch

I want to start of by saying I love Lily Allen.

The Fear-great song. 22- Amazing. Smile- also one of my favorites.  The first time I heard her new song/watched the video for “Hard Out Here” I was confused – I actually almost even got a little mad a Lily. But then I realized- Holy shit, she is a fucking genius.

Verse 2 says it all:

If you’re not a size six
Then you’re not good-looking
Well, you better be rich
Or be real good at cooking
You should probably lose some weight
‘Cause we can’t see your bones
You should probably fix your face
Or you’ll end up on your own
Don’t you want to have somebody who objectifies you?
Have you thought about your butt, who’s gonna tear it in two?
We’ve never had it so good, uh huh
We’re out of the woods
And if you can’t detect the sarcasm
You’ve misunderstood

The lyrics are good…the verses, really really speak the unfortunate truth of what it is to be a woman (especially being a woman in the entertainment industry). 

People are questioning her reasons behind hiring the dancers she did, and this was her response:

“The video is meant to be a lighthearted satirical video that deals with objectification of women within modern pop culture,” she wrote. “It has nothing to do with race, at all.” She said that she tried for weeks to get her own twerk moves down but couldn’t get it right, and so hired the best dancers for the job; and that the reason she was more clothed was insecurity about her figure (reminding fans that she did have two children recently).

“I’m not going to apologise because I think that would imply that I’m guilty of something, but I promise you this, in no way do I feel superior to anyone, except paedophiles, rapists murderers etc., and I would not only be surprised but deeply saddened if I thought anyone came away from that video feeling taken advantage of, or compromised in any way,” she wrote, before concluding with an invitation to “Ask the ladies yourselves @shalaeuroasia @monique_Lawz @ceodancers @TempleArtist @SelizaShowtime @melycrisp.” – LA Times

In conclusion, from one bitch to another, way to go Lily. It is indeed Hard Out Here.

PS: I hope I look that good after I have kids.

 

An Open Letter to People Hating On Robyn Lawley

Dear haters,

Please stop being miserable human beings and stop picking on an amazing woman just because she doesn’t have a “thigh gap”. Being a model doesn’t always mean being a size 2 and being beautiful doesn’t always mean having to starve yourself. If this is the way you think, there is clearly something wrong with you and your self -esteem, so stop trying to ruin other people’s lives and reputations.

Stop saying that her body is too “hefty” or  “pig-like”, because chances are you are just some scumbag behind a computer screen who wouldn’t be able to handle himself around a woman like Robyn or any woman for that matter.

But enough of that before someone flags my blog for profanity.

“Food isn’t the problem, it’s society…”

Thank you, Robyn – for saying on national TV what I’ve been saying for years. Plus size modeling should just be MODELING.

Everyone please listen to what she has to say – maybe we can change the fashion/media world after all. Robyn Lawley gives me hope.

Marriage Isn’t For You

Reading the title, I didn’t think I would hop on the bandwagon and repost this but it’s something that has crossed my mind a lot and I’m glad finally someone was able to successfully put my thoughts into words.

Seth Adam Smith

Having been married only a year and a half, I’ve recently come to the conclusion that marriage isn’t for me.

Now before you start making assumptions, keep reading.

I met my wife in high school when we were 15 years old. We were friends for ten years until…until we decided no longer wanted to be just friends. 🙂 I strongly recommend that best friends fall in love. Good times will be had by all.

Nevertheless, falling in love with my best friend did not prevent me from having certain fears and anxieties about getting married. The nearer Kim and I approached the decision to marry, the more I was filled with a paralyzing fear. Was I ready? Was I making the right choice? Was Kim the right person to marry? Would she make me happy?

Then, one fateful night, I shared these thoughts and concerns with my dad.

Perhaps each…

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Wasting My Youth, C’est La Vie

There are a lot of things that my mother has been right about over the course of my teenage years. Now, a month short from turning 21 years old, I am beginning to question if this is one of them.

I would love to argue with her and tell her that she is wrong. Tell her that age is just a number and that he loves me. But honestly? I’m over that. I’m over telling her she’s wrong, even though I want her to be wrong so badly.

I am currently dating a man who is seventeen years older than me. He is divorced and has two lovely daughters, ages 13 and 9, whom I have come to care about very much, yes, I can even say I love them. We have been together for almost two years. In those two years, I have grown to love him, love him more than I thought I could ever love someone. As a person, as a friend, as a lover, I just love all of him. We connect in a way that leaves me at a loss for words,(which is a rare occurrence for someone like me). We even spoke about  getting married sometime in the future, and even though I didn’t let him know it then, just the idea of spending the rest of my life with him has motivated me more to finish school and get my career in motion.

After having lived with him for about a year, and recently moving back to my parents’ house about a month ago, it would be a stretch to say that we have had a “normal” relationship. However, not being “normal” doesn’t necessarily mean that we haven’t been happy. Or so I thought.

On average, he sees his girls about once a month, twice if he’s lucky. Recently they’ve been asking to see more of him but it’s hard because of time, money and the distance between their house and his. With good reason, my boyfriend is terribly upset by this and for two days now, has only answered one of my phone calls and one of my text messages.

At the risk of sounding selfish, I am angry that he is not answering my attempts to contact him because I need him too. I know that he’s having a hard time, and I really wish I could help him, but part of being in a relationship means that we can rely on each other. Be each other’s rock.

Moving back to my parents’ house has been really hard on me. Crying every night when I try to go to sleep without him, crying every morning when I don’t see him next to me. And let’s not forget, crying every time I go to his house and I have to leave. He has never not listened to my bitching, but this month has been particularly difficult for both of us. I feel alone, lost, and now, questioning how or if this is all going to work out.

While the relationship has brought me lots of happiness, it has been a constant struggle between my head and my heart. It could be that I am looking too far ahead, or maybe that I was never looking far enough ahead. At the moment I feel stuck, or really too pressured to fast forward through my twenties to make someone else happy. I’ve often thought about my future and there are many things I have always thought of doing before settling down with someone. Travel, graduate, make a lot of stupid mistakes that I can tell my kids about in the future (haha), and hopefully make money before I decide to even have a family.

My mom says that I am wasting my youth by dating an older man who already has the responsibility of children. She says I have to “find myself” and “live”. And for a long time I’ve been telling myself that I am “living” the way I want to, but today as I wait for my boyfriend to answer my phone calls I realize he’s already “lived” and has his reason for living; his girls.

Though I cannot blame either of them for wanting what is best for their children, I do want to know where this leaves me.

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

I wrote the above about a year ago while I was in a very serious relationship that may not have been ready for at the time. I had originally titled this post “Wasting My Youth”, but now that I look back on it, I don’t know if I was. After all, it was not a bad relationship. I learned a lot, laughed a lot, and most of all LOVED a lot. The problem was that I questioned the relationship too much and if you can’t trust yourself to know what’s right, that’s enough to drive you insane.

The right decisions aren’t always the easy ones. C’est la vie.

DANCE STUDIO HOLDS MODELING WORKHOP TO ENCOURANGE HEALTHY BODY IMAGE

DANCE STUDIO HOLDS MODELING WORKSHOP TO  ENCOURAGE HEALTHY BODY IMAGE

 

Professional dancer and model, Karla Garcia, owner of Sol Dance Center in Astoria, Queens is holding a modeling workshop for teen girls and women in order to promote and encourage healthy body image. This workshop, the “Solettes Modeling Academy”, will stress the importance of feeling confident with one’s body as well as being healthy rather than fitting the size 2 model “look”.

 

This workshop is a 4-week intensive program in which the students will learn how to walk the runway, pose for pictures, explore their look, build their character and more. The workshop will culminate with a professionally done photoshoot so that the students can take home what they learned during their time at Sol.

 

“No one should feel like they have to look a certain way,”  says Karla. “Feel free, love yourself!”

 

The workshop is affordable and for women of all ages. Come join Karla and the rest of her team starting Sunday, November 10th at 2PM for this wonderful opportunity to express yourself through modeling. For more information and to reserve your spot, call Sol Dance Center at (347) 935-3955 or drop by anytime at 30-16 Steinway Street, Astoria, NY 11103.

Here is a clip of Karla modeling/dancing – Hope y’all enjoy and take time to spread the word about  this amazing event! 

 

Press Contact:

Ashley Kervabon

email: awriterkervabon@gmail.com

cell: (347) 684-1489

Miley, You’re a Good Girl #twerk

 “How dare she try to use sex to sell pop music….”

Miley Cyrus’s performance at the VMA’s this year was a little shocking, to say the least, and yes I admit that I was one of those people slut shaming her for a week, saying that she was trying too hard, etc. 

And you know, the fact that she may be trying too hard (and the fact that it was all a publicity stunt which I still think is genius), is not her fault. Jon LaJoie, a comedian, explains it all in his song “Miley, You’re a Good Girl”.

Though he claims it to only be comedy, he brings up such a good point in the chorus:

“We want topless women in our music videos

We want pop stars acting like they’re in a porno

We want it and we always get what we ask for

But when Miley does it we say “Oh my God No!!”

And the last two lines of the second verse:

“And we’ll be cool with videos with women prancing around naked

And it won’t be sexist as long as the song’s a number 1 hit”

So I guess what I’m saying is although I don’t particularly like Miley’s constant twerking or her need to stick her tongue out every five seconds while wearing barely any clothing, I can’t say that she’s an awful person for doing it.

Thoughts?