My cut of "City Of Angels" is featured on EXTREME MUSIC'S latest "GIRLFRIEND POP" collection! Yay! Girlfriend Pop selections have been featured in thousands of tv shows as well as JC Penney, Dell, Macys and Glee campaigns - and are also for sale on iTunes. Look for me on collection #3! Big THANKS go out to Russell Emanuel, Stephanie and the Extreme team for keeping it happening!
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/girlfriend-pop-3/id459468664
This month I launched into a new body of work with one of L.A's hottest new, young film composers, Bryce Jacobs. Bryce has a tricked out suite down at Hans Zimmer's Remote Control Studios and has a really interesting background, being both a classically trained guitarist and rock sideman. Together we bring an eclectic range of influences to our co writes and it's proving to be great fun! I'll post links to our new tunes soon. To check out some of what Bryce is known for here's a link to his IMDB page ~
I signed on with the "The Bad Boys Of Production Music" and perhaps the world's most influential production music company today! I'm psyched to say the least that Sony/ATV's Extreme Music are working my stuff - and am in excellent company as they represent the music of Hans Zimmer, Quincy Jones, Snoop Dogg, John Powell and Robbie Nevil to name a few.
I'm really excited about this beautiful little song I wrote with J.J Farris and Nashville based artist, Anthony Snape! Earlier in the year the ABC TV network licensed it for use and it's already popped up in General Hospital and The World News With Diane Sawyer.
Anthony shone performing live on the PBS Network's Summer Pledge Drive Concert Special, "Tommy Emmanuel & Friends"! The show airs nation wide all summer long then regionally for the next three years and our co write, "Everlasting", is featured on the show's CD and DVD release recorded live at The Balboa Theater in San Diego!
Today my recording engineer husband, Daniel Kresco, and I got to work together on an incredible session. Recently we wrote a song for an amazing U.K based charity called Walking With The Wounded - who work in support of ex Service People. The session was GREAT FUN and the production of our ripper tune, "Don't Know How To Back Down" included vocals from Captain Martin Hewitt, Private Jacco Van Gass, Polar Explorer Henry Cookson and even composer and producer Magnus Fiennes! Wow!
This month I began work on a very enchanted and "otherworldly" musical with one of my favorite collaborators, film score composer Kristen Baum. Congrats to KB on being a part of the exclusive Sundance Film Composer's Lab this Summer!
I've also been in the studio writing with another amazing film score composer and songwriter, Bryce Jacobs. Bryce works from Hans Zimmer's Remote Control Productions in Santa Monica and congratulations go out to him, too for his great work recently on Rango, Clash Of The Titans and Prates Of The Caribbean!
My latest single with my hard core country singer sister, Tania Kernaghan, is “Twinkle In My Eye”. 1 of 6 cuts I have on Tania's latest album, "Livin' The Dream", I'm proud to report it recently hit #9 on the Country Tracks Top 30 Singles Chart in Australia! Way to go Tan!
I'm happy as a dog with ten tails to be back at "work" in the City Of Angels! I just wrote the theme song to a terrific feature documentary film called "Change Is In The Wind" which showcases communities around the world uniting to build a carbon neutral future. We'll be recording the track in the coming months and seeing Divine World's latest film up on the big screen in 2012. Can't wait!
I'm back home in L.A after an epic journey over to Oz - visiting family and getting up to a few interesting things... I was asked to be a guest speaker at the Tasmanian Conservatorium Of Music and spoke to students about songwriting and artist/writer relationships in particular. That's led to a new song of mine being recorded by the Conservatorium's orchestra ~ which will be a thrill! It's a song my artist sister, Tania and I wrote to benefit a medical emergency charity group servicing outback Australia and will be bonused onto Tan's "Greatest Hits" cd coming out in the next few months.
My sister also hosts a major network travel and lifestyle tv show called "What's Up Down Under?" and as we were traveling together down there one thing led to another and I ended up co hosting the most recent episode with her! That was quite a laugh and we got to do some amazing stuff, shooting on a world heritage listed historic railway, eating incredible fresh seafood in Strahan (a stone's throw from Antarctica!) and getting totally spoiled aboard a luxury river cruise through some of the world's most pristine rainforest. It was a great experience and I certainly got the chance to get over any camera shyness I might have had!
One of my long time co writers, J.J Farris, and I just signed off on a deal with the ABC TV network here in the States! I'm psyched that they'll be using a killer new little new tune of ours called "Everlasting" in their programming! Our artist and co writer on that song is an amazing talent I really believe in! Check out Anthony Snape.
Thanksgiving was a blast this year! My awesome husband, Dan, was the star of the show making his Dirty Martinis at a friend's place on the beach in Venice... Brave that briny rim at your own peril, party people! lol. We're still celebrating his first screen credit ~ as Dan mixed the score and soundtrack to this year's DreamWorks box office smash, "Megamind"! Woo hoo!
Dan also joined Jeff Silbar and I back in the studio recording vocals for a gorgeous ballad Jeff and I wrote last month. This time the one and only Emily Gomez Bedford shared her talents with us - and it was awesome to hear the song come to life exactly as I'd envisioned. ~:
For now, though, Merry Christmas! And here's a Xmas wish in the form of little excerpt from my song "An Irish Blessing" which is on my sister, Tania's, latest album.
May love and laughter light your days
and fill your heart and home
may good and faithful friends be yours
wherever you may roam
may peace and plenty bless your world
with joy that long endures
and may all life's passing seasons bring
the best to you and yours!
x
November saw more writing and recording as the unstoppable wave of creativity I've been riding this year rolled onward. After writing three really cool tunes with legendary songwriter, Jeff Silbar, we had a great time in his studio recording vocals with Keely Hawkes. I can't wait to send these songs out into the world!
Lately I've been co writing with two amazing talents from Down Under. Sammi Palinkas made her second trip to L.A to work with guys like Andrew Bolooki (riding high with his Selena Gomez hit "Round And Round") and me of course! Sammi and I wrote another batch of great songs and I'm looking forward to seeing more of her in the States come 2011.
Another super talented Aussie- this one based in Nashville these days- is Anthony Snape. He stopped over in L.A for a couple of weeks in the middle of his nation wide tour and sparks flew as we wrote and recorded five incredible songs with some of my favorite local writers and producers. There truly was magic in the air! I'm sure we'll be hearing good news about those songs in the coming months! If you get a chance to see Anthony play live ~ GO! He'll be back at The House Of Blues in February!
A great night was had by all last night at this year's exclusive ASCAP LOVEFEST 2010. Thanks to Ascap L.A for putting on such a great night! I got to catch up with some of my favorite regular cowriters like J.J Farris, Todd Herfindal, Kevin Savigar, Danny Tomas, Superspy, Sammi Palinkas - and mingle with some other stellar creatives like Bette Midler and Jeff Silbar - who happened to write "The Wind Beneath My Wings" for Bette!
I had a blast writing with Nikki Webster - she is so multi talented- the ultimate "triple threat"! We actually used a bull horn for some vocal fx at the end of one of our dance pop tunes, the high energy "How It Feels On The Inside". Check out Nikki's latest clip, "Devilicious"! Awesome choreography!
It's been full steam ahead co writing lately. Triple threat pop diva, Sammi Palinkas, is in town from Australia meeting with agents, producers etc and we've been writing a lot together. We just discovered that laptops, lyrics and Martinis mix well at The Beverly Hills Hotel's Polo Lounge!.. lol. Yesterday we spent the day with writer/producers, Isaac and Mher, of SuperSpy. They are super talented and recently Produced/Co-wrote two tracks, including the hit single "Here We Go Again", on Demi Lovato's latest album (Hollywood Records). They also Produced/Co-wrote/Mixed two songs on the recently released Selena Gomez release (Hollywood). It was a really fun and productive day. And reminded me once again why I LOVE L.A!
I just got back from a busy week writing in Nashville - amidst the floods of Biblical proportions!
April's been a busy songwriting month! I've really enjoyed writing with a wide range or artists lately including sexy Latin jazz pop artist, Karen Souza and her producer Dany Tomas, Bevin Hamilton of Foxxglove, country pop artist Danielle Blakey and producer team The Empyre, hit country writer, Matt Scullion and rock writer producer (and ex Tories guitar dude) J.J Farris. I've also been writing on my own (perhaps just out of the creative forward momentum?) waking up with missing verses and lyric ideas in my head and scribbling stuff down with one eye open in the middle of the night... so it feels like the writing just never stops these days (and nights!) The only problem is I lose track of time. I'll be half way through a piece of toast and a cup of coffee for breakfast say and I'll see that idea staring at me from the lap top and think to myself "Oh, I'll just give that a quick look before I go do such and such..." and all of a sudden my coffee's cold and it's 2 hours later!? lol.
I launched into 2010 with a full head of steam and have been co writing a lot with some fantastic new partners - most of whom I met at Ascap's LOVEFEST gathering a few months back. Gotta love those folks at Ascap! I am psyched outta my brain with the new stuff I'm writing with J.J Farris and have really enjoyed recording with him and his ReelMusic.tv partner, James "Jimbo" Barton". I have a couple of great new songs in the works with Dany Tomas who hails from Argentina but is now settled in LA. Dany brings a whole new range of colors and textures to the party being a terrific piano player. I met fellow Aussie and pop meister Ben Lee at an Association Of Independent Music Publishers gig at The House Of Blues recently - now I'm so thrilled to be writing with him. I can't wait to get into the studio to play with our new song and then post y'all a sample here online soon!.. Meanwhile, if you're looking for some wise and wonderful new music that'll put a smile on your face check out Ben's new "Rebirth Of Venus" cd! I LOVE it! Oh! And there's a FREE DOWNLOAD of my "Where The Wild Things Are" available here on the music page... Just 'cause I love you and I like giving people things. Enjoy!
2009 was a great year. I had a couple more hit singles with my country singing tv, presenting celeb sister, Tania, in The Land Downunder, I had my first song placement in a hit TV show here in the U.S, went diving with sharks off the coast of Oahu, I built a network of amazing new ex pat Aussie friends here in LA (mostly thanks LA's awesome Australian Consul General, Chris De Cure), I had three songs in a feature film and wrote and performed the end titles song to another, we moved house yet again!... and speaking of films...This year my rockin' husband, Daniel Kresco, transitioned from producing and mixing records exclusively to working at film composer, Hans Zimmer's, recording studio in Santa Monica. He just had his first taste of film music editing and also mixed his first score earlier in the year. Looking on, it's been a great learning curve for me! I'm looking forward to collaborating with directors and film composers myself! Coming up there's the Society of Composers and Lyricists Annual Xmas Dinner... and my nomination for "Bush Ballad Of The Year" at Australia's CMA Awards. Tasting the latest batch of demos in the works, I think 2010 will, however, be all about more co writing and creating with new writer producer friends in the good ol' pop rock field right here in dirty, glittering, sprawling LA LA Land... I AM ONE LUCKY SONGWRITER! lol. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! F. x
As many of you might know, I've enjoyed a long and fruitful relationship working with and writing for my country singing sister, Tania. Her latest release, "Livin' The Dream" is her 5th studio album and I wrote 7 of the 12 songs on the album. It was a bit of a family affair as my husband, Dan, produced the record as well! We had a blast recording it last summer in Nashville - with some of our favorite session players including Eddie Bayers, Jim "Moose" Brown and Brent Mason. Now I'm chuffed to report that once again Tania is a final nominee at the upcoming Country Music Awards - she's up for Bush Ballad Of The Year and Female Vocalist Of The Year. Congratulations, Tan! 
Dan and I had a great weekend writing and recording with the lovely and super talented Skye Dyer. We are working on new songs for her next record... I love her fantastic blend of acoustic pop and R & B influences!
Last night I recorded an interview with Aussie country star, Amber Lawrence - she was filling in for the legendary host himself, John Nutting, on his long running "Saturday Night Country" radio show. We talked about all I'm up to here in LA - and my song, "Reality Check" appearing in Lifetime's "Army Wives" this month! You can listen live early Saturday morning 9/12, or anytime on demand at http://www.abc.net.au/snc/
