My Facebook 25 Question & Love Story
By Sista Monica
SISTA SPEAKS 25 Questions & Love Story
1) I love good music especially gospel, blues and soul.
2) I have two ragdoll cats that have my heart. One is "Mr. Cotton" and the other is "Bravo". They are white kitties with orange ears and tails. They are love bugs and seek so much time and affection.
3) I have travelled around the world to sing my blues and good gospel music. The three places that I really truely enjoyed the most were Utrecht, Holland and the rest of the Netherlands, Turkey, especially Izmir, Ephesus, and Antoyia and Quebec - both Montreal Jazz and Mt Tremblaunt Blues Festival.
4) Mama and Daddy are gone and that makes life much more different when it comes to making decisions and remembering some of the values that they instilled in me. They were good parents now that I reflect upon them as an adult.
5) I live in the Silicon Valley now and I enjoy the closeness in proximity to everything. I might say however that I most enjoy remote, far off places more than city life. Places where its so quiet that even quiet is loud. That is where I find peace. I found it in Greece when I went last year and it sounds so new, refreshing and quiet.
6) My favorite colors are purple, royal blue and red.
7) I never know how I am going to wear my hair. Now I have it down in a straight hair look. I feel softer and more feminie with this new look. It took a long time to grow after chemo, so I went back to the braids. I will probably keep it straight this way throughout the festival season - summer. But you never know!
8) My favorite number of all times is the number "8". It follows me where ever I go. It's in my SSN, address, office, cell phone, Po box, on the rollette table at the Silver Legacy in Reno: -) shhh! And each of my Cds the "8" song is my favortie on the entire project. I just have an affinity with the number 8. Go figure! Do you know why?
9) I never knew about Etta James before I started singing the blues in 1991. The first time I heard her I thought Wow! She sounds like me" Ha Ha ! then I use to listen to Etta James all the time until people start comparing our voices. So I stopped back in the mid 90's. I found my own voice!
10) When I met Etta James in 1996. She looked me up and down hard - and said "You're Sista Monica huh?" I said "Yes Ma'am" I said "I love your voice", she said "um huh, paused and said "Thank you for singing for me that time" She was talking bout a time she got sick from the heat in San Jose and I stood in for her in front of 15,00 people. She said "But those were my songs, you know?" I sang "Come To Mama" and "Love and Happiness" Neither of which she wrote, but I said "Yes ma'ma" then I told her I was giving tribute to her. She finally calmed down in her demeanor and was visibly gracious towards me. So I know what real hell Beyonce must be having these days. Etta is old school and she don't play. BTW, she was not joking about "B" she will whoop her ---! She is old school!
11) Ruth Brown was one of my favorite R&B and Blues singers. She was old school too, but down to earth and very friendly. I played with her in Los Angeles a couple of years before she passed away. She told me I looked like family, kissed me on the cheek and took me under her wings. We took alot of photos together and chit chatted back stage. She put on one hellava show that night, and I will never forgot her.
12) I use to think that the only music blues lovers listened to was blues. Ha! Then I would go out to different concerts and see them at Yanni - New Age, The Mighty Diamonds - Reggae, and the Santa Cruz Symphony. So the jokes on me!
13) Wilson Pickett called me on stage at the Kansas City Jazz and Blues Festival a while back. He had already sang Mustang Sally. For some strange reason, he walked off stage. He was going to his dressing room in the middle of the set. On his way he said Hey Sista! The crowd was just as confused as I was, but we waited. Finally he came back up the stairs by the side of the stage where I was standing. He said "I got a bad cold come on stage and help me out with the set" Scared to death, I said
Hey brother you already sang the main song I know by you. He said so what just wing it. I did! We sang some song called "Boogy." The crowd went wild!
14) My most favorite weather is blue skies around 68-72 degrees with a little bit of wind and intermittent sun. Not too hot and not too cold. That's why I moved to California in 1987 from Chicago.
15) When James Brown died I cried all day. He gave so much to the world of music. To Michael Jackson, Prince, MS Hammer, and myself.
16) When President Barack Obama was Inaugurated I cried all day. Old wounds were healed!
17) I am always asked to do benefits, but I really only accept the ones that center around women in crisis, health related issues, natural disasters and at risk children.
18) Mavis Staples famous for "I'll Take You There" is my soul and gospel singing Idol. We are both from Chicago. We met in Ashland, Oregon when Pops was still living. When we had breakfast the next morning, she would give me all the inside gossip about folks. Of course I listened, then I said girl how do you know all this stuff. She said "Girl... I read The National Inquirer. I hollered laughing cause she was soooo serious! Gotta Love her. That's my favorite!
19) I love gardening. Love it! Putting my hands in the earth and watching flowers grow over time. I learned the importance of establishing the roots and nuturing that way. My favorite flower is "Gerbera". To me it's the daisy of love. And I fell in love with a rose gardener once.When I am on the road I plant more hearty plants like geraniums.
20) Instrumental sounds that I favor the most are Bass guitar, Hammond B3 organ, Harp, Drums, Congas, Tenor sax, and then lead and rhythm guitar. The bass is the one that keeps me honest. Love it! I take Chris Cain over BB King any day. I love Chris and I also respect and love BB King. It's just that Chris is in there and out there.
21) Reading! There is nothing like reading a good book and spooning on a cold and rainy night!
Non-fictional! Keep it real!
22) I am in love and nothing else seems to matter. Finally, I learned that it might ache from time to time, but it does not have to hurt.
23) Being a control freak has really gotten me to many places in my life. I learned however, that when you control, you gotta tell people how you did something, cause they might have to do it, and not know how to do it your way, when you need 'em to. Even controlling things has it's limits.
24) It has been 6 years since I survived that rare form of cancer - Synovial Sarcoma under my right arm. I was given 3 months to live unless I underwent chemo, surgery, radiation and more chemo.
I was at the top of my game. I have a greater sense of urgency about life, tell the true in all forms (singing, talking and dreaming), learned to discern disingenuous nature in others quickly and catch myself if I find that nature in me. I perform where I want to - where people can hear me speak and sing. Realize that the awards are the icing on the cake, not the cake itself. The cake is reaching into the hearts of others. That is why I sing! That is my true purpose in life. Now, I am truly at the top of my game!
25) Luther Allison and Little Milton were my favorite blues and soul men on the planet. I met them years ago around 1993 in Holland back stage and they were perfect gentlemen. Their lifes were just too short for me. Little Milton and I gigged together on many stages in the festival world. The last time I saw him, he borrowed my bass and guitar player. Hey! Hey! The Blues Is Alright Milton" I love you!
26) Did I tell you that I love the number 8 and that I am a control freak! That is why I have to do 26:-) Hee! Hee! 2 and 6 equals 8.
Love
Yo' Sista Monica
www.sistamnica.com. Check out my radio on the homepage.
1) I love good music especially gospel, blues and soul.
2) I have two ragdoll cats that have my heart. One is "Mr. Cotton" and the other is "Bravo". They are white kitties with orange ears and tails. They are love bugs and seek so much time and affection.
3) I have travelled around the world to sing my blues and good gospel music. The three places that I really truely enjoyed the most were Utrecht, Holland and the rest of the Netherlands, Turkey, especially Izmir, Ephesus, and Antoyia and Quebec - both Montreal Jazz and Mt Tremblaunt Blues Festival.
4) Mama and Daddy are gone and that makes life much more different when it comes to making decisions and remembering some of the values that they instilled in me. They were good parents now that I reflect upon them as an adult.
5) I live in the Silicon Valley now and I enjoy the closeness in proximity to everything. I might say however that I most enjoy remote, far off places more than city life. Places where its so quiet that even quiet is loud. That is where I find peace. I found it in Greece when I went last year and it sounds so new, refreshing and quiet.
6) My favorite colors are purple, royal blue and red.
7) I never know how I am going to wear my hair. Now I have it down in a straight hair look. I feel softer and more feminie with this new look. It took a long time to grow after chemo, so I went back to the braids. I will probably keep it straight this way throughout the festival season - summer. But you never know!
8) My favorite number of all times is the number "8". It follows me where ever I go. It's in my SSN, address, office, cell phone, Po box, on the rollette table at the Silver Legacy in Reno: -) shhh! And each of my Cds the "8" song is my favortie on the entire project. I just have an affinity with the number 8. Go figure! Do you know why?
9) I never knew about Etta James before I started singing the blues in 1991. The first time I heard her I thought Wow! She sounds like me" Ha Ha ! then I use to listen to Etta James all the time until people start comparing our voices. So I stopped back in the mid 90's. I found my own voice!
10) When I met Etta James in 1996. She looked me up and down hard - and said "You're Sista Monica huh?" I said "Yes Ma'am" I said "I love your voice", she said "um huh, paused and said "Thank you for singing for me that time" She was talking bout a time she got sick from the heat in San Jose and I stood in for her in front of 15,00 people. She said "But those were my songs, you know?" I sang "Come To Mama" and "Love and Happiness" Neither of which she wrote, but I said "Yes ma'ma" then I told her I was giving tribute to her. She finally calmed down in her demeanor and was visibly gracious towards me. So I know what real hell Beyonce must be having these days. Etta is old school and she don't play. BTW, she was not joking about "B" she will whoop her ---! She is old school!
11) Ruth Brown was one of my favorite R&B and Blues singers. She was old school too, but down to earth and very friendly. I played with her in Los Angeles a couple of years before she passed away. She told me I looked like family, kissed me on the cheek and took me under her wings. We took alot of photos together and chit chatted back stage. She put on one hellava show that night, and I will never forgot her.
12) I use to think that the only music blues lovers listened to was blues. Ha! Then I would go out to different concerts and see them at Yanni - New Age, The Mighty Diamonds - Reggae, and the Santa Cruz Symphony. So the jokes on me!
13) Wilson Pickett called me on stage at the Kansas City Jazz and Blues Festival a while back. He had already sang Mustang Sally. For some strange reason, he walked off stage. He was going to his dressing room in the middle of the set. On his way he said Hey Sista! The crowd was just as confused as I was, but we waited. Finally he came back up the stairs by the side of the stage where I was standing. He said "I got a bad cold come on stage and help me out with the set" Scared to death, I said
Hey brother you already sang the main song I know by you. He said so what just wing it. I did! We sang some song called "Boogy." The crowd went wild!
14) My most favorite weather is blue skies around 68-72 degrees with a little bit of wind and intermittent sun. Not too hot and not too cold. That's why I moved to California in 1987 from Chicago.
15) When James Brown died I cried all day. He gave so much to the world of music. To Michael Jackson, Prince, MS Hammer, and myself.
16) When President Barack Obama was Inaugurated I cried all day. Old wounds were healed!
17) I am always asked to do benefits, but I really only accept the ones that center around women in crisis, health related issues, natural disasters and at risk children.
18) Mavis Staples famous for "I'll Take You There" is my soul and gospel singing Idol. We are both from Chicago. We met in Ashland, Oregon when Pops was still living. When we had breakfast the next morning, she would give me all the inside gossip about folks. Of course I listened, then I said girl how do you know all this stuff. She said "Girl... I read The National Inquirer. I hollered laughing cause she was soooo serious! Gotta Love her. That's my favorite!
19) I love gardening. Love it! Putting my hands in the earth and watching flowers grow over time. I learned the importance of establishing the roots and nuturing that way. My favorite flower is "Gerbera". To me it's the daisy of love. And I fell in love with a rose gardener once.When I am on the road I plant more hearty plants like geraniums.
20) Instrumental sounds that I favor the most are Bass guitar, Hammond B3 organ, Harp, Drums, Congas, Tenor sax, and then lead and rhythm guitar. The bass is the one that keeps me honest. Love it! I take Chris Cain over BB King any day. I love Chris and I also respect and love BB King. It's just that Chris is in there and out there.
21) Reading! There is nothing like reading a good book and spooning on a cold and rainy night!
Non-fictional! Keep it real!
22) I am in love and nothing else seems to matter. Finally, I learned that it might ache from time to time, but it does not have to hurt.
23) Being a control freak has really gotten me to many places in my life. I learned however, that when you control, you gotta tell people how you did something, cause they might have to do it, and not know how to do it your way, when you need 'em to. Even controlling things has it's limits.
24) It has been 6 years since I survived that rare form of cancer - Synovial Sarcoma under my right arm. I was given 3 months to live unless I underwent chemo, surgery, radiation and more chemo.
I was at the top of my game. I have a greater sense of urgency about life, tell the true in all forms (singing, talking and dreaming), learned to discern disingenuous nature in others quickly and catch myself if I find that nature in me. I perform where I want to - where people can hear me speak and sing. Realize that the awards are the icing on the cake, not the cake itself. The cake is reaching into the hearts of others. That is why I sing! That is my true purpose in life. Now, I am truly at the top of my game!
25) Luther Allison and Little Milton were my favorite blues and soul men on the planet. I met them years ago around 1993 in Holland back stage and they were perfect gentlemen. Their lifes were just too short for me. Little Milton and I gigged together on many stages in the festival world. The last time I saw him, he borrowed my bass and guitar player. Hey! Hey! The Blues Is Alright Milton" I love you!
26) Did I tell you that I love the number 8 and that I am a control freak! That is why I have to do 26:-) Hee! Hee! 2 and 6 equals 8.
Love
Yo' Sista Monica
www.sistamnica.com. Check out my radio on the homepage.
Sista Monica Parker