I am writing my May blog to you from Venice Beach, Los Angeles and we are now two thirds of the way through our incredible ‘magical mystery’ USA tour.

Where do I start? So many things to chat about; I have been trying to update you all as much as possible with photos and little lines on Facebook/Twitter so please do follow and like us.

Every second has been a marvel since the day that Chloe and I arrived in NYC at the Dreamdowntown Hotel, which is in the very trendy meatpacking district. They had their own off-street pool, so when we were lucky enough to get a day of sunshine we sat for a few hours by it doing a bit of pre-tour work while bathing in the silver screened sunrays that reflected off the hotel walls- don’t worry we were wearing Sunscreen factor 5000% so didn’t really get a tan- but a tiny glow.

We were graced with Chloe’s family for part of this trip- her lovely brother John Lander who took the ‘Seagull’ front cover shot and in fact most of the photos you may have seen on the whole campaign, he was doing a special NYC photo shoot and literally happened to be in the same place at the same time. How I love a bit of synchronicity!
Then we had her lovely husband and kids who could combine a bit of work with Easter holidays so we spent a few days together.

The band arrived on the Friday and had one day to acclimatise- which meant not having much sleep as there were far too many sounds and sights to see- then straight into our first rehearsal on the Sunday.

The first date was Astbury Park, NJ- where Bruce Springsteen is famously from and we had our first promo in the Astbury Lanes Bowling Alley, which is currently being done up and it’s going to be a fantastic venue. They are building a stage and hopefully next time we return we can go and play there too.
Our first venue was ‘The Saint’ – a legendary place. A really cosy and sparkly lit interior and a great one to start the tour. The sound was fab and we did our acoustic trio- met some fabulous people and even my brother popped over state to come and see us.

Tuesday- well the Big Apple gig- at the Webster hall in the studio with the full band. It was amazing and we had a great crowd… some old and new friends came along and the magic was already spreading.We had a little celebration when we got back to the hotel and the following day we had a rest and a swim and prepared ourselves for the next leg of the tour….
We had a our last supper with the band in uptown New York with a few good bottles of red wine and a cheese board and then we said goodbye.

On Thursday the trio ventured forward to Philadelphia where we played an acoustic set at the world Café and even though we were only there for a few hours we had a great time and had the lovely Jo Schornikow play a few songs for us as well.

That evening we got another train to Baltimore and we were to stay with our lovely friend Ginny and gorgeous dog Cody in her lovely home in Laurel.
It was great to unpack for a few days and for us all to hang out. The weather was great and we were in a little town where the grass was green and the sound of silence.
We also have acquired a personal chef our tour manager Richard- wow how spoiling this first USA trip has been-I forgot how much I love touring.
On Saturday we went into Arlington,VA to play at the lovely Iota club and we would do a Matinee performance- I travelled apart from the band with a friend and we got a bit lost so were very late for soundcheck but luckily all the sound people are so professional here that a little thing like that never seems to phase.
Which made for a lovely tea-time gig followed by a fabulous dinner in a French restaurant with lost of great people.

We are really making so many new friends and connections and now are coming up with the airstream pop up tour of USA followed by a Carribean tour.

Sunday lovely Sunday was in Ginny’s garden sunbathing in the glorious warmth and then having a sumptuously organic salad and roasted vegetable lunch before we board the plane to LA.
So from East to West- they are both the best.
Tbc……………………………………….

Well we are well into March and I have a spring in my step.

I am very glad that February is over as it was actually a very difficult month emotionally. So much has happened in the past few weeks that I can’t believe that I am still in the same year.

More and more I realise that you have to grab every moment, as it seems that there are so many things that just challenge our daily happiness. It is increasingly harder just to do the thing you do creatively as you have to get fully stuck in with the organisation of your dreams and all the admin and you really have to have an amazing team of people and friends that support you on this independent journey.

I have managed to do this with so much help from friends and family to raise money to help pay for the cost of our American tour. The amount of faith that people have put into me and the album has been incredible. I feel so blessed that with every opportunity another one comes along. It’s almost as if by accepting such an experience and the challenge that goes with it, which is the complete unknown, you are then given the tools to help you along that road without having too many pitfalls.

At first the thought of such a dream of touring solo in America was far too overwhelming but once we started the process it was supported. This enabled me to move on from where I was and look at an even bigger picture of all the people I could reach with my music. The music family is ever increasing and I can’t thank them enough for coming on board.

When faced with a New Year fear and not really knowing what was going to happen this year, I had to embrace completely all that I could not see. This is sometimes so deeply difficult and painful but at the same time incredibly liberating.
You have to work to stay positive but I do believe that that work pays off in the end.

March really is whizzing by and slowly I am getting my head around the fact that we really are going to play in USA how unbelievably exciting!

Everyone in USA who have been helping us with this Tour have been so helpful and I have been amazed at how quickly they respond to emails! Things do happen in an instant but you have got to be ‘in it to win it’- so as I march forth into April with an exciting feeling of new things ahead, I feel great things.

I wish you all a very happy end on the month and will keep posted on my American Journey.

We have a special spring show for you all, details here so please come and join us and don’t forget the clocks go back an hour this Sunday!

Yipee one more hour of sun, another hour of fun.

Sophie X

Having spent January planning, cultivating and planting seeds for the year; February, even though a shorter month, always seems to drag for me.

I just can’t wait for that early sign of spring to arrive. The light is different, and the energy. I thought I felt that this week then I came down with a cold!

I feel my feet are now firmly rooted into 2012 and I expect great things to happen to many. Lots of hard work but many great rewards and for me the big news is my US tour. A small introduction to North America as a solo artist.

I am lucky that I found a US live agent who has been dealing with the venues over there and I am so excited that I will finally playing my songs to a different crowd. It is nearly eight years since I was last in America with Zero 7 and since then my dream has been to return as Sophie Barker.

I have had to source independent finances for tour support so I started a fantastic scheme called ‘Kickstarter’ on February 1st which helps artists like myself raise funds for tours outside the UK.

I have realised while organising this trip that there is actually very little help from music funding bodies if you need to spread your wings. All the models that used to support the independent artist no longer do and when you actually look closer never really did.
Times really have changed and if you want to get out there you really have to do everything yourself.

So to any aspiring artists you must not only have your talent grounded but also know your business, because there will be many pitfalls but when you get where you want to go you will truly have achieved this yourself.

It has taken me many years to gather the right team around me and there are still a few more people to come and I have had to re-learn about how I project myself in the world.
I have found though that the more you invite people into your world and the more that they clearly feel a part of your musical journey then the support will follow.

So to all of you who have so far supported me through Kickstarter or who will come along to the gigs.

A very big THANK YOU.

To any of you who would like to then please have a look at the link here

The US dates are on the website and also on Facebook.

This is a short month so also a short Blog. I hope you’re February has been great and that valentines filled your hearts desire.

I would just like to also say goodbye to Whitney Houston. She had the most incredible voice and I remember at 12 having a 7” inch single of “Saving all my love”. RIP

I will be back shortly …………