Suey!!!

Beverly "Bevlove" Johnson made a point on twitter last night. A point about clearing up the confusion of her name, the spelling of it, etc. And... It pulled me into an element of... branding, if u will???? She brought upon a positive and accepted destraction. What she expressed opened up my mind a little bit and made me want to bring more attention and clarity as to what MY stage name actually means.

Before I get into my stage name and what it means, please allow me to give a very small bit about who I am as a performer!

Peace and blessings to growth! 💪💙

I have been gigging and grooving around Detroit in anticipation for the year 2016! I am very excited! As you all may or may not know, I am an educated and gigging, female drummer in the city of Detroit, MI. Inspired and Influenced by several art mediums and music genres. I started playing drums in August of 2003. It wasn't until I my twenties that I have made a mark as a performer in the Detroit music scene. I have travelled with and play(ed) with some highly acclaimed underground Detroit artists and instrumentalist, such as Bevlove, Mic Write, Sheefy McFly, Cyepie, Tamera Jewel, Ingenious band, The Gabriel Brass band, Willa Rae, just to name some... I am also recognized for being seen jamming as a featured musician for a few national and mainstream artists and musicians, such as the Godfather of funk, George Clinton, bass player and music director, Kern Brantley, Singer-songwriter and instrumentalist, Amp Fiddler, and Contemporary Christian artist, Shana Wilson, to name a few. My most current thing is putting bands together for solo artist in the local music scene. I have become a founder and co-founder of several local bands. Some of which are currently, working and some of which have fallen apart! I am also a drummer/percussionist in bands that I am not a founder of but am a proud member of. I am a bandmate (in most band cases, a person who is investing ongoing time and creativity in the songwriters music, making their own parts and/or helping to shape songs, a person who puts in cash towards fees and rent, a person who helps promote shows, and gets equal pay.)  and a hired gun (a person hired to either make a part or learn a recording, who shows up on time to rehearsals and shows and leaves with cash in their pockets. No strings or responsibilities attached!) and have become a local recording artist and session player in which u can hear my latest session recordings on the "DIME Sessions Vol. 1" album, which was released this year under  1265 Original record label and is now available on iTunes.

Now that u know just a little bit about me, allow me to explain Chop Suey! 😆

From what ive learned from folks in being questioned abt my name, the meaning/where i got it, is bit unprecedented. #Chop #Suey

Both names and the way i use them are slang and both have their own separate meanings.

A lot of ppl think that chop suey came from me loving Chinese and Japanese cuisine. That's probably a good guess! I love sushi, too. Never eat them without using chopsticks!

But that ain't where my name comes from. Lol

Another thing I here is, "Chop Suey, like from A System of A Down, Chop Suey???" 

NOPE!!!! Not that either! Lol

Here... Allow me to break down the name used for my musical stage presence! 

Chops is a word that is used heavily amongst musicians. I first heard theat word in my early playing, when I really started sounding pretty articulate on the drum set. One would say, "Dang ur foot is fast! U got chops!" Or, "I though u were a dude before I saw u, u play with power. Nice chops." Another was, "u got mad chops. I hear u constantly using rudiments throughout your playing." And so forth....

Sooooo....

My definition for Chops is a word that musicians use as a reference to say that a person shows a high level of proficiency on their instrument.

So there is that for Chop! 💄👑

Suey.... Well suey is a cool word, with different meanings and in my name it means ALL of them. Lol literally.

Suey can mean u suck really bad. Suey can b an adjective used to describe a good feeling or a high. Suey can mean ur lame. Suey can mean anything from something being extremely dope, to something that makes no sense at all. In order to understand how sue is being used, u gotta know the vibe of what's being said or done. You've gotta Use basic context to figure it out.

Ah.... There it is. That's pretty much the discography of my name, published by me. 

That's Suey. :)

Discovery Den: THE BIG 'TO DO'

Discovery Den: THE BIG 'TO DO': "To be what we are, and to become what we are capable of becoming, is the only end of life." - Baruch Spinoza Hey guys! Here...

THE BIG 'TO DO'

"To be what we are, and to become what we are capable of becoming, is the only end of life." - Baruch Spinoza

Hey guys! Here are some REALLY good links on having better time management skills! Best wishes in your future success! ;)

https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/time-management

http://www.studygs.net/timman.htm

http://www.entrepreneur.com/topic/time-management

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/219553

http://www.time-management-guide.com

So this year I was rudely and repeatedly slapped in the face by father time. I found myself making lots of last minute to-do's, conflicting with my everyday bouts of productivity. The feelings of having so much to do in a matter of 24 hours and not getting enough done became overwhelming. I recently started thinking, "Somethings have got to change! I need a systematic approach to managing my time!"

What I've realized about myself, is that I can be a little unorganized in planning my day. My daily planning personality fits into the category of, "produce more/produce better, just KEEP WORKING" How many of you guys are with me on this? I mean, its so bad sometimes! I found myself not making routine plans for some of the very important and necessary things in life, such as making family visits, cleaning and reorganizing my home and work space, cooking, walking the dog, reading, etc., etc. Along with being successful, maintaining a healthy and happy home should be a priority and should fit into everyday plans.

Making a list usually makes me feel stressed out! I've read in a Forbes article, that instead of feeling stressed out by a list of priority, you should try to feel empowered. I thought to myself, "Energy!" Thats what we need to be managing even more than our time! Most of us put in more hours at work, 12-15 hours a day and that takes a tole on us mentally, physically, and emotionally. All that leads to is an increase in distractions, and will make you want to be less engaging with people. Energy is an infinite source, time is not. Systematically, energy can be renewed and expanded regularly through practice behavior. Time cannot. You will get more out of yourself if you put more into yourself and the results of fueling yourself with great energy, is that you will be more motivated and able to work hard and long when necessary. We have energy depleting people around us and we've accepted energy depleting obligations, without recognizing the cost of such things. Its important that we take responsibility in changing them, regardless of the circumstances you may face with these energy sucking people and obligations.

Part of prioritizing and planning has a lot to do with attitude. You gotta be ruthless! People want your time, energy, need your services, and sometimes its just hard to say, "NO!" Especially when there isn't anything that you really don't want to do. This is my problem, especially because I LOVE my work. Realistically speaking, you can only do a limited amount of things well. A mentor of mine, Elise McCoy told me something on the lines of, Whats important isn't always urgent and whats urgent, may not be important, but they all need to be organized plans. I let that sink in. 

Being ruthless is important because it makes you more careful about the things you take on! Once you get your list together, then thats when you prioritize your list. Whatever the most important thing is that you have to do, I would suggest that be done first. Things are just less stressful that way. You get that out the way, everything else is just a breeze. Also, just making a list isn't enough! you must have a schedule! Use a calendar on your smart device, etc. Technology we use makes this very easy for us, so take advantage! Leadership coach Peter Bregman says, "If you want to get something done, decide when and where you're going to do it. Otherwise, take it off your list.

Everything you do should all go onto one calendar. From small priority to large priority. Exercising for 45 minutes, to attending an awards ceremony. Whatever it may be, get in the habit to scheduling it in. Also, physically separate yourself from distractions. Especially if your work requires you to concentrate. I can't do all of my work in the same place because I can be distracted easily. Its easy to get veered off of the path of productivity with social media, emails, phone calls, text messages. You've gotta find a good spot for you to get things done. Away from the office helps. If you do all your work at your same workspace all the time, you're risking the chance of working less efficiently. You may notice yourself having a lot of add on "to-do's". Going into a different room, going outdoors, to the library or coffee shop usually helps me.

I've gotta touch back on energy management. TAKE SMALL BREAKS! Work hard, but take a break, refuel yourself, surf the internet, stretch, for no more than ten minutes at a time.

I usually don't like having much waiting time but I've been told to embrace it as it can be my best help. For instance, if you're visiting a busy restaurant, use that as a thoughtful time to work on things! The change of scenery can spark some creativity, so keep a lil work bag with you! Small downtime is a great thing. Take advantage.