Thursday, October 15, 2009

Happy Birthday Quirky NY Chick!

At 12:31 AM on this day, October 15, QuirkyNYChick.com was born.

When I started this blog, I dived in head first on a bit of a whim. I like to write and I like music. It made perfect sense for me to combine the two so I did. Thankfully, the water wasn't shallow and I didn't hit bottom and knock my quirky self out!

I claimed my little corner of the Internet and ran with it. I gave the blog a logo, a logo that has had more than one person say, 'the one with the big purple L' when I mention my blog name while out and about. So, I guess I chose something memorable. A good thing, right? I've learned a lot about putting together a blog and I'm still learning. With an enormous amount of anxiety and feeling completely out of my depth, I accomplished my very first Q & A. Thanks to James Love of Hot Seconds for helping me learn to swim in those waters. I guess that makes him my human equivalent of water wings. Also, thanks to those friends who talked me through the anxiety! My camera and I found ourselves crouched down in Irving Plaza at an Arc Angels show for my first official photo pit experience. As someone who has always loved concert photography it was exhilarating and terrifying and I couldn't wait to do it again. I headed to Newport, RI for QNYC's first official road trip to take in the 50th anniversary of the Newport Folk Festival. It was exciting, surreal and a wee bit daunting but an awesomely fun experience.

Here I am, a year later, continuing to dish out info and talking music in my oddball, or I suppose I should say, quirky way. I still like to write and I still like music. What's different? A year ago, I thought only my friends and my Mom would stop by once in a while to read. Imagine my surprise when I discovered otherwise! I've been challenged, overwhelmed and proud ... often all at the same time. I've tried to keep it interesting. I've tried to keep it fun. But, most of all, I've tried to keep it me.

It has all been a tremendous amount of fun and I often ask myself why I didn't do this sooner. I've met a lot of interesting people and I've seen a lot of great live music. Thanks to all of the artists whose work allows me to do what I do. Thanks to all of you who have dropped by to visit. To make my first anniversary a little more special, I discovered that QuirkyNYChick.com has been listed on ClickitTicket.com's "Top 20 Music Review Blogs on the Web" ... flattering and especially so for a blog that was a complete unknown just a year ago.

With one year under my belt, I say, "Cheers! Here's to many more years of discussing music in my own delightfully quirky way!"

L. R. Adams
October 15, 2009