Stardust

Cyber Monday Almost Over!

noreply@blogger.com (Cher & Gene Klosner) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 02:38:00 +0000

Jeez Louise - this has been an absolutely insane day! Founf tons of great sales - my favorite was from the Discovery store, The DVD series Planet Earth for $19.99 (retails $79.99) PLUS I got FREE shipping cuz I got a few things there that totaled over $75.

This was nuts! I am pooped! However, Cyber Monday continues for just a few more hours, and I am putting in my last reminder that Stardust ids on sale for the lowest it will EVER be - $9.99!! It retails at $24.99 - That is an over $15 dollar savings! But remember, once the clock strikes Midnight, we will all turn into pumpkins. No, wait. Wrong story. At Midnight the price on Stardust CD's will go back to it's regular $24.99, so don't miss out on these savings.

It is only available through CDBAby - with this link: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/cgklosner

Happy days everyone!

Cyber Monday Sale!!

noreply@blogger.com (Cher & Gene Klosner) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 21:01:00 +0000

Heads up!!! You guessed it...Cyber Monday - ONE DAY ONLY!!!! You will be able to get our Multiple Award Winning CD, Stardust for the absolutely lowest price we will ever see - $9.99!!! Holy Toledo!!! It normally retails for $24.99! This is huge. Now is the time to stock up on the baby gifts for the upcoming year! This is only good on physical cds , and is only available at CDBbay, (not through our website.)

Here is the link: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/cgklosner

Enjoy, my friends!!!

And while you're there, check out our new Christmas Sampler!!! It just became available at CDBaby!! http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/cgklosner7 It will be out on iTunes in the next week or so, but you can purchase it through CDBaby and import it into your iTunes.

I'll post more on this after Cyber Monday.

We hope you all had an awesome Thanksgiving! I'm still high from the day - definitely my favorite holiday of the year. Hanging out with about 70+ family members, eating super delicious food, sipping Grand Marnier and singing carols and old favorites til the late hours of the night... A little slice of heaven...

xoox Cher :)

Los Peces en el Rio

noreply@blogger.com (Cher & Gene Klosner) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:55:00 +0000

Years ago, I would never have been able to pronounce the title, "Los Peces en el Rio" let alone sing a whole song by that name - in Spanish! Yet, we just did, thanks to the help of Tina (Banina), Diana (Ariss), Erica A., Vicki P. and all my "kids" in Paramount, CA. The song is coming out on a LONG overdue "Winter Sampler" which is going straight to digital (iTunes, Amazon, etc.)

We just finished up recording 3 songs - we were shooting for 4, but ran out of time. The sampler will still be a 4-pack though, and will include "Ave Maria", "O Come O Come Emmanuel", "Los Peces en el Rio" and our previously released Christmas single, "I am a Carpenter." The cool thing is that because of the way digital sales work, a person can buy a single or the whole sampler (brings me back to the days of 45's and 33's - yes, I was alive way back then ;) ) and even be able to listen to a portion of the songs before buying them! Halleluia!!! Gone are the days of buying a whole flippin' CD, having heard one good song on the radio, then bringing home the CD, poppin' it in the stereo and the rest of the album stinks. It's about time!

Next year, once we are done recording 5 more Christmas songs, if we do release it on a CD, it will all be based on demand,and limited runs. So let us know if the demand is there, cuz we're listening. In the meantime, fire up those iPods - and get ready to sing along - in Spanish, Latin and English. :)

Follow us in the studio on twitter http://www.twitter.com/CherGeneKlosner

I'iiimmmmm Baaaaaaccckkkk....

noreply@blogger.com (Cher & Gene Klosner) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 04:24:00 +0000

So, we're going back into the recording studio Monday - can't wait!! We decided to document the whole recording process, so you can feel like you are right there in the studio with your buds, Cher & Gene Klosner! :)

Just to give you some updates - Stardust is doing well, but I'm itchin' for a sale!! Anyone ready for a sale? :) More on that later on in the week.

Recording - we have already done the prep work - chosen the songs, chosen the instruments we want to use on each song, booked the studio, and lined up the musicians. The biggest change going into this is that we are looking at this as a non-CD project! We are recording these with the intention of putting them straight up on to iTunes, with out a physical product. That is really strange for us, but is it ever exciting!

Being independent artists and owners of a small label, one of the biggest hurdles is coming up with the capital to fund the recording. The normal process is we record a project, then pay the expenses of the recording from CD sales. The expenses for a good quality project, include studio time, musicians' fees, royalties paid out, (if you were not the songwriter) distribution of the CD, distributors's and the store's cut, and, one of the biggest expenses, the artwork, manufacturing and duplication of the physical CD's.

What is so cool about the way the music industry is changing, is that CD's are becoming a thing of the past. It's not the coolest thing for a record store or a honkin' record label, but for small labels like us, going straight to iTunes and other digital distribution sites("digital stores"), like CDBAby, Amazon, allows us to get into the studio regularly, a song at a time, and have something for you in a matter of weeks instead of what used to take years to complete and deliver.

It's a brand new day! What a relief.

Come back Monday, and follow along on the journey!

Til then,
hugs :)
Cher

Where Have I Been? (Part Two)

noreply@blogger.com (Cher & Gene Klosner) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 04:00:00 +0000

It has been a whirlwind of a spring and summer - where has it gone? I'll tell you: To insanity and back...

Just when you think you know where you are headed, that whole throw-us-for-a-loop factor pops up and we're off in another unplanned direction.

So - we have been recording jingles, singing at cool events, and have also taken up two positions heading up the music ministry at a local parish, St. Elizabeth Anne Seton, and at a local high school, Marian High School, the latter of which is my old alma mater. It has been a wonderful year!! Working with musical kids again has just ignited my heart, and putting together a strong music program at a church with so many talented and wonderful people is just the greatest.

So where is Stardust? Doing wonderful, but I haven't had a minute to promote it. We're on the top of the charts at CD baby, hopping around in the Top 10 for Lullabies and in the Top 20 for Adult Contemporary! Not too shabby for two little Omaha kids...

But I want more out of this blog in the future. I want to somehow be "of service" - somehow. Haven't quite figured out how yet - free guitar lessons? Free choir instructions? I don't know - just something that can help others. That is when I am at my happiest - giving to someone else.

So, I'll return when I have something more to give :)

Til then,
hugs,

xox Cher

"I'm So Ready for Spring" Sale! 30% off!

noreply@blogger.com (Cher & Gene Klosner) — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 19:34:00 +0000

Hey all! Just want to let you know that we're running an "I'm So Ready For Spring" Sale! 30% off of our 2-disc lullaby CD, Stardust, winner of nine national parenting awards! This is only available to our mailing list, but we want to pass it on to our blogger buddies as well, if anyone is looking to stock up on baby gifts this Spring! And please feel free to pass this on to other friends who might be interested!

MSRP $24.95 Now $17.47!

Visit http://www.StardustLullaby.com/shop.html for more details!

I need sunshine - I am so ready for SPRING!!
Cher :)

PS Anyone on Twitter? You can follow me there too at stardustlullaby

Where Have I Been?

noreply@blogger.com (Cher & Gene Klosner) — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 04:05:00 +0000

Great question! Seems like I dropped off the face of the planet for a while... may as well have...
We've taken on some extra work in music - some at a church, some at a school and one as a "judge" for a pretty huge music competition that is going on.

I'm being introduced to a lot of new music and artists I've never heard of before. As with any contest, there are plenty of not-so-great submissions, but I tell ya, I've found a few pearls and I'm pretty stoked about several of them, and I'll be blogging about these new (and not-so-new,) undiscovered artists shortly.

Right off the bat, though, let me post my disclaimer :) I am not paid to endorse any artist - in addition, I don't know these artists personally, so there are no "favors" going on here. I'll simply be writing honestly about what and who I like, for whatever reason. I won't bother posting about artists I don't like - what's the point? Lastly, I have a wide range of music styles that I like - right now, however, I am mostly being introduced to the music of female singer/songwriters, so that's where I'll be starting. The styles are anywhere from Joni Mitchell to Sarah McLachlan to Fiona Apple to John Mayer (yes, I am aware he is not female - the style, people, the style ...) The content of my choices will also be extremely wide - I don't care if the musician is gay or straight, Christian, Jewish or Buddhist, purple or green, single or divorced or swears...if it is good solid music, I will write about it.

The up side to all this new work is, it's steady and allows me to spend more time composing at home, and to do homework with/play with my son. The down side is I don't have as much free time to perform outside my city, or market Stardust, or do much social networking. We can't do it all. But I am okay with that.

Which brings to my first artist - check out Jenny Bruce. http://www.goodgirl.com and http://www.myspace.com/jennybruce

She is an awesome singer/songwriter whose last blog (under "journal") on October 8 2007, http://www.goodgirl.com/newjournal.html#October_8,_2007, is titled exactly that - You Can't Do It All.

She is the real deal - an amazing writer, singer, mother who put the career on hold a little while back for her kids. I know first hand the struggle of being in music and being a Mom and trying to do it all - trying to do it all well. I can't. But I have a great kid, and for now he is my most important composition. My hat is off to Jenny Bruce - her latest CD, "Left of July," is solid good music from beginning to end. There wasn't a single track I didn't get pulled into. Her songs have been featured in network shows, and she is a Billboard song contest winner. She gets a high five from Cher-Baby and 5 stars for being a great musician and a cool mom.

Check out Jenny Bruce's CD, "Left of July," available online at her website, at CDBaby and on iTunes. Check out her other CD's while you're there.

Okay, off to the other work :) Glad to be back.

Happy New Year!

noreply@blogger.com (Cher & Gene Klosner) — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 06:58:00 +0000

HAppy New Year everyone!

Still catching my breath after a whirlwind year...just letting you know we haven't dropped off the blogosphere - just sooo incredibly busy... and soooo incredibly tired!

I'll be back very soon - cross my heart. Til then, wishing you the merriest!

"I am a Carpenter (Joseph's Song)" Debuted Tonight!

noreply@blogger.com (Cher & Gene Klosner) — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 06:55:00 +0000

I have the biggest butterflies flying around in my tummy - my Christmas song, "I am a Carpenter (Joseph's Song)" debuted tonight at First Baptist Church in Lewisville, TX, for their Christmas show, "Wonder." It runs for two more nights...

I am going nuts WONDER-ing how it went!!! :) They have a 130+ member choir and a 30+ piece orchestra. They found the song on iTunes, and we got all the sheet music printed up as fast as we could.

I wish I could have flown down to Texas to see the performance - I feel like my "baby" (the song) is at its first day of school without mommy. Hope he made lots of friends... I'm waiting here at the bus stop...

Holiday Lights Festival/Thanksgiving

noreply@blogger.com (Cher & Gene Klosner) — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 21:03:00 +0000

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

We had a fantastic Thanksgiving performance - from a musicians standpoint, nothing beats a great performance, when everything goes right. Last night, we sang for the Holiday Lights Festival downtown. Omaha kicks off the Christmas/holiday season with Holiday Lights Festival every year. The Mayor does a countdown, and over a million tiny white lights covering all the trees that align our downtown streets light up simultaneously. It's quite breathtaking.

We were honored to perform a half hour "pre-lighting" show, filled with Christmas music from our first Christmas CD, "Ribbons and Pine", our lullaby CD, "Stardust" our upcoming Christmas CD, and a few other just-for- fun Christmas tunes.

Now when you're booked for a gig in late November, outside, at night, in the Midwest, you're taking a few risks...the weather could be awful, you freeze your hands off, the wood on your guitar could crack, gusts of wind could choke your throat and blow over the keyboard, and no one would show up. Or, as was the case last night, you have a clear, beautiful, slightly cool evening - nothing that a free cup of hot chocolate won't cure - a perfectly exquisite sound system with professional sound persons, a well organized event, and a crowd of nearly 30, 000.

People cheered, clapped, sang along, and were just generally the perfect audience, made up of all generations. Lots of families with kids happily running about, enjoying the night air and each other. It was so easy to sing our hearts out on this one. A big thanks to Carly Barth, who organized the event - she did an amazing job!

Top this off with Thanksgiving dinner in the company of a warm, loving family of over 70 people, more music, and plenty of sentimental tears... and I know that these are the memories I want to hold on to for life. It was a perfect evening.

M.E.L.O.D.Y.

noreply@blogger.com (Cher & Gene Klosner) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 22:53:00 +0000

I can't believe I've been MIA for nearly a month! When you read what follows, you'll understand why. We just sent this out to our mailing list, but also wanted to post this here for all of our cyberspace friends. Thanks in advance, for your support, and for spreading the word to your friends.

xoxox Cher
*******************************************************************
Dear Friends,

We are writing to thank you for your generous support of our music. With your help, Stardust has gone on to win eight parent and family awards and is in the running for four more awards! We are also very excited to let you know that Stardust is a Grammy entry in six different categories!

Today we are asking for your support in a different way. We are honored to have partnered with the Help Group – UCLA Autism Research Alliance, and are seeking to raise funds for a groundbreaking new program that uses music-based research, therapy and education to help children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD).

“Music Enhanced Learning Opportunities for Developing Youth (MELODY)” is a new program being developed by Dr. Istvan Molnar-Szakacs, a neuroscientist at UCLA’s Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, in collaboration with The Help Group and with the support of The Friends of the Semel Institute. It aims to harness the universal power of music to help children with ASD overcome their difficulties in social and emotional communication. Children with ASD experience challenges with communicating and understanding of emotion, such as interpreting facial expressions. In contrast, they appear to show no deficits in processing emotion in musical stimuli.

The goal of MELODY is to improve socio-emotional functioning in children with ASD by using a music-based approach which includes 1) studying the brain bases of socio-emotional deficits using neuroimaging techniques 2) developing a music-based therapeutic intervention to teach children emotion recognition skills and 3) conducting quantitative and qualitative evaluations of music education programs for children with special needs.

Since the release of Stardust, we have received countless letters from grateful parents of children with special needs, sharing their personal stories of how Stardust has helped calm, relax, and focus their children. Through our years of performing, we have seen first hand the beneficial effects of music on children. We could see how music would light up their eyes, bring smiles to their faces and laughter to their hearts. We are so grateful to know that we have an opportunity to help raise funds for a research program that could bring us a step closer to understanding autism, developing new treatments and helping these special children and their families.

We need your help to accomplish all this work! We have set a goal to raise $100,000 by March 1st, 2009 and are asking that you consider making a tax-deductible gift of $25 or more to help achieve this goal. Your contribution in any amount is greatly appreciated, and even a gift of 20, 15 or 10 dollars will make a huge difference! Your donation will be used to support the development of the MELODY program and will help improve the lives of these special children with ASD and their families.

To donate directly to MELODY, please visit The Friends of the Semel Institute’s website, the support group for The Semel Institute at www.friendsofthesemelinstitute.org and click on “Donate Here” at the top of the homepage. This will direct you to a new page, where you can click “Click here to donate and become a member.” This will take you to a secure page allowing you to make your donation by choosing one of the amounts on the drop-down menu or choosing ”Other” and filling in any amount you’d like to donate to MELODY. Please designate the amount of your donation and be sure to write “MELODY” in the Comments box at the bottom of the page, ensuring that your donation will go directly to the MELODY program.

For more information on the MELODY program, please visit http://www.npi.ucla.edu/creativity/research/autism/ and for The Help Group – UCLA Autism Research Alliance, visit www.thehelpgroup.org

We thank you from the bottom of our hearts,

Your friends,

Cher & Gene

I Couldn't Sleep...

noreply@blogger.com (Cher & Gene Klosner) — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 04:42:00 +0000

So the Grammy Ballots arrived! I blogged, Twittered, posted, made phone calls. Immediately after, we went to do a tv taping - nothing big - just filling in for the people who sing at the Mass for Shut-ins... then babysat my 3 year old nephew and we wall went out for Chinese food. Came home. Twittered. Posted more.

I just couldn't get tired! I had 1307 butterflies in my tummy. I counted them. Each one. After the sheep. This is just so exciting.

Do I campaign? I haven't a clue. This is a first for me - hopefully, not a last. But I want to savor every second of this - new is good.

I didn't sleep much - but that just didn't seem to matter much today. :)

Grammy Ballots JUST Arrived!!!!!!!!!!! WEEEEE!!!!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Cher & Gene Klosner) — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 18:44:00 +0000

Oh oh oh oh !!!!! Grammy ballots just arrived!!! We're in 6 categories!!! I'm callin' on all of you to spread the word!!!!

Field 18 - Children's
Category 77 - Best Musical Album for Children
We are #093. Stardust - Cher & Gene Klosner

Field 23 - (we have two entries in this Category) Composing/Arranging
Category 85 Best Instrumental Composition
We are #188, "Pillow Soft, Blanket Warm" - Gene Klosner
AND
#283 "Wynken, Blynken and Nod" - Cher Klosner

Field 23 - Composing/Arranging
Category 86- Best Instrumental Arrangement
We are #135. "Pillow Soft, Blanket Warm" Gene Klosner, Arranger

Field 23 - Composing/Arranging
Category 87 - Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s)
We are #226 "Wynken, Blynken and Nod" - Cher Klosner, Arranger

Field 27 - Production, Non-Classical
Category 92 - Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical
We are # 307 Tom Ware, Engineer

If you haven't heard Stardust, you can listen to soundclips here: www.StardustLullaby.com/musicclips.html

Please, please, please pass it on - vote for Stardust - Cher & Gene Klosner - Twitter it, Facebook it, Stumble it, MySpace it, etc., cuz ya never know who is an Academy member!!! Or who is married to one!! :)

Thank you all sooooooooooo much!!!! I love ya!!!!

This is SOOOOOOOOOOOO EXCITING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cher :)

Busy, busy, busy...

noreply@blogger.com (Cher & Gene Klosner) — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 19:27:00 +0000

Just so darn busy! Busy with Boo's school work, making sure he is staying on top of his addition and subtraction, spelling and social studies... busy with my work, last minute submitting Stardust to Holiday gift guides, figuring out a fair price for octavoes, getting orchestral and piano parts off to our wonderful music copyists for our Christmas song, "I am a Carpenter" - a 200 member choir and orchestra at a church in Texas wants to use it in their Christmas program this year - WOW!!! (I wish I could hear the performance - I know it will be gorgeous!) And busy trying to balance family - housework, folding laundry, it just never ends. I would love a day of just - nothing. To sit and eat chocolate. And watch a movie that makes me cry happy tears.

Speaking of happy tears, one of my very best friends - Shell - and her two beautiful kids were in town last week!!! Oh, we had fun!! And oh do I miss her! I cried all the way from the airport to my beautician's where I had a hair appointment. She was new, and wasn't sure what to do with me when I burst into tears for having said goodbye to Shell 20 minutes prior... :( Fortunately, her gut instinct told her to just give me a hug, which she did, then went off to mix my colors :)

I am so fortunate to have good friends in my life - and I am so grateful!

Happy days everyone - take time to share a glass of wine with a good friend this week - it'll do your heart good (especially red wine with all the flavanoids ;) ) hehe...

Submitting for the Grammy’s

noreply@blogger.com (Cher & Gene Klosner) — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 19:59:00 +0000

In my last post I mentioned submitting for the Grammys - Stardust has been submitted –for 7 categories - it is a cool process. We have “submitted 7 entries” - this is not the same as a nomination – that comes later. This has been on our dream board for several years. It seemed so unattainable ’til we started walking through the steps.

Step 1: Recording the CD. We had to start with a recording that we felt was Grammy worthy. So we went into the studio with that attitude – Is it Grammy worthy? Which means, no cutting corners, every song has to be the best we can make it. We also had to plan the release date to fall within the eligibility period – for Grammy 2009, it would have to be released, and able to be distributed nationally (via brick & mortar stores or internet) no sooner that October 1, 2007 and no later than September 30, 2008.

Step 2: Get your credits listed on All Music Guide. Before a recording can even be submitted, we needed to be a member of the Recording Academy (formerly called NARAS). Before we could become members, we had to have several recording credits under our belt and be listed on All Music Guide. They can be on the liner notes of the recording you are submitting, or past projects - fortunately for us, we've recorded several projects prior to Stardust so getting listed on All Music Guide was just a matter of submitting the paperwork with all of our past credits. Once the paperwork was submitted to AMG, it took about 6 weeks to get listed, but once we were on AMG, we were eligible for Academy membership.

Step 3: Becoming Recording Academy members. This was so exciting – I have dreamt of being part of the Grammy process since I was a kid. All the years of watching the Grammys and envisioning me there – as an audience member, as a voting member, as a participant, as a nominee, as a recipient… these visions are the sugarplums that have danced in my head. So signing up online, was absolutely painless (almost anti-climactic) – we filled out a form, paid our dues…that was it. We got a quick confirmation online that our credits were accepted and verified. A few weeks later, we got the packet – we were official Recording Academy Voting Members!

Step 4: Submitting the Entry Forms. In July, we got another packet containing all the info about how to submit. There are 31 fields (genres) and 110 categories of music within those fields. I have to admit, the children’s music division is in dire need of expansion, as there are only a two …but I digress. There were plenty other categories in which we were able to enter Stardust, or tracks thereof.

So, over the next few weeks Gene and I went back and forth on which categories were appropriate, and entered online once again. With each entry my heart raced from the rushes of adrenaline…my hands are sweating now just relaying my excitement! And we got it all done with just minutes to spare before I hit a landmark birthday - oh happy day!!! We boxed up a package – 4 CDs per category - and shipped it off to the Academy, got the confirmation that it was received.

Step 5: Tell the World!! Okay, maybe not the world, but we definitely want to let people know, and if they happen to have friends who are voting members of the Academy, to please consider Stardust for a nomination…then we hope for the best!If it is meant to happen, it will. It may be a longshot, but it’s not impossible. We’ll know by early December. And if any of YOU are Voting Academy Members, your vote for a nomination is greatly appreciated!!!

Stepping Away...

noreply@blogger.com (Cher & Gene Klosner) — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 16:35:00 +0000

I took a couple weeks off of blogging, PR, computer work, just so I could get back into the swing of school - sometimes I wonder if it is a bigger adjustment for parents than it is for kids! And how the heck do parents of more than one child do this? Homework, ordering books, having clean clothes ready... gee wiz...I have a whole new respect for my mom - she had 6 of us!

So during my work hiatus I shampooed carpets, met with a personal trainer, gave two keynote presentations, organized and cleared out all my sons drawers that had clothes that were too small - by next year, I will pass this duty off to my son... I got a lot of rooms cleaned in the house...it felt good to get this all done - but no better than hiring a house cleaner would have felt. The end result is the same. A clean house.

The positive of all this is de-cluttering. Stepping away from my daily "work" routine allowed me to de-clutter a bit - not just my house, but also my head and spirit. I feel a little more focused on the things that I want out of my life, by taking a look at the things that are keeping me from or are distracting me from attaining what my purpose on this planet is, things I don't need in my life anymore - and letting go.

It ain't easy, but I'm ready to move forward.

In my last post, I promised to post about the Grammy's - I will get that up tomorrow. Cross my heart. :)

Oh yea, ...homework.

noreply@blogger.com (Cher & Gene Klosner) — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 03:59:00 +0000

So, I haven't posted in a while. One word will tell you why...homework. Boo has started second grade. I liked Preschool, Kindergarten and First grade. He did his school work at school, would come home and we'd go to piano lessons, ride our bikes, make dinner, take a long bath, snuggle and head off to beddy by.

His world - and my world - are forever changed. Pages upon pages of math, spelling, and more math are coming home daily in his bookbag. The "tests" have begun - the teachers set goals that the kids need to attain in the classroom. I saw the despair on his face the morning of the math testing - he asked if I would still love him if he didn't reach the goal. And I saw the pride on his face when he got home from school, scoring well above the goals that were set for him. My little boy is growing up. I don't want to miss another minute.

Winds of Change

noreply@blogger.com (Cher & Gene Klosner) — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 04:06:00 +0000

Reverend Wills was laid to rest yesterday.
I have to share a beautiful story someone told at his funeral yesterday. A man saw Reverend Wills walking with his brooms and stopped to give the Rev a ride in the car (which I learned that so many of us had done over the years.) After the usual pleasantries, the man asked, "Rev, are you ever angry with God?" Reverend Wills replied, "Why, no." The man said, "Come on, not ever?" the Rev said, "Not ever." The man, wanting to hear a different answer, said, "Rev, you mean to tell me that you have never once been angry that you were born blind?" Reverend Wills paused a moment, then answered, "Why would I be angry? I have never had to see war, or bloodshed, or hatred in someones eyes. How can I be angry when the first face I will ever see is the face of God?"

It must have been glorious, Reverend. And I know you are now playing and singing with the angels.

Other stuff...
Alleluia! Ben will be back to work September 15!!!! Oh LORDY - I am 10 pounds lighter from the stress that has melted away. I slept like a log last night. First time in 10 months, since that stupid writer's strike went into effect. I am THANKFUL!!!!!!!!!! I can breathe again! AAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!! Stardust has been selling like crazy, thanks to the Omaha World Herald, Borders, and to the special sale we ran for our mailing list and a couple of Mom sites where I feel very at home.

The winds have changed - I can feel it.
Tomorrow - all about submitting to the Grammys, (yes, we did) and, everyone needs a birthday party!! :)

Tonight. More restful sleep.

Happy Labor Day weekend, friends and loved ones!

Good night, Reverend Livingston Wills

noreply@blogger.com (Cher & Gene Klosner) — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 05:34:00 +0000

I wrote the following post back in April about my dear old friend, Reverend ("Rev") Livingston Wills. Shortly after this post, he was moved to a nursing home. I got to visit him a couple of times at the nursing home - his health and memory were fading steadily. He wasn't eating much, didn't remember my name, and didn't want to get up and walk around. Thankfully, the home had a piano not too far from his room. We walked to the piano, and the moment he touched the keys, he came to life again. We spent the next half hour singing and playing. He even asked the nurse for ice cream so we all had a dish. We sang together just like the first time we sang together so many years ago.

On my last visit, I bought a broom from him, just for old times sake. I knew it would be the last broom he might ever sell, and the last broom I would ever be able to buy from my old dear friend. Reverend Wills, died yesterday. He was one of the greatest Gifts that God ever put in my life, so it was fitting that he died on August 22, my birthday. Rest in Peace, my Friend. As the Reverend would always say, "God is good." I already miss you.
*******************************************************************
Posted April 30, 2008

I have a friend named Reverend Livingston Wills. I met him when I was a little girl, maybe 4 or 5 years old. He was a strong, handsome man and liked to hum a song and whistle a tune as he would walk briskly down my street, balancing a dozen brooms over his shoulder with one hand and bouncing a white walking stick with the other. I had never seen anyone like him before. He'd stop at every house knocking at the doors, selling his wares. Like most of the neighbors, my mom would buy her brooms from Reverend Wills, and would always get a "little girl's broom" that was just my size, for me.

Most people knew him as "the Broom Man" and it was a usual and welcomed sight to see Reverend Wills walking around town with his brooms.

A few years later, we moved to a different neighborhood, and I didn't see Reverend Wills again 'til I was a teenager. I heard a knock at the door and there he was ready to sell me a broom. It was hot out, so I asked him in for iced tea. We talked, and as our iced tea turned into a meal of tuna fish sandwiches and cookies, he shared about his life and his faith. A truly remarkable and inspiring man.

Our friendship has continued over the years. He taught me the song, "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" which I later recorded on our "Sunday" CD and in the liner notes, I wrote a special dedication to Reverend Wills. Once I brought him to one of my performances as my special guest, where I witnessed just a tiny fraction of how many lives he had touched - when I said his name and asked him to stand, I could hear the awesome hush fill the air and the entire auditorium gave him a rousing applause and a standing ovation! We went out to lunch several times, and I was honored to have Reverend Wills say a special blessing at my wedding. That was 11 years ago.

I spent the afternoon with Reverend Wills today. He is in his 90's now, and the years are beginning to take their toll. He's forgetful and was having a hard time remembering my name, but I didn't mind. Just to spend time with him, singing songs while he played the organ, then sitting together on the couch, listening to him recite his favorite poems or tell his favorite jokes as I held his hand, was enough for me.

I thank God for putting Reverend Wills in my life. He is a reminder to me of all that is good here on this earth.

God bless you, Reverend Wills, and thank you for being my friend.

Nice write-up in the Omaha World Herald

noreply@blogger.com (Cher & Gene Klosner) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 01:09:00 +0000

Oh Hooray!!!

We got a great review in the Sunday Omaha World Herald - front page of the Entertainment/Travel/Arts section - from the well-respected Arts and Music columnist, John Pitcher. The World-Herald is the nation's 49th largest daily newspaper.

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2620&u_sid=10408118

We've gotten a lot of press around and outside the country, which we are very appreciative of, but none have given us the results that the World Herald has. That very morning, we had a ton of web hits which turned into sales. The next morning, a store called to tell us they had sold out of Stardust. They Reordered. That night another store sold out of Stardust! Another reorder! Today, because of the article, we were contacted to perform for an event. To live in the house that Jack built.

Now that Boo is back in school, I'm going to start adding more content beyond Stardust. I am also going to start sharing some of my favorite things on this site, as I am involved with so many great mompreneurs, and I love to share the cool products these brilliant women have come up with.

We also have some summer drawings to do, so stay tuned and sing pretty. :)

Cher :)

I'm hooked on the Olympics!

noreply@blogger.com (Cher & Gene Klosner) — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 16:23:00 +0000

I was never a big sports fan growing up, but I gotta tell ya, I am HOOKED! Especially on the Swimming. Now, granted, I am biased after singing the National Anthem for the US Olympic Swim Trials in July, but even with that aside, the US swim team is awfully impressive this year - watching the men's relay the other night, I was literally screaming at the tv, "Go- oh, go, go, go!!!!!"
I am so proud - Michael Phelps, Dara Torres, all the women and men representing the US. And I am so honored to have played a role in this historic event.

And I'm awfully glad I wasn't replaced at the last minute for having crooked teeth...

Stardust in Libraries!

noreply@blogger.com (Cher & Gene Klosner) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 20:05:00 +0000

I am so excited!! We are now with a distributor in Canada, who does distribution to libraries throughout Canada. They contacted us, after receiving several requests for Stardust from different libraries in Canada! We were also recently contacted by a library in Los Angeles who had heard our music. They put in a request to us and to their distributor in the US! We have been in contact with the distributor and will soon be available to every library in the United States! WOW!!!!!!!! I am so excited I can't contain myself!!! But I will... :) The librarian in LA said they get requests for our kind of music every day, and they have nothing in their systems like it! It would go very well with teachers and parents.

Me happy.

We are also going to be adding more content to this blog, dealing with sleep issues, relaxation, pursuing dreams - at ANY age - and more. Can't wait!

Also, if you are reading my blog, please feel free to leave a comment and say hi :)
Have a super day! I am!!

xooxo Cher

No-see-ums??

noreply@blogger.com (Cher & Gene Klosner) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 20:21:00 +0000

I just spent two weeks in Florida - Orlando and Vero Beach. Aaaahhh... Disneyworld! The sunshine! The beach! The ocean! The no-see-ums..huh??

I live in Omaha, Nebraska. We have mosquitos. We have ants. We have bug repellant. We move on, fairly unscathed.

My first afternoon in Vero, I skipped merrily to the pool, slathered on the sunscreen and leaned back in the lawn chair. Just to be out in the sunshine was heavenly - Nebraska has left a lot to be desired this summer with all the storms, tornadoes and grey clouds. My mother-in-law sat down beside me and said, "Now down here you'll want to make sure to wear plenty of sunscreen (check) and get some bug spray for the no-see-ums." If you knew my mother-in-law, you'd know that half the time she is pulling your leg so you let things go in one ear and out the other without giving it much more response than a chuckle. Unfortunately this time, wasn't one of those times.

What I learned as I woke up itching at 4:30 the next morning, is that there are these nasty little critters in Florida called, "no-see-ums." No-fooling. I got over 200 bites on my right foot, and about half as many on my left. I could see the patterns they walked in - some marched along the edges of the bands of my flip-flops. Step-munch-step-munch. Some danced around in circles. Sidestep-munch-sidestep-munch. Some just hopped around deliriously happy to have found fresh Nebraska meat. Joy!-munch-Joy!-munch.

My feet swelled up like Italian sausages. My arms looked like I had the chicken pocks. I was going stir crazy, itching and scratching. All because of these mean, little, invisible people-eaters.
All the hydrocortisone, calamine lotion and eucalyptus oil could not bring relief to the aftermath of the war raged upon my little piggies.

Doctor said, "Benadryl." I found some relief and enjoyed the rest of my trip.

Sunshiney afternoons, trips to the park, time with family. Boo and his cousins had a sleepover at Grandma's and I had a midnight get-away to the beach with my hubby. And in my knee-high socks, tennis shoes, long-sleeved shirt and sweat pants, we listened to the ocean waves, felt the cool breezes and watched shooting stars write our names across the sky.

No-see-ums??

noreply@blogger.com (Cher & Gene Klosner) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 20:21:00 +0000

US Olympic Swim Trial/National Anthem on YouTube!! :)

noreply@blogger.com (Cher & Gene Klosner) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 22:00:00 +0000

WEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!! Just got the DVD of our performance from the U.S. Olympic Swim Trial - check it out here if you like!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uFXARXiUR4

It's Friday - gonna make this short, so I can go snuggle and read a book with my boy - he is going to read me a story :)

Have a great weekend!!!

Cher :)