It’s been ten years and over 850 concerts. This is for the thousands and thousands of people who have inspired me to share my experience of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.

I am a Croatian by blood – but became a United States citizen in 2000.  I live and I work in America and with this video I’d like to say “Thank you and Happy Independence Day!”

The music video of “God Bless America” (by Irving Berlin) marks the launch of TajciTV YouTube Channel where you can easily find official Tajci footage.  When you subscribe to TajciTV, you will be notified when we add new videos.

Filmed in June 2010 in Cincinnati, OH and New York, NY.
Soon to be available on iTunes.

Not even a week ago, as I drove the Sprinter on a six lane parkway towards Manhattan, I thought how life is a little bit like driving in New York City – you have to know where you are going and how you’ll get there. You have to react fast and have confidence to step on the gas pedal and go, go, go  (sure it helps if you are driving a big, strong and fast vehicle).

Perhaps it’s because I am older now, or because recently I had one of those moments in which people reconsider their priorities, but I feel like I have a great destination, a map, confidence and an open road.

Tomorrow, we are launching the first of a series of music videos we will be doing this summer (as a part of our new YouTube TajciTV Channel).

Then I will be announcing a big “Tajci” concert in Zagreb, Croatia.

And then… well, I don’t want to reveal all right now.  Because like driving in NYC, there are so many things happening along the road and it’s easy to miss all of them if you go too fast.

I walked down the Fifth Avenue and looked at the shops: Louis Vuitton, Bergdorf Goodman, Tiffany’s… A gift for my big birthday? Not at the stores. Not anything money could buy.

I got something far more valuable: time with friends, making of a music video in NYC, recording a song with Jon Gordon, a concert in Atlantic City, a roof top view of Manhattan, a “village” of friends and family that kept my boys safe and happy while I was away (and when Matthew met me in the city) and an overwhelming number of Facebook messages. Each one of these feels like a perfect little diamond which I will forever wear on the inside.

They don’t sell that kind of stuff in stores… Not even on Fifth Avenue.

Thanks everyone

Tajci

“It’s what it is, we all have jobs.
Some easier than others, but that’s life.
It’s what it is, just stop and think
Some live to work, some work to live…”

…  sang the kids at the CPT this past weekend (I wrote the original music for our own adaptation of “Aladdin”)

Dante played his first lead part – he was Aladdin. Matthew said he did great and was proud of himself.  I had seen him in rehearsals and he was very good. His singing was strong, his confidence level at comfortable high, and he was eager to be directed and instructed about how to deliver his lines to create a convincing and real character.  Most importantly however, he had fun doing it.

I too was very proud of him.  Sadly, I missed his performance, but I had a concert in Atlantic City and then had to go on to NYC to do some more work (that doesn’t feel like work, I have to admit).  Both Dante and I felt a special connection on Saturday night, as we both performed at the same time, in two different places and made people laugh and cry and be inspired.

It will be exciting to see what my boys will choose to do when they grow up.  And whatever it is, I hope they feel as fulfilled and happy as I am with my career.

It was more than a great photo shoot. Angelo Cikes (click here for archived photos on his web site), the photographer, is an old family friend (he is not old, it’s just that I have known him for a very long time) so working with him was like being back in Zagreb, having fun. We shared memories of my Dad, my Mom and all the great times we had spent on island Rab in Croatia.  Maya took this photo of us with her iPhone… Can’t wait for Angelo’s photos…

The entire crew was awesome: Sam Hills and Liz Carter, hair styling; Mollie Elliot, make up; Ivy, wardrobe styling; Maya, my irreplaceable and most wonderful assistant; Matthew, overall management)

I really only had a minute to pack after the shoot was over, before leaving for a concert at the Atlantic City Convention Center (for the World Wide Marriage Encounter National Convention). Fun job I have

- Tajci

It turned out to be one of those things when everything lines up so perfectly: Denny Bouchard’s tracking, Toni Miracle’s arrangement and vocal recording session with Bryan Lenox that was just so exciting and very professional.

And a bonus – Angelo Cikes, a long time family friend from Vancouver came to town yesterday for a three day photo shoot. So he went down to Nashville with me and got some great shots (this one is only a snap shot taken with my iPhone)

What we were working on is still a little secret…

A little over a month ago, I sat in my backyard with a copy of “Aladdin” script (adaptation written by my theatre partner Carol Brammer) with a bit of an ambitious task – I had two days to write six music numbers which would turn the play into a children’s musical for our summer camp.  My boys were playing right there, in front of my climbing roses that decided to start opening up that very afternoon.  It was perfect. I would ask them to throw me a line about Genie, or Aladdin who is leaving home, and they would say something so simple (as only children do) that I had no trouble finishing all the songs that very afternoon.

Excited, I showed them the back sides of the pages of the script on which I wrote my lines and sang the choruses to them.  They weren’t too impressed. They had experienced their mother being excited about something that was clearly in her head and hard to hear by humans who aren’t mind-readers, many times before.

Next morning, I recorded the songs on my iPhone sitting by my piano (on VoiceMemo app). After a few days, of making minor corrections, I made a bit ‘cleaner’ tracks in GarageBand – which I sent off to Tony Miracle to create  demo arrangements. In a week (and at this point I was somewhere on the East Coast touring), he sent me back arranged tracks. I recorded my vocals in GarageBand in my hotel room, using an iPhone head set. Mark Johnson, a great friend, music minister and an amazingly talented transcriber, then generated sheet music for the songs. My local CD pressing company QCA, made copies which were given to the kids who signed up for the camp a week ahead of time. The camp started on Monday.  We had five days to put together an hour and fifteen minutes long musical. 

Tonight, my boys watched as twenty excited kids sang the very songs they watched me write in our backyard. They watched as the kids danced and had so much fun. They stood up at the end with the rest of the audience to give a standing ovation to the cast who performed an excellent show.  And we walked home afterwards humming the songs. 

It is just amazing: to be able to create something from a single moment in time – with a bit of imagination, few little boys at play and a rosebush in the background – and turn it into another moment that becomes an inspiration for other people…  I feel very, very lucky…

Check out CliftonPerformanceTheatre.com for more information and if you live in Cincinnati, come and hear the music of “Aladdin” (I might have an mp3 soon to share And yes, Dante, Evan and Blais will play in one of the upcoming casts.

The first time I performed at St. Rose and Clement Church in Warwick, RI was in 1995 with the cast of Karol Wojty?a‘s “The Jeweler’s Shop” produced the Polish Theatre of NYC. Shortly after that I had returned to do a solo concert with my “Age of Love” music.

So, last night was a treat – coming back after so many years. We were joined by staff, trustees and friends of the Parish for a wonderful home-made turkey dinner (at which we had a great conversation with the pastor – Fr. Willson)

It felt funny being in Rhode Island without the boys… People here have followed me through my pregnancies and births – and watched the boys grow.

But, as things always work out, instead of three boys who missed the concert last night, I had about 50 girls from Overbrook Academy right there (it was impossible to take this photo with my iPhone and have everyone show up in it…) Maria and Lauren were the two girls who came up to sing with me at the end… They were all really beautiful young ladies.

I spent my two days off in New York City.

The boys went home with Matthew, and even though I missed them, I was able to walk, sit, shop, eat (or not) as I wished.  Being alone in the city I called home when I first came to the States brought back memories: of hopes and dreams, unknown paths and adventures, of the strength I found then in the knowledge that I wasn’t alone, of the inspiration that came from being surrounded by people who had just like me arrived from their small countries to the place where everything is possible.

So I walked, sat on a bench in my favorite spot in Central Park, had my coffee while squeezing with other people having their coffee at one of small round tops of Starbucks on Broadway negotiating the space between my cup and my MacBook, I even took myself to the movies.

I spent some time with friends I haven’t seen in a long time and made new memories.

And all the time, I felt like coming home…

The Ansonia building (in the photo) is where American Musical and Dramatic Academy is located. I lived there (on 12th floor) for the first two semesters.

I stayed at the Jane Hotel in the Meatpacking District – even though the rooms are the size of a train compartment, it was the staff that made it feel as large and generous as a heart that’s open.

I also visited my favorite “curly girl” salon Devachan – in SoHo.  Another ‘cool’ place with a super warm, kind and no-pretense attitude.

Babysitters’ Dad was collecting the toys after the concert at Vineland, NJ. Blais was watching quietly. Then he asked: “What are you doing”
“I’m cleaning up because we will be going home soon.” Blais smiled and said: “Well, we are coming back because we have a key to the city.”

He wasn’t joking.  At the end of a beautiful and very uplifting concert, the Mayor of the City Robert Romano and his friend (who are both Italian) came up with a georgeous bouquet of yellow roses and with it handed me the ‘Key to the City”. The Mayor then read the proclamation which said that May 14, 2010 was now a “Tatiana Matejas Cameron Day”

My boys were super impressed. And I have to admit – I have never been given a key to any city in the United States…

I asked if I could trade the city key for a regular key of a little cottage somewhere in Vineland, but didn’t get an answer…

What a great little city – with an old historic theatre (Landis Theatre) and a cool coffee shop (Fuel House Coffee) that does similar Singer/Songwriter events like we do at our theatre in Cincinnati – and I’m sure there is more…

I was truly moved by the warmth and hospitality of the people and Msgr. Burton’s welcome to the Sacred Heart Parish.

My only regret is that I didn’t know it was my day in the morning – I would have thrown a big Tajci party!

I’m looking forward to going back to the city I have a key for!