My Album Takes a Leap Towards the Finish Line

My album, "The Impossible Girl," is going to be finished soon! I have dates at the end of this month for final recording and mixing. Then comes mastering. And then I can start to release it! I'm not even going to talk about dates until I have a finished product in my hand and there is still quite a process left before the end. Art needs to be finished, packaging designed, songs chosen, songs, ordered. It's a big job. I'm up to the task.

Thank you to all who have pre-ordered - we are making this album together and it is really really great. It has meant so much to me to have so many of you believing in me through such a dark time of my life when I didn't believe in myself. The last year was hard. So hard. But I've come through and what I have now is better than anything I've ever had.

And you know what? The songs that were good to begin with are now astounding. I love my music - wholeheartedly. I love performing again and I want to do it as much as possible. So thanks for sticking with me! You are loved and appreciated!

The pre-order will keep going, as the costs still need to be met. And I still won't be releasing until I have enough to pay for the rest of the process. Those of you who have not ordered yet can still do so, though I must warn that soon the $5 option will be gone - so if that is your price range, get it now!




I will have another album preview for you soon! As well as a recording from the show this Wednesday, May 12th in Boston at Mad Oak Studios - it is a live recording session with an audience, it is free to attend, and it will be fantastic! I'll be joined onstage by Helen Gillet, my cellist friend from New Orleans and what we are doing together is jaw droppingly beautiful. I will also webcast!

Webcast from Mad Oak Studio, Wednesday May 12th - 8pm EST (5pm US West Coast)



More news:



My next webcast with Molly Crabapple and Jim Batt is on May 20th at 9pm EST (6pm US West Coast.) We will again be discussing our animated music video for "The Organ Donor's March." We'll have new art to show you and Molly will probably draw another wonderful piece to auction for the occasion.

http://www.watchitoo.com/pro/kimboekbinder/

I've cancelled my June 18th show in California - at this point I'm not sure I'll be back in California at all in June. My life is a little bit up in the air as I navigate this crazy time before the album comes out and I launch myself back into the fray of full time music making and touring.

I'm very excited to have my album coming out, and a little daunted by the task of doing everything myself all over again. This art life is impossible. And that, friends, is exactly why I do it.

If you would like to stay well informed of all things "Impossible," please consider signing up to follow along on one or all of these platforms:

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It's All About Freedom

Dear World,

I am on a bus - hurtling from NYC to Boston, MA where I will have a show. I have been laughing and having a grand old time with Helen Gillet. I am fortunate to be free to express myself creatively in this way.

I just got this email, and because there is wifi on this bus, and because this moved me so much I couldn't wait, I am posting this letter that I just received from my friend Sylvia K. If it is the only thing you do today - read this to the end:

**

Dearest Kim,

I hope I can steal a second of your time and ask you to read this. This girl's story has been haunting me for the last few days, and I feel so powerless, but I do know that many powerless individuals can make a change.

In case you didn't know her : Kiana Firouz, 27 years old, lesbian, Iranian, she stars in a movie that'll open in London in a few days, Cul de Sac, a documentary about the condition of lesbians in Iran.
Kiana is now in England, she requested asylum there but the British Home Office rejected her application. She could be deported to Iran any moment now, where she will most likely be sentenced to death, after torture and reclusion, because of the explicit lesbian scenes in the movie.

In Iran, homosexuality is not only an unspeakable sin, but it is also against the law. The punishment for lesbianism involving mature consenting women consists of 100 lashes. This punishment can be applied up to 3 times, and then the woman is sentenced to death. For Kiana though, the death sentence could come much sooner, because of the proof contained in the movie.

What I wonder is, is there really nothing we can do? Why don't other countries spontaneously offer asylum to Kiana? I know nothing about these things, would it be ''illegal''?

As the little activist that I am, I wrote to numerous newspapers, politicians (both Italian and foreign), and to the British Home Office as was asked by the 'EveryOne' activists (you can also send protest e-mail messages to the British Home Office (public.enquiries@homeoffice.gs.gov.uk) requesting that Kiana receive refugee status as soon as possible, for she is a symbol of the international fight against homophobia and repression of gays and lesbians in Islamic countries.)
Still, no major newspaper even remotely talks about Kiana's story, nor do gay activists. People don't seem to care much at all. I do.

Last night I wrote to Kiana. Nothing much, only to say that I was so saddened and angry, that her story had moved and inspired me and that I was SO thankful to her for standing up for what she truly believed in.

This morning before going out I found her reply. It goes like this :

"Dear Sylvia
I am proud of you. we should proud of each other for being strong. I am so thankful for your supportive and kindly letter. It does not matter what is going to happen to me. Its all about freedom.
Take care and do not forget you are not alone, we are many...
Kiana "


I wrote it on a piece of paper and hurried out of the house.

I spent the greater part of this rainy day sitting in one of the University's courtyards, crying alone, while listening to M.I.A.'s song ''born free'' that suddenly was making so much sense to me. I mean, somebody who is in her situation, who has the strenght to write something like ''It does not matter what is going to happen to me. Its all about freedom'' breaks my heart into tiny insignificant pieces.

Because I look at myself, always complaining about homophobia in Italy, about the fact we have no equal rights, and I feel like a fucking piece of shit. Because for me, it is SO easy to go to London, to Paris, to Berlin and be the butchest fiercest lesbian around, without having to be afraid of being lashed 100, 200, 300 times and then hung, a thick rope around my neck, people rejoycing all around.

So please, please, please, I beg you, just talk to people about this, send Kiana's story to someone who could help, just raise awareness before it's too late.


For reference, here is the movie's official website with some contact info too
this is the petition endorsed by Kiana herself
and here you can find out some more about her story

Thank you SO much in advance.
<3

The Australians

This past week I've accrued a gaggle of Australians. Some of them have been staying with me. They are very distracting. Hard to get work done with all these attractive people wandering around my apartment in underwear and inviting me out for pie and speakeasies. But instead of going out for pie (and instead of blogging about something very important - I'll post that later today) I am posting this blog about this beautiful group of people I've had the great pleasure of getting to know. Mel leaves today. I get to keep the others for a little longer.




Mel is quick and energetic. She bounces from topic to topic. Her beautiful eyes sparkle with electric life as she tries to scoop up as much experience as she can. When she talks about the future her eyes get dreamy. She makes plans every day, attacks the city with a vitality I've never seen. Her charm and joy are infectious. She is happiness with substance. She is a force of nature and an inspiration.






Rachel is soft and delicious. She smiles when she talks and has a precise lexicon of Rachelisms that the others pick up and toss around for fun. Her small, graceful body fits into vintage dresses perfectly. Her red hair falls in curtains around her pretty face as she leans her head back to laugh. Often in her own little world she can drift away from the group and amuse herself quietly, only to bounce right back into the conversation with a quick word and a laugh and a toss of her ginger locks.






Jimmy's curly blonde hair cannot pick a direction from which to spring forth from his head and so has decided to leap out at all angles. His small leather pouch holds the treasures of his travels - rusted bits of metal and love notes from strangers. He sings with a voice stolen from the 1930's, he plays guitar with long, thin fingers that dance across the strings. His mustache curls up on one side and down on the other. The quality of his eye contact is breathtaking.







Anthony has a quiet magnetism. He is thin and willowy, looks stunning in a sequin dress. Both completely feminine and completely masculine. His hair stops traffic, his eyes stop hearts. He is stoic and can seem aloof, but is always engaged and present. He is a pole dancer and a painter. He is up for adventures and down for 4am rambling talks. Everything is genuine. And he smells like cake.