Dear Diary

Sipping coffee and enjoying this beautiful sun filled day in New Zealand. We have had the best summer ever!! Sung for a wedding the other day…on the beach…no wind, the sun shinning and the water calm as anything…and later was blessed with eating New Zealand’s finest sea food…paua and crayfish…yum! I’m so grateful to be doing what I love. Singing and eating haha

Once again lots of shows throughout New Zealand recently. I totally loved singing at the “Te Ra O Te Raukura” festival recently with thousands of people making the atmosphere ecstatic! I had the privilege of meeting George McArdle, the former bass player for the Little River Band (Reminiscing, Help Is On It’s Way) and doing a couple of shows with him…a very humble and genuine guy…was a lot of fun.

Other than shows I’ve been busy working on my next single, which I’m absolutely loving…so watch this space 

Well the last couple of months have been a crazy time for me…a few ups and downs…such is life but interesting how we get through these things. So my thoughts are with everyone that can relate…and also to those affected in the Christchurch and Sydney fires. Love and respect to you all.

Anita

Flip flops, barbeques, beaches and ice blocks … the New Zealand way at Christmas!…and I was happy to be home for it this year!!

So nice to have family around and take some time to chill a little.  I hope you all had a fantastic time with friends and loved ones…a special time for many but also a hard time for others.  My heart goes out to my friends and family in Christchurch that had to go through another major earthquake two days before Christmas where many houses went without power and water…you guys are soldiers and you have our support, love and respect!

Leading up to Christmas there were lots of shows and I was so honoured to be asked to sing and feature in my home town at the “Christmas in the Square” … where the Mayor of Palmerston North greeted and congratulated me on my years successes (photo below) … It was an amazing feeling to sing with my band in my home town … where I haven’t sung in about 7 years.  The crowd were amazing and I can’t wait until the next time.  MC’d by an old school friend and now a DJ on one of the major radio stations in the country, the day was fantastic from start to finish (despite the rain lol)!

“Christmas in the Park” in Porirua, Wellington was also a fantastic success and the crowd were amazing…lots of friends I haven’t seen in a while were there also which was an added bonus!

It was nice to have a show where the States comes to NZ haha … and K-Ci & Jo Jo did just that.  They did a fantastic show here in Wellington where I had the honor of performing at the after party…and having an evening full of humour and fun as we hung out to the early hours of the morning.

In this last month the Mayor of Wellington (capital of NZ) also sent me a letter of congrats and had me come to her office to meet…such an honor and experience to engage with such a fantastic person who genuinely cares for her city and works so hard to bring about positive changes…man I was getting a history lesson in there…it was amazing lol!

This last year has been so amazing and has definitely been a year of “first’s”… so grateful to everyone around me who has championed me along the way…I love you all so much and wish you God’s blessings for the New Year ahead.

Love,

Anita

Let me start off by saying thank you to all of you who have supported me and encouraged me through my US Tour on Facebook, Twitter, My Space, emails etc etc.  It was my first tour EVER in the clubs and I absolutely loved it !   One of the highlights was performing on the same stage as had Whitney Houston, Lady Gaga, Madonna, Britney Spears, and Beyonce at Manhattan’s famed “Splash” club in NYC, for a Bravo TV sponsored event that also featured tv personality Countess Luann from NYC Housewives…she’s such a character ! And wow, who would have thought that you could cram 2500 people into a club lol!  What energy !   

The Hamptons was also the bomb (check out the advertisment they did http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiFknaKEc4s), Sag Harbor on a Friday night is teaming with people and Montauk is so beautiful ! …on this one I had the band, they always do an amazing job…and the crowd loved them!!  Thank you Jessie, Fro, Darryl and Ron xx   

Next up was the DJ Times/Promo Only Music Convention in Atlantic City, where I got to debut my new dance radio single “Complicated” to all the radio and club dj’s from around the US with a standing-room only performance at The Showboat …and even got to see 50 Cent perform…was O for Owesome!!!!  My managment team are amazing and I couldn’t do it without you guys…love you long time!!!
Another Club Tour is in the works for September along with a number of full band shows, so I’ll  be coming back very soon!  Although I must say that I missed NZ, so it’s nice to be back home…even if I have had to swap hot sunshine for wintery blasts!  First time Wellington has seen snow since the 70’s!!!  We’re definitely enjoying the novelty! OK, time to go and throw some snowballs …where my friends at?! haha  

Love you guys! Anita xx

It was so exciting going to Florida…my fist time ever and I had an extra day to explore!  First stop was to attend to some business, and check the backline out for the St. Petersburg All Star Rock Tour concert.  The place was quite a surprise with no studio sign out front …outside it looked like an old 1920’s movie theatre, we were wondering if we got the address wrong…but walking inside was like finding hidden treasure. An amazing studio..one of the biggest I’ve seen, and used by the best….J Lo !  Antique and specialized gear everywhere, with an amazing staff…..who could have known!?!  They keep it on the down low and exclusive, and I can see why! So I met one of the super-tech’s there, “Mad Mike” …he not only fixes the gear but also invents gear to use….I tell you it was like devouring chocolate, listening to him speak and learning and exploring his cavern of inventions, toys and tricks, wires, concoctions, you name it …I thought I was going to get to explore Tampa the City, but instead I marvelled like a student in a science class learning about and being introduced to never before seen instruments…it was unbelievable!  

The “All Star Rock Tour” show was 20 mins away in St. Petersburg, Florida. It was held in a beautiful 2500 seat theatre on the bay next to a museum.  Once again I had the privilege to open for this great bunch of guys, such a amazing band of top 40 singers/musicians…and to be accompanied by my New York band was amazing!  The audience was energetic and embracing as always, I think I made a few people blush !! haha….I enjoyed having fun with you all….you were fantastic! 
Thank you for all the beautiful comments and messages I have received since the show…I look forward to the next time I am in Florida…this time was far too short!   Lots of love to you all! Anita x