My Dream Written 11 April 2008

My Dream

My name is Trudy Rushin, and I have a dream. It lives within every blink of my eye and every beat of my heart. It floats freely within every breath I take. Every word I speak, every sound I utter, is a precursor to the inevitable realization of my dream. I vibrate with the expectation of this dream coming true. I have a gift that I want to share with Cape Town, South Africa and the world – I am a singer-songwriter, and my dream is to complete the recording of my debut, original CD.

I was blessed to be born to a mother whose passion was singing, so it was no surprise when, at an early age, my gift for singing became apparent. My first-ever “public” appearance was at the age of six, when my Grade 1 teacher had me stand on her table and sing for the visiting school inspectress! That was in 1968, at Heideveld Primary School, on the Cape Flats. Little did I know then what a huge part of my life singing was to become.

As a child, I took piano lessons for about three years. However, it was only ten years after my Grade 1 debut, that I started playing the guitar, which changed my whole life. I started writing songs shortly after learning to play, my joint passions for words and music merging, seamlessly and inexorably. To date, I’ve written more than 100 songs, each one born out of my observations and experiences. My songs have moved from being sung in the safe solitude of my room to being performed in public venues, in concerts featuring my compositions exclusively.

Over the years, I have sung at weddings and funerals, at birthday, anniversary and retirement parties, at product launches, at restaurants, in churches, at hotels, on pristine wine farms, on breathtaking mountain slopes, at exhilarating seaside venues, on small stages, big stages, in staffrooms, in classrooms, with bands of various sizes, and by myself. In 2003, I started performing with someone I’d met at high school, Keith Tabisher, a brilliant guitarist and beautiful friend, and our duo performances have been some of the highlights of my performing career. Every time I open my mouth to sing, I know, without a doubt, that this is my truth. I breathe to sing. I inhale the inspiration that life sends my way, I patiently allow for germination, then I exhale the songs that have found their birthplace inside of me.

In 1997, I realized a medium-term goal when I did a demo recording of four of my songs, with a band of fantastic jazz musicians. It enjoyed some airplay, and I knew then, 19 years after writing my first song, that my real goal was to record a full album of my songs. In 2004, two people came to listen to me at a restaurant gig, and, in the course of the evening, told me they were busy setting up a record label. I told them my dream, and that was the start of my journey with Dala Flat Music, a fledgling record label with a strong focus on Cape Flats as well as non-mainstream musicians. Those two amazing people were Andre Manuel and Chantel Erfort.

In 2004 and 2005, I did two demo recordings with them, at the same time appearing at poetry evenings and concerts, to get my songs into the public arena and build up a following, in anticipation of the CD. After much background work, we finally went into the recording studio in July 2006, doing some piano and vocal tracks at the SABC (South African Broadcasting Corporation) Studios in Sea Point, Cape Town. We continued the process at AudioLounge, the studio of sound engineer, Dave Subkleve, a consummate professional, skilled, experienced and passionate about what he does and someone who convinced me, by what he was able to bring out in me during recording sessions, that my dream was realizable.

While we were riding that adrenalin wave, a few unforeseeable setbacks brought the process to a premature halt: I got hoarse after going back to teaching, and we decided to drop one of the musicians from the album. Since then, other issues have prevented us from completing the album, with one glaring truth being the lack of funds.

I believe strongly in the team of Dala Flat Music and the sound engineer, Dave. We enjoy a mutual respect and I trust them completely. We share a value system - they fully understand the essence of my music, and have never tried to change my compositions or the way I sing them. I would love to complete the album with them, because of their sincerity and integrity.

Today, in April 2008, I can appreciate the benefits of not having completed the album then; I have written exciting new songs and have continued my journey towards being a strong, empowered, black South African woman. I needed to learn other, important lessons before the album could be completed, lessons that have taken me closer to understanding what it means to live my truth. I am now ready to complete the recording of my debut album.

I am a divorced mother. My songs tell stories of life, many of them tinged with humour. At the end of every day, after my day at work, after having cooked supper, overseen my children’s homework, put them to bed, made lunches and ironed clothes for the next day, I soak in a fragrant, candle-lit bath….., and I dream my dream. Afterwards, I pick up my guitar and sing, often missing out on sleep.

My name is Trudy Rushin, and I have a dream. It lives within every blink of my eye and every beat of my heart. It floats freely within every breath I take. Every word I speak, every sound I utter, is a precursor to the inevitable realization of this dream.

I vibrate with the expectation of fulfilling my dream.