Saturday, December 24, 2011

Merry Christmas



Ava the Diva Celebrates Christmas With Mr. Bricks
Merry Christmas Friends!  Hope you enjoy the "Ava the Diva" Christmas episode & that you all have a beautiful Holiday & a New Year that is blessed beyond measure!


Blessings, Love & Music ~
Ava xox
www.avaaston.com
PS - To help make my Christmas Wish come true, please visit my kickstarter campaign & pledge.  Every pledge comes with my music & exclusive rewards, every pledge counts,
as low as $1.00 song download!
  

Thursday, December 22, 2011

2012 - End of the World



What? You didn't hear? Counting down to 12, 21 2012.
"It's the end of the world as we know it" at least according to REM and their famous hit from the 90's.  We all know we only have 365 days till we all face an impending doom filled with terror and destruction.  That is "if" you believe the apocolytical doomsday hopefuls that follow and believe in the Mayan calendar.  That is unless you are like Mr. Bricks who lives in the McDonald's drive-through and didn't know anything about it.



As for me, this rock can't stop spinning because the last time I checked, we haven't put a Grammy on my mantle yet, let alone got my "record deal" (heh-hem hello Mr. Bricks).  So, here's the thing, the illuminati is not going to do any crazy conspiracy to wipe us out, Aliens are not coming down to take us away and the Earth is not going to flip on it's side, and no a comet won't blow us out of orbit.  Why not?  Because I said so.  The Greek Girl has spoken!  The only calamity we may face is me loosing it on Mr. Bricks for letting yet another year go by without a record-deal.
Now let's just assume for a minute that we do in fact have less than 365 days to go and we do have an Alien race take us away or kill us off or there really is an illuminati conspiracy that devastates the earth, there are a few things that need to be checked off my "to-do" list first and foremost.  Lets just for giggles & grins call it my own personal "Bucket List" and pretend that the Mayan calendar is right.
1. Record Deal
2. Ava Aston World Tour
3. Grammy, Oscar & Emmy (and if there is still any time left, a Tony wouldn't look bad on my mantle just sayin.)
4. Raise boatloads of moola to give to all of the causes that are so very dear to my heart.  After all that's one of the greek girls biggest goals: to be a singing philanthropist. ;D  (Operation First Response & all things that help Veterans, the ASPCA - they are real Heros, JDRF Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, and last but not least the Progeria Research Foundation.) Visit the causes page on my website to learn more.
5. Workout with some of my fitness heros: Tony Horton, Jillian Michaels, Debbie Siebers, Chalene Johnson, Bob Harper, Brett Hoebel.
6. Adopt a gaggle of kids from impoverished nations and give them a wonderful life.
So you see it just can't be the end of the world as we know it yet, because I have a lot to check off my bucket list.  And no, if it is the end and I do not get the chance to check everything off of my "Bucket List" - John Cusack is not going to swoop in and save us either, just sayin'.
P.S.  ~ I will see you in 2013, God willing... while I'm on my World Tour that is. So if you want to help make all that happen, there is STILL Time to be a part of my kickstarter campaign.  Click the banner below to pledge even as little as a $1.00 song download. Hey, you get my tunes with every pledge & be a part of making all this happen!
Blessings, Love & Music ~
Ava xox :D
www.avaaston.com
Click the banner to pledge to my album ~ You get my Music with Each & Every pledge!!
Click here to learn about my KickStarter.com Campaign and how you can get involved.

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Being Mark Zuckerberg



Being Mark Zuckerberg - if only...
No I am not thinking of changing my name to Mark Zukerberg like that Rotem Guez who legally changed his name to Mark Zuckerberg and is currently in a heated lawsuit over something that Facebook deems inappropriate, (shocking I know).  I mean does this guy really think he is going to scare Facebook by having to say they will have to "sue" Mark Zuckerberg? It's not only stupid but plain idiotic if you ask me.
What I am talking about is like the movie "Being John Malkovich".  What? You never saw that movie starring John Cusack who is a floundering puppeteer who can't make anything of his career until a midget door on the 7 1/2 floor of some obscure office building allows him to enter into John Malkovich's brain and "become" him then only to be dropped out onto I-95 in New Jersey?  If you haven't seen that movie then you won't get what the Greek Girl is talking about.

What if you really could?
Here's what I am talking about.  With being the 9th most powerful person you could do just about anything.  John Malcovich is famous and all, but really wouldn't you rather be in the head of at least one of the top-10?  In my version of Being Mark Zuckerberg I would find a portal in the back of Kohl's right near where I get my K-Cups for my new Cuisinart Keurig Machine.  Then I would enter into the mind of Mark Zuckerberg and start work on making a special Facebook App that would be sent out to everyone on Facebook to come and "like" Ava Aston's Facebook Music Profile.  (click here to do so now).  This would immediately send several hundred million people to subscribe since I would also suggest it as well, (remember I am Mark Zuckerberg and people do what I tell them.  Just look at Obama's election.  Hello...?!?)
Then instead of going out to hunt bison or some free-range Buffalo like he swore he would do if he ever wanted to eat meat again, I would hire Chef Ramsey to cook me a dinner with Simon Cowell from American Idol and the X-Factor.  Of course this would be a dinner that Jillian Michaels would approve of - because you know the Greek Girl loves to eat healthy.  We would enduldge in a nice conversation about this amazing recording artist I recently found on Facebook and that she needs a "record deal" and that since I am not a "musical genius" like Simon is, that he should instead take her on as part of his record label. Then I would whip out my trusty iPad with the desktop image of Ava set as my desktop image and show Simon her Facebook page and how it now had million's of followers (since I just promoted her well me, with the new app I built).
Then with Simon eating out of my hands and wanting to sign on I would then insist that a private jet be sent out to her right away and have her flown back to LA where she will sign the papers and be given a handsome signing bonus sponsored by me, "Mark Zuckerberg" in the sum of "made out to cash" and in other words just send me the bill, it's on me.  This would allow her the ability to promptly record a whole new Album under Simon Cowell's guidance.  It would allow Ava to record with some of her favorites, Goo Goo Dolls, Sting, Daughtery, Mariah Carey, Kelly Clarkson and Rob Thomas.  I would of course note that two of whom are artists he helped discover on American Idol.
Now I know the tricky part is, I would have to get out of Mark Zuckerberg's head just in time to get on the plane to meet Simon Cowell in LA but not before Mark Zuckerberg knew what had just taken place.  So once Simon and I were off in our respective limo's I would have to jump out of his head.  The great part is that instead of being dumped off on the side of some highway in New Jersey like John Cusack, I would be dropped off in the Bliss Day Spa in Soho NY.  There I would be treated with the best services a girl could hope for, obviously paid for by me through Mark Zuckerbergs account, of course.
Then as the limo arrived I would be whisked away and off to LA to meet Simon Cowell and begin my worldwide whirlwind of a career as a rising superstar pop/rockstar.  Autograph's for everyone and charitable causes would begin as I would donate everything I earned by giving back to so many that are in need.  See I wouldn't need anymore of my royalties with the 1 million shares of Facebook stock I would've just wrote myself to have because when Facebook goes IPO next year I will be loaded to the gills.
But since I can't be Mark Zuckerberg and I am not on my way to LA to meet Simon Cowell (at least not yet anyway) I am stuck here like John Cusack trying to make it as a puppeteer.  But instead I'm trying to make it as a rockstar.  So, until I get my mysterious Facebook stock donation or Simon calls me up, I am working on getting my Kickstarter campaign funded. Who knows, Maybe Mark Zuckerberg or Simon Cowell will read this and want to pledge the remaining $15,000 to my campaign or better yet just sign me already so I can make some new music and kickstart my career into the stratosphere.
(A girl can dream can't she?)
Blessings, Love & Music ~
Ava xo :D
www.avaaston.com
Click the banner to pledge to my album ~ You get my Music with Each & Every pledge!!

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Before They Were Rockstars



Even Lady Gaga had a past before her fame
One of my favorite things people say to me is, "Don't forget me when" or "Oh great, I can say I knew you when."  Or like what I call pre-recognition which is when I go into a public place and I see people look at me like they recognize me or something. The reason is because to me I feel like they see something in me that means I will one day be "there" and have made it.  The trick is getting there.  We are all on a journey in this life and none of them are exactly the same. Just like none of us have the same fingerprint we all have just as unique a path in life.
Then there are the questions that really get me like when people say to me, "Why don't you get on American Idol" or "you should be on the X-Factor" and my favorite, "You should call Ellen Degeneres.  I hear she is always looking for new music and even has her own record label. Maybe she can put on TV like that Bieber kid."  Then I am left standing there like a deer in the headlights thinking, "Really? Really? Thanks I never thought of that, thanks for the tip" and of course I have to hold my breath and count to 10 before I either flip my Greek Noggin as I play the scene in my head as I grab the person and shake them profusely.
So, because these two sets of questions seem to be what I hear most of when it comes to my overall career I wanted to talk about what it means to be an overnight sensation.  So welcome to Ava's Before they Were Rock Stars 101.
Each and everyone of us know, or at least I hope we know, that before anyone becomes famous and successful as a celebrity rock star they all were something before they hit it.  They all (aside from rebecca black and Justin Bieber) had to have their share of no's and tons of rejection and of course failures.  It's like Thomas Eddison said, "I have not failed; I've found 10,000 ways that won't work."  So, most of us have to work to get to the top.  Or if you are super lucky or fortunate like Justin Bieber or even Brittney Spears to have had parents who helped make it happen or of course have the money to know the right people... otherwise it takes a bit of struggle to get to the top.
I know some will be surprised but even Lady Gaga aka Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta had her failure before her fame.  She was signed to a label and dropped, then picked up and now she's everywhere.


The Goo Goo Dolls... they will never ever leave my ipod.
Take the Goo Goo Dolls (one of my very favorite bands of all time).  Back in the 80's my chiropractor who now cracks my back actually opened for them with his own band.  He was shocked to hear that they actually made it as he thought they were terrible back then.  They were about to hang it up before some college radio station out in California picked up one of their songs, "Name" and the rest is history.
Look at Garth Brooks.  He was washing dishes and working odd jobs in Oklahoma for years to pay for his back and forth trips to Nashville TN.  He was told "no" by so many labels then finally one day, after x number of years he became the highest grossing artist of all time. He has had more number one hits than I can remember.
Shania Twain is considered still to be one of the most beautiful and sexy country singers of all time.  She is also one of the highest grossing artists of all time as well.  Yet before she even hit the stage she was living in her car. That woman literally walked on broken glass to get where she is, she is one tough cookie.
So, unless you are fortunate enough to have the $100+k investor who is willing to back your music project and walk you into Universal or Sony, you have to be on a Reality TV series, be a viral YouTube sensation or do it the old-fashioned way, like me.  The reason I say this is that someone recently was misinterpreting where I was in my career.  Yeah, I have nice social media presence but all of what people see is because I am blessed to have a sweetheart who supports all of my dreams.  He literally creates everything (almost) for my music career.  So it's not like I have a machine behind me.  It's quite literally just the two of us.
That is why when people are asking about my Kickstarter Campaign I find they are confused.  Many are surprised to find out that I am not sitting in my mini-mansion counting my zillion digital downloads.  Nope, not yet at least.  But what I am doing is connecting with my fans the best I can.  It takes a lot of money and hard work pushing through this challenging career as a singer.  So, when I was given the opportunity to record my "first" true album that captures me to the fullest extent I jumped at the chance.  That is why I created this campaign.  This campaign will give me the chance to finally have the one album of songs that I really feel will catapult my music career to the next level.
So, it's essential that all of my fans, friends and family get behind me and pledge even as little as $1 toward this project.  Without having this project funded, I will have to pay all out of pocket to put this album together.  Unfortunately I don't have a financial backer and I am not on a record label.  So it will take a lot longer to get this project done.  So, if you truly are a fan and you really want to see me get to the next level and trust me when is say, I want to pay it forward, then I need you to get behind me to Kickstart my album. Then you can actually say, "I knew her when" and I can say, "I won't forget you when I get there."
Blessings, Love & Music ~
Ava xo :D
www.avaaston.com

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Tis the Season to Shoplift



Nothing like a bite of stolen meat to make Christmas Grand! eeeewww!
So, I'm getting ready about to leave and go out to take care of some errands, but I had to check Facebook and my email before I left.  I open my computer and on the homepage of Yahoo, I see the Top 10 most shoplifted things for Christmas this year.  Now, I am thinking to myself, "who the heck actually does this crap anyway"?  Why would anyone think it's cool to actually steal something, let alone steal it and then give it as a gift?  How would you feel knowing your Rocking Elmo doll was actually stolen by your mom or dad? Or that you are about to dig into a nice juicy steak that was tucked snuggly around your uncles waist as he walked out the front door.
What am I talking about?  Well according to this blog:
These are the top 1o most lifted items this year.
(here they are with my own spin on them)
10. Nike sneakers. (now I love my kicks but I wouldn't dare steal them.  Everytime I went for a run I would feel like the police were chasing me.  I like to keep the Police where they belong, in my ears playing on my iPod.)
9. Chanel No. 5 (for real?  At least find a smell that doesn't smell like your grandmother.  How does the Greek girl do Chanel? Allure, Coco Mademoiselle, or Chance that is how you do Chanel, and for the love of God you do not steal it people!)
8. Let's Rock Elmo (nothing says I love my son/daughter more than a stolen mechanical doll staring back at you from under the Christmas Tree.)
7. Polo Ralph Lauren (knowing they all have security tags on them, I can't imagine a hole in the side of that shirt is fashionable these days.)
6. Axe body wash (seriously?  do you need to take a bath that bad?  I am sure you can go to any homeless shelter and they will gladly let you shower for free.)
5. Gillette Mach 4 (unless they got confused and thought it was the iPhone 4 I can't see the draw on this one.)
4. iPhone 4 (since I just bought one not to long ago and they had to go to the back stock room to get it, I can't see how you even could do this in the first place.)
3. Electric tools (sure they are expensive but couldn't karma bite you back and make that nice new deck fall on you while you are building it?  My conscience just would get to me is all I am saying.)
2. Jameson (where and how do you put a bottle of whisky on your body to walk out with it and not be noticed? What if you slipped and fell?  Not only would you be wet but probably pretty bloody from the broken glass.)
1. Filet Mignon (okay, this is just absurd.  Who steals meat?  I would be afraid to get a belly ache or some echolia poisoning from doing this.)
So, anyway, I head out and get my stuff done.  Then I am standing in line behind a screaming kid who is complaining he didn't get anything while in the store tonight.  Meanwhile his mom and her friend had a giant cart full of junk, mostly toys.  So, in order to shut the spoiled brat up they strolled him over to the baseball and other collector cards and had him pick out a pack.  The irony is that this kid doesn't realize just how lucky he has it.  First off, he has his mom and clothes on his back.  Not to mention he nor his mom looked like they missed out on their last meal, (Jillian Michael's would not approve, just sayin'.)  Let's not forget all the toys in the cart just inches from his face.  Did I forget to mention that there seemed to be children everywhere today literally bouncing off the wall, I kid you not.  Where are the parents?, standing right there... sadly.  My noggin was less than thrilled about it.
Then moments later I see a security guard and a cop racing towards the front of the store.  Turns out someone was busted trying to steal a package of steak they shoved under their shirt.  Inside voice: Wait a minute... didn't I just read about this before I left home today.  It reminded me of Dan Aykroyd in that 80's movie, "Trading Places" when he shoved a whole smoked salmon under his Santa suit and tried eating it through his dirty beard.  Eeeww gross!!!  Seriously, what kind of person does this kind of thing?  Here's the irony... The person who was busted trying to steal the high end meat was very well dressed and carrying a designer purse, (which by the way was probably stolen).  So the blog I just read was right.  I couldn't believe my eyes!
I swear, if people would just wake up and not steal things then the cost of the products would go down.  Because of shoplifting the stores have to pay for security guards and cameras.  Oh the stupid irony.  It's so stupid that stupid people who actually do steal things don't even see the irony.
Blessings, Love & Music ~
Ava xox :D
www.avaaston.com

PS, so I don't have to steal some meat in my designer bag help me reach my goal for funding my Kickstarter campaign so I can make my new album.  Just click the banner and give me a Kick! (you get to choose how much you want to pledge.  Each pledge has a specific music reward and  genuine Ava Loot that I will personally send out to you.)

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Christmas Cards


Can anyone say, "Jingle Bell Monkey Dogs?"

Every year at about this time we all go through the traditional "Christmas card" picking process.  We're given the choices, the pretty Hallmark box of cards, the funny cards in the Dollar General, the special ones just for Mom and Dad then of course you have the photo cards....  Which cards do I go for you may be wondering? Yep, you guessed it the Greek Girl is a photo-card junky when it comes to Christmas Cards.  I don't know what it is, but the chip in my noggin always tells me I have to dress my dogs up in some silly Christmas costume, and take a photo of them.  Some years they are in the picture alone and others it's me with them.  Either way, I am sure you can imagine the dibacle that ensues trying to get four spoiled rotten furbabies to sit still and all look at the camera at the same time.

All I have to say is thank God for VistaPrint.com, because before you could do this online sitting in your PJ's before bed at midnight; it used to be - I was standing in line at CVS kicking some plastic kiosk photo machine when it wouldn't behave at midnight.  The only real downside to using vistaprint is they have about a gazillion designs, and if you're not careful it'll suck you in and before you know it you've burned a few hours picking out just the right Christmas Cards...  ov vey'.
Anyway I hope your Card selection process is going smoothly and that you enjoy this photo of my furkids!  If you happen to be one of the people I regularly send a Christmas card to each year, don't be surprised if you get a little "kickstarter promo card" inside with it!  Of course that doesn't mean you have to sit around waiting to get that card to go pledge & get some good music, you can go to the link below anytime from now until Jan. 5th at 10:30am EST.  (wink wink) Because all I want for Christmas is a successful kickstarter campaign so I can make more music for you!
Blessings, Love & Music ~
Ava :D xox