 Hey everyone, I hope your summer so far has been amazing!! you know it's getting close to the end of Summer when you start to see the back to school adds on TV but wow I have loved mine so far this year and it's ramping up to get really busy by September. Hi to all my new mailing list friends and many wonderful new followers here - It was time to write a newsletter and blog and catch Ya'll up on stuff and things :-) I have had such a wonderful busy year so far, January saw the end of quite a journey with my involvement in rock band Lydias Libido but it quickly turned out to be such a wonderful blessing in disguise with no regrets. I got an amazing new manager Tim Bendig who is just a wonderful guy so supportive and has been kicking butt on my behalf. Not long after I quit the band, I dyed my hair pink for a much needed change and then received the news that Jem and the holograms was being made into a major motion picture. I got a wonderful private message on Twitter from director Jon Chu that he wanted to write a special part for me and include me in the film which was such a major shout out to the original Jem fans. I said "YES" of course and excitedly flew to Los Angeles to shoot my top secret cameo in May 5th. 
It was a pretty surreal experience to say the least, walking onto the lot and seeing the trailers marked
"Jerrica" "Aja" "Shana" "Kimber" and getting my top secret sides for the day. I took this selfie with my Jem doll (had to bring her with me) as I waited to be called to hair and makeup. As with showbiz you get all made up and dressed and then sit for 7 or 8 hours but I actually spent much of the day getting to watch the girls and actress Juliette Lewis work which was pretty awesome. Director Jon Chu was incredibly gracious and made it known to the whole cast and crew that I was the original Jem and Jerrica and they all took a moment on the set to applaud and welcome me which was incredibly kind and humbling and also really put the pressure on to try and deliver with no rehearsal and all kinds making it happen on the fly with jon throwing ideas out and just trying stuff. The Holograms are beyond adorable and AMAZING!! and I'm not allowed to tell you what I do in the film but Jon Chu is a huge Jem fan, he grew up with the series and his heart is seriously in this film and although I know the fans are freaking out about changes that had to be made to bring it to 2014 I think it will be wonderfuly done. Jon actually sat with me at lunch and told me some top secret stuff that really made me happy so now we just wait and see when Universal will announce the release date. 
Cramming everything in before I left LA I was asked to shoot photos for a talented friend Brad Everett Young for a wonderful campaign to keep music alive in schools - check out the link for more info www.dreamloudofficial.com It is something dear to my heart as I was a super creative musicial kid and was lucky enough to have the music programs that really contributed to me growing and learning my craft. These are some pics that have been published from the shoot with more to come soon:   
This summer has also been majorly rockin on the music front as I have been singing and performing live with the most amazing group of musicians I could hope to work with in the Pink Floyd tribute band www.bricksinthewall.com We have been playing to sold out crowds at House of blues venues in New Orleans, Dallas, Houston, we also sold out an outdoor venue in Corpus Christy TX for 3500 Pink Floyd fans. And have another show this weekend in San Antonio TX outside downtown at night!!! at Backstage Live so fun I can't wait. It's just one of those things you hope to experience as a performer when you have a packed house of fans that know every song and every lyric and they are having an amazing experience singing along with you with cell phones now lit up and waving instead of lighters. I can't even begin to describe how rewarding that has been as a performer. I also get to sing my butt of with two amazing women who have become my dear friends. Tiffany Belle and Rachel Beene and we get to sing the beautiful background vocals to Pink Floyd and sing the iconic "Great gig in the sky" during each set each taking a section and the crowds just go bonkers. Everyone in the band is just a total pro from all the musicians to the amazing sound and lighting and lazar crew - just so blessed to be doing this for over a year now.   
On the voice-over front
I just worked on a new animated short film with director writer Mike Salva. I was a part of his animated movie in 2012 Pound Dogs that went on to win many awards including two development deals with MTV and now he is embarking on a brand new project called HG Chicken with
Bobcat Goldthwait, Jonathan Katz,Todd Barry, Troma Entertainment's honcho, Lloyd Kaufman; comedian Maria Bamford (Arrested Development); Trevor Lissauer (Sabrina the Teenage Witch); and legendary horror filmmaker Herschell Gordon Lewis.  I'm sure it will be as deliciously twisted as Pound Dogs and It was super fun to be invited to be a part of, can't wait to see it. Lastly I have been traveling and will travel much more this year with convention appearances in the US and Internationally for my work on Jem and the Transformers cartoons. I was invited to appear at my first Transformers convention in Pasadena in June and it was really awesome. I was reunited with my Jem co-star Jack Angel and my old LA voice agent Arlene Thornton. Got to spend some real time with the amazing Transformers voice talent and then got to see Sue Blu who played Stormer on Jem having not seen each other since we worked on the show - the weekend was beyond fantastic and the fans loved it!!!  Come see me at the following events and check my schedule on my home page under EVENTS for details
Thanks for letting me share my travels and fun and happenings a and you can unsubscribe any time you need to much love!!! Sam xoxoxoxoxoox |