Transcript of CS#85: Tajci Need a Break

Transcript of Interview with Tajci about Need a Break. This interview and others like it can be found at http://www.catholicspotlight.com

Listen Now to the audio version of the show.

Need a Break is available at The Catholic Company.
http://www.catholiccompany.com/catholic-gifts/5003022/Tajci-Tatiana-Need-Break-CD/

———————————

Note: Our apologies for the large number of uncertain words in this transcript.  The audio quality of the interview was not good enough for our transcriber to make out many things.

Chris Cash: Welcome to Catholic Spotlight. This is the Catholic Spotlight, the podcast that we talk about what’s new, true and exciting in the Catholic marketplace. I’m your host Chris Cash director of E-Commerce from catholiccompany.com. Your source for all your Catholic needs.

And today in this Spotlight, we have Tajci on to talk about her new CD, I Need a Break. As well as, anything interesting that comes up, it’s been a little while since we talked. Good morning, Tajci.

Tajci: Good morning.

Chris Cash: And you know it’s always exciting to have you on – we were – ‘cause you have such fun kids to play with. I know with it – we are not – *** [01:00] my kids can play with your kids now, but they certainly do like to.

Tajci: Yes, yes.

Chris Cash: So, can you share with us just a little about what’s being going on since the last time we talked? I think we talked probably last – oh, I guess, its probably been about a year ago since the last time you were on the show right before Christmas with you, Christmas DVD coming out.

Tajci: Yes. *** [01:28] that’s right you know. And as it was the end of the year and every – you know I still like to *** [01:36] you know I will have time these – one of these days, like not three months from now, but actually tonight to put my pictures in the album. So, I have just like a pictures in the album – put in pictures in the album, its kind of like – it has become a mesaphor – metaphor for me for you know taking time to look back at the year and kind of like doing an inventory of a kind of you know.

And so, yesterday, I didn’t get to do it obviously because you know it seems like every year it just – it does just only stay a metaphor. It never actually realize itself. I think with you know all these you know computers and ipods and everything who does scrap booking anymore. So, I…

Chris Cash: Well, it’s just a different kind of scrap booking; you organize your pictures into photos on your computer and put notes with them instead of…

Tajci: Yes, but you know – yes, but you know what I still like to see a book. You know like the computer you close it, you shut it off and it’s gone, and it’s this virtual reality, okay. I still like to feel my book and see how the pictures age over the time and how the pages get used from turning them over and over. You know I like that, I don’t know. I – you know it’s just horrible, it’s like I feel like I am sounding more like my grandmother. But so, you know I was looking through and I was – its just incredible Chris, you know you go oh, my goodness, was I in Boston and what did it say, February 2008, wow. Or you and the main – oh, and this constant *** [03:22] and you feel these spaces of these people that its only a year and it seems like the kids and Mathew and I have been through so many places, and that’s so many people. And it’s just – and it really is its *** [03:38] the – it doesn’t escape the memory, but it takes the escapes the trails of time in which it had happened. So, if you ask me what has happened in last – you know a year ago, I can just tell you a lot and you know I have to just basically get on blog and look at my diary, my personal journal and just – and thus remind ourself, because – myself because its just – it goes so fast and so much. You know every – yes, we do a concert and there is usually the same concert you know. I first two *** [04:13]. I do believe *** [04:16] Mary Story in May and October, I first – again, *** [04:21] even then *** [04:22] out, but in the middle this summer I did – I attempted to do two albums. I was working on two albums, one with my dad’s song book, which is all this beautiful standards that he’s taught me, which I haven’t finished yet. That has been a really hard thing to work on for me, and it is – it must have been very, very good therapeutic kind of you know meditational thing that I needed, and its going to be beautiful ones to finish. But I have to be treated with patients and certain delicacy you know.

And of course, We Need a Break, which I really wanted to do in summer because this is the album – this is an album that has a lot of the songs that I had been singing like Hallelujah you know that I released the single for mostly on the Web, and for Radio by – but not on any particular albums, then – or like I have this song Only 16 that a lot of people ask me, they wanted it but its not on the CD. So, and I think it didn’t *** [05:34] concert all the time. I also have that song Let Them Fly, which I launched for graduation last May and that’s a beautiful song that could go – you know that could be a – what I think about that song is I think a perfect song *** [05:50]. You do make your virtual online scrap book or it’s kind of like a video of your kids getting married or kids graduating or your kids just growing up you know. That’s a perfect song with as a sound track. It’s not really distracting of what the visual is and its saying, Let Them Fly and we do prayers Let them Fly.

And then, so that there is songs like that. And then I also have songs that I wanted to sing like – I wanted to give my own version, so such as – these are my edition, Awesome God. And then I have few songs that I wrote extra like Need a Break, which I didn’t release it that song for this particular album. I just wrote it as a poet actually of a – what was going to be a story of *** [06:41] of the *** [06:43] Shrine in *** [06:44]. And this is in my synopsis, this is about a woman whose life is perfect and she has everything. She has a big *** [06:54] at home, beautiful husband, children and everything is – everything in her life is perfect, yet you know when she is alone by herself, because kids are at school and husband is working and she looks at her perfect little home and there is nothing to do. The dust is all picked up; she goes what do I do next? You know why do I feel this anxiety you know and then she goes to shopping mall and buys her a pair of shoes and buys her a purse or maybe doesn’t even go to the shopping mall, but still has this emptiness, and that was my song Need a Break.

Chris Cash: And they’re all very good songs. And I really love how everyone one of your albums always has such a different style, so it never seems like you’re just buying the same album over and over.

Tajci: Well, this – and this is a – this is much more – well its – how should I put it, it’s very well produced. I had this album; I worked in the song, three different studios – four different studios. Two in Cincinnati and two in Los Angeles with – if you look at the credit list, and there is – I don’t know 20 people, and that’s not all. I mean, I didn’t get half of the names of people that worked on it in Los Angeles studio. I had two extremely amazing musicians, engineers work on it. So, this is – I really went full out on this production wise. I used *** [08:29] who does work with *** [08:31] and I used Tony *** [08:34] for some of the electronics stuff who worked with *** [08:38] who is just tremendously talented musician who was *** [08:46] with a Blue Man Group and opening for Blue Man Group and stuff like that, who was a national musician for many, many years. So I am really excited about musically about this CD. It just offers a different style, and you can still hear, you know you can still hear the – what I do live, you know my little ethnic elements, my ethnic drums, the pads, you know the – you can still hear that in the studio as well. And I forgot, there is the finally a rocking version of I do Believe. Its funny because now I have got six different produced versions I Believe songs and I never felt I really had a really good like a used *** [09:41] kind of I Believe songs, ‘cause it really is a great – it really is a great song. And that it has a really cool drills and a – I guess, I just can see it being you know played as a – like I say youth rally’s or closing numbers or even just to get people going.

Chris Cash: And you mentioned a few minutes about the scrap booking and the looking back at your diary, I just want to make sure that we throw in here that recently you and Mathew have started updating your blog on a very regular basis with the – with pictures and short stories from your travels?

Tajci: Yes, that’s how it goes. I started blogging and I – when I do it, I want to – I have this big thoughts that are – that turned into really nice and *** [10:43] loved this book coming to me on and said how much they enjoyed the inside and the experiences. But that took a lot of – a long time for me to actually – not to conceptualize, because I have these thoughts all the time and that’s what I write in my virtual diary. But essentially put it out for me was it took a long time because I usually – most of my thoughts like that come you know during traveling, and there’s just not enough time for that doing traveling. And then, I was feeling bad for my Croatian fans, so I would translate them into Croatian too, which doubles the time which then discouraged me for – from doing it. So, then Mathew took over basically and then said you know what, *** [11:25] pictures and like in his – you know I don’t want to make this into a women verses men, but you know men, I think Mathew uses very few words and just put the picture there just keeps the *** [11:40] going where me on the other side, I’d like to stay on one subject for a long time and think about it and just got *** [11:46] you know try to solve the whole world through this *** [11:53] issues. So, that’s not be – we’re a happy combination I think.

Chris Cash: And the pictures you posted – and the pictures you posted are usually pretty fun. Like I know there was a picture recently of him digging a very deep hole on the beach.

Tajci: You know yes, and that’s a side that he’s welcome to do this, so you know I don’t usually do *** [12:21] beaches. And so…

Chris Cash: Does he ever try to put you in the very deep holes he dig *** [12:26]?

Tajci: No, no, no, no, no. I happily stay on the outside, watching my boys digging on the beach while sipping my coffee or something, reading a magazine or trying to glance you know. No, I – but I enjoyed it. I – you know I’ve really enjoyed it, how playful Mathew is and *** [12:45], he did put me in the hole. Actually, I did go into the hole once when we were in Florida and on the weekend tour, and the wind was so strong that sand on the – you know how the wind takes up the sand and it actually hurts in the skin. And so, he and – he was digging the hole and I was actually in the front coming to the beach, and there was – Mathew and the boys were not virtually seen and I saw the van parked outside you know on the parking lot. And I walked, and the first thought of course I had what happened, who are they – did something happen to them? You know I started – you know we all start panicking and then I just saw a tip of few hairs sticking out from the sand and I looked and they were all in the whole, just playing in the hole, out of the range. So, we all got into the whole and there you go, there is little adventure of Mathew’s been hole in the beach.

Chris Cash: That must have been some hole to fit all of you with that?

Tajci: Yes, yes. Oh, yes, it’s like a little sport underground. It’s amazing.

Chris Cash: So, I guess, Mathew must have some more blood in him.

Tajci: I don’t know, but it took some years you know. I am thinking how can I make this skill useful? Like what do I need in my backyard?

Chris Cash: That’s…

Tajci: Oh, well, but boys have to play and you know that’s another thing about I Need a Break CD you know. That we girls we need to take breaks, but let us take breaks in way that we need to take them you know. Even if it means – whatever it means, its you know – if it means for Mathew, go and dig a hole, that’s fine. That he’s the guy, he is boy, boys will always like to play, that’s good. But girls have to play in our way, so *** [14:40], we all need to dig our holes whatever they are.

Chris Cash: Or find some chocolate, well as my wife does.

Tajci: Chocolate or shoes or makeup or whatever it is, whatever it is. Or just do walk by yourself.

Chris Cash: All right, we’re going to take a short break to hear from our sponsor, but we’ll be back in just a minute to hear more from Tajci about Need a Break and her other projects. This is the Catholic Spotlight.

[Break]

And we’re back on the Catholic Spotlight with Tajci talking about Need a Break, as well as some of the other projects that she has gone on right now. Now, you mentioned a few minutes ago about the other CD project that you have been working on with your father’s song book. How is that coming along?

Tajci: Well, it’s coming – you know this is something that’s very different from what I do now, so it’s very hard to get into that frame of mind. You know once I get on the road, I – you know – all of my focus goes back to the music that I am performing and to the stories that I hear, and then to really you know offer a very prayerful night, a very – you know a night where you reflect on whatever I am performing, whatever its you know story of faith or it’s a fictious story or on the activity or marriage story. And my dad’s song book is obviously, you know stuff that he – songs that he taught me how to sing or love to hear me sing. And they’re all mostly 40, 50, 60 songs, like a What a Wonderful World, Autumn Leaves, Those are the Days, you know stuff like that which you know obviously has a big deep connection in my heart with my father. And who really thought me how to sing and who gave me this, this is not just love for music and skill for singing, but also more importantly, how to share that music. And who taught me what music can do in people’s life. And this is what I’ve been, you know I’ve been thinking, with all this going on right now with the economy and I have everything that’s going on in America, how – we see a lot of people that are just getting depressed and sad. And I’ve tried – now, we’ve been doing this for ten years you know, almost 10 years, traveling in the churches, and I still know that – you know and I am very grateful for being able to offer a beautiful tremendous music to those people that are willing to come to church, but most of those people already are people lets say here and there some of the *** [18:45], some of this successful in dragging in you know along a friend or a family member who has lost faith somewhere on the way, and then I get a chance to share my music with them. But I kind of wanted – you know I – music is so powerful, and I see the need in people – and people who are non-believers who have hardened their hearts, who have turned away, who are maybe focused on this world, the material stuff. You know – I also think if they were able to sit down and sing along, because in Croatia we always sang together and share this music together.

You know something would happen in their hearts. They are – there was something *** [19:33], because that’s what happened, that’s what basically happened to me. I was brought to God to music. You know I was – I truly was moved – God had moved my heart when I would listen to the music and I would sing. And when I sang, I knew that he was hearing my voice. That somebody out there must have been listening to not my voice, it’s like you could hear it but my voice is from heart and my heart is singing. You know what I mean? This is all very hard to explain. And then, of course learning about music and learning about peace that *** [20:05] had written centuries ago or *** [20:08] even earlier than that. Or we are going *** [20:10] that’s even earlier than that you know and then you think well, how did that music survived if it wasn’t divine and *** [20:16], if it wasn’t moving something so fundamental in human hearts that it has to be connected with its creator. And that’s how I basically you know – that was my only hold onto something that was – that might have been out there that’s not – ‘cause you know I was brought up in communism and we worked hard. The – you know that the Darwin’s evolution theory and that was – we are really born into it and we studied it and it all made sense. And we all taught that there is nothing else, but Chemistry and Biology, absolutely nothing.

There’s no point in believing in anything that you know like God or having religion. And like I said music and arts was one place where I just would not comment. You know either they could teach me science and *** [21:15] me with the formulas and I am science *** [21:17], but the music and arts was – I don’t know something was missing, and that’s when I saw you know *** [21:23] and God eventually came to the church. So, you know – so, that’s how I kind of *** [21:33] about bringing my dad’s music, because that’s it kind of all began for me. It was father’s passing few years ago, I needed to do this anyway for me to read this as a – you know something that my kids will have. They would know what my dad had taught me. And hopefully, it will be enjoyable to just listen to and share and sing along you know.

Chris Cash: Now, I saw recently that speaking about your kids that your kids had been on a performance on a local news station recently?

Tajci: Yes, they sing with me every concert. You know I – they’ve been at every concert from the moment you know they are in my belly, until now they are always there. I don’t think they missed more than one or two of ‘em *** [22:35] various reasons, but and when they are there they sing. You know even when they crawl up on to the alter to sing, I believe and then they just you know they can’t talk, but they would sing ah *** [22:50] you know from that stage to we’re now down to sing What a Wonderful World with me. And you know that moment is precious to me more than you know more than the concerts when I used to sing for thousands of thousands of people. Its that only when I put my arms around my eight year old who loves to sing with me, and I don’t *** [23:16] what can be better, what could I get more from my child and *** [23:21] of music than that.

And they also know you know all of them understands their little role. That’s what’s so – most touching and most moving. And most important is that you know they – if they see a beautiful movie and they all know what that means – what it means that their hearts are touched, ‘cause it makes them cry, then they *** [23:41] just touched my heart. And recently we had seen a show that *** [23:46], has really, really touched. He was crying and it was before Christmas and he said you know I don’t really need anything for Christmas. I have everything I need I have my friends and my family. And then, I said this is how beautiful *** [23:59] says, because you were so inspired that your heart was moved to this place of perfect goodness. You know and he said, “Oh, will it stay like that forever?” You know I don’t know if he was wishing that he would still get a Christmas gift *** [24:16] that he was losing *** [24:19] his heart would stay like that forever like that. And but it was so cute and then I said, “Probably, it will stay for a little longer and then it’ll go away, because that’s what hearts do. And then, but then you will see another show and another program or another something that will move you or read a book or you know a – hear a story from someone or see something in – around you that will move heart.” And he said, “Is that why we do concerts.” And that’s exactly why we do concerts you know and I bring that to people when you know we still don’t charge anything and we still say look I paid money for the *** [24:58] that moved *** [25:01] done so hard, you know this is – yes, we offer it. Had no charge and it’s really, really good music.

I keep telling and you know – I know there is still little bit of a mistrust you know how good can a free *** [25:16] to the Catholic Church be, but it just really does. Then the music that comes out my musicians and that the show that we do is really, really beautiful and powerful. And…

Chris Cash: And I would attest that *** [25:31] having been to a couple of your concerts that they are very high quality and very moving.

Tajci: Yes. And that you know I – know these are of course I start – I open     every concert with this *** [25:46] you know with this invitation Need a Break you know, its I need a break, you need a break, do we need a break or take a break. You know *** [25:58] Need a Break it’s all contained in the act, and it really is. I’m trying to invite you to a get rid of all your – my – get rid of all your thoughts, all your worries, all your anxieties, just leave everything away. Just let this music pull you in. You know if you can do that that’s when I pray, that’s what I am trying to do. You know if I am able to – and that’s hard when you have children, especially when children are young and mothers ask me you know what do you do for your prayer life when the kids are little away, and I honestly said, “Not too much. I pray when they are in my arms, I tried to pray when they are crying; I tried to pray when I am running around them. I can’t – I was never able to really pull myself away from them to go to pray. I never thought that was natural, you know what I mean I really admire women who are able to take that hour for themselves and you know leave the family at home, leave the babies to go to church or wherever they’ve to go in front of our lords and pray, its just them and God and that’s what you know – because that’s where its *** [27:18] for me, that’s really there – where the best prayer is for me is when I am able to completely take all of this out of my mind. And all the noises – you know all the little worries, all the little things, oh, have I done this or should I do this or I want to prayer *** [27:36] for this person and that person, and you know when all of that ceases and you completely empty before the lord and you completely in this deep, deep, deep arms stillness and silence, that was a biggest and strongest prayer for me realizing. You know that’s when I hear God’s love and little *** [28:03] hear him, feel his grace around me and for me, and its very hard to do in this world you know.

So, that’s what I try to do with this album and this my – with my concert. *** [28:21] this album is more like get up and dance. Its just well – it has a few charts that are – it has – that are out, I am trying to move from my you know all flowey and *** [28:37] sound tracky music to a little bit of rhythm, so possibly that’s *** [28:45].

Chris Cash: You know I heard from Mathew, your producer/husband/slave driver that you are trying to get the…

Tajci: That’s what he calls himself.

Chris Cash: No, I just made that up. It sounds like a slave driver sometimes when I hear him talk about your schedule. But he said you are trying to get 90 concerts work for this year. So, did you want to share, contact information on where people can go if they are looking to try to book you for an engagement?

Tajci: Its – there’s a little *** [29:24] that contact us or e-mail at Idobelieve.com and all those e-mails come to Mathew, and that’s extremely easy. We are – we provide all the materials, we provide tremendous concerts. We – one of these days, we need to do a video of – from the moment we pull up to the – like a documentary behind the scene on tour. You know that would be really interesting, because I decided to call our *** [29:55], because we don’t have those here the bus anymore. So, we call – I call our *** [30:03] van, a Mary Poppins *** [30:06] Mary Poppins fan, okay. ‘Cause you know – do you remember Mary Poppins, her bag, how she keeps taking stuff from it, but it doesn’t really fit. ‘Cause it *** [30:18] the bag, but its holding there. That’s exactly when we come through full *** [30:24] charge, and the full time its over *** [30:27], and people start coming out and kids start coming out and toys start coming out, and bag and *** [30:36] things. So, key words, this is the curve, but then that *** [30:41].

And then when you walk into the church and that first note of – and the music start and lights go down, and the stage lights come on, you think oh, my goodness this is like – this is a big show, this is a big production. And you think all people in this whole – front of you, you know *** [31:02] people, so it’s just really, really magical. It’s just – I am very excited. We’re – I don’t know, it’s a wonderful *** [31:12] tour and meet people and offer this music to them and see them react, see them cry. And that you know that guy that I just – I always *** [31:25] have a very special place in my heart for them, it hasn’t been through *** [31:29] by his wife. And well, that’s you know in the beginning of the show you know she looks at me kind of like I don’t know why we’re here, and I am completely *** [31:38] and just say that in the – but I am just here because of her you know. And then at the end of the concert, she comes to me and she takes my hand and his eyes are all red and just shying me. And she’s just you know can *** [31:56] teach yourself and you know. That’s why I do the concert for, so.

Chris Cash: And you know what I appreciate about – what I appreciate about your concert is you know you walk in and you are like oh, its going to be a concert or its music, but not only is it very moving and beautiful music, but there is always an underlying story that goes with everything in there that just pulls it all it has.

Tajci: The concert – yes, yes. And the concert makes the song so powerful, you know if you take any song that’s out there and apply to a certain situations in your own life. I mean, that’s how people look. They look at to a particular music, because the song you know it reminds them up a particular evening when they were in high school or the song reminds them of their kid’s baptism or something. You know and then those songs become powerful and moving. And that’s exactly what I do, I put every song like a context within a larger story, which is all very *appliable* [33:05] to everyone’s life. Its amazing how one song in the context that I propose that particular evening, we translate so differently to five different people who at the end of the night come and said, “You sing that song exactly like situations.” And the next person comes, “You are singing that same song for my particular situation,” and it was completely to a different situation. And that’s so beautiful. See that is the – that defines quality of music that brought me to god when I didn’t believe and I didn’t know that God existed, and that’s why I love it. I just *** [33:46] you know.

Chris Cash: Well, I think we have used up our time Tajci and it – well, as I said at the beginning, it’s always a pleasure to have you on, have a chance a – to talk with you. And wish that we had more time to spend, but I know you’ve got to get back to your family and so do I. So, thank you very much for coming on. And all you listeners out there, please go over to podcast Alley and vote for our show. Help us to get some higher ranking, so that we can bring more people in to hear about these wonderful Catholic products. Leave us a review over on iTunes; join our Facebook group even where I tried to get out information to people before the interviews happen. If anybody has questions that they want to send into us, you can find out about it, they are over on our Facebook group in the Catholic Spotlight. Any final words?

Tajci: Well, thank you Chris for what you do. And I am going to thank all your supporters and your fans and you know lets all work together and you know – I think we *** [34:57] how this country can get together on the same issues, we witness this every few years. And of course, when a tragedy happens, why can’t we do this, why can’t we all be together and work towards the same goal, you know witnessing God’s love and being a light to the world. Let’s do it. And you know people like you Chris, that’s what you try to do. And God bless you all.

Chris Cash: Thank you very much and God bless you too.
———————————

Transcript of Interview with Tajci about Need a Break. This interview and others like it can be found at http://www.catholicspotlight.com

Listen Now to the audio version of the show.

Need a Break is available at The Catholic Company.
http://www.catholiccompany.com/catholic-gifts/5003022/Tajci-Tatiana-Need-Break-CD/