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Performance
Credits
Lead Vocals: Carlotta Y. Diggs Backup Vocals: Carlotta Y. Diggs, Fred Reliford, Karen Etheridge, Daphne Keyboard: Conrad Askland Guitar: Sean Clavin Drums: Dom Calvano Latin Percussion: Adrian Hernandez
Production
Credits
Producer: Conrad Askland Engineer: Conrad Askland at Road Records, Victorville, CA
Liner
Notes
“Each one of us has suffered a loss. Each one of us has attempted to remember someone. We all long to remember what was, how it used to be before. Most of the time, we expend a lot of energy trying to forget, thinking that time and distance will heal the pain of our loss. We try to distract ourselves, to keep ourselves busy. But distance and time can, in fact, be painful. They take us even further away from all that we have lost. Forgetting the past, repressing the past, denying the past, ignoring the past, is no comfort at all”
-Naomi Levy
This project was conceived out of sadness. This project is my gift of remembrance. This project was nurtured with love. This project was the baring of my soul on my journey through the process of grief and it covers each emotion that I felt as I made that journey. Sometimes dark, sometimes hopeful; Sometimes angry, sometimes at peace; Sometimes pragmatic; Sometimes spiritual!
This project is a story to, and about, the loss of my Angel, Lauri Amber Reinke-Diggs, at the age of twenty-four. Lauri succumbed to complications of Systemic Lupus Eurythematosis on December 10, 1999 and on that day, a part of my life went with her. She was a tender soul bundled in a beautiful body and she cannot be forgotten. Lauri was an advocate for justice and majored in Political Science with the goal of becoming a defense attorney. She was in her senior year of College when she made her transition.
Hers was a life filled with as many experiences as her father and I could give her. As a result, she was an accomplished dancer, winning numerous awards throughout the State for dance competitions. She was a well traveled young lady who had been overseas three times by the time she was nineteen years old. She was a debutante, a gourmet cook, an artist, an orator and a scholar.
More importantly, Lauri was a friend, a counselor, a loving sister, a devoted daughter and, of great importance to her, a cherished wife. My husband and I give thanks to God for choosing us to be her earthly parents. We feel honored to have been his choice to bear, nurture and raise one of his most special angels. While we miss her (her touch, her voice, her smile, her smell), we will never forget her. There is no distance between us, we shall never repress or deny the past! Lauri Amber Reinke-Diggs was our gift from God. We gave her to the world, a perfect Angel. Now, we have given her back to God.
I hope that this project speaks to everyone who has suffered the loss of a loved one. Know that you are no alone, that you hold the power to choose a response to your circumstance. Never be defeated, never grow bitter, never lose your faith as it will lead you to strength, to wisdom, to compassion and back to You!
Peace and Blessings
Special Thanks And Gratitude:
I remember reading the “Thank You’s” of numerous artists and often wondered, “How could so many people be involved in one project?” Well, now I know! I realized, working on this project, that you need a lot of personal strengths to accomplish this kind of task – Just having a voice is not enough! You need a love for the art, you need commitment, you need dedication, you need strength, you need confidence, courage, friendship, hope, freedom, faith, power and GOD!
First and foremost, thank you God for my many gifts! “There is one life, that life is God, that life is perfect, that life is my life now!” You gave me the life – you gave me strength!
I have to, of course, thank my beautiful and precious daughter, Lauri, who would say to me, “Mommy, I love the way that you sing. I love the way that you can soften and mellow out every song that you sing. So, just keep singing Mommy! I will always come to hear you sing” I thank you Lauri, I love you Lauri – You gave me Love!
Thank you Jamin Diggs, my son, who told me to never give up, “don’t let anyone bring you down, don’t let anyone step on your dream – stand up, be strong and do it”. You gave me dedication and commitment!
Thank you Sean Rhodell, my vocal coach, for being my friend and especially for loving and being a friend to Lauri. You gave me courage!
Thank you, Karen Etheridge, my friend and background vocalist. You have been there when even I thought that I couldn’t be there any longer! You gave me friendship.
Thank you, thank you, Jennifer Vaughn-Blakely, my true- true sister/friend who said “I believe in you and I know that you can do anything!” You gave me hope!
Thank you Robyn Cross-Walker, for believing in me and for opening doors for me. You gave me wings of faith! I know that God is always working in our lives, he brought you to me and I thank him daily for that!
Thank you Dom Calvano, vocal sessions/drummer, for your ear, your imagination, your understanding and your honesty! You gave me freedom!
A Special Thanks to Conrad Askland, the man, the producer, the co-writer, the musician, the technician, the Magician. Thank you for seeing my vision, for understanding my vision and for never giving up on me – Damn!!!!! You gave me Power!
I would also like to thank Fred Reliford and Daphne (Background vocals), Sean Clavin (Guitar) and Adrean Hernandez (Latin Percussion).
A final thanks to Mike Pipich – What can I say? Many Blessings and Perfect Peace to each and every one of you!
Music without words means leaving behind the mind. And leaving behind the mind is meditation.
Meditation returns you to the source. And the source of all is sound. — Kabir
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