New Year, New Song! "Incomplete"

Happy 2015!  I can't believe 2014 whizzed by and we're already here.  This past year has been a big learning experience for me.  Amongst many lessons, I learned just how important it is to stay true to oneself, despite any external pressures.  What I mean is - I learned about the ugly side of being a singer/songwriter - that part of this industry that makes one feel insecure, finding oneself comparing constantly against others, getting pulled down by insecurities despite all that had been accomplished.  I realized at the end of 2014 that I had never really given myself a chance to creatively breathe in almost 4 years (wow!), and that this probably accounted for my emotionally deteriorated condition.  I decided to give myself at least 2 weeks off social media and away from music. No Facebook, no guitar practice, no songwriting, no Instagram.  I thought it would be hard...but once I decided to let go, the relief was almost instant.  I'm not saying social media is a total evil - I love the benefits of this new technological age, especially as an indie musician.  But getting wrapped in it can really warp you, especially when trying to stay connected to some innate sense of creativity...that intangible muse that needs simultaneous freedom and isolation to stay well-oiled.  Anyway, you may think that once I decided on this new self-help step that everything got exponentially awesome.  Not exactly.  I came down with a bad flu that peaked with a 102 fever on Christmas Day.  I think my body had wanted to fall apart for a while and since my brain had kept it going and going for many months, it never had a chance to just let loose.  It definitely was no fun staying in bed during one of my favorite holidays (right up there with Thanksgiving), but it further helped me slow down a bit.  Breathe.  Embrace the simplicity of the world around.  Family, and all that jazz.  It also helped me appreciate all that came to pass in 2014.  I can't wait to see what's in store next!

In the meantime, I've got a brand new song that I debuted at Hotel Cafe this past December 8th.  I also performed it on Halo Halo with Kat Iniba, and the video is below. It's a song I co-wrote with my friend Matt Koelsch, with whom I'd done a Lumineers cover back in 2013.  Enjoy!

"Incomplete"  (by Matt Koelsch/Alfa Garcia)

Baby, I know this sounds crazy
when you come around I don't know what it is
Maybe, it's cause you're something different
from what I am used to
but you're out of reach.

CHORUS
It's nothing but a passing thing
boy, you got me wondering
what everything would be like if you were mine, mine, mine
Everytime I see you leave
wishing you were next to me
I don't wanna sleep
I feel like I'm incomplete.

You're tired, ran circles through my mind
You're just the kind of distraction I wanted all this time.
It's useless, I try to be productive
your smile is so seductive
You don't even try.

CHORUS

You fly so high, but don't come down for me
On restless nights I see you in my dreams
I'll let it pass, but until then
I'll just pretend that you are mine, mine, mine.

CHORUS

2013, you wonderful thing of beauty, you.

I must be the only person in the world who wants to curl up in a self-made fort and spend New Year's Eve in solitude and safe comfort.  It's not that I don't want 2014 to come, it's just that 2013 has been one of the biggest years in my life and I don't know what to expect now. I am both overwhelmed by things still to come (in goals personal and professional), and thinking that the new year could only underwhelm after the accomplishments of 2013.  So, my gut reaction is to be silent and look inward for answers, maybe look outward in honest prayer.

2013 was the year I released "World Go Blue," got radio play and press coverage nationally, toured the U.S. and the Philippines, learned how to be a better performer, got a manager, heard my song on E!, got a piano endorsement from Kawai, made 2 music videos, traveled every month except two (May and July), and started hosting a songwriter's round; I saw my best friend lose her mom, get engaged, get married twice (with me as her maid of honor both times), and have a baby; 2013 was the year my dad reached out for the first time in almost 10 years, the year I got closer to my only direct aunt/uncle/cousins in the U.S.; the year I learned how to savor the simple things with Rob; the year I made stronger friendships in L.A.; the year I collaborated; the year on which I could look back and say, "OK. Leaving the place where I grew up was a good decision."

Thanks 2013.  And 2014, I hope you understand why I'm a little hesitant to find out what you have in store.
But perhaps now I should just be proud of what happened and be inspired by the potential of things to come.  Life is still writing itself, after all...