Size isn't Everything!

Christmas tree has come down, time to make plans! I've been talking a bit about making Album No 3 up until now, but I've changed my mind.

Remember, back in the day, when you used to buy singles? As in the plastic variety, not the downloadable doodads. For an artist, it was a big deal to release a single and get the physical product manufactured, distributed etc. You'd usually have at least two singles from the album and then release the album (LP) itself.

Some people opted to release EPs instead but I always found them annoyingly short. As a listener it meant I had to get off my bottom after only 15 or 25 minutes to press the repeat button or change the disk, compared to the at least 40 minutes playing time you'd get out of an album.

Well a lot of this is irrelevant now isn't it? I know one of my greatest enjoyments is making playlists for my plethora of music-playing gadgets, from a selection of my favourite digitised songs. I can make that playlist as long as I like. And so you could say that whether the artist chooses to release a single, an album or EP is really irrelevant - as a fan I can choose to cherry pick my favourite tracks from my nearest download etailer anyway.

I got to thinking, I don't HAVE to release an album. In fact, if I opt to go for something closer to an EP, I can actually do releases more often. So... from now on I'm going to be talking about my upcoming EP 1 in a series of 3, although let's hope I can come up with a more interesting title than that. And I will probably make the plastic version as well as the digital doodad.

I know there are the purists out there who still like to hold those shiny disks in their hands...but just think of all that exercise, getting off your bottoms and (hopefully) pressing the repeat button on my new EP!

Time to Pop the Cherry

Hi there,

I find it pretty intimidating playing brand new songs to someone for the first time. It’s one week until my first original gig of the year – where I’ve committed to perform some brand new songs destined for Album no 3...

It was a bit easier for me in the past when I mostly co-wrote songs. Like a trouble shared is a trouble halved, so the blame for a dodgy verse structure or naff lyric is not entirely your fault when more than one person has authored a song. This time, as part of the whole ‘do something that scares you’ routine, I’ve decide to write the whole bloody album by myself. The audience at Lizotte’s next week won’t hear entirely virginal songs, however – they will have been heard first, of course, by my fabulous accompanist.

I thought I’d try to make his job easier by recording rough demos of the songs I’ve written so far. A bit of midi drums and even a bass line, to give him the vibe man.  After his first listen (while I watched my knuckles turn white in another room), he said he didn’t ‘quite get’ one of the new tunes. But that one is supposed to be my Goldfrapp-esque dancefloor hit! He said it sounded like monkeys had played the drums in the opening. Things took a turn for the even worse when he started talking about my show tune. SHOW TUNE!? Oh you mean the sultry tear-jerking blues number? Oh dear. Things thankfully did improve when the songs were stripped back to the vocals and chords and his arranging skills were added on top.  Percussion-loving simians have now been banished and Minnelli-like melodrama has melted away.

Note to self: do not under any circumstances attempt to be a music producer. Don’t give up your night job!

The Best Things In Life are Frightening

Hi there,
Now I'm not talking about extreme sports here although perhaps the reasoning is similar. If you're a performer reading this, have you ever been backstage, about to go on and felt your nerves knot, stomach churn and brow dot with sweat? Maybe you're saying to yourself, 'What if I forget the lyrics? What if nobody likes what I do? Why the hell do I put myself in this position?' I read once that Deni Hines regularly vomited before getting on stage for a particular show.

I think part of the reason why the hell we do it is Adrenaline and other natural chemicals. I've decided that a bit of fear is actually good for you, and dare I say it, feels good. I think of all the greatest happenings in my life and fear has been an important factor in all of them. Leaving home at 17 to live in at a country university where I knew noone? Exciting! Leaving a well paid corporate job to become a professional singer. Crazy? Perhaps. Scary? Definitely. Falling in love? Cue that fight or flight syndrome, quickening heartbeat and of course that lovely Dopamine.  Having a baby - surely one of the scariest but most fulfilling things a human being can do?

So sometimes I wonder if I do things in my life on purpose to get my pulse racing, without even realising. I did hear someone advise once, that you should do something every day that scares you.

My latest attempt to keep myself unnerved is booking two gigs where I've committed to play a whole swag of new tunes. That's daunting on its own for me. Trouble is, I booked the gigs - and started promoting them - without actually having written any of the aforementioned songs.

16 days to go until the first gig. Yes I am freaking out just a bit. I am a notoriously slow songwriter and 16 days would be a reasonable timeframe for me, for the first draft of one song. But I can honestly say I like living here out on a limb. The best things in life are frightening.

Terrfiy me, please.

What Do You Hate Not Doing?

What do you hate not doing?

I love this question. It seems easier to talk about what you love doing, but for me, it's the things in life you can't do without that really matter. I've had a helluva year and while things seem to be on the up now, I've never thought more about the things I would miss if I weren't around anymore! I saw this blog from Derek Sivers (founder of CDBaby and all round smart bloke). I've also just finished reading his fabulous book 'Anything You Want'. 

Things I hate not doing? Definitely in order: 1.Being with my family and friends. 2.Writing music and singing. 3.Eating. I love lots of other stuff but they're the only ones that really matter. Here's Derek's blog, below (from http://sivers.org/blog).

'We've all asked ourselves, “What do I really love?” or “What makes me happy?”

I've wrestled when the emotion-based answers conflict with expectations. (I'm a musician, but I love working alone. Does that mean I should be a producer instead of performer? I'm an entrepreneur but I hate doing business deals. Does that mean I'm more of a CTO than CEO?)

Last week I thought of it a different way, that I like better:

What do you hate NOT doing?

(What makes you feel icky, irritated, annoyed or off-track if you don't do it enough?)

I hate not programming.

Programming, to me, is the ultimate purposeful creativity. I have so many ideas in my head of websites that would make the world a better place if they existed, services that could help people. It's just a matter of taking a thousand hours to type it all out and turn ideas into reality. Any week not programming is a disappoinment to myself and maybe to others.

I hate not writing.

There are so many things I've learned that I think would help other people to know. Things I wish someone had told me sooner. Things that have made my life better, brighter, or wiser. I want to tell everyone these things before I die, in a well-explained way so they're not misunderstood, and easy to pass on to others. And more new ones are added every week. So I have to keep writing to get them all out. Any day I'm not writing, I'm falling further behind in this goal, which I makes me feel worse.

I hate not biking.

I love the adrenaline rush of riding my bike. I love knowing it's good for my health, and making my legs and cardiovascular system stronger so I can bike across India soon. I love it so much that when I don't do it for even a few days, I get annoyed. When I see other people biking, and I'm not biking, I get jealous.

I hate not talking with friends.

I'm in my own head so much, that I love hearing what my friends are thinking about instead. I love how my friends think. I care about them and feel icky when too disconnected from them for too long.

Asking the double-negative seems to be a better indicator of what I really love doing, than asking it in the positive.

Anyway - I'm probably overlooking some of my own, but now I'm more curious to hear yours.

What do you hate NOT doing?'

I'm a Which? I'm a Singer, I'm a Writer, I'm an 'Other'?

Aka 'Cover Bands Suck'


When I was a little girl I wanted to be a singer. I was persuaded pretty early on that singing should be considered as just a hobby, so it wasn't until my early 20s that I grew a backbone and did something about it. At that stage all I cared about was getting up in front of people and actually singing - and ideally having them like it. I was hugely envious of the duo at a local restaurant - they were actually getting paid to sing in front of people. I left my upwardly spiralling career in Public Relations. Microsoft Australia was my main client and they couldn't believe I'd leave them for the uncertain world of music. After a few months of said uncertainty (and Dad asking on a weekly basis 'Have you got a 'gig' yet?') I found myself in regular singing work and actually getting paid for it! Now have you ever noticed how your heart's desire, once realised, becomes simply a stepping stone to the next, even greater desire? So now the aim was to write, perform and record my own songs, be not just a singer, but a...wait for it - artist! Artiste? 


I did get to achieve my new heart's desire, still doing it, but I still 'just sing' too. I've talked about it before, but there's an amazing snobbery around singing covers, ie other people's songs. We definitely need to support new, original art whether it be music, theatre, literature etc, otherwise culture becomes stagnant. But I think there is a place for performance of all types. Even if that involves my third rendition of 'I Will Survive' this week thank you very much. 


I remember earlier on in my career being introduced to another singer-songwriter at a party. We naturally talked about our music and then he asked 'What do you do for a living?' because it is a rare person indeed who can make a decent living from their own music. I said proudly 'I'm a singer.' Suddenly I had a communicable disease going by my companion's reaction. He waxed lyrical about selling out, selling soul, selling just about everything - this is what I was charged with because I sang other people's songs? This was the first (of many) times I had come across this reaction and I wondered how he made his honourable, principled crust. 'I paint houses,' he said. Oh.


Of course, I've experienced the other side too. There have been more occasions than I'd like to count where I've been pouring my heart and soul into the performance of one of my self-penned tunes only to be interrupted by 'Do ya know 'Eye of the Tiger'?' from an enthusiastic audience member.


Anyway, I came across an interesting blog by Artist Manager (among other things) Corie Anziano on covers vs originals and there was quite a bit of heated commentary too. 


By the way, on that 'supporting original music' topic, I'm performing some brand new tunes at Lizotte's in Dee Why on Wednesday November 9 and El Rocco Jazz Cellar on Friday November 18...both fabulous Sydney venues - would sure be great to see you there!
Cheers,
Amanda