The smaller the audience, the harder it is

Hi there,

At first glance this might look like a blog bemoaning lack of audiences at live music nowadays. Fear not! That is a well-worn whinge and I'm going somewhere else. 

I've been lucky enough from time-to time, to perform in front of big audiences. I think the largest was an Australia Day show in front of Parliament House in Canberra, which had an estimated live crowd of 30,000 as well as a television audience of who-knows-how-many. And I'm sure that's a drop in the ocean compared to the regular gigs performed by the Beyonces of the world.  People often ask performers how we cope with nerves on such a big stage. But the weird thing is, I think it's way more nerve-wracking to have a small audience! 

The Swell Sisters

I have a show called 'The Swell Sisters' which is a retro-style girl group act. Recently we were hired for a big birthday party interstate and the birthday boy went all out with a proper stage and professional lighting rig and sound set up in his football-field sized backyard. Trouble is, in a fit of pique from the weather gods - rare in that particular part of the country - it rained. I'll cut short the long story (which includes being plied with copious amounts of expensive champagne while waiting for said weather gods to stick their heads in) but we ended up performing inside, stage-less. In fact, we performed in his lounge room. Of course the number in the audience was the same as it would have been, but the whole thing was just so much...smaller. Instead of seeing the tops of heads and silhouettes of waving arms in front of the stage, we could see the whites of everyone's eyes and there was no getting away with any holes in our fishnets. In fact I think that is the difference, when you're up close and personal, you need to be 'authentic' and you can't get away with the broad strokes that distance allows. There's no escaping someone snarling at you with their arms crossed, or deciding Facebook on their phone is more interesting than you, or worse still, just leaving. And you can probably hear the discussion with their friend about your ugly shoes (yes this has happened to me).

Well the Swell Sisters' birthday performance went great - but we felt we had to work so much harder than usual and we all wondered how we would have coped if this had been in the early days of our careers. Experience is everything. Interestingly, we met someone at that party who managed very large entertainment events and he was interested in booking us. Only thing, he said, is that he was concerned we wouldn't be able to handle working on 'a large stage'. He took some convincing but we managed it in the end. Watch this space for an announcement on that very exciting Swell Sisters show which will be interstate towards the end of this year.

So next time you see an artist in a small space with a small audience, particular if it's in cabaret mode (ie people are actually watching and listening intently) don't underestimate the skills and nerves of steel they have had to acquire to be able to put themselves on display at such close range. And please pretend you haven't noticed the hole in their stockings. 

PS The Swell Sisters will be performing in front of a pretty large (and scarily, music industry-based) audience at this years ACE Awards in April, so maybe see you there?

Cheers,
Amanda
www.theswellsisters.com

Put me on the Door?

Hi there,

I've said 'Put me on the door?' many times myself and it seems such a small ask, doesn't it? Please just write my name on that precious piece of paper - the one in possession of the door biatch - so that I don't have to pay to get in the club. There was one period of my life and career that I wore as a badge of honour the fact that I never paid to get into any gig I wanted to go to. It was my selfish 20-somethings and I felt that my industry somehow owed me that.

I'd like to think that passing years have made me wiser and less selfish but truthfully, it has been my experience on the 'other' side of the velvet rope that has really made me think differently. When you ask for free entry to a gig, who is really paying the price?

I am now often the promoter of the shows I perform in. The promoter is the person at whose feet the financial responsibility ultimately falls. Depending on the deal, too few tickets sold can directly hit the promoter in the hip pocket. Venues are less willing to take financial risk nowadays, so will often offer 'door deals'. That means a promoter gets paid only by receiving a percentage of the ticket prices and out of that, must pay the band, possibly the sound system and engineer, promotional costs and any other expenses. Obviously in this situation, any tickets given away are tickets that can't be sold to help the promoter make costs. 

When you're an indie artist putting on your own gig, you're a promoter whether you like it or not. If all your friends and family ask to be 'put on the door', what chance have you got to break even let alone actually get paid for your work? For an indie gig I promoted at The Basement a few years ago, I worked out that even with a house almost full of paying punters, if I included all the hours I had spent working towards this event, my hourly rate would make even a Nike factory worker blush! 

I once invited an agent to see a show I was in, and I offered to put him on the door. He said he would be happy to come and see my gig but insisted on paying his way. His belief was that it was our duty to support each other in this industry and always paying to see gigs was one way to stop live music being devalued. That was the first time I had heard this particular point of view, and I eventually adopted it as my own.

So, is all this to say that no smart businessperson would ever give away tickets? Not at all! Recently I was working with an international act in their first time to tour in Australia. One of the venues for this act was only half sold, two days out from the show date. In this case, the act's promoter had negotiated a guaranteed fee, so the financial risk lay with the venue itself this time. As part of the deal, the venue had offered the promoter a small number of 'comps' which they had duly given to various industry folk - but they found they needed more freebies than were offered. Obviously the venue would prefer to sell than give them away so they decided to cross their arms and refuse to give the promoters any additional free tickets. But in this case, that is exactly what the venue should have done. In fact, they should have been giving away tickets with gusto! A full room is in everybody's interest. A full house creates the illusion of success - it's more exciting for the artist and even audience members prefer the atmosphere of a well attended show. Giving away unsold tickets is such common practice (I was lucky enough to see Pink at the Entertainment Centre as a result of this strategy) that it has a name - it's called 'Papering the House', and it is an art. Don't do it too early and risk losing last minute sales - and when you do do it, be discreet so that paying audience, media and reviewers don't suspect!

The bottom line is that giving away tickets directly affects someone's bottom line one way or another. We all know there is no such thing as a free lunch - we need to also realise there is no such thing as a free gig!

All the best for Christmas and a safe and successful 2016,
Amanda

Jessica Mauboy and Shoes for Sale

Hi there,
I don't know the real story behind Jessica Mauboy's no-show up at the mic at the Melbourne Cup but the thing that has surprised me is the reaction of many musos. On a lot of the local Facebook groups there has been an awful lot of bile about 'corporate whores' and bitterness in general about business and its involvement in music. 

We all like to stick it to The Man at times but a lot of people seem to believe current music has lost all its integrity because of today's corporate greed. The thing is, we would likely have no Beethoven, Bach or Mozart if it weren't for financial patronage in their times - whether from Monarchs, the Church or the Aristocracy. And weren't they the equivalent of corporations of the day? Many composers like these couldn't afford to eat, let alone write music for a living, without sponsorship. And let's face it, these patrons didn't provide the dosh purely for the love of art. They demanded a requiem for a funeral here, a waltz for an upcoming dance there and a sonata for the wife's birthday celebrations - composers commonly churned out classical works to the tune of the clanging of sponsorship coinage. Have things changed so much?

A few years ago my original band was invited to go to Malaysia to help promote Hennessy and Moet. I still wonder if that was all a fabulous dream. The companies hosted us in luxury for a week in Kuala Lumpur and Penang, all expenses paid plus a generous fee. In return we were to perfrom two short shows at events promoting their brands. I could sing my own songs, wear my own clothes and oh, here's the clincher...I was 'requested' to drink a glass of Hennessy on stage and to mention the brand. Then, if I didn't mind, I would be seen drinking a glass of Moet champagne after the set. Are you kidding me? I love corporate sponsorship. Not for a second did I feel like a whore - my integrity felt wholly and securely in tact. But isn't it all about personal integrity? And isn't integrity just that - personal? Hennessy VSOP Cognac is a glass of liquid heaven to me and Moet is in the top 2 of my favourite alcoholic beverages (Veuve Clicquot, I am willing to make myself available for you anytime). I am perfectly happy to endorse products like these, in a responsible way to an appropriate audience. I guess not everyone would feel the same way, after all alcohol definitely has a dark side - but we all need to march to our own drums. If McDonald's or Benson & Hedges came a-knocking, I'd have to decline their offers of private jet trips because I personally believe those companies and their products are evil and I wouldn't be able to sleep at night. I said 'no thank you' to The Voice because it didn't sit well with me, but I'm sitting on the sofa cheering at the top of my lungs when friends appear on the show. One person's sell-out is another's symbiosis, so we can only do what feels right for us.

If you decide to be a professional musician, you are agreeing to exchange your art for financial reward. When money is involved there are always strings attached - it's up to you whether you feel those strings have turned you into a corporate puppet or you're just meeting reasonable terms of your employment. I can't imagine having an issue with sponsored footwear but when it comes to other fashion decrees - perhaps when they involve what not to wear - it could be a different matter...So, the first professional singing I ever did was with a girl group and we got offered a lucrative gig at a nightclub in Asia. Trouble is, we would have had to perform topless. Needless to say, we politely turned down that offer - a bridge way too far for all of us.

OK, back to Jess. One media report says she had a panic attack because her own management and the Race Management were bickering about her sponsorship commitments (ie wearing the shoes) minutes before she was to go on. Perhaps she should have worn them as part of her contract, after all there's a price you pay for getting paid such a high price! But no matter what kind of business transactions are involved, in the end music and performance is an affair of the heart and spirit and 'business' needs to understand that too. That's why these things are called relationships right? Both sides need to try to relate to and empathize with the other.

The only way to escape the association of music and business is to not enter into music as a business, and that's a fair choice. But for me, I think the right relationships - with understanding on both sides about what both sides need - can result in a good back scratching that benefits everyone. So I say bring it on!

Till next time,
Amanda
www.amandaeaston.com

When are you Too Old to Sing?

Hi there,

I had my 25th birthday while living in Japan, where I was singing with cover bands and writing songs. The Japanese always seemed obsessed with age to me. On meeting someone new, the questions would invariably be, in this order: "Where are you from?" and "How old are you?" When I answered '25' to the latter they would breath a sigh of relief and say: "Well that's OK then, still young". After experiencing this over and over I asked a hip Japanese friend what was going on. She explained that many Japanese people believed a woman was like a Christmas cake. Oh. Well I'm glad I asked... Luckily she elaborated, after an embrassed silence. "A Woman is like a Christmas cake because like the cake, after the 25th she is considered to be past her use-by date". Yes I can hear your gasps from here - shocking isn't it! So imagine my surprise when recently I find out that a current JPop (Top 40 Japanese Pop) Star is a girl by the name of Namie Amuro. Astonishing because guess who was a major JPop star when I lived in Japan all those years ago - the same 'girl'. So she is now 37 years old! Now don't forget we are talking Top 40 Pop! In Japan!

So are things changing? If an ageist society accepts a 37 year old as a Popstar then surely anyone can! A friend asked me recently, 'How long do you think you can keep singing?' It's not as if I haven't asked myself this question many times before. 

Putting aside all the Strolling Bones jokes, have you actually seen The Stones perform in recent times? That famous Jagger strut is still in fine shape and the whole band sounds rocking. There seems to have been a resurgence of late, of 'legendary' artists on tour and most of them are still getting rave reviews. There have also, of course, been past stars wheeled out again that have crashed and burned. I'm pretty sure I know why some heritage acts still have it and some don't. I'm no pedagog but I know that if I don't do any singing training or actual performing for more than a week, I can feel the muscles weaken. The Stones have never stopped doing what they do. Stars of the '80s who became stockbrokers or drug dealers when their starlight faded, only to jump on the Retro bandwagon more than 20 years later, can't expect to have the same skills they did in their heyday. Because they didn't keep it up. They didn't keep the muscles working.

Well that's me covered then. I have no intention of taking off more than a week here and there - I miss it way too much. So in decades to come when someone points out the 'little old lady with the (insert bright colour here) hair, wearing the sequins', you can say: "Oh that's Amanda, she's getting ready for a gig."

Till next time,
Amanda

Jazz ain't jazz!

Hi there,

I can't count how many times my brief at a gig has been 'jazz' but I've ended up doing everything but. Even wikipedia admits 'Jazz' is a slippery beast to define. I'm talking Ella, Louis and Duke when I say Jazz. My mum says Jazz and means 'lively'. I've heard many a muso make a booboo and call that 'jazz'. I think a lot of venue managers like the 'cool' that the word jazz conjures but don't actually want the blue notes. After all 'Jazz on the Deck' sounds much better than 'a bit of pop music outside there past the pokies'. 

So when I've been booked for a 'jazz' gig and ended up doing anything but, it's not because I'm being a rebel - after all I know where my bread is buttered and I always aim to please the client. But sometimes, well, we entertainers actually know what we're doing! We are being booked because we are professional and know our craft, right?

I remember being booked for a wedding where the bride gave us a list of all her favourite (non-Jazz!) songs us to play at the reception. They included songs from Garbage, Portishead, Blondie, Morcheeba and the like - a woman after my own heart when it comes to taste in music. But not for a wedding. As soon as we cracked out her requested rocker: 'I'm Only Happy When it Rains' you could see the tumbleweed rolling across the barren dancefloor. 

So we played 'Moondance' and 'Love is in the Air', like we always do at a wedding and suddenly all was right in the world. The bride was happy because everyone else was - and cavorting bodies on the dancefloor is the best yardstick for a wedding band's success. 

So I soon learnt that when dealing with less-than-experienced clients, my job was to nod my head, smile and say 'sure' and then turn around and play what actually works rather than what was asked for. What is the point of hiring a professional and then telling them their job? When you hire a chef you may choose the dishes and of course it will be to suit your tastes, but you don't tell them exactly what ingredients to use and how to combine them. Jazz, rock, polka - whatever works is what is best. In the end, as Mr Ellington himself says, 'it's all music'.

See you next time,
Cheers,
Amanda
www.amandaeston.com

Shameful Tributes!

Hi there!

And happy 6th Day of Christmas.

In a newsletter I sent out a couple of weeks ago, I was promoting a show I produce and perform in, called 'The Princesses of Pop'. It is a fully costumed all-ages show paying tribute to Lady Gaga, Rihanna and Katy Perry. A friend of mine, who is a keen music fan and supporter, often passes on my newsletter to his mailing lists to give me extra promo. This time he gets a caustic reply from one of his muso mailees. Along the lines of... (Ok, I'm copying and pasting here, so this is EXACTLY what he said with name deleted to protect the innocent):

'Supporting and promoting a cover band of US mass marketed talentless artistes. I didn't think you would sink to such subterranean depths - SHAME, xx, SHAME'

Really? I know tribute shows aren't necessarily considered cool, but personally I think 'cool' is terribly overrated and I've always known I've had no cool to lose! To be honest, since first putting this show together, I've been waiting for some kind of backlash. As a friend of mine said recently, the trouble with the music business is often the musicians - they're just too cool for their own good. And there's nothing wrong with wanting to play only the music you love and deem to be 'cool' but if you want to be in the 'music', or even, gasp, 'entertainment' business, then sometimes you have to look outside yourself. 

Anyway, the 'talentless artiste' I am 'mimicking' in this show is Lady Gaga. The more of her concerts I watch and the more songs I listen to, the more respect I have for her. She's brought outrageousness back to Pop where it belongs and has many beautifully crafted, irresistibly catchy pop songs that she sings with a strong, rich, properly-trained voice - and anyway, 'pop' stands for 'popular' right? Maybe more cool muso types would like her if she were playing at the Sando...

Have a Shameless new year everyone!

xAmanda

Music is Alive and Well in Sydney

Hi there,

It's very popular to bemoan the state of the music industry in this city - venues closing down, illegal downloading eating up artist profits etc. Not to say those things aren't true... but I witnessed something recently that made me feel very positive about music in Sydney town.

Twelve fabulous local independent artists joined me two weeks ago, on the video shoot for my upcoming single 'The New Bohemians'. The song is about having a fierce independent artistic spirit and all the people that I asked to feature in the clip have been important in my musical journey (now you know I really mean it when I use the word 'journey' because I cringe at its rampant overuse  - but I really think it fits here!).

As far as I know, noone that turned up for the shoot has made millions from their music, but each one has a passion for it that flares up into lots of different artistic projects. In the video I use the imagery of flowers to represent the blooming of creativity and the colour that music brings to the world - and this was very much in evidence behind the scenes as well as in front of the camera. Every artist has their 'something' and on this day everyone had their somethings on proud display. I also witnessed a lot of cross pollination of ideas between different artists that hadn't met before and the enthusiasm in the air was palpable.

You can't put a price on the way you can lose yourself a song, the way music can let you wallow, holler, scream, shout and be transported to a magical place. It can't be all about the cold hards. It may be difficult to make money from our art and even trickier sometimes to find a place to stage it, but it exists and in some sunny corners of this town, it is absolutely in full bloom.

Check out the pictures from behind the scenes of the shoot:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/87281046@N05/sets/72157649047780981/

See you next time.

Do You Play Too Loud?

Hi there,

It's not very inspiring, when you're pouring your heart, soul and voice into a song and mid way through an impassioned top A, someone shakes a finger in front of your face. They are gesturing to you to 'turn it down!' and it's difficult to re-enter the emotional zone once the parade has been rained on.

But do we, as musos or singers, have to have our volume up to the Spinal Tap setting to feel the vibe? I think it depends - the mood of the band should match the room or at least the intended atmosphere of the occasion. Do people want to have conversations over cocktails? If everyone has fingers in their ears, I might get an inkling we need to turn it down. Or do our audience want to lose their inhibitions - and possibly control of their limbs - on a dance floor? If people want to cut loose and the music is too soft they will feel uncomfortable, even if they don't know why. Either way, much as we may not like it, it's not all about us! If we as bands don't fit the brief we've been booked for, venues will stop hiring us and maybe even come to the conclusion that 'live music just doesn't work'.

One of those dreaded emails about volume levels came around from management at a certain venue where I do a regular gig. It asked all bands to keep it down. Of course I grumbled, the guitarist grouched and the drummer groaned. But then we did as we were told and the guitarist took along his acoustic instead of electric, the drummer carried in his cajon instead of the usual small kit and I got to take my head voice and falsetto for a nice night out. We started the gig with pursed lips but then, a few songs in, we found ourselves enjoying playing together in this different, lighter mode, hearing each nuance. The audience loved it and we got booked again. Maybe we'll save our cover of 'Like My Love Pump' for another occasion then...
See you next time,
Cheers,
Amanda
www.amandaeaston.com

So You Wanna Ditch the Day Job?

Hi there,

In the dim dark past I had a very well paid, secure full-time job with one of the biggest companies in the world. I was on a very clear upward path promising even greater riches and corporate-type rewards, so I should have been happy and grateful right?

Well, no. I had this niggling sensation that I was in the wrong place. I yearned for a badly paid job where I'd have to struggle for every dollar. A job with no sick or holiday pay, where you're constantly being judged. Where hours of preparation and work are in no way guaranteed to reap any kind of financial reward. So I jumped ship and became a full time singer.

I've been thinking back to those days because in the last week, two different people - one I know well and one I've never met - have decided they want to dump their corporate jobs to do music, and asked me about my experience.

One of the hardest things for me was telling my parents. They only wanted the best for me and had worked hard to send me to an expensive private school and put me through university. They were proud of my corporate career and regarded any music I did as nothing more than 'a nice hobby'. 

Julie Anthony & the St George Dragon

When I worked up the courage to tell them (just after I had told my employers, so there was no turning back) my mother cried for a week and my father told me it was the most stupid thing I had ever done. I still remember his comment: 'Why would you think you could do this? Do you really think you're as good as Julie Anthony?' I really only knew this singer from seeing her sing with a dragon on telly but I knew where he was coming from. Other people told me I was 'brave' which in many ways was a nice way to say 'dumb'. 

Anyway, it's not as if I became a millionaire pop princess that can now say to all the naysayers: 'See! I did the right thing! Look at me now!' But I have a job/life (singing is so much more than just a career) that I adore. I make a living doing what I love, so: 
'See! I did the right thing! Look at me now!'

Cheers,
Amanda

www.amandaeaston.com

Should you Sing Sick? (When Sound Engineers Suck, Part 2)

Hi there,

I think I've got one of the best jobs in the world but I can't say the conditions and benefits are great. Basically, if I don't sing, I don't get paid. So if you're sick what do you do? Stay home sniffling and feeling sorry for yourself? I might as well be out sniffling and getting paid to feel sorry for myself! Of course it depends:

1. Will I embarrass myself? If I'm not going to sound any good then I don't want to let anyone hear me. But let's face it, singing is such an inconsistent art with hundreds of variables anyway, so as long as I can do about 75% of my best then I'll sing. Sometimes the extra work I have to put into my technique when I'm sick pays off with a better performance than a healthy but lazy one!

2. Will I piss off the band/agent if I don't sing? If advertising and promo has gone out with my name on it I'll try extra hard to drag myself from my sickbed. And if I know the gig will be difficult to cover by another singer - it's last minute, out of town or a specific part that requires rehearsal - than I'll be there.

3. Will I damage my voice in the long term? Nothing is worth that - I don't mind pushing the envelope a bit to get the job done but if it's going to hurt me down the line, I'll slip under the covers and stay there guilt free.

I was at a very big club recently to do a cabaret show with the house band. I was at the tail end of a dose of the flu but numbers 1 and 2 above were definite possibilities so there was no question of pulling out of this one. I was to sing in a huge auditorium on a massive stage where both the audience and the band were way out of spitting distance so there was no danger of infecting them. The only concern I had was the artist that followed me - they would be using the same microphone. I mentioned this to the very friendly lighting guy and he said he'd send the sound engineer backstage to have a chat to me before the show.

Those who have read my last blog may know what's coming next (see 'When Sound Engineers Suck'). Yes, who should walk into the green room but Mr Persnikety.  Now if you are a persnikety sound guy then you're having run-ins with singers on a regular basis. So you're not going to remember one little singer in particular, weeks after the fact, at a venue across town, are you? Damn my rather unusual blue hair. 

Mr Precious laid eyes on me and and smiled maniacally. I gulped and soldiered on. 

'Oh hi there...well I have the flu and I don't want the artist following me to catch it, so I was wondering if you'd be able to give us different microphones?' I said, heart beating, with a big false smile. 

His eyes widened as licks of flame started coming out of flared nostrils only inches away from my face...well Ok that didn't happen, but that's how it felt. He did however tell me there was only one microphone.(?!) He then paused for dramatic effect (the entire band and crew backstage were our audience) and said, with lashings of scorn, 
     'Well, ah, just putting it out there, but did ya ever perhaps think (another pause here to highlight by obvious inability to do just that) that perhaps you shouldn't be performing if you're sick?"  

Cruel stare, Blink, Cruel Stare, more flames out of nostrils. Hasn't he heard of 'The Show Must go On?' And excuse me, but I own a sound system worth less than $2000 and I own three microphones. I was about to sing to hundreds of people through a sound system worth in the hundreds of thousands of dollars - and there was only one microphone - really?

Don't piss off the sound guy...

xAmanda
www.amandaeaston.com

When Sound Engineers Suck

Hi there,

Now let me start by saying that I have a lot of admiration for a skillful sound engineer and I count plenty of them as friends.  I make this disclaimer lest last week's rant also featuring a (different) sound guy (For the Love of Mike) paints me with some kind of prejudice! In my mind, the audio engineer is a vital part of the team - and let's face it, they have your sound by the short and curlies, so it pays to be respectful.

However... recently I had the displeasure of working with a very uptight sound guy and I had to do a lot of tongue biting. It all seemed to start when I stepped up to the mike during soundcheck and saw it had a wind sock covering it. Those black foam mike condoms are usually used for outside gigs to limit the interference of wind or other background noise or even reduce breath noise in radio or recording studios. In my experience (I've never counted but I've done an average of 3 live gigs a week for about the last 15 years) a mike with a wind sock is almost never used in a live show that is staged inside a venue. That inch of foam breaks my communion with my beloved mike and I hate it! I had also noticed that only two of the four vocal mikes on stage had wind socks. They had to be there by mistake right? So I took mine off. Well a voice from the control room at the back of the auditorium boomed, 'put that back on!' I did so and was duly put in my place. 

I don't know if that exchange coloured the rest of the events at sound check but it seemed I, along with most of the (very experienced) performers on stage that night, couldn't put a foot right with Mr Persnikety on the faders back there. In this particular show - like many that I do - I perform as backing vocalist throughout the show but leave that side-of-stage position to perform lead at different times throughout the set. So of course it is important I check my sound from my backing vocalist position as well as from other spots across the front of the stage. I'd like to add here that the sound was average to poor through my own foldback wedge and no amount of knob twiddling or suggestions/requests from me (!) improved it. When I dared to move towards the middle of the stage, my foldback ranged from atrocious to non-existent. When I raised the issues (I was trying to be polite, really I was!) he gave me a very condescending explanation of how sound systems work and nothing improved. 

The moral of the story? Well if my blog today is anything more than just a rant, the lesson could be 'the show must go on' or perhaps, 'don't piss off the sound guy'. 

By the way, it doesn't end there. I did a gig in a venue at the end of town weeks later and who should walk backstage? I smiled sweetly at Mr Imperious thinking he wouldn't particularly remember me. I was wrong, ladies and gentlemen, very much mistaken. Stay tuned for our next encounter...

Cheers,
Amanda
www.amandaeaston.com

For the Love of Mike

Happy New Year,

There is a lot of gear pornography in musical blogs. Guitarists in particular have a world of electronics they love to show off and discuss - guitars, amps, pedals and the rest. We singers have one vital piece of gear that isn't talked about too much - the microphone. 

I have moments when I walk on stage, the audience in darkness, and just one thing greets me in the circle of light. It draws me closer and promises to listen and share every sound I make. 

Of course we all know that the quality of the sound system and the sound engineer have a huge bearing on the audio, but it's that mike sitting atop the stand that is the only tangible thing there for me. 

I love that I can whisper to him and he'll listen to every nuance. We have our own secret communion  - and at the end of our lovely dance I treasure the metallic taste left on my lips as a memento of our moments together.

I personally love a Shure 58 - it's the most common live performance mike around my parts - it's inexpensive, robust and I for one like the sound I get from it. I usually have a Shure 58 in my handbag although I often find, in the venues I play, the sound engineer will have their own mikes tuned to their own system and would prefer to use those. 

However... recently at a gig, this conversation transpired:
Sound Engineer: Do you have your own mike?
Me: I do, but actually didn't bring it this time sorry - last time I played here I was told it wasn't needed.
Sound Engineer: You should own your own mike.
Me: Oh I do, I have 3 of my own mikes and usually bring one. Sorry, but I usually find sound engineers prefer to use their own.
Sound Engineer: You can use my mike but you should go out and buy a Shure 58, they're not expensive.
Me: I actually have three Shure 58s, love them.
Sound Engineer: Think of how much money all these musicians have to spend on their musical gear. The least you can do is go and buy your own mike.
Me:...

My point here? Never undervalue the mike - and beware the deaf sound engineer! 

Cheers,
Amanda
www.amandaeaston.com

Are We a Bunch of Commitment Phobes?

Hi there,

I've seen it time and time again from other acts in the last year but now it's happened to me - a show is pulled by a venue because there are not enough pre-bookings - ouch! Is that fair? I understand the venue doesn't want to lose money, but surely there should be a certain amount of faith and trust in the act they've booked too? With the gig I was part of, stacks of people said: 'But I was just about to book tickets!' or 'I was going to buy tickets at the door!'. How many of us are organised enough to book tickets to an event more than eight days before - because in our case the venue pulled the plug a whole week and a day before?

Three years ago I would commonly get booked for Christmas events and weddings at least a year before the big day. Nowadays it is no surprise to get a request for a booking two to three weeks before a function. What is going on? Is the ability to get a message out to people in seconds putting an end to pre planning? We cherry pick our tunes and don't like to commit to buying an entire album from our music artists. Even our retailers are popping up instead of instead planting roots. Are we always looking over our shoulders for the coolest way to fill every inch of our lives and refusing to pledge our time until we're sure we have the best possible date secured in our hectic event-filled lives?

Well I'm way more full of questions today than answers, but I'd love to hear what you think. Are we turning into a bunch of commitment phobes?

So, 'till next time, whenever that may be (maybe I'll text you),
Cheers,
Amanda
www.amandaeaston.com

15 Truths About Being a Professional Singer

Hi folks,

This blog comes from a professional dancer in the US, via Aussie muso Lloyd Gyi - just replace 'dancer' with 'singer' and it is spot on! I couldn't have said it better myself, so I didn't try:

"15 Truths About Being a Professional Dancer"
written by Melanie Doskocil, original post found at her blog, Ballet Pages

1. Dance is hard. – No dancer ever became successful riding on their natural born talents only. Dancers are artists and athletes. The world of dance today is akin to an extreme sport. Natural ability and talent will only get us so far. Dancers must work hard and persevere. Dancers give years of their lives plus their sweat, tears and sometimes blood to have the honor and pleasure of performing on stage.

2. You won’t always get what you want. – We don’t always get the role we wanted, go on pointe when we want, get the job we want, hear the compliments we want, make the money we want, see companies run the way we want, etc, etc.  This teaches us humility and respect for the process, the art form and the masters we have chosen to teach us. The faster we accept this, the faster we can get on with being brilliant.  We’ll never be 100% sure it will work, but we can always be 100% sure doing nothing won’t work.


3. There’s a lot you don’t know. – There is always more a dancer can learn. Even our least favorite teachers, choreographers and directors can teach us something. The minute we think we know it all, we stop being a valuable asset.

4. There may not be a tomorrow. – A dancer never knows when their dance career will suddenly vanish: a company folds, career ending injury, car accident, death…Dance every day as if it is the final performance. Don’t save the joy of dance for the stage. Infuse even your routine classroom exercises with passion!

5. There’s a lot you can’t control. – You can’t control who hires you, who fires you, who likes your work, who doesn’t, the politics of being in a company. Don’t waste your talent and energy worrying about things you can’t control. Focus on honing your craft, being the best dancer you can be. Keep an open mind and a positive attitude.

6. Information is not true knowledge. – Knowledge comes from experience.  You can discuss a task a hundred times, go to 1000 classes, but unless we get out there and perform we will only have a philosophical understanding of dance. Find opportunities to get on stage.  You must experience performance firsthand to call yourself a professional dancer.

7. If you want to be successful, prove you are valuable. – The fastest way out of a job is to prove to your employer they don’t need you. Instead, be indispensable. Show up early, know your material, be prepared, keep your opinions to yourself unless they are solicited and above all be willing to work hard.

8. Someone else will always have more than you/be better than you.  – Whether it’s jobs or money or roles or trophies, it does not matter. Rather than get caught up in the drama about what others are doing around you, focus on the things you are good at, the things you need to work on and the things that make you happiest as a dancer.

9. You can’t change the past. – Everyone has a past. Everyone has made mistakes, and everyone has glorious moments they want to savor. “Would you keep a chive in your tooth just because you enjoyed last night’s potato?” Boston Common TV Series. Dance is an art form that forces us to concentrate on the present. To be a master at dance we have be in the moment; the minute the mind wanders, injuries happen. If they do, see #12.

10. The only person who can make you happy is you. – Dancing in and of itself cannot make us happy.  The root of our happiness comes from our relationship with ourselves, not from how much money we make, what part we were given, what company we dance for, or  how many competitions we won.  Sure these things can have effects on our mood, but in the long run it’s who we are on the inside that makes us happy.


11. There will always be people who don’t like you. – Dancers are on public display when they perform and especially in this internet world, critics abound. You can’t be everything to everyone.  No matter what you do, there will always be someone who thinks differently.  So concentrate on doing what you know in your heart is right.  What others think and say about you isn’t all that important.  What is important is how you feel about yourself.

12.Sometimes you will fail. – Sometimes, despite our best efforts, following the best advice, being in the right place at the right time, we still fail. Failure is a part of life. Failure can be the catalyst to some of our greatest growth and learning experiences. If we never failed, we would never value our successes. Be willing to fail. When it happens to you (because it will happen to you), embrace the lesson that comes with the failure.

13. Sometimes you will have to work for free. – Every professional dancer has at one time or another had to work without pay. If you are asked to work for free, be sure that you are really ok with it. There are many good reasons to work for free, and there are just as many reasons not to work for free. Ask yourself if the cause is worthy, if the experience is worth it, if it will bring you joy. Go into the situation fully aware of the financial agreement and don’t expect a hand out later.

14. Repetition is good. Doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result is insane. – If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting.  If you keep doing the bare minimum of required classes, don’t complain to your teacher when you don’t move up to the next level. If you only give the bare minimum in your company, be happy staying in the corps. If you want to grow beyond your comfort zone, you must push yourself beyond your self-imposed limitations.

15. You will never feel 100% ready. – Nobody ever feels 100% ready when an opportunity arises.  Dancers have to be willing to take risks. From letting go of the ballet barre to balance, to moving around the world to dance with a new company, from trusting a new partner to trying a new form of dance, dancers must have a flexible mind and attitude as well as body. The greatest opportunities in life force us to grow beyond our comfort zones, which means you won’t feel totally comfortable or ready for it."

See you next time,
Amanda

www.amandaeaston.com

Do you want to ride The Beast or the Ladybird?

Hi there,

When I was starting out in this business, I sang in a Top 40 Dance Band with another female singer. She also did regular gigs in cocktail bars and even sang at weddings and parties. She had gone to a Performing Arts High School - like the kids in 'Fame'. To me, she had it made and I looked up to her. She had what I wanted - she lived off her music and even owned her own microphone. I felt I was on my way to living the dream she had already achieved. 

But she always seemed restless and after a few weeks she sat me down and told me she was leaving the band. Why would anyone want to do that? We had a gig that was highly sought after by every other covers band in town - a well paid residency to big crowds in a classy venue. But she looked at me knowingly and said, 'look while you're 21 this is all great but I'm about to turn 25 (!) and it's time I got on with life.' She wanted a real job with a real income and some stability. 'You'll be the same when you're 25, you wait.'

Well I'm not going to tell you how distant a memory my 25th birthday is, but let's say that things are still looking green and lush from my side of the fence. I experienced a solid wage and security thanks to the corporate jobs I took after uni, so the lure of that life was never that strong for me. 

I recently overheard a muso saying something particularly wise to another after listening to him bitch bitterly about our industry (we've all been there). The wise one said and I paraphrase, 'As professional musos we sign up for the rollercoaster. Our lows can be really low but our highs are right up there. If we wanted safe we would have got on the Ladybird ride but that just wouldn't be much fun'. 

I'll take one ticket to white knuckled exhilaration and stomach lurching intensity with the earth teetering beneath my feet, thank you. By the way, I now own three microphones.

See you next time,
Amanda
www.amandaeaston.com

Secret to Success: Turning Up

Hi there,

(Now guitarists, when I say turn up, I don't mean turn up to '11' a la Spinal Tap). 

I'm just going to go ahead and put it in writing - I love Dr Oz.  If he told me to jump I probably would. And he says one of the secrets of life is 'turning up'. He means you've got to participate in life, be part of it. I mean that too but I'm being even more literal. 

I was speaking to a muso friend of mine this morning who did a high profile gig on the weekend. Ten minutes before the band were due to perform for the masses, two of its members decided it was time to get a cup of coffee at the bar nearby. So at the moment the event organiser came by and asked the band to start, the singer was left hanging out to dry with just a drummer and trumpeter. Needless to say, the usually calm, polite chanteuse who had booked the band, let loose on the two strays when they returned, which was well after the preordained starting time. She also turned to my friend and said that next time she would simply book mediocre players who turned up, rather than go through that again. 

Having run a function band for years myself, I feel her pain. I'm still recovering from a moment many years ago when the guitarist that I hired for a wedding band came stumbling down the aisle right after the bride, holding his shoes, trailing his leads and dragging his equipment. The rest of the band had been set up an hour before the first guests had gathered. Great guitarist, lousy organisational skills. The stress is simply not worth it. 

I truly believe that punctuality, preparation, respect and enthusiasm are at least as important as actual music skills in a professional entertainer's arsenal.

Of course if you are a great musician that turns up on time as well, you've got it made!

See you next time,
Amanda
www.amandaeaston.com

Agents...who needs em?!

Hi there,

Why would you use an agent to get you gigs?

It's an agent's job to have strong relationships with venues, event bookers and even other agents. A good one will harness these contacts to get you work you might not otherwise get - and then manage the booking so that you can focus on just entertaining the masses. It's quite a luxury, well worth paying for in my book, that allows you to just be a performer and leave the business to the business people.

Now before you get the wrong idea, I'm not hear to praise all agents from the rooftops - it is an occupation up there with car sales and real estate in the trustworthy stakes, in some cases. However, one of my pet hates is entertainers constantly bitching about their agents (not suggesting I don't indulge in that sport myself occasionally). I booked a weekly singer songwriter night (PopTarts) for almost 10 years and while I wasn't strictly an 'agent', I certainly did a lot of the same work they did. And I can tell you, it's bloody hard! Dealing with publicans who measure entertainment success in terms of schooners sold and entertainers for whom the notion of promotion is a nebulous one can be frustrating and soul destroying. So before pissing on your promoter, try doing their job for yourself.

The problem is, a business hat doesn't always sit comfortably alongside an artistic hat on the same head - not everyone is cut out to balance books and belt out a ballad as well. But I do believe everyone needs to pull their head out of that creative soil just briefly to at least learn the basics.

Like many of my fellow songstresses, I've been doing this long enough that I have a pretty good idea what venues and event organisers are after. We should know how to do our own promotion and paperwork and understand the importance of being a business buff as well as polished performer. No one knows better than the act themselves, what they need, so could we just cut out that middle person - oh and save that at least 10% agent fee? Yes and No.

It's a tenuous world of work that I inhabit, where a gig can disappear on a whim. So I book about 50% of my work directly and the rest through a handful of agents I have built a rapport with - I like to share my eggs around in different people's baskets. I guess I just have to hope I get to deal more with competent cockerel types than the cocks.

See you next time!
Amanda
www.amandaeaston.com

5 Reasons you SHOULD Sing Covers

Hi there,

I know, last blog I said there were 5 Good Reasons NOT to Sing Covers...but a record does have two sides, right?!

1. Practising your Craft: Being an original artist is, ah, an art! But it is also a craft. Singers with good breath control, pitch, delivery and range can highlight their art much more effectively and regular gigs make a fertile training ground. Sure you can do regular original gigs but in the early stages of your career, there are more cover gigs around and they are likely to pay much better too. The Rolling Stones were a Blues cover bands before they gave us true satisfaction. And having to sing other people's songs, written for their style and ranges, will really stretch your technical abilities. 

2. Walking the walk: As well as the actual singing, cover gigs will perfect all the other skills that go into becoming a great live performer like stagecraft and connecting with audiences. Whether you're being a cool indie chick or channelling Madonna, the skills are part of the same showbag.

3. Making the Contacts: The music game is the music game and there are many players including agents and venue owners you will be able to cultivate while doing cover gigs.

4. Learning from the Hits: Performing other people's songs to audiences night after night gives you an insight into what songs 'work' and why. Valuable info you can feed into your own songwriting.

5. Making Money from Music: I never forget a conversation I had at a party after being introduced to a fellow independent artist. He asked me what my day job was. I told him I sang in covers bands and the look of horror on his face was unforgettable - he didn't hold back in expressing shock and contempt at my choice of income. I returned the question and he told me he was a painter. OK, so he was an all round artistic type that managed to make a living from his artistry, good for him. I wondered if it were landscapes of Picasso-esque stylistic masterpieces and so I asked him what he painted. He answered 'houses. sometimes fences, mainly walls'. Oh.

Music is a wonderful job and whether they are my masterpieces or someone else's, I can't think of a 'job' I'd rather do.

I've just joined a soul/funk/blues/motown/swing band called Red Light Orchestra. I wonder what narrow pop pathway I would still be on if I hadn't had the experience of singing covers like this. Because what you can't learn about soul from Al Green and the gang, cats, well it ain't worth knowing!

See you next time,
Cheers,
Amanda

Length IS important

Hi there,

It's an age old dilemma - do we choose quality or quantity, width over length?

I'm not sure when it happened in the music industry here, but one day I woke up and agents were telling me that if my band wanted to compete, we had to play longer. The standard - I'm talking covers bands, in pubs and the like - was to perform 3 sets of 40 minutes. But then some bands started offering to do 4 or even 5 sets of 45-50 minutes for the same fee and of course many agents and venues were hiring them instead. Fast forward to now - those same venues are saying: 'Live entertainment doesn't work - it doesn't bring in the punters'. 

Well I disagree - 'Rubbish entertainment doesn't work'.  And even good entertainment wears thin after about 3 hours. There is such thing as too much of a good thing. People go out to socialise and that's hard to do with almost constant live music. It gets to the point where punters have had enough, the excitement wears off and they drift off to talk to their friends in another room or tune in to the delights of the one arm bandits. Live entertainment then becomes little more than elevator music. And that's no fun for the band either - without a dedicated audience it's hard to give a great performance. And while stomping the stage is an exhilirating thing to do, it is also physically and emotionally draining (when done well) so after about 3 hours the audience is not getting the best out of a band anyway.

We all want the best value for our money but I think PT Barnum of the 'Greatest Show on Earth' (Barnum and Bailey Circus) knew a thing or two about great entertainment. He said 'Always Leave Them Wanting More'.

So, until next week...

Singer Searching for the Sweet Spot

Hi there,

I did a recording session for a Grammy Award winning producer recently. He'd heard my voice before hiring me so while I was nervous, I was reasonably confident it would go OK. 

He played me a few songs he'd written and after a while we got to work. The first one was a rocky number and I did my best to give it some. But I could see on his face and hear in my own head that it just sounded...blah. There were no notes I couldn't hit and I was doing my best to channel Joan Jett but it just wasn't happening. Beyonce was looking down at me disapprovingly from the personally signed photo on the wall. No pressure then.

Now sometimes the problem with songs written by one sex for the other is, no matter how much the writers know about music and songwriting, they just don't quite fit the voice for which they're intended. How often have you heard great singers do mediocre performances because the song just doesn't suit them? That's why song choice and key choice is make or break on TV talent shows like The Voice and when you putting that decision in someone else's hands, well, good luck!

We come to grips with the scope of our own ranges as singers but within that cluster of notes I've realised there are those that make my voice soar and others that are just a bit...blah! In other words, there is definitely a sweet spot and if the song doesn't enter into that neighbourhood then maybe that tune's not for me, not in that key at least. So when a band says: 'Well, we do this song in this key,' I think you have the right as a singer to say: 'Do you mind if we do it in my key?' After all, they don't yet make capos for voices. 

Anyway, the second song we recorded at this session went much better. I could see the producer's face relax and could swear I saw Beyonce winking at me. Bet she knows all about the sweet spot.

See you next time.