Bill and I were lucky enough to be invited to the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band concert last night; in one of those high falutin’ boxes no less! Thanks Theresa! Theresa Gladue, a good friend and a grade A, gung-ho arts and culture supporter, puts on variety shows featuring local talent to raise money for various good causes. Bill and I are happy to help out by providing volunteer performances at these fun events and in an innovative show of volunteer appreciation, Theresa took us and several other ‘lifer’ volunteers to the concert in style! What a great concert it was. Just the right mix of old and new and some outrageously fabulous harmonica playing! The audience was extremely enthusiastic; singing along on Mr. Bojangles and Fishing in the Dark. I think the band could feel the love.
On a professional note; although I don’t let it interfere with my enjoyment of the show, I’m always looking at the stagecraft angle - what do they do - why do they do it - how does it affect the show. NGDB have been performing for decades and their performances are tight and well organized. Each person is featured at various points which adds amazing dynamics to the overall show. One thing I noticed was the person off stage who seemed dedicated to keeping instruments tuned; that’s organized and smart - who wants to go to a concert to see someone tuning? The thing is, it was super organized but it didn’t look contrived, it felt very relaxed and personal. These guys are very good at what they do. If you’re playing professionally or trying to break into that business, I’d recommend having a look at some of the real pros, like NGDB, with an eye to how they present themselves and try to understand why they do what they do. Mimicry without understanding the underlying motivation won’t work unless you’re doing an impersonator act. (and even then, understanding the motivation would make that act more believable). Knowing the motivations and then applying that to your own show will only make it better. I know I’m going to take away some valuable bits to apply to my performances.
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
April 8th, 2009Mechanical Licenses (and a note about Chetwynd)
April 6th, 2009I was interested in recording some cover songs (songs by other artists, instead of my own compositions) so I did a little research and discovered I would need something called a “mechanical license”. That’s basically a license or permission to record the song. I found that the fee is around 8 or 9 cents per song per CD released and that you have to purchase a license for a minimum of 500 CDs. I also did some research on licensing for digital downloads and found it so confusing that I decided that if I recorded a cover CD I wouldn’t even bother doing a digital download release. I’d just do the CDs.
We played as ClassiCountry (country band) in Chetwynd BC (Canada) last weekend and the response was very warm and welcoming. We were asked repeatedly if the songs were available on a CD so I’m pretty sure there’s a market for a CD of country cover songs. The country music we play is all older (hence ‘ClassiCountry’) so the tunes would be Patsy Cline, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash etc… and there’s definately a market for that in Northern British Columbia.
We actually played at two venues in Chetwynd last weekend. We also provided the sound equipment/technical support at the Chetwynd Coffee House and we (Bill and I and Ian) played some songs at the coffeehouse. Because the other performance was the next evening, we decided to stay over night. That gave us some time during the day to do something we’d been promising to do for ages - get a closer look at some of the spectacular chainsaw sculpture that is so prominent in Chetwynd.
- Linda on Eagle Bench
Bill sitting on Wild Rose Bench
Write What You Know
April 3rd, 2009“Write what you know” seems like good advice but it really doesn’t go far enough. At first glance it would seem to mean that all your songs should be autobiographical. Well, we know that can’t be right because if it were, most songwriters would be too busy recovering from their lives to write anything down!
‘Writing what you know’ infers something more. It encourages us to keep our eyes, ears, and hearts open so we can ‘know’ more. Your powers of observation are a first class, all expense paid ticket to song material. We can ‘know’ things through an empathic connection to the world around us. We see how cruelly someone treats their family and we think “It ought to be a crime.” You can leave it at that or put it to music and call it a song.
Take every experience, every tear, every laugh, every funny episode or tragic event and examine it for inspiration. Examine it for the universal feelings that speak to us all on some level. Love, fear, hope, pain, joy, betrayal, revelation and the list goes on. Harnessing the essence of human emotion makes for powerful lyrics. Even if your life is calm and uneventful, look around you for inspiration. Indeed, coming from calmness, you may be able to interpret the maelstrom more insightfully than someone at its core. Write what you know. Just open your eyes, ears, and heart and ‘know’ more.
Time to Write
March 28th, 2009There’s always a temptation to procrastinate, even when you enjoy songwriting and sometimes even because you enjoy it. We often feel unreasonably guilty over spending time doing something we enjoy. We tell ourselves we should be doing the laundry or mowing the lawn or something else ‘more important’. Well, no, we shouldn’t. If we have the inspiration to write we should definitely write. This isn’t a justification to avoid all chores it’s just a matter of understanding priorities.
One reason we put off writing is the little voice that makes us feel guilty about being creative. Yep, it’s the inner critic again. The trick is to bypass the critic. Sometimes just being aware of its tactics will allow you to move past it. If that fails maybe you should do the laundry or mow the lawn! Seriously, often doing rote tasks, particularly ones that involve a rhythmic aspect (thumpety-thump goes the dryer, round and round the yard you push the mower) will lull the critic to sleep and allow your creative side to come out and play.
Lines, melodies, or even whole songs have come to me when I am walking, or raking, or vacuuming. Driving alone is a great time get creative. Don’t listen to CDs or the radio; listen to the vehicle. It’s alive with terrific beats and rhythms. My song “Breathe” started from the slap-slap of the windshield wipers.
Eventually we become more aware of our creative side and we allow it to unfold; no guilt, no expectations, rules or deadlines. We give ourselves permission to be creative and suddenly there’s all the time in the world.
The Zen of Songwriting
March 26th, 2009“The song is already written; you just have to remember it.” That belief changed my whole approach to songwriting. I used to agonise over writing. I enjoyed it but there was always an element of apprehension. “How will this song end?” “What if it sucks?”
That’s the inner critic talking. A necessary aspect of our personality, our inner critic stops us from doing potentially dangerous things. But the critic can also be a first class killjoy when it comes to being creative. To the critic, all unfamiliar ground is dangerous. So it’s just as anxious about you writing a song as it is about you going bungee jumping.
My inner critic used to be front and centre all the time, second guessing, interfering, and generally making the whole process more difficult and less fun than it should have been. Accepting that the song already exists (maybe not on your page, but in the universe somewhere) means there are no doubts that the right word, the perfect rhyme, the excellent hook exist. You don’t have to invent you just need to remember. Remembering doesn’t kick in the inner critic like inventing does. Your attitude to writing and being creative is crucial. If you do not believe yourself worthy of being an artist, you will continually find yourself blocked, externally and internally. Believe in yourself and the universe will conspire to help you at every turn. It’s also very reassuring to know the universe is taking care of your songs until you need them.
Recording in the studio - ‘Punching in’
March 22nd, 2009 Bill took some video while we were in the studio yesterday (Solar Peace Productions) of me singing “Fly with Angels” (just part of the chorus) while Ian records the guitar track. Unfortunately Wordpress is not recognizing my video file so I’ll work on that. Once I get it up here (which I WILL do) you’ll hear an annoying tapping noise, that’s the click track; annoying but very essential! If you’re laying down separate tracks the click track keeps everyone ‘on track’. I’ve tried recording without it and it’s the most nerve wracking experience I’ve ever had in the studio!!
Anyway, once all the instrument tracks are down I’ll be recording the ‘real’ vocal track (without phones ringing, pussycats purring etc…). Just thought you might be interested in the process.
Me and Ian listening to a guitar take
Once the track is recorded you need to listen very closely to make sure there are no oopses; silly things that you never notice during a live performance, things like fret noise or the chair creaking or the odd twang. Then we ‘punch in”; that means Ian will play along with the original track and at a spot just before the oops, Bert will ‘punch in’ - start recording the new part with, hopefully, no oops. If that sounds simplistic and low tech it’s because that’s what I am when it comes to the recording part of all this - simple and low tech!!
First Recording Session for New CD
March 17th, 2009Yesterday Bill, Ian and I went to Bert Goulet’s studio to start laying down tracks for the new CD. I haven’t really decided on a name for the CD. I’m leaning towards calling it “Frozen Heart”, because that’s one of the songs. But I probably won’t decide till the last minute! What do you think? Does “Frozen Heart” sound like a good name for a Jazz/Blues type CD?
It’s always a bit of a conundrum deciding which songs to put on a CD. Well it is for me anyway! I started with 16, whittled it down, then went and wrote two more songs, so now I’m at a solid 11 songs. They are all originals. The oldest one was written in 2001, and the newest was written last week! I think Ian just expects me to write something new everytime we get the line up ‘fixed’.
Rehearsals for Nightcap continue. Not content to work in just one genre - I now perform the traditional/folk/celtic music with Ian playing guitar; country music as part of the country dance band “ClassiCountry”; and jazz/blues/easy listening as half of the duo “Nightcap” (Ian being the other half); and in the ladies group “Riled Flowers”.
What can I say - I like to sing!
Anyway, back to the recording! This CD will feature, as I’ve mentioned, Ian Smith, as well as Rick Slack on stand up bass and Greg Wandling on percussion. I am very happy with this line up. I feel like I have the very best behind me, and with Bert at the switch, I’m sure I’ll end up with an excellent CD! I really like recording. As frustrating as it can be when you have to do several takes to get that one that’s just right, there’s a real sense of accomplishment that goes along with it. And recording is totally unlike live performance. When you’re performing live, if you make a mistake, you just carry on. In fact I think that’s a hallmark of a good performer; the ability to do that ‘quick save’ and minimize errors. But when you’re recording you’re hyper-sensitive to even the tiniest of glitches. It has to be perfect because it, unlike a live performance, lives forever! And you’d better be sure you’re happy with it!
Bill took some photos in the studio and I’ll post some of them here. I’d love to hear any comments about studio recording!
March 11th, 2009
Linda
Yesterday I received a very nice review of my CD on the Bull Frog Music website. You can read Jeremiah Sutherland’s review on my website www.lindaconnellstudley or go to the Bull Frog Music site at www.bullfrogmusic.com and go to the reviews page.
Thank you Jeremiah for your kind words and I hope I will be in your town one day in the near future and when I do I’ll be sure to get you front row seats!
The musical journey begins…
March 9th, 2009Welcome to my blog! I’m going to be doing some musing here on the journey I’m taking as a performer and an independent recording artist. It’s been pretty interesting so far. I’ve been around long enough to remember when recording meant going to a large centre and parting with your life savings unless you were one of the fortunate few who landed recording contracts. Then you were just expected to sign away your life, most of your profits and all of your creative control. Neither were great options!
The advent of home recording studios, the internet, digital downloads etc… has been a tidal wave that performers can either ride on top of or drown in!
There are always trade offs. In acquiring the control we so crave, artists also have to take responsibility for their own promotion and marketing.
These are the things I’m working on now. I’ve got my website, recorded a CD, made it available through CD Baby who makes it available in other places, I’ve been playing, pushing, and promoting and I can tell you it is fairly labour intensive.
Humility is the first casualty of self promotion!
So I’m going to start documenting this journey and hopefully someone might find something that helps them along too, or will leave a comment that will help me and other readers out!