VOCALIST THE
VOCAL HEALTH KELLY CLARKSON
SAM
SMITH
HOW JANET JACKSON CHANGED THE MUSIC INDUSTRY JOHN LEGEND
SUMMER 2015 ISSUE
MAGAZINE
LADY GAGA HOW SHE MADE IT
+
TRENDSETTERS
M.I.A KANYE WEST BJORK
EXCLUSIVE: SALLY FOLK - MARINA V - FRANCESCO YATES - SAVANNAH BLAIN THE WHISPERING TREE - JACE MARTIN - MAGGIE SEMAAN - KIM CHANDLER - KANDLE
CONTE
ICON
COVER JANET JACKSON 18
EDITO
24 OPINION 26
PRODUCTS SPOTLIGHT
28
GEARS VOCALIST -
30
BUSINESS + STRATEGY STRATEGY GAGA
34
VOCALIST + INSIGHT FOUR TRUTHS ABOUT MARKETING LADY GAGA
40
VOCALIST BLUEPRINT
Microphones
SPRING
72
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How Did LADY GAGA Made It
42 ARTIST WHO MAKE A DIFFERENCE M.I.A KANYE WEST BJORK 54
MARKETING + TIPS Content Marketing Lessons Learned from U2
56 BRANDING Pop Stars and Craft Beer: Lessons in Branding and Trademarking 72
ICON 7 Ways Janet Jackson Changed The Music Industry Forever
78
VOCALIST INTERVIEW SALLY FORK
MARINA V SAVANNAH BLAIN THE WHISPERING TREE KANDLE JACE MARTIN
EDITOR
ENTS 110
LEADERSHIP + SUCCESS 10 Takeaways from Damon Dash’s Philosophy on Defining a Boss The Eight Rules of Success to Think About Every Morning*
104
BODY AND SOUL Corinne Bailey Rae, singer / songwriter VV Brown, singer / songwriter
114
VOCAL COACH
122
VOCAL RANGE
128
KIM CHANDLER
JANET JACKSON JILL SCOTT PATRICK STUMP JUSTIN BIEBER VOCAL TECHNIQUE 10 Tips for a Powerful Voice How to Belt - PART I
84
INTERVIEW
130 VOCAL HEALTH
Vocal Cord Hemorrhages
What laryngitis is and how you as a vocalist can treat this dreaded illness What exactly is a vocal cyst and how does this happen?
141 LIFESTYLE What’s in your basket, Joan Jett? What’s in your basket, VV Brown? 144 BOOKING STRATEGY The Best and Worst Days of the Week to Play a Show Your Live Show: The Pinnacle Of Marketing How to Expand Your Band’s Presence Outside of Your Local Scene
LETTER
ISSUE
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PUBLISHER / EDITOR: Samuel Biks samuelbiks@yahoo.ca
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ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER: Jennifer Meade jamvocal@hotmail.com JUNIOR EDITOR: Anna Kroupina annakroupina@gmail.com ADVERTISING MANAGER DEPARTMENT samjam@me.com SENIOR ART DIRECTOR: BBMC Marketing and Promotion
VIDEO DIRECTOR: Suraj Sumanth MARKETING ASSISTANT: Lylaine Coulombe samjam@me.com PUBLIC RELATIONS (PR): Adelene BIKS samjam@me.com
CONTRIBUTORS: Jennifer Meade, Anna Kroupina, Melissa Simboli-Gibbs, Kheanna Walker, Malik Shaheed, Diva Devodee, Cristina Sanza, Sharon Zarabi; Claire Loewen; Martin Kupp,nJamie Anderson and Joerg Reckhenrich; Mathieu Deflem; Lisa Popeil; Sophie Hall; Amanda E. Clark; Peter Gasca; Conor Behan; Laura Potter; Toni Thai Sterrett; James Caan; Douglas Anderson; Dr John Briffa and Morwenna Ferrier; Dylan Welsh COVER: JANET JACKSON CREDIT IMAGES: Janet Jackson (janetjackson.com); Lady Gaga (Interscope); Kanye West (G.O.O.D Music); Bjork (Bjork); M.I.A (Interscope); Bono (U2); Sam Smith (Capitol); Kelly Clarkson (RCA); Dame Dash (Dame Dash); VV Brown (VV Brown); Corinne Bailey Rae (EMI); John Legend (G.O.O.D Music);
QUESTIONS or FEEDBACK Email Info: samjam@me.com
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TVM: 372 Ste Catherine West. Suite 121. Mtl QC H3B 1A5 Canada
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PRESIDENT’S LETTER
Co-founder of The Vocalist Magazine jamvocal@hotmail.com
“It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.” - Paulo Coelho - The Alchemist. This summer issue of The Vocalist Magazine is about destiny and dreams. As Paulo Coelho wrote in his book The Alchemist, “Everyone, when they are young, knows what their destiny is. At that point in their lives, everything is clear and everything is possible...” The good news is if you haven’t made it yet, it’s not too late to get back on track, not too late to start dreaming and seeing life with the same innocence that we once did when we were children. In this issue, our Icon Janet Jackson is not only a dream come true, she is also one of the world’s most awarded artists, and a lady who has changed, marked, and influenced the music industry with her personality, talent, artistry, and uniqueness. Having sold over 160 million records, she is ranked as one of the best-selling artists in history. Janet Jackson will release her first album in seven years this autumn through BMG and her own new label Rhythm Nation. Also in the issue, we feature a series written by Sophie Hall that presents three artists who are really making a difference: Kanye West, who has been able to build a successful music career and a business empire; M.I.A, and how she infuses politics in her controversial persona; and Bjork, who has proved that it’s certainly okay to be different. Our interviewee line-up includes Sally Folk an Algerian-Canadian singer-songwriter with two successful albums under her belt; Marina V an award-winning Russian-American recording pop artist, who won a prestigious scholarship and came to America at age 15 to pursue her American Dream; and Francesco Yates, who is only 18 years old but has already received the highest possible recommendation a musical artist could. Pharrell Williams has said about Yates: “He’s absolutely gonna be just a huge, huge, huge pop star.” We’re also proud to have interviews with Savannah Blain, a young and upcoming American singer-songwriter who draws her influences from such artists as Amy Winehouse, ZZ Ward and Adele. Blain just released her first EP “Along the Way.” Next, we have three time Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards winner R&B/Blues vocalist Jace Martin, who shares with us his biggest challenges as a musician, and The Whispering Tree duo who have been captivating audiences since meeting at music school in London, and Kandle the singer songwiter “In Flames”. In our Look Book section, Montreal-based hair stylist Maggie Semaan shares the ins and outs of how to keep a fresh look. In our Coach Corner, U.K.-based vocal coach Kim Chandler talks about her approaches to vocal training. In the Biz section we have an amazing line-up of How-To articles” “4 Truths About Marketing Lady Gaga, and How She Made It”, “4 Things You Must Do To Be Successful”, “7 Ways Janet Jackson Changed the Music Industry Forever”, and “Marketing Lessons Learned From U2.” +++ Enjoy your read!
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CONTRIBUTORS ANNA KROUPINA / JUNIOR EDITOR With a degree in Journalism under her belt, Anna Kroupina has been with The Vocalist Magazine since September 2013. Suffering from a severe case of wanderlust, Anna lives to travel and relishes finding new adventures around the world. Having a plethora of interests, her time is spent between working as a cosmetician, volunteering at an animal shelter, playing video games and sweating it off at the gym. She always sees the glass as half-full and aspires to one day learn a fifth language. Also, if you don’t like cats, she will fight you.
MELISSA SIMBOLI-GIBBS / WRITER Nineteen year-old Melissa Gibbs has been with The Vocalist Magazine since the Summer of 2014 and has since then gotten the chance to meet and speak with many talented people about music. Being a creative person since childhood, she’s been studying Literature at Dawson College and never goes anywhere without her Canon dslr, her ipod and a notebook. Working at The Vocalist Magazine has helped her grow as a writer and open doors as a journalist.
MALIK SHAHEED / INTERVIEWER Hails from Montreal, Canada. He is an accomplished TV host, reporter, producer and celebrity interviewer; youth advocate; music recording artist and party/event promoter. - On camera interviews with the following stars: Eminem, Sean Paul, Puff Daddy, LL Cool J, Beastie Boys, DMX, Jay Z, Pink, L’il Kim, Destiny’s Child, Usher, Master P, Wyclef Jean & Snoop Dogg. Hosting Concert & Events : Eminem, Fugees, 98 Degrees, IAM, Jay Z, DMX, Roots Canada & Tommy Hilfiger
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CRISTINA SANZA / WRITER / HOST / INTERVIEWER Cristina is studying both writing and broadcast at Concordia University. Growing up, she was fascinated by the world of pop culture and that quickly translated into a passion for entertainment news and music. Being a musician herself, she is constantly on the hunt for new music and ideas. She began vocal lessons at 11 years old and has been writing songs all of her life. When she is not recording music in the comfort of her own make-shift studio, she can be found on her bike roaming around the park or going for an exhilarating run. Despite her love for fitness activities, she enjoys chocolate just a little too much, and is often eating one too many pieces at a time. She currently writes for several publications.
KHEANNA WALTER / PRODUCER / WRITER Kheanna is a communications student at Concordia University who has an enormous passion for journalism and the entertainment world. Aspiring to one day be a TV host, she thrives in finding new challenges and adventures that will bring her closer to her desired career. Always holding a camera in her hand, capturing moments has always been one of her guilty pleasures. She loves film, video, music, food, sports and dancing. Being a huge house music lover from Montreal, she will always go that extra mile to squeeze in Piknic Electronique on Sundays.
CLAIRE LOEWEN - WRITER / HOST / INTERVIEWER Claire Loewen is a very tall journalism student at Concordia University. Though in a textual specialization, she has greatly enjoyed the opportunity of doing broadcast journalism with The Vocalist Magazine on such segments as ‘Get Featured’ and ‘Icon Countdown,’ and multiple on-camera artist interviews. Claire enjoys writing, swimming, walking around the Plateau and thrift shopping
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CONTRIBUTORS LYLIANE COULOMBE / ASSISTANT COORDINATOR / PHOTOGRAPHER After three years of hard work and determination, Lyliane has graduated from Université de Montréal with a degree in Science of Communication with a specialization in Media. She is now the assistant coordinator and photographer for The Vocalist Magazine. Life is easygoing around her. She is passionate and colourful. She has a particular love for big romantic Hollywood productions.
VANESSA PROVOST /SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR Vanessa Provost is the social media specialist for The Vocalist Magazine. She has a devoted passion for music. She also has a special interest in sports and more particularly NHL hockey. Always smiling, you can find her at the beach in the summer spending time with her friends or walking outside with her two beautiful dogs Gucci and Roxy.
SURAJ SUMANTH / CAMERAMAN / VIDEO EDITOR His nickname is Sunny, and he is an aspiring film maker. Hailing from Muscat, Oman , Sunny is currently studying Film Production at The Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema, Concordia University. Passionate about visual media, music, and technology, he is also a heavy gamer. Almost always in jeans.
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KALIKA HASTINGS / WRITER Is a freelance journalist, video producer and editor. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies. Curiosity and self-reflection have been great motivators behind Kalika’s passion for interviewing and listening to the stories of others. Her background in Communications Studies provided her with a foundation for creative expression through a variety of media: written as well as visual. At The Vocalist Magazine, she has been fortunate to have interviewed an array of talented artists and professionals in the music industry.
NANA O YEBOAH / WRITER Holds a Bachelor of Arts Honours in English Language and Literature w/ Minor in Women’s Studies from Carleton University and Is in fanalizing a Masters Degree in Journalism Studies - She is a Research Assistant at Concordia University and a CSI Staff and Union Representative at Carillion Canada Inc.
ANDY FIDEL - WRITER is a freelance journalist, video-photographer and editor: a content creator. She lives and works in Montreal but comes from the south of France, Toulouse, aussi surnommée la « ville rose ». Fidel is in pursuit of a career that combines journalism and the latest social media platforms, photography and videography. Infographics and the classic elements of storytelling. Fidel holds a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing and a Graduate Diploma in Journalism from Concordia University,
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OPINION
Whether or Not You Want a Record Deal, You Must Do These 4 Things to Be Successful By Kathleen Parrish 1. Establish your audience
3. Find your team
When it comes to attracting a label, one of the main things industry execs are looking for is an established act that draws a crowd. Will you make them money? Do you have staying power? Can you grow as an artist or band? These questions will all be considered by label representatives when evaluating your band. Aside from an established act, they’re looking for one that is gaining exposure and drawing interest of listeners. Promotion is key, be it in local papers or nationwide blogs. Continuing to grow your presence through various forms of promotion will better prepare you and your group for the possibility of a label. Even if you’re not looking for a label, these questions on staying power, growth, and financial success are still crucial to ask yourself.
Just because you’re an independent artist doesn’t mean you need to (or physically can) handle every aspect of your career on your own. At a certain point, forming a team including a manager, publicist, financial assistant, booking agent, and lawyer will be something to consider. Almost every artist in the public eye has an amazing team behind them helping elevate their careers to the next level. In terms of maintaining creative control, handpicking your team as an independent artist will guarantee that you’re in charge of which direction you head. On the other hand, if you’re in discussion with a label and have a say in who your team will be or with those hired, choosing the route of a label can be a better opportunity financially and exposure wise.
4. Have a ton of patience 2. Establish your brand For those who aren’t interested in support from a label, the importance of promotion, growth, and establishing your brand should be even more heavily emphasized. While it’s true you don’t need a label to break through to a mainstream audience, there are certain benefits label representation brings. Without one, your workload is going to be much larger when it comes to taking your music to the next level and expanding into new markets. If you’re in pursuit of a label, having an established brand will make your band a more likely meet their expectations and give you a leg up against the rest of the competition.
Not everyone has the financial means or connections to make a major break as an independent artist. That said, if you feel capable of managing this road on your own, or have the finances to hire your own team and understand that this doesn’t happen overnight, then venturing into the world of mainstream music may be a smoother journey for you. If you’re hoping to attract a label, patience is even more key. Taking the time to establish the right kind of relationships with industry professionals and fans, as well as focusing on branding yourself, will help propel you in the right direction, whichever direction you choose.
*Kathleen Parrish is a singer and songwriter from Seattle, WA. While she specializes in lyrics, she enjoys writing short stories, poetry, and journalism. For more information, please visit www.kathleenparrish.com.
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PRODUCTS SPOTLIGHT
iO DOCK II Professional Recording Interface For iPad - Equip your iPad with pro audio connections to record or perform live - Works with virtually any Core Audio and Core MIDI app in the App Store - Includes interchangeable 30pin and Apple Lightning iPad connectors - Improved highimpedance guitar/bass input for THE IQ5 A REVOLUTION IN STEREO MICROPHONES For the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. The Zoom iQ5 is a high-quality mid-side stereo condenser mic, perfect for recording music and compact enough to be slipped into your pocket. Simply connect it to the Lightning connector of your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch and get ready to do some serious stereo recording any time, any place.
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accurate recording - 2 XLR+1/4” combo inputs accept any audio source - Phantom power for use with condenser microphones - Left & right 1/4” outputs; headphone jack with separate level - MIDI In and Out jacks; USB MIDI Out port - Assignable footswitch input
TransActive Wireless TransActive Wireless Portable Powered Bluetooth Speaker System Powered speaker projects your performance more than 150 feet (45m). Stream sound wirelessly from any Bluetooth device Works with iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Android devices, Mac, PC, and more. Built in rechargeable battery delivers up to 50 hours of cordless sound. Cradle with USB charging port for your phone, tablet, or other device. Rugged design to withstand heavy use and portable applications. Recessed wheels and pullup handle provide mobility with no lifting. Standard 35mm socket allows mounting on a speaker stand. Perfect for use anywhere—indoors or outdoors
SRP100 Studio Reference Headphones - Rich, detailed acoustics for studio monitoring or general playback - Closedback, isolating ear cups prevent sound from leaking in or out - Around the ear design ensures longterm comfort during recording - Optimized for audio interfaces, mixers, computers and mobile devices - Adjustable, flexible headband secures headphones in place - Rugged, lightweight design withstands the rigors of daily use - 3.5mm (1/8inch) stereo miniplug - 6.3mm (1/4inch) adapter included
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VOCALIST + MICROPHONES SHURE QLX-D WIRELESS
Digital Wireless Systems Offering networked control, AES-256 encryption, and simplified setup and operation, QLX-D™ delivers outstanding digital wireless sound for mid-size events and installations. Transmitter form factors include handheld, bodypack, headworn, lavalier, instrument clip-on, and combo Power options include Shure SB900 Lithium-Ion Rechargeable Battery and AA batteries 64 MHz tuning bandwidth 17 Compatible systems per 6 MHz TV channel and 22 systems per 8 MHz channel Due to its price and flexible field of application, the Neumann TLM 102 is an ideal condenser microphone for home recording and project studios, as well as for broadcasting-especially when clear lines of sight to the speakers are a priority. PROS Many pro features at a semipro price Easy to set up Shure’s rechargeable batteries CONS Some won’t like the handheld’s on/off switch SUMMARY The Digital Dividend doomsday clock is ticking and QLXD is a good fit for those who intend on ‘buying up’ (replacing a motley crew of single wireless channels) or ‘buying down’ (where QLXD’s features are perfectly sufficient and it’s a case of ‘why pay more?).
AEA NUVO N22 RIBBON MICROPHONE AEA’s new phantom-powered ribbon mic sees the company continue to move away from strictly retro designs, and closer to the source. The AEA N22 gives you awesome ribbon mic performance, affordably. With its increased upper-mid presence, this handcrafted, US-made microphone is not only designed to punch through the mix - it’s built to last. Boasting AEA’s acclaimed 2.35” Big Ribbon, the N22 sports robust ribbon protection and reduced proximity effect, so you can close mic without worry. A custom German-made transformer provides excellent bandwidth, consistency, and distortion characteristics, while phantom power lets you work with a wide range of preamps. You need a great ribbon mic, and Sweetwater’s got it: the AEA N22. PROS Great tones on a wide variety of sources Copes with high SPL & phantom power Good amount of highend detail for a ribbon design Modest proximity effect allows singers to get in close CONS Somewhat noisy in very quiet applications Shock mount clip a bit cheap SUMMARY A well made, sweetly voiced active ribbon that is optimised for close miking applications. AEA has got manufacturing ribbon mics down pat and the svelte looking N22 is a powerpunching new addition to their range.
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VOCA
CAD EQUITEK e100 CONDENSER MICROPHONE Perhaps the most versatile mic you’ll ever own. The CAD Equitek e100 Condenser Microphone is a redesign of the popular E100. The Equitek e100 is a high-sensitivity supercardioid condenser mic that excels for live applications, capturing the subtleties of choirs, pianos, and stringed instruments, and performing equally well in high-pressure live percussion applications. A -20dB pad switch and an 80Hz low-cut roll-off switch let you customize response. Provides remarkable transparency and detail.
RODE NTR, NUDE STEREO RIBBON & SE We’ve got ribbons coming out of our ears at HQ. None more exciting than Rode’s first ribbon, the high output Built on a foundation of studio microphone excellence, Rode is once again set to redefine the studio microphone landscape with the introduction of the world’s very best ribbon microphone, The Rode NTR. The NTR is unlike any ribbon microphone ever created. The unique design places the ribbon distinctly separate to the microphone frame and body, allowing the greatest possible acoustic transparency around the ribbon element and minimising resonance. The ribbon element itself is designed completely from scratch, using extremely fine aluminium that is only 1.8 microns thick - one of the thinnest ribbons in existence. An innovative, in-house, proprietary technique was developed to laser cut the ribbon, giving a level of precision and accuracy never before seen in a ribbon microphone. Surrounding the ribbon element is a chemically etched all-metal layer of mesh, the same used on the SMR pop shield. This is extremely rigid while exhibiting super low density, resulting in greater acoustic transparency. Married to Rode’s ribbon element is a high output, ultralow noise, low impedance transformer. Combined with world-class active electronics, this allows the NTR to be used with a wide range of preamps without the additional gain requirements of many other ribbon offerings.
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BUSINESS + STRATEGY
STRATEGY GAGA
W
hen people think of great business strategists, they might think of MBA educated executives or daring entrepreneurs steering their organisations towards continuous growth and profitability. They might focus on an insightful business leader who has navigated industry change, and kept the organisation focused on evolving customer needs. But in this article we explore great strategists who are not in the usual line of business – people like Damien Hirst, Madonna and Joseph Beuys. To this eclectic list can be added a new name. Consider the following: In 2010 this person was named the artist of the year by Billboard, just one year after she earned the title of top new artist, and had been voted by Time as one of the most influential people of the year. More than one million fans saw her Born This Way tour up to the end of October 2011, grossing more than $124 million with more than 50 concerts still to come. Her album of the same title was the best selling in the world. By the middle of 2012 nine consecutive songs of hers had reached the two million mark in paid downloads in the United States; the only artist that had managed to achieve this feat. The estimated sale of her recordings was 23 million albums and 64 million singles worldwide. This person: Lady Gaga
By Martin Kupp, Jamie Anderson and Joerg Reckhenrich 30 I THE VOCALIST MAGAZINE
The challenge: In 2007, Troy Carter signed Lady Gaga to his newly found talent agency Coalition Media. Although the global record industry was in turmoil, he was convinced he could make Lady Gaga into a huge star in the tradition of global artists of the 1980s such as Madonna, David Bowie, Michael Jackson and Boy George.
The context
Music industry revenues were shrinking because of digitalisation and the internet. In 2007, a survey conducted by the Recording Industry Association of America and Pollstar, which collects data from promoters and venues, found that revenues had fallen from almost $15bn in 2000 to $10bn in 2007.
The strategy
While others saw the internet as spelling the end for the music industry, Troy Carter, Lady Gaga and Vincent Herbert, her producer, believed they could harness the power of social media by investing heavily in building her global presence. They hired the online marketing company Think Tank Digital, which set up 50 interviews with online bloggers. This alone brought more than 10m impressions on Lady Gaga’s website. Much of the early focus for her social media brand was on MySpace. By October 2009, Gaga had amassed more than 700,000 friends on the site. Key to this success were the constant news updates, as well as exclusives, interviews and special features. Crucially, Lady Gaga was involved in all aspects of the social media campaign. She decided to handle her Twitter account herself, rather than outsource it to a PR team, and this authenticity meant that by August 20 2010 she had hit 5.7m followers, more than Britney Spears. Lady Gaga celebrated this achievement with the release of an exclusive video on YouTube.
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BUSINESS + STRATEGY The results
Lady Gaga was named the artist of the year in 2010 by Billboard, just one year after she earned the title of top new artist. Her album Fame Monster was a global bestseller and the single “Born This Way” was the fastest selling single in the history of iTunes, selling 1m copies in five days when it was released in May this year.
Experiences
Many of Lady Gaga’s music videos appear to be custom made for the online world. Some web only videos are up to nine minutes long, in contrast to the typical four minute clips produced for radio and television.
Engaging
Lady Gaga has created myths around herself, giving fans topics to discuss and prompting them to spread stories about the star. This stoThe key lessons Lady Gaga’s team has demonstrated a rytelling has been a way of promoting her image deep understanding of the opportunities and music, reaching new fans. of new technologies to connect with customers. Her approach to achieving “mass Exclusive intimacy” through social media platforms During concerts Lady Gaga tweets messages to can be summarised with four E’s: emo- her audience so even those standing at the back tions, experiences, engagement and ex- in the auditorium feel they are interacting with the star. She also announces her new singles and clusivity. albums directly to her fans on social media sites – before the press is informed. Emotions Lady Gaga engaged fans by personalising them, calling them “Little Monsters” Understanding the key elements of a social meand even tattooing the pet name on her dia campaign is a necessity for companies and arm. She has also been very open about managers. Poor attention to the four E’s can reher past, talking about being the weird sult in companies being overtaken by their rivals. girl at school. This meant that fans could Authenticity and constant promotion are key to relate to her and also be inspired by her. online success. Nonetheless, social media campaigns are no good if the product is not appealing. Lady Gaga’s YouTube videos get millions of views and her songs millions of listeners because they are of a high quality. After all, content is king. .
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VOCALIST + INSIGHT
FOUR TRUTHS ABOUT MARKETING LADY GAGA* By Mathieu Deflem There can be no fame attained in any career based on artistic or other intrinsically valid accomplishments that is not also supported by an appropriate infrastructure. Even Mozart had to eat. And Lady Gaga, as can be surmised, is eating very well. But the good business practices that are at work in the case of Lady Gaga should not necessarily lead us to conclude that she herself is a marketing genius or a smart businessperson, as some have argued. Besides not knowing if or to what extent the singer is driven in whole or in part by financial motivations, it is also far from clear if she herself is responsible for the marketing of her work or if, conversely, she relegates such activities to her managers and other members in her support team. Moreover, the relative uniqueness of Lady Gaga, to successfully launch a global music career at a time when the popular music industry has been in sharp decline, prevents any wild speculations on what can be learned from her case for the benefit of other artists, let alone for other products. Proposing marketing lessons from Lady Gaga may well reflect a component in the success of her marketing, rather then being a reflection thereon.
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1. Lady Gaga is not just a pop star: What comes to mind when we speak of Lady Gaga are not merely the catchy pop tunes and dance beats she and her producers have created, but also the strong visual images and fashion styles the performer has become known for, equally to if not more importantly so than her music. Lady Gaga presents a total package which is always more than mere musical sound alone. The public persona Lady Gaga also involves her variably perceived to be shocking fashion choices as well as, on a more substantive level, her activism, her outspokenness, her sense of being different, and her involvement in establishing outreach towards her fans and those she perceives to be in need of special consideration. As such, Lady Gaga essentially exemplifies product differentiation. The truth about Lady Gaga’s public persona and image is not that she sets out to cause a stir, but that many people, including the occasional marketing professional, believe that is what she does. Besides her stylistic choices, the singer incorporates in her music meaningful messages. The public persona Lady Gaga involves her variably perceived to be shocking fashion choices as well as her activism, her related to various activist causes and political positions, especially in connection with gay rights. Mixing style and substance, her most ardent fans also embody the totality of Lady Gaga by referring to themselves as her ‘little monsters’ and declaring a love, not a mere appreciation, for the performer and all she stands for. Being a little monster involves more than an aesthetic disposition towards a singer and her music, and is instead understood in existential terms as the expression of an all-encompassing identity, a way of being.
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VOCALIST + INSIGHT 2. Lady Gaga practices an art of fame: As Lady Gaga herself has stated, she takes fame seriously and practices its pursuit consciously. The singer’s first two albums, “The Fame” and “The Fame Monster”, deal with various, both positive and negative aspects of fame, which ironically have also been displayed over the course of Lady Gaga’s career. This art of fame is not only revealed by Lady Gaga connecting intimately with her fan community, especially through social networking sites, but more importantly also with a much broader audience. It is self-evident to observe that Lady Gaga represents, perhaps more strikingly than any other figure in contemporary pop culture, the unique nature of fame in the era of twitter, Facebook, and other instant communication technologies on the internet. However, it is not true that the majority of people in Lady Gaga’s audience have been reached by these new technological means. Instead, the vast majority of people attracted to Lady Gaga are still drawn from more casual fans of her work, even and especially those who do not necessarily like everything she does. The most central role in creating this broad audience has been played as in times prior to the advent of the internet by Lady Gaga gaining a presence in radio, television, magazines, and other established news media. The true fame of Lady Gaga exists in the attention she gains, not just from her hardcore devotees, but from a wide mass of fans, semifans, nonfans, and even antifans. The fame of Lady Gaga exists not only in her relationship with those who like her, but also with all those who do not know much about her and even those who proclaim not to like her but who, ironically, cannot stop talking about her and who watch her each and every move.
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VOCALIST + INSIGHT 3. Lady Gaga sells products: Without questioning her artistic integrity, the business of being Lady Gaga entails more than writing and performing music. Her music itself is available for purchase in multiple formats, including downloads, CDs, deluxe and standard albums, and special editions and rereleases. Relying on a so-called ‘long lead’ strategy, Lady Gaga’s albums are announced many months in advance of release to create a buzz, a strategy that in the case of “Born This Way” may ironically also have created unattainable expectations. Lady Gaga’s albums, “The Fame Monster” and “Born This Way,” were also released with certain words in several songs censored. The strategy was voluntarily enacted by the record company in order to assure the album’s presence in department stores, to which the vast majority of sales has shifted since the demise of traditional record stores. The investments in Lady Gaga as a product selling brand name has been enabled by the development of a so-called ‘star system’ in the music industry, whereby very few performers are treated with special consideration while a host of other acts are largely ignored. Lady Gaga has been accepted and is presented as unique, as decidedly not niche. Stylistically, for example, Lady Gaga’s music is situated in the world of pop, but she is also considered something of an outsider as she emphasises her unusual route of getting into pop from a more diverse past that includes a classical piano training, a childhood exposure to classic rock, and a deliberate adoption of mixed musical styles, ranging from electronic dance to heavy metal. The pop star Lady Gaga is a rock star as well.
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4. Products sell Lady Gaga: It is not cheap to be Lady Gaga. In particular, the costs of staging the elaborate stage shows of her worldwide concert tours The Monster Ball (2010-2011) and The Born This Way Ball (2012-2013) are considerable and rely on corporate sponsors. Lady Gaga tour sponsorship has been primarily provided by Virgin Mobile, with extra support from other companies such as Skype. Additional revenue has been generated by a plethora of product placements in the singer’s music videos. Besides consumer goods that have a so called ‘organic’ connection with Lady Gaga’s artistic endeavours, such as headphones, a whole range of other products have been featured in her videos as well, including alcoholic beverages and condiments. The product Lady Gaga also entails multiple so-called ‘tie-in’ or brand partnerships with a range of products. Among them are the Monster Heartbeats headphones and the MAC Viva Glam cosmetics line, both of which feature Lady Gaga’s name. Most lucrative has been the Lady Gaga signature fragrance FAME, launched to much acclaim on the notion that it would be the first black fragrance to magically turn clear upon being sprayed. Thwarting any negative feedback that might result from an all too visible connection between the worlds of art and money, Lady Gaga sponsorship occasionally takes the guise of activism, for instance by promoting Virgin Mobile’s Re*Generation program for homeless youth from the LGBT community. Other business partnerships are masked in terms of providing benefits for the fan community, such as by setting up Skype chats with fans attending Lady Gaga concerts.
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HOW
LADY GAGA MADE
IT
BY LISA POPEIL
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Born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, Lady Gaga, 28, was born and raised in New York City. She started studying piano at age 4 and, by the age of 13, was taking vocal lessons and writing songs. A year later she began performing at open mic nights. Not only did Lady Gaga study classical piano to a high proficiency, but she had won leads in her high school musicals. At 17, she studied at CAP21, a musical theater training program associated with New York University but left to focus on a pop musical career. “I thought I could teach myself about art better than the school could,” she said in an interview with Elle magazine
Early Industry Connections
Fascinated with combining art, religion, politics, sex and music into the pinnacle of pop artistry, she worked as a waitress while dancing in burlesque clubs and singing in dive bars. In 2006, Gaga met music producer Rob Fusari and worked on composing new material. She was signed and dropped by Island Def Jam records, but her songwriting for Sony/ATV Music Publishing caught the attention of producer/writer/artist Akon. His interest led to her record contract with Interscope Records.
‘Poker Face’ reached #1
In 2007, she began working with MoroccanAmerican-Swedish producer RedOne which led to her to complete her first album ‘The Fame’. She supported the album with a tour in Europe and in gay clubs in the US, as well as opening for New Kids on the Block’s US tour. Her second single ‘Poker Face’ reached #1 in several major music markets worldwide in 2009, selling 9.8 million singles and was nominated for Song of the Year and Record of the Year at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards.
WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU
1. Early musical training can be a boon to your career. Start early and get good. 2. Collaborate and brain-storm with like-minded musicians and artists. 3. Be passionate about your musical direction, even to the point of delusion. You must believe in yourself despite all reasoning. 4. Being sexually provocative gets attention. Creating a shocking image keeps you memorable. 5. Convince those around you that you are great. Then be great. 6. Perform anywhere and often. Don’t miss an opportunity to be seen and heard. 7. You’re only one well-connected person away from a bigger career. The more you perform, the more likely that person will come into your life and steer you onward.
* The following article is being used by permission from © 2 0 1 4 Voice Council Magzine. For more: http://voicecouncil.com/how-did-taylor-swift-make-it/
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M.I.A
By Sophie Hall
Her name may be an acronym for “missing in action”, but the Tamil/English rapper M.I.A is certainly anything but. Under her roster of professions she can include: musician, visual artist, activist, photographer, model and fashion designer... Here is the story of M.I.A and how she infuses her politics in her controversial persona - leading to the Guardian dubbing her: “The antipopstar”. It’s been nearly 10 years now since MIA (real name Mathangi Arulpragasam) released her first album ‘Arular’: a powerful, sardonic hip hop record that set the charts alight, not just for its political lyrics and M.I.A’s instant personality, but it’s clash of world music inspirations - from the likes of London underground hip hop, to worldbeat, to electro reggae. It embodied everything about M.I.A, with even its title a coded reference to her father, who used the name during his work with Sri Lankan Tamil militant groups, striving to make Tamil Eelam independent. And M.I.A was sure to make the music independent too.
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ARTIST WHO MAKES A DIFFERENCE Sticking to her roots After moving to England from a troubled life in Sri Lanka at the age of 10, M.I.A grew up in 70s London, the world of a dawning age of punk, ska and reggae. She listened to The Clash, Public Enemy, Michael Jackson, and was often bubbling with rage about the Sri Lankan politics of her home country. Her light, jungledance song Sunshowers, from that first album, may have seemed flowery on the outside, but on the inside contained her disdain about the ‘axis of evil’ of the Iraq War. Her past in Sri Lanka and her presence in England helped the rapper establish who she was, and embraced the decade of anarchy with her two sets of roots accordingly. It’s easy to see why punk was M.I.A’s catharsis. From a young age, she was thrust into an entirely new environment, where no one could pronounce her name. But instead of standing down, M.I.A simply improvised.
Feminist through and through Often regarded as a self-made woman, it wasn’t long before M.I.A’s fame saw her as a feminist icon. The issues of feminism went hand in hand with the issues of race for M.I.A; a theme that she has welcomed in her music as much as politics. A fervent activist, the artist had a lot to fight for. But one she likes to always do with a tinge of satire. Whilst Beyonce talked of girls running the world, M.I.A fought for the women in oppressed countries, such as Saudi Arabia. Her video ‘Bad Girls’ was inspired by the story of a woman getting behind the wheel of a car - and subsequently getting arrested. In typical M.I.A fashion, the video featured M.I.A atop an adrift car, filing her nails, while other women drove cars in fabulous outfits, applauded by men. What else? THE VOCALIST MAGAZINE I 43
Being a rebel with a cause Throughout her career, M.I.A has caused ripples in the industry for being a tad controversial - the anti-popstar. With her alternative influences bleeding into more populist settings, the artist has come under fire in the tabloids on more than one occasion. One of M.I.A’s most famous moments was her performance with Madonna at one of the most watched music gigs on the planet - the half-time show at the Superbowl. So what’s a girl to do in a situation with more eyes on you than ever before? For M.I.A, it was simple: flip the bird. An empowering moment that led to the NFL suing M.I.A for over 16 million dollars in a two year court battle. (It was eventually settled.) M.I.A’s defence was a rather spiritual one, calling the use of the middle finger, not a use of swearing, but a symbol of female empowerment, a gesture to the Hindu Goddess Matangi. In fact, symbolism and imagery is everything M.I.A is as an artist.
Making the music visual A strong advocate of visual artistry, M.I.A has often embedded her craft with thought provoking images. Perhaps her most famous music video, Born Free, was one of her most satirically political productions to date. Why? Well, the subject matter was the genocide of all ginger people. Released without the knowledge of her record label, the video was applauded critically for its raw representation of showing the ridiculousness of video footage of horrific war crimes. As one actor in the video called it: “showing violence to end violence.” Sadly, a lot of people didn’t see the allegory, and the video subsequently was banned on Youtube for a short time.
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ARTIST WHO MAKES A DIFFERENCE Being ‘addicted to empowerment’. But whether it be the threat of legal action from a huge corporation, or the modern media being outraged by her actions, M.I.A’s strong political allegiences shine through anything. Now, a single mum, having to fight of custody for her young son, M.I.A’s presence in music today is stronger than ever before. From growing up with a music movement that was ‘addicted to empowerment’, M.I.A will always fight through conventions in her music and her art. But her fame, which some regard as so controversial, has actually given M.I.A the pedestal to be more philanthropic, supporting hundreds of charities from cancer research, to youth violence.
* For More - http://music.tutsplus.com/tutorials/what-you-can-learn-from-the-vocal-production-of-katy-gaga-keha--audio-16149
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By Sophie Hall
KANYE WEST
What can we learn from Kanye West? How do you go from being a man to a musician, to an entire brand? And, for a man who is known for his overwhelming self-confidence as well as his music, can such an ego stifle success? 46 I THE VOCALIST MAGAZINE
ARTIST WHO MAKES A DIFFERENCE An unstereotypical rapper: Creating his own demographic
Kanye West became a solo success in his own right, after a car crash inspired him to write ‘Through the Wire’, which would become his first Billboard-smashing hit single. Coming from a middle class background made it difficult for Kanye to gain credibility as a rapper, and as a college student, studio executives doubted he would be sellable without a ‘rags to riches’ background. In the book Kanye West in the Studio, he spoke about the difficulty of proving his worth. After all, he wasn’t Jenny from the block or The Real Slim Shady, growing up on rap battles in the streets of Detroit. Nonetheless, Kanye had a different story to tell.
Dropping out of college and trying a new path
Brought up by his mum in Chicago, Illinois, Kanye first began rapping in third grade, and was already in the studio by the age of 13. Eventually, after winning scholarships and becoming a bright-eyed student, he shocked his mother by dropping out of college to pursue his first album and dream. Choosing this path helped Kanye pursue his career and begin to mould his ‘brand’. After vetoeing the traditional college path, Kanye became a pioneer right from the start. From ghost-writing for other rappers, to starting his own rap group, The Go Getters, Kanye made friends fast, eventually producing for others at Roc-a-Fella records - otherwise known as a certain record label owned by Mr Jay Z. THE VOCALIST MAGAZINE I 47
Write what you know
True to his word, Kanye wrote songs about what he knew and what he was passionate about. Unlike most mainstream rappers of his day, Kanye took a more political (Diamonds from Sierra Leone) and religious (Jesus Walks) stance from the start.
Making the most of the platform
Once the music was out there, Kanye became more and more outspoken, and not just in his songs. One particularly gripping moment came during the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Kanye West was put on a huge pedestal during a live telethon to support the disaster. Standing next to Mike Myers, West ignored the teleprompter’s scripted lines, and went on a tirade against president of the time George Bush. (Myers’ faux poised face says it all.) A visibly upset Kanye announcing that “Bush didn’t care about black people” rocked America, and started an inevitable trail of spectacle and debate - leading to an inspired protest song, and George Bush calling it one of the worst moments of his presidency. Kanye channelled his ego into the right reasons. He became heavily involved in the recovery of Katrina, and founded his own charity foundation that helps impoverished children become literate and have access to music education.
Dedicated follower of fashion
As well as his philanthropy, Kanye’s entrepreneurial streak has been well documented. Recently, Kanye defended himself to Zane Lowe about musicians’ relationships with business enterprises. “I have reached the glass ceiling – as a creative person, as a celebrity. When I say that it means I want to do product. I am a product person. Not just clothing but water bottle design, architecture, everything that you could think about. And I’ve been at it for 10 years, and I look around and I say, ‘Hey wait a second – there’s no one around here in this space that looks like me.’ And if they are, they’re quiet as fuck!” And although we’re yet to see the great Kanye West water bottle, the musician has made quite a few waves with his recent foray into fashion, an outside interest he has been dabbling with since 2009. 48 I THE VOCALIST MAGAZINE
ARTIST WHO MAKES A DIFFERENCE Conquering the ego
And as that last quote shows - Kanye’s confidence is one of the reasons the rap star is so hugely influentual today. But that hasn’t stopped his ego getting him into trouble - such as frequently interrupting award ceremonies to dispute the winner, (Taylor Swift, Justice and Beck are just a few of Kanye’s victims of crashing their acceptance speeches) and social media rants that have led to a pretty sizable number of apologies. But as Kanye says himself, it’s simply another obstacle. And at his recent speech at Oxford University - he’s optimistic about the matter. “One of my biggest Achilles heels has been ego. And if I, Kanye West, can remove my ego, I think there’s hope for everyone.”
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BJORK
By Sophie Hall
In the mainstream world, Icelandic sensation Björk is often called many things: quirky, kooky, bizarre. But over a flourishing career that has spanned three decades, the off-beat singer has proved on many occasions that it’s certainly okay to be different... From her recent foray into virtual reality music videos, to her unrelenting love of technology in her work - this is the story of how Björk embraced the futuristic side of music. 50 I THE VOCALIST MAGAZINE
ARTIST WHO MAKES A DIFFERENCE Getting things down to a science
Embracing the joys of not fitting in
Growing up, Björk was influenced by sci-fi, Scandinavian punk and fairytales, and was never afraid to embed her interests into her work. As such, when her ascent into mainstream pop music culture began, critics were quick to call her up on her quirks. One particularly famous incident (that we’re sure you all remember) had the artist appearing at the 73rd Academy Awards dressed as a swan, now an iconic moment in red carpet history. Why? Well, for one, she was nominated in her heartbreaking role in the 2000 drama Dancer in the Dark (a film so devastating, that Björk vowed never to act again) - and as for the swan? Björk admitted she wanted to take such a hugely watched pedestal and make a statement.
Swan dresses aside, fashion wasn’t the only area where Bjork enjoyed experimenting. From her first (adult) album Debut back in 2003, the singer often embraced technology in her music: evident from her songs which have dipped into trip-hop, to alternative beats, to of course a deep, unrelenting love of electronica, which would shape her musical shadow for the future records to come. Björk has always confessed to be ‘nerdy’ with her work - and often fused themes of nature and science simultaneously. Björk’s love of science fiction has also bled into her music videos, with the likes of Michel Gondry (director of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) to Chris Cunningham (known for his abstract visual work with Aphex Twin) working with her to achieve her visions of the future. Björk’s latest trick has seen a foray into virtual reality; a phenomenon which has begun to enchant tech-a-holics on a whole new scale, thanks to the developments of virtual reality giants Oculus Rift. For her project, a song called Stonemilker, Björk invited fans to immerse in a different kind of music video experience. Using headsets, the viewer is put on a beach, complete with a 360 degree view, to observe the setting of a break-up Björk had many years ago, which serves as the catalyst for the song. The project, reportedly, was so intimate that it had many fans in tears by the end. For many musicians who seek more intimacy with their fans - perhaps Björk has opened up a whole new layer of music videos...
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Declaring independence
So Björk’s music often serves as a window into the impossible, from sci-fi fantasy, to helping gain catharsis for certain political tensions. Björk’s biggest political comment came from the 2008 track ‘Declare Independence’, an intense dance-anthem celebrating self-sufficiency. At numerous gigs, Björk sparked controversy for dedicating Declare Independence to countries of relevance, such as Kosovo declaring independence from Serbia, in the same year as the track’s release. This led to a mysterious cancellation of Björk playing EXIT Festival, a festival hosted by Serbia. In China, Björk also got into trouble for shouting “Tibet! Tibet! Raise your flags!” - a reference to the ongoing struggles of human rights for Tibetans. The outcry led to China threatening to ban Björk from future concerts. In a statement straight afterwards, Björk addressed the thin line between pop & politics. “I would like to put importance on that I am not a politician, I am first and last a musician and as such I feel my duty to try to express the whole range of human emotions. The urge for declaring independence is just one of them but an important one we all feel at some times in our lives. This song was written more with the personal in mind but the fact that it has translated to its broadest meaning, the struggle of a suppressed nation, gives me much pleasure. I would like to wish all individuals and nations good luck in their battle for independence.”
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ARTIST WHO MAKES A DIFFERENCE From pop artist to mentor: Björk & influencing a new generation
In her later years, Björk has gone from singer to producer - often introducing new recording artists to her craft. Often taking protege’s under her wing with her parent record label One Little Indian Records, the singer has discovered numerous voices around the world. True to form, Björk’s discoveries have dug up the weird & wonderful, such as her signing of Inuit throat singer Tagaq, who uses a unique phenomenon of singing to emulate the harmonies of two singers.
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Content Marketing Lessons Learned from U2
By Amanda E. Clark
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MARKETING + TIPS Even if you’ve never in your life cared about the rock band U2, you may well have heard about their latest escapade: In September 2014, the group—long associated with Apple, at least since appearing in the company’s classic iPod commercials in 2004—showed up at the grand unveiling of the iPhone 6, and they came with a big announcement: They had a new, surprise album ready to release. And release it they did: With one push of a button, Apple boss Tim Cook released the album to the entire iTunes user database. The album was available for free for a full five weeks. About half a billion people, give or take, now own this new U2 album, making it, by most reckonings, the biggest album launch in history. Haters Gonna Hate
You might think you know what we’re going to say, at this point—that this album launch is in some way a case of exemplary content marketing. That’s true to an extent. U2 has created original, compelling content; has imagined a really attention-grabbing way to promote it; has made the content available for free; has clearly succeeded in building buzz, both on social media and in the offline world; and will likely see this buzz translate into more of their old albums sold and more concert tickets purchased, as new listeners discover the pleasures of U2 through this new album giveaway. Giving away their Songs of Innocence album as an automatic download, some have argued, borders on the creepy; others have said it smacks of desperation. There are even some accusations that U2’s methodology is a violation of iTunes user privacy. The influential music blog Pitchfork Media describes the release method as “indisputably queasy,” for instance; the review went on to say that the men in U2 have aligned “with their old friends Apple to insert their new album, Songs of Innocence, into all of our libraries without consent. By updating the old Columbia House Record Club scam to the digital age, U2 and their Cupertino buddies have created a new avenue of opt-out cultural transmission, removing even the miniscule effort it takes to go to a website and click ‘Download.’”
The Importance of Choice
This all illustrates a subtle yet significant component of content marketing: When it’s done right, content marketing is all about conveying your brand’s message without necessarily coming right out and saying it. To put it another way, content marketing should cause consumers to feel like they’ve found your brand—not like you’ve targeted them and hounded them. That may be part of why people didn’t like the U2 album released model: The band and Apple left no room for the consumer to play a part, to feel like he or she contributed to the process. It simply feels as though a product has been forced upon us—and while it may seem ungrateful to complain about a free product, it’s nevertheless legitimate to critique the shoehorned nature of this product launch.
Lessons
The lesson for vocalist, then, may just be this: Don’t try to force anything on your consumers. Let them find their way to you. Give them just enough information that they can make the choice on their own—and yes, perhaps, opt out if they really want to.
Amanda E. Clark is the president and editor-in-chief of Grammar Chic, Inc., a full-service professional writing and editing company. Amanda is a published ghostwriter and editor, and currently under contract with literary agencies in Malibu, California, and Dublin, Ireland. Read more at http://www.business2community.com/content-marketing/content-marketing-lessons-learned-u2-01006539#Q7863bfxoCSuGgi0.99
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Pop Stars and Craft Beer: Lessons in Branding and Trademarking
BY PETER GASCA Co-founder of WildCreations.com*
Using trademarks to build and protect a brand is a great strategy for small businesses, but without the proper considerations, it can ultimately cause more harm than good. Here are a few things to consider before you dive into the trademark fray. 1. Consider why you are trademarking.
grow further. While Lagunitas, or any company for that matter, should certainly not allow others to infringe on a trademark, there was little threat from the use of this acronym, which had already been adopted throughout the industry as standard nomenclature. At this point, the acronym’s use by Sierra Nevada, a much larger and more popular brand, could have been leveraged to garner valuable visibility for Lagunitas--just not by way of lawsuit
If, however, your goal is to try to secure a trademark for the simple goal of squeezing out or hurting a competitor or profiting from a trend, it could ultimately backfire. For Lagunitas, that was not the strategy behind their lawsuit, but it certainly was perceived as such. The company lost focus on what their brand stood for--namely the high quality of craft beer it produces, not a superficial acronym.
3. Consider your audience
Securing strategic trademarks while building a brand is a good strategy, especially if you have a unique identifier that differentiates you from competitors. Swift certainly has an established brand, but she is smart to consider trademarking popular phrases from her albums as a means of protecting her brand from dilution by people seeking to capitalize on her popularity.
2. Consider the threats
For entrepreneurs who produce intellectual property, protecting your “product” is of utmost importance. As the music industry continues to evolve, artists will rely more on tours and ancillary products to generate income. Unfortunately, knock-off products that imitate the artists’ likenesses abound, so any strategy that allows you to crack down on infringement of your image and take control of merchandising is a smart strategy. For craft beer, the industry is growing at an incredibly fast clip and has a great deal of room to
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Taylor Swift is well known for having a good rapport with her tens of millions of fans. While she might have alienated some of her country music followers when she made the jump to pop star, very few fault her for the move. Because of this relationship and her solid reputation, and because most people understand the intensely competitive nature of the music industry, she is more likely not to irk her fans with what some people might believe to be a silly trademark filing. On the other hand, Lagunitas operates in the craft beer industry, where cooperation and mutual support across the industry is common, and where many companies even collaborate to produce new and innovative offerings. More important, craft beer consumers support the industry more than individual companies, so any effort that might impede the growth or hurt the reputation of the industry is seen as intrusive and arrogant.
BRANDING
* For More - http://www.inc.com/tony-dicostanzo/three-business-lessons-from-a-katy-perry-concert.html
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‘‘ It’s really about making
the best music you can make. It’s really about working hard.
‘‘
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JOHN LEGEND
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‘‘ Soul
is about authenticity. About finding the things in your life that are real and pure.
‘‘
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‘‘
JOHN LEGEND
Find out what your gift is and nurture it.
‘‘
‘‘
We don’t need to share the same opinions as others, but we need to be respectful.
‘‘
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JOHN LEGEND
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‘‘ John legend is a nickname
that somebody started calling me a while ago and part of it is ‘cos I sound like an old man when I sing.
‘‘
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‘‘ There’s a certain
confidence that co with being sure ab the way the world
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omes bout d works.
JOHN LEGEND
‘‘
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‘‘ Marvin Gaye was one of the coolest. I look to him as a style icon and as an artist.
‘‘
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JOHN LEGEND
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JOHN LEGEND
‘‘
I always saw my as a singer-song a solo-artist, tha working with oth was never satisf
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yself gwriter, at’s why her artists fying for me.
‘‘
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JOHN LEGEND
‘‘
My style icons were Gwen Stefani, when she was in No Doubt, and then Shirley Manson in Garbage.
‘‘
‘‘ ‘‘ I have to practice As a young black boy, it made
to be good at guitar. me proud to see black leaders I have to writeamazing 100 songs that did something and made the world change. before I write the first good one.
‘‘ ‘‘
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ICON
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7 Ways Janet Jackson Changed The Music Industry Forever By Conor Behan
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Not only did the pop icon just celebrate her 49th birthday, but she also announced her return to pop music this year. The last time we got a full new album from Janet was in 2008, and much has changed since the days before Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Adele and Taylor Swift came pop megastars, before Twitter created careers and before Spotify made sales a thing of the past. But for all the things that have changed since we last had Janet hitting the charts, it’s Miss Jackson herself who changed the game. Don’t believe us? Here’s how Janet paved the way and made her influence felt in the music world. 1
Music Videos
It’s often pointed out how Janet’s contemporaries Madonna and Michael Jackson made the music video an event in the early ‘80s. But when Janet released clips for the singles off of her breakthrough 3rd album Control in 1986, she showed a mastery of the form that would become a signature of her career. From intricate choreography in “What Have You Done for Me Lately” to the longform political pop visuals of Rhythm Nation in 1989, Janet showed an understanding and flair for performing in music videos that would cement her status as a pop icon. That trend would continue throughout her career, from the brazen sexual imagery of the “If” video, the beautifully realized detail of “Got ‘Til It’s Gone” and “All For You”’s stylized cartoon dance party. Janet reminded you that the music video was the perfect medium for a superstar to carve out their message, no matter how that may change from record to record.
2
Big Budget Tours
The blockbuster success of Rhythm Nation sent Janet on the road for her first tour in 1990. The subsequent jaunt, imaginatively titled the Rhythm Nation Tour, would go on to become the most successful debut tour 74 I THE VOCALIST MAGAZINE
by any pop performer, taking in $28 million from over 110 shows. Across all of her tours, Janet helped pioneer the kind of multimedia extravaganza that is now standard for Gaga, Pink and Britney, amongst countless others. From a squad of backup dancers to multiple costume changes, Janet was one of the first stars to recreate the lavish world of her music videos in a live context.
3 Choreography
From lavish shows to eyepopping videos, one of Janet’s hallmarks soon became her intricate and instantly iconic choreography, which also launched the careers of famous choreographers like Tina Landon and Paula Abdul. From “What Have You Done For Me Lately” onwards, Janet pioneered a kind of sinewy, seemingly effortless but breathtaking way of hitting through tightly choreographed dance steps. Clips like “Rhythm Nation,” “If,” “Pleasure Principle” and “Together Again” showed Jackson’s knack for switching up her dance style with ease. Pick any “squad of dancers behind a popstar” dance video of the last 10 years and you’ll see Janet’s influence straight away.
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ICON 4
Pop Production
Over the last five years the producer has become more paramount in pop than ever before. From DJs like Diplo and David Guetta to the continued success of Dr. Luke and Max Martin, the people twiddling the knobs on hit songs have as much fame as the stars fronting them. Janet understood the power of a good production team at a key juncture in her career. When she reinvented herself with the tough, streetwise charm of Control, Janet roped in Prince collaborators (and stars in their own right) Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis to revamp her sound. It paid off, and meant that of the 16 (!) Billboard Hot 100 number ones Jam and Lewis scored, 9 of those came from their work with Janet (Max Martin currently has 8 of his 20 Hot 100 number ones for his work with Katy Perry). Janet showed the power of finding the right production team to further your vision, and the Janet, Jam and Lewis collaborative magic helped make her a star.
5
Event Albums
6
Record Deals
Once Janet made the pop world truly notice her with the breakout success of Control, she turned her album releases into events: From interludes and deep cuts, each Janet album was a full body of work and only released every few years. Jackson made her albums blockbusters releases and, well before the current era where singles come with a teaser clip, lyric videos, artwork reveal and album rereleases almost instantly, Jackson showed the power of making the album your calling card.
Mariah Carey returned to Sony Records recently, who she left after she infamously signed a $100 million dollar contract with Virgin Records in 2000. (The label would then buy Carey out of her contract after Glitter underperformed.) But before that, Janet set a precedent for bigticket record contracts. Prejanet. album Jackson signed a contract
with Virgin Records worth $50 million dollars an unprecedented amount at the time, which was then reupped to the tune of $80 million in the mid ‘90s before the release of Velvet Rope. Jackson made the record business put their money into her work in a move that signified the power of the bigticket female pop icon. Now, labels engineer “360 deals,” Jay Z uses big name stars to promote Tidal and pop stars leverage their music appeal into contracts for other endorsements. Before Taylor Swift and Gaga were topping Forbes lists of powerful pop icons, Janet was showing how the music world could answer to the artists that had made it so much money.
7
Future Stars
Janet’s influence has been cited by a bevy of pop performers, and she even helped give some performers their start: Paula Abdul transitioned into a massively successful pop career after Janet encouraged her having worked on much of her choreography. Jennifer Lopez made one of her first onscreen appearances in the clip for Janet’s “That’s The Way Love Goes” video, and frequently cites Jackson’s own style of dance as an inspiration. Meanwhile Jackson’s visual influence on performers like Britney Spears, Ciara and Zendaya is obvious. In fact, for all the focus on how Britney was allegedly mimicking Madonna, the style of dance and even her shedding of her sexy image felt far more in line with how Janet has made her mark. Pink, Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, Justin Timberlake, Rihanna and Lady Gaga have all cited Jackson’s influence on them as pop stars, showing the length and breadth of her ongoing impact on pop. And it’s not just her pop contemporaries! Little Dragon, Dev Hynes and How To Dress Well are just some of the alternative acts to reference their fandom of Janet’s material, while Kendrick Lamar’s “Poetic Justice,” released in 2013, included a sample of “Any Time, Any Place.”
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SALLY FOLK By Cristina Sanza Credit Photos - Sally Folk
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PROFILE
ith two successful albums under her belt, a few number one singles, and a vibrant, enthusiastic attitude, Algerian-Canadian singer-songwriter Sally Folk has surely made waves in the province of Quebec. Her latest album, Deuxième Acte, was released under Entourage Musique in March of 2015. Since then, she has released a single and music video for the song, “Les Heures de Visite,” which reached number one in Montreal.
Although Folk’s punchy songwriting style and precise vocals make it seem as though she’s been a musician for decades, she actually spent several years in the restaurant industry prior to diving into her music career. Throughout her time as a restaurant and bar owner, she met many musical contacts. Eventually, she had to withdraw from that scene, which lead her to pursue a musical career of her own. It was at this point she began writing her own music. Her stage name, “Sally Folk” was actually derived from one of her first compositions titled “Sally and Me,” where she explores an alter ego that is used a lot in her writing. She soon after adopted the name “Sally.” Her music is often described as francophone pop, but Folk incorporates other musical styles into her work. “I’m really into the vintage and rockabilly but we try to blend all these different styles,” she said. “We do bring pop and rock but on the album that just came out there’s some bassanova on there. We try to get out of the mould where people try to put us, but vintage and rockabilly would be the main genres.” It is no surprise that her rockabilly vibe is inspired by some of the greatest artists of that genre. “I do listen to a lot of Elvis Presley and Roy Orbison but when I need a little class, I watch Tina Turner and check out what she does,” she explained. “It really helps for the stage presence and everything she does is amazing.” Her inner Tina Turner comes out in her eclectic performances, where she is usually gracing the stage in a vintage-inspired dress to accompany her genre even further. “It puts you in a girly mood,” Folk said of the dresses. “I think it’s important that the image goes well with the music. I didn’t see myself when I started seven years ago, going on stage with a pair of sneakers. It was important to me if I was going into the vintage music style that I had to embrace the same fashion style.” In her music video for “Les Heures de Visite,” Folk is sporting a classic red lip and vintage dresses throughout, along with her fierce personality. The story of the music video echoes what the actual song is about. “[The song] talks about a boyfriend that I had in prison,” she explains. “We just played around with this theme. ‘Les Heures de Visite’ speaks about all these
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PROFILE little relationships that are not going to work because there’s something other than love that makes it not work. In this song it’s a big metaphor, because he’s in prison.” In this new album, Folk talked about how she has matured as an artist. “I think [maturity] has to happen because I’m not the same. Right now I’m 32 and I wrote the first album when I was 26 or 27 so I think I gained maturity but also experience. I think I’m a little meaner than before, in the songs.” Coming up, Folk has several performances fans can look out for. “I have a lot of festivals this summer and a tour coming up in September,” she said. “I know that we’re doing the national party on Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac. I’m really excited about that because we’re going to do something typically Quebécois. We’ve even prepared a new single for the event. It talks about love, and there are a lot of violins.” For aspiring vocalists, Folk has one important piece of advice: write your own material. “Don’t waste time doing other people’s songs, just do your own songs.”
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INTERVIEW
MARINA V California-based singer/songwriter Marina V captivates listeners with her powerfully haunting voice. Her lyrics are so empathetic, so relatable, so downright human, they could have been taken from anyone’s personal diary. Melodic piano reflects the indie pop artist’s classically-trained background, while the soft lilt of an accent is an endearing reminder of Marina’s Russian roots. She was first enchanted by America at the age of 15, when she beat out 10,000 applicants and won a scholarship to Illinois. Upon finishing college, she moved to Los Angeles, where she has been sampling wine and writing music with hubby, co-writer and guitarist, Nick Baker, ever since. Despite her love of America, Russian culture is still a meaningful part of her life and her music. She says that she is proud to be “the little window” into her home country for her English-speaking fans. It’s this cultural diversity and sheer passion for music and life emanating from Marina that make her a truly special artist. Marina V’s songs have been featured in various mediums, from Pepsi ads to the TV show Days of Our Lives. She has worked with prominent producers and performed at premier venues worldwide (notably the glamorous Kodak Theater – now Dolby Theater – in Hollywood, California, and the American Embassy in Moscow). Marina is currently busy performing, recording for her Two Songs a Month Club, and preparing for the release of her sixth studio album, INNER SUPERHERO, set for release in the fall of 2015.
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The Vocalist Magazine: When you were a young girl, you were classically trained in the Soviet Union. Did you always know you wanted to sing, or at least pursue music? Marina V: Yes, and my mom said that I was sing-
ing since before I could talk. I, myself, do not remember that, but for as long as I can remember, I’ve always been singing. My mom decided to take me to the school for music when I was six because that’s the only thing she could think of. I was the only one in my family who had any musical inclinations.
TVM: What kind of music did you listen to growing up? MV: I was listening to a lot of classical music as a
kid. My grandmother, the same one who taught me the piano, she had classic radio on all the time. My favourite [composer] has always been Tchaikovsky. I can’t explain why, but I was just always drawn to him. Maybe it’s because they say that he embodies the Russian soul and Russian folk music, and I love Russian folk music.
eyes on a cultural level, that it’s possible to think and feel differently. It also gave me a whole new experience; a new country, new language, new friends, new school, new everything. I also got to travel to many different places [across the US]. It was an amazing thing and I was incredibly lucky that I won that scholarship.
TVM: Even though you live in the States, you have cooking videos of how to make borscht, you write in Russian, you sing in Russian… So Russia still seems to be a big part of your life today. MV: It will always be part of me. I’m actually re-
ally proud of being Russian and I go back to see my family in Moscow at least twice a year. Just because I live in America, it doesn’t mean that I don’t love Russia anymore. My heart will always be there, but I am very happy in California. I love sharing Russian culture with my non-Russian speaking audience because for most people I meet, I’m the first person who’s ever sung in Russian to them. So at my concerts, I sing at least one, usually a couple, of Russian songs and for them, it’s like a little window into Russia. I’m really proud to be that window.
TVM: Then you came to the United States in the late 1990s to pursue a music scholarship. Can you go into how that happened TVM: Do you feel any different when you and what that experience was like? MV: Yes, I came to Illinois. It was an amazing ex- sing in English versus in Russian? perience because things were very difficult in MV: Yeah. I think that any foreign person will Moscow in the 90s. It was chaotic and very crazy. My family, even though they are very educated, had no money. Almost nobody had money. Then all of a sudden, we hear about this amazing scholarship that I could compete for. Later, I found out that over 100,000 kids across the former Soviet Union competed, and they chose only a few each year. I ended up winning the scholarship and it really changed my life because it gave me the opportunity to come to America, live here for a year, absorb the culture and learn so much at age 15. That really changed my life in many, many ways, but especially in my mind because I fell in love with American optimism. I really love the openness and almost childlike vision of life that a lot of Americans have. It’s very optimistic, a lot more optimistic than the Russians, and I love that. I didn’t know that there was a different way of looking at things when I was 15. It opened my
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agree that when you speak a foreign language, you feel a little different, like your personality is slightly different. It’s the same way with singing. It’s hard to explain unless you speak two languages.
TVM: Musically, which bands inspire you? MV: When I first met my husband, well, before he
was my husband, I already started writing songs in English. He had told me that I should check out Tori Amos because what I’m doing is somewhat similar, and I just loved Tori. I listened to all of her early albums and she’s amazing. I also really like Jewel. However, my biggest, biggest influence is the Beatles. Paul McCartney, specifically, his song writing, that’s my biggest influence. So my vocal may be influenced by Tori, but with Paul McCartney, he’s all about song writing. He has the coolest songs in the world, in my opinion.
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TVM: You’re currently not singed to a record label. Is that something you’re trying to achieve, or have you decided to go the way that a growing number of musicians are going now and doing it all yourself? MV: Yes and no. I love being an independent artist
because really, I run my own business. Nobody’s telling me what to do or how to do it. But at the same time, if a label comes along and has a great amount of money or great marketing plan, something I myself do not have, I will absolutely consider it. I have had a few offers from labels, but they were not good in my opinion. They were not great enough offers to give up so much control of my music. So if the right offer comes along, I will definitely consider it. Of course, I would love to grow and have more concerts and a bigger listening audience. It’s every artist’s dream to keep growing and growing.
album. I’ve been trying different genres and different styles of recording, and cover songs. So it’s been awesome on every level.
TVM: You seem very involved and interactive with your fans through Patreon, but also on Twitter and YouTube. You reply to so many posts and comments. It’s really nice that you do that. MV: I personally absolutely love it. I don’t get to
everything, but I really try. I know that for me, as a music fan, I sometimes tweet to my favourite performer or write a letter or after a show, I try to meet them, and when they take the time to meet me or reply to me, it means the world. So I try to be the artist I want to see. If I have a little bit of time, I’m always on my phone answering people. I think it makes fans appreciate the artist a little bit more. It only takes a few minutes, so if I can do that and make somebody’s day nicer, I will do it. Because I know it would make my day nicer if an artist I liked replied to me.
TVM: A stable salary, or lack of, is probably the most difficult part of being independent. Can you talk about the ways you get TVM: Recording versus performing live, funding? MV: You’re right. The biggest challenge for an they both require a different dynamic and artist is getting funds to continue creating music a different mindset. Is there one you prefer and touring because, especially within the last over the other? couple of years, physical and digital sales have MV: For me, I love performing. I love being in the dropped drastically. For somebody like me, it really affects my life because every month, that’s my way of paying my bills. So I started the Two Songs a Month club through the platform Patreon. It’s like Kickstarter, but on an ongoing basis. Basically, fans of my music promise to give me $1, or any amount they want, per song. I do two songs a month, so every month, I deliver two songs to them. One is a cover of a famous song and the other is a new, original song. Right now, I have 129 members and those people are incredible. I’m just so grateful to them. They are true patrons of my art and they know that I need the money and I use it wisely. Any artist will tell you that I have several shows one month, and then no shows the next month, and then very few sales and boom! There’s not enough money to pay the bills. Sometimes, it’s very hard. This Two Songs a Month club provides me with a basic salary to make sure I can survive, especially when months are harder. It’s also so much fun. I’ve been recording all these songs that I wanted to record before, but didn’t necessarily want to put on the
moment and connecting with people. There’s a special energy in the room when it’s happening right there and then, and this connection between the performer and the audience. Recording is very cool, but still, it’s you, the microphone and the engineer. It’s really different emotionally and physically.
TVM: It really shows, how much you love performing live. The lyrics to your songs, they’re very personal and seem autobiographical. Where do you find inspiration for your music? MV: You said it, they’re autobiographical! Just
like everybody else, I experience a million things each day and I put that into songs. I have songs on every subject, from love to loss of love, to thinking about death, or being happy, or trying to get over a difficult situation in my life. To me, they are autobiographical because it’s kind of my diary and it helps me. It’s very cleansing for me to write songs.
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INTERVIEW INTERVIEW TVM: Apart from the lyrics, you also write the melody for your music. How does it all come together? MV: I don’t always write it all myself. A lot of the times, I co-write with my husband, Nick Baker. There a lot of songs that I have written entirely by myself, but I love writing with Nick. What usually happens is that it starts with a melody in my head. I’ve been doing this all my life and I don’t know where they come from; it’s kind of a mystery and magical. Every time, it surprises me. So a melody just pops into my head and then, it usually grows and grows. I’ll usually I have a couple of words here and there, or I know what I want it to be about. Then, I go to the piano, play it for Nick and see what he thinks. We sit down, write some more music and come up with more words.
TVM: Your music has also been featured in TV, video games, and other mediums. That’s very cool. Do you ever write specially with those mediums in mind? MV: It happens both ways. There have been a
few songs where we specifically wrote for TV shows, or children’s iPad games and some movies. Some, we write specifically because they come to us and give us a script. Sometimes, somebody just calls and asks to use a song. So it comes from both ways. But, I really pursue music licensing because it allows me to connect with more people. For example recently, I had a few songs on Days of our Lives, which is a soap opera. We had a bunch of songs on there that we specifically wrote with a composer and I got a lot of new fans from that show. That’s really great because they would not have heard my music otherwise. Plus, it was really fun and exciting for me, as a songwriter, to do something a little different and collaborate with other people like the composer of that show. Right now, I just finished a song for the end credits for an upcoming sci-fi movie. So I love collaborating and experimenting with new sounds.
TVM: On to your diet and vocal health. In terms of food, you follow a vegan diet, right? MV: I’m not entirely vegan. I do a few days a
week when I’m a vegan but then other days, I’m an omnivore. Vegetables are so good for us and they’re much healthier for you, especially raw, when they’re not cooked in any way shape or form. It’s how nature intended. I believe that. Today is actually one of my vegan days. I have a smoothie in front of me that my husband just made. Let’s see, what did we put in it today? Spinach, broccoli, raspberries, ginger and an apple. Sometimes on the road though, it’s just impossible to do. On the last tour, we took a blender with us and in the hotel rooms, we made smoothies. We went to local produce stores and got greens to make smoothies in the hotel room, and I’m sure the neighbours enjoyed the noisy blender (laughs).
TVM: Are there foods or liquids that you avoid before a show? MV: Oh, yes. As a singer, there are a lot of things
that should not be eaten, not just before the show, but sometimes a day before the show. Most dairy, milk, cheese, all that stuff. It causes a lot of phlegm in your throat, and that’s really not good for any singer. So most singers usually avoid dairy. Also, there are days that I avoid anything with caffeine. Caffeine can really affect the singing, but actually, I avoid it almost on a daily basis. Once in a while, I’ll have an espresso, but these days, I drink a lot of decaf tea. I love tea, and it’s better for the vocals. I also avoid highly fatty stuff and highly acidic stuff, but I do drink wine. I love wine, but a day before the show, I drink very little or none at all.
TVM: Can you describe your vocal routine? MV: Before the how, I do a lot of breathing and
very basic humming to gently warm up the vocal chords. The breathing not only calms you down, but also helps open up the lungs. I try to work out significantly on the day of the show, so I get in a good run, squats and cardio so it opens my lungs to help me breathe better. Then, I feel like I can sing so much better. It’s incredible how a cardio workout can make a performance so much better. Right before the show, I do a few jumping jacks and a lot of stretches backstage. It really helps.
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TVM: You travel a lot, so between the airplanes, the jet lag, the hotel rooms, how do you keep healthy? MV: First of all, every time I start feeling like
something’s in my throat, or my nose gets a little bit stuffed up, I try to get a very, very good nights’ sleep and I uphold my vegetarian/vegan diet. It takes a lot less energy to digest vegetables, especially raw vegetables than it takes to digest meat or alcohol. I’ve done a lot of research on this. So on days when I feel a little bit weak, I have only veggies and I feel like I have so much more energy, and it usually keeps me from getting sick. I also travel with my own humidifier in the room, so I always try to control the air humidity. That’s why people often get sick on airplanes. Not only are there people sneezing and that air is circulating, but it’s also very dry. I usually wear a surgical mask on the airplane. People always look at me like I’m crazy, but I don’t care. I can totally relax on the plane and breathe through my mask. I haven’t gotten sick on a plane in the last six years since I started wearing it. It’s actually quite amazing, because I used to get sick almost every time when I would travel.
TVM: Being an indie artist, can you talk about some of the challenges you’ve encountered? MV: Well there’s a gazillion challenges, but for me, one of the biggest is being an artist and businessperson because I make money from my music and when I originally started doing music, I never thought of money. I did it solely for my personal pleasure. To me, it’s sometimes hard balancing my business side of my brain with the creative side. I don’t have a day job. I do music
full time, but a lot of my day is spent doing business. It’s either melodies stuck in my head, or things that I need to do business-wise stuck in my head. For me, that’s one of my biggest challenges, balancing the two of them.
TVM: Now, let’s talk about Inner Superhero, set to come out in the fall of 2015! How do you find this album, is different from the other albums you’ve released? MV: Every artist hopefully grows with time. So I
think there’s some great song writing here that I’m really proud of that. Also, the production is a step up from my previous albums. I just found this really great producer, Ryan Franks, who did most of the songs with us, and who produced them, recorded and engineered them. He got a great sound of me and he also played a lot of instruments. His production, I think, brought a different and cooler twist to my songs and I love what he’s done.
TVM: You have a lot going on at the moment. You have your Two Songs a Month club, your live performances, working on album... Am I missing anything? MV: Well, we just finished a documentary of my
whole tour last summer. We did a seven-week tour across the US and we documented all the fun places where we stopped, including some national parks and some historical landmarks. One of the restaurants we went to has been there since 1770 in Philadelphia, for example. Right now, we’re sending it to various film festivals across the country.
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FRANCESCO
YATES
By Melissa Simboli-Gibbs Credit Photos: Francesco Yates
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INTERVIEW occupy your head. It’s a very important lesson TVM: What was your upbringing like? Francesco: Well, I’ve always been singing. It’s a they taught me to just let go.
strange thing, I was looking back at old family videos and I was always singing. In one particular, I had a guitar. I was a little different because from a young age, I had a very eclectic music taste. My parents would play anything from Bob Marley to Led Zeppelin, it’s really crazy. Lots of good stuff!
TVM: What was the moment you knew that you wanted to do music? Francesco: I have to say everything kind of
clicked when I watched the movie ‘School of Rock’. I actually went to a music camp during the summer but to me, it was school of rock because that’s just how I knew it. Around 12, it felt like it all came together almost instantaneously. I haven’t really looked back since.
TVM: How would you describe your music and voice? Francesco: My music style is pop music to the
TVM: What have been some of your favourite performances so far? Francesco: One of them was when I was on the
Wide Awake tour. It was November of last year and I was in Birmingham, Alabama. I was terribly sick with the flu but for some reason, on that stage everything just came together and we played one of the best shows we’ve ever done. On the same tour, I had a show in New York and that one was pretty amazing too.
TVM: On the day of a performance, how do you usually prepare? Francesco: It’s just like the calm before the
storm. I like to take a few minutes by myself and prepare for what’s about to happen. I clear the mind and just try to let go.
TVM: Do you ever get nervous? Francesco: All the time. But it’s usually always
root, really. But there are influences of dark soul, mixed with sounds from the 70s and 80s. There’s also a lot of electric guitar.
before the show. Once I get on the stage though, it’s all gone!
perfectionist! Sometimes that’s a gift and sometimes that’s a curse. But I was just told once to go for it and listen to your gut. That advice was from Pharell Williams. Another great piece of advice I got was from the quote ‘It’s just music after all’. I was in the Hamptons in New York and met Paul McCartney who told me that. It’s simple stuff but it makes a lot of sense given my perfectionist ways.
ferent textures on the album and I hope the people listening feel it. You can make real the makebelieve if you paint the picture successfully. You get more than just music, you get something else, it’s like a movie. That’s what I believe and hope to accomplish when I make music.
TVM: When people listen to your EP that’s TVM: What was the best advice you’ve ever coming out, what can they expect? been given? Francesco: I would hope they could take a full Francesco: To stop over thinking- because I’m a blown, 3D experience from it. There’s a lot of dif-
TVM: Do you write all your own music? Francesco: On this album I did a lot of co-writ-
ing. I was fortunate to be in the presence of some
TVM: That’s very true! You’ve met a lot of really good, creative folk. It also really helped singers who have really helped you along expand my own writing skills. I’m writing on my own more now, but I’m always open. the way from what I hear. Francesco: The more people I meet that are of
‘A-Celebrity Status’ seem to say the same thing. That’s to enjoy yourself, have fun and not over think. The fastness of this life as a musician can
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...That advice was from Pharell Williams. Another great piece of advice I got was from the quote ‘It’s just music after all’. I was in the Hamptons in New York and met Paul McCartney who told me that.
“
TVM: Where do you like to draw inspiration the way he was when he came out, an intellectual musician and a great player. Even beyond all from when you’re writing? Francesco: It’s weird because you say you ‘draw the crazy stuff! Freddie Mercury from Queen- his
inspiration’ as if you can make it happen but it usually comes at the strangest of times and you’ve got to be ready when it does. I can’t just sit down and say I’m going to write the best song there ever was. My worst song comes when I try and do that. You just really have to be open and get out of the way for the music. It comes from a different place, that place in a world we can’t see. Music has got a life of it’s own and it can’t be constructed. It will tell you “No, I don’t want to be this. I don’t want to do this.’ It’s a dictatorship in the sense that you have to listen to it or you’ll end up with a terrible tune. I thought that was crazy when I first started but then these people who’ve helped me all say the same thing about it. It requires being open to anything, really.
music just really blew my mind at 12 years old. Stevie Wonders too!
TVM: Being in the limelight, do you ever feel pressure to look or act differently? Francesco: I did. I did but now I don’t and I’ll tell
you why. It’s been so much better since I stopped trying to be that person! You can’t keep up with that person and eventually, you’re just going to have to be the other guy, yourself. I figure, why not just be myself to begin with? It’s the common sense thing to do, at the end of the day. There is a lot of pressure, being in the spotlight. The people who stand out in this world, are the ones who are being themselves. That’s the path I want to take as well. I’m not perfect and it’s just the way it is!
TVM: In your opinion, what does it take to TVM: In five or ten years, where would you become a successful vocalist? like to see yourself? Francesco: I’d say to have a will of iron. You know Francesco: To be doing what I’m doing now,
when they say not to get ahead of yourself? Do get ahead of yourself, so very ahead! I haven’t exactly made it anywhere and that should tell you how much will you need. You have to think ahead and believe in the work you’re doing. You can’t bring other people to that place with you if you don’t even believe in it.
TVM: In the music world, who are some people that you really look up to? Francesco: I look up to Prince a lot. Because
hopefully with even more people listening. That’s what I’d say.
TVM: Is there anyone that you’d really like to work with or a stage you’d like to play? Francesco: I’ve always really wanted to play
at Wembley Stadium. I saw the DVD of Freddie Mercury playing there and I thought ‘someday, somehow we’ll get there folks!’ You have to have the will to get there!
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INTERVIEW SPOTLIGHT
TVM: At what age would you say you sounds good at any hour in the day, but discovered your passion? it’s at its best late in the afternoon. Axelle: I was six. I was the kind of kid who always wanted to be on stage. TVM: What is a typical warm-up for you? TVM: Where did you get that confi- Axelle: In the past, singers singing all dence to perform on stage? the time and doing their exercises got Axelle: I don’t know. I have three daugh- on my nerves (laughs). But, you need ters, and they are all artistic. The first to warm-up otherwise it takes three one wants to be an actress, and the songs before your voice sounds good. third one jumps on stage and is at ease. So I hum. (Laughs) I think of the donkey You’re born with it. I just wanted to be- in Shrek. You know when he’s singing, come a star as a child. I was creative. and then he gets in trouble for humming I remember writing poems when I was (laughs). young. I always had a musical ear. TVM: Do you find what you eat affects TVM: How would you describe your your voice? voice? Axelle: Yes it does. It also depends if Axelle: People would compare my voice you’re tired. I try not to be obsessed to Brenda Lee when I was fourteen. I with all these things. You know what’s have this very particular sound in my funny— I’m a solo artist. I’m a self-writer voice. But, it took me time to understand and I produce or co-produce my albums. what kind of voice I had because I was I have different roles. When I’m a singer, always attracted to soul music. There it’s a very particular thing. But I’m not is some soul in my voice. I was also al- always the singer in the process of the ways opened to country music, so there album. So I’m not constantly protecting is also some country in my voice. It’s a my voice. I will sing in the shower, but mixture. I’m not performing every day. I try and eat healthy and feel good. I just want to TVM: When would you say you are vo- eat on time. I can’t eat after a show. I cally at your best? need the energy! (Laughs) I’m not that Axelle: It depends. I sang on a radio sta- big. I really need the energy to be able tion very early in the morning, and it to sing. I will never drink alcohol before turned out well. It’s not a natural thing a show. You don’t know what your reacfor your voice to be in perfect shape in tions will be. the morning. I can warm my voice so it
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* The following article is being used by permission from Š 2 0 1 4 Gu a r dia n New s a n d Media Lim it ed or it s a ffiliated com pa n ies. A ll r ig h t s r eser v ed.
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BODY & SOUL
Corinne Bailey Rae By Laura Potter*
The singer-songwriter, on how getting up early for planes makes her sad, bar-tending at university, and the silliness of cigarettes What exercise do you take?
I love getting out of the city for a wintry walk – in an environment where the scale is completely different, where the tallest things aren’t buildings that people have put up and you’re dwarfed by nature, getting pushed around a bit by the wind and the rain.
How do you relax?
I love to watch films, going out and watching bands, going out dancing. I like a DJ who plays James Brown and 70s classic disco.
How much sleep do you need?
A lot. I’m not good at early mornings, so when I have to get up for planes I always feel really sad. When I was a kid we used to go to those family parties where the adults would be up and talking and the children would be asleep on the floor, so I’ve learnt to sleep wherever – planes, cars… I’ll always catch up.
How much do you drink?
I’ve got a take-it-or-leave-it attitude. Neither of my parents drank. When I was at university I worked in bars, and you see people coming in at the start of the night and it’s a different person by two or three in the morning.
Attitude to smoking?
It’s kind of silly and really expensive and potentially could kill you. When you see people buying
a 20-pack of fags and a lottery ticket, you just think that’s a real misunderstanding of how probability works.
Are you happy?
It’s strange for me: because I had this bereavement [her husband died in March 2008], I have periods where I feel intense sadness and times where I find myself happy. I’m almost surprised by happiness – it’s a new thing that’s creeping back into my life after a long period of total barrenness.
Have you ever had therapy? No – because I’ve got really good friends who have been happy to sit and listen to me talk about the same things over and over, and talking has helped me make sense of it.
How do you feel about cosmetic surgery?
I find this western idea that ageing is wrong really distasteful. You should be happy that you look 50, you look 60, you’ve got to 70 – it should be an achievement. Everyone’s going to look older, and then guess what? We’re all going to die. It’s the thing nobody wants to talk about. There’s something really wrong with using Botox: it stops you making facial expressions – people are so interested in how they appear that there’s no intention of projecting how they feel.
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VV Brown singer/songwriter Are you healthy?
At the moment. I’m going to the gym, I’ve started a yoga class, I’ve got back into eating organic food, I’ve bought a juicer, and I’m growing vegetables.
How much sleep do you need?
I can sleep for three hours and be fine, it’s really weird. My boyfriend thinks I stay up all night doing chants over him or something. l’ve got a lot of things on my mind and I’m under a lot of pressure, so my thoughts are just constantly tick tock tick tock, and I find it hard to sleep.
Do you worry about your weight?
I’m always on some diet, whether it be the cucumber diet or the Atkins, when everyone was doing it. I feel sexier when I’m a certain size; clothes hang better when you feel good. There’s nothing worse than feeling podgy and you have to wear “that dress” and not feeling hot in it.
How much do you drink?
I don’t really drink. After two glasses of wine I’m paralytic. I’ve found a new love of margaritas, but a couple of those and I’m stripping naked.
Attitude to smoking?
I don’t smoke cigarettes. I did for a little while, just to try it, but it makes you feel really dirty – your whole insides just feel really disgusting, your clothes start to smell, your hands start to get dirty. It’s quite hot, though, kissing a man with a tinge of cigarette on his lips.
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By Laura Potter*
Attitude to drugs?
I’m not going to lie: I don’t think weed is that bad, but if you become addicted to it, just like if you become addicted to alcohol or any of those things, it can open the door to harder drugs once you don’t get that euphoric feeling any more. Go out with your friends and find other things that can make you feel euphoric – have sex!
Are you happy?
Recently I’ve become very content. I get very big highs and extremely low lows, and I get really depressed. I don’t know if it’s the nature of this business – it takes you on this emotional rollercoaster ride and your career is in the hands of subjective opinions, so you’re vulnerable. Recently I started to see a therapist, and that has really helped. People look down on therapy, but it’s great to have someone to talk to that isn’t close to you.
Is sex important to you?
It’s healthy to have a good sex life within a loving relationship, because it releases a lot of energy, and that spiritual connection is really important – but sex can be damaging if it doesn’t happen in the right circumstances.
* The following article is being used by permission from © 2 0 1 4 Gu a r dia n New s a n d Media Lim it ed or it s a ffiliated com pa n ies. A ll r ig h t s r eser v ed.
BODY & SOUL
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10 Takeaways from Damon Dash’s Philosophy on Defining a Boss* By Toni Thai Sterrett
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LEADERSHIP + SUCCESS These core set of tips will help guide vocalists when growing their businesses. If you haven’t had 1. Don’t let anyone else define your idea of success.
If your dream is to open a brick and mortar store, run a blog and become a consultant, then do that. Do not allow anyone to put you in a box based on their perceptions or ideas of what you should be.
2. Diversify your interests and business model.
Earning a steady income from one source is great. But what happens when that source is no longer available? You’ll never need to start over if you have other ventures to cultivate and grow.
3. Cut out the middle man. Become your own connect.
Don’t outsource your business without understanding the operation from the ground up. To be in control is to understand each step of the process and then delegate what needs to be done to complete the job.
4. Invest in yourself and you’ll be the boss. Put up your own money.
Before you allow someone else to invest in your dreams, use your own money first. Once you begin to take money from investors you’ll have to answer to them.
5. Never change who you are.
Be true to yourself. Don’t change how you speak, dress look or talk in order to “fit in”. Being you has gotten you this far and anyone who’s worth partnering with will accept you as is.
6. You can’t be the champ if you never lose. Embrace the pain.
Struggle is essential the process. There’s a saying that everything seems to fall apart, right before everything falls in place – and its true. Adversity builds character, creates memories, keeps you humble and helps you appreciate how far you’ve come.
7. Being a boss means having the ability to care for other people before yourself and fix problems.
No everyone has the strength to be the boss. You chose the entrepreneurship path for a reason. Embrace your strengths and ability to be an effective leader.
8. Business partnerships can end, true friendships last a lifetime.
Know the difference between a true friend and a business partner. Friends can make excellent business partners, at times they don’t. Know when to sever ties in order to salvage a friendship.
9. Circle of success. Support the entrepreneurs in your circle.
If you succeed, make sure your inner circle is successful as well. When you are profitable they can celebrate your accomplishments and when you have trouble they’ll be there to help – financially or otherwise.
10. Don’t focus on negative press or what other people say about you. The biggest part in being an entrepreneur is that you’ll have to bear the brunt of any negativity. It’s inevitable. Don’t internalize negative thoughts, stay positive and surround yourself with people you who genuinely care about your best interests.
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The Eight Rules of Success to Think About Every Morning* By James Caan CEO of Hamilton Bradshaw Ltd
* For More - http://tomhess.net/WhyYouHaveNotBecomeAProfessionalMusicianYet.aspx
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LEADERSHIP + SUCCESS I have said in the past that there is no magic formula when it comes to being successful in business but there are certain guiding principles that I have followed throughout the course of my career. Not everyone gets what they want in life but if you work hard and keep trying then some measure of success is bound to come your way. Here are a few of the personal rules I have stuck with throughout my career in business and still follow to this day. 1. Application
No matter what people say true success does not come easily. Like everything in life, if you really want something you are going to have to work for it and put in the time and effort. There is nothing wrong with a little bit of hard work and everyone who has gone into business for themselves will tell you it is one of the toughest things they have ever done in life.
2. Believe in yourself
There is no point in going into business for yourself if you do not have any confidence or self-belief. When you set up your own company the only person you have to answer to is yourself - which means confidence is vital. If you do not believe in yourself and your product or service, then how can you get others to put their faith in you?
3. Be creative
If you want to be truly successful then you have to be prepared to stand out from the crowd. Although I have always believed that an idea doesn’t have to be brand new, the best businesses will still have a strong USP that sets them apart from competitors. Creativity is one of the most valuable qualities any person in the business world can have.
4. Be there first
It is a competitive world out there those who are not out of the traps quickly are the ones who are going to get left behind. I have always believed in striking first. Once you have established what the best course of action is, there is no point in being cautious because it will give your competitors the chance to get in there before you and win that vital piece of work or contract.
5. Build a brand
When I set up my first firm, the first thing I did was to go out and rent an office in the best part of London, as an address in Mayfair is great to put on a business card. The actual room itself was tiny and windowless, but nobody knew this as I arranged for meetings to take place away from the office. When it comes to doing business, building a brand and a good reputation is vital. Once you have done this, you will find things a lot easier, as most of us prefer to deal with people or companies that are recognised and trusted.
6. Seek advice
It is impossible to be an expert in every field and there is nothing wrong with seeking advice when you are struggling. When you are starting out in business it can be great to speak
to someone who has years of experience behind them. If you ask for help you will usually find that people are more than happy to give their time and their expertise.
7. Get organised
Running a successful business can be very stressful and demanding and one of the most important resources you will have is your time. If you want to get the most out of your working day then you need to be properly organised and you also need to make sure you are not wasting precious time on tasks that can always be delegated to someone else.
8. Don’t run before you can walk
When you first start in business there is a tendency to grab every piece of work which comes your way, which can be a potentially fatal mistake. First of all you need to make sure that when you negotiate a contract there is a decent margin. Although you want to make your mark, there is no point in taking on work that does not yield a worthwhile profit. More importantly don’t take on more work than you can manage. It is one of the most common mistakes in business and can prove to be very costly.
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VOCAL COACH
INTERVIEW WITH KIM CHANDLER Kim Chandler is a session singer and vocal coach mainly based in Spain and the UK, but she also works worldwide. Her main types of work include studio sessions and industry vocal coaching. She runs a vocal studio where she works with professional singers and other vocal coaches. She has singing credits on thousands of jingles in various countries and has recording/live performance credits related to artists such as The Bee Gees, Neil Diamond, Susan Boyle, Puff Daddy and Bjรถrk. Recently, we had the opportunity to talk to Kim about her history as a singer, her approaches to vocal training and her new vocal coach app. By Cristina Sanza Credit Photos: Simon Shelton
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INTERVIEW
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TVM: Tell us a bit about your history as a musician. How did you get involved in vocal coaching? Kim Chandler: I was a trained music teacher from
doing a full bachelor’s music degree when I was still in Australia. I was a high school music teacher for 3 years. It was one of the only times in my life where I had a ‘real job.’ Not long after that, I went completely professional and freelance, which is what I’ve been doing ever since. My own singing career took off as a session singer, and I had people coming up to me and asking me ‘I really love your voice, I would love to be getting vocal lessons from you, do you teach?’ For years I said no, because I was completely self-taught. The only teachers that were around when I was coming through the scene were all classical and I didn’t want to get classical lessons. So I had to go it alone. I basically taught myself so I didn’t think I was in a position to teach anybody else. But, after several years of saying no I thought I was missing a trick, I said to myself, ‘you’re a trained music teacher, you’ve got the structure, the teacher’s headspace and training with the experience, why don’t you just swap up with vocal pedagogy and marry the two things together.’ That’s what I did, and I have been training since the mid 90s.
TVM: What genres do you teach? K C: Only pop, and what comes under the full umbrel-
la of popular music. It’s a very big term obviously but what it does leave out is classical repertoire, musical theatre repertoire, and jazz officially, but I will do a bit of it if I need to.
TVM: What vocalists are you inspired by? K C: As a child I adored deep, rich female voices like
Karen Carpenter and Julie London, and still do. I fell in love with Stevie Wonder’s voice and music as a teenager - he’s been a major inspiration to me ever since. I adore big gospel singers like Melonie Daniels and Karen Clark Sheard, who are a force of nature, but I also love more ‘intimate’ singers such as Lalah Hathaway, and Matt Corby, all of whom are the perfect balance of flawless technique, musicianship, taste and passion in my opinion.
singers. So that means people who are full-time singers, whether it’d be professional singers, artists at various stages in their careers, whether they are in the development stage, just about to launch or recording. Or, they can be really well established artists with a string of number one hits. I refer to them as clients, not students, and I’m working shoulder to shoulder with them. I’m not above them or in front of them. It’s a collaborative activity.
TVM: What is the first thing you do when you meet a new student vocalist? K C: I have created a 20-point analysis system where
I have checklists of a whole stack of technical issues, musical issues, interpretative issues and vocal health issues. I go through their backgrounds, their training, their goals and basically look at where they are now to where the want to be and devise the path with that specific person based on their specific goals.
TVM: What are some of the key assessment points in this system? K C: There’s posture, support, breathing, tongue ten-
sion, vibrato, resonance, among others. It’s fairly standard stuff, and the format works especially well because the assessment takes exactly an hour. What I find is that it really lays down for the singers, and for me, specifically what the areas are that we need to concentrate on first. It also validates for them the stuff that’s absolutely fine, so it’s not like they feel there is this mountain of stuff that needs to be worked on. They get the pat on the back for the stuff that’s fine.
TVM: What are some of the common mistakes that clients make as vocalists? K C: One of the common things that I see especially
with gig singers is vocal overuse, due to economic pressures to make a living out of their singing voice. Everyone feels the pressure to take all the gigs and all the recording sessions that come their way and that creates its own pressure on the voice.
TVM: How does this vocal overuse happen? K C: Too much singing, too many days a week and
have asked me to specifically not speak of them, to not be named. Some people just don’t want the world to know and that is there prerogative. Many, however, will be listed on my website.
not having enough downtime for rest and repair. I find myself saying a lot to people “Don’t kill your golden goose, look after it, and this is coming from mother goose.” I’ve gone through my own crisis vocally from too much of a heavy workload and I learned a very valuable lesson: I’m not vocal superwoman. I had to make some changes to what I was doing.
TVM: Is there a difference between a singing teacher and a singing coach? K C: I actually only coach. I consider that singing
TVM: Do you work with clients who have vocal issues? K C: A percentage of my client load is working with
TVM: Who have you worked with? K C: There are some celebrity clients I’ve taught that
teachers are teaching people to sing and teaching the nuts and bolts of singing. That means beginners, kids, hobby singers etcetera. I don’t teach those types of people anymore. As a vocal coach, I coach and lead
people who have some sort of vocal issue with their voice, where it’d be nodules, cysts, acid reflux, etcetera.
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TVM: How do you work on solving these vocal issues? K C: It’s on a one to one basis. You have to determine
what the issues are and work on it in a customized way. More generalized feedback would be regular exercise, both cardiovascular and core strength and flexibility, and regular vocal lessons and having rest days. You have to have a general amount of physical fitness to draw on, some stamina, and on top of that build the vocal stamina.
TVM: Would you connect being relatively physically fit to having a proper ‘vocal’ diet as a singer, for instance, reducing the intake of dairy? K C: No dairy is a myth! There are a certain percent-
age of people that have problems with dairy products but it doesn’t apply to everyone, it needs to be taken on an individual basis. It shouldn’t be a blanket thing for singers that they all should not have dairy products. There are a stack of people that do not have an effect from dairy at all.
TVM: You’ve launched a new app for vocalists. Tell me about it. K C: I’ve been an endorsed vocal coach with the vo-
cal technologies company TC Helicon for about 8 years or so. Basically we have collaborated on what is called “Voice Cross Trainer” by Kim Chandler, but it’s been developed by TC Helicon and its been marketed through TC Helicon. It is currently available through the iTunes store and it’s going to be available in the android store. Effectively, it’s 4 levels of vocal training that increase incrementally and there are 7 exercises from my Funky and Fun vocal exercise series, so 28 total. There are video introductions by me for each of the exercises which can be started, stopped and slowed down at your own liking. You can track your training process and there are all kinds of interactivity within the app as well. It’s basically meant to help people to develop their technique but more importantly to keep up with that vocal fitness.
TVM: How does this app change the vocal lesson game? What does this mean for standard vocal lessons? K C: It’s designed as something to do in between vo-
cal coaching sessions, so it isn’t supposed to be any sort of replacement for one to one training. In my opinion, people need to have that feedback from a real person. No matter how good an app is, it can’t replace the immediate feedback you get from working with an expert coach. It’s about what you do when you’re not with your coach, how to do maintain a balanced vocal regimen.
TVM: How can this app help vocalists? K C: When vocal coaches tell their clients that they
need to be doing vocal building exercises three to
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four times a week they always say, ‘what do I do?’ This can help them stay on track. All the exercises are backed with tracks so they are actually fun to do and they are really challenging.
TVM: On the note of Internet and apps, online lessons are up-and-coming. Are you on this bandwagon? K C: Most of my clients have moved to online. The
vast majority is on Skype, some of them on FaceTime, and it works really well. You have to have a good connection otherwise it is quite frustrating. I have been teaching online for about five years. When I was in London, it was majority in person and probably between 10-20 percent of online students from all around world. Now, those numbers have swapped over. I’m completely comfortable with either format.
TVM: How are online lessons different or similar to in person lessons? K C: I am amazed at what can be done. There are
some things that are only possible in person, like posture correction or working on support. But this is why it works for my client base particularly, because I’m not a singing teacher, I’m not teaching the nuts and bolts of singing from scratch. The stuff I do is tour prep, recording prep, and all of that stuff is absolutely fine to be done online. If it didn’t work I wouldn’t be doing it. People wouldn’t pay for it either if it weren’t working. The proof is in the longevity of it, really.
TVM: What is one major tip any vocalist should know? K C: Look after your voice. You only get one. Unlike
any other instrument on the planet, the voice is irreplaceable. Look after the one voice that we get given and it has to last our whole life.
TVM: How can vocalists look after their voice? K C: Being adequately hydrated, keep a diet that
works for you that isn’t too extreme, scheduling enough sleep, getting enough vocal rest. What I normally tell gigging singers is that after a run of gigs, for instance if they do Thursday through Sunday, have Monday off with minimal speaking and no singing to give it time to repair. Come Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, you can get back up on the horse doing vocal conditioning exercises.
Check out Kim Chandler! Official Website: www.kimchandler.com “Funky ’n Fun” vocal exercises: www.funkynfun.com Cross Trainer app: http://www.tc-helicon.com/ en/products/voice-cross-trainer/
INTERVIEW INTERVIEW
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Vocal
Vocal Type: Light-Lyric Soprano Whistle Register:No Vocal Range: C3-D6 (3 Octaves 1 Note ) Vocal Pluses: Janet Jackson is a Diva who knows her instrument, working its strengths and weaknesses to best effect. The voice has an overarching sweet and warm timbre that carries throughout the range, which works beautifully to create layered harmonies [Discipline/ What’s It Gonna Be]. The lower-range isn’t often used by Janet, being mostly weaved into harmonies[Take Care]. When she does showcase it, it sounds to be comfortable, dark and surprisingly solid [Son of a Gun (I Betcha Think This Song Is About You)]. The mid-range is where Janet’s voice begins to shine, and is where she finds herself most comfortable. Here Janet shows her versatility, being able to play with texture and weight to create contrasting tones. Most often used is a soft, breathy and warm colouring [Rock With You], but she she can also solidify the sound, adding attitude and character to her delivery [Black Cat]. Both styles can be heard used brilliantly in tandem in domestic abuse song What About. The overall lightness of her timbre, and her head dominate mix, allows the Diva to hit chest notes with relative ease, though the resonance/power achieved isn’t very strong. The tone produced is sweet, rounded warm and free from strain, even in the mid-fifth octave. As she climbs the octave her voice seamlessly transitions into her head voice [ Love Will Never Do (Without You)]. The head voice is perhaps the most resonant part of the Diva’s voice, being punchy, bright and of some thickness [He doesn’t Know I’m Alive]. Though under utilised, the Diva sounds to be comfortable and free singing in her upper register. Vocal Negatives: Janet Jackon’s voice lacks power and has a nasal quality.
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Thanks for permission to reprint from
JANET JACKSON
DIVA DEVOTEE - www.divadevotee.com
Range
JILL SCOTT
Vocal Type: Soprano Vocal Range: 4 Octaves C3-C7 Whistle Register: Yes Vocal Pluses: Powerful voice, that has a rich, deep texture through out the range. Voice is tremendously versatile and emotive. Technically brilliant singer.
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Vocal
PATRICK STUMP
Vocal Type: High Lyric Tenor Vocal Range:E2-C6 3 octaves and a minor sixth. Whistle Register: No Vocal Pluses: Lead singer and songwriter of Fall Out Boy, Patrick Stump is an experienced vocalist. He has sung almost entirely in the pop punk idiom, but has also made the transition to RnB without difficulty on solo album Soul Punk. Though he has a light voice, due to his technique, his voice carries a piercing, ringing quality, most noticeable in the upper fourth and lower fifth octaves. He has also shown an interesting knack for melisma – unusual given his chosen genre. Stump’s low range is the least-used area of his voice, and has a dark, distended quality [Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown on a Bad Bet]. He very infrequently descends lower than C3, but when he does, approaches the notes with solid support, and doesn’t have the breathy quality that so many tenors do when singing low. The middle voice, starting around E3 ascending to E4-F4, is impressively malleable, being able to morph to whichever style he chooses to sing in [Compare Dance, Dance to This City], and he generally uses a strong, easy-sounding approach when he sings. Patrick Stump also has great capability for fast-moving, melismatic lines in the middle voice, best seen on the Fall Out Boy album Folie a Deux. His belting range carries a lot of sound and surprising ease, given the genre he sings in usually calls for more strain and tension than traditional pop music. Generally speaking, his earlier singing until around 2006 had more heavily chest-dominant mixing, but has since steadily improved to become a more even mix, though still chesty. The highest belts (B4D5) are interesting for the fact that his tone does not become heady, indicating an unusually controlled mix, as well as a rather high voice type [I Don’t Care, Centuries]. The falsetto range, though usually used to contrast and punctuate sustained belting [Dance Miserable], is generally capable, and has typical breathiness, though this can be controlled to some degree [Novocaine]. His falsetto has recently become considerably brighter and more piercing, indicating improved control over this range. Vocal Negatives:His low range in live settings is almost non-existent, indicating a lack of confidence or ability to use his range below C3 consistently
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Range
JUSTIN BIEBER
Vocal Type: Difficult to ascertain at this transitional period. Vocal Range:2 Octaves 1 note and a semitone C#3-E5 [includes notes before puberty] Whistle Register:No Vocal Pluses: Justin Bieber ‘s midrange is where the voice finds its most comfortable and consistent tone, which has a slight huskiness to it. This “comfort” stretches to the bottom half of his belting range, which is bright and with a cool colouring. He also has the ability to sing in a warm, breathy falsetto, that he can switch to and from easily.
Justin Beiber is able to utilise vocal runs, and to hold and maintain a note without issue. Overall he has a light voice, that has a pleasant, slightly nasal, tone. Vocal Negatives: The voice lacks resonance and power.
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VOCAL TECHNIQUE
10 Tips for a Powerful Voice
By Douglas Anderson
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1. Rise and try to shine.
After getting out of bed, head to the bathroom for some warm-ups. Look at yourself in the mirror and take deep breaths. Are your shoulders rising as you inhale? Don’t let them. Stand straight, relax and let your breath come in down low. It should feel like it’s entering your body around your waist, not being pulled down your throat.
2. Keep it up.
Not only does slouching look like you couldn’t care less, but it also prevents your lungs from filling up. Full lungs keep your voice from cracking, make you sound more powerful and keep you from running out of air. When you realize you’re hunched over while on the phone, sit back and straighten your spine to allow more energy to come across.
3. Support can be beautiful.
Some people are blessed with resonant voices like James Earl Jones or Lauren Bacall. Most of us aren’t. But rather than throwing in the towel, try wrapping it around your waist. Breathe in low and gently expand your abs and obliques. Relax, let go and pretend the towel is like the waistline of your sweatpants. You can feel it grow a little wider.
4. Open up.
When you get nervous, your voice gets squeaky and high. Not the confident image you want to project. And the more you try and control it by force, the more you start to lose it al-
together. The cure: breathing low, gently using your lower abs to push down and relax. And always let your throat be open and free of tension. An open throat protects your voice and produces a richer sound.
few sessions with a voice coach who can give you the basic sounds of English, help you pronounce its most confusing words and model them for you, face-to-face.
5. Variety is key. Want to control your whole audience? Speak in a monotone voice, and you can send a group of 2,000 people off to dreamland. Especially when working by phone, that dead air may not be your client pondering. Try listening for snoring. To prevent this, remember the “four P’s” of vocal variety:
Being able to adjust your tone to any situation is paramount to successful business communication. If you do sound monotonous, ineffectual or annoying, you may lose a client. If your tone is lackluster, they think you’re bored. If you sound angry or bullying, that aggressive style can put them off. But if you’re able to suit your tone to any occasion, you’ll win the day. Learn how to sound passionate even if you’d rather be anywhere else.
6. Get rid of nasality.
There’s a problem if your voice sounds disturbingly like Fran Drescher’s. If you’re a whiner, try this: yawn. Feel your mouth open wide. You won’t feel that kind of space if you’re nasal. The soft palate--a flap of skin on the back of the roof of your mouth--lifts and allows air to float up into every chamber of your head, resulting in a full, resonant sound. It’s like a little trap door that can open and close. Conversely, when the soft palate lowers, the air stream is blocked off from the head, and the air can only pass out of the nose.
7. Modify your accent.
How boring the world would be if we all sounded the same. But if your native tongue gets in the way of communication, you should correct it. The process used to be called accent “elimination,” but “modification” is a more accurate term. Spend a
8. Tune your tone.
9. Leave it at the beep.
Leaving a great voice-mail message is essential. If you sound positive, polished and professional, people will get a wonderful “first vocal impression.” Leave your name clearly. Spell it if you have to. Leave your phone number, twice. Tell them briefly what you can do for them. Let them know when you can be reached, or ask them the best time for you to call back. Be brief, but not vague.
10. It is, actually, about you.
The most important tip is to be authentic. Take time to find what’s unique about you--your sense of humor, your newfound confidence, your persona. Stop trying to sound like a phony announcer.
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Vocal Cord Hemorrhages
By Cristina Sanza
Sam Smith cancels tour due to bleeding vocal cords Four-time Grammy award winner Sam Smith cancelled his tour dates in Australia and Asia because of a vocal cord hemorrhage. Smith has to undergo a small operation to repair the damage. The singer took to Instagram on May 7th to announce his upcoming surgery saying: “Dear all: I am very upset to announce I have been battling to get my vocal cords better the last 10 days but unfortunately they haven’t recovered and I am going to need surgery. I’m so gutted to be missing all the shows and events I was meant to be playing at. The doctors say I will be back in 6-8 weeks and I cannot wait to sing for you all soon.” He then mentioned that after the operation he wouldn’t be allowed to use his voice whatsoever for 3 weeks but after the full recovery he will be able to “sing like never before.” Not only will his tour dates be cancelled and rescheduled, he will also miss out on performing at major events such as the Billboard Music Award
What is a vocal cord hemorrhage?
A vocal cord hemorrhage occurs when blood collects within the layers of the vocal cord after a blood vessel breaks. It is much like a bruising. When a vocalist forces their voice, blood vessels in the vocal chord can burst open and leak into the vocal folds. This can happen due to singing aggressively, incorrectly, having poor vocal technique, throat clearing, coughing and excessive shouting. Smith admitted to feeling “vocally tired” prior to being diagnosed with the hemorrhage. This is because early symptoms include vocal fatigue, hoarseness and loss of voice. Since he has been promoting his debut album In the Lonely Hour this past year, his constant vocal use may have contributed to it. Other symptoms include decreased vocal range, neck pain and difficulty holding a pitch. Vocal hemorrhage is best treated with strict vocal rest. In rare, more severe cases surgery is required. It is important to catch a hemorrhage early. Ignoring symptoms can lead to permanent vocal damage.
What does this mean for you as a vocalist? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Hydrate yourself Learn and perfect your vocal technique at a reasonable pace Avoid pushing your voice too hard and rest in between exercises Get your voice and vocal cords checked periodically Keep the singing environment around you clean
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VOCAL HEALTH
Samuel Frederick “Sam” Smith is an English singer and songwriter. THE VOCALIST MAGAZINE I 131
VOCAL HEALTH
Kelly Brianne Clarkson is an American singer, songwriter and actress. 132 I THE VOCALIST MAGAZINE
What laryngitis is and how you as a vocalist can treat this dreaded illness By Cristina Sanza Recently, Kelly Clarkson had to cancel her live performances for Sunrise, an Australian show, due to acute laryngitis. She wrote to fans: “I’m so sorry to all my fans about not being able to perform on Sunrise on this morning. I have no voice, and the last thing I want to do is let anyone down, if I could be there and able to sing I would.” She later tweeted “Haven’t had laryngitis since 2006. Wow. Sucks to feel helpless. I’ll be back like the Terminator Australia!! PROMISE!” So what is laryngitis? When someone has laryngitis, it means that there is an inflammation in the larynx, where the vocal chords are located. The larynx is the part of the throat that connects with the trachea. Laryngitis is usually caused by a viral infection, and leads to voice loss or voice hoarseness. It can also be triggered by allergies, voice overuse, acid reflux and being around tobacco smoke for long periods of time. Laryngitis can be connected to cold of flu, so headache, fatigue and a swollen neck can be symptoms as well. Luckily for Kelly, she was well enough to perform her second single, Invincible, off of her newest album Piece By Piece during the Billboard Music Awards on Sunday, and it was absolutely flawless. But, in order for her to be able to belt all of those incredible high notes, surely she needed some vocal rest and other remedies that allowed for a speedy recovery. For all of you fellow vocalists out there, here are some ways to speed up your laryngitis recovery and get you singing in no time!
1. Gargle with salt water
To get rid of that throat mucus, gargling is a must. It is recommended to do it at least four times a day. Use warm water and dissolve a tablespoon of salt in it, and gargle away.
2. Tea with honey and lemon
Tea can help soothe the vocal cords and honey and lemon can help reduce inflammation and coat the throat. If you’re not much of a tea fan, a spoonful of honey will do.
3. Give your voice a break
Try to avoid talking as much as you normally would. And contrary to popular belief, whispering can actually aggravate your vocal cords more. It’s best to just take some time to not use your voice at all.
4. Breathe through your nose
Breathing through your mouth can actually dry up your throat, so when you are sick or losing your voice, it is best to breathe through your nose.
5. Good old H2O
This one is probably a given, but you should have water with you at all times. Staying hydrated can cut your recovery time in half. It is best that the water is room temperature.
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What exactly is a vocal cyst and how does this happen? Canadian rock band Nickelback is forced to cancel the second leg of dates of their 2015 North American tour, “No Fixed Address,” due to an emergency surgery that the lead singer, Chad Kroeger has to undergo. According to a statement released by the band on their official website, Kroeger was diagnosed with a cyst on his voice box. Although the cyst is removable, after the surgery, Kroeger has to rest his voice for several weeks before going back on the road. He said in the statement: “I am sorry I have to interrupt the party this summer and I am definitely not thrilled with the prospect of being silent for many weeks to come when I could be out there playing for our fans. I am relying on my doctor and his team to help get my voice back in good form as quickly as possible.” If the surgery and healing process goes as planned, the tour is said to resume in Europe on September 30th. Nickelback will only be returning to North America in 2016. 134 I THE VOCALIST MAGAZINE
VOCAL HEALTH What exactly is a vocal cyst and how does this happen? A vocal cyst is a collection of fluid that will form inside of the vocal cord or voice box. The swelling creates a painless bump. Generally, this is how the body can react when there is an injury on the vocal cord. Injuries can occur due to voice overuse or misuse, and more rarely, excessive coughing, chronic throat clearing, smoking and other abusive vocal behaviours. A progressively raspy voice can be an indication that a vocal cyst may be developing. The raspy vocal texture starts in the higher pitches of the voice, but with continued misuse, it can extend into all areas of the vocal range. Ignoring vocal hoarseness and continuing to use the voice can worsen the cyst. It is as if wearing uncomfortable shoes after getting a blister from them. Wearing the shoes continuously can worsen the pain and symptoms, leading to more severe problems. For minor vocal cysts, voice therapy will suffice, but more often it is recommended to remove the cyst via surgical excision. After surgery, it is extremely important that the patient is on strict vocal rest to allow the body and wound to heal correctly. Usually, the patient can begin to talk in small increments two weeks after surgery. After four weeks, the patient can begin to talk as usual.
Cysts
By Cristina Sanza Here are a few tips to make sure you are using your voice correctly 1. Don’t whisper Whispering can actually strain your vocal cords more than when you are simply talking. It is better to just talk normally, at a reasonable volume and pitch that suits your vocal range. 2. 2. Avoid clearing your throat. Although this may seem effective es-
pecially when you have a dreaded flu or cold, this can put a lot of strain on your voice and irritate your throat 3. 3. Posture and control When singing and even speaking, proper posture can help to limit tension around the larynx. Using the breathing muscles of the back, ribcage, and abdomen allows air pressure to be controlled, leading to a better delivery and relaxed sound. THE VOCALIST MAGAZINE I 135
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Thanks for permission to reprint from VoiceCouncil Magazine - www.voicecouncil.com he ocalist agazine
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What’s in your basket, Joan Jett? Dr John Briffa and Morwenna Ferrier* The hard-rocking vegetarian singer is big on animal rights – but too keen on pasta, says Dr John Briffa Olive oil
This versatile and tasty oil is very rich in socalled ‘monounsaturated’ fat that is believed to have benefits for the heart and cardiovascular system generally. Olive oil also contains ‘phenolic’ compounds, that protect the body against freed radical damage, and have been linked with a reduced risk of some forms of cancer including breast cancer.
Tomatoes
One of the nutritional highlights of this fruit is the ‘carotenoid’ nutrient lycopene, which research links with protection from conditions such as heart disease and cancer. Stewing tomatoes in oil enhances the absorption of this important nutrient, which is good news for passata-loving Joan.
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Pasta Vegetarians often rely quite heavily on pasta as a staple food. What a shame, I think, that it’s got generally low nutritional value and is generally disruptive to blood sugar levels in a way that can predispose to a range of ills.
LIFESTYLE
Grilled portobello mushrooms
Mushrooms are generally a good source of the trace mineral selenium, with some evidence suggesting that this important nutrient has cancer-protective potential.
Naan bread
Naan bread, like pasta, offers little from a nutritional perspective and will have, particularly when eaten in quantity, generally deleterious effects on the body’s biochemistry. Emphasis should be on more nutritious and less disruptive legume and vegetable-based curries , with perhaps a little naan on the side.
Chana masala
The chickpeas that form the base of this dish are a reasonably nutritious, relatively slow-sugar releasing food. The presence of tomatoes onions (rich in disease-protective compounds known as ‘flavonoids’) in this dish add to its nutritional value. All-in-all, a decent veggie offering
Garlic
Garlic offers a range of compounds which, collectively, seem to offer some potential in the prevention of chronic diseases including heart disease and cancer.
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What’s in your basket, VV Brown?* By Morwenna Ferrier and Dr John Briffa Dr John Briffa takes a closer look at VV Brown’s diet
SUSHI
Fish is rich in protein and omega-3 fats, while seaweed provides iodine that is important for the functioning of the thyroid. The rice has little nutritional value and disrupts blood sugars in a way that may lead to weight gain and diabetes.
COUSCOUS
Couscous is a refined grain product that, like white rice, offers little from a nutritional perspective. I suggest giving foods such as these as little prominence in the diet as possible.
HUMMUS
The chickpeas here will give a good sustained release of sugar into the bloodstream, and make a light yet quite nutritious pregig meal when combined with crudités (rather than crackers).
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LIFESTYLE PINEAPPLE
Broadly speaking, fruit is healthy, but we need to be aware of the fact that some fruits, including pineapple, are intensely sugary too.
PRAWNS
Protein is essential for the maintenance of many body tissues including muscle, so prawns have special significance in terms of ensuring VV gets enough protein in what is an otherwise low-meat diet
ALOO PANEER
The paneer cheese here will help add to VV’s protein intake for the day, but the potato has the same deficiencies as white rice (see sushi). Saag (spinach) paneer would be a healthier nutritional option. * The following article is being used by permission from Š 2 0 1 4 Gu a r dia n New s a n d Media Lim it ed or it s a ffilia t ed com pa n ies. A ll r ig h t s r eser v ed. - For more: http://www..theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2008/jan/27/foodanddrink1
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The Best and Worst Days of the Week to Play a Show*
By Jhoni Jackson
Friday and Saturday nights are traditionally expected to be the busiest nights for music venues, and as such are typically reserved for touring or local acts with reliably strong draws. Every band and musician’s ideal gig, then, is a weekend headlining spot, right? That makes sense, sure. But if you’re still growing your fanbase or scheduling a tour, those coveted nights aren’t always a possibility. So what’s the next best thing?
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TOURING + TIPS We’ve highlighted three levels here – new bands, local staples, and first time touring acts – to help you figure out what to expect and how to make the most of any given night. 1. Debut performances for brand new Thursday: It’s a segue into the weekends, for sure. If you can’t get a headlining gig, try for artists Sunday to Wednesday: These are commonly seen as slow nights, but that’s not always true. If you’re debuting at a weekly showcase – a recurring open mic or jam, for example – you could actually see a bigger crowd than if you’d arranged your own show.
Thursday: Sometimes booking agents and venue owners won’t give Fridays or Saturdays to completely unknown names because there’s no guarantee they’ll bring a crowd. Fair enough. But if you can round up a few familiar local acts, you might persuade them to let you book a Thursday – closer to the weekend, so it’s easier to convince the nine to five crowd to come out than it would be earlier in the week. Friday and Saturday: If you’re known from a former project or have an in with headlining locals or touring acts, definitely try for a weekend night. Deceiving the promoter by promising 250 people so he or she will hand over a headlining spot, however, is probably a bad idea. (Unless you really think you can swing it, of course!)
an opening spot with a well-known touring band – they don’t always roll through town on the weekends, you know. Friday and Saturday: The question isn’t if you’re ready to headline, it’s where. Begin with a smaller venue, maybe even an unconventional party at a bar that doesn’t always host shows. Consider your draw, and try to match that number to the venue’s capacity.
3. Touring independent acts
Sunday to Wednesday: It’d be incredibly inefficient to book a tour of only weekend shows, so it’s normal for touring acts to perform during the week, too. To ensure the biggest crowd possible, try booking venues that regularly schedule on the night you’re considering. If their patrons are accustomed to seeing bands on Tuesdays, then they’re already primed to check out yours. Thursday: Again, this is almost the weekend, so anyone with an early schedule is probably more willing to get out this night than earlier in the week. Sharing the stage with better known locals, especially if it’s your first visit to their city, will help boost attendance.
2. Local bands with an existing fanFriday and Saturday: Ah, the ideal situation. base
Sunday to Wednesday: Anyone with a strong Still, like with any band, researching venues local following has probably already played to make informed inquiries instead of blindly plenty early in the week shows. If you’ve hitting them up will serve you well. proved your draw, it’s probably time for you to try moving toward a weekend opening spot. That doesn’t mean you should quit playing on Tuesdays, period. But if you’re playing every Tuesday and have been for some time, start working toward bigger nights. THE VOCALIST MAGAZINE I 145
Your Live Show: The Pinnacle Of Marketing By Jack McCarthy
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TOURING + MARKETING
The goal of your marketing efforts is to get your music into people’s’ ears, and grow the attendance at your shows. However, one aspect of marketing that many musicians often forget about is their live show itself. If you are halfheartedly promoting your gigs, showing up, playing your set, getting paid (or not), and leaving, then you might be missing out on some critical opportunities to seriously turn some heads. Here are a few ideas about how to make your shows another piece of your marketing initiative.
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Come for the music, stay for the par- Make It Special Merchandise is an important part of a concert ty. If you are just starting out playing shows, many seasoned gigging musicians will tell you about the importance of spacing out your shows in one particular region. If you play the same venue or string of venues consecutively within a short period of time, there is a good chance that you will kill your draw. Why is this the case? It is simply a matter of supply and demand. If you are supplying the market in one area with a lot of shows, the demand will decrease because your audience will see no novelty in your shows, since they are occurring so frequently. Instead, try to plan a timetable for your shows to capture your target market in a way that creates demand and builds buzz. You can do this by branding your show around some kind of auxiliary event, such as your record release, a birthday party, a themed show, or a holiday show. If possible, coordinate your marketing efforts with the venue’s promoter to make him or her aware of how you are branding the event. This type of promotion brings your show to a new level, as performing at these types of events can often draw in new audiences that may not have attended a “regular” show.
experience, and not only because it brings in revenue for you or your band. When a fan takes a tshirt, sticker, or CD (you know, those shiny silver discs) home with them, they are keeping a memory of your music and brand. It may seem obvious, but it is so important to always have something to offer at your merch table. Whether it is stickers, show posters, or even bootleg copies of your new single, make sure you have merch at every single show you play. Better yet, offer something to fans in return for a signature on your mailing list or a follow on Twitter. One great way to make your merch table stand out is to offer something unique to a specific city or show. Paramore did just that on its “Self Titled” tour by offering a limited pressing of this tshirt design, featuring the date and city on the back, for many stops over of the duration of the tour.
Don’t Just Sing, Connect
Your actual performance also hold the moments where a crowd of people can be transformed into an audience of fans. Focusing on image during your live set can certainly help you or your band stand out. Although you may not have the luxury of pyrotechnics or a fancy light show, you may have seen artists Make It Easy In a culture immersed in social media and perform with stage banners as a backdrop, instant gratification, it is important to give to give audiences a visual of their brands. your fans fast access to what they need. Get creative about your set. Find something Make sure that fans can find out where to to make your set unique and use that aspect purchase tickets for your shows. If the ticket as a distinguishing visual feature. Make every sales are through a broker such as Ticketmas- show a fan experience. Connect with the auter or Eventbrite, be sure to share the ticket dience in between songs. Ask them to Tweet URL with your fanbase often. You can use or Instagram photos during your set, with a Bandsintown, a free tool to sync your events hashtag to get your performance trending. to your social media networks, to conveniently accomplish this task. If you have pre- Jack is a singer and songwriter living in Philsale tickets to sell directly to fans, you can adelphia, PA; though you may have more luck create a new listing on your online merch finding him in the studio or on the road. He has worked with many artists, producing and playstore and ship tickets out to fans after the ing on a variety of tracks. transaction is complete. This not only makes it easy for fans to get tickets, but saves you and your band members the hassle of traveling to deliver tickets. 148 I THE VOCALIST MAGAZINE
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TOURING + MARKETING
By Dylan Welsh
How to Expand Your Band’s Presence Outside of Your Local Scene To answer this question, I’ve made a list of some ways to get started and break into markets outside of your hometown. Be aware that this is not a fast process, so try to have patience!
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1. Consistent regional activity
While you don’t need to go straight on tour after your first gig, you should try to keep a consistent regional presence. By this, I mean playing in your hometown, but also playing in all of the surrounding areas in your state. Keeping an active regional presence is essential! By doing so, you avoid the dangers of oversaturating your hometown market. Get active around your state as soon as possible. When you’re ready to tour, you’ll find that you have a way easier start by doing so. You’ll be a familiar face in all of the markets around your hometown, which will make the first few days on the road go much smoother and hopefully set you up for a great tour.
2. Tour
When it comes down to it, touring really is the primary way to expand your band’s audience outside your local scene. If you’re trying to make it in music, and you’re in a group that plays original music, plan on touring and make sure everybody else is on that same page. Plain and simple. Of course, there’s a lot that goes into touring. If your band is fairly inexperienced, it can take time to get used to booking gigs and performing onstage. There’s no rush to jump straight onto the road. I’ve observed two camps among artists when it comes to getting on the road. There are those who say you should wait until you’ve established yourself locally, and those that say you should hop on the road from day one. My best advice would be: get on the road when you feel ready. After you feel comfortable booking, promoting, and playing great gigs, you should think about playing out of state and trying to break into new markets.
3. Make friends with bands in other states
Even if you aren’t ready to get on the road, you should definitely be thinking ahead and trying to network with bands and clubs in other states. This way, when you’re ready to tour, you’ll ideally have some great bands on most of your stops that will help you play a great show. Having the help of local bands is essential to making your first few tours go smoothly. The local groups will often know the most popular venues in and around town and might even be able to help you get connected with the club owners
and booking agents. If you’re friendly, many will also be willing to help you physically. promote your shows and releases, since you can’t be there until you play. Finally, having a few great local bands on your bill will help big time when it comes to draw. Plus, they may even let you crash on their couch!
4. Radio, press, promo targeting
Like networking, you’ve got to think ahead when it comes to the press. Even if you aren’t thinking about touring yet, as soon as you have an official release, you can start pitching it in other markets through the power of the internet. Getting press can be very difficult when you’re first starting out. The more press you have, however, the easier it is to get, so things should ramp up gradually after a few bloggers or journalists give your album a chance.You should definitely be sending press releases to all of your hometown publications, but don’t forget about other towns. If it’s something that’s relevant anywhere, such as an album release, take some time to research and pitch to small publications in big cities with strong music scenes all over the US. Having a little local press can help you get your foot in the door with the music scene once you’re ready to tour. Getting radio airplay is much harder than getting press, but if you can manage it, it’s definitely worth the trouble. In the same cities to which you send press releases, try to find some college or small, independent radio stations that you can send your music to. The earlier they can start your music in their rotation, the more time you have to get into people’s ears in that region.
5. Put together a solid plan
This is the most important part of the process. After you’ve settled into your band and everybody feels comfortable booking, promoting, and playing shows, come up with a shortand long term plan. Try to get an idea of when you’d like to start touring, and plan how you’ll accomplish the things that need to be done beforehand. The key to successful promotion is proper planning and thinking ahead, and this is especially true when you’re trying to break out of your local scene. Always try to have an idea of what’s next for your group, and you’ll find yourself making consistent, steady progress towards your goals.
Dylan Welsh is a freelance musician and music journalist, based in Seattle, WA. Visit his website for more information. http://www.dwelshmusic.com/ THE VOCALIST MAGAZINE I 151
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THE LOOK BOOK MAGGIE SEMAAN Maggie Semaan is a hair stylist located in Montreal, Quebec. She has won a multitude of awards for avant-garde hair styling and has worked with celebrities including Karl Wolf, Rachid Badouri, Corneille, Massari, Isabelle Boulay, Marie-HÊlène Thibert, Dan Bigras, Daniel Lavoie, Breann McGregor and many more. Semaan seems unstoppable as a hair stylist. Here are some of her insights about the beauty industry and how to get the best hair possible. By Claire Loewen Credit Photos: Maggie Semaan 158 I THE VOCALIST MAGAZINE
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TVM: You are a very accomplished hair stylist. What would you say is your greatest achievement so far? MS: I’d have to say that as the years go by, it just gets better and better. I’m always trying to go forward and have goals and achieve my goals. I have to say that I’m always happy and proud of everything I do and I’m not stopping TVM: What’s your current goal? MS: I just launched my own hair extension line, which is something I’ve been working on for a little while to really get the best out of hair and what’s on the market and the best techniques. That’s definitely something really nice that’s happening right now. I’m also getting my own hair salon. We’re the biggest salon in Laval and we have a lot to offer including on-location services for events, weddings, fashion shows, and any special events. So it’s pretty big. TVM: What would you say is your signature hair style? MS: Right now, natural looks are very in but also pretty worked. Right now, the Hollywood wave and the glamourous vintage style, the 60s and 70s, is very back. This is a style we repeat every day, that people ask for a lot. So it’s good to make this my perfection and to be able to recreate it onto any type of hair. It’s something that you really need the touch for. Not everyone can do the vintage wave. I would say that is my specialty, along with hair extensions as well. They add more body to the structure. TVM: Do you prefer working with models or established personalities? MS: It’s very different. What’s fun is that there’s always something new to do on people. It’s not always repetitive unless it’s a shoot that we’re doing for a few days where you have to recreate the style. If not, it’s always a new style. Everyone has a different personality so it’s always great to work with different people to be able to socialize with different personalities to get a feeling. You learn from different people and their lifestyle, and how they got to where they are. I don’t have a preference. Everybody has something to offer. TVM: You’ve participated in and won a number of avant-garde hair competitions. Where do you get your inspiration? MS: Mostly for competitions, when it’s avant-garde, it’s very futuristic and very outside of the box. So it’s not the regular hair styles that you’ll see walking down the street. It’ll be really colourful, and very edgy and very, very outside of the box. When you work on competitions, it’s not something you do from one day to the other. It’s something that you’ll work on for months to prepare, to create, to brainstorm… the more you work on it, the more you come up with ideas. Working on something will inspire you onto something else. It’s just working on the strategy and preparing a hairstyle. The more you work on the hair, the more the inspiration comes to you. Also, pictures, colours, nature, even music… a lot of things are very inspiring. You combine everything together, and with a lot of hard work and preparation, you’ll have a final masterpiece for a competition.
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TVM: Is it important for an artist to have a consistent hair stylist? MS: Once you find the right hairstylist, you don’t really want to run around to other people. Mostly as an artist, your looks are very important, so you have to feel stable in always feeling satisfied with your appearance, not only for the people looking at you but for yourself. It’s important that when you find that one person that can please you or make you happy [with your hair] every time, consistently. Not necessarily someone who will always do the same hairstyle, but someone who can always come up with new ideas, and just switching it up a little bit to spice it up a little bit. It’s good to change your hair sometimes, it makes you feel like a new person. It’s very important to find the style that you love and that makes you happy so if ever you go somewhere else and are unsatisfied, you can come back to the same person. You want to come to the stylist feeling relaxed and confident that you’ll be happy. There’s no better feeling than having a client come in and close her eyes and knowing that when she opens them she’s going to be absolutely happy. TVM: What does your job consist of? MS: I have a very, very busy schedule and I’m super happy to be where I am right now where I’m very busy every day of my life. I have so many requests for my hair services that I’m always all over the place, whether it’s on location services or at the salon. I’m really back-to-back, non-stop, there’s still so much variety. Even though I have many regular clients, it’s always fun for them to be openminded. I always suggest ‘Let’s do something new today, let’s do it.’ There’s always something new and challenging to do. My days are never the same, I’ll never do the same thing over and over again. Every day is a new day with something new and creative to offer to people. TVM: What are your current favourite hair trends? MS: I just launched my line of hair extensions so I can really offer what’s best out there to my clients. Right now, longer and fuller hair is my favourite. Especially fuller, because it can create a really glamourous look. Hair extensions, especially the more natural, bouncy, flowy but most importantly, big hair. That’s what I love right now. TVM: What kind of styles do you like to do on yourself? MS: I like switching it up so that people get inspired and see that there are a lot of things you can do with hair. A month ago, my hair was black and now I’m platinum blonde. My hair was a bit shorter, now I’m wearing hair extensions. So I go from short to long, different colours… it’s very inspiring for people to see these things. That way they know that just because you’re dark doesn’t mean you can’t go blonde, or vice versa. Just have fun with your hair! It’s an accessory, keep changing it up.
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TVM: What is your top tip for an artist at home trying to do their hair in a rush before a performance? MS: It’s very important to have the right maintenance of hair products to be able to recreate nice, finished hairstyles. When your hair is well treated and you’re using the right products for your hair, it makes it so much easier at home. Having the right tools, professional tools, like curling irons and straighteners, makes it so easy and fast that your hair should not take you too long. When you have the right techniques, you will have more speed. You need the right tools. It’s also important that your stylist educates you on what to use, what kind of products and what kind of techniques. I like to do that for my clients. I’ll give them tips and tricks every time they come see me so that it will be easier at home to recreate the styles that we do, or to create new styles as well. But really, having the right tools will help you save so much time, energy and stress because when your tools perform, you’ll get the results. That way, you’re not fighting with your hair. The wand is very in right now, it comes with a glove so it’s easier to not burn yourself. Whether your hair is curly, straight, frizzy, wavy, when you have a good wand, as soon as you twist your hair over it, it makes your hair so smooth and shiny and it gives you that perfect wave. You can create a beach wave and very tight, clean waves. The wand creates perfect waves very quickly.
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INTERVIEW
SAVANNAH BLAIN
Savannah Blain is a young singer-songwriter who has just released her first EP ‘Along the Way’. Performing the national anthem at different sporting events since she was 9 years of age, Savannah knew what she wanted to be the minute she got a taste of playing for the crowd. The eight month long project that became her EP was recorded by famous producer Justin Armstrong and various other musicians that backed up Savannah’s soulful voice. Passion-driven and strong-willed, Savannah is sure to grow as a star within the next few years! By Melissa Simboli-Gibbs Credit Photos: Shandell Rea pixelperfectphotography.net By Cristina Sanza Credit Photos: Sally Folk THE VOCALIST MAGAZINE I 169
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TVM: Hello Savannah! Would you like to in- TVM: What have been some of your biggest troduce yourself to our readers? hurdles? Savannah: Of course! Hi I’m Savannah Blain, I’m Savannah: It would be the people that doubt
a seventeen year old singer-song-writer and I’m from S Washington!
TVM: What is your earliest musical memory? Savannah: My earliest musical memory would
probably be when I was about seven years old. My family had a radio and I remember always sitting there and singing next to it every day, exploring the channels and just really being so intrigued by the possibilities of music.
you, the haters, the people who tell you that you wont make it. Every artist faces the people who are going to tell you that you aren’t good enough and there are a lot of no’s along the way. But I think it’s about how you take that and perceive it- take it in stride and let it help you become the best version of yourself.
TVM: What have been two of your greatest achievements? Savannah: My first would have to be on Sep-
TVM: When did music become more serious tember 23rd of last year. I released my debut EP album ‘Along the Way’. For me, it’s one of my for you? Savannah: There was an experience I had when I greatest achievements because of all the hard
was 12. When I sang the national anthem for a triple-A team called the Fresno Grizzlies. There was about 12000 people there and it gave me a taste of what it was like to perform so many people, I loved the thrill and that’s when I realized that this was what I wanted to do!
TVM: How would you describe your musical style and voice? Savannah: I would describe my musical style
as rock with a little soul and R&B influences. I’d describe my vocals the way I hope I can be perceived by others… as very dynamic and different.
TVM: When it comes to training your voice, how frequently do you do it? What else do you do to keep yourself healthy? Savannah: Normally before a big performance,
I am warming up and exercising my voice for an hour a day leading up to the show. But for the most part that’s when there’s a show. Given my age, I think it’s important to work out your voice and eat very healthy. My family has all been into healthy foods so it’s made it easier on me to make healthy choices.
TVM: Before a performance, what do you do to prepare? Savannah: Of course like any other singer, I warm
up! I have this weird and strange tradition where I have to get this drink Kombucha. I was always blast music and jump around to get pumped!
TVM: What artists do you look up? Savannah: Aretha Franklin, Adele and Sam
work, love and the support of people who helped with it. It’s like my baby! I wrote all the songs and that was huge accomplishment for me as well! My second biggest accomplishment has just been me growing. Seeing how far I’ve gone and the people I’ve come to meet throughout the experience has been really amazing to watch!
TVM: What are some messages and themes inside your songs that you’d like people to hear? Savannah: The title track off of my EP album
‘Along the Way’ has one. I wrote it thinking that we are human beings and no one is perfect. There are always going to be hard times in life where people are like “why me? Why do I have to go through this?” but the answer to that is simple. In the end, we are meant to go through hard times because they make us stronger, shape us into who we become. The meaning of that song just really ties into the whole album in the context of overcoming struggles. While it might not be easy, but it’s about making the best out of what you have. Another song I wrote called ‘Hope you Think of Me’ is about writing someone you can’t see often. I dedicated that song to our men and women fighting in the military because they go so long without seeing their loved ones. ‘Climbing Ladder’ is about never giving up on your dreams. Even when you get a no, just keep going. ‘Call me Back’ is basically what I like to call my love song. It’s a boy who leads a girl on but later realizes he really likes her. It’s too late and ironically, he’s the one who keeps trying to call her back in the end.
Smith are just some!
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TVM: I love that your album has the diversity of some more serious and deep songs, as well as some more light-hearted and fun songs! Savannah: I’m a really deep person *laughs*
During writing, I realized I needed to lighten up a little and try to write some songs that were more uplifting! When I set out to write this album, I wanted to make something that not just one age group or gender would enjoy. I wanted a love song for the young girls, something about struggles I’ve faced that everyone listening could relate to…
TVM: As an artist, what do you think makes you unique? Savannah: I think most people these days
TVM: What are some of your favourite memories while recording? Savannah: When I was recording at Robert Lang
Studios, there was a group of musicians that decided to go jam in the basement. They all took turns playing their own songs that they had written and at one point, they asked me if I wanted to play one of my own songs. I was like ‘sure okay!’ and at the end of the song, I saw in the corner of my eye Robert Lang- the owner of the studiowas standing there listening to me play my song. Afterwards, he came up to me and give me a big warm hug and said ‘That was amazing!’. It was such a genuine hug and there was so much belief and support in his eyes.
TVM: How long did the whole album take to are afraid to go out of their comfort zone. I’m put together? very open to trying things and mixing different Savannah: From the starting point of writing the genres. I’m open to change and I’m ready to take the steps I need to be successful no matter what.
TVM: Where do you get your inspiration when you’re writing songs? Savannah: Well, like every writer I get writer’s
block but when I am stuck and can’t find inspiration, I observe. If I can’t find a story inside myself, I observe other people’s lives and see if there is a story I can tell through them. Writing is very therapeutic for me and how I find my inspiration is through everything: life, other people, daily conversations. Everything is there, you just have to look. But you also can’t force it. It has to just happen! Since I learned that trick, I still get writer’s block from time to time but can easily snap myself out of it!
TVM: What was your experience like recording? Savannah: It was so amazing! I recorded in Se-
attle, Washington at Robert Lang Studios. I recorded with Justin Armstrong who has won Grammy Awards for his work. He’s worked with artists like Nirvana, Death Cab for Cutie, Pearl Jam and the list goes on! It was a really amazing and humbling experience because all the artists who worked there were so uplifting. The history there was amazing and so were the people. It’s kind of an underground studio that not a lot of people know about but I would rank it up there as one of the top studios in the nation!
songs and everything, I would say about eight months. What a lot of people don’t know actually, is that I set out to get some funds for the album on Kickstarter. I got funded in the spring and started recording during the summer. I was very lucky how everything came together and how much my family, fans and community supported me!
TVM: Now that you’ve had a taste of recording and performing, which one would you say that you enjoy better? Savannah: It’s a really tough choice- I’d have to
say it’s a tie! I like performing live because I love seeing my fans and seeing the emotions on their face. Seeing the connections my lyrics can make with other people is indescribable. But I also love being in studio. When you’re there singing to yourself you realize how real everything’s becoming…
TVM: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given? Savannah: I would say it was ‘When one door
closes, another one opens.’ You might get a hundred no’s but it’s all worth it in the end if you get that one yes. Also, to never give up and taking any opportunity to get yourself out there. If you look back to some of the most famous artists out there today, a lot of them were playing on the streets. Some people may not know this but I believe Ed Sheeran was homeless for a period of time and now he’s selling out stadiums!
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INTERVIEW
Consisting of wife and husband duo classically-trained vocalist Eleanor Kleiner and French multi-instrumental maestro Elie Brangbour, The Whispering Tree delivers provocatively raw vocals that embody a punchy, folksy sound with tinges of rock and jazz. It’s their angsty, haunting sound that initially draws you in, but it’s the lyrics that keep you entranced, begging a further dissection into the plot of the song. The Whispering Tree are story-tellers as much as they are musicians. Each word counts, each line makes you feel something, see something, reflect on something. Eleanor’s voice is nuanced with a captivating, eerie quality and brims with passion. The couple met while studying at a contemporary music school in London. A few years after they married, and later released their first full-length album, “Go Call the Captain”, in 2010. They followed up with an EP in 2013, “The Escape”. Based in New York, The Whispering Tree has travelled and performed all over the world. The Vocalist Magazine had the pleasure to chat music, songwriting, and life lessons with Eleanor.
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The Vocalist Magazine: Is music something you always wanted to do? Eleanor Kleiner: It’s definitely something I al-
ways wanted to do. I grew up listening to the Beatles and Simon and Garfunkel, and I loved musical theater in middle school. At one point, I actually thought that that’s what I wanted to do; I thought I’d be a Broadway singer. Then, I discovered singer/songwriters and rock music, and I realized that I really wanted to write my own songs. I studied in New York at a classical conservatory for a year, but I kind of knew that I didn’t want to be a classical singer. I knew that my heart was more with rock and singer/songwriter music. So I started writing and performing. It must have been in 2002 or 2003. It started with just me, by myself, me and a guitar. So that’s how it started.
TVM: And then you met your partner, Elie Brangbour, while studying music in London. Subsequently after meeting him, how did The Whispering Tree form? EK: It started in London and we were in all the
same classes together, so we had been playing in that context. Then, our relationship started. We’re actually married now. So at first, there was a romantic relationship and then, we realized that it could be really interesting to try and write together. It just kind of evolved really naturally. He complements my writing style and it grew from there. We weren’t playing out much in London, but once we moved to the US, we put a band together and we started playing as a full band. In the more recent years, we’ve kind of stripped it down, so it’s just him and I playing, usually. It’s a lot more intimate and it’s a lot scarier, in a way. There’s nowhere to hide in a duo. You’re just out there totally.
his sole responsibility is the safety of all the crew, but out in the real world, there’s nobody like that. There’s nobody responsible. So it’s really random stuff that can inspire me. It just comes, I don’t know from where.
TVM: What artists do you look up to? EK: I love Nina Simone, Antony and the Johnsons, Tori Amos, Gillian Welch. I also love classic rock, like Pink Floyd and Credence Clearwater Revival. Those kinds of artists inspire me.
TVM: You guys perform quite a lot, all over the world. Is there anything special that you do to prepare yourself for a performance? EK: I religiously have to warm up. We play a lot
of really small venues and there’s usually nowhere for me to warm up. So, it’s usually just me in the car, doing lip trills (laughs). I also love Throat Coat, the herbal tea. My ritual before the show is just that I need to warm up, even if it’s a tiny show. I just don’t feel prepared unless I’ve done that.
TVM: What do you do to keep your voice healthy? EK: It’s not necessarily related to maintaining my vocal health, but I’m a vegan and I have a pretty healthy diet. Lots of dark chocolate; that’s just basically feel-good, so it has to be good for my throat (laughs).
TVM: The Whispering Tree’s history really emits an air of romanticism about being a musician. You’ve had a couple of interesting experiences, like a contract singing on a gondola in China and touring while living in a trailer. This last experience that I TVM: For me, what really stands out about mentioned sounds like something that muyour music are your lyrics. “Go Call the Cap- sicians would only do in the 70s. Can you tain” and “By the Side of the Road” are two share what that experience was like and what you learned from it? of my favourites. What inspires the lyrics? EK: Just, everything. I’m usually not in control EK: Well, I learned that you have to lay down the of what is going to inspire me. Often, I’ll just be driving and something will pop into my head. In the case of “Go Call the Captain”, I was actually working at a law firm and I came across a transcript of a deposition. I was reading it and a sailor had been injured on a ship and it just said “go call the captain.” I don’t know why, but it inspired me and it made me think, like, there’s nobody in the real world we can call. On a ship, the captain,
groundwork before you just jump into something like that. We thought, “Oh, well if we’re living in a trailer, then we’ll be on the road full time”, but you have to have the momentum going and the fan base to be able to be playing shows constantly. We weren’t there yet, so it didn’t really make sense at all, unfortunately. It was a fun idea, though.
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TVM: And the other event that I had mentioned, that you had a contract to sing on a gondola in China, turned out to be an experience that you didn’t seem to enjoy all that much. Can you talk about how it came about and what it was like? EK: Well, that was just good ol’ Craigslist, actu-
something that I try to do for myself and that I’m trying to do more and more, just get out there and be who you are and build your own tribe.
to China and as we were there, we got to travel, so it was great for that. I love being in new places. We were also surrounded by other artistic people and we all lived close together, so that aspect was really nice. It was really validating to be around other artists. But, it was a 9 to 5 job and that, for me, kind of gets old fast.
only challenge in being an independent artist, for me, is juggling the financial side of it and the fact that so much of what we do has nothing to do with the actual creation of the art. The business side and the promotion and the booking and all that other stuff isn’t what I’d say I’m good at, and it isn’t something I’m naturally drawn to. So for me, that’s the challenge. You have to hold on to why you got into it in the first place. You have to hold on to the passion and the desire to get your art out there and to want create so much, that it makes up for all the other stuff that you have to do that you don’t necessarily enjoy.
TVM: A lot of the legwork for your EP, you guys did yourself, from the artwork to the mixing. What are some of the challenges ally. I saw this listing and I thought, “Wow, I need that you’ve encountered along the way? to check this out.” I loved it because I got to go EK: Well, the biggest challenge, and I think the
TVM: You actually made the move from New York to a smaller town in New York State. What was the motivation behind that move? EK: Well, this was the day after the trailer deba-
cle. We were both tired of the city and we wanted something new. We came across this small town called Beacon. There’s a lot of art happening here, but you’re also close to nature. There are beautiful mountains and rivers, and I find that a more inspirational setting than a city.
TVM: Judging from your blog posts, you have a very poignant stance on what the mass audience values as being art. Specifically with regard to music, how would you like to see the music industry changed? TVM: Everything you do is independent, EK: I would like to see music, especially folk so with the mainstream and popular music music, valued more. Actually, it is in the mainoutlets being difficult to penetrate by indie stream now a lot more, but I guess I’d just want artists, what other routes have you gone to, for people to understand the true value of music to get your music heard and get your music and art in general. That it’s more than just entertainment. It really makes life worth living and it out there? can change people’s lives and it can change the EK: There’s a great group called Folk Alliance, world. If people valued it as such, I think it would
and there are also regional folk alliances, like NERFA. We kind of connected with people there who got our music in a way that other avenues didn’t really get it. I think they liked the political element of it and especially that we stripped it down to being an acoustic duo. It fits in there a lot better. There are also so many DJs out there who are working for unknown independent artists who just have a hunger for discovery in music. They’ve helped us a lot and they’ve been really supportive.
TVM: Have Go Girls and the community taught you anything? EK: Well, Madalyn [Sklar] is really inspiration-
al because she just goes out there and creates things for herself. Like, there was no organization for female musicians, so she just did it. That’s
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be easier for independent artist.
TVM: For other artist and aspiring artist, what’s the biggest piece of advice you can give? EK: I would say to find your own voice. Just find
what makes you an individual and what you want to do with music and go with that, instead of trying to focus on perfection or technicality or fit in to the mold that someone else has created. Just be yourself and be honest and authentic. That’s what people can relate to and that’s what great artists do.
INTERVIEW
TVM: What projects does The Whispering Tree have going on right now? EK: We’ve just finished our tour in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and France and we’ll be
returning for another tour in Fall 2016. We’ve also been working on a recording of Pink Floyd’s “Mother”, which we’re really excited about. It’s very different from the original, but we tried to stay true to the atmosphere of the song, We sing it as a duo, with two vocal lines and it’s very lush. We recorded it as a ‘video-song’, meaning that we filmed the recording process and every take you see in the video is the take that you’re hearing on the recording. We’re planning to release that in midJuly. We’ve also been working on a bunch of new songs and are planning on recording a new album this winter, with a release in Summer or Fall 2016. We’re still playing around with the arrangements but at the moment, some of the songs are very folk/singer/songwriter and others are a lot more edgy and progressive. I can’t wait to share them!
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PROFILE
KANDLE
“If you do it, it has to be for the right reasons... So don’t do it unless it’s your passion. By Claire Loewen Feature photograph by Richmond Lam
”
With a new record in the works, videos coming out left and right and a Canadian tour lined up for the summer, it’s safe to say singer/songwriter Kandle Osborne is making her mark on the Canadian music scene. This vivacious musician manages to remain grounded despite her booming success over the past couple years. “If someone called me today and offered me a job at Macdonald’s, I’d be so happy. Like, ‘Now I can pay my rent!’” said the artist. Kandle has definitely come a long way from chain smoking cigarettes at her parents’ house in Victoria. Moving to Montreal immediately propelled her career in the direction she wanted it. “It’s the most supportive place I’ve ever lived and I don’t think I would have started my career if I hadn’t moved to Montreal,” said Kandle. She began meeting some of Canada’s best musicians, wasting no time and collaborating with them almost immediately. “As soon as I moved here I got to open for Sam Roberts and Coeur de Pirate, I started a band with Sam Goldberg from Broken Social Scene, he brought in all of his cool friends… None of that would have happened anywhere else,” she said. Her Montrealer-infused band, Kandle and The Krooks, includes Sam Goldberg, Jason Kent from
Sunfields, David Deias from The Yardlets and Tim Fletcher from The Stills. The Montreal community has fully embraced Kandle as one of their own. “I’ve probably been called a Montreal native many times,” laughed Kandle, who is from Victoria. In Montreal, Kandle released her first full-length album, ‘In Flames’ on March 24, 2014 under Dare To Care Records. The LP received praise from countless publications including The Globe and Mail, The Gazette, The National Post, Elle and La Presse. ‘In Flames’ features collaborations with many Canadian artists, including the notable Montreal rocker Sam Roberts who said, “Kandle writes songs with a directness and an honesty few are brave enough to attempt – and she has the voice to drive the stake home.” Her powerful voice and strong songwriting are some of Kandle’s greatest assets, but her music videos deserve recognition as well. Her video for Baby was released on June 16 and took nine months and over 1000 hours to create. Kandle told Elle that director David Valliquette wanted to “create a dreamy psychedelic Never Ending Story-type world” in the video.
PROFILE
In addition to the creative masterpiece that is the ‘Baby’ video, Kandle uses her music and influence to support the Canadian Women’s Foundation. In her video for ‘Not Up To Me,’ the musician addresses the problem of mental, physical and emotional abuse towards women and includes a clip inciting people to visit canadianwomen.org. “The song itself is about a girl very close to me that dealt with some issues with abuse and suicide and depression, and just realizing the statistics in girls today and how, especially with social media, girls are bullied, they’re peer pressured and they blame themselves,” Kandle said. “Canadian Women’s Foundation is a great organization that helps these girls. It has amazing programs to get them to feel confident and comfortable to come forward.” She added that she hopes people will check out the site and help our girls. Apart from her recognition of real societal issues, Kandle’s music career is only moving forward. She has Canadian tour dates scheduled for
the summer, which she said will be released soon. “I get to go all the way back home to B.C. to play which is fun,” said the singer. “I’m secretly starting the new record but sh. At this point it’s just me and my guitar and my computer,” she continued. Kandle also said that she will most likely be producing her next album herself with Sam Goldberg. “I feel like musically, I keep progressing. I feel stronger and more confident as a writer. I’m just really excited and inspired,” said Kandle of her recent songwriting. When asked what advice she may have for aspiring musicians, Kandle simply said, “Don’t do it, go to school” with a laugh. This is confusing advice from someone whose life and career revolves around music. She continued by saying, “If you do it, it has to be for the right reasons. There has to be nothing else that you think might make you happy. Because it consumes your life. So don’t do it unless it’s your passion.” And her passion it is.
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JACE MARTIN By Melissa Simboli-Gibbs Photos By: Keesic Douglas
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TVM: When did you discover your passion for music? Jace: It was really early on, maybe five or six
years old. I started messing around with the radio as a kid. I’d always record instrumentals at the end of songs and then try and sing over them to make new songs that were my own. I knew I loved music from really early on!
not too talk to much and make sure I’m well hydrated. I don’t like to eat anything too acidic. I eat lots of greens, carbs and proteins so I make sure I’m at my best to perform. Mostly I try to rest and go over things, make sure I warm up. All day is like one big preparation for the show.
TVM: Do you have a vocal coach right now? Jace: No, I’ve actually never had a vocal coach.
TVM: I was reading that you were in a band I’ve always just trained myself. When I was thirteen to seventeen, I was taught all these techbefore you went solo. What was that like? Jace: Yeah, I started singing professionally when niques and skills by my mentor, Salome Bey, and I was thirteen with my brother’s band called The Wolfpack. We’re all brothers and I was the lead singer. On top of that, I was also in Toronto on stage, doing a theater production called ‘Raibow World’. It was written and directed by Canada’s Queen of Jazz, Salome. I was there for for four summers under mentorship with her. Yeah it was pretty exciting growing up around music!
TVM: So the band was really a family affair. Jace: It started out as a family thing, but eventu-
ally everyone had their independent things going on. So, I decided to venture out on my own and in 2009, I got to release my first solo album.
since then I’ve been using pretty much the same thing. I think my range has increased a lot. Being a solo artist has really changed me a lot.
TVM: What’ve been some of your favourite performances that you’ve done? Jace: One of my favourite ones was with Down
with Webster at this festival in Lancaster, Ontario. It’s one of the biggest festivals from where I’m around. For me it was really exciting to get invited to such a huge and mainstream event! This year, I actually got invited to play at Junofest for the 2015 Junos.
TVM: What have been pieces of advice that TVM: Since leaving the band, how do you have really helped you over the years? feel you’ve changed vocally and in terms of Jace: One of the best ones that I got was from a late mentor who was an amazing jazz keymusical style? Jace: When I was with The Wolfpack, we were boardist. He told me to always record everything. mostly a blues band so I had to stay in that genre. Growing up I was always listening to people like Buddy Holly, Michael Jackson and Mariah Carey. When I went solo, it was like an awakening. Vocally as well as in style, I got to tap into my R&B and Pop roots. It’s been really awesome and freeing as a vocalist to have creative control over everything.
Whenever I get any ideas or things I discover I can do with my voice, I record it. It’s come in handy so many times in my career!
definitely up there. I’m a huge fan of Jonny Lang and I also really love Magic! They’re doing some great things. Oh, John Legend of course!
helped my overall confidence a lot and with being prepared. I’ve noticed with my voice that the more things on my mind and stressing me out, the harder it is for my voice to open up. The more prepared, practiced and confident you are, the better you’ll be.
TVM: That sounds really useful, because not only could you have something to look back on with the recordings, but it can also help if you’re trying to catch something in the moment. TVM:Who would you say are your biggest Jace: Also, if I’m in the creative process and had influences right now? this bridge that I wrote and recorded, I could go Jace: I have to say that right now, Sam Smith is back and use it as a reference point. I feel it’s
TVM: On the day of a show, what’s your schedule like? Jace: For me, I like to drink tea and water. I try
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TVM: During your career, what have been put something together. I wanted it to show the world what I could really do. The first few songs some big challenges that you’ve faced? Jace: The first time that I was in a big studio and were ‘Free to Fly’ and ‘Can’t Lose’. ‘Free to Fly’ recording in Nashville, it was one of the hardest things for me to do. There were Grammys all over the wall and the engineer that I had worked with had also helped all these other massive stars. I was standing there thinking ‘oh my god, I’m just this guy from a little town in Ontario and now I’m out here with all these major musicians. It was definitely one of the biggest hurdles I ever had to face. I just really wanted to do the best that I could. But I did overcome it and it gave me more confidence and experience as well just making me want to work harder.
is over 140 beats per minute which is really fast. When you start out with that kind of energy it just really sets the tone for the rest of the album. I usually get melodies first when it comes to writing because it always starts off as gibberish but will sit there and jam to the music, letting my voice just sing. I’ll sit there and go ‘ooh’ and ‘ah’ but what I’m trying to do is figure out the melody, key and phrasing of what the song will be. After that, I’ll try and figure out the tone, decode what the song will be about. You have to get all your emotions and passion out before it really starts to make sense.
TVM: The longer that you’re in the music business, do you ever feel the pressure to TVM: Do you ever feel like you get writer’s block? conform? Look or act a certain way? Jace: For me, I’m always trying to be the same Jace: Yeah it happens! It can be a little bit disperson no matter where I’am whether it’s in a business meeting or on stage. But when you’re at some big festival, it’s hard not to try and capture the energy or what people want from you sometimes. On stage, your true artistry comes out and everything you are is there for people to see. The general pressures are there for example keeping a certain weight and looking good. Those things are always going to be in the back of your mind but I never feel the need to change myself. It’s about balance and confidence. If you’re truly happy with yourself, it’s going to show in the way you perform and in your songs.
TVM: When writing, how do you usually come up with the inspiration behind your emotional and personal lyrics? Jace: My music, oh man! Music comes from what-
ever gets me jacked up and excited. Before I’d just grab a guitar and write whatever because I was putting out songs and everything was great. But going to Nashville matured me a lot and made me realize that there was something better than just being an artist who puts out music. When I started my album, I didn’t know exactly what it would be but I had a direction. I wanted to pay 100% respect to the vocals, to phrasing, tempos, keys and bridges. Before we started, I talked with my team about this all. I said that I didn’t want to just put some album out and just
couraging because it takes so much effort to get everything there and work on it but sometimes it just won’t come together. Those are the ones you just have to record anyways but put it on a shelf and maybe not come back to it for two weeks, two months or two years. As an artist, you want to do everything you come up with but sometimes you just have to let it go for a bit.
TVM: In your opinion, what do you think it takes to become a successful singer today? Jace: What it takes is hard work and I know it’s
so cheesy. But it takes work, work, work all the time. If you’ve ever heard the phrase ‘you are what you think’ it’s like that. I truly believe that the ones constantly working all the time on music are the ones who becomes successful. Hard work really does pay off. You need to always be working to get better, but for yourself. Not to become better for or as anyone else. It’s about you. A lot of people work and when they get to a certain platform, they love it and become comfortable. They’re not scared or stressed anymore so they stay there. But I have big goals so I’m always trying to gear my career toward those goals no matter what, every single day. If you’re happy with your level of commitment and the effort you put in, I really think you’ll end up being a happy musician.
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Le Cagibi
A premiere, intimate venue for music and art, this licensed Plateau district establishment also serves as a cozy bistro and cafe, serving coffee, sweet treats, breakfast, light lunch and late-night snacks. Local, regional and national music acts are showcased. Address: 5490 St. Laurent. Telephone: 1 514 509-1199
Pub Saint-Ciboire
Located on rue Saint-Denis in an area full of popular French bars and clubs, Pub Saint-Ciboire is popular among fans of Quebecbrewed beers as it offers 12 local lagers and ales on tap including Blanche de Chambly, Belle Gueule and Boreale. For a very Quebec experience, visitors can try out a tasty Quebec brews while watching one of the local bands that play at the pub on a regular basis. Address: 1693, rue Saint-Denis Telephone: 1 514 843-6360
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House of Jazz
A landmark since 1968, this live music club brings the best of emerging regional artists and well-known international jazz performers to downtown Montreal. Louisiana-style culinary offerings are featured, in addition to extensive cocktail selections and terrace dining. Address: 2060 Aylmer St. Telephone: 1 514 842-8656
Metropolis
This concert venue in downtown Montreal has a capacity of 2300 people and often gets packed to the rafters during performances by artists such as Beck, David Bowie, Ben Harper and Jean Leloup. When not being used for a show, the venue transforms into a nightclub. Address: 59, rue Sainte-Catherine Est Telephone: 1 514 844-3500
Club Soda
Open in the early 80s, Club Soda has since become one of Montreal’s busiest and most popular venues. Aiming to give new artists and producers of all performance genres an audience, the club’s stage has been graced by many now-famous performers such as the Tragically Hip, Jann Arden, Soundgarden, Chris Isaak, Oasis and Canadian comedy troupe Kids in the Hall. Address: 1225, boulevard Saint-Laurent Telephone: 1 514 286-1010
Club Lambi
Filled with local in-the-know music fans, Club Lambi is one of the venues for the Pop Montreal indie music festival. The club boasts a friendly atmosphere and hosts up-and-coming and on-the-verge bands and artists. Address: 4465, boulevard Saint-Laurent Telephone: 1 514 583-5098
Cafe Theatre
Live music, art exhibitions, weekend brunches and comprehensive cafe and bar services are hallmarks of this downtown bistro, which features menus of comfort foods for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Address: 1832 Ste-Catherine E. Telephone: 1 514 564-4440
LIVE VENUE
La Casa del Popolo
La Casa del Popolo is not only a fair trade cafe offering light snacks. It is also a bar, a live music venue and a gallery. Address: 4848, boulevard Saint-Laurent Telephone: 1 514 284-3804
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Modavie
Nestled in the historic quarter and offering live jazz performances seven-nights-a-week, this bar and restaurant features a menu of Mediterranean-inspired selections, extensive cocktail offerings and large-group menu options. Address: 1 St. Paul St. West. Telephone: 1 514 287-9582
Theatre Plaza
local rock acts as well as bands from across Canada and the US. The club also hosts DJ nights when the music played includes hardcore, punk, rock, alternative and old school depending on the night. Address: 2031, rue Saint-Denis Telephone: 1 514 844-1301
La Tulipe
Since the 1920s Theatre Plaza has worn many hats. From a bowling alley to an illegal Asian karaoke bar. Today it boasts a newly refurbished look and hosts and hosts some of the hottest bands around. Address: 6505 rue. St-Hubert Telephone: 1 514 278-6419
Located in the Dominion Theatre, a heritage building constructed in 1913, La Tulipe is a former movie theatre that is now used as a concert venue. Visitors can expect to see rock shows, French-speaking singers, jazz concerts and musical reviews. Address: 4530 avenue Papineau Telephone: 1 514 529-5000
La Sala Rossa
Upstairs Jazz Bar & Grill
Run by the same people as Casa del Popolo (and located right across the street), La Sala Rossa is a restaurant serving Spanish tapas and paella as well as a weekend brunch. The club portion puts on a range of entertainment including cabarets, breakdance competitions, live bands and more. The venue often hosts some of the world’s most popular indie rock bands. Address: 4848 boulevard SaintLaurent Telephone: 1 514 284-0122
Cafe Campus
Having moved to rue Prince-Arthur after receiving noise complaints from the neighbours at the previous location, Cafe Campus is better than ever with three floors and live shows that see the club packed to the rafters. The venue also puts on theme nights such as retro Tuesdays, Blues Wednesdays and Francophone Sundays. Address: 57, rue Prince-Arthur Est Telephone: 1 514 844-1010
Cafe Chaos
One of Montreal’s many live music venues, Cafe Chaos presents
Located downtown and a vibrant venue on Montreal’s jazz scene, this bar and grill features nightly live music and a menu of North American classics. Extensive cocktail offerings and late-night dining services are available. Address: 1254 Mackay St. Telephone: 1 514 931-6808
Bell Centre
Home of the Montreal Canadiens hockey team, the Bell Centre also hosts a number of big-name music artists making stops in Montreal during world tours. Past and futures bands and performers at the Bell Centre include The Cult, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Coldplay, Madonna and U2. Address: 1260, rue De la Gauchetiere Telephone: 1 514 790-1245
Bar Chez CloClo
Located in the Plaza St-Hubert district, this casual bar and lounge features live music acts, karaoke nights, social dancing and DJ dance parties. Address: 6944, rue St-Hubert. Telephone: 1 514 727-0308
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Foufounes Electriques
An alternative club with style, Les Foufounes Electriques features two beer gardens, three dance floors and a daily happy hour that lasts from 4 pm to 6 pm. The club hosts live rock, hardcore and industrial bands and also puts on club nights such as GoGo Tuesdays, Under Attack Wednesdays, Sweet n Sour Thursdays and Electrik Saturdays. Music includes alternative, old school punk, rock n roll, hardcore, hip hop, 80s rock, pop and ska depending on the night Address: 87, rue Sainte-Catherine Est Telephone: 1 514 844-5539
Le Divan Orange
Le Divan Orange is a newcomer on Montreal’s live music scene but has nonetheless become a favourite among those looking to discover some cool new talent. The club hosts both English- and French-speaking bands that represent a range of music genres. Address: 4234, boulevard SaintLaurent Telephone: 1 514 840-9190
Grumpy’s Bar
Grumpy’s is a live music bar that offers different themes each night of the week. Various nights include 80’s Goodness Sundays, Grumpy’s Happy Mondays, Jazz Night open jams on Wednesdays, Moonshine on Thursday bluegrass and old-time jams, live bands on Saturdays and more. Address: 1242, rue Bishop Telephone: 1 514 866-9010
Le Theatre Corona
Le Theatre Corona is mainly used for theatre performances and musicals but also occasionally hosts popular bands Arcade Fire. Address: 2490, rue Notre-Dame Ouest Telephone: 1 514 931-2088
Les Bobards
Live music is the hallmark of this club, which showcases an eclectic mix of performances, including reggae, hip-hop and world music. Daily happy hour and nightly DJ dances are also hosted. Address: 4328 Boul St-Laurent. Telephone: 1 514 987-1174
Le Petit Medley
Live, local talent hits the stage weekly at this casual pub and lounge, which features complete bar services and a menu of pubstyle favorites. Complimentary wireless Internet is also available to patrons. Address: 6206 rue St-Hubert. Telephone: 1 514 271-7887
Le National
Le National concert hall presents a range of local and international music artists and bands. The popular C’est Extra and Pop 80 nights are held, here and the space can be rented for special events such as concerts, product launches and corporate parties. Address: 1220, rue Sainte-Catherine Est Telephone: 1 514 845-2014
Le Gainzbar
Located in the heart of Plaza StHurbert, this casual lounge features a weekly line-up of live jazz performances, an ambient social atmosphere and extensive bar services. Address: 6289 St-Hubert. Telephone: 1 514 272-3753
Le Rendez-Vous
In addition to operating as a tea house, this casual bistro also features dining for lunch and dinner and hosts weekly live dinnermusic events. The on-site boutique also carries an extensive selection of tea sets, tea pots and other brewing essentials. Address: 1348, rue Fleury Est. Telephone: 1 514 384-5695
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JENNIFER MEADE
DOUBLE ALBUM
IN STORES NOW