Hello, and welcome to my blog.
It has been a few months since I last posted a blog, things have been pretty busy and I have been a little poorly.
As I am sure some of you know, Georgejazz came off the air..we will miss the station greatly..but sometimes even good things come to an end. Ironically, it's popularity was it's downfall in the end. The server kept on crashing, and due to finicial restrictions there was not a budget to invest in the station to take it to a wider audience. It seems we are all feeling the pinch...it is a shame but we made some good friends.
The good news is we have joined a brand new Jazz station, and with it some exciting developments.
I am due to begin recording my nu Blues EP the end of the year, I am looking forward to getting back in the studio and getting the creative juices flowing !
I am also looking forward to next year, hopefully taking a band out to the Jazz clubs..and playing some festivals including Malborough Jazz festival.
I am as determined as ever to remain true to my music, and work with people like minded. Maybe I have chosen a difficult path, but to be honest I would rather continue on than make music I am not comfortable with.
We have received alot of albums lately from some well known artists..and I have to admit I have been very dissapointed..I would rather not name names, but some have really chosen to go in a direction not true to their musical roots..over produced commercial r&b and pop really. I suppose money talks, each to their own. I don't knock it, just wouldn't do it myself.
As I have said in earlier posts, I have been offered and turned down the deals where I would have had very little, almost no involvement in the musical proccess, and niether had any control over rights etc..some may say I am daft..but I would prefer not to be a robot !
Anyway, can you really see me making MTV music video's, ha ha
My dream is still to tour with a great band, doing the music I love..I shall continue to work for that goal.
Thank you as always for reading my blog, I won't leave it so long next time
Love
Claire
Saturday, 24 October 2009
Sunday, 26 July 2009
"Here and Now"
Welcome to chapter 8 of my blog, it's been a little while since my last entry, I have been a busy bee !
Thank you as always to those of you who have come back, and for your emails and messages, very happy to hear you are still enjoying my story, and hello to any new readers.
There was an "incident" yesterday that reminded me of something I thought I would share with you, I haven't included it in previous blogs simply because I had forgotten, but it was another little confidence booster along the way !
About a year ago I was contacted by a musician, as usual, unfortunately I cannot name names, but lets just say he is a very well know guitarist. He came on very strong, saying he wanted to produce an album for me, and take me to New York to play at some major events..it all sounded very exciting, especially as the outfit he plays with included one of my musical hero's. As usual it was all above board, and I spoke to various other people in the circle, so I felt quite confident it was not bullshit. We were in conversation for a few weeks and it was all looking very promising, as my manager I thought it would be a good idea for Aja to touch bases with he who shall not be named, so he contacted him to say hello and introduce himself.
This is where the story ends, that was it, never heard from again..can't tell you why, but I'm sure we can all read between the lines.
I thought the days of doing the odd "favour, wink wink" for someone to further your career was gone, but apparently not !!
Chapter 8
Thank you as always to those of you who have come back, and for your emails and messages, very happy to hear you are still enjoying my story, and hello to any new readers.
There was an "incident" yesterday that reminded me of something I thought I would share with you, I haven't included it in previous blogs simply because I had forgotten, but it was another little confidence booster along the way !
About a year ago I was contacted by a musician, as usual, unfortunately I cannot name names, but lets just say he is a very well know guitarist. He came on very strong, saying he wanted to produce an album for me, and take me to New York to play at some major events..it all sounded very exciting, especially as the outfit he plays with included one of my musical hero's. As usual it was all above board, and I spoke to various other people in the circle, so I felt quite confident it was not bullshit. We were in conversation for a few weeks and it was all looking very promising, as my manager I thought it would be a good idea for Aja to touch bases with he who shall not be named, so he contacted him to say hello and introduce himself.
This is where the story ends, that was it, never heard from again..can't tell you why, but I'm sure we can all read between the lines.
I thought the days of doing the odd "favour, wink wink" for someone to further your career was gone, but apparently not !!
Chapter 8
" Here and Now !"
After the excitement of my radio play on BBC things have calmed down a bit. Over the last months I have been working on various projects, writing and collaborating. I am actually writing songs for a musical at the moment for someone in the U.S, something I had never thought I would turn my hand to, it is a challenge, but great fun. I have also done some cool jazz due for release soon, something very different for me..but I do love to keep things interesting and new.
We have very recently had a mix done on my track "He Is My All" , so far it is going down very well, playing in the clubs in Ibiza, Istanbul and on radio all over the world.. very happy people are enjoying it..it is a bit of disco, 70's flavour, again something different for me !
Just to fill you in on another recent "episode" in my music journey, I have had an interesting week to say the least ! Again, not naming names, I was eagerly contacted a number of times by a record producer/label..usual list of credentials. The various emails read how he would love to produce records for me, loved my voice, all very nice. So....we contacted him on his request. I know it sounds terrible, but I enter most conversations of this nature with suspicion. You would think, and naturally so, that the people higher up the food chain would be more honest and up front and more importantly professional ! However, in my experience this is not the case, most regrettably my instincts were right. Yes, he wanted to produce for me, and began a lengthy lecture about how the music industry is not about talent and more about money and celebrity, and asked me if I could get a budget together to pay him !!
Firstly, IF I had that kind of money I know exactly what producers I would approach that I would love to work with..and secondly, what is that all about ??? You chase someone, then ask them for money, PLEASE !!
Maybe I was supposed to get honoured, and grateful for the interest and how dare me not be !!
And secondly, I refuse to believe that success in music is not about talent !! I think the music industry suits and executives have forced it to be that way, mostly in the commercial world. Yes, it is that way in the world of MTV and glossy magazines, but who wants that kind of attention ??
I don't think at any point that I have given the impression that I want to be famous, a celebrity and feature on the front page of Hello magazine falling out of a car drunk, nor I am remotely interested in being the next Pop princess !, can you imagine ha ha ha , me on MTV dancing around in a mini skirt, I can hear you all laughing now.
I realise there is a place for all that, I am not naive enough to think pure talent will always win through, but sometimes it does ! You only have to look at some of the real successes like Jill Scott and Herbie Hancock amongst many others..you don't see them splashed all over the papers and magazines.
Onwards and Upwards !!!
Obviously now I have reached the present point in my story, I will continue to keep you updated on any "developments" as and when they occur !
Thanks for reading my blog, see you next time.
Claire xx
Thursday, 9 July 2009
"He Is My All" on BBC YEAH !!
Welcome to my blog, very happy you are enjoying the story so far :-)
I have received alot of messages from people who are reading my blog, some coming from as far as Australia and the U.S. , which is very cool !!
Thank you xx
Chapter 7
I have received alot of messages from people who are reading my blog, some coming from as far as Australia and the U.S. , which is very cool !!
Thank you xx
Chapter 7
"He Is My All" on BBC YEAH !!
The beginning of 2009 was a very exciting time ! My track "He Is My All" had been in circulation for a good few weeks and was receiving great reviews and lots of radio play. Of course I am at a huge advantage being on radio myself and able to play my own music, but I do not take it for granted. I realise I am in a great position, we have many friends who are on various radio stations all over the world, but I rest assured that though we are friends, they would not play my music if they didn't like it ! Of course the track was not everyones cup of tea, one Dj even said he thought it was too sophisticated for it's own good..not quite sure what he meant, but that's ok, everyone is entitled to their opinion and has different tastes. I feel that as long as I am happy with my work, and proud of it, that is what matters, you cannot please all the people all the time. To be honest I have learned to take criticism, although when I first started out it was a little hard to swallow, but you do grow a thick skin. You do learn to differentiate between constructive criticism and the opinions of, shall we say, less educated ears !!
It had been a long while since I had performed live with a band, and in March I woke up one morning and decided to put a little band together ! Having done this on many occasions the usual fears popped up in my head. I have played in many bands as I have mentioned before, and there may be those of you who can relate to this, bands can be for want of a better word...a Nightmare ! It's ok when you join a band, or you are asked to dep etc, because you just do what is asked of you and you are not in control..so if anything goes wrong, or you have a bad night it's not your fault, ahhh a lovely place to be, but when it comes to starting your own band it's a different story. Sometimes it can be the dynamics, or personality clashes, and sometimes members don't do their homework and learn the set. Some of you may laugh at this, but I actually hate being the "bossy" one..but unfortunately it is a necessary evil when running a band. I love a good jam as much as the next person, but when there is music to get through I must be the boss Ha ha !!
I contacted some good friends of mine, and I found myself a little band. I wrote up the playlist and all was well. The hardest part about running a band is organising the rehearsals, getting everyone in the same place at the same time is hard work, but the rehearsals for my new band fell into place fairly easily, with one or two hiccups leaving me on frantic phone calls for few hours.
It was after my first rehearsal, one week before the gig that I received an amazing email. When we started to promote He Is My All I sent it to some big players, but honestly didn't expect to hear from them, but there it was, a message from the producer of Craig Charles Funk & Soul Show BBC6 music.." Dear Claire, loved the tune..we will be adding it to next weeks playlist " I nearly fainted...then I ran around the room screaming then collapsed ! I rang everyone..it may seem like an over reaction, but for a little unsigned Welsh Blues singer to get play on BBC , well it is practically unheard of !! As you can imagine I was Super chuffed, a great achievement.
I only wish I could tell you that on the night they were playing my song on BBC6 I was at home tuned in with a glass of vin , but alas..I was actually on stage in a club in Swansea singing Peggy Lee. Never mind, I got to listen on the replay..Craig was very nice about me and said some lovely things. I was very cool to hear him talking about me, I am a huge Red Dwarf fan, and obviously he is now on Coronation Street too. It was a wonderful moment for me, and made alot of hard work, tears and tantrums worth it !!
The gig went well, I had great support and some people even travelled from afar to come and see us. It was amazing to meat one person imparticular, he had been supporting me from the very beginning, and after almost 3 years we finally got to meet ! I posted up some video clips on youtube and received some good feedback, all in all it was a good weeks work !!!
I am almost up to date with my story, I can't believe I actually got 7 chapters out of it !! In my next blog I shall tell you about all the new projects and goings on, see you then :-)
Love Claire xx
Monday, 29 June 2009
"What a year !"
Hello and welcome to my blog.
Once again I would like to thank everyone for coming back, and for your comments. It has been fun to write, and if I am honest, almost therapeutic aswell !
As some of you have mentioned, I am the stage in my story where I met some of you. And I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continuing support, and yes, I am going to get a little sentimental here, which as you know is not like me :-) But seriously, if it wasn't for your support I reckon I may well have thrown the towel in a long time ago !
I would especially like to thank Sarada, my rock, Geo my mentor, Ken for your belief, Robin for everything, Paul for many a phone call :-) & Rich G for your invaluable help, don't know what I would have done without you all ! And of course, it goes without saying..my Angel xxx
Chapter 6
Once again I would like to thank everyone for coming back, and for your comments. It has been fun to write, and if I am honest, almost therapeutic aswell !
As some of you have mentioned, I am the stage in my story where I met some of you. And I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continuing support, and yes, I am going to get a little sentimental here, which as you know is not like me :-) But seriously, if it wasn't for your support I reckon I may well have thrown the towel in a long time ago !
I would especially like to thank Sarada, my rock, Geo my mentor, Ken for your belief, Robin for everything, Paul for many a phone call :-) & Rich G for your invaluable help, don't know what I would have done without you all ! And of course, it goes without saying..my Angel xxx
Chapter 6
"What a year!"
This may sound a little dramatic, but hey I am known for being slightly dramatic at times, and you guys can stop laughing..I know I know, probably too dramatic, but it is my right, after all I am an Artiste !!!!
2008 was an eventful year, probably one of the most eventful of my life !
The year started with a number of trips back and fourth to London, meeting and greeting various musicians and dj's. One particular trip which will stay in my memory forever was when we actually drove into the centre of London, yes drove ! NEVER again ! We were going to Hyde Park Corner to meet our friends at Pizza on the park. I have been driving for nearly 17 years, and I lived in a fairly big city, so I class myself as a pretty confident driver, it took on a whole new meaning when I drove through the streets of London....I mean, who would chose to do that on a daily basis, it is CRAZY. I am proud to say though, I kept my composure, and gave as good as I got to the demon drivers of London ! After a hair raising 2 hours, just to get through the West End, I parked the car opposite the Ritz. I had decided that was a s far as I was going, so we walked the rest of the way. Our good friend was performing a set at a private do, it was cool and we got to sit next to the guy that wrote The Office amongst others..We were staying in London with our friends and they asked if I would mind giving the bass player a lift home, to which I said of course. As it was late at night so we took the "scenic" route, it was a far more pleasant experience than the earlier drive as you can imagine. The bass player introduced himself and told us how he had just completed a session on an album, and when I asked if it was anyone we might know he casually said yes we may know him, I can tell you I nearly freaked out, it was only George Michael !!! I just said "cool" , though in my head I was saying "oh my god, oh my god" ha ha ha. When we turned a corner we were faced with loads of camera's flashing, to which my passengers took no notice as Hugh Grant walked in front of my car to get into his. All in days work I guess !
Due to circumstances beyond my control I found I had to go back to singing solo, doing hotels, clubs and casino's. Initially it was very difficult, as I thought I had said goodbye to solo work, but as most artists will tell you, bands are a labour of love and don't pay the bills unfortunately. I found it just as soul destroying as I had done before, only I found the edge was taken off due to the fact that I has all these other projects going on, and of course the radio shows. You have to do what you have to do, and that is how I treat it. I hadn't realised how badly the non smoking ban had effected the industry, it is really struggling, and work is not as abundant as it was. I focus on it being a temporary measure, until I can earn enough money from doing what I really want to do, or I win the lottery :-)
Around this time, sadly the station we were doing our show on shut down, fortunately an offer to join another station came up. Sometimes things happen which are sad, but something new is always around the corner. A couple of weeks after we joined the new station, we had an offer to join yet another one, this one a Jazz station, so we were soon busy doing 2 shows a week. The new music was pouring in, we are very fortunate I think, we get to hear music that doesn't usually get on mainstream radio. I'm not going to get onto my soapbox about this, but it is a travesty, I don't know who to blame really, the stations who play the crap or the people who tune in to listen to the crap..of course it's not ALL crap that would be unfair, but they certainly overlook the real talent in my opinion. Luckily it seems to be changing because of the Internet. No matter what your taste in music, now you can find it on some station somewhere on the web, which is great ! As a duo we were causing a few laughs, we are very open with our listeners, and some comment on how they love the fact that they feel invited into our world, all be it mad and chaotic ! But that is us, mad as hatters..but the music is always the focuss and we don't mess around when it comes to the playlists. We have made alot of friends through radio, some of our listeners have become personal friends, that is the great thing about music though..the universal language, crossing all barriers, in my opinion the whole world needs to let it in and it would be a better place !!!
During the following months I didn't do much recording, we were literally too busy, but I soon got itchy feet and wanted to get back into the studio. I am a very lucky girl, I have amazing friends who also happen to be very talented. With the help and generosity of my friends I managed to get a new song recorded without a budget. We had great fun recording it, and it came together beautifully. The guys all did their parts separately, then I did my vocals. When we had finished the production we invited all the guys up to listen and have a chat on the show debuting the track. The feedback was brilliant, and the support from various dj's on stations all over was amazing.
In the next chapter I will tell you about the exciting things that happened with the new record, more projects, and moving up the musical food chain so to speak !
Look forward to next time,
Thanks for reading my blog
Love
Claire x
Friday, 26 June 2009
"Crash course in all things music"
Again, thank you for following my blog, and for your comments. I am very happy you continue to read and enjoy !
Welcome to any newcomers, may I suggest you read my previous blogs first to fill you in with the story so far.
In this next chapter I will be telling you about some music projects, the wonders of the "ego" and my accidental fall into Radio presenting.
Chapter 5
Welcome to any newcomers, may I suggest you read my previous blogs first to fill you in with the story so far.
In this next chapter I will be telling you about some music projects, the wonders of the "ego" and my accidental fall into Radio presenting.
Chapter 5
"Crash course in all things music"
During my years making music I have worked with a number of musicians and producers, some I connected with and get on very well with and some, well let's just say, sometimes an ego can really get in the way of magic so to speak. In every walk of life a certain amount of confidence is good, but some over step the boundaries of confidence and a huge ego takes over, often meaning they don't achieve their dreams and spend their lives being bitter and wondering why they never got their rightful glory, and hating all those who do achieve success, and often attempt to get in the way of talent and crush it. These days I have learned to identify what kind of producer/musician I am working with much more quickly, whether they are actually interested in what the artist is about and actually listen, or they are more interested in stamping their own mark and making it all about them. It's ok whatever brand they are, I know how much effort to put in and where my place in everything is, but I also know when to walk away. My mum told me that not every opportunity is a good one, but I will say that all of my experiences good and bad have taught me something so nothing is ever a waste of time and to be regretted, however much it might feel that way.
Towards the end of 2007 I was asked if I would like to get involved in a music project by a certain radio Dj who you now all know as my partner in crime on radio Aja :-)
As well as this new project I had actually done a raw recording of one of my Blues tracks, which was receiving some great feedback. I was genuinely surprised at the response as it really couldn't have been more raw, no frills, but people seemed to love it, even got it played on a few FM stations, it even got me a page spread in a Blues mag which was super cool !!
I ended up writing and recording some music with the new project and had a great time, learned ALOT, oh yes, one wonders what drives some people to make insane decisions and terrible judgements..I may be blonde, but I am not stupid. Unfortunately that particular project didn't work out, due to some of the reasons I talked about above.
Time to move on ! That's when I kind of accidentally started getting involved with radio. My partner would disagree I'm sure, but he bullied me into it !!!
You would assume that because I have been performing live on stage for 15 years, I would have no problem talking into a mic, but I can tell you HA..yeah right ! I honestly found it nerve racking, remember I was telling you about the recorded interview I did..well It was as bad as that at first, I would talk at one hundred miles an hour and say UUUmmmmm about a zillion times, and get tongue tied and giggle alot ! I used to cringe listening back, I honestly don't know what used to happen, but my voice would go up in pitch and I would sound like Stacey off Gavin and Stacey. Fortunately it didn't take me long to find me feet and become more comfortable , and before long I was chatting away and we soon became what I would almost describe as a comedy duo !
Over the following months I had what can only be described as a crash course in music history..I still have a long long way to go and alot to hear. But having only ever been exposed to fairly commercial Jazz & Soul I hadn't heard most of what we played on the show, It was fantastic , all this music I hadn't heard before. I remember wondering how on earth you could sub categorise the genres, but I started to understand the different forms and styles. To be honest no one person can ever know everything, there simply aren't enough years in one life, but I enjoy the process.
In the next chapter I will be telling you more about Radio presenting with a move to a new station, joining a second station, and putting together and recording a brand new song.
Thank you for reading my blog, look forward to next time !
Love
Claire x
Monday, 22 June 2009
"Radio Radio Radio"
Hello and welcome to my blog.
Thanks to everyone for following my blog, and for your comments..very happy you are enjoying it and find it helpful.
Chapter 4
Thanks to everyone for following my blog, and for your comments..very happy you are enjoying it and find it helpful.
Chapter 4
"Radio Radio Radio"
After the seriousness of my last blog, I am pleased to say this next chapter is definitely more positive !. I can happily report that not everyone in the music industry is bad. In amongst the good people are some of the radio dj's. Now I say some, because believe me you do get some nasty people and huge huge ego's in radio. Since I began presenting on radio myself, my eyes have been opened to the politics and behind the scene goings on of radio, but I shall leave that for another day.
After all the drama of my record deal saga, I was straight back into the business of promoting myself, I admit I was a little knocked back and my confidence a little dented, but I figured I would put it down to experience, and it most certainly would not happen again !.
I started to reach out to radio stations and dj's on the Internet and contacted so many I genuinely couldn't give you a figure, most did not respond. I did actually expect this, especially from the bigger stations, I realised the emails and correspondence they must receive is overwhelming and they simply didn't have the time or resources to reply, and of course being a realist, I realised that not everyone would dig my music.
Over the following months a few of my records were picked up and included in various podcasts, which in my opinion is a great way to start gaining exposure. I have found that some artists are a bit caught up in the whole money side of things, and want to sell singles. Truthfully I would have to say that unless you are signed to a huge successful label responsible for promoting and selling your music, and you have a massive fan base, when you first start out promoting music, allowing a few songs to be downloaded for free really does help raise your profile, you never know who is listening and where it may end up. One of my early original songs appeared on an American chart in L.A, it got to number 13, I didn't even know how it reached there !
At the end of summer 2007 I was contacted by one of radio dj's I had written to earlier in the year, he had been one of the few dj's that had replied to me when I asked for addresses to send my demo. I was asked if I could do a short recorded interview, just introducing myself and my music etc to be included with some of my songs on his radio show. I remember being very chuffed, excited, and nervous..my first play on Internet radio, on a proper station !. I borrowed an hour in my friends studio to record the interview, and to date it was probably one of the funniest hours of recording I have ever done. I was so nervous, at first a talked so fast I kept running out of breath, which would lead to lots if swearing, with my friend laughing his head off in my headphones which just frustrated me even more ! After about the SIXTH take, I had gone into silly mode to loosen myself up, speaking in a very Welsh accent which made us all crack up, it was around the 10th attempt I eventually got a decent enough recording to send to the station. My friend often jokes about putting all my obscenities on a cd one day for release, he still has it all on his hardrive and often threatens to leek it out.
The evening of the radio broadcast arrived, I had put it out on all my websites, so I knew I had a few friends listening in. Something I regretted after, well just a little bit, I suppose it wasn't that bad. I sat at my computer cringing as I listened to myself talking, and some of the things I said, well if you didn't catch the show I'm not telling you ! I can tell you, even though I was sat alone listening, I went bright red, thankfully I was talking to my friends on line so they couldn't see me dying of embarrassment, but they were all kind enough to say they thought it went well. It's mad to think I was ever that nervous now that I do 2 radio shows a week !
After my radio debut I was lucky enough to start to get more play on radio, and things started to move in the right direction.
In my next chapter I will tell you about some more music projects I got involved in, and my accidental fall into radio presenting.
I hope you have enjoyed my blog, see you next time !
Love
Claire
Wednesday, 17 June 2009
"It's called Shameless self promotion"
Hello and welcome to the 3rd installment of my story.
Huge thanks to those of you who have been following so far, and for your comments, I am very happy you are enjoying it.
If you have just joined me, you may want to read my first 2 blogs to bring you up to date.
Now I am about to invite you behind the scenes of what I refer to as my "Internet persona".
Of course, this is my own personal experience...tears, tantrums, elation, achievement and let downs..the usual behaviour of a sensitive artist, it's all in there.
There are alot of opportunists and sharks out there looking to exploit music and capitalise on other peoples hard work and vunerability, and some who are just bad eggs, I have met my fair share, and very nearly been stooped. I wont be mentioning names, as much as I would like too, it is all part of the cut throat world of the unsigned, struggling artist !
Chapter 3
Where was I, oh yes Pneumonia !!!! Sod's law became an apt cliche for me in a big way when I decided to take a break from the club circuit to concentrate on my music career and just as I retired I got pneumonia. Was a bit hairy there for a minute too, the pneumonia itself didn't kill me, but the antibiotics I was prescribed nearly did ! I had a bad allergic reaction and ended up being rushed into hospital. It didn't realise how long it would take to recover, for 3 months I was pretty much out.
I had been on line with my website for a few months, so I decided to use the time to start using myspace and a few other artist network sites and posted up a few of the cover songs I had recorded during the summer. Myspace had really starting taking off then, with the success stories of the Arctic Monkeys, Lily Allen etc. I was just learning how the whole thing worked, at first I admit I didn't have a clue what I was doing and how to best utilise the sites, but it didn't take to long to work it out. After I had posted up a few Jazz songs I starting receiving some great feedback, and met a few people who I am still in contact with today, this is the good part of the Internet, you can make some genuine friends and build a loyal fan base. The downside is there are a few weirdo's and nutters, for want of a better expression ! I cannot count the amount of times I was sent inappropriate messages and photo's, I shall leave it to your imagination ( but some were of naked men, which upset me greatly :-) .
At the end of 2006 as I was recovering from pneumonia, a huge opportunity came my way and I was offered some free time studio in a top notch studio to record a demo c.d
Even though I was still a bit poorly I knew I had to utilise this opportunity. I decided I would write a few original tracks for the demo as well as doing a few covers, so I got to work and wrote 3 new songs. I was lucky to have some good musician friends who agreed to play for me, so they learned my songs and we spent 2 days in the studio and got 7 tracks done. I was very chuffed, as that is alot to get done in 2 days !
After mixing and mastering the tracks I commissioned a 1000 hardcopies, and here started the arduous task of sending them out to radio, publishing, labels and people who had requested a copy, I spent most days back and fourth to the post office sending the cd's out to nearly every part of the world. Of course back then I thought the thing to do was to get a huge record deal, ha ha ha..yes I am genuinely laughing at my own naivety !
I also posted the tracks from the demo on myspace and various other sites, and my profile started to rise with more people visiting and sending my lovely comments. In amongst these new friends was a record label from America. I received a wonderful message from the label telling me how they loved my voice and thought I had huge potential, all the good stuff you love to hear when you are someone trying to their "big break". As you can imagine I was very excited when they asked if I was interested in signing with them. A person from the label called me a number of times, we talked about what the plans were as far as me going to the U.S, recording and the various musicians that would be brought in on the project, I can't mention who, but one or two of them were well known names.
I was nervous and excited, and started to get my head around the massive things that were going to be happening, making plans etc. I even had a meeting with a UK representative ( or so I thought ) here in Wales. I am not one to be easily led, at this point all seemed well.
Then the contracts arrived !
I have to tell you am very lucky to have some very good friends who have worked within the music industry who know their stuff, and I am also fortunate to have access to a media lawyer. On first glance the contract looked ok, to me anyway, but then I didn't understand alot of the wording. Basically when I had the terms of the contract explained to me in English I couldn't believe what I might have signed, it was a complete scam. I would have signed all my rights away, to my music , publishing, everything. This is what they were banking on, once I had signed the contract and was obligated under the law of their state I would have to pay £25,000 to get out, which I would have wanted to do once it dawned on me what I had signed, that is if I HAD signed. Of course when I asked a few questions about the contracts and it became obvious to them that I had been advised they withdrew the offer !
At the time I was devastated, deflated and disillusioned about the whole music industry, and my confidence took a massive blow, now I view it all as a learning curve, and it taught me alot ! Over the following months I was contacted by a number of UK artists about this particular label and it seems we were all subject to this attempted scam, luckily none of us fell for it. The more artists I speak to the more I hear about how much this goes on. They are very clever too these labels, PR people etc, they have websites and look very official, but beware because things are not always as they seem ! Though you really do want to believe it...but hey I believe in karma :-)
Reading back, this has been quite a serious blog, but as I said in the beginning I want to tell you the truth about my journey in music, even the not so nice bits !
In the next chapter I shall tell you about my first play on radio, and the really bad interview I gave..oh no, I still cringe when think about it now ! Plus moving on to more projects, and more ups and downs.
Thank you for reading, I look forward to next time.
Claire
Huge thanks to those of you who have been following so far, and for your comments, I am very happy you are enjoying it.
If you have just joined me, you may want to read my first 2 blogs to bring you up to date.
Now I am about to invite you behind the scenes of what I refer to as my "Internet persona".
Of course, this is my own personal experience...tears, tantrums, elation, achievement and let downs..the usual behaviour of a sensitive artist, it's all in there.
There are alot of opportunists and sharks out there looking to exploit music and capitalise on other peoples hard work and vunerability, and some who are just bad eggs, I have met my fair share, and very nearly been stooped. I wont be mentioning names, as much as I would like too, it is all part of the cut throat world of the unsigned, struggling artist !
Chapter 3
"It's called shameless self promotion"
Where was I, oh yes Pneumonia !!!! Sod's law became an apt cliche for me in a big way when I decided to take a break from the club circuit to concentrate on my music career and just as I retired I got pneumonia. Was a bit hairy there for a minute too, the pneumonia itself didn't kill me, but the antibiotics I was prescribed nearly did ! I had a bad allergic reaction and ended up being rushed into hospital. It didn't realise how long it would take to recover, for 3 months I was pretty much out.
I had been on line with my website for a few months, so I decided to use the time to start using myspace and a few other artist network sites and posted up a few of the cover songs I had recorded during the summer. Myspace had really starting taking off then, with the success stories of the Arctic Monkeys, Lily Allen etc. I was just learning how the whole thing worked, at first I admit I didn't have a clue what I was doing and how to best utilise the sites, but it didn't take to long to work it out. After I had posted up a few Jazz songs I starting receiving some great feedback, and met a few people who I am still in contact with today, this is the good part of the Internet, you can make some genuine friends and build a loyal fan base. The downside is there are a few weirdo's and nutters, for want of a better expression ! I cannot count the amount of times I was sent inappropriate messages and photo's, I shall leave it to your imagination ( but some were of naked men, which upset me greatly :-) .
At the end of 2006 as I was recovering from pneumonia, a huge opportunity came my way and I was offered some free time studio in a top notch studio to record a demo c.d
Even though I was still a bit poorly I knew I had to utilise this opportunity. I decided I would write a few original tracks for the demo as well as doing a few covers, so I got to work and wrote 3 new songs. I was lucky to have some good musician friends who agreed to play for me, so they learned my songs and we spent 2 days in the studio and got 7 tracks done. I was very chuffed, as that is alot to get done in 2 days !
After mixing and mastering the tracks I commissioned a 1000 hardcopies, and here started the arduous task of sending them out to radio, publishing, labels and people who had requested a copy, I spent most days back and fourth to the post office sending the cd's out to nearly every part of the world. Of course back then I thought the thing to do was to get a huge record deal, ha ha ha..yes I am genuinely laughing at my own naivety !
I also posted the tracks from the demo on myspace and various other sites, and my profile started to rise with more people visiting and sending my lovely comments. In amongst these new friends was a record label from America. I received a wonderful message from the label telling me how they loved my voice and thought I had huge potential, all the good stuff you love to hear when you are someone trying to their "big break". As you can imagine I was very excited when they asked if I was interested in signing with them. A person from the label called me a number of times, we talked about what the plans were as far as me going to the U.S, recording and the various musicians that would be brought in on the project, I can't mention who, but one or two of them were well known names.
I was nervous and excited, and started to get my head around the massive things that were going to be happening, making plans etc. I even had a meeting with a UK representative ( or so I thought ) here in Wales. I am not one to be easily led, at this point all seemed well.
Then the contracts arrived !
I have to tell you am very lucky to have some very good friends who have worked within the music industry who know their stuff, and I am also fortunate to have access to a media lawyer. On first glance the contract looked ok, to me anyway, but then I didn't understand alot of the wording. Basically when I had the terms of the contract explained to me in English I couldn't believe what I might have signed, it was a complete scam. I would have signed all my rights away, to my music , publishing, everything. This is what they were banking on, once I had signed the contract and was obligated under the law of their state I would have to pay £25,000 to get out, which I would have wanted to do once it dawned on me what I had signed, that is if I HAD signed. Of course when I asked a few questions about the contracts and it became obvious to them that I had been advised they withdrew the offer !
At the time I was devastated, deflated and disillusioned about the whole music industry, and my confidence took a massive blow, now I view it all as a learning curve, and it taught me alot ! Over the following months I was contacted by a number of UK artists about this particular label and it seems we were all subject to this attempted scam, luckily none of us fell for it. The more artists I speak to the more I hear about how much this goes on. They are very clever too these labels, PR people etc, they have websites and look very official, but beware because things are not always as they seem ! Though you really do want to believe it...but hey I believe in karma :-)
Reading back, this has been quite a serious blog, but as I said in the beginning I want to tell you the truth about my journey in music, even the not so nice bits !
In the next chapter I shall tell you about my first play on radio, and the really bad interview I gave..oh no, I still cringe when think about it now ! Plus moving on to more projects, and more ups and downs.
Thank you for reading, I look forward to next time.
Claire
Saturday, 13 June 2009
Chapter 2 " The world of Clubland "
Hello, and welcome..if this is your first visit to my blog, may I suggest you read my first post before you read this one, it starts st the beginning of my story.
For those who are returning, thank you for coming back for the next installment.
Before I continue with my story I would like to thank all those who wrote comments and sent me messages. I am very happy you enjoyed it, and it gave me the confidence to continue on.
Chapter 2
" Clubland "
So I was telling you about my years doing Karaoke wasn't I, yes, I would definitely call this time an introduction into the world of entertainment !
It was during this time I recorded my first album, a covers album. It was a great experience, and got my first taste of studio work.
Many successful artists, comedians etc often talk about their time spent working in clubs, pubs and hotels, referring to it as serving an apprenticeship, and I would certainly agree with that !
People often think that success happens overnight, and though it may be true that you can be catapulted to stardom, you have to look behind the scenes to the real life stories of the years of trying to make it and knock backs before success. Unless of course you are Charlotte Church, who by the way is a formidable young lady, hello to you !!, or you are just looking for 15 minutes of fame, in which case it can happen overnight, but as soon as you arrive you dissappear again. Those who have maintained longevity and continued success would have spent many years developing their talent and learning their trade so to speak.
To give you just one example, Michael Buble was out there gigging 15 years before he got his break, and though sometimes artists get a little up their own bottoms when they get success, most are humble and very appreciative, as they spent so long trying and never giving up..and that is what it is all about, not giving up your dreams.
Ok, so the words that come to mind are, agents, commities, piss heads, abuse..well I could go on and on, but the bottom line working the clubs is bloody hard work !
Things are a little different today, regarding the standards of agents, clubs and the artists, but I won't go into that too much because it would end up in a essay type ranting session. But when I started out, if you didn't cut the grade you were litterally payed off and shamed in front of the audience, yes , really..it never happened to me, thankfully, but around the clubs of South Wales you often hear stories of a certain Mr Tom Jones being payed off from many clubs when he first started out, but personally I don't think it was his talent, it was probably more to do with his girating hips and leather pants that the conservative punters had an issue with.
For the first few years the venues I played in were generally ok, bar the odd shit hole with one man and his dog..I often wondered why some of these places were paying singers, not that I was complaining of course, but they may well have just had the jukebox on.
Oh my, I could tell you some stories.. one time I was singing in a snooker club and some one, who obviously had an issue with the venue actually threw a snooker ball through the window and it missed my head by inches !
But honestly, sometimes the rougher looking the place, the better the audience..I some some great nights and great fun in some dodgy looking places, I even did a short stint as a Blue comedian, and I can ear some of you saying, really Claire Blue comedy, no, surely not ! You know me too well Ha ha. I would like to say however, that I admire anyone who chooses comedy, it is the toughest job in the world, to make people laugh, I did ok, but at least if I had a bad moment I could blast out a song and all was well again.
After about 3 years singing solo I had the opportunity to join a band, having only ever done a little live work with a sing along 3 piece in my local, I was very happy to get my teeth into a proper band with real musicians..instead of always singing with my backing tracks.
I was lucky enough to play some festivals with my first band, including Brecon Jazz. We performed mainly funk and soul music..and when we were cooking we were hot stuff ! One year it was raining so bad that in between singing, I was stood on stage holding a broom stick trying to push the water off the marquee, what a sight, very glamorous ! Needless to say, that was not the best gig.
Oh, and one year we were playing a big open air festival and the organisers really stitched us up, I'm sure it wasn't intentional, but we were scheduled to follow the local heavy metal band. Now I think back it was very funny, but not at the time ! The band had a big following and most of the audience at that time were there for them, especially the ones sitting closest to the stage, so when we walked on, we were faced with hundreds of heavy metal fans...as you can imagine, starting our set with Pick Up The Pieces, an Average White band track..well I will leave it to your imagination !
I was with the band for about 4 years in total, doing the odd gig, and recording a demo album, but eventually we all went our seperate ways. I learned alot from singing with them, it is very different singing in a band to singing solo. Mostly I learned how to be part of a team, and to listen to what is going on around you, and where to leave space etc..we jammed alot during gigs, even now, it is a favourite thing to do when I am playing with a band, improvising..it is great fun and audiences love it. It is all about creating a one off, something in the moment, that they can feel part of.
Over the following years I sang with a number of bands, including big bands, singing the Jazz standards. I loved it, I have to tell you, there is nothing in this world like singing in front of a full 20 piece band, what a rush !!! I even sang in a pop band with some great friends, who I am still friends with now. One time we did a summer open air gig, it was a huge sell out..but the inevitable happened and it rained, the only day it did that summer, and it had to be this day ! We were gutted, but the funniest thing was the organisers had forgotten to earth the generator..well it was funny, but obviously could have killed us all, needless to say it was sorted out and we lived !
The gig ended up being brilliant, half the people still came and braved the rain, it was like a mini Glastonbury, we had people dancing around in the mud. My feet were so wet that I just kicked my shoes off, the wind was blowing in the direction of the stage so I was soaked through by the end, and I'm sure everyone could see through my top, but I didn't care, it was amazing !
Over this summer, which was 2006 I also recorded another album of covers, and got started on myspace, and the world that is internet networking !
It was also around this time that I started to look towards recording my first album with original work.. I took some time off, and guess what..first I had to get over pneumonia !!!
In my next chapter, I will tell you about recording my demo album, getting my first play on radio, some of dodgy record deal offers I had, and the sharks in the industry..not naming any names of course !
Thank you for reading my blog, I hope you enjoyed it.
Looking forward to seeing you for my next installment.
Love
Claire xx
For those who are returning, thank you for coming back for the next installment.
Before I continue with my story I would like to thank all those who wrote comments and sent me messages. I am very happy you enjoyed it, and it gave me the confidence to continue on.
Chapter 2
" Clubland "
So I was telling you about my years doing Karaoke wasn't I, yes, I would definitely call this time an introduction into the world of entertainment !
It was during this time I recorded my first album, a covers album. It was a great experience, and got my first taste of studio work.
Many successful artists, comedians etc often talk about their time spent working in clubs, pubs and hotels, referring to it as serving an apprenticeship, and I would certainly agree with that !
People often think that success happens overnight, and though it may be true that you can be catapulted to stardom, you have to look behind the scenes to the real life stories of the years of trying to make it and knock backs before success. Unless of course you are Charlotte Church, who by the way is a formidable young lady, hello to you !!, or you are just looking for 15 minutes of fame, in which case it can happen overnight, but as soon as you arrive you dissappear again. Those who have maintained longevity and continued success would have spent many years developing their talent and learning their trade so to speak.
To give you just one example, Michael Buble was out there gigging 15 years before he got his break, and though sometimes artists get a little up their own bottoms when they get success, most are humble and very appreciative, as they spent so long trying and never giving up..and that is what it is all about, not giving up your dreams.
Ok, so the words that come to mind are, agents, commities, piss heads, abuse..well I could go on and on, but the bottom line working the clubs is bloody hard work !
Things are a little different today, regarding the standards of agents, clubs and the artists, but I won't go into that too much because it would end up in a essay type ranting session. But when I started out, if you didn't cut the grade you were litterally payed off and shamed in front of the audience, yes , really..it never happened to me, thankfully, but around the clubs of South Wales you often hear stories of a certain Mr Tom Jones being payed off from many clubs when he first started out, but personally I don't think it was his talent, it was probably more to do with his girating hips and leather pants that the conservative punters had an issue with.
For the first few years the venues I played in were generally ok, bar the odd shit hole with one man and his dog..I often wondered why some of these places were paying singers, not that I was complaining of course, but they may well have just had the jukebox on.
Oh my, I could tell you some stories.. one time I was singing in a snooker club and some one, who obviously had an issue with the venue actually threw a snooker ball through the window and it missed my head by inches !
But honestly, sometimes the rougher looking the place, the better the audience..I some some great nights and great fun in some dodgy looking places, I even did a short stint as a Blue comedian, and I can ear some of you saying, really Claire Blue comedy, no, surely not ! You know me too well Ha ha. I would like to say however, that I admire anyone who chooses comedy, it is the toughest job in the world, to make people laugh, I did ok, but at least if I had a bad moment I could blast out a song and all was well again.
After about 3 years singing solo I had the opportunity to join a band, having only ever done a little live work with a sing along 3 piece in my local, I was very happy to get my teeth into a proper band with real musicians..instead of always singing with my backing tracks.
I was lucky enough to play some festivals with my first band, including Brecon Jazz. We performed mainly funk and soul music..and when we were cooking we were hot stuff ! One year it was raining so bad that in between singing, I was stood on stage holding a broom stick trying to push the water off the marquee, what a sight, very glamorous ! Needless to say, that was not the best gig.
Oh, and one year we were playing a big open air festival and the organisers really stitched us up, I'm sure it wasn't intentional, but we were scheduled to follow the local heavy metal band. Now I think back it was very funny, but not at the time ! The band had a big following and most of the audience at that time were there for them, especially the ones sitting closest to the stage, so when we walked on, we were faced with hundreds of heavy metal fans...as you can imagine, starting our set with Pick Up The Pieces, an Average White band track..well I will leave it to your imagination !
I was with the band for about 4 years in total, doing the odd gig, and recording a demo album, but eventually we all went our seperate ways. I learned alot from singing with them, it is very different singing in a band to singing solo. Mostly I learned how to be part of a team, and to listen to what is going on around you, and where to leave space etc..we jammed alot during gigs, even now, it is a favourite thing to do when I am playing with a band, improvising..it is great fun and audiences love it. It is all about creating a one off, something in the moment, that they can feel part of.
Over the following years I sang with a number of bands, including big bands, singing the Jazz standards. I loved it, I have to tell you, there is nothing in this world like singing in front of a full 20 piece band, what a rush !!! I even sang in a pop band with some great friends, who I am still friends with now. One time we did a summer open air gig, it was a huge sell out..but the inevitable happened and it rained, the only day it did that summer, and it had to be this day ! We were gutted, but the funniest thing was the organisers had forgotten to earth the generator..well it was funny, but obviously could have killed us all, needless to say it was sorted out and we lived !
The gig ended up being brilliant, half the people still came and braved the rain, it was like a mini Glastonbury, we had people dancing around in the mud. My feet were so wet that I just kicked my shoes off, the wind was blowing in the direction of the stage so I was soaked through by the end, and I'm sure everyone could see through my top, but I didn't care, it was amazing !
Over this summer, which was 2006 I also recorded another album of covers, and got started on myspace, and the world that is internet networking !
It was also around this time that I started to look towards recording my first album with original work.. I took some time off, and guess what..first I had to get over pneumonia !!!
In my next chapter, I will tell you about recording my demo album, getting my first play on radio, some of dodgy record deal offers I had, and the sharks in the industry..not naming any names of course !
Thank you for reading my blog, I hope you enjoyed it.
Looking forward to seeing you for my next installment.
Love
Claire xx
Wednesday, 10 June 2009
My first blog :-)
Hello and welcome to my personal blog !
My name is Claire Simone, and I am what I lovingly refer to as a "struggling artist", so to speak LOL.
By that I mean someone who is trying to make my way in the music industry.
I decided to start writing a blog to tell my story so far and keep a kind of diary of events and happenings in my life for anyone who may be interested in reading it.
I do have a website and I am a member of so many networking sites such as myspace, I have actually lost count now..but it is all in the name of shameless self promotion. I intend to use this blog to share my experiences behind the scenes of what is my "internet persona".
I could start by telling you how cut throat, soul destroying, door slamming, back stabbing and emotionally draining this music industry is, and how you need to grow the biggest pair of balls ever to go the distance..well I kind of just did lol, nevertheless I LOVE what I do :-) . I am going to tell you my story so far in chapters starting from the beginning, and you can make your own mind up !
CHAPTER ONE-The karaoke Queen
Some people may think that by sharing this particular episode about Karaoke, I will be commiting a cardinal sin in the music world, but this is a true account of how I entered music, and I intend to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth !!!
My experiences have brought me to where I am now, and taught me everything I know.
I could tell you I was the daughter of a Great Blues singer, brought up surrounded by music and musicians, but I wasn't.
I do however owe alot to my step dad, who took me to see BB King when I was 13, and introduced me to bands such as Fleetwood Mac. I would spend much of my time in my bedroom singing along to Michael Jackson, and Heart, I believe these artists actually taught me how to sing.
I have been singing professionally for about 15 years, not counting the serenades to my mates during our cider drinking, fag smoking years of high school where I would spout songs from Disney films much to my friends delight..ignoring the comments about what a great voice I had, I just liked to be centre of attention really. I never took it too seriously, mainly because I had been denied entry into the school choir, which I assumed was because I wasn't a very good singer, when in actually fact my mum told me years later, was because I was "a bit out of control", so my teacher had told her in parents evening.
My first actual vocal outing was at a Karaoke night at my regular establishment ( boozer). I even remember the song I sang, it was "Black Velvet" by Alana Miles, I was 18 and rather intoxicated. My friend had been nagging me to get up and sing for weeks, so one night when I was suitably merry I thought sod it, and so began my career as a singer, that very moment.
After I had finished the song the whole pub errupted into cheering and banging the tables shouting for more..I remember going bright red and feeling astounded from all the attention. The Karaoke compere asked me if I wanted so sing another song and after a minute of thought I said..UUmmm ok, after that there was no stopping me !
I became a regular at karaoke nights, enjoying the great responses I would receive, and growing in confidence, but at this time not considering becomming a professional singer at all. Then I met a man who offered me the opportunity to run karaoke nights myself, and during this time I learned ALOT..including how to deal with very drunk punters LOL. Seriously though, with the vast catalogue of songs available to sing I made my way through hundreds of songs, in all styles, from 4 non blondes to Kate Bush. I quickly began to find my own voice and play with arrangements of classic songs and as my friend would say " sing them my own way ".
My time travelling around pubs, clubs and hotels with karaoke was certainly a fun, if not crazy time. I sometimes miss my red van with the blocked out back windows which meant I was constantly stopped by the police late at night asking where I had been, I'm not sure what they thought I had in the back lol.
I spent two and a half years as a karaoke compere before venturing out as a soloist, and moving into bands, but I shall continue my story in my next blog..
I hope you have enjoyed reading my blog, and hope you will visit for the next installment
Please feel free to comment, would love to hear from you
Claire xx
My name is Claire Simone, and I am what I lovingly refer to as a "struggling artist", so to speak LOL.
By that I mean someone who is trying to make my way in the music industry.
I decided to start writing a blog to tell my story so far and keep a kind of diary of events and happenings in my life for anyone who may be interested in reading it.
I do have a website and I am a member of so many networking sites such as myspace, I have actually lost count now..but it is all in the name of shameless self promotion. I intend to use this blog to share my experiences behind the scenes of what is my "internet persona".
I could start by telling you how cut throat, soul destroying, door slamming, back stabbing and emotionally draining this music industry is, and how you need to grow the biggest pair of balls ever to go the distance..well I kind of just did lol, nevertheless I LOVE what I do :-) . I am going to tell you my story so far in chapters starting from the beginning, and you can make your own mind up !
CHAPTER ONE-The karaoke Queen
Some people may think that by sharing this particular episode about Karaoke, I will be commiting a cardinal sin in the music world, but this is a true account of how I entered music, and I intend to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth !!!
My experiences have brought me to where I am now, and taught me everything I know.
I could tell you I was the daughter of a Great Blues singer, brought up surrounded by music and musicians, but I wasn't.
I do however owe alot to my step dad, who took me to see BB King when I was 13, and introduced me to bands such as Fleetwood Mac. I would spend much of my time in my bedroom singing along to Michael Jackson, and Heart, I believe these artists actually taught me how to sing.
I have been singing professionally for about 15 years, not counting the serenades to my mates during our cider drinking, fag smoking years of high school where I would spout songs from Disney films much to my friends delight..ignoring the comments about what a great voice I had, I just liked to be centre of attention really. I never took it too seriously, mainly because I had been denied entry into the school choir, which I assumed was because I wasn't a very good singer, when in actually fact my mum told me years later, was because I was "a bit out of control", so my teacher had told her in parents evening.
My first actual vocal outing was at a Karaoke night at my regular establishment ( boozer). I even remember the song I sang, it was "Black Velvet" by Alana Miles, I was 18 and rather intoxicated. My friend had been nagging me to get up and sing for weeks, so one night when I was suitably merry I thought sod it, and so began my career as a singer, that very moment.
After I had finished the song the whole pub errupted into cheering and banging the tables shouting for more..I remember going bright red and feeling astounded from all the attention. The Karaoke compere asked me if I wanted so sing another song and after a minute of thought I said..UUmmm ok, after that there was no stopping me !
I became a regular at karaoke nights, enjoying the great responses I would receive, and growing in confidence, but at this time not considering becomming a professional singer at all. Then I met a man who offered me the opportunity to run karaoke nights myself, and during this time I learned ALOT..including how to deal with very drunk punters LOL. Seriously though, with the vast catalogue of songs available to sing I made my way through hundreds of songs, in all styles, from 4 non blondes to Kate Bush. I quickly began to find my own voice and play with arrangements of classic songs and as my friend would say " sing them my own way ".
My time travelling around pubs, clubs and hotels with karaoke was certainly a fun, if not crazy time. I sometimes miss my red van with the blocked out back windows which meant I was constantly stopped by the police late at night asking where I had been, I'm not sure what they thought I had in the back lol.
I spent two and a half years as a karaoke compere before venturing out as a soloist, and moving into bands, but I shall continue my story in my next blog..
I hope you have enjoyed reading my blog, and hope you will visit for the next installment
Please feel free to comment, would love to hear from you
Claire xx
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