"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

" 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

"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

"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