It's getting exciting !

Hello, and welcome back to my blog.





Well, lots has been going on, a recent departure from a band, (things didn't quite work out like I had hoped !), another recording session with Elizabeth Fields at Magic Garden studio's in Wolverhampton and most importantly the mastering of my tracks for my upcoming EP "Organic"!! >>>





Spent a few hours with my great friend and superbly gifted Odilon Marcenaro mastering, was brilliant to hear the tracks through the studio system, and there was not much to do, as my producer, Jackanory and the guys had done such a great job on the mixes.


It was nice to be back in the old studio, I used to do alot of my recording there, and it was the studio where I recorded my demo "Burning".


The tracks are sounding amazing, and I am very excited about the forthcoming release on July 31st .





I have to say, I am really starting to relax and enjoy myself now. I think all the years of up and downs, let downs, unprofessional people and sharks..and I am sure there will be more, have taught me well. I have released the pressure, and insecurity and excepted I am on my own personal path. It takes a while to do that, I spent years trying to fit into place, you know, trying to do what others thought I should. I learned that everyone has an opinion, and they are very entitled to it, however you should always trust your instincts and believe in yourself.


It's great to be in this place now, enjoying the process of networking and making music, working on various projects etc, the whole music business/industry can really fry your brain..and I can totally understand why some artists and musicians throw in the towel.


I have been close many times myself, but I know deep down I am a musician and how unfulfilled I would be being anything else !





The way I see it, If people like the music I make and I achieve some success that would be the icing on the cake..but I admit I would continue on making music irrelevant. It's what we all dream of, acceptance, success etc, but it is certainly not guaranteed. Ultimately for me, it is about doing the things that make me happy, after all you only get one life !!





So, the EP will be released July 31st..along side a re-launch of my new look website ! I also have a number of radio interviews set up and hopefully a few appearances and a little promo vid..I am on a serious promotion mission !!


I will keep you updated of dates/times etc..and where my EP will be available for download.





Aja and I have taken a break from radio for a little while, we are doing hour podcasts at the moment, you can download them at Aja & Claire Simone's Ketch A Vibe Podcast site

And don't forget to visit my website for updates ! Claire Simone






See you next time !!
Have fun :-)

Claire xxx

Change is good !

Hello, welcome back to my blog.



I have just come off the phone from a good friend of mine, due to the information I received during the call I decided to write today about the difficulties in attempting to take music forward and create something new.
I have talked about how seemingly impossible it is to make a sustainable income from music in a previous blog, but one thing I didn't mention was the invisible walls and barriers that exist preventing change and the pushing of the boundaries in contemporary music.
During my conversation with my friend, I learned how some of the well established Jazz/Soul/Blues venues in and around London are suffering financially, simply because they had made the decision to support musicians and bands creating new sounds. It has become apparent that people are reluctant to embrace change, ticket sales have fallen and the regulars are requesting the old favourites.
I am somewhat reluctant to say, as an artist within the Jazz/Soul/Blues genre, that this seems to be the case more so in my genre than other forms of music. As someone who enjoys all styles and genres in music, I have observed that other genres are more keen to embrace change and new music, especially in rock music. The audiences are hungry for the next movement and where the music will go next, and as a result the music is thriving.


Of course all music stems from individual or collective influences from music history, John Lennon said it best
"Once a thing has been done, it's been done, so why this nostalgia?. Looking backwards for inspiration, like to the sixties and seventies, copying the past, how is that rock and roll ?, do something of your own, start something new, you know, live your life now " - John Lennnon BBC 1968.

Some people use a term for people who prefer to stay in one place as far as making and performing music is concerned, they call them "purists". They follow a strict set of rules and boundaries in there chosen musical form, and anything outside those boundaries is rejected. The most relevant person I can think of who challenged these boundaries back in the 70's is Herbie Hancock, I know there are many more..but for this piece I will use Herbie. When he introduced his electronic sounds into his Jazz, it was instantly rejected..not as music, but as Jazz music. Thankfully Herbie also began to build support and fans and continued to make his music, and has influenced many many musicians, all keen to move forward..but unfortunately still rejected by the so called "purists".
This contributes to the point I made at the beginning about the venues struggling to support new music today.

The result of which is cheap tickets just to get people in the door, resulting in low wages for the working bands. I myself know all to well the struggle to earn money playing with a band, it is why so many simply cannot take there music to the live venues.
From my own perspective, it seems to be a battle to promote new music, with a very very low success rate for few. Indeed I know some well established music makers who cannot fill a venue, and struggle to sell tickets.
It could be argued that it could be because the music is not good enough, but I would argue against that. I believe it comes down to the reluctance of people to move forward and embrace creativity and new sounds. It is familiarity they seek, the chords and structures they recognise, again, the nostalgia.

I am about to release some new music in July, though it has influences from music history, it is mine and my producers vision for my songs..and I hope, new music. It remains to be seen what kind of response I receive..as I am breaking some of the "rules". But I must say, I look forward to it..even if I am a little nervous !

It comes down to this, you have to keep making the music that is inside you..and not conform..continue to believe in yourself. For me it is the only way you will stay true to your heart and soul..and you can always say you did it for you first, before others. Unfortunately we have no control over how people will respond.
I just say, don't let the "industry and business side of music dictate who you are.. good music is good music and people will love it !!

See you next time !

Making music !

Hello, welcome back to my blog !







Though I recently published a blog on my thoughts about the music industry, It's been a few months now since my last entry and lots has been happening !







The EP I recorded back in January is very close to completion, so I am getting ready for all the hard work of self promotion. I consider myself a bit of a veteren now when it comes to promoting my music, as I am sure all independant artists are these days. I have done very well in the past, securing plenty of airplay and building great contacts. I am very proud of this work, and I am looking forward to getting it out for people to hear ! So gearing up now !!





The track I recorded with Dee C'rell "Black From the day" is now available on the compilation album "Lounge Du Soliel" through Lemongrassmusic and other reputable download sites. The track has aslo been doing well, and received airplay on ono other than Jazzfm if you please !!




Recently, I have become invloved with Blues Is Truth, a wonderful blues band. I recorded a track with them a few months ago, called 'Coming Home'. I have to tell you the story, because I still can't quite believe it myself.



We left lovely Wales for Reading, gave ourselves plenty of time..but alas..just my luck, they had closed off the bridge just as we got there, an accident in the fast lane. So one and a half hours later we were back on our way. Almost 2 hours late I arrived at the studio, I walked in, the guys said "Hello Claire, right are you ready then ? " So on went the cans, and I did the track in one take, and then did another straight away for a backup, how about that for professionalism !!!! I had only heard the song twice before aswell, so I just went with my instinct. Since I recorded it, it has received airplay all over the world ! It is doing really well which is very cool !


Last week we had the Blues Is Truth album 'Today's Specials' launch which was wicked..band were mega..and the crowd was brilliant !! If you were there, huge thanks for coming along.

I am so chuffed to be able to finally say I am officially a recording artist..yeay..now I want to just do more and more..make lots of music.

See you next time
Love
Claire xxx

Do not give up your dreams !

Hello, and welcome back to my blog.


This blog is not really about me for a change, ha ha, but seriously, I felt compelled to write it due to the general feeling amongst my fellow artists about the current state of the music industry.


Of late I have been having more and more conversations with independent artists, and even established artists, all sharing similar views and frustrations with the increasingly evaporating integrity within the music industry.
It has always been a difficult industry to work in, and has seen many great people destroyed, but it has definitely taken a turn for the worse this last decade.

The most common frustration seems to be the seemingly impossible dream to be able to earn a living through making music these days. I do have opinions about why this is the case, but I want to stress that these are my personal opinions, derived from my observations, not only from being in the thick of things as an independent artists myself, but also from working in radio closely with many artists.

I will start with the Internet, it has been both a blessing and a curse for the music industry. It has provided the means and the engine to allow unsigned and independent artists to get their music out and promote it to the world, but it takes time, dedication and a flare for networking. On the other hand the music sites are saturated with 1000's of artists all clambering the ladder for success. Now please don't get me wrong, I am all for people exploring creativity, if you find peace and tranquility in music..that is what is all about. However, most are pursuing fame, fortune and celebrity. I am sure most of you that have used any of the music networking sites have come across those artists who push themselves on you..sending endless promotion messages etc. These tools are great, if and only if you are researching the people you are pitching yourself too, quantity is not the way..trust me. Being selective and approaching people individually who you think will be interested in your music is the only way to get any results !! I cannot tell you how many punk and heavy metal bands send me promotion messages...WHY ??
These sites are also full of people looking to pray on naive, hungry artists..telling them exactly want they want to hear to get hold of their hard earned money, I myself have been privy to a number of these operators as I have told you in previous blogs.

The wonder of the Internet is that people are accessing information and getting more and more for free, and as a result are reluctant to pay for things that they can just as easily get for nothing, due to file sharing..free downloads etc etc. The major artists, with the huge companies are really the only ones these days who still seem to pull in revenue from record sales, even so, they are licencing the music for use in commercials and exhausting all means of generating income from the music.
I was asked the other day, why do people buy into the rubbish music in the charts..Though I don't actually think all commercial music is rubbish, I do understand that point. I see it as clever marketing, bombarding people with images on billboards, and t.v and radio. Most people do not have the time to spend sourcing music they may actually discover they adore..so what they see and hear is all they know. And now with the threat to the closer of BBC6 music I fear it will only get worse.

If you want the whole package these days, success, record sales, world tours etc..apparently you need to be mindful of what the masses are buying and tailor yourself to fit the bill. I am happy to report that most of my good friends and colleagues, including myself fully intend to continue creating the music we love. So here in lies the double edged sword..do you strive to stay true to your heart and your music, consequently struggling to make music a sustainable career in music, or do sacrifice and compromise for success, to become something you are not to achieve your dreams of success ? Can you imagine David Bowie, or Prince compromising their musical integrity, they did what was in their souls...and achieved success with it, however the music industry was a very different place back then, it celebrated and rewarded individuality and originality.
I know many many amazing artists and bands that are losing faith and simply cannot keep going. They are creating superb albums, investing time and money in a product, and not getting heard or recognised, or even making their money back from sales, forcing them to give up. I was told by a good friend just the other day, that in a conversation with music industry folk, he was told that if he wanted a sustainable income from music he should concentrate on writing pop music !

Like I said, this are just my thoughts..please feel free to add any points in my comments box.

I wish I had the answer, or indeed a crystal ball which reassured me that things will change.

All I can say is, many many times I have thought of giving up..things seeming almost impossible to bother to continue, but something drives me on..most of all my love and passion for music and a belief that one day the listening audience will say NO MORE to the greedy corporate engines, and make their own choices about what is great music, whatever style they enjoy.

Keep believing in yourself, remember why you started making music and always be yourself, do not lose sight of your dreams..
I believe we will take back real music one day soon..together :-)

Love and hugs

Claire xxxx

Just an update

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

"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

"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

"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

"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

"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

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