Annette Chapman

It has taken a little bit of time to get straight in my head what I wanted to say about our last tour. It seems to have just happened but I am finding a regular audience for my music and performances in Skye and the West Highlands. It is amazing to me that the songs seem to find their own audience. it is rare that every person in a venue is listening and appreciating (although it has happened) but there are always pockets of people who are demonstrably loving the music. Mixed in with this are the people who are talking and drinking and basically ignoring you but who will come up to you later and say, you guys are great and I love your songs. Of course there are people who don't like your music but I'm with Derek Sivers on this. You don't dilute your product to fit. Do what you do well and your fans will find you.

The first gig was in a new venue and it was clear that the owner hadn't grasped that we did only our own material. It was a tough slog that one but something important happened to us about a third of the way through the gig; we started to really perform. It suddenly clicked for me that you have to let yourself go. Don't over think it. There was little or no applause but I decided to ignore that and give 100%. Callum and I started to improvise a little and be more comfortable in the duo format. There were some very nice comments afterwards and someone said they thought we were very brave to take our own material to a "backwater" (her words) like that. Maybe she is right but doesn't everyone deserve to hear new high quality live music.

We had a great night, as expected, at the Skyewalker Hostel after that but I wasn't looking forward to the two gigs in Saucy Mary's as the last one hadn't been very rewarding for us (much like the first gig mentioned here).

I couldn't have been more wrong. We had two wonderful nights there and that's where we really learned to just let people listen or soak up the music in any way they want. We had a great reception with lots of applause and some EP sales on both nights. I wonder if it was to do with our attitude too? I do believe you must be in a "giving" frame of mind for an audience to really appreciate your work. You can't be selfish.

The last gig was HILARIOUS. The manageress of the Loch Leven Hotel is a lovely, lovely person and so welcoming. The set up there, however is not great for musicians. You set up at the end of an oblong room and the bar is in a separate room so - where are all the punters? In the bar, of course. We played to an empty room with the manageress running through constantly saying - "you're great we all love it, don't stop!" Lovely hotel and people though. We just used it to really play around with the songs and try new things.

At the end of the tour, we had a week's holiday in Carbost on Skye where we rented a cottage. We wrote a song about the island while sitting outside with the acoustic on a hill overlooking Loch Harport. We wrote it on the Wednesday and on the Friday we were performing it in an impromptu concert at midnight, slightly the worst for wear, for the lovely Martine, Alain and Walter from Paris in the The Old Inn.

There have been a few lovely moments, not least of all when a young girl said to me; " I really believed you were singing to me and about me, I know I am young and haven't lived a lot yet but I have a baby and have had some difficult times. I really felt a connection when your eyes caught mine while you were singing. I believed what you were saying". There was also a great moment when someone said to Callum (my co writer and accompanist); "D'yees no dae oany Scottish music son?". Callum's reply; "It's all Scottish music, mate; we wrote it and we're Scottish!". I like that.

I'm dead excited about the new website as change is good, I feel. I also feel that we might actually be getting there in terms of performing. It's amazing how long it can take to get used to playing acoustically and actually "letting go" and performing. We've being playing at a lot of open mic nights which really helps. We also played at an acoustic festival recently and the sound was great as were the audience. It was a brilliant night and I've put a video of one of our songs up on the home page so why not have a peak. I finish work for the summer soon and I'm going to really concentrate on finding gigs so watch this space. I've been deliberately taking things slowly and just letting us settle into this new style. We are also heading back into the studio soon to record some more of the new stuff and I'll keep you posted. Oh and for those of you not of faint heart, here is what happens when I let Callum off the leash. He writes something like this! Have fun and take care. Annettex

Most of you will know that last year, Callum and I were in a rock band called Nobody Else. This departure into acoustic territory is very new for us and it's the first time I've stood up and sang under my own name. This tour was very important because we needed to see if we could hold a gig and an audience for a 2 hour show with original material. I am not going to say that all was perfect because it wasn't but, in the main, I feel we have made the right decision.

We had a real mix of gigs; busy audiences filled with young backpackers drinking and enjoying themselves too much to applaud, small audiences listening intently and applauding every song and a sing along session.   The one thing stood up through it all was the quality of the songs and lyrics and I feel really pleased about that.
There is a theme that comes out from the people we have spoken to who really appreciated the music that has given me pause for thought. A couple of people have said “we loved listening to all your music but my friend says I wish they would play something I recognise and maybe that would be a good business move to get people in and listening to your music”

It's something that has been suggested before because there is no doubt that people like the familiar and it's not as if we haven't done that before in previous bands. I have to consider the best way to get your music out there and I have decided that despite the fact that we would not be right for some audiences and some people will switch off there can be no compromise for me.

Let me put it this way: the reason Callum and I are doing this is to play our music and to challenge ourselves. The challenge for me is to perform as convincingly in an acoustic setting as I did in a band one and to push me to write songs. Callum is the same. He wants to really push his accompanying skills too. I have and still do sing covers in other ensembles and in my work as a music teacher so it's not as if I have a fundamental problem with it. Also, lets look at it from a purely business point of view, if I was standing up in front of an audience and singing other people's songs for 2 or 3 sets, I'd be paid a damn sight more than I have been up to now. We have also, when we've played covers, found that our music stands up well so that's not an issue but right now, in this situation, we are not willing to do that and if that cuts the audience down, so be it.

As far as pleasing the audience is concerned versus pleasing ourselves. I truly believe the two are not mutually exclusive and that is our challenge too. I know now that I'd like to have a few more up tempo numbers for our sets and that's what we will write.

There will always be people who think that listening to new music isn't them and they will leave, the venues have to decide whether enough people stay to make it worth their while and if they don't want us back, then there will be no hard feelings and they will  go back to covers bands all the time.

For us, if one person visits the website and says they like our music, it has been worth it and at each venue there has been a key group that have loved us and bought CDs or said they would sign up to the site. I have also learned that there are great people out there willing to champion new music and we have played at these venues so a great deal of thanks go to Laura; Saucy Mary's, Diane & Alison; the Dunvegan, Lisa & Brian; The Skyewalkers Hostel and Sharon and the staff; The Old Inn Gairloch.

I'm not suggesting we are in the same league but when artists such as Springsteen and The Eurythmics started out, they weren't covers bands. They had to establish themselves and I reckon you have to make up your mind what you do and stick to it. This may not lead anywhere and it may end but if it does, I will be able to say we gave it the best shot and we didn't compromise.

I subscribe to a blog by a guy called Hugh McLeod - gapingvoid.com. Every day I am sent a cartoon and today's one is "if you have your health and you can make a decent living doing what you love, then you have little reason to envy other people". This is accompanied by a colourful design. It is going on the wall above my desk.

It has made me think that maybe too much of our energy is spent on bemoaning the chart and publicity success of artists who, lets be honest, are less talented than us in some cases. I said something myself the other day to one of my students and I don't know really where it came from but it actually made me think. If you do everything for the joy of doing it, if you find something worthwhile in it, then you can't really fail. I reckon that's pretty true. Sounds like a philosophy.

A lot of people asked me why I split the band up and there were a lot of practical reasons like the amount of time that was spent finding gigs and promoting the band. You all know what that's like. Honestly though, I think it was because it just didn't "feel" right anymore. There was always joy in it, not least the joy of playing with excellent musicians and lovely people, but perhaps not as much as there had been in the past. I could never put my finger on it until now. Now, Callum and I are doing what feels absolutely right musically. There is real joy in the challenge of making an acoustic duo work dynamically and musically. We are no where near there yet and that feels great! I had played in rock and blues bands all my life and really enjoyed it but the challenge just wasn't there anymore. It was becoming too comfortable for me. I'm twisted, I know.

I am on holiday for two weeks and Callum and I have been writing and that is really rewarding. The immediacy of knowing right away whether something is going to work is great. With a band, there is always the adding of the other parts to be considered. This can really bring a song together and so without that, the song has to be better. It needs to stand on it's own two feet. There can't be  "ah well, just shove in a guitar solo now". Next week, we are off up north to Skye and then Gairloch for a wee run of gigs. The first ones with two full sets of our own acoustic material. I am scared and excited and I love what I do.

Take care all x

Hope everyone is keeping well. The title of this entry is inspired by Callum's reply when asked what type of music do we play. I was stumped completely. This is an even more difficult question when you play acoustically. It's made me realise that I don't have a great handle on what type of acoustic music is being played "out there" just now.

I have started to listen to a lot more folk music these days and have realised that it comes in all shapes and sizes. There are really traditional performers like Phil Cunningham and Ally Bain, and there are singer/ songwriters like Karine Polwart with more contemporary sounds. Where do you stop classifying acoustic acts as folk and move to words like pop.

When you say singer/songwriter, this will conjure up visions of acts whose performances are focused on the content of their writing and less on the actual performance itself. I have found that I like to give both equal priority. That's just the way it is.

We played at an open mic night last night and although it was really good, I kinda felt like we didn't fit in for that reason. This may very well be our fault. I think we just need to keep plugging away till we find our niche. Ia m a performer as well as  a singer/songwriter and I can't really change that.

It is, though, an exciting new challenge so bring it on!

Had a good gig last night. It was a bit of an epiphany, actually in that we really clicked. Being relatively new to the acoustic scene, I thought, as did Callum , that we would have to change what we did somehow to accommodate this new way of performing. We did that in Glasgow in our first gig and it really didn't feel right and I had doubts that I had made the right decision about splitting up the band. However, last night, I just decided to be myself and perform as I always have, with 100% conviction and Callum picked up on it and it just started to work. The feedback was really positive. For me it's about performing and connecting with an audience and I can't stand up and go through the motions just because the accompaniment is one acoustic guitar rather than a full band. The beauty about this set up is that I now also have the opportunity to explore the more delicate and intimate sounds that my voice can make, but I can still let go and really sing too.Thanks go to the people who came and supported me, it really made a difference. I am excited now and the aim is to go out and play as often as we can to let people hear the songs and decide whether they like this full on approach to acoustic music. Time will tell.

Surprisingly, it was quite difficult to decide to go "solo" after all these years of playing in a band. I love being in bands. I've always enjoyed male company and since I was around 16, when I payed in my first band, my band mates have been predominantly male. It's great to get a balance in your life. I have loads of really good female friends but sometimes, you just want to talk about rubbish and have a laugh without analysing how anybody "feels" about it. I won't be completely on my own, however as my wonderfully talented co writer (and husband), Callum will be accompanying me on acoustic guitar. He is adamant that I go out under my own name though as he says duets very often have names that make them sound like club acts. A la Almost Angelic? He also would like to really concentrate on playing and not be "up front" at all. In 30 years of performing it will be the first time I will be standing there as a solo singer and I'm excited and nervous and looking forward to the challenge. I have a powerful rock voice and that was always on display with the band but, to be honest, it's not much of a challenge for me as a classically trained singer and fellow of the London College...Sorry, I've just read that back and it sounds really "OOOOOOOH! hark at her....." Truthfully though, being more exposed vocally will make me think really carefully about my performance. New challenges- you're never too old!

Hey guys, welcome to my blog. I've turned over the admin side of things to our new admin manager, Mark but I really want to keep in touch with you guys so I've started a blog. It's new for me so I'm trying it out to see how it goes. You guys can add comments too so lets get a dialogue going. First thing is that we have an audition for the Live and Unsigned competition in February. We've been told that we have a maximum of 2minutes (not long) to impress and so I'd like you guys to suggest which of our songs we should adapt for it.

I wanted to talk a little about what performing live with my band means to me and how I do it. In my capacity as a music lecturer and singing teacher, I endeavour to give students what they need, technically, to be able to deliver a good, professional performance. Having said that, I have never received one lesson on how to connect with an audience (or anything else to do with playing in a band actually)and it is one of the most difficult things to convey to students. In truth, I have built up a way of "being" on stage through years of experience playing to audiences; big, small, good, bad, attentive, aggressive. I am trying to give them short cuts so they don't have to make all the mistakes I made. What I am on stage, is me. Simply that. Should be easy eh? Unfortunately one of the biggest mistakes that a front person in a band makes is to try too hard to be liked. I am, of course talking about playing to a new audiene and not the same friends and fans who support you regularly although some of what I say may also refer to those gigs. An audience is like an individual, I have found, it will make its mind up about you very quickly. One of the first things an audience asks itself is, does this person look like they can do the job? Every front person needs to consider this. I am a 44 year old woman playing rock music in a band with one other person my age and 2 19 year old musicians. We look different. The audience may be a mixed bag of ages and expectations. All I can do is look like I don't have to try too hard. I don't dress up too much, I certainly try not to dress too young. I stand tall and don't mess about too much on stage at the start of a gig and I never announce the band or song first. I always start with an attention grabbing song and let that convince them. I let my music do the talking. After that, I do interact with the audience but if I do I talk to them as if I were talking to one person. Some people speak a lot and some people don't. Different gigs require different approaches. Only you will know but you have to keep it real and remember, they came to hear you play. One of the hardest things is to keep the band's energy levels up throughout a long set and particularly if the audience is small or the reception isn't great. Many audiences don't show appreciation till the end of a gig and they make you work so hard for it. The answer to this is to love what you are doing. You have to be totally into it and believe in it, you need to inspire your band because they sense your energy levels. One time, a band I was playing with were not having a good gig. The room was busy but the audience were not particularly responsive. At the break, the band were complaining to me that the gig was"bad". I had been trying so hard to break through to the audience and to make up for the lack of commitment in the band that it was just a turn off to the audience. I told the band to "suck it up" and get on with it. Relax, forget the audience and lets play for each other. Leave the audience to me. It worked. Miraculously, the audience changed into a wonderful, responsive audience and we got 3 encores. Of course it was the same audience all along. We were in the wrong. I really believe you get the audience you deserve. Some of the most entertaining gigs I have done have been in front of 6 people who hadn't heard us before. When new people love your music, you get a real buzz. These 6 people tell someone and that is how it grows. Your band has to be so good at what they do that even if people don't like your songs, they can't ignore you. I also sing solo classical music too and that gives me a different kind of reward. It is extremely technically demanding and I love that. Nothing, however, gives me the kind of high I get from singing with my band, playing songs I have written in front of an audience. Playing live is what it is all about for me and for the rest of the band. When you have played live together as a band a few times, you become a unit, a band of musicians and you share something that few people in the world get the opportunity to share. If you let yourself go and emmerse yourself in that live, the audience pick up on it. You draw them to it like a magnet. It becomes irrissistable and that is when you know you are a good live band. Hope this helps a wee bit. Annette x

I was asked recently by Derek Sivers, (founder of CD Baby and successful and inspirational Music Business Entrepreneur) to read the book Ignore Everybody - and 39 other keys to creativity by Hugh MacLeod and write in my blog about how, if at all, I felt it could help me in my music career. I think it is important that the reader understands my background as this is obviously going to inform my opinion. I am from a working class Scottish background and, as such have a tendency to scepticism. I’d like to think I am open minded but, honestly, I think I have always approached self improvement books tentatively and slightly cynically. Having said this, I have endeavoured to really think about my attitude to my band, its journey and what I want to achieve through my music. I plan to really consider each of the 40 pieces of advice in this book and decide if and how I feel I could apply the advice in the real world. I don’t live in Hollywood or New York or even London. I live 18 miles outside of Edinburgh in Scotland. An A&R rep is not going to drop into one of our gigs. This is the reality for the vast majority of independent unsigned artists out there so I really hope you guys get something out of this process and I would like to hear your opinions on this blog. There are forty short chapters in the book, each dealing with a different piece of advice. I sat down to read this book and had finished it within an hour. I then went back and read it again and again. The forty chapters are inspired by Hugh Macleod’s blog Gaping Void.

Rather than take each chapter individually, I am going to refer to the chapters that I felt I was able to take something from and I will talk about how I am going to put into practice what I have learned. One of the first chapters that clicked with me was; If your business plan depends on suddenly being “discovered” by some big shot, your plan will probably fail. As a singer who has musically “grown up” with the dominance of the major record labels, it has always seemed a daunting task to have my music reach a wider audience. I have been inspired and motivated by some of the opportunities offered to us by the internet but have always felt somewhat impotent in the face of the power held by the big corporations. This chapter advises us to build something on our own. MacLeod says “Big offers are a good thing, but personal sovereignty matters a whole lot more in the long run” (page 20). The implication behind this is that if you build something wonderful, people will be interested in it.

Maintaining ownership and sovereignty over your work is a recurring theme in the book. The idea doesn’t have to be big it just has to be yours deals with this. The message here is that if you are passionate and engaged by your idea, in my case, my music, then that is inspiring and attractive to others. You really can only feel that way if you are not prepared to compromise. Here is the crux of this book for me.

The chapter; Selling out is harder than it looks. Tells us that “Diluting your product to make it more commercial will just make people like it less” (page 90) It’s not that my band (nobody else) and I have tried to make our music commercial but I have worried about a band of 40 somethings playing music which is commercially associated with a younger audience. I have tried to adapt and squeeze press packs and demo cds to fit certain venues and audiences. This is unrewarding and feels apologetic. Something this book has reinforced for me is that we can’t always compete in the same markets as the large corporations. We need to make our own markets. My band may not be commercially appealing to large record companies as we do not fit the standard format and our image doesn’t fit with what a record company believes is easy to sell. I believe, however, that there is an audience out there for our music and so I need to take responsibility for reaching them.

As part of Macleod’s advice to Put the hours in he comments “Doing anything worthwhile takes forever. Ninety percent of what separates successful people and failed people is time, effort, and stamina” (page 9). He follows this with “Put the hours in, do it for long enough and magical, life-transforming things happen eventually.”(page 11). This is difficult for many of us to really believe, particularly when real life intrudes. I constantly question whether I am wasting time on this project and this book has helped me give myself permission to do just that if it makes me happy. As I said before the “we’re doomed!” element of the Scottish psyche has a tendency to pop up when I consider this type of statement. However, it is something that I will endeavour to put into practise.

Some of the chapters in the book didn’t resonate so well with me, these tended to be those that implied that we all have this creative ability inside us and that we can all do anything we want. I’m afraid that I find it difficult to believe that. I believe that there are things in this world that are more important to people than creativity and many people have to concentrate on surviving. It is not just the practical side of life but the way in which practicalities can suck ambition from individuals. Having said that if you are in a position in your life where you can dedicate time to  your idea and your ambition, the book will help you stay focused.

I am lucky to be in that category today. There have been times in my life that I was not and no amount of soul searching or self improvement books would have given me what I needed to break the cycle. This is not the case now. I am also lucky to have a job (as a music lecturer) that dovetails nicely with my musical ambitions. This means it is easier than some for me to follow Macleod’s advice to not give up your day job.

I do agree that it is difficult to be creative and inspired when you are struggling to make ends meet. It is also nice to hear that it doesn’t devalue your skills and music when you are unable to devote 100% of your time to it.

Overall I did find this book helpful. It found it inspirational in a quite practical and down to earth way. It didn’t so much tell me things that I didn’t know rather than reinforce what I already felt. Sometimes Macleod speaks quite forcefully with comments such as “everybody is too busy to give a damn” (page 93) about your particular idea and that you need to get on with it yourself. This approach appeals to me. I feel that Hugh MacLeod has given me permission (if you will) to be uncompromising in my belief and the love of my music; to filter advice and guidance carefully, to allow myself to work hard and not panic about how long it will take.

To quote the film field of dreams;  “If you build it, they will come”.  Hand me the hammer and nails……..;.

Please add your comments to this blog below.I would be delighted to hear them

I suppose this is a subject that I think affects us all - can we actually do this thing? Can we make a living as independent musicians. I am always blown away by the way in which modern technology enables musicians to produce their own recordings and to allow people access to them. I have recently come across a 7" single that I sang backing vocals on in 1986. I remember how difficult it was for us to record and produce that vinyl single. We seem to have so many more opportunities today. I wonder, however if that devalues the product. Could that be the reason why it doesn't seem to be very easy to "get noticed"? I'd be really interested to hear what you think about this. I'd love to start a dialogue about the industry and how you interact with it.

Well, the album is on Spotify now. Quite cool for the fans who can't afford the album. I think I quite like Spotify, it's a legal way of letting people listen to the music. Anyone have an opinion on this?