Rose Deschamps: Random Adventures of A Songwriter

Gig Review: Ryan Adams and the Cardinals, Tuesday 3rd February, The Opera House

2009-02-03T21:18:00.000-08:00

8:35pm: "I'll give you ten bucks if you set off the fire alarm." I give the boyfriend a dirty look. He looks back pleadingly. "Twenty bucks?" Cue another dirty look. "Okay, fifty."

"You know, I didn't force you to come to this concert," I say, more amused than irritated. The excitement is mounting and, as lame as it would be to see a concert by myself, I'm looking forward to seeing Ryan Adams so much that if Jacob decided he just wanted to leave, I probably wouldn't notice.

"I didn't say I didn't want to be here," he clarifies. "I just said I'd give you fifty bucks if you set off the fire alarm." This is, of course, Jacob's way of saying "I'm bored", which in all honesty is probably fair enough. The concert hasn't started yet and we've been here since 7.30. Why oh why do I never remember that gigs never ever start on time? I should know this by know. I've done enough gigs myself. We have already seen a duo singing rather modern arrangements of Maori waiata which involved lots of "come on guys, you know this, sing along!" so I'm assuming this means that we'll get Ryan Adams and the Cardinals onstage at about 9pm. This means, of course, that there's 25 more minutes to keep the boyfriend entertained.

When I went to the ticket office a week after tickets to Ryan Adams and the Cardinals went onsale, I was informed that there were very few left, so I bought two on the spot, figuring I'd be able to find someone to go with me. Boyfriend seemed the easiest option. Rewind to three weeks ago when Jacob realised he'd never actually heard Ryan Adams before. I lent him the Cardinology album I'd gotten from my sister for Christmas. A few days later, we had the following conversation:

Jacob: "So, I listened to that CD you lent me."
Rose: "Oh yeah? What did you think."
Jacob: *pause for effect, then continues* "Well... it made me really angry."
Rose: *pause, as is unsure how to continue* "Okay..."
Jacob: "I tried to like it. I really did. It just... it made me really angry."
Rose: *silence - is still unsure how to continue, thoughts flying through her head like 'Ryan Adams is one of my favourite artists ever' ... 'how is "it made me really angry" any kind of response to listening to his album?' ... 'clearly, I have nothing in common with this man and should break up with him immediately'....*
Jacob: "I'm sorry! I really tried. Maybe they'll be better live?"

This lead to an ensuing conversation where I decided it was best not to take him to the concert if all it was going to do was make him "really angry". He seemed to agree. I was sure I could find someone else to go along. I had someone lined up who unfortunately couldn't make it at the last minute. So there I was on February 2nd, looking forward to the prospect of going to see a concert all by myself. Jacob called that evening and I commented that I was going alone. His reaction was surprising. "I'll just get work off and go with you." I took a moment to point out that going to a concert where you don't like the music was a bit like drilling a hole through your ear - pointless, messy and painful. He insisted, however, that he had listened to the CD again and really liked it. "But you gave the CD back to me." He then informed me he'd dropped the files to his MP3 player and had listened again and really liked it. "You're completely full of it." No, he informs me - in fact, he's deadly serious. This went on for some time until I realised he probably wasn't going to let this go. Oh well, I figured. I always like Jacob's company and he's a theatre student - if he truly, truly hated the music, he'd just have to act like he liked it, considering all the fuss he made about going to the concert with me. Consider it a test of his acting abilities.

8.55pm: I have not set off the fire alarm. Jacob has not given me fifty dollars. He has, however, bought a drink and is sitting there, looking slightly less agitated and slightly less bored. The lights in the room start to dim. I look at the time on my phone and realise my estimate of 9pm start was pretty much right on schedule. And here we go...

First impression: that's one hell of a weird stage. The band's symbol is right there in the middle of the stage behind the drum kit and attached to it is a giant gong. I wonder what they're going to do with the giant gong. Also, two giant blue roses hanging from either side of the stage. Fairly certain it's a reference to Cold Roses. It really does seem like Ryan Adams has a thing about roses. I think there was one in the middle of his webpage for awhile, if I recall correctly. Probably my musings about the stage, along with trying to figure out which one of the many skinny looking men on stage is actually Ryan Adams, is the reason why I can't remember for the life of me what the first song he played was. I enjoyed it - to be honest, I've yet to met a Ryan Adams song I can't stand to listen to - but I cannot remember what it was. From that song, they went straight into something I actually knew - "Two", which I've always very much enjoyed (I like the opening lyrics: 'if you take me back / back to your place / I'll try not to bother you, I promise') Knowing the song made it a lot easier to appreciate but I still felt like they hadn't quite warmed up yet.

Going into the third song, I realised that aside from a "Hello, Wellington", no one in the band had really said all that much yet. I was quickly distracted by the awesomeness that was a guitar driven version of "I See Monsters" which culminated in the truly epic wailing of guitars and my realisation that this band know what they're doing and play extremely well together. My earlier comment about not having warmed up yet - not necessarily a general hadn't warmed up but hadn't warmed up to the audience. I felt like they were a bunch of guys having an awesome time jamming together but not necessarily engaging with the audience. Sometime after "I See Monsters" finished, Jacob commented to me "okay, so that was cool"... and I felt quite justified in having brought him along.

I'm going by memory on the set list here and I'm going by what stuck in my mind. There were songs that were completely inoffensive that I enjoyed at the time but were easy enough to forget. I'm fairly certain that the next song that stuck in my head was "Crossed Out Name" from Cardinology. Despite the boyfriend's non-appreciation of Cardinology, I actually thought it was a pretty decent album and "Crossed Out Name" was one of my favourite tracks from it. They do it very differently live! It's got a more melancholy feel to it recorded and less frantic instrumentation, whereas to me live it sounded... well, frantic. Frantic in a good way. "Crossed Out Name" has some fantastic lyrics in it that I love that were perhaps lost to someone who hadn't heard the studio version due to the noise but to me the frantic instrumentation really worked with the feel of the lyric. What sticks out in my head lyrically is "I kiss her mouth and I know / for everything there is a word, for everything but this..." Studio version conveys this quieter sense of desperation but in the live version, the sense of desperation is stronger and more urgent. I can't say which I prefer as both have their merits but I did thoroughly enjoy this song.

"When The Stars Go Blue" was a crowd favourite, being one of the more well known of Ryan's songs and was done beautifully live. (I admit - there was singing along, right from the moment I found a song I knew the words to). Here's where the order of what went on in my head gets a little hazy so I'm just going to go with a vague approximation of order and the songs that stuck out in my head. "Everybody Knows" was decent, not amazing, but decent and I do always enjoy it (although it reminds me of "Two" and I liked "Two" better from Easy Tiger... Easy Tiger is a little same-y in places). "Fix It" was pretty awesome - done kind of reggae styles, which I did enjoy, and also seemed to loosen the band up, as they started bantering right after the song. From then on in, things started to feel more comfortable. They had a bit of a rave about how much they liked Wellington - Ryan dubbed it "Chillington" and continued to call it thus the remainder of the concert.

I was not expecting to hear "Come Pick Me Up" at the concert but I was very, very, very happy to, as I adore the song. He announced first that he didn't necessarily agree with this song anymore... or at least, wasn't wearing the right outfit for it. Cue about 2 minutes straight of clothing related puns. Then he was into it and I recognised it within a few seconds and was insanely excited because a) awesome song and b) harmonica! Oh, and have I mentioned I love "Come Pick Me Up"? I think it's something to do with a mellow sounding song with hilariously depressing lyrics. "Come pick me up / take me out / f**k me up / steal my records / screw all my friends / they're all full of sh*t" .... I did quite like his announcement at the end: "So, that was my well-adjusted ballad".

One of the standout songs of the night was "Cold Roses" with some fantastic 4 part vocal harmonies that were just so, so, so tight. Great vocal harmonies are something I really, really love so I was pretty darn excited. They really did a fabulous job and it almost made up for the distraction of the two big blue lit up roses at the back of the stage (although to be fair, you got used to them in the end). And of course, the crowd went pretty nuts for the cover of Oasis's "Wonderwall" that Ryan Adams does so well. The key to a good cover is always making it different from the original and it was sure as hell different. I'm a big fan of the Ryan Adams "Wonderwall" because of the lack of whiny Oasis vocals - I do realise that others feel differently, but allow me my opinion - Ryan Adams > Oasis. Always.

Somewhere around here they had a break where Ryan waxed poetic about Laser Force and how gutted he was that he wouldn't be around for Thursday, where apparently you can pay $15 and play all the arcade games you want and laser tag between 7 and 11. Sounds like a good deal. You may have sold me on that, Ryan. Maybe next week.

"Oh My God, Whatever, Etc." was a happy surprise. It had a real quiet intensity to it and reminded me exactly what that was the first song that really got stuck in my head on my first listen of Easy Tiger. The lyrics are quite something - stand out in my mind "everybody tips, but not enough to knock me over". This had a really great feel to it and I really, really enjoyed it. Somewhere around here they did a couple of numbers where Ryan went without guitar - did I mention the guitar swapping? I don't think I mentioned the guitar swapping. The first few tracks, I swear he changed guitar pretty much every song, it was mildly distracting but also really kept me thinking "how many guitars does one guy need?" and "poor guy who has to keep coming onstage to swap guitars". Anyway, Ryan did comment that he didn't like being the front man, he didn't have the right jacket and then proceeded to do... something involving his wrist, which he then described as a bracelet made with metal from outer space (this guy is nuts, I love crazy guys... I wasn't the one yelling "I love you, Ryan" but had boyfriend not been sitting next to me, I may have). I did particularly enjoy him sitting on an amp reading what looked like a comic book while the rest of the band rocked out an instrumental break. Heh.

He got the guitar back for "Born Into A Light" and... something else that they finished on, I can't remember the song but I do remember being impressed and entertained. The whole way through they looked like they were having a heck of a lot of fun and by the end it was clear they were just enjoying themselves. I like nothing more than watching musicians enjoying themselves. So the show finished, we clapped for ages and ages and ages for an encore... and then something awesome happened.

Firstly, I have to insist that I've been a Ryan Adams fan long before this song, but I was absolutely entertained to discover that the first encore song they played was "Goodnight Rose". When the lyrics came in at the chorus and Jacob realised what they were singing, he did give me a rather bemused look. In response... shut up, that's awesome. I could hold to the illusion that he was singing to me, though he clearly wasn't. Still... Ryan Adams sang my name, how cool is that? Then a second awesome thing happened. I'd been hanging out for "Magick" from Cardinology and that's what they finished the show on. "Magick" is two minutes and seventeen seconds of really tight, really rocking awesomeness and I pretty much squealed when I heard it start. I got given a bemused look for that, as well. In my defense, it's a great song.

11.03pm: A very, very happy Rose leaves the Opera House. Boyfriend is appeased. Comments to me at the bus stop "they're much better live". All in all... a win.

STORIES TO TELL - I finally did it!

2008-12-10T21:57:00.000-08:00

Finally!

I am releasing my debut album, Stories To Tell. I have a truly awesome box full of CDs in my living room and am selling them for $15 a copy. If you are interested in purchasing a CD, please get in touch. The track listing is as follows:

1. No Expert
2. Bill Stickers Is Innocent (lyrics by Stephen Wordsmith)
3. Aquamarine
4. Bibliophile
5. Song For Shane
6. Hollowed Out Hillside
7. Things I Shouldn't
8. Better Than You Know
9. Not So Much
10. This Is Not A Love Song
11. Without Me
12. The Hand You're Dealt

This has been a long, long road and I am so excited that I finally have these babies in my hot little hands. Sooooo many people have been sooooo amazingly helpful and stuff all throughout this that I just have to mention them on my blog. Just because. So here we go.

First off, there's this guy Jacob and he's actually kind of awesome. He has been amazingly supportive with this CD in so many ways so I have to mention him in my thank yous. He has been a very dear friend for quite some time but something really random happened recently - we started dating, it's completely insane. I'm going to have to stop writing songs about unrequited love. Oh, I hope I don't start writing really horrible soppily romantic drivel - if I'm ever tempted, I'm going to have to bang my head against a wall repeatedly until the urge passes (or until I pass out, whichever comes first).

There has been much praise of the incomparable Stephen Wordsmith on this blog. I am sure the trend shall continue. He has been an encouragement, an inspiration and a fantastic sounding board throughout this entire process - not to mention the whole letting me use Bill Stickers on the album thing, which I am thrilled to be able to include. Through it all, he has also been a supportive friend and I am very, very grateful for his contribution.

The wonderful Libby did some rather awesome backing vocals for Bill Stickers, both on the album and during certain gigs. She was there when I finally got the music sorted for Bill Stickers so she's pretty much my muse and I really value her contribution.

Album photography was taken care of by my dear friend Matt, who took some awesome photos that I managed to sort out into some kind of form of... album artsy stuff. It looks great, honestly. If you get a copy, you can actually see Matt's toes in one of the shots. Look really closely. There are no prizes for finding those toes except the satisfaction that comes from discovery.

My parents. Who bought me recording equipment. Oh, how I appreciate that. Mum and Dad have been nothing but encouraging throughout the entire process and I am so, so glad that my mother is in the country as this album comes out. I graduated from university this week, which is why Mum is over (my parents live in Sydney) but it's even cooler that she's here for CD. So yes. I have awesome parents. And I love them lots and hope they're proud.

All gig organisers - particularly Jimmy (Folkin' Good Times) and Patricia (Music and Artist's Social Club). It's been great getting the chance to play and I've had so much fun doing so. It's definitely brought my confidence up and without that, I never would have made the CD so it's all pretty fantastic. Patricia booked me my first ever gig and that's where I met Jimmy, who got me involved with Folkin' Good Times which has been a seriously awesome thing to be involved with.

50/90 and FAWM. Where do I start? Songwritng inspiration. Actually making me write. Feedback feedback feedback. Not to mention an awesome community of fellow songwriters. My fellow 50/90 and FAWMers are all kinds of awesome. Special mention must go to three songwriters I've worked with closely - Nancy, Helen and Meg. These lovely ladies have become dear friends as well as fellow musicians and always inspire me to keep writing and do better.

The original version of this CD was worked on by my friend Chris - he put in so much time and effort and I learned a lot from him. So he deserves to be showered with praises for all his hard work - even though I didn't end up using his material (except for the hidden track at the end of the album... yes, there's a hidden track!) it was all part of the process and it really paved the way for what I've come up with now. Also deserving thanks for the first version are Charlene, Stuart, Grace and Phil. It is very much appreciated.

My flatmates Tamsin and Elle put up with the weird sounds coming from my room. How crazy is that? They were really good about being quiet, not throwing things in the hallway, not running around screaming when I was trying to record, all that good stuff. Which is appreciated. On a slightly more serious note, Tamsin and Elle have been really, really encouraging and great friends to me throughout this entire project so they deserve massive amounts of thanks. They also have to put up with me singing and guitaring and generally being odd most of the time so they deserve massive amounts of sympathy.

I've been expanding on my liner notes because this is a blog with no space constraints and I missed out some people on the liner notes which is very sad but I will quote this bit from the liner notes because I can:

"Jacob, Stephen, Libby, Louise, Lorenz, Matt, Val, Krista, Tal, Tamsin, Elle and Jonny. For help through rough times, for supporting my music and for (sometimes quite literally) catching me when I fall."

There are many other people who've been a part of this, who've encouraged me and been generally supportive which is awesome but the 12 people I just listed have gone the extra mile for me in so many different situations and places and will always be people I feel deeply grateful for.

This is getting awfully long-winded, which is terrible, but I am allowing myself a little self-indulgence here. I'm excited. I've finally done it. This is a great feeling.

If you're interested in buying a copy, email me at rosedeschamps@gmail.com - if you're out of New Zealand, however, hold tight for a bit as I will sort out selling them through CD Baby in the New Year. Copies are selling pretty fast at the moment so I might have to do a reprint! It's insane! But it's exciting and I'm very, very proud of the album itself. I think I did okay :)

Much love,
Rose
who is still pretty much floating through sheer excitement

Fame! On the internets!

2008-11-28T00:34:00.000-08:00

Well, not so much.

(I've been advised I'm not allowed to say "not so much" anymore, due to the song of the same title. I swear it's got nothing to do with anything.)

But yes, I did an interview for a songwriting blog called Songwright which you can find here. It was a heck of a lot of fun and I'm in good company if you read the other interviews, so go have a look if you so desire.

ALBUM UPDATE: It's at the printers. We're gonna be in action sometime next week, all going according to the plan!

*grins*
Rose

Album Recording For Dummies

2008-11-09T01:45:00.000-08:00

I have nothing definitive to say on this subject.

However, I will say that I am recording an album - it's called "Stories To Tell" and will include 12 original songs by Rose Deschamps. That is me. I am Rose Deschamps. So the songs by Rose Deschamps are also songs by me. We are one and the same. Hopefully this is not too confusing. I am tired and therefore a bit silly. So yeah, 12 songs! I won't give you a definite track listing right away because I might change my mind (I am a fickle creature) but it's more or less decided.

"Stories To Tell" should be hitting... well, not stores, persay, but I'm sure it'll be hitting something - possibly my doorstep? In a large box? At any rate, I'll be getting copies printed and then the real party starts - they will be for sale at the beginning of December. You will be able to buy them! It will be glorious and the villagers will dance and there will be much rejoicing and merriment.

A tentative release date is November 28th. Despite a few hiccups along the way, it's looking like that date is a goer. Woot woot! If you're interested in investing in Wellington singer/songwriters and want a copy of "Stories To Tell", flick me an email at rosedeschamps@gmail.com and we will sort something out.

And the awesome thing is this, folks - all going well, this CD will be out by Christmas! So if you're having trouble deciding what to buy your mother, or your brother, or your brother's girlfriend's cousin, or your ex-flatmate's sister's cat, why not buy them a copy of "Stories To Tell"? Why not buy 6 copies for a set of very cute coasters? Or you could listen to the CDs. That works, too.

But yes. Rose Deschamps has "Stories To Tell". Coming soon. She's excited. And since I am Rose Deschamps, I am also excited. On a slightly more serious note - I'm proud of these songs, I've put a lot of work into my songwriting and I really feel like it's paid off. So yay. Musics!

Rose
who is taking the third person thing a little too far

50/90 is over... but Rocktober is just warming up!

2008-10-06T16:47:00.000-07:00

So I bid farewell to the 90 days of absolute songwriting madness last Wednesday. It was sad, to be honest. I've had a fantastic time. I've written a ton of new songs, I've collaborated with some amazing people and I've grown as a songwriter - well, at least I think I have. I don't think you're supposed to stop growing, so this is probably a Very Good Thing. I have managed to write about all sorts of things this time around - life, love, friendship, loss... not to mention the silly things like cute guys filling up gas bottles, allegedly drunken pilots, hair cuts gone wrong and, of course, Dick Hubbard's secret identity (not so secret anymore, huh?) It has been a blast. I can't wait for FAWM where the madness recommences :)

In the meantime, though, I have heaps to do. Rocktober is a Dan Wallbank invention, and a change to keep up the recording. 15 covers. If you head to this site here, you will find my Rocktober contributions. So far I have covered "Toxic" by Britney Spears (thanks to Louise, who insisted I do something by Britney... well, it was the lesser of many evils presented to me) and "Maps" by Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Personally, Yeah Yeah Yeahs > Britney any day of the week, but I am pretty proud of both versions so far. Upcoming plans for songs include a little Arcade Fire, a little The Killers, possibly a little Sam Phillips and maybe, just maybe some Metallica for my brother. Watch this space,

Rocking out,
Rose

Gig Report: Folkin' Good Times @ The Adelaide, September 18th

2008-09-24T15:31:00.001-07:00

Yes, this one is late. Which is lame of me, I know. This'll be a short gig report.

Rachel from my Birthday Gig and I decided to combine forces and do a duet set between our sets - I've got to say, it's a very different experience playing with someone else and I very much enjoyed it. We did a set that mostly consisted of covers but did write a song together pretty much off the cuff at one of our rehearsals, which was a lot of fun. Rachel opened up the night with a couple of pretty guitar and vocal numbers - that girl is a fantastic musician. Seriously. Piano, guitar... not at the same time, cos that's just silly but she really does have mad skills and it was a pleasure working with her.

After our combined SuperPower set, I did a shorter than usual set consisting entirely of 50/90 material. The cool thing about this was that I performed both of Stephen's songs - Bill Stickers and Tok Pisin. As he was one of my few fans who braved the disgusting weather to come out, it was nice to be able to do that. (In defence of those who didn't make it... the weather sucked and most of them were in the middle of rather horrific university assignments so I harbour no ill will towards anyone.) Still, it was nice to see some new faces as opposed to always just my friends and all in all I think I did alright.

We finished the night with "three quarters of Mushroom" - as in Mushroom with no drummer. Well, that's what it started as... the evening finished in the wee hours of the morning after about 2 or 3 hours of mad, mad jamming. It was pretty hilarious to watch and definitely, as we pride ourselves on, a "Folkin' Good Time".

Coming up to the end of 50/90 now - the local contingent will be partying once this is over, let me tell you! It's so great that I now have other people around me doing this crazy thing... I'm especially proud of Stephen Wordsmith. That boy will go far. And, for the time being, he is my lyricist. Mine. Hands off. (Well, actually, no, I'm not that selfish and he's a big boy so he can do what he likes... I just like to think his loyalty lies with me. Kind of. Sort of. Maybe.)

Off to squeeze more songs out of this last week of 50/90,
Rose

The Massive Update Post...

2008-08-27T16:40:00.000-07:00

Hmmm. What has been happening in the last month that I have not blogged about? *slaps hand* Bad Rose.

Firstly, and most importantly... I hit 50 songs yesterday!

There was much rejoicing in the village. The village of tiny people. In my head. But yes, it's a fantastic feeling of accomplishment, and I am quite proud of myself.

Secondly.... my dear friend Valerie emailed Hubbards Foods about "Dick Hubbard Is Batman". Consequently, I received a message from the Chief Financial Officer of Hubbards. The song has entertained the office and has been sent to Dick for his listening pleasure. Also, I spotted a "Diana Hubbard" signed up on the 50/90 page... I'm going to assume that's his wife. This is really, really quite hilarious.

Thirdly.... there was birthday gig.

It was fantastic :)

We opened the night with The Farmer's Daughter, aka the lovely Rachael. It turns out that Rachael is the older sister of a guy I went through high school with - how's that for a coincidence? I was really, really impressed. She has one hell of a voice and her confession about how nervous she was after the gig really surprised me because I found her really confident. Pretty voice, pretty guitar and she's just so nice :) She gave me a big hug for my birthday. Despite the fact that we'd only just met. I like people like that.

I then did a longer than usual set, which included some rather stellar moments. Such as dragging Libby onstage to sing harmonies for "Bill Stickers", singing "When The Fire" and apologising to my mother mid-song for the reference to a boy in my bed and dropping my pick at the most hilariously appropriate moment in "No Expert":

"He buys a drink
It's pretty quick
You must think you're awful slick"
*drops pick*
"I dropped my pick... hey, that rhymes!"

It was also the debut of "Better Than You Know", verses 1 and 2 because I forgot the lyrics midway and it's a pretty long song. I have also discovered a way to fix my lost set list problem. Post It note. On the top of guitar. The mind boggles.

We finished up the night with Jimmy Stearn and Nick Burfield - I think the highlight for me was a really unusual cover of Stairway to Heaven. It was one of those things that initially makes you go "huh?" but it was actually really, really cool. My brother and my father were entertained... my sister didn't get it. Poor kidlet. But yes. Jimmy and Nick combo for the win, as far as I'm concerned. They really sound quite awesome together. Have I mentioned in the past that Jimmy plays a mean harmonica? Because he really does. It's all kinds of awesome. I hadn't met Nick previously but he's got one hell of a voice on him. I'm looking forward to hearing the Nick/Jimmy combo again. Good stuff.

In general, though, an amazing birthday. Heaps of friends there. My entire immediate family (Mum, Dad, brother and sister) - which is awesome, because Dad moved to Sydney on Tuesday so it was a great chance to have the whole family together. Friends and I went out for late food fillup after the gig and managed to cram all eight of us in the 4 person booth. Then we headed back to my flat for a rather glorious carrot cake, courtesy of my lovely flatmate. All in all... a really, really great day.

I will hopefully update more late, but for now that's a pretty decent overview. I am taking a small break from the songwriting, as I must clean flat and cook foods sometime today. We are having a party to farewell yet another traveller (this is the week of departures). I need to go buy pastry because I'm too lazy to make it.

Basking in that 50 song glow,
Rose

With apologies to Bill Stickers and Dick Hubbard...

2008-07-26T04:40:00.000-07:00

I have burst through a case of songwriter's block! With a little help from my friends...

Yes, that's 4 songs in the last 2 days. Nutty, nutty stuff.

Song #12: Bill Stickers Is Innocent

Another Stephen creation! I loved the lyrics when he wrote them awhile ago and I've been trying and trying to get a decent tune going. The problem was that in my head it sounded like every single other country song ever written and I didn't really want to give such good lyrics substandard music. But a visit from Libby helped me to get the spark I needed. It looks like I may have a new partner in crime. She helped with the backing vocals for Bill Stickers and is gonna help me out at an upcoming gig with harmonies and stuff. She's a talented girl, our Libby.

Song #13: Those Few Hurt Me

Larry W. Jones writes insane amounts of lyrics and I've been keeping an eye out for some lyrics I could use. When I saw these ones, I just picked up the guitar and had a play and pretty soon came up with something I thought would work. I'm really enjoying the chance to play with other people's lyrics... and Larry's been churning them out so it's awesome to see other 50/90ers interpreting the lyrics in various different ways.

Song #14: Better Than You Know

Oh. My. Goodness. I had no idea I could possibly ever write a song that's eight minutes long. What the hell is that all about? Still... I am really, really happy with how this one turned out. I struggled and struggled with getting the lyrics, thanks to a kind of unusual metre but some of the songs I struggle with are the ones that I end up really loving. So I'm happy!

Song #15: Dick Hubbard Is Batman

I really about I'm not about to get in trouble with the former Mayor of Auckland... my flatmate's boyfriend decided I should write a song about the fact that apparently, Dick Hubbard is Batman. I told him sure - if he wrote the lyrics. I wasn't expecting him to actually do it but he did and... this is the result. All you non-Kiwis - there is an explanation of sorts in the liner notes of the song itself on 50/90. I hope it clears things up.

So yeah! I'm ahead, which is fantastic. I'm hoping to churn out a few more over the weekend, just to put myself ahead. Maybe some more silly ones, somewhat akin to Bill Stickers and Dick Hubbard... my songwriting this time around has been more or less entirely depressing stuff. Something light-hearted and silly is good for the morale on occasion. *thinks about I Like To Eat The Chickens and chuckles again*

I will finish by quoting Helen's Evil Twin: "Bring me my guitar, for the muse, it doth beckon."

Fare the well,
Rose
(the inspired)

Folkin' Good Times @ San Francisco Bath House, July 23rd: The Gig Report

2008-07-23T19:26:00.000-07:00

Back again with another FGT gig report!

I was pretty nervous about playing San Fran, mostly because bands that I quite like play there. Iron and Wine were there in March and The New Pornographers are coming along in October. I want tickets! After next payday I will buy tickets and tickets will be mine and I will go see The New Pornographers and I will try to figure out some non-offensive nickname for them in case Grandma asks what it is I'm going to see... but I digress. My health was playing up a lot (fun fainting spell at home pre-gig after a delicious meal of tofu, veges and noodles...) so that was an additional stress source. Also, my fun little game of "worst case scenario" kicked in when I got there and I started to get a little bit freaked out that I was going to put the heel of my (awesome) boots through the drum kit. (SPOILER ALERT: I didn't put my high heel through the drum kit.)

Anyway. San Francisco Bath House is pretty. It's pretty, it's comfy, the bathrooms are pretty awesome - tempting to steal the mirrors, yes, but obviously I did not give in to this temptation, as I would quite like to play this venue again. One of my friends did comment that it was lacking the white roses, fake cobwebs and angels wings on the ceiling from the last one of my gigs he came to (Attic Lounge, above SubNine... when I played there it was decked out for a goth party... which is obviously oh so appropriate for Folkin' Good Times... but it was pretty funny!) - I'm not sure if he was disappointed? I could have done without the dismembered dolls behind the sound desk at Attic Lounge, quite frankly. But once again, I am veering violently off course, so I will get back to my admiration of San Fran. I like the lamps. The seats are comfy. The bar staff are nice. And the lemon, lime and bitters has enough bitters in it. So all in all, thumbs up from me.

I was up first, after the Acoustic Lounge they run every Wednesday from 6-8. That's an open mic type thing and I would have liked to catch more of it but I managed to show up just as it was ending. Quelle tristesse. I did, however, run into Terry Shore, who runs a songwriters show on Access Radio. I recorded a radio show with him in April. It was lovely to see him again - he couldn't stay for Folkin' Good Times but it was nice to catch up, albeit briefly.

The weather sucked. It really did. I think we could have expected a better turn out had it not been for the weather. Ah, Wellington in winter. How doth I loathe thee. Nevertheless, the turnout was pretty good. People came and went, as people tend to do, but the cool thing about San Fran is that it's a venue that people will drop in at without knowing what's going on because it's got a good reputation. So there were a lot of random people dropping in, along with the usual suspects Folkin' Good Times tends to attract. Which I thought was pretty awesome.

My set went pretty well. Given that I hadn't been feeling well, I was a little concerned so I played a shorter set than I had originally planned but I was relatively happy with it anyway. San Fran is pretty magic to play, especially for an acoustic singer/songwriter. It's got a cool vibe. Once I'd got through my first two songs, I really started to relax and get into it - regardless of how nervous I get, there's something about getting up there and singing songs that I created that's really awesome. I had so much fun. I really did.

I played 2 new songs from 50/90 - "When The Fire" and "Song for Shane", along with some older pieces. I would have added more new ones - and I think I had actually intended to - but I figured that just doing 2 new ones would be a little safer, as I know my old ones pretty well by now but the new ones are still not quite cemented in my brain! I emailed Nancy Rost (co-writer of "When The Fire") and she was most excited to hear about her New Zealand debut. I thought it went over pretty well. Everyone can relate to the fact that it's really, really cold.

"Song for Shane" was hard and I'm glad I did it near the end of my set. The other songs gave me the time to really get into the performance groove and by the time it came to sing Shane's song, I could present it as a song that meant something without bursting into tears as I am prone to doing, given the subject matter. A mutual friend of ours was there and I'd really wanted to her to hear it live rather than send her a recording - the three of us were ridiculously close a few years ago and we're both coming to terms with Shane's death slowly. I hope the song helped - I think it did. My flatmate was sitting next to her and gave her a big hug after the song was over so I felt less bad about bringing up sad emotions when all she'd really signed up for was coming to watch me sing some songs! After the gig, she came up, gave me a hug and had a bit of a cry... I think sometimes you've just got to have a good cry. And a good laugh - there are plenty of things to remember and smile about when it comes to Shane.

Mushroom played after me and I thought they did an excellent job. They kicked off with "Folsom Prison Blues" which will always thoroughly entertain me - those boys have energy, let me tell you. The set consisted of mostly covers but I was pleasantly surprised to hear Mushroom play a Jimmy Stearn original, "If Women Were Books", which is hands down my favourite Jimmy song. I thought the band did a great job with it - the only criticism was that it was hard to hear the lyrics, which are incredibly witty. There were a few levels issues with the bands, especially in terms of vocals, which may be a personal preference issue from where I stand - I'm primarily a singer so I like to hear the lyrics. Still, a bit more vocals wouldn't have hurt at all, especially on that particular song. At any rate, it's always good to hear that one coming out at gigs - I thoroughly enjoy it. Mushroom are so much fun because they're obviously having fun themselves - I always like hearing them play.

I left briefly with my flatmate and her boyfriend to go grab a hot chocolate to up my sugar levels so I'd survive the rest of the night so I missed the beginning of Stormbird's set but I came in for the last few numbers. (There was hot chocolate and there was also a rather yummy cheesecake... mmm.... cheesecake...) Sadly, there were levels issues with Stormbird as well and the vocals were hard to hear - a couple of instances of feedback (fun screeching sounds) but all in all I really enjoyed what I heard of them. These girls (plus Phil, who isn't a girl) know what they're doing and make some really fun, pretty music. I had the pleasure of chatting to them after the gig and they're all just so nice. It would have been nice to hear the vocals a bit more, I have to say - as both Ana and Rochelle have truly lovely voices. I was lucky enough to come in just as they were about to play a song I'd heard and really liked on their MySpace page, "Sweet" - there was toe-tapping from me. I liked it. I will be keeping an eye out for Stormbird and going along to support them in future - I suggest you do the same.

When I was skiving off for hot beverage, I ran into Scott and Holly from Very Nice Treehouse (who were also skiving off for sustinance, so I felt less bad) and realised that I'd played with them before and didn't even realise it! What a funny, funny world. In May I played a few songs in Cuba Mall for the end of Fair Trade fortnight and Scott and Holly played before me. Granted I was not at all well that day and made it through 3 songs before being forceably removed from the stage by some very concerned friends (one of whom gave me a good telling off for having done the gig in the first place, despite having been the one who'd organised it for me) but I did remember Very Nice Treehouse being absolutely stellar. Last night they were just as good as I remember them. They are both excellent vocalists and excellent guitar players and they brought the evening down to an amazing chilled out finish. Their originals were beautifully crafted and they're both so incredibly in tune with one another, it's fantastic to watch. They did a couple of covers, too - the one that stuck out for me was a cover of "Jezebel" by Iron and Wine... pretty song, pretty cover, pretty awesome. I really enjoyed the last original they played, "Home", despite the mulitple false starts (which, IMO, just added to their charm...) Overall, they're just so, so good. You must check them out. I insist.

I'd say it was a pretty awesome night. I unfortunately may have overdone it a bit, as I passed out a couple of times at the end of the night but luckily Jimmy gave me a ride home (that boy is good value) so I got home with minimal damages. Sadly the health is a bit too touch and go for me to risk the Bob Dylan Extravaganza that is happening tonight at The Adelaide but it should be a great night so I hope it goes really well for everyone involved!

Signing off... and probably going back to bed!
Rose

Birthday Gig confirmed... there was much rejoicing in the village

2008-07-15T04:31:00.001-07:00

I just got an email from Jimmy, confirming that I have a gig on my birthday! I'm really excited! Happy, where we played on the 8th of July, had us pencilled it for the 19th of August (my birthday), dependant on the kind of turn out we got at the 8th of July gig. So we've heard back - they're keen to let us do the gig on the 19th of August. *does a little happy dance*

I'm one of those people who is freakishly obsessed with their birthday and seeing as I have so much fun doing gigs I feel this is a fantastic way to celebrate my birthday! *bounces* Have I mentioned before my affection for Jimmy? He's a legend. It's gonna be great. I'm really, really excited. (I may have mentioned this.)

So, in case you're interested: the gig rundown.

23rd of July at San Francisco Bath House
8pm, $5 entry
with A Very Nice Treehouse, Stormbird and Mushroom

24th of July at The Adelaide
8pm, $5 entry
Bob Dylan Extravaganza - I'm performing one song, along with a bunch of other Folkin' Good Times players...

I will post more info about a gig with the Wellington Folk Club on the 27th of July as soon as I get more info but this is also coming up.

And, of course...

19th of August at Happy
8pm, $5 entry (most probably)
Line up to be advised :)

*continues to rejoice*

With glee,
Rose

Meaning

2008-07-11T20:17:00.000-07:00

I have come to a conclusion in the last little while.

I am perfectly within my rights calling myself a songwriter.

That sounds silly. Let me try to explain. I've always been first and foremost a singer. I've been singing since I could talk and I grew up in a very musical family. To me, there's nothing unusual about being surrounded by people who are all much better musicians than I. Compared to a lot of the amazing musicians I've been surrounded by all my life, I've always carved out my spot in the whole "music" thing as someone who can sing and that's about it. I tried playing instruments - piano, bassoon, cello, viola, saxophone, finally settling on guitar - but I was always much more comfortable with just singing. First of all, being a singer requires no heavy lifting. Being a cello player does. In my first year of high school, I sang a solo in the school variety show and I became known through the rest of my high school years as "the girl who sings". Which, to be honest, is much nicer than some of the labels I have received over the years. So the singing thing? Not a big deal. Well, no, that's not entirely true - I adore singing. Whenever I get a cold I'm more upset about not being able to sing than about the stuffiness of colds. Singing is like breathing for me - totally natural.

Now, guitar playing, on the other hand - or the feeble bit of piano playing I indulge in on occasion. That's a whole different kettle of fish. I've gotten better but the whole rationale behind me learning guitar was so I could accompany myself singing. Mostly through not wanting to bug people into accompanying me, initially. And then it was the first feeble attempts at songwriting. The process leading towards that went something like this: I like to sing. I like to write. Surely the two can be combined? Thus, my initial songwriting endeavours at about age 13 began. Never let 13 year olds write anything. It's horrific. The term "emo" wasn't in popular usage when I was 13 but that was pretty much what it was. Although, I have learned not to discount things. One line from a song I wrote when I was 13 has actually come back to haunt me and found its way into a song that I now perform that I wrote in 2005 called "Without Me". So I shouldn't be too mean to poor 13 year old Rosie. She did, after all, coin the lines:

/I don't know what to say to you
But that's okay, I never do/

which, to this day, remains one of my favourite lyrics. I know, a little lame to have a "favourite" of something you made. But I understand the sentiment behind it. And it's succinct. And for a 13 year old, pretty darn insightful. (Tangent: Isn't it weird how when you get past a certain age, you almost start looking at the younger version of yourself as a different person? People grow. It's a Good Thing.)

But yes. Songwriting has taken on a whole new meaning for me. Starting from when I started to share the songs I write with other people. I am an extrovert by nature. Songwriting is an introverted kind of thing, I feel. Everyone has to have some kind of balance in them - I feel like songwriting is mine. Music will always hold a very deep meaning for me and being able to make music that can mean something to people is an incredible privilege. I have written countless songs where I try to take a balanced look at things - things like unrequited love, being too scared to be honest with someone, doing something you know is a Bad Idea, etc. I have written silly songs, full of sarcastic comments sung sweetly so you almost miss them (do you have any idea how much fun it is to watch someone's face when you sing a line like "tell me what you had for breakfast" in this really sincere voice? It's fun. Let me tell you.) And I've played around with words and melodies and tried to make them say something. Even if it's something silly.

Somewhere along the process, I have become a songwriter. And it's taken on more of a meaning than just being someone with a pretty singing voice. I can't really pinpoint the minute I "became" a songwriter but it's just hit me recently. I've written a song and I think it's proved to me that I can create something that has meaning out of the mess of emotions that every single human being carries inside them. I've certainly been a mess of emotions recently - a strange, tangled mess, somewhat akin to the large ball of black wool that has been sitting on my desk for the last three weeks and that various people have attempted to unravel when visiting. Unravelling is a messy process. Wool gets all over the room. Things get more tangled before they get better. But in the end, if you unravel the tangles, you have something you can use to create something else. And it can be something really cool. Like a hat or a scarf or a teddy bear or something. Wool is so flexible. I've lost my grip on the metaphor but I think you get the picture.

I have been unravelling and untangling and sorting things out and now even though I'm still not completely wrapped up in a nice orderly ball, there's enough of me that's been sorted out to create things. Things that are really cool and are better than just a long thread by itself. You don't unravel wool so it can sit there. You unravel wool so it can be used to make something. I've been making things. Making songs. Making music. And detangling in the process.

On the 50/90 site, I've unlocked a song I had hidden called "Song for Shane". Shane is a friend of mine who recently died. Another thing to unravel. When things like this happen, you need to mourn and you need to process. I am incredibly lucky that I have shoulders to cry on and people who are willing to hold on to the end bit to keep me grounded while I unravel. And it's because of the people who helped me hold on that I managed to get enough unravelling done to make this song. So thank you. You know who you are and I hope you know that you are appreciated.

Here's a link to the song if you want to have a listen. I think it might be the most important thing I've done as a songwriter yet. It means something to me. And I've learned that I'm a human being, who has human experiences like everyone else - so if it means something to me, it might mean something to someone else. And it might help someone hold on a bit longer. And that is incredibly important.

I've realised I can make something with meaning. Because of this, I can safely call myself a songwriter.

And that's kind of cool.

Hold on,
Rose

Thought for the day...

2008-07-09T18:14:00.000-07:00

Does life imitate art or is it the other way around?

I've just had a rather literal fulfilment of one of my songs - well, in a way, yeah. Not a carbon copy of the situation I had outlined but the sentiment is there. There is some comfort in knowing I have carved a niche for myself in the pseudo-genre of "love gone wrong" - because people are people, awkward situations are awkward situations and it turns out I really do know how to write that kind of song. And there is also some comfort in the fact that the majority of the songs I write are about non-action and today I did something very action oriented. In a way, I confronted something that was one of my worst fears and came out with my absolute worse case scenario. But you know what? It's better that I took action and actually did something. Because who wants to write 46 more songs about never doing anything? How lame is that?

And the thing is, my absolute worse case scenario came to pass - and it wasn't so bad. It wasn't great but it wasn't anywhere near as bad as I'd feared it would be. Funny how things you're afraid of turn out to be not so bad when you actually see them happen. Course, here I am being rational, as I consider myself a more or less rational human being. Chances are the irrationality will hit me at some point in the next little while when I have got through all the things that I have to distract me with this afternoon/evening. When it arrives, I will let it come in for a short party in the foyer of my mind but it shall not pass further. I hope. Self-pity is so lame. But is occasionally an indulgence I allow myself. Briefly.

In other news: For my Tuesday night gig, I wrote out a set list... then I left it at home. So I wrote out another set list... then I lost it. So I got up and did the gig without a set list and kind of off the cuff. Anyway, I've found both missing set lists. The first was on my desk, exactly where I left it. The second was in my shoe. I assume I put it there for safe keeping but forgot I'd put it there. This is the main difference between me and my sister, we have decided. She knows where everything is. I put things places and forget. However, I have the pleasure of finding $20 notes in my jacket pocket randomly. She does not.

So. Off to distraction. Then maybe afterwards I'll come home, write an awful song to get today out of my system and put lots of minor chords in it. Maybe I'll wear eyeliner while I write it. Won't that be fun?

With quiet amusement at her own stupidity,
Rose

Internet Music Making Extravaganza

2008-07-09T03:33:00.000-07:00

So, I just co-wrote a song with someone on the other side of the planet. How cool is the internet?

A singer/songwriter/pianist from Wisconsin, Nancy Rost has been nothing but nice to me every since we "met" during the February Album Writing Month challenge in 2007. Now we're onto 50/90 2008 - 50 songs in 90 days, starting on the 4th of July and finishing on the 1st of October. One of my aims for 50/90 was to do some collaborating with other songwriters so I was thrilled when Nancy agreed to co-write a song with me.

The resulting result can be found at my 50/90 page *points to link to your upper right hand side* - it's called "When The Fire" and is loosely based on my adventures filling up the gas bottle for our heater. Which doesn't sound like much of a reason to write a song but let me tell you, it gets pretty cold in winter. The gas heater is a Very Good Thing. Also: there was a cute boy at the petrol station. And the song goes on and gets more fictionalised in the process... his English was fine. Really it was. But you can take liberties with songwriting. That's the beauty of it. And it's not lying! Cos it's a song! That's also pretty cool.

So yeah. Have a listen if you want (directly here, if you're too lazy to go alllll the way up to sidebar and find the song etc. etc.) - I recorded it, Nancy wrote the music, we both wrote the lyrics and I think it's safe to say that we both had a heck of a lot of fun.

Adios,
Rose

Folkin' Good Times @ Happy, July 8th: The Gig Report

2008-07-08T20:49:00.000-07:00

I thought it might be nice to do some blogging about my singer/songwriter-ness, as I'm having a fantastic time.

Well, it's been a fair well since I've done a gig, due to some health problems but last night I did my first gig in about a month and a half. I have got to say... it's good to be back into it. And I think I'm getting less nervous, which is very nice. All in all, I feel it was a successful night.

Things I quite liked about it:

#1) Venue.

I'm a big fan of Happy. Maybe it's because I did my first ever gig there. I don't know. But I think it's a really cute venue and I really, really like the lighting. Everything's all lit in red and it's pretty cool. There was a different set-up from my first gig - the stage was facing the bar instead of on the raised platform bit at the front like it was last time. There was still the issue of this massive pole in my line of sight but it didn't matter too much, as the majority of the people were seated to my left on the other side of the pole. It felt like there was less space but I kind of liked it anyway. It was a bit weird being right in the middle of the room with everyone looking at me -
but I think that's kind of the point of a gig. But yes. Venue was nice. I like Happy.

#2) Folkin' Good Times.

Okay, so I kind of love Folkin' Good Times. All the gigs I've done with FGT have been soooo much fun. Jimmy Stearn, our fearless ringleader, is one of the nicest people I've met in the Wellington music community. I was looking forward to meeting Nick Burfield and Jason McIver but unfortunately Nick called in sick and Jason was MIA. So it ended up being Jimmy, me and Jimmy's band Mushroom. It was a pretty rocking night. The guys from Mushroom were obviously having so much fun, which is really nice to see. So yeah. Good on FGT.

#3) Fans.

I have fans! The mind truly boggles. In all honesty, I am blown away by the support of my friends and family when it comes to gigs. It is truly very flattering and I really appreciate people coming out to see me sing in the thick of a Wellington winter (it is freezing, seriously). The really cool thing is that people brought people - my friend Stephen brought his parents and I think some of his flatmates, some people brought boyfriends, friends, etc... it's a pretty high compliment. I hope everyone had a great time - from where I was standing, people looked like they were having a lot of fun.

#4) "February 29".

Stephen wrote me some fantastic lyrics that I set to music. His parents were at the gig. I was very proud to be able to play it for them and pretty darn stoked to be able to acknowledge Stephen's talent in front of an audience. If I embarrassed him... well, that's really too bad. He did a fantastic job. And deserved a big round of applause. Which he duly got. Ah, MC. Your lyrical ways warm the coldest of hearts.

#5) Generally Not That Lame

Oh man, do I have trouble with the "talking between songs" thing. But I was quite proud of myself that I actually managed to say things without getting too tongue-tied last night. I love the fact that my criteria for a successful gig is more or less the following:

a) Didn't say anything too stupid
b) Didn't fall over
c) Didn't destroy any equipment
d) Didn't inadvertantly insult anyone
e) Didn't set fire to anything
f) Didn't pass out

I succeeded on all 6 counts. How fantastic is that?

If you want more info on how to have a Folkin' Good Time, head over to the MySpace page at www.myspace.com/folkingoodtimes - check out the other artists and see what you think.

Again, a big thanks to everyone who came. I had a great time and hope you all did, too.

Take care,
Rose