The Latest Phase
Hi there,
I’m never really sure if anyone notices when I go off the radar for a while. We’re all so busy with our lives, I find it hard to imagine that anyone would care what I was up to…but the truth is I’ve been having the most amazing time this year.
In about November 2017 I found myself burned out and depressed after a prolonged period of working tirelessly on every aspect of my music career, with only a few positive results. I’d been spending far too much time in the office, tapping away on my computer, booking shows, tour management, marketing, social media, publicity, graphic design, copywriting, budgeting, accounting, grant applications, festival applications, blogs, songwriting competitions, web design…everything.
It was too much. I blamed my manager…(me)…and in moment of rare clarity, I fired him…(myself)…and withdrew from public life into my recording studio and just played music everyday for about three months. (In other words I had a Diva hissy fit!)
It actually turned out to be a complete revelation! Slowly I started to remember what I was doing all that hard work for in the first place…Because I love playing music and writing songs, and improvising and letting music transport me somewhere better. I got the thrill back. I fell in love with Music all over again.
Out of those sessions came new ideas and new songs and new perspectives on old ideas and old songs.
Now a new album has begun to grow. I feel pregnant. 🙂
It’s funny how sometimes you just need to stop pushing for a while and the universe responds with some pretty amazing confirmation.
I sent some a demo of one of the new tracks “Never Turn Back” out to record companies and had a reply from a USA label within 24 hours, asking if I would sign a single deal with them. The same week I signed a publishing deal in USA which will hopefully get some of my music placed into films and TV shows.
Though nothing solid has come of those opportunities yet, it was the encouragement that I needed at that time…confirmation that I wasn’t crazy…that I really DO have talent and that others DO appreciate my music.
All year I have been focusing on teaching music to kids in primary schools, and getting that buzz from seeing them discover the magic of music for the first time…It helps me remember the first time I felt the adrenaline rush of performance, or the triumph of mastering a difficult practice. It’s kept me employed while I work out how to better balance my career and my artistic development with my family and my sanity…Not an easy task.
So though I have dropped out of the social media world a little, and not engaged with this blog much, I have been building towards a more rounded and satisfying lifestyle for myself. It’s still all about music…but not all about me.
I have several exciting side projects and artistic endeavours developing which I will detail in later blog posts, but for now…don’t forget to have a listen to last years release GET LOVED! if you haven’t already.
So that’s what I’ve been up to…and I’m pleased to announce that I finally have some assistance with booking shows since Half Brother Bookings has agreed to work with me.
I can feel a tour coming on.
Such a revelation. Looking forward to new album and gigs. Well done Tim.