Interview: Fabienne
Posted on | October 21, 2009 | 3 Comments
Oh Happy day! Finally I had time to sit down and work out this post! Job searching, making music, sculpting and writing being lazy took a most of my time last day’s, but now I’m in the right mindset to do this! Below you’ll find the interview with Fabienne Frank. We wrote some emails back and forth, and the result, is note worthy. My guess is that this is one of the first interviews for Fabienne in which she can elaborate on herself and her motives, and I’m more then happy to provide that place!
The basics: please tell us your name/age/place you live, the background information.
Name: Fabienne Frank. My artist name is Fabienne.
Age: 21
City: Apeldoorn (a village in Holland).
How long have you been making music?
Actually all my life. At the age of three I got my first videotape, Disney’s “The little mermaid” and of course I fell in love with main character “Ariel”. Her looks, her underwater world adventure, her dreams and her voice. I wanted the same: becoming beautiful, becoming famous and becoming one hell of a singer. But most of all, my biggest dream… Just like Ariel, I wanted and still want to become loved by all the people that look at me and my adventure. So everywhere I went I sang Ariel’s songs and songs I made up while singing ;) I think Ariel and my dream are the drive behind my music actually, but typing all those things, I see I’m moving to fast, ’cause that’s your next question. :P
What is the drive behind your music?
Besides the things I have already revealed in the past question, ’cause of my big mouth, I would say that what drives me is: I can’t stand quitting. When you quit following your dreams and hopes, I think you give up on your life, but of course that’s my opinion. ;) I want to be free. Free to show my ambitions, emotions, opinions, feelings and being. And I think I can make that dream come true by singing my songs. I think more people dream of being free. But even more people don’t take the action to achieve there goal of making that dream of theirs come true. Shortly said: the drive behind my music is wanting to be free in a famous way ;)
What can you tell us about the way you write songs? is it all in one go, or do you write and rewrite?
Well actually, it depends on the moment of writing. Sometimes I just take a seat behind my piano or guitar and start to press the keys or strum the snares, there flows a melody out of my fingers and I feel the need to hum on it. And suddenly a new song is born! And sometimes I’ve already got a melody in my head. Than I record that melody on my voice-recorder. By the way, my advise, I think every singer-songwriter needs to have a voice-recorder. It’s so easy to forget melodies and lyrics you’ve just made up. A voice-recorder helps you remember.
Oh and also, never ever throw away samples you’ve recorded! You’ll never know when you’re going to need that particular lyric or melody you’ve come up with years ago. You’ll do something to yourself when you find out you could’ve made a breakthrough with that sample. Believe me, bin there, done that and got the T-shirt. :P
I’m sorry, I forgot I was answering a question there for a minute. Where was I?
Oh, yeah, sometimes I make up a story to sing about, other times I write a lyric about my feelings, emotions, experiences and thoughts. For example, sometimes a song or lyric flows out of one of my philosophies. Sometimes it’s all in one go like “Why angry” and sometimes I write and rewrite, like I did with “Sexy Target”. So it really depends on where I am, what I’m doing or how I feel.
What is your favorite place to practice?
My couch. I’ve got a really relaxed, big, soft couch in my living room. It’s pastel dark blue and that’s a very peaceful and cozy color. When I sit down on that piece of furniture, I immediately feel at home! Oh, and of course my garden at summer. When it’s nicely warm. I feel very inspired when feeling the soft breeze on my skin, seeing all those beautiful colors of the insects and flowers around me, hearing the birds sing and smell the fragrance of fresh, sweet blossoms. I love to sit down on the ground surrounded by flowers and bumblebees and play on my guitar while singing on the calm melody of nature.
How do you handle stage fright? Or don’t you have any?
I don’t do stage fright. I feel like a fish in the water on stage. Only when my monitor doesn’t work and I can’t hear myself singing while performing, I get a little nerves. But luckily for me I never am nervous before going on stage. I only feel excitement, cause I’m so happy people like to listen to my songs and I’m aloud to make them forget their worries just for a moment! Love to do that!
Any (active) plans for going to do studio recordings?
Nice question! Yes, actually, I’m recording my single “Sexy Target” right now at Quinty’s Crew here in Apeldoorn. They’ve had Do and many other famous Dutch singers recording at their studio and they are sponsoring me! And that’s all because I’ve put my music on the Internet. Mark van de Pol found me by surfing on the web. He approached me by mailing. He wanted to make a video clip, my video clip! ..cause he said he saw I was talented. So I’m very lucky!
What are the plans for the future (music wise)?
I want to make my dreams come true! I want to be famous.
What kind of music do you listen when your cooking?
Hahaha, believe it or not, but I don’t listen to music when I’m cooking. I haven’t got an audio-player in the kitchen. :P And my I-pod is always gone/lost when I need it, so I learned how to live with cooking without music. ;) But when I’m in my living room I listen to lots of stuff. I like Christina Aguilera, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Moby, P!nk, Kate Bush, Lady Gaga, Enya, Adiemus, Seal, Zero 7, Regina Spector, and lots of more artists!
In the bedroom I often listen to Spirits of nature. That’s very relaxing music. But another weird thing about me as an musician is: I can’t fall asleep when the music is still playing. I think that’s because I don’t want to miss anything of a single song. Maybe I love music to much, so to protect myself from becoming a sleepless zombie, it’s better to pull out the plug before trying to sleep.
Do you give money to street artists? (in both cases, why?)
Well actually no, I don’t, I’d love to though, but I’m in serious financial problems at the moment. I gave up everything (almost all of my jobs) so I could be a full time singer-songwriter. Now I’m out of savings and I don’t earn enough money with my current little job as a babysitter. So I’m in the search of another job right now. But if I could, I would, cause I think it isn’t an easy way of getting appreciation for what you do and earning some money. It’s much easier to perform on stage, cause people look up to you. When your sitting down on the floor, I think people usually associate, sitting on the floor with a box to put some money in, with bagging.
Personally, I think you’ve got real guts earning your money that way. I don’t have any stage fright, but singing on the streets like that is too far out of my comfort zone.
Do you buy cd’s, or download from online stores?
Normally I buy Cd’s and download from on line stores. But right now I don’t buy anything ;)
What do you think, as a starting artist, of the whole download dilemma?
I should probably be worried about it, but I’m not. I think that there will always be the support of your real fans. And I think you shouldn’t do it for the money, but you should just do it because it’s your dream and you want to do it. One of the quotes I learned from my best friend is: If you wouldn’t get any money out of doing it, would you still do it?
My answer is yes. At the moment I’m flat broke because I gave it all up for music, burned all ships behind me, but still I will continue being a singer-songwriter. I think its a desire that is burning my whole life and the desire will keep burning. That’s what makes me happy every time I’m sad because of my problems. Sounds very depressing, but honestly, it’s not. I’m very happy with the way I live, it feels like freedom, cause I can choose my own path at any time, but I will always still have got my music.
How will you try to actually earn money with your music?
I’ll try to reach as many people as possible through media like Internet, TV, radio, magazines and newspapers. I think eventually, at the time I’ve got enough fans, the money will come out of selling Cd’s, Mp3’s, concerts/performing, etc.
In a year from now, where do you see yourself?
Such a dangerous question to answer. :P You know, I really don’t know. I hope I will be living in the U.S., ’cause some brilliant record label has asked me to sign their contract. ;) And I’m performing on huge stages, in beautiful outfits, surrounded by billions of friends and fans. But we’ll see. My aim is reaching the universe. If I can’t hit my target in universe, I can always try hitting a target more close to me. ;)
Apart from music, what other sounds move you?
The sound of laughing people, I always start laughing when I hear someone else laugh.I like the sound of a pencil scratching on paper while someone is writing. I like the sound of birds and bumblebees in summer. I love the sound of, how do you say it in English, crackling fire? I love the sound of running water. I love weird sounds I never heard before. And I adore the sound of thunder, when I’m inside my house in my soft bed of course ;) All those sounds make me feel so happy and I enjoy them every second while hearing them..
In one of the recent interviews on dutch radio, you mention your latest song has a clear message for people who are still uncomfortable around gays. Are you gay? Or Bisexual?
Yes, I’m bisexual. I have a preference for women, though. I’m mostly attracted to women, but I ‘v got a boyfriend now. He is actually the only man who makes me feel the way girls can normally make me feel. I call him my lovely exception. ;) And now I’m watching girls with him! A few years ago I found out my real feelings for women. I got a girlfriend and since that day I knew what everyone meant when they said they where in love. It was so strong, I never felt something like that before. I discovered that I used to like my female teacher, and some girls around me. And discovering that, I also got answers to my question why I didn’t like my male teachers as much as the female teachers. And of course why I blushed when a nice girl or women was trying to have a conversation with me.
How do you use the web to get your name and music out there?
The web is a real nice medium to broadcast yourself. So I use it wisely. ;) When I’m telling I’m using the Internet to broadcast myself, most people think I’m, like, constant sending messages to people about my singing and myself. But that’s not true at all. I found out most people only watch the Internet, and don’t seem to know you can also take action, so I take advantage of that by really using the web. The people that only watch, try to find some entertainment out of the Internet, cause they probably worked their ass of all day and want to forget their problems and just relax. And that’s where I’ll enter the whole story. Without spamming of course. ;)
I love to put my video’s on Youtube and Hyves, cause there are so many people surfing on those sites. Your reach is unlimited, people around the whole world can see your vid’s and people don’t feel like they make a commitment when they’re watching your stuff. That’s why they easily leave a comment on your video or blog and like to be honest most of the time. I think it’s one of the few places people feel like they can be theirselfs. People believe no one can hurt them, cause no one can recognize them when they use nicknames. So, when I’ve uploaded a new video on youtube, witch I do once a month, I’ll also place it on my other sites, like Hyves, Myspace, my own website, etc, and I send out a message on Twitter, Hyves and of course my mailing-list. After a few months people get interested in knowing you and what you do. People are very curious creatures, you know. And that’s how I’m trying to reach people through the Internet.
Have you learned web strategy from somebody?
Yes, I did! His name is Eelco de Boer. He is one heck of an Internet marketeer. If your interested in learning new techniques, you can check out his work here. He really helped me out on my way through the Internet Jungle!
Any particularly good or bad experiences with using the web?
Yes, of course! All the performances I gave and interviews I had are because of the video’s, audio and pictures I uploaded, available on the Internet! I never went looking for places to perform, make a video clip, or magazines and newspapers to be interviewed by. But all that and even contests like ‘Song Pop 2009’ and ‘055Tube’ just came to me this way. People saw me, mailed or called me and it was arranged! I don’t have any bad experiences, besides strange old men who stubbornly try to reach me by mailing odd things, but I just don’t answer them. As long as they don’t know where I live, I don’t mind.
What are your plans to get yourself noticed? I heard you’re shooting a video at the moment?
That’s right! Mark van de Pol is shooting a video clip for me. He’s a real great guy. We love working together. When the video clip is released we will try to send it to thousand’s of important people, record labels, radio stations, TV stations, etc. And of course I hope someone ‘big’ is noticing me that way ;).
Which online tool do you like best?
Youtube, Hyves and my mailing-list are the tools I like the best! Here’s why: I like Youtube cause of the video’s you can upload. And you’ll get feedback from your fans or people that watched your vid. I like Hyves cause of the social network you can expand with it. And I love to stay in contact with all the people I meet. But my big proud is my mailing-list. People are really interested in my ‘Op-De-Hoogte-Blijf-Lijst’. That’s the ‘Staying-Up-To-Date-List’ in English. When you fill in your e-mail adress and name, you’ll get updates, discounts on future Cd’s, dates of performances and of course lots free stuff. If you like to stay posted feel free to sign in here. I’m sorry, my Internet marketeer spirit is showing off again. ;)
Final Note
And if you (-edit-: yes, she means you lot, dear readers) like to ask some more questions, don’t be afraid to send me a message. You can leave a comment here, or find me on my website, or Hyves! Hope to see you soon ;-)
I really liked answering the questions in this interview! So thanks, Guido!
Fabienne, you’re welcome! I hope all your efforts will be equally rewarded!
Interview: Evelienonline!
Posted on | October 13, 2009 | 1 Comment
After a short, and rather one sided introduction in a previous blogpost, I thought it was only fair to ask both artists mentioned to tell us a bit more about themselves. Today this small part of the web is dedicated to Evelien, and her answers to all my questions.
The basics: please tell me your name/age/place you live, so readers get a general feel of who you are
My name is Evelien van der Meijden. I’m 24 years old, born in Waalwijk (the Netherlands) on March 12, 1985. At the moment I live in Den Bosch, In the middle of the city. I’m active in music for three years now. I never thought I would do something with music when I was young. It started when I was helping out a band called Mo’Jones. I made pictures from concerts, creating a website, that sort of stuff. They had no money to reward me so the singer (Jan van der Burgt) told me if I was interested to take some singing lessons. I thought it was fun, so I agreed. I choose a song (I think it was Sheryl Crow’s cover of “The First Cut Is The Deepest”) recorded it and hand it over to Jan so he could hear my voice. He loved my voice and he told me that I should do something with it. And there it was: My talent was found! I’ve had 5 lessons since that day. I loved singing but only singing felt kind of bored to me. I decided to buy a guitar. If I could learn playing it, I could use it with my voice. Never took any lessons for that part. Just discovered it by my own and there it was… One year later I wrote my first song!
What is the drive behind your music? What is it that makes you write songs?
They are just my thoughts. Things I’ve felt, I’ve seen, I’ve heard. The experience of life.
What can you tell us about the way you write songs? Is it all in one go, or do you write and rewrite?
It’s different. Sometimes I have a little poem in my mind. I write it down and put it away. I use it any time I think I’ll need it. Other times I’ve got that really strong feeling or emotion that I write down my feelings, grab my guitar and finish a song in less that 10 minutes.
How do you handle stage fright? Or don’t you have any?
Yes I do. But when I’m on stage and I played my first song it all fades away.
You’ve played in Holland, Paris and London. Any notable differences in the experiences?
Sure, the people are very different. In Holland the people are listening but there are so many bands out here it’s hard to convince people. If you don’t have a name out here, you have to go a long way to got it. In Paris you’re a sort of wallpaper in a bar. People join, talking with other people, drinking some wine… They know you are there but they don’t really listen to you. In London the people love music. Love to discover it. So they listen to every chord you play, every word you sing. I think I have to go back to see if there are some changes!
On of the things I noticed was the not so aggressive web tactics. Was that a conscious choice?
Well, yes… I’m a music lover. I love to discover new artists that make music I like. I think that if you look hard enough, you will find them. There are many sites to check out. But that’s the fun of discovering music. You’re proud if you find something that you can share with others! (or just put it on your Ipod and listen to it all by yourself!) I have a Myspace account and I’m slowly getting sick of messages from musicians that spam me to listen to their music. Things like: “please listen!” or “come visit our website!”. I don’t want to! I think it has a negative impact on people. I don’t want that. Music is not there to be spammed. It’s there to listen to it and enjoy it without any obstacles.
Do you keep track of the music industry and it’s quirks, or is it not important to you?
I do! But most of the songs listed in the charts are not my style. But listening to the radio is so much fun! If you listen to a dutch radio station or a English one it has so many differences in music!
Do you buy cd’s, or download from online stores? 
I buy cd’s. Some musicians I love are only active in the US so I have to buy them at an online store.
What do you think, as a starting artist, of the whole download dilemma?
I think as a starting artist it’s important that the people get to know your music. If they buy it or download it… I don’t care. Most of the money they get from selling records isn’t going to the artist… You only make real money if you can play out there.
How will you try to actually earn money with your music?
Play as much as I can. I know a few musicians. Maybe I’ll support them. Build up some fan base and then going my own path.
Have you ever been out busking? If so, how was the experience?
I thought about it once. To travel to London. Walking down the bars and pubs. But I never did.
Do you give money to street artists?
I do. If they are good. A month ago there was a kid playing down the street here that played “Le Vie en Rose” is was so pure and delicate… I fell in love with the song!
What are the plans for the future (music wise)?
I don’t know yet. I’m kind of figuring that out at the moment. Maybe I’ll record an album, playing some gigs… Who knows! In a year or so, I’ll have more songs, and I hope I get the opportunity to record my songs in a studio one day.
What is your favorite place to practice?
I love to play on the couch. It’s a big, large one with many pillows on it.
To what song do you like to wake up?
Any Man – Rocco DeLuca. I’m hooked to his music, he really has a gift!
Apart from music, what other sounds move you?
I love the sound of the rain that taps on my window.
Any scoops? :-)
I’m working on a new song at the moment.
I am very happy and proud to have interviewed Evelien! If you have questions for Evelien, or suggestions as to how in the future I should interview musicians, please be so kind as to leave a comment.
Acting on a whim takes you places!
Posted on | October 11, 2009 | No Comments
After Friday’s happy events – meaning this post, and the interview agreements – I had a good night sleep. I woke up, kissed my girlfriend off to work, and then had a luxurious day in front of me. Open, calm seas of time, that I could use upgrading my blog a bit, play guitar, transcribe some songs, and writing down questions for the upcoming interviews. Wait a minute. Interviews? What just happened?
See, as I wrote down my blog about Evelien and Fabienne, I thought it was fun. Interesting. In line with what I think this blog is. To me it’s been a place, to share, help, and inform like minded people. And occasionally vent my tantrums. But now, just because in a split second I thought it would be fun to actually get the bigger picture on both musicians, I asked them whether they would be so kind as to answer some questions. Interviews? Who the #$!@ was I kidding?
To be fair, at some point in my life I owned half a degree in a writing oriented study, and I’m used to ask questions because in that position one usually does not have to speak much. But interview people? That’s different. That means you ask questions, and the answers will have to form some sort of coherent story. For it to form a coherent story, the questions have to be good. So, what are good questions?
The rant above pretty much sums up the thoughts for the following weekend. Calm seas became ship sinking oceans. It was fun though. I really like to surprise myself every once in a while. It’s not necessarily a good feeling when someone else throws you of your guard, and even although it might turn out to be a humbling experience, it can do a fair bit of damage too. However, if I’m the one who’s throwing me of my guard, in other words, really surprise myself, it’s nearly always fun. And 99% of the time I walk away a wiser (note to audience: in general that does not mean less goofy) man.
Tonight, I gathered the questions I thought were interesting, and sent them away. I have to say, I feel some sense of achievement. Not particularly Nobel prize winning, but achievement all the same.
Nanowrimo!
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