first impressions

I was recently approached by a very nice man who commented that I could sing in tune and asked if I'd ever done a real concert.  I was gigging at the time, so I must admit to being a bit of a wide-o and saying "is that not what I'm doing now?". And I felt a bit patronised to be told I could sing in tune, like I'd never thought about it before.  However, it occurs to me that he wasn't to know what I can and can't do.  And he was very nice, BTW.

I find that if you are a singer around pubs and clubs people tend to think that's all you can do.  In fact, not to blow my own trumpet, I have a grade 8 in singing (singing 5 different songs in three different languages from memory),  performed with the Fife Youth Choir and Chamber Choir whilst at school, performing with orchestras and windbands, and on one occasion a solo in St Andrews with just a harp for accompaniment during the choir's performance of Benjamin Britten's "A Ceremony of Carols".  I did higher music, with my second instrument as clarinet.  I also learned trumpet at school, and was heavily involved in music at school and then at college at Napier in Edinburgh.
I was a choral singer, music student and mentor to other singers.  
I've also performed Backing vocals at Retrofest music festival in Glasgow.
So have I ever "done a concert"? yes.  

I'm not a big one for telling folk all my achievements, but maybe these days it pays to sell yourself.  Modesty leads to people underestimating you in this business.  

In my humble opinion, people are guilty of taking each other at face value all the time.  There are so many talented people out there working in jobs they have to to survive, and no one takes the time to find out anything about them. 
I've been a self employed singer for over 11 years now, and yet still I have people amazed that I do anything other than what they see me do.

Maybe those people who do something talented - I know of an actress, a singer and a dancer who have had to work in a local store to get by, and no one has been any the wiser - should shout from the rooftops about their abilities?  Well maybe not, as today's society views such as "showing off" and comments "Who does he/she think he/she is?"

So can we win? Can you have your cake and eat it?  

Modesty means I will now apologise for telling you how brilliant I am...


Sorry.

lol.

Groundhog Day!!! Stop complaining!

Seems to me that the weeks are flying by!  As a mum, you are always busy doing something- whether it be washing and ironing clothes for your family, loading and unloading the dishwasher, sorting out bills and doing the dreaded weekly shop.

It can be easy to get caught up in the pace of it all, and the week seems to fly by.  No sooner have you got through one week relatively unscathed, scraping by on last week's wages, than it's bloody Monday again, and it all begins anew.  I say anew, but the routine can get to you a bit.

I suppose that's where us entertainers are quite lucky in a way.  We get to step outside the normal, boring routine and show off for money each weekend.  But sometimes even that can become routine.  Oh it's Saturday.  Routine is - finish work, take kid to babysitters, quick tea and relax, then get ready for the gig.

Do gig.

Go home via some fast food place just cos you're too tired to cook, or alternatively pop into your local all night store and roam up and down the aisles trying to decide what you fancy for supper, dodging the cages of stock to be put out and listening to the harrumph of the night staff.  They are always nice enough, but I can imagine customers would just get in the way, and the majority of the customers at night are drunk or worse...

Then it's home,false eyelashes peeled off, face cleaned and jammies on. And stare wide eyed at the TV til 3.30am.

So maybe it's not so glamorous...maybe it's sometimes a slog, just like any other job.  But sometimes, just sometimes, you get a crowd who REALLY enjoy what you do.  Applause after applause, and a roar of MORE! at the end of the night.  Those are the nights we remember when we are having a not-so-good night, when there is the sound of crickets chirping and tumbleweed blowing across the floor.

But still, we could do a worse job.  Showing off for money isn't all that bad.  We might all be those poor staff who have to fill the shelves at your local 24 hour shop in the early hours.  Spare a though for them next time you stagger in for some "munchies, man".  

My day job pays around £6.50 an hour.  A three hour gig can bring in a LOT more than that.

So maybe I shouldn't complain about the boring routines of my existence.  I suppose it's not too bad after all.  

I just wish the car insurance wasn't so flipping dear...

I forget if I had a point to this blog.   Best go and see to the washing - those school shirts don't wash themselves!..