Preparing for a Radio or Newspaper Interview

Only one week until the start of my "Celebrating the Divas of Jazz" tour!  The first gig is Stratford Jazz at The Chapel in Stratford upon Avon on Sunday 6th February.

Last week I appeared on two radio shows.  The first was an interview with John Hellings for BBC Hereford and adjoining regions and the second was with Ruth Fisher for the Good Groove Show on Solar Radio.  Listening back I realised that I might have done better if I'd prepared a bit.  I spent a lot of time searching for things to say and interspersing my sentences with "you know" - one of my pet hates!  Here are the sorts of questions I should have been prepared to answer:

How did you start out?
Which artists are you influenced by?
Who have you worked with?
Who would you like to work with?
What's been the highlight of your career?
What are you currently working on?
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
What's on your wish list?
What are your plans for the future?
When/where are you performing next?
(And remember to plug website, facebook, twitter etc!)

I suppose I know most of the answers to these but put on the spot and not having  thought about them recently meant my answers ended up a bit garbled.  So next time I will be prepared!

I've got a rehearsal with my band this week.  Can't wait!  And I've still got to decide what to wear for my first gig.  Swithering at the moment between either a black or a red dress...




About to be interviewed at Solar Radio studio



Organising a UK Jazz Tour - Update

I've just realised that I've been a little lax lately with the blog posts.  So thought I'd update you and let you know how I've been doing with my "homework"...

• Contracts/email confirmations have been received and signed for all dates.
• Received 80% of the funding grant awarded by Jazz Services. (The final 20% to be sent on the completion of the tour and my return of assessment reports/forms for each gig.)
• Flyers and posters printed and sent out to all venues for February dates.  Publicity material for March dates to be sent out in the next couple of weeks.
• Press release emailed to radio stations.  So far 3 interviews have been booked - BBC Stoke, BBC Devon and Solar Radio.
• Press release sent to local newspapers.  Nice preview in Berwickshire newspaper and another feature planned.
• Tour details uploaded to sites like remotegoat and ReverbNation.  I'd definitely recommend remotegoat as it very helpfully syndicates automatically to local newspapers and other online sites like Ents24.
• Accommodation booked.
• Rehearsal with band organised. 

So almost time to concentrate solely on the music...  Aaah - my favourite part!  :-)

Juliet Kelly's Vocal Zone - January Playlist

Happy New Year everyone!  Hope it's your best year yet!

Here's the playlist for my January show on UK Jazz Radio which features UK vocalists.

January - The British Invasion (on air from Sat 8th Jan)

Georgia Mancio – Solace (Silhouette - Roomspin Records)

Cleveland Watkiss – Memories (Blessing in Disguise – Polydor Records)

1991

Polly Gibbons – Saving Grace – Recorded live at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, London in Feb 2006 (Also available on album Moanin’ – 3D Japan)

Zoe Schwarz & Rob Koral – Devil May Care (Devil or Dove – 33 Records)

Elaine Delmar – I Concentrate on You (Everything I Love: Elaine Delmar sings Cole Porter – Joy)

Ian Shaw – Chelsea Morning (Drawn To All Things: Songs of Joni Mitchell - Linn)

Julia Biel – Where Is She Now? (Not Alone – Rokit)

Zena James – My Love Is (Tell Me More – Jazzizit)

Jazzelation  (Alison Bentley) – Spring Is Such a Beautiful Thing (Spring Is Such a Beautiful Thing – Lytton)

Juliet Kelly – Mutual Attraction (Licorice Kiss – Purple Stiletto)

As you can see, I sneaked in one of my own at the end there - cheeky! 

Juliet Kelly's Vocal Zone - December Playlist

Juliet Kelly's Vocal Zone - November Playlist

How To Keep Your New Year's Resolutions

Do you make New Year's Resolutions?  I gave up making them a few years ago thinking that if I need to change something I can do it at anytime and shouldn't have to wait for January.  But they say a change is as good as a rest so on 1st January 2011 I've decided once again to make those promises that just beg to be broken...  To give myself a fighting chance I did some research into ways to help keep those promises.

According to various sources, there are 5 qualities that a successful resolution needs to have:

Specific: The desire to change is sometimes vague. Do some research and ask some important questions such as, "What risks am I running by going along just as I have been?"

Measurable: Weigh the benefits of change. Set small goals and monitor your behavior. For example, keep a record of how much you eat, drink, spend, etc.

Attainable: Begin making small changes. For example, you might give up some TV time and redirect your energy. Tell family and friends that the leopard is about to change his spots. Make a firm commitment.

Realistic: Banish and sacrifice vices while embracing and committing to new virtues. Give yourself all the help and support you can by creating a sense of accountability to others. Encourage family and friends to prod, provoke and push you.

Maintainable: This is the challenging part. You're finished with your old habit and into your new life. It is a lot easier to maintain your resolution than it is to regain it. Do your self a monumental favor and stay focused on WHY you set this resolution in the first place!

Those who stay the course and fulfill their resolutions share these characteristics:

1. They believe in their ability to change.
2. They did not indulge in self-blame or excuse making.
3. They avoid wishful thinking and concentrate on results.
4. They understand their motivators and reasons why the resolution is important.

And just because I love lists and Top 10s here are the

Top Ten Most Common Resolutions:

1.   Enjoy life more
2.   Get fit/Start exercising
3.   Lose weight
4.   Stop smoking
5.   Find true love
6.   Cut out alcohol
7.   Save money/Get out of debt
8.   Learn something new
9.   Help others/Become a volunteer
10. Get organised

Do any of these make it onto your list? Seven out of the Top Ten apply to me!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

Live Music and the Recession

I've just read an interesting article on Yahoo News that reports that revenue has fallen for touring bands this year.  When I said "interesting", what I meant was depressing!  Just last year, live gigs and selling merchandise was being touted as the saviour of the music business.  Yes, album sales were down with the increase in downloads but if musicians and bands were any good then they could prove their worth and increase their income by touring.  And personally I've found that live gigs are the only way to sell albums now with record shops having all closed down...  So what now?  Answers on a postcard please.  Or in the comments section at the end of this post. :-)

In other news...  I've just ordered my flyers!  Found a really great site called alocalprinter.com that produces eco-friendly flyers cheaply and efficiently.  Hopefully they'll arrive sometime next week.  Just in time really because most of the venues need them 6-8 weeks in advance of the performance date.  I've 13 dates in total now.  I was let down by 3 venues but thankfully found 3 more to replace them.  Just as well that 13 is my lucky number!  I'm really hoping that things turn around by next year for the live music industry or that someone comes up with an ingenious solution that will save my tour in the comment section below...  Here's the final list:


Juliet Kelly presents... Inspired: Celebrating the Divas of Jazz
UK TOUR

Featuring George Moore - piano/arrangements, Oli Hayhurst/Dave Mannington - bass & Milo Fell - drums

06 Feb - Stratford Jazz, Stratford upon Avon 8pm

14 Feb - Royal Albert Hall (Elgar Room), London 8.30pm

17 Feb - Queen's Hall Arts Centre, Hexham 8pm

18 Feb - Voicebox, Derby 8pm

19 Feb - The Maltings, Berwick-upon-Tweed 7.30pm

24 Feb - The Hawth, Crawley 8.15pm

25 Feb - Camberwell Crypt, London 9.30pm

05 Mar - Jazz Cafe Posk, London 8.30pm

10 Mar - Joe's Bar & Grill, Oxford 8pm

17 Mar - Restormel Arts, St Austell 8pm

18 Mar - The Bebop Club, Bristol 9pm

19 Mar - Chapel Arts Centre, Bath 8pm

20 Mar - Ipswich Jazz Club, Ipswich 8pm



And December's Vocal Zone goes out tonight at 8pm on UK Jazz Radio.

Juliet Kelly's Vocal Zone - December Playlist

I'm loving being a presenter for UK Jazz Radio!  It's great to help in some small way to give current jazz vocalists more exposure.  In December's show I focus on singers I believe are underrated.  Here's the playlist:

December - Underated (on air from Sat 4th Dec)

Sheila Jordan – Little Song/Blackbird (Little Song – High Note)

Frank Holder – As Long As I Live (Ballads Blues Bop – Mainstem)

Christine Tobin – Bye Bye (Secret Life of A Girl – Babel)

Vanessa Rubin – Simone (Pastiche – Novus)

Vanessa Rubin – Tenderly (Soul Eyes – Novus)

Vanessa Rubin – Yardbird Suite (I’m Glad There is You: A Tribute to Carmen McRae – Novus)

Beady Belle – Apron Strings (Belvedere - Universal)

Carmen Lundy – Moment to Moment (Moment to Moment - Arabesque)

Jacqui Dankworth – Sign Your Name (Courtney Pine’s Devotion – Destin-E)

Sheila Jordan – If I Should Lose You (Little Song – High Note)

For January's show the theme will be British vocalists.

Juliet Kelly's Vocal Zone - November Playlist

Making Money From Music or 1,000 True Fans

I was a member of a panel last Monday at an event that was part of the London Jazz Festival organised by the Musicians' Union.  The topic was Marketing and Promoting Your Music and it turned out to be a very interesting and lively discussion.  Other panel members were David Jones (Promoter, Serious), Kit Downes (Musician, Kit Downes Trio), Steve Rubie (606 Club owner), Rick Finlay (Musician, Just East) and the panel was chaired very successfully by Dave Webster from the MU.  (If you're not a member of the MU, I'd urge you to become one.  They run lots of interesting free events like these.)

One of the ideas I brought up was the concept of "1,000 true fans" which I think is especially important in the niche genre of jazz.  Everybody has been talking about "the long tail" - the ability of music outlets to increase sales in the digital age because they have an endless catalogue with a huge amount of sales although most individual items are selling in very small amounts.

Although good news for the likes of Amazon, unfortunately this doesn't mean much for the thousands of jazz musicians who are selling very few CDs.  All it does is increase competition and reduce prices and therefore income.

The 1,000 True Fans idea argues that an artist only has to acquire one thousand real fans to make a living.  A "true fan" is someone who will buy every album you produce, go to as many gigs as possible even if it means travelling over long distances, buy any merchandise you produce and tell everyone they know (by word of mouth and online through social networking etc) just how fantastic you are!  Perhaps you have some of these wonderful people already but increasing that number to one thousand would ensure that you could make a reasonable living from your music.

But how do we attract these fans?  For me, the only answer is one by one.  I don't have the money or support of a record label to launch a PR and marketing campaign.  This means that I need to connect to every fan individually and directly.  If you show your fans that they are important to you and that their support and opinions count, eventually you will convert casual fans into "true fans".  Of course the downside of this is that you'll have less time to devote to your music.  Nurturing fans takes quite a bit of time.  It means staying engaged by responding quickly to all emails sent to you by fans through your website, setting up and monitoring accounts on myspace, facebook and twitter etc.  Most importantly, it means giving your time and energy at gigs by chatting to the audience members and signing CDs both during the intervals and at the end of the night (when really all you might feel like doing is collapsing in a heap somewhere with a large glass of something).  But I think it's worth it.  Do you?

More in-depth analysis of the concept here.