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*Who or what has influenced your writing significantly?*
Would it be redundant to say Tom Waits? Actually, I notice that my influences change as I continue to explore music. On my first CD that I released in 1995, titled ‘me, myself & i’, I would cite artists such as Sarah McLaughlin, Mae Moore, Jane Siberry and Jann Arden as influences. On my second CD Kate Bush, Shawn Colvin and Alanis Morrissette would surface. Whereas my latest CD I have been influenced by Tori Amos, Tom Waits, Beck, and Martin Tielli (who actually played guitar and sang on the CD).
*What highlight in your songwriting/performing could you share with us*
There are several highlights that come to mind such as performing on the CBC TV show Rita and Friends, hosted by Rita McNeil and being invited to perform on the Calgary leg of Lilith Fair. However, those highlights occurred many years ago now, and since I am most connected to the material on my current CD at this time, I would say that working with Martin Tielli of the Rheostatics was a major recent highlight. I approached Martin to play guitar and sing on ‘Shadows’ and gave him some demo material to listen to. He called me the next day and said “I have to play on this”. He was my ideal guitar player for this project and I am thrilled that he connected with the songs! I flew to Toronto and spent five days working with him in his home studio recording his guitar tracks and he also leant his beautiful, signature voice to a few songs. In a short amount of time it was like he was reading my mind- he did the exact perfect things on each song! I truly feel that he is one of my musical soul mates and he agrees. There is an interesting twist as well that I didn’t want to tell him at first because it would have seemed just too strange, but I ended up revealing a secret to him as we got to know one another. We had just finished recording his guitar and vocal tracks on a song called ‘Sincere’ and were heading out for a beer. He commented on what a beautiful song it was and it was then that I told him that he actually partially inspired the song! I had seen Martin perform in Calgary a few years back and had a falling out with a boy that night at his concert. This experience and Martin’s music inspired the song ‘Sincere’ and if you had told me at the time that Martin would end up playing guitar and singing on the recording, I would have never believed you! Fate is a strange thing!
*What have you learned that you could pass on about songwriting/performing
experience?
If songwriting is a creative outlet for you, do not let a lack of “industry” success deter you from continuing to write. Even though you may not have a hit song, or be a captivating performer with thousand of adoring fans, if you find some sense of fulfillment and creative expression through songwriting, you will find ways to make it part of your life whether or not you ever get a record deal, or widespread fame.
*Any tips or advice you could give to songwriters?*
If you are a songwriter who is ready to expose your music to an audience, I would suggest starting by attending your local open mic nights. Not only will this help you start to become comfortable performing in public and refining your live performance, you will meet other musicians and begin to network. Joining associations such as ARIA (the Alberta Recording Industry Association) will help you start to become familiar with the music industry and the opportunities and resources that are available to you to develop your career.
*What plans or goals do you have for the next year?*
Since my latest CD ‘Shadows’ will be officially released on April 5th, 2007 at Broken City (Calgary), there are quite a few goals surrounding the release. I will be sending the CD to campus, public and CBC radio and hiring a radio tracker to push for airplay, aiming to chart nationally. Along with this will be a publicity campaign to raise awareness of this project on a local and national level. I would love to perform on the folk festival circuit in the summer of 2007 and am currently following up on packages I sent out to festivals last fall. I also have a goal of doing a short film to each song on the ‘Shadows’ CD and to eventually release a DVD. Should I keep going?
*Where can we buy your CD?*
Thanks for asking! And actually, I have three CD’s! I am just currently have them for sale online through CD Baby, there is a link through my website at www.daniellefrench.com (go to the Shop section). I also have some CD’s on consignment in Calgary at Megatunes (17th Ave and 9th Street SW).
Check Danielle’s web site for details of her upcoming shows!
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