April 24th, 2013
Spring is near. (External Blog info click here.

As I get older and pick up more responsibility, I find myself working harder to secure a good life. This involves hours of implementing and employing new marketing strategies to make money as an independent musician.

One of the new ideas I have turned into reality has been organizing my own concert and drumming up people to come and watch.

As opposed to getting hired to play a gig somewhere (which can still pay well), I wanted to set the bar higher and take control of the whole concept.

Thanks to some great advice on the internet and support from friends and fans, I have successfully done this 2 times now.

Here is a stripped down version of some of the major details required to hold a live concert.

1) Find a great place to hold it.

You need to find somewhere convenient and make sure it has the acoustics for great sound.

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December 5th, 2012

I can't beleive the year is winding down.  It went by way too fast.  On the music front it was rather quiet although there were a few moments that I'll remember fondly.  I enjoyed playing music in Brazil when I was there in August and of course heading back to Canada during summer was very inspiring.  Steady CD sales and digital sales keep my spirits up that music still has a place in peoples hearts.  Audiosocket keeps finding homes for my music and a nice paycheck every 4 months.  Also, my song "She Shines" found itself the opening and closing number on a documentary film that should be released soon.  Gigging every weekend keeps my love for performing close by.  I especially enjoyed gigging at Nemu Nemu, Hotel Village and Lockheart castle.  I always enjoy sharing in conversation during breaks or after a show is over.  There are some wonderful fans out there.  I wish I had the chance to tour more places and visit some of the people I've made friends with via the internet.

Next year promises to be a good one.  If all goes according to plan, I will be in Nashville next August recording the new CD with Aussie producer Greg Arnold.  In the meantime, I will keep songwriting and hope a few gems surface.  I am off to Mexico for 2 weeks this winter and I'm sure the downtime will provide some R6R and maybe a song or two.  Happy Holidays my friends.  I hope 2013 is an amazing year for all of you.

Best wishes,
Kelly

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August 15th, 2012
In Canada

I have a 6 week holiday (half over now).  The plan was to go to Brazil, then Nashville to record a new CD, and then back to Canada to do a show or two and see family.  I realized that I was trying to fit too much into the alloted time so I cancelled the Nashville trip and will do the album next spring.  So now I'm here in beautiful BC enjoying family, good food, amazing weather, and finding time to sit down and write songs.  The time is going by way too fast but I guess that's what happens when you're having fun.

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February 20th, 2012
How to write radio friendly songs.

I wrote an article several years back (that I just added to this blog site) called “7 Steps to writing a song you’re proud of” and I was surprised at the amount of readers who found it. In that article I talked mostly of “my” process on how to get a song from inside you out into one that you are happy of.

In this blog, I want to explain some common ideals that are present when trying to write songs to be commercially viable. Please note that these views, while fairly standard, are just my opinion and they are not written in stone... Read More

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February 9th, 2012
New album in pre-production.

Song-writing, wrong-writing, and prolong-writing are what stages I am in at the moment. If I don’t have a good song, then I suppose I shouldn’t bother making the next album. Right now I feel I have around 3 songs that are possibilities for the new CD. That leaves me with half a year to write another 7 or 8 worthy of being on the new album. It’s been tough to find quality creative downtime this year. It’s been busy to say the least. I’m hoping if I can get some co-writing adventures going it could spark a fresh and burning fire of strong tunes. I always want to make the new CD sound a little different from the last one but no matter how hard one tries; there are always elements of a song that are uniquely you.

I plan on working with Producer Greg Arnold again. The last album was raw but real and it was critically acclaimed by many.  He made the process painless and memorable.  The established and credible songwriter/producer wants to make the next album with me in Nashville Tennessee this time. Although, he is an Aussie, he has some solid connections with accomplished people in the industry there. Another reason I want to bring my game face with me. I released my first album in 1997 and since then the industry has completely changed. The one thing I believe that remains true is this: It all starts with a great song. It’s the peak of a mountain.From there, it has the potential via marketing to flow  into the hands of fans or into a sea of mediocrity.

Pre-production is like training for a bicycle race for me.    In requires dedication and some mind over matter.   I love the challenge and fear the failure equally.

Hmmmm…Sounds like a song in there somewhere…. ;)     Hopefully an albums worth!

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December 14th, 2011



I just got back from my trip to Otsuchi city in Iwate prefecture..

I'd like to thank the Canadian Embassy for inviting me to do a show in Otsuchi city where the place was devastated from the earthquake of March 13th this year. It was incredibly moving being there with the locals and seeing first hand what they endured. Only a week ago did they finally get a grocery store up and running. Power is still scarce and it will take a long time for the people to feel like they have a community again.

Meeting the locals first hand I realized just how much they lost. My goal was not to say "sorry" and to not reflect on the tragedy but instead to bring sunshine and smiles and a positive outlook on tomorrow. Easier said than done but I do sense that the people enjoyed themselves and for a brief moment forgot about a lot of their worries. Hats off to the Canadian Embassy for doing such a fine job of putting a great event together. They offered a great lunch, some fun entertainment and a lot of hospitality. It made me proud to be Canadian.

Hope you all have a wonderful holiday season.

Kelly
 

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November 17th, 2011

Hey friends. Hope you’re all well. It’s been a great year for me personally and there have been a lot of things happening to make it go by way too quickly.

On the music front, not a whole lot has changed. I’m still gigging every weekend and selling lots of CDs from the stage. I've enjoyed meeting some really cool people that way as I usually sit around after a show to sign CDs and share stories. .

I had a fun gig in Hiroshima not too long ago. It was open to anyone interested in coming down and it was a full house. Hiroshima is a very cool city and thanks largely to a fellow Canadian Scott McKeeman who played host as well as help organize the event, I had a fantastic time.

I also have 3 songs from my “THESE DAYS” album in “consideration” for a few Hollywood films. Production for those movies has not finished and I have no idea if or when any of the songs will get used. Wish me luck there.

Producer/songwriter Greg Arnold from Australia and I are talking about recording the next CD in Nashville. Greg has some close ties there and recons it’s a good step to making a strong record. If all falls through, we will be recording sometime around next August. I will keep you all posted.

Finally, if you haven’t checked out all thefree MP3 songs I have in my store, feel free to download them. Oh and remember, you can always contact me as well if you want to keep in touch. I’m also on Facebook and Twitter.   Wordpress blog site.

Ciao for now,

Kelly

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