Recently I have come to realise that I have played many tunes in the wrong key, for my voice that is. Sometimes its just a semitone that makes all the difference.

 Sometimes i find I can lift the song up to 1 and a half tones and still hit the notes. Its a bloody nuisance when I end up on the seventh or eighth fret with the capo but then its time to transpose it down or give to someone else to sing.

 It makes such a huge difference when you singing in your sweet spot, I work in a motorbike shop once a week and it reminds me of adjusting mixture and timing on an engine to get the optimum performance in the rev range. Same deal applies, these days I find the highest and lowest points in the song and try and find the best place where I can still hold the low notes or hit the high ones and keep most of the song in the sweet spot.

Personally my "head voice" doesn't always tell me the truth so I rely on others to critique me and my pitching, its a little risky but no where near as bad as blowing it in a performance.

 If you talk to a sound man he will tell you about using a graphic equaliser to take out the over excited frequencies  which makes me think that when you are in your sweet spot  pitch wise perhaps you are doing a similar thing? thats why your voice is clear and punchy? I don't know, what do you guys reckon?

 I have been playing didgeridoo for a few years and I believe the breathing and muscle building in my mouth have been very helpful, singing is not my strong point, I'm more of a writer and player but that doesn't mean I cant sing better and one day maybe very well.

 My friend and fellow band member Carylann has been teaching me warm up exercises and how to voice the words more clearly but Ive been a bit lazy in that regard and its all about discipline when your trying to build on something.

 I also find it very easy to sing when someone is singing a harmony with me, once I get my place nailed. I'm not sure why that is either but as long as I can hear myself it seems better to have another voice.

 Id love to hear all you guys opinions on this stuff, what you take for granted may be a miracle to me

Kia ora all, in 2006 I spent over 10 grand on making a CD, it was a great experience and its was done very cheaply at my mates studio, with the help of some very classy musician friends.

 So what now, well the album had some successful songs on it, one came second in the Pacific songwriting competition, another got into the top five of the "social action" section of the Independent music awards in USA and later was voted by the public as number one in that section.

 Sounds pretty cool and yep it was but the reality is that I have given nearly all the 300 CD,s away that I got pressed, I have only recently performed those songs in the album form with the same musicians and I believe thats all about bad management. I was buggered (not literally) after that recording and paying and all and I had no plan, I had no idea what to do next, where to go, how to market it or even who to ask, I sent emails to publishers and got no replies, I sent the CD to radio NZ and got no reply and I even contacted the good morning show but once again no reply.

 I was pissed off but looking back I got what I put in.

You don't build a house like that, you don't even cook dinner like that, you know what your gunna end up with before you start and thats why it tastes so good.

 I believe in live performance, thats what will get you out there, thats where you will start to sell CD's and thats where it should be, thats where you got to work and thats where you hone your craft, where you find out what works and what doesn't. Its not always that cool to play to people who don't give a rats **** but its your job to change their mind and when you've done that they will come over and buy your CD so they can take a piece of the wonderful time you gave them home.

 So go forth and rock the world, play every gig you can and play them all like your famous and its the punters fault for only just finding out who you are. Open your eyes when you spill your guts on the stage and look at the people and mean it! I guarentee they will appreciate it! If it doesnt work then change it so it does, you dont grow cauliflower when the market calls for cabbage, if all you got is cauli then go to a different market.

Its a hard road out there in the music bizo to make a buck if your playing originals, its hard to sometimes even get a handful of people to come along and listen. If you do they are often your friends or family.

I recently had a short discussion with Grand Flash about this topic, my guess is its really hard to be a rocker down there in the heart of country and western. Theres always gunna be someone who likes what you do but it takes more than a handful to of people coming to see ya to make a living.

So as I see it the bands out there playing covers and working 2 or 3 nights are working the "coal face" or the music industry, they may or may not like their jobs but they are earning a buck and getting better by the day.

 Its just not my calling, although I do play an occasional cover

Someone has to do that job and personally I like it sometimes especially if its done well, plenty of famous muso's have and still do covers, if its a good song and you love it then play like you wrote it!

I think you have to remember we live in a small country and there are cities out there in the big world who have way more people than the whole of NZ, its never going to be easy here what ever path you choose.

One thing is for sure if you do it because you beleive it, you love it and you give it everything everytime then who ever is listening will appreciate it and thats a win!

 Its not just about the song either its a whole entertainment package and delivery is everything

  "Its all about tone" thats a quote from Grand Flash Jones and theres a hell of a lotta truth in that!  Thats why guitarists like to nearly burst your ear drums, the good tone comes from an amp working hard and its even more crucial if its a valve amp

 There has been a trend over the years to go for big wattage so you can get louder but its my opinion that loud doesn't mean good. The early Gibson and Fender Valve amps were A class 15 watts, soon enough they went onto 30's 40's and then into 100's and more but the tone is lost if you have a high wattage amp turned down. I think its got to do with resonance.

 Same thing applies to what pitch you sing at, I find personally that sometimes just a semi tone up or down can make the song come alive, unfortunatly for me I recorded a CD before I really understood that but hey even scientist's learn by finding what doesnt work. Thats why Im writing it down, maybe Im the only muso that didnt know this but I doubt it. If you have a gat move the capo around a bit or if you have a keyboard transpose it and try it out, I find myself always moving up esspecially after I know the song well. Good luck