London bridges…

I’d like to put it on the record that this has been the funnest tour I’ve ever been on. No offense, America. My nationwide tour was pretty great. The shows were so much fun to play. But I did a lot of things poorly on that last tour that I’ve been careful to not repeat on this one.

For one, I haven’t over-commited. I made too many promises to too many people on the last run. That meant a lot of time in the car working and a lot of disappointing people despite my best efforts. I was just overwhelmed, and I ended up running out of steam pretty early on in the tour. We carried on and put on a good show, but it wasn’t easy. This tour has been lightyears better: I feel far more balanced, far more at peace, far happier in general. 

The second big change is the amount of friends I’ve been surrounded by. As soon as I arrived, I was welcomed by an old college mate, Jessica, who graciously let Tim and me crash at her place while we were there. I can’t tell you how great it was to start off the tour in someone’s home rather than a hotel, and getting to see London through her eyes was magical. I couldn’t have hoped for a better time (or better food).

I have really good friends. Tim Wood, my guitarist, is first and foremost an amazing friend. Finding someone to replace Ryan on this tour was a pretty daunting task. Because aside from being a phenomenal guitarist, Ryan was one of my best friends. I’d never been on the road without loved ones, and I really didn’t want to be. The road is hard enough without people who genuinely care about you and who you care about. I knew I wasn’t ready for that.

Ryan couldn’t make it because of family commitments and because he needed to spend some time working on some of his own projects. Oh, also, did I mention that I wasn’t the easiest person to be on the road with on the last tour? Something about doing interviews all the time, and playing shows, and talking to fans, and writing blogs and editing videos can make one quite narcissistic. It’s a struggle for me. When you’re so focused on the show and the tour, it’s easy to forget that there are other people who you should be caring about. That’s not to say that I was a total bitch or anything. I just wasn’t particularly attentive to other people’s needs, and I’d like to think that I’ve been better at it since then.

So yeah. Lesson learned. Friends are the most important. And that’s something I should have been more aware of, especially considering the amount of Harry Potter books I’ve read. Oh Harry…always trying to defeat the Dark Lord all by yourself…silly boy.

So here are some useful tips for you, in conclusion:

-Prioritize the people you love over your work.

-Don’t drive eight hours/day if you can avoid it.

-Don’t make too many promises. It’s important to know your limits.

-Eat lots of good food.

-Stop forgetting your toiletry case in every town you stay in. You need those things.

-Surround yourself with people who build you up.

-Be on time. It matters to someone.

Hope to see you all again soon. And thanks to everyone who’s been supporting me on Patreon and voted for “Long Running Joke” to be on the radio. You guys are the best.

EUROPEAN TOUR AND NEW MUSIC!!!

A polaroid from my last trip to Europe…Oh how the years go by. (Amy Grant, anyone?)

A EUROPEAN TOUR

I’m coming to EUROPE!!! Can you believe it?!?!

Yeah. Me neither.

Honestly, I still can’t fathom that I will in the UK in LESS THAN A WEEK - touring across England, Scotland, Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands and France. I mean…it’s wild. But the album has been getting some great press over there, so this seemed like the next logical step. Despite what you may believe, I’m not only doing this for the food. Sure, croissants and high tea factored into my decision, but it’s mostly about the music. Or at least 49% about the music.

So here’s where I’ll be playing:

5/13 Cambridge, UK - Junction 2 with Lord Huron Buy Tickets
5/14 London, UK - Scala with Lord Huron Buy Tickets
5/15 London, UK - Slaughter Lamb with Lord Huron
5/16 Nottingham, UK - Rescue Rooms Buy Tickets
5/17 Bristol, UK - Thekla Buy Tickets
5/18 Leeds, UK - Brudenell Socail Clu with Lord Huron Buy Tickets
5/20 Birmingham, UK - Hare & Hounds with Lord Huron Buy Tickets
5/21 Newcastle, UK - The Cluny with Lord Huron Buy Tickets
5/22 Glasgow, UK - King Tuts with Lord Huron Buy Tickets
5/23 Manchester, UK - Deaf Institute with Lord Huron Buy Tickets
5/26 Berlin, Germany - Privateclub Buy Tickets
5/27 Hamburg, Germany - Prinzenbar Buy Tickets
5/28 Belgium, Brussels - Botanique Buy Tickets
5/29 Rotterdam, Netherlands - De Unie Buy Tickets
5/30 Paris, France - La Maroquinerie with Josh Rouse Buy Tickets

A REVOLUTIONARY PROJECT

Today Jack released an EP and launched a website designed to help artists and content creators. It’s called Patreon (pronounced Pay-tree-on), and it’s kind of like Kickstarter, but instead of funding one big project, it allows artists to have a constant stream of support, based on how prolific they are.

Jack is giving his EP away for free, but asking that his superfans commit to giving him one dollar per video he releases. So if he makes two videos, they’ll pay two dollars, and if he makes no videos, they pay no dollars. Makes sense, right? Here’s a video we made that explains in more detail how it works. (I’m the one drawing the stick people.)

On my Patreon page, you’ll see that I’m offering my fans demos in exchange for their patronage. Being on the road has inspired me to write more, and I’m looking forward to sharing my new material with whoever wants to hear it. There’s a good chance that many of the songs I’m writing now won’t end up on my next album, so it’s comforting to know that they will be heard by someone. My hope is that sharing these demos will help me be a more prolific and focused writer. That I will be able to finish many of the songs that would have otherwise been forgotten or set aside. And that in the end, I will have a better idea of which songs to include on the album, based on my fans’ insight and constructive feedback.

Thanks again for your support. Here’s to Europe and to all the songs this trip will inspire!

Upcoming Live Shows - West Coast and EUROPE!!!

Just wanted to let you know I’ve got some live shows coming up soon! So if you’re in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, the UK or northern Europe, you will want to check out my TOUR PAGE for ticket links and stuff. TIME TO GET PSYCHED!!!

Suit & Tie

I’m figuring out my onstage presence. And you’ll be pleased to hear that it’s very similar to my YouTube presence.

There’s this weird “no funny business for serious artists” mentality that I am happy to say does not apply to me. (Thanks, YouTube.) But seriously, it’s because of YouTube. It’s because even my very first music videos incorporated poorly edited vlogs of me talking to my cat. I’ve decided that I’m ok with that. I’m ok with people knowing that I’m a real (not quirky: please don’t call me quirky) person who likes to have fun when she’s not writing sad music.

At least that’s what I like to think some people think of me. People who read this blog and believe every word I say. (Suckahhhhhs!…) There are of course OTHER people out there who have no idea when I’m being serious or messing around or who just feel that artists shouldn’t “waste their time” making “corporate videos” like this one. (For the record, this is NOT a corporate video because I wasn’t PAID to make it, so really it’s just a video of me singing in and around a really cool car that I really like and that maybe they’ll let me keep, just kidding, but seriously Hyundai.)

But those people don’t really concern me. I understand that some people feel that art should never mix with corporations, but I happen to disagree. I’m making a living doing what I love by working with companies whose products I really don’t mind being associated with. (Just for the record, Pomplamoose has on several occasions turned down big endorsements from companies that we did NOT want to be associated with.)

Occasionally, being backed by a company means tweeting or instagramming their products. I might even make a video letting people know how awesome I think they are. But so long as I have the final say in how I communicate my appreciation of a product: so long as I’m the editor, the artistic director, the one behind the camera, I’m happy. Because no one is putting words in my mouth.

The weird thing is, I feel WAY less pressure from the folks at Hyundai than I do from certain FANS that expect me to behave a certain way. And that’s pretty backwards. You’d think that I’d be getting emails from Hyundai saying, “Please don’t post pictures of your bandmates flipping the camera off.” but that’s never happened! Ever! Hyundai has NEVER asked me to change the way that I portray myself of their cars. But some of my fans have. Some of my own fans ask me to stop swearing in posts, to not behave a certain way in videos that isn’t flattering.

And that’s when I feel like quoting Tina Fey. That’s when I realize that I only get that sort of feedback because I’m a woman and certain people feel like I should be child-appropriate at all times. Seriously, do you think people tell Jack not to swear?! Nope! Granted, it’s a minority for me, but it’s silly. It’s really silly. And I hate having to worry about filtering myself for the minority.

So I don’t.

Which brings me back to what I’ve discovered about stage presence and YouTube presence. On stage, I find myself frequently joking around in between “deep” material. Not because I feel like silence is awkward (although it can be), but because I feel like most of the people coming to my shows already KNOW that I’m not the pensive, silent type. They don’t expect me to be profound 100% of the time. They know that even though my lyrics can be heavy, my personality is not.

And I like that. I like that the people at my shows already have an idea of what I’m like as a person. And that they’re cool with it. I like that I can say stupid shit in between songs and not have it take away from the song itself. Just how I like that I can put out silly videos of me awkwardly singing  on top of a Hyundai one week, and release a completely serious video the next. I like that I don’t have to confine myself to one mood or one style. It’s GREAT. It’s so frikking liberating! Because it means that people will never be able to tell me, “Hey, you’ve changed. You didn’t used to make stuff this deep/dark/happy/flippant/electronic/acoustic/swedish/neo-realistic.”

Win win!