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!