Nuanced. - 136. Bigger Than Me Podcast Live Show with Singer-Songwriter Rebecca Sichon

Episode Date: December 5, 2023

Join host Aaron Peep and singer-songwriter Rebecca Sichon from Mission, BC, as they explore her musical journey, the challenges of the music industry, and enjoy a live performance in a conversation that promises to inspire and enlighten.Canadian singer-songwriter Rebecca Sichon showcases her expanding musical talent in her 2021 EP "Dream Book," where her love for modern R&B and exceptional vocal skills shine through in tracks like “Innocence” and “Our Garden.” A rising star since childhood, Rebecca's journey has seen her evolve from singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" at age five to winning multiple Fraser Valley Music Awards and collaborating with notable artists, poised for a breakout in the global music scene.Send us a textThe "What's Going On?" PodcastThink casual, relatable discussions like you'd overhear in a barbershop....Listen on: Apple Podcasts   SpotifySupport the shownuancedmedia.ca

It's the Bigger Than Me podcast with your host, Aaron. Pete. Thank you all so much for coming. What a blast this is. Man oh, man. I'm so excited to be here. What a surreal experience this is. I cannot thank you enough for all attending.

I messaged so many of you individually reaching out, asking you to attend this event. and I was super nervous about it, but here we are, we've made it. I am your host for the evening. We have a great show for you. We are going to be playing amazing live music, and it's going to be such a blast. How are we feeling tonight? How's the food? What's the vibe?

Tell me about it. So, Banach, Turkey Sandwiches. Which one was the winner of the night? I kind of wanted to compete the two. Trix sandwiches? Okay, okay. Banick, Turkey Sand. It seems like a mix. I couldn't choose, and I was trying to think of like, what would I want to eat if I was going to an event? And Banick is always like one of the top ones. But man, those turkey sandwiches, slow roasted by the Harvest Cafe. And when he started describing it to me, I got really hungry. And so here we are. I'm so excited to be diving into this. I am your host for the evening. As many of you know, I host the Bigger Than Me podcast where we interview fascinating individuals. And this one's extra special. to me because we were listening to her music at the Taste of Abbey event

and I was blown away and so was my partner, Rebecca, we were both listening and we were like, this music needs to be heard and then we started thinking like well a podcast often doesn't include that vocal element you often don't hear that during a podcast. It's usually just a conversation and so how do we do this?

And so thus born was tonight and how is everybody feeling? Good still? Yeah, yeah, okay. So tonight, we do want you to record. We do want you to take footage. We want to share this. But I want to appreciate all of you for coming out tonight. I know that sharing your time is a risk. You want to make sure that you're going to have a good night.

And I've heard it said that a million seconds is like 11 days, but a billion seconds is like 31 years. So there's a significant difference between giving your time. And I think that that's important that we recognize all of you. So I want to appreciate all of you for being willing to share your time. I'm super excited about tonight. Please give yourselves a round of applause for coming out and eating the food and having fun. So please use your social media. If you're listening to a song and you're like, this is jamming.

I'm super excited about this. Please post it. Please tag Rebecca Sashon. Please tag the Bigger Than Me podcast. Please tag me. Please tag anybody you like and just make them super uncomfortable. I think that that's well worthwhile. And then they're going to get some what's called FOMO in the industry, a fear of missing out.

And I'd like to create some of that tonight for all the people who are like, oh, sorry, I'm busy. I'm doing my taxes tonight. And it's like, what are you talking about? The person we'll be hearing from tonight is Rebecca Sashon. She's a singer-songwriter from Mission BC. She actually interacted. I don't know if you've heard of Carly Ray Jepson.

She had an interaction early on as a child with Carly Ray Jepson. So that's our guest. Please give a gigantic round of applause for a person who drove all the way out here tonight to be here all the way from Kelona. please give a round of applause for our guest, Rebecca Sichon. Thank you, thank you. Thank you for the introduction.

That was amazing. My pleasure. Wow, so much pressure. But how's everybody doing? Good. I hear the food was amazing. So hopefully that started out your evening. And hopefully I'm here to continue making it great.

So, yeah, thank you so much for having me. I'm super stoked to just get into some songs. Let's do it. Reminder, there's food over there. I have a bet with Tim that people won't finish the food, and I don't want to lose that bet. So I put it in here for you, and if you fail me, then there's no happy ending to this night.

There's all regrets. There's Banach over there, turkey sandwiches, plates, drinks. Please enjoy throughout the performance. Okay, amazing. You heard him. You better do it. I'm holding you to it as well. all right

I'm going to start with a tune that gives you a really good idea of who I am as a person and being that this is a podcast interview and show I think this is a good one to start with so this one's called A Little Bit of Gasoline

and you know and you know My legs for heavy if I go, I'll fall down, but why do I feel so much safer on the cold ground? They said make your bed and laying it, but I got up because I wasn't feeling it. No, no. Oh, a little bit of gasoline.

Well, help what's there already. But make me feel ready to show me all that I can be. Oh, yeah. A little bit of gasoline. I can feel the fire ready. Just got to keep it going steady with a little bit of gasoline. Oh, oh, oh, oh. I keep on jumping the gun, they say, slow down.

No, but I ran faster than I could from my hometown. Then life got so much better when I left. I fell in love with a boy and started. Loving myself, myself, myself, myself. A little bit of gasoline will help us there already will make me feel ready to show me all that I can be. Oh yeah, oh, oh, a little bit of gasoline. I can feel the fire already, just gotta keep it going

Is it a little bit of gasoline? Oh, oh, oh, I don't want to feel like I'm hurting. No, but it's been weighing me down like a burden. No, if I set fire to my world, then I'd watch it all light up from buildings to dust. everything I've dreamed about and all I've ever loved. A little bit of gasoline. E, oh, oh, oh, a little bit of gasoline.

I can feel the far ready. Just gotta keep it going steady with a little bit of gasoline. Oh, oh, one little bit of gasoline. Now I can feel the fire already. Just got to keep it going steady with a little bit of gasoline. Oh, oh, oh, oh. Oh, oh, oh. I keep on jumping the gun, they say, slow down.

I won't. Thank you so much. So yeah, that's a tune about essentially pouring gasoline on situations in my life and realizing that I actually only need a little bit of gasoline. But, yeah, so that's that one. And this next one, this one's another good snapshot of who I am as a person. And that is a creator at heart, fully at heart. And this next song, I actually wrote when I was going through a really, really, really bad burnout.

And I'm sure that everyone gets us as humans. We work too hard. We push too hard. We go too hard. And next thing you know, you're like, I don't want to do anything because I worked too hard and I pushed myself too far. And this one was specifically written around, it's actually after a release of an EP. And I was like, you know what? I am so overwriting music

and I didn't write music for like four months and this was the first song I wrote when I got back and it's called ShapeShift. So, yeah, that's this one. Started small, started young, just a baby. My father would say that it would. It shaped me, but here I am, and I've just turned 20. No, if life's a game, then when will I shape-shift?

Because I'm still stuck inside my sphere of overthinking, baby. If I lead with no direction, am I honest? Trying to move for my own piece of mind, but now I'm here. Now I'm here looking at my own reflection, and I do anything to leave it all behind. No, trying to grow, trying to be something. My mother would say I'm already enough, but why are you there?

Am I sitting here crying about it? No. I want to show the world. Got it and then some fight the demons and then write a damn song, baby. Yeah, yeah. But if I lead with no direction, am I honest, trying to move up my own piece of eyes? But now I'm here looking at my own reflection and I do anything to leave it all behind. Oh, if I lead with no direction, am I honest?

I'm trying to move for my own piece of mind. But now I'm here looking at my own reflection, and I do anything to leave it all behind. Oh, baby, but where is the light? Because I still don't know how to keep my hair up And I'm up for the clouds, baby. No, oh, I'm fighting for the life I want and deserve people. They wonder where I get all the nerve.

Oh, my mama, my sweet mama. If I leave with no direction, am I honest? I'm trying to move for my own piece of mind. But now I'm here looking at my own reflection And I do anything to leave it all behind Oh, if I lead with no direction, am I honest? I'm trying to move for my own piece of mind But now I'm here looking at my own reflection

And I do anything to leave it all behind Oh, and I do anything to leave it all behind, oh, and I do anything to leave it all behind. I do anything to leave it all behind. Thank you. What? Like it puts my driving in the car, singing my music, to absolute bloody shame. Oh, no.

Where did you start to develop this passion for music, for your voice? Where did this all start from? It started right at home. I mean, I grew up in a very musical family. My father and my mother are here, actually, which is very cool. And I have to, yeah, give it up for them. My father, he is an absolutely brilliant musician. And so I grew up fully immersed in music.

It was like right from the get-go. Like my parents told me that I was just singing or yelling, you could call it. But I was making noise from a really early age. So I think it just kind of stuck with me and it felt good. I hear on the streets that you were singing around campfires and that you were singing twinkle, twinkle little star at the top of your lungs. Is this true? Yeah.

I would say my first, like, performance was literally singing Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. I mean, I've always been one to love attention. I'm not going to lie. So I'm a little kid, and every time someone's like, sing for me, I'm like, okay, I'll sing something. What do you want? So, yeah, Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star was an early favorite of mine. Definitely kind of moved past the Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star at this point. But, yeah, that is where it started.

Can you tell us about some of these photos? You're diving in head first into making music and sharing. your gift with others. Where did that come from? It was, I mean, I was really fortunate to have not only a really supportive community, which was mission, but also an incredibly supportive family. So my father put me in piano lessons when I was like seven years old. So I started playing piano and you can see my dad's instruments around. Like it was seriously so around me that I was just like I could pick up anything I wanted, right? And so this was me playing piano and then there's me actually

singing with my piano teacher, Kathy Hardy, if anyone was familiar with her. She taught piano and she taught me how to do it all so yeah she that's the photo of me singing at her album release which she actually asked me to come perform at and this was me recording the song so same age but yeah two kind of the same stories there can you tell us about your family they were the ones who introduced you they're here tonight what does it mean to have a legacy passed on to you it feels amazing i mean like i said i'm so fortunate to have you know such a musical father and such a musical family just in general. And it was so, it just felt completely natural for me to just take on this role.

And like I said, I've been singing for so long. So it was just such a natural thing for me to fall into and for something for me to really fall in love with. So, yeah. One area that seems particularly unique to you is your ability to hold, I think, what's called a note. I don't make music. I don't produce it.

You're right. But my understanding is that, like, when I hear kind of the poppy songs, they're not holding those notes for as long, which can be the real challenge. Would you mind explaining to me what that process is? Because that's what, to me, magical, is like you're holding it and then you go to a higher note

and you're still holding the same note, and I can't even hold the beginning note, let alone go to a different note. Right, right. Well, thank you. I appreciate it. I mean, honestly, the honesty behind doing something like that, I have to say is just years of singing.

I've honestly been singing for as long as possible. And that is generally, like, skill, essentially. And I've, like, you know, a lot of people are always like, oh, you're really talented. And I love hearing that. But I'm also, I know how many years and how much work that I've really put into shaping my voice. And I have sang for years and years and years and really developed the ability to be able to hold those notes. And I was actually a singing coach for three years. So I was able to kind of see the back end of, like, how to teach a child to be able to hold those notes versus a lot of it was almost intuitive for me.

So something like that is generally more skill, but my favorite way of being able to sing, and the reason why I've kind of moved away from like the general pop sound is the fact that I love to show as much emotion in my voice and into my music. And I find that those long notes is what makes people go, what? So I tend to use those a lot and just kind of throw in how I can share my story through those notes. And yeah, however long they may be. In those early days, when you're starting to look at songs and start to make music, what are you thinking about and how are you processing what you're sharing because so many of us have

emotions we have thoughts we have issues we have problems and i find it admirable that some people have an actual outlet and for you it was music right yeah i mean i i just live and breathe music and from a young age i mean i hear so much music around my you know around the house and so i'd hear a lot of like classical music and jazz music and a lot of actually instrumental music because my father play so many instruments. So I just remember, like, being so young and even hearing, I remember going to an orchestra and I'd listened to this performance, and I remember just closing my eyes and I could just visualize what I was hearing and to be like seven years old and to be at a, you know, to be listening

to classical music in the first place, I felt like was kind of different. And so I'm sitting there and I just remember being like, wow, this feels amazing. Like, I can just feel the emotion and that translates into what I write. And whenever, like, I'm writing and it feels really good. that same feeling of wow i can really visualize it like i can feel the emotion just in and out and it just that's that's what i write for is that feeling that the same way that i listen to music is the same way that i try to express the music what is your biggest takeaway when you look at your childhood what is the biggest takeaway that you look back on and you go wow that really did

shape me oh that's a that's a good question i would honestly have to say just the involvement with music at a young age, and I seriously cannot thank, you know, my father and my mother enough for just giving me the environment to make music and to just be fully supportive of whatever musical journey I wanted to take. So they're the ones who were driving me to the talent shows. They're the ones who were driving me to anything that involved music. My piano lessons that I did not want to go to, but my dad's like, you got to go because it's going to teach you a lot. And, you know, if it wasn't for them being like, you need to do this and you, like, we believe in you, I don't think that I would be here today. So that's got to be, like, the number one for me, for sure. Let's dive into it. Burn down. Can you share that song with us? Let's do it, yeah. Is everybody eating? I feel like not enough people are understanding what's at stake in his bat.

Okay. I think I just need some in my monitor here. I don't think I'm hearing anything in this. This guy, oh, there we go, we got it. You might not know what I just said at all, but he understood, so that's all that matters. This one is called Burned Down, and this one is, yes, a song about self-sabotage. I'm sure we all experience it, so this is my way of expressing how I felt about self-sabotaging myself. Looking for a remedy to mend my broken soul.

I haven't got a clue what I'll do, but I just hope it works. Ran my tank till it was empty, in the middle of nowhere. where no one can help me, but I guess that's the way it should be no. I should be getting older, growing stronger, but I trip when my step is in front of the other. Am I not getting better? Or will I not let me win watch it all burn down. Sitting here burning my throne with the flames I grew.

Don't care about anything in this world it can all burn to. I've ran my tank till it was empty. In the middle of nowhere, no one can help me but but I guess that's the way it should be no. I should be getting older, growing stronger, but a trip when my step is in front of the other. Am I not getting better or will I not let me win watch it all burn down? And oh, I don't want to burn down. And oh, when will my feet hit the ground down?

But how? Because I should be getting older, growing stronger. But I trip when my step is in front of the other. Am I not getting better? Oh, well, I now let me when watch it all burn down. I should be getting older. A girl is stronger, but I trip when my step is in front of the other. Am I not getting better?

Oh, well I now, let me win, watch it all burn. I watch it all burn down. I watch it all burn down. I watch it all burn down. Thank you. What a night. What a night that we get to enjoy this. We get to relax.

We get to eat some food. food like what is going on it feels like you hear me but i'm not seeing any action and so very disappointed in this crowd i think let's go ahead let's head in how are we feeling more music yeah they don't want to hear from me yeah i want to hear from you personally but we'll get to that we'll get to it okay so i'm going to sing you a love song this one we're going to move a little way from the self-sabotage, self-deprecation, all that. So this is a love song, a genuine love song that I wrote. Also, after a writing hiatus, I tend to write a lot after I'm like,

I don't want to write. And then I'm like, I really want to write. So this is a love song called Together, and it's about just going through life with someone that you love together, even if you're a little terrified of it, because it can be a little scary sometimes. So that's this one. Oh, I don't feel so small anymore, been doing things I can done before in my life.

I'm a little scared of feeling like I got it, but can't help that I might fail. Oh, hold my hand and help me understand where I've been and where I will go. Wait for me there at the bottom of the stairs. And we'll climb to the top together. Oh, oh, I'm just a little scared. Don't understand why. Because I got everything and more in my life. But all these thoughts, they stay in my mind, they waste all my time.

Oh, baby, don't you cry? Because one day we will realize, oh, everything we're meant to do together. hold my hand and help me understand where I've been and where I will go wait for me there at the bottom of the stairs and walk right to the top together. I am just a little scared. I'm just a little scared. Yeah. No. Oh.

Yeah. Yeah. Oh Oh Oh Yeah I know Oh

Oh Hold my head and help me understand Where I've been And where I will go go I wait for me there at the bottom of the stairs and we'll climb to the top together

oh oh I'm just a little oh oh I'm oh I'm just a little no I'm oh I'm just a little no I'm I'm just a little no I'm I'm just a little no I'm oh I'm just a little Just a little scared. Oh, oh. Oh. Thank you. I mean, I'm trying to imagine just doing a podcast interview and saying you have a good voice. I'm trying to imagine telling people like, go,

Listen. You just need to go listen and not having this element that will be shared with other people where people can actually hear your voice and understand the depths that music can actually go. And I feel like sometimes we just miss out on that. It's radio music. We kind of get into our vibes. The other part I really love about this song specifically is this idea of doing it together. My partner is in the back right there working on making sure that the audio turns out. And that's such a special feeling. Your partner, is your producer. You're working collaboratively. Can you share that with us? Yeah, absolutely. So yeah, this song was actually produced. It's out on all the platforms and it was produced by my partner, Matt Truitt,

who is also an incredible producer. And we've been doing this journey for the past three years together and we've been making music together, which I'm sure you know it's hard to be not only in a relationship, but also business partners. So it definitely brings its own set of challenges,

but it's been amazing because you end up having a partner and that can look like so many different things but you have that support and he's been absolutely amazing and he helped me write this one too so you know there's so many elements that make it so fun and it's cool to be able to share something i love so much with someone that also loves it so yeah it's really really cool it's really tragic to think about kind of like the world in the 1980s and 90s like in sitcoms it was like you have this passion and your partner knows nothing about it or has no interest in what you're doing and your whole story is about this idea of doing it together together yeah totally no i completely agree i think too like we're moving into

more of a i mean everything's changing we're constantly evolving and i think it's so cool that you know i can do a certain set of things and he can do a certain set of things and we can help each other and like what i can't do he can do and you know vice versa so yeah super fortunate to be able to have him you start with a passion you start with something when you're growing up and you're kind of interested in it but then you turn it into something you're actually going to go for you're actually going to invest in. You're actually going to pursue. These are some of your album covers. You go from someone who's singing around the campfire to somebody who's making albums and sharing their music on Apple Podcast or Apple Music, Spotify. You're sharing your gift with others, which you can go

download right now whenever you guys are ready. Can you talk about that transition into actually making this something where you're actually going to chase it? You're going to go after. You're going to do the thing that's so challenging for people to do. When you hear about going through the music industry, it's not a walk in the park. Yeah, I mean, it's funny that you bring that up because I think like the truth is it's like as a creator, I'm like, oh, I want to write, I want to sing.

Like my favorite thing to do ever is to just sing. It's just to sing whatever that looks like on stage or by myself. And, you know, the mindset of having to make this a reality is that I have to be a business. And that, it's tricky. It's tricky to be like, okay, how am I going to sell myself? How am I going to brand and market?

And you have to start thinking in a business perspective, which thankfully I have a bit of that because I get that from my mom so I have a little bit so it ends up making it a little easier and I was able to sort of navigate it but that doesn't mean I love it because it takes away from the creative side and it can be tricky because I want to put all my time

into making the music but the truth is if I ever want to go anywhere and I want to do something with it unless I have a label backed behind me which I don't I have to do it myself and at this stage I'm okay with it because it's all a learning process And, like, a lot of these covers were even, actually, you know, most of these were helped and edited by other people. But oftentimes, like, I'd be the one doing the album covers or whatnot.

And so it's a lot of learning, and you end up learning a lot, which I'm really grateful for. But it's definitely, yeah, like you said, not easy at all. And in this day and age, you have to be a business. So kind of dealing with it as it comes. But, yeah. It's tough to balance, particularly with, like, musical creators because there's this element of, like, you're sharing your soul. You're sharing the things you've been through the issue. you've overcome the problems you have in your personal life and then you're trying to market that

and it's like I don't want to market the things that just went through yeah how do you start to process this you talk about some of the things where you're like I'm not in a musical creating mode or I'm not in a writing mode how do you try and balance this I mean I think everyone has their own methods and I have you know been told a good way to look at it is 50 50 which kind of sucks like business 50 and then 50 of like creative side so I'm trying to approach it that way where like in the beginning of the day. I'll sit down and I'll reply to all the emails. I'll do all my applications. I'll do the things that I have to do on the business side. And then in the evening is when I feel a lot more relaxed and a lot more creative side. But oftentimes, like if I have a song coming out, which I have

a song coming out tonight, so by the way. That she'll be playing tonight. I will be. Yeah, I will be playing it too. But essentially like having to, you know, get all the things done and having to go into this sort of work mode can take away from the creative side. So that can suck sometimes. But I'm, it's a, you know, it's always evolving and I'm always trying to get better at it. But I feel like I've got it somewhat under wraps now of trying to like balance it. It seems like that that's where our culture's at right now. So many people have a side passion, a side hustle as it's often called, where they're doing something that they enjoy doing for me, it's the podcast. It's why you're all here tonight. It's, it's something that I actually enjoy doing where investing time doesn't feel like a debt that I'm owed. It's something that I love to share with people. Personally, it's like I look at it and go, wow, if somebody heard from this voice, maybe they get some inspiration, maybe they get their fuel to start to chase their own passion. How has that been for you to be able to share your gift with the world in a way that so many people kind of go, maybe I'd make some music, maybe I could have been the next Taylor Swift,

but they never chase after it, so they always get to live by that, maybe where you're actually chasing after you're trying to share your gift with the world. I think the way I put it is there's no plan B. I genuinely, like I've wanted this since I was for as long as I can, possibly remember and I remember seeing all the pop stars that I would you know grow up and watch and all these amazing artists and I'm like I want to do that and there's no other option like I know I could do some other things we've all got a set of skills there's all these things that you know I could do and maybe I'd be more you know financially free and all that but I think at the end of the day you said it

yourself like what makes you happy and that's this makes me happy and does that mean you know I'm just doing music full time no it's not sorry to break it to you I have worked full time jobs at Benjamin Moore at Rona. I'm not even kidding. And, you know, I've had to make things work. But I know at the end of the day that this is what I want to do. So it's kind of like a this or no option and everything that needs to support it. Because, you know, there isn't that much money in the industry at an early stage. But everything that I have to do to support it, I will. Yeah. Let's talk about what it's like to be a creator. Because I don't think many people know. When you download a song, when you listen to a strong, you're making 0.003 cents to

0.005 cents per stream on average, which is even if you times, even if a million people listen to your song, you're not making a comfortable living off of this. It takes a lot of work to share your gift and you have to go up against systems like this. And when you look at this, that's terrifying to share something that you've worked your whole. whole life at and to earn this on one person listening to a one time. It's just, it's so sad. How do you process this information? You've got this gift and then this is what they're saying they're willing to pay for it. I mean, it sucks. I've got to say it. Like it genuinely, it's not fun. But I think like as a business, see, I market myself as a business. As a business, you have to think outside the box. So I know that I'm not going to make any money through streams. So

that's when the live shows come into play and doing things like working with artists and getting on to you know, songs where you can get paid as a feature or whatever. So there are ways around it, but I do know that, you know, it's tough in the beginning stages, but hopefully once you're at a place where you are getting those consistent streams and it has been done, especially for independent artists. For independent artists, you will make more of your own money versus if you had assigned, like if you had a deal with a label, they are taking a very large cut of that, which is funny when you think about it.

So being that I am independent, it does give me a little bit more cushion in a sense, But it's a tough battle, but if I, you know, if I fixate too much on how much I'd be making off of this, I, you know, I wouldn't go any further. So I think it has to be like a, you know what, whatever, no plan B, you just got to keep going. And if I make $10 one year, I made $10 one year and the next I'll make, you know, 100 and we'll keep going from there. And that's just, I feel like if you don't have that attitude, it's hard to, you know, chase your dreams and it's got to be like a, there's no other option.

So that's how I feel. I think it's important. Like how many people knew this, that you don't. making 0.01 cents per stream. How many people listening on Apple music or Spotify knew that these were the numbers that you're up against when you're moving into the industry, when you're saying I'm going to take my gift and I'm going to share it with the world, this is what I can expect to be compensated for my life journey, the things that I've been through, the problems that I've overcome. This is what to Apple music, this is what I'm worth. I think that's so frustrating from someone from my perspective because it's like this is what you've been through. This is your life story. And I heard one person, and talk about, like, writing their book. And in Canada, if you write a book and you get royalties from it, it's taxed 50%. So the government is taking 50% of your story, like, in terms of taxation. Like, that's such a crazy thing to think about.

And I think it's tragic that listeners don't understand, hey, what that stream means, but also what it means to share your song with others, that that actually can open doors, that that can actually create opportunities for them, that that share button that's so rarely used can open so many doors for a creator like yourself. 100%. And that's the way that it gets shared. And I find all my opportunities in terms of like performance, is even something

like this. You came out to Taste of Abby and you were the one that heard me in person. If someone had just like, I don't know if you had maybe like fallen, maybe if you'd like heard one of my songs, maybe you wouldn't have really thought about, oh, should I bring this? Should I do a podcast with this girl? But being that you took the opportunity to show up

in person and to listen, that's all it takes. And I've really noticed that and I've had some amazing you know even random moments where people have you know walked into a restaurant that I'm playing at and just because they heard me and they come in and then later on I've had the message me and go hey like your voice

stopped me in the street and I came in and I just wanted to you know say like you got a new fan and it's those sorts of moments where you're like whoa it's working but it's moments like that that feels so much more advanced than even like you know 10,000 streams it feels cool for a bit but it's so valuable when someone can share

something and someone can be like we're mouth, hey, this girl was really great, like, you should listen to her music. And I think as an artist, we get kind of, it's, you know, it's imposter syndrome. We also don't really want to, like, put ourselves out there and be like, yeah, listen to me. Like, you know, it's tough to promote yourself. So it's so valuable when others can talk about you and get the word out that way. So, yeah, it's so valuable. It really, really truly is. Too bad we're not in a crowd of people who could absolutely share your music with other people. Yeah. not and I'm going to lose this bet and that's just pretty evident at this point in time because

nobody of you have stood up so okay let's do it all right this is stuck in the storm and it's exactly what it says a song about the fear of fame and you know I wrote this because as I said I've been wanting this since I was a little girl for as long as I can possibly remember. And then at one point, about a year ago, when I wrote this, it struck me. I was like, what if this actually happens and it's terrifying? Because, you know, you hear about all the stories and you have no idea how it's going to go. So a part of me, you know, wanted to write about this fear of getting stuck in the storm. So that's the name of this one. Shed my pride

Been waiting for the light To find me Can't know why been feeling this way since being a baby no but what if I got stuck in the storm stripped of hope no sense of control

will I know me anymore Wasted years. Or did I really waste them if I still somehow made it here? All my tears have led me. Have led me to this moment, they grew me my own ocean. But what if I got stuck in the storm, stripped of hope? No sense of control. Will I know me anymore?

Will I want me anymore? E. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, oh, oh, oh. Oh, oh, oh. But what if I got stuck in the storm?

Stripped of hope, no sense of control. Well, I know me anymore. Oh yeah, yeah, because I don't want to get stuck in the storm. stripped of whole, no sense of control. Will I know me anymore? Will I want me anymore? Will I love me anymore? Yeah, yeah, yeah, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.

Oh, oh. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. How's everybody feeling so far. This is live up to the hype. Would you come out again? I need to know. What an incredible song. I'm fascinated by this idea of struggling with

fame because we see people go through this and we treat them like they're not people yeah and then you look at them and you just like laugh at their failures you laugh at their struggles i think back on justin beber and everything he went through and we just kind of laugh and go ha ha that person fell down as if that raises us up but it doesn't no it just makes us part of the crowd that's that's looking at someone who's trying at something and falling down how did you think about that when you you look at people like Carly Ray Japsen, how do you process what they've been through and their growth to fame? I think, like, the biggest thing is just, as you said, just remembering that they're people.

And that they all started out, just like you and I, there's, you know, there's no difference really between us and, you know, people that are making millions of dollars. Like, you even take Taylor Swift, for example, I see so much controversy about, you know, her, like, her ticket prices and the, you know, the tour and how amazing, you know, all these things. but she's like the highest paid female artist ever. And it's amazing to see. And you think about who she is as a person. I don't know if anyone's seen some of her documentaries,

but she's just like you and I. She's just, you know, and I think like she's just writing about her songs because she wants to. And I think like, you know, back to what you said, like I think it's, it can be difficult to think about that. And that's why I'm scared because, you know, it does come with a lot of feelings.

And I'm sure that everyone will have an opinion. but I think I've through writing that song and through processing it, I've realized it doesn't matter what anyone thinks and I've got to do it for me and for no one else's approval but it can definitely be scary it can definitely be tricky and I think that there's

almost this sense of like wanting like nearly maybe envy or jealousy of like wanting to be in a place that someone is and I try to remember that and just move forward because there's nothing I can do about other people's feelings I can only control mine so that's the tragedy is like how many

people have come up to me and said, I was going to start a podcast. And it's like, fair enough. But did you do it and did you follow through and did you reach 100 episodes and did you keep going when everybody said that like everybody has a podcast these days and keep going and face that scrutiny and then say things where people sometimes don't agree with you or say things that people disagree with? And then it starts to become like you're not a person. And people aren't connecting with you.

Like you're just a flawed person just like everybody else who makes mistakes, who says the wrong thing, who falls down sometimes, but it's almost like when people reach for that star, that it's easier to rip on them than to look at themselves and go, did I chase my dream? Like, I saw one great reel that was like, how much did it cost for you to give up on your dream? And the person was like, $45,000 and like a pension. And that's what it took. And if that person's happy, then all the more power to them. But when you look at other people, when you're in that circumstance and go, well, I hate you because you're successful and you look at Taylor Swift and you're overpaid. It's like you have no idea the things that go on behind the scenes

on your rise to reach that amount of payment. You have no idea and that's the thing. And I think that people can almost become insensitive to the idea of people's success and what that looks like. Success is so funny too because, you know, someone could be making, like I'm sure that the money that you could make, let's say in the arts is nowhere near the kind of money you could make if you were in a really good position, let's say, even working up north in B.C., for example, right? But no one thinks about the dollar amount. It's not about that. It's the way that you're perceived by society, right? So it's the way that you look. It's the fact that, oh, she's a star. Oh, she's making all this money. And the visual of that almost, I think, is intimidating to people.

And exactly, it makes them feel like, oh, why didn't I do that? And they're just projecting their own feelings about, I wish I could have done that, but I didn't. So I'm going to, you know, make them feel bad about doing it. For me, sincerely, success is having all of you here tonight. To know that people were willing to invest their night, bet on that this was going to be more worthwhile than watching the latest episode on Netflix. That actually means a great deal to me that you're all here tonight and that you chose this over whatever else was going on.

Lots of people told me they had other things going on. And so the fact that you're all here tonight actually means a great deal for me. So please give yourself a round of applause. Again, I appreciate you so much for coming out tonight. That actually means everything to me. Like 60 people tuning in right now live is way more than some people get on their streams. Some people get on a podcast episode. So this actually does mean so much to me.

Let's dive into the next song. Breaking free. This one releases, if I'm not mistaken. Tonight. So you can go subscribe to her, find her on Apple Music, find her on Spotify. This song releases at what time? tonight? 9 p.m.

Yeah, so really soon. A little stressful, but it's okay. I will know whether or not you all tuned in because, you know, 9 p.m. I can check my watch. Yeah, this one is breaking free and this one was actually written with a Vancouver artist Matthew V.

He's a jazz pop artist. Absolutely brilliant. And I wrote it as a part of the 604 songwriting sessions. It was this cool opportunity where I got to write with artists on 604's the 604 label's roster and they're the ones who signed carly ray so there's definitely some like crossovers there but anyway this was a really really neat opportunity and this is the

second song to come out of that so yeah this is breaking free I've been fighting night and day wishing for a better way out But outside this cage, will I find my place? Thought you were the missing piece. Rearranged the parts of me to fit in. But now that I've grown, The wounds that I've solved, I'm spreading my wings on my own.

Now, just let me go. Just let me be, because I've got so much love. so much left to give and so much life to live and so much more to me watch as i fly because baby i'm so oh because every bit of me is calling out to be breaking free yeah I've been feeling steady now

slowly trying to figure out where I belong no, when riding my wrong. No I'm spreading my wings on my own I'll Just let me go And just let me be

Here Because I've got so much left to give And so much life to live and so much more to me watch as I fly oh because baby I'm so baby I'm sore oh because every bit of me is calling out to be Breaking free Oh, I'm breaking free Oh, I'm breaking free.

Yeah. No, no. Oh, oh. Oh. Just let me go. Just let me be Because I've got so much left to give and so much life to live. It's so much more to me.

Watches I fly. Oh, because maybe I'll saw. Oh, because every bit of me is calling out to be breaking free. Thank you. Thank you so much. I'd like your thoughts on this. One of my sincere beliefs, and I think I'm probably a little bit naive for thinking it,

is that the whole idea of Canada and freedom is this idea that people chase their dream. There's this idea of the American dream, and I think that it's unfortunate because it's the idea of freedom that when you're in a country, that you're able to chase your passion, your dream, your goal, whatever that is for you, that you're able to chase that and share that with the world. And that we, as people, should commend that, that is the purpose of why we have the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

That's why we have freedom in Canada. That's why we have freedom of his Western countries is so that people can figure out whatever makes them tick and share that as a gift. And that not only rewards you as an individual, but it rewards all of us because we actually get to experience that gift and learn from it and get inspired to go chase our own dreams, whatever that might look like. Am I crazy? Am I out of my mom? Absolutely. Absolutely. And I always say this actually, because I have some friends down in America. And the biggest difference for an artist in Canada versus America is the fact that in Canada, we have the grant system and I don't know if you're familiar with it but Canada has like hundreds of grants

that are provided to musicians and artists and creators yearly like millions of dollars that are given out to Canadian artists which is absolutely incredible and down in America there's none of that there's nothing there's nothing and I've talked to so many friends and they're like oh yeah I'm playing a gig and I'm like oh that's great they're like yeah I'm not making anything like there's no money doesn't really happen unless you get to the big leagues right but to have something like that in Canada is amazing and that's true because Canada's trying to support it Canada's trying to make it happen and that's incredible

so fascinating I believe that this is one of the closest to last songs that we'll be able to hear from you tonight and it's glow stick it is let's do it unless I get tangled I got tangled again all right

this one I'm just going to make sure I'm not hitting anything while I play this one. There we go. This is another love song, but this one isn't your conventional love song. This is a... Yeah, wow, I love these little blurps. A song written about love and being scared, I'd never find it again. Gosh, I could just not say anything.

You just read those, couldn't I? They really... They tell you what it's about. So, yeah, that's awesome. That's exactly it. This was, you know, a song that I wrote... This is the first song I wrote when I got to Vancouver, which was about three years ago. I moved to Vancouver from Mission, and I remember sitting on my couch, or on my couch, my bed

on one of the first nights, and I wrote this just about being terrified about love and not finding it, so yeah, this is this one. Don't I wish I could glow in the dark. Show you all I've got Without moving my lips I forgot You might see a broken heart Oh nothing your touch

Can't fix Oh, I'm dreaming of A world's of love But I know It's not enough enough for me I still need to breathe Oh I want to know

When the sky turns to cold Will I then learn how to be alone Oh Fall has come now And baby I just want to run now so many people fall in love but not mean oh oh I'm dreaming of a world of love but I know it's not enough enough for me I still need to breathe Oh, oh, I still need to breathe, I still need to breathe, I, I, I, I still need to breathe.

Oh, I'm dreaming of a world of love, but I know, I know, I know, oh, it's not, it's not enough for me. I, I, I, I still need to breathe. I, I, I, I still need to breathe. I still need to heal. Thank you. So my mom offered, and she's in the front row tonight. She offered me great advice, and that was to ask a better question. Every day that I'd go off to school, she'd say, ask a better question.

So I've got this one skill, and it's to ask a better question. That's all I got. You're playing the guitar, you're singing with your voice, then you walk over to that piano, and you make it look like easy work, like a short day in the office. You've got three skills, at least, and I've got this one skill that I'm going to ask some questions that maybe all of you didn't think of. and that's because I did my research. What is it like to develop these skill sets

and to be able to share them with an audience, share them with a room? Like this isn't just one thing. This is multiple different skill sets that you're able to share with people. I think, honestly, it's just a bonus because I always think of my voice as my instrument and my voice is my instrument,

but the reasoning behind me playing guitar and piano and everything is honestly because my dad was like, he genuinely told me when I first wanted to play piano. He's like, you need to learn piano, conservatory piano, classical piano, like very disconnected, but he's like, you need to know what you're doing so then you can accompany yourself. And he, you know, he set up this foundation for me to essentially support myself and to be able to do this, to be able to stand and not play one instrument, but two instruments. And I think as I got older, I was more so just thinking about, oh, what else could

I write a song on? So I picked up a ukulele when I was 12, and I was like, this is kind of cool. And then I was like, yeah, it's a little small, though. So I moved over to the guitar when I was about 13. And I just love the idea of having different bonuses, you know, to kind of just pick up a guitar. And they sound completely different. Writing on a piano to a guitar and a ukulele is such a different world for me. So it's always just been so fun to be able to explore those things.

And I'm so fortunate that I was given the opportunity to learn those things and not only my voice. So, yeah, I'm blessed to be able to do that. what do you see in music that we all miss because we don't understand the complexity that goes on behind it we're just tuning in we listen it's a good song i kind of get it but we don't understand the depths of the education that goes into the keyboard the education that goes into the guitar the education and the work that goes into developing a voice what are we missing when we click a song and we play it and we kind of go that's not the song for me right as if we have any understanding

is the work that goes into it. I think that's a complicated question because I think everyone perceives music in such a different way. And there's so much technical skill behind music and like when you're, you know, if you, I'm sure if any of you don't know anything about music, if you were to sit in a studio in a session,

you would have no idea what's going on. But I think the magic is the fact that when you go home and you listen to a song, you perceive it however you want. And I think, like, the way that I write my music and I always call my songs, diary entries because they just feel like expressions of how I'm feeling. And I always say this sets, I always say, you know, it's no different than I'm passing

around my diary to you all so you could read it. I'm just singing it to you. And it's true because that's how I feel. And I think it's magical when others can perceive that and when others can connect their own feelings and their own stories to music. And I think that's all I ask that you're able to do. But I think there's a lot of things going on that maybe not everyone understands. But as long as you respect and you, you know, take the time to listen and to

really try to feel it. I think that's all, you know, creators really want you to do is to value it. How's everybody feeling so far? Are we valuing the music? Is this a good night? Let me know. Let me know. The only other question I have on this note is what it means to have individuals who inspire you in your creative endeavor. I grew up with one parent who was supporting me in whatever direction I wanted to chase, but I didn't have that. path laid out of where I was going to go, where I was going to end up in the future, what I was going to do. So I'm just kind of paving this path as I go. But you have individuals here tonight who have helped shape that, who have helped informed your understanding of where

you want to go in your life. And I think not everybody has that, but it's such a gift to be able to play out a legacy. I don't think we always understand what that word means when you look at we started here and then that's being passed on. And you have tools that not everybody gets access to that are given to you so you're starting a little bit ahead on something that not everybody gets given and so you're able to build upon this and share that gift with others when you look at your parents here tonight you were mentioning before we got on stage that you're actually more nervous for them than all you jubberonies yeah what does it mean to have them in the crowd tonight and to know that they've helped informed your talent it means the world i got to say it like

I genuinely, you know, I do, I'm fortunate to play a lot of shows, but there's no show that's so special until my parents are there. And it is the pressure because they're the ones who know me so well. And so after this, my dad's going to be like, well, you could have done this just a little better. Maybe next time play it like this. But, and I love that for that. I love them for that. And, you know, that's what they're there for. And they're there to give me that honesty. And as you said, like, I'm so fortunate to have grown up in such a musical environment and even like my music teacher growing up and all these different. people that were so crucial to my growth and it's just amazing to be able to do this and to like you said carry on a legacy and that's what I hope I'm doing and you know that's what I want to do so yeah I'm just I'm just happy to be here so one thing I think of when I like listen to someone like yourself I'm like how do I support this person what does that actually look like And people are always polite and they're kind of like, oh, yeah, like, I just glad you enjoyed the interview or something like that. Like, it's very disconnected.

But there are actual tangible ways people can support your work and encourage you to be able to continue what you're doing and share your gift. And it actually matters a lot more than people really realize. Like, they don't realize the impact liking a post can have in order to have that stupid algorithm support your post and continue to have it go upwards. They don't realize what it means for them to share. share it with a friend and go, hey, have you heard this song? Have you heard this artists that actually right nearby and located right near us that's sharing their talent? When we're looking at

this, I have listed follow on Instagram, listen on Apple Music and Spotify and YouTube, download your latest song Breaking Free, which is dropping tonight. Tell your friends about your music. Is there anything else that I've missed on this list on how people can actually support the work that you're doing? And so you can actually chase your dream. Like it's not something disconnected where it doesn't matter. It's actually, this helps you do the thing that you love to do, which hypothetically, we should all want to encourage people to do every single day. I think you nailed it. I'm going to say, I don't think there's anything else, but this, you know, this means a lot. And like I said, it's tough as an artist to be like, listen to my music,

you know, take out your phones right now and follow me on Instagram. It sucks. Like, it sucks to, you know, have to self-promote. So I appreciate people like you to bring me onto a platform that is your, you know, your strength and to be like, I want to expose you to, your people, you know, and that's, that means so much. So things like this, you know, I'm so fortunate to be able to do things and shows I, like, it's like I said, it's the in-person sort of connection. That's the, it's the best, because everything's so virtual nowadays and everything's, you know, online, but there's nothing that replaces being in a room with 60 people and being able to look into each and one of your, each and every single one of your eyes and just say hi,

essentially. So this, you know, this, this is it. This means so much to me. So thank you for listing that, please do those things. I'm not going to tell you to do it, but I am going to tell you to do it. So, yeah. It was actually one of the big learning lessons in the podcast. I'd end off interviews. How can people follow? How can people show their support?

And the person would say it, and I was just thinking about, like, what does that look like when somebody's telling you that for their benefit, it's going to open some doors for them it's going to help them it doesn't resonate the same unless somebody else is saying go listen to her latest song go subscribe go support grab out your phones right now follow her on instagram do the things you need to do so that she can continue to grow and do what she wants to do and hopefully we can learn from that individual so speaking of which i mean i have a podcast i'd love it if you want to subscribe and tuned into our latest episode which dropped today i mean i wouldn't complain about I mean, you sort of set me up to look like a gibrody listening my own face on you.

Well, I mean, if we're not all gibrody's in here. Let's thank you for all of the music you've shared. We're going to do a Q&A. So start thinking of your questions right now. because I think it's valuable. I don't have all the questions in the world. I think it's important that individuals like yourself ask questions if something stood out to you,

if a song stood out to you, to ask those questions. But we're going to end on it a beautiful song. Let's do it. Okay. Oh, where am I going? It's not there. It's here.

The guitar tells it to me too. Am I tangled again? It reminds me that like, you know, that fish game or, you know, that little thing where you were supposed to press it and the loop goes around the you know what I'm talking about, right? I don't remember what it's called. It just reminds me of that so well

and I couldn't, I was never good at it, but clearly I'm good at it tonight, so maybe I'll switch passions. This one's called How to Love, and this is another love song, but again, not a conventional love song, because I'm actually not great at writing happy songs, but this one

is a song about, yeah, breaking down walls and letting someone you love in. And yeah, I just want to say this has been so, so special, and thank you for being here. Thank you for taking your time out of your Thursday night to be here and to support both Aaron and I. This is really, really, really cool, so thank you. if I cut the seam is it what I need I know I run from what could hurt me

just want to be as strong as I'd hope to be still remember my tear stained face from 15 but never in a million years did I think that I'd be back to this whole feeling, what's the meaning? I feel like I know what to do, but I kept in the thought of not having you your reason I've been singing. Spent the next four years trying to fix me,

oh, feeling capable of love. of love for what's wrong with me. Wanna make you my world, but it's not what I need. And maybe one day it is, and that day I promise I won't leave, but never in a million years did I think that I'd be back to this whole feeling what's the meaning? Oh, I feel like I know what to do, but I can't be the thought of not having you. You're my reason I've been singing.

Just want to let you in to stay. You're already on my mind all day. No, no, no, no, no. Is this the part I run away, give you. to what I used to say. No, oh, I think I've changed. No, I think I'll stay. But never in a million years did I think that I'd be back to this?

Oh, feeling what's the meaning? Yeah, no, but I think that I know what to do, but I can't bet the thought of not having you. You're my reason I've been singing. No, but I think that I know what to do, but I can't bet the thought of not having you. You're my reason I've been singing. Oh, oh, oh, no, no. Oh, oh, no, no, no. Oh, no, no, oh.

Oh, oh, oh. Oh, no, no. No. Thank you. Thank you. You've teased that you're heading to Toronto, that that's one of your goals. You're interested in making this, a full-time thing, you're interested in growing this. How do you get there?

To Toronto? Or how do I just get there? How do you continue to grow and succeed? What does that look? Doing things like this. doing things like this, playing show, showing up for myself, writing, continuing to just fully live in the world of music and, you know, thankfully I really, really love it. So I think I'm just going to, you know, continue doing it.

And like I said, no plan B. So I'll just, you know, push on forward and keep going until, you know, something happens. And I think sometimes it's hard to realize, but I always think about it. I'm like, it is happening. It's just at a, you know, a smaller scale, but it is happening. I'm in it right now. And I'm sure one day I'll look back and go, oh, I wish I could. just do a live podcast show with 60 people in the room again. So I'm just, you know,

trying not to take anything for granted and just really trying to live in the moment and appreciate everything that's going on because this is all so special and this is what will get me there. So yeah, thank you so much. It's absolutely my pleasure. One of my personal favorite artists is Big Sean, which I'm sure all of you know about. But he's actually the inspiration for the name bigger than me. He has a song about it where he was doing music for all the wrong reasons. He was doing it to become famous. He was doing it to make a name for himself.

And then he realized that it was bigger than himself, that he could actually inspire young African-American children to go and reach their full potential, to grow as an individual. And he has this line in there that I was trusting statistics more than I trusted me. And I love that line because so much of what I hear about in digital. people is that we're overrepresented in the criminal justice system. We're unlikely to get an education. We're more likely to have children at a young age. We're not likely to go and succeed and have an entrepreneurial success. And so if I looked at all of that and said, oh, that's me,

I wouldn't do what I'm doing today. I would decide that this isn't the path for me. I should stay on the path of a traditional nine to five job. I shouldn't be doing the podcast. I should just make my money and keep to myself and I'll make a comfortable living and never really have an impact beyond myself because I'll reach my own goals, but not others. When you look at the statistics for podcasts, most people don't make it to 10 episodes. Most people don't gain a following. Most people are not successful. And so if I trust those statistics, I'm not going to go anywhere because I'm not going to

trust in myself. And what I find inspiring about people like yourself, why I love hosting this is because there's this intrinsic idea in every person I speak to that they can be bigger than themselves, that they can make a difference bigger than themselves than anything they thought possible. And I think it's why people show up to events like this. There's this intrinsic idea when you see a movie, when you do anything, that the hero is going to prevail, that you can learn something from their story, and that they can inspire people. And so I just cannot thank you enough for coming here and reminding us that we can make a difference bigger than ourselves.

Absolutely. What do you hope people take away from your journey so far? This is chapter one, in my opinion, or maybe chapter two, but this isn't the end of the story. So what do you hope people learn from your story so far? And why should they subscribe to your Instagram, follow your story? Why should they continue on this journey with you? Because we all got to feel. We're all humans.

We all got emotions, and, you know, I'm just an emotion that's, an emotion, a human that's trying to, I'm an emotion as well, but I'm a human that's, you know, trying to express my emotions. And I know that every single one of you has, you know, day to day things. And it's difficult. And we all, you know, we live through music. So I hope that my music connected with you in any way. And if it has, please, please do follow me on my journey, because you're all a part of it, you know. And one day you will be able to say that you were one of those people in the room of 60 people. So, that's all I'm going to say one of my personal hallmarks of success is when people do follow you because that proves that my platform whatever I'm doing worked. Worked.

And is moving people in the right direction. I've had individuals say, like, oh, I got a new opportunity as a consequence of being on your part. Like, that means everything to me because it means that whatever's happening here, it's working and it's moving people in the right direction and that's all I can hope for you so please do follow her please follow her journey she you inspired me during that taste of abbey you inspired my partner Rebecca and so I just can't thank you enough for sharing this and having

the courage to continue when you look at the statistics we've talked about tonight it's a challenging journey to be on and to look at it and go I'm going to overcome those odds I'm going to continue despite the clear adversity I'm going to face it's such an inspiration to all of us to continue on that journey. So please give one more round of applause for her. Thank you so much. Thank you. We're at the question journey, and I've got to be honest, I was so happy with this graphic when I saw it. I thought it looked so good. And so I have to put the pressure on you, the audience. If anybody has any specific questions, any thoughts, remarks, questions for Rebecca around her journey, around how she's achieved, where she's gotten to, and is interested in sharing

that journey. Am I literally the first one? You were literally the first person. Oh. But you were closer. Oh, my God. Oh. Yeah. No pressure. Okay. Is this on? Oh, oh, my God. Okay. Hello. So my question is specifically about process. Because, and I feel like I've had a discussion with somebody even here tonight about a creative process, another creative writer, of which I qualify as.

And so, so much about the creative process is habitual. And I'm just wondering, if you wanted to peel back the curtain, if you're comfortable with that, around your creative process and what that looks like on a day-to-day basis. Yeah, I mean, that's a funny question, because I think that my creative process

is definitely, it's evolved in some ways, but I have to say that my favorite way to write a song and to really immerse myself, first off, I have to show up for myself. Like, as much as I'd love to just have a song pop into my head every single day, that would be great. But I find that I really do have to apply myself and sit down at a piano or whatever and pick up an instrument. But my favorite way to write in one that has stuck with me since I was a little kid is it's pretty random. You might be like, what? But I actually love to be in a fully dark room. So I'll turn off all the lights, and I'll just be at my piano. And I kid you not.

I'm very dramatic and very emotional, so I like to, my ways of writing definitely show that. But I sit down and I just let my fingers find a chord or find a note and I just start to play and I just start to sing. And I think as I've grown older, I've tried to put like limitations on what I can do. And as a child, it was very, you know, exploratory and trying to figure out and play. So I'm trying to work on that more and just continue to play. But that is my favorite method of just singing and just playing and seeing whatever comes to me.

because sometimes when you turn off everything and you can just be, you know, you end up just emoting amazing things that you never knew were in you. So, yeah, that answers your question. Yeah, thank you. Just a quick question. First of all, thank you.

I appreciate it. I definitely could connect with some of the songs you shared just for things I've gone through and I appreciate that. So thank you for sharing your heart. Just a quick question. of all, before you move to Toronto, are you going to be playing any other shows around here?

And then second question, it's a practical one. I'm interested in singing myself, but I'm wondering about your warm-up process. Do you do a pretty elaborate warm-up before you sing? I'd love to know about that. Cool. Those are some great questions. Regarding Toronto,

I'm actually, it's probably going to be a short-term move. My heart is in the Fraser Valley slash Vancouver and all that, because my family's here. but some shows, I am actually living in Kelowna right now, so it's a little, I'm a little isolated for the winter, but I will hopefully have some shows in the spring before I leave because I'm hoping to go to Toronto potentially for a couple months in the spring,

and that might be it. So I'm sure I will be around, but if you ever want to see any shows, it's always posted on my Instagram or my Facebook or my website. So another reason to follow me, that is where I would post shows. But as of now, nothing in this area, unfortunately. And then to answer your warm-up question, I do have an elaborate warm-up. That's amazing that you're a vocalist yourself.

That's fantastic. I actually started doing this particular warm-up from a vocal coach named CQ, Carol Quinn. She's based in Vancouver, and I was going on tour two summers ago, and I had like shows every single day, and I remember calling or having a lesson with her, and I'm like, how is my voice going to survive?

Because I was terrified about losing it. And she taught me these amazing methods, which is actually, like, physical stretching. So instead of the typical, Oh, which you always hear and you think that's a vocal warm-up. It is, but that's more of a workout, which is funny. So I got to see the difference of physically stretching. I do it.

It's weird, like you're sticking your tongue out, like you're stretching, you're physically massaging your face, and it's actually physically warming up your face. And I tell all my students, do it. Oh, I don't know. It's pretty extensive, but it legitimately starts with making like a butterfly on your chest and bringing your chin forward and sitting in these stretches that just feel good and just elongate everything, and I tell my students that I teach, you know, what does an athlete do before they go onto the field? They stretch. And the funny thing is, is that as vocalists, you're expected to just use your instrument. But essentially, it's so much more than that. So it's that, and it's also a combination of using a straw, like the straw warm-ups. I don't know if you're familiar with that, blowing into a straw and just, woo, it sounds really silly. If you're ever around me while I'm doing a warm-up, you probably think I'm going crazy. But it's just a lot of trills and things that are inside a straw, so it's not damaging for your voice. and it's through water.

So it's just a softer way of getting your voice warmed up. But yeah, if you have more questions about that, I could really get into it. I love talking about it. So the final thing I'd like to do tonight, I have a book available for the winner of this, and it's all about the science of sound. And I interviewed Adriana Barton about this. She wrote all about the science of sound, how it impacts as why when you're on a run or working out at the gym, why that sound, why that music.

tunes you into another gear where you're able to keep going for whatever reason that that's fuel even though you didn't take a supplement, you didn't eat anything, why it enables to encourage you to keep going when it's just sound in your ears. And so she goes through the science of it, how it helps cancer patients, how it helps other people. So we have that gift here tonight. But you have the immense honor or displeasure of choosing the one person who gets this book tonight. Oh my goodness. Okay. Okay, Russell Roopsing. He is not here. I'm 99% sure he is not here tonight.

Oh, yay. Randy Robinson. Yeah, he actually might have left as well. You're not very good at this. Maybe I'll stick to singing. Okay. Amanda Strigley. Yay!

She was going to come up here? Do you want to come to you? She was one of the people who was opting for the introverts lounge, but managed to come all the way down to the front end. On our end, this begins to end our evening formally of the interview process. Rebecca, I can't thank you enough for being willing to do this. One of my hopes, one of my dreams, why we put that crazy balloon arch up, which is all thanks to my partner, Rebecca, and Tim, who are in the back, you're not putting it on the big screen.

You're like, I can see it, but nobody else can see it. So maybe, you know, yeah, switch it. You know, I can, it's a big blue, you know, with the question marks. You're still. It's behind you, dude. But this is not, you know? I'm not crazy. Okay.

Well, not everybody can see what you're talking about. See, this is a question mark. See what I'm saying? I wanted to show you. Why would I want to see a black wall, man? Let's get it. So thank you to everybody in the back for putting this on tonight. They've been behind the scenes, they are turning everything you've done into a podcast

that I can air, that you can re-listen to, which is crazy to my brain, for other people to listen to. My hope tonight is that you will be willing to go over to that balloon arch and that some of you will be willing to take a photo with Rebecca, post that on your social media, and continue to raise awareness to this terrific, not really local talent, because Kelowna is really far away from us, but this local great talent of somebody who's trying to share their gift with others,

and so I'm hoping you might stroll out there and be willing to take photos with individuals. We have our terrific photographer, Alex Hart, here tonight, who's willing to share that with people. I'm going to be perfectly honest with you guys. I have to go to the bathroom, like crazy. So I appreciate you so much for willing to do this. I appreciate the back room so much for being willing to do this.

I appreciate the back room so much for being willing to be willing to be. to put this all together and to do all the audio. Please enjoy the rest of the food. I'm going to lose that bet, so you're not invited next time if you fail this. So thank you again. I really appreciate all of you being willing to come out tonight. As I said, this has been such a tremendous honor for all of you to show up all the kind words of people saying, actually people showed up to your event meant a lot to me.

So I really thank you for all coming up, taking the time, enjoying the evening. I hope it was fun. I hope if I posted another one, you might go like, I'll go to it. he doesn't have to convince me to go, that would actually mean a lot to me. So thank you again all for coming out tonight.