ally's journal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wdi5024rkIE

i'm going to try and drink herbal tea and sparkling water this week and avoid any drinks with a % sign on the packaging. it's been a boozy time lately. i'm kind of in limbo right now as far as the business of music goes. as anyone who has been reading this blog over the last while knows, i've been working away at my home demos while coming up with new songs and it's now reached the point where all the songs and parts are complete and recorded on my very basic equipment here in the flat. along with guitars there's string arrangements, piano, violin, trumpet....... i'm really chuffed with how it's sounding and have it all mapped out for the studio. so, the next thing that needs to happen is to figure out how to record them in the studio. this is the tricky part coz recording in a good studio with good people costs good money. i've recently been taken on by a lovely manager so she'll be out there in music business land letting folks hear the new material. so she'll go in to the offices with the demo cd and while they're distracted listening to the songs she'll be dipping into coats and gathering money from wallets and purses. all this money will then go into a giant pot and once that pot is full, i call the studio and book two weeks. i think this is the best plan.

i want to make this album the best work i've done. i really believe it will be. the music business land is a tough place to navigate these days with many musicians scratching their heads and wondering where on earth the money is going to come from as cds sales continue to take a massive tumble and with streaming generating buttons (tiny fractions of money) for artists. so, with management help hopefully the pot can begin to fill up. i'll still be working away too, trying to create opportunities for myself and my music, just as i always have done and always will.

london was fun, though kind of stressful in a way. i went with ryan, mike and andy who do a really great job of backing me up. we played well i think and everyone had a good time. i think generally though i feel uneasy at the moment, but i just need to try to stay positive and be true to myself. seeing great live music helps - last night i saw laura veirs perform with her band. really beautiful vocals and soaring harmonies. life affirming stuff on a sunday night in limboland.