Celebrating Friends Who Do Amazing Things

I’ve mentioned my friend Anna Atkinson before (here), but now she gets a whole post to herself because, yes, her CD “Mooniture” is launched and it is fabulous!  Just watch this video of “Cinnamon” to see for yourself:

Anna graciously answered a few questions for me.  I hope you’re as inspired as I am!

1)    What inspired you to make this CD?

I’ve been writing songs for about as long as I can remember, but they always seemed to reside kind of in the background, behind my schooling, my classical training, my freelance work, all that… 

I used to listen to albums by artists that I really love (Christine Fellows, Randy Newman, Feist, Patrick Watson, Jolie Holland, and many more…), but I didn’t make the connection between their work and mine for a really long time.  From personal necessity, I started to take my writing a lot more seriously about four years ago.  At the encouragement of one of my teachers, a really good friend, I started playing my songs for audiences on a regular basis.  It was around that time that I began to clue in that this was something special – something that I found immensely fulfilling (and, quite frankly, absolutely necessary), and that other people seemed to connect to.  And then the big “When are you going to make a record” question started to pop up more and more frequently…  I think it was the combination of feeling so deeply satisfied with the songs and the wholehearted (sometimes nagging) encouragement from people around me that really inspired me to make this album.

2) Was it a scary process?

I found the whole process very challenging, and often scary.  I’d been involved in countless recording projects, but had never been in charge of my own.  It’s a whole new piece of territory, and I had no idea how to proceed.  All of the sudden there would be people that I hired waiting for my direction, my decisions, etc. 
Another scary element, and quite possibly the greatest learning experience I had in the process of making the album WAS the involvement of other people’s ideas in my music.  Although I often didn’t know exactly how I wanted to treat all of my songs, I was very protective of them at first, fearful that other people’s input might somehow harm my music.  Another factor was my ego, not wanting to ask for help from ANYONE, even if I really needed it.  Learning when and how to relax control and let other people step in and help was a challenge, but ultimately one that I overcame and the album is richer for it. 

Finally, I think the scariest part was the thought that people may not like it.  Especially if you really want EVERYONE to hear it, you’re liable to get reviews of all sorts, from positive to scathing…  There is a safety in not having an album, because although you’re not going to enjoy all the benefits of having one, you’re not risking the negative bits too.  At some point, I came to the liberating realization that there’s absolutely no way that I can get everyone to like it.  Regardless of whatever anyone does, there will always be critics.  That was helpful to keep in mind.

3)    How excited are you now that it’s out?

Very.  Lots.  Extremely.

4) Any words of encouragement for anyone else who wants to follow their dream?

Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it.  I’ve had to ask for advice and input from countless people every step of the way for this project, and everyone was extremely helpful – from making me a cup of tea and giving me a pep talk, to suggesting ideas for orchestration, publicity, touring, etc.  This can be hugely difficult, because society has a collective image of “the artist” being the sole culprit of his/her art, toiling away at a desk with nothing but a candle and a cup of coffee/whiskey for company…  It’s romanticized but pretty inaccurate.  The idea that you need to do it (“it” being anything – not just art or music) all YOURSELF is a construction of ego, and chances are that you will end up doing about 99% of the work yourself anyway. 

Friends, colleagues, people who inspire you (even if you don’t know them personally) can be huge resources of knowledge and encouragement. 

…and anything else you’d want people to know.

  errr… “Mooniture” is my made up word for furniture made out of the moon.

The album is available on Zunior for a high quality mp3 download. It will be available on iTunes shortly too!

OR — if you live in Stratford – physical copies are on sale at Revel Caffe! 

You can also order one through Anna’s website (send her an email and she’ll make arrangements to send you a disc.)

Even better, I HAVE a copy of the CD to GIVE to one of you lovely readers!  If you’d like to be entered in the draw, leave me a comment and you could win!  And please spread the word far and wide – I want everyone possible to hear Anna’s music!

Thanks so much for this Anna!

I hope you all have a lovely weekend, maybe asking someone to help you get a little closer to one of your dreams…