Verity's Blog

Band Practice vs Business Practice...

This week we got back into serious rehearsal mode as we have a few shows back to back in November and with Helder being on tour in Denmark we have invited a fantastic bassist Sylvain to join us for the month. This obviously implies alot of ground work getting him up to speed with close on 18 songs and we met for the first time on Wednesday to get things going. As luck would have it, Tony was stuck at the airport and so we had to start the rehearsal without him. I felt confident that it would be too much of a problem as Nelson and Al were there to take Sylvain through the chord changes & get familiar with the songs - so we would be ok without our drummer for a bit right? Not the case!

It was amazing to hear the songs without Tony there and for the first time really appreciate how much he keeps each of them together with his timing and rhythm. It got me to thinking about how easy it is to not notice how much value a team/band member is adding until they are not there. It is human nature to just accept that things are working and not question or value the people who are responsible for it until they are gone. I know how talented Tony is and love working with him, but a simple thing like teaching a new band member our songs was just not the same without him. As it would not have been the same without Nelson or Al or me. We are not a band without each one of us being in the room and it was a beautiful wake-up call to really appreciate the magic each person adds to the whole.

Running a band is not that different to running a business and this week gave me a powerful realisation that I can only do what I do because of these fantastic guys who bring their talent, passion and commitment to my music. If we aren't celebrating our team and thanking them for what they each bring to the table then we are dangerously close to losing what makes us work and run the risk of losing it. So this is my chance to extend a HUGE thanks to 'The Shades' and other musicians I work with, for the incredible way in which they colour my music and this band. What a priviledge to be on this road together - you guys all ROCK!!!

             
                        Pic by Neill Le Roux, V&A Amphitheater Sept 19 2009

Weekend Live Interview (SABC News)

I was interviewed & performed live on SABC2's Weekend Live in March 2009 by a fantastic presenter Masechaba. Can't tell you how intimidating performing on live TV is - especially when they want you to sing your heart out to three cameras whizzing around on booms & no audience in sight except for the millions of people watching it at home. Quite a learning curve but awesome to have had such a great opportunity!!!

Top Billing gets my bag...

Yesterday was quite a day! I started off by rushing to Reto to have my hair and make-up done and managed to screech home just in time before the Top Billing team decended on the house in full force. It was awesome to have them spend the morning with me and to reconnect with Nico Panagio two years after we worked together on Ella Blue!

The insert they are featuring me in, is for the D&D Charity Auction to raise funds for Journey To Life - a charity aimed at building a research centre for cancer and other terminal diseases. The idea is that various celebs donate a handbag to be auctioned off and that Top Billing will cover the story behind each bag that has been donated. I chose a  beaded bag that I picked up for an absolute bargain at an Indian tradeshow at the CTICC a few years back and that has travelled with me around the world to London, Nashville & New York. We included an autographed copy of Journey as an added bonus to the bag so I hope it helps them raise a lot of money!

If that wasn't enough for one day, after the team had departed I had a quick telephone interview with Kathalijne Van Zutpen for an article that will be appearing on porfoliocollection and then rushed off to get ready for my speech at the opening of local artist Cathy Layzell's exhibition DUENDE. Her exhibition is breath-taking and it was great to stretch myself with something completely new by giving the opening address to a room full of art lovers! It seemed to go down really well and I had the curator of the gallery (Irma Stern) threatening me that I would be in great demand by artists needing a speech to open their exhibitions. Who would have thought!!!

By the time I got home I had a feeling of satisfied exhaustion at the end of a jampacked day doing what I love. Can't wait to see what the rest of the week brings!

 

 
 

Finding My Inspiration...

On Saturday I was up bright and early to make my way to the Old Mutual "Find Your Inspiration" Womens Day, where I was one of the speakers in a jam packed program. They gave me a stand to sell albums from and it made for a wonderfully busy day chatting to all the women who were there. After my talk and performance, my stand was inundated with people and we nearly ran out of albums - always a good problem to have! I was blown away by the over 400 women who stayed for the entire seminar and gave so much energy back to the speakers and were so clearly there because they wanted to be inspired and work on living their best life.

One of the highlights of the day for me has to be the talk by Donna McCallum (aka The Fairygodmother) who shared so honestly with the audience her own journey of having the courage to live the life of her dreams and now helps thousands of people to do the same. I was pretty much Donna's first 'Cinderella' when she helped manage the Lucky Packet Project from 2006-2007 and it felt very fitting to be sharing a stage together and seeing people walking away from her stand with her book (Getting What You Want) - ready to tackle their dreams head on! Nikki Jackman was another big wow of the day as she took the women on a journey of giggles and laughter with her awesome Joy Session presentation. After she finished her slot the audience was so revved up it was amazing to hear them giving each speaker 110% of their attention and energy!

And this is my day job... Bring it on!!!

    

 

Thought for the week...

The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up!   -   J. M. Power

Putting on our dancing shoes...

For a while now I have realised that I need to up my game when it comes to "shaking what my mama gave me" on stage and call in the pros to show me how its really done. As the band continues to grow and shape the music in a far more afro-pop/rock direction, our shows are increasingly becoming a celebration of this amazing continent - the rhythm, the colours, the sounds & the textures of it.

The idea of bringing more dancing to our shows has been perculating at the back of my mind for a while now, and a few weeks back I met two gorgeous, dynamic young women - Kea & Lerato - who attended the talk I gave at the Nedbank Student Evening. They resonated with my story and music and we got chatting, only to discover that they are both singers & dancers! We have kept in touch since then and yesterday I met up with them at Zula Bar to give them a CD to listen to so that they can start working on harmonies and dance routines! It is going to be an experiment in motion and if all goes well I can't wait to have them join us at our next rehearsal so we start incorporating them into the band and putting together a live show that will rock people's socks off!

Watch this space...
     

Lize's song... Reaching For Her Dream

Here is it! The song I wrote for Lize to sing to her best friend - her jack russell 'July'. It has been a wonderful project to work on and I am so grateful to have had the time to make it happen. Selwyn Shandel was a superstar to offer his studio and time for free to make this song possible, and my amazing boyfriend not only took time off to film the rehearsal day but also spent an entire weekend editing this video! I guess that is what 'Reach For A Dream' is all about - reaching out, extending what we can give to help a child achieve something they dream of.

Lize will be turning 9 in November so this will hopefully be a lovely present for her and the perfect reminder of her experience of recording her first song!

If you have a moment - please visit my YouTube channel and leave a comment for Lize - I would love to be able to send her some real 'fan' mail to really complete the dream!

Thought for the week...

We have free will, and our free will lies - in the choice of our thoughts.     -  Emmet Fox

ZIMFEST gets some international exposure...

Last Saturday morning, myself and Zimfest organiser Magdalena Zukowski, headed off the SABC studios in Seapoint to be interviewed for 'Youth Expression', a current affairs show broadcast on SABC News International to the world’s 16-35 year olds via the Vivid Satellite platform, to Africa and other parts of the world such as Europe and Washington. It was an amazing opportunity to gain international exposure for this years Zimfest and to talk about why Verity & The Shades are so excited to be performing there!

As always TV interviews are a learning curve, and we found ourselves in a remote studio doing the interview with the crew up in Jozi - us talking straight into a huge camera with their questions coming through earpieces and a massive delay on the sound. Everytime I answered something I could hear it coming back at me while I was trying to make out their next question - very disconcerting - but in the end it was a great interview and we celebrated with coffee at La Vie when we were done! I have to say I can't wait for the festival - it is going to be incredible so save the date - 20 - 22 November!!!

     


  

Edward DeBono Creative - 6 Thinking Hats

Here is the chapter from Journey to the Core (SABC3) that looked at the 6 Thinking Hats & how I used them to come up with my business model using crowd-funding for my album 'Journey'. Enjoy xxx