Verity's Blog

First Gig - First Steps...

Today it is 4years exactly since I played my first ever show with a live band at Mercury Live.  I remember so clearly the thrill of being booked to play the Uncircled gig and having to rush to put a band together. My good friend David Foster pulled in with his band to come to my rescue and after two rehearsals we were apparently ready to go. I had David on guitar, Jan Krynauw on keyboards and from DNA Strings – Iwan on drums and Jaques on bass.  It was a mad scramble to send out emails and sms's to tell the world I was finally ready to perform and I can still remember going to Mercury to collect the posters and seeing my name in print for the first time ever - surreal.

While collecting the posters I got chatting to a guy who was asking lots of questions about my music and when I eventually asked him what he did, I was rightfully embarrassed to realise I had been chatting to Theo Crous from the Nude Girls!  I think he found my naievity entertaining and offered to come play guest guitar on “Wherever Love Goes” at the show.  And so, four years ago I stepped onto stage with some amazing musicians, a huge crowd supporting me and a healthy dose of guts,  and started to truly follow my dream.

It has been quite a journey since and looking back I am in awe of the twists and turns it has taken me on. It hasn't always been easy and there have been days when I thought I didn't have another step in me, but here I am four years down the road and about to finish my album.  Thank god for first steps and for life coming at us one day at a time!

Marimba Magic...

Check out this amazing Marimba Band from St Michaels Church in Khayelitsha! After playing us some thumping traditional African songs they surprised us with their awesome rendition of Sean Kingston's “Beautiful Girl”. They are definitley a band I would book for a party or wedding – their energy is incredible!  mail them for info

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Love Is.... a girl & her piano

Some very rare footage of me actually playing the piano! Paul captured this of me laying down some piano ideas for "Love Is" and it looks like I am going to playing it on the album as well! This gives a good idea of the creative process we follow in the studio, but please excuse the poor sound quality of the clip - I promise it wont sound like this on your CD!

Adding some percussion to "Shine"

A short snippet of Tony adding some congas to Shine. He plays so beautifully dont you think?

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Afraid to be angels?

I seem to have an affinity for one word titles - “Shine”, “Miracle”, “Perfect”, “Raise” and “Careless” are all on the album, as well as my two newest songs “Angel” and “Afraid”. I wrote 'Angel' and 'Afraid' six weeks apart from each other this year just before voting started for the album.

They are in essence complete opposites of each other lyrically – 'Angel' celebrating being able to let the best part of yourself out into the world, and 'Afraid' questioning all the things that hold us back from letting go and just living. But if you think about it, letting go of fears is how we start to access our light and so I am really glad to have them on the album together. They mark my journey of being so terrified to even sing in front of my friends to now fearlessly following my passion and saying its ok for me to want to shine.

Pre-Production in full swing

I am back in Cape Town after three incredible days at The Farm Studios in Jozi  working with Paul Mc Iver on four more demos for the album. It is the most amazing process to witness my songs grow from simple piano and vocals to a full production in a matter of hours. I am in awe of the magic that happens when we create anything. We have had so much fun finding drum grooves, tweaking bass lines, sprinkling in percussion and layering guitars and piano parts and watching as each song takes on a life and voice of its own. Every moment that I am in the studio is another minute of living this dream I have spent the last two years building. I am so clear that the time it has taken to reach this point is perfect. It is not something that could have been rushed and the music we are creating now is a result of the journey I have been on.

I will be adding the new sounds onto my songplayer soon so keep an ear out. If you aren't a Future Owner already then now is the perfect time to become one and be part of the voting process when it starts next week!

My Music is in the Movies....

I have exciting news! A while back I landed a tiny role in a SA film OIL ON WATER and got flown up to Durban to shoot my part. It was a fun experience and I was pleased to be part of a great independent film being made on our shores.

A few weeks ago the film's producer, Elle Matthews, called me out of the blue to say she had been on my website and had listened to some of my songs and had two definites she wanted for the film's soundtrack with a possible third song as well! I was blown away to receive such an unexpected call and to have the experience of a dream coming true to have my music in a movie!

Nelson and I just had two days in Cape Town Sound Studios recording 'Forever In Me', 'Careless' and 'Would You Still Love Me' for the movie with a kickass sound engineer Nick Hazel. It was awesome to hear them coming together and visualise 'Forever In Me' playing while the film's credits role.  Keep an eye out for the film when it releases in August in SA.

The project in pictures and footage....

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About "Raise"

Growing up in the political climate in South Africa exposed me to how little people actually listen to each other. We are so often caught up in making ourselves heard that we ignor those around us. It is the same in families - everyone is so busy trying to get their point across that they never 'hear' anyone else and at the same time feel that they are being unheard.

I wrote this song while driving through Germany with some friends back in 1999. There we were - two South Africans, a German and a Croatian - having a political discussion - very dangerous territory! I was on the outskirts of that debate so I got to watch their passionate expressions in the rearview mirror as they each tried to push their point across with resulting frustration on all parts. When we arrived in Kiel where we were staying we went down to the beach, and I wrote the lyrics there.

In the eight years (yikes) since I wrote this song it has come to be one of my favourites and seems to resonate with people. The message for me has shifted to also incorporate the impact we can have when listen to one another powerfully and from there raise our voices to effect change in society. It is only through people finding their voices and speaking their truth that anything ever changes. I love that this song can be played a big rock concert and then again at a charity benefit to get people inspired to contribute, raise money, raise awareness and be counted!

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About "Will I Still Be The One?"

With the world so obsessed with staying young and 'perfect', these are the questions I realize that I would want to ask of anyone I might contemplate spending my life with.

Its not enough for them to love my youth - its about loving the journey together and growing old side by side.

I love the idea of lines around my eyes from years of smiling! What better way to know you have lived a rich and happy life?

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