Vocal Lab

On today's episode, I am thrilled to sit down with director Emma Higgins. Emma won a Juno award in 2021 for directing the Best Video of The Year ("No One's in the Room" - Jessie Reyez), and has been nominated again this year ("Fraud" - Jessie Reyez).

On top of chatting about the important relationships that have taken her on her career journey, what she'd do differently, what she'd do over again, and learning her craft, Emma is incredibly generous in walking us through the details of making a video, from the perspective of an indie artist intersecting with a director. I'm really not exaggerating here…if you've ever wondered what it looks like to make a video as an independent artist, this is your A-Z guide. Really invaluable information!

Mentioned

Video treatment library: www.wedirectmusicvideos.com

Web: www.emmahiggins.com

IG: @emmaaverage

YouTube: @emmaaverage

Vimeo: @emmaaverage

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SUBMIT YOUR BURNING QUESTIONS

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THE VOCAL LAB INSTAGRAM

THE VOCAL LAB WEBSITE

Email the Vocal Lab at [email protected]

Theme music for The Vocal Lab by FreshEars Audio

Some links posted in the show notes may happen to be affiliate or partner links. That just means when you click the link to purchase something on this page, I may receive a commission for sharing it with you, even though it won't cost you a penny more. Which is pretty great, because I was going to share it with you anyway!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Today's show, I'm back with Kelly Brock for part 2 of our interview. We get into important relationships in her career, and she has a great story about a surprising mentorship relationship with Richard Branson you have to hear!

What it takes to have a career with longevity, the ins and outs of having a house gig, and then the journey of navigating out of said house gig into band-for-hire territory, and the cross-pollination of having a great backing band at your disposal when putting together corporate shows with VanHattan Entertainment…come on in and get all the juicy details!

Mentioned:

School of Rock Vancouver

Kelly Brock: www.kellybrock.com/

IG: @kellybrockvanbc

FB: @kellybrockmusic

YT: @kellybrockmusic

Dr. Strangelove: www.drstrangeloveband.com/

IG: @strangelovebandvan

FB: @drstrangeloveband

YT: @drstrangeloveband

VanHattan Entertainment: www.vanhattanent.com/

IG: @vanhattanent

FB: @VanhattanEntertainment

YT: @vanhattanent

_________________________

SUBMIT YOUR BURNING QUESTIONS

SUGGEST A GUEST

THE VOCAL LAB INSTAGRAM

THE VOCAL LAB WEBSITE

Email the Vocal Lab at [email protected]

Theme music for The Vocal Lab by FreshEars Audio

Some links posted in the show notes may happen to be affiliate or partner links. That just means when you click the link to purchase something on this page, I may receive a commission for sharing it with you, even though it won't cost you a penny more. Which is pretty great, because I was going to share it with you anyway!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On today's episode, I have Kelly Brock, founder and director of VanHattan Entertainment Group. Kelly sings with the iconic Vancouver Party Band, Dr Strangelove, and is also a veteran on the Canadian Country music scene as a recording artist. Kelly has released four independent CD's over the course of her recording career and also won The BCCMA's Lifetime Achievement Award for Best Female Vocalist in 2017.

Kelly and I talk about what she would do differently if she was doing it all over again, as well as what she would repeat. Kelly talks about the advantages of having DIY'd her career as a recording artist, and how that impacted the transition into founding her booking agency, VanHattan Entertainment. She talks a lot about the different kinds of clients she works with, and the different kinds of productions she puts together. We talk about working in your area of genius, and the need to understand business basics and job details and skills when hiring a team. Finally, we talk at length about the positives and negatives of following a career to stardom versus all the different ways of becoming a working musician, making a good living and enjoying music and life.

Don't miss part 2 of my interview with Kelly on Thursday!

Books Discussed

Come Fly with Me: Michael Bublé's Rise to Stardom, a Memoir, by Beverly Delich and Shelly Fralic

Justin Bieber: Just Getting Started, by Justin Bieber

Kelly Brock: www.kellybrock.com/

IG: @kellybrockvanbc

Dr. Strangelove: www.drstrangeloveband.com/

IG: @strangelovebandvan

VanHattan Entertainment: www.vanhattanent.com/

IG: @vanhattanent

_________________________

SUBMIT YOUR BURNING QUESTIONS

SUGGEST A GUEST

THE VOCAL LAB INSTAGRAM

THE VOCAL LAB WEBSITE

Email the Vocal Lab at [email protected]

Theme music for The Vocal Lab by FreshEars Audio

Some links posted in the show notes may happen to be affiliate or partner links.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In part two of my interview with Danny Craig, we get into the elements that have gone into his favourite projects. Danny explains how he structures his rates, and exactly what can be expected in the process.

We talk in detail about the different stages, roles, and what they encompass: pre-production, recording, mixing, and mastering. We talk about why it's worth recording different things in different rooms, and how it affects the budget.

Danny talks about what the current day alternatives are to radio trackers, in order to get music out of the artists' hands and into the ears of listeners. We chat about how to get heard by a label. And Danny wraps it up with his words of wisdom on when it's time to get an agent or a manager…and when it really isn't.

www.dannycraig.com

FB @dannycraigproducer

IG @dannycraigpro

www.rockisdeadrecords.com

FB @RockIsDeadRecords

IG @rockisdeadrecords

_________________________

SUBMIT YOUR BURNING QUESTIONS

SUGGEST A GUEST

THE VOCAL LAB INSTAGRAM

THE VOCAL LAB WEBSITE

Email the Vocal Lab at [email protected]

Theme music for The Vocal Lab by FreshEars Audio

Some links posted in the show notes may happen to be affiliate or partner links. That just means when you click the link to purchase something on this page, I may receive a commission for sharing it with you, even though it won't cost you a penny more. Which is pretty great, because I was going to share it with you anyway!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On today's show, we have Danny Craig, a drummer, songwriter and Producer/Mixer based outside of Vancouver, Canada. Danny is also a founding member of the multi platinum rock group Default. As a writer, Danny plays an integral role in the co-creation of the ongoing Default catalogue. Additionally he co-writes with many of the artists he produces, and has seen success on rock radio with bands like One Bad Son and Bonds of Mara. In 2017 Danny scored big with writing the opening theme song for Nickelodeon's The Mysticons, and more recently has been writing for commercials and video games.

Danny and I talked about the things that have made the biggest positive differences in the development of his career, the important relationships along the way, and how he made the transition from performing to producing.

Danny generously offered up his wisdom about the intersection of the roles of artist, producer, and engineer. He then offered up his best tips on how artists can prepare to work with a producer in order to have the most successful project.

This is part one of our interview. Come back again on Thursday for part two!

www.dannycraig.com

FB @dannycraigproducer

IG @dannycraigpro

www.rockisdeadrecords.com

FB @RockIsDeadRecords

IG @rockisdeadrecords

_________________________

SUBMIT YOUR BURNING QUESTIONS

SUGGEST A GUEST

THE VOCAL LAB INSTAGRAM

THE VOCAL LAB WEBSITE

Email the Vocal Lab at [email protected]

Theme music for The Vocal Lab by FreshEars Audio

Some links posted in the show notes may happen to be affiliate or partner links. That just means when you click the link to purchase something on this page, I may receive a commission for sharing it with you, even though it won't cost you a penny more. Which is pretty great, because I was going to share it with you anyway!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today we have the second part of my interview with Craig Northey. Craig was so generous with his thoughts and knowledge gleaned from many years as a joyfully pro musician.

We talk about the realities of life on the road, and the importance of taking care of yourself and your instrument, in order to achieve what you're setting out to achieve. Craig gives us the inside look at the extensive plan the band undertook in the early days of the Odds, which involved their alter-ego band Dawn Patrol working as a house band at the Roxy, opening for themselves, spending years writing and recording in the basement of the Roxy, before ultimately commuting back and forth to LA.

Craig talks about the process of a band breaking up and then ultimately re-forming, working with other artists, and jokes that didn't land. We go down the rabbit hole about people's most common misconceptions about the music industry, and being a successful writer or artist. And we come full circle, talking further about relationships, lessons, the importance of great teachers, and the importance of lateral skill development.

New Odds album coming soon!

IG: @craignorthey

IG: @oddsmusic

Twitter: @oddsmusic

Website: https://oddsmusic.com/

_________________________

SUBMIT YOUR BURNING QUESTIONS

SUGGEST A GUEST

THE VOCAL LAB INSTAGRAM

THE VOCAL LAB WEBSITE

Email the Vocal Lab at [email protected]

Theme music for The Vocal Lab by FreshEars Audio

Some links posted in the show notes may happen to be affiliate or partner links. That just means when you click the link to purchase something on this page, I may receive a commission for sharing it with you, even though it won't cost you a penny more. Which is pretty great, because I was going to share it with you anyway!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today on the show, we have Craig Northey, founding member of renowned Canadian rock band "Odds". Formed in1987 they crossed over into radio success, platinum awards and Juno nominations during the mid 1990s and have maintained their vitality to this day. Craig is also known for his work as a film and TV composer (Kids in the Hall, Corner Gas, Hiccups, Young Drunk Punk, This Blows).

Craig and I talk about his music roots as a child whose mother was a symphonic violinist/violist, and moving from a classical pedigree into rock and roll, and the role his musical education has played in his musical journey…how theory helps eliminate the unnecessary notes.

We get into the important relationships in Craig's musical life, and how learning music was a social concept that involved hanging out at the music stores on the weekend to learn from your peers. Craig has a great perspective on community over competition in music.

We talk about Craigs journey from live performer into music for Film and TV, and collaborating with Kids in the Hall, and writing music for Brent Butt. The process is much more streamlined now than it was when he was starting out!

Craig talks about his songwriting process, both his solo writing, and when in collaborative process. We talk about the concept of storytelling as a songwriter, and I love that one of Craig's most driving forces in lyric writing is "how can we make this funnier?" We talk about the different ways we listen to music, and Craig talks about Susan Rogers' (record producer turned brain who worked with Odds) book This Is What It Sounds Like.

IG: @craignorthey

IG: @oddsmusic

Twitter: @oddsmusic

Website: https://oddsmusic.com/

_________________________

SUBMIT YOUR BURNING QUESTIONS

SUGGEST A GUEST

THE VOCAL LAB INSTAGRAM

THE VOCAL LAB WEBSITE

Email the Vocal Lab at [email protected]

Theme music for The Vocal Lab by FreshEars Audio

Some links posted in the show notes may happen to be affiliate or partner links. That just means when you click the link to purchase something on this page, I may receive a commission for sharing it with you, even though it won't cost you a penny more. Which is pretty great, because I was going to share it with you anyway!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today we have part two of my episode with Saffron Henderson, professional voice talent. (And I do mean talent!) Saffron has spent a lifetime in the arts, and works as both a singer and voice over actress.

Saf and I talk about how to create community and celebrate with friends while also potentially being in competition with them for the same work, and the delicate balance of holding both things simultaneously.

Saf explains the differences between all the various kinds of voice over work she does: narration, advertising, animation, anime, descriptive video, audiobooks, video games, and more. Each comes with their own joys and challenges.

We finish off by talking about the advantages and disadvantages of auditioning or recording from home and in studio, and some of Saffron's insights surprised me. (Hint: convenience isn't everything it's chalked up to be!)

For training in the realm of voiceover acting, check out On the Mic Training, where Saffron is one of many working actors, teaching the skills you need.

Check out Saf's live Streamily Signing event with her Anime Time Machine crew, coming up January 29 at 11 am PST on Instagram.

TikTok @SaffronVoice

IG: @saffron.voice

IG @anime.time.machine

TikTok: @anime.time.machine

YouTube: animetimemachine

Streamily Signing: Sunday Jan 29 streamily.com/animetimemachine

_________________________

SUBMIT YOUR BURNING QUESTIONS

SUGGEST A GUEST

THE VOCAL LAB INSTAGRAM

THE VOCAL LAB WEBSITE

Email the Vocal Lab at [email protected]

Theme music for The Vocal Lab by FreshEars Audio

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today, I'm thrilled to welcome one of my dearest friends, Saffron Henderson. Saffron and I have worked together in a lot of different capacities for a lot of years, starting with singing on a SunRype jingle as kids, and recently having a party band together for a number of years called The Ticket.

Saf has had a varied career, depending on her creativity, and largely relying on her voice as her main creative tool. In addition to voice work - both singing and speaking - she has worked as a dancer, an actress, and a songwriter.

I'm so excited for you to come along on the journey with Saf and I as we talk about navigating the trials and tribulations of a publishing deal as a songwriter, coming into her own right as an artist while being the daughter of a successful musician (Bill Henderson, episodes 3 and 4), some great war stories from both the singing and acting worlds, and the early imprinting of misogyny and being a woman in the music industry.

In addition, Saf really breaks down the nuts and bolts of being a hired lead singer, background (BG) singer, singer/songwriter, and working in a cover band. We talk about the value of collaboration, and the important relationships Saf has valued in her career,

We'll be back on Thursday with the second half of Saffron's interview. In the meantime, I want you to know about her live Streamily Signing event with her Anime Time Machine crew, coming up January 29 at 11 am PST on Instagram.

TikTok @SaffronVoice

IG: @saffron.voice

IG @anime.time.machine

TikTok: @anime.time.machine

YouTube: animetimemachine

Streamily Signing: Sunday Jan 29 streamily.com/animetimemachine

_________________________

SUBMIT YOUR BURNING QUESTIONS

SUGGEST A GUEST

THE VOCAL LAB INSTAGRAM

THE VOCAL LAB WEBSITE

Email the Vocal Lab at [email protected]

Theme music for The Vocal Lab by FreshEars Audio

Some links posted in the show notes may happen to be affiliate or partner links. That just means when you click the link to purchase something on this page, I may receive a commission for sharing it with you, even though it won't cost you a penny more. Which is pretty great, because I was going to share it with you anyway!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On the show today, we have part two of my interview with Mike Fraser, legendary rock and roll mix engineer.

Mike and I talk about the importance of leaving the egos at the door, elements of his favourite projects, as well as difficult projects he's worked on. Mike lays out the way he structures his rates, and emphasizes the importance of clarity around how much you're spending and exactly what you get for that money, so there are no unpleasant surprises later. He also works through the pre-production process, the studio process, the post-production process, mixing and mastering.

We talk about the importance of creating a comfortable setting in the studio, in order to create the best possible product. Mike talks about the realities of working at the legendary Little Mountain Sound Studios, and some of his favourite local and international studios he's had the pleasure of working in throughout his career.

Mike shares his favourite pieces of gear to work with (hint, new isn't always better in rock and roll!), and talks about the importance of having some business knowledge and acumen as an artist, so that you can take care of yourself and not get taken advantage of.

I'm so grateful to Mike for sharing his invaluable knowledge of the industry.

www.mikefrasermix.com

FB: Fraser Productions Inc

_________________________

SUBMIT YOUR BURNING QUESTIONS

SUGGEST A GUEST

THE VOCAL LAB INSTAGRAM

THE VOCAL LAB WEBSITE

Email the Vocal Lab at [email protected]

Theme music for The Vocal Lab by FreshEars Audio

Some links posted in the show notes may happen to be affiliate or partner links. That just means when you click the link to purchase something on this page, I may receive a commission for sharing it with you, even though it won't cost you a penny more. Which is pretty great, because I was going to share it with you anyway!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.