Tag Archive for 'durban'

Billie Jean

Published on November 1, 2010 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

I am not a covers artist. I never have been. I guess I’m stubborn that way. It would certainly be easier to make headway if every audience knew every song I played, but that is not why I perform. I’m a songwriter. I am not a covers artist. But every once in a while, someone else’s song finds it’s way into my world.

A friend of mine was helping me out with some promotion on my November tour to Cape Town last year and thought it would be fun to play a different cover at every show. Considering my standpoint on covers, her suggestion didn’t exactly go down well at first, but at that stage I considered any angle to make my mark, so I accepted. The only condition to this challenge, was that she would pick the song. So, this is how Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean ended up in my live set. At first I thought she had lost her mind asking a pianist to cover Michael Jackson, but when her business partner recommended that I listen to Chris Cornell’s version for a different take, I was hooked, and the rest is history. (Thanks Brenda!)

NoEyeDeer have had their eyes and ears to the ground in Durban, and have been doing a damn fine job of capturing the goings on of the local music scene on film. The lads were at a recent show in Durban and caught me playing what is now one of my absolute favourite songs to perform. Check out the video of Billie Jean below, let me know what you think, and feel free to share it. Then head over to NoEyeDeer’s facebook page for more radical video and photographic coverage of what’s going on in the Durban music scene, brought to you purely for the love of music. Much respect lads!

www.noeyedeer.co.za

Filmed & Edited: Teight Productions • Photos: Geecee Photography • music.love

Addicted To The Road

Published on July 29, 2010 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

The Open Road

It’s a week before I ride off into the sunset on the next edition of tours, and I’m chomping at the bit to get back on the road. I’ve realised over the past few weeks at home that I am, in fact, addicted to touring. It’s crawled under my skin and gripped my being entirely. I won’t lie, the last year of touring has not always been the easiest ride, but it’s certainly been a life-changing and thoroughly rad experience.

When I was at ‘varsity, I always had this urge to get in my car and just drive somewhere… anywhere… everywhere… just away. It was a ridiculous thought at the time because I was far too responsible and guarded in my early 20s, but I remembered this old craving a few months ago and realised that I’ve been living that desire wholeheartedly. The concept isn’t as whimsical anymore, and certainly involves none of the “running away” motivation that I had back then, but the basic format is the same.

Coming home after a long period on the road is a beautiful thing, and I’ve realised over the past year how much I love the place I call home. Things I’ve so often taken for granted take on a whole new meaning when I arrive back in my own space, sleep in my own bed, get back into some semblance of a routine that allows a certain degree of normality to set back in, and spend time with my family and friends who I miss so much when I’m away. Durban is exceptionally gorgeous in winter, so over the past few months especially, my appreciation for my hometown has grown tenfold as I’ve returned from the “real winters” of Joburg, Cape Town and Grahamstown. There aren’t many venues to choose from in Durban so I only play here every few months or so between tours, but this also means that I get to rest my voice a bit, regroup and focus on writing.

There is one thing about being home, however, that I don’t much care for. As a self-managed musician, I am my own booking agent, which is certainly one of the most essential parts of this job in that it secures the work, therefore allowing me to play music in the first place, but it is my least favourite role. Scheduling dates at the right venues along planned routes to fit just right into a period of time that doesn’t clash with other big events or exams or rugby matches… not fun. But necessary. And I get that. At the end of the day, I don’t think it matters what you’re doing, there is always going to be something about your job that you don’t really like, and unless you give that job to someone else, you’ve just got to get on with it. So that’s what I do when I’m home – I book the next tour, plan the next route, find more venues, schedule more dates, and try my best not to wish the days away to the next epic adventure.

Essentially, it’s all part of the ride and it will get easier over time, but I can’t hide my excitement as the next tour fast approaches because that is, after all, why I do what I do.

Yes, Officer

Published on July 11, 2010 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

The Police Band

I was booked for five World Cup Beach Festival shows on Durban beachfront during this final week of gees and they’ve been pretty run-of-the-mill quick sets that, as luck would have it, produced some pretty nifty contacts (as these gigs usually do) and adequate attention from a relatively diverse mid-week daytime turnout (in fact, I’m happy to report that albums are now on their way to Germany and Nicaragua!)… and then the South African Police Service turned up!

I am admittedly a little disturbed as the lead singer, radio buckled around his waist and gun still strapped to his thigh, grabs the mic in true rock star fashion and totally commands the stage. Now I was privy to the saxophonist warming up backstage before they went on, so I was quite looking forward to their set as he had me captured with the smooth sounds of an instrument that commands my full attention (I have to admit falling in love a few times as a result of the power it has over me). So when they started off with a killer jazzy tune I was suitably impressed and keen for more. They quickly descended, however, into what I would normally class as cheesy covers, but the guy had a gun, so there was no eye-rolling here. The crowd was loving it. I enjoyed a good chuckle to myself when I heard the phrase “put your hands up in the air”, which the crowd very promptly did, although at the time, I think I was the only one who fully appreciated the hilarity (I laugh at my own jokes often).

Despite an ultimately disappointing repertoire, I have to say that watching the cops rocking that stage (albeit in their own way) was the highlight of my week, topped off only by the officer who walked into my dressing room today saying “Shannon Hope, you’re under arrest”. In actuality, he had come to congratulate me on my set and to share lyrics to a song that he’d written, but jokes aside, hearing those words made my heart skip a quick beat.

My Durbanness

Published on June 15, 2010 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

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Two days ahead of my departure for the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape, and I hear of snow on my horizon! I’ve never actually seen the white stuff up close and real, and won’t deny that the extreme possibility of finally experiencing it is making my heart very happy… but I’m a Durban girl, and I fear that my Durbanness may be in for one serious challenge!

I’ve lived in Durban all my life, in fact, apart from a couple years at ‘varsity, I’ve lived in the same house in Umhlanga all my life, and I love this time of year in Durbs. The humidity subsides and is replaced, for the most part, with perfectly clear, mild winter days and cosy winter nights, with just enough chill factor to make it count. Last year I spent most of South Africa’s winter on tour in Cape Town, following stringent warnings that my Durbanness would be defeated by the cold, wind and rain… but I survived. This winter, I fear I may not be so lucky. I was in Cape Town a month ago and the cold had already set in to challenge my Durbanness, which resulted in my learning to build a rather respectable fire every night (a handy skill I’m most satisfied to finally have mastered), but there is no fireplace waiting for me in the Eastern Cape…

I’d probably say that cold for a Durban girl is about 14°C. My first stop in East London enjoys the mighty temperature of 5°C today, while Durban remains a (just) bearable 16°C. Armed with every layer imaginable and blankets galore, I pack my bags and ready myself for what is sure to be the coldest few weeks of my life thus far, thrilled by the prospect of experiencing my first white winter which, I’m almost certain, would make it all entirely bearable. To be that cold and not be rewarded with snow would be a travesty and a sign of utter disrespect on the part of the weather gods. Bring on the white stuff. My Durbanness can take it.