​With the show tomorrow night, everyone is kicking the practices up a notch.
 
We all joined up in the morning to work over the logistics of the Finale songs (complete group numbers). I managed to score a lead type section with Blake Dantier (a fellow Team KB Group Member) singing harmonies, which was cool. Everything went well … to a point. Fingers crossed our hard work results in us all getting the lyrics and entries memorised.
 
After that, a small group of students and I were driven down to do a radio interview on one of the popular stations here in Tamworth. By chance, Courtney Jayne Keil and I managed to front most of the interview. It seemed to go really well. I look forward to the interview generating interest in tomorrow night’s concert at West Leagues.
 
Following the radio interview, we returned to campus for a last look over our songs for the last time before tonight. Our harmonies and extra bits work. It’s just a matter of remembering them. It’s difficult for me, as I’m not familiar with most of the pieces. The only one I knew before we began practicing was “What A Wonderful World”, who I sung with Noel Parlane on my first ever tour. That song brings back so many memories. I’m incredibly gutted that Noel isn’t with us, as I know he would’ve had this heart in the upcoming Tamworth Country Music Festival. You are missed.
 
During the day, I was able to see the venue that I will be playing on Saturday (The Pig and Tinder Box). It’s a neat bar relatively central in town. I’m still over the moon, that I have the opportunity to sing as a named artist both here and on the International Showcase stage at Bicentennial Park (Toyota Park). This complements the New Zealand Showcase concert we will be performing on the Fanzone stage very well.
 
So, onto the big evening concert run-through. Everyone smashed their performances out of the park. We went so well, and then … the group finale numbers came. All the work we put into these earlier into the day feel flat. It was a shame, as I know most if not all of us students worked really hard to nail these correctly. I’ve been in a number of shows, and know that this type of rehearsal (as soul destroying at the end as it may have been) make us very prepared for any potential issues that may occur. I’m sure with this “On Guard” mentality; we will have an incredible show tomorrow night.
 
Well … that’s today. Tomorrow is a massive one, so I’m going to tap out and get some sleep. Wish the team and I luck for the show. 

​Today, one of the biggest and exciting days here at the Academy started with Bob Corbett (the 2012 Star Maker winner) talked to us about the experience of winning this nationally recognised event. He mentioned heaps of things that I identified with, including the challenges of being able to support yourself as a musician. He still does the cover band thing (under a different alias), which helps him pursue his original career. The thing that I was really impressed with during this presentation was the incredible amount of detail he put into his tour books/planners, including things like a biography, reviews, support letters, press files (print articles and ads), as well as detailed income and expenses. This assisted him when drafting up funding applications for tours.
 
After a brief morning tea, we had Tim Daley from CMC (Country Music Channel) chat to us about having music videos on this television network. Much like us performers, the channel has their own brand it is portraying to their audiences … one targeted at the “caregiver who loves this country” stereo type. It was interesting to see what makes good and terrible music videos. When I get around to my music video, I have a clear picture of what I will include to make them successful.
 
After Tim Daley’s presentation, we had Barry Harley, who is one of the many influential people who organise the Tamworth Country Music Festival. It was very interesting hearing the history behind Tamworth and Country Music here in Australia. As I am really keen to perform as much as possible here in Tamworth, I approached him briefly at the end of his presentation, introduced myself (and what I do), and ended up getting a gig performing at the International Showcase Concert in Bicentennial Park on Monday night. I was so surprised and excited, as it happened in a matter of seconds. To top this off, Andrew (one of my mates here at the Academy) passed me a number to perform at another venue … which I secured. Two gigs in a matter of a minute. I’m pretty sure that’s a new record for me.
 
The rest of today was full with preparation for the Concert on Thursday. We worked with the band on individual numbers and group pieces, as well as continued to refine individual pieces with various harmonies. The big learning for me is not so much the harmonies within Team KB’s, but with learning new songs such as “I am Australia”. To be honest, it’s not a song that gets a lot of radio air play in New Zealand.

​With the Graduation Concert this Thursday, and the Guest spot at the Bicentennial Park Tamworth Country Music Festival on Friday night, it seems that everyone is pulling out all of the stops to perform their best work. I know I am.
 
Dan Biddle came into see us this morning with an honest look at what a manager does (or at least should do) for their artists. His presentation was engaging, as her focused on his experiences and the artists he works with. Ultimately, his “Know who you are, where you are, and where you want to be” is an overriding thing that helps not only managers, but artists and their fans.
 
Ex graduated and successful Country Music entertainer Amber Lawrence is an incredibly switched on performer. She reiterated about having a clear brand (what you wear, what you say, what you play, lyric content, types of gigs, style of music, etc.), but supported this with ideas and tips about the logistically running a musical career as a business, including finances things.
 
In addition to her career based talk, she did an additional presentation on the uses of Music in the digital age. This was a really cool presentation. It looks like I’m doing most of the things she was suggesting (which is good to hear), however she did introduce the group to a website called “StageIt”. The concept is that you stream an online concert/show up to 30 minutes long. This interested the other head tutors and students here at the academy so much that we presented a show after our last class as a demonstration of the website/software in action. I know from looking at our performance that there is a huge amount of merit in putting these shows together. I’m keen to give it a go when I’m back in New Zealand.
 
The rest of the day was focused on prep for these events this week. I love my group member’s songs. Our work with the band was really creatively to the point, with our practice room prep focusing on the intricate melodies, harmonies, rhythms, hooks, plus more. I’m sure we’re going to rock (or country up) these shows later this week. 

​We are dropping like flies. Today had about a third of our students (and a couple of tutors) plagued with various health related issues (some too ikky to describe). With our bodies being drained, some people are struggling to keep a smile on their face … but they are. Stay strong team. Remember … Vitamins are your friend.
 
To kick the day off today, we had Dianne Bean give us a wee talk about the CMAA Facebook page, and tell us about the newsletter, as well as the strong number of fans. This makes this page a fantastic avenue to inform country music lovers about upcoming EP/CD releases, as well as other exciting prospects like tour dates/venues etc. We will all make the most out of this I’m sure.
 
The Facebook discussion was followed up by an honest look at our biography writing. Bios are an important aspect to Press Releases, and most if not all of our cohort had things to improve on. It wasn’t done in a nasty way; however it was an eye opener to think about all of the things that are not clear within my bio. We all reworked these (as we rework them often anyway), but this time covering all the essentials that a prospective Media representative, Tour Promoter, Festival Operator (plus many others I’m sure) would need to know.
 
Matt Fell. What can I say about Matt Fell? There’s a reason why students at the academy hold him in high esteem. Matt’s work as a Producer has given him several accolades, including a number of Australian Gold Guitar Awards. I wrote down 4 full pages worth of notes from his talk (more than anyone else in one session during the course thus far), plain and simply because he was a wealth of knowledge when it came to tips in the recording process, and what role the Producer often takes on. Although he comes across as just a chilled guy next door, he has the ability to listen to a simple guitar/vocal track and produce a completely unique sound for various musicians (not just country). It was a pleasure to hear some of this recent work, which included all the build-up of instruments in Shane Nicholson’s “Secondhand Man”. It was also the first time I got to hear an artist can Sara Storer … whom I will be following more in the future as a result.
 
The rest of the day was group time. KB’s group (the only group not to be struck down with illness … “touch wood”) worked very hard on choosing appropriate for the Academy Of Country Music Senior Concert 8pm this Thursday at Blazes Auditorium, Wests League Club, Tamworth. We made our choices, which meant that I had to decide between a couple of original songs of mine, and Randy Houser’s “Like A Cowboy”. After looking at the type of songs the rest of the group were doing, KB suggested Like A Cowboy, which I though would also complement our set list. Our talented family were able to fatten the song with everyone harmonising over my lead. I can’t wait to work with the band on this one.
 
To finish the night up, all those students who weren’t plagued with some form of illness performed a demonstration of their songs for Thursday’s show. It was great to hear the variety within everyone’s work. There were emotional moments, as one of the gifted and talented singers from my group Tanya Cornish, who sung the most amazing dedication to Nathaniel O’Brien (a CMAA Academy student last year, who died recently). I know that the performance touched my heart (like everyone else I’m sure). I know that all of the songs will be incredible, as this country music family is so supportive of each other.
 
Tomorrow … yet’s see what music business has in store for us.

After last night, I felt shattered. A person’s body can only handle so much punishment. Therefore the sleep in this morning was not only well deserved, but reinvigorating. It seems that there were a couple of shaky heads this morning/afternoon; however everyone extremely loved everything about last night.
 
This afternoon was an opportunity for a Pecha Kucha. I’m embarrassed to say that I thought from looking at course timetable that I thought we were going to have a lecture from a guy or girl called Pecha. Turns out it’s just a translation for chit chat (Japanese). This meant that the lectures gave us a visual history of themselves (and their musical journeys) via a semi informal speech over a series of pictures. It was remarkable to see the diversity in their stories, as well as the common characters and events that occurred to them during their past.
 
Cathy’s history was done slightly differently, as she was put into an interview scenario. I almost felt ashamed that I (and many other New Zealanders) don’t know enough about this incredible woman. Her story was one of those “drive to succeed” stories, with many examples of her pushing herself hard, and making the most out of all opportunities given to here during her still illustrious career. I’ve taken down tons of notes, and will be enforcing much of these when I get back in New Zealand. I One thing I noted during her interview was that she (although not mentioning it) has the biggest respect for her father. Once her father knew she wanted to be a musician, he seriously planted heaps of seeds for her to group including dropping a cassette for her to listen to, a book to read, plus much more. She found these to be like little challenges that her father set for her. Cathy’s life and appreciating for music has a lot to do with this upbringing. I hope to be just as much of an inspiration to my children when I become a father.
 
To finish the night, we went through the history of Country Music. I admit that I wasn’t looking forward to this lecture, however it had a twist. Every new change within country music was followed up with examples of performers or songs … which we all played and/or sung as a group. What a fantastic way to finish a night. All we were really missing was the camp fire, however I think the school would frown upon that as there’s a fire ban … and we were inside.

What an incredible night. All the performers shone, and proved that they are the future of Country Music here in Australasia and abroad. 

Our group have the 3rd set of the night and absolutely nailed it. My version of Zac Brown Band's "Chicken Fried" went down just as well here as it does in rural New Zealand. The band were tight. Everyone enjoyed the music. Ultimately, it was just a fantastic show. 

It was great chatting with people in the pub during and after the show. I managed to talk to a couple of professionals in the industry, and get their take on why Tamworth is so great. It is so good to see like-minded driven people doing what they love. 

As is was a pub, obviously there was a drink or 2. It was a pity however that the bars were getting to lock down as we were leaving. We therefore came back to campus (via a hilarious drive-thru experience at one of the three different McDs in this town), and jammed with the tutors till the wee hours of the morning. 

Tomorrow we have a sleep in. I know it's going to be well deserved already.

​Let’s talk song writing. During the last few days, all the students at the academy have had an opportunity to co-write a piece with one of the professional song writers on campus. Karl started us today with a lecture filling in the kind of etiquette required of people in this end of the music industry. I was good to hear some of the appropriate and inappropriate things to do in the process all the way from approaching potential collaborators thorough to not handing demos of your work to other artists and labels with the risk of plagiarism.
 
This all linked in really well with our next speaker. Caroline from APRA/AMCOS talked us through who the organisation is, what they do in regards to us sharing our songs, as well as the various aspects of getting recognised for your original works. I’m already a member of APRA since my debut album a few years ago, however I learnt heaps more about how I can do things better as a song writer and performer. There was talk about how the splitting of music works is done in different places, as well as how to get rewarded from your artistic reporting (letting APRA know what songs we perform at our gigs). I’m going to attempt to put these things into practice this year, and see what comes out of it.
 
Just before lunch, the tutors (professional song writers, producers and recording artists) shared their advice when it came to recording your work. Simple statements like “Why are you recording?”, “What is your recording budget?”, “What is your recording budget?”, plus much more. This panel based session made me reflect on the successful and not-so-successful aspects to my first release. Cathy (Catherine Britt) spoke about having a busy lifestyle, which I identify with. She schedules time to song write each week. When I'm back in NZ I will schedule a couple of times each week to develop my original songs each week as well, as it’s easy to let this time get sucked up with other aspects of life. I would like to be remembered as a great song writer, but that sort of thing takes a lot of time and hard work.
 
Our band were ready to go work with the band, but unfortunately we drew the short straw, and got to work with the backing band last. This had it’s positives, as a couple people in our group were able to do full records of their original songs. We also went through prospective songs for the graduation concert next week. Before dinner, we managed to get our spot with the band, however due to the other groups needing more time to work on their pieces (understandably I’m sure), our group didn’t get the best run with the band. I’m sure there are situations when this occurs, however I feel our group came out of this stressful environment rushed, and not having the opportunity to produce the amazing work I know we’re all capable of. Huge respect to Simon Johnson for producing all of the charts, as well as the band to playing tight to what was written in front of them. I know the songs or sections of songs that weren’t covered due to our time restrictions will be fantastic thanks to all of hard work.
 
Gig time … Time for me to make myself look pretty, sound pretty, and perform my first Australian show. I look forward to it. Wish me luck people. This could be epic.
 
(Notes of the show to come in tomorrow’s blog).

​We have the power … or do we?
 
We had an early start today, as we needed to relocate to another campus for the first two sessions/lectures. Why??? Well … we had no power at the home campus. Easy fix though, with a early start, and a bus ride.
 
Simon Johnson’s session on Chart Writing was very enlightening, as all the class walked away from I feeling more confident about drafting their songs onto paper. It was benefitial more me to have a recap on some of the different symbols which are associated to the Nashville Number System of Chord Chart writing. There is a lot of merit in the system.
 
This was followed up with a really thought provoking session on Branding, Web, and Graphics with Amanda O’Bryan (Roger Corbett’s wife). Many people in New Zealand who know me personally know that I am very driven to marketing myself and any group I happen to be associated with. The biggest thing I would take from her time with us was that I still need to refine the image I’m trying to portray to my audiences. I told a great deal away from this time, and I really hope to intergrate it into my work further. I will definitely need to work on the way I’m represented to the fans and public. I have a clear idea, but I’m not there yet.
 
Our band is looking pretty good for our performance tomorrow night. We have some amazing harmonies coming through, and I know that if we remember all our lyrics to these original and cover numbers we will be unstoppable. Go #teamKB.
 
A surprise to me today was having KB catch up with me about the song we co-wrote earlier in the week. It was amazing to have him approach me to say that he had relooked at the song, and discussed some possible enhancements to the piece. After trying them out, they work perfectly, and add that special something that the song was missing before. KB, if you’re reading this, thank you so much for your support during this co-writing process. I know that all of the other students and I who have been lucky enough to work with you during this process has really appreciated you talents, time, and patience. I know that I look to re-recording the song with you again, after we played the piece and found that I didn’t click the record button correctly with my wave/mp3 recorder. So Kevin … my bad.
 
Like other nights, we finished by playing tunes. This time however was a huge session with the band. There was an element of awkwardness behind this one, we were in a setting where the you needed to choose an appropriate song for the band to follow (something they could work through, as you didn’t get charts etc), introduce yourself in a way that was clear, confident, and to the point, all finished up with a perfectly executed stage presence and performance. There were a number of things for all us performers to work on. I know that I will need to be very clear with bands when given set instructions while I’m playing. It was a rewarding experience however. Big ups the all the students who did have the courage to perform tonight. It takes a lot of pluck to do what you did.
 
The course is just so amazing full of key info, so in order for me to take it all in, I’m going to tap out now and get a good night’s sleep. Every minute counts here. See you tomorrow.

​In my mind, today was really co-write day. After the standard warm-ups that we do, we were able to physically witness two legends in songwriting co-write a piece right in front of us. Kevin Bennett (who helped me with my song yesterday) showed his piece to Karl Broadie. It was cool to see how a simple melody recorded on an iphone while driving could be created into a very well thought out master piece right in front of us.
 
Something about today has triggered off, and I think I’ve finally got my head around song writing. With a group therapy session on co-writing, I worked with different groups on creating a melody. In both cases, I was really proud of what our group were able to achieve. The second group worked so well, having sorted the melody out really quick, we ended up pretty much creating the full song on the spot. I was fizzing at the bit by this stage, I ended up racing to my room, recording the complete track, and saving the work on my laptop. It drove me to refine a different song that I was toying with about a month ago as well. It was kind of finished, but after today I was really delighted of the song.
 
Our Friday performance at the pub is only a couple of days away, so our performance group got together and polished our party performance pieces. Everyone is so involved in our group, adding harmonies and hooks wherever possible. We ran through my piece once, however it’s a fairly poplar piece in Australia, so it didn’t need anything additional added. All the other songs are mint as well.
 
Tonight concluded with a more physicalised vocal mastery session with Lyn Bowtell. This time we trialled her natural sore throat remedy, as well as controlled our breathing and voice through the power of meditation. This was followed up with another challenging Advanced Guitar session with Rod Motbey, who passed me a physical sheet copy of all the box scales that we were working on earlier in the week. This was very helpful, and gave me something to follow as the massive guitar solo based songs were being played. I am still of no illusions that I need work on this, however I feel I can finally see light at the end of the tunnel. Thank you to all the other skills guitarists in this workshop for your patience. It’s good to know you guys all have my back.

​Beyond the warm ups set for us each morning (and they are progressively wanting to challenge us), our day had a very strong song writing focus.
 
It began with a lecture from Karl Broadie, a man who carries his note book with him everywhere he goes. Man there must be some sensational writings and lyric ideas in there. He had a strong focus on the analysis of music; however he dug into each track with more detail. It was a rewarding experience to get his mana/spirit on music. He supported his lecture with a performance, as well as motivational readings from books including Robert Green’s “Mastery”. As a side note from this lecture, I will be returning to New Zealand with the intention of buying his track “Sleepy Head”, as well as Maren Morris’ “My Church” and Thomas Rhett’s “Die A Happy Man”. All quality songs in their own right.
 
After a brief morning tea, the students not doing one-on-one songwriting worked with Roger Corbett and Lyn Bowtell on what they referred to as Group Theory. Effectively this was a lesson on the different approach styles of music (e.g. a narrative story, a questioning song, a conversational song, plus many more). The most rewarding part of this class was concluding with an opportunity to co-write with other students in our group. I was part of a blokey type group with Queenslanders Jacob Ridgeway and Charlie Scott. We finished the lesson with two draft verses and chorus’, which we shared with the class. I was told later by the other two that they almost finished the rest while I was tied up elsewhere, and were looking to finish the song in the next day or so. I look forward to hearing how it’s developed in my absence.
 
As for the rest of the afternoon, I worked with Kevin Bennett. First of all with the group who are going to perform at the Pub this Friday (working on individual party pieces, and developing our hooks and harmonies). Afterwards, the others went away to continue developing their performances, whilst I had my very own one-on-one session with Kevin. He was a legend, as we attempted to tackle a song reflecting on my late student Jack Martin. The challenge lay in how to make it universal as well as not looking too morbid. I think after 1.5 hours we got something that sounded pretty much on the money. I’ve recorded us playing and singing it for us to sit on for a day or so, and see whether or not it needs tweaking. I’m very happy with the final product.
 
The renowned Kasey and Nash Chambers came in for a Q&A session with the complete group, which was an awesome experience. Through all the laughs and jokes, serious tips filtered to all the students, and I guarantee everyone went away with more than enough possible ideas or tools that they can use in their professional life’s. What could possibly top this??? Having a jam session with the group after dinner. Everyone got a chance to show off their skills, including Kasey and her group giving our academy group a sneak peek as a song they had just finished writing.
 
Tomorrow looks to be another busy day, so I’m going to retire to bed for an earlier nights sleep. Ka Kite Ano.