I noticed today that my last post dates awhile back. The
past three weeks have been fairly busy—Paris, Barcelona, London and endless bus
rides in between (Barcelona to London= smelly 27 hour bus. Hell). I’ll write
about that soon. But something more noteworthy happened today that I want to
write down before I forget.
Which band has influenced and affected me the most is hardly
even a question. Anyone who knows me a bit—particularly if you knew me between
the beautiful (ha) ages of 13 and 16—knows about my unconditional fandom for
the English piano-pop group Keane. My discovering of this band is largely
responsible for many important facets of my life, the most important being my
decision to play the piano.
Keane is dabomb. |
someone I met in real actual life |
Due to outlandish and amazing circumstances, I got the
chance to spend an hour with Keane’s pianist and songwriter, Tim Rice-Oxley.
But before I delve into the details, I want to list some of the many memories I
have associated with the band. Here are just a few, off the top of my head:
- The time I saw them live in Montreal with my sister Alice, my mum and my friend Kelly. It was the pinnacle of my fourteen year-old existence. Kelly had brought a Canadian flag and the singer took it from us and sang with it onstage. We may or may not have thrown rubber animals on stage (okay, we did).
- There was a time when I was dedicated to writing novels longhand (ouf). I recall writing a chapter and listening to Hopes and Fears seven consecutive times. Six years later, still can’t tire of it.
- I spent a lot—a lot—of time on the Keane forum, gossiping and gushing about the band with fans from all around the world. On the summer I turned fifteen, I boarded a train from Montreal to visit my Keane correspondent in New Jersey. We’d never met before, but we’d exchanged mixed CDs.
- She and I went out for a drive and were so engrossed in singing along to Keane that we rear-ended another car.
- The time I fancied myself a stop-motion animator so I could enter their video-making competition (see here).
- The time I made collaboration music videos to their music with fans from around the world (see here and here).
Long story short: I put a lot of time and energy into loving
these guys.
Anyway, so when Tim advertised a contest for young
songwriters—the prize being an hour-long mentoring session with him—it would
have been a crime not to try for it. I am young and song-writing. I wrote “Pathways”
the day before the deadline, recorded it over at my friend Richie’s place, and
tried not to get my hopes up too much.
When I found out I’d been selected… I had to lie face-down
on the carpet for a while before I could explain to my friend why I was having
a spontaneous meltdown. It was too surreal.
This week's The Observer |
The first and last time I'll ever be mentioned in the same article as Tim Rice-Oxley |
The meeting was in Battle, East Sussex. I was ridiculously
early. I tried to prep myself for what was about to occur, without much
success. When Tim walked through the door, I immediately felt that some cruel spectre
had injected 500mgs of stupid into my veins.
“Is there someone in the loo?” he asked, innocuously enough.
“Hahahahahahahaha… no…” I responded, ever eloquent.
The hour went by very quickly. Tim is incredibly good looking
and even more so in person. I was nervous—I can’t even think of any other event
in my life wherein I was even in the neighbourhood
of how anxious I felt this morning.
Notable moments from the session:
-Making small talk with the person WHO SHAPED MY WHOLE LIFE
HOLY SHIT.
-Receiving honest criticism about my work (its full
potential is undermined by it being under-produced and under-worked)
-Discussing the puzzlingly wide market for weird erotic lit
(don’t ask)
-Listening to Tim PLAY MY SONG (WOW SNIFF DEAD) (it sounds
much better when he does it)
When he tried to explain what he felt was wrong with my
chorus, he struggled to find some words.
“There’s a great lead-up… but it’s
like you’re dangling a carrot of…”
“A carrot of disappointment?” I tried to be helpful.
He laughed. “I didn’t say that.”
He had two pages of notes on my song. He is the sweetest.
Things that actually came from Tim’s mouth during the
session:
“You have an amazing voice.”
“The melody of your pre-chorus is beautiful and perfect. I wish I’d written that.”
WHAT. WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT
I just want to lie in my bed and sob. My feet might not
touch the ground for days. My ego is basically Hindenburg pre-explosion.
Later in the evening, there was a Q & A session with promoters
(Melting Vinyl and BBC Introducing). They explained how to make it as a
starting musician/band in this day and age—that is, an era where everything is
done via Internet and music is expected to be free. They gave some pretty solid
advice for bands who already have an established fan base (not me). Still,
there was a good takeaway message: get out and play. Play, and make sure to
really connect with those who want to listen.
I went back to see Tim after the Q & A to thank him. He
wished me luck and told me to send him my new stuff. He told me Keane likely
wouldn’t be touring for a while… but that with any luck Mt. Desolation, his
other band, might be playing a few shows soon. I mostly nodded my head like an
idiot while drowning in those scintillating blue eyes.
I am absolutely exhausted and uplifted. I want to do today
all over again.
Pics coming soon.
NB I didn't take any of these pictures.