Solo Electronic Tour: Day 5-8 – Palmerston North (Thomas’ home)

The first four days of being on the road were now behind me, and I was grateful. Grateful to be able to relax for the week at a beautiful home, but also grateful that the first set of shows had gone so well. My personal stakes in the outcome of this little adventure, after all, were quite significant…

I had just quit my degree and resolved to pursue music full-time, as well as perform primarily by myself. I decided that, for better or worse, I was going to stick it out and put everything I had on the line. I was going to reclaim the rest of my college fund, move back to the States to tour, sell most all of my personal belongings, and try to avoid a day job for as long as I can.

You have to admit, it all has a nice, semi-romantic ring to it. But the reality of it all will, no doubt, prove to be tediously hard and often riddled with discouraging obstacles. In truth, I am scared out of my mind, and there hundreds of questions and variables I’m not even close to having an answer to. A big reason, then, for embarking on this tour, was to go out and discover some answers for myself.

For one I had to find out if I actually had it in me to create and perform an emotionally and intellectually moving live-set on my own. Was a live show mediated by so many machines still an authentic performance? Would I even enjoy being on stage by myself? How would I cope with stage freight? How far could I push my performance in terms of an emotional delivery, if my mind was so preoccupied with the technological challenges of the performance? Et cetera, et cetera…

Although many a question has gone unanswered (and unasked!), some answers, in my mind’s eye at least, have started to emerge. And thankfully, the answers, I am relieved to say, give me immense hope and comfort. For one, I absolutely adored performing by myself. It was just fun. It felt true, proper, authentic. Furthermore, the more I played, the more manageable the technological challenges were becoming. My emotional investment in the performance was total, and I did not feel cut off from the songs by the machines. And, most importantly, although my solo performance is clearly still in its infancy, rough, and lead by unsteady hands, I am starting to see glimpses of just how much farther I will be able to take it with more time, experience, and practice.

Anyhow, Thomas and I spent five nights at his parent’s home, and every single night I slept peacefully. We had dinner with some of Thomas’s friends, hung out in town, went shopping, watched massive amounts of TV, enjoyed superb home-cooking, played some shambolic (but fun) snooker matches, and – thank goodness – even found time to rehearse a bit more! :)

P.S.: All these beautiful photos were shot by Thomas.

Check out the Enright House remix of “Crazy? Yes! Dumb? No!” by The Mint Chicks, and help me win my first-ever remix competition!

Also, the new Darkwave (Live in Auckland) Single is out and available on mam!records as a free digital release. Get your copy for free!