Amazing Things Can Happen With A Little Dreaming

All photos of Angie Arsenault by www.BenoitChampagne.com

I wanted to know what her plans are and about her motivation to rejoin SellaBand. That’s why she had to answer the following questions:

50K MM: For all those who don’t know you yet (if there is anyone at all) please tell us something about you. Where do you come from, what are your roots?
Angie: Where to start? Well, I am an Acadian francophone who grew up in rural Prince Edward Island, Canada. I come from a very musical family and as a young girl, I used to step dance to my mom’s fiddle playing. At every family gathering, we would hurry up and eat so the music could begin! I later performed in high school and community plays and toured with a French rock band for a few years. After high school, I studied a few years of Classical music at the Moncton University in New Brunswick and spent my summer breaks singing, acting and dancing in a dinner theatre. That’s the musical side that probably most people know already, but many are surprised when I say that I was student council president at my school after being treasurer, vice-president and member of countless committees. I wasn’t an extrovert (far from it!), but you could say I loved getting involved. My first year of university studies was actually in … business management! But it was not long before I switched to music! Lol

50K MM: It’s almost exactly one year since you released your fan-funded album “Once Upon A Dream”. What happened since then?
Angie: It takes my breath away when I notice how fast time flies! Following the album release, I gave a few performances and then began a campaign for radio promotion in the Canadian market. We had a decent success, averaging about 160 plays per week with my song “Turn Around”. I have also kept busy with a few other projects and ideas, including a website that I had been working on with 2 partners for the last 2 years having to do with my teaching career (I give private voice lessons at my home studio). The idea was to give my students a training support system for their practices at home along with a blog and a singer’s forum to stay connected. You can visit the site at www.singg.tv, which was launched a few months ago. At the moment however, the largest percentage of my brain is occupied with finishing up some new songs that are in the works and putting up a brand new show!

50K MM: How come you played a gig at Rotman School of Management last year?
Angie: I was asked to participate in the presentation of a study lead by professor Ajay K. Agrawal who has been closely observing Sellaband since the beginning and he wanted to have a real example to show his audience how the platform was working for artists like me. I suppose he was also looking at the entertainment value as well…! Agrawal takes a deeper look into the consumption of art and I found his studies to be quite interesting and… thorough! He knew more about my Sellaband statistics than I did that’s for sure! It was great to be a part of it all and meet some new people (including none other than Sellaband CEO Johan Vosmeijer). A video of the event was nicely put together which can be found on youtube:
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=is 8W7uchciM
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5 bm295Ez-Q

50K MM: How known is SellaBand in Canada?
Angie: Sellaband is still very new here and not very well known to Canadians. When I was on my way to raising 50K for my album, I had been featured in a very popular Montreal journal called “Le Métro”, but other than that, I have not heard or read much about Sellaband here… yet. Slowly however, word of mouth is getting the news around.

50K MM: How have SellaBand and the album changed your life?
Angie: Sellaband was, for me, the missing piece in the puzzle. A few people had approached me in the past with propositions that made me quite weary about the music business and I always new in my heart that it was very important to keep creative control over my music and image. I was able to bathe in that type of freedom with my 50K album production and gathered a team of talents who had my trust and who gave nothing short of their 100%, putting their trust in me as well. The albums existence has changed everything in that it is proof that amazing things can happen with a little dreaming… and a lot of hard work and support! It also reminds me that I have a lot to be thankful for and I must keep on pushing forward, for me and for my believers for I do not want to let them down.

50K MM: You are back on SellaBand for a second round. What will the budget be used for?
Angie: This time around, my goal is to raise 25K which will be used to promote the album and also to promote a little tour I am putting together for May (Canada) and end of September / early October (France, Netherlands, Germany, and possibly a few more spots…). Jocelyn, my husband and manager, and I are financing the trip ourselves for our 10 year anniversary treat – and of course it all coincides with wanting to get out there and perform for my followers who are mostly all from Europe – and this is true for followers on Sellaband and off including many from France. The optimal goal is to raise the budget by end of May 2010 in order to begin the promotional activities in the early summer.

50K MM: Who will be the partners for promotion and marketing in Europe?
Angie: All funds will be used to hire radio promoters and publicists to help with promotion in the European Countries mentioned before. We are also looking at making a music video for the song that will be launched to radio. Names are being thrown around but it is too early to announce anything official yet.

50K MM: So we may have the chance to see you on stage in Europe too?
Angie: Absolutely. I am putting up a brand new solo show to make things easier for my very first tour there. That said, do not expect a singer-songwriter piano only type of performance. I have never been able to express myself fully in that setting and so I am putting together something that will allow for a little more nuance – a type of show that perhaps I could title “Once Upon a Dream; a theatre of music performed by one”. But I do not want to give away too much – you will just have to wait and see!

50K MM: How can we support you raising your budget?
Angie: There are many ways you can support this project. One is by getting on board as a Believer and in return, I will share a small percentage of Publishing from all songs on the album “Once upon a dream”. As a believer, you will also have access to an exclusive EP of brand new songs I am currently working on. Another way to support the Sellaband project is by helping me spread the word by posting on sites such as facebook, myspace, or even just old-fashioned word of mouth. Even just stopping by to write a few words of encouragement on my wall really helps. Yes, this is a budget raising and investment project, but the terms “believer” and “supporter” can be represented in many ways for an artist whose music you enjoy and I have always truly appreciated the interaction I get from the online communities. It helps keep me motivated and focused… and makes it fun! Another big one is that when my performance dates and venues are announced, I will need all the help I can get to promote the events – because a sold out show is always more fun for the audience… and for the artist of course! ;D

50K MM: On your website you can read ten short & strange stories born from the sleep. Please tell us something about that.
Angie: Oh boy… lol! Well, this is a project I have had in mind since the conception of my semi-concept album, but the stories have a part of me for a long time now. “Once upon a dream” represents my entire creative process and if you have read my biography, you know that the dreams are often the reason for the existence of my songs. The short & strange stories show a parallel representa-tion of the 10 main songs from the album; in another light, but from the same source in essence. I have been working with illustrator Nicolas Bourges, showing him my drawing ideas and thoughts for the visuals I had in mind for each story, and he puts all that together in his own style which has remained throughout stories 1 to 10. There are also thoughts of revising everything and adding in more illustrations in order to fill a small book format… we’ll see what happens! I have yet to post the very last story, which will coincide with a contest that will take place in March… so stay tuned for more details to be announced on my website! www.angiemusic.com

50K MM: And last question: Please tell us one thing about you and your music everybody should know.
Angie: Well, sometimes I wonder what people imagine of me when they listen to my music, especially after hearing the rather dark, somber pieces! I would want people to know that I am not sad or depressed! Lol … and that is in big part because of music. Having this kind of platform for self-expression has been a blessing and the people who surround me on this musical journey of mine, are also a blessing.

So if you decide to support Angie raising her promo budget go to her SellaBand profile http://www.sellaband.com/angie or check out her website

www.angiemusic.com

This article is also published in issue #12 of 50K MUSIC MAG – discover it and a lot more here: www.50kmusic.com/50kmusicmag12en.pdf

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