Attention Engineer: Artists on creativity, grit & determination

Thanks for listening! Visit http://penfriend.rocks/davidb for the deluxe show notes for this episode, and head to http://field-music.co.uk to pick up the new album “Flat “White Moon..In this conversation, we discuss how inspiration is overrated, and having to work on your idea doesn’t make you a worse artist (plus it’s fun!), the importance of sharing our experiences, to help younger artists have the encouragement we didn’t get ourselves, being prepared for the highs and lows of releasing albums – actually planning it in, how learning to do everything yourself can be faster than explaining what you want to someone else, the futility of playing support slots (even if they’re with your favourite bands), and why you don’t go to see Field Music for a good night out..My album pre-order is now live at http://penfriend.rocks/newalbum - thanks for supporting independent music!.If you’d like to sponsor a future episode of the podcast, find out three easy ways to get involved at all levels http://penfriend.rocks/sponsorship.All my work is supported by The Correspondent's Club, who have been powering the making of new music and podcasts since May 2020. Browse free and paid tiers at http://penfriend.rocks/join.Until next week... xoxo Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thanks for listening! Visit penfriend.rocks/ryan for the deluxe show notes for this episode..Ryan Miller is the lead singer and guitarist of alternative rock band Guster. Formed in 1991, Guster have released eight studio albums, performed with symphony orchestras and played a LOT of gigs. Since co-writing and scoring the film “Nobody” with Rob Perez, Ryan has composed music for “Safety Not Guaranteed”, “The Kings Of Summer”, “The Fundamentals Of Caring”, “Mr Roosevelt” and “The Last Summer”. After moving to Vermont from New York, Ryan began hosting a TV series on Vermont PBS called “Makin’ Friends With Ryan Miller”..In this conversation, we discuss the life of a multi-hyphenate artist – how giving yourself permission opens up the canvas of possibilities, not being scared to try new things, because your fans don’t remember your failures, the band / fan relationship – how Guster invented street teams in the 90s, and put their fans at the centre of everything they do and how overlapping your interests is like putting more colours onto your canvas..My new album "Exotic Monsters" is available to pre-order now via http://penfriend.rocks/newalbum - thanks for supporting independent music!.If you'd like to sponsor a future episode of this show, visit the Sponsorship page for three easy ways to get involved..The Penfriend songs featured in this episode are "Cancel Your Hopes" (intro), "Everything Looks Normal In The Sunshine" (instrumental) and "Black Car" (at the end). Visit the Songs page for more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thanks for listening! Visit http://penfriend.rocks/sananda for the deluxe show notes for this episode, and head to http://sanandamaitreya.com to pick up the new album "Pandora's PlayHouse"..Artist, composer, arranger, producer, multi-instrumentalist, entrepreneur and Post Millennium Rocker Sananda Maitreya had his light switched on at the age of 2 by the music of the Beatles and has been a fool for music ever since. His debut solo album, “Introducing the Hardline” was released in July 1987 under the name terence Trent D'Arby, producing hits including “If You Let Me Stay”, “Sign Your Name”, “Dance Little Sister”, and the number one hit “Wishing Well”, and he’s released 12 wide-ranging albums in the years since..In this conversation, we discuss making a masterpiece of your life, not just your art, letting go of an abusive past and learning to fly again, Sananda's relationship with his singing voice, the life of an artist - a career or a calling?, the value of surrendering to the creative process and allowing it to surprise you and making music that babies are conceived to - is there any greater compliment for an artist?.My album pre-order is now live at http://penfriend.rocks/newalbum - thanks for supporting independent music!.All my work is sponsored by The Correspondent's Club, who have been powering the making of new music and podcasts since May 2020. Browse free and paid tiers at http://penfriend.rocks/join.Until next week... xoxo Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Visit the deluxe show notes page: http://penfriend.rocks/danzRead the text version: http://penfriend.rocks/danz-ts.Thanks for listening! Visit http://penfriend.rocks/danz for the deluxe show notes for this episode, and head to http://zdanz.com to explore her musical world..In this conversation, we discuss digging deeper to make the most meaningful music you can, why your creative ideas have to light you up, the whys and wherefores of changing a project name as a solo artist; how reinventing yourself is a way to grow artistically PLUS getting on with it – using the internet to learn how to do the things we want to do, then doing them!.My album pre-order is now live at http://penfriend.rocks/newalbum - thanks for supporting independent music!.All my work is sponsored by The Correspondent's Club, who have been powering the making of new music and podcasts since May 2020. Browse free and paid tiers at http://penfriend.rocks/join.Until next week... xoxo Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thanks for listening! Visit http://penfriend.rocks/eliza for links to Eliza's work and collect two free Penfriend songs while you're there..In this conversation, we discuss how the pandemic forced Eliza to deal with her true nature, planning the perfect productive day for maximum music making, health and emotional wellbeing, the self-imposed pressure of picking the right sized font, EPs versus albums as an artistic statement, and building a sustainable music career while always being willing to get a job plus messy desktops, time block planning and how philosophy feeds into songwriting.-All my work is sponsored by The Correspondent's Club, who have been powering the making of new music and podcasts since May 2020. Browse free and paid tiers at http://penfriend.rocks/join.My album pre-order is now live at http://penfriend.rocks/newalbum <3.Until next week... xoxo Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The song that took 15 years to write...sort of. How Radiohead's minidiscs and Barbara Kingsolver galvanised an old song idea into what became the theme tune for this show!.Get this song plus two more immediately when you order my new album at http://penfriend.rocks/newalbum.Watch the video at http://penfriend.rocks/cyh.Thank you for listening! xo Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A peek behind the songwriting curtain at my synthy single "Exotic Monsters"..Get this song plus two more immediately when you pre-order my new album at http://penfriend.rocks/newalbum.Watch the video at http://penfriend.rocks/monsters.Thank you for listening! xo Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thanks for listening! Visit http://penfriend.rocks/liela for links to Liela's work and collect two free Penfriend songs while you're there. My album pre-order just launched too at http://penfriend.rocks/newalbum <3.In this conversation, we discuss learning to give space to other aspects of life as a touring musician, evolving as an artist – letting go of the ego-driven side of being on stage while still being in love with singing and words, the life-changing power of meditation – Liela’s experience of silent Vipassana retreats and how to bring the benefits of meditation into everyday life *and* music making, releasing an album during COVID-19 – the reasons for going ahead and blushing all day long – the day Liela got to sing with Nick Cave.-All my work is sponsored by The Correspondent's Club, who have been powering the making of new music and podcasts since May 2020. Browse free and paid tiers at http://penfriend.rocks/join.If you're interested in trying meditation after listening to this episode, my recommendations were:.Yoga With Adriene - https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=yoga+with+adriene+meditationThe Mindful Movement - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu_mPlZbomAgNzfAUElRL7w .Until next week... xoxo Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thanks for listening! Visit http://penfriend.rocks/mike for links to Mike's work and collect two free Penfriend songs while you're there..In this conversation, we discuss how a teenage Cat Stevens inspired a slightly younger teenage Mike Batt to write songs, blagging versus reaching - using projects to teach yourself how to do the thing you've been hired to do, savvy negotiating - how refusing a one-off payment to write for The Wombles while broke led to great things, what it feels like to bet hundreds of thousands of pounds on an artist through buying TV advertising and why someone needs to invent anti-gravitational brandy sauce..All my work is sponsored by The Correspondent's Club, who have been powering the making of new music and podcasts since May 2020. Browse free and paid tiers at http://penfriend.rocks/join.My new single "Exotic Monsters" is available wherever you get music, but the best way to support me directly is to visit http://penfriend.rocks/monsters - and you can watch the brand new video there as well. Hooray!.Until next week... xoxo Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thanks for listening! Visit http://penfriend.rocks/liz for links to Liz's work with The Beths and collect two free Penfriend songs while you're there..In this conversation, we discuss the value of establishing creative rules for songwriting and making videos, touring New Zealand during the pandemic, and Beths' bassist Ben's secret breakfast blog, the success - and shelf life - of an indie band, coping mechanisms for happier touring - why The Beths always take a cricket bat on the road and the ever-expanding skillset of the modern musician..This episode was sponsored by a kind member of The Correspondent's Club, who have been powering the making of new music and podcasts since May 2020. Browse free and paid tiers at http://penfriend.rocks/join.My new single "Exotic Monsters" is available wherever you get music, but the best way to support me directly is to visit http://penfriend.rocks/monsters - and you can watch the brand new video there as well. Hooray!.Until next week... xoxo Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thanks for listening! Visit http://penfriend.rocks/rlt for links to Rebecca's work and collect two free Penfriend songs while you're there!.In this episode, we talked about how becoming a solo artist and making exactly the work she wanted drastically changed Rebecca's mental health, how dancing brought RLT back to her body, bridging the gap between Slow Club and Self Esteem and bringing her joy, becoming a badge entrepreneur - how designing badges and fulfulling her own merch during lockdown has helped Rebecca feel useful (despite having the handwriting of a little naughty boy"!), the pros and cons of relentless touring, and how that changes as you grow older and wiser and leaving no surface unstatemented - how RLT is making up for lost time after years of not being able to say what she meant..Thanks to Angie Stallings for sponsoring this episode via my Correspondent's Club, powering the making of new music and podcasts since May 2020. Check out Jekyll's Basement in Florida for all your curio and collectibles!.Browse free and paid tiers at http://penfriend.rocks/join.My new single "Exotic Monsters" is available wherever you get music, but the best way to support me directly is to visit http://penfriend.rocks/monsters - and keep your eyes peeled for the video on my YouTube channel..Until next week... xoxo Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thanks for listening! Visit http://penfriend.rocks/david for links to David's work and collect two free Penfriend songs while you're there!.In this episode, we talked about how David's brush with the music industry, how he survived a breakdown to create a thriving career as a lone wolf figure, why pumping content into the world isn't beneficial for popular music and song as an art form, and why we shouldn’t judge artists on the quality of their accountancy. I also quizzed David on his brilliant song "State Of The Union", he kindly broke it down for us and I accepted a songwriting challenge..Thanks to my Correspondent's Club for powering the making of new music and podcasts since May 2020. Browse free and paid tiers at http://penfriend.rocks/join.My new single "Exotic Monsters" is available wherever you get music, but the best way to support me directly is to visit http://penfriend.rocks/monsters.Until next week... xoxo Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thanks for listening! Visit http://penfriend.rocks/kat for links to Kat's work and collect two free Penfriend songs while you're there!.In this episode, we talked about what it's like to do well on the biggest TV talent show going, and how Kat built an independent career afterwards, how failure and setbacks bring a whole new world of possibility, and the mental health impact of losing the validation of a live audience during the pandemic. Also, how some sage advice and support from Amanda Palmer and Neil Gaiman helped set Kat on her journey towards creating Misfit Cabaret, what to do when famous artist managers say you're not "leading lady pretty" plus the importance of our patrons and why we love and appreciate them so much..Thanks to Nick Xylas for sponsoring this episode via my Correspondent's Club, powering the making of new music and podcasts since May 2020. Browse free and paid tiers at http://penfriend.rocks/join.My new single "Exotic Monsters" is available wherever you get music, but the best way to support me directly is to visit http://penfriend.rocks/monsters.Until next week... xoxo Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Visit penfriend.rocks/robin for links to Robin's work, and get two free Penfriend songs when you sign up to my mailing list..All music in this series is by yours truly, and the song at the end of this episode is my collaboration with Rat from Ned's Atomic Dustbin. Get "Let It Snow" as a pay what you want/can download and pre-order the limited edition pink 7" vinyl / CD at http://penfriend.rocks/let-it-snow.Thanks for listening! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Visit penfriend.rocks/rat for links to get hold of our new song PLUS tickets for Ned's Atomic Dustbin live in London and Stourbridge in 2021, and get two free Penfriend songs when you sign up to my mailing list..Ned’s Atomic Dustbin are an English rock band formed in Stourbridge, West Midlands, in November 1987. Formed at sixth-form college, the band recorded their first album while some of the members were still teenagers. .From these humble beginnings, the band went on to sign to Sony Music, and their debut album “Godfodder” shot to number 4 in the UK albums chart in 1991. They released three albums and travelled the world, plus played Top Of The Pops twice before disbanding in 1995. In 2008, Ned’s reformed for a show at The Astoria, and since then have been playing regular reunion shows with The Wonder Stuff and Pop Will Eat Itself..In 2019 they released 14-track album “Ned’s Acoustic Dustbin”, and in 2021 they will be performing in London and Stourbridge to celebrate the 30th anniversary of “The Ingredients” EP..Thanks for listening! xo Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.