ROSIE BANS
Sometimes the amazing thing about doing something like Evo4 is the way that you meet someone who knows someone else, who also knows someone else and at the end of the chain you've met a great bunch of people - mostly with the similar mindset to yourself. Rosie Bans is one such member of said chain. Now living in London, this Scottish lass has just released her E.P. Be Bold, so we thought we'd catch up with her and find out more about life, love and London.
Thank you so much for this interview, I love to talk so it's very exciting having a good reason to talk!
Is Be Bold your first release?
Be Bold is kind of my first release. Here is the story...I studied music for 5 years and throughout that time I wrote and recorded loads of songs for various hand-ins and exams. Some of these songs have been put out as E.P.s in the past but I feel they are not really legitimate. Their main purpose for being was something else. So Be Bold, in my eyes, is my first LEGIT release of songs. Does that make any sense?! I hope it does! So yes, and no, Be Bold is my first E.P. DONE.
What would you say the differences are (if any) between performing in Glasgow/Edinburgh as to London (more/less opportunites/different type of audience etc).
Every city totally has a vibe and usually a stereotype to go with it. I didn't gig AT ALL in Glasgow or Edinburgh. Less than 5 times in each city to date. I have actually played in Glasgow and Edinburgh MORE since I moved to London! But there certainly is a difference. Maybe not so much with the actual shows but with the industry in general.
I have friends that can sell out shows back home, but head down south and no one has heard of them. It's tough in London. Everyone is here for a reason, their own reason which can sometimes make gigs feel a little soulless and competitive. That said, people tend to be a little bit more forward with their appreciation down here, if they like you they usually make sure you know about it!
On top of that, fewer people seem to be going out to gigs, London in particular being a city that stops dead when the tube ends (about 12am) and folk don't tend to hang around after a gig which can make socialising with other artists quite hard. In Glasgow socialising was always part of the gig!
The house gigs seem interesting - are these something you've found to be good in terms of building up a fanbase/keeping in touch with fans?
Oh yes, absolutely! The house gigs are like gold. They are so special, so valuable and give me much more than a gig in a venue ever has. It's the intimate nature of them, being invited into someone else's home is a beautiful feeling. They trust you and want to share you with their friends and family. I have made some great friends from doing these house shows.
The gigs are really warm, you never need to win over an audience at a house gig and I strongly encourage all artists to try it out! Even if it's in your own home.
We (myself and my boyfriend Mike) often stream our house gigs online. Sometimes it's just us two and around 10-15 viewers via UStream. It might seem weird but it feels as upfront and important as a gig in 'real life' does, and I usually get more back from fans as they are already online and logged on when they are watching you so lots of Tweets and Facebook updates happen instantly after the show. That's important to me as I can then connect with that person to say thank you for watching!
Social media - how important is this to you?
Social media is my online voice. I think many artists have a love/hate relationship with it, I can see why. I use it to talk to people. I am interested in what cool stuff other folk are up to, and I am always interested in making new friends. If these friends are fans then even better, I want to make people feel good about connecting with me too.
Why should anyone download your music? Why should they bother checking out your website? Coming to your gigs? Supporting you? I try and answer these questions by being a true and honest representation of myself on social media, and creating genuine connections. Another reason the online streamed house shows work for me I believe. There are a lot of people I talk to daily that I have never met but if I were to meet them I have no doubt it would be natural and honest. I see that as an amazing and positive thing!
How did the tour come about?
The tour, The Working Out Of Town tour (#WOOT - if your on twitter!!) came about when myself, Mike Nisbet and Anna MacDonald met up after not seeing each other for a wee while. We have toured together in the past, back in 2012, and it was such a fun couple of weeks. We all have projects and releases going on right now so we decided this summer would be an ideal time to team up again and hit the road. This tour we wanted to make it bigger and better than before, so it's been extended to a whole month, and we are heading over to Germany for a few shows as well! Oh, and we are all gingers. That's just a thing.
Did you book this yourself?
We are all part of the artPACKT Collective, an artist group based in East London. All the tour duties are shared between us all in the collective which is amazing, and so helpful. It's near impossible doing this on your own and more importantly - why would you want to? The chance is always there to work together, I say take it and enjoy it all!
Can you give me a wee bit of background about Anna and Mike and how they've come to do the tour with you?
I met Anna in London in 2010 when she was on the same bill as a friend of mines playing at The Troubadour in Earl's Court. I was there, a little (lot) tipsy and enjoying the show then Anna pops up on stage all Scottish and amazing. I was like 'I must know this girl!' so bounded up to her with my business card, in my joggies and trainers, all profesh innit. We kept in touch online, then she moved down to London not long after that show. We both decided to go on our first tour - that's when I met Mike.
Me and Mike fell totally head over heels in love and have been together ever since awwwwww
Anna's music is a beautiful mix of Scottish folk music, stunning melodies and just the most gorgeous lyrics. Her album is sitting on my table right now as I type this, not been released yet and I can't wait for it to be out as it is just utterly beautiful.
Mike plays intricate finger picking guitar parts through lots of his songs and couples it with the richest, deepest, velvety tones in his singing voice. He is a sucker for a love song and is always telling stories through his lyrics. Once he wrote a murder ballad. I was scared.
All our tour info can be found on any of our sites and Facebook pages, as well as general ridiculous banter on Twitter too! Ask us anything!
Thanks to Rosie for taking the time to yarn with us.
Get your copy of Rosie's new EP free by visiting her website and joining her mailing list - rosiebans.com
You can find out more about Rosie from the following sites:
https://www.facebook.com/rosiebansmusic
Twitter@RosieBans
http://www.rosiebans.com
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