Talking To... Tessa Bickers
#N Going forward, you mentioned that you are doing more stuff with a band. Is the next album going to be more band orientated?
#T No. Some songs come to life more with a band and some are better solo. The band don’t record much with me. I tend to go into the album on my own and then if I think it needs it I’ll bring other musicians in.
#N The last album was on your own label are you looking to do the same with this one or go out on a label.
#T That would be the dream. To get signed and concentrate on the music. One of the reason’s I set myself up on MySpace was to try and get greater visibility. I’m happy doing it that way at the moment.
#N You mentioned MySpace, how important is something like that to an aspiring artist.
#T It’s incredible, I’m so excited about it. People were telling me how good it was. I was hearing about bands making it through websites, the Artic Monkeys, probably the best known. It’s a good community of people. The feedback is quick. I get e-mails everyday and write back. People are starting to get to know me.
#N It’s also good if you don’t know how to set up a website. It’s all there.
#T You can also get your songs up. I really didn’t know much about
how to convert to an mp3, but once you’ve got that mastered, it’s easy to get
the songs up. People can hear your music easily.
#N Talking about listening to music. You’re based in Frome and you’ve gigged mainly in that area. Are you trying to get out wider?
#T I’d like to be able to give up work and play as many dates as
possible, but I’m still quite new to the scene and have to learn the skills
about setting up gigs. I’m trying to find the time to set up gigs. I’m always
looking for gigs and support lots. If people want to get in touch. I really love
singing and performing, but I know it’s a lot of hard work. If people end up
singing my songs and being happy. I’m good with that.
#N Cheers