Aussie legend Ella Hooper has had one incredible career, from fronting local rock n roll heros Killing Heidi for a decade, Ella has gone on to form acoustic duo The Verses with her brother Jesse, co-present Australian Top 20, a weekly Australian focussed radio program on national broadcaster 2Day FM and work as a TV co-host and media personality. Between all this Ella has found time to maintain an incredibly successful solo career, which includes the upcoming debut album In Tongues which is set for release later this year.
Last month Ella dropped ‘The Red Shoes’ the latest single (from her forthcoming solo record) which she’ll be taking on the road with shows in Sydney and Melbourne this month. To celebrate the release of ‘The Red Shoes’ we asked Ella to put together a guide for musos wanting to ‘go solo’, seeing that she’s doing a pretty impressive job of it herself.
Identify Your Strengths & Weaknesses
If like me you’ve been in democratically run bands for as long as you can remember, going solo can be daunting, freeing, scary and exciting.. often all at the same time! What helps me when I’m overwhelmed by suddenly being in the drivers seat, is some good old fashioned delegation to people I trust.
I realise now I’ve been bit of a bludger in my previous bands, offering 100% creative input and energy but almost 0% practical help. That stuff was always done by someone else in the band, so it was always going to be a big (and I’ll admit needed) stretch for me to suddenly take on those more practical roles.
Though I now do way more nitty gritty stuff than I used to like booking rehearsal rooms, collecting invoices and making a million calls / emails to get my backing players across the ever changing schedule, I’m still far from a whizz at organisation, so I have a small team of (kick arse) helpers permanently cc’d in on my emails, looking for date clashes, following up things I may have missed, basically helping out when the paper trail becomes too much.. And whom I can count on to be at a computer when my iPhones gone flat and I’ve lost my flight times.. again.
Basically I’m loving learning how to captain my own ship – but – mastering new skills takes time so ask for help where you need it, or risk a rocky maiden voyage!
New Frontier vs. Familiarity, Make A Choice
For me going solo is a chance to dig deeper into personal stories and to explore themes that I find interesting regardless of anyone else’s opinion. That might sound a bit indulgent but it’s really about allowing myself to grow as a songwriter and musician, to learn and explore new terrain. Gig wise playing material from my previous bands doesn’t fit sonically or emotionally with my solo stuff.
As much as I know some fans would like to hear my old songs, and I’m appreciative of their enthusiasm, I feel it would confuse and lessen the impact of the new stuff, so I don’t do it. I might gain a few ticket sales if I did but I don’t think it would be worth it creatively as I’m trying to push my self forward and going forwards while constantly looking backwards or referencing the past feels counter productive.
I’ve never been crazy about playing my old stuff anyhow as it feels harder and harder as the years pass to genuinely connect to a long gone emotion or incident… that’s half the reason I write, to process and get over things.. and once you’re over it, move on!
However some familiar material in the form of a few cool covers in the set is a nice way of ensuring there’s something people can get straight into, know the words, tap their feet to without compromising the new vibe you’re creating. I like to choose songs from unexpected genres like dance or country then give them the ‘In Tongues’ treatment.
Enrol Your Fans
I’ve recently become an avid social media user, whereas I was once the worst under-nourisher of my fans. I always loved to chat and hang at gigs but never ever followed up online or via the mail or any of the myriad ways fans want to communicate / connect with you.
Going independent and solo at the same time means I’ve had to step up my actual contact with and understanding of my audience. It’s not something I expected to enjoy so much and I’ve actually grown to love sharing my progress with my ‘followers’ (still hate that word though, too cult leader!) I think sharing ‘behind the scenes’ elements and upping my interaction level has helped existing fans get excited about the new project and perhaps created some ownership as they’ve been privy to the puzzle as it’s being pieced together.
Even though it’s a smaller group now than it used to be, through social media I’m finding and enrolling my people, which is crucial when you don’t have radio support or a massive promo budget. From the excitement of the wins to the frustration of the setbacks, they’re across it and I feel like we’re in it together.
Wait ‘Til You Have Something You Really Want To Say
It was suggested that I ‘go solo’ many times by many people over the years and it actually used to drive me crazy. ‘Do a Gwen Stefani!’ people would say. I found it a bit insulting, like a backhanded dig at whatever I was working on.
I know during my most commercially successful period would’ve been a much better time to launch a solo career, if I was just trying to be successful, sell the max amount of records, chart well and all that. And of course I’d still love for those things to happen but they’re not the reason I’m making this music or going solo. It’s to scratch a personal itch.
I didn’t feel back then that I was ready. My writing was still too hit and miss and I hadn’t yet found a muse that could coax a whole solo album out of me. I had to wait until something moved me dramatically enough to shift me from my usual mode of operating.. ’til I found subject matter that I felt was rich enough and personal enough to plunder alone.
I’m glad I waited for the right time, the right batch of songs and the conviction that I now feel as an artist to emerge.
Enjoy The Freedom
It’s your opportunity to try something outside your usual comfort zone or maybe break with previous ways of doing things. No one is going to reign you in or ask you to compromise so let yourself take it for walk so to speak. See what comes up and play with different things.
I found it easier to be more experimental and take more time in the studio when I knew there wasn’t a host of band members out back waiting to ‘do their bits’ .. probably just a perceived pressure, but I think one that might’ve stopped me from really exploring different voices, tones and techniques when in band mode. Give yourself the time and space to find your voice as a solo artist, and be open to it being quite different from what you’ve sounded like in bands, I know it was for me.
‘The Red Shoes’ Single Launch
Thursday 17 July | Newtown Social Club, Sydney
Tickets: www.newtownsocialclub.com
Fri 18 July | Shebeen, Melbourne
Tickets: www.shebeenbandroom.com.au
