In the 80s Stacey rocked the house down. She worked in cover bands like Sydney-based Stormy Monday and toured Australian stages belting out the lyrics of Meatloaf and Fleetwood Mac. Her stage presence and saucy attitude resonated with her audiences; she made the shows come alive.
So it might come as a surprise to some of her fans of old to find Stacey at the Tamworth Country Music Festival singing beautiful country songs from her own recently released CD, Borders and Boundaries. Stacey has created a fabulous mix of songs with American country roots. She selected songs that moved her and that spoke to her own unique style. And her hard work hasn't gone unnoticed: Stacey was nominated for the Country Music Association's Golden Guitar award for top female vocalist - she made the top 10 in that category which catapulted her into a prestigious group that included Kasey Chambers, Melinda Schneider, Sara Storer and Beccy Cole.
The Metro Gnome caught up with Stacey in late January. She was singing at the Bankstown Sports Club on a nice, large stage with a full band behind her and a full audience. But, Stacey wasn't performing her songs from Borders and Boundaries to a room full of devoted fans; she was crooning old standards to a full house of pensioners. Why? Well, there's a lot to learn from Stacey in this interview. Some of her insights and some of the things that she's doing are universal truths for all musicians. We asked her candid questions and she gave us candid answers....
TMG: It doesn't seem like there's a lot of money out there for original work or for people who are performing as original artists. How does that make you feel?
SM: [It] gives me the shits. Because I can come here and sing all of this stuff (cabaret) and get paid $700 to sing for a 40 minute spot and that sort of thing. In some ways you're selling yourself short... but you're not because you're getting yourself out there and you're doing what you love and you're entertaining the crowds - so that's good.
If people don't know your stuff then they don't want to hear it. Don't you think? Original stuff. Unless they know the songs. That's how I felt at the Rocks the other day 'cause I was doing all the stuff off my album, but people seemed to love it because I incorporated a bit of the old stuff into it as well.
SM: So Far Away is a Carole King cover I do on the CD. But we totally changed the style of it. I actually got a t-shirt from Carole King 'cause she was quite happy with the way I did it. So she sent me a t-shirt. That was nice of her. (We laughed.)
TMG: "I love your work - now here's a shirt."
SM: "Yeah with my name on it - Carole King" (she laughs). Anyway, starting from scratch is hard work.
TMG: You play the guitar when you perform your songs from the CD. Yet you don't consider yourself a guitar player. Can you tell me about the pressure you feel to play?
SM: Well I can play chords, but I'm not a guitar player. With country stuff they want you to be able to play the guitar and play it properly, so you can go out on your own. A lot of the gigs [are] unplugged gigs. Whereas I want to get out there with a band. But on the money side of it - you can't afford to get a band - it's bullshit.
Lessons Learned?
Play your songs. Repetition is important. You have to play your songs over and over and over again to ensure that people start to recognise them.
Promote your covers. Always tell the original artist that you are covering their song and send him/her a copy - see if you can get a response.
Work other jobs. You have to make ends meet in the mean time and that might mean performing stuff that isn't your own to make enough money.
Be able to perform solo. You might not have enough money to pay a band to perform your own songs, so learn an instrument or learn how to sing and take your songs out on the road.
TMG: How important is the marketing then?
SM: Very important! Marketing is key. And you've got to have lots of money behind you. And someone just flogging you every time you do something - like if I get a bit of chart success or my video comes out or I got nominated for the top 10 female vocalist - a press release goes out. So everybody knows what's going on and they say, "Oh, Stacey Morris!" The ones that ignore it eventually say, "Shit, this chick's getting all of this publicity - we'd better listen to her." But now our strategy is to try and get a major label and get sponsorships. 'Cause that's what I noticed - a lot of the big players - they've all got sponsorships and major labels behind them.
Lessons Learned?
Use the press. Repetition is important, part II. A band needs to hit the market over and over and over to ensure that the message gets through to even the most stubborn of people. Targeted press releases are a must for any artist trying to get their name out there. Send your recordings and press releases to record companies to get their attention. Let them know when you are performing and invite them to attend each session. And more than just one. Keep telling people what is happening. Just make sure that it is "press worthy."
Look for appropriate contests and awards opportunities. Find all of the possible awards you could be nominated for and get active in nominating yourself or in having others nominate you. These are a way to get your music listened to by new people and a way to create "press worthy" events.
Solicit sponsors - genuinely. Sponsorships are a great way to raise your profile (and are a good "press worthy" announcement), but they don't get you work - only your music gets you work. Sponsorships are a business proposition between the artist and the sponsor. They are 2-way relationships. The artist MUST bring something to the sponsor and vice versa. Don’t approach a potential sponsor expecting to get something for nothing. Represent and endorse companies and products you believe in to the core and make sure you give back to them as much as you get from them. The result will be a long lasting relationship built on trust.
TMG: How important is singing to you?
SM: (A long pause.) It's my life. That's all I do. That's all I know how to do.
TMG: Who inspired you to start singing?
SM: No one really inspired me. My mum just pushed me out there and made me do it, because she wanted a little protege. So it was basically my mum who said, "Well she's got a bit of talent, so keep it going."
Lessons Learned?
Commit. Commit yourself 100% to your job no matter what you do. You could tell when she got out onto the stage that, even though it was cabaret and not her own songs, she loved singing to the audience and gave it 100%.
Work with children. Inspire children to perform. The benefits of music are immeasurable - music improves attention, learning, math, organisation, and confidence. Did I mention that it's also "press worthy?"
TMG: What sort of advice would you give to people who are just starting in the industry?
SM: Don't sleep with the guitar player. (We both crack up!)
TMG: So what are your goals and aspirations now?
SM: I want to make money out of the album so I can pay Sue back. 'Cause she paid a lot of money.
The Borders and Boundaries film clip came out today (TMG: January 30) on high rotation on CMC - the Country Music Channel. High rotation means that they play it at least 3 times a day for at least 8 weeks. And it's now charting at 29 with a bullet (TMG: now at 23). So it's getting a lot of airplay out in the country.
TMG: When you say that you are looking for a sponsorship or a major label is that to do something else like a new album?
SM: Yeah, I want to do another album, but I also want to do another filmclip because there are 3 or 4 good songs on the album. I want to do a filmclip for Moonlight & Roses, a filmclip for I Don't Know and one for Astroturf. I've got like 3 more that I want to do. And it costs a fortune to do 'em.
Lessons learned?
Be confident and persistent. Be confident in your material and committed to making your current work sell. Even if she gets a major label involved, notice that Stacey's not looking for the next album yet - she's looking to explore all of the possibilities of Borders and Boundaries before she moves onto new material.
Stacey needed to get onstage (Jeff the MC was up on stage singing a rousing rendition of the theme from "The Love Boat" - the punters loved it!) I asked her if she wanted to say anything more.... She only had some advice for me:
SM: Make it honest. Because I find a lot of people don't. They say "Oh, you've got to say you like this one or that one." And I think, "Well that's not my favourite music, I like American country."
Without getting people offside... I think there's no one here doing my sort of country music. Good harmonies, good melody, and good strong stories to tell.
I make money out of doing the cabaret shows and the one man band things. But I don't want to do that, I want to get Borders and Boundaries out on the road with a band.And I bet she'll do just that.
Gnome Links:
- To learn more about Stacey, look at her website: http://www.staceymorris.com.au/
- To find out how to write a press release (and to determine what information is actually "press worthy") click here http://www.pressrelease.com.au/
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