: Interview with Cliff Dawe & Little Big Band ( Canadian Country Version )
Published on 11/3/2006
By AUTHOR: Artistopia
Q. At what age did you realize you wanted to become a music artist and why?
ANSWER HERE: I guess I was about five or six years old, when I told my dad when I grow up I want to be a singer! He didn’t approve, but he played accordion himself and our radio in the home was on all day every day! I just loved the Country Music flowing out of it and those singers were exciting and I wanted to be just like them!
Q. Most music artists have that special someone or thing that influenced their decision to do music. Did anyone or something in your life play a major role in influencing you to go into the music business?
ANSWER HERE: Yes, as I said my father played accordion and we had relatives and friends that used to come over to our house and jam: Guitar, mandolin, banjo, stand up bass and sometimes even drums and organ or piano! But I had a first cousin Herb Myers who played guitar and he’d sing with his sister and girlfriend, it sounded like majic and he was my absolute heroe, he played at dances and I tried to copy him in every way I could! One other person I played with in Yvonne & The plainsmen’s band, Ollie Pike had such a powerful Texas Country voice and sang from the heart he made a huge, huge impression on me! Sometimes I hear him coming out of me, so I know he influenced me in a powerful way!
Q. In terms of the music, which major artist(s) influenced your style and why?
ANSWER HERE: Well first of all I always liked the Traditional Country and Honky Tonk singers the best and some of my first influences that really impressed my ears was Hank Locklin, Buck Owens, Merle Haggard and Conway Twitty, Don Williams and Ricky Skaggs, George Jones, Vern Gosdin blew me away! These guys were the best at saying in music what I felt in my heart!
Q. With so many independent artists trying to make it, what makes you stand out from the competition?
ANSWER HERE: There’s not too many traditionalists out there anymore putting out new Traditional Country music and everywhere I go folks are telling me we need more died in the wool Country singers and that is what I’m all about. Country Music of late is missing that un-hyped natural quality that comes from the common working man’s touch! Besides, I don’t believe that you can ever truly compete in any kind of art, da Vinci was da Vinci, nobody can paint exactly like da Vinci, not even the great forgers, it is the same with music everybody’s just that little bit different which will make a song different every time another singer sings it!
Q. Music industry professionals are quick to say that being an artist means to gracefully fit a marketable niche in the industry. If you were offered an opportunity that asked you to be something you are not, would you do it to get your foot in the door?
ANSWER HERE: Well, first off that sounds more like being a con-artist than being an artist! I absolutely would not do something that I am not! What is the point of being inside a box where you’re living someone else’s dream? One cannot do what is not in their heart and fans are never fooled!
Q. Making music is one thing, selling it is another. What types of strategies do you use in promoting your artistic work and getting it heard by the proper professionals?
ANSWER HERE: Well I’ve tried quite a few some have worked and some have not, I sent demo tapes to a producer in Nashville marked the outside of the envelope “Pandora’s Box of Money” and I got called in because he liked the tape but he never told me whether reading the envelope got his curiosity to open it or not! I’ve tried the simple way just writing for approval of submitting demo material! Watched for openings by word of mouth or ads and applied! Sent extravagant press kits!
When the “Boomerang” album came out we sent boomerangs to radio stations in exchange for air play! Being a member of Artistopia and learning the fine points of this business on this website that has connections to industry professionals is another strategy of getting to our destination! Sending our music out to mobile disc-jockeys is another thing we’ve done to get our music heard by the public.
Q. In regards to wheeling and dealing, how important do you feel business knowledge is to making it in an industry filled with much heartache?
ANSWER HERE: Very important, you’ve got to know your business, we are dealing with highly educated executive professionals who at times and more often than not are not that concerned with your well being as much as they are under pressure to come up with a better bottom line and when push comes to shove you can bet their going to look after their job! It doesn’t hurt to brush up on on some basic business and law knowledge and if one is not sure of exactly what is about to transpire in a business deal do not commit until you can find a professional who understands this business and can coach you through it! I learned the hard way it is better to lose what seems like a good deal than be stuck with a bad deal!
Q. Let's fast forward to 5 years from now. What advice would you offer to struggling independent artists?
ANSWER HERE: I think the best advice for this business is to learn to enjoy the music now, there are no guarantees and if you love what you are doing now there won’t seem to be so much hard times. At one time I was in so much of a hurry to get to the brass ring I didn’t take the time to enjoy my music, or the people around me. I was always reaching for a higher class club or more airplay, or better pay at each club or a better back-up there is no end to what you can want in this business!
Then one day I didn’t feel too well because I didn’t take proper care of my health, always running and in stress! I went to the doctor and found out I had bladder cancer at that point I was wondering how many tomorrows there would be and I said , “You know I never enjoyed my music not once while I was creating it because I wasn’t where my goals were set to be! ” There were lots of people who enjoyed our music which was my purpose for playing it, but I didn’t enjoy it! My advice, just be who you are and enjoy what you do! The rest will take care of it self, as I have learned to enjoy being an Inde artist these days!
Q. Most successful artists are involved in charitable organizations that stand for a cause that hits close to home. In that regard, once you reach success, what charitable cause(s) would you like to be involved in and why?
ANSWER HERE: In relation to the question above, having had Bladder Cancer I would definitely invest money into Bladder Cancer Research, they are in dire need of more funding! Believe me Bladder Cancer is a Beast it kills and maims so it needs to be defeated! Well, we thank you for taking the time to interview with us and certainly wish you the best in your music career endeavors. There you have it ladies and gentlemen, an inside look into the mind of an independent artist struggling to bring their hard work to fruition in an industry where perseverance and thick skin means survival. No one said it would be easy.
