Wendy - INTERVIEW

Learn more about Wendy from her Website at: Wendy.ca

MUZN: How does your songwriting come together?

Well, my radar is always up...I'm always listening for catch phrases or conversation snippets that are good song ideas or that would make good song titles. The other day I heard someone say, "get over it!", and I thought, "Yeah! Good song title - Get Over It!!" (Now all I need is a song to go with the title).

Most of the time, though, it's experiences that spark a song. I heard of one songwriter who would break off with his girlfriend just so he could "feel the pain" to write an effective song! (maybe he was just joking...and I'm not that extreme, okay?) I take either internal, personal experiences, or else I try to place myself in the shoes of someone else and then write a song through their eyes. It works for me.

I ALWAYS let a song sit for a couple of days after the first draft or two, and I don't look at it at all. Then I'll come back and polish it, replace words, sing it through, etc. I usually have ten or so songs in process for immediate polishing, plus another twenty or so that are on the back burner. I have two different binders: "In Process", for my almost-finished songs, and "Pending", for the songs that may or may not make it to the limelight. Some of those songs, let's face it, sit on the back burner forever and never do see the light of day...hey, that's all part of the process.
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MUZN: What's your philosophy on music today?

I'm actually very grieved at what I see in the "Music Biz". First of all, I think that attention successful singers/songwriters/musicians/performers get from the public is way out of proportion. They're worshipped as demi-gods, and it's ridiculous! I think that the true heroes of our culture sacrifice their own personal comfort and safety to improve the lives of other people....maybe they travel to foreign countries to do famine relief, or help the poor, or whatever. I find it absurd that many of the heroes in our Western culture are people who know how to sing or how to act, yet often live immoral, self-serving lives that slowly self-destruct. It's a horrible example for young people.

I've worked in high schools, and one of the most disturbing trends I see today is that, aside from performers, youth don't have heroes anymore. Decades ago, the public had very strong, committed role models...like the Martin Luther Kings...people who battled for civil rights liberties or fought to abolish poverty or stood up in the face of incredible opposition to do what was right. We should hear more about people like that in the media, instead of who wore what dress to the awards show!

Wouldn't it be awesome, as singer/songwriter/musicians, to take on a role of supporting the real heroes, and using our music to influence people towards justice? That would be amazing, because performers have the inate ability and talent to move people's emotions, and stir them to action. We all have the choice of using our abilities and talents for selfish ambition and gain, or for the common good of society. I'd love to see each performer asking themselves some hard questions - does my performance contribute to, or build up, or better this society? Will my songs really benefit people; move them towards positive change; help them live better lives? Is my musical career pushing me towards selfish gain, or towards serving others?

I really think we musicians need to keep our perspective and guard our humility at all costs. I write songs and I sing them for people, period. Those songs will hopefully help people, in some small way, to find more meaning in their lives, or inspire them to do something great for others, or help them cope with loss or a difficult period in their lives, or whatever, but in the big picture, that's about it. It's valuable, yes, but it's not miraculous. There are so many other professionals who do far more than that - save lives, form young minds, rescue kids from the street, etc. To me, those people are the true heroes. Perhaps my music can help, in some small way, to strengthen what these other folks do. That's my philosophy of what music should do.
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MUZN: Tell us about your newest release, what can we expect?

We're definitely moving towards working on a CD - it will be a little while yet, but stay tuned at my website, http://www.wendy.ca for any updates!
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MUZN: What's your long-term goal?

I want to make a living with my music. It's going to take sacrifice, commitment, determination, and large doses of isolation in the songwriting room, but I believe it will all be worth it in the end!
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MUZN: How did you get into music?

The year I graduated high school (two years ago!! - okay, okay, it was 1976...), I came across a summer course for guitar lessons being advertised. It sounded like fun, and I'd always loved singing, so I signed up. It was definitely a turning point in my life! After realizing it was a great way to accompany myself as I sang, I took a few stabs at writing. The rest is history!! I started performing in local coffeehouses, usually held in church basements, in hospitals for terminally ill cancer patients, and in prisons. That was really rewarding, and I got a lot of encouragement from the people who heard me. I sang everywhere I could - youth groups, retreats, social functions....I wrote funny specialty songs for friends' weddings and parties, etc. It just snowballed from there.
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MUZN: How long have you been performing?

Since 1978.
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MUZN: What bands\artists inspired you the most early on?

Well, I always used to say that Karen Carpenter taught me how to sing. I was a teenager in the 70's and The Carpenters were so big back then. I LOVED Karen's voice and constantly sang along to her stuff (yes, with a hairbrush in my hand as a pretend microphone - how cheesy!). Also, Dan Hill was a big hit here in Canada during the 70's, with songs like "Sometimes When We Touch" and "Hold On"...he went on to write for other artists like Celine Dion. I went to see him perform in Toronto when I was 17 years old, and he sang alone (in stocking feet, if my memory serves me correctly!); just him with his guitar - and he held us spellbound for the better part of two hours - it was great. So those were my two main influences.
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MUZN: What do you want out of life?

MAbove all else, I want to be able to love people deeply, and to use my music to help meet their deepest needs.
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MUZN: What is the most important lesson you think you have learned so far?

WORK, WORK, WORK, and PERSISTENCE. Before I met and married my husband, I didn't discipline myself to work at music. Sure, when a song came into my head, I would write it down, but if I had no inspiration, I wrote nothing.

Now, I'll sit down in front of a blank page and tell myself, "Write!". Like they say, "10% inspiration and 90% perspiration"! Also, I never practiced guitar on a regular basis, even before a performance, and so stylistically I stayed pretty much the same for twenty years. The possibility of making a living with music was so remote because I just couldn't figure out how to get there.

Since my husband's input and encouragement in my life, however, things have really changed. I now treat music as a full-time job, and devote hours and hours to perfecting it. If you want to be taken seriously, you have to be professional about music, and discipline yourself to work at bettering your skills, instead of hoping it will somehow "just happen" one day. Musicians have to work extra hard to understand the business side of music, too, because that's half the battle. Talent alone is not enough, and that's where I am so blessed to have a husband with business skills that complement my artistic skills.
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MUZN: Who are your favorite artists?

I love Allison Krauss - her vocals are so beautiful, and her band's sound is very acoustic. James Taylor's stuff is great, too, and Jann Arden, who is a biggie here in Canada, has some good songs. Oddly enough, I really don't listen to that much music - I'm too busy working on my own tunes!
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