From Opera to Rock: Cindy-Louise's Journey to Finding Her Sound

Brian (00:04:30) - Cindy Louise. You're very welcome to concerts that made us,

Cindy-Louise (00:04:34) - Thank you so much for having me. It's great to be here.

Brian (00:04:37) - It's great to have you. I'm very excited now to get chatting with you. You recently released your cover of Tattoo, the song which won the Eurovision this year. I'll be honest, I heard your version first and I just can't listen to the original. It's just, it doesn't stand up to your version in my opinion.

Cindy-Louise (00:04:56) - Oh, thanks so much. That's so kind of you.

Brian (00:04:59) - I might be partial now because I'm, I kinda like, I prefer rock music over pop so that might have something to do with it. But no, it's just, you should have been into vision now in my opinion. ,

Cindy-Louise (00:05:12) - Thanks so much. I mean that definitely is the goal one day  participate.

Brian (00:05:18) - So what was it about the song that attracted you to it?

Cindy-Louise (00:05:22) - I think it was for me, just the potential because I randomly, I didn't even know at that point that it was basically gonna represent Sweden in the Eurovision. It just came up on my like Spotify playlist and I just heard it and I thought, oh my soul, what a cool song. And you know when you hear like rock versions or metal versions of like pop songs and you think like, oh my soul, this is so cool. Like you know how they manipulated it or made it their own. And I thought like this was definitely like my kinda interpretation of the song and as soon as I heard it I knew that I could do something with it.

Brian (00:06:00) - Yeah, yeah. And how did you go about making as you own then put your own touch on it?

Cindy-Louise (00:06:05) - Well I think I have a lot of imagination. Like let's first put it out there and I just already heard like all of the Drum kind of like beats that I wanted. I knew that I wanted it to be like super powerful because her version is of course like really relaxed and seren. But I knew that I wanted mine to be like really like pumping your blood, you know? Like you hear it and you think like, oh my soul, is this the climax of the song? No, no, no, it's still coming. No, it's still coming. And like you kind of never get there and it just has so much adrenaline in it and I really wanted my song to have that energy. So I was super thankful to work with a really amazing producer, Callie Beatz. And he just knew off the bat what I mean like sometimes I'll phone him and be like, yeah, could you do like something like ? He just knows exactly what I mean so it's really great.

Brian (00:06:57) - Ah, and how has the reaction been? Have you noticed a jump in your lessons since your vision?

Cindy-Louise (00:07:04) - I definitely have. I was quite surprised, especially with my YouTube channel. I think I released it like at the right point, which of course was intentional. I didn't wanna release it after Eurovision. I kind of wanted to like ride the wave with it. And luckily like on my YouTube it definitely did that. And even on my Spotify from like all the results I can see it's been very positive. So that's really great.

Brian (00:07:27) - Yeah, yeah, definitely is, definitely is. And when it comes time to making your own original music then what is the process? What does it look like?

Cindy-Louise (00:07:36) - It's quite different for every song. So usually it has to do with like some sort of like influence emotion. Usually I'm angry, which is really hilarious. Like , you have to have like some sort of thing to represent you. Some people have like heartache, I have anger  and I have this very like rebellious tone. So it's always when like someone's like pissed me off at work and sense and then I'm like, you know what, no, this is not gonna happen. And then all of these like phrases jump into my mind and from there I'll basically like write the lyrics, go to my piano, try get some sort of like chord progression going and then I'll look for some influences that I like, some uh, samples I'll use from like, I don't know, like all of those beautiful programming things. And then I'll send a little demo to my producer and ask him like, what do you think of this? And we'll have a nice chat about what we wanna do.

Brian (00:08:34) - I think. Um, I think that needs to become like part of HR strategy in every business. Your coworkers after like pissing you off, go write a revenge song about them . Exactly,

Cindy-Louise (00:08:47) - Exactly. I mean it's quite funny cause after that I can't really go back to work after I release the song cause they'll be like, is this about us? ?

Brian (00:08:58) - Oh my god. And w when you're, when it comes to songwriting then where do you find your inspiration?

Cindy-Louise (00:09:06) - Mm, it's so difficult to say cuz every artist has like their own thing. You know, I think I'm very influenced by a lot of bands and usually there's one person in the band writing the song. But it's all, it's mostly for me like the collective influence that they have overall cuz it's not only the lyrics or the idea that it comes from, it's how they put everything together. And like that always like fascinates me and the more that I've been going to the studio cuz I rely a lot on my sound engineer on like techniques and sense of like how to make a certain sound come alive vocally. And then I'm so amazed how much I learn like every time I go to the studio because I literally walk in and be like, cool, I want, I want this kind of like sound. How do I get to that point? And luckily like my sound engineer who is Martin still sound, he's like very educated in this. So he'll literally be like, cool, this is what we're gonna do. We're gonna put like 5,000 layers on this or that or that, you know, and he'll like map it out for me and that's how we get to the results. So that's quite awesome.

Brian (00:10:14) - Yeah. Yeah. Geez it is is you're lucky you have have him there and he, he sounds very knowledgeable, you know?

Cindy-Louise (00:10:21) - Yeah. I'm honestly like super duper thankful for my team around me. I wouldn't be able to make the kind of music I do without them and like, like you know, shout out to all of them. They're really great. Especially also, you know, it's not only the making of the music but my PR is absolutely amazing. So like shout out to Divo Woo

Brian (00:10:39) -   and something. If people are listening to this interview us the first time they've come across you, something they don't know is you're a trained opera singer, you've studied both opera and jazz, but what has led to the transition to rock now?

Cindy-Louise (00:10:56) - For me it was definitely the kind of feeling that I never fit into opera or jazz. I always felt like I was being like you know, told around of either by a director or by a teacher of this is how it's done or that and I just thought like, you know what, screw that. Like I don't wanna, I don't wanna be told what to do. I'm very much like rebellious in that way and I just really hate the rules. And the more my husband actually started introducing me to rock music, the more I was like, yeah these people get me. Like I like saying and I just started training my voice myself of like how to get that like grungy sound and it's becoming like more and more in my opinion like Rocky but like really cool. But it's also awesome that I still have the opera notes cuz then I can put that in like the backing vocals. So I really like that. I did do a lot of training so I can manipulate my voice a lot but it's also cool that I can still use it if I need to.

Brian (00:11:58) - Yeah, yeah. And when you originally went into opera, so was it you know, was that what you were completely focused on? You weren't concentrating on any other sort of type of singing?

Cindy-Louise (00:12:10) - No, exactly. 100%. I mean I also had a huge discussion when I was going to university because I had two instruments that was what I like you are allowed and sense and I really wanted to do both opera and jazz and both my lectures from each department said like actually that's not really gonna work because it interferes with each technique. And like that's where the struggle started, you know,  where I was like really? No, just lemme do what I wanna do. And yeah, so I was definitely more focused on the opera near the end of my degree because I was going to Italy for master classes and getting outside training from like not only my university but just to like build techniques. So yeah, I was very committed.

Brian (00:12:55) - Ah, is there something you'd uh, you'd go back to in the future? Are you totally committed to uh, to rock and pop?

Cindy-Louise (00:13:03) - I think I'm totally committed to rock and pop. I mean if the opportunity came to maybe like do a musical that was kind of like rockish then like yes I would definitely consider, but I'm not a hundred percent sure if someone offered me a role at an opera, I would say yes.

Brian (00:13:18) - , I'm trying to think of that. Um, what's that musical that was made into a film and it was uh, about a rock club and all these people coming to play there. I think Tom Cruise was in the movie version. I think he'd be perfect for something like that.

Cindy-Louise (00:13:32) - Exactly. Like that's more my jam. You know, I just, I think it's also the fact of like when you're singing in an opera you're thinking of like so many things and at the end you're just like, at least for me, I'm not enjoying it anymore because I'm just like so nagged by everything, you know? And I think like this isn't why I started music. I started music to like be passionate about something and I love being on stage and I love the energy of the crowd, you know? So I just want that kind of feeling and I wanna give that kind of feeling to people. And I just, in my opinion, opera doesn't give that like everyone around you is so like, oh don't even clap. You know, you have to stay silent the entire time if you're thinking really Now  .

Brian (00:14:15) - Oh my god, it sounds like something. And I've spoke to people as well who've um, studied music before at university level and I've always kind of thought in the back of my head, it sounds like they're taking something that's supposed to be really fun and sucking the goodness and the fun out of it.

Cindy-Louise (00:14:33) - Yeah, they really are. I mean I've heard so many stories myself included where you get so much like anxiety from just going on stage at the end and you think like really this is ridiculous. You know? And all the theory that they put in, I mean not to be funny but like half of the stuff I learned I was even going through my university books cuz they're still in South Africa and my mom's like, okay, what are we gonna do with them? And I thought, I can't even remember half of the stuff, you know like what was I doing?  , I just threw them away. I thought oh I'm never gonna use this again. You know?

Brian (00:15:05) - Yeah, yeah. And your music then what do you hope listeners get from your music?

Cindy-Louise (00:15:12) - I hope they get that kind of like empowered feeling. I definitely write music that, you know, you kind of wake up in the morning and you think like yeah I'm a badass   and I just want people to be like, you know, happy about it. I know like some of the subject matter is very like delicate but in another hand you're kind of like well that's how I feel. So yeah anybody that relates, I really appreciate them and I really hope they feel the same way or even if you get another kind of inspiration from it, like good for you, you know,

Brian (00:15:45) - At this stage. So we'll we'll dive a bit into your influences to give the listeners a sense of where you come from musically. So if you can, can you remember your earliest musical memory?

Cindy-Louise (00:15:56) - Definitely. I just remember my mom constantly singing Abba and she even took me at a very young age to the West end production of Mama Mia. And from that point on I was like yep, this is what I wanna do with my life.

Brian (00:16:10) - . Right, right. And um, when you were a teenager, what kind of music were you exposed to and how do you think it molded you into the musician you are today?

Cindy-Louise (00:16:23) - I was listening to a lot of classical music cuz of course at that point I was studying classical music. So honestly I think that point in my life, as important as it was, I don't think it really molded me into the musician I am now. I think more the music that I was exposed to when I was like, let's say 20 like my early twenties, that's more like what molds me now of like my mind just totally exploded in sense cause I immigrated to the Netherlands and I thought okay well I'm not doing opera anymore. And I was really like lost in that point in my life. I was like I don't know what I'm doing, do I even wanna sing anymore? I trained my whole life to do this and I'm not even doing this anymore. And then I just started playing things on my piano and my husband started like introducing me to like a lot of his music and he's like a total metalhead  and my mind like exploded because of course I have all the technical background and I felt like oh these people are amazing and this subject matter is amazing and they get me and I really love this.

Cindy-Louise (00:17:26) - So yeah.

Brian (00:17:27) - Growing up in South Africa then in your younger years did you grow up in a very musical house? Was there support for music? Was there always music being played?

Cindy-Louise (00:17:37) - Well definitely My parents are very musical people, although my dad can't sing to like save his life or play  doesn't even wanna dance. Uh, but mom is very musical. Like she was singing with me, she did like all my classes with me. We did like all the grades together cuz she thought it was also super duper fun. She was also playing the piano in the organ. And my parents have always been very supportive. Like no matter what I do, no matter what genre I go into, they're always there to back me. And I'm just super thankful because you know, a lot of people's parents don't support their journey in music and I'm very thankful that my parents back me up no matter what.

Brian (00:18:18) - Yeah, yeah. You wouldn't believe the amount of people that I speak with that you know, their parents don't, well they do know that they're successful but at the start they didn't support it at all. They thought it was a just a total bad idea, you know?

Cindy-Louise (00:18:32) - Yeah. I mean my parents were so supportive that like when it was time to choose what kind of university I wanted to go to, cuz I was like, okay, well what do I wanna do? I I am like talented in other factors, you know, like, I don't know, maybe fashion design or something like that. And my parents just said Nope, you're gonna study music, end of story. That's what you mean to do. And there you go. End of stories. ,

Brian (00:18:53) - . Wow. I think your parents should like, I don't know, start like, uh, teaching everybody how to be a parent  when it comes to that.

Cindy-Louise (00:19:02) - I mean definitely honestly I'm so blessed. Of course nobody's like perfect, I'm not saying that, but in my mind my parents are perfect.

Brian (00:19:11) -  and your your local music scene then what's it like in the Netherlands and how does it compare to back home in South Africa?

Cindy-Louise (00:19:21) - It's very cool. I mean I've only been getting into it recently because of course we had the whole like lockdown situation and then I was writing a lot of my own music so I first needed to build like a really strong set in my mind. But it's actually been really like big and supportive and like once you get into like the niche of it, it's a a lot of fun. But getting into it is very hard because of course like no matter where you go you need to know like where you fit in sense and like where your connections are and that's the most difficult thing to find. But now that I've like found like my audience and also all these really cool places that I can perform, it's been a lot nicer and I've been making so many friends and that's really cool. And there's a lot of live music in general. I mean my whole like June is fully booked to go watch bands, let alone perform

Brian (00:20:13) -

Cindy-Louise (00:20:14) - Compared to South Africa. I was recently back because when I left I was doing a lot of opera so of course that was the scene then. And I wasn't really into like the live band scene or the singer songwriter scene, but when I recently returned like it's really blooming, it's really cool. You can really make a lot of stuff happen.

Brian (00:20:34) - Yeah, yeah that's for sure. I often tell people that um, the music scene specifically the rock scene in, in South Africa is kind of, it reminds me of the Seattle scene back in the early nineties with the explosion of all those bands.

Cindy-Louise (00:20:48) - Yeah, exactly. I mean there's so much talent too. I met so many amazing musicians and what I really love about having experienced like music in South Africa as well as the Netherlands, I'm not sure where it is anywhere else. I, I mean I've also been to the UK so that was pretty cool too. But all the bands and musicians and just all music lovers are so supportive. You know, sometimes you'll kind of get that gatekeeping kind of vibe but I haven't experienced it in w while performing, if that makes sense. Like everyone has been like coming to my shows. Even if like there are three bands playing and I'm one of them, then we'll all like support each other and like put it on our feeds and be like, oh my soul, you just gotta listen to them. They're really cool. And I really love that because like music is to share, there's enough like space for everyone, you know, it's not a competition, it's about like the love of music and I've like only experienced that, which is really great.

Brian (00:21:43) - Yeah, yeah it's meant to be a a community experience after all and as you said share it and you know, when it comes to going to concerts, what concerts would you say have made you?

Cindy-Louise (00:21:57) - Uh, I've been to like not a lot but like the ones I've been to just blew my mind and I love it too because it influences my performance. So I've been to uh, Janica, they were really cool and I've been to a dead poet society, bad flower, um, orgasm, honestly orgasm's a little heavy for my taste in music, but it was the best show I've ever been to energy-wise. We literally like were even allowed to get on the stage and stage dive  and if anyone knows me, like no one will believe I did it but we're in Rome, you know,  . But that was definitely something that made my whole like eyes open experience kind of great.

Brian (00:22:41) - This is what I'm really looking forward to now. For any listeners that haven't caught one of your shows, what can they expect? Give them the full experience if you can.

Cindy-Louise (00:22:52) - You're definitely gonna have an energy building show. I love interacting with the crowd. I literally make space in my music for interaction that you can sing with, that you can participate, that the energy is totally vibing. The clapping is there, the little like mosh pit is there, you know, I'm trying to make my music a little bit more mosh pitty so that we can actually put that in my show. And I've recently bought some equipment where I'm also gonna be doing some like visual effects and I'm gonna put um, what do you call those things again? A projector so that you can actually see some visual like, I don't know, just some really cool stuff that your whole mind is blown. You know, I wonder, I showed of you mind blowing not only this but also like the whole experience to be magical and amazing and when you leave that show you think, oh my soul, that was a great show and that's my biggest thing. Like of course I really appreciate it if you love my music but the show is the most important for me. I want you to leave with that energy that you think like, yes I am very happy.

Brian (00:24:00) -  sounds like, uh, sounds like the, it's going to be the perfect show then. And what gig experience, if there is one now, would you consider the best experience you've had?

Cindy-Louise (00:24:13) - I recently did a show at Fantasy First and till now, I mean I've done some pretty cool shows but till now that was my most favorite experience just because I have grown so much from just performing that I'm actually not only singing but like I said interacting with the crowd. And that was just really cool. I had like, I don't know so many people, so many people and they were just like singing with and waving their arms and then when I was like get down on the floor, then everyone got down on the floor and like that's like really cool. So that was my favorite experience until now. And the sound guys like shout out to them were amazing cuz you know, if the sound doesn't like really great then you could, you can do a lot. But you know, they're kind of like the kinda show. So the sound people were fantastic and that just made it even better.

Brian (00:25:06) - Ah, and I usually follow it up now with what has been the worst experience you've had at a gig and how did you deal with it Now it can be any gig at all, even back in your opera days.

Cindy-Louise (00:25:20) - Oh there's so many , there's so many. My husband and I, he comes with me of course being my manager and also number one support literally like what's the, because of course when you're starting out, like you have to find your place and you go to all these open mics and yeah, the open mics are a bit brutal sometimes. Like I went to this one open like stage which was really cool, but the worst open mic I was at, like, we literally got there and the guy led us down this like little hallway like down in the basement and I looked at my husband and I said like, yep, this is where we experience was just like,

Brian (00:26:13) - Oh

Cindy-Louise (00:26:16) - No, no, no. Yeah, that was really bad. .

Brian (00:26:19) - It sounds , I have to ask, did you go back there?

Cindy-Louise (00:26:25) - No, no I, no I didn't. I mean I do think it's really nice that the owner of the whole establishment, like it's trying to make music a thing and also with the open mics, but no, no, no, that's just a no for me. Sorry.

Brian (00:26:45) - Oh man. And you know, what makes a good show for you when you step off that stage? What had to happen for you to feel completely happy? Hmm.

Cindy-Louise (00:26:57) - I think if the whole like it doesn't matter for me if like mistakes happen in a show. Like say I didn't sing something right or whatever, like, because that's live music, the most important thing for me is when everyone at the end is just super like amped like, and you can feel a crowd if they're interacting with you. Like if there's a lot of people just kind of sitting there and like, they're kind of like have that feeling of please just get off the stage, then that's like the worst feeling for an artist. Like when no one's interacting with you. But when no matter how many people there are, if like the people that are there are like there and like, you know, clapping with you and you know, they don't even need to sing with you cuz maybe they don't know your music yet, but if they're like, you know, dancing along and headbutting and stuff like that, like that's really cool, then I'm super happy that everyone's happy at the end.

Brian (00:27:46) - Yeah, yeah. And you know, as a musician at your level then, how do you approach finding gigs and possibly setting up tours?

Cindy-Louise (00:27:56) - I literally email so much. I research like I have such sleepless nights because I, you know, not starting like, oh who is me? But you know, I'm that kind of person. When I have something in my mind I'm like, yes, I'm gonna make it happen. And that's literally just sifting through everything. I do a lot on Instagram. I just search until I literally like my eyes are read, I look at a lot of artists also that are on the same level as me and usually they'll have something saying like where they're gigging at and I will contact those venues and I literally also have a book that is full like probably like, I don't know, probably like 50 pages just saying like who exactly I've emailed and if I've had a response from them and who I'll be emailing next year again because maybe they just said, no, not this year, but next year apply again. So I keep a record of everything and it's just emailing, it's emailing to a new degree and finding these people.

Brian (00:28:58) - Hmm. That's a, a very good approach actually. I I I've never heard it before. It's very uh, very in-depth and thorough.

Cindy-Louise (00:29:06) - Yeah, I mean, you know, the thing is usually you have a booking agent, which is also very helpful and I mean I am looking to like basically grow my team and maybe get into that too, but nobody, I heard this on an interview once and the person said, nobody will sell you as much as you'll sell yourself. And that's a hundred percent true because like nobody's gonna fight for you to get that spot as much as you are because you want it that badly.

Brian (00:29:31) - True, actually. True. That's a, that's a very good piece of advice. And similar question, how do you approach getting your music out to new listeners?

Cindy-Louise (00:29:43) - For me it's a lot about playlist placements. I do a lot on Spotify. I do a lot of my own pitching as well as I do outsource like curator pitches. Um, it's also about being very thorough and also being like in front of people's face. So like anyone I'll meet, I'll literally somehow get in the conversation. I'm a singer, you know,  and I always have a card on me to say like go listen to my music. And it's very like upfront. But then on the other hand, like if you say, oh, I'm a singer and you just say your name and you don't physically either go on their phone and say, come follow me, or you give them a card. Like, I mean at least me I forget people's names, like anything. So then at least they have the card and go, oh wait, what, what does that person's name again? Yes I have their card. So I do very much do a practical approach of like putting my, my music in people's face. And then I also do a lot on like playlist pushing and stuff like that. But my approach is also very organic. I don't, I don't like having numbers just for the sake of having numbers, you know, like also with my Instagram I could have like a million followers but if I only get two likes, yeah that kind of defeats the purpose. Hey .

Brian (00:30:57) - True, true. And uh, you know, everybody kind of knows the, all the good parts about trying to build a career as a singer I suppose. What are some of the the bad parts that people wouldn't really see unless they're actually doing it?

Cindy-Louise (00:31:13) - It's definitely the waiting game because you know, when you hear of all these singers and that's why I'm glad that there are so many documentaries that people actually know, but you always think like, oh they just made it and you're like, no man, like that's not how it works. I hate to like break it to you, it's a whole lot of building blocks and then eventually like you get recognized but it's not that you've made it, you know? So it's definitely the waiting and I don't know, the rejection, it just really sucks. You know like when someone tells you like, no, sorry, not today. Or like, no, you can't play at this show. Like that's heartbreaking. You know, , I'm sorry, I just have to be honest, but it's heartbreaking.

Brian (00:31:55) - Yeah, yeah. The only thing though is that when you do start getting some traction, you won't remember the people that said no to you.

Cindy-Louise (00:32:03) - No, exactly. I think, you know, like it's very sad at that point and then like obviously you cry your eyes, at least I do, I get very emotional when it comes to my music, but when you finally do get like that spot or that gig or on that playlist, it just feels that much better. And that's why I always encourage everyone like, don't be discouraged by like numbers or nos or rejections or this or that. Like everyone has it. Just keep going. Like keep, if you really wanna do it, like just keep going.

Brian (00:32:36) - Yeah. Yeah. True, true. And when it comes to the playlists then, are you very meticulous with your vetting of them? I know I've heard before that there's actually bad playlists, you know, that you don't want to end up on.

Cindy-Louise (00:32:49) - Yeah, I mean it's like with everything they also, oh, any press is good press, but that's not necessarily true. Like you want your music to be represented well. So I am very much like I won't just let my music be put on any playlist. It has to be one that also has the same vibe as my music. And then it's also through like say, I don't know, I, I say Spotify because it's the easiest like odd thing to use cuz they show you all your stats on that. But they always a, they also allow you to pitch your uh, song before it's released. So they say like pitch your music and then the, they're basically the organization will go through it and see if it fits somewhere and then you'll maybe get put on a official playlist. So that's pretty cool.

Brian (00:33:31) - Yeah, yeah it is. It is. And back to your shows then. I love finding out these little details. What's your pre-show and poor show ritual? H how do you psych yourself up and then how do you wind down afterwards?

Cindy-Louise (00:33:46) - The pre-show is definitely eat a lot of sugar. Like you need the energy bed . Yeah, and just, I always stay calm. I'm very lucky because, uh, my husband, he literally sets up everything for me. Like him, we have a, we have a thing downstairs that has all my equipment and he checks all the cables, he checks that everything's charged, he makes sure everything's packed and that puts a lot of like, like a less stress on me because of course if I slide to do that and I forget a cable, I'll die inside and I have like a mid breakdown. So he's very meticulous on packing everything. And then I'm very meticulous of getting in the zone and I've done this since even my opera days. Like I this, I basically put myself in a zone like a day before and imagine myself like on stage and what exactly it is that I'm doing and I map it out so that, you know, it won't go a core exactly as how I mapped it out, but it'll go something like that.

Cindy-Louise (00:34:44) - So I don't just get up there and go so hello, you know, you have to have incense and act prepared because that's of course your show. Like you have to know this is what you're gonna say after this. You can't just wing it because that just looks very awkward on stage. So I definitely plan that out. And then to wind myself down, I don't know, it's, I literally just, I meet everyone if they wanna meet me of course and like I sign some stuff, I like give hugs and photos and everything like that. I'm a hugger and that just winds me down altogether. I definitely drink a lot of water though after performance because I'm literally like shaking from all the adrenaline. So I'm like get me the water.

Brian (00:35:26) - You know say on a Saturday night you play one of the best biggest shows of your life. You go home, you wake up Sunday morning and it's kind of back to reality. You have the post gig poste, tour blues. How do you deal with it?

Cindy-Louise (00:35:43) - Uh, I'm still trying to figure that one out. . Cause , I'm living that all the time. It's very upsetting, you know? And of course like mental health is very important for me, but I can't help but feel like very, like you said, get the little a bit of a blues cuz you're like oh you know booey. But real realistically too, you can't play every night cause like my voice will be dead, you know, . So I'm still trying to figure that out. I think it's just I kind of switch over and try not to think about it and focus on what my next project is. So I always keep myself busy. It's not really a solution but it's kinda how I deal with it now. ,

Brian (00:36:23) - It's the best way to, best way to deal with, I think a lot of people say they just look at and look forward to the next time, run that stage, you know, and look forward to that feeling and the buzz again.

Cindy-Louise (00:36:34) - Yeah, because you have such a hype, you know, like you're like oh my soul, this is what I, especially for me it's like this is what I'm doing in my life and everything's coming together and everyone is like happy and then all of a sudden you're like fer, ,

Brian (00:36:47) - . Yeah. Yeah. And when it comes to your career, so how do you measure success?

Cindy-Louise (00:36:55) - For me success is if I wake up in the morning and I'm super happy, like if I'm like yes I'm doing what I want, I'm content in life and I can basically, you know, focus solely on my music career and like whatever other projects I'm busy with, that's success to me. It's of course like being a billionaire would also be nice but , you know, I always feel like there is never enough money or fame or this or that because like there's always that next step, if that makes sense. So for me it's just waking up and thinking like, cool, I'm ready, I'm ready to go. I'm gonna do this today. These are my projects I'm working on and there you go. And I can pay my balls then I'm happy.

Brian (00:37:39) - Yeah, yeah. And something that's clearly coming across is the passion you have for music, but I'd love to know, if you weren't a musician, what do you think you'd be doing?

Cindy-Louise (00:37:52) - It's so difficult to say because I have tried other like ventures in the sense of like getting other jobs and I always like, it's literally like a three month period where I'm like, no, this is not helping and it's not helping for my mental health and it's just not me. And I feel literally suffocated to the point where I literally, I don't wanna say I have a mental breakdown every three months, but you know, then I'm just like, I can feel that. I'm like no, this isn't okay. I don't, I don't feel right in my skin. So I think if I couldn't like single anything like that, like say something happened to my voice, then I would still do something in music. Like maybe manage a band or something like that or start like a record label because honestly music is my whole life. I've had so many like issues in within myself and I just always feel like music's always saved me. Oh yeah,

Brian (00:38:47) - Yeah, yeah. And you know, say a 30, 40 years time you're rocking the nursing home, you look back at your career, what do you want your legacy to be?

Cindy-Louise (00:39:00) - Just a happy one. I don't, I want everyone to be like, if I can have a legacy it's that oh my soul, you have to go to like Cindy Louisa shows, they're amazing. That's like what I want and I really connected with her and that my music helped people embrace themselves and just feel unhappy with themselves.

Brian (00:39:21) - Good one. Good one. I like it. I like it. And before we dive into the last couple of questions then, what are your future plans? Any new music, big gigs you want to tell us about?

Cindy-Louise (00:39:32) - Yes, so new music, I'm actually working on a collaboration and that will be coming out very soon, probably in like a month or so. And I'm really excited for you guys to hear it cause it'll be my first collaboration that I'm releasing and it's with a really amazing friend of mine. This friend has been there from the beginning for me and I wouldn't even be like releasing music if it wasn't for him. His name is Eric and I'm very excited for you guys to hear it and shows. I have loads of shows coming up, like definitely check out my Instagram. I have a little poster there with all the upcoming shows.

Brian (00:40:08) - Oh fantastic. And I know you, you probably can't share too much yet, but what sort of vibe can we expect from the upcoming music?

Cindy-Louise (00:40:17) - Definitely like a badass vibe with some killer guitar. Like Eric is the best guitarist I've ever met, so get ready for that.

Brian (00:40:27) - Brilliant, brilliant. I can't wait to hear it. And uh, we'll dive into the last couple of questions. So if you could see Annie performer from history and concert for one night only, who would it be?

Cindy-Louise (00:40:39) - I really wanna see nothing but thieves like the singer is his vocals. Like every time I watch a video I'm like, oh, like they're so good, you know, of course cause I'm a vocalist, that's what attracts me. But I mean, how he goes from that like high note to those like deep notes and like a matter of seconds with no crack or anything is phenomena. No, I would love to see him live and I would love to meet them.

Brian (00:41:04) - That'd be a a great show. Yeah. Yeah. And the next one, so if you had to spend 24 hours locked in a room with any musician from history, who would it be?

Cindy-Louise (00:41:16) - Hmm. So difficult to say. I'd like, can I have two options, ? Yeah,

Brian (00:41:24) - Yeah, of course.

Cindy-Louise (00:41:25) - So I recently uh, met this band, uh, not personally but over the internet that's called Peaks and we've been chatting and they just sound like really cool people that I'd really love to like sit in a room with and ask like how their creative pro process works cause they've got a really cool sound going on. And then the other one would be Yoka and I would just love to ask them about like their whole experience in creating music cuz they're, I don't wanna say they're old, but they're a little bit older, you know, and they're really popular now. And also in general their music is very much up my alley, especially how they use these like operatic notes. They're very cool. They, they have this like, I don't know, this like mesmerizing sound going on, but it's, they're kind of push constantly in that anger that I really like and that I also wanna bring into my music. So I'd love to ask them how they go from A to B in their writing process. And I'd love to ask the singer like how she gets that technique down.

Brian (00:42:23) - That would be an incredibly valuable 24 hour. So, and the final one, so what song would appear on the soundtrack to your life?

Cindy-Louise (00:42:33) - Two . Let quickly think about. It can't be one of my own songs, right? It has be from somebody else.

Brian (00:42:43) - Uh, usually but I'll, I'll go easy on you. You can pick one of your own songs if you want.

Cindy-Louise (00:42:48) - Okay. Well I, I can do two, I can do two. So my own life would definitely be 9 25 cuz that's how I feel like you're just like working to death, you know, like now I'm not because now I'm literally only an artist. But back then and I do feel like a lot of sympathy for a lot of people working in a situation where they're not happy. So that would be my, my life in sense to this point. And then from another person it would be Anthem from uh, YOKA and Bonds, Courtney. And they just sing like, you know, like I just wanna be accepted, kind of like what do you want from me? Nobody understands me. But this is a different time now because all of the people that like feel this way are coming together and creating a community so that we all belong. And I really like that.

Brian (00:43:42) - Perfect, perfect. Some good choices there. So listen, I really enjoyed this. It's been a really fun episode to do and uh, hopefully I get to catch one of your shows someday.

Cindy-Louise (00:43:53) - Thank you so much. When I'm in your vicinity, I will just send you tickets.

Brian (00:47:13) - Hey guys, I really hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, please rate and review us on iTunes and Spotify. And if you are interested in signing up the Band Builder Academy, use the link in the show notes below and enter the code concerts and you'll receive 10% off. So until next time, keep rocking.

(00:47:38) - Hey, hey, what are you guys still doing here? The show is over. It's over. You can go home. Go on. We'll see you next time. We'll be here. Bye.