“I feel that this is a great time for artists to take control of their own careers. Things are really changing and I think that people are really starting to see the struggles that we go through with the expenses of trying to afford to make the music on our own, tour and gig. In general people seem to be becoming more supportive of the arts.” – mandy__bo

Listen to the interview
Episode #302 : A.V.A Live Radio Behind The Music with Jacqueline Jax : http://www.blogtalkradio.com/avaliveradio/2016/03/02/episode-302-ava-live-radio-behind-the-music-with-jacqueline-jax

GETTING TO KNOW MANDY BO
by Jacqueline Jax host of A.V.A Live Radio

Music business…
I feel that this is a great time for artists to take control of their own careers. Things are really changing and I think that people are really starting to see the struggles that we go through with the expenses of trying to afford to make the music on our own, tour and gig. In general people seem to be becoming more supportive of the arts.

Pros and cons …
So far I have stuck to doing everything myself, which I really enjoy. However, I am starting to really run out of man power. I don’t have time to do social, design, rehearsals, lessons, song writing and recording anymore. Unfortunately, the more my community of supporters grows, the harder it is to do it all by myself. Most of all, when I am investing all my time and resources into doing all this, it’s hard to find ways to continue to fund my music on my own. I really rely on my community for their support and I am very lucky to have my community (friends, fans and family), I literally could not do it without them.

Hurdles and pitfalls…
Pure faith, hard work, determination and perseverance, but mostly love. I absolutely love what I do, it’s why I do it, and it keeps me going. It makes sticking it out possible.

Social media…
I love social media, it makes it so easy to connect and share things with my community. I love the messages that I get, sometimes I am having a bad or tough day and the love and respect that I receive from everyone really warms my heart…all the time. That’s why I make sure I respond to every single message, they mean so much to me.

Challenges…
Well, as the community grows it is becoming a little harder to respond quickly. So, I just ask that everyone be patient with me.

Singles vs an album…
I really like releasing singles. While an album has a full story to tell, each one of those songs is a story in itself and a lot of time, money and energy goes into creating every single one. I put my heart into all the songs I write. So, I like that each gets the special attention it deserves.

It’s fun too to release the singles off the album so that the story slowly starts to unravel for listeners, and with each they start to get to know you a little better.

Since I was very little…
people would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up and I always said a singer. But as time went on I became shy and insecure so I just kept it to myself. Then I began modelling and acting in my teens and regained some of that confidence I had lost as a child. One day I just said, enough; I always wanted to be a singer and so now that is what I am going to do. I’ve been finding a way to do it every since. It is the scariest and most amazing thing I have ever done and I’ve never looked back. Once I accepted music as mu purpose, everything in my life fell into place and I finally felt home.

My personal definition of success is..
I wish I could narrow it down but my whole experience with music has been surreal to me. All my life people have told me I “can’t” and “don’t try” to the point that I became afraid. Being a musician was the one thing I wanted in this world more than anything else and it became a very real fear for me at one point, but then one day I realized that that was exactly why it was what I was meant to do. Ever since I accepted that I am a musician, I have been surprised everyday at the strength, courage and pure will that I have developed in order to attain my dreams. I worked very very hard for a very long time and then all of a sudden things just seem to start to fall into place. I choose to live my life without fear (to not be guided or repressed by it), and that is my definition of success; that is the ultimate “freedom”.

My over all goal for my life & career is…
To never stop pushing and challenging myself to create great music and to always keep an open mind and an open heart. I want to be able to give a voice to those who don’t have one, to inspire them to follow their dreams by showing them that even an underdog like myself can do it. I don’t know what that all looks like just yet, but I’m searching.

3 Ways that I challenge myself…

1) I don’t ask myself “if” I can make something happen, I ask myself “how”. This way I never expect limitations for myself and my career.

2) I try to keep an open mind to learning new things by admitting “I don’t know”. This helps keep me open to new opportunities and innovative ways of doing and seeing things. There are usually more ways than one to reach a desired goal.

3) I day dream every day. This is where it all starts. None of my dreams would have ever come true had I not dared to dream them.

Pay The Price…
is the first single from my EP, Making Her story and is a fusion of country and dance music. A little hung over, the lead of the story opens her eyes to a visit from the boys in blue for an arrest regarding the events of the night before. As the song goes on, the narrator slowly starts to remember what had happened.

The song was inspired by Johnny Cash’s “Boy Named Sue”. I grew up listening to the song and it’s a wonderful story with lots of humor; I wanted to create something similar. Purchase link: http://www.mandybo.com/products/pay-the-price-1

This is my first single of my first EP…
so this is a very big moment in my career; I’ve definitely created a sound that is unique to me as an artist and I cannot wait to share it with everyone. I’m running a Pledge Music starting March 10th and every single person who pledges gets an immediate download of the EP before anyone else gets to hear it. The campaign is aimed at helping me raise funds for a big event, which we’ll be recording for a live album that pledges can pre-order through my PledgeMusic page (http://www.pledgemusic.com/artists/mandybo), as well as a summer house concert tour to promote the EP. In fact, people can sign up through the campaign or my site to become house concert hosts as well.

I live in Toronto and the scene is great….
There area always tons of super cool events and shows going on. You can see all different kinds of bands any night of the week really. For country there is the Dakota, Boots and Bourbon Saloon, The Paddock, Rock ‘n’ Horse and so many more.

I also enjoy board sports a lot. I long board as much as possible, as well as wakeboard, wake surf, surf and I used to be a snowboard technician (so I have quite a few boards)

 

I would love to have 5 minutes alone with…
The famous philosopher Alan Watts. I listen to a lot of his teachings and I find it very humbling and calming; with so much craziness in the world he really helps to put things into perspective and remind us where we came from. I would just love to ask him about anything and nothing.

Music Trends…
Honestly, I don’t have the opportunity to listen to what is currently available much. Sometimes I’ll hear something that will inspire me to write a song but it could be from any genre, any time. I don’t try to dictate what my music is going to be like based on trends or anything really. I just write it and let it dictate how it wants to be. If you are always trying to be in with what is trendy, by the time you release it the trend will have passed anyways. I find it’s much easier and more rewarding to just be myself than try to be “cool”.

I am most afraid of…
Heights make me dizzy, but I love to face my fears so I am always down for a roller coaster ride.