I went to see Yes Man last night. I had to say that it was funny, and had a great message. Of course there is such a thing as overdoing the concept of saying yes and that is part of the moral to the story. On the flip side I find that most people can say yes more often than they do. My problem was learning to say no. Yet, I’m finding that I have to learn to say yes more often than I already do.
I think that’s why 2009 was getting off to a good start. I was saying yes. Changing the course of things. Despite a rough year overall that ended with some rough spots, there were some nice little gems. One of those gems was meeting today’s pick.
I met today’s artist, Femke, while saying yes to going to a function put on by my Performing Rights Organization SESAC. I met several good people there. But this artist was the one that became most in tune with.
She plants a striking image the moment you see her. She stands 5’10 3/4″ or so. Has bright naturally red hair, with a classic type of beauty that has grace. Musically she stands out because of her voice and her ability to create great melodies with lyrics that can eat you up. She has a voracious appetite for creation. It’s nearly detrimental in a way, but it’s also admirable.
Her knowledge of music genres and bands is akin to an encyclopedia. It’s impressive.
With such a whirlwind of force to her writing it’s no wonder that she is getting a lot of producers seeking her out to write with or for them. On the flip side, getting to know her as a person leaves me scratching my head as to how she can have such personal lyrics such as Next To Nothing. There’s no way I can envision her feeling like she’s next to nothing. Yet, I’m pretty sure we’ve all felt like we were next to nothing at one point or another in our lives. This particular song really sums it up well.
I know that I really like the production of how she started with these crazy sounding triplet notes on the guitar. It’s a delay line that works extremely well. There’s a great little build of all the parts. The other thing that I really enjoy with her ideas is that she will throw in little bits of music that are seemingly random but fit so well. That’s brilliant pop right there. There’s not a lot more that I can say about it.
What I will say is that the CD is available on CD Baby now. It will soon be on iTunes and Amazon and the like, until then, I implore you to get the CD. You won’t be sorry. Say Yes!