December 23rd, 2009
Inspirational Women: Seven Questions with Singer-SongWriter Shannon Hope
Give us your “Elevator” Speech as to WHO you are and WHAT it is that you do for a “living”. And how should we “know” you?
My name is Shannon Hope. I am a South African born singer-songwriter, pianist, voice artist, and professional dreamer. My music is lyrically-based and intensely honest. Music isn’t something you do, it is something you are, and that is who and what I am. I have never wanted to be or do anything else. I am one of the lucky ones who gets to wake up every day doing what I love with all the passion of a childish dreamer. I have no aspirations for fame or fortune. My dream is to live a life of simple pleasures and wake up every day to write a song and share it.
Photo by: Rogan Ward
Tells about your path to getting to where you are with your business today.
I have always wanted to be a musician but with my experience over the past decade playing in various bands within the South African industry, I didn’t think that dream would ever truly come to fruition, so I worked as an administration manager during the day, with music being very much an “extracurricular activity”. In 2005, my previous band played its last show and I gave up the hope of ever being anything more than a dreamer and quit music altogether. At the beginning of 2008 a friend asked me to back him up for a performance and being on stage again brought me back to life. It was magical. Having not written anything in well over 3 years I started writing again, still with no plans of ever making it a career focus, and by December was in studio recording an album. The album took a mere 5 days to finish and about 2 days into production I realised that I was fooling myself trying to be anything other than this. I released the album, entitled STILL, in April and went fulltime in June, finally taking a chance on me. It has taken me a long time to fully appreciate and understand music as a business and what that implies and entails, and I have taken a very business-minded approach to this project and to myself as an emerging brand. My current plan of action involves touring South Africa extensively to promote the album, with future ambitions for international touring as well. I started my own publishing company with the release of my album for the purpose of copyright and distribution management, and would like to develop that later on as well to publish other artists, but as an independent, self-managed artist I don’t have the extra time to devote to that side of things just yet. I also work as a voice-over artist for film, television and radio, which keeps my voice well-rehearsed and keeps me busy when I’m not touring.
What is your personal “motto” or “mission statement”?
“Feel the fear and do it anyway.” This has always been a statement that I’ve been very passionate about, but in all honesty, it took many years before I truly acknowledged the importance of such a powerful challenge and started to take the real risks necessary to pursue who I am and what I want in my life.
Besides your business, what are you passionate about?
It’s very hard not to say music! When I’m not making music or planning the next step in my music career, I’m listening to new artists. I fall in love with new artists and music every day. There is so much new music coming out all the time and so many inspiring artists, and it is always a pleasure to find new artists that challenge and speak to me. At the moment most of my time is devoted to my career, so I don’t have a lot of spare time for much else, and I’m very often away from home on tour so when I am home, I try to spend as much time as I can with friends and family. I like to do something extreme every so often to keep the blood pumping, but with my chosen career I have to be a little more careful than I was in my younger days of rapp jumping and rock climbing, but I will generally jump off or climb up anything. I am passionate about coffee, great films that move me, cooking with reckless abandon, and I love a good session on the dancefloor.
What advice would you give to other women wanting to follow your career path?
Find yourself a strong man to carry your gear! Hehe… Write every day, dream every day, take as many chances as you can. Always be willing to ask questions, and always be willing to make mistakes. Collaborate with as many other musicians as you can, it will challenge and grow you as an artist. Be critical of your work, it’s not always going to be ground-breaking, but the more you write, the more ground-breaking stuff will surface. Toughen up, this can be a soul-destroying industry, but don’t take it personally. Learn to accept praise and encouragement, and try to remember it when things aren’t going your way. If you believe in what you’re doing, don’t stop believing, no matter how impossible things might seem. Looking back over a year or two really helps when things seem insurmountable. Remember where you’ve come from, how you got to where you are, what you’ve sacrificed to get there, and simply appreciate how much you’ve accomplished (even the small stuff). Very often we don’t realise or acknowledge how much we are capable of until we come out of the storm and look back. Hindsight is an amazing tool and looking back at where I’ve come from and what I’ve managed to achieve encourages me to keep going forward.
Pimp yourself! Where can we find you on the web, in bookstores, at the movies, on TV, etc?
Official Website: www.shannonhope.co.za
Purchase S T I L L Online
Purchase S T I L L In Stores:
- Look and Listen (South Africa)
Social networks:
Contact:
- Join the mailing list: mailinglist@shannonhope.co.za
- Email Shannon Hope directly: shannonhope@rocketmail.com
What question should we have asked, that we didn’t? Now is YOUR opportunity to tell us what we missed!
As a musician and a public figure, I think it’s important to stand for something, to challenge the norm, and to give back when you can, so I’ve been conducting an experiment with the release of my album, combined with an effort to generate support for a charity that I believe in. Retail stores around South Africa tend to price South African music releases lower than international releases, and with this in mind, I set a challenge to my audience to re-evaluate the value of South African music. I sell the album at a base price of ZAR100 but those who feel it’s worth more can set their own purchase price. I donate all additional proceeds collected over and above the base price to POWAR , an organization which aims to provide support and a safe haven for survivors of abuse and rape. So far there has been overwhelming support for this experiment and it seems that the South African public value local releases on a par with international (sometimes higher). It’s also creating awareness for the amazing work that The Jessica Foord Foundation are doing through POWAR around the country, and I’m thrilled to be able to contribute in some way to the cause.
Photos by: Rogan Ward
