Hello! How is everybody doing in 2016 so far?
I have no idea where to start other than with THANK YOU! Thank you to everyone who has supported me on my journey and who continue to support me as things continue to grow. There has been so much going on in my musical life this past year and the one regret I have is actually not posting even more about it. I find personally that behind the scenes is stuff people really love to see. So I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to do that more. But that’s all about to change.
The first thing I want to touch base on is my weight loss journey. I have lost to date 30lbs. Which is an amazing feeling for me. I first did the 21 Day No Junk Food Challenge and lost my first 10 lbs. Secondly, I tried a wonderful company for 3 months this summer Slim Ambition in Fargo which basically uses cold laser treatments in conjunction with diet and exercise. I don’t exercise nearly as much as I should since i started working 7 nights a week few months ago but I continue to make better food choices and slowly the weight continues to come off. Being able to lose that weight allowed me to be comfortable enough taking my first professional photo shoot in over 7 years.
The second thing is this past summer I was contacted by a company Industry All Access. They wanted to help me take my career to the next level by giving me consultations in branding and marketing. I performed tasks in hopes of building up my marketability. Those tasks included getting comments on my press release on their website. Which, by the way THANK YOU to every single person who commented it meant alot to me to see everybody coming together to post such wonderful things about me and my music. They asked me to create professional recording of 5 songs and wanted new professional pictures of me which helped create my digital press kit. Which leads me to the third thing.
If it wasn’t for Topher Williams Studios none of this would have been possible at all. He is the composer of the music you will hear on my album. I found him by accident on Reverbnation in 2014 when I decided that “Dare To Dream” had to become a reality. The guy is simply brilliant and what he was able to do with my songs will make me eternally grateful to him. The writing process was very interesting and exciting as well as at times stressful. The simplest way I could explain it would be this, Topher would build the songs around the melodies of my original songs. If something wasn’t in the original song I initially wrote I would add a part here or there to make the song whole. We actually wrote an entirely new song aptly named “Thank You” based solely on the stroke of a few keys on the piano that Topher played wanting to see if he could get me outside my comfort zone. That song I now dedicate to my mother because it was written about and for her. Furthermore, if it also wasn’t for me finding JM Audio Production via an ad this album and that above mentioned DPK wouldn’t have been possible at all. He brought out the very best in my voice and really pushed me to nail these tracks! In his own right he is also a musical genius. That process basically in its most condensed version consisted of me working my “day job” 11p-7am the night before sleeping 8a-2p and go to record from 230p-5p then going back to bed til 10p to be ready to work again at 11p. Depending on if the song we were recording needed background vocals or not it would run a little longer. I must add that every song you hear on my album was done in one take. We would go through probably 5-7 passes of main vocals and 3 for background. Except for the last song. There was a timing issue I kept having on the 2nd verse that I ended up singing separately.
The fourth thing to mention is I have been working my butt off to get my music heard. I had my first show at an open mic in New York Mills, MN in December at the Cultural Center that hosted some pretty amazing people. I loved listening to everybody’s songs and stories and was very comfortable performing there and definitely plan to go back in the near future. It was a way for me to see how I would feel performing my own original music in front of people without some high pressure event. Most people don’t know this about me but I have social anxiety. Not entirely sure where it started or stems from completely but it’s there none-the-less. The only time I feel like I am free is when I’m singing and performing. When I’m in my zone or element I guess. I have my 2nd show and album release party coming up here on January 23rd in what I refer to as my hometown of Mahnomen. I didn’t actually grow up there but it is where I have lived the most throughout my life and it is where my mother lives as well as majority of my family. My album will also be available FOR FREE digitally to anyone who signs up for my NEW website. You enter an email address and the album is automatically sent to you!
Which brings me to the final thing I want to bring everyone up to speed on. 2016 has barely begun and I have already started to get involved in so much musically. I signed up for an amazing online musician course that helps you navigate and walk through branding and marketing on social media called “The Online Musician Academy” created by this wonderful woman and singer Leah McHenry. I started working on reaching out to multiple producers so that I can gain more exposure on my music. I have found some amazing people and have already written a few new original dance tracks that you will start to hear and hopefully enjoy. I was contacted by a very special person who has offered to help further my career in regards to promotion and marketing. This person at this time would like to remain anonymous and i respect that. In February I will be driving to Chicago to audition for a chance to be on NBC’s The Voice. I plan to post lots of pictures and behind the scenes moments for that entire weekend and leading up to the audition so be looking for those. Lastly, I recently had a music meeting of the minds this week in fact with someone who reached out to me via another ad in regards to management, promotion, and marketing. The meeting went extremely well and you will be seeing lots of new content from me very soon. Including vlogs, photos, and MUSIC VIDEOS! It’s finally happening and I am so grateful to everyone who has stuck by me and supported this dream of mine. Let’s Do This 2016!
Rayne Michael
raynemichael.com
“Dare To Dream” Composer Topher Williams of Topher Williams Studios
https://www.facebook.com/topherwilliamsstudios
“Dare To Dream” Producer & Mixer Jack MacArthur(Alaka) of JM Audio Production
https://www.facebook.com/JM-Audio-Production-508524205962777/?fref=ts
“The Online Musician Academy” Leah McHenry of LEAH
https://leah-mchenry.mykajabi.com/store
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