I was a bit late to the party listening to The Smile, despite being a HUGE Radiohead fan, so I only heard their glorious debut album “A Light For Attracting Attention” a couple of weeks ago. “Free In The Knowledge” leapt out at my ears and I just had to film this one-take performance.
This is the first in a regular segment called “Take a sad song and make it sadder” – comment with your suggestions for sad songs I can tackle next! xo
In April 2022 I spent a week in the Setubal area of Portugal, travelling up to my beloved Lisbon for several day trips. One breakfast time, after reading about the cavaquinho, an ancestor of the ukulele, I decided to go on a musical treasure hunt to find an instrument to play my song “Seashaken” on – by the sea.
I’ve been livestreaming my gigs on the internet since 2013, and I’m not stopping now! This video is for anyone who wants to improve the quality of their livestreams by utilising Logic Pro X and OBS, and for music fans interested in the whys and wherefores of online gigging.
In this video, I talk through the equipment I use for my regular livestreams, why I started them so long ago and why I’ll keep doing them even though in-person shows are possible again. I also offer hard-won advice on how to hold your nerve during the performance, and a couple of things that, if avoided, will massive improve the quality of your performance.
Tech in brief: I send audio into Logic through my Focusrite Clarett interface, route it out to an aggregate device created using Blackhole, and then into OBS, which sends audio and video through to YouTube Studio. Alex Bayly’s step by step guide made this possible – watch here if you want to do the same thing (and check out his music, too!).
Full list of gear I mentioned (with some affiliate links)
I play my Reverend Double Agent OG guitar through a Fender Princeton amp with a Shure E906 mic recording it, plugged back into the Clarett via an XLR cable.
People often ask me what gear I use to make my videos, so I’ll keep this post up to date to save us time!
Thanks for asking – but please know that in terms of finding equipment for your projects, my rule of thumb is to decide on a budget and find something that works within that. I started off filming bands on a Handycam bought on eBay, and I worked up from there. I’ve been doing this for 20+ years now, and now own some very nice pieces of equipment, but you don’t have to spend a lot of money to get good results.
Your ideas are the most valuable part of anything you make – so just make stuff.
Please note: this post contains affiliate links. If you click through and buy the item (or any other item in the same web session) I will receive a small percentage from the sale, but you won’t be charged any extra. So, by clicking my links you are directly supporting my future music and videos – thank you. Please do shop around, though!!
Cameras
Main camera: Canon R6 (I also highly recommend the Canon 80D or similar if you’re on a budget)
DJI Mini 2 drone – incredible little thing! The new DJI Mini 3 Pro looks amazing too, but remains on my wishlist due to £££!
Tripods
Manfrotto BeFree travel tripod – I love this because it goes really tall and is very steady, unlike most smaller / lighter tripods. I use it all the time in my studio, not just for travel.
PGYTECH Mantispod Pro mini tripod – amazing little thing! Holds the R6, but would work even better with a lighter camera or phone (attachment included).
Tascam DR-10 portable recorder – I have trust issues with radio mics but many people use them with no issue, and there are some really affordable options these days. I prefer to use the Tascam, though, and plug in the Rode Lavalier II (though the Tascam comes with its own lav mic which is fine but not great). The Rode Lavalier Go is also an excellent wired lavalier mic.
Lighting
I ignored lighting for years, assuming it was really difficult and really expensive. It’s actually not hard to do a decent job, just search for “three point lighting tutorial” on YouTube or Skillshare!
Godox SL-60W (my “posh” light, that I use as the main / key light) – there is a “silent” Godox ML-60 now which is better for video (though more expensive), though honestly I don’t pick up noise off this as I make sure my microphone is away from the camera on a stand.
Kate Bush’s 1985 song “Running Up That Hill” is top of the UK singles chart for the second week in a row, 37 years after release! After appearing as Max’s saviour song in “Stranger Things Season 4”, the song is reaching a whole new audience, and I’m delighted to see it happening.
In this video I talk about how and why to “be more Kate Bush”.
🎵 The music in this video is the instrumental version of my song “Out Of The Blue”. ➡️ Listen here ➡️ Get the album here
🔎 I mention my friend Marc Burrows’ article “Muso Snobs Don’t Own Kate Bush” – read that here
Let’s celebrate! It’s one year since my debut Penfriend album landed at #5 in the Independent Albums Chart and #24 in the Official UK Albums Chart, and got me a spot next to Billie Eilish in Music Week Magazine.
I couldn’t have done this without your support, so I’d love you to join me for a special FREE livestream event.
I wanted to share an average week in my life as an independent artist BUT it went slightly off track because I got a new puppy!!
I still got a lot done though, so join me behind the scenes of this self-employed musician, artist and video maker creating things in my home studio and making direct connections with music fans via the internet.
…meet Luna the 8-week old Cavapoo puppy from Wales who’s taken over my life. I love her. Tim loves her. Albydog loves her and guards her while she’s sleeping. My heart!
In this video, I use my 41st birthday as a benchmark to compare my January 2022 plans with what’s happened since, talking about what’s gone awry, what’s changed and what’s coming from Obey Robots, She Makes War and Penfriend.
I also discuss what it’s like to be a monetized YouTuber, what I’ve earned so far (oh, the £££!) and what it feels like to have stuck to a weekly upload schedule for 27 weeks in a row.
I made this video to help. I’ve been feeling completely overwhelmed lately, and I know I’m not the only one. World events can make it feel like our “first world problems” don’t matter, but grief, stress and sadness can be a very heavy load. It can be hard to take care of our physical and mental health, whatever level of privilege we enjoy.
In 2019 I was gifted a bag of poppy seeds at one of my gigs, and this week they’ve been instrumental in helping me find a way forward. 2022 hasn’t been a great year, and that’s ok – I’ll keep trying to keep trying, and I hope you will too x (ps scroll down for the transcript)
I’ve been feeling completely overwhelmed lately. Personal and professional disasters and disappointments have been having unexpected effects. Big sadness, migraine auras, social anxiety, burnout.
I feel…stuck.
And then the news. Horror and helplessness. Truly awful things are happening all around the world, and I can’t do anything to help. In the face of all that, what do my little first-world problems matter?
Do you ever feel this way?
Yesterday, I looked out into my overgrown garden and I saw something magical had happened. Rising majestically from an aggressive clump of spiky weeds taller than me – poppies. Two big, juicy, glorious, decadent poppies.
In 2019, I tried gardening for the first time ever. I’d got bored of describing myself to myself as someone who just didn’t know what to do with plants, so I rolled up my sleeves and I had a go.
Later that year, after one of my gigs, I was presented with a little bag of poppy seeds. A lady who’d been following my gardening adventures through my quarterly zine wanted to share the fruits of her own flowers.
I was so touched. What a cool gift.
She told me to plant them in winter, but I was away touring pretty relentlessly that year, and didn’t get round to doing anything with the seeds. When I realised I’d missed my chance, I stored them somewhere safe for next year.
2020 happened, and I couldn’t find the seeds.
2021 happened, and I tidied up the shed at just the right time of year to find the poppy seeds and scatter them in the garden. I assumed their life force had already faded, but I felt guilty about not trying.
So I tried, and look! Poppies! And more poppies on the way!
Before today, I havedn’t touched this garden since last August when I cleared it for my beloved Mister Benji to recuperate in after his big operation. Since he left us, it’s been too much to even think about dealing with.
2022 hasn’t been a great year, and grief, stress and sadness can be a very heavy load.
But now, seeing these gorgeous flowers just going about their business, shooting up towards the sky, I’ve been inspired to get back into gardening again. I think it might be my first step towards becoming unstuck.
And I wouldn’t be feeling just like this, right at this moment, if it weren’t for the generous gift of the poppy seeds.
Look how we can affect each other.
Look how we can help each other.
Look how we can raise each other up and give each other hope through little acts of kindness.
And look at the beauty that exists in this incredible world of ours.
We all need nutrients, water and light.
We all need hope: space to grow, something to look forward to.
We all need to clear the weeds once in a while, and remind ourselves of what’s important.
You matter. I matter. This matters. We can’t do everything, but we can do something.
THANK YOU for visiting my website!I’m Laura Kidd, a music producer, songwriter and podcaster based in Bristol, UK. It’s great to meet you.
My first album under the name Penfriend (and my fifth solo album), “Exotic Monsters” marked the start of a new musical chapter. Written, produced and recorded in my home studio The Launchpad between February 2019 and September 2020, and funded by my beloved member’s club, the album was released on my label My Big Sister Recordings on 21st May 2021.
Thanks to the support of independently minded music fans, it reached #24 in the Official UK Album Chart the following week (plus #5 in the Independent Album Chart and #3 in the downloads chart!), a win for indie music makers and fans everywhere. We bloody did it!
Thank you so much for helping make my childhood dreams come true. Thank you for supporting indie musicians. We need you! Eternal thanks to all Supersub Club and Correspondent’s Club members for always having my back. 🖤🖤🖤
