One
of the first things I raised was the subject of airplay for new
artists.Simone Hardy Story / Interview
Almost everyone (myself included) who now knows about Simone Hardy, will have come across her through her single Say What I Mean, which was released during the course of 1999, just about the time that I first spoke to her, as she was a new signing with Virgin Records Australia, having already tied up the recording of both that single & the debut album, which is about to see the light of day.
I recently caught up with Simone again, this time around to talk about the impending release of that album & to find out what's happening with her career now & what has happened since the launch of that first single. We spoke on a remarkable amount of topics in a fairly short space of time.
One
of the first things I raised was the subject of airplay for new
artists.
"It's a really hard thing to say what's the right way to go with getting airtime on any station. Triple J have been kind enough to play the first single a few times & I've had a pretty good run out of the Austereo network which is good too. I'm hoping that radio will get behind the album too, not only picking the singles to play because I think that's what people want to hear & it gives the album a lot more substance."
At the time I last spoke with her, Simone was about to set off on a 3 way tour with both Mark Lizotte & Taxiride. I asked what sort of experience that gave her as an emerging talent.
"That was a great tour. I learnt a lot & I think I've become more confident in my performing, so hopefully that'll also give people a better show when they come to see me play. We're gearing up for some launches for the new album in various places & I'm hoping that people will be getting the best out of me when I play."
Speaking of live performances, Simone is a Sydney resident & she commented on the relative lack of suitable venues in the area.
"Well it's definitely something that's on the decline in this area. I mean, Goldman's has closed for a while, so that leaves a big gap, though now you've just told me they'll be opening again elsewhere, I feel a lot better. It's not only restricted to Sydney though, I hear they're having difficulties in other areas like the Gold Coast with noise regulations or something like that. What do people expect? When they move in near a pub or club, there's bound to be some noise. It's like moving near an existing airport & then complaining about the aircraft noise. I hope they get something sorted out soon anyway."
Something else I spoke about was Simone's own website, which is already online.
"I'm afraid I haven't really concentrated too much on the internet yet. There's so much to discover about it & so many opportunities it presents that I'm going to have to find out more. I don't know what else to say about it other than there'll be more for people to look at as time goes on."
Lastly, an obvious question was what was ahead in Simone's already amazing career.
"After the launch of the album I think we've got some dates planned but I don't have those here with me. As far as another album's concerned, I've already thought about some new songs, but things have been so busy with the singles & promotion & other things, that writing's had to take a back seat. I'm starting to get a bit more time to myself, so I'm hoping to get some more songs written. Now I've done the album I'm more confident I can do even better again."
Check out Simone's new album Shed My Skin out soon through Virgin.
