July 2007

Dear Candice,

Glad to read that the tour went well and I hope that you also enjoyed the Spoutwood Faerie Festival.

I think I may have got the date of your Birthday wrong -- is it the 5th or the 8th of May ? Apologies if I got it wrong.

Best wishes
Diane xxx

Hello Diane,

Yes, we had a wonderful time, as usual, at the Faerie Festival in Spoutwood. It is always heart warming for me to see so many people of the same mindset gathering together. And of course, getting to meet everyone, performing, and being a part of it all and surrounded by nature is just the best...

No apologies needed! I celebrate a birthday month, anyway....

But my birthday is actually May 8th...just for the record.

Love and light,
Candice

Hello Candice and Ritchie

I am a little choir but also a want-to-be renaissance singer. I love Blackmore’s Night and Deep Purple. My brother, sister and I are hopefully going to see you down in south of England. We are a very musical family. I play the flute and my sister is just being to find her favourite instrument. My mum is a pianist and my brother plays the guitar. My sister and I both dance and like nothing more than to sing along to Blackmore’s Night on your DVD.

My brother, Sam, loves the picture of you with the bow and arrow also loves Ritchie’s fantastic playing. He plays guitar and loves to target shoot down at our youth centre. He was wondering if you had any tips for a newly formed band. They are also in the rock genre. He even has Ritchie’s hair!

My sister, Bethany, just want to know “what helps you to write your great songs?” Please if you are able to could you give her and answer, because she thinks you are absolutely brilliant. She has been trying to write a song but has been unsuccessful.

I was wondering what you do in between concerts and practice because constant practise must get quite tiresome. I also want to ask where you can get such cool clothes and instruments. I would love to be able to play a rauschpfeiffe. I did a tribute to you at our school talent contest singing ‘I’ll be there’. The whole hall seemed to love your song.

From all of us

Rebekah, Sam and little Bethany

Hello Rebekah, Sam and Bethany,

I hope that you were able to come to our show and that you enjoyed it... and hopefully England has seen some sun since I left there. My heart goes out to all those who were so affected by the flooding there... I hope things are better over the past few weeks...

Tips on a newly formed band...hmmm...Ritchie would say "Once you learn the 1st 2 chords get a good lawyer!" I say remember to always have fun with what you are doing. When you are in a band you are also opening yourself to working with other personalities and when things don't go well it can be very frustrating. So, don't make it too serious. Especially if you are doing it because you love it and are enjoying yourself. Once it becomes your "business" it is a whole other scale and there can be sharks at every level. So, enjoy it for what it is...let the music take you on an amazing trip and when you play for others enjoy the fact that they are on that journey with you... Music is the most powerful medium there is. It is the great puppetmaster of emotions...

For Bethany: Writing songs is always different for different people. It is a very individualized process. But I can tell you that if you are stressing yourself because you haven't written anything, then you are getting further off the path of being able to write. Stress will rob you of creativity, especially if you are putting pressure or demands on yourself to come up with something. I don't know if you are trying to write music, or lyrics or both. But the first thing is to completely let yourself go into the creative world. that means, no distractions, no appointments, no phone ringing, no radio...just sit... Maybe outside in your garden or in a quiet room. It could be anywhere. If you are trying to write music, just start humming, See what comes out. Bring a tape recorder and hum your ideas into that. Songs can come from anywhere at any time. But if you are forcing them they may not come at all. So don't be hard on yourself and know that when you are ready and open...they will be there waiting. With lyrics...find what inspires you. Is it a melody? The sunset? A word or color or story? Free form write. Forget that it even has to rhyme... just sit pen to paper and write whatever comes to mind. Don't worry if it doesn't make sense or sounds like ramblings... Or take the tape recorder or a pad and pen and whenever you feel inspired write it down. It could be one word or a whole line. When you go through your writings later on you can then edit them down so they make sense, see them from another perspective, or cut the lines down to make them rhyme or syncopate in the right areas to match the music. As an exercise try listening to an instrumental, take the pictures or ideas that are painted in your head from that song and try writing lyrics to it. That way there's less pressure to come up with music too and you can utilize those lyrics for another song you come up with that is all your own. And believe in yourself. If 99% of the writings stay in a book for no one else to ever see...that's fine... But you never know what that 1% will turn out to be...

As far as practicing, it never really seems like practice when you love what you do. I don't think I could ask for anything better than to sing and play and write for a living because I love those things so much I'd be doing them anyway, even if it was just around the house! You should always try to do what you love if you can....and let your love lead your path.

My clothing I have picked up from different places. The shirts at a local store here on Long Island. I liked them so much I had them made up in various colors. The skirts at Renaissance Faires. The shoes and belts at normal clothing shops. You just have to pair things together to express your own individuality and make the outfit your own. You could do a peasant blouse with a long skirt and a scarf ties around your waist and it would be a great renaissance style outfit. Whatever you feel reflects you.

The instruments I have picked up at various places, but since you live in England, there is a great Early Music Shop in Bradford that you would love if you are looking for those types of instruments. Check www.e-m-s.com They do have rauschpfifes there. If you want to play it ...you can! One step at a time...you can achieve whatever you want.

Thanks so much for playing our song at your school! And for helping to spread the word of the music.

Love and light,
Candice

Hi Candice

My name is also Candice and I am emailing you right from sunny South Africa, I have just come across your web site and let me tell you it is absolutely beautiful. I must say you are also very stunning and I see you also are crazy about fairies just like me. I would really love to get hold of your music some how, would you be able to tell me how. Thank you so much for just inspiring me by so many of your wise words on your web site. Hope to hear from you.

Love
Candice B
xxx

Hello Candice and welcome to our world!

Thank you for your compliments...

To get our cds, you can click here, there are sound samples on this website as well so you can hear before you buy...or through Amazon

I'm glad you are enjoying the website...and hope you will soon be enjoying the music!

Love and light,
Candice