Stevie: [00:00:00] Danielle ate the sandwich. Hello.
Danielle: Hello, Stevie. Thank you for having me.
Stevie: Thank you for joining me on This Next Song's About, I'm so interested to talk to you and I'm really fascinated to know how many sandwiches you've actually eaten.
Danielle: You'd be shocked. I don't think your listeners could handle it. I haven't had any yet today, but, I might get to one.
Stevie: I didn't want to go for the straight question of, "so why are you called Danielle Ate The Sandwich?" I assume you have quite a penchant for sandwiches.
Danielle: I do I think maybe less than you'd think someone being named Danielle Ate the Sandwich would eat. But I enjoy a colorful sandwich from time to time, many different flavors, many different toppings and ingredients. And that's one of the reasons I like sandwiches in general is just because they come in different shapes and sizes and they can be friendly or bougie or expensive or cheap or a midnight snack so that's, also why I chose Danielle Ate The Sandwich cause it's a little bit come as you are.
Stevie: I see really suck if you gluten intolerant
Danielle: But we were including [00:01:00] like lettuce wraps and Other things. Yeah. Yeah. But it does start to exclude people eventually, which is too bad.
Stevie: Anyway. Thank you for indulging my sandwich question. I'm so interested to talk to you. There are so many things that we could talk about, but I really want start talking about social media and marketing. So you have been around as an artist for quite a number of years. I When would you say you began your career?
Danielle: Well, I put my first video out on YouTube in about 2007. Before that I was performing open mic nights, pretty low key stuff in the town where I grew up. I was in college, so I wasn't, I was grown, but I first started playing open mic nights in the college town Fort Collins, Colorado, and then I started uploading YouTube videos, but the day I quit my day job to pursue music, I was thinking I would pursue it halftime, you know, like I want to focus more on this, but then I'll get a part-time job. But I ended up never getting a part-time job and really just throwing myself into being a full-time [00:02:00] self-employed independent musician in 2009.
Stevie: Oh, wow. So not long after you really started putting some content out there. Wow! Okay. Well, congrats and that's fabulous.
Danielle: Yeah it kind of happened fast
Stevie: When I started doing my research for this interview, I looked at your YouTube obviously, and I started scrolling down and down and down, and I was blown away by how much content you have out there. And I came across your first video, as you mentioned in 2007. A lot of things struck me, I think. and the first thing was 1) there's a lot of content, 2) You've not curated anything. , whatever went up, went up and it stayed up. 3) you have a lot of subscribers, you have a lot of views and that's also wonderful and as an artist, it's great to see that success too. These videos that you put up are I don't mean this disrespectfully at all, but they're very homemade. They're done at home. And I suppose that makes it easier to put out more content. But I think that also gives an authenticity to what you're doing as well. For me, the main thing when I went back to 2007 and I [00:03:00] saw that first video, I thought wow this feels like you've documented your whole music career in this one platform, in this one channel. I assume that it is quite a, pointed decision to not have curated it and to leave up the stuff where perhaps, 2007 webcams were not the same, streaming was not the same, the quality is a little bit less than it could be now, even from just a standard computer.
So could you tell me just a little bit about going onto YouTube, why you did it and how it's developed for you?
Danielle: Absolutely. first chose to do YouTube back in 2007, my friend, Brandon, who was a great supporter of my first music. And we were in a band together in college. He lent me his Apple computer, like the monitor and then like the Mike, like the snowball Mike, and was like, you got songs, you should put them up on YouTube so he lent me his computer for a weekend and I just recorded those first videos. And at that time it was like, oh, YouTube was relatively new. And there were people who were starting to put their music up online and he [00:04:00] was like, you have songs, you should put your music up online. And I thought, okay, why not?
And at that time I was a bit shy about performing live so it was easier to record at home with nobody there looking at me and I could take my time or do as many takes as I needed. And then as time has gone on and as technologies have gotten better as web cams have increased as I've gotten a little more funds to buy professional equipment and even have the opportunity to work with people who can make professional official videos for singles on, fancily recorded albums. I still really cherish low budget first videos where I'm clumsy and awkward. I love the living scrapbook that , all of our songs are. I mean, any songs we listened to even a couple years ago, start to feel a little bit like a diary entry and a reminder of what our life was and , what we thought it was and what it could be.
So I think that's a really. Fun and sometimes cringy thing about being a songwriter or [00:05:00] creator to look back on your past creations. But I also just really dig honesty and authenticity and it feels so fun to get like my hair and makeup professionally done and have like a slow motion pan cam for those professionally recorded videos. So I love that. I love that too. And I love professionally looking content, but I also just really want to present the truth that it's about the songs. It's not about looking like a model trying to impress people. That's always important for me to remember, like don't concentrate too much and spend too much time and energy to try to impress people, because I think that's where it can get really frustrating when you don't get the feedback you wanted or the stream count you wanted or the subscriber base you wanted. So it's like put out things that feel true to you that are really just a chance to share what you're making and who you are. And [00:06:00] hope that people will listen and receive it kindly. So I love that. and, you know, Stevie, until you said that, I don't really think about that of like, oh yeah.
I just left these videos here and I'm not trying to fool anybody that like, I wasn't at one time, a really nervous person who kind of made I mean, I still make mistakes and I'm still nervous. So it's like, I'm still that person. I just happened to buy a nicer camera, am I doing that much better with it? I don't know. So I like that you noticed that. And I like that you made me realize that today. my history is out there on my YouTube channel and I've been building this career, but I'm using these social networks to build a career and make a connection with every potential person on the planet Earth. when I think about it that way, it's pretty miraculous.
Stevie: The social platforms and the way that they have evolved is so interesting and in terms of the way that we're asking people to support us. And five years ago, We were asking people to maybe go on Instagram and follow us [00:07:00] thinking that when people look at us and want to book us for a show or want to book us as a support act, that the number of followers that we have is some way, validation of how good we are as an artist. And it still is to some extent and I think it's actually expanded from musicians to actors. You know, that in itself is a free marketing platform for the TV show or the movie or whatever in the same way that it is for us. We know now that the algorithm is so powerful, it has changed you won't see everyone , who you follow within your feed. And so we're battling against that and trying to find new ways to ask people, to support us in a way that will be beneficial for us in some sort of value form that. Feel matters more to us, or it does matter more to us whether it's monetarily or in terms of a connection, what has your experience been with picking that platform or going across different platforms for you, it seems that YouTube has been something consistent for you. You also are on Patreon. You also are on Instagram but what is it that you are, trying [00:08:00] to get from these different platforms, if it's something different on each one?
Danielle: I use each platform differently and I notice what my fans and followers are doing and giving me on each one. So YouTube is one that I've uploaded videos to share my songs. And when I first started, that was really the best way for me to know that if I toured to a location, there would be people there because people had on YouTube, like I'm from Houston. So I was like, oh, if I go to Houston, Texas and play a show, there's a chance that this person might come. So that was great for me when I was touring, really actively, which was from 2009 to, I mean, like 2018, I slowed it down a little bit even before COVID started. And then I post the most to Facebook. And that's where I find is easiest to share new content, advertise events. Even like link and collaborate with other [00:09:00] people. Like if when you post this, I will tag your pages that exist out there on Facebook. And then Instagram I use, I actually, I'm not crazy about Instagram. I know it's like the hot new one right now. I find it hard to promote on because you can't do links. And the link in bio thing. When I think of social media, I think of call to action and ask them to do one thing and make it as easy as possible. So if I post a thing that says, here's a picture of me, I'm playing a show, get tickets, link in bio that's four things I've asked them to do.
Look at this picture. Read the description, go to my link bio and then click on the link and then buy a ticket. So, I like Facebook and even Twitter for the fact that it's linkable. You can just say, here's the link, click it and do this thing. I'm asking you. And I think that's changed, now we have link stacks so that's always changing and getting better, but just like with the expectation of putting all this effort into creating a fancy, official video and spending all this time and money, and [00:10:00] then maybe only getting a few views after you've put so much time and energy into it.
I think the same about followers and social media in any regard. That if I'm putting everything I have into Instagram and posting three times a day, and I'm not getting anything back for me personally, it's not worth my energy. energy would be better spent spending 15 minutes working on a song or 15 minutes reading a book, so, love social media. One of my part-time jobs is doing social media for other small businesses. I utilize it. I say it's really important, but I also don't think we should bend over backwards, especially as creators who are trying to tap into life's honest pain and happiness. And then we're like right next to an McDonald's ad, you know what I mean? It's a twisty thing . To keep clear in your mind, like, am I a creator am I an artist, or am I an advertiser? And you do have to have a little, both you have to skirt that line. But finding the networks that worked for me took some time and took some [00:11:00] growth. I have the most followers on YouTube, I think because of the time I've spent there and been on there.
And because YouTube used to be a. It was important to subscribe. So you got updated, now I don't think anybody subscribes. I think you're just shown videos that you may have watched in the past. So, the growth on YouTube has slowed down a lot, but it's still the highest. And then Facebook I have the second most and I actually use the most often, and I'm on there probably weekly and even that's slowed down and I think the algorithm works against us, but it also doesn't require people to like our pages and follow our pages because it shows "like" content. So people might think we're subscribed to us because they saw our page once and then Instagram is showing it to them. You know what I mean? So it's, it's all very tricky.
I think what I'm trying to say is I use different social media sites for different reasons, and I'm not one of these people who posts the exact same picture that's actually one of my pet peeves, [00:12:00] because as a fan, if you want me to pay attention to you and you can't even give me something different to look at from site to site, of course I'm only gonna like it once on Facebook, when I first see it, why would I like it again on Instagram?
So one of, one of my personal, hills to die on is. I'm going to post different content on all the social platforms so that people get a different experience and have a reason to follow me and care about me on all of these sites.
Stevie: They do say that in terms of the content that you put out on the, or this is what they used to say a few years ago, and this could have changed, 70% of it should not be "self-promotion" , here's the thing buy it. Then 20% would be promoting other people or something else.
And then 10% is buy my thing,
go to my show. Whatever do you still find that's the ratio?
Danielle: Yes. And no, Facebook, I mostly promote. But it's not always buy my thing. It's "Hey, I'm doing an event." So that's, that's just like a, Hey mom, it's me. Things are good. I got a [00:13:00] cool thing that I'm doing this weekend. Love you. Bye. So it's not asking them of anything. It's just informing them what's going on in my world.
And that feels like an advertisement to me. So, you know, I'm active. Somebody might get a, Ping in their brain to go, "oh, Danielle does workshops. We should hire a Danielle to do a workshop for us" so it can lead to other gigs, but it's really just honestly, to stay relevant. Like I, this is a sort of private gig, but I want you to know that I'm working hard.
Because so much of the work we do, isn't public or publicized. And so as an artist, there is a little bit of like, we're working constantly, but it's not as fun to post about how many emails I got back to today. So sometimes I do that just for my own worth to be like, I'm busy right? I'm I'm valuable. Right? And then, I just released a new album on band camp. So I will post about that several times. That's another mistake I think people make is just posting about it once I will post that cookie at least six times in the month after it released. And then, every two months after [00:14:00] that. And I have these little habits. Schedules that I've loosely stick to that works for me. And every once in a while I put up a, Post that gets no interaction and I feel horribly ashamed. What I do is delete it and try again, or I try to edit it.
Or if it feels like maybe a link is clogging up and it's, the algorithm, sometimes I just go, okay, this isn't going out as far as I wanted it to, what can I do to make this post better, more direct . Or just even to refresh it, to try and fight the algorithm. So in a way it does feel like we're crime fighters fighting against the power of the social media's grasp and an algorithm, but.
I'm usually up for the challenge because it feels rewarding to me when I, beat it and by beating it, I mean, just like getting some views, like I have 24,000 followers on Facebook, which I think is a lot for an indie musician without a record label. . And like on a great on a wow.
[00:15:00] This post went really far. I get maybe 400 likes more commonly. I get like 60, so 60 people of my 24,000 followers, like my post. That's crazy. That, that seems very low. But, 60 is good to me. 60 goes, wow. 60 is a lot. Sometimes people can't even get one or two, like, so I also try to like, do a little conversion of , everybody's busy, I'm busy.
How many posts did I even like from independent artists today? I got 60 people to look at my post and decide to go peak. And it doesn't seem like a lot to ask someone to look at your thing and click it, but just when you consider all the things being thrown in front of people's windshields , it's something to celebrate that you are something that took a few seconds of their day to get in front of them.
Stevie: Yeah. I love what you said there about if it didn't work. You edit it or you change it, you make it in some way easier to consume, I guess. but I also loved when you said it got [00:16:00] 60 likes or it didn't, you reframed that to yourself, you reframe that in a way that is success. That is not something a lot of people do.
Danielle: And I think the whole setup is social media is really difficult to reward yourself because you're comparing yourself to these people with millions of followers and hundreds of thousands of likes. I work with some young people and it's amazing how they are already into numbers.
Like I have a young student who's really bright and , she'll tell me about new artists she likes and she'll say. well, he only has like 13,000 followers, but he's still really good. I'm like only 13,000. That's pretty good. And then she talks about wanting to maybe do an Instagram live stream.
And she says, well, I wouldn't want to do it. And I like have nobody come. And I think. I get it, but I think it stinks to have that even from a young perspective of , you have this expectation of, for me to be successful and worthy, I have to have a certain amount of [00:17:00] numbers and that's when I think the system wins that's when Facebook is winning,
If we want to control Facebook and win against Facebook, we can't let it make us feel bad about herself. And that doesn't work for me everyday. Trust me. I compare myself to other people. I go, oh, there's only has this many views or this many likes, but on a good day, for me to not care as much, I feel like I'm sticking it to the man a little bit more than the average person, but. , what stinks and what is hard about not getting the response that you want is because you care about what you're making and you put a lot of effort and heart into the songs you make, the shows you produce, the podcast episodes you edit. That's that's a way we have, especially during COVID that's a way we have to feel like anybody in the whole entire world is listening to us.
And that this thing we spent so much time on is getting out there to someone. So it is disappointing when you get fewer interactions than you were hoping for. But I always [00:18:00] want to try to remind myself and others that it's not because you're bad or it's not because you didn't do a good job. It's because you're really trying to scream as loud as the other things that are screaming out there. It's Facebook's fault. It's the algorithm's fault. It's the fact that we're like a consumer driven culture and we're always being bothered by advertisements and we're out running errands and we're on our phones, but the big guys are winning the big Corp.
So just anytime we can not feel bad about ourselves because of how the world and capitalism is set up. Just , go sit in the grass and get your guitar and go, oh yeah, this is why I got into this. Not, numbers and likes.
Thank you for letting me go on a wild goose chase.
Stevie: I enjoyed it. It was worthwhile listening to, and there's so many people who need to hear that message. I have just , two more points on the social media we have this idea that we get shows based on our followers. You've had some impressive support [00:19:00] slots. You've opened for a Mumford you've opened for Suzanne Vega. You've opened for jake Shimabukuro.
I don't know how you got those gigs. Do you think that you were a social media presence and back catalog had a lot to do with that or not?
Danielle: Yes, and no, it didn't hurt, but those gigs were all in my community of Colorado. So that was like my home scene. That was where I was working and playing shows and I belong to that community. And I think the social media numbers always help and gave me a buzz. Like here's this new artist she's on YouTube.
She's getting all these views. It was an exciting thing to put in the bio. But I think what gave me those gigs what. Putting myself out there in my town, building relationships playing lots of different venues, collaborating with lots of different artists for shows and, and then . Being professional and easy to work with so that , when it came up, it was like Jake Shimabukuro as a, as an amazing ukulele player, probably the most famous [00:20:00] in the world.
So it was like, oh, Jake Shimabukaro is touring to Boulder. Who's in the community who works hard, who puts on a decent show and plays ukulele. Let's ask Danielle at the sandwich and similar to those other offers to open for some really amazing people. I did open for Pamplemousse a really cool band who got their start on YouTube as well, and still really kick butt on, on YouTube.
And that was definitely from social media. We learned of each other and became friends through YouTube and they were starting and getting going while I was starting and getting going. And so being online and being consistent and active and putting out content there definitely gave me that opportunity.
So I think this is another thing to consider. We're working a lot of different departments. We're online, we're in our town, we've got our touring circuit and they're all loosely connected. And at different junctions, they're completely different things the [00:21:00] ukulele community is a big place where I play shows and I'm booked for festivals and teaching opportunities.
And then there's like the indie folk world where, it's singer songwriter circles. And then there's the internet where you can just do anything and, just like shake stuff in front of the camera. And that works really well for me. Cause I just have stuff like this sitting around for the podcast listeners.
I have a hot dog and a, and yellow pom pom ball that I'm shaking at the camera. what are , the avenues that are pouring into your funnel to give you a nice, you know, bowl of ingredients and sometimes you pour more sugar.
And if you have a busy tourist season or sometimes you pour more flour, if you're teaching a lot of gigs or teaching at festivals or something. Not only your, your revenue streams and your financial streams are coming in from different sources, but just like your inspiration and your opportunities and things that excite you, they're all coming from different directions.
And I think it's important to make sure that. Honoring and managing all of them because you never know when one of [00:22:00] them might really be a great thing for you.
Stevie: you mentioned Pamplemousse. And when I read it in your bio, I was like, that rings a bell. And then you said that again, am I correct in thinking that one of the members of Pamplemousse is the founder of Patreon.
Danielle: Yeah. Jack Conti and Natalie Dawn are the, the two members of Pamplemousse and Jack Conti. Is one of the original co-founders Patreon? Yeah. So that was another reason I got on Patreon too, is because. He was reaching out to a lot of these indie artists that he knew of. And like, I'm starting this thing you should get on this. And definitely his name and face being associated to this thing made me more likely to join. Not only because he was a friend, but because he's an indie artist and he gets it. So it was definitely having Jack Conti associated with Patreon made it appealing to me
Stevie: good. That was in my noggin.
Danielle: There you go. You know, you knew all along.
Stevie: finding Your path as a musician, would you say it has been. The typical or the [00:23:00] stereotypically perhaps desired musician's path have you changed how you felt about what you've wanted in terms of your career?
Danielle: Absolutely. When I first started. I didn't know what was possible. So it was like, I'll just play some songs and call myself Danielle Ate The Sandwich. What could possibly go wrong? And then I was lucky enough to work with a manager for a few years in the Colorado music scene who really helped , boost my career.
And I remember there was a number in the contract that was it was a big goal , if I make you this much money, you have to sign with me again. But just to see that number, I was like, is that even possible that somebody could help me make that much money.
The number was 500,000 and I never got close but just seeing numbers like that, or saying I had a manager, I was like, oh my God, I'm going to be the next lady Gaga, which is silly because I'm not writing pop music or, like wearing extravagant outfits or dancing. But I had in my heart, I [00:24:00] was set on being super famous and then as it went on and, as I didn't get super famous, but I got well known and I built a fan base of people who really cared about what I was doing. it's still is a small fan base, but it's a group of really cool, excited people who I know a lot of them by name and face, and I know where they live and I know their husbands names and that really pretty quickly , took over my desire to be very famous or to have a record deal or even have a booking agent. I really aside from my really awesome manager, In those first few years in my career, who've really helped me. He did. Other than that, I've done it all myself and I'm a little bit of a control freak.
So I need to work on that, but that also has helped me feel comfortable at every stage of the, of the way. I think sometimes I didn't know what I was doing, but that feels more comfortable to me than " Aarrgh someone's pushing me to do this thing that I [00:25:00] don't know how to do. And it's making me really uncomfortable and I'm doing it because they're telling me to."
the uncomfort level was more me challenging myself to rise to the occasion, to be great. And to believe that I deserved an opportunity or to go after something that I thought I wasn't good enough for. And so, I think my career , is really amazing.
I guess the point I was trying to make is just. It's really important to me and I, and I would advise this to other people. If there's anybody out there just getting started or feeling frustrated in the path they're taking or setting on is like, get inspiration from other artists and the way that they've made their mark, or cemented their path.
But I think what's really important. That is we're all doing it completely different. Take inspiration from other people's careers, but know that yours is always going to be different because you are different and you can seek out some of those same opportunities and, you know, try to work with some of those people that, that they [00:26:00] worked with, that you find inspirational.
But never compare yourself or hope that your life is going to look identical to someone else's cause there's just no way and something that I'm continually working on and is not always easy is comparing myself to other people and being like, they got that gig. Why didn't I get that gig? They got a new album when, and I get a new album and then it's like, oh, I could have a new album.
I just have to work really hard like that person did, who just got that opportunity, , I think in our line of work, especially with the prevalence of social media, it can be really easy to be down on yourself for not doing enough or getting the right successes and accomplishments.
But I think you got to hang in there and I'm trying to practice the belief in abundance that just because somebody got something doesn't mean I can't get it. It actually makes it more probable that I will get it because there's opportunities To pick from the tree of abundance.
Stevie: Just take a step back for a second. When you say abundance, obviously you're right. When it's [00:27:00] out there, you have more of an opportunity to together, but it sounds to me like you're really great at reframing because the mindset typically is scarcity scarcity mindset.
Oh, they got that, opportunity is gone. There was only one of those opportunities it's gone and that applies to so many. People communities, whatever. And like, it's, it's maybe one of the reasons that women pull other women down, because we think that these opportunities for women are so few and far between.
Like that, woman has stolen that opportunity and that's it gone versus one person has lifted up, we lift each other up like that. that was something that, you said that. Abundance. And that switch in mindset is really, really key.
Danielle: . I'm coming off as very enlightened, but trust me, I struggle with it on a daily basis of just being super jealous and insecure. But when I'm being good to myself and others, I'm like, okay, okay. What is this? you feel mad and upset? , what does this mean? This means. You want to start a new project that you can be proud of, and that you can show people [00:28:00] online.
This doesn't mean that this person is your mortal enemy, that you saw online in a really beautiful press photo. It means maybe you should get the new press photos. You deserve to feel like a star every once in a while. So, am always working on reframing and I'm not always good at it.
Stevie: Being aware is half the battle. One thing that we emailed about was Amanda Palmer's book, the art of asking, great book, more succinct, Ted talk.
If anyone wants to watch that. So thinking about the bravery to ask for what you need, how did your own mindset come around to that? And I just want to preface that by saying you self-described, as someone who was a late bloomer in terms of confidence, I assume. That, that was not an easy thing for you to do in terms of, going on social media , you recorded your YouTube videos at home, you were shy.
That was a way for you to put your music out there without necessarily being in front of people. so I presume that, of 2007 would have been nervous about asking people for something, whether it was coming to shows by buying new musical. [00:29:00]
Danielle: Yeah. I can't remember exactly how I felt back then. I am a late bloomer definitely. I was writing songs since I was a little kid, but being out, out on stage. Performing a solo with people looking at me and knowing that I was this person who had things to say took me a really long time to grow into, so I wasn't really getting out on stage until I was in college, in my early twenties.
And that feels like a a late time why don't you see like videos of Britney Spears on star search at six years old? You know, but I actually think 20 is, is not bad at all. Some people get started later and later, but and within asking, I think to ask people to listen because I wasn't even sure that it was any good.
I wasn't convinced that it was worth anything or that anyone would like it. but there was a fire telling me, like, you got to share this, even if everybody hates it, you like it. And you got to share it. And I think from that point, getting some positive. [00:30:00] Reactions and some positive reinforcement from my friends or what really makes a lot of difference to me is getting it from random strangers.
Like . When I first got YouTube comment, from someone I didn't recognize that said, this is really good. And I was like, well, that person doesn't owe me anything. They're not my friend. They don't need to lie to me. I think from that, it was always important for me to have fans that weren't also friends who I felt owed me stuff. I think asking has actually been easier for me than it would be for the average. Maybe modest person. I think what was hard for me was to say, well, everybody stop what they're doing and be quiet for three minutes.
So I can play this song at open mic night. Sorry. Don't mean to bother you. But then once I had people's attention and now that I do have people's attention and I know how much work, I put into what I do to write a song or to book a show or to release an album is such a big amount of work. I have a little more confidence to [00:31:00] say.
Hey, I'm really excited about this. I put a lot of hard work into it. It would mean a lot to me if you just gave it a little bit of time. Since I don't really remember what was in my brain when I was just getting started and a bit younger, I think back then I made jokes.
Self-deprecating like, well, you better buy my CDs so I can go home and eat some pizza rolls alone, which I still might say. Cause it's kind of funny, but you know, it'd be like that. It'd be like everything was followed by a joke . About me, which is, a big time defense mechanism, but also a way to lighten the and the humor is, is definitely something I incorporate into my stage presence and it's a big part of my personality. So that made me feel more comfortable. , and as I've gotten more, like further along in my career, I've actually gotten more serious about not making jokes and just being like.
Seriously. It's really hard work to be an independent musician. We go through a lot. We put ourselves on the line or constantly doing work that you're not seeing. It's not as fun, there is a [00:32:00] transparency that I want to show about what we do. I think that's why, the fancy music video makes it look like we're living in a dream, but I want you to see my crappy webcam because, there's just stuff we're not models in a professional music video every day of our life.
There's a lot of work that it takes to get to that point. And I've always tried to be transparent about that in-between space. Something I try to do from a social media standpoint is ask in a way that is entertaining, tell a joke, share, maybe behind the scenes don't just say.
I need you so bad to support what I'm doing. Yeah. If it bores you, it's probably going to bore someone else. So try to do a positive spin on it. Something that's more creative and ask in different types of ways. Don't, do the same post and repost it three times a week. Say. Here's a cool artist I got to work with and it's so exciting to get to support their work by releasing this new album, if you want to check it out,
finding. , way to do it that you feel comfortable with, that feels true to your style, your [00:33:00] personality, et cetera. , if you're not humorous and you're very like serious and down to earth, be serious and down to earth that's not bad. People like that about you if they like your music. And if if you're funny and weird, like me, people like that, and they like that about my music. Who you are as an artist can be who you are as a social media.
Stevie: Alright, as we , think about wrapping up and we were talking about asking for what you need. what do you need? What would you like people to do? Or as a takeaway from this conversation?
Danielle: sure. As we talk about getting support from the online masses that feel tangible. , Patreon is a great way to support me. especially during the Pandemic, the support I've received from my patrons has helped. Fill in the blanks of the missed gigs and the missed festivals and the inability to get out and play live and some merchandise.
So my support from patrons on my Patreon page, which is Patreon.com/danielleatethesandwich splash, [00:34:00] Danielle ate the sandwich , is a great way for me, not only to get monetary support, but to connect with you guys. I share a little more secrets on Patreon. Like I tell them what's really going on in my life. And it does feel like a safe space to open up a little farther than just , the view on the other platforms.
And then also, I just love to know that people are listening to my songs and getting something from them. I'm on YouTube. I have videos. If you like to watch . Someone performing or I'm on , band camp, I'm on all the streaming sites that you can download music on.
And the ones where you can actually pay, pay to download are always best for artists, but if you're streaming music too, that's also a great way to support like the work we put into our songs, it's just so, it's so nice to just hear a little compliment, like, oh, I love that song.
I've I started back in 2007 and I, I just like every year get one or two people that are like, oh my gosh, I just heard this song again. Since I was in college. I used to listen to this all the time. Oh my gosh. This [00:35:00] took me down memory lane and. And it's really cool to know that your song is a part of someone's nostalgia and history. so just, listening to an artist songs, is one of the nicest things we can do. We make it all about this interaction and this za-di-da, this follow me and support me, but like, listen to the things I've made is, my biggest requests.
Stevie: And speaking of listening to things that you've made you very kindly have provided a song to play us out with, would you like to tell me a little bit about that? And we will end the show.
Danielle: Sure this song is called Near Miss it's from my 24 hour album project, which is something I just completed a couple of weeks ago where I invite my patrons to join me in the studio where I write record, produce and publish an album from scratch in just 24 hours one day and this song Near Miss was suggested by a fan named Marie, who is a [00:36:00] near- miss- mom, which I hadn't heard the concept of, but it's mothers who almost died in childbirth. And she was telling me about the complicated feeling she feels like every time she looks at her kid is like, you almost killed me but now you're my pride and joy and those complicated tangled feelings of love, but confusion and rage and fear. And I love subject matter like that. , I don't think things are ever simple. So anytime I can dig into the complexity of all the things we think and feel as humans, it's a real treat. so Near Miss is about that. A mother almost dying in childbirth and now caring for a kiddo.
Stevie: Wonderful. Danielle, Ate The Sandwich. Thank you, so much.
Danielle: Thank you, Stevie. this was awesome.
