Also in this issue:

Priscilla Hernandez

Listen to Priscilla Hernandez's
Independent Music Award-Winning Song,
"The Willow's Lullaby," Here:

Next stop is Barcelona, Spain with the ethereal gothic
singer-songwriter, composer and fantasy illustrator (and
2008 Independent Music Award Winner for New Age Album)
Priscilla Hernandez.

Her lush, dreamy music is supported by an elaborate stage show that has thrilled audiences throughout Spain, Germany and the UK, and requires numerous instruments, projections, fog machine and sets. About to embark on her first US tour, Priscilla discusses the pleasures and perils of staying true to your art and surviving life on the road.

AP: Your recorded music is so complex – how do you manage to re-create your layered sound when you’re on the road?
PH: The typical formation is Héctor Corcín and me – we’ve been together about 4 years. Basically I'm the lead vocalist and composer and I play piano, flute, chalumeau, low whistle and several other things. Now I will also include waterphone, double ocarina and hank drums. Héctor is responsible for keyboards and projections.

The rest of the formation differs greatly depending on the set booked or the location. In Spain we've coincided several times with Gerard Alís (bodhran, whistles), Biel Fiol (cello), Svetlana Tovstukha (cello), Maite Itoiz (guitar) among others...

For our USA premier we'll count with the help of musicians coming from two other bands, Emilio (guitar) andKelly Miller-Lopez (harp, backing vocals) from Woodland and Jarrod (drums) and Christine (cello) from Trillian Green. We’ll repeat this formation when we return to the USA next October and also next spring in Europe hopefully.

A smaller set is me at the piano with a cellist. Most of our concerts take place in festivals outside of Spain so sometimes we just have to hire musicians in that location.

AP: Your 2006 album, Ancient Shadows won the Independent Music Award New Age Album. Yet New Age doesn’t adequately describe your fantasy-laced aural & visual landscapes. How do you describe your music and your shows?
PH: I compose ethereal gothic music, my genre is quite specific, close to downtempo New Age but with eerie and spectral lyrics inspired in fairy and ghost tales. Our show has also this fantasy element, and thus we specialize in festivals devoted to fantasy (renaissance fairs, ciname, and faery or fantasy fests) where the public itself is part of the show and come dressed in their fantasy costumes themselves. So i'd say as my album is split in two halves, the light part (called "The fairy") and the dark side (called "The Ghost") Ancient Shadows is also subtitled as Ancient Shadows: the Ghost and the Fairy and in fact we have two split kinds of audience and concerts. On the other half we have a rather gothic audience... so you can have concerts in which everyone comes in vivid colours and dressed like fairies and also concerts where everyone comes in black and there's an eerie spectral mood. Every light upon an object casts a shade.

AP: What is your touring schedule & how far out are you booked?
PH: We're based in Spain & have several small venues, 19th of July we had the "Ethereal Fest" along with italian band Ataraxia, but the highlight is that we're going to premier in USA for the first time:

1 August: Faerieworlds (Oregon, USA); Good fairy day (faerieworlds.com);
2nd August Faerieworlds (Oregon, USA); Bad fairy day (faerieworlds.com)
10th October Faeriecon (Philadelphia, USA); Bad fairy ball (faeriecon.com)

Smaller events will be announced on myspace and at our site, and festivals are being scheduled for Spring 2009 in Belgium, Holland and probably Germany.

AP: How do you manage your booking and other music business?
PH: I'm my own label and agent... right now we're in negotiations to get a non exclusive agent as it's getting busy and getting a bit out of my hand since winning the (Independent Music) Awards and the great response in press for our first "official" release.

We're trying now to get non-exclusive representation in different areas, looks like USA and Germany will be the first, locally in Spain I prefer to handle things myself so far.

I hire the musicians for a fee, sometimes if there's no budget they come for friendship and the experience too (depending on the event). In the fests where we're invited our expenses are covered and/or paid a flat fee. But we have also organized concerts on our own as I am my own company and manager.

AP: What are important considerations when booking a tour?
PH: That they cover all the specifications in the rider and have the backline required to make our show. We do need a projector and lightshow, and due to the theatrical nature of the performance, certain kind of lights and fog machine. If we're flying to another country we need that the piano is already there, so clubs and theatres with a piano placed already is a plus for us. If there is a light and sound technician already there, how many people fits in.... location.... it's just a myriad of points you have to take into account.

We’ve done for a nice amount of money (at some shows) and then some others just cover expenses but it gives us the pleasure of visiting a new place and reaching a new market. The first thing we do is to cover all our expenses not to make a loss, the next pivotal key is ... is it interesting in terms of promotion? How many people are attending? Will I have someone to sell my things? Is it a new festival?

I've found that sometimes small performances for protocol acts can render more benefits than a festival, unfortunately. There's a big jump from the fees of a small to a big band... there's a big, big gap. Still I perform for pleasure so it's fine.

AP: How long will you be on the road this summer and how far from your home base will you roam?
PH: We’ll be 15 days in USA and then home the rest of August to keep on preparing the recording of "The Underliving" our upcoming release. We’ll be making only small performances in clubs and private parties due to the lack of resources and we need to record in Ukraine (Luyv) with a symphonic orchestra part of it, before recording the vocals. We want to release the album in fall 2009 so I'll spend that month working intensively on it. Then we’re back in the USA, this time to the East Coast (Philadelphia) for the faeriecon by early October. Probably we will go to the UK for a couple of performances afterwards.

Some dates in Holland, Belgium and Germany are waiting to be confirmed but look almost for sure. And now we're discussing the possibility of going to Australia and Japan... so we'll get even further... at least music is a good excuse to see the world.

Due to the nature of our show we can't really afford right now to plan the tour on our own so we book several festivals where the flights, accommodation and backline is already provided. We've booked some sample concerts on our own and we haven't made a loss, but it was just a big headache.

Now we're seeking non-exclusive representation. It looks like some nice concerts are gathering around spring 2009 and sometimes you have busy months and then quiet ones, but press keeps on praising at a good steady pace, and we can't really complain.

We’re absolutely excited and delighted about premiering in USA, actually the cd has sold well through my store even with the shipping costs, and USA is the second country in order of buyers... so there's quite an interest and I’m going right straight to festivals within my specific genre which is just great. We're taking the opportunity also to make some deals, discuss seriously about how to collaborate with some companies there... and thus be able to deliver some tasks from my own to others.

AP: Are the high fuel prices and poor economy affecting you?
PH: Actually we make the promoter pay all our transports (instruments, flights, hotels) so we're not so affected by the gas price, except for the fact we're based in Europe and importing our albums to sell them at the euro price is just to expensive, so we have to make a good cut in the price of our CDs and merchandise. I think it will affect us the moment we have to plan the travel expenses on our own, so far this has not been the case, though indirectly we've had some annoying cancellations due to the actual price of our flights to reach a performance.

AP: Have you had to trim expenses for this tour?
PH: Some sleeping in airports... independent artists are always cutting on planned expenses... and we've had also some cancellations due to readjusting the plans and promoters not being able to cover the expenses.... Each hired musician is responsible about coming from their location.. And it's a nightmare as we have heavy gear and sometimes we have to rent it in the place we go because it's virtually impossible to take them in a flight in an affordable way.

AP: Are you hitting the road with another band?
PH: We’ll be coinciding in USA with Woodland (USA), Omnia (Holland) and Qntal (Germany), and looks like we're going to meet in quite a few festivals now on :) (it's all in the middle of dealing, but looks like so). It's too soon to announce it, but very soon.

AP: What must-have items will you be packing?
PH: My flutes, whistles (keyboards are hired in destination), tons of atrezzo, my garments and wings.... ;-) which are quite huge and heavy. I always bring my ipod for the long waits in airports and planes. A notebook for writing all the ideas I get (music or show-related) or sketch. Also some tablets for temperature, if I get too stressed. Thanks god I am not afraid of the stage, but I admit the preparation sometimes can be exhausting.

AP: How do you promote your shows?
PH: I always say I don't have fans but friends, it's much better and they have done everything from lights, to deliver flyers.... It's good when they can do also some other tasks like photography, filming or LOL hahahaha, simply clapping and encourage you during the performance.

AP: What are your most popular merch items?
PH: Posters and limited prints. I'm an illustrator, so I make fantasy drawings too, We bring limited edition prints & the CDs, and sometimes they sell even better than the music!!

Also every CD comes with a serial number and each month we run contests to give away merchandising, prints, calendars, t-shirts or whatever comes within the contest that month.

AP: How is the economy affecting your audiences?
PH: The economical crisis is reaching everywhere... unless you're famous and move a crowd, people are quite picky about spending too much in someone they don't know... thus we can’t put the ticket price too high in the ones we organize... still we've had some nice audience so far, selling out or almost the few events we've done on our own... but yes, music is undergoing a rare moment right now. It's devaluated by piracy too. We have a big problem in Europe with piracy.

AP: What equipment do you use to record your shows?
PH: We've used up to 3 high definition video cameras, and the audio with a pro-card and laptop and/or DAT. If it's a small performances sometimes we just get a sample in mini-disc, but if we can manage we like to get multi-takes with video camera and make little videos for promotion on youtube and our press kit. As most of my performances are in fantasy festivals or cinema festivals, the event is often covered by themselves and we're just forwarded the material.

AP: Do you think that live music is thriving or just surviving?
PH: Unfortunately I hardly can make a living from music... still it's my job and it's been two years I'm working full time in illustration and music, which sometimes can be a struggle but also quite comforting for my spirit. I began as molecular biologist, so it's been a big change in my life. I do not regret. I love it. But now we need sponsorship, and help to keep our project alive and ahead. I declined up to 9 labels and some were really good deals in terms of money, but I ended up making my own humble company and music and the press response has been really lovely and encouraging... we just need a push to feel like flying.