Tess Anderson
Interview conducted on December 07, 2020
By Dan Locke
Vocalist, pianist, guitarist and ukulele player, 23-year-old singer-songwriter, she was born and raised in Victoria, BC, Canada
What is your upbringing?
I was born and raised in Victoria, BC, Canada. I’m a middle child, and I was a nationally ranked competitive swimmer for 9 years – until an injury forced me to quit. When I wasn’t at the pool, I filled every minute of my free time singing, playing piano, and writing songs.
How did you discover music?
As cheesy as it sounds, music has always felt like a part of my identity. My mom tells stories of me singing before I could even talk. While I didn’t grow up in a very musical household, my parents put my siblings and me into piano lessons when we were young kids. I was around 12 when I discovered the incomparable joy of singing and playing the piano at the same time. I did my first solo performance in a 6th-grade talent show, and haven’t looked back since. It quickly became an obsession.
How did you start to write music?
When I began singing and playing the piano together, it sorts of came naturally. I was constantly writing songs every spare moment I had. I was 14 the first time I performed an original song live – in front of my entire school of 500 people.
Describe your music?
This is one of the most difficult questions for me to answer since I have a hard time boxing myself into a single genre. I’m always writing either at a piano or with a guitar in my hands, and I generally try to keep quite a few organic sounds in my recordings. Usually, my productions are built around the acoustic versions of the songs, and aspects are added to best serve that particular song, rather than try and force a song into a specific genre.
How did you get your first guitar, and do you still have it?
I saved up my money and bought myself my first acoustic guitar at 14. It’s still to this day the only acoustic guitar I have ever owned, and I continue to play it at every gig.
What was your first performance at like?
I performed a version of Sara Bareilles’ “Love Song” at my 6th-grade talent show. It was the first song I ever learned to accompany myself with, and it’s still one of my favorites to play live.
What makes a good songwriter?
A good songwriter is a good storyteller. They aren’t afraid to feel deeply and are willing to become extremely vulnerable in sharing their most raw thoughts.
Do you belong to any to songwriters’ organizations like the International singer songwriter association?
I’m a SOCAN (The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada is a Canadian performance rights organization that represents the performing rights of more than 135,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers) member, and a Music BC member, but no other organizations specifically for songwriters, no
What was the title of your first original song?
Did you record it? To be honest, I don’t really remember. I’ve been writing since I was so young that I, unfortunately, don’t know what my first song was. One that I can remember writing early on though was actually written with some friends in my 3rd-grade class. It was about how boring History class was.
You are working on your new music at Fiend Recording. How is that coming?
It’s been coming along great! I am so excited to share this whole project in the new year. It’s been a long time coming.
You are thinking about an updated video of War Paint? Not just an audio update?
I unfortunately don’t think I will be shooting a music video for War Paint. I am shooting my first music video for one of the new singles coming in 2021 though
How is working with Ryan Guldemond of Mother Mother?
Ahhh where do I even start…Working with Ryan has been an absolute dream. I’ve been a huge Mother Mother fan since I was a teenager, so collaborating and writing with Ryan was honestly a bucket list item. It’s still a little surreal that I’ve got a song coming out soon that we co-wrote and he produced. The man is a creative genius and such a caring and humble human being. The music we’ve made is really special, and we both can’t wait for everyone to hear it.
What is your favorite video you have done?
Probably the live acoustic video of War Paint. We shot that video only 3 days after I had written the song. It was still very raw, but I feel like we pulled it off pretty well!
How do you stay healthy while performing?
DRINK SO MUCH WATER. Hydration is important always, but even more so when you’re a vocalist. I often play gigs that are up to 4 hours long, so keeping hydrated well in advance is a necessity. Also eating well and getting enough sleep.
What are your feelings about streaming music?
The streaming world definitely has its downfalls, but it also has its perks. For one, it has allowed anyone who wants to create music the opportunity to release it to the world. It has allowed independent artists to create fan bases all on their own, without the backing of a major label. Music creation has become so accessible, and it’s amazing to see so many people be able to share their stories worldwide. Yes, streaming, unfortunately, doesn’t pay songwriters what they deserve, and I hope in time that will change, but it definitely isn’t all bad.
Digital vs. vinyl?
As cool as vinyl is, I’ve never actually owned a record player.
What is you’re feeling about how the Me-Too Movement has help female performers?
The Me-Too movement has been SO important – not just in the music industry but everywhere. I don’t know a single woman who has not experienced some form of sexual assault/harassment in her lifetime. This movement has allowed women a platform to speak up and share their real experiences. This stuff happens all day every day, and finally women don’t have to be quiet about it. The movement has not made these things go away, but it has at least helped bring it to the forefront and out of the shadows. Hopefully in time more of these important conversations will be had and some more positive changes will be made
On July 4th, you did your first gig in 6 months at the 2nd Floor Gastown. How was it and how did you feel before hitting the stage?
It felt so great to perform again! It was a very different show than I am used to though. It was super small and intimate, and with Covid-19 measures, in place, everyone was super spaced out and sitting behind plexiglass. I was actually quite nervous leading up to the show, which is something I don’t experience super often anymore.
How do you feel the Covid-19 virus going to affect the music business in the future?
I really don’t know. As someone who relied primarily on live performances for income, the future of the industry is honestly terrifying to me. More and more things are going virtual, and while that awesome, nothing beats the real human connection felt at in-person shows. There’s something magic that gets lost when you’re sitting behind a screen. I’m holding out hope that things will return to some sort of “normal” one day, but I’m also making lots of plan B’s for my career moving forward.
What have you been doing with your self-quarantine?
I have a 3-year-old son, so my quarantine has pretty much just been “mom-ing” full time. When the Covid shutdown hit, I actually found myself with much LESS free time to work on my music than I had before. If I’m honest, this whole year has been very un-creative for me, and it’s been hard to get out of that slump. I’m grateful that my family is all safe and healthy, and we’re all doing our part to keep others safe as well, but being stuck at home has been a big challenge for sure. I also moved in August, so that took up a lot of my time.
In May you did your first ever songwriting circle. How is it to do a songwriting session on line? Was it a part of the 2020 Canadian Songwriter Challenge?
I did! It was fun to get to play a few songs alongside some other local female artists who I absolutely adore. It was my first experience playing any sort of virtual show. The songwriting circle Livestream was unrelated to the Canadian Songwriter Challenge, though that was also a super neat experience. It was intense co-writing a song through FaceTime and texts with such tight timelines, but it was an absolute honor to be chosen to participate out of the nearly 200 submissions. It was definitely called a challenge for a reason!
Have you discovered or rediscovered any new hobbies?
At the beginning of lockdown, I did a few paintings. I’m definitely not a great painter at all whatsoever, but I do enjoy doing to from time to time. I also recently got a dog, and have taken up running with her a few times a week. I’ve found myself getting more creative in the kitchen and cooking a wider variety of meals as well!
95% of people said that they have changed the way they watch television. This includes people who don’t have television and using their computers to do streaming of programs and movies. Which is your favorite streaming channel?
Netflix!
Many artists are doing nightly concerts over either YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. In October that is going to change at least on Facebook. Facebook is cracking down on livestreamed shows that include recorded music with new terms of service, preventing artists from using the platform for “commercial or non-personal” purposes, unless they have obtained the relevant licenses. The updated music guidelines state that users “may not use videos on our products [which include Instagram] to create a music listening experience […] This will include [Facebook] Live,” and stipulates that such content should be posted for the enjoyment of friends and family only. How do you think this will change the landscape of Facebook?
I think this was a very unfortunate choice on Facebook’s part. Though I haven’t really dug deep into what these changes will mean for artists, it certainly has the potential to be a little frustrating for us. With no in-person touring, we have no choice but to go virtual. Facebook and Instagram are great platforms for that, so if they don’t want music on them, we’re all going to have to go elsewhere. Honestly seems like more of a loss for Facebook than anything.
In addition. From October 24 onwards, you can no longer simply paste your links in WordPress to make your Facebook and Instagram content appear on your site. Will this affect how bands use Facebook?
I hadn’t heard that! That’s frustrating as well. I could see that leading to bands choosing other website creation software’s instead if they like including their socials on their website.
How can bands keep their fans if they cannot play live in front of the fans and sell merch to them at the show?
I think we’re all still trying to figure that out. Engaging as authentically as we can on social media is a good start. People crave real connection – which we can get during live shows/selling merch afterward. Social media interaction is the next best thing, I guess.
Is pay to play still a thing?
Ugh, unfortunately, yes. It is something I refuse to do, and just simply say no, but I have definitely seen some promoters taking advantage of desperate or inexperienced artists in pay-to-play situations.
What about Holographic concerts in our living room?
Okay, that would be super cool!! Sign me up.
If you can’t do music what would you like to be doing?
I LOVE teaching. I worked as a lifeguard and swim teacher for 5 years and loved it. Now I teach music as a vocal coach and piano/guitar instructor and love that even more – though I guess that kind of counts as doing music. If I couldn’t do music at all, I would probably go back to teaching/coaching swimming.
Anything you would like to say in closing.
I hope everyone is hanging in there and staying safe during these crazy and unusual times. Sending you all lots of love and strength.
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