quotes


Leave diva attitude at home!

What mental challenges to you have as a musician? And how do you deal with it? That’s the theme of a new series of interviews with musicians that I’m doing. The first one is with Madeleine Davis, singer of Boney M. for several years from end of the ’80s onwards. It’s mentally very challenging to be in the spotlights. What was for you the most challenging part? And why? “The most challenging was dealing with the personalities and mentalities of […]


Panel: mental health and music 1

In January, Sony organized a panel in London about mental health and music. They invited 3 speakers to look at mental health from different perspectives. While the event was planned to be for employees of Sony only, the great response lead them to invite friends in the music industry as well, with in the end more than 300 people attending the event. I invited Bec Adams, one of the initiators of the event, to tell me more about it. She […]


Fame hurts – 5 reasons why 5

In the last couple of years, I’ve asked myself frequently the question if it’s possible that fame hurts. Usually when I’ve heard of another musician who died on an overdose of painkillers, like Tom Petty, Prince and Michael Jackson. This week I read that Lady Gaga is cancelling at least 10 dates if her worldwide tour because of severe pain, just like she did last year September. Many famous musicians use heavy doses of painkillers on a regular basis, often […]


Aim high, not low!

In the Netherlands we’ve had a controversy this week about a Dutch rapper who was stuck with his car. Some young women picked him up, on their way to a party. He filmed himself, using offensive language against the women, and put it online. Would we have this commotion, if the rapper would have been white, or if the women would have been colored? The rapper is confirming the stereotype of misogynist colored rappers. But the whole issue is as […]


Power and sexual harassment

Often I’ve thought that power does strange things to people. It seems to be true. Research shows, that power damages your brain: “Subjects under the influence of power acted as if they had suffered a traumatic brain injury – becoming more impulsive, less risk-aware, and, crucially, less adept at seeing things from other people’s point of view.” Sexual harassment and abuse is just as much about sex as it is about power and the abuse of power. The power makes […]


From reproduction through creativity and loneliness to leadership

When you look at animals, the success of a species is measured by its ability of reproduction. There are different strategies. Frogs produce thousands of offspring, but most of them got killed by predators (fishes) or by a harsh environment (drought). Elephants only have one calf and it takes almost 2 years before it’s born. Here the reproduction strategy is not quantity but care and longevity. The creative process of producing art is the reproduction that artists use. Different musicians […]


Why musicians don’t need mental support 3

Athletes use mental coaches to enhance their performances, entrepreneurs go to coaches to enhance their business, bankers visit shrinks, but musicians don’t need mental support. Here’s why. Many musicians had to face hard times during childhood. They used music as an escape. Listening to music and later playing music was their way to deal with life. Music itself can lift you up when you are down. Being able to create beauty at any time, makes you feel powerful. It allows […]


Apple trees, diamonds and straight edge

When describing what they do, some musicians compare themselves with an apple tree. They start with the blossoming enthusiasm for their music. They have to invest first, in order to harvest the ripe apples later on. That’s when they share their talent with the world. Other musicians compare themselves with a diamond. They want their music to shine. They want to show the world how precious they are. One important aspect combines both comparisons and it often forgotten: for the […]


One hour extra today

Do you feel it too? Rush hour, all day long, hurrying from one appointment to the next from one task to the next, and in between checking social media for the latest news. Oh, one friend is enjoying lunch in a tropical place, another one is planning to go to a concert next weekend, and there is another stupid action from a politician. Yesterday I was rushing to an appointment around the corner, skin therapy for a nasty scar. While […]


Mental coaching is dark and dangerous! 2

Mental coaching is quite common in sports. Many athletes use it to enhance their performances. They become more motivated and happier with mental coaching, they are more focused, run faster, react quicker. The effect of mental coaching has been proven by the registered improvement of the performances. With artists it’s different, especially with rock-musicians and DJ’s. While athletes perform at daytime, rock musicians and DJ’s are creatures of the night. They love the darkness. Many musicians are afraid that the […]


Wake up, rise and shine!

Yesterday I was getting tired on Trump getting the headlines again with one of his discriminating laws. Tired also of all the posts on my FB timeline from people sharing their outrage. You only reach like-minded people with it, so what’s the use of it? Actually, that’s exactly what all these laws are about. They want us to get tired of being outraged, they want us to get used to it! It’s time to wake up. Since January 20, Trump […]


A fresh start – how to make it work?

A new year feels like a new start. A clean slate of 12 months. Somehow we all think that in the new year, we will be able to avoid all mistakes and to seize all opportunities, unlike previous years. Every year again, we truly believe that the new year can become different, better. Even after the hang-over on new years day we still believe in it. But how can it become better, if we think and act the same? If […]


Peace and music 1

2016 was a very loud year, especially in politics. It was loud with attacks and with rude political discussions. Last year ended with the attack in Paris, this year we had attacks in Brussels, Nice, Berlin and there was an attempted putsch in Turkey, followed by repression of everyone with a different opinion. The whole world was watching Clinton and Trump on their way to the elections. Putin was loud in bombing hospitals in Syria. We still hear the screaming […]


Should athletes learn form musicians?

The Olympics 2016 in Brazil are over. And again it was all about the medals. The Dutch ‘Chef de Mission’ Maurits Hendriks is very disappointed. His task is, according to himself, to motivate the athletes. But they didn’t perform as expected. Very disappointing! What about the Olympic creed? “The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The […]


Article in IQ Magazine:

Quote from IQ_mag twitter: Paperclip Agency’s @HildeSpille discusses how empowerment can help musicians who feel screwed by the music biz bit.ly/1TqEtLe