Join host Aaron Peep and singer-songwriter Rebecca Sichon from Mission, BC, as they explore her musical journey, the challenges of the music industry, and enjoy a live performance in a conversation that promises to inspire and enlighten.
Canadian singer-songwriter Rebecca Sichon showcases her expanding musical talent in her 2021 EP "Dream Book," where her love for modern R&B and exceptional vocal skills shine through in tracks like “Innocence” and “Our Garden.” A rising star since childhood, Rebecca's journey has seen her evolve from singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" at age five to winning multiple Fraser Valley Music Awards and collaborating with notable artists, poised for a breakout in the global music scene.
Join host Aaron Peep and singer-songwriter Rebecca Sichon from Mission, BC, as they explore her musical journey, the challenges of the music industry, and enjoy a live performance in a conversation that promises to inspire and enlighten.
Canadian singer-songwriter Rebecca Sichon showcases her expanding musical talent in her 2021 EP "Dream Book," where her love for modern R&B and exceptional vocal skills shine through in tracks like “Innocence” and “Our Garden.” A rising star since childhood, Rebecca's journey has seen her evolve from singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" at age five to winning multiple Fraser Valley Music Awards and collaborating with notable artists, poised for a breakout in the global music scene.
It's the bigger than me podcast with your host, aaron Peep.
Aaron Pete:Thank you all so much for coming. What a blast. This is. Man on man. I'm so excited to be here. What a surreal experience this is. I cannot thank you enough for all attending. I messaged so many of you individually, reaching out asking you to attend this event, and I was super nervous about it. But here we are, we've made it. I am your host for the evening. We have a great show for you. We are going to be playing amazing live music and it's going to be such a blast. How are we feeling tonight? How's the food? What's the vibe? Tell me about it. So, banek Turkey Sandwiches which one was the winner of the night? I kind of wanted to compete. The two Turkey Sandwiches, okay, okay, banek Turkey Sandwiches Seems like a mix. I couldn't choose and I was trying to think of, like, what would I want to eat if I was going to an event? And Banek is always like one of the top ones. But, man, those Turkey Sandwiches, slow roasted by the Harvest Cafe. And when he started describing it to me, I got really hungry. And so here we are. I'm so excited to be diving into this. I am your host for the evening.
Aaron Pete:As many of you know, I host the bigger than me podcast, where we interview fascinating individuals, and this one's extra special to me Because we were listening to her music at the Taste of Abby event and I was blown away, and so was my partner, rebecca. We were both listening and we were like this music needs to be heard. And then we started thinking like well, a podcast often doesn't include that vocal element. You often don't hear that during a podcast, it's usually just a conversation, and so how do we do this? And so thus born was tonight and how is everybody feeling Good still? Yeah, so tonight we do want you to record, we do want you to take footage, we want to share this.
Aaron Pete:But I want to appreciate all of you for coming out tonight. I know that sharing your time is a risk. You want to make sure that you're going to have a good night, and I've heard it said that a million seconds is like 11 days, but a billion seconds is like 31 years. So there's a significant difference between giving your time, and I think that that's important, that we recognize all of you. So I want to appreciate all of you for being willing to share your time.
Aaron Pete:I'm super excited about tonight. Please give yourselves a round of applause for coming out and eating the food and having fun. So please use your social media. If you're listening to a song and you're like this is jamming, I'm super excited about this, please post it. Please tag Rebecca Sashon, please tag the bigger than me podcast, please tag me, please tag anybody you like and just make them super uncomfortable. I think that that's well worthwhile. And then they're going to get some what's called FOMO in the industry a fear of missing out, and I'd like to create some of that tonight for all the people who are like, sorry, I'm busy. I like I'm doing my taxes tonight and it's like what are you talking about?
Aaron Pete:The person we'll be hearing from tonight is Rebecca Sashon. She's a singer, songwriter from Mission BC. She actually interacted. I don't know if you've heard of Carly Ray Jepsen. She had an interaction early on as a child with Carly Ray Jepsen. So that's our guest. Please give a gigantic round of applause for a person who drove all the way out here tonight to be here all the way from Kelowna. Please give a round of applause for our guest, rebecca Sashon.
Rebecca Sichon:Thank you, thank you, thank you for the introduction. That was amazing, my pleasure. Wow. So much pressure, but how's everybody doing? Good, I hear the food was amazing, so hopefully that started out your evening and hopefully I'm here to continue making it great. So yeah, thank you so much for having me. I'm super stoked to just get into some songs.
Aaron Pete:Let's do it Reminder. There's food over there. I have a bet with Tim that people won't finish the food and I don't want to lose that bet. So I put it in here for you, and if you fail me then there's no happy ending to this night. There's all regrets. There's Vanick over there, turkey Sandwiches, plates, drinks Please enjoy throughout the performance.
Rebecca Sichon:Amazing. You heard him. You better do it. I'm holding you to it as well. So, all right, I'm going to start with a tune that gives you a really good idea of who I am as a person, and, being that this is a podcast interview when to show, I think this is a good one to start with, so this one's called A Little Bit of Gasoline.
Rebecca Sichon:My legs feel heavier for go out, fall down, but why do I feel so much safer on the cold ground? They said make your bed and lay in it, but I got up because I wasn't feeling it. No, no, a little bit of gasoline will help us there already, will make me feel ready to show me all that I can be. Oh, yeah, a little bit of gasoline. I can feel the fire, ready, just got to keep it going steady with a little bit of gasoline. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. I keep on jumping the gun. They say slow down, no, but I ran faster than I could from my hometown. Then life got so much better when I left I fell in love with a boy and started loving myself, myself, myself, myself. A little bit of gasoline will help us there already, will make me feel ready to show me all that I can be. Oh yeah, a little bit of gasoline. I can feel the fire ready, just got to keep it going steady with a little bit of gasoline. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh and oh, oh. I don't want to feel like I'm hurting, oh, oh, but it's weighing me down like a burden. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. If I set fire to my world then I'd watch it all light up, from buildings to dust and everything I've dreamed about and all I've ever loved.
Rebecca Sichon:A little bit of gasoline, oh oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, a little bit of gasoline. I can feel the fire ready, just got to keep it going steady with a little bit of gasoline. Oh oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. A little bit of gasoline Now. I can feel the fire already Just got to keep it going steady with a little bit of gasoline. Oh oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, I keep on jumping the gun. They say Slow down, I won't.
Rebecca Sichon:Thank you so much. So, yeah, that's a tune about essentially pouring gasoline on situations in my life and realizing that I actually need a little bit of gasoline. So that's that one and this next one. This one's another good snapshot of who I am as a person, and that is a creator at heart, fully at heart. And this next song I actually wrote when I was going through a really, really, really bad burnout, and I'm sure that everyone gets us as humans. We work too hard, we push too hard, we go too hard and next thing, you know, you're like I don't want to do anything because I worked too hard and I pushed myself too far. And this one was specifically written around. It's actually after a release of an EP and I was like you know what I am so overwriting music, and I didn't write music for like four months, and this was the first song I wrote when I got back and it's called Shape Shift. So, yeah, that's this one designated as уг.
Rebecca Sichon:Here I am game.
Rebecca Sichon:Then when will I shape shift? Cause I'm still stuck inside my sphere of overthinking. Baby, yeah, yeah, yeah. If I lead with no direction, am I honest, trying to move for my own piece of advice? But now I'm head looking at my own reflection and I do anything to leave it all behind. No, trying to grow, trying to be something. My mother would say I'm already enough. But why then am I sitting here crying about it? No, I want to show the world I've got it, and then some fight the demons and then write a damn song. Baby, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Rebecca Sichon:But if I lead with no direction, am I honest, trying to move for my own piece of advice? But now I'm head looking at my own reflection and I do anything to leave it all behind. But if I lead with no direction, am I honest? I'm trying to move for my own piece of mind, but now I'm head looking at my own reflection and I do anything to leave it all behind. Oh, baby, but where is the light? Cause I still don't know how to keep my head up and up above all the clouds.
Rebecca Sichon:Baby, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. I'm fighting for the life I want and deserve. People they wonder where I get all the nerve. Oh, my mama, my sweet mama, if I lead with no direction, am I honest? I'm trying to move for my own piece of mind, but now I'm here looking at my own reflection and I do anything to leave it all behind. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, if I lead with no direction, am I honest? I'm trying to move for my own piece of mind, but now I'm head looking at my own reflection and I do anything to leave it all behind. Oh, when I do anything to leave it all behind, I do anything to leave it all behind.
Rebecca Sichon:Thank you.
Rebecca Sichon:What.
Aaron Pete:Like it puts my driving the car singing my music to absolute bloody shame. Oh no, when did you start to develop this passion for music, for your voice? Where did this all start from?
Rebecca Sichon:It started right at home. I mean, I grew up in a very musical family. My father and my mother are here actually, which is very cool, and I have to give it up for them. My father, he, is an absolutely brilliant musician, and so I grew up fully immersed in music. It was like right from the get go, like my parents told me that I was just singing or yelling, you could call it, but I was making noise from a really early age. So I think it just kind of stuck with me and it felt good.
Aaron Pete:I hear on the streets that you were singing around campfires and that you were singing Twinkle, twinkle Little Star. At the top of your lungs Is this true?
Rebecca Sichon:Yeah, I would say my first performance was literally singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. I mean, I've always been one to love attention, I'm not going to lie. So I'm a little kid, and every time someone's like sing for me, I'm like, ok, I'll sing something, what do you want? So yeah, twinkle Twinkle Little Star was an early favorite of mine. I definitely kind of moved past the Twinkle Twinkle Little Star at this point, but yeah, that is where it started.
Aaron Pete:Can you tell us about some of these photos? You're diving in head first into making music and sharing your gift with others. Where did that come from?
Rebecca Sichon:It was. I mean, I was really fortunate to have not only a really supportive community which was mission but also an incredibly supportive family. So my father put me in piano lessons when I was like seven years old. So I started playing piano and you can see my dad's instruments around, like it was seriously so around me that I was just like I could pick up anything I wanted, right. And so this was me playing piano. And then there's me actually singing with my piano teacher, cathy Hardy, if anyone is familiar with her. She taught me piano and she taught me how to do it all. So, yeah, she, that's the photo of me singing at her album release, which she actually asked me to come perform at, and this was me recording the song. So same age, but yeah, two kind of the same stories there.
Aaron Pete:Can you tell us about your family? They were the ones who introduced you. They're here tonight. What does it mean to have a legacy passed on to you?
Rebecca Sichon:It feels amazing. I mean, like I said, I'm so fortunate to have, you know, such a musical father and such a musical family, just in general, and it was so. It just felt completely natural for me to just take on this role and, like I said, I've been singing for so long, so it was just such an like a natural thing for me to fall into and for something for me to really fall in love with.
Aaron Pete:So, yeah, One area that seems particularly unique to you is your ability to hold, I think, what's called a note. I don't make music, I don't produce it. You're right.
Aaron Pete:That's my understanding is that, like when I hear kind of the poppy songs, they're not holding those notes for as long, which can be the real challenge. Would you mind explaining to me what that process is? And because that's what's to me magical is like you're holding it and then you go to a higher note and you're still holding the same note, and I don't. I can't even hold the beginning note, let alone go to a different note, right, right.
Rebecca Sichon:Well, thank you, I appreciate it.
Rebecca Sichon:I mean, honestly, I'm going to like the honesty behind doing something like that, I have to say, is just years of singing.
Rebecca Sichon:I've honestly been singing for as long as possible and that is generally like skill essentially, and I've, like you know, a lot of people are always like, oh, you're really talented and I love hearing that.
Rebecca Sichon:But I'm also I know how many years and how much work that I've really put into shaping my voice and I have sang for years and years and years and really developed the ability to be able to hold those notes. And I was actually a singing coach for three years, so I was able to kind of see the back end of like how to teach a child to be able to hold those notes versus a lot of. It was almost intuitive for me. So something like that is generally more skill. But my favorite way of being able to sing and the reason why I've kind of moved away from, like the general pop sound, is the fact that I love to show as much emotion in my voice and into my music and I find that those long notes is what makes people go what? So I tend to use those a lot and just kind of throw in how I can share my story through those notes and yeah, however long they may be.
Aaron Pete:In those early days, when you're starting to look at songs and start to make music, what are you thinking about and how are you processing what you're sharing? Because so many of us have emotions, we have thoughts, we have issues, we have problems, and I find it admirable that some people have an actual outlet, and for you it was music.
Rebecca Sichon:Right, yeah, I mean I just live and breathe music.
Rebecca Sichon:And from a young age I mean I hear so much music around my you know, around the house, and so I'd hear a lot of like classical music and jazz music and a lot of actually instrumental music because my father plays so many instruments.
Rebecca Sichon:So I just remember like being so young and even hearing. I remember going to an orchestra and I'd listen to this performance and I remember just closing my eyes and I could just visualize what I was hearing. And to be like seven years old and to be at a you know, to be listening to classical music in the first place, I felt like was kind of different. And so I'm sitting there and I just remember being like wow, this feels amazing, like I can just feel the emotion and that translates into what I write. And whenever, like I'm writing and it feels really good, I get that same feeling of wow, I can really visualize it, like I can feel the emotion just in and out and it just that's, that's what I write for is that feeling that the same way that I listen to music is the same way that I try to express the music.
Aaron Pete:What is your biggest takeaway when you look at your childhood? What is the biggest takeaway that you look back on and you go, wow, that really did shape me.
Rebecca Sichon:Oh, that's a good question. I would honestly have to say just the involvement with music at a young age, and I seriously cannot thank my father and my mother enough for just giving me the environment to make music and to just be fully supportive of whatever musical journey I wanted to take. So they're the ones who are driving me to the talent shows. They're the ones who are driving me to anything that involved music my piano lessons that I did not want to go to, but my dad's like you got to go because it's going to teach you a lot. And if it wasn't for them being like you need to do this and we believe in you, I don't think that I would be here today. So that's got to be the number one for me for sure.
Aaron Pete:Let's dive into it, burn down. Can you share that song with?
Rebecca Sichon:us, let's do it.
Aaron Pete:Yeah, is everybody eating? I feel like not enough people are understanding what's at stake in his bat.
Rebecca Sichon:OK, I think I just need some in my monitor here. I don't think I'm hearing anything in this guy. Oh, oh, there we go, we got it. You might not know what I just said at all, but he understood, so that's all that matters. This one is called Burn Down and this one is, yes, a song about self-sabotage. I'm sure we all experience it, so this is my way of expressing how I felt about self-sabotaging myself.
Rebecca Sichon:Let's get started Looking for remedy to mend my broken soul. I think I got a clue what I'll do, but I just hope it works. Ran my tank till it was empty, in the middle of nowhere. No one can help me, but but I guess that's the way it should be. No, I should be getting older, grow with stronger, but I trip when my step is in front of the other. Am I not getting better? Or will I not let me win? Watch it all burn down, Sitting here burning my throne with the flames I grew. Don't care about anything in this world, it can all burn too.
Rebecca Sichon:Ran my tank till it was empty, in the middle of nowhere. No one can help me, but but I guess that's the way it should be. No, I should be getting older, grow with stronger, but I trip when my step is in front of the other. Am I not getting better? Or will I not let me win? Watch it all burn down, and oh, I don't wanna burn down. And oh, when will my feet hit the ground now? But how? I guess that's the way it should be. No, I should be getting older, grow with stronger, but I trip when my step is in front of the other. Am I not getting better or will I not let me win? Watch it all burn down. I should be getting older, grow with stronger, but I trip when my step is in front of the other. Am I not getting better, or will I not let me win? Watch it all burn down. I watch it all burn down. I watch it all burn down. Thank you.
Aaron Pete:What a night. What a night that we get to enjoy this, we get to relax, we get to eat some food. Like what is going on? It feels like you hear me but I'm not seeing any action and so, very disappointed in this crowd, I wanna go right to the next one. I think let's go ahead. How are we feeling more music? They don't wanna hear from me.
Rebecca Sichon:I wanna hear from you personally, but we'll get to that. We'll get to it, okay. So I'm gonna sing you a love song, this one. We're gonna move a little away from the self sabotage, self deprecation, all that. This is a love song, a genuine love song, that I wrote, also after writing hiatus. I tend to write a lot after I'm like I don't wanna write and then I'm like I really wanna write. So this is a love song called Together and it's about just going through life with someone that you love together, even if you're a little terrified of it, because it can be a little scary sometimes. So that's this one.
Rebecca Sichon:I don't feel so small anymore, been doing things I can done before in my in my life, oh, but I I'm a little scared. I'm feeling like I got it, but can't help that I might fail. Oh, hold my hand and help me understand where I've been and where I will go. Wait for me there at the bottom of the stairs, and we'll climb to the top together. Oh oh, oh, I'm just a little scared. Don't understand why, cause I got everything and more in my life, but all these thoughts, they, they stay in my mind, they waste all my time. Oh, baby, don't you cry, cause one day we will realize, oh, oh, everything we're meant to do together. Oh, hold my hand and help me understand where I've been and where I will go. Wait for me there at the bottom of the stairs, and we'll climb to the top together.
Rebecca Sichon:Oh oh, oh, I'm just a little scared. Yeah, no, oh, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, no. Oh, hold my hand and help me understand where I've been and where I will go, where I will go, I wait for me there at the bottom of the stairs, and we'll climb to the top together. Oh, I'm just a little. Oh, I'm just a little. Oh, I'm just a little scared, oh, oh.
Rebecca Sichon:Thank you.
Aaron Pete:I mean, I'm trying to imagine just doing a podcast interview and saying you have a good voice, like I'm trying to imagine telling people like go listen, you just need to go listen, and like not having this element that will be shared with other people, where people can actually hear your voice and understand the depths that music can actually go, and I feel like sometimes we just miss out on that. It's radio music. We kind of get into our vibes. The other part I really love about this song specifically is this idea of doing it together. My partner is in the back, right there, working on making sure that the audio turns out, and that's such a special feeling. Your partner is your producer, you're working collaboratively. Can you, can you share that with?
Rebecca Sichon:us Absolutely. So, yeah, this song was actually produced. It's out on all the platforms and it was produced by my partner, matt Truett, who is also an incredible producer, and we've been doing this journey for the past three years together and we've been making music together, which I'm sure you know it's hard to be not only, you know, in a relationship, but also business partners, so it definitely brings its own set of challenges, but it's been amazing Because it's you know, you end up having a partner and that can look like so many different things, but you have that support and he's been absolutely amazing and he helped me write this one too. So, you know, there's so many elements that make it so fun and it's cool to be able to share something I love so much with someone that also loves it. So, yeah, it's really, really cool.
Aaron Pete:It's really tragic to think about. Kind of like the world in the 1980s, 90s, like in sitcoms. It was like you have this passion and your partner knows nothing about it or has no interest in what you're doing and your whole story is about this idea of doing it together.
Rebecca Sichon:Yeah, totally no, I completely agree. I think, too, like we're moving into more of a. I mean, everything's changing, we're constantly evolving and I think it's so cool that you know I can do a certain set of things, and he can do a certain set of things, and we can help each other and like, what I can't do, he can do and you know vice versa. So, yeah, super fortunate to be able to have him.
Aaron Pete:You start with a passion. You start with something when you're growing up and you're kind of interested in it, but then you turn it into something you're actually going to go for, you're actually going to invest in, you're actually going to pursue. These are some of your album covers. You go from someone who's singing around the campfire To somebody who's making albums and sharing their music on Apple Pod or Apple Music, spotify. You're sharing your gift with others which you can go download right now.
Aaron Pete:Whenever you guys are ready can you talk about that transition into actually making this something when you're actually going to chase it, you're going to go after, you're going to do the thing that's so challenging for people to do? When you hear about going through the music industry, it's not a walk in the park.
Rebecca Sichon:Yeah, I mean it's funny that you bring that up, because I think, like the truth is, it's like, as a creator, I'm like, oh, I want to write, I want to sing, like my favorite thing to do ever is to just sing, is just to sing, whatever that looks like on stage or by myself. And you know, the mindset of having to make this a reality Is that I have to be a business and that it's tricky. It's tricky to be like okay, how am I going to sell Myself, how am I going to brand and market? And you have to start thinking in a business perspective, which, like, thankfully I have a bit of that because I get that from my mom, so I have a little bit. So it ends up making it a little easier and I was able to sort of navigate it.
Rebecca Sichon:But that doesn't mean I love it, because you know it takes away from the creative side. And it can be tricky because you know I want to put all my time into making the music. But the truth is, if I ever want to, you know, go anywhere and I want to do something with it, unless I have a label backed, you know, behind me, which I don't, I have to do it myself and at this stage, I'm okay with it because it's all a learning process and, like a lot of these covers Were even actually, you know, most of these were helped and edited by other people, but oftentimes, like I'd be the one doing the album covers or what not, and so it's a lot of learning and you end up learning a lot, which I'm really grateful for.
Aaron Pete:But it's definitely, yeah, like you said, not not easy at all and in this day and age you have to be a business, so kind of dealing with it as it comes, but yeah, it's tough to balance, particularly with like musical creators, because there's this element of like you're sharing your soul, you're sharing the things you've been through, the issues you've overcome, the problems you have in your personal life.
Aaron Pete:And then you're trying to market that and it's like I don't want to market the things that just went through. How do you start to process this? You talk about some of the things where you're like I'm not in a musical creating mode or I'm not in a writing mode. How do you try and balance this?
Rebecca Sichon:I think everyone has their own methods and I have, you know, been told a good way to look at it is 50-50, which kind of sucks Like business 50 and then 50 of like creative side.
Rebecca Sichon:So I'm trying to approach it that way where, like, in the beginning of the day I'll sit down and I'll reply to all the emails, I'll do all my applications, I'll do the things that I have to do on the business side, and then in the evening is when I feel a lot more relaxed, a lot more creative. So, going to more creative side, but oftentimes, like, if I have a song coming out, which I have a song coming out tonight, so by the way that she'll be playing, I will be playing it too. But essentially, like, having to, you know, get all the things done and having to go into this sort of work mode can take away from the creative side. So that can suck sometimes. But I'm it's a, you know, it's never, it's always evolving and I'm always trying to get better at it. But I feel like I've got it somewhat under wraps now of trying to like balance it.
Aaron Pete:It seems like that. That's where our culture is at right now. So many people have a side passion, a side hustle, as it's often called, where they're doing something that they enjoy doing. For me, it's the podcast. It's why you're all here tonight. It's it's something that I actually enjoy doing, where investing time doesn't feel like a debt that I'm owed. It's something that I love to share with people Personally. It's like I look at it and go, wow, if somebody heard from this voice, maybe they get some inspiration, maybe they get their fuel to start to chase their own passion. Yeah, how has that been for you to be able to share your gift with the world in a way that so many people kind of go maybe I'd make some music, maybe I could have been the next Taylor Swift, but they never chase after it, so they always get to live by that. Maybe, where you're actually chasing after, you're trying to share your gift with the world.
Rebecca Sichon:I think the way I put it is there's no plan B. I genuinely like I've wanted this since I was for as long as I can possibly remember and I remember seeing all the pop stars that I would grow up and watch and all these amazing artists, and I'm like I want to do that and there's no other option. Like I know I could do some other things. We've all got a set of skills. There's all these things that I could do and maybe I'd be more financially free and all that.
Rebecca Sichon:But I think at the end of the day you said it yourself like what makes you happy and that's this makes me happy. And does that mean, you know, I'm just doing music full time? No, it's not, sorry to break it to you, I have worked full time jobs at Benjamin Moore, at Rona I'm not even kidding and you know I've had to make things work. But I know, at the end of the day, that this is what I want to do. So it's kind of like a this or no option and everything that needs to support it, because you know there isn't that much money in the industry at an early stage, but everything that I have to do to support it, I will.
Aaron Pete:Yeah, let's. Let's talk about what it's like to be a creator, because I don't think many people know, when you download a song, when you listen to a strong, you're making 0.003 cents to 0.005 cents per stream on average, which is even if you times, even if a million people listen to your song, you're not making a comfortable living off of this. It takes a lot of work to share your gift and you have to go up against systems like this and when you look at this, that's, that's terrifying. To share something that you've worked your whole life at and to earn this on one person listening to it one time. It's just, it's so sad. How do you process this information? You've got this gift and then this is what they're saying they're willing to pay for it.
Rebecca Sichon:I mean it sucks. I've got to say it like it genuinely. It's not fun. But I think, like, as a you know, as a business, I market myself as a business. As a business, you have to think outside the box. So I know that I'm not going to make any money through streams. So that's when the live shows come into play and do many things like working with artists and getting on to songs where you can get paid as a feature or whatever. So there are ways around it. But I do know that it's tough in the beginning stages but hopefully, once you're at a place where you are getting those consistent streams and it has been done especially for independent artists, for independent artists, you will make more of your own money versus if you had assigned, like if you had to deal with a label. They are taking a very large cut of that, which is funny when you think about it. So, being that I am independent, it does give me a little bit more cushion in a sense, but it's.
Rebecca Sichon:You know it's a tough battle, but if I, you know, if I fixate too much on how much I'd be making off of this, I, you know I wouldn't go any further. So I think it has to be like you know what, whatever, no plan B, you just got to keep going. And if I make $10 one year, I made $10 one year, and the next time I make, you know 100, and we'll keep going from there. And that's just. I feel like if you don't have that attitude, it's hard to, you know, chase your dreams, and it's got to be like a. There's no other option. So that's that's how I feel.
Aaron Pete:I think it's important, like how many people knew this? That you're making 0.01 cents per stream? How many people listening on Apple music or Spotify knew that? These were the numbers that you're up against when you're moving into the industry, when you're saying I'm going to take my gift and I'm going to share it with the world. This is what I can expect to be compensated for my life journey, the things that I've been through, the problems that I've overcome. This is what to Apple music, this is what I'm worth.
Aaron Pete:I think that's so frustrating from someone, from my perspective, because it's like this is what you've been through. This is your life story, and I heard one person talk about like writing their book, and in Canada, if you write a book and you get royalties from it, it's taxed 50%. So the government is taking 50% of your story, like in terms of taxation, like that's such a crazy thing to think about, and I think it's tragic that listeners don't understand, hey, what that stream means, but also what it means to share your song with others, that that actually can open doors, that that can actually create opportunities for them, that that share button that's so rarely used can open so many doors for a creator like yourself 100% and that's the way that it gets shared.
Rebecca Sichon:And I find, like all my opportunities in terms of like performances, even something like this you came out to taste of Abby and you were the one that heard me in person. If someone had just like I don't know if you had maybe like fallen, maybe if you'd like heard one of my songs, maybe one of really thought about, oh, should I bring this? You know, should I do a podcast with this girl? But, being that you took the opportunity to show up in person and to listen, that's all it takes. And I've really noticed that and I've had some amazing, you know, even random moments where people have, you know, walked into a restaurant that I'm playing at and, just because they heard me, and they come in and then later on have had the message me and go hey, like your voice stopped me in the street and I came in and I just wanted to, you know, say like you got a new fan, and it's those sorts of moments where you're like, whoa, it's working.
Rebecca Sichon:But it's moments like that that feel so much more advanced than even, like you know, 10,000 streams. It feels cool for a bit, but it's so valuable when someone can share something and someone can be like we're at a mouth hey, this girl was really great. Like you should listen to her music. And I think, as an artist, we get kind of it's you know, it's imposter syndrome. We also don't really want to like put ourselves out there and be like, yeah, listen to me. Like you know, it's tough to promote yourself. So it's so valuable when others can talk about you and get the word out that way. So, yeah, it's so valuable. It really, really, truly is too bad.
Aaron Pete:We're not in a crowd of people who could absolutely share your music with other people. Yeah, that, and I'm going to lose this bet, and that's just pretty evident at this point in time, because nobody of you have stood up so okay, let's do it All right.
Rebecca Sichon:This is stuck in the storm and it's exactly what it says. A song about the fear of fame. And you know I wrote this because, as I said, I've been wanting this since I was a little girl, for as long as I can possibly remember. And then at one point, about a year ago, when I wrote this, it struck me I was like what if this actually happens? And it's terrifying Because you know, you hear about all the stories and you have no idea how it's going to go. So a part of me, you know, wanted to write about this fear of getting stuck in the storm. So that's the name of this one.
Rebecca Sichon:I've been waiting for the light to find me, can't know why, been feeling this way since being a baby. But what if I got stuck in the storm, stripped of hope? No sense of control? Will I know me anymore? Wasted years, wasted years. What did I really waste them if I still somehow made it here? All my tears have led me to this moment that grew me my own ocean. But what if I got stuck in the storm, stripped of hope? No sense of control? Will I know me anymore? Will I want me anymore? But what if I got stuck in the storm, stripped of hope? No sense of control? Will I know me anymore? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, cause I don't want to get stuck in the storm, stripped of hope, no sense of control? Will I know me anymore? Will I want me anymore? Will I love me anymore? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Aaron Pete:How's everybody feeling so far? Does this live up to the hype? Would you come out again? I need to know. What an incredible song. I'm fascinated by this idea of struggling with fame, because we see people go through this and we treat them like they're not people. And then you look at them and you just like laugh at their failures, you laugh at their struggles. I think back on Justin Bieber and everything he went through and we just kind of laugh and go ha ha, that person fell down, as if that raises us up. But it doesn't. It just makes us part of the crowd. That's looking at someone who's trying at something and falling down. How did you think about that? When you look at people like Carly Rajapsen, how do you process what they've been through and their growth to fame?
Rebecca Sichon:I think, like the biggest thing is, just as you said, just remembering that they're people and that they all started out just like you and I. There's no difference really between us and people that are making millions of dollars. You even take Taylor Swift, for example. I see so much controversy about her ticket prices and the tour and how amazing all these things, but she's the highest paid female artist ever and it's amazing to see and you think about who she is as a person. I don't know if anyone's seen some of her documentaries, but she's just like you and I. She's just writing about her songs because she wants to.
Rebecca Sichon:And I think, like back to what you said, I think it can be difficult to think about that and that's why I'm scared, because it does come with a lot of feelings and I'm sure that everyone will have an opinion. But I think I've, through writing that song and through processing it, I've realized it doesn't matter what anyone thinks and I've got to do it for me and for no one else's approval. But it can definitely be scary, it can definitely be tricky and I think that there's almost this sense of wanting, like I'm nearly maybe envy or jealousy of wanting to be in a place that someone is, and I try to remember that and just move forward, because there's nothing I can do about other people's feelings. I can only control mine.
Aaron Pete:So yeah, that's the tragedy is how many people have come up to me and said I was going to start a podcast and it's like fair enough, but did you do it and did you follow through and did you reach 100 episodes and did you keep going when everybody said that, like, everybody has a podcast these days and keep going and face that scrutiny and then say things where people sometimes don't agree with you or say things that people disagree with, and then it starts to become like you're not a person anymore, like people aren't connecting with you, like you're just a flawed person, just like everybody else, who makes mistakes, who says the wrong thing, who falls down sometimes.
Aaron Pete:But it's almost like when people reach for that star that it's easier to rip on them than to look at themselves and go did I chase my dream? Like I saw one great reel that was like how much did it cost for you to give up on your dream? And the person was like $45,000 and like a pension and that's what it took. And if that person's happy, then all the more power to them. But when you look at other people, when you're in that circumstance and go, well, I hate you because you're successful. And you look at Taylor Swift and like you're overpaid, it's like you have no idea the things that go on behind the scenes on your rise to reach that amount of payment.
Rebecca Sichon:You have no idea. And that's the thing. And I think that people can almost become insensitive to the idea of people's success and what that looks like. Success is so funny too, because you know someone could be making, like I'm sure that the money that you could make, let's say, in the arts, is nowhere near the kind of money you could make if you were in a really good position, let's say, even working up North and BC, for example, right, and? But no one thinks about the dollar amount. It's not about that. It's the way that you're perceived by society, right? So it's the way that you look. It's the fact that, oh, she's a star, oh, she's making all this money, and the visual of that almost, I think, is intimidating to people. And exactly it makes them feel like, oh, why, why didn't I do that? And they're just projecting their own feelings about I wish I could have done that, but I didn't. So I'm going to, you know, make them feel bad about doing it.
Aaron Pete:For me, sincerely, success is having all of you here tonight To know that people were willing to invest their night bet on that this was going to be more worthwhile than watching the latest episode on Netflix. That actually means a great deal to me that you're all here tonight and you chose this over whatever else was going on. Lots of people told me they had other things going on, and so the fact that you're all here tonight actually means a great deal for me, so please give yourself a round of applause Again. I appreciate you so much for coming out tonight. That actually means everything to me. Like 60 people tuning in right now live is way more than some people get on their streams. Some people get on a podcast episode, so this actually does mean so much to me. Let's dive into the next song Breaking free. This one releases, if I'm not mistaken, tonight, so you can go subscribe to her. Find her on Apple Music, find her on Spotify. This song releases at what time? Tonight?
Rebecca Sichon:Yeah so really soon A little stressful, but it's okay I will know whether or not you all tuned in.
Aaron Pete:Because you know 9pm, I can check my watch.
Rebecca Sichon:Yeah, this one is Breaking Free. And this one was actually written with a Vancouver artist, matthew V. He's a jazz pop artist, absolutely brilliant and I wrote it as a part of the 604 songwriting sessions. It was this cool opportunity where I got to write with artists on 604's 604 label roster and they're the ones who signed Carly Ray, so there's definitely some like crossovers there. But anyway, this was a really, really neat opportunity and this is the second song to come out of that. So, yeah, this is Breaking Free.
Rebecca Sichon:I've been fighting night and day, wishing for a better way out. But outside this cage, well, I find my place, thought you were the missing piece, rearranged the parts of me to fit in, but now that I've grown the wounds that I've sewn, I'm spreading my wings on my own. Now just let me go, just let me be, cause. I've got so much left to give and so much life to live, and so much more to me. Watch as I fly Cause, baby, I saw. Oh, cause every bit of me Is calling out to be Breaking free.
Rebecca Sichon:I've been feeling steady now, slowly trying to figure out when I belong. No, been righting my wrongs. No, yeah, I'm spreading my wings on my own. Now just let me go and just let me be, cause. I've got so much left to give and so much life to live, and so much more to me. Watch as I fly, cause, baby, I saw. Oh, cause every bit of me Is calling out to be Breaking free. Oh, I'm breaking free. No, no, just let me go. Just let me be, cause. I've got so much left to give and so much life to live, and so much more to me. Watch as I fly oh, cause, baby, I saw. Oh, cause every bit of me Is calling out to be Breaking free.
Rebecca Sichon:Thank you. Thank you so much.
Aaron Pete:I'd like your thoughts on this. One of my sincere beliefs and I think I'm probably a little bit naive for thinking it is that the whole idea of Canada and freedom is this idea that people chase their dream. There's this idea of the American dream, and I think that it's unfortunate because it's the idea of freedom that when you're in a country that you're able to chase your passion, your dream, your goal, whatever that is for you, that you're able to chase that and share that with the world, and that we as people should commend that. That that is the purpose of why we have the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, that's why we have freedom in Canada, that's why we have freedom of Western countries is so that people can figure out whatever makes them tick and share that as a gift. And that not only rewards you as an individual but it rewards all of us, because we actually get to experience that gift and learn from it and get inspired to go chase our own dreams, Whatever that might look like. Am I crazy? Am I out?
Rebecca Sichon:of my mind? No, absolutely, absolutely. And I always say this actually because I have some friends down in America and the biggest difference for an artist in Canada versus America is the fact that in Canada we have the grant system, and I don't know if you're familiar with it, but Canada has hundreds of grants that are provided to musicians and artists and creators yearly, like millions of dollars that are given out to Canadian artists, which is absolutely incredible. And down in America there's none of that. There's nothing, there's nothing. And I've talked to so many friends and they're like, oh, yeah, I'm playing a gig. And I'm like, oh, that's great. They're like, yeah, I'm not making anything, like there's no money, it doesn't really happen unless you get to the big leagues, right, but to have something like that in Canada is amazing, and that's true because Canada's trying to support it, canada's trying to make it happen, and that's incredible. So fascinating.
Aaron Pete:I believe that this is one of the closest to last songs that we'll be able to hear from you tonight, and it's glow stick it is. Let's do it, unless I get tangled.
Rebecca Sichon:I've got tangled again. All right, this one. I'm just going to make sure I'm not hitting anything while I play this one. There we go. This is another love song, but this one isn't your conventional love song. This is a yeah, wow, I love these little blurbs. A song written about love and being scared. I'd never find it again. Gosh, I could just not say anything. You just read those, couldn't I? They really, they tell you what it's about. So, yeah, that's awesome. That's exactly it. This was, you know, a song that I wrote. This is the first song I wrote when I got to Vancouver, which was about three, three years ago. I moved to Vancouver from Mission and I remember sitting on my couch or on my couch in my bed on one of the first nights and I wrote this just about being terrified about love and not finding it. So, yeah, this is this one.
Rebecca Sichon:I'm dreaming of a world of love, but I know it's not enough enough for me. I still need to breathe. Oh, I want to know when the sky turns to cold. Will I then learn how to be alone? Fall has come now and, baby, I just want to run now. So many people fall in love, but not me, no. Oh, I'm dreaming of a world of love, but I know it's not enough enough for me. I still need to breathe. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh oh. I still need to breathe. I still need to breathe. Oh, I'm dreaming of a world of love, but I know, I know, I know it's not enough for me. I still need to breathe. I still need to breathe. I still need to heal.
Rebecca Sichon:Thank you.
Aaron Pete:So my mom offered, and she's in the front row tonight. She offered me great advice, and that was to ask a better question. So I got this one skill, and it's to ask a better question. That's amazing. That's all I got. You're playing the guitar, you're singing with your voice, then you walk over to that piano and you make it look like easy work, like a short day in the office. You've got three skills at least, and I've got this one skill that I'm going to ask some questions that maybe all of you didn't think of. That's because I did my research. What is it like to develop these skill sets and to be able to share them with an audience? Share them with a room Like this isn't just one thing. This is multiple different skill sets that you're able to share with people.
Rebecca Sichon:I think, honestly it's just a bonus because I always think of my voice as my instrument and my voice is my instrument. But the reasoning behind me playing guitar and piano and everything is, honestly, because my dad was like he genuinely told me when I first wanted to play piano he's like you need to learn piano, conservatory piano, classical piano, like very disconnected, but he's like you need to know what you're doing, so then you can accompany yourself. And he set up this foundation for me to essentially support myself and to be able to do this, to be able to stand and not play one instrument but two instruments. And I think as I got older, I was more so just thinking about, oh, what else can I write a song on?
Rebecca Sichon:So I picked up a ukulele when I was 12 and I was like this is kind of cool. And then I was like, yeah, it's a little small though. So I moved over to the guitar and I was about 13 and I just love the idea of having different bonuses to kind of just pick up a guitar and they sound completely different. Writing on a piano to a guitar and a ukulele is such a different world for me, so it's always just been so fun to be able to explore those things. I'm so fortunate that I was given the opportunity to learn those things, and not only my voice. So, yeah, I'm blessed I'm able to do that. What?
Aaron Pete:do you see in music that we all miss because we don't understand the complexity that goes on behind it? We're just tuning in, we listen, it's a good song, I kind of get it, but we don't understand the depths of the education that goes into the keyboard, the education that goes into the guitar, the education and the work that goes into developing a voice. What are we missing when we click a song and we play it and we kind of go? That's not a song for me, as if we have any understanding is the work that goes into it.
Rebecca Sichon:I think that's a complicated question because I think everyone perceives music in such a different way and there's so much technical skill behind music.
Rebecca Sichon:I'm sure if any of you don't know anything about music, if you were to sit in a studio in a session, you would have no idea what's going on.
Rebecca Sichon:But I think the magic is the fact that when you go home and you listen to a song, you perceive it however you want. The way that I write my music and I always call my songs diary entries, because they just feel like expressions of how I'm feeling, and I always say this sets. I always say it's no different than I'm passing around my diary to you all so you could read it. I'm just singing it to you and it's true, because that's how I feel and I think it's magical when others can perceive that and when others can connect their own feelings and their own stories to music, and I think that's all I ask that you're able to do. But I think there's a lot of things going on that maybe not everyone understands. But as long as you respect and you take the time to listen and to really try to feel it, I think that's all creators really want you to do is to value it.
Aaron Pete:How's everybody feeling so far? Are we valuing the music? Is this a good night? Let me know.
Aaron Pete:The only other question I have on this note is what it means to have individuals who inspire you in your creative endeavor. I grew up with one parent who was supporting me in whatever direction I wanted to chase. But I didn't have that path laid out of where I was going to go, where I was going to end up in the future, what I was going to do. So I'm just kind of paving this path as I go. But you have individuals here tonight who have helped shape that, who have helped informed your understanding of where you want to go in your life. And I think not everybody has that.
Aaron Pete:But it's such a gift to be able to play out a legacy I don't think we always understand what that word means. When you look at we started here and then that's being passed on and you have tools that not everybody gets access to, that are given to you, so you're starting a little bit ahead on something that not everybody gets given and so you're able to build upon this and share that gift with others. When you look at your parents here tonight, you were mentioning before we got on stage that you're actually more nervous for them than all you jubberonis. What does it mean to have them in the crowd tonight and to know that they've helped informed your talent?
Rebecca Sichon:It means the world. I gotta say it Like I genuinely, you know I do. I'm fortunate to play a lot of shows, but there's no show that's so special until my parents are there, and it is the pressure because they're the ones who know me so well, and so after this, my dad's going to be like, well, you could have done this just a little better, maybe next time play it like this. But and I love that for that, I love them for that and you know that's what they're there for and they're there to give me that honesty and, as you said, like it's, I'm so fortunate to have grown up with in such a musical environment and even like my music teacher growing up, and all these different people that were so crucial to my growth, and it's just amazing to be able to do this and to, like you said, carry on a legacy, and that's what I hope I'm doing and you know that's what I want to do. So, yeah, I'm just, I'm just happy to be here.
Aaron Pete:So one thing I think of when I like listen to someone like yourself, I'm like, how do I support this person? What does that actually look like? And people are always polite and they're kind of like oh yeah, like I just glad you enjoyed this, the interview, or something like that. Like it's very disconnected. But there are actual tangible ways people can support your work and encourage you to be able to continue what you're doing and share your gift, and it actually matters a lot more than people really realize. Like they don't realize the impact liking a post can have in order to have that stupid algorithm support your, your posts and continue to have a goal upwards. They don't realize what it means for them to share it with a friend and go hey, have you heard this song? Have you heard this? This artists that actually right nearby and located right near us. That's sharing their talent when we're looking at this I have listed follow on Instagram, listen on Apple music and Spotify and YouTube.
Aaron Pete:Download your latest song, breaking Free, which is dropping tonight. Tell your friends about your music. Is there anything else that I've missed on this list on how people can actually support the work that you're doing and so you can actually chase your dream Like it's not something disconnected, where it doesn't matter. It's actually. This helps you do the thing that you love to do, which, hypothetically, we should all want to encourage people to do every single day.
Rebecca Sichon:I think you nailed it. I'm going to say I don't think there's anything else but this. You know this means a lot and, like I said, it's tough as an artist to be like listen to my music, you know. Take all your phones right now and follow me on Instagram. It sucks Like it sucks to, you know, have to self promote. So I appreciate people like you to bring me on to a platform that is your. You know your strength and to be like I want to expose you to your people, you know, and that's that means so much.
Rebecca Sichon:So, things like this, you know I'm so fortunate to be able to do things and shows I like. It's, like I said, it's the in person sort of connection. That's the. It's the best, because everything's so virtual nowadays and everything's you know online, but there's nothing that replaces being in a room with 60 people and being able to look into each and one of your, each and every single one of your eyes and just say hi, essentially. So, this, you know, this, this is it. This means so much to me. So thank you for listing that. Please do those things. I'm not going to tell you to do it, but I am going to tell you to do it.
Aaron Pete:So, yeah, it was actually one of the big learning lessons in the podcast. I'd end off interviews. How can people follow, how can people show their support? And the person would say it. And I was just thinking about, like, what does that look like when somebody's telling you that, for their benefit, it's going to open some doors for them, it's going to help them? It doesn't resonate the same unless somebody else is saying go listen to her latest song, go subscribe, go support, grab out your phones right now, follow her on Instagram, do the things you need to do so that she can continue to grow and do what she wants to do, and hopefully we can learn from that individual.
Aaron Pete:So, speaking of which, I mean I have a podcast. I'd love it if you would subscribe and tune into our latest episode, which dropped today. I mean I wouldn't complain about it. I mean you sort of set me up to look like a Gibrodi listening to my own face on here. I read it for not all Gibrodi's in here. Let's thank you for all of the music you've shared. We're going to do a Q&A, so start thinking of your questions right now, because I think it's valuable. I don't have all the questions in the world. I think it's important that individuals like yourself ask questions, if something stood out to you, if a song stood out to you, to ask those questions. But we're going to end on a beautiful song, let's do it, okay.
Rebecca Sichon:Oh, where am I going? It's not there, it's here. The guitar tells it to me too. Am I tangled? Again Reminds me that, like you know that fish game or you know that little thing where you were supposed to press it, and the loop goes around the and you know what I'm talking about. Right, I remember what it's called. It just reminds me of that so well. And I couldn't. I was never good at it, but clearly I'm good at it tonight, so maybe I'll switch passions. This one's called how to Love, and this is another love song, but again, not a conventional love song, because I'm actually not great at writing happy songs, but this one is a song about, yeah, breaking down walls and letting someone you love in. And, yeah, I just want to say this has been so, so special and thank you for being here, Thank you for taking your time out of your Thursday night to be here and to support both Aaron and I. This is really really really cool, so thank you.
Rebecca Sichon:I hope to be still remember my tears, same face from 15. But never in a million years did I think that I'd be back to this whole feeling. What's the meaning? I feel like I know what to do, but I can't help. But love, not having you, you're my reason. I've been singing, spent the next four years trying to fix me. Oh, I'm feeling capable of love, for what's wrong with me? Want to make you my world, but it's not what I need. And maybe one day it is, and the day I promise I won't leave. But never in a million years did I think that I'd be back to this whole feeling. What's the meaning? I feel like I know what to do, but I can't beat the thought of not having you. You're my reason.
Rebecca Sichon:I've been singing, just want to let you in, to stay. You're already on my mind all day. No, no, no, no, no. Is this the part I run away, giving to what I used to say? No, I think I've changed. No, I think I'll stay. But never in a million years did I think that I'd be back to this whole feeling. What's the meaning? But I think that I know what to do, but I can't beat the thought of not having you. You're my reason. I've been singing, but I think that I know what to do, but I can't beat the thought of not having you. You're my reason I've been singing. No, no, no, no, no.
Rebecca Sichon:Thank you, thank you.
Aaron Pete:You've teased that you're heading to Toronto. That that's one of your goals. You're interested in making this a full-time thing. You're interested in growing this. How do you get there?
Rebecca Sichon:To Toronto, or how do I just get there?
Aaron Pete:How do you continue to grow and succeed? What does that look like?
Rebecca Sichon:Doing things like this. Doing things like this, playing shows, showing up for myself, writing, continuing to just fully live in the world of music and thankfully, I really, really love it. So I think I'm just going to continue doing it and, like I said, no plan B, so I'll just push on forward and keep going until something happens, and I think sometimes it's hard to realize, but I always think about it, I'm like it is happening. It's just at a smaller scale, but it is happening A minute right now and I'm sure one day I'll look back and go oh, I wish I could just do a live podcast show with 60 people in the room again. So I'm just trying not to take anything for granted and just really trying to live in the moment and appreciate everything that's going on, because this is all so special and this is what will get me there. So, yeah, thank you so much it's absolutely my pleasure.
Aaron Pete:One of my personal favorite artists is Big Sean, which I'm sure all of you know about, but he's actually the inspiration for the name Bigger Than Me. He has a song about it where he was doing music for all the wrong reasons. He was doing it to become famous, he was doing it to make a name for himself and then he realized that it was bigger than himself, that he could actually inspire young African American children to go and reach their full potential, to grow as an individual. And he has this line in there that I was trusting statistics more than I trusted me, and I love that line because so much of what I hear about Indigenous people is that we're overrepresented in the criminal justice system, we're unlikely to get an education, we're more likely to have children at a young age, we're not likely to go and succeed and have an entrepreneurial success, and so if I looked at all of that and said, oh, that's me.
Aaron Pete:I wouldn't do what I'm doing today. I would decide that this isn't the path for me. I should stay on the path of a traditional nine to five job. I shouldn't be doing the podcast. I should just make my money and keep to myself and I'll make a comfortable living and never really have an impact beyond myself, because I'll reach my own goals, but not others.
Aaron Pete:When you look at the statistics for podcasts, most people don't make it to 10 episodes, most people don't gain a following, most people are not successful, and so, if I trust those statistics, I'm not going to go anywhere, because I'm not going to trust in myself. And what I find inspiring about people like yourself why I love hosting this is because there's this intrinsic idea in every person I speak to that they can be bigger than themselves, that they can make a difference bigger than themselves, than anything they thought possible, and I think it's why people show up to events like this. There's this intrinsic idea, when you see a movie, when you do anything, that the hero is going to prevail, that you can learn something from their story and that they can inspire people, and so I just cannot thank you enough for coming here and reminding us that we can make a difference bigger than ourselves.
Rebecca Sichon:Absolutely.
Aaron Pete:What do you hope people take away from your journey so far? This is chapter one, in my opinion, or maybe chapter two, but this is in the end of the story. So what do you hope people learn from your story so far, and why should they subscribe to your Instagram, follow your story, why should they continue on this journey with you?
Rebecca Sichon:Because we all got to feel. We're all humans, we all got emotions and you know, I'm just an emotion, that's an emotion, a human that's trying to. I'm an emotion as well, but I'm a human. That's, you know, trying to express my emotions and I know that every single one of you has, you know, day to day things and it's difficult and we all, you know, we live through music. So I hope that my music connected with you in any way and if it has, please, please, do follow me on my journey, because you are all a part of it, you know, and one day you will be able to say that you were one of those people in the room of 60 people. So that's all I'm going to say Hi.
Aaron Pete:One of my personal hallmarks of success is when people do follow you, because that proves that my platform whatever I'm doing worked, worked and is moving people in the right direction. I've had individuals say like oh, I got a new opportunity as a consequence of being on your part. Like that means everything to me, because it means that whatever's happening here, it's working and it's moving people in the right direction. That's all I can hope for you. So please do follow her. Please follow her journey. She inspired me during that taste of Abbey.
Aaron Pete:You inspired my partner, rebecca, and so I just I can't thank you enough for sharing this and having the courage to continue. When you look at the statistics we've talked about tonight, it's a challenging journey to be on and to look at it and go. I'm going to overcome those odds. I'm going to continue despite the clear adversity I'm going to face. It's such an inspiration to all of us to continue on that journey, so please give one more round of applause for her. Thank you so much. We're at the question journey and I've got to be honest, I was so happy with this graphic when I saw it. I thought it looked so good, and so I have to put the pressure on you, the audience, if anybody has any specific questions, any thoughts, remarks, questions for Rebecca around her journey, around how she's achieved where she's gotten to and is interested in sharing that. Am I literally the first one.
Aaron Pete:You are literally the first one.
Rebecca Sichon:Oh.
Aaron Pete:I'm not lying to you, but you were closer. Oh my God. Oh yeah, no pressure OK is this on oh my God.
Tim Srigley:OK, hello. So my question is specifically about process. Ok, because I feel like I've had a discussion with somebody, even here tonight, about a creative process, another creative writer which I qualify as, and so so much about the creative process is habitual, and I'm just wondering if you wanted to peel back the curtain, if you're comfortable with that, around your creative process and what that looks like on a day to day basis.
Rebecca Sichon:Yeah, I mean that's a funny question because I think that my creative process is definitely it's evolved in some ways, but I have to say that my favorite way to write a song and to really immerse myself. First off, I have to show up for myself. Like as much as I'd love to just have a song pop into my head every single day, that would be great. But I find that I really do have to apply myself and sit down at a piano or whatever and pick up an instrument. But my favorite way to write in one that has stuck with me since I was a little kid is it's pretty random, you might be like what, but I actually love to be in a fully dark room, so I'll turn off all the lights and I'll just be at my piano.
Rebecca Sichon:And I kid you not, I'm very dramatic and very emotional. So I like to my ways of writing definitely show that but I sit down and I just let my fingers find a chord or find a note and I just start to play and I just start to sing. And I think as I've grown older, I've tried to put like limitations on what I can do and as a child it was very exploratory and trying to figure out and play. So I'm trying to work on that more and just continue to play, but that that is my favorite method of just singing and just playing and seeing whatever comes to me, because sometimes when you turn off everything and you can just be be, you know, you end up just emoting amazing things that you never knew were in you. So yeah, that answers your question.
Rebecca Sichon:Yeah, thank you.
Vince Moes:Just a quick question, first of all, thank you, I appreciate it. I definitely could connect with some of the songs you shared, just things I've gone through and I appreciate that. So thank you for sharing your heart. Just a quick question, first of all, before you move to Toronto, are you going to be playing any other shows around here? And then, second question it's a practical one. I'm interested in singing myself, but I'm wondering about your warm up process. Do you do a pretty elaborate warm up? Yeah, I'd love to know about that.
Rebecca Sichon:Cool. Those are some great questions. Regarding Toronto, I'm actually it's probably going to be a short term move. My heart is in the Fraser Valley slash, vancouver, and all that because my family's here but I some shows. I am actually living in Kelowna right now, so it's a little I'm a little isolated for the winter, but I will hopefully have some shows in the spring before I leave, because I'm hoping to go to Toronto potentially for a couple months in the spring and that might be it. So I'm sure I will be around. But if you ever want to see any shows, it's always posted on my Instagram or my Facebook or my website. So another reason to follow me. That is where I would post shows, but as of now, nothing in this area, unfortunately.
Rebecca Sichon:And then to answer your warm up question, I do have an elaborate warm up. That's amazing that you're a vocalist yourself. That's fantastic. I actually started doing this particular warm up from a vocal coach named CQ Carol Quinn. She's based in Vancouver and I was going on tour two summers ago and I had like shows every single day and I remember calling or having a lesson with her and I'm like how is my voice going to survive? Because I was terrified about losing it, and she taught me these amazing methods, which is actually like physical stretching. So instead of the typical would you always hear anything? That's a vocal warm up? It is, but that's more of a workout, which is funny. So I got to see the difference of physically stretching. I do it. It's weird. Like you're sticking your tongue out, like you're stretching, you're physically massaging your face and it's actually physically warming up your face.
Rebecca Sichon:And I tell all my students do it. Oh, I don't know, it's pretty, it's pretty extensive, but it legitimately starts with making like a butterfly on your chest and bringing your chin forward and sitting in these stretches that just feel good and just elongate everything. And I tell my students that I teach you know what does an athlete do before they go onto the field they stretch. And the funny thing is is that as vocalist, you're expected to just use your instrument, but essentially it's so much more than that. So it's that, and it's also a combination of using a straw, like the straw warm ups.
Rebecca Sichon:I don't know if you're familiar with that Blowing into a straw and just it sounds really silly. If you're ever around me, well, I'm doing a warm up. You probably think I'm going crazy, but it's just a lot of trails and things that are inside a straw, so it's not damaging for your voice and it's through water, so it's just a softer way of getting your voice warmed up. But yeah, if you have more questions about that, I could really get into it. I love talking about it.
Aaron Pete:So the final thing I'd like to do tonight I have a book available for the winner of this and it's all about the science of sound, and I interviewed Adriana Barton about this. She wrote all about the science of sound, how it impacts us, why, when you're on a run or working out at the gym, why that sound, why that music tunes you into another gear where you're able to keep going, for whatever reason, that that's fuel, even though you didn't take a supplement, you didn't eat anything. Why it enables to encourage you to keep going when it's just sound in your ears. And so she goes through the science of it, how it helps cancer patients, how it helps other people. So we have that gift here tonight, but you have the immense honor, or displeasure, of choosing the one person who gets this book tonight.
Rebecca Sichon:Oh my goodness, ok, ok, russell Rupesang, he is not here oh.
Aaron Pete:I'm 99% sure he is not here tonight, ok.
Rebecca Sichon:OK, randy Robinson.
Aaron Pete:Yeah, he actually might have left as well. You're not very good at this.
Rebecca Sichon:Maybe I'll stick to singing, ok, amanda Srigley.
Rebecca Sichon:Yeah, yeah.
Aaron Pete:Do you?
Rebecca Sichon:want to come up here. Do you want me to come to you I?
Aaron Pete:don't want to go there.
Aaron Pete:She was one of the people who was opting for the introverts lounge but managed to come all the way down to the front end On our end. This begins to end our evening formally of the interview process. Rebecca, I can't thank you enough for being willing to do this. One of my hopes, one of my dreams why we put that crazy balloon arch up, which is all thanks to my partner, rebecca, and Tim, who are in the back.
Aaron Pete:You're not putting it on the big screen. You're like I can see it, but nobody else can see it. So maybe you know, yeah, yeah, switch it. You know I can. It's a big blue. You know, with the question marks You're still, but this is not.
Aaron Pete:You know I'm not crazy, okay, well, not everybody can see what you're talking about. See, this is, this is a question mark. See what I'm saying I wanted to show you. I don't. Why would I want to see a black wall man? Let's get it. So thank you to everybody in the back for putting this on tonight. They've been behind the scenes. They are turning everything you've done into a podcast that I can air, that you can re listen to, which is crazy to my brain for other people to listen to. My hope tonight is that you will be willing to go over to that balloon arch and that some of you will be willing to take a photo with Rebecca, post that on your social media and continue to raise awareness to this terrific not really local talent, because Kelowna is really far away from us, but this local great talent of somebody who's trying to share their gift with others, and so I'm hoping you might stroll out there and be willing to take photos with individuals.
Aaron Pete:We have our terrific photographer, Alex Hart, here tonight, who's willing to share that with people. I'm going to be perfectly honest with you guys. I have to go to the bathroom like crazy. So I appreciate you so much for doing this. I appreciate the back room so much for being willing to put this all together and to do all the audio. Please enjoy the rest of the food.
Aaron Pete:I'm going to lose that bet, so you're not invited next time if you fail this. So thank you again. I really appreciate all of you being willing to come out tonight. As I said, this has been such a tremendous honor for all of you to show up. All the kind words of people saying actually people showed up to your event meant a lot to me. So I really thank you for all coming out, taking the time, enjoying the evening. I hope it was fun. I hope if I posted another one you might go like I'll go to it, and he doesn't have to convince me to go. That would actually mean a lot to me. So thank you again all for coming out tonight.