Christine M. Knight
She wasn't always so self-assured and adventurous. It's been a tough and rewarding journey for Christine M. Knight whose original sound is now cascading through the airwaves as her new pop rock single ‘Masque’ rockets up the charts.
LAUREN: Let's just get this out in the open- What is the craziest thing that has happened to you in your music career?
CHRISTINE M. KNIGHT: Craziest in the sense of bizarre? Nothing; I’ve never been a wild thing. I’ve seen ‘close up and personal’ the hurt and cost of heavy drinking, drugs, and irresponsible behaviour.
Craziest in the sense of risk taking? I invested in myself as a composer and produced my own songs through a major recording studio in Sydney. That decision was despite all of the naysayers in my extended circle who told me ‘I’d missed that boat’.
I no longer perform publicly, so I hired talented session musicians for each song project. Their ability to read scored music was important as was their high degree of skill and professionalism. I worked with a great team both in production and post production and learned heaps as a result.
LAUREN: Your song ’Masque’ is receiving a positive listener response on radio. What was your initial reaction when you first heard your song playing on radio?
CHRISTINE M. KNIGHT: I first heard 'Masque' playing on the radio at a time when I least it expected it. I had the radio playing in the background while I was working on an article for a local newspaper. I write human interest stories for them. I wasn’t really listening. The music was functioning like white noise; something to help me focus on my article but not distract me.
As I worked, I dimly registered the opening bars of ‘Masque’. My first thought was, ‘Oh, no! Someone else has used the same beginning to a song as I did!’ It still hadn’t occurred to me that it was ‘Masque’ playing. That thought was followed by a moment of realisation – a blinding light moment accompanied by an amazing surge of excitement. I realised it was ‘Masque’. I thought, Wow! It was such a golden moment.
LAUREN: What was the inspiration behind your debut radio single?
CHRISTINE M. KNIGHT: ‘Masque’ evolved out of a relationship that I was exploring in my third novel 'Song Bird' during the developmental stage of that novel and after I’d finished research. During the research stage, I interviewed major names in the industry. They were incredibly generous discussing their experiences in getting to the top and staying there as were other musicians who were still working to achieve the ultimate success. Those experiences led to the fictional novel: ‘Song Bird’.
Writing ‘Masque’ helped me better understand Aussie rock legend Rick Brody’s situation, his relationship with singing sensation Nikki Mills - the songbird from Oz (characters in ‘Song Bird’) and the core issues they faced. Rick Brody is one of four pivotal men in Nikki Mills' life.
At the top of the charts for over sixteen years, Rick lived up to his ‘bad boy’ image and the stereotype of the industry: sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll. His fame became like a curse, and his music lost the heart that had connected him with and that spoke to his fans. In search of ‘heart’ and the ability to be real again in his music, he collaborates with Nikki Mills. He also plans to seduce her.
What Rick Brody doesn’t know is that Nikki is worldly wise, a survivor of domestic violence, and unlike any woman he has ever met before. She is determined to rise above the circumstances that her early choices placed her in and become the woman she feels she was meant to be. The tension between Rick and Nikki is reflected in ‘Masque’ and in the sexual tension in the lyrics.
I wrote the music and lyrics for ‘Masque’ when I assumed the persona and perspectives of Rick and then Nikki. I find music and lyrics amplify emotions and that they help me feel my way to expressing them in prose.
LAUREN: It is often said that great art arises from difficult experience. Is there something in your life experience thus far that you would describe as the ‘catalyst’ or ‘fuel’ for your desire to create music?
CHRISTINE M. KNIGHT: Although my life has, at times, been wonderful and truly beautiful, I have also experienced tragedy, suffering, and heart-breaking loss. In hard times, music works as a form of insulation. I get totally absorbed in the creative process and that gives me respite from the dark things in life.
Music has also been a way to express the incredibly beauty things in life. It is such a natural high when your spirit soars through song. It’s like I have wings.
LAUREN: How would you characterize yourself as an artist/musician? (Ex. Down-to-earth, serious, fun-loving, complicated…)
CHRISTINE M. KNIGHT: I would characterise myself as down-to-earth, practical, and yet complex. I think deeply about life, and I care about people. Like many Australians, I have a gently satiric sense of humour. Aussies, as a people, use humour to insulate themselves in times of hardship.
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LAUREN: What has your experience been like working with the other people on your team?
CHRISTINE M. KNIGHT: When I work with the session musicians I hire for one of my songs, I have the same feeling as when I hear Andrea Bocelli sing.
LAUREN: Did you come from a musical background? Are there other musicians in your family?
CHRISTINE M. KNIGHT: Yes, my father was a tenor, had a beautiful voice, and loved opera.
My grandfather played the fiddle and sang bush ballads and ditties as well. One of my favourite memories from staying with my grandparents is related to when my grandfather came home after having a few beers at the local pub. He’d be very jolly.
While Pop had his dinner, we’d have hot toast covered in melted butter and a thin smear of vegemite for supper. Then, when Pop had finished his meal, he’d get out his fiddle. We’d dance and sing exuberantly in the kitchen. It was one of those huge old country kitchens, not like modern kitchens nowadays.
My aunt was a skilled pianist and her sisters sang.
I’m the only one of my siblings though who wanted to be a musician. I am a contralto and play keyboard. They were more interested in sport and the visual arts.
LAUREN: What do you find most rewarding about being an artist? What do you find most challenging?
CHRISTINE M. KNIGHT: The most rewarding thing about being an artist – a composer as well as an author – is the ability to emotionally connect with my audience and to explore an aspect of the human condition truthfully. To do that I have to be able to step outside of a situation and analyze it and then be able to step into the situation and empathise with people who have that experience.
LAUREN: Who are your role models in music?
CHRISTINE M. KNIGHT: David Bowie and Bob Dylan are my role models in music because they wrote powerful narrative songs that resonated with their audience. Their styles are diverse. I was particularly influenced by Bowie because he wrote music from within, what seemed to me, to be a fictional construct. My current set of songs emerged from the fictional construct of ‘Life Song’ and ‘Song Bird’.
LAUREN: Describe your best or most memorable performance.
CHRISTINE M. KNIGHT: My most memorable performance dates back years ago to a small country festival in the years when I still performed. It was my first experience performing in front of a sea of people, most of whom had come to see the headliners.
Standing in the wings, I felt a rush of emotion including awe and nerves. For a brief moment, I felt how a rabbit must feel when its stunned by a car’s headlights. Then, all the years of rehearsal and performance kicked in. I became focused on the music and the performance and my emotions came under control.
If your readers have ever been at an incredibly close football game where the crowd becomes one voice, almost one entity, then you’ll come close to understanding how it felt to connect with the audience.
LAUREN: What advice would you give to young, aspiring artists out there who are unsure and need guidance?
CHRISTINE M. KNIGHT: An Aussie band, AD/DC, said it best. ‘It’s a long road to the top.’ It’s seriously hard work with long hours. For every headline success there are tens of thousands of musicians in the small arena who dream of making it big. Only a few do. Avoid writing songs where they all sound like variations of the same song but with different lyrics.
So don’t give up your day job. Having a CD or music on iTunes or Spotify doesn’t mean you’ll make money. Touring is important as is keeping your rights to merchandise.
If you are a composer like me, the journey is even harder. I’ve learnt that if I’m not prepared to invest in me then no one else will.
LAUREN: What's next for you as an artist? Is there a new single in the works? If so, what can you tell us about it?
CHRISTINE M. KNIGHT: I have seven songs produced as singles which are part of my first album ‘Song Bird’. The song styles are very different. I’m currently saving money to produce the final four songs. Working in a quality studio with fine session musicians and a skilled sound engineer costs heaps.
The ‘Song Bird’ album actually forms the core music for my adaptation of my novels ‘Life Song’ and ‘Song Bird’ into an original musical.
My American readers have told me that my stories have great appeal because my novels tread between the familiar and unfamiliar given the landscape is Australian. They say that the aspects of human conditions that I explore are not only universal but speak to them as authentic experiences that they connect to emotionally.
I am also drafting my fourth novel ‘The Other Side of the Rainbow’ and, when the need arises, I’m exploring issues from the novel through music and song. The music from that fourth novel will be on my second album.
LAUREN: That's wonderful! Thank you so much for letting us get to know you a little better. We wish you the best of luck and continued success.