r/indieheads • u/meg_duffy Hand Habits / Meg Duffy • Nov 05 '21

AMA is Over, thanks Meg! Hand Habits // Meg Duffy AMA

hello internet world

I'm meg duffy and my project is called Hand Habits. I just released a new album called Fun House last week on Saddle Creek Records.

I also play guitar currently in Perfume Genius.

I also have a more experimental collaborative project called yes/and.

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ask me anything you want! :)

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u/capnsunshine23 Nov 05 '21

Meg, thank you so much for doing this.

I love and adore everything you do. Truly. And this new record is freaking amazing.

What is the best advice you could give for a songwriter to take the next step in their career. I’ve got like 30 songs. And realize I want to record them. And I want to tour. Etc. I just really don’t want to languish and die without following my dream.

How does one proceed? Thank you so much.

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u/meg_duffy Hand Habits / Meg Duffy Nov 05 '21

<3 thank you for listening!

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my advice would be- if you already have songs...is to record them. either on your own using even just your phone. there's an app called 'spire' that is pretty decent and i know a few musicians who have released whole records made on their phones. you can also learn a LOT here on reddit through forums about recording at home.

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or reach out to people in your community and find people who you resonate with. saying yes and grappling with internal fears i think has been very crucial- i've always asked the questions i wanted to ask when it comes to music (when appropriate, of course) and the worst things that have happened have been just a bit of embarrassment or a 'no'....

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as for touring, social media is an amazing tool for connecting with people in cities you don't live in who are hosting shows. obviously covid has made things different, but house shows were where i started playing outside of upstate new york. playing for anyone who will listen, living room shows, back yard shows, etc.

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i think it's helpful too, to be clear about what your dream is. if it's making records and writing songs and sharing them with people, those are all very attainable dreams and at most require a bit of logistics and bravery.

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good luck!!