Beth Keeping Interview

Here are the answers to your questions from Beth. Thank you so much! Let me know if you need anything else! :) 

MR: Hi Beth how have you been keeping during these difficult months. Have you been keeping yourself busy ?Hi! It's definitely been a challenging time of ups and downs. I've had periods where I've felt really inspired and other times where I've had no creative energy, but I've enjoyed having time to focus on my music. Before lockdown I was spending a lot of my time writing for other artists and running a movement for female songwriters called 'Write Like A Girl', so with those things on hold it's been nice to have more time to write for myself and connect with my listeners. I've also been going for lots of walks in nature and learning to slow down.


MR: Let's start right at the beginning. What got you into music and when did you find you have a talent for song writing ?
When I was really little I wanted to be an author - I was always writing short stories and I wrote a novel when I was about 13 years old. As I got a bit older I started to turn the stories into songs and sing in my bedroom, but it wasn't until I went to university that I had the confidence to start singing in public and pursue a career in music. Then I moved to London, started cowriting and networking and things grew from there!

MR: Listening to your lyrics I can very much relate to being bullied from a very young age. I was put in hospital by a group of bullies. I used that experience to become a good sportsman as well as joining the army I really don't think we recover from bullying we just learn to use that negative experience to become better people. What thoughts do you have and what advice would you give a young or old fan who is being bullied ?

I'm so sorry to hear that, that must have been such a tough time. My brother experienced severe bullying at his first high school too. I think you're right that those experiences stay with us – the verbal, off-hand comments I received from kids stuck with me and have definitely affected my confidence as an adult. One thing that helps me is to think about why the bullies are treating you that way, and remember that it likely has more to do with them and their own confidence issues or problems at home than it does to do with you. Some friends of mine were bullied quite severely by a boy in our secondary school and a few years ago they bumped into him in a local pub. The guy was really apologetic and feeling very heavy remorse about how he'd treated them when he was younger, and he tried to explain to them about his own issues and why he'd behaved the way he did. I look back at the boy who inspired Cool Kids who I had to sit next to in every class, and I think he acted the way he did because although he was one of the Cool Kids, he was sometimes teased by his friends, so he would pick on me and others to make himself look better.

I'd also encourage them to remember that it usually doesn't last forever. As a child you feel powerless sometimes to the status quo of high school, that you can do nothing about it. When you leave school that status quo usually fades away and, as I say in the song, you often find that those who were bullied for being smart or different are the ones who are most successful or interesting as adults! Of course bullying still happens in the workplace, but I think that as we get older we can find the confidence to call things out when we see them and stand up and say that certain behaviour isn't ok.

MR: Reading that one of your abusers is now a fan of yours must give you a huge middle finger to that person?

It feels pretty great, I'll be honest! I definitely released some of that energy writing this song. But the song is also about enjoying that feeling for a moment and then letting it go, forgiving and wishing them the best. I think one of the most powerful and effective things you can do is to be kind to someone who hasn't shown kindness to you.

MR: Let's talk about your music. You have an ep coming out or has it been released yet. Can you tell me a bit about the writing and recording of the record ?

I've actually put plans to release an EP on hold for now and focussing on singles, so I have a new song coming in the Autumn which I'm really excited about! As I have more time now with no live shows and very few sessions, I'm looking forward to spending some time writing and thinking about what stories I want to tell next, which could very well turn into an EP.

MR: The promotional side of the release, have you had much difficulty promoting the record and have you had much cancellations of concerts this year ?

Yes I had some really exciting plans to perform at shows and festivals with the 'Write Like A Girl movement I run' - we put on writers' rounds to champion women in music, and they're always such special shows so it was really sad when they were cancelled. I'm trying to make the best of it though and continue doing some live streams and connecting with fans online. I've had more time to promote my music to new listeners around the world and I've enjoyed hearing from people in countries like Taiwan, Malaysia and India who are now listening to my music!

MR: Finally going forward, Will we be seeing Beth Keeping on tour in 2021 or do you have any plans of touring around the globe ?

Hopefully! I'm a huge travel lover, so as soon as it is safe to do so I will be off travelling again in 2021 - there are so many places I want to explore! I'd love to do a few house shows while I'm over in South East Asia, so watch this space! Other than that, I'm hoping to get our Write Like A Girl gigs back up and running in 2021 and possibly do a house concert tour around the UK.