Anwen Rose – PRESHOW RITUALS

In this Preshow Rituals segment, the emo rock artist, Anwen Rose, reveals what she does before taking the stage. You can check out the rituals, after the break.

Coming from a show choir background I definitely have some specific pre-show rituals and warm-ups I complete before taking the stage. It’s important to me to prepare my voice, get in the right mindset, and make sure I’m confident with the music I’m performing.

About an hour before showtime, I leave the venue and go on a walk. On that walk I quietly, half-ass sing through all of the songs I usually fumble or seem to keep randomly forgetting words to. I usually keep walking until I find a private space or wherever I parked my car. Any place where I can be as loud as I want. I then do a 5-10 minute thorough vocal warm-up “show choir” style. These include scales, tongue twisters, and singing through my full range in every register on various different vowel shapes. After that, I sing through the most difficult portions of my songs. The big belty parts usually. Sometimes I even practice those parts in a raised key so that on stage I trick myself into thinking those parts are easier than they are.

I then return to the venue. Drink hot peppermint tea with lemon, honey, and sometimes ginger. I try not to eat within an hour of showtime but if I have to: no dairy and nothing spicy. At this time I also make sure I have a full bottle of cold water ready to bring on stage with me and earplugs tucked in my socks in case I need em. If I’ve got one, I’ll also suck on a cough drop.

About 20 minutes to places, I round up my band members so we can all get our heads in the game together. During the final moments before I take the stage, I focus on getting my head right. I tell myself to go full out, leave it all on the stage, to not worry about making a fool of myself because the only thing that would really ruin the show is being boring. I try to remind myself of what my songs are really about and try to get in my feelings and really embody the story of my lyrics.

Beyond that, I just hop on stage, adjust the mic stand, and get ready to rock.

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