2014 Review | Welcoming The New Year.

Last December, I decided that 2013 had been one of the best years I'd ever had and so I decided to write a post on my Tumblr (chloehanksmusic.tumblr.com) that went over all of the things that had happened and just showed some appreciation of all the people I had been involved with that year. Lots of my Tumblr followers asked if I would be doing that again this year so I decided to do it on my blog so that I can write it up properly and share it with all of the people that follow me. 

2014 actually began pretty negatively. In hindsight it seems clear to me that it was actually one of the best things to happen to me in my whole life because it meant that I didn't waste any more time on somebody who didn't think twice about me. I've progressed so much this year that it isn't even a painful memory anymore. All of the thoughts and feelings associated with  Jan/Feb 2014 are so insignificant now that I don't even wish it never happened like I used to. In fact, I'm so thankful that it did happen. However; of course at the time it was devastating and I was certain that I was going to have one of the worst years of my life. It all led to me writing this song: Shoebox. What I learnt from this is that the people you always thought you'd need to exist don't always matter as much as you think; whereas, the people you never expected to love mean the most. 

 During the whole 'dusting yourself off' process, I decided I needed to prioritise what really mattered to me and what didn't matter as much. I decided that music meant more to me than anyone I was surrounded by at that time. I'd been wanting to get out and play gigs for years but had never really had the opportunity. I had to swallow my pride a little bit and literally beg pubs and lounges that run acoustic nights to let me play. I got to play my first proper set at a lovely pub in Alcester and received so much support it was a little bit overwhelming. As a result of this, I got the ball rolling and was soon playing at little acoustic gigs pretty much every few weeks. I'm so proud that I managed to get my first few gigs myself and didn't have to rely on anybody else. 

The Old Thatch Tavern - Stratford-UponAvon. 

One of my favourite places to play will always be The Thatch in Stratford. It has such a lovely atmosphere and has always been a wonderful evening for everyone involved. 

Meanwhile, my YouTube channel has really taken off in the last year since I made it nearly 2 years ago. I used my Tumblr to promote my videos as much as possible and I now have several videos up that have 1000+ views. This may not seem much to some people but I have worked so hard to get to that amount and it means the world. 

 I did a cover of the 1975's Chocolate back in February that was reblogged by a wonderful young lady, Tally who runs the tumblr page 'Cloudy Dreamers'. My video wouldn't have received nearly as many views without this lady so make sure you check out her account if you're a tumblr user. 

 Having been playing here and there for a few months, when it came to the summer months I was desperate to play a music festival. I was put in touch with an absolutely amazing musician: Chris Wright  and we got together and learnt a few songs to play together at Welfest. It is a festival near Stratford. It was an amazing day and led to one of the most valued friendships I have ever had. Chris is awesome and I've learnt so much from him since we met last May. We went to the beach together and filmed a cover of a song from my favourite TV show, Nashville: A Life That's Good. 

Welfest 2014. 

Brooklyn Rose, Chris Wright & Chloe Hanks.

 I was having such a good few months that I was desperate to let go of all the negative feelings I had been carrying with me since January. I wrote a song called Miss You to let out all the frustration and then I was ready to move on and let go. It's probably my favourite song I have ever written and after playing it for Chris we decided to record it properly. I have played the song at every single gig I have played since and people seem to really enjoy it which makes me very happy! 

 I also got to play an amazing gig at Fat Lil's acoustic lounge in June. I was thrilled to be invited to play as it was a venue I had always wanted to play at! From playing this gig I was also offered a slot to play on a radio show called 'The Strummer Room Project' which was an amazing experience and I received some amazing feedback from it. 

 Chris and I played another festival together at the beginning of my summer holiday supporting my dad's band 'Zool' and afterwards Chris offered to record a Demo CD with me. This was so amazing of him to do and it also meant I got to spend my whole summer holiday of school with my best friend doing what we both love to do most: make music! We recorded 3 tracks for the CD, all of which sound very different and I'm proud of each one in different ways. 
 During this time Chris took me busking in Witney which I had previously been terrified to do! We had so much fun and I have gone busking 3 times since which wouldn't have happened without Chris so make sure you check out his page because he's awesome. 

First time busking.

In October, I was lucky enough to go and see the amazing Ed Sheeran because my wonderful friend Matt brought me tickets for my birthday! It was an amazing experience and I will never be able to repay Matt for that memory. Ed is an incredible musician and such an inspiration to me. 


 By October, I was able to release the CD and it's doing very very well! I'm so proud of it and so thankful to Chris for producing such an amazing CD. I live in awe of this guys talent. 

My First Demo CD

The last few months my music has been very inspired by my idol, Taylor Swift's new album. I posted a quick cover on my soundcloud of my favourite track: I Know Places.  It is literally a 1 minute recording I did on my bathroom floor but it has 2.3K plays and has exceeded the maximum amount of downloads per track and so I'm very excited about that!;)

My songwriting has been at a bit of a standstill lately as I've been wanting to write a different kind of music. I've been writing lyrics the past few months but haven't put them to music yet. I happened to mention to Chris that I wanted to learn to play piano and so, because he's such a wonderful man whom I'm very lucky to have met, he managed to get me one for Christmas! I also received a Baritone Ukulele that I cannot wait to learn to play. Hopefully the new year will bring to you a lot more original material. 

So that leads us to New Years. It's been the best year for me personally and musically. I've met some amazing people and wouldn't change anything even if I could. I've never really made new years resolutions but I'm going to this year because this is the second year in a row that I have had an amazing year and wished I had documented more of it. So, my new years resolutions are: 1. To keep posting on this blog about my life and things that have happened. 2. to learn to play keyboard as well as I can. 3. To make sure everyone in my life knows how amazing and important they are. 

Make sure you let me know what your New Years Resolutions are in the comments and share with everyone what the highlights of your year have been! Make sure to follow my blog to hear more updates about the next year of my life:) 

Big love to you all, Chloe. x