AS long as you are brave enough to ask it, Abbe May is prepared to answer it.
The Wembley singer-songwriter is hosting an open discussion as part of a two-night fundraiser for her sixth studio album Red Flag.
“I’m an independent artist and it’s a changing industry,” May said.
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READ NOW“I’m heading into what’s known as mid-career so I’m technically not considered a youth anymore, and a lot of what our industry is structured for is to support young artists.
“So now I’m looking at broader ways to fund my work outside of the industry.
“I’ve always had a really close relationship with my hometown crowd and I thought rather than harassing people with crowd-funding campaigns, I might just put on two shows as an offering for some support as I head into this recording phase.”
The fundraiser will involve two “distinctly different” nights at Clancy’s Fish Pub in Fremantle on June 14 and 15.
“I wanted to give a little bit more insight into aspects of the way I work, the structures of the work and particularly the way I use catharsis as a driving force for making these records,” May said.
“So on the first night, in a solo setting, I wanted to make myself available to any questions about this.
“I know with my favourite artists, I want to know a lot about their processes and their philosophies so I’ll be making myself available to those kinds of discussions.
“Then on the second night, my band The Perth Girls and I will be doing a double set because we’ve got five albums now plus songs from the new record that are ready to play.”
May said she was “really looking forward” to the gigs and was willing to answer any question thrown at her.
“I don’t have anything to hide,” she said.
“I tend to spend a lot of time focusing on aspects of truth, knowing that my perception of an experience is my own perception and it’s not necessarily 100 per cent exactly how something has gone down.
“Being aware of that, and being an artist who writes about my experience, I feel like I have an ethical responsibility beyond not naming names.
“So with the Q and A, I’m really excited to discuss this kind of thing and when you’re as comfortable with the reality of truth as I have become, I don’t mind.
“You can ask me anything and if you’re prepared to ask me, I’ll respond.”
All money raised will go towards recording, mixing and releasing Red Flag, which May described as study of narcissism and existentialism delivered in a way that goes back to her roots.
“It’s quite an intense record and the themes are really quite an extreme contemplation of some fairly ugly and frightening stuff ad so I thought the best way to deliver it is with humour and with simple music – it’s definitely got a real country and real rock ‘n’ roll hint to it.”
THE ESSENTIALS Abbe May’s album fundraisers Where: Clancy’s Fish Pub, Fremantle June 14: solo set and open discussion June 15: double set with The Perth Girls Cost: $25 for one night or $40 for two Tickets: abbemay.com and Oztix