A veteran soul vocalist, Honey Larochelle has spent over a decade touring the world with, writing songs for, and singing backgrounds for legendary artists we all know and love, including Roberta Flack, Macy Gray, Joss Stone, Lorde, and many others. Honey offers beautiful advice about artists and their money mindset.
Soul Vocalist Honey Larochelle on Collaborating with Macy Gray, Lorde & Roberta Flack
TRANSCRIPT:
I’m so excited to announce that I’m giving an intimate interview at
Art&Heart’s Sacred Artistry Summit
coming up on May 12th, 13th, and 14th
And I’ve got a free ticket for you!
Created with love by my friend, award-winning recording artist Honey Larochelle.
She and I will be talking about why your authentic personal brand is the key to success.
There’s a killer lineup of artists, creatives, and leaders in the entertainment industry. You will receive actionable steps to increase your income, status, or creativity.
Plus there will be MANY high-value giveaways.
(Who doesn’t love a good high-value life hack? #AMIRIGHT)
Sign up now and grab your spot right away so you don’t miss out.
The intention of the Art&Heart’s Sacred Artistry Summit is to…
- remind you that you are HIGH VALUE and sacred
- reignite your spark
- give you a sneak peek at what’s possible beyond your limiting beliefs
Your creative friends need to know about this, please forward them this email and tell them to sign up! (You always gain more when you do these things with a buddy-ACCOUNTABILITY ANYONE?)
There will be about 20 of us, showing up, sharing how we did it, how we do it, and what we are about to do.
Consider this an exclusive invitation to a private party. A party where all the keys to your success are being passed around on hors d’oeuvres trays.
I know the entire team is most definitely committed to helping you build a dope-ass life and career. You just gotta show up.❤️
Grab your free ticket here!
Honey is my guest today on the podcast.
[00:02:36.690]
A veteran soul vocalist, Honey Larochelle has spent over a decade touring the world with writing songs for and singing background for legendary artists we all know and love, including Roberta Flack, Macy Gray, Joss Stone Lord, and many others. She’s the inventor of the Sea Saver singer Straw, a uniquely designed vocal warm up tool built to make voice exercises safer and more effective for singers and professional speakers. Honey uses Reiki strategy and leadership to transform the lives of artists in her Sacred Artistry program.
[00:03:26.490] – Diane Foy
All in all, Honey is a loving, trusting, vulnerable woman committed to making lasting impact on herself, her peers, her clients, her fans, and the world. You’re going to love this conversation between us as we explore her career. Talk about the Summit, but also she gives amazing, heartfelt advice on how we can tackle some of our limiting beliefs and change our money mindset as artists. She believes wholeheartedly that you deserve to be paid for your talents, and so I’m sure you’ll be inspired. I hope you enjoy it. For a transcript, visit Dianefoy.com 82. Honey, that’s a fabulous name. Welcome to the show.
[00:04:28.390] – Honey Larochelle
Thank you very much. Thanks for having me, too.
[00:04:32.970] – Diane Foy
So the exciting summit is coming up, and this isn’t the first time you’ve done that, right?
[00:04:40.090] – Honey Larochelle
No, this is my fourth time doing one of this magnitude. And so I feel like, you know, it’s interesting getting through, getting later on in your journey when you keep going and trying new things. Like, I remember my very first summit, and I winged it. I threw it all together in about 17 days. And the whole time my body was shaking and gyrating with fear and excitement and energy. And I was like, and you learned so much. And this time around, I have a full team. We have all these systems in place, and so we’re really able to focus on serving, which is what I always intended to do. I’m here committed to artists, creatives and heart based entrepreneurs. And my whole commitment is that I’m creating a space where they get to come and take a crash course on how to have success in the industry for free. We want to make it like, here’s a free resource for you. And if you take it on, like an online course, you can leave this experience actually having degree. Like, if you go to a College or a University for the music business, you’re going to learn the same stuff, but you’re going to learn it slower.
[00:05:53.590] – Honey Larochelle
You’re going to have some more extra details, maybe put into a book for you. But bottom line is we have real life experts, real life industry pros who are living it now, who are in today’s current industry. Not like, as long as it took to write a textbook and print that thing, because this is a liquid living alive industry.
[00:06:18.030] – Diane Foy
And would you say that the summit is three days coming up? Would you say that it’s specifically only for musicians?
[00:06:27.270] – Honey Larochelle
It is definitely not only for musicians. I think that musicians are going to gain a ton because I am a musician. And so I’m always speaking through that lens. Like, I can’t step out of that lens and just not be a musician. However, I have some experts who are coming on just to talk about how painting, for instance, can get you into a creative space or manifest more money for you or art, any type of heartbased entrepreneur, I don’t care. You could be a massage therapist. And some of this summit will most definitely serve you and help you expand your business and make more money. Yeah, because I believe we should all be earning while we’re learning. Like, I’m here to dissolve the starving artist narrative, and I’m here to dissolve the perfectionist within each and every one of us. We ain’t going to be perfect to get it out there. Pop it out there. Have some strategy and some thought, but pop it out there. Be clever, be good. But pop it out there.
[00:07:31.510] – Diane Foy
And who are some of your experts, like, what can I learn?
[00:07:36.430] – Honey Larochelle
Oh, God.
[00:07:37.220] – Diane Foy
Okay.
[00:07:37.590] – Honey Larochelle
Well, I mean, first of all, I have you on the summit.
[00:07:41.620] – Diane Foy
Which you could get.
[00:07:44.410] – Honey Larochelle
That’s a really big, huge win for us at Sacred Artistry. We’re very excited to have you, Miss Diane Foy. And we’re going to talk you and I about personal branding, about PR, about how to rock a release. I have Brian Noble, who, if you’ve been in the game a while, you definitely know who the show is. Yeah. Okay. So if you guys have been listening for a while, then you know who Breeble is. What I love about Brie is she’s constantly upping her game. She’s the perfect example of somebody who’s like, here’s what I offer. Oh, and now I’ve added this because the industry is liquid. And so here’s now what I offer, which includes what’s going on actually today. And here’s what else I offer, which includes actually what’s going on today. She’s an incredible speaker. She’s been on with us before. We have a ton more. I’m blanking at the moment because my computer is going slowly and I like to look at lists. But let me just use my brain for a second here. Oh, my God. We have Eric Campbell, who’s got a really cool sync community called Control Camp, and he offers free sync advice to songwriters.
[00:08:55.300] – Honey Larochelle
So if you wanted to put your songs in music, in TV or film or commercials, he’s going to be spewing some of the knowledge on how to do that. And there will be an opportunity to join his community, which I think is to me, I was like, wait, why are you doing this for free? This is way too good to be offering. What are you doing? But he’s like, this information should be free because I’m committed to everybody knowing the stuff which I found to be really inspiring, powerful. Alexis Cohen is joining us, and she’s the one I was just speaking about that she’s got a lot more to offer than simply how to use paint to paint as art. So, like creating a piece of art, the physical, tangible piece of art, to expand on your creativity and manifest. And I have a woman called Nicole Blonde who has a company called this is Equilibrium. And it’s really about keeping your balance between having your health and well being in balance while you’re playing this game, which even me today, having gone through my being kicked out of my Google account and being in a moment of pure stress and distress and dysfunction, finding a way.
[00:10:15.750] – Honey Larochelle
So I offered myself a little Reiki prior to this meeting. Right. I think it’s important to have tools in your pocket to stay.
[00:10:24.090]
Okay.
[00:10:24.590] – Honey Larochelle
You get to be okay. None of this matters if you’re not okay. This is why we had the Amy Winehouses of the world. And you know what I mean? The Janice Joplins of the world. Can you imagine if they had been okay.
[00:10:38.530] – Diane Foy
Yeah.
[00:10:39.360] – Honey Larochelle
What they could have contributed that’s? Just a few. But there’s many more. We have 21. Wow.
[00:10:47.930] – Diane Foy
That’s amazing.
[00:10:50.050] – Honey Larochelle
Three full days of punk, baby.
[00:10:51.950] – Diane Foy
Yes. And it’s live because a lot of summits are all just pre recorded interviews. And so the cool part is that it’s live so people could ask questions.
[00:11:02.830] – Honey Larochelle
Exactly. So we’re offering it for free. And if you sign up for free, we’re going to be monitoring the chat and letting you pop your questions in the chat at the end of each interview. And if you are one of the VIP purchasers, if you buy the VIP package, then you’ll be inside the Zoom Room with us. And you can just unmute and ask and have actual face time with these people, which is very high value. A lot of these people charge a lot of money to just get face time.
[00:11:27.620] – Diane Foy
Yeah.
[00:11:29.030] – Honey Larochelle
It’s super high value. It’s a complete no brainer to me. I think if you’re going to take it on, take it all the way on.
[00:11:35.440] – Diane Foy
But get excited.
[00:11:36.490] – Honey Larochelle
It’s happening. 1213. 14 of this month.
[00:11:39.160] – Diane Foy
Yes. The link will be in the show notes to sign up right away. And so I’m also excited to have you on because you were Honey Larouche. Your bio is very impressive.
[00:11:54.430] – Honey Larochelle
Thank you. I have a very sexy resume, as I like to call it. Sexy resume.
[00:12:00.310] – Diane Foy
I love the name drops. You have worked with Roberta Flack. That’s fantastic. Macy Gray, Josh Stone Lord. And so what are some of the things that you’ve done with them? I know some of them were you were singing with some of them you were songwriting with.
[00:12:19.810] – Honey Larochelle
Tell me a little bit about that.
[00:12:21.750] – Diane Foy
Yeah.
[00:12:23.090] – Honey Larochelle
So with Macy, I actually ended up signed to her record label. So I was signed with her for three years. And she was putting me in the studio with hundreds of the best musicians and producers in Los Angeles. Over the course of those three years, I was also touring with her sometimes as her background singer. And I was also in the studio with her vocal, producing and writing. So when she would go to the studio, sometimes it’d be like we go at 10:00 p.m. And we’re there till four in the morning and a song will be created. And then she’s recording the song, and I would be helping with the vocal cutting, which is my superpowers. Like, how do you get the best vocal out while you’re in the booth? Like as if you’re having a live performance, but it’s just perfect as well. So that’s one of my passions. And so she had me doing that for her. And then yeah, we would co write some songs with Lord. I only got to do one gig with her, which turned into ten days of rehearsal. And then we played Coachella Cool, and that was really special.
[00:13:36.320] – Honey Larochelle
That was really incredible for me to just get to watch how she put the show together. It was really cool because I’m usually with soul and jazz Legends, and it’s not often that I’m seeing, like, how a pop star does it.
[00:13:49.720]
Right.
[00:13:50.590] – Honey Larochelle
It’s a totally different what’s different? Well, the whole level of production and the amount of rehearsal is a lot more. When you’re a pop star, there’s a lot more money being tossed around, and so you can afford to have big stage props, moving parts, dancers, elements of surprise, lighting cues. You’re bringing people on the road with you who are in charge of the pyro, in charge of the lighting and all of this other stuff. Whereas with my personal experience with the brand new Heavies and with Roberta, it’s like, get your musicians on stage. Make sure that their instruments are tuned and in good condition, make sure the lighting is warm, and then hit go. You know what? I set the level. Yeah. So it was great for me to witness, like, oh, my God, they converted, like, a train container into a moving club on a levitating arm. And so then the dancers were in there, and they were not just dancing, they were acting. They were, like, acting out a scene, and it was like, suddenly we’re all drunk, and then now we’re all really zombied out and we’re all standing still. Okay. And now we’re all making out with each other, and now the whole club is tilting to the side, and we’re strategically rolling out acrobatically.
[00:15:11.870] – Honey Larochelle
It was incredible.
[00:15:13.220] – Diane Foy
It’s also Coachella you up your game for Coachella.
[00:15:16.070] – Honey Larochelle
That’s right, Coachella’s Epic.
[00:15:19.730] – Diane Foy
Wow. How did you get into all this?
[00:15:24.350] – Honey Larochelle
Okay, so long story short, New York was always calling me from a very young age. I was just like, I’m supposed to be in New York City. I’m going to close my window because I’m in Hollywood now, and Hollywood is loud.
[00:15:38.360] – Diane Foy
And where are you from?
[00:15:40.450] – Honey Larochelle
I was born in Vancouver, and we moved to Texas, and then we moved to Florida. Orlando, Florida. And I was in a girls group, and we got signed to a producer, Fight Ren, who did, like, a lot of in sync and Backstreet and Brittany and that kind of whole pop scene. In that time, it was pretty big. And then when the group began to dissolve, I was like, this is my moment. I’m finally going to New York, and within a year, I had an eleven piece band that was playing all the circuit. And one of my girlfriends called me and said, hey, the brand new Heavies are auditioning. And I had auditioned for John Legend and completely botched the audition. Like, I left the audition crying, and I made up a story that I just don’t audition. I just don’t do that hilarious. Now looking back. But anyway, I went to the audition and nailed it. So I got this first world tour, 2006, brand New Heavies, one of my favorite bands. And DIY Davenport left me a voicemail on my phone was like, we would love to invite you to come with us to Japan.
[00:16:46.370] – Honey Larochelle
And I was like, oh, my God, jumping up and down in my living room. It was amazing. So we did the first tour, and then they were like, okay, next month we go on tour with Macy as a double headlining tour of America on a bus. So that was my first bus tour, which, by the way, I love me a bus tour. The buses are so the best sleep of my life. They just walk you to sleep, baby. Anyway, Macy and I fell in love on that tour. I just was like, here’s my demo. She was like, I hear that, you know what you’re doing. Like, this is really good. And she just kind of kept inviting me into her atmosphere and stratosphere. And she ended up signing me a year later. And the guitar tech, oh, gosh, how did it all happen? So there I am. I’m with the brand new heavies. I’m with Macy. And my girlfriend calls in and says, hey, the soprano for Jostone can’t do this Brazil tour. You want to hop on the tour? And it just continues to happen like that, right? Once you’re in the circuit, people start to know, oh, this person is fast, and this person is good.
[00:17:58.340] – Honey Larochelle
And I can confidently refer them and know that they’re going to show up and be professional, and they’re not going to make me look bad. I’m not going to get a call later from somebody saying, who the hell why would you refer that person? Because we know it’s all connections. It’s all about, like, who you know and how you relate. Like, what kind of relationship do you have? Do you have the type of relationship where you can confidently say, Here, call Steve and just know that when they call Steve, Steve is going to represent.
[00:18:29.490] – Diane Foy
Yeah, because it’s all about relationships, whether it’s for the referrals or if it’s for they got to hang out with you on tour.
[00:18:37.800] – Honey Larochelle
On a bus, that part.
[00:18:40.060] – Diane Foy
Do they like you?
[00:18:41.400] – Honey Larochelle
Yes. Or are you annoying? Right? Yeah. And I think looking back, I was very annoying, but I was also very good. So I just thank God you have a little mix and balance. I think there were people I can look back now and go, oh, I can see why they would have been annoyed with me because I have grown so much, and hindsight is 2020.
[00:19:03.790]
Yeah.
[00:19:04.110] – Honey Larochelle
But I made it through all those things. I got the Brazil tour with Josh. The guitar tech on that tour was like, you need to meet Roberta. And he called Roberta and said, hey, I got this soprano. Do you need her? And she was like, Bring her to the rehearsal on Tuesday. And I went to the rehearsal, and I sang one song, and she said, I’m snatching you up, and we’re leaving Thursday. And then it was like, I was in Thailand on that Thursday. It was crazy. It was one of those whirlwind experiences. Wow. And then I was with her for ten years.
[00:19:39.770] – Diane Foy
So all of this that you’ve worked with all these artists, was that like a few year period or is that over the last ten years?
[00:19:48.470] – Honey Larochelle
It’s been since 2006.
[00:19:50.620] – Diane Foy
Yeah.
[00:19:51.360] – Honey Larochelle
So that’s what is that? For 16 years, I’ve been touring now and riding, and in that time, my friends Chad and Ian from a group called The Great Big World became very famous. They wrote this song Say Something, and Christina Aguilera heard it and was like, this song could change the world. Excuse me, I need you to fly to La tomorrow and rerecord it with me. And then that song became a huge smash, and they got signed to Drive Records with what’s his name? La Reid. And then that led to me having opportunities at Drive because I was able to write with my friends and produce vocals for them. So it’s just like, you know, you just keep surrendering to the process and being in gratitude for what you have and controlling the things that you can control and letting go of control of all the things that you cannot.
[00:20:56.580] – Diane Foy
Yes. And what was your dream going into it? Was it you wanted to Beyonce.
[00:21:06.220] – Honey Larochelle
I wanted to be Beyonce famous. I thought when Destiny’s Child came out, I was like, oh, they’re just like me. I’m going to be just like that. And at the time, I was in a girls group, and I had it in my head that that’s what it was going to look like. Letting that part of my dream go was a process. I definitely, you know, when I realized that a girls group was not my dream, and then it was like, well, I still want Fame. And that was because I watched all these other famous people having these experiences that I could see in the media, and I assumed that their whole life looks like what it looks like in the media.
[00:21:46.800]
Yeah.
[00:21:47.110] – Honey Larochelle
But then with the development of social media, I’ve witnessed how even my social media looks like my life is incredibly perfect. And I’m still here experiencing what parts of it aren’t perfect. And everything is perfect. But obviously, we have dark times, we have sad times, we suffer, we experience pain, and we don’t post about that, mostly because there are people who will be like, oh, wow, you’re going to bring your pity party to the public. But the way you do it.
[00:22:23.120] – Diane Foy
I think people connect when you have a vulnerable when you tell vulnerable stories. But, yeah, you don’t want it to come off as complaining. True. It’s just like, I’m going through it right now. Yeah. And I’m going to come out the other side, but right now I’m here.
[00:22:41.850] – Honey Larochelle
I also think when you’re going through it and you’re sharing about it, it’s good to know why you’re sharing? Like, are you looking for advice, or do you just need to be heard right now? Which both are completely okay. But if you can be clear about what you need, what kind of support, what would support you most in your in people’s response? People have, you know, there’s this thing called the Helper’s High. People want to help, and sometimes they think they’re helping by yelling at you, oh, stop being a Debbie Downer. And sometimes that doesn’t help me. Sometimes I like a little slap, a little slow. Yeah, sometimes. And other times I’m like, I really need to be held and nurtured like a baby. Right now. I’m tender and raw, man. And the clearer I am, and the clearer I am able to communicate where I am, the better the support becomes.
[00:23:49.190] – Diane Foy
You have to actually ask for help. I’m not good at that.
[00:23:54.230] – Honey Larochelle
One of the things we do inside of Sacred Artistry. So Sacred Artistry is actually like my coaching program. And the reason I’m bringing this up is because of what you just said is I’m not good at that. And one of the games we play inside of Sacred Artistry is called the Notice and Celebrate game because our words are spells. And when you say things like, I’m not good at that, then the universe, God, Allah, Buddha, whoever you’re talking to, I don’t really care. The universe is being incredibly obedient. And literally anything you say, you get to be right about right. And so if you’re committed to not being good at it and I’m not judging you, please know, it’s like an opportunity to notice our language.
[00:24:43.620]
Yeah.
[00:24:44.750] – Honey Larochelle
Heal the language. So we start with, I can’t, I should. I never. I’m not. Those are the simplest ones to begin noticing in our language. And when we shift our language, if literally all you do is shift your language, you will notice a complete transformation of your life. Like, my abundance has so tripled in money and in time and in love and in joy and happiness and breakthrough simply because I’ve been willing to monitor my language. Right. Our words are so powerful.
[00:25:22.440] – Diane Foy
So you pay attention to whenever you say, I can’t, I’m not those kind of things.
[00:25:27.790] – Honey Larochelle
So in the game, when you notice I’m not good at that or whatever come out of your mouth, you stop everything right there. You do a disruptor of the neuro pattern. Right. So it’s like everything has to stop. I don’t care if I’m at the grocery store about to pay my check. The teller gets to wait while I process this. Right. Okay. So then we do our opponentopono prayer. I’m sorry. Please forgive me. I love you. Thank you. And you may get to say it a couple of times in order to really feel your energy shift. And then you celebrate. And that can just be as simple as like, yes, or like you have a physical celebration that sort of locks in the shift, and they’re very minuscule. They’re micro shifts. So that gets to happen over and over and over until the neuro pattern is there’s a break in it. Now, it’s very rare that I’m going to say I can’t.
[00:26:29.720]
Right.
[00:26:31.490] – Honey Larochelle
I might say I’m not sure how to do that. Let me see. Can I figure it out? Or I might say, up to now, I’ve never had success doing that. I’m willing to try, yes. But immediately the energy behind all of those sentences has shifted. It’s a higher vibrational sentence, because every word is a vibration. So then with that higher vibrational sentence, and I’m calling forth the possibility, and so I can’t make a million dollars. Like what? No, I could. I don’t know how yet. I’m working on it. I’m looking for the creative possibilities. I’m open to money and different opportunities to create that money. Do you have any ideas?
[00:27:15.370] – Diane Foy
Right.
[00:27:15.740] – Honey Larochelle
Immediately universe is like, oh, did you want to make a million dollars? Well, here’s a bunch of ways. Let me put possibility on your path.
[00:27:24.780] – Diane Foy
Right. Yeah, I know. I’ve done that with I never say I don’t have time. That’s not a priority for me right now. Yeah, I’ve done that switch. I love that, because that’s always the excuse of like, oh, I don’t have time for that. I don’t have time for that. We all have the same amount of time.
[00:27:50.740] – Honey Larochelle
Exactly.
[00:27:51.360] – Diane Foy
But it’s not a priority for me right now.
[00:27:55.320] – Honey Larochelle
Yeah. And that’s the same with I can’t afford it.
[00:27:58.710] – Diane Foy
Yeah. Which is not a prior drive for me right now.
[00:28:02.090] – Honey Larochelle
Yeah. And then selling, being an artist and being a creative and being an entrepreneur, music, whatever prior. We get to sell ourselves. We get to sell our creations. We get to sell our brand. We’re always selling, which is an enrollment game. Right. It’s a game of can you get somebody at the emotional level to connect to you or whatever your offer is? And in order to have them connect, you get to connect to them. So I can’t afford it will always mean I don’t see the value, right?
[00:28:41.190]
Yeah.
[00:28:42.170] – Honey Larochelle
It’s not hidden where it’s supposed to. It’s not hitting that spot. Okay, great. Let’s keep looking for the spot. Where are you emotionally open? Where is there space for growth? What’s missing for you? And if we approach all of our potential fans and clients from those inquisitive curiosity spaces, there’s so much more possibility. And then connecting to you, the more generous you are and you’re seeking and you’re searching, the more love you get.
[00:29:24.790] – Diane Foy
Yes. All that was so fascinating. And I think the mindset, the money mindset has been tough for a lot of artists, especially with musicians. I find that they will spend the money on the recording. Oh, I need this, like, thousands of dollars on a music video and no money for marketing.
[00:29:52.390] – Honey Larochelle
Yes. And it’s like when you go to the gym and you want to look good. You may find yourself working on your biceps all day long, right. We call that the vanity workout. So I’m going to do my biceps, I’m going to do my triceps and I’ll do a little squatting, and then I’ve done my workout. And it’s literally like I’m just building up the muscles that I know are going to look good externally. Meanwhile, my core and my back, the parts that are going to keep me sustainable are weak and fumbly, and I’m going to end up walking around, like, looking like the word is escaping me. I keep wanting to say Tasmanian devil, but that’s not the word I’m looking for. The guy who’s, like, big and buff up top and he’s got no legs, right?
[00:30:42.330]
Yes.
[00:30:43.550] – Honey Larochelle
Like big old arms on this tiny little body.
[00:30:46.290]
Yeah.
[00:30:46.880] – Honey Larochelle
So it’s the same with our careers. Like, we are vain. Our ego is there to protect us. We love our egos. We are thankful to have them. We need them. And yet we get to invite them to just sit at the table with us and not run. You don’t get to drive the train ego. Because if you’re driving the train, guess what? $6,000 on a music video and literally $0 for a marketing budget that’s happened in my life. That was my ego. Now that video is sexy as a great video and it got 1000 views.
[00:31:25.620]
Right.
[00:31:26.010] – Honey Larochelle
You know what I mean? So these are lessons learned. Yeah. And it’s also more fun. Like, I want to have fun creating a big video with a whole cast and crew, and we all get to applaud when the director says, that’s a wrap. And we get to eat the catering and the craft services, and we get to have these mainstream experiences. And so I’m sorry, I forgot to close my windows. I’m in Hollywood.
[00:31:50.270]
Good.
[00:31:52.770] – Honey Larochelle
So we get to have these mainstream. We want to have these mainstream experiences. And I wouldn’t actually trade that. Like, some lessons are better learned the hard way.
[00:32:02.810]
Yeah.
[00:32:03.610] – Honey Larochelle
Because I’m so thankful that I did that. I will never do that again.
[00:32:07.710] – Diane Foy
Right.
[00:32:08.540] – Honey Larochelle
But it was such a huge lesson. It caused a lot of strife and stress in my internal, which had me then barking at other people and pointing fingers and trying to place blame. And, like, it was a real lesson in leadership and decision making skills. Sound decision making skills. And all of these things are things that I’m committed that none of my clients ever go through again. None of my friends ever go through again.
[00:32:36.700] – Diane Foy
Yeah. Some things you do need to learn on your own. I think that’s maybe why a lot of my clients are maybe a little older, because when you’re young and you just think everything’s going to be easy or I want the quick fix. Like, I’m going to hire a marketing team to do the whole social media stuff for me. I’m going to hire a publicist. It’s like do you have all this money? And if you’re not ready for it, then you’re going to complain in the end that you didn’t get the results you wanted.
[00:33:13.890] – Honey Larochelle
And you’re going to look for someone to blame.
[00:33:15.950] – Diane Foy
Exactly. And so now, even through coaching, when I first started coaching artists again, they want to skip the personal branding and, like, just can we get to you teaching me social media and publicity. You don’t know what you’re going to sell yet. Like, you don’t know what you’re promoting because you need to figure out what’s in here. Like, you need to figure out what do you really want? Why do you want it? And what parts of your story can you tell that will connect with people? And it’s deep inner work. So I get it if you want to skip it. But it’s the magic that’s going to help everything else go a lot smoother.
[00:34:05.370] – Honey Larochelle
I’ve definitely seen artists who are incredible and who I’ve witnessed when they put their content out. I’m like, what the hell? That doesn’t represent who you are at all? And it’s like, it stinks. I can see you faking the funk. I can see you trying to pretend because you forgot to do the most important part, which is really connect to your why and really connect to your I call them your Bob, your avatar, your ideal fan, whatever you want to call them. But connect to their why as well. Adele’s fans are going through something. They’re sad and they want to lament. And she’s clear. That’s who she’s writing for. So she’s not writing half an album of, like, let’s celebrate and half an album of let’s lament.
[00:35:00.340] – Diane Foy
Right.
[00:35:00.830] – Honey Larochelle
The whole record is like the breakup record. We’re getting a divorce record. Like, that’s what the record is, right. It’s, like, so clear branding. And that’s what made her number one artist in the world.
[00:35:14.340] – Diane Foy
Yeah. I always say, like, the artists that you love, you probably love them for more than just how amazing their music is. You love the way they dress, you love their attitude, you love the stories they tell and all of it. That’s what makes the superstars.
[00:35:33.830] – Honey Larochelle
Totally. And yeah, as you were saying that, I was thinking, who my favorite? Emily King is one of my favorite artists. Are you familiar with her?
[00:35:43.830] – Diane Foy
Emily King?
[00:35:45.150] – Honey Larochelle
Yes.
[00:35:45.590] – Diane Foy
I was thinking Elle King, but no, I don’t know her.
[00:35:48.920] – Honey Larochelle
Emily King is worth listening to amazing artists. And I watched her. I saw her for the first time in New York City at the Nokia Theater, and she was like, curly mixed chick with a guitar and wearing a hoodie and jeans and just, like, being incredible and also had this, like, I’m not trying to be perfect persona. Right. She was like, I’m in a hoodie and jeans. There’s no heels, there’s no sequin bra. Like, this is what it is.
[00:36:18.460] – Diane Foy
This is who I am.
[00:36:19.900] – Honey Larochelle
Yeah. And she was so incredible, and I loved the nonchalant. I loved that part. Now, years later, she’s transformed and rebranded, and her brand is now very Frida. She’s giving me Freeda, but it’s like classy, sort of suits, like pantsuits and rose petals. And there’s just something very, like, curious and simple and very tasteful, like, high quality, which is also what her music is. I don’t know why that’s what came up as you were saying that because I don’t actually know her story. I know that she’s a mixed girl. I know that she got signed and got dropped. And at the time she got dropped, I thought, oh, my God, how could they drop somebody as good as her? But that’s the record label game. It’s like, are you Rihanna? And I know that her mom is white and her dad’s black, just like my mom. Her mom actually is in radio. Anyway, that’s really all I knew about her. But I’m obsessed.
[00:37:31.940] – Diane Foy
Yeah.
[00:37:32.220] – Honey Larochelle
She’s like, she’s somebody that I will listen to over and over without knowing her story. But it is something about the branding. It’s subtle, but so impactful.
[00:37:44.720] – Diane Foy
And even though there was a branding kind of adjustment or change, it’s probably still both authentic to her.
[00:37:52.120] – Honey Larochelle
Totally. Exactly. Here’s how you glamorize your nonchalance. It’s like glamorize is an interesting term here because it’s not really about glamour, but it’s like, if you’re going to scale up your nonchalant, do it, but still have an incredible face beat, but have a professional do it. And if you want that, like, I’m not wearing any makeup look. Still have the sprayed the perfect concept.
[00:38:28.040] – Diane Foy
No makeup makeup. I was a makeup artist. It’s called the no makeup makeup.
[00:38:33.020] – Honey Larochelle
We call that the beat system. You know what I’m saying? You don’t beat the face. No makeup makeup. Yeah. She, like, kept her brand authentic.
[00:38:48.270] – Diane Foy
Yeah.
[00:38:49.100] – Honey Larochelle
The authenticity, isn’t it?
[00:38:50.770] – Diane Foy
Yeah. It feels connected. You feel connected if you’re like, yeah, this is who they are. Years ago, there would be record labels that put a brand on you. I’m sure it still happens then a lot of those artists came out later of, like, that was so not me, right?
[00:39:19.970] – Honey Larochelle
Yeah. And that’s one of the things I’m excited to talk to you about at the summit is like, how personal branding is the core of everything. And we have personal branding. Like you said, it is overlooked by a lot of artists and the PR aspect. Right. Like, everybody dreams of being highlighted in Vogue magazine or Vanity Fair or whatever magazine or editorial of your choice. And none of us know what it takes to get in there. None of us really know understand what that means. And again, it’s the subtlety of the story. So I’m excited for artists to really get a deep dive into the subtle flex.
[00:40:08.810] – Diane Foy
Yes. And it’s a process. You got to be. I’m always like, slow down. Go from you’re not even ready to go from completely unknown to the cover of Rolling Stone at all. There are so many stops along the way that will prepare you for that.
[00:40:33.850] – Honey Larochelle
Yeah. So I’m excited to dive into that with you. And, you know, I really want people to leave that experience going, okay, here’s my next step. Here’s where I get to start. Here’s a checklist. Once I’ve gotten through this checklist, then I go over here to this step.
[00:40:53.080] – Diane Foy
Right. Yeah. Cool. This has been so lovely talking to you. We talked for hours.
[00:41:02.030] – Honey Larochelle
I know. I love when we meet Ken folk, and we’re on the same vibe and lovely.
[00:41:06.590] – Diane Foy
I get you.
[00:41:07.340] – Honey Larochelle
Yeah, for sure.
[00:41:09.800] – Diane Foy
So what is your why?
[00:41:12.370] – Honey Larochelle
Well, like I said at the beginning of this, my why is the starving artist narrative really crippled me for a long time? When the pandemic hit, I was not prepared, and I went through a deep depression around the word essential worker. I made up some story that artists aren’t essential because it was the first time that the whole world was threatened with this life threatening thing that music couldn’t really save you from could heal your heart, and it could maybe heal your spirit and give your immune system a boost. But I wasn’t thinking that way. I was not essential at that point.
[00:41:52.280] – Diane Foy
Right.
[00:41:53.240] – Honey Larochelle
And what it took for me to climb out of that was a ton of personal work. I became a Reiki healer, mostly to heal myself, and it did heal me. But healing others is way more rewarding. Healing yourself is mandatory, and then healing others is rewarding. Right. Because there’s this thing called the Helper’s high. So my why is so that nobody else ever feels not essential, so that every artist knows that they are, in fact, sacred. And when you look at the word sacred, what does that mean? It means worthy of worship. And if you tell an artist most artists right now you are sacred, you yourself are sacred. And enough, you don’t need to be combined with anything else to become sacred. You’re already sacred. Worthy of worship. The magnitude of that makes people uncomfortable. Most people will hear that sentence and think, well, no, not me. I mean, obviously, I still have to have my guitar or not without my lipstick or whatever their child blanket is, their thumb suck is. And so my Y is so that everyone gets to tap into their birthright of abundance. And that means abundance of money, abundance of time, joy, and especially abundance of worth.
[00:43:17.540] – Honey Larochelle
Self worth.
[00:43:18.910] – Diane Foy
Yeah. That’s amazing.
[00:43:22.630] – Honey Larochelle
That’s my commitment.
[00:43:24.320] – Diane Foy
Oh, the summer is going to be so good.
[00:43:26.900] – Honey Larochelle
It’s going to be magical.
[00:43:28.230] – Diane Foy
It’s going to be magical. Everyone has to come. That’s so great. Well, thank you so much. This has been wonderful.
[00:43:35.390] – Honey Larochelle
Thanks for having me. And I’ll see you soon at the summit.
