Q&A: Cortney Dixon
First of all, tell us about yourself, who are you and what do you do?
Hi! I’m Cortney, I’m a singer songwriter and guitarist from South Shields.
Why did you choose to become a musician/songwriter?
I chose it because no matter what else I tried to do, I’ve always gravitated back to music ever since I was a kid. I can’t keep away from it! When I’m writing and creating music it’s the happiest I feel. I think everybody has a thing that makes them lose total track of time. It makes you NOT want to check your phone and NOT want to know what’s happening on social media. Music is ‘that thing’ for me – I love that!
As a young musician/songwriter, who were some of your biggest inspirations?
I started off listening to punk music. The Clash and Stiff Little Fingers were my two favourite bands when I was about 12 and just starting to pick up the guitar. I then had my eyes opened to David Bowie, Kate Bush and Stevie Nicks and I was like OH MY GAWWD! I felt so inspired and all I wanted to do was write. Those 3 are still to this day, my biggest inspirations.
What do you feel is your biggest achievement in music so far?
I’ve just been included in BBC Introducing in the North Easts top 10 tips list for 2020. I’ve always been a big fan of the show and to have their support means the world! The list is made up of 9 other super talented local music creators and to be in their company is a big compliment. I’m Buzzing!
What are your biggest aspirations within the music industry?
My main goal is to be able to make a living out of the music I create, write not only for myself, but for other artists, and it’s always been a dream of mine to perform on Jools Holland, maybe a little while from that though… but hey, you never know haha!
If you could go back and give yourself one piece of advice as a young musician/songwriter, what would it be and why?
I think it would be to just always trust in my own ideas and be true to myself! I’ve collaborated with quite a few other writers now, and when I was younger I think I would always go with their ideas because I believed theirs would always be better and more intelligent than mine without giving mine a chance, but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve gained more confidence in my own writing ability and I know what I want to say. I just maybe wish I had of felt like that sooner.
Why is music education so important?
I went to Newcastle college and studied music and I found the two most important things I took from it was the music business lessons and working with other musicians on the course. I think it is so important to have a decent understanding of the business side of things when you are an independent artist, and I find working with other musicians everyday to be inspiring. I also found being surrounded by some really great players pushed me to want to better myself musically, I didn’t want to be just a singer that played D, G and A on guitar anymore. During college we got put into bands all of the time for assessments and from this I learnt how to act in a band environment, and being a solo artist for years prior, this was an experience I hadn’t had much of prior. It has lent itself very useful now I have my own band.