Dee's morning routine on show days: small habits, big payoff
Every vocalist knows the strange stillness of a few hours before music fills a room. Dee's morning routine on show days has settled into a quiet choreography that begins long before the first song is even thought about. The schedule is unflashy, almost stubborn in its consistency, and it has become the spine of her performing life.
Following Think13's year of road-tested performances across venues in Melbourne, Sydney, and Adelaide, those habits have barely budged. They are the practical pulse that keeps her voice, energy, and mind cooperating once the lights warm up. Looking back at Dee and Christoph reflect on their first year as Think13, the pre-show morning is where much of the duo's stage discipline quietly gets built.
Waking with the sun in Melbourne
When a gig lands in Melbourne or Sydney, the alarm goes off around 6:15 a.m., usually before the spring sun has finished spilling past the curtains. Dee avoids the snooze button on performance days because a slow, groggy start tends to make her voice feel heavier than it should. Three minutes of bedside stillness is enough to set the tone.
She opens the window, lets in the morning air, and studies the day's run sheet. For a city like Sydney, where peak-hour traffic through the Harbour Tunnel can double a simple cross-town trip, that mental rehearsal of the journey matters as much as any physical warm-up.
If the schedule allows, she walks down to a local cafe for the first coffee of the day. A long black from a Brunswick Street barista or one of the familiar spots around Fitzroy is a small pleasure she refuses to skip. Even on tight mornings, the ritual remains essential.
Fuel that doesn't fight the voice
Breakfast leans toward calm, predictable fuel rather than anything showy. Around 7:00 a.m., Dee eats a bowl of oats soaked the night before, topped with sliced banana and a small drizzle of local honey. She avoids anything heavy or dairy-laden close to mic time, since her throat tends to react when the stomach is overfull.
When she's driving toward a regional festival in Victoria, she sometimes grabs a flat white from a roadhouse along the Calder, recognising that a quality cup of coffee is non-negotiable for a singer who reads her day through taste as much as through sound. She always carries a refillable bottle, essential during the warmer months when Australian summer heat closes in fast.
That kind of consistent, light fuel mirrors what she recommends to younger vocalists she mentors through the Think13 program. She keeps portions modest and eats slowly, allowing the body to register the morning before the brain starts chasing chord charts.
Voice without strain
Warm-ups begin around 8:30 a.m. and never feel rushed. Dee favours gentle lip trills, humming, and a few soft arpeggios across a comfortable middle range before she goes anywhere near a full-throated song. The aim is circulation, not volume, particularly on days when a smoky venue the night before has left her throat feeling a touch raw.
She avoids pointing air-conditioning directly at her face, a habit that pays off in coastal venues where the breeze off Bondi or St Kilda can already be drying. A small humidifier usually sits beside the bed on show-week mornings. Hydration is measured in litres rather than sips.
For touring artists in Australia, where the salt-heavy summer air can tighten vocal cords faster than expected, this kind of measured warm-up can decide whether a singer opens with confidence or strain. Dee treats her voice like an instrument that needs climate-controlled conditions, even when the rest of the day refuses to behave.
Movement before the crowd
A short walk or gentle stretch comes next, never a full workout. Dee usually heads out for twenty to thirty minutes around the neighbourhood, tracking her steps through a quiet section of the local park. On cool mornings in Adelaide or Hobart, the air encourages a slightly longer loop and a few deeper breaths against the chill.
She skips anything that taxes the lungs too close to mic time, focusing instead on loosening shoulders, hips, and ankles, knowing the stage will demand hours of standing. Standing desks have become part of her home practice on rehearsal days, but on show mornings, the body prefers movement over stillness.
When the schedule stacks gigs close together, those gentle walks are often the only cardio Dee allows before soundcheck. She views them as a reset, a way to silence the inner monologue that begins the moment a setlist lands on the dressing room table.
Mental prep and the quiet hour
The quietest part of the morning is the hour between breakfast and departure. Dee usually writes in a small notebook, jotting down what each song means to her at that moment. For a vocalist, mental preparation can sound vague, but she treats it as concrete labour.
She briefly checks the venue's PA list the night before and again on the morning, just to keep names and faces in mind. When she thinks about how much her approach has sharpened, she revisits her Coda UK conversation, where she and Christoph traced how intentions shaped the duo's working rhythm more than any gear choice.
Australia's busier music scenes force her to do this mental prep even more tightly: a Melbourne show at The Tote followed by a Sydney run a week later leaves little buffer for thinking on the fly. The notebook stays close to the kettle, waiting.
Departure and the final layer
By 10:30 a.m., Dee's bag is usually packed and her voice is already showing warmth. She double-checks the in-ears, the spare reeds she keeps for her harmonica, and the throat coat tea bags tucked into her kit. Hydration enters its final phase now, with sips rather than gulps.
The commute becomes its own ritual: an audiobook or a familiar playlist, no headlines or racing thoughts. Dee prefers something quiet that doesn't shout at the brain while the body is still settling. Once the venue door opens, the morning quietly hands the day over to the afternoon.
| Show day morning | Rest day morning |
|---|---|
| Wake at 6:15 a.m., no snooze | Wake without an alarm |
| Strong long black from a local cafe | Slower coffee, sometimes skipped |
| Light oats with banana and honey | Bigger breakfast, more freedom |
| 8:30 a.m. gentle vocal warm-up | No set warm-up routine |
| 20–30 min walk around the park | Optional walk or gentle stretch |
| Notebook check on setlist | Notebook used for plans or ideas |
| Modest hydration, measured in litres | Hydration by thirst |
| Packed bag ready before 10:30 a.m. | Rougher timeline, slower exits |
What began as scattered habits has become a system Dee trusts on any stage. A small framework, repeated often, becomes something close to confidence. That kind of morning doesn't guarantee a flawless set, but it does guarantee that the artist arrived hours before the lights came up.
