Savouring every day of this delicious summer, I'm camped out in a little cabin on Saltspring to corner the muse and check to see if it will still have me. It's only been a couple of days, so it's been a little coy so far, but perhaps a note to you will lure it forth while my back is turned. As I've confessed before, I've always approached writing songs whining and dragging my feet. When it finally starts to come, it's exhilarating, but those first few days can be existential torture. Then when the momentum happens I transform into the crazy person who is constantly mumbling to herself and appears slightly possessed. So it's best for me to hide away during the process. Fortunately, I'm able break it up with some kayaking, cycling and swimming, which actually facilitates lyric writing tremendously. Then when it really starts flowing there's the challenge of how to capture the ideas on my phone without dropping it in the ocean or by the side of the road. Ah boo hoo. Not even a first world problem - it's a whole other dimension that hasn't been identified.
Read MoreSinging with choirs is one of my top favourite things to do musically (okay, along with the above). Being dropped in the middle of a community and being backed by all those wonderful folks who are there simply because they LOVE to sing is heartwarming and quite moving. Every time I turned around and looked at their beaming faces I'd get choked up. Hey, if you're part of a community choir, get in touch with me. I have SATB arrangements of a half a dozen of my songs (as well as for women's chorus and men's chorus), and the evening is a combination of those songs, and a handful from me and a handful from the choir on their own. It's such a great experience for all. It takes some planning in advance, but it's oh so worth it! As far as I'm concerned, voices raised in song is humans at their best. A grammatically questionable statement, but oh so true.
Bonjour mon ami!
Welcome to 2014!
I remember when "2001 A Space Odyssey" came out and it was SO futuristic and unimaginable that we could ever be in a time that was beyond the 19's. Hell, the date 1984 was unthinkably futuristic when the book first came out!
There are many things that make us shake our heads trying to grok the passage of time. Seeing friends' kids that we've known since they were born become parents; realizing you've lived in the same place for a third of your life; becoming grandparents; finding yourself frequently starting sentences with "I remember when....". (I remember when there were NO plastic bags. If we're lucky, there will be a time soon that our kids will be saying "I remember when there WERE plastic bags"!)
Happy Festivas!
Every year I come into this season in a state of whining denial. Then at the first sight of twinkling lights my heart melts, the annual counting of the days until Julia returns begins (now only 6!), and I launch the lighting up of the house. (Watching Julia emerge from the airport escalator is one of my favourite moments in life.) We're planning on logging a lot of couch/movie/popcorn time and going for as many bike rides as the weather will allow. I've said this before, but let me say it again - I particularly like how our culture gives it a rest between Christmas & New Years. It's a blessed relief.
Today was my 62nd birthday. I know, big deal. Everyone has at least one a year. Looking good for 62? Oh, don't be fooled - Photoshop is my best friend and I'm not afraid to use it. You'll have to come to a live performance to see what I REALLY look like. Plus, Ross DenOtter at Pink Monkey Studios who took that picture knows how to work some kind of magic that is most definitely not evident when I'm walking the dog at 6 am. Or any other time.
62 is not a significant number, other than the fact that it's somewhat unfathomably high considering I still feel 18 and that I'm just getting started. Not the idiotic risk taking 18 year old I was, but the one who was excited about all the life there was yet to live and game for just about anything (that doesn't involve a roller coaster, warfare, or major surgery).
Happy Canada Day!
This is the first one in 20 years that I haven't been playing and therefore the first I've been able to attend the local festivities on the island. There's nothing like Small Town.
As a Canadian who specifically chose this country, I feel particularly grateful that this is my home.
In May of 1970 I was just finishing up my first year of college. Frankly, I was a pretty pathetic student and barely made it through my first semester of courses recommended by the system, but in the second semester I decided to take the courses that truly interested me - all music and art. I loved it, and for the first time in my life was excelling in school.