I’m always in awe of how much havoc frozen water can wreak on our fussy little world - which, let’s face it, completely revolves around roads and cars. If we were still getting around with snowshoes and horses in the winter, it wouldn’t be so newsworthy! Though the inconveniences are consuming (my last week’s 5 hour flight to Montreal turning into 28 hours including 9 hours on the plane, an overnight in Quebec City and a train to Montreal) I still celebrate that Nature Rules - that snowflakes can bring everything to a halt. Yeah!
Read MoreIf you only knew how often I think of writing you. But the sense of obligation to be deep and entertaining leads to protracted procrastination. My forte. Ironic that "pro" would be in any way involved in those words.
I can't even begin to do a recap of the year. Describing my own activities seems inappropriate given the daily Gong Show just south of us and the chaos beyond. We're all a bit anxious - cocooning into our lives, families, entertainment, whatever it takes to put one foot in front of the other and find meaning and a sense of connection to one another. For others it's triggering the kind of crazy that happens when kids feel like there's no adult in charge. Four years has never gone by so slowly.
Greetings!
I don’t even know where to start. There is just so much going on out there in the world that it makes my head spin most of the time. Thank god for music - that’s all I can say (no religious affiliation intended). Whether I’m thinking about it, writing it, planning its form of expression, or playing it to folks, it is the gift that keeps on giving. It makes me happy and deeply grateful. Sometimes it makes me cry. I feel so overwhelmed by what it does to us, for us, says about us - the stories shared, the hearts wooed and opened and cajoled into spilling. It’s our saving grace. Our safe place. And it’s so damn fun to play with other people!
SPRING! Well, we're getting there anyway. I know I should have included a colourful photo of blossoms but I took this shot a few days ago riding my bike by Kits Beach so - ever the realist - here's spring as of the beginning of April. As inevitable as it is,when it fully arrives it still feels like a miracle. Even more for you in the east, I'm sure.
I have always been smitten by the silhouette of trees against the sky. Although it has been proven to me over and over again that it is virtually impossible to capture the stunning beauty of nature and reproduce the breathtaking sensation that inspires me to pull out my camera in the first place, I keep trying. The contrast of the branches particularly sends me - this pattern that is reproduced in the leaves, in the roots, and in our veins.
Hello my friend!
Tis the season ….again….seemingly cycling around increasingly more quickly every year. For me, the ramp up is always the same - the predicable subtle dread and contempt triggered by the commercial sales pitch that pounces the day after Thanksgiving, ramping up wildly the day after Halloween. Then by the end of November I feel myself softening and starting to get seduced by the twinkly lights (I am SO easy!) and the thoughts of the delectable down time that happens over the holidays - when the world seems to stop and all manner of relaxation and communing with friends and family is officially sanctioned. The full surrender seems to be marked by the evening we trim the tree and I swoon with the memory of each ornament.
"Garageband" –a term that reeks of beer, adolescence, motor oil and cigarette butts– has become my new best friend. Who knew, after all the years of my life I spent slaving away in my basement studio learning Logic and techy skills I never really needed, that I could simply sit down and record ideas and demos as easily as writing an e-mail. I thought it was just for kids - but it's surprisingly sophisticated! Such a clever man that Steve.
Since I craftily bred my own personal engineer (which unfortunately I now have to share with the rest of the world) I have pretty much abandoned my studio, so when I launched into writing in the spring and needed to demo the songs for the band, I thought…okay, I’ll humour my Mac and try out this toy.