Christmas is nearly here. I decided this year I would play a few shows during December as part of my music biz plan. People like music at Christmas and I had a Christmas single to play so it seemed like a sound decision. I have enjoyed playing although I have only just gotten into the spirit of the season. I received a couple Christmas cards a couple days ago and that helped. It is interesting to sing Christmas tunes and not actually be in the Christmas spirit. It was fun to have people sing along. It was also a stretch continue reading…
singer/songwriter
Five Years of Music
I have recently heard that we overestimate what can be done in a year and underestimate what can be done in five years. I was thinking about this as I went up the elevator to my nursing job this morning! I began to reflect about all that I have been able to accomplish in five years. Five years ago I was driving to Saskatoon every couple weeks to do pre-production work on my first album Awakening. That first album was released the following September. I had a lovely release. I also didn’t know anything about the music biz. In January continue reading…
Christmas is Coming
We are in the month of November, Halloween has come and gone and Christmas is just around the calendar. That’s how things are for those of us in Canada. Remembrance Day was this past Sunday (Veterans Day in the United States) and we don’t talk a lot about Christmas until we are at least past November 11th. When I mention to people that Christmas is very close, there is a variety of responses. There is either joy at the idea that their favorite time of year is here or dislike at the mention of it. Christmas brings out feelings like continue reading…
Showing Up
I have just finished my 10 day tour Life is Wide Open 2, which took me from Regina, Sask to Kelowna, BC. I had six shows in all and I am grateful for each one. The biggest lesson for me was the reminder that it is important to show up. I reconnected with friends from my grade 12 class (1977) and with other friends whom I hadn’t seen for several years. It was also a healing journey for me as I reconnected with old friends from my church life. I was very involved with my church life and Christian faith continue reading…
New Season, New Beginnings
It is eleven months since my album Shifting Sands was released. It is nearly impossible to believe that it was such a short time ago. I have come to love and understand these songs more and more as I play them. As I head out on my tour/trip I understand again the words of the song Thanks Past Me. I find myself almost daily being grateful that I can depend on something I have done or learned in this past year. I bought some new sound equipment yesterday and was proud to realize that I do understand some of the continue reading…
New Perspectives 2
I am in the middle of a trip to the UK. It is always interesting to travel and see things from a new perspective. As well, to be reminded that there is more then one way to do things. This can be as simple as how people eat their food. Apparently I don’t use my fork and knife quite right as compared to people here. I would have never guessed this was a difference in the past. I had a colleague review my album Shifting Sands recently and I was so pleased with the review. What struck me was the continue reading…
Camping in a Tent , a Gig and Connections
I drove the highway from Ravenscraig towards the Cypress Hills and I could feel my body begin to unwind. Concerns I had been obsessing about seemed to lose their intensity. I found my tenting spot when I got to the park and got set up. My body relaxed even deeper into the nature that surrounded me. Then there was time spent hiking in the trees. Wildlife seen on the road near the park, coyote, deer and a hawk reminded me of my place in the universe. A Moose showed up on the road as I drove back to the park continue reading…
Building Community and Trusting Oneself
Hello on this first Wednesday of July. I have a lot of things to look forward to this summer plus I have had a great first half of 2018. I have been performing a couple times a month which is way more than ever before and I am grateful for all those opportunities. The show that I am reflecting on today is one that our songwriting group just had on June 20th. We had our wind up which we celebrated by putting on a showcase which included nine of our songwriters. We were fortunate to do so at a local continue reading…
This is what I know
This is what I know. That is quite the statment to start with but hey if Oprah can say it so can I… This week has been one where I have continued to think about creativity and hopefully practice more of it. As well, I have gone down memory lane as it was pride week here in Regina. When I first came to Regina I was starting a new life alone. My sons had stayed with their father in Montreal and I broke up with my partner shortly after coming here. I remember the pride events that I took part continue reading…
New Perspectives from the Badlands
I went to the Badlands last weekend for a music festival. It was a fundraiser for an old school house that is now a museum and it is situated in the hamlet of East Coulee along the Red Deer River. The Badlands and the valley are very cool with formations in the hills that look like dinosaur feet, old coal mines, hoodoos and this gorgeous river that runs along the river bottom. New views and new perspectives. The music festival called the East Coulee SpringFest takes place in the school museum along with the town’s community center. There is magic continue reading…
