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How are you?

The frost is upon us this morning, as it has most of the week. The summer weather stretched into autumn, which was a gift after its late start. The rainy spring lasted until the end of June! But now I wonder where our rains are . . .

I intended to launch this private blog in July, but technology was not my friend.
I did have a few performances in summer, although the last one, scheduled for August 23rd, was thwarted by a bout of Covid. I’m recovered now am booking shows locally for November and January.

How are you?

This question is often pat answered, “Fine!”
Rarely is that the whole story.
In general, I feel happy and content. Have I mentioned the word bliss? 😉
But there are undertones of impending doom these days.
Since I don’t allow myself the crutch of religion, I can’t hide in that faith some find comforting.
I do however believe that the universe is all connected and what I do affects you and vice versa. So I send out loving energy to you and those you hold dear right now and on a regular basis. Just not usually while I’m battling traffic, because then I turn into a ferocious beast and warrior for fair behaviour. But that’s a different story.
For now, I just want to know— How are you?

By |2022-11-19T10:24:11-08:00November 19th, 2022|Blog|0 Comments

Back to the Stage

A long time ago, at the beginning of 2020, I celebrated the release of my album Flings & Things, did a livestream set from my living room with some of the musicians and other friends, and determined to get back to performing live.

Well, you all know what happened next. ➡️ Pandemic.

I did a few livestreams during the pandemic. Some included other musicians, some were just me.

I have also written a number of new songs since that last album release, and I feel ready to hit the studio again.

Last weekend was my first opportunity to get in front of live audiences at the White Rock Jazz & Blues Festival, and it felt like a huge leap.

If that sounds like a strange thing to say, let me give you a bit of history:

When I lived in Prince George, I was a frequent performer. I took part in community musical theatre productions, and  had pounded the pavement to let local venues know I was available. I had a number of gigs. The restaurants Footeller and Rouge Restaurant hired me to perform for their customers, for which I collaborated with piano accompanist – David Sproule, now of Kelowna – and a guitar accompanist – Eric Tompkins. There were many other patient and kind musicians who took me under their wing and helped a young wannabe jazz singer get her start.

Kirk Gable, the owner of The Waddling Duck hired David and I for a regular weekly gig. I alternated this gig with another jazz singer, Maureen Washington. Maureen moved away. Then David moved away. I handled the gig on my own for a time and then decided to stop performing weekly for a variety of reasons. I still performed often for special events, and became one of the go-to background music providers. I even had the opportunity to open for Divine Brown on her visit to PG in the same year she won a Juno. That was pretty cool.

When I decided it was time to leave the familiar and nurturing lap of Prince George in 2012, I knew I was starting my network from scratch. Both frightening and freeing – a fresh start.Dawn in Cap & Gown

I started at Capilano University in September 2012 hoping to build my Vancouver network, as well as fulfill a lifelong dream of deep-diving into the study of Music.

Besides assignments in the classroom, I performed publicly now and then in Vancouver, and I put on some shows for my PG peeps, the hometown crowd.

The problem was that the more I learned, the more I judged myself. If you think about it, this makes sense, since in academia you are constantly assessed and told a better or different way to do things.

When I finished my degree in four years, I was burned out. I didn’t even want to make music, so I focussed instead on building my music lesson business.

I got a little surge of energy to return to the stage when friend Mike W.T. Allen hit me up for some jamming and we started a small band. We did a few performances and planned a summer tour. Unfortunately, forest fires in Northern B.C. created a state of emergency and forced us to cancel the tour.

In short, since leaving Prince George in 2012, I have become rusty as a performer, so the Festival performance was a leap for me.

When I decided to record a new album in early 2019, it was the death of a young friend that spurred me into this action.

After listening to all of my previously recorded music, I made the decision to seek out the audiences that would love it.

👉🏼 This is where YOU come in, my Muses. 👈🏼

The White Rock Jazz & Blues Festival performance reminded me of two things:

  1. I LOVE the live audience interaction.
  2. I am always at my best when singing my own original music.

I am looking for more opportunities to perform this summer, but find I don’t have the same drive and energy to make the opportunities happen that I had 20-30 years ago.

Wow . . . has it really been that long since I started this music career? I believe it has. Hey folks, I turn FIFTY in just over a month!

Thank you for being with me on this journey! Please drop your comments below. I love hearing from you.🌼❤️

By |2022-10-06T10:55:24-07:00June 20th, 2022|Blog|0 Comments
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