Reflections of Canada (Part One)

 Hello from a Lovely Summer's day, where, through my open windows,  I can hear the crickets chirping and the sheep's bells ringing! After a six week tour across Canada (In direction East this time around) I am back in the land of Chocolate & Cheese, writing to you from my home office, filled to the brim with fond memories which I thought I might share (a few) with you!

A_painted_face_celebrating_Canada_Day

Starting my journey in the beloved, special and sacred village of Wakefield, Quebec saw me sing our National Anthem (in both languages) to a sea of red and white.

Canada_Day_as_seen_from_a_Wakefield_stage

Wakefield, Quebec is a tremendously special place for me. It is where I started (primarily) focusing on my music career, and when I play for the people there, most of them have been on my musical journey, with me, since the beginning. It is always a pleasure to come back to the village, to it's people, it's food, it's energy and the Lovely (and refreshing) Gatineau River.

Along_the_shores_of_the_Gatineau

After a few rehearsals with some very talented musicians, we had the unique opportunity to play on the big stage, for an awesome crowd, as part of the Ottawa Bluesfest. You can read an epic review by clicking HERE. I have mentioned Brock Zeman to you all in the past. He is a great inspiration to me and a photo was captured that kind of says it all! 

Pre-Fall_Brock_swooped_in_and_picked_me_up_pretty_quick

During this exhilarating performance, I managed to lose my balance in mid-throw (Swiss Chocolates, no less!) causing me to fall, taking myself,  my guitar and my mic stand  down with me! As Brock put it "It could have been worse! I coulda gone down with ya!" Thankfully gravity did NOT do the same to him while he was helping me to my feet! Onwards and upwards....

Dylan_Myself_and_my_Auntie

Family is a HUGE part of my life. I am so happy to have some of the BEST people as MY family! Seeing them is always an asset to my trips back to Canada. Here are a few more shots of the ones I Love....

Myself_and_my_brother_Jeffrey

My_cousin_and_bass_player_Chris_Hopkins

My_Dad_and_his_favourite_ little_buddy_Fergie

My_Mum_my_best_friend

Family time is always too short (until it isn't HAHAHA) but I value our moments together. Thanks Ontario and Quebec for welcoming me home with Open arms... Next weeks' blog post will be focusing on "Direction Newfoundland" there are too many memories and photos to share from that fabulous tip that I think it needs it's own blog post!!! I will leave you with a sneak preview...

Singing_in_Seaforth_Nova_Scotia

Thanks for reading! See you next week with "Reflections of Canada (Part Two)"

Aimless Aim

Here we are, another Wednesday has arrived. It amazes me, when I wake up and it's Wednesday again. I always have to think up something to write about, it's a task that I have chosen to do, to keep my words flowing, to keep on with writing. On Tuesday nights I start thinking about what to write and midway through the night, something strikes me, a title or an idea. But not this Tuesday. No ideas at all. Perhaps it is due to this cold I am battling, this cold that has filled me up with all sorts of things that need to come out... Words do not apply, however. Perhaps it is a case of "Writer's Block" - the condition of being unable to think of what to write or how to proceed with writing...

Lindsay_striking_a_thoughtful_pose

With so many things going on in the world, so much culture, food ideas, craft ideas, new songs, new battles, new babies; one would think it would be easy to come up with a neat interpretation of SOMEthing. Alas, there it is, a fuzzy, fogged up mind is all I can seem to muster up today, in between nose blows....  Strangely, last week, my husband was working closely with a friend who was pretty sick with a head cold, so we thought it would be a good idea to start taking Echinacea, in hopes to prevent any cold from trying to attack us. Well I guess that didn't work. 

Lindsay_strikes_a_sick_pose

I am a suck when I am sick. Luckily this time around I have a helper who brings me herbal tea to sooth my sore throat. Usually when a cold strikes, there is always a glass by the sink filled with very salty water, for gargling. It helps out, for sleeping. I found a new thing though, thanks to my father in law. There are mints, basically filled with salt called "Emser Salz" -sorry the link is in German- but today they are my best friend! People say LOTS of fluids and vitamin C, so yeah, I am also doing that. What are YOUR favourite remedies?

To be honest, I WAS going to do a "Top Ten Best Albums of 2015" for this post. But honestly, as sad as it sounds, I don't think I bought ten albums in the last year. Luckily, while I was on tour across Canada, I was able to trade music with a few musical compadres with whom I shared the stage, but usually it's just songs that stand out over the course of the year, so perhaps a "Top Ten Favourite Songs of 2015" might be the better choice. But I CAN think of a couple favourite albums off the top of my head and here are THOSE links....

BROCK ZEMAN'S "Pulling Your Sword Out Of The Devil's Back"

XAVIER RUDD'S "Nanna"

Both albums are SO different from each other, but both contain some serious meaning. It takes a lot for music to get under my skin and make me FEEL, really FEEL, but these guys do it on these records, between vibe and lyrics, each record has "IT."  Don't get me wrong, I really LOVE all types of music, but after having heard some of the best sounds out there (in my opinion) it is hard to listen to most music these days, without taking it apart and analyzing every note and or lyric. Surely I am not the only professional musician who does this. It's a shame, in some cases.... It would be nice to go to a show and not try to figure it all out, to just be present in the moment....It can happen, for sure, but it has to be superb stuff, and these two records are SUPERB!!! 

Lindsay_in_a_state_of_excitement 

So there it is. I just pulled out a few thoughts from this hazy head of mine. The sun is shining, and the snow has melted. Surely a walk out in the fresh air will clear my head a little. Until next time, be well and thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy the musical tastes I shared with you, and the silly photos too!! Keep smiling and head up!!!! Hugs from afar, but not too close ;) 

Birth of a Song

There are over a billion scraps of paper, hiding in various corners, under couch cushions, in drawers and jeans pockets, showing in plain sight on dresser tops, change bowls and dash boards. These various little notes may contain a prophetic lyric that could change your world, or they could stay crumpled forever; these are the poetic scraps that we song-writers collect over the course of our life-times. "You never knows" just sitting there, folded waiting for the perfect melody.

Some_notes_a_book_and_a_guitar

Who knows if some of these notes will ever be read again, or used. How many notebooks can one person have anyway? There are notebooks in every corner of my house, and scraps of paper with dreams and ideas in most of the bags I own,  perhaps they are there for when lyrics come no more. Maybe the act of writing, is in and of itself the only point. To use or not to use, might not be the question at all, but rather to write to write and to write some more.

In times of technology, like today, an Iphone is very handy, when the combination of pen, paper and or napkin can not be found. Again, my notes section is filled to the brim with lyrical sentiments, and the recording device has at least a hundred started musical ideas. Some days when I am on a train to the next performance I just listen to the songs, erasing ones that have no real effect on me. So many ideas deleted without another moment of thought. On the rare occasion that I find something that I deem true and worthy, I will sit with it and my guitar and work it out. Mostly though, I sit with my guitar and a brand new song is born. from scratch, with no help from torn up pieces of paper or half ideas kept hidden in a tiny machine.

Lindsay_and_her_guitar

One of the most common of questions for a song-writer is "What comes first, the melody or the lyrics?" or "How do you write a song?" Most would agree that when a song comes, it usually comes in one long whoosh, from a magical place unknown. To be sure, there is no absolute way to compose a piece of music, there is no perfect equation that will work every time. Some songs come in moments, and some take hours, months even, to "complete." I put complete in quotes because every song can be changed up a bit. Perhaps one time you start out with the first verse, sometimes it feels better to start out with the Chorus. One band will add a catchy keyboard riff in the middle 8 (or bridge)  and another might replace the keys with mandolin, changing the sound entirely. Of course we song-writer's do have certain styles, but again nothing is 100%, so where I usually add a bridge (or middle 8) in a song, I do not always find the perfect spot for one. And that is okay.

Some years ago, I had the rarity of meeting Bono of the band "U2" in Ireland, at a hotel in the middle of nowhere, where he was attending a friends wedding. We talked about music, I had only just written and recorded my very first song and conveniently had it with me, to share. He was very kind and gave me a moment of his time and a few words of advice (which I had asked for.) One thing that always stuck with me was that the bridge of a song should stand out apart from the song and that it should actually be the best part of the song, even better than the chorus. So yeah, I really like to add one, but I always have his words in the back of my mind. If I can not find something extra-ordinary, I will not add one at all. 

Which brings me to my next point... Co-Writing a song can also be an amazing experience. I highly recommend getting out there and finding someone to write with. Two heads are better then one in most cases, so if the opportunity comes up to do this, I encourage you to do it! Brock Zeman and I wrote this song "Ships" together and it could be the most universally liked song that I have ever performed. It was a great writing session with Brock and way easier than I had ever thought it would be.

We lost a troubadour singer & song-writer on the weekend, Ron Hynes from Newfoundland, Canada. He was also called "Man of a Thousand Songs." And what a writer indeed. I remember playing on the same stage as Ron, at The Newfoundland Folk Festival, as part of a song-writers circle...I mean how lucky could a girl be, sharing a stage with a legend like himself. It was sad news for many people out there, who have all lived lives to the soundtrack of Ron's music. Most would know him for "Sonny's Dream." It had been months since I wrote a full song, some might say writer's block, but I am not so sure... In any case, I will leave you all with my new song, a tribute to Ron. "The Likes of You." Ron, I thank you.