Growing up in the 60's - the influential sounds were my father's vocals and guitar playing. . .and a wide range of musical
tastes ranging from Johnny Cash to the Greatful Dead, Bob Dylan, Hendrix,
Cat Stevens, CCR, My father had a band,
and family and friend gatherings provided alot of live music.
I starting getting serious about playing
the 12 string guitar around the age of 13;
but honestly - found my limit pretty quickly.
My voice was still it.
I hummed to my self constantly, made up songs to remember grocery lists; and my low register at such a young age, had my teachers intrigued. I was 'the bass section' in the grade 5 choir.
Having a voice like this granted some interesting advantages, teachers encouraged my learning of unusual harmonies, and folk music from other cultures
From the time
of entering school
I continually sang in choirs
later would sing
in operas
but always
in the crowd
of other voices.
When school years ended
for me . . .
The only one to hear me
would be the wind
and the water.
Years would go by, I continued to sing
sounds would just flow through me.
I longed to find an instrument that would feel that natural.
Flutes and percussion instruments answered that call.
One of my five flutes
this one is handmade by artisans
in the Deseronto area.
A "High Spirits" multiharmonic native style
after years of keeping "my" music to myself
watching others perform and have their love become work;
I myself having that experience through both music and artwork . . .
I still longed to find people who wanted to experiment, have fun, and play with spontaneous joy . . .
this year,
I got blessed
While hanging my artwork in my first public showing, people flowed through the door with instruments - soon the air was full with 18 people playing drums. I didn't have an instrument so I asked if I could join in with my voice.
The artwork came down and the drum group faded
away; but life is full of surprises.
I may not show my art again,
but I got my self a drum and was gifted
with a good friend named Ian.
The music lives . . .it keeps going.
For the months to follow I would get myself one instrument a month to add to the flow . . .
this brings me to the home recording experience . . .
Ian gave me a CD he had done of himself playing every instrument -awesome. . .and I got thinking.
These wonderful feelings and experiences I was having with music, I wanted to have some of for later.
Something like writing in a diary.
I was actually getting to do the kind of music I loved.
The first experience doing some recording was well, things like this happen; wires don't work when you want them too and so on; the day got long and my performance anxiety set in. I had been in recording studios before and it wasn't fun.
But this experience was going to be different . . . while calming myself down alone in one room, singing - Ian recorded my voice and gifted me with an MP3 in the mail the next morning.
It was the encouragement I needed and the first song on my CD - named Kaliasha - for the sacred mountain in India.
Other sounds on my CD include pieces
of jam sessions with friends,
sifting through 5 years of my own poetry
and experimenting with
effects to make a cheap microphone
sound good and ALOT of learing
on my part to use recording
equipment and a computer program.
I had ALOT of help.
My husband, Richard, helped me
learn the program
and Ian helped me understand
the technical part of music.
Oh - I'm still learning!!!
there were a few setbacks
during the production of this CD
But those setbacks
reminded me of why
I wanted to do this in the first place
As I almost started from scratch
twice over, I remembered about
the spirit of the moment.
I found myself at 2 a.m.
sitting at the computer,
practically whispering songs
into my computer.
Songs that came out of the blue,
and are now very important to me.
A very special friend to me, a member of
my adopted family - Kaleb - plays the
djembe for me on the song Fellow Traveller
This happened one afternoon, purely
"in the moment"
Fellow Traveller is an appropriate name
for the song . . .and I have already done
some recording with Kaleb for my next CD
which will be named "The Travellers"
this is in honor of culture, kinship, people
finding each other of like mind and spirit
and travelling together.
Of course, it is also about the Travellers,
the people around the world who travel
and bring their culture to us through the
best communication - music.
Ian finished his CD about the same time
I finished mine.
Soul's Midnight is about that time
of night when the muse visits us.
Time zones aside, it is an actual moment
when winds and tides shift,
dreaming people awaken with great ideas
and those that aren't sleeping
start scribbling poems on anything they can find, musicians pick up their instruments.
Personally, I regard Ian as a muse himself.
His music speaks of the integrity
and gentle honesty of his person.
It doesn't get any better than that.
(to go to his website click on the image of his CD)
a special thankyou . . . .
to Kaleb
Ian
and
Richard
page created Oct 25-26,2005 - the wee hours
you are all beautiful to the Marrow
Family gatherings are still jam sessions,
sharing music, song and jokes.
but it doesn't take alot of us to make music, still when my Dad (that's my Dad facing the camera) and I visit, music is always part of it - it's in the blood, it is soul, love and communication
