Summer Time Slam

I always seem to be surprised that my summer becomes booked up to the brim, even though every year it is the same deal.  February, March and April I think hmmmm, summer will be very calm and then WHAM!  Along comes all of the events and the festivities!  Live music is now, wonderfully, becoming a part of most of them.  Somehow I have also found myself in several bands as I’m sure I mentioned before, however, when things tend to get a bit slow and projects are not as overloading, I get nervous… anxious… plain freaked out!  My natural status is busy and moving.  I have decided there is just nothing wrong with this (and it’s only taken me “almost” 50yrs) to accept this.  I love social, it is fun, it is rejuvenating and it is a good use of energy for me.  I respect those who love their solitude and the more I except and nurture my social side the more I enjoy the solitude in life.  My desk is always filled with paper and 5 different jobs on the go, but this is what makes my world tick.  I do know I could use a bit more order and shelves, but for now it is just ok.  I know that nothing ground breaking will be happening until the excess of busy shows are enjoyed and over!  July 1st looks like the first day of possible rest.  Also we throw into the mix, Max’s graduation from grade 8 and his birthday, the forth and final graduation from public school is both exciting and a bit sad to think, the last of the boys to be in public school.  Highschool goes past like a flash and wow, I don’t want to even think about how quiet my life could be with him off to college.  (although I am careful to say this out loud, as usually when I think this or say it, some or all of my adult children announce they will be moving back home “for a bit”) It seems as the years go by the faster they speed by and the quicker the youngest of the tribe grows up, maybe that is because I know with our older children, just where this is headed.  So fun though that a couple of my musical projects include my boys and now Max is part of his very own band.  A sign of the times, they are a changing!  He has joined in the Alivia Judge Band, and it is so exciting to see a youth band form and watch them begin to lead themselves and perform at some of the same venues.  I will be at the Stratford Blues and Ribfest on the Friday night and they will be performing at it on the Sunday afternoon.  It is kinda cool to see how they evolve and I’m pretty excited to play at it also with my new band Steph and the Road Hounds (I got to have my name in the band name since I refused to be called a “RoadHound”)  I prefer the title of “Queen”.   I figure 50 has got to have some perks, and being Queen could be one of them!  So as usual I am putting my seatbelt on for the flurry of activities ascending on me for June, I am gearing up for our last student showcase of the year with Deep Waters Music and Skyline Studios students at the Stonewillow West Lawn Marquee in St Marys.  It is such a nice “almost outdoor” venue for the end of the year.  The students who wish to perform, join their teachers and showcase their music they have worked hard on since our Christmas showcase!  It is so nice for family and friends to support the students, and we bring a few areas together, heck if we were more like the hockey leagues, imagine our showcases!  Ok now I don’t have enough energy for that this month, but it is a great idea.  Maybe a project for another decade?  When I’m really bored and all my kids have actually moved out and don’t plan on returning?  

Taking Steps Against Breast Cancer ~ Fundraiser with The Gals

Well it is that time again!  For the annual Taking Steps Against Breast Cancer gala at the Stone Willow Outdoor Venue!   Steph (a bunch of) The Gals will be playing again!  It has been a fun time of meeting up again for regular practices!  The winter the Gals did several of their own gigs as my schedule as usual became overloaded.  During that time a few went off to different avenues and venues and a new one joined and another returned!   Regardless we all know that at anytime we can all come and go and join in and out and grow and change as a group.  The awesome part is the “group“ as we feel like “the Gals” is by far our actual name, found many songs that they practiced over the winter and have their own segment of material and it sounds awesome!   Some of our standards are also back on the table and sounding stronger than ever!  The group has moved up in the vocal department with everyone feeling so much more confident and use to PA’s and microphones and working in a group!  The harmonies are beautiful and song choices are fun!  So the evening of June 2nd will unfold with social time and visiting in the White Tent, which Is always beautifully decorated, the project is always amazingly put together by Marlene Foreman with a fantastic buffet dinner by WildStone‘s Rhonda Klein, complete with  door prizes and silent auction!    I was asked again this year to bring together the entertainment which is how the group of Gals was formed.  I pooled together former or current adult students of Deep Waters Music and created a fun group for the evening.  The cool part is it just kept going!  We were asked to do more venues and as I said the group changed and shifted and is back to exactly where we started!  With Lori Burlingham (ECE worker, crazed guitar enthusiast/ singer and mom of three great kids, also a few of which are guitar enthusiasts and one great little singer!! ),  Kim Anderka (veterinarian by day, amazing guitar player/singer by stolen free moments between work and children) Julie Pellizzari (ECE worker, percussion/Cajon player who we lovingly drag out after work away from her hubby and two awesome daughters)  Lisa Turunen our youngest member, all the way from Australia (who loves her job with Rhonda at the Wildstone Bar and Grill, and is our ukulele player with just the sweetest voice and personality, who also plays the harmonica!!)  and Tasmin Sterkenburg, our newest member (we think she works somewhere very important with numbers and figures and is our newest Ukulele player, with great vocals and new fun songs that we just “Lava”)   and you may think… that’s it??? But no we have some other awesome young singers coming out to join us for the earlier part of the evening.  Some of my little students will perform.  My good ole 9 year old side kick Ella Manzer will join me earlier on stage (as music is from 6:30 til 9:30) Ella and I perform together fairly frequently and just had a show at South Perth Fun Fair and played this same venue last year (and we always have fun!)   DCVI student Delaney Schoelier will bring her powerhouse vocals and talent to the stage and Emee Fink a St Mike’s student, who is also another powerhouse singer (and who also works for Rhonda at the Wildstone) will join us!!  So many amazing women of all ages to join me and share their gift of music for such a great cause!  And we can’t wait to see who joins in the jam sessions in the next year??   I think we have a few on deck (Christa, Teresa and Katherine???) and maybe a token guy… John???  Or maybe it is someone we have not met… yet??  So you know the drill, if you are looking for a great night out with some fun music, do not hesitate!  It is summer time!!  And our only other event that we know of (besides maybe a random street jam) will be at the Museum on my Museum worthy Birthday!!   Maybe they will keep me??  So here we go, with one of my several music projects,  with these gals who we love to give each other a hard time, we laugh, we talk (A LOT), we sometimes even have a moment when our mountain climbing years challenge us, we all bring our own little quirks, strengths and fun, (they have also amazingly learned how to keep me on task…) and is definitely is a project that lies very close to my heart!  

Mothers Day 2017

Another Mothers Day has come and gone, it is always an interesting day as the years can change the meaning and the  dynamics of the days events.  When your kids are little, typically, it is a beautiful and busy day of homemade cards, some seriously questionable breakfast made by little people and a lot of hugs.  It was my experience the breakfasts became much less questionable as the years passed by and now are quite outstanding!  Time, it seems now, is a much more valuable commodity with your kids as they get older.  With 3 adult sons and a 13year old, it is a challenge for us to all hit the same room at the same time for more than an hour and often mothers day goes in shifts.  This year was just as interesting as Dustin and his girlfriend Cass came through at 11 (which I had just woke up from playing a very late gig the night before) and I was heading out to pick up Max who was with his dad, and meet them in Tavistock.  Luckily we were able to quickly rearrange the morning and have them make the trip to St Marys so I could enjoy my surprise breakfast!  Complete with flowers and a great spread of food!  It was in just enough time to get to our band practice for a special project called HOME (that I have talked of last summer)  the group is comprised of my 4 sons, and my friends 3 (of 4) daughters who lived next door to us when our oldest kids were little.  Cheri’s girls also all have taken music from me at some point but mostly we are all like family.  Even the younger ones who didn’t grow up together after we all moved still have this cool familiarity!  We always joke with her 4 daughter and my 4 sons, we have lived vicariously through each other.  The 8 of us (as Cheri’s youngest Blair opted out but still singing her heart out in the background) have had many laughs and a lot of childhood stories!  Looking at them all today and this huge group, of absolutely different and dynamic people, all coming together to play music made for an interesting day of reflection and gratitude.  With the years of work, the years of love, sweat and tears put into raising these children in ever changing worlds, I must say it was pretty cool to see us all in this room playing music.  I don’t know if it is my age, but its like flashing back to these people as 3 and 4 year olds and just how far we have all come and what a great accomplishment to have been a part of this whole motherhood thing!  This crazy group of all of these kids (who all call me mom) will be playing at the Mitchell Canada Day Celebration where we will be opening for my kids dad’s show band, Fresh Horses.   A whole pile of history on one stage that is for sure!  So a quick band practice and more flowers and gifts arrived from my boys but my main goal was to have a picture with them all!  It was a fast moving visit but it was awesome and left Max and I for a cool movie night that Jesse crashed with his laundry!  And also on this day, on the other side of the coin, I think of my mom, who it is hard to believe it has been almost 12 years since she passed away.  I read posts by young people who lost their moms, and I know even at 38 it was a hard thing.  I may not have been dependent on her for those youthful needs but it was always a comfort to know I can call her anytime, to come and take care of the kids in the way that no one else could, just knowing she was a phone call away was of great comfort.  I think of what she brought to me, she was a tough cookie.  I learned resilience and perseverance and the unending love of a mother.  How many times in my life’s experience of being a mother did I think, oh, I would so pick up the phone an apologize to her for different things.  Things you cannot understand until you experience them as a mom.  But I figure she is watching and knowing from her place now.  She lived with Rheumatoid Arthritis for as long as I could remember, she didn’t complain, had more surgeries than the bionic woman and worked everyday that she could and could walk and out shop all of us!  So this summer as I round that crazy bend of turning 50 I want to walk and hike, as the one thing my mom always wanted to do if she “had better legs” was to hike and walk and walk and walk!  And when we were little we did hike the Bruce Trail, we biked and skied until she couldn’t. But not much kept her from moving at whatever pace she could keep up to.   This year I am going to find some of those trails and enjoy them and do some more reflecting on this whole ever changing motherhood thing, from all sides, and I without expectation I am hoping like motherhood it will be a really interesting and cool journey.   

The Magic Of Live Music

I guess my " thing" you could say is live music and this year seems to be full with more music.  I took a tour down to the Air Canada Centre in Toronto recently with my friend Julie to see John

Mayer.  We have both been long time fans and before we were friends we had a mutual love for His music!  Now I think he is one of the performers that falls into the category of being so much better live,  That isn't always the case in music as lots of acts depend on the studio magic to make them sound good and then there are the true performers that bring so much to the stage.  And they are even better than their recordings as the new dimension is added.  It helps that John has some of the best players in the world and has a wide variety of music.  But the magic happens live that is for sure.  Even if you see a band you wouldn't normally listen to and they have that "thing" going oh live, you may see them in a whole new light!   I have heard U2 is an experience and I did see Garth live in New York City and of course he was quite an entity!   I wouldn't listen to big band music necessarily but seeing a full band perform with its 20-30 pc band is amazing.  Out Toronto trip to see John Mayer was fun and new had as much fun prior just walking around down town and going for supper at the Elephant and Castle one of my favourite places to eat.  And our seats were pretty great although I would have liked to have been much closer, well on stage would have been even better!  A guest appearance from Canada's

Shawn Mendez was an awesome bonus and showed their great musicianship as the young Mendez played an acoustic duo with Mayer!  2 guitars and vocals shows the class of the musicians and it was amazing and flawless!  My second time seeing John Mayer in concert and both times were amazing. I hear there is a John Mayer Cruise, now that would take the cake!  I try to always be out supporting live music or playing live music and now I am putting together a full band for the summer and I'm super excited to do material that I haven't done prior as it didn't translate quite right as a solo or duo act.   I will be putting out details in the near future and I am pleased that the new Customs House in St Marys has live music!  So far there has been local bands who drew great crowds and an awesome young jazz guitar player this past Saturday eve with some smooth easy listening sounds!  I will be booking in for May and stoked to hear of an open mic in the near future!  And mark on your calendar the Stratford Blues Festival at the end of June and Mitchell's Canada Day Celebration if you are a live music enthusiast!  Yes, I am a bit one track minded but who doesn't love to be entertained?! 

Ben's Story - April 5th, 2017

Some people can be in your  life for years and don't ever really ever get to know them and some people can be there for only a short chapter and you feel like you have known them forever.  Benjamin fell into the second category and into our lives via my oldest son Dustin, at his recording studio.  I remember him talking about this guy from Hensall who came in to record and he said mom you'd love his music. And he wasn't wrong.  Flash forward, this kid with a huge personality and great sense of humour (complete with fake British accent) won all of our hearts.  I had always become “another mom” to the friends my sons brought home. And Ben went one step further and became a part of my teaching staff when I discovered he played piano.  His students adored him, basically, to know Ben was to love him.  Ben worked with me, played gigs with Dustin and I, we even wrote a song together, he became one of the family,  one of the boys.  This was solidified the day I heard a crash from the teaching room as my Washburn guitar fell which he was using it to teach.  The same guitar my sons had broken the head stock off not once, but 3 times before.  I said "Ben what was that?" from my desk and he said

"ummmm your guitar" and laughed his (how could you be mad at "me") sort of laugh and gave me that sheepish look and I said “well, I guess you're officially part of the family now!”  Then on a Tuesday morning Victoria Day 2015 I saw a news post, a 22 yr old had been in a car crash near Exeter at 7:50 and was airlifted with life threatening injuries , I knew that was Bens route to work.   My worry rose as he didn’t text back, when I messaged hey just an over reactive mom response… you got to work?  There was no timely response that he was known for.  I spent the day trying to find out what kind model his black little car was and then at 4:30 I got word he was in surgery after a head on collision with a transport and was critical.  After days of touch and go and us trying to help Ben's family cope with the stresses of being hung up in a hospital (bringing them food and drinks) he miraculously survived.  He came back faster and stronger than anyone could imagine, months before the doctors predicted and with more pins and rods and valves than you can imagine.  He had his guitar in his hand to recover, his family was intensely devoted and did not leave his side, we supported them in order to support him.  We had a benefit concert three weeks after and to everyone's amazement, Ben had himself wheeled in, broken and battling, and sang Drift away with the band.  It was one of the most moving moments I‘ve had and anyone there agreed.  Ben thrived but still had heart problems due to the accident. His damn aorta was just not co-operating with him after all of the damage it had undergone, but it didn't stop Ben

from going back to school to become a paramedic.  So fitting as he was a giving, loving kind of person and he was paying it forward.  He had found love in his personal life and with his friends and family who were so passionately dedicated to him.  Like I said to know Ben was to love him, everyone agreed even if you got mad at Ben it wouldn't last, he would just give you that smile.  Then he had one more surgery, from what I understood as it had been awhile since I had visited with Ben and he was busy with his new chapter in life. And yet on a Tuesday, while at the stop lights, I thought, I must message Ben.  The next day I read a post by his sister he was having open heart surgery that day. I quick sent him a message hoping he'd find it in recovery and he responded a quick Thanks Steph:)  His usual timely response.  I watched for an update and in this case “no news was not good news” finally I read unexpected and severe complications arose during his surgery and again we waited like a flash back of almost two years earlier.  Finally the devastating news arrive that Ben had slipped away from us, my heart broke for his family.   And for everyone who had loved him, and there were many.   He left this plain for what I imagine to be a softer gentler place, without the limitations of our physical being. His energy, larger than life, has now become infinite and his music lives on.  We all came together as musicians, family and friends to create together the most beautiful celebration of life held at his high

school gym, lead by his music teacher.  The day was filled with music and memories and any other spaces were filled with Ben’s cd playing right until the last moment of the day as we packed up and beyond, as while in the vehicles it was still playing, wrapping us with his presence,  his huge presence and I was honoured to sing hallelujah for the final song of the celebration, One of Ben's favourite songs to sing, I sent out a silent request to Ben to help me deliver it to this gymnasium full of his friends and family and with an inspired moment I sang Hallelujah…  and it goes like this the forth the fifth, the minor falls and the major lifts.  Ben will be missed just like Little Will from St Marys, whom I've heard of so much of and Dan Rankin as well,  their fragile hearts and big spirits moved on way to soon and yet we are so much richer for having had them in our lives... and in our hearts they will live on forever.

oOoooO MoRE ImproV!! March 5th, 2017

OK I promise, this is the last time I will write about Improv (no, never mind, I'm sure this is not really the last time) Friday night our troupe came together in a way that made us so proud of ourselves!!  Our opening show at the beautiful St Marys town hall theatre was a blast! My cheeks hurt from laughing and the crowd was on fire (well not literally but they could've been with all the heat they were giving us) our Improv teacher who I have lovingly renamed "Chef Ramsey of the Theater" was laughing so hard at our work, we knew we had done a good job and made her proud and our work as her graduates!!  After our pre-show warm-ups backstage, I I was getting a bit nervous listening to the people arrive, I worried that I would draw a blank.  At that moment I decided I should revert back to my public/high school roll of joke making, disturbance creator, class clown and pull from my memory bank to keep my momentum up and myself on track. (ironically I would still have to painfully still keep quiet in my seat until centre stage)   It made me think of my recent trip to a local school to do my Mini Music program with a kindergarten group.  One little fellow had a rather hard time sitting still (I could relate to his struggle) and at the end when I decided to sing with them old McDonald had a farm he piped right up and sang it in his loudest (what I thought sounded like) true pirate voice, (making complete perfectimprov sense)  I made sure to encourage his hearty pirate voice and joined in with him!  He suddenly became the most enthusiastically and full participant!!!  At the end he was the first to jump up and thank me and gave me great big hug!!   Those are my greatest moments of feeling achievement and breaking through to ALL in my group!  I always make it my goal to find a way to channel everyone's energy in a class,

mind you I'm not teaching math (my sympathies).  But it do feel that "over active" youth often grow up to be the most energetic and enthusiastic people in communities. Some you may work with, or work for.  There are certain people like myself who love the energy and connection of stage and audience and pull out even more material and information when the crowd is in the room, (which was not particularly appreciated by my school teachers!) a friends after the show mentioned it their high school drama days, which I realized I had not done!  I saved my drama for the other classes and majored in typing and hanging out in the smoking area. (which was located just outside back hallway door in 80's) I remember Mr. Barns my high school teacher (who's voice I one day heard downtown in his store in St Marys and did a double take) when he asked me if he should take a picture of me, to remember who I was for next time I decided to attend class! Also the award I won for the most detentions. (proud to beat out all of my male competitors) and in the same fashion as I received all of my detention slips I received my well deserved award with a smile and a wave to

my fans!!  Having said this, I did manage to pass and head off to college and take TV Broadcasting which I loved!  I am sure that many of them would be surprised (including Mr Barns) that beyond my youth antics  (I believe) I turned out to be a decent contributor to the planet!  I give all of my students the same respect and enthusiasm and guidance.  I love people,  making them feel better, making them laugh and I love an audience.  Improv is my perfect hobby!   For us class clowns it gives us a place to shine and for the shyest people it helps them to come out of their shell and to find their voice and courage.  It is great to imagine and have fun and to think on the spot and to work with others in a supportive and positive team like manner while accept and support their suggestions, (many key elements in life).   It also helps me working with kids, who already know all of these techniques and haven't been trained out of their imagination yet.  ie. when I asked my one student what he wanted to do when he grew up, he said he and his friends had decided they were heading to Africa and would run a Zoo and his friend was going to ride his pet Lion!  My reply:. OOOOOO sounds like a Wonderful Adventure!!!  

Another Round Of Improv - January 22, 2017

Well I have stepped in to another round of Improv and this time a little closer to home!  London seemed like such an unattractive drive during the winter.   You never know from one day to the next what to expect with driving conditions.

So when I heard that there was one right next door at the town hall in St Marys, I was super excited!  It had a running time from December to March (exactly my not leaving town months) and included two performances at the end of the session… ok now that is a little scary.  At least in London you decided if you wanted to continue on into a troupe.  However my fear of driving in a white out proved to be greater than my fear of going on stage for two nights with an Improv troupe!  Liane our leader I found was completely different than our London teachers and was just as fun and fascinating to me as any of my other instructors.  Coming from a theatre background I felt as if I was viewing everything from a completely different perspective, all while being in the same genre.  Theatre is something I was never really part of and maybe should have been.  Although I think it would have missed me with impact and concern in my early years about not looking silly and taking this type of risk socially.This is just a letting go of what people think of random and outrageous ideas and thoughts while having fun and being creative and dramatic.  All somewhat foreign to me which seems to make it very intriguing!!  

So I’m not really thinking about the show, I’m just enjoying the process, I will be having another Improv Troupe from London coming into my studio Feb 17th and hopefully inspiring me to embrace the show/on stage part of this new art I have been drawn into.  But I have found it has increased my confidence and ability to talk on stage, which I felt I was already average in, but just makes it that much more comfortable and quick,

leaving out over thinking which can hamper stage presence.  Besides the fact as I always tell others who are coming in to learn a new instrument as an adult.  It is always great to learn new things and to challenge yourself and to stretch yourself.. Especially as we get older and more settled into our comfort zones, and my reward is watching them have fun and challenge themselves and be impressed with their achievement!   So wish me luck on March 3rd and 4th at the beautiful St Marys Town Hall theatre, or better yet come out and watch me make a fool of myself (one of the directives for Improv) with my other new Improv friends.  One thing I can guarantee is you will have fun and have a good laugh!  Which in my opinion you can never have too many :)