The seeds have been planted, and soon there will be a garden of music in full bloom! You can follow its growth by signing up for my newsletter at the bottom of the page, and pre-saving the upcoming album that is supporting community gardens in Barrie, Ontario through Urban Pantry and Moondance Organic Farm. In doing so you will receive a free pack of seeds, that will hopefully encourage you to disconnect for a little bit, get outside, and reconnect with nature 🙂
It all started when I moved away from home. As a parting gift my brother gave me his Wicket Ewok action figure that I’ve been eyeing my whole life but was never allowed to touch when I was younger. At this point in time – a young adult – I completely forgot all about little Wicket and was so excited to finally call him my own… but technically was “too old” to be this enthusiastic about a toy; so I kept him in my guitar case which came with me on the big move.
Continue reading “Singin’ Sidekick” Every gig and performance is a very unique experience, leading to the most random outcomes and hilarities! Here are some of my favourite gig stories, and the lessons that were learnt along the way.
The year 2012 was the start of a budding obsession with live music. With newfound confidence slowly growing from moving away to Guelph and performing at school with my roommate and other musicians, I continued to bloom as a musician throughout the summers spent back at home working in the greenhouse. I yearned to be anywhere the music was, even if it now meant having to create it, and perform alone.
The days that I didn’t have to spend working in the flower-filled glass box- I spent writing songs, learning songs, making YouTube videos and busking on the boat docks overlooking Kempenfelt Bay… (not knowing it was illegal to busk without a license until the police approached me- woops!) But I didn’t let it get me down and was determined to find new places to play. (Keep scrolling down)
Continue reading “Finding Harmony”“Harmony is a noun that describes an agreement, such as in feeling, sound, look, or smell. It’s necessary for roommates to be able to live in harmony in a small space, or they’re in for a wake-up call. In music, harmony is a pleasing combination and progression of chords. If it makes you wince, it’s lacking harmony.”
Vocabulary.com Dictionary
I love words. They are incredible. They are used to express literally everything, and everyone uses them to convey certain messages to evoke certain emotions and realizations. There is no scarcity with them.. anyone can use them at any time! And your whole life experience is based upon the quality of words that you choose to plant into your mind and out into the world.
Without words we would not be able to express ourselves and communicate with one another to feel connected and loved, or have been able to enjoy the many great works of authors, poets, story-tellers and musicians that have added so much meaning and inspiration to life.
As a songwriter, writing has always been a therapeutic experience for me and has allowed me to reflect on all of life’s ups and downs, and transfer any harbored negative feelings onto paper to help lighten the heavy loads weighing down my own thoughts.
Unlike many inspiring artists stories on how they discovered music and developed talents completely on their own accord; my story differs as I am definitely the outcome of the environment that I was surrounded by growing up. Music has always been at the center of my life ever since I can remember; and hearing it around the house was such a major part of my childhood that it was like a second language to me.
I have been fortunate to have spent my youth immersed in so many different genres and styles of music; while being encouraged to feel the different rhythms and tones of each song through dancing, singing and jamming- while exploring any instrument that was in our house at the time.
Continue reading “Deeply Rooted” Music makes you present.
And as everyday is filled with constant distractions at every corner it is extremely hard to become fully present to really anything.
I find my solace and peace of mind in music and nature. For a brief moment in time while I am singing or listening to a song, or going for a walk in the forest or through the greenhouse; all of my anxieties, comparisons, deadlines and worries seem to just dissipate. Life once again becomes simple like it was when you were a kid; as you start to only pay attention to the sounds and vibrations of a song, or the sight and scent of your beautiful surroundings. Your mind is your own, and you aren’t overwhelmed by one thousand whirling thoughts.
When you temporarily tune out the chaotic world around you everything seems new and exciting again, and ideas begin to flow as you feel refreshed. For me this is what the feeling of creativity is. It’s a state of mind I crave and try to experience as often as possible… although at times it can seem next to impossible to attain.
Continue reading “Flowering Creativity” For as long as I can remember, I have always been deeply moved by music and drawn to it. The sum of my life today is simply the multiple pursuits added up all together of chasing the electric feelings of listening to, writing and performing songs. So far there hasn’t really been anything else in the world that compares to the feeling of playing music live and connecting to an audience, however this year I need to take a step back and add something else into the equation – recording!
Over the past ten years I have dedicated my time to absorbing as much music as I can by: reading and listening to EVERYTHING, locking myself in my room and practicing guitar almost every day, transforming my life experiences and made-up stories into songs, playing with and learning from many talented musicians, getting over being shy, and performing for anyone who was willing to listen.
The seed was planted in my mind a long time ago that one day I would be able to hold in my hands a tangible CD (haha “Seed-y”) comprising of my very own songs, and be able to expand the listening experience from live performance to recorded music, and share with others these captured moments in time that have given my life so much joy.
I have learnt that you really can’t rush music, and that good things take time to grow. 🌱 It’s not about the speed at which you post content, or how many views or likes you get.. or really any fleeting personal ambition; but rather music is about the lasting connection created with the song and listener, and how alive it makes them feel.
I am beyond excited for the next couple of months which will bring each song to life, and hope that my music will contribute to inspiring other artists and listeners just like their music has enriched my own life.
