This has been a really excellent week of music provided by the Coldsnap Music Festival people. They organize a series of musical concerts at night and also mini-concerts during the day. I had the pleasure of taknig in Diyet, an aboriginal songstress from the Yukon. Also saw Dala from Scarborough (yeah Scarborough!) Jake Morley from the UK, and local Derek Joyce from PG. Jake was really cool because he had his guitar on his lap and he would hit the neck with both hands as he played. Interesting to watch. "Many Fish to Fry" was a great song with the line "Meet a girl taxidermist in a geothermal pool". We also had Betsy Trumpener from CBC there to record the show and facilitate the workshop. Later that day, I saw Ewan Dobson at Long and McQuade and he was a metalhead who studied classical music and then sort of fused it together with world music. It was amazing to watch his fingers working over the fretboard and his rifts were hypnotic.
Friday was a real highlight. The Old Time Fiddlers opened for Daniel Lapp and Jason and Pharis. We did our 3 songs as the beginners and that was neat. Met Carmen who is managing the troops at the Lac there. She's enjoying her stint there and doing well from what I've heard. It was a real treat to watch Jason and Pharis sing. They take many old songs from the 30's and 40's and give the history of the song. They have a fantastic blend of voices and I noticed that the sound seemed to envelop the audience and transfix everyone. This was most apparent when the song's final notes stopped and the audience was entranced for just a few milliseconds before they clappedd. What a show! And how fantastic it was to hear Daniel Lapp play. He is a PG boy with a great legacy. He plays all types of stuff with his fiddle and his electronica tunes were also captivating. He even pulled out a trumpet for a tune. As the encore, all 5 performers came out and sat on the edge of the stage and did their 2 tunes without benefit of electronics. It was an interesting excersise to be part of an event that has been happening for hundreds of years...people gathering around to take part in music. I also wondered who would be singing their songs in a hundred years and if they think about that. What legacy will my songs have if any? Still, to be here in the moment and enjoy them has been enough. I finished off the Coldsnap Festival by watching the same group at Knox United and the accoustics in there were also amazing and seemed to stretch the space with their energy.
Getting geared up for Japan and Europe and have started making inquiries into booking flights but have not settled on a landing spot just yet. Might bike up from Spain or Italy?? Who knows???
Friday was a real highlight. The Old Time Fiddlers opened for Daniel Lapp and Jason and Pharis. We did our 3 songs as the beginners and that was neat. Met Carmen who is managing the troops at the Lac there. She's enjoying her stint there and doing well from what I've heard. It was a real treat to watch Jason and Pharis sing. They take many old songs from the 30's and 40's and give the history of the song. They have a fantastic blend of voices and I noticed that the sound seemed to envelop the audience and transfix everyone. This was most apparent when the song's final notes stopped and the audience was entranced for just a few milliseconds before they clappedd. What a show! And how fantastic it was to hear Daniel Lapp play. He is a PG boy with a great legacy. He plays all types of stuff with his fiddle and his electronica tunes were also captivating. He even pulled out a trumpet for a tune. As the encore, all 5 performers came out and sat on the edge of the stage and did their 2 tunes without benefit of electronics. It was an interesting excersise to be part of an event that has been happening for hundreds of years...people gathering around to take part in music. I also wondered who would be singing their songs in a hundred years and if they think about that. What legacy will my songs have if any? Still, to be here in the moment and enjoy them has been enough. I finished off the Coldsnap Festival by watching the same group at Knox United and the accoustics in there were also amazing and seemed to stretch the space with their energy.
Getting geared up for Japan and Europe and have started making inquiries into booking flights but have not settled on a landing spot just yet. Might bike up from Spain or Italy?? Who knows???