Current Projects

The Evolution of the First CD - Peaceful Nation

This project started about five years ago when I first met Susan Dumont, and later Joane Cardinal-Schubert along with the then Board of CAAAS (The Calgary Aboriginal Arts Awareness Society). Susan & I, true to form, invited ourselves to a party we'd heard about not realizing that it was an intimate evening for CAAAS Board members and specifically invited guests. As a result we both eventually ended up volunteering for CAAAS because Joane saw an opportunity... I was honored to be asked by Susan Dumont on behalf of CAAAS to write and perform a song for the Opening Ceremonies of Aboriginal Awareness Week, and was as we all are here in the big city, pretty busy with work and life.

Six weeks before the opening I still hadn't written the song, didn't have my keyboard at home - and ended up writing it on the guitar I'd recently purchased which I really didn't know how to play. Fortunately, I had some basic knowledge - about six chords and the song only requires four - and these four chords happen to all be in my vocal range. I deliberated and prayed and went inside to those quiet places we don't spend a lot of time in to find some appropriate words to honour the theme of the United Nations - Peace, and the theme of CAAAS - Peaceful Nation. Thus the first song was born.

It is meant to honour the wisdom of ancient traditions and to tie our history to our future - remembering that it is our responsibility to ensure the continued health of our mother earth. Peaceful Nation also honours the struggles of those of us in unfortunate situations and hopefully reminds us that we are all looking for love, physical and spiritual nourishment, and a place to belong. We are a Peaceful Nation.

Mountain Song

Mountain Song was written the next year and again encompasses the United Nations and CAAAS themes. I still hadn't learned how to play my beautiful guitar all that well - but did learn a couple of tricks so the chords are a little mixed up from the year before. I spent a lot of time thinking and feeling about what mountains mean to me and to all of our cultures and traditions. The song began when I remembered a sweat I had gone to, hosted by George Blondeau out at Ghost Lake. Susan was the driving force behind the sweat evolving - and we actually were invited... George explained that the stones used in the sweat are grandfather stones carefully selected by an elder or group of elders. They speak to us. They listen to us. They come from the mountains and from the earth.

This song for me is about the longing we feel to be one with nature. It is about the power and beauty of the most natural and unspoiled regions on our planet. Those areas traveled by creatures that again, we must protect. Grizzlies and Angels are both wise beings. They are dangerous. They are beloved. As are Mountains. As are people. We all feel fear. We all feel a need to belong to something that we have known is a part of us and has been a part of us for longer that we can remember. And. We all are powerful enough to be agents of change for the betterment of our environments - internal and external.

Born to Be

Born to be was born the night before it was needed for a graduation ceremony honouring the young people graduating from the City of Calgary 'Born to Be' program. I had the opportunity to meet these beautiful young people who were working towards a better life for themselves and for their families. Seeing how much they had changed was inspirational. Wendy English is a huge blessing to the young people she coaches. Seeing too, how little they thought of themselves at the beginning of their journey was somehow awe-inspiring and definitely thought-provoking. To me they were so beautiful. These kids will make a huge difference.

At about 11:30 pm the evening before the grad, the song still had not come to me. Then I found myself with my guitar in my lap, sitting in front of the TV writing and strumming and the song was literally Born. Imagine my surprise when I realized that without any apparent deliberate effort on my part, the Chorus encompassed the name of the City of Calgary program - 'Born to Be'. The words became about realizing that we are one with nature. We are created to shine our lights in the world and we need examples to follow. When we become examples of accomplishment to ourselves we become role models for the generations following. The ability to achieve our dreams is always available, but we seem to spend a lot of time looking outside of ourselves for the strength and guidance that we ourselves posess. Look inside!! The song itself, unlike most of the songs I write - evolved in directions I did not predict. That is appropriate considering what it is about.

Randy Stef played it with me and encouraged me to keep the parts I was unsure of. They are still in the song. And then there was Sheldon. Poor Sheldon Zandboer. When I gave the song to him, I gave him a chord chart in my handwriting (ugh) to try to decipher along with a handheld tape recorder that I had used to record the vocals on DRIVING TO WORK that morning. So interspersed with the vocals are comments like 'oops - hang on, and 'okay I have to stop for a red light'. When I heard the arrangement Sheldon completed, it was quite a bit different than how I had written it. Understandably so!! I fell in love with it. I hope you do too. We are indeed Born to Be everything we can imagine. And More.