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Another rung around the tree

If I were a tree, then today, I would magically sprout a new layer of external shell.  You could cut me in half, count the layers, and discover my age.  Pretty wild when you think about it.  Looking at the inside of a tree is like looking at a story board for a book or movie.  Every line/layer is packed with information, stories, emotions, lessons, and experience.

However, these layers don’t just show up on their own.  The ground holds the base of the tree stable, allowing it to root and grow.  The rain and surrounding micro/macro creatures do what they do to help bring nutrients.  The sun shines on the leaves, provides energy, encouragement, and advice on where to go in its life.  It takes a forrest to raise a tree :).

These last few years, I have opened up to the wonders of collaboration.  For a long time, I tried to do everything on my own, and definitely added some tough layers to my stump!  When I look back today on how much stronger I have become from focused/intentional work with others, co-creating, and admitting that I need help, I feel an overwhelming sense of appreciation and gratitude.

Thank you to everyone in my forrest!  If you are reading this now, you have had a profound impact on me, and the latest rungs I have acquired are entirely because of you.  They are the best I have ever had, and all I can say is thank you!  I couldn’t have got here on my own.

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Like a human bone that becomes stronger and more dense as a reaction to bearing load, so do

New live video for “Thank You,” entered in CBC Searchlight 2017!

Exciting news! CBC has just started their 2017 round of Searchlight, a national program that helps bring new Canadian music to your lovely ears. I have entered it this year, and have put in a new song and video in lieu of my upcoming album release “All We Ever Need.” The song is called “Thank You,” featuring the amazing Chris Couto on Djembe, and is one of the most dearest to my heart.  This is the video I submitted:

(Video filmed and produced by Kale Beaudry http://klphotograph.com)

Searchlight works as a mixture of judges opinions as well as crowd voting. You can vote once per day, for any and as many artists as you like. I am one out of 12 in the “Folk,” category for “Vancouver City.”

Click the “Searchlight Vote Now” picture below to vote for “Thank You.”
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Round 1 goes from today till February 27th at 3pm. The prizes for this are pretty special, and include mentorship, a chance to write a song for Canada’s 150, and some incredible performance opportunities with CBC’s festivals around Canada Day in Ottawa.

I am inviting you to participate in this journey with me, however far it goes. You can vote once per/day at the above link, and I appreciate all and any help. If you connect to it, or think of someone else who might enjoy this song and its message, feel free to share!

*For the Facebookers out there, feel free to join the EVENT PAGE  and follow along for some entertaining, humourous, and uplifting daily voting reminders.

Lastly, there are a few other artists that I know and have personally played with before that are in my category. They are well worth looking into. If you feel inclned, vote for them too. They are fantastic people, and amazing musicians, and you can vote for as many artists as you like:

Natalie Ramsay
Echo Nebraska
NO MOTHERS

Thank you for time!

 

Bring your Soxy to The Roxy, Jan. 11th!

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Cool news!  I was invited to come play at The Roxy this Wednesday with some solid musical forces from around Vancouver.  I’ll also be making a special announcement to do with an upcoming music video about mismatched socks, so if you’d like to be a part of something very cool, come by the Roxy.

In lieu of this, I’m also doing a sock drive for those who could use some extra foot warmth out in the cold.  If you have some solo socks kicking around, and you don’t use them, bring them on Wednesday night, and I’ll make sure they find a good foot home.

Let’s have a good old Soxy night at The Roxy ;).

 

First song from “All We Ever Need” released on compilation album to support local food bank

I am so excited about this post today!  I am absolutely thrilled to announce the release of “Thank You,” the first song shared from my Spring 2017 release “All We Ever Need.”

The song has been added to a digital compilation album with 28 other incredible artists and bands in support of the food bank this Christmas.  This project was the brain seed of a special friend and musician, Luca Fogale, and I am so honoured to have my first track off the new community focused album put out this way.

29 songs by 29 artists, by donation, all going to a great cause!  Give the gift of music to your friends and family by clicking on the album cover below (A Bit of Light, Vol. 1) to purchase and help people out this season.

Happy Holidays all!!

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The Acoustic Guitar Project 2016 Success!

Wow……Thursday November 17th at St. James Hall – What a night!!  Still buzzing from a heart felt evening of incredible performances, impromptu jamming, and wonderful stories.

The Acoustic Guitar Project is the epitome of everything I love doing – Bringing a bunch of rad people together in a beautiful space through a form of shared creativity.  Nothing charges me up more than this!  Thanks to all the artists that brought this round of the project and night to life.  Here is where you can find them:

Sadie Campbell Music – http://www.sadiecampbellmusic.com/
Kristina Lao – http://www.kristinalao.com/
Joline Baylis – https://jolinebaylis.bandcamp.com/
Chicken-Like Birds – http://www.chickenlikebirds.com/
Tanya Gallagher – https://www.facebook.com/tanyagallaghermusic/

Thanks to all the great folks that came out to support the event, The Rogue Folk Club and volunteers for hosting the night, and to all the Sponsors (Corduroy Lounge, Eva Munroe, Float House, Tapestry Music, Craft Beer Market, The Rogue Folk Club) who donated a prize to the night.  The signed ukelele in the picture below (donated by Tapestry) was bought in the auction, re-donated, re-bought, and raised a good chunk of funds all by itself!  Rough estimates of door and separate donations are just over $2000 – all of which will be matched by the city, so the night is putting a minimum of $4000 back into repairing St. James Hall!  Amazing!  Also big thanks to Roundhouse Radio for the interview with Sadie Campbell and I.

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*This Sunday I am a part of another unique night at The Wise Hall downstairs lounge in East Vancouver, which will also be a fundraiser for St. James Hall.  This night, 12 artists will be sharing the stage, and covering each other’s music for an event titled “Second Hand Songs.”  It starts at 8pm, is $5, and will make for a very special evening.  Let’s keep the ball rolling :)!

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Album Recording Finished!!

WHAAAAAAAAAAAA????  Exsqueeze me?  Baking powder?  haha.  Yup, you read correctly!  After 90+ hours of recording over the month of October, my upcoming album, All We Ever Need, has been completely laid down!  It was a marathon that literally came down to the last 5 seconds of time I had in the studio, and what has resulted is absolute magic!  As we speak it is going through the mixing stages, followed by the mastering process, and I am so thrilled to hear it on the other end.

So many highlights throughout this experience.  One of them was having the likes of master percussionist, Chris Couto of Kutapira (and many other groups), lend his skills on conga and djembe for a couple of songs!

Big thanks to all who played on this (Shera Kelly, Blake Williams, Darren Beattie, Chris Couto, and Jon Anderson), and for all who helped contribute to make this kind of album a reality.  There are some wonderful surprises in store for you all :).

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Back in the studio with Mr. Blake Williams!

Pumped to be back at Protection Island with Jon Anderson today and tomorrow, continuing solid work on All We Ever Need.  Had the honour of having Bodhran superstar, Blake Williams join in for a very special tune.  Judging by our feet, I’m sure you can guess what song we were plugging away on….:).  It’s all sounding so so good!!!

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Recording of All We Ever Need has begun!!

Happy Thanksgiving all!

I can’t think of a better day to post this.  I began the recording of my new album  (All We Ever Need) with Jon Anderson on Friday and Saturday, and will continue on and off throughout this month and early November.  The first couple of days have been fantastic, and it’s sounding pretty sweet!  Brought in a couple of characters to contribute their musicality to a couple of tunes (Darren Beattie and Shera Kelly), and as you can see below, they know how to candidly pose for a camera :).

I am so thankful for all the support that made the recording of this album possible!  It’s been an overwhelming experience to hear back how it is already taking shape.  You guys and gals are gonna love it!

Enjoy the weekend, and more updates soon!

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New Bard’s Blog about tattoos, family, and The Tragically Hip

Hope you guys enjoy this one :).  Click on the photo for the blog:

Me and Zac backstage

Say what you need to say

Greetings!

Something happened recently that made me what to share a story.   I was sitting in a sushi restaurant the other day, and overheard a woman telling her friends about an old math teacher she had.  She said that when she got older, this teacher stuck out in her mind as someone who really took the time to connect, and had a profound influence on her life.  She had thought about going back to visit to her old teacher in her hometown to express her gratitude, but kept putting it off.

Many years later, she was chatting with a friend from high school, and this particular teacher came up in the conversation.  The woman said “I’d love to go say thanks to him.”  Her school mate then told her that the teacher passed away 5 or 6 years previous.

The woman was crushed, and then told the people at the table that she really wished she had said what she wanted to when she thought about it originally.  The missed opportunity left her feeling sad, but motivated her to sit down one afternoon to call or email anyone she felt she wanted to thank in some way.

5 years ago today, my Dad (Garry Averill) passed away, and “Thank you,” is something I feel lucky I got to say to him before it was too late.  In honour of my Dad, I’d like to encourage anyone who reads this to call someone that has had an impact in your life, and express your thanks.  It means a lot for them to know, and will feel great for you to say.

Don’t wait – you may not get the chance again.

Say what you need to say when you think to say it