Performing...

How I love performing!!! It is one of those rare pleasures in life that moves the very core of my being. Yesterday I had the pleasure of performing again with Ira Provost for the Alberta Teachers Asssociation in Calgary. We took a large van, piled the whole band inside and set off yesterday afternoon. When we got there, we had a hotel room waiting for us to chill out and relax for a little while, watch movies, eat some snacks and get changed for the show.

We went to the hall to do soundcheck. When I walked in the room, I noticed that my piano stand had already been set up (I am usually the one to do this). When I looked a little closer I noticed that there was something attached to my stand that wasn't there before. Brad Lang, my fabulous producer had surprised me with a mic boom that attaches to my piano stand. This takes away the need for a separate mic stand that gets in the way and is hard to manipulate. It was such a wonderful surprise. I gave Brad a hug and must have thanked him half a dozen times but it still doesn't seem like enough. He's always there, noticing what we need and making sure those things are there when we need them. We couldn't have asked for anything more last night. We were fed, there was a ton of water around to help with dry throats on stage, transportation and production was all provided by a fantastic team of people. Brad is the one who makes that happen and puts everything together. So Brad, thank you soooo much! Once again, you proved what we already know, you are one fantastic producer/manager/friend and we could not do what we do if you weren't there.

With that said, let me tell you a bit of what happened the rest of the night. There was a green room outside of the gig for us to gather prior to the show. We were well fed with prime rib, the most awesome spinach salad I have ever had and cheesecake. Then it was time to do our job.

We got on stage and everything was fantastic. We sang, we taught our audience about the issues facing Native people, we truly enjoyed ourselves. Everyone got off the stage afterward, looked at eachother and said, "That was AWESOME"! I got to do a solo of "Land of the Blind" which is a song I have loved since the first time I heard it. Ira did a lot of talking about the origin of each of his songs which was really interesting. He referenced a few other bands that inspired him and it was very interesting to hear where his inspiration came from.

After the set was over, we all changed back into our street clothes and prepared to leave for home. While we were waiting to go, I noticed a baby grand piano in the hall of the hotel. I sat down and started to play. The next thing I know, a guy is standing behind me listening....then another guy showed up. Pretty soon I had a little audience of my own. I wasn't playing anything specific, just sort of playing whatever notes came into my head. When I noticed them, I stopped playing to talk to them. The one guy said he would stand there as long as I would play, so I played some more. We talked about music, it's effect on people, the emotions behind songs that we play and how they are created. It was a fantastic time for me to connect with people while performing in a very small setting. Both gentlemen had been at our gig so we were also able to discuss Ira's album and his message.

We got home at around 1:30am, tired but happy that the night was a success. I woke up this morning full of energy and ready for another day. I felt like I had been on vacation for a week - that's what playing music does for me! If I could do this full time and make a living at it, there would be no stopping me!

I know I sound like a broken record, but I just have to tell you how grateful I am to God for providing me the opportunity to live out my dream of performing on stage, creating new music, and teaching people not only about God and His love for us, but also teaching about God's children and the issues that they face here on earth. God pointed me to Brad (who's link is on the top right hand corner of my blog for those who are interested) and life is now very busy, very different, but so very wonderful!

Next gig is scheduled for Saturday, March 21 at Lethbridge City Hall at 7pm. Hope to see you there!

P.S. You can see more about Ira, his message and his songs on his website, www.iraprovost.ca