Montreal Continued...

Now for Saturday...

My beer gut was calling out for grease in the morning. Lindsay, Yael, Lenny and myself were all feeling rather groggy and conversation over breakfast wasn't all too exciting. We all pigged out on eggs, bacon and toast as the hotel staff all looked cranky for having to serve all of us folksters. I guess it would be a bit much for a fancy hotel like the Hyatt to have their hallways, elevators and rooms taken over by a bunch of party animals. We were no exception! That didn't seem to bother us though and we kept on eating until we were all stuffed. That would be our only meal in our bellies for a while...

Later that afternoon, we were preparing for our showcase, telling just about anyone who would listen about it and posting our bookmarks everywhere. We finally got a hotel room on the music floor and it was a really sweet spot, right by the elevators where everyone could hear us. I checked out a lot of great performers in SAC's Beaver Sweet Suite that evening. They had an incredible lineup, too many to name. I watched Arlene Bishop, Andy Stochansky and FRUiT. I could have stayed for the entire thing but we had lots to get ready ourselves! We ran into a really cool guy in the elevator named Dylan who we ended up going out for dinner with. Dylan and us girls had a lot of laughs as we ate our Asian noodles and talked about what it's like to live up in Canada's north. Dylan just happened to be involved with The Dawson City Music Festival, a festival I have heard lots about from the Constantines and Elliott Brood guys. It just goes to show that you never know who you're going to meet in the elevator!

Lindsay was a very smart girl later that evening and noticed that there was an hour break after Andy Stochansky's set in the SAC Suite. She went to the sound guy and asked him if we could play. He totally thought we were nuts at first and then started looking into it for us. Thanks to Lindsay, we were able to do a 30 minute set in that room and got to play for some very important people. It was so last minute that none of us were even warmed up. We literally ran to our hotel room to get Yael and her guitar. She was on the phone but hung up immediately and ran back to the Beaver Suite with us. People seemed to really enjoy our set. We got a few offers for interviews and most people were smiling.

After that, we were all so excited about our showcase-to-come. Yael called one of her funky Montreal friends to help us decorate our room. Marguerite showed up at 11:50pm, just in time to set everything up for our midnight start. She was amazing! She had brought all the perfect stuff. Our room transformed into this exotic, funky, super chill room with more style than you could ever imagine. We were so excited. Then the people stared to pour in and our room was packed for most of the night. We had some awesome people come and play and we met some really interesting folks. Most people who came to our party stayed for hours. It was a lot of fun. I got to play some guest flutin' with most of the people who played in our room. There was one blues artist named Mark ? (told you I was bad with remembering names!) who just knocked me off of my feet. We had a blast playing together! Lindsay and I were offered a tour in Spain from a music director from the region. We'll see if anything comes of that.

After our party closed down at 4am, I ended up jamming with a bunch of amazing musicians in the hallway. I have no idea who they were but let's just say I wish that I knew! We were playing lots of reggae, funky jazz, a little blues, folk and just about anything we felt like jamming out. I had some very special moments playing duets with Linsey, the sax/flute player from Galitcha. We were having so much fun all playing together that we only stopped when security came to shut us down. Then, it was off to another party where I played a huge solo with Justin Rutledge and other fine folks on the 10th floor. The room was packed with lots of Canadians as the sun was bringing on a new day outside.

At some point, I just crashed. Bed was calling out my name. By the time I got back to the room, I think it was 7am!!! Too bad it had to end as Saturday night was one of my most favourite nights of my life so far. You see, this whole tour including our time at the conference has taught me that I am doing the right thing, that I am meant to be a musician, that I do fit in and am considered to be worth listening to. Kind of like an Alchemist moment. It has encouraged me to persist with my dreams and has taught me that all the hard work I constantly put in is good preparation for putting me in the right place at the right time.

Someone once said to me that success happens when your hard work meets opportunity. I believe that and will continue to dedicate all of my energy so that I am ready for the time when those opportunities start coming my way...

Well, that's it for the tour. There's lots more but I fear that I may bore you if I continue with the rest. At least you know the important stuff. There's never a dull moment in my life so the stories will keep coming...

Love Rozalind