Life Does Turn Around, Especially When You're in Seattle - Part Two

Laura Gibson performing at the Sunset Tavern

Adam Selzer, main singer of Norfolk & Western

What a fantastic night. Yup, it does make a difference to just get yourself out there experiencing new things sometimes. Not only did I get to listen to some amazing live music last night, I got to meet some wonderful people from the Seattle indie music scene. None of that would have happened if I hadn't gotten myself out of the house and stepped outside of my comfort zone.

Last night, I went with my Seattle friends Courtney and Peter to a show at the Sunset Tavern. Portland's Laura Gibson and Norfolk & Western were performing as well as a band from Seattle called The Stares.

The night began with beautiful Portland songstress Laura Gibson blowing us away with her intimate and goosebump inducing set of songs for voice, classical guitar, musical saw, violin, banjo, trumpet and keyboard. Laura was magical and impressed me with her gentle, modest and inviting approach to performing. Her bandmates Peter Broderick and Cory Grey were such sensitive musicians who played gorgeous arrangements to Laura's songs. They complimented her performance and added much magic but without ever taking away the spotlight from Laura. It was something magical to experience and it reminded me that we CAN play music that is mostly melodic, beautiful and mellow and still fully captivate our audience. It's all about the music and how you approach the audience.

I spoke with Laura after her performance and offered my flutistic services at a future show. She told me that she's never tried flute out on her stuff before so now I'm extra excited to be the first flutist to collaborate with her. When she gets herself to Canada, we're going to try something out at a live show. Can't wait as I think Canada will love her.

Then a Seattle band called The Stares played a gorgeous set as well. The female vocalist who also plays keys had a voice that turned heads, especially on one song which I only wish I knew the title of as it really stood out from all the rest. Apparently they have a new CD coming out soon and I'm excited to hear it when it's released.

And then there was Norfolk & Western. These folks blew me away in every way. I especially loved the unique and captivating vocals of Adam Selzer and the fantastic drumming of Rachel Blumberg who just happens to be the ex drummer of the Decemberists. I always admire female drummers as I think it takes a lot of guts to play that role in the indie scene. Rachel was amazing and was everything I would look for in the ideal drummer for my own music. It especially blew me away when she picked up the banjo for a song! I was also taken back by multi instrumentalist Peter Broderick who played so many instruments last night, I wondered whether there was anything he couldn't play! These folks did an unbelievable set that had everyone in the audience excited. I expect to see and hear a lot more from these fine and talented musicians.

And you know what really impressed me about these folks as well? They were really friendly people. I went up to Adam Selzer at the end of the night, letting him know that I'd love to try flute with them sometime and asked if there was any way that I could buy one of their CDs with Canadian money. He said yes to both! That warmed my heart. Thanks a bunch Adam if you're reading this. : )

I also have a really good feeling about the indie vibe in Seattle, especially the folks I met last night. When I smiled at people in the bar, they smiled back, and with a warm and genuine smile! It warmed my heart to feel so welcome in a new city and a new scene. I think I'm going to be spending a lot of time in Seattle over the winter. It's only a three hour ferry ride to get here from Victoria afterall.

So you see, things really do turn around if you just put yourself out there.

I am so excited to see what happens next as I continue my fun visit in Seattle. I'm sure there will be many crazy moments. I'm going to see Jonathan Richman perform on Monday! I can't wait...

Life Does Turn Around, Especially When You're in Seattle

So I know I'm supposed to be sharing all those revealing stories from my past four months of touring but that's going to have to wait for another rainy day. I'm too much of an optimist to be whining about what's wrong in my life and I'm learning that life does turns around if I'm patient enough to let that happen. Today is a good example of that.

I had gotten myself really down in the dumps over the past few days. My last post is an example of that. Guess that's normal when you've been on the road for this long and when you're feeling stuck. With all the darkness that I was feeling, I was questioning why I was pursuing a life as a musician. With an industry that is so harsh and so competitive, especially to it's emerging artists, I was losing faith that I had a special place in it. I was ready to give it all up as it all felt too damn difficult and I was tired of struggling.

It was at that moment that I remembered what one of my musical mentors said to me last winter in Banff. She explained that life as an artist can be such a huge sacrifice and that there would be many moments when I would want to give up. She explained that as I continue to climb the success ladder, I will feel lonelier and lonelier towards the top and that many people will want a piece of my success and will do anything to get it from me. She explained that I will make people react more and more, that I will make many enemies without even knowing what I did wrong. She said that I will see the ugliest sides of people and that people will let me down when I least expect them to. She told me that it is important to always keep going in those dark moments and that I must believe in myself. I think we all need to be reminded of that stuff sometimes and it was comforting to be reminded of her words.

Well I thought long and hard about what she said yesterday and decided to take control of my life, to turn things around for the good. I did and it was easier than you think.

I looked online at Seattle's weekly, The Stranger. Checked out the concert listings and started checking out the websites of so many artists that I knew nothing about. It was really fun to do and got me all excited about discovering a bunch of new artists and a totally new music scene. Seattle's just buzzing with important musical institutions, especially for indie music. This is the home of Sub Pop Records afterall, a label I dream of being signed to.

Through my curiosity, I discovered an American indie folk artist who I had never heard of, the beautiful indie folk songstress from Portland, Laura Gibson. I immediately fell in love with her music as soon as I heard her stuff on MySpace. She reminds me a lot of Eastern Canada's Julie Doiron.

Then it hit me... I thought about all those moments when I just put myself out there and true musical magic came of it, like the recent moment in Edmonton when I ended up performing flute with Raising the Fawn. And even though I don't have an American cent to my name and have no idea how I'm getting to Laura's show tonight, I've already sent her an email to offer my flutistic services and am really excited about seeing her show.

Who knows what will happen tonight but I've lifted my spirits just by deciding to put myself out there. I'm also confident that tonight's show will be a fantastic one and that many new musical friends will be made by the end of the night.