Over the past couple weeks, I’ve been working on a new project (aside from fun Katy Perry covers, of course). When I was pursuing classical music full time, I really loved singing song cycles. A song cycle is a group of songs that are intended to be performed together, and share a similar theme throughout them. One of my favourites was Vaughan-Williams “Songs of Travel”, which is based on the set of poems by Robert Louis Stevenson with the same name. It’s an incredibly emotional journey through a vagabond’s life travels.

Pop singers have also written some pretty incredible song cycles (think concept albums like Meatloaf and Jim Steinman’s Bat out of Hell albums, or The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band). I’ve been working on my songwriting quite a bit over the last few weeks, but really needed something to motivate me. I’ve always been a project oriented person, so I thought working on my own song cycle might be a good way to keep me at the piano writing. So I’m working on a song cycle now (tentatively called “Songs of an Ancient Land”), based on both Scottish and Irish poetry. I was inspired heavily by classical song cycles like “Songs of Travel”, but wanted to cross over that kind of concept into a more pop music sound and feel.

The motivation has definitely worked! I’ve written rough drafts of one full song (that will appear near the end), and a prologue and epilogue to the cycle. The first song I wrote is called “Don’t scatter me”, with lyrics adapted from D.H. Cramer’s poem “The Final Gift”. I’ve posted a rough draft of the video below (rough as in, version .02 or so). I have the melody and words set, but no arrangement so far beyond the chord progressions. But I wanted to share it anyways, so here it is! Let me know what you think (and if you know any musicians who love to do arrangements...feel free to share!)

P.S. - I’ve since lost the beard and hair in a bout of spring cleaning. Ali took this typical photo of me in the pub:

 

 

 

I've decided to start a new feature here, where I can take cover requests from my Facebook page, put together my own version of them, and then post them here. Ali suggested this idea to me, so I've decided to do her request first. Here's my cover of Katy Perry's Last Friday Night (TGIF), as requested by Ali. If you have any cover requests, you can post them in the comments here, or on my Facebook page. Hope you enjoy! 

When I was young, I used to go to my Nana and Papa's cottage every year during the summer. It was definietly one of the highlights of my childhood. I can still remember how amazing it was to wake up in the morning, head out to the veranda, and look out at the lake while the morning dew was still in the air. 

Another thing I remember is Papa's beer mug (which, by the way, he still has). It looks like a mason jar, but has a handle on it. I've always thought it was the perfect glass for beer. Well, I ended up in Canadian Tire the other day, and was very proud to walk out of the store with my own set of perfect beer mugs. So, without further ado: 


Cheers!

After my busy time last month finishing up Starship Pinafore and then heading into a tour of Irish folk music, I thought I should I take a little sabbatical, and rest for a week before moving on to some new projects. After some further thought, I decided I would follow Placido Domingo’s mantra instead, “When I rest, I rust!”, and just keep plowing along.

Well, my body decided differently for me. This week I came down with my first cold for a long time, and it’s knocked me down pretty badly. I’ve been on a forced break(although I think it was probably a good idea in the first place). It’s hard to not practice, and I keep staring over at the piano longingly, but I’m letting my voice take it easy while I ride this cold out. In my next post, I’ll talk about the new project I’m working on (and hopefully get some video footage up as well!). Today, I’ll be a little divergent, and talk about one of my other great passions: reading.

As those of you who are close with me know, I am an avid reader. Ever since I got my Kindle, this addiction to reading has only become more intense. Recently, I even discovered an ingenious way to read my Kindle in the bath. Yes, I’m that obsessed.

One of my favourite genres is fantasy literature, and lately I’ve been reading a lot by a relatively new writer on the scene, Brandon Sanderson. I was first introduced to him when he took over The Wheel of Time series after its original author, Robert Jordan, passed away. I was instantly hooked. Sanderson not only took over a huge series with a massive fan following with great elegance, he also, in my opinion, elevated the series even higher with his fast, energetic prose. I could not put these books down (and that’s a bit of a problem when the books exceed 1,000 pages each).

A couple weeks ago I picked up one of his newest books, The Way of Kings. It’s meant to be the first book in a new series (I believe there are a planned 10 entires, over all). The story is captivating right off the bat. The prologue to the book is one of the most exciting introductions to a story that I’ve read in a long time. I don’t want to give anything away, but Sanderson proves how masterful he is at writing captivating action in these first few pages.

The next thing worth mentioning is the incredibly original world that Sanderson has created. The environment is almost a character in itself. Brutal storms that occur regularly have caused this world to evolve much differently than our own - plants hide inside rockbuds, and even water collects a stony sediment that has to be drained out before drinking.

The circumstances surrounding the main characters at the beginning of the book match this as well. Kaladin, a former warrior who has been doomed to slavery, faces an upward battle at the beginning of the novel (and actually, throughout most of it). Shallan, the other major character we’re first introduced to, is also overcoming some incredible burdens to attempt to aid her ailing family. It’s tough at first to endure these characters’ hardships, and I think that is also a testament to Sanderson’s writing. I felt for both of them right away, and my need for things to get better for them kept me hooked. Things get even more interesting when we are introduced to Dalinar, a high prince whose recent visions are causing him to doubt how both himself and his society at large function.

The book only got more compelling as I kept reading. The real climax of the book is almost 200 pages long (the book itself weighs in at over 1,000), and I ended up awake past 2:00 am one night, unable to put the book down until it was finished. The fact that Sanderson could keep that level of intensity throughout so many pages shows again what a talented writer he is. And the ending was incredibly satisfying. Most of the plot lines were resolved, but enough was left open to keep me anxiously awaiting the next book.

Although I’ve been sick and unable to practice, it was pretty great getting to indulge in my other passion this week. I highly recommend checking out The Way of Kings if you’re interested in a new fantasy series that is way different than anything you’ve read before.

I will be back in the practice room soon, and be posting here with some more news and videos. I hope April is treating you all well!

Following my run of Starship Pinafore, I had about 10 days to gear up for two Irish folk concerts last week in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day. This was the first program I’ve ever put together from the top to bottom, and it was a really rewarding experience. Along with some of the traditional Irish tunes you would expect to hear (Danny Boy, Whiskey in the Jar, Molly Malone), I dove into some early 20th century music, like “The Band Played On”, “A Long Way to Tipperary”, and my personal favourite, John McCormack’s most famous song, “I Hear You Calling Me”. I found a lot of this music from a John McCormack CD that I bought with about 50 tracks on it. It’s really cool to hear these recordings from the 1920s - even though the music is grainy you can still hear what an amazing voice McCormack had.

My journey started on Tuesday, when my Papa picked up David the pianist and I in Toronto. We made a quick stop over in Kingston for the night. We also went to ‘The Pilot House’, where my cousin Shirley has worked for the last 30 years. It’s an amazing little restaurant, right in old downtown Kingston. They have the best fish and chips I’ve ever had, and beautifully fresh Guinness on tap. And it was great to see Shirley again!

On Wednesday we headed to ‘Westwinds Restaurant and Lounge’ in Pembroke, Ontario (again, care of my Papa). The drive was a great way to catch up with Papa, who spent the last few weeks in Florida, and told me about his new friend who formerly worked for MI5 during the cold war (think James Bond!). We had a great performance that night, and like my last gig Pembroke, I was amazed at how kind and attentive Pembroke audiences are.

On Thursday we travelled back to Toronto (this time care of my Mom - amazing how much my family is willing to drive me around, and not have me or David on a bus for nine hours), and it was a quick turnaround time to our St. Patrick’s day gig on Saturday night at Harbord House. We had an awesome turn out, and it was a very lively crowd, as it should be on a St. Patrick’s Day. I was especially impressed and grateful for the huge group of people who came out from North Toronto Players. They are an amazingly supportive group, and I was so happy to see them.

After an energetic show, we put away our equipment, sat down at the bar, and partook in some tasty pints of beer in celebration of St. Patrick. Ali took some footage of the concert, so I’ve included it below. It’s our final song, “A Long Way to Tipperary”, followed by our encore. Hope you enjoy!