My Baby

In October of 2010, I played an opening performance at my friend Jessica Myroon's CD release party at The Habitat in Kelowna for the release of her first album.  I was so moved and inspired by this amazing young girl (she was only 16 at the time) releasing her very own album.  So many people came out to support her, and the energy in that tiny venue was stronger than anything I'd ever felt.  Jessica's success was enormous, and that was the night that I met her brother and producer, Tyler, for the first time.

After my opening performance Tyler approached me and we talked for a while about the possibility of recording an album.  I loved the way that Jessica's album held the preservation of everything natural about her music.  Nothing was overproduced, and nothing was perfect.  It was a pure, imperfectly beautiful replication of her music.  And that's exactly what I wanted to be able to create for myself.

My biggest pet peeve in the world of recorded music is the overproduction of it all.  Don't get me wrong, I love the hottest auto-tuned pop song just as much as the next girl, but when it comes to true, raw, beautiful talent...I find that the true elements of gorgeousness in the vocals and the rhythms often get overlooked and lost in the production stages.  And there is nothing worse than seeing a band or an artist live and feeling that "oh, they sounded way better on recording..." feeling.  I'd rather it be the opposite, actually.

After scraping together a few measly dollars, I made it my 2011 goal to complete this album.  I even put off my education another year in order to pursue it.  The second weekend in January, I held a big fundraiser show at the bistro where I was working.  I couldn't believe how many people showed up...and how much money I raised with my "entrance by donation" approach.  It was such a simple show, just me and a few musical friends of mine, 2 small amps and my outdated equipment.  But it set in stone the promise that I was going to actually do this.

I began recording at West Ave Studios in Salmon Arm a week later.  The 90 minute drive there and back gave me a lot of time to warm up my vocals (I remember that Carrie Underwood was my best friend on those drives) and reflect on what I really wanted this album to be.  And for what Tyler and I had to work with in the small, developing studio, and the fact that he was simply one producer and I was simply one musician, I am proud to say that this album has blown every expectation that I ever had for it WAY out of the water.

Everything was completed by July of 2011, and I was in the planning stages of a CD release, when life took a major turn and in less than two weeks I was on my way to Calgary, AB, with my entire life packed into my tiny Dodge Neon.  I had to cancel upcoming shows as I suddenly was moving to another province.  My move to Calgary was a long time coming (I had been planning it for 3 years) but still all happened so fast when I actually decided to go for it.  Life got incredibly crazy from that moment forward, as I began working two serving jobs and trying to get used to my new city, my new apartment, my new friends and some other major personal life changes.  Fall turned to Winter and all of a sudden, boom, I was in School.  Just like that.  Everything about the album had been put on hold, and I actually still haven't written a single song worth recording since I left Kelowna.  Life has just been too busy.

I felt guilty and discouraged when I let myself realize that over half a year had passed since the completion of the album, and it was still just sitting there, lifeless.  I had myself convinced that in order to release it, I had to have a release show, hard copies of the album to sell, and all of my ducks in a row for online distribution as well.  This would have cost thousands of dollars that I didn't have, and not to mention that I have spent most of my life in Calgary working between 60 to 110 hours per week.

I came down with a brutal flu a few weeks ago that put me out of commission for a few days, and I took advantage of the extra time in bed to piece together my album release.  I decided that an online release is not only better for my wallet (and yours) but it is also exponentially more environmentally friendly.  So I just went for it, kind of sporadically, and now ten days later, My Baby has been born!  I still have 6 months to go until I am finished school, and I'm working on top of that, so I won't have much time for performances or promotion until early 2013.  But I figured simply getting my music out there was one small step in the right direction, and I promise you all, that there is much, much more to come.  Life just has to settle down a little bit, and my priorities will eventually shift back to where I truly want them...

I just wanted to write this post to anyone who is reading to basically say Thank You.  Thank You for your love, Thank You for your support, Thank You for your inspiration, Thank You for coming to my shows, Thank You for buying my album, Thank You for waiting so patiently, Thank You for never rolling your eyes or laughing at me when I came up with this crazy idea, Thank You for standing by me even when I went MIA for weeks at a time, Thank You for sharing my music with your friends, and most of all, Thank You for believing in me, even when I didn't.

There is a lot of heart and soul laid out in this album.  Some of the songs are 5 years old and some of them are recent.  One was even written in 1979 by my incredible aunt Connie right before she passed away.  I know it's only 7 songs, but every single word means something enormous to me.  As many of you know, I get pretty emotionally involved with my music.  And, for that reason, this album truly does feel like My Baby.  I loved it, nurtured it, fed it and watched it grow, and I didn't ever kick it in the teeth when it was pissing me off to no end, even though some days I really, REALLY wanted to.

I sincerely hope you enjoy it.

xo-ac