*spring cleaning*

I've been purging.

Our house needed a good overhaul.

My hair needed a good overhaul. I just cut several inches off. Feels good.


So, remember my "cleanse"?

For the month of May, I was going without caffeine, booze, chips and candy.

The booze and chips and candy part was pretty easy.

I was going along just fine until the morning of May 22nd. I don't know what came over me, but I just went to Starbucks and asked for my regular order - "double short non-fat latte". I just gave up after 21 days.

I really missed coffee! After a week, the physical craving was mostly gone (the headache)

But, the habitual side of it just gnawed at me. We tried some decaf espresso, and that was pretty good! But it did taste different, and I didn't get that buzz.

Anyway - I'm back on the caffeine and I'm loving it. So there!


Next week is going to be a very busy and exciting week. I'm going to be in Montreal for a few days, performing at a corporate event, then flying back into Toronto on Wednesday morning to go to a sound check at Massey Hall for the Neil Young Tribute concert Wednesday night.

As part of the Luminato Festival, they are recreating Neil Young's 1971 concert at Massey Hall. The concert was recorded but not released until a few years ago.

All the songs he played that night will be performed in the original order, but each by a different artist.

Artists include Sarah Slean, Steven Page, Holly Cole, Cowboy Junkies, Carol Pope...


I will be performing as a trio with Kathryn Rose and Melanie Doane. We were given the song "Cowgirl In The Sand" to interpret.

It's interesting to note that many of the songs in this set list were very new to Neil Young when he played them on that night in 1971. Many of them were recorded on later albums. But that night it was just him and his guitar.

It's daunting to try to present someone else's song like that.

That seems like a crazy thing for me to say because I do it all the time! I'm not a songwriter. I'm decidedly an interpreter of song. I've taken many songs and rearranged them to suit my musical whims!

In a way, it's different with jazz standards. Many of those tunes have been done over and over again, in many different ways. That's part of what I love about them. It takes a great song to withstand the test of time - to withstand so many treatments, tempos, styles, voices...

Neil Young's songs have been recorded by other artists too. It's not so much that. But this is a tribute to that special night - to this prolific man and his work. I wonder if he's going to be there.....

I feel a little bit more pressure in this case.

I think the pressure lies in the fact that the composer of the original tune might hear our interpretation.

We don't worry about such things when singing Gershwin tunes.

The title track of my last album "Haven't We Met?" was written by Kenny Rankin, who is still making beautiful music. When I was recording my version of his tune, the thought of his hearing it DID cross my mind.

Actually - I'm going to send him a copy! Why not? I hope he likes it...

But, back to Neil Young... the girls and I have collaborated on "Cowgirl In The Sand" and come up with an arrangement that I'm quite proud of. Aaannnd...we'll be accompanied by the talented Kevin Breit on June 10th at Massey Hall! What fun!

Going out into the sunshine now to take Rexy for a walk, then buckling down to work on some charts.

*Tuesdays With Morrie*

I'm in a play!


Well. Not really. But my voice is.


Hal Linden (yes, Barney Miller) and Rick Roberts are starring in Tuesdays With Morrie, opening tonight at the Winter Garden Theatre. The play is directed by Ted Dykstra and is written by Jeffrey Hatcher and Mitch Albom.

Remember the book?




In the story, Mitch's wife Janine is a singer, but she is not ever seen in the play. We only hear her voice. That voice you will hear is mine. It's just a small moment, but I am so proud to be a part of this production!

The talented Creighton Doane is responsible for the music and sound design. And you'll hear the exceptional pianist Dave Restivo playing some jazzy cues throughout the show.


The show opens tonight and runs until May 31st. Get your tickets here.

I'm going to the opening night tonight! I'll take some snaps.

*coffee headache*

If you've been following me on Twitter at all, you will note that I've made several references to giving up coffee....temporarily!

Well, here's the deal. I decided that May would be the month of....depriving myself of a few things.

So I've given up (JUST FOR THE MONTH) caffeine, alcohol, chips and candy.

Candy is the easy part for me. I don't really crave sweets at all. I don't even usually have dessert. I'm more of a potato chip girl. Alcohol has been easy too. But it quickly becomes clear how present alcohol is everywhere, especially in this line of work. Going to events and not drinking is kind of odd. But you get to watch people around you get loopier, and that's always amusing - for 15 minutes. Then I'm ready to go home...

It's the coffee part that's killing me.

I am 7 days along now and I think the low-grade headache has finally disappeared.

This started out as sort of a cleanse, but ended up really being about proving that I could go without these things.

Anyway, several Twitter-ites had asked if I'm GIVING UP coffee. Gosh no! I'm simply letting absence make the heart grow fonder. I plan to put my Barista to work on June 1st!

But I have to wonder. When I get THAT much of a headache from lack of caffeine.....what is it doing to me? That's the scary part.

Giving up chips had been fairly easy too. The hardest moment was last night, when I had my step-sons crunching on all-dressed Ruffle chips on my right, and D mowing down on candied peanuts on my left. Torture! But I resisted.

I'm just trying to get away from that mindless snacking thing...not good.


In other, way more interesting news....I can now announce that I will be playing the Montreal Jazz Festival on July 2nd at Club Soda. This will be such a fun show. Don't miss it! You can get your tickets by clicking HERE.


A few other summer dates were just posted on the website - more to come.

And now for a few random pics:




If any of you were wondering about Rexy's little friend.... Bear is still around (most of him) He is definitely worn and, actually, pretty gross. (I do wash him but...) This is Rexy taking a nap with Bear. He still takes him on walks.






This is D trying to get some work done on his laptop. It must have been time for Rexy's evening walk. Yes, he is allowed up on the couch.





Last weekend we saw the most unbelievable rainbow at the cottage. There were actually two rainbows, one over top of another one. We didn't have the camera so I used my laptop to take these photos. It was just perfect!

*shenanigans*

I've been sucked in by Twitter. It was at the suggestion of my publicist that I first signed up. But now I'm all a-Twitter! For those who aren't familiar with Twitter, it really is just one big status update.

You have 140 characters worth of room to express what you're feeling, doing, eating, watching, or thinking at any given minute. It can be addictive, like any social networking type of site. I'm sure that the novelty will wear off, but for now it's still fun and new.

If you want to read my Tweets, just go here: ECB on TWITTER!


I'm warning you, at the moment I'm Twittering, (Tweeting?) quite a bit about Major League Fantasy Baseball. I am in a fantasy league consisting of 8 teams, through MLB.com

I'm playing against 7 family members and we each drafted our own team. Every week we are paired up against an opposing team from our league. You gain or lose points depending on how your team's players do in their actual real-life games.

I drafted (with the help of my step-son) a pretty good team that includes Ryan Howard of the Phillies, Coco Crisp (Kansas City), Brian McCann (Atlanta Braves). I also have the Red Sox Pitching Staff. My other pitching staff is the San Francisco Giants, but they're on my bench right now. At the beginning of each week, you can move players around as you wish, and then you are stuck with your decision for the week.

This first week, I've been playing against my eldest step-son and it has been neck-and-neck the whole time. Right now as I type, we are coming to the end of the week, and I am up by only 1 point. But there are still a few games to be played before the week officially comes to a close tonight.

It's thoroughly entertaining and fun, and good healthy competition without ACTUALLY having to step on to a REAL baseball diamond where, for me, disaster would almost certainly ensue.

I remember one time in...lets say Grade 5...we were playing baseball in gym class. I, being decidedly UNsporty, was dying a little inside as the teacher decided I should be back-catcher. Oh god. See, I had NO idea how to play baseball. This always happened to me in gym class. The teacher just ASSUMED that everyone knew how to play baseball, or hockey or whatever the sport of the day was. They never actually explained it in any kind of detail.

Who doesn't know how to play baseball? You just hit the ball with the bat! Duh!

Well - have you ever actually tried to explain the entire game of baseball to someone? It's not that easy! I challenge you.

There are a lot of elements to baseball. It's actually quite complicated when you really think about it. Yet, it seems so simple from the outside. Hit a ball with a bat. That's the beauty of it I guess. But even that is pretty tricky. Hitting a round object with another round object. Not easy!

Anyhoo...back to the horror of Grade 5 gym class...


As back-catcher, I thought I was just supposed to catch the ball if the batter didn't hit it. I didn't know I was supposed to TAG anyone. As far as I was concerned, my job ended when I caught the ball (which I couldn't even do). It quickly became clear that I had NO idea what was going on, and after allowing the other team to score, multiple times....I was relegated to the outfield, which was no less terrifying.

I would just stand out there and plead: Please don't let them hit it to me. Pleeeeease don't let them hit it to me.

I just remembered....Adam Sandler does a funny bit on his comedy album about this very subject. He's standing in right field, cheering loudly for his team, and then just hoping and praying under his breath that nobody hits it anywhere near him.

Just did a quick search and came up with the Adam Sandler bit HERE


Yep. That was me - but without all the yelling. I wouldn't have dared. My goal was to try to be as invisible as possible. Gosh, I wouldn't wish that feeling on anyone. It was sheer terror.

Even when we played volleyball in gym class. I would RUN OUT OF THE WAY when the volleyball was headed in my direction.

I'm a little less clutzy as an adult, but only slightly. I can do some sporty things, like waterskiing. And I got over my fear of the volleyball last year at the cottage, thanks to my very helpful and encouraging step-sons, who even WANTED me on their team, which was a far cry from being picked near last in gym class. But, I'm not naturally athletic. Go ahead, try to picture me on a bike. It's funny, right?

Sometimes I make an attempt to throw the tennis ball overhanded for Rexy, instead of my usual trusty underhanded lob, and it somehow manages to end up BEHIND me.

Yeah!

Then he's standing there, head tilted: did'ya throw it?

And I'm trying to pretend... I meant to do that! Haha! tricked you! I threw it backwards! hhha (oh.....I hope nobody's looking!)

Anyway, being UNsporty does not mean I'm not competitive. Oh, no. I am extremely competitive, so this fantasy league baseball thing suits me just fine. And the upside is that there is no danger of being hit in the head with a ball.



Now, on to something less baseball-ish.....

We had a very well attended (sold out!) show at the Living Arts Centre on Friday in Mississauga. I'll keep you posted on when the concert will air on CBC radio. I believe it will be played three times in all. More on that later.

I'm really looking forward to Tuesday. I'll be playing a concert at the Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto. This concert was only announced 3 weeks ago and it is almost sold out. So if you're planning on coming down, get your tickets today! I love playing the Glenn Gould and I actually really love being an audience member in that theatre too. The acoustics are outstanding!

We (the band and I) have been on the road a lot and are really tight, so it will be a great show to see. We'll be doing plenty of tunes from the new album and from The Very Thought of You as well as some favourites from older recordings.

That's this coming Tuesday, April 21st at the Glenn Gould Studio - 8:00PM


On another note, I did a fun interview with jazz vocalist and avid blogger Shannon Butcher - see video in the post below. The video is part of Shannon's "Inside the Jazzer's Studio" series on her blog. This, however, is the first time that she has interviewed her subject on video! One of the questions she asked was "What is your favourite word?". I stumbled around a bit and came up with a few good ones, but of course, as soon as I got back in my car, it dawned on me: SHENANIGANS! That's totally my favourite word! SHENANIGANS is a fabulous word. Even the definition of shenanigans has good words in it like 'trickery' and 'mischief'. Ah well. Sometimes I flail when put on the spot in such situations.

Now....I'm going to go over and sit at the piano now, and I shall not get up until I have learned a new song.

*Inside the Jazzers Studio*

*in vancouver now!*

Okay, so I haven't been a very good blogger. Blogs are best when updated frequently. I know this. I always have the best of intentions, but.....life happens and I get overwhelmed.


Currently, I'm in Vancouver.

But let me back up a bit.


We had the most amazing and successful Quebec tour. I'm still feeling very warm and fuzzy about it. All in all we played twelve shows in Quebec from March 19th to April 5th.

There was definitely some routine to it. A comfortable sameness to the order of things: leave hotel, drive to venue, load-in, sound check, dinner, make-up & hair, show, intermission, show, autograph session, settle show, load-out, drive to hotel.

Yet, every day was very different in many ways, most importantly new venue, and new audiences!

We played some beautiful theatres. There were definitely highlights, like the Grande Theatre de Quebec in Quebec City. Oh - there was a major meal highlight in Chicoutimi. Go to the International Cafe in Hotel Chicoutimi if you get the chance.

So many musical highlights! And laughs.....oh how we laugh. When you spend as much time together as my band mates and I did over the last few weeks, you get pretty tight, and pretty silly. We all love to laugh and we do heartily, and often. And it does a body good, I tell you!

And man, is the band sounding tight musically! It's very fun.

We played out last show of the QC tour in Montmagny, which is about an hour east of Quebec City. After the show, we drove back to Quebec City to stay the night. Yesterday was a 9 hour drive home to Toronto in absolutely crappy, snowy weather. I got home, unpacked, organized, and re-packed for Vancouver.

This morning, I awoke at 5:30am and went to the CTV building to do Canada AM. We hurried up and waited (thats TV land) then played "All I Do Is Dream Of You" and it was all over & done.

Oh, no. Wait. There was more to it than that. Before we played, but after I came out of hair & make-up, I went back to the green room, where Ross was standing in the doorway, looking....concerned.

"Something's happened..." said he.

"What's that?" I asked?

He pointed to his feet, or his shoes, rather.

GASP!

One very clearly BLACK shoe, and one very clearly BROWN shoe. Two completely different shoes. Oh. My. Gosh.

Needless to say, we had some good laughs about that. I actually never did find out who first noticed his.....contrary clogs. I wish I was there for the moment of discovery. Gosh, you go to make up for half an hour and you MISS STUFF!

Did anyone notice it on the show this morning? Watch your PVR frame by frame and send me a screen capture!!

All I Do is Dream of Shoe, the whole night through


And so it began.


The Very Thought Of Shoe. And I forget to do. The little ordinary things, that everyone ought to SHOE....

Still laughing...
I rushed home, grabbed my suitcases and then the car was there to take me to the airport.

The flight to Vancouver was smooth. The only drag was that it was an older plane. No tv screens on the backs of the seats, but more importantly, no outlet to plug my laptop into. I had to conserve like crazy so that I could listen to my new Bruce Cockburn recording: Slice O' Life, his new live solo album. Very good.

I'm very much appreciating minimalistic music right now.

First of all, my band is somewhat minimalist. No drums, no piano. Yet, it does not feel small. It does not feel like anything is missing. It's quite dynamic, quite full, quite satisfying....but without any extra bells & whistles.

Don't get me wrong.....bells and whistles are both very enjoyable. Especially bells.

But here you get the real deal. There is nowhere to hide. Everyone is contributing in a major way.

When I listen to Bruce Cockburn or James Taylor (One Man Band live DVD/CD) it reminds you that these guys are the real deal. They don't need to hide behind huge production, or extra sounds. They are it.

And...their songs stand up to minimalist treatments. They can play, they can sing, they can emote, they can MOVE you.

Anyway.....I feel very excited about music right now. I am making a pact....with myself....to listen to more music. I'm going to listen to music everyday.

Seems simple. Seems obvious. But with all the stuff that is going on in my life right now - wonderful stuff, press, touring, business.... sometimes I forget to allow myself to get lost in music. To just sit back and listen, just for the sake of listening.

Well, we landed, and I was picked up and brought to this very cute hotel for a brief time to freshen up before I was shuttled over to Capilano U. for a rehearsal with the "A Band". We're doing a concert on Thursday where I will sing with the big band and also with the vocal jazz choir. The band was sounding good!

I must sleep now. It has been such a long day. Tomorrow starts early too. I'm being picked up at 8:30 to go to CBC Vancouver for an interview, then over to SHAW to perform one tune live on "Urban Rush".


More later...

*Press Tour Day 7 / Tour Day 1 & 2

Wednesday was the last day of my official 'press tour'. The day was a very full one. We recorded Studio 12 at Espace Musique all day. That's me with Bruno Pelletier and Catherine Duran, above.

Check the Radio-Canada website for airdate.

On Thursday morning, I actually slept in a little bit! I eased into the day and then worked until the guys (my band) got here. I started to organize all my stuff for the shows and quickly realized that I was missing my shaker. I think I left it at the Belle et Bum set. So I walked down to Steve's music and bought a new one. It's not quite the same as my normal shaker, which is a "LP SoftShake". (Sponsorship deal LP?)

Anyway, this one is similar - but it is RED. Bright RED! I decided it would do just fine.

The guys arrived at about 2:00 and we got them all checked in. At about 3:00 we headed out to our first venue of the tour.

For most of the Quebec dates in March, we're going to stay in one hotel in downtown Montreal, as the theatres are not too far outside the city. Our first stop, Longueuil, is just about 15 minutes from our hotel!

We arrived at the theatre, unloaded, and did our sound check, then grabbed a bite to eat and got ready for the show!

I'm happy to say that it was SOLD OUT! What a great crowd! I love it - SOLD out in mid-March. Rock & Roll!

Jazz & Swing!


I did a CD signing after the show and got a chance to meet and chat with some really lovely people. I do love that part.

Today, I had the morning off again so I tried to make a dent in my email and get some things done.

We left in the mid afternoon to go to our second destination, Beloeil. Beloeil is about 30 minutes east of Montreal. What a gorgeous little town! I would love to see this place in the summer time. A picturesque town on the banks of Riviere Richelieu.

Again, it was a great theatre, with really nice warm people. They were ready for us, and like Longueuil, cared about the details in the lighting and stage set-up.

We had a VERY good crowd in Beloeil. For the second night in a row - we got a standing ovation and an encore. Again, after the show I went out and met with the audience. An enthusiastic group of real music lovers.

We packed up and were on our way back to the hotel in downtown Montreal.

Tomorrow is a similar day. Our show is in Sainte-Genevieve, which is about 30 minutes in the other direction. (north-west)
More to come. It's late and I've run out of energy, the energy to provide too many details....

But we're on the road for a while now - so there's lots to come.

*billets à gagner!*

Deux billets à gagner pour le spectacle de Emilie-Claire Barlow
Ce samedi 21 mars, 20h à la Salle Pauline Julien

* Montréal Press tour - Day 6*

Readers of this blog can probably tell that I love it here in Montreal. I miss D and I miss the boys and I miss Rexy-Roo, I mean Rexy-Rioux. But - if I could import all my beloved people here, I would move here without hesitation.

It's not that I don't love Toronto! Of course I love Toronto. Its my home town and it is a fantastic city in every way.

But there's just something here that feels very good. You know when you just feel at home somewhere?

Anyway - today was another very productive day with lots of time spent at good old Radio-Canada!

My Québec publicist, Simon, picked me up and we went over to Radio-Canada to rehearse for "Studio 12", which is a radio and TV show. We record the show tomorrow.

The concept of the show is collaborative between one main guest, and their invited guest artists. This episode is Bruno Pelletier's show, and like I mentioned in the earlier post, he has invited Pierre Flynn, Catherine Duran and myself. We each perform with Bruno on one of his songs, and he joins us on one of ours. It's a very nice concept. I welcome the opportunity to learn new songs and become familiar with these very talented Québec artists. It's like a whole new songbook has been opened up for me to discover.

Bruno and I rehearsed our tunes together and had tons of laughs, and great musical moments. After the rehearsal I went and recorded some station IDs for Espace Musique. And some introductions for them to play when they're playing tunes from the new album etc....

Now I'm back at the hotel, catching up on email and listening to the tunes for tomorrow. The tv is on too, but muted. But I've been glancing over at it - and can tell that it is one of those seemingly endless shows about people who have, like, 27 kids. Why are there so many shows about people who have a zillion kids?? How did this get to be so trendy? The tv has been on for over an hour and there have been three different shows about people with herds and herds of children. Fascinating.

Hmm.

I'm going to go to the store now to get some chips. Then immerse myself in les chansons françaises pour demain.

A bientôt!

*Montréal Press Tour - Day 4 & 5*

Yesterday (day 4) was a really good day. We went to Radio Canada TV again - to the french tv studios - for a rehearsal for the HUGE national show "M Pour Musique"!

It was a quick rehearsal - just a chance to meet the house band, go over the arrangement, work out the camera blocking, and go through the timing for the show. "M Pour Musique" is hosted by France Beaudoin, and features musical guests of all genres.

After the rehearsal, I had a chance to come back to the hotel and rest up a bit. Then we went back for the general rehearsal, then make up and hair - then the show! They brought in the live audience and we were on! The stage is really cool - there are several different performance areas and it's not uncommon for the band to be spread out in different spots. They place the audience in sections all throughout the stage so they are really part of the action and the energy - very cool! I can't wait to see what it looks like in HD-television!

Tune in on Thursday at 9pm! M Pour Musique

Right now I think I'm going to stroll on over to Saint-Catherine and do some shopping. Then rest up and go over the tunes for tomorrow. Tomorrow is rehearsal day at Studio 12, which is a radio and tv show where one featured artist (which happens to be Bruno Pelletier) gets to invite other artists to collaborate and perform with. I'm honoured to be one of those invitees, along with Pierre Flynn and Catherine Duran.