Hit the road Jack! (January 27th 2012)
The provincial government of Saskatchewan declared 2012 as the year of the Fransaskois and it began with a bang!
First big news came from Radio-Canada and the Assemblée Communautaire Fransaskoise who announced that my song submission was selected as the Year of the Fransaskois theme song! It was the fruit of collaboration with Shawn Jobin. A HUGE thanks to Ross Nykiforuk who produced the song and to all the other musicians and singers who participated in the project: Shawn Jobin, Gent Laird, Christian Kongawi, Josh Palmer, Heather Anderson, Daniel Fontaine, Melissa Normand, Mario Lepage and Véronique Poulin! The song will be released in Duck Lake on Saturday, February 25th.
What's next?? I have 20 gigs booked between now and March 9th. I'm hitting up places like Regina, Ottawa, Montréal, Québec City and Moncton! Check out the "Tour" tab - I may be coming to a city near you!
2012 looking bright!! (December 20th 2011)
I've won Lotto 649!!!!!! well, it isnt true BUT it is the feeling I had when I found out I received funding that will allow me to put together a new show and tour with it in Saskatchewan in 2012!! My happy dance lasted a good 5 minutes once I hung up the phone!
And!! I'll be on the road in February offering almost a dozen workshops/school shows in Saskatchewan before I hit the roads out East with Anique Granger (www.aniquegranger.info). We will be stopping in places like Ottawa, Montréal, Québec City and Moncton! We have a couple night left to fill so, if you are interested in hosting our show in your home, please email me : anormand_gmail.com. All dates will be announced in January!
May your world be filled with warmth and good cheer this holiday season, and throughout the year!
WEBSITE!!! (October 20th 2011)
Welcome welcome!!! Yes, you can believe your eyes- over the past few months, between song writing, grant writing and creating, I've FINALLY been able to put together a website...long overdue! Enjoy!
Pictures in the night (August 16th 2011)
I cant begin to explain how awesome it is to finally see the first completed works of art: paintings and songs the result of my collaboration with Zoé Fortier. We have had a busy summer!
Last Saturday, we spent the night in Zoés studio with a projector, a couple video cameras and a bottle of wine the result of these first experimentations with light and projections is soft and somewhat nostalgic. At times the images seem to be those of impressionist paintings and other times, bold coulours remind me of Matisse fauvism. I made a small montage of some of the footage to give you an idea one of my new songs plays in the background (called Regarde ton jardin). Check it out! : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kTUccqxkuY
We leave for Banff next Thursday for an artist residency oranised by the RAFA (Regroupement des artistes franco-albertains). It is going to be swell! :-)
Introducting... Zoé Fortier! (July 12th 2011)
It is time to introduce you to my partner in crime: Zoé Fortier. She is the Fransaskois visual artist with whom I am collaborating to write my album! The idea is to be inspired by 12 different spaces in Saskatchewan : each space will be interpreted in song (by yours truly) and in visual art (by Zoé!). Shes a gal with loads of spunk and her creative energy and sens of design flows in abundance! I encourage you to discover her and her work by visiting her blog: http://zoefortier.blogspot.com/ or her website: http://www.wix.com/zoefortier/zzz
A couple creative retreat-weekends are in store for us this summer. Plus, we will be doing an artist residency in Banff at the end of August we are thrilled!
MERCIIIII!!! (July 5th 2011)
Folks, I am soooo pleased to announce that I have received funding to finish writing my album!! A huge THANKS to the Saskatchewan Arts Board and the Canada Council for the Arts to allow me to work on this project with Zoé Fortier (a francophone visual artist from Saskatchewan). We are just tooo pleased! What an awesome gift to start the summer :-) Demos of my new tunes will be up in the following weeks!
Also, I am so excited to let you know that I have recently joined a new project! I teamed up with three other lovely ladies from Saskatoon (Kiera DallOsto, Farideh et Meghan Lofgren) back in January to start the group Rosie and the Riveters. I have to admit very bluntly: we are just plain hot in all senses of the word! We revisit the spririt of Gosel music through wicked vocal arrangements passing through the sounds of folk, roots and adding a speck of jazz. I have a hard time describing to people just how excited I am to be investing my creativity in another project. In the process, I discovered that I have a talent for making vocal arrangements (thanks, in part, to those arranging and theory classes I took in university!). Its rad! Please like us on facebook and help spread the word!!
WEB SITE : www.rosieandtheriveters.ca
Show at the Bassment on April 1st! (March 20th 2011)
It has been a writing fiasco over the past couple months! New songs, grant applications, project proposals, and why not throw in a new website too??
On top of it all, I'm preparing a show that will feature some of my new tunes at the Bassment in Saskatoon on Friday April 1st! It will be one heck of a great show :-). Tickets are on sale at the door on available online: http://www.picatic.com/ticket/event8661026/
10$ for jazz society members
12$ for non-members
New Project (November 24th 2010)
I have always been fascinated by the resemblances between different art forms. I’'ve decided to nurture this fascination concretely and have begun a new adventure with Zoé Fotier, a francophone visual artist from Saskatchewan. We hope to show you a few examples of our collaboration –new tunes, new tableaux. I am really excited to see where this project will take us! Zoé’'s web site: http://zoefortier.blogspot.com/
