What do Heather Bambrick, Matt Dusk, and Barbra Lica have in common with Shawn Mendes, Alessia Cara, The Weeknd, Drake, and Sia?  Well, besides the fact that we’re all JUNO nominees, we’re also sharing the same music … in VERY different ways!  (Hear it, HERE!)

Just after the JUNO nominations were announced, I got a note from Matt Dusk, asking me if I would be interested in a project that would have me and a few of the other Vocal Jazz nominees doin’ some Pop, Rock, R&B, Rap tunes.   My brain should have said “HUH?!”, but without missing a beat (<ahem> … pun intended) I agreed, not quite knowing what I was signing up for.

The result was a FABULOUS mashup of styles and sounds, in a JUNO Jazz medley that has everyone talking!  Under the musical guidance of Marc Rogers, the hits of more “mainstream” artists were combined with instrumental tracks inspired by everyone from Buble to Sting, and sung by Vocal Jazz nominees Matt Dusk, Barbra Lica, and Your Truly.  The songs covered are Shawn Mendes’ “Treat You Better” (performed by ME a la Mighty Might Bosstones), The Weeknd’s “Star Boy” (performed by Matt Dusk as a lounge-y bossa nova), Alessia Cara’s “Here” (performed by Barbra Lica, with a Buble-esque instrumental), Sia’s “Cheap Thrills” (which I sing with instrumentation inspired by Sting), and Drake’s “Hotline Bling” (performed by Matt in a style that could be described as Del-Shannon-meets-Frank-Sinatra).

And you know what?  People are loving it!!  In just a few days, the YouTube video already has over 12,000 views, and counting!  It’s been played and / or talked about on CBC Radio, Much Music, Canadian Beats, FYI Music News, Toronto Life, iHeart Radio, Kiss FM, and CTV, to name a few.  We’ll continue to promote it during JUNO week (March 27-31), with appearances on the Global Morning Show (Monday morning), AM740 (Tuesday morning), AM640 (Tuesday afternoon), JAZZ FM (Wednesday morning), CFRB (Wednesday afternoon), and CTV Morning Live – Ottawa (Friday morning).

Here it is, in all its glory:  the 2017 JUNO Jazz Mashup / Medley!!!

It’s with immeasurable pride and more than a little “teenage-girl-squealishness” that I announce:  You’ll Never Know has been nominated for a 2017 Juno Award for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year!!  We received the news at the Juno Awards Nominations media conference on Tuesday, February 9!!

The nominees for the 2017 Juno Award for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year

As is usually the case, it’s a tough and very talented category, with some incredible creative ability among my fellow nominees:  Amanda Tosoff (Words), Barbra Lica (I’m Still Learning), Bria Skonberg (Bria), and Matt Dusk & Florence K (Quiet Nights).  Having played tracks from all of these recordings on Jazz FM, I can safely say they’re all wonderful and I’m thrilled to be included in such terrific company!

The media lineup for the 2017 Juno Award nominees. If you look REALLY closely … you’ll see The Weekend. If you look REALLY closely again … you won’t see me next to him.

The experience of being at the nomination media event was pretty amazing.  Once the nominees were announced, we were all whisked away to the media area for interviews.  As you can imagine, the Jazz nominees were immediately bombarded by media, all clamouring to ask us how we felt, what this meant for our careers, and who we were wearing.  (Ok, so maybe that “Weekend” guy received a wee bit more attention than us Jazzers … as did the hipster-beard-sporting Alt Rock guys – who seemed to drop their smiles as soon as the camera was focused on them – and the guy in the cowboy hat and boots – whom I can only assume was a Country nominee –  who was working hard to alter his accent from Calgary suburb to Austin City Limits through each and every interview.  But other than that, it was ALL about the Jazz!)

Each nominee got a Casper pillow! ‘Cause good music needs a good night’s sleep!

With interviews (yes, that’s plural!) all finished, I was handed my gift bag.  You’ve all heard the stories of the glamorous offerings presented to nominees at awards events like these.  Well, this was no different.  Each and every nominee was given … wait for it … a pillow!  And not just a throw pillow.  It was a “nighty-night-sleepy-time” pillow!  Yes, the perfect reward to balance out the tens of thousands of dollars you’ve just invested into your latest music project, which will be downloaded for fractions of a cent per play:  a pillow!!  Perfect for lying awake on, night after night, wondering why you ever got into the music business in the first place!  (Actually, all joking aside:  it’s a FANTASTIC pillow!  Seriously – I love it!  That’s my kinda goody-bag!)

So, it looks like we’ll be heading to Ottawa for a star-studded, fun-filled weekend of music, schmoozing, and generally basking in the glory of being presented with this huge honour!  (Yes, it’s true what they say:  it really is fantastic just to be nominated.  Now, don’t get me wrong:  I’m not gonna turn the trophy down, should they decide to give it to me, but still …. )

If I may get serious for a moment, my fellow musicians and I don’t create our art for the purposes of garnering glory, laud, and awards.  We make music because we are drawn into it and/or called to do it.  We don’t choose music … it chooses us, and without it, we’re miserable.  It’s the reason we wake every morning with a yearning to do nothing else only immerse ourselves in song.  It’s the reason we start each year, each month, each week hoping our work will pay us enough to live a comfortable life, supporting ourselves and our families.  It’s the reason we couldn’t possibly imagine doing anything else.  And then, when an honour like this comes along – where other folks in the industry determine that the culmination of our artistic efforts is worthy of being held up as something of note – well, let’s just say it feels pretty darned fabulous!

So, thank you to CARAS, the Juno Awards, and all of those folks in the industry who took a listen to this little ol’ CD of mine and decided that it was worth being considered for an honour like this.  I’m beyond grateful.

And with that, I’ll begin prepping for Juno Week … starting with my diet.

You’ll Never Know … 2017 Juno Award nominee for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year

It’s been a long time – and a lot of adventure – since the last installment of The Muffin Chronicles. I’ve had several people asking about her and wondering if I was ever going to share any more of our adventures with her. Well, seeing as I have this whole blog thing going, I thought: “why not”?!

So Muffin’s pretty well settled in, feeling considerably more content than she was when I first adopted her two and a half years ago. Since we’ve created our little family, she’s been more of a “real dog” than I’ve ever seen her! Muffin’s partner in crime (including that which we’ve not been quick enough to discover) is “Digby”, a Yorkie who is as full of personality as he is mischief and cuteness. Together, they snuggle up, get into lots of trouble, comfort one another, and generally get through the day-to-day happenings of their doggy lives. They’re a couple of peas in a cute-as-heck pod!!

Like so many of us, these days, Muffin is medicated. As you may remember from previous installments, Muffin has issues with separation anxiety … and by “has issues”, I mean she barks a lot, paces frantically, and generally will chew any piece of clothing or material, particularly those she can drag from room to room … like tea towels, blankets, curtains. (Yes, <sigh>, I did say “curtains”.)  At first, my partner (HG) and I decided to install cameras to see what set her off: were there particular times or events that caused her upset? Did she get worked up right away, or would she wait a while after we departed? Was Digby helping to calm her down at all, or was he providing her with things to chew?  (Come on – as if he wouldn’t do that!!)

What we learned was that: (a) she got upset basically as soon as we left, and would almost immediately look for something to chew; (b) it would take her a while to calm down; (d) Digby was not only unable to calm her down, he was also starting to develop a nervous twitch of his own, probably due to being privy to Muffin’s anxiety.

So, we decided to give Muffin some chew toys. We looked for things that were healthy, non-toxic (of course), and generally wouldn’t do too much damage. She took to them like a duck to water … like a pig to mud … like a dog to … er … chewy things! However, if she didn’t have access to said chewy things (for example after some dental surgery, when she wasn’t allowed to chew anything like that), she would revert to other things again. Thus, whenever we left the house, we had to “de-Muffinize” it: remove any and all things that she might want to chew. (Except for the curtains in the window. I’m still hoping she’ll do the job on those, ‘cause, well, I kinda want to get new ones. But I digress … )

Eventually we spoke with the vet, who suggested a mild anti-anxiety drug might help ease Muffin’s worries. So, for the past 6 months or so, Muffin is on Doggie-Prozac (and I’m on an increased credit limit). While it hasn’t completely fixed the chewing (fortunately, we’ve found some good quality tea towels at a Dollar Store), she’s much more relaxed overall. She will actually allow me to leave the room without following me like a mid-thirties hipster follows Fred Armitage’s career. She also takes to friends and family more easily that she does before. When my parents visited in the past, Muffin would usually need a few days to warm up to them. Now, however, she cuddles up to them after only being with them a few moments!  (My Dad’s relentless treat-giving probably helps, as well!)

All of that is not to say that all issues have ended. No, indeed – there are still a few.  For example, because she lived in a cage in the top of a barn for 7 years (grrrrrr!!) Muffin doesn’t always have the ability to wait to get to the backyard before relieving herself. Thus, inevitably, whenever we go out for any reason – from a gig that might have us away for a few hours, to a trip to the drug store that might have us away for a few minutes – we’ll often return to a little “surprise” from our girl. (Yes, nothing says “glamour” like being on your hand and knees, still dressed in the outfit you were wearing on stage just an hour earlier, cleaning pee off the floor. <sigh> )

And then there are the trips to the vet!  (I now have a credit card that is dedicated to Muffin’s vet bills … and I’ll soon be planning our trip to Fiji using the travel points.) Because she’s part Cocker Spaniel, she has issues with her ears. Thus, there are weekly ear drop applications, weekly ear cleanings, and the general check-ins, infections, and the like that go with having a dog with chronic ear issues.

Like her mother, Muffin also suffers from allergies. We’re still not sure exactly what she reacts to, but she deals with occasional itchiness and redness around the eyes and ears, and (every now and again) we notice some occasional spots on her wee belly. She now receives daily doses of children’s Benadryl during high allergy season) and we keep a bottle of Benadryl spray close-by, in case of belly break-outs.  I am now on a first name basis with the entire staff at the Vet’s office, who are starting to thank me for my contributions to their new bonus structure and pension plan.  (On a related note, I am now available for corporate engagements, bar mitzvahs, and baby showers … )

And yet, even with all of the issues, the vet bills, the chewed up tea towels and sweatshirts with wee holes in the sleeves, the late-night pee wiping, all it takes is for me to look down to where she lies at my feet each day as I work at my desk, or feel her cuddling up next to me as we settle in to sleep each night to know that I can’t imagine her NOT being a part of our family!  Our first Christmas with her, HG bought me a wee plaque that (while grammatically not perfect) states it best: “Who Rescued Who?”  Indeed!