Our 30th annual "turning of the year" December/January issue, Janus-like looking back and ahead at a world on edge: think of every listing in this magazine as a potential crumb of consolation – the opportunity to congregate for any and all reasons from the sacred to the just plain silly. Find some peace however you can. And thanks for reading. Viva la musica.
FROM UP HERESOLO
FROM UP HERESOLO JOURNEYS -BOOMERANGS,LOOPERS, ANDHOME FROM HOMESOPHIA PERLMANThe annex trail, late autumn,Hornepayne ON.ALYSSA DVMBILL BEARDShortly after I moved north I was having aconversation with one of my younger, wiser siblings,and they offered the general life philosophy that ifyou look at whatever it is you’re doing, and if it doesn’tscare the [expletive] out of you, it means you need toscale it up until it does. It was very good advice, and Ioffer it to you, at this time of year where people are oftenconsidering change in their lives.I would also add that scaling your idea up doesn’t necessarily meanmaking it bigger. As illustrated by the three wonderful musicianwriterswhose words follow, sometimes it’s just as scary to scale down.Wishing you a very happy end to this year, and the courage to start2025 in whatever terrifying and wonderful ways you choose!Boomerang:Whitney Ross-BarrisVocalist Whitney Ross-Barrisis a self-described Boomerang.Uxbridge, Ontario is where shegrew up and had some of herearliest experiences as a musician,performer and writer.“I did theatre when I wasa young teenager and wasinvolved with music at school,but eventually I switched highschools from Uxbridge to PortPerry because Port Perry hada fantastic music program atWhitney Ross-Barristhat point. I did more musictheatre, in their local theatre,but I also did every single instrumental and vocal ensemble I couldbe part of, and I loved it.”The Port Perry program is still wonderful, she notes, but“now, Uxbridge is also great because it’s led by Amy Peck andshe’s amazing.”Barris, who is a multi-talented performer, musician, actor andwriter made her “boomerang” return to Uxbridge in 2018, alongwith her husband and young children. And then COVID hit.“I was stuck at home watching all the gigs dry up and the venuesshut down. Guiding my two kids through online school and keepingmy toddler entertained … slowly losing my (...) mind. And then Istarted to write at the piano. I had taken RCM piano lessons whenI was a kid and had been a jazz singer and theatre actor up to thatpoint but as far as being a real songwriter, I hadn’t really fullyimmersed myself as a soloist until then.”It was also around then that she connected with local singer-songwriterTania Joy, whose hard work and tenacity had helped bringabout the post-pandemic recovery of the Downtown UxbridgeSpringtide Festival, and who was running an open mic.“She knew I was writing music and invited/encouraged/kickedmy ass to come, in 2022, when they had a piano one night. So Icame and played. I thought it was for just one song, but it turnedout to be three! It was the first time I played my songs in frontof people.”This November, Barris took another huge leap.“Jessica Stuart invited me to be in an episode of her ‘JS Presents’songwriter series at the Tranzac. I’m really excited to be doing it.It feels like a real honour and very different to me to be spotlit asa songwriter and not just ‘that jazz singer’. I respect her a lot as asongwriter and a musician and a woman in music.”Stuart offered her the opportunity to bring an accompanist, butshe is choosing to go solo - even though “I still have a lot of hangupsabout playing piano in front of people.” I asked her whether therewas a deciding factor in leaps of faith like this.“It’s sort of heart-led ... This calm person in me always pushes.For good and for cuckoo. Sometimes she’s smart and leads withsense, sometimes she suggests I do something crazy in an audition,which has its own problems. But it’s like having an outsideperspective on yourself. It can lead you to say yes to unfamiliarthings when the rest of you is running away over the hill andinto the countryside - which is how I started writing songs in thefirst place.”By time of print, Whitney’s Tranzac episode will have alreadyhappened, but JS Presents continues, with Erik Schramek (SatDec 21), Thom Gil (Sat Jan 18), and Shawna Caspi (Sat Feb 15).12 | December 2024 & January 2025 thewholenote.com
JR CONNELLJordanaTalskyLooping Back: Jordana Talsky“I love the collaborativemagic when working withothers, but I find it challengingto stay present dueto my busy mind. Leadinga band and conveying myideas can be tough.”Jordana Talsky’s “busymind” took her on anacademic journey welloutside the realms of music.Now, in navigating her equallyimportant musical andcreative journey, she exploreswhether her loop into lawhelped with the challengesshe felt as a bandleader.“The thing about the post secondary degree: I’m not saying you needto get it, but I do think that it gives you important tools to work with,like accepted practices of communication and technical jargon. I’vealways relied more on my ear, and I do think that the early trainingI received in choral settings, and perhaps also liturgical influencesof Hebrew school, lent to a more intuitive musical understandingover clinical, which is maybe a common feature among singers,since the voice instrument is the most connected to the body, to theinside. Being a singer in a new musical community, I often felt selfconsciousabout expressing my thoughts and had a sense that I couldnot fully convey what I wanted. Solo work liberated me from thesechallenges.”Her early choral training might also have been a factor in her eventualchoice of “accompanying instrument” – i.e. solo vocal looping –but while it was creatively freeing, it came with a cost.“When I transitioned to solo looping, I gained new fans, but someof my existing audience didn’t follow, as they were accustomed toseeing me as a jazz singer fronting a band, and performing standards.Bookers shared this perspective, indicating they now saw meas venturing into different territory, and in some instances, refusedto book me for “jazz engagements” despite my explanation that I wasmerely expanding my repertoire.”Not all bookers, mind you - she was also selected by Jessica Stuartfor JS Presents, and recently joined the growing list of artists who haveplayed at the Night Owl, in Sudbury, where she brought her loopingpedal and played, unrehearsed with guitarist Jacob Starling. It’s aformat that she also explores with guitarist (and fellow looper) EricSt-Laurent. It’s like two solo worlds colliding.“I bring what I do, he brings what he does, and we exploretogether. We are each self-sufficient, and that allows the freedom toimprovise and just see what happens.”What started as a solo journey, has now looped back into new waysto collaborate.Alyssa DVM - Home away from Home.In a previous column I mentioned Amanda Drury’s vision forincluding music and creativity at Rise Wellness Community, here athome in Hornepayne. In November, Rise hosted Kitchener based “storytellerwho sings” Alyssa DVM, who used it for her own leap of faith.Alyssa came to Hornepayne for a solo concert, and to lead a songwritingworkshop. In preparing, she realized the extent to which shedepended on the musicians in her band, not only onstage but also incrafting the set list“I had always told people I played guitar, but not well enough toplay shows or be on records. I started fumbling my way throughguitar when I was in grade twelve, the same year I started songwriting.I think my main priority with playing guitar was alwaysto be able to write songs and tell these stories. It was an emotionalYULE SINGTHE ROSE ORCHESTRADECEMBER 14, 2024 / 7:30PMTHE CELTIC TENORS:A CELTIC CHRISTMASDECEMBER 11, 2024 / 8:00PMthewholenote.com December 2024 & January 2025 | 13
