Emma-LeeFrom the opening strains of “Bruise Easy”, the introductory track on Emma-Lee’s debut album Never Just A Dream, you feel like you’ve stumbled on a star. Brimming with that ’special something’ of stars like Feist, k.d. lang, Madeleine Peyroux and Norah Jones, the March 3, 2009 release of Never Just A Dream heralds the arrival of an artist with the power to reshape our definition of pop.
At times playful, at others wistful, Never Just A Dream is a collection of songs inspired by the sort of heartache that is universal to anyone who has lived a life worth living. Co-produced with Mitch Girio, the sound slips seamlessly from swingin’ jazz to dreamy 50’s pop, with hints of folk and blues tied together by vocals as rich and sweet as a red velvet cupcake.
Armed with a voice that transports you, Emma-Lee chose not to rest on this strength alone. She instead put a sincere focus on becoming a great songwriter and the results of her efforts are fully evidenced throughout Never Just A Dream. Her weakness for a great pop melody turns out to be one of her greatest strengths; on Never Just A Dream spectres of AM oldies radio mingle effortlessly with childhood influences like Joni Mitchell and jazz great Ella Fitzgerald, creating a hauntingly beautiful musical landscape at once complex and yet familiar.
Saucy and sweet, pensive and pure, Never Just A Dream offers a candid peek inside the romantic heart. Whether it’s on the epic “Flow”, which chronicles a girl who sublets the apartment of her globe-trotting ex-boyfriend and renders herself at the mercy of his memory, or the soaring “That Sinking Feeling”, with its sting of realization, or in the ragtime bounce of “Jealousy”, which cheekily suggests you get what you deserve for snooping, Emma-Lee deftly captures the many dimensions of love and loss.
And yet Never Just A Dream is so much more than an anthology of youthful heartbreak. It delves into the pleasures of May-December relationships, suggests regret for past mistakes, and calls out for understanding on tracks like the Dusty Springfield tinged “An Older Man”, the cinematic “Until We Meet Again” and the album’s darkly delicious title track.
The release of Never Just A Dream was almost a dream derailed. While preparing and
creating the album Emma-Lee was stricken not once but twice by any singer’s worst nightmare; the need for throat surgery. She first faced possible vocal chord paralysis while having half her thyroid removed in 2006 and almost a year to the day she went under the knife again for an unrelated polyp on her vocal chords.
While those experiences might have defeated another less determined, Emma-Lee was not about to be stopped by a scalpel. “When good things happen they say it’s fate, but when bad things happen you have to make your own destiny. My destiny was to be singing and writing songs. I wasn’t about to give up on that dream.” Emma-Lee says of the experience.
It’s that kind of dedication and unwavering faith that sets Emma-Lee apart. Her skill, patience and incredible business savvy mark her as a rare artist of foresight and uncompromising vision.
Emma-Lee self-released Never Just A Dream locally in the late summer of 2008 and it instantly caught the ear of key tastemakers at the Globe & Mail, Toronto Star, Now Magazine, iTunes Canada and CBC Radio, and the track “Flow” earned a spot on the hit CBC show The Border.
She also attracted the attention of management veteran Larry Wanagas (The Trews, Two Hours Traffic, k.d. lang), whose wife urged him to investigate after reading a rave review, and artist development exec David “Click” Cox who discovered her by way of the Toronto-based music collective GoodSoundsGood, which she co-founded. The pair signed Emma-Lee to a co-management deal shortly thereafter and chose to re-release Never Just A Dream through Bumstead Productions, with distribution by Universal Music.
Emma-Lee’s ambition is anchored deeply in her love to simply create. Almost accidentally she discovered an instinctive ability to take self-portraits – a vital part of how she shares herself with her audience, through her website and the album’s graphics – and since 2006 has developed a thriving photography business as well. For Emma-Lee the two disciplines are uniquely entwined. “Although photography can stand alone,” she muses, “music can’t live without imagery.”
“I have a very clear vision of me, the artist”, Emma-Lee states with assurance, and she exhibits that artistry across all platforms, including a live show that is known for an intimate, off the cuff charm that creates a special bond with the audience. “You never know what will come out of my mouth at a show. For me performing is an intensely personal experience and I find it truly satisfying to know someone got something out of something I created; that I moved them like so many artists have moved me.”
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More information on Emma-Lee:
http://www.emma-lee.com
http://www.myspace.com/emmalee
With more than four million albums sold and nearly a dozen Top 10 hits to her credit, Terri Clark has emerged as a singular voice on the country music landscape – driving, passionate, spirited – and every bit her own woman. A dynamic, no-holds-barred live performer – and one of the rare female country artists capable of throwing down some impressive guitar work – the Alberta, Canada native has toured with such superstars as Brooks & Dunn, Reba McEntire, and George Strait on her way to becoming a seven-time, fan-voted Canadian Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year.
A prolific songwriter and hard-charging traditionalist, Clark spent years playing dive bars and entering talent competitions before she first hit the charts in 1995 with “Better Things to Do” and never looked back.
She is the first Canadian female to be inducted into the prestigious Grand Ole Opry and has received multiple CMA and ACM Female Vocalist nominations, in addition to a pair of Juno Awards and a remarkable 13 CCMA trophies.
For close to three years, Terri was the only woman in country music to score a #1 single when she soared up the charts with “I Just Wanna Be Mad,” one of a long string of successes including such hits as “You’re Easy on the Eyes,” “When Boy Meets Girl,” “I Wanna Do It All,” “Poor Poor Pitiful Me,” and “Girls Lie Too.”
As songwriter, vocalist, entertainer, and personality, Terri connects with listeners in a very genuine way, at least in part because of her willingness to reach past the obvious for the real-life bottom line in her music, embracing strength and vulnerability, playfulness, sexiness, and a refreshing emotional candor.
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More information on Terri Clark:
http://www.terriclark.com
There’s no escaping it: Ruby Jean and the Thoughtful Bees shows are ground-poundingly ecstatic.
Rebekah Higgs, the band’s lead singer and respected solo artist in her own right, throws herself both literally and figuratively into each performance, becoming ringmaster for the seething, sweating, dancing crowd before her. She doesn’t feel the bruises she incurs while crowd surfing over the moshing masses until she wakes up in her own bed the next morning in a post-party haze. Memories of her alter-ego return when the YouTube clips appear, her pouring a bottle of champagne from stage into some shirtless dude’s mouth, somewhere in the midst of seven costume changes.
Ruby Jean’s soul might belong to Higgs, but the heart and beats that go with it belong to producer Colin Crowell, the mad scientist responsible for much of the Bees sound. Crowell lurks amongst the shadows, keeping the machine running fast and tight with turntables, vocoder, mini Korg keyboard, and laptop producing insane blips and bass. Rapturous adulation during a chaotic set is the hard won pay-off for the hours hunched over electronics in his home studio, giving birth to the ingredients for what has been hailed by industry insiders as the best new live act in Canada.
Higgs and Crowell aren’t lonely killer Bees. Heralded East Coast muso Jason Vautour provides the flaming guitar licks, regularly clad in gold spandex and red sequins, nearly stealing the fashion spotlight from his dolled-up female lead singer. Alternate tunings and ear-bending pedal work turn his axe into multi-purpose weapon, churning out hooks that lodge into your brain and force your ass to shake.
The devilishly handsome and massively talented drummer Mike Belyea holds it all together with a sly grin. Forget the computer-based drum tracks less worthy indie-dance acts pander. Belyea fills the room with rib-cage rattling live percussion, his time-keeping directing the
electro-inspired magnetism that is a Thoughtful Bees gig.
Together, their audacious on-stage presence earned the Bees impressive headlining and festival shows before they released a single note of recorded audio. The four-piece shared the stage with Thunderheist, Dragonette and Kid Koala, and recently invaded the UK, scoring an
invitation to the Great Escape in Brighton after a scorching set at Canada Music Week that won the group the coveted award for Band Most Likely To Succeed.
Ruby Jean and the Thoughtful Bees backed up a exponentially growing live reputation with its self-titled debut full-length (out on Youth Club Records), hailed by critics everywhere, from Billboard, Exclaim!, Metro, The Hour (Montréal), and FFWD (Calgary) as one of the best albums of 2009. Music fans cast their vote and Ruby Jean and the Thoughtful Bees shot to the top of the Earshot! dance chart. Even the packaging screamed “Hell yeah,” the first 1,000 discs coming in limited edition, handmade, silk-screened cases designed by renowned artists Chris Foster and Laura Dawe.
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More information on Ruby Jean and the Thoughtful Bees:
http://www.myspace.com/rubyjeanandthethoughtfulbees
