My favourite job ever was working at Sam The Record Man on Seymour St. in Vancouver, which I did between 1989 – 1991.  I loved working there for the obvious reasons – I was surrounded by music, I was able to hear new music as soon as it became available,  and I met a lot of artists by working there, since they often did in-store promotions etc.  It was probably the happiest I have ever been at a job, because it was actually something I cared about, and was interested in.  I looked forward to going in to work each day, which is not something I can say about many other jobs I’ve had …

      In addition to the “perks” of working at Sam’s, I got to meet a lot of great people –  who, like me, loved music, and really liked working there, too.  It was amazing to be surrounded by people who shared my interests, and who were genuinely happy to be working there.  We became a very close-knit group of friends, and would hang out together after work, go dancing on the weekends, and just generally ” be there ” for each other.  To this day, a core group of us are still in touch with each other.

      One of those friends and  former co-workers is Jarome Matthew.  Jarome was a rather quiet and shy guy back then, and was very intelligent – all qualities I admire in a person.  ( I don’t like loud and obnoxious, that’s for sure. )  He and I became friends fairly quickly, and had a group of mutual friends we would hang out with on a regular basis.  Jarome was just one of those innately “cool” guys – really friendly, easy to get along with, and although he didn’t say a lot, you could always see that incredibly imaginative brain working away, behind that ever-present glint in his eyes.  He was just a really positive person to be around, and his love for music was infectious.

      After I left Sam’s in 1991, I moved back to Ontario for a few years, then eventually, came back to B.C.  It wasn’t until 2007, when I was convinced by some of my younger, more computer-savvy friends, to join Facebook , that I was put back in contact with some of my former friends and co-workers from Sam’s.  Jarome was one of the first ones to find me on there, and we started chatting casually about the past 16 years, and what we’d been up to.  We started to hang out again, and realized that we were still the same people we remembered each other as, from “back in the day”.  We are friends again, and I feel so comfortable around him – I can just be myself, all the time, which is the way it should be with real friends.

      Jarome has been a successful Music Producer for many years now, and when he found out that I had been doing some singing, he wanted to hear what I had done so far.  After listening to my 1st CD, “I’m Beginning To See The Light” he felt that I should be doing more, so after several meetings, and a lot of long chats, we decided to work together on a new music project.  Things are going really well so far, and I am very excited to be working with such a talented, kind, caring, creative person like Jarome.  It’s a bonus that he is also a dear friend, whom I know well, and trust completely.

      This post is dedicated to my wonderful friend and Producer, Jarome Matthew, who restored my faith in myself as an artist.  It is because of him that I am now able to move forward with my music, after much disappointment in the past.  Thankyou, Jarome, for believing in me – it is a real honour to be working with you.  I can’t wait to hear what we will come up with together!  ( good thing we are both perfectionists !!! 🙂

    Many people I know have asked me exactly when it was that I realized that I wanted to sing, more than anything else in the world. Most of you know that I had my first singing debut in Kindergarten, singing the lead in a Grade 1 Play. That was definitely a memorable experience for me – hearing the applause after my song, and it made me feel happy that people liked it when I did something I really enjoyed. After that, I was in school and church choirs, got involved in Drama, played flute in school, and piano at home , and basically performed whenever an opportunity presented itself. Oh to be a child again, before we learned to become self – conscious and shy, and doubt ourselves…

     Many years went by, and it was 1997 when a lot of things changed for me. I had just moved back from Ontario again, had started a new job, and was taking Acting Classes out in White Rock, from my good friend Scott Wheeler. Scott mentioned this great new young singer to our class – Michael Bublé, and said he was playing at a cool club downtown Vancouver, called Babalu. It just so happened that our Acting Class was on a Sunday night, and Michael played at Babalu on Sunday and Monday nights, pretty much every week. So, a few of us piled into Scott’s car the next week after class, and drove downtown to see what this Michael Bublé kid was like, and took our first step into the magical place called Babalu.

     First off, it was clear this young man could sing. Scott knew him, and his Manager, and his family, so he introduced all of us to all of them, right from the start. Babalu became like a second home to many of us. Michael was quite young then, but he captured the audience’s attention, right from the 19 year old girls, to the 85 year olds … and we all danced the nights away together, in our evening gowns, long gloves, jewels, sipping our martinis, and loving every minute of that beautiful voice. The best part was, Michael and his family were just regular people, good people, kind, decent people, and they always made time for a hug and a chat. We all knew that it was just a matter of time until he outgrew Babalu , since he just kept getting better and better, and the crowds got bigger each week, but we enjoyed every minute of it for those couple of years.

     I used to look up at Michael on that stage ( back then you could get a couple of feet away every week ) and see how incredibly happy he was to be doing what he truly loved. Then, I would turn around and look at the smiles on all the faces, swingin’ and jivin’ to his music … and it truly was magical. It really was at that moment that I thought to myself, “I want to do that, I want to sing, and make people want to get up and dance while I’m doing it”. The way I saw it, that would be the most incredible feeling in the world, to be up on stage singing, doing what you enjoy most, and to have people run up onto the dancefloor, and just let loose, and have fun.

     That was when I knew what I wanted to do, and it all began with Michael and Babalu …

      Since my new website was launched recently, I have been spending a great deal of time writing e-mails, to let my family, friends, co-workers and anyone else who has supported me,  know about the new site, and this blog.  It is extremely important to me that each and every one of you knows how very much your continued support means to me.  You have heard me say this before, and you will keep on hearing it.  You are the ones that keep me going, and knowing that you are behind me 100% on this new music project just makes it that much more rewarding.

      It is obviously going to take me many, many weeks to write to everyone , since I have numerous e-mail accounts, as well as quite a few friends on Facebook, but I am determined to personally write to everyone, rather than just send out a generic blanket e-mail.  I may not always be able to do this, so while I have the time, I am doing it.  The way I figure it, if you can take the time to check in on my site every once in a while, I can make the time to let you know I appreciate it.

      I have already received some great feedback from many of you, either by e-mail, or on Facebook – thankyou for letting me know your thoughts.  Your enthusiasm just makes me even more excited about the music Jarome and I are working on together – if that’s possible ! 🙂

  So, I’m sitting here in Jarome’s studio, after a great lunch together. We thought we’d be a little bit naughty, and even had some dessert – I had cheesecake, and it was fabulous ! Now he’s tempting me with these little chocolatey cookie things from Japan – yummy ! What the heck, we have reason to celebrate – it’s a brand new year, he’s launched my new website, and we’re working on some exciting new music together.

  I hope that everyone had a fun New Year’s Eve.  I always love the start of a new year – it feels as though the possibilities are almost endless … and they are, of course.  It’s entirely up to each one of us to make things happen, and I fully intend to do just that in 2008 ! 

  I wish all of you a fantastic New Year, and I look forward to letting you know all about the music Jarome and I are working on together.  We are both very excited about our project, and we hope you’ll check in here to find out how things are going along the way …