LakeLifeLore

THE BACK STORY - "Bio" 

The suitcase pictured on the cover of my album “My Collectibles” is a vintage item from Nova Scotia. Me too! The suitcase is packed with cool memorabilia I've collected over the years. (Not a serious collector…more of a discerning pack rat.)

If you're interested in my bio told in my own words, please feel free to read on. It's way too long, but in my defense, if you divide the word count by my age it's probably reasonable. And there's pictures.

The Early Years (Launch ‘n Learn)  I sat on a piano bench long enough to become fluent in the language of music. As a young alto, I learned to sing harmonies in a church quartet. My voice coach taught me breath control and how to use my natural voice (even when my tone wasn’t always “proper”).
 
I picked up guitar on my own, learned songs by folk icons like Joan Baez, Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell...and started to write my own songs. My first guitar was a Silvertone (Sears), followed by my Gibson J-45, pictured at right. I was a solo artist on TV shows like CBC’s Student Showcase and Stars of the Festival. My first paying gig was opening for George Hamilton IV (Abiline) at the South Shore Big Ex in my hometown of Bridgewater. By 15, I was starting to feel like music might be my thing.
 
The 70’s (On the Road & Back) Off to university at the tender age of 16, my worldly possessions all fit into a psychedelic steamer trunk and a hard-shell Martin guitar case. [I play an HD-35 now, but I still have that ‘72 D-28.  She’s my big-bottomed gal; you can hear her open-tuned on Git Along and a few other songs]
 
For the next four years, I honed my craft in the vibrant community of free thinkers and coffee house players. I played campus venues at Acadia and Halifax hipster hangouts. I survived a summer in Ontario playing a few gigs and winning talent contests. I covered Dylan, Bonnie Raitt, John Prine, Jackson Browne…intelligent, emotional musicians who expanded the mind and repertoire of a singer-songwriter not yet old enough to legally drink. Those days are imprinted on my musical soul in indelible ink. [I also somehow managed to graduate with a BA(Hon) in Sociology, minors in Psychology and Philosophy.]

In '78, I went on the road with three guys in a band called Hickory Wind (Grievous Angel was my favorite album at the time). By then, my instruments and sound gear had expanded to fill a Chevy Van. I played a chrome-legged Wurlitzer electric piano and a borrowed turquoise Fender Mustang. The life of a traveling musician in Atlantic Canada was both fun and harsh. We made a living, but I pocketed more stories that money. 
 

Our booking agent promoted us as Country Rock, "featuring the songs of Linda Ronstadt and Fleetwood Mac”. Singing chameleons got the steady gigs, and I sang everything from Jolene to Half Moon to Heart of Glass. Pubs, cabarets, strip clubs, steak houses…been there, played that.
 
In 1980, flat broke and between drummers, I got a call about an office job. That ended my days on the longer road, and began my double career in music and business.

The 80’s and 90’s (Live and On Stage) In the 80’s, I traded the Wurlitzer for a DX-7 (then a Korg M1, which is still my midi-trigger), and reintroduced the acoustic guitar, now wired for sound.
 
Playing "part-time" just meant playing closer to home, so you could work during the day. There were steady gigs in local clubs, dances and festivals. 

I've played just about every event in The Apple Blossom Festival (one of Nova Scotia's biggest annual attractions), from The Beer Fest to The Queen's Ball. Opening for the Rankin Family in ’91 would make the highlight reel; my personal favorite was an ’86 set, between Murray McLauchlan and the Fireworks - kids thronged the stage, rocking out to our versions of Heart, Parachute Club & Annie Lennox; Double Vision band-mate Cheri and I had gelled spikes in our hair that could put your eye out.
 
After two decades of playing a blend of rock, pop, jazz and country, in a long and diverse roster of duos and bands, in the late 90’s I circled back to my musical roots of being a solo artist playing original material and acoustic instruments.

As a solo artist, I performed my original songs on radio, TV and festival stages. I was a two-time finalist in the competitive CBC Songwriting Contest and I was one of 10 songwriters invited to participate in The Fundy Folk Songwriters Project, a live concert series also recorded for CBC Radio’s Atlantic Airwaves. In his on-air introduction, acclaimed CBC producer Glenn Meisner said, “I think Sharon is one of those great undiscovered talents, as both a writer and a performer."  Very kind of him. 

With appearances at the Atlantic Theatre Festival, Fundy Folk, and Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival... I was a folk singer again. 
 

The New Millenium (Regroup, Record, Refresh) As the century turned, so did many aspects of my life. Always intertwined, I made some decisions in my personal life that affected my musical relationships, and for the longest stretch in decades, playing music took a back seat to other priorities. 
 
Music brought my husband Mike and I together, but it wasn't the only thing we had in common. We got married on a beach on 2004, and spent time exploring other interests, singing harmonies and jamming for fun. 
 
At the same time, my business career had gone into high gear. After years of playing music at night and showing up at 9:05 the next day (inside joke), my steady climb up the corporate ladder had landed me in a C-Suite office, managing the operations of a large company with over 100 people and offices throughout Atlantic Canada. It was also the decade that I lost my dad, and started managing the health issues and other affairs of other aging close relatives. 

For most of my life, I've had some sort of recording equipment in the house, which makes it even odder that it took me so long to record my first album (long story).  When I started to crave playing music again, it was the studio more than the stage that drew me back. We sold some jingles, and contributed to other people's projects.

As a singer/musician for hire, I again drew on all my genre-on-demand experience, from gospel to crooning country. As a composer and co-producer of Bill Crozier’s unique spoken vocal album “Bangkok Skyline” in 2011, I really got a chance to mix it up, with reggae, old rock 'n roll and blues piano.
 
As for my own songs, we experimented with arrangements, but we struggled with the right focus. When we went back to my past body of work, with a "now or never" attitude, it suddenly became clear: If we were ever going to be true to my lyrics and my natural voice, and produce an authentic album that we would feel good about, there was only one way to go... and I was a folk singer again!