Hola Mis Amigos!

Hello World, 

Just a quick update to let you know what I’ve been up to. 

In my last post I was telling you about a wonderful adventure I had on the Toronto Island.  There was a actually a Part II of the Island adventure that I didn’t get a chance to tell you about and it was just as unexpected and just as magical.  

Ronan, the gregarious opera singer who I met the first time, invited me to be part of a music event that he was holding at St Andrews Church on centre island – this is a beautiful old wooden church with stained glass windows built in the late 1800’s.  I had no idea what I was getting myself into but about 15 minutes before show time, I was informed that I was to be the opening act for a 30 piece orchestra and choir performing Mozarts Requiem.  Aaargh! It was a little intimidating to say the least!  The church was full, a crowd of 200 strong.  According to Ronan many in the audience hadn’t experienced a classical music performance before so he wanted to ease them into it with some familiar folky sounds like the ones that I make.  At first I thought he was crazy but as it turns out everybody loved it and the whole night was a huge success.  It was such a treat to hear the Requiem live – what an incredible piece of music - goose bump material.

Since then I’ve had a couple more fun gigs.  In May I was invited back to the Atrium Music Program at the Princess Margaret hospital.  This is a lunch time performance for patients, their families and staff. Like the last time, this was a very rewarding experience.  I received a very moving message from a patient undergoing treatment the day after the gig.  It was the type of message that reminds me why I do music in the first place.  Music is such an amazing gift to be able to share with people, especially when it can help someone through a difficult time.

A couple of weeks ago, I was also invited to perform at the Summer Hill tennis club.  This was an incredible setting – the stage was on one of the wide verandas surrounding the old clubhouse, or should I say club mansion! We were on the fancy shmancy restaurant patio, with a  backdrop of swimming pools and tennis courts all surrounded by walls covered in flowering creepers and hedges.  Our audience were a tanned and healthy looking bunch, glowing in their freshly pressed white tennis outfits.  I’ve only ever seen scenes like this in the movies!  I had to perform for 3 hours, so it was a good opportunity to learn  some new cover songs and pay tribute to some  artists who I admire – Carol King, Roberta Flack, Cyndi Lauper, Bruce Springsteen and Cold Play to name a few.

Meanwhile I am working on a record with my good friend and accompanist Asher Ettinger.  We get together every Tuesday “Tuesdays with Tash” as we like to call it.   We’re a good team and it’s a fun process.  For the first time ever, I am having  hands on involvement with the production and arrangements of my songs – and I am loving it.  (Thanks Asher for being such an amazing mentor and for being so patient with me) Can’t wait to show you the track we are currently working on – it should be ready for you very soon.

Aside from that, I am continuing to work on a giant art piece. It’s a collage/painting, which when completed will be 7ftx8ft in size.  It’s taking me a lot longer than anticipated, but there is method to my madness, and before too long you will see my reasoning behind it all.

Oh and I’m also going through a Spanish phase! Perhaps it was inspired by my short love affair with Flamenco dancing, because now I’m learning how to speak Spanish, and if all goes well I may even throw a couple of Spanish songs into my set.

I think that just about sums up the last 2 months. 

Hope you are all having some of your own fun adventures.  Send me a message, I would love to hear from you!

Hasta pronto,

Adios amigos xx

Happy Birthday To Me!

Every year I try to do something out of the ordinary for my Birthday. I mostly use it as a time to reflect on my past year and to do something inspiring in preparation for the next one.

So... for the past few weeks, I've been trying to decide the best way to celebrate.  At first I entertained the thought of going to Cuba or Mexico to get a hit of some much needed sunshine, but then I looked at my bank balance and realized that was out of the question.  

Then I thought maybe I could go on a yoga/ meditation retreat, but nothing in my search appealed to me.  After that I googled writing retreats and found an amazing place in New York State that seemed perfect, but in the end, it was so difficult to get there I gave up on the idea.   I also looked at an artist lodge in Niagra Falls but that was ridiculously expensive... 

Time was ticking away, but finally, two days before my birthday, I suddenly remembered that there is an artist residence on Toronto Island.  I contacted them, and at first there was nothing available, but then at the very last minute they managed to fit me in... Yay!

So the morning of my birthday, Monday April 6th, I took a taxi to the ferry dock.   I had a ton of luggage; my guitar, a stack of books, and a pile of art supplies, a few changes of clothes, and a painfully heavy bag of groceries (there are no stores on the island).  I was really struggling to carry everything onto the boat, so this lovely lady, who goes by the name "Grandma Shirley" offered to help me.

She was a total sweet heart, and seemed so happy that I was a musician.  She was visiting from Hawaii and when she's not looking after her aging mother and working on a coffee farm (which she does for fun) she is traveling around the world, and makes an effort to go to concerts in every city she visits.  She loves music, mostly classical and believes it has helped her get through all the difficult times in her life.  She was kind enough to offer me a place to stay if I ever go to Hawaii, so maybe that will have to be next years birthday celebration.  Her parting words of advice: "You have to Love Life".

What I love about Toronto Island is that even though you are only a short 10 minute boat ride away from the down town core, it somehow feels like you are miles away from anywhere.  As soon as I arrived, I knew it was the perfect place for me to be.  It was a quiet sanctuary, a peaceful nature reserve.  Exactly what I was hoping for.

I was greeted by the staff from Artscape and they drove me to the Artist Residence which is situated in the historic school house buildings.  That's my studio room on the corner...

After a quick tour of the grounds, the communal kitchen and bathrooms, i was shown to my lodging - a bedroom and studio in one.  I was is heaven! I could barely contain my excitement.  Without hesitating, I unpacked my luggage and got my self set up - my studio space was big enough for three separate stations.  One for visual arts, one for writing and reading and one for my computer where I could upload photos.

Once all my luggage was unpacked, I went to the kitchen for a quick bite to eat and struck up a conversation with a gregarious opera singer named Ronan.  He lives on the island and was just visiting the arts centre for the day.  He was throwing a party that night for a friend who had been away, it was kind of a birthday party but not really because "it's not her birthday yet..you're welcome to come" he said.  I told him it was actually my birthday, so that would be great!  He then got really excited and told me I had to come, it was meant to be, "this party is for you"... with that we parted and went our separate ways.

I spent the rest of the afternoon writing in my journal and exploring the area around the arts centre.  This beautiful old light house was right outside my room...

I also walked down to the lake shore, and for the first time in my life witnessed ice filled waves and a frozen waterline... It was spectacular! There were piles and piles of ice, as clear as glass, strewn across the beach. 

To me they looked like mountains of diamonds, or a wasteland of broken chandeliers. So I spent a fair bit of time taking in the sights and sounds of this foreign landscape and had fun making ice sculptures for  a while.  

Before too long it was time to make my way to the other side of the island  - and so I began the hour long walk over to Ronan's for my impromptu birthday party.  There was a beautiful sunset that night, so I chose the longer route along the boardwalk, where I could look out across the water.

When I arrived, Ronan wasn't there yet, but everyone seemed to know about me already.  "Are you Natasha? Happy Birthday!"  Most of them were permanent island dwellers -  such an interesting bunch of people.   We shared an amazing meal together, and I got to hear everyones stories about how they happened to be living on the island...We also chatted about how fun it was that I ended up there and the beauty of serendipity. 

The island and its inhabitants were seeming more and more magical by the minute.  Believe it or not, there was even a chocolate birthday cake with my name on it!  I felt so blessed with the kindness of these complete strangers.  

By the way this is Kat and Ronan, the friends who live at the house of 'my' party, two of the most generous and inspiring people I have ever met...

After dinner, it was announced that I was a singer and everyone was moved to the lounge room so that I could perform a house concert for them.  It was such a great night! I could never have dreamt of a better way to celebrate my birthday.

Someone lent me a bike and I headed back to Gibraltor point around midnight.  It was a perfectly still night, the sky lit up by a full moon. The road home was a tree lined path, covered in a lacework of shadows; there was the sound of waves crashing in the distance.  The occasional squirrel darted across the trail, and birds called out as if to warn others of my arrival.  Under normal circumstances, being alone, so late at night in this setting, could have been terrifying as my imagination is easily carried away with frightening thoughts, but no fear could penetrate my happiness that night.  I was so content...

This event set my mood for the whole week. I had an amazing time.  Every day I worked on something creative. There's something very motivating about knowing that in the rooms surrounding you there are other artists working on their own projects - painters, sculptors, writers, photographers and dancers to name a few.  I felt like I had found my lost tribe, the place where I belonged. I did a lot of reading and writing and developed a few new song ideas, plus I had fun experimenting with some art therapy.  This was the view from my window.

I also painted a whole bunch of new pins so that my fans can continue to wear their hearts on their sleeves...

I'm back on the mainland now, back to reality.  I've returned to the daily grind of city life, with renewed energy and a heart full of hope. This past week was a beautiful reminder that as soon as you throw caution to the wind,  and follow your intuition, life will always reward you... xx  

Vote for me on CBC!

Hello everyone,

I recently entered CBCs Searchlight Competition - a search for Canadas best new artist.

I entered with my new song 'Here on Earth'.  This song started out as a bit of a joke, a love song for my credit card, but with the generous help of my friend/producer Asher Ettinger, we managed to turn it into something pretty...

Please have a listen, let me know what you think, and most important of all, please vote for me! Your support is much appreciated.   You can vote for me once a day, everyday up until the 13th April.

Follow the link below:

http://music.cbc.ca/#!/artists/Natasha-Nouveau


Merci! 

Natasha Nouveau

A Musical Soiree

This is a message for my Toronto fans.  I've got a gig coming up this Friday the 6th February at the Musideum. (401 Richmond Street, near Spadina).  Advance tickets can be purchased on the venue website or there will be some available at the door.  Doors open 8pm and complimentary wine is included in the ticket price.

FYI, the poster is an adaptation of a book cover from the late 1800s and the original image was illustrated by Aubrey Beardsley, one of my favorite art nouveau artists.  

Apologies to all the frenchies out there, I couldn't figure out how to put the accent on the 'e' in 'soiree'.  Forgive me!

A la prochaine! 

NN xx