Hello everyone,Well, I have to say the deep-freeze is starting to affect me slightly...the girls will attest to the fact that I have gone slightly batty from spending too much time indoors and watching too many movies. And really, how many baths can you take a day before your skin becomes permanently raisin-like? Still, thoughts of San Diego and Austin, Texas are keeping me warm, and I know spring must be around the corner because Cara is starting to knit scarves again. Of course, we are going to Yellowknife before we fly south, but even if it is minus 50 up there I don't mind a bit, because let's face it, it's Yellowknife! I've never been to Yellowknife, and I've always wanted to see the place. It will be interesting to be so far up north during the winter, where night falls at three o'clock in the afternoon, after being in Dawson City this past summer, where night only lasted for two hours. What a trip this will be!Things have been going well here in the Peg. We are wrapping up the album, madly listening to mixes and such before it all gets sent off to the manufacturers next week. We're very excited. As soon as we know the exact release date we will post it up on the site.Other than that we are rehearsing and getting ready to start touring again - it's going to be a busy Spring. We are going to San Diego next month, for the North American Folk Alliance, and then to Austin on March 17th, for the South by Southwest Music conference, which we are thrilled to have an official showcase at. Then the Canadian release tour begins, which includes a tour through Ontario in late March, shows across the Prairies in April, and a tour through BC in May. Our CD release party here in Winnipeg has not been confirmed yet but it will very likely happen in Early April. As dates and tour plans get solidified we will be posting them up on the site, so make sure to check back often.That's it for now. I hope you are all staying warm and I look forward to seeing you out on the road.Thanks for checking in!~ Nicky
Happy Holidays!
Hello everyone,It's getting close to Christmas and I wanted to make sure that we wished all of you a very happy holiday season. We plan on putting our feet up for a bit and we hope that everyone takes some time to relax and gather with friends and family. It's so wonderful to be home in Winnipeg with our loved ones and we are making the most of our time in our fair city. Soon we will be back out on the road with new album in tow and we can't be more excited for the year ahead.Thanks to all of you for your unflagging support, kind words and continued interest. We can't wait to see you all in the new year!P.S. I know I always write journal entries using the pronoun "we" and I guess I should check with Ruth and Cara first to see if they agree with everything I am saying. Heehee. But I know they would send out their best greetings--Cara would probably tell you to take full advantage of baked goods and rent "Spinal Tap" and Ruth would likely encourage you to eat plenty of organic fare this holiday season and sing your hearts out. That's my guess. I encourage significant consumption of gravy--for those vegetarians out there, I have discovered that Bisto makes a pretty decent veggie option. Cheers!Take care,Nicky
Recording? Done!
Hellooooo! It's December and things have finally slowed down a bit for us. We finished rocording the new album at 7 AM on Thursday morning! :) We are a bit crazy. David is one of the most dedicated people we know and hopefully we haven't driven him to drink. heeh. We had a wonderful show in the Peg on Friday night - we haven't played at home for some time now and it was lots of fun. Now I think we all plan on sleeping for a month and re-grouping in January. I'm moving into a new place this week so I'm busy packing and trying to organize my life. Then I think I'll hit the video store and rent "School of Rock"!Thanks to all who have supported us this past year! We're looking forward to celebrating the release of our new album with you!Peace,
Update on Recording and Winnipeg Show
Hello,Nicky is sure putting us to shame with her consistent journal entries! Things are going well in the studio - we have just started the second half of the recording process and will hopefully be finished by early December. We will have recorded about fifteen tunes by that time, and will then go about chosing the ones we like best. Our producer is great - he has been working so hard and is really dedicated to the project. He has also suceeded, so far, in keeping himself sane throughout the whole thing, which is no small feat, considering how wild and unmanageable we can be, especially Cara. We will keep you posted on more album-related news as things unfold. For now we know that it will be officially released in February and that it will have medium to high sailor-related content. One thing I want to mention is that we are doing a big show in Winnipeg at the West End Cultural Centre on Decmber 5th. It's been a while since we've played here in our home town and we're looking forward to it. Doors open at 7:15 and the show starts at 8:00, with Winnipeg's own Dale Nickel opening the show. Tickets are 14$ in advance and 16$ at the door. Hope to see you there. That's it for now. Thanks to everyone who helped us out, cooked for us, and promoted or came to our shows on our last tour - we really appreciate the support.~ Ruth
It's Getting Cold Out There
Hey everyone,It's the end of October and we are in Calgary at the present moment--tonight we play at The Drake in Canmore and then we have a couple of days to work on material for the record. Thanks to everyone who came out to our shows in Calgary, Edmonton, Athabasca, Minnedosa and Carman. We had a great time and learned about some fabulous new restaurants (heehee). We have been talking more about having a page on our site devoted to our favorite eateries and I think that will happen when the new site is built.It's getting cold here and we are soon to join our hometown in some snow, I hear. So far the weather has been kind to us. We were hoping that it would stay mild so that Ruth could go out trick-or-treating as she usually does, but it looks like we may have to amuse her with a movie or something on Halloween. Speaking of movies, we just rented "28 Days"--creepy and suspenseful and worth a gander, we think.Anyway, we do hope to see lots of you in Canmore and Forestberg for our last shows of this tour. After that we'll keep you posted on all the news as the recording is wrapped up.Take care everyone!
Western Canadian Music Week and Recording
Hello all,It's the middle of October and we're right in the thick of the recording process. We finish up this session today and then head out on the road for a couple of weeks. The first show will be in Carman on Thursday and then we fly to Red Deer, Alberta for a conference. After that, we pack up the van and head out through Minnedosa to Alberta for a few shows in Edmonton, Calgary, Athabasca, Canmore, Jasper and Forestberg. Check out the On Stage page for more details.Once we return home we'll be heading back into the studio to finish the record. It's going to be pretty wild to hear the finished product!Just wanted to let everyone know that Western Canadian Music Week was an excellent event for us and alongside the various CBC spots we did (thanks CBC!!!!), we performed a pretty successful showcase. It was great to have a chance to see some of our favorite artists and friends (Kim Barlow, Jon Nordstrom and many others) and get back to performing live. We also discovered an amazing restaurant in Regina called La Bodega. It's a tapas style place and we highly recommend it. It's all about the food...Must go and call to the studio to see when I am needed. Hope to see some of you at the shows!
New Material, New Website, New Photos - News!
Hey everyone,Well, we're nearing the end of September and getting closer to the start of the recording. Yeeha! But first we get to drive to Regina to perform at the inaugural Western Canadian Music Awards. It's going to be a crazy weekend of music and meetings and a chance to say hello to some old friends. We're looking forward to it!Then we come back and start working with the fabulous David Travers-Smith--he's produced such artists as Veda Hille, Kevin Breit and Harry Manx, Katherine Wheatley and Cate Friesen and we are excited to be collaborating with him on the upcoming album. We think he is going to do a great job with the new songs and we hope he survives the whole experience with psyche intact. We have told him that sushi goes a long way with us, so maybe he'll employ that tactic if we start to make him crazy.Thanks to everyone who has been writing in with supportive and encouraging comments. We can't wait to unveil the new material in upcoming performances and I think we are all itching to get back out on the road to play some live shows again.Stay tuned to the "Images" page for new shots from the summer--it's taken a bit to coordinate the additions as my brother is in the middle of moving to Winnipeg (yay!), but hopefully they will be up soon.Also, we will be presenting a new website in the new year to coincide with the release of the album so we'll keep you posted on that.Thanks again for your interest and we hope you have an excellent autumn!
In Search of The Jennys
Hi everyone,We are home now and that means that once again I get to discover how many emails have mysteriously slipped through the cracks while I have been gone. This is one that made it to my home computer but didn't reach me on the road. Thankfully, I found it because it is yet another fabulous poetic offering! Apparently, Mr. Brian McGrath was so inspired by Jillian Bell's writing that he penned some verses of his own. Thanks for sending it, Brian.IN SEARCH OF THE JENNYS.Like many of the folks in the guestbook below, I, too, heard you first on the Nations radio Just like friend Jillian out Saskatchewan way, I had to have the music that very same day.Alas and alack, I searched all round, Not a trace nor a hint of the Jenny's was found. Then into Sam's place I desperately went, To find me this sound, I charged in hell-bent.attacked the clerk with my arms a-flailin', Only, once more, to be sent on to Waylon. With a tsk and a tsk, he showed me some pity, "Was it on the CBC that you first heard this dity?"."A dity its not" cried I in disdain, "but the voices of angels". Then he said through my pain, "Well, they do that a lot, those CBC hosts, They taunt you with tunes created by ghosts".They cannot be spirits, thought I in despair, The Jenny's are real, made of one plus a pair. Surely there's someone who's heard of these lasses, But my internet dial-up has the speed of molasses.At last I arrived at the Jenny's home page. With a sigh of relief, I let go my rage. I devoured the words in their bio' toot sweet, I ordered the EP, now my life is replete.I have only one question to pose to you all, OK, maybe two. but that will be all. When will you sing for us here in T.O.? Are there plans for an LP now on the go?To mangle the words of the late, great Bob Hope, (And I hope you don't think me too much of a mope), "Thanks for the Harmonies.", I can't wait for more. Please let us all know what you may have in store.Thanks, Brian. You put smiles on our faces. And to answer your query about the upcoming album, we expect to release it in early February and we will be out your way (Ontario) in March. There ya go! Keep an eye on the site for new dates and journal entries and check out the "Pictures" page soon for new shots from the summer.Take care and thanks for the great guest book entries!