A New Jenny

Hello everyone,

We have some exciting news to report - we have found our new Jenny!

After a busy, sometimes overwhelming but often delightful search, we are happy to announce that Annabelle Chvostek is our new member. We auditioned so many wonderful singer-songwriters from across Canada (many thanks to all of them - Canada certainly has no shortage of talented and deicated musicians) and concluded that Annabelle was the perfect fit.

Here is an excerpt from the press release our management sent out today:

"Montreal's Chvostek is an innovative singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who performed her first gig at the age of seven with the Canadian Opera Company. She broke on the Montreal cabaret scene in early 1997 with her soulful acoustic jazz-pop and quickly became a major presence in Montreal's music scene. There, she's shared the stage with Dar Williams, Veda Hille, Kinnie Starr, Martha Wainwright, Tegan and Sara, and Penny Lang. Her distinct multidisciplinary bent has also led her to undertake numerous collaborative projects in video, dance and music. Most recently, she’s been playing shows with Rae Spoon, Po Girl and Barleywik."

Annabelle has a beautiful, rich alto voice, writes wonderfully innovative and interesting songs, and is a very strong guitarist and violinist. She's a pretty fine person too! We are very excited to see what this collaboration brings are we hope you will like what you hear.

You can check out Annabelle's website by going to the following link: www.annabelle.org

Also, Cara has unveiled a new website and you can visit her at: www.caraluft.com

Happy holidays, everyone. Can't wait to see you all in 2005!

Saying Goodbye

Hello everyone,Many of you have likely noticed that the site has not been updated very frequently lately - we're sorry we haven't been in touch. It's come time to let everyone know that Cara has decided to leave the Jennys to pursue her own career. She will be getting in touch with many of you to let you know what her upcoming plans are. You can get in touch with her at her website as well (www.caraluft.com).Ruth and Nicky will be continuing on with the group and are currently working hard to find a new "Jenny". This will still be the home of "The Wailin' Jennys" and the name will remain with Ruth and Nicky. While they are sad to close this chapter of the group, they are excited about the future and looking forward to unveiling their new project. Unfortunately, the Jennys will have to cancel all tour plans up to the New Year, but expect to be back out on the road in January in northern B.C.The Jennys want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their outstanding support and continued interest - it's been a wonderful 2 and a half years and they are looking forward to creating and performing more music. Please stay tuned for more news. There's a whole lot around the corner.

Western Canadian Music Awards

Hi all,I am in beautiful Victoria at the moment and I am writing this in the lobby of the Strathcona Hotel. I have about a half an hour before we are due for a TV interview so I thought I would write an entry and let everyone know about the last few days of our crazy lives. I think I've finally almost caught up on missed sleep!After flying down to Pittsburgh last Thursday for an arts showcase, we flew all day Saturday to get to Chilliwack for a show. Though we were tired, the show went well and we ran into some old friends and supporters. We also had some great Greek food (check the Food page for new entries for Pittsburgh and Chilliwack - we did a lot of eating in a short amount of time). The next day we drove to the Abbotsford airport and flew to Calgary where we reported to the theatre where the Western Canadian Music Awards were being held (the name escapes me at the moment). After sound-checking with four members of the Calgary Symphony, we were sent off to go eat again.I started getting slightly nervous as we were going to be performing "Arlington" for the show and I was feeling a little zombie-like from all of the flying. It was also feeling a bit surreal that we were nominated for two awards as well. Dinner was wonderful (another go at Murrieta's with our management) and my nerves didn't stop me from inhaling chocolate cake and banana cream pie.By the time we performed, I had gotten a hold of my adrenaline and calmed down a bit and the song went well. The string quartet from the symphony were brilliant (as was Richard Moody's gorgeous arrangement) and the crowd seemed to appreciate the song. We rushed offstage and while were putting away our instruments in the dressing room and trying to decide if we had enough time to visit the loo, we were called upstairs to accept the award for Outstanding Roots Album. We didn't even hear our name mentioned! It was another surreal moment.After that as we were returning to our seats, Cara and I ran into Brian Potvin from the Northern Pikes who proceeded to compliment our performance. When we realized who it was, Cara and I started hailing him with the Wayne and Garth "we're not worthy" refrain and told him that we worshipped the Northern Pikes growing up. His response was great - he seemed genuinely happy that we were so thrilled to meet him. The Northern Pike's performance that night was one of the highlights.The after-party was the best part of all for me. I must have sung 70s and 80s rock tunes for about 4 hours with my partner, Grant (who was at the conference with his very fabulous band Novillero), Jill Brooksbank from Mainstage, Pat (can't remember his last name but he knew an incredible list of songs on the piano - I can't believe his arms didn't fall off) and a few other dedicated partiers. At one point, we pushed a grand piano down the hall while singing Journey's "Don't Stop Believing". Thankfully, we didn't get arrested and Thom Sparling, the event coordinator was more amused than anything else. Yeesh, musicians...My night was capped off by a wonderful conversation with a member of War Party who said she was a fan (I am a big fan of her band as well), and some much needed sleep when I got home to my friends Jodi and Jon Ouellette's house. Thanks to them for being their usual hospitable selves!I'm running out of time and this is very long, so I'll sign off now!~ Nicky

Freeways

Hey everyoneCara here. We just returned home from our tour in the States and I am definitely ready for a long nap! :) I think I drove the L.A. freeways a bit much the past few days (heeeeeh)... I feel like my brain is on hyper-speed.After our show in Ben Lomand (where the audience sang their hearts out on the Mingulay Boat Song - it rocked!) we drove down Hwy 1 along the coast, thru Big Sur and other incredibly beautiful areas. And it was hot hot hot. Ahhhhh, I loved it! L.A. was defintely a different place... everyone drives (I mean EVERYONE!), I didn't see one person on a bike. It was very strange. I got to visit with some new friends, walked along the beach and in the ocean, and was given a bit of a tour (drove by Ozzy Osbourne's house... kinda funny). Did I mention that I saw the freeways?Thanks to everyone who came out to our shows in the States - we're already looking forward to coming back!Gotta go eat some soup now. Ciao.

"Beautiful Dawn" - The Music Video

Hello all,Nicky here. I am in a public library in Seattle at the moment. I have been trying to stay on top of my email and my brother and I have also been trying to make sure we get the right email addresses for CMT and MuchMoreMusic so people can request the video. You'd think that would be a an easy thing, but my brain has been mush lately and my brother is doing his best with damage control. Poor guy!The show in Seattle was good - we weren't sure how it would turn out as it was in a bar and the start time was quite late (we'd also started traveling at 7 a.m. in a later time zone so we were a little zombie-like). But it ended up being a great show with a very enthusiastic crowd - we got a much-needed second wind. We had performed on KUOW earlier in the day which brought out some people (thanks to them!) and there were also some people who had attended the Vancouver Folk Festival. It was a good night.Seattle is a beautiful city and we are having a great time here. We leave for Portland tomorrow and we'll check back in soon. I am running out of time on this computer otherwise I would add a couple of new restaurants on the food page. Look for those soon. Also my brother just posted some videos from the "Beautiful Dawn" video shoot (some behind-the-scenes footage), so check that out. We will also have some new photos up imminently.Once again, if anyone feels like emailing CMT and MuchMoreMusic in Canada to request the video for "Beautiful Dawn", you can go to the links below. If you are in the States, you can go to the last link.Thanks for your support!The link to the CMT Canada comments webform is : CMT CanadaJust click on "Connect", choose "CMT Programming", select "Show or Video Request" or "CMT Programs" and then write your email.To email MuchMoreMusic, click on this link:Email Much More MusicTo email CMT (USA), click on this link:Email CMT (USA)

A New Accordian Backpack!

Hello everyone,Well I just thought I'd leave a quick note before we head out on the road again. We've had a couple of weeks off and now we are gearing up for our first tour in the States, starting in Seattle on the 14th of this month.'Beautiful Dawn' is getting regular airplay on JRFM in Vancouver, and apparently a few other mainstream Country stations are starting to get on board as well, so we are pretty excited about this. If you'd like to request the song you can call 604 280 9370 in Vancouver (or email requests@jrfm). We would very much appreciate it - every call helps! As soon as I find out which other stations are playing the song I will post them on the site as well.I'm looking forward to hitting the road - for many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that I am now the proud owner of a brand new accordion backpack. Not only practical but exceptionally stylish as well, it will be accompanying me on every trip I take from now on, and I'm happy to say that I think I will be making fewer trips to my chiropractor from now on. As you can see, Cara is not the only one excited about streamlining her luggage. It may sound odd, but you become excited by the strangest things when you travel for a living.That's about it for now. Thanks a lot to all of you who have been writing to us through the guestbook. We really appreciate your comments.See you on the road!~ Ruth

Howdy from Alberta

Howdy everyone!Cara here... I'm in Alberta, taking a bit of a break, visiting old friends and taking in the gorgeous scenery. Yesterday I went on a hike in BEAUTIFUL Kananaskis Country (my calves are feeling it a bit today). It was so cold my legs felt like flesh icicles. heeeeh. Tomorrow I'm heading to one of my former stomping grounds - Gull Lake Camp - to try and write some songs. I was able to rig up a VERY large goalie bag (with wheels!) to fit both my acoustic and electric so I am READY TO ROCK! :)After a few shows in Alberta we are heading on our first official US tour, down the West Coast. Should be lots of fun! If you live in WA, OR or CA check out our On Stage page to find out where we'll be playing.Well, I should hit the hay. My left eye is starting to droop.Peace out.

Video Shoot and Food Page

Hi all,We're back in Winnipeg for a couple of weeks (yay!) and I am busy working on the food page. I just spoke with my brother today and we should have it up in the next few days - he's just building the page for it as I write. I'll also be sending some photos and video to him to post.The video shoot in Calgary went really well and was quite the learning experience. The shoot lasted two days and thankfully we were blessed with good weather for both. We experienced some light rain when we were shooting on a roof in Inglewood, but other than that, it was warm and sunny. The director and crew from Murder Inc. were some of the nicest people we've ever worked with and the pace of the shoot was very relaxed - filming a video is a pretty intense experience and having the chance to work with friendly, helpful people was the key to us not feeling nervous. Nothing like lip-synching to your own voice to make you feel a little weird!We shot one scene in a bar called "Bungalow". I played a bartender and having had 13 years of experience in the serving industry, the part came rather naturally. Actually, the fact that I was supposed to appear disenfranchised and a little grumpy in my bartending job was the thing that required no acting. Haha. Cara was filmed on a moving bus (that was an interesting challenge when I tried to get some video on my digital camera). I think I got some good stills of her and will post those soon. Ruth was shot on a gorgeous riverbank surrounded by over-friendly ducks and because her scene was filmed in public, a curious crowd gathered during the shoot. Nothing like lip-synching to your own song in front of strangers to make you feel even more weird.We also shot some performance footage on the aforementioned roof and broke for lunch at the local Harley-Davidson Diner. When you see the video let us know whether the heartburn translates on the roof scene. Jill Brooksbank from our management team was there for the shoot and I think I ate almost three quarters of her macaroni and cheese before my own meal arrived.We moved on to Owen Sound after that and had a great time at Summerfolk. My highlights of that weekend were Joel Kroeker's beer tent performance, meeting and hearing Chuck Brodsky and Billy Jonas, James Keelaghan and his various comedic shenanigans and Michael Wrycraft making up his own words to "The Mary Ellen Carter" in the finale. I can't repeat them here, unfortunately but I spent more time laughing uncontrollably on the main stage than I did trying to fake my way through that song. I am a bad folk singer for not knowing the words. Someday...We're heading off in a couple of weeks and we're looking forward to some more shows in the States. Hope to see everyone soon!~ Nicky