OAK
LAKE CD Cover & Booklet
The Cover
The painting used for the cover was a commission by Maria
Pezzano, a wonderful artist living and working here in Guelph, Ontario.
Her artistic creation of my vague descriptions actually changed colours when
scanned
on our whacky scanner and we went with it!! Lewis worked his digital magic before
we sent it off to my supergraphicmancousin Brian in Winnipeg, who went above
and
beyond graphicdom to accomodate so much more than I could ask for.
THE
BOOKLET
Page 2
The painting over the lyrics of "Falling Together"
was graciously done by Carolyn
Riddell, a wonderful artist living and working here in Guelph. She heard the
song, read the lyrics and voila!
John Charlton took that shot of me looking
at the window.
Page 3
"Maisy Go Round" is a song
about dancing at a very early age in Ryerson, a one-room schoolhouse at the
corner of our farm. Not only was it my first school but it acted as the community
centre for the district ... hosting dances, showers, welcoming and going away
parties. My brother Trevor took this memorable picture.
Page 4
Before I met the wonderful artist Tracy
Harrison, she had created a series of pieces including one which she called
"Lift". When she heard
my tune "There's A Lift", the serendipitous
connection was realized.
Much later, I performed at Tracy's art opening at
Zero Gravity studio and as I sung the words 'it's a gift, and I know it', I watched
Tracy get up on a chair, remove the piece from the wall, approach the stage and
wait patiently for the end of the song to present it to me. It graces the lyric
page for "There's A Lift".
The photo below the lyrics shows the
choir of 26 Guelph friends who gathered to sing on this tune, sitting listening
back to the tracks.
Pages 5 & 6
The centrefold collage
includes 18 pictures. Moving across the page and down...
- A
photo taken in the '30's of my Dad (with saxophone) and his orchestra kneeling
infront of St. David's church, just 8 miles north of Oak Lake, Manitoba.
- Josh
Finlayson
- The
Oak Lake Fair parade during the Centennial year (1967). I decorated my big sister's
bike and rode it in the parade.
- Playing
Sam's old Tacamine at a memorable jam at Sandy's farm
- Dave
Clark
- Sue
Richards, myself and Nancy Floyd at the Carden Street Cafe...folks get us mixed
up and you can probably see why. Sue has had many a pat on the back for her 'great
show!' after Bird Sisters' performances.
- Alfons
Fear
- Moi,
taken by Sue Smith in her back yard
- Mailboxes
near Ryerson school
- Lewis
Melville infront of a John Hass painting
- A
piece of a Lewis Melville original which was used for the actual CD artwork
- My
first solo gig at the wonderful Carden Street Cafe. John Charlton, Sue Smith,
Lewis Melville, Mike Osler (not shown), Vicki Fraser (not shown) and Kate Richmond
(not shown) also joined me on that special night.
- Playing
congas and singing on John Charlton's "Masked Man Behind The Wheel"
with Benji at Hillside 1999. Brian Hodgson was on drums behind me.
- A
fun shot found in my brother Trevor's collection of fine photos
- John
Charlton playing with me at my friends' Mark and Ange's wedding in the
fall of
1999
-
Chris Marks, Nick Craine and I getting ready to mix "I've Known It"
in the studio
- A
piece of Maria Pezzano's cover painting, somewhat closer to the original colour
- My
farmyard near Oak Lake, Manitoba...Holstein cows and a Massey Harris tractor.
Page
7
The grand farmhouse I grew up in was bought from the Eaton's catalogue
in the 1920's and shipped in pieces in a boxcar all the way from Vancouver to
Oak Lake, Manitoba. My grandfather hauled the pieces by horse and wagon to the
farm 10 miles north of town and hired a crew to help him build it, while my grandmother
toiled for weeks to feed the workmen. These Eaton's houses dot the Prairies.
Page 8
My parents in the Canadian Gothic series, prompted by my
fun-loving brother and photographer Trevor. My dear wee namesake Tannis Hydesmith
and I pose on this page as well.
Page 9
A stunning view just
3 miles from my farm. The hill drops away quickly and I suspect it might have
been a buffalo jump in earlier times. This photo was taken by my friend Bill Hale
who was travelling across Canada one summer while I was visiting at the farm.
He caught me smelling a prairie rose and contemplating the view.
Page
10
My dear friend Angel Calnek and Sher Stooke flew out from Winnipeg
to Ontario one summer to experience the magic of Guelph's Hillside festival. Angel
was inspired by Goldie Sherman's African dancing and created this incredible stained
glass 'Dancing Goddess' when she got home. She apparently thought of me the whole
time she was making it (something about the hair!) and so I was the extremely
honoured recipient. The 'Goddess' has graced "Women In The Groove" posters.
Back Cover
I'm the proud owner of this gleeful Maria Pezzano original,
part of a series she created in 2000. It helped spark the idea to commission Maria
to do a painting for the album cover and I was able to show her the final version
of her efforts exactly one year after I purchased this first piece at the Guelph
Arts Festival. |
