Watch out Bob Ezrin

The legendary hard rock producer has nothing on Carrie Catherine.

I’m in Swift Current doing school workshops with some fantastic kids at Maverick school. The school is for kids who don’t fit into the regular systems and flourish when they’re given freedom and responsibility (the school moto in fact). Their classes involve life coping skills that any adult would pine for and they use the kids’ passion, interest and aptitude in the arts to promote their academic achievement in other areas. To be at Maverick is a chaotic, non-linear, collaborative experience that is truly outside the box, and produces amazing effects.

Last night, I hung out with my friend Dave Lang—-the artist in residence here—-who invited me to a multicultural jam with some fine Swift Current musicians and recent immigrants. The jam took place at the historic Lyric Theatre, with a back room that Dave has transformed into an enviably studio.

A beautiful Filipino woman and her two daughters joined a large circle of musicians, and without instruments, they seemed very tentative. They didn’t understand English clearly enough to start singing along with the jams and sheet music. Soon, they disappeared into the control room.

Eventually, I wandered back there and opened the door to find those three timid women belting out a beautiful Filipino pop song, one daughter eloquently banging away on the piano while the mother and daughter sang out loud and strong. Far from being intimidated by my presence, they eagerly pulled me in and starting asking if I could listen to the youtube version of this song and teach them how to sing the harmonies in the chorus. Brokenly, they tried to teach me the Filipino lyrics as I hummed back the notes of the harmony.

We rejoined the jam, when the group was working on a folk tune that a Latvian violinist introduced to the group. A local songwriter got us jamming on a gorgeous Norweigian folk song. Totally unexpected and beautiful experience in Swift Current!

During the days, I'm either at Maverick school preparing the students to go into the studio or recording with them. Through this project, they've all written songs that they're now recording, and in May, they'll do a fundraising show for the entire community, performing their music and raising money for future arts programming at the school. Most of them are practised and dedicated to their music, and it's really groovy to get to know them.