Go Canucks! (hanging behind the scenes with Kelly Brock, singing the anthems)

OK Boys! Playoff time is upon us and I thought I'd take a moment to tell you that........we love ya! 




PS:  The night I made this video we had  a winning game!  Someone might want to ask  Kelly Brock to sing the anthem again during the playoffs, it appears she's lucky for us!  ;)

xoxo

~woot~
Rach!

photo blog Robson Square Skating rink, vancouver band, the Hitmen~

Last week I sang at the re-opened Robson Square skating rink. As a Vancouver born and raised resident of this city, I'd like to say that I  am simply delighted to see the skating rink being  used once again.   I feel very privileged to have been up on that beautiful stage putting on a great show for people of all ages with excellent musicians like the Hitmen. This was the kind of gig that felt like an intimate concert; people paid attention,  children enchanted us with their dancing, everyone moved, sang along or clapped in time whenever we asked them to......   and the natural theatre shaped setting meant the energy flowed back and forth between  the band and the audience exactly  the way it is supposed to. It was the ancient campfire on a chilly winter night and everyone spoke the same musical language and I guess in a way,  we were the storytellers.  

I love nights like that.

Photos courtesy of Thesa Pakarnyk

Tom Arntzen~Rachael Chatoor~Nathen Aswell~Shawn Soucy~Russell Marsland

The Hitmen

By the way, I think you should book us for your next event!
The Hitmen

Rach xo

Province Playlist feature artist One More Girl [all access pass video]

One More Girl , Britt and Carly McKillip,  are two gorgeous young dynamo's who are poised to take the country music world by storm.
That's what I thought the first time I saw them at the Merrit Mountain Music festival last year.
I caught the girls when they took the stage and let me tell you, they made me stop to watch and listen. These young girls were babies yet they were owning that stage and I was mesmerized . Suddenly I was rooting for them like I knew them, yeah girls, you rock it sisters, ~woot~!  Little did I know that  the next time I would meet them it would be in their house, wearing PJs and bouncing on their beds............






This week you may have noticed One More Girl  featured in the Province Newspaper as part of the weekly feature known as the Province Playlist.  Via the Province Playlist  you can download songs by established and rising stars in the local and national music scene.  Barry Stecyk, of Hevy D's Old Fashioned Kettle Korn is a huge music fan and is the man behind the initial idea for the music player page. He's worked tirelessly with The Province, Music BC, Save-On Foods and a handful of others to create a tool that brings musicians and music fans together and I think he is a modern day hero for his energy and devotion.



Barry is really an outstanding guy and has a vision for marketing his product that I 'get' which is to bring people together, combine resources, share audiences and give something of value in a way that sees everyone involved winning. With the draw of the more established featured artist, the Province, Music BC and Hevy D are able to bring fresh new musicians onto a platform previously unavailable to them with a weekly full page spread that directs traffic to a site where an audience can  find links and a treasure trove of free downloadable music that is collecting there.

The beauty of social networking in this way is that things can be mobilized so quickly. I was in the office of Bob D'Eith (Music BC) last week shooting video for All Access Pass  with  himself  and Barry discussing the creation of this project. Literally that very morning they had decided to put together a player that would  benefit the victims of the Earthquake in  Haiti.  Bob was offering the use of the recently released  Music BC 2010 compilation album (which included the Peak Performance artists) as a means to raise funds for donations to the cause.  Within 48 hours of that meeting, I got an email to my inbox saying the project was live. That meant that every artist on the 20 song compilation has agreed to give their song to Project Haiti.

Outstanding, and quick.

And beneficial by all accounts, traffic to the Playlist starting with the Christmas releases, has already far exceeded expectations by tens of thousands of visits and downloads, and this number will only grow as more and more people catch wind of what is happening here.
If you are a music lover, and like to support local music please check out your Province every Tuesday and look for the Province Playlist which will give you  instructions on where to go to download your free music. As well, next time you are in Save-On Foods, look for Hevy D's Old Fashioned Kettle Korn, and find your free download sticker on the bag!

Oh yes my news!! Well, late last December, I myself submitted one of my songs to the Province Playlist  and happily  it was accepted. That was exciting enough but I have recently  learned when exactly my spot in the Province will appear and I have to say, I am quite beside myself with excitement. I'm going to keep the suspense going for now but I will let slip these two details.... the big featured artists I will be gratefully tagging along with are incredible stars. They are two ladies who's vocals and talents I am madly in love with (and have been forever). It is so widely known in fact that I adore these two, that it almost  feels like someone upstairs was cooking this pot of soup just especially for me........ and as for when..........just make sure you check out the Olympic editions of the Province. :)


If you are a musician/artist reading this and would like to submit your music do so here.


with hearts....Rachael

Merry Ho Ho ~ Canuck Place children's hospice....

             

Last Monday was the official tree lighting ceremony at Canuck Place children's hospice and I was honored to be able to provide some of the entertainment for the event. (My friend Rae gave me the heads up about the event so I emailed them and asked if I could be helpful.) The Vancouver Bach choir was the main focus of the night and they sounded just heavenly as they stood on the front steps near the tree and delivered their exquisite harmonies. They truly delighted the packed house full of CP supporters and VIP's who were invited to the event.

 The Vancouver Bach Choir and Fin!

The property is quite large however and near the side of the house under the gazebo was another mingling spot where all the treats hot chocolate and coffee were being served. The chior could not be heard  all the way over there so, the organizers requested I provide some carols for that busy area. I was thrilled to say yes!

I asked two of my dear gal pals to join me Layla Naomi Vaugeois and Kimberly Baskerville (who are both very busy singers working in this city). Layla sings at the Roxy nightclub in downtown Vancouver, if you have ever been to the Roxy on a Wed-Thurs-Friday night, you have seen Layla rocking it with her band Troy's R Us. Kimmy is part of the legendary March Hare band.

  Kimmy, Layla, Rach

The girls and I decided on our wardrobe, got together over a glass of wine and ran some songs together before showing up to Canuck Place. There was a lot of laughter and straight up silliness between us which carried on throughout the whole night right up till the very end where we were skipping through the xmas lights and doing cartwheels on the grounds. I love these girls! We really enjoyed singing together too, and the crowd was so warm and appreciative........ it was just a joy to be a part of the event.

  Rehearsing tunes and picking our parts!

  ~Carol Time~

We even got to jam a song with Canuck mascot Fin!

Fin ROCKED!

When you are  in the city this December do take yourself a little detour to check out the beautiful grounds of Canuck Place. They did an amazing job decorating the grounds and as the story is told, the Vancouver Canucks themselves dedicated a whole day on site, helping to hang the tens of thousands of Christmas lights that now sparkle throughout the property. What a team! What a facility! I'm just thinking before I sign off on this post, if you are looking for a place to make a charitable donation to this year, you may wish to consider supporting Canuck Place. They do a world of good for so many families. How special would it feel to know that you helped  provide a little bit of comfort to families who are facing the most difficult time in their lives.

                                     

    

With love and hearts............Rachael xo

music based corporate events and the League of Rock

Ok I am going to share some information with you that is as valuable as gold. The League of Rock corporate events are coming to Vancouver (& Toronto, New York, Chicago).

If you are working in a large corporation that occasionally offers leadership development and/or team building events for its staff, then I urge you to watch the below posted video and then send this link to your Human Resources person today.



I love it, this is not your dull boring corporate conference, this is  genius rolled into engaging fun.
League Of Rock's coaches, professional musicians and event production team work together with this program to provide a truly powerful and unique opportunity. Bring together colleagues of vastly differing social and professional backgrounds and use the universal power of music to communicate on levels they never have before.

With individual personalities and specific goals in mind, you'll place them in a highly collaborative situation where they must prepare for a final performance under a compressed deadline. During the process our professional song writing coaches and musicians ensure great songs are produced while everyone enjoys the process.

Tell me you don't love this?  Tell me you don't want to get up and rock at your next conference and have the chance to meet and learn from musical celebs and personalities. You want an experience for your company? I would! Call them. :)


And hey now that we are talking the League of Rock, what is happening with "League" side of things anyway?  Yes, the corporate world aside, things are rocking! There are a bunch of folks who signed up for the second session and its funny but I can really see a difference in  all of the returning members. Right away there was an air of confidence about them that wasn't present in the first session, it's as if  they all just know its  going to turn out fun and  fine so they settle in and chill quicker. Most everyone by now is settling into their bands and finding their voice within them. The community is warm and supportive and everyone is starting to gel. We only have one more rehearsal  before the first training showcase, which will be held at the Fairview pub. Its going to be very interesting.

So now, I'll take you back  in time  a few weeks to the session I was in because finally we have all the videos up from the final showcase for the League of Rock~!

I have posted just the videos from my band Know Mercy's performances, and then one video from another band, Wicked Skinny. You can see how my attempts at bass turned out after 10 weeeks of trying, and also enjoy Stephen Pallivicini's first time ever onstage. It was such a fun night, and  its remarkable to think that none of us knew each other 10 weeks beforehand and now there we are up playing onstage at the Yale,  having just recorded in a studio together.

If you would like to see more from all the other bands from the final LOR showcase you can veiw all the rest of the videos from the night here! 










So.....
Want to join a band, or bring the League of Rock to your workplace?
Click this link and give Terry a call, tell him Rach sent ya!

Rach!

Wasn't that a party?!!!

[Video of the League of Rock bands, founder Terry Moshenberg, and featuring special guest Tal Bachman]
Ok I am still buzzing over last Thursday's League of Rock showcase at the Yale, it was the end of the first 10 week session, and wasn't THAT a party?

Terry Moshenberg flew in from Toronto for the big event, but before he came to the Yale, he and Vancouver LOR chapter head Rob Boshaw went and picked up the instruments from Long and McQuade which were to be given as prizes for members who stood out during the 10 week session. These included a new guitar, a bass, some cymbals, a microphone and some other goodies. I must say it had to have been hard to pick winners because every single member made an impression on all of us for different reasons.

Anyhow, we all showed up that night with family and friends in attendance and it took no time at all to fill all the seats in the house. The excitement was so thick in the room that you could touch the nervous energy as it floated around. Some members were getting ready to go onstage and play in a band to a PACKED house at the Yale for the first time in their lives. The buzz in the room made me feel like it was on fire and it wasn't just the TREE beer that sold out half way through the night. I think I chatted to almost everyone, though it was largely a blur and if I didn't have the video footage as proof I was there I would hardly believe it even happened.

I have made this little sneak peek video to share with you. Since there were two professional videographers there I didn't really focus too hard on taking video and I really only caught a snapshot of the night knowing that someone else had it covered. While I did get a shot of all the bands, I totally forgot to get my own band which now I think is a bit of a shame. I didn't think of shooting Know Mercy, because of course my hands were full of either a guitar or a bass at the time and also I just plum forgot to ask anyone to shoot it for me so it's a little sad that I didn't' manage to get my band mate Stephen playing his guitar in this video. Stephen has been a good pal throughout this whole thing and on Thursday night, he was just a superstar, in fact he was voted MVP for this session! High five rockstar!

Fortunately Stephen will be in the video the League of Rock is producing, but for today there is only ONE piece of footage that I could find of him and it came during the finale. He was in the background of a single shot which I probably would not have included in any video for public consumption, because I am being such a dork in it, lol, but I weighed the pros and cons quite carefully and decided to include the shot despite myself, it was more important to make sure I got my band mate in there. Just ignore me (my sister who is queen of self portraiture and taught me everything I know however, will laugh her head off when she sees it).

See here is what happened. At the end of the night after my band KNOW MERCY played, LOR founder and host of the party Terry Moshenberg asked our special guest Tal Bachman to come up to the stage to close off the night. Oh my god! I nearly fell down. I was up onstage at the time and there was NO WAY I was going to get off of it if Tal was getting up there. It's been no secret to anyone I am a big fan, so you can just imagine how much of a thrill that was. It would be like having the chance to strap on your skates and take shots on Roberto Luongo if you were a big fan of the Canucks.

So anyhow, Stephen from my band gave Tal his guitar and then stepped back to hang out onstage ( which is how I got him in a shot, Stephen is wearing a blue tshirt, you'll see it. ), Terry also picked up a guitar and with no notice or planning whatsoever, we all set out to close the night with a little jam. I just hoped to heck I knew the songs that would be called.
Seeing as I wasn't playing an instrument, I grabbed my camera and took some footage of the finale while I was onstage. First we played a Bad Company song. Great, easy, I knew that one. Then, Kenny McNally from LOR Toronto got up to rock the house with Crossroads and Tal wowed us with some Clapton solos, the crowd was thrilled, the energy high, my smile ridiculous. Once that was finished, we were taking off the guitars and putting them away when the crowd started chanting 'She's so High', over and over again.

Graciously, Tal put his guitar back on and quickly told the band how the song went (that's the way jam's go), and with no rehearsal, we charged ahead. 10 years ago when I first fell in love with that song, I never would have imagined I would one day be up on stage singing it with the artist.
And I tell you THAT because I want to illustrate for you that not only does the League of Rock help non-professional musicians realize their dreams of playing with a band, recording, and performing live onstage, but it ALSO has the power to blow away a regular gig monkey like me, by surprising me and fulfilling one of my own dreams. It was crazy, it was the ultimate reward, and I can't thank Terry enough. This whole experience has exceeded even MY expectations! I can't wait for round two.

So watch the video folks, grab yourself a glimpse of what it is like to be in the League of Rock. If you are a non-pro musician who is busy with your work and family life, but are still aching to get out there and rock, remember this:
You go to five, we go till 11!
The next session is registering right now, you can find more info here at LEAGUE OF ROCK. See you soon!


Rach xo