Sooooo, I finally have time for an update! I am taking the morning off today! I think things will finally be slowing down just a little. I have had many projects on the go and some of them are in the wrap-up stage.

This week I worked on a recording project with the students at École-sur-mer in Summerside. They made a Christmas CD to raise funds to buy instruments for the school! It was an exciting project for the kids and lots of people contributed time and goods to make it all happen. All the profits will go right back to the students.

A major project for me has been the editing of a book of original Acadian fiddle tunes due for release very soon! It is almost ready to go to the publishing stage!! It features 34 different Acadian composers from PEI and includes 148 new fiddle tunes. Each composer has their own section with a biography, photo and stories about the inspiration for each of their tunes. You will see an example in the photos attached here. I am really excited for this project and I hope it will be a useful tool in the promotion of our Acadian culture and music.

Of course, I am also still working on the recording of my own CD. Troy MacGillivray has agreed to do the recording and production which is a thrill for me! He is one of my favorite players and I have enormous respect for his production abilities. I was attempting to get the recording done this fall but as often seems the case, these things take longer than expected. It is still in the works and I plan to keep posting some of the potential material on my website (www.anastasiadesroches.org).

I am getting excited for Christmas! How about you?? I love the snow in December (not so much from January on) and every time there are a few flakes it puts me in the Christmas mood. I have been listening to Christmas music for about a month now. Anne Murray's album is one of my favorites because she sings the songs the way I remember them. I am not so much of a fan of modern arrangements of traditional songs. The Barra Macneils' Christmas albums are always in the rotation and I just bought the new Ode à l'acadie album. My Christmas shopping is almost done and I'm working on my wish list, hehe.

That's about it for today I guess!

Worth a listen

I haven't updated in awhile. I will update about music and goings on in my life soon but in the meantime, I thought you might like to give this a read and listen. I have been thinking so much about the stories in the news about young gay people committing suicide because they are being bullied and because society doesn't accept them for who they are. There are so many important issues in the world today, why do we waste time arguing about things like whether or not gay marriage should be legal?

As a gay person in my thirties, most of the struggles that young people face today are long gone for me. Not to say that life is easy and not to say that I don't remember what these young people are going through. Thankfully, now it is mostly a question of uncomfortable moments when people make gay jokes or ask me if I am married yet. There are also moments when insurance companies don't want same sex partners to sign claim forms and having to tell random people that your partner is a “she“ when dealing with things that most people take for granted.

I am not complaining. I have a wonderful partner, supportive family and friends. It is still something I think about everyday and hope that young people have the strength to hang in there when they go through trying times. If you can take the time, it is worth watching the video at this link.

http://www.noordinaryrollercoaster.com/it-gets-better/

Here is a quote from the beginning of the article:

It Gets Better

I hate to say it but I spent a lot more of this past weekend crying than I care to admit. I have been choking on my words while I try to say what needs to be said – and it does need to be said.

For all the amazing accomplishments that we’ve made as a society, for all the civil rights movements that have won equality for minority groups around the world, and for all the wonderful support and opportunity that I have experienced as a gay man, we as a whole are in trouble. Thirteen-year-old kids are killing themselves after being tortured for being, seeming, or acting gay. These kids are suffering in ways that most of us can’t even understand to the point where they are throwing away the rest of their lives before they’re even old enough to know what the rest of their lives can look like.

What have I been up to lately?

Well, since you asked... Fun with the family and lots of company. When we were kids, our favorite place to go in the summer was Rainbow Valley. For those who have never been, it was a huge park with water slides and so many fun things to do! I loved going there even when I was older but I'd try to bring a kid so I didn't look so silly. :-) Well, the park is no more, at least in its former glory. It is now part of the Cavendish Beach area of the National Park. There are beautiful walking trails and the trails lead right to the main beach at Cavendish. Little did we know, when we used to go there, that we were so close. There was no trail before. The photo included shows my sister, her four kids and I at the park.

Company, yay! I love having company. I enjoy entertaining and feeding people. Also, when company comes to visit from off Island, I get to visit all the neat little places that I don't think of visiting otherwise. Our good friend Carl came to visit from Caraquet, well, from Vienna via Caraquet. When he is here you can be sure of three things, music, food and craziness! The other two pictures should give you a good idea of how things went!

Work is keeping me busy. Brent, Mylène and I are playing at the Ceilidh Hall in Poole's Corner tomorrow night and I am working full tear on preparations for recording a CD this fall. Lots of new tunes!!

Vacation?

I need a vacation from my vacation. Last week we went to visit Véro's family in the Saguenay region of Québec. The weather was nice and we got to go for lots of boat rides! Véro's cousin rented a cottage and we hung out there and ate and went for boat rides and ate and shopped and ate and... well, you get the picture!

There are three dogs in the family and when they get together, look out! One of the dogs is a chihuahua the other a Bernese mountain dog and the third is a 6 month old that fits somewhere in between. When they all get together they have a hard time getting along. Throw a few kids in the mix and you have a real party!

As always, we had a great time. The twelve hour drive home is a bit long and I need some time to catch up on my sleep!

We now have a friend visiting from Caraquet and I can safely promise some interesting pictures for my next blog update. We have been doing some touristy things around PEI.

On the road again... for vacation this time!

I am in the Saguenay region of Quebec visiting with Véro's family. We just got here yesterday so I will tell you all about this trip in my next post. Last week we had a few days off from Gadelle gigs before finishing up our last shows of the summer. It was “la fête des acadiens“ on the 15th of August so the shows we did were celebrating this Acadian holiday. These were my last gigs with the band and I have let them know that I won't be returning in the spring. One of the band members, Caroline, is pregnant and due to this the band was on hiatus this fall anyhow.

I have many projects on the horizon and I will keep you updated as they become more clear. One of my main focuses will be recording a CD this fall. It has been 10 years since my last one so I think it is time. I have a lot of my own original material I want to record and for the entire CD I want to include only tunes composed by people I know or have met. This will be a bit of a challenge but I think it will make for an interesting project.

On one of my days off last week Véro and I went to see the play “V'nez Chou Nous“ in Deblois. One of my former students was in the show and the playwright, Raymond Arsenault, is a good friend of mine. I had a grand time! The show was wonderful, everyone played their roles to a tee! They also serve some traditional Acadian food, a bowl of fricot, a piece of râpure and dessert for $5!!! Can't beat that! The first picture shows my former student Robyn on the far right.

Our best friends here at home are all the members of the Ouellette family. It was Vallier's birthday yesterday and we had a celebration for him last weekend. PEI mussels, homemade pizza and a yummy cake! I find the cake looks like a giant cupcake! It was nice to have everyone there for the party! I will name everyone in the picture for you since I often mention them in my blog. Sitting at the table from left to right: Diane, Véro, Mylène, Brent, Geneviève, Jerry and the celebrated birthday boy, Vallier.

Maritime tour

Well, we head home after the show tonight! I am excited about that! I have not updated at all since the start of the tour I have to think back a bit not to miss anything! Miramichi Folk Song Festival was our first stop. Before our show I had a nice surprise! Melanie Ross Breen, a friend who I had not seen in ages came to say hello! She has a beautiful voice and if you ever get the chance to hear this girl sing it is well worth it!

Our next stop was St. Andrews. We did two shows in the theatre there. Such a cute little town. I love all the little shops. I stayed in Saint John and got to meet up with Kim Matheson, a fiddling friend. She took me to a Thai restaurant, Thandi, for lunch. I ate way too much and it was yummy! These trips seem to be all about food! Check out the picture of the dessert!! That was from a restaurant in Halifax called da Maurizio. Véro came to meet me for this last bit of the trip and da Maurizio has been on our list of restaurants we have been wanting to try. We drive to Lunenburg for the shows but stay in Halifax.

The picture of downtown Halifax from the water was taken while we did a trip aboard the Harbour Hopper. You know, that green and blue car/boat that tours the city on land and in water. We felt like silly cheesy tourists taking this but it ended up being pretty fun. We were on board at the same time as a youth soccer team from St. Johns NFLD. They kept us in stitches for the entire tour.

We head back to Lunenburg this afternoon for the last show. The crowd in Lunenburg sure is something! We played on the main stage Thursday night, the place was packed! As soon as we would finish a number the crowd erupted with applause and cheers. I have never experienced anything quite like that. The last photo is taken from the golf course across the harbour from the town. I liked the view from that vantage point.

So this is the last tour with Gadelle. Caroline is pregnant and she is getting some well deserved time off. I have some other musical plans on the horizon, calls seem to be coming in these days. I like that and look forward to playing with Mylène and Brent. I plan to record a CD this fall and I am looking forward to having some time to get to work on that project. I will start up with lessons again in October. I will keep updating the blog even though the updates may be a little less exotic!

My new favourite color is blue!

We leave again for a short maritime tour tomorrow morning. I've had a great week at home and managed to cram quite a lot into one short week... well, 6 days to be exact.

Did I mention I love to eat?? Moroccan burgers on the bar-b-que! The picture does not convey how delicious these are! Véro did most of the cooking on this one. It is the sauce that makes the meal. Did I mention I love sauce? Lots of fresh cilantro from the garden, yummy! When I get home from a trip it is great to have fresh home cooked food. Eating in restaurants is fun at first but it gets old pretty quickly. We watched the film “Julie and Julia“ the other night and while I found the movie just so so, it made me want to cook... and EAT!

You know you have the best friends when they are willing to spend their whole day off (a sunny Saturday on top of it all) inside painting your room. One of our very good friends, Geneviève, is an interior designer (one of her many talents) and she helped us rethink our master bedroom. It was in sad need of an update. It is not finished yet (yes, that is a towel over the window) but we have the biggest part of the work done! 3 coats of paint in one day!! I love the new color. I have always flip-flopped between red and blue as my favourite color but this new paint job makes me side with the blue! There are still lots of accessories and linens to buy but there is already such a big difference from what it was before. Geneviève's boyfriend Jerry was here all day as well, installing a chair rail and moulding. We owe a lot to these two! They are coming back this morning to finish up. I am spoiled!!!

For those who don't know me so well, my sister has 4 kids that I love to spend time with! The older boys aren't always around so it is a special treat when I get to see them. My 2 nieces, Grace and Cate make me feel so special when I get to see them. I never doubt that they have missed me too! My sister Joanna, son Sam, Grace and Cate came for a visit on a very windy day last week. We walked down to the beach and were treated to a marvellous show of waves crashing. Mont Carmel isn't exactly surfers paradise so I get excited when I see waves here! There was hardly any sand where we usually sit on the beach because the tide was so high! Impressive sight! The two little girls in the picture are my nieces.

Off on a trip tomorrow morning, Miramichi, Saint Andrews and Lunenburg. I'll keep you updated!

Salt Spring and Mission Folk Festival

Well, home again! Confession time. I was not looking forward to the fiddle camp on Salt Spring Island. It turned out to be the most inspirational experience I've had in a long time. I don't even know where to start! The students!!! Motivated kids who wanted to play the fiddle, who continued to play through their breaks after class was over! So many of them touched my heart and I will mention a few here. Clara, Joseph and Una - from BC, Arizona and Ontario - they had never met yet formed an instant musical bond when they played together. I was so fortunate to have been a small part of that. Now the difficult part for them, going home and searching for that kind of connection with other musicians. Once you have experienced that you constantly search to make it all happen again.

The families; I met so many parents encouraging their children to play music, showing them that it is important to have passions like this in life. Whole families playing music together and parents doing everything they can to bolster their children's self confidence. It was so wonderful.

The best part of the trip for me was meeting these other fiddle teachers. Shamma, Trish and Zav(fiddle camp organizer). I was amazed at their abilities, not only are they all great players but they are great teachers. The rapport they had with the students was so special and the techniques they used, so simple yet effective. I made three new friends that I hope to keep in touch with regularly. Such interesting lives, different than my own but the paths do cross and I think we will meet again.

We ended the trip at the Mission Folk Festival, we played the mainstage as the second last act between Murray McLaughlan and Ian Tyson. Quite a spot to have. Shamma Sabir (fiddle camp teacher, great musician from Abbotsford next to Mission) also played in the show so we got to see her again! What a treat. She even came to see us off at the airport the next morning. When the trip started I couldn't wait to get home again but saying good bye to Shamma at the airport, I wished we could have stayed longer.

I guess this post is getting pretty long so, the pictures!

1. Shamma and Trish leading the fiddle orchestra (yes, that is Bill Henderson, lead singer of Chilliwack in the left hand corner).

2. Me and 2 of the camp students, little sweethearts Lauren and Nia.

3. Fiddle camp instructors, me, Shamma, Zav, Caroline, Trish, Grady, Helen and Louise.

The home stretch

We are now on Salt Spring Island, another beautiful part of British Columbia. I never thought I would see all these wonderful places. It is amazing! All the members of the band are teaching at fiddle camp and it is lots of fun. Very motivated students!! Caroline and I are being hosted by Ted, a local and we are staying in the most beautiful home I have ever seen!! We also had the chance to see some of my family here on Salt Spring. My Mom's cousins live here as do some of their children. Last night, they fed us a supper of Pacific salmon an the bar-b-que, salad from their garden, homemade bread and homemade ice cream from the neighbors, organic potatoes and asparagus. It was soooo yummy! Merci Louise, Doug et famille.

The pictures I am adding today go back to last weekend and the Vancouver part of the trip.

1. Jericho beach, the site of the Vancouver Folk Festival. The festival happens in the park that is part of this beach.

2. The broom making lady on Granville Island. We thought this was pretty cool and it made us think of our friend Diane who likes anything to do with witches and Halloween. (Diane we would have brought one home for you if we didn't have to fly!)

3. Just an evening picture in downtown Vancouver off Robson Street.

Kelowna, Golden and Kamloops!

Still having fun and having a hard time to believe the grandeur that is British Columbia! We have seen so much of the province in the last few days. In the Okanagan Valley we visited a winery called Mission Hill. There are many wineries in this area and we were told this was a must see. We weren't disappointed. In Kelowna, Véro and I treated ourselves to a treat! A night at the Delta Grand Okanagan! It was a rare night off for the band and we took advantage. Have a look at the last picture, this was the view from our deck!

Our travels are constantly taking us on new trails. We drove through Revelstoke and Glacier National Park. The snow peaked mountains amaze me every time we turn a corner. We played a show in Golden, BC. We were close to the Alberta border there and were even on Alberta time for a day. From the stage I asked the kids to pose for a picture with the dancing bear. They willingly obliged! (see photo) The Kicking Horse Resort is in Golden and the picture included is a view of the ski slopes in the summer weather.

We made it to Kamloops where we played outside in Riverside Park. We got to visit with my good friends Jeff and Carma! A highlight of the trip for sure. Tonight is our first of two nights in Vancouver, we opened the Vancouver Folk Festival tonight, we were the first act on the main stage. It was quite a rush! I'll post some Vancouver pictures next!

Snow in July?

Harrison Hot Springs is a beautiful place. I felt like I was there on vacation and not really working! The view is beautiful with the snowy mountains visible on two sides. There were all kinds of boaters on the water and the stage was right on the beach! We got to spend some time with our friends from PEI who were honeymooning in Harrison. They had rented a Mustang for the week so we travelled in style for a couple of days! This came in handy because our rental car (Kia) had the check engine light on by the second day! We had to return to Chilliwack before heading Kelowna so we could swap cars. They gave us an upgrade for our troubles and we now have a red Dodge Avenger. Much nicer ride I must say!!

The first two photos were taken while in the Harrison area, first on the beach and second at Bridal Veil Falls. We went for a little hike in the woods at the provincial park to find these falls. Quite impressive, 6th highest falls in Canada.

Then it was time to head for Kelowna. Just past Merritt on the Coquihalla highway we ran into some ... weather. It snowed! In July!! It was quite stormy for a little spell. The outdoor temperature gage in the car said zero degrees! There were warning signs for trucks to use chains and that winter road conditions were possible but we did not think it was for this time of year! After we got rid of the snow we started to see smoke that we thought might be from a forest fire and sure enough as we got close to West Kelowna there was a serious fire burning in a semi-urban area. There were helicopters, emergency vehicles and road closures. We got through just before they closed the road we had been on. Thankfully we don't have to go back that way and I think they are now in better control of the fire.

Kelowna is a beautiful place and I will upload some pictures of our time here soon!

Mountains!

Made it to BC. This is one of the longest days of my life. I am trying to stay awake until at least 9pm local time so I can get used to the time zone. We left home at 4:30 this morning and on PEI it would now be 10pm. 5 airports, 5 provinces, 4 flight changes. On the upside, Harrison Hot Springs is a beautiful place! I won't talk too much about Harrison yet because we spend the next 2 days here and I will tell you more about it once I've had the chance to explore!

We are looking forward to seeing lots of friends and relatives on this trip!

The Regina photo is here because Saskatchewan is the one province I have never been to... until today. I guess it doesn't count, we never even got out of the plane!! The other two photos were taken as we flew over the Rockies and got closer to our destination airport: Abbotsford.

The big wedding and the next trip.

Last weekend, my closest friends Mylène and Brent got married. I always thought they made a great couple and they are perfect for each other. They are also the two who most often accompany me when I play apart from the Gadelle band stuff. The wedding was beautiful from start to finish! We had a beautiful day and no mishaps!! The reception was at the Centre Belle-Alliance where you can count on outstanding food from the caterer Patsy Richard and stunning decor from the centre's director Béatrice Caillé.

Check out the red car! That was my ride from the church! Thanks to Brent's brother Mitchell who was the perfect gentleman and chauffeur.

The boys in the wedding party all wore the black high tops. A fun twist on the formal side of things.

Ahhh the happy couple on the waterfront in Summerside. I stole the last two pics from Mylène's Mom Diane on Facebook. Hope she doesn't mind!

Now off to pack, tomorrow morning the band leaves on the 7am flight to British Columbia for a long tour. I'll update as often as possible to let you know all about it!

Canada Day eh?

Exciting Canada Day for me! We (Gadelle) played in Moncton for a big outdoor show on Main Street. It threatened rain but held off while we played. There was a great crowd and we had fun playing. The best part was that we played right before Natalie MacMaster who I adore!! We got to chat with she and her husband Donnell. It was fun to see Mac Morin again (we ran into him at Small Halls on PEI) who is a fantastic Cape breton style piano player. He plays with everyone from Beolach to Troy MacGillivray and of course Natalie. We left before the show was over to avoid the traffic and not get home too late but Natalie was putting on a great show! She played lots of tunes from older albums, the opening set was almost straight off the “Four on the Floor“ cassette recording!

Now for the pictures of our adventure. I love this picture of Natalie and the other Gadelle girls. She poked her head inside our trailer to say hello and with our bunch there are always a few laughs!

We had our own trailer!!! It was pretty exciting. There was all kinds of food and drinks and it was directly behind the stage. Natalie and her crew had the one next to ours.

We had the 15 passenger van that we used on the US tour and my friend Pete Later came along for the ride. In order to access the backstage area you needed to have a wristband and we weren't sure if we could get him one. Thankfully it worked out and he was able to hang out with us backstage. Here is a picture of him inside our trailer.

Home sweet home!

Ahhhh, home. The US tour was a bit long but it was fun to see new places. The wrap up destination was Albany, New York or more specifically, Altamont. We were participating in the Old Songs Festival. It was hot and humid but when the sun was shinning it was nice to feel the summer weather. The drive home was long so we decided to stop in Waterville, Maine for a night on the way back. The border crossing returning to Canada is a lot less complicated than entering the US! No fingerprints or photos this time.

We played home on the Island last night in Tignish and in a few hours we head to Moncton to play tonight. Then time off from the band, my good friend's Mylène and Brent are getting married this weekend!! I am so happy for them! I am in the wedding party so a few busy days coming up.

I still haven't figured out how to upload pictures in the order I want them to appear so if they seem out of sync with my timeline, that is why!

First, my home sweet home. View from my front deck. Why would I ever want to leave?

Then, the day after I arrived home my Mom, my nieces and I went to the park and also had some Cows Ice cream, yummmm, my favorite. (Even better than the Ben and Jerry's I had in New York!)

The last picture is just a silly note from the wall of the “mess hall“ type place where we ate at the festival in New York.

Vacation day!

Well, we actually had a day off today... mind you we had to drive from Maine to New York! Véro and I took full advantage of this! We stopped in Old Orchard beach because it was a beautiful, HOT, sunny day. Then we went to the outlet store in Kittery and did a bit of shopping. I am so tired now but we had a great day and some great food! Hectic schedule from tomorrow morning on. We play at the Old Songs Festival near Albany, New York. Each day we have several performances (workshops and shows) and we start early tomorrow morning! I am off to bed but I couldn't resist adding four photos today.

Caroline, Louise, myself and Véro having a fun supper next door to our hotel in Albany, NY. Note for my sister Joanna... I just had the best seafood alfredo ever and totally wish you were here!

A picture taken from the pier at Old Orchard Beach.

One of our sound tech guys, Andy caught this giant toad outside the Skye Theatre where we were staying. (He and Véro also chased a mouse out of our apartment... and Caroline's room.

Gadelle on stage at the Skye Theatre.

Skye Theatre

We are at the Skye Theatre in South Carthage, Maine! It is nice to be here because this is our home base for four days. This means that we don't have to drag our suitcases to a new place every night! We arrived here on Monday and have been driving to the gigs from here but tonight, we play HERE! We just have to go downstairs for the show. I hear the sound is a treat in the theatre and we have 2 fun sound guys, Arthur and Andy, who are following us around for four shows. This part of the tour was set up by Phil McIntire, our kind host here at the Skye.

We have internet here but the bandwith is limited. I hope my photo uploads (the photos may be smaller than usual) don't get me into trouble! :-) We have been doing a lot of driving and there is a fair bit of construction on the roads. This is not so fun in a 15 passenger van! The gigs that we have been doing were all over an hour away from where we are staying. Friday we drive to Albany, New York. It is about an 8 hour drive.

Pictures, pictures...

The first, Outside the Franco-American Heritage Centre where we played last night in Lewiston, Maine.

Second, we spent a little time in the cute downtown of Farmington, Maine yesterday. Nice little shops and we met Morton the moose! A stranger saw us being silly and taking photos and asked if we wanted him to take one of the four of us.

And third, I did some laundry in the sink in my room and went outside to hang some clothes on the balcony. I noticed a lot of bird activity and when I looked up in the eaves just above my head there was a nest with four baby birds! Mom, I'll take a picture of the Mama bird and you'll have to help me identify it. I don't know what kind of birds they are.

June tour #2

Original title, I know! We are in Ellsworth Maine this morning and playing in New Hampshire tonight. We have wireless internet here today but who knows for later so I thought I would update again.

We had a fun show last night, we played half a show then played for a contra-dance. There was a real caller and the dancers danced 4 or 5 dances even in the heat! We did a 5 hour drive yesterday to get to the gig and today we have about 4 hours driving total including finding the place where we will stay for the next 4 days. Yay, less suitcase hauling for a few nights! It is a 10 day tour so the suitcase is pretty full!! I hear the next place where we will stay is really nice, we are being hosted by Phil McIntyre at the Skye Theatre and there is an apartment above the theatre where we will stay. I have heard about the place from lots of friends who have stayed (and played) there in the past.

The first photo is of Steve's house where we stayed last night. He is a rocker dude with all kinds of rock and roll paraphernalia in the house! He is cooking us breakfast right now!

We are in bible country it seems as you can see by the sign on the picture of Steve's neighbour's house.

And lastly Helen relaxing in the yard, lots of green!!

Have a great day everyone, Anna.