And here we come to our final house concert of 2015 – but we’ll be going out on a high note (excuse the pun). Canadian musical icon Laura Smith will be joined by our east-coast friends (and occasional performance buddies), Naming The Twins. The first reservations started coming in for this show when we first announced the date in September, so please be sure to save your space in advance, and avoid disappointment!
The Take Note! Music House is delighted to present an intimate concert featuring the combined talents of Laura Smith and Naming the Twins (Robbie Smith and Kathleen Glauser) on Thursday, November 19 at 7:30 pm (doors open at 7:00). Requested donation is $25, with all proceeds going directly to the performers. You may reserve your seat by calling (705) 305-1687 or emailing concerts@takenotepromotion.com.
Laura Smith and Naming the Twins – together!
“I really enjoyed the Laura Smith - Naming the Twins show. Laura Smith’s voice is strong and haunting as are her songs. It was also a pleasure to hear Naming the Twins, either as harmony or singing their own songs.” [Susan Hoover, former artistic director, Osprey Performing Arts Center]
A rich tapestry of textures will be presented on stage as Laura and The Twins weave together the gifts that they have cultivated over their separate careers.
You’ll hear Laura’s own songs as well as her hauntingly beautiful a cappella singing. The Twins combine Kathleen’s keen and sensitive harmonies and deft accompaniment with Robbie’s masterfully-crafted songs, along with a brilliant selection of traditional songs.
Together, “Glauser and Two Smiths” will offer selections from their respective repertoires that they have arranged harmonically and instrumentally for this special trio performance.
Laura Smith (www.laurasmith.ca)
“If you have yet to hear this superb, consummate virtuoso, please make it your mandate to hear this divine, awe-inspiring artist at least once before you pass from this world.” [Lillian Wauthier, artistic director, Acoustic Harvest]
In Laura Smith's music, real emotions ebb and flow. Your heart is in her capable hands, and likewise, she has entrusted you with hers. As she sings, her strong, melodious voice waves and catches, snagging on a scar here and there, surfing on a wonder, staring down a riddle... As you listen, the two of you go along together; brave and surfacing; calm and inquisitive.
Smith’s music is direct and honest. Sometimes, fiddles and guitars gently lift and carry her spirited vocals, while her melodies and careful poetry dig deep. “My work is all very simple, earth-based,” says the Maritime-based singer/songwriter. Her work is no so much written, as painstakingly designed, cut and stitched together. “Like quilt craft,” she explains. “I make it body and soul, with everything I have available – my sensibilities, my ability to play. So many things come into the making of a song. When I say write, it limits what I bring to bear.”
Laura has already experienced exhilarating career highs. Her 1994 album “B’tween the Earth and My Soul” elicited unbounded critical acclaim, enormous airplay, national television appearances and a hungry demand for live performances. From the stages of Denmark to Newport, Rhode Island to Vancouver to the Yukon, Smith has shared the secrets of her soul, laying out for rapt audiences her private, yet ultimately universal experiences.
In 1996, she won two East Coast Music Awards (Female Artist, Album of the Year) and two Juno nominations (for Best New Solo Artist and Best Roots and Traditional Album). In 1995, her song "Shade of Your Love" was the most played AC song in Canada. In 1997, she won a Gemini Award for Best Performance in a Performing Arts Program or Series. At the request of CBC radio personality, Peter Gzowski, who was receiving a Governor's General Award, she performed "My Bonny" at the prestigious Ottawa ceremony. Her heartbreaking adaptation of the Scottish chestnut, on “B’tween the Earth and My Soul” had haunted the broadcast host since he first heard it. Of the evening, she recalls, "It will always stand as one of the great honours of my career."
Laura had to take some shore-leave but she's back into the stream of her songwriting life; ebbing and flowing; brave and surfacing.
Laura Smith's gate is wide open, her dreams are getting out. "I hope the Muse finds me a hospitable host," she said recently. "I must re-learn how to make her comfortable." Indeed, there are many stories yet to be crafted into song.
Naming the Twins (www.namingthetwins.com)
“Naming the Twins is bright, breezy and delightful. Their sound is wonderful… reminiscent of the best duos of the 60’s and 70’s.” [Bob Sherman, host, “Woody’s Children”, WFUV]
Naming the Twins is the harmonizing duo of Robbie Smith and Kathleen Glauser, whose well-matched voices sound a bit like Simon & Garfunkel if Art was a girl, a bit like Peter, Paul & Mary, if one of the boys was taking the night off, a bit like Gordon Lightfoot or Stan Rogers if they had had a girl harmonizer.
They recently released their second album featuring all original folk songs with a Canadiana – Americana theme, distinctive guy-gal harmonies, and a supportive array of acoustic instruments.
On “Drifters and Dreamers”, the listener’s AdventuRing will take them from the wild seas aboard a whaling vessel off the coast of Newfoundland, drifting on a memory-filled river journey on the Old Missouri, to working in a quarry in the hot deep-southern sun, to a tropical paradise with dolphins smoothly emerging from an inviting sea. There are many stops in between where a soldier finds comfort in a sad woman’s love, lovers are re-united near a desert plain, a streetsweeper takes pride in his work, and seagulls create breezes on calm waters with their wings.
All 13 tracks from their first album, “Sweet Transitions” (produced by Paul Mills) received healthy airplay on programs such as The Midnight Special syndicated throughout the US, the Spider Robinson Podcast, “Atlantic Airwaves” on CBC, “Woody’s Children” on WFUV New York, and many others.