Tell Me Your Story

by Olga Barsky
I first saw Jillian on Good Day Live, the national version of Good Day L.A. Each morning before school I would look forward to her loud and outspoken style. Even at the tender age of 9, I imagined that when I grew up, we would make the best of friends.

She was beautiful, Canadian, and a major shit stirrer. What’s there not to love? Between her marriage, battle with depression, and being adopted, Jillian did not hold back. If it was on her mind, it was on the air…often to the dismay of co-anchors and producers who couldn’t handle a woman who was smart AND opinionated. What blasphemy.

Now, some years later, I finally get to meet Jillian who is happily remarried to actor Grant Reynolds and the proud mama of one very pretty little lady named Ruby Raven Reynolds. Jillian was recently in Canada to promote Nutrisystem, which helped get her pre-baby body back. It was quite the trip – “I got to meet 30 relatives I’d never met before.” Her birth mom had 8 brothers and sisters!

In addition to the program, Jillian used a rather unorthodox method to get back in shape. She wore bikinis and other scantily clad attire around the house as to “catch glances of fat ass” in the mirror and get instantly motivated.

Our meeting/ brief platonic love affair (as I like to think of it) took place in the dimly lit Camera Bar. She sat on a stool with a “Ruby” necklace draped across her neck, tattoo on her ring finger, and wore a smart black cocktail dress with sky-high patent black Frederick’s of Hollywood pumps ($40!). Although she owned up to having a pair of YSL’s that look exactly the same.

Originally from Burlington and a graduate of Mohawk College in Hamilton, Jillian moved to the U.S. fifteen years ago to pursue a career in broadcasting and hasn’t looked back. She has hosted the TV show EX-treme Dating, and in 2002 began her hugely popular weather segment on FOX NFL Sunday pre-game show. In 2006 she also took part as a contestant on Skating with Celebrities and came in second.

While I tend to (silently) shun some Canadians who make the big move south instead of supporting the Canadian industry, in Jillian’s case there was nowhere else for her career to go. She also definitely does her part as a cheerleader for our nation whenever possible.

She loves Canada – Toronto especially. “Everything is so close – it’s so easy to navigate the city. LA is the home of strip malls, there’s no architectural integrity. We have no old places, no sense or respect of history.” She adds that there’s no way to get around without a car, and “‘down the street’ is twenty minutes from us!”

At the same time, as we’re speaking on the phone (during the second interview) Jillian is cruising home to the valley in 72 degree weather. “Everyday is a vacation filled with tropical breezes and palm trees.” Tough life! Though a part of her does long to spend her days in a Perry Sound cottage.

Despite finding major success in her chosen field, she still finds the attention odd. She recalls walking out of a restaurant the other day where Posh, Becks and Kate Beckinsale were dining, and being caught off guard when the paps started angling for her pic too.

These days Jillian’s got way more important things to worry about than publicity – like her adorable family; “I do my three hours and split,” she says. The day of our interview, Minnie Driver and Eddie Izzard stopped by and the “hours just flew by.” Tough day at the office.

So in the land of stars, who does Jillian hang with? We’ve seen pics from her baby shower with Heather Locklear and in Vegas with Pamela Anderson. She was even featured in Pam’s show VIP as well as in Clueless the TV series and Melrose Place. Retired porn star hottie Jenna Jameson is also a friend. We even bond over our love for glossy Vivid porn as opposed to the amateur kind riddled with pimples and blemishes.

“Heather was at my wedding….I hung out with Carmen a lot, but your life changes. Now it’s all about my family, and it’s such a freaking cool place to be. We live in a small ranch house in the valley, I love it, and we’ve got this very freaking normal life. We just hang.”

Jillian is passionate about more than just her friends and family. She has always had a soft spot for rescue animals. At one point she had 11 (5 dogs, 5 cats, and a rabbit).

“My husband came into a petting zoo,” she laughs. Now they’re down to 2 dogs and 4 cats. She’s still very involved in pet rescue and hopes to some day teach Ruby the responsibility of caring for her very own animal.

What I’ve always found fascinating about Jillian is that she’s got a male and female following. This is no easy feat. Whether she’s ad-libbing on FOX or promoting Nutrisystem, men are drawn to her sense of humour.

In fact, Jillian hates the separation of women’s and men’s programming, “why spread the content?” she exclaims, puzzled by her own question. She talks about flipping through women’s magazines to discover featured articles like “how to have a great orgasm” and dismisses it as antiquated thinking.

As for why women like her, she believes its because she’s honest and forthcoming with her flaws. “Women in this business try too hard to conceal things. They won’t tell other women their secrets because they’re insecure.” This ranges from career tips to unwillingness to disclose a great hair salon. Interestingly enough, Jillian has found that “the bigger the celebrity, the cooler, nicer, and more secure they usually are.” Then her mood turns a bit sour as she recounts some not so nice folks in the industry she’s met along the way, although she’s quite sure that “those people end up in the gutter.”

Jillian’s a big believer in karma, “you give it away once and it comes back twice for sure,” and she’s got a “gazillion” examples to prove it. This had just happened on the air the other day. She was interviewing a guy from an auction house. “There was a bunch of shit on the table and we were talking.” She asked if he had any 60’s memorabilia as she collects anything having to do with Sharon Tait. She was in luck – he had a ring that had belonged to her.

Interestingly enough, Sharon’s sister Debra was watching the show (they’re friends) and she called Jillian up to tell her that the ring was stolen. Apparently, Roman Polanski had cleaned the house and packed all the clothing and jewelry himself. He had given their wedding ring to Sharon’s manager, and a young woman who was living with them stole the ring. “That’s karma! That kind of karma comes back to you.” Jillian is now in the process of buying the ring back to return it to rightful hands.

Now onto my favourite topic - Jillian’s style! Did you know that Jillian is single-handedly credited for the way women dress on American TV? Says who? Oprah. Not bad.

In a world of stuffy suits and mousy don’t-look-at-me women news anchors, Jillian donned a sweater set for a news broadcast and advanced the women’s movement by at least ten years. “I embraced my femininity and was able to deliver an accurate newscast.” Shocker! And she’s not stopping there. “I would love to do more, to have my own show.”

Then as quickly as it started our short affair seems to be ending – I can hear her hitting car breaks and entering her house where an excited Ruby is cooing. It’s clearly time for Jillian to move on for today. And that concludes a brief glimpse into her ever more complicated life – that Jillian just seems to keep living more simply and beautifully.

FRANKE Owner, Fashion Designer and Project Runway Finalist

Last night, Kendra Francis, fashion designer extraordinaire, saved my life.  

by Tanya Scholes

She didn’t exactly give me mouth-to-mouth, but the advice she gave me was just as good as an adrenaline shot to the heart, à la Mia Wallace, because it certainly woke me up. Her advice was this: under absolutely no circumstances should I perm my hair. Yes, I was actually considering it. Her reasons were simple: I am neither Halle Berry, nor an 80s soccer mom and Halle’s hair, though absolutely hot on her, could go drastically wrong on anyone else. When I woke up from my psychosis, I realized that I owed Kendra Francis big time and I would start by writing the loveliest things about her – which is not a difficult feat at all. 

I first got acquainted with Kendra from the comforts of my own living room, with a glass of red in hand, while watching Project Runway Canada. I immediately knew that she was someone that would ‘seamlessly’ fit into my gaggle of girls – I was an instant fan of her and her design style. In person, over wine at Faema Café (I know, I know, we drank wine at an Italian coffee shop!), Kendra proved to be everything I’d imagined my NBFF to be and more. First of all, she is gorgeous. Long, lithe, stunning and super stylish. Second, she just oozes cool. Third, if she could dress any celebrity, it would be Rihanna, Madonna or Cate Blanchett (three of my favs – see I knew that we were meant to be BFFs). Fourth, she has a Maltese that is called Louis Vuitton. Fifth, she’s lived all over the world – she’s got a gypsy spirit. And finally, to end this list of praise before I seem a little too ‘Single White Female-ish’, despite all of her coolness, she still manages to be completely down to earth and just so damn likeable. Oh yes, let’s also not forget because her style is just so French with that certain je ne sais quois flare and of course I’d like to think of myself as a bit more Parisian versus Milanese.  

I had so many details to ask my NBFF, that I didn’t know where to start. So I started at the beginning with the most basic question: had she always wanted to be a designer. And of course, the answer was yes. Kendra grew up in a very European neighborhood in Malton (she told me that she was the only black girl in her school and looked like Whitney Houston). She was born into a family of tailors and seamstresses. Although both her parents were very artistic and passed it on to Kendra, they were dead set against Kendra studying fashion – despite the fact that it seemed to be in her genes. When she was 13 years old, she made her first dress. In high school, because of her statuesque 5’11” figure and not wanting to dress like everyone else, Kendra continued to refine her sewing skills - even making her own prom dress (and if you’ve ever sewn before, you will know that this is quite commendable). She then went on to design and sew all of the dresses for a relative’s bridal party. Regardless of her young age, Kendra called herself a designer, without wavering, much to her parents chagrin.  

In the 90s, with her mile long legs in tact, Kendra headed to New York to model. She says that though she liked modeling, she didn’t love, love it and instead of saying she was a model, she told people she was a fashion student, continually reinforcing what seemed to be innate to her. Then, after her sisters traveled to Europe, they implored her to follow them because it was where they knew she was supposed to be. And her love affaire with everything French began. Eventually she made her way back to Toronto, which after NY she says was like ‘a day at the spa’, and was accepted into Ryerson University’s School of Fashion. After 4 years of study, Kendra launched her own fashion label, Franke, and opened her own boutique in Queen West, which she ran for 4 successful years until 2005. She has been one busy (sewing) bee.

Originally, Kendra’s designs followed the ‘less is more’ philosophy – less material and more skin. Her clothes were perfect for hitting the town and showing off a perfectly sculpted body. Over time, though, as she explored and expanded her design style, Kendra found her niche in elegantly polished ‘After 5’ wear. Her Spring 2008 collection is chic and modern with bold, gorgeous colour. Kendra says that she finds inspiration just about everywhere and once her creative juices get going, it’s like a mood that takes over. This past season’s inspiration came from a picture out of French Vogue, but next season it could stem from a bit of fabric, music, a smell, a place, a person. Of course, she also looks to her design icons such as Vivienne Westwood, Gianni Versace and Jean-Paul Gaultier amongst others. And of course, there’s her style icon, Carine Roitfeld, likely the most fashionable muse in the world, that influences her design. This season, feeling overly creative, Kendra has even shot a fashion film entitled ‘I am’, that evokes the spirit of her current design: intense, nomadic, sexual, and strong, yet vulnerable.  

With all of this on the go, not to mention shooting Project Runway Canada last summer, and doing all of Franke’s sewing herself, Kendra rarely has any down time. When she does, she relishes it. Her best weekend involves a bit of a lie-in, followed by a good brunch – and given her love of Italian food, she can often be found at Terroni - eating like an Italian, but looking like the quintessential Parisian. Bitch. Of course, she always finds time to wander the shops in her favourite neighbourhoods and hit some of her  favourite nighttime jaunts like Baby Huey, The Beaconsfield and for the best French martini, Lolita’s Lust. Sewing isn’t her only creative outlet. Kendra also enjoys course flexing her culinary skills in the kitchen, along  with a smooth glass of shiraz as sous chef. Other guilty pleasures include blueberry pie, chocolate and ice cream (every night! Again, I say double bitch!). 

When I asked Kendra if she had any advice to share, aside from whether or not she thought I could successfully morph myself into Halle Berry, she shared these three most excellent tips: 

1. Showcase your best assets, not your worst
2. For god’s sake get out of your track pants and flip flops (you would never catch a French woman lounging around in sweat pants, let alone leaving the house in them)
3. Most importantly – own what you wear.
   

God bless her. 

I owe you one, Kendra. 

For more information about Kendra Francis’ designs, visit www.iamfranke.com 

Documetary Filmmaker
by Jen McNeely

Jennifer Baichwal’s films shed light to the corners of the world that we may otherwise never know. The subject matter she chooses to document offers us valuable insight, new perspectives and forces us to think about difficult and uncomfortable issues that undoubtedly prompt tough ethical and environmental questions. Perhaps most importantly, her work shines a spotlight on our own behaviour and forces us to carefully examine our actions and values.  

Although she has accomplished several films, the two notable being; The True Meaning of Pictures: Shelby Lee Adams’ Appalachia and Manufactured Landscapes. To say these films will move you would be an understatement. If you haven’t been privy to Jennifer Baichwal’s films; expect to be shaken to the core.  

Shelby Lee Adams is one of America’s most controversial contemporary photographers. He grew up in the Appalachian mountains of Kentucky, and focuses his work on capturing the poverty that exists amongst small remote communities and families that live there. He is often accused of stereotyping his subjects as incestual and backwards.  

The film examines the questions that swirl around objectivity and the role and responsibility of a documentary photographer. Baichwal captures the points of view from both the families being photographed as well as anthropologists, revered art critics and gallery owners in the high brow art and media world. It is a haunting, revealing and endearing film that will linger in your mind for a long time. .  

To tackle this issue with the medium of film and in the form of a documentary filmmaker, is a complicated challenge and raises much debate amongst general audiences and communication theorists alike. I asked Baichwal what her stance was on the role of a documentary filmmaker ensuring objectivity, and she bluntly answered, “That’s bull shit. Anybody living in the 20th century knows that it is completely impossible to be totally objective…but that’s not to say that truth isn’t real. There is a difference between objectivity and truth. At its best, documentary film is about the truth. It’s about reality in a complex way.”  

Like The True Meaning of Pictures, Manufactured Landscapes examines the work of another famous contemporary photographer, Edward Burtynsky. Burtynsky is famous for his photographs of landscapes around the world that have been altered by human technology and manufacturing; mine sites, factories, treatment plants and wastelands. Specifically, Manufactured Landscapes examines towns and cities in China and Indonesia that are entirely devoted to manufacturing consumer goods, be it computer chips, cell phones, toys or steel. Catastrophic and devastating, Burtynsky’s work, and Baichwal’s film awaken us to the sickening and enormous reality of our mass consumption.  

I ask if the representation of objectivity through the lens is the reason why Baichwal is drawn to the art of photography as subject matter: 

“I have always been interested in art, partly because the meaning in art is irreducible, it can’t be paraphrased. When you are thinking about questions of identity and ethics academically, in a psychological context or a humanitarian context, it takes on a specific type of task. The irreducible nature of art is what intrigues me as all those big questions can be paraphrased, and you are encouraged to do that. Art has a capacity to answer questions about meaning in life in a way that is intellectual, emotional and visceral, instead of just intellectually. That’s why Burtynsky’s work is so interesting to me – how can it awake such a visceral, self reflection of our impact on the planet.”  

At this point in our conversation, I can’t help but wish Jennifer Baichwal had been the professor for the documentary film class I took in University. Surprisingly, she reveals that she never went to film school, rather studied philosophy and theology. Reflecting on her beginnings of a filmmaker, she does not view the absence of film school as a fault, but an asset. 

“I think you can become intimidated by experience some times instead of encouraged by it. History should be empowering you to act versus making you question every move. I learned by doing and talking to filmmakers.” 

So how does one begin the enormous feat of documentary film that deals with such huge questions and issues? I ask Baichwal if she starts working on a film with an overall objective, or if the purpose and meaning of a film comes through the creative process? 

“Always both. You always have to start with a plan. Some documentaries start with a script, a shooting script that is. They do most of their work in the pre production and planning phase. We begin working on a film by doing a lot of research around the subject and then we formulate a plan, a rough structure – then we go into the situation and respond to the situation. You have a plan, but you have to be ready to abandon that plan at any given time.”  

The last point in her response to my question; you have a plan, but you have to be ready to abandon that plan at any given time, has resonated strongly with me over the past week. It is a simple, yet very wise statement that applies to not just film, but everything.  

Baichwal continues: 

“If you have such a rigid idea of what you need, you won’t see what’s in front of you. On the other hand if you are totally open to everything then it’s too much you fall into arbitrariness. Shooting for us is an existential stance, a way of being in the world at the moment. Editing is about finding the story and it can take a pretty long time.” 

Anyone who has tried to make a film, narrative or documentary, knows that it is far more complicated than simply shooting. Beyond all the skills required in pre-production, shooting and post – what will raise a documentary filmmaker’s work from substantial to extreme significance will be their intrinsic personal skills.  

Referring back to my first question and Baichwal’s response, if a film can not achieve total objectivity but can capture the truth of reality, how does one achieve truth? 

She admits that it was a process of discovery but that empathy and kindness is the key.  

“You can be kind while being critical; kindness is the key to finding the truth in a situation.” 

With great efforts, intellect and talent – and through all her films, Baichwal has unveiled truth on newly learned realities. With all this work that raises so many questions and opens the flood gates on globally impacting issues – what does she hope to achieve through an audience? A loaded question; she answers honestly and without trepidation: 

“I think I would want it to open people’s perspectives about the world. Acknowledging the complexity of reality is important. All of our films live in that place, where there is no easy resolution. The more open you become the more tolerant you are.” 

With so many achievements to choose from, what is she most proud of? 

“At this stage in my life I’m proud that I’m a good mother and that I can do my work at the same time. I’ve worked out a balance. The children are happy and content but I can also achieve something in my work “ 

If not traveling the world making films and given a free Saturday in the city to play, how does Jennifer Baichwal like to spend her time?  

“My favourite type of day is when I don’t have to get in the car, and I’m simply being a part of my neighbourhood with my family. We can have breakfast at a local spot, go to the park, maybe visit friends around the corner or walk to Christie Pitts. For me, the community and local flavour of our life is very important. I like being in my neighbourhood – my backyard. If I’m not traveling, my universe exists within a five block radius. 

So while Jennifer Baichwal may exist in the five blocks surrounding Dupont and Bathurst, her films are shifting the mindsets and values of people all over the world. She embodies the concept of ‘Live Locally, Think Globally.’ 

I will not forget my conversation with Jennifer Baichwal, like I will not forget about the woman in China sitting in an enormous factory, spending fourteen hour days producing the internal gadgets that go into my computer, which I have already begun to view as outdated.  

by Tanya Scholes
The old adage ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’ couldn’t be more appropriate than when referring to one of Canada’s edgiest Comedians, Nikki Payne. I mean, for a woman who has duct taped her boobs and her head to demonstrate a do-it-yourself simultaneous boob and face lift on Last Comic Standing; been known to say that her show is ‘not exactly intellectual comedy’ but ‘a whole lot of @%$&ing humping’ going on; and whose mouth, when on stage, is so dirty that even I, one with much ‘fuck tolerance’, tend to feel like a puritanical prude. Needless to say when I met the genteel Nikki Payne for tea, Nikki must have thought I had some strange ailment as I kept slapping myself to wake up from what seemed like an inconceivable reverie. But a dream it was not. I soon found out that Nikki Payne, despite often being the Queen of Controversy on-stage, off-stage is a lady through and through. Seriously. She even (hold on to your seats) practices Tai Chi (i.e. meditative exercise for the body to foster a calm and tranquil mind = NO humping) and gets dressed to the nines to enjoy ‘High Tea’. Oh, what complex we humans are.  

After about 2 minutes into our conversation, I had completely forgotten about my prejudiced convictions that were based on the vulgar, wild woman of the stage, as we connected over commonalities like two dear (and civilized!) girlfriends. 

Nikki Payne grew up in Sackville, NB in less than affluent surroundings. When it came time to enroll in post-secondary education, she says she ‘chickened out’ from applying to study theatre as her instincts had been urging her and instead, enrolled in the general Arts program at Dalhousie University. Realizing that this wasn’t her calling, she dropped out and eventually enrolled in a Recreational Leadership program in Truro, NS. There, Nikki indulged her fellow students with her uninhibited humour as the school mascot. When Simon B. Cotter (better known as the ‘Comedian King of the College Circuit’) visited the Truro campus, Nikki’s friends urged her to perform in front of him. These five minutes may have just been the longest five minutes of her life, but also possibly, the most important (despite the fact that Nikki told me she would NEVER want to see that performance again, under any circumstances). 

This pivotal point was Nikki’s initiation into the world of stand-up comedy, but it wouldn’t be another year and a half, post-graduation, when she would take the plunge and get on stage in Montreal for her first open mic. At that point, Nikki thought that her little adventure would provide her with some good stories to reminisce about with friends and family. Full stop. She admits now that she had no idea what she was getting herself into or how much she would get off on the adrenaline brought on by taking risks on stage. Knowing what she was doing or not knowing what she was doing worked either way. Her self-deprecating and dirty humour was a hit and Nikki continued to ride the humour high to Toronto where she enrolled in a 1-week intensive course at Humber’s School of Comedy. It was here that notorious Mark Breslin (better known for being the founder of Yuk Yuk’s Comedy Club) told Nikki that she could make a living at this. Now you just can’t get better validation than that.  

And that was 10 years ago and Nikki Payne hasn’t looked back. 

Of course, Nikki’s on-stage persona has evolved over time and gradually shifted away from degrading herself with regards to her imperfections. This isn’t to say that Nikki’s on-stage persona has become a reflection on anything but her own personal experience. On the contrary, her comedic inspiration still comes from real life and real situations, the only difference being that while she humourously acknowledges what some may consider physical shortcomings (such as poking fun at her lisp and how it’s not the ‘shhhhexiest trait to have as a phone shhhhhex operator’), she is never a victim to them or of them. What Nikki puts out there, on stage are the real life thoughts that many of us have had in our heads…but just DON’T SAY OUT LOUD. What is said and goes on on-stage can seem quite over the top, but Nikki says that everything in her act is inspired by taking every day occurrences and dialing them up a notch (kind of like a notch of about 200 decibels). And while Nikki does say abominable things out loud, she acknowledges that she could not really go around humping things 24 hours a day or incorporating the word ‘fuck’ so vigorously into her vernacular or she’d probably be living an unbelievably lonely life…in a nut house. And it is doubtful the nutters are able to enjoy High Tea, so that seems like reason enough to keep the dirt on stage.

And so I asked the seemingly fearless Nikki where the hell she gets the guts to do what she does on stage (thinking that there’s got to be a whole lot of liquid courage being consumed, which there actually IS NOT in any way, shape or form!!). The reality is that to this day, there is a little part of Nikki that still gets petrified to go on stage and has even been known to demonstrate the ‘how to’s’ of pre-stage puking.

This, in some strange way, was comforting. Somehow knowing that even one of the gutsiest gals I’ve ever met has been known to chuck made me feel just a little bit better of my body’s own reaction to nerves (even though mine could be brought on by standing in front of a classroom full of 5 year olds and not 200 people that were expecting me to make a joke).  

Yes indeed, there is a vulnerable side to Nikki Payne that most people aren’t privy to. Nor are they likely aware of the kind heart and giving personality she has demonstrated through her work with AboutFace (aboutfaceinternational.org), an organization that supports individuals with facial differences. In her true, humourous form, Nikki joked to me that when she spoke at the Inspiration 2007 conference she was actually suffering from Bell’s Palsy which gave her audience 2 facial differences for the price of 1! Although Nikki doesn’t pretend to have the magic formula of how to get through the difficulties of being different and the toll it can take on one’s self-esteem and self-worth, Nikki does offer two pieces of advice that is really quite applicable to all people: 

1. Remember - you can do anything that you want to do in life no matter where you came from or what you look like and don’t let anyone tell you or convince you differently

2. At some point, you have to let go of anger and change your attitude about yourself or your situation to positively affect change in your life

In my opinion, that’s pretty good advice from a woman who had some tough times at the school of hard knocks but is living proof of rising above any boundaries put in place by anyone but herself. 

Nikki is a ‘stand up’ gal on so many levels. Most recently she’s come to the beckon call of her dad who desperately needed a kidney transplant so she willingly gave him one of hers (they are both recovering extremely well). She is currently on tour and has a once-in-a-lifetime trip planned with her mom when that finishes up. When she returns, you will find Nikki hanging out in Roncesvalles, drinking tea at Alternative Grounds Coffee House (www.alternativegrounds.com), brunching at Easy (www.easybreakfast.ca) or Aris Place (229 Roncesvalles) or enjoying a casual dinner at the Red Room (444 Spadina Avenue). If Nikki decides to treat herself to a little decadence, she might indulge in a spa treatment at Sukha Health Spa (www.sukhahealthspa.com) and savour some Neuhaus Chocolates  (available in Holt Renfrew’s Epicure Shop). And when she’s not on stage making people laugh, you’ll most likely find Nikki Payne behaving herself, and in bed by 11PM. 

It is obvious that Nikki Payne came into this world to live and to live out loud -which is exactly what she is doing, on-stage and off.  

For more information on Nikki Payne’s performances, visit www.nikkipayne.com or join the Nikki Payne Facebook Fan Page. 

A natural beauty, a woman with a diversified musical career, a kind and creative Canadian ambassador and someone you want to be friends with; that is in a nutshell who Damhnait Doyle is. 

By the looks of her photo, you would not expect Damhnait to have begun her career twelve years ago, but it was in 1996 that she was discovered in a St. Johns record shop and soon after put her talent on the map as one of Canada’s much beloved songstress.  

She was signed at the impressionable age of seventeen and released her first solo album Shadows Wake Me, in 1996. By 2003 she had accomplished three more albums including one with her band Shaye. In the past five years, Shaye released Lake of Fire received a Juno Award Nomination, and is a constant radio favourite. Damhnait, as an independent musician, has released two more CD’s; most recently, Lights Down Low, a cover album. 

There is no denying that her career is an eclectic one and I haven’t even told you that she is an active songwriter for several Canadian musicians, a weekly columnist in the St. John’s Telegram and further, has been to Kandahar twice to perform to Canadian troops. Phew.  

Why a cover album? Why the hell not. If you could sing songs of your favourite artists, who would they be…who do you passionately rock out to while doing Karaoke at the Gladstone? For me it would be Blondie, Tina Turner or The Pixies, Simon & Garfunkel and maybe Rod Stewart. Yeah I know random, but so are the choices of artists that Damhnait selected ABBA, Bob Marley, Joy Division and The Clash; you couldn’t get much more diverse than that unless you through a Josh Groban or Jay-Z track in. 

Although Damhnait chose an assorted palette of musical styles, she has mastered turning them into her very own sound – a difficult feat with such well-known hits. Her sultry, rich style is passionate and provides the perfect backdrop to a warm dinner party filled with good friends, laughter and wine.  

Her version of Cheap Trick’s “I Want You To Want Me” is positively sexy and would go quite nicely in the background after you and a significant other pour your emotions out to each other, shed a few tears and then gear up for some slow love making. I know, hard to imagine with this punk rock anthem, but dammit Damhnait has managed the feat to flip the table and make this an entirely different song. 

Growing up she listened to Depeche Mode, Madonna, The Cure and Bon Jovi. Although her tastes have softened now to embrace more folky sound like Patti Griffin, Amy Lou Harris and Iron and Wine. That said, it’s obvious that Damhnait is still a rock n’ roll child at heart. 

This is especially evident when you catch her in Toronto at a local bar sporting a leather jacket and looking Joan Jett cool while sipping on a drink and taking in emerging artists and the latest local bands. 

Free Saturdays do not come often to those who share the stage with Willie Nelson, attend songwriting circles, tour the country and have a weekly column, but given a Saturday to play with  she’d undoubtedly start the day with Breakfast at local Roncesvalles neighbourhood haunt B (2210 Dundas Street). Next stop: Moksha Yoga (860 Richmond Street West) for hot yoga and detox. Walking East along Queen she’d fall in love with some prints at The Paper Place (887 Queen Street West), take a gander at some instruments at Capsule Music(921 Queen West) and head for a delicious late afternoon snack at Terroni (720 Queen Street West). Nightime? Dakota Tavern (249 Ossington Avenue) till they kick her out.  

So what’s her advice to those that want to walk down the same path? “Play with as many local artists as you can, and write 100 songs!” Intimidating? Yes – but then she continues to the really scary part, “Don’t conform, be who you want to be, look within yourself  and find the things people teased you about once and write about them..” Yikes – good advice, but definitely for those who aren’t afraid to dig up the haunting skeletons in the closet.