Help Me To Heal
This week I was privileged to be invited by Amy Sky to sing along in a beautiful backup choir for Help Me To Heal on her upcoming album. The song is a lilting and soothing delight and I can’t wait to share the finished sound and video with you all! So much laughter and light filled the room, a splendour of sound and spirit. I am so pleased and proud to have been involved. 🙂
-thank you to all friends who contributed pics! xo
Please treat yourself to some of Amy’s sounds! She is one of my favourite voices; a voice backed by a heart just as stunning and soulful. 10 years ago I created a wee video biography of one of my favourite people ever, my Grampie. It is one of my most cherished projects and jampacked with love. He is one of the prominent forces that made me who I am today and continually affects my work and day-to-day living. I ended that video with Amy’s song If You Could See Yourself. Who knew then that I’d one day be singing along with her in the same room? 🙂 [Dear Amy: If you are reading this, I swear the copy I promised you is on its way! 😉 xo]
Me and Grampie:
-Grampie knew that the way to a young girl’s heart is through her stomach! 😉
As always, I wish you a life full of love, inspiration, music, laughter and dance!
🙂 xoxox
‘a swarm of humming birds’
Thank you Duncan for the lovely words. The Four Winds Collective had such a lovely time at Lizzie Violet’s Cabaret Noir this past Sunday! 🙂 XoxoX
A packed house on a hot July night! Lizzie Violet’s Cabaret Noir is doing something very right. The Central’s bartenders were happy to be rushed of their feet keeping up with the thirsty crowd (which is always good for the cash register.) Sadly Marcy Rogers, noted dyke about town, was not well enough to bring her wicked chops to Noir. So the open stagers had to work harder to fill her gap (in time, I mean).
night of the lupin
I opted to do a glimpse of Pinebow on the open stage. The first time any of it has been aired aloud in public. This is the best way for me to get a sense of timing, of where it loses my attention. I found it too long, so cuts will be made.
First feature Brandon Pitts is an emotionally invested performer who makes his images come alive…
View original post 738 more words
Four Winds Unite!
(Heather, Meghan, Arlene & Kat)
Artwork drawn by Ava Hill
The Four Winds Collective united to rehearse for this Sunday’s show at
Lizzie Violet’s Cabaret Noir at The Central in Toronto!
Here is some proof.
Of course, you’d never know Kat was on the cajon
because she accidentally hit delete on the picture instead of send. Gah!
<— Arlene, multi-instrumentalist, here with geeetar and uke.
Meghan is also a multi-instrumentalist. Here she is with her beloved bass. —>
<— Heather, known for flouting, ukeing and tickling keys.
[insert colourful high-angle shot of Kat sitting atop the cajon and winking with laughter as Arlene pushes the button on the iPhone. It really was an artistic awesome shot. Imagine something like this but really cool and with a cajon.]
Here we are together…. for optimum enjoyment!
Come see us Sunday night at the Cabaret!
We’ll be playing our #1 Hit, going down in the annals on a post-it note. 🙂
Please note that Marcy Rogers is unable to attend the Cabaret, so Four Winds and Brandon Pitts will be entertaining you… along with a plethora of Open Mic talent! Come sign up and share your talent with us! See you this Sunday July 13 at The Central 7-10pm. 🙂 xoxox Kat
New Show Announced: Four Winds play Lizzie Violet’s Cabaret Noir!
Sunday July 13 at The Central in Toronto! Hope to see you there!
🙂
Freeing People From Concern: Jim Carrey
At the ass-crack of dawn this morn I listened to Jim Carrey’s speech to the 2014 graduating class of Maharishi University of Management and gleaned from it the wise tidbits mulled below. You may have seen the speech or portions thereof by now. I think it’s worth another viewing!
I strive in my life to optimize the affect I have on others. I wish for everyone around me to laugh, to dance, to dream, to feel loved and to feel confident, to take risks and to empower themselves and others into optimistic drive. Like Jim Carrey, I desire to “free people from concern” in the moment I’m with them. I wish for people to be critically aware that we indeed only have this moment we’re in, and that our entire lives are made up of these moments. This moment is all we have, and in each moment we make a choice to either be asleep at the wheel of our own lives or to dream and steer our lives on the course of our purpose. What is your purpose? Stop and listen and it will become clear what talent you have to share that affects others in a profound and positive way. It is what feels so good you can almost taste it like the sweet morsel at the end of a satisfying meal with your favourite companions. We were not put on this earth to play small, or to choose fear disguised as practicality. We were born to shine our lights and to encourage those around us to do so. Only then will we be free of the darkness.
I am fortunate to surround myself with likeminded souls who are talented, kind, creative, generous and courageous, and I was so pleased to be involved with four and more of them to help raise funds for Ovarian Cancer Canada last week with She’s Listening II. I am very grateful to my dear friends and forces Angela Saini, Jessica Speziale, Heather Hill, and Melanie Peterson for shining their lights with me and to Delrose for capturing the splendour of sight and sound! Check out Delrose’s recap of She’s Listening II here!
And speaking of Delrose and empowering, you can check her out tonight along with Iman Wain and Noah Solomon at the WonderFest Music Series! Thank you to Arlene Paculan for keeping lit our ever-growing WonderFest community empowering through art!
What a beautiful world! Get out there and shine your light, everybuddy!
Love Kat xo
She’s Listening II success: funds raised for Ovarian Cancer Canada!
She’s Listening II was a great success last week; they listened and we raised applause and funds for Ovarian Cancer Canada.
Thank you to my wonderful co-horts and beautiful friends (from left to right) Angela Saini, Jessica Spezziale, Heather Hill, Melanie Peterson
Photography: Cate McKim
And thank you to Life With More Cowbell for this recap of the show!
What exactly does Ovarian Cancer Canada do?
Ovarian Cancer Canada is the only registered Canadian charity solely dedicated to overcoming ovarian cancer. They provide leadership by:
- Supporting women living with the disease and their families
- Raising awareness among the general public and health care professionals
- Funding research to develop early detection techniques, improved treatments and, ultimately, a cure.
Ovarian Cancer Canada is funded by donations of the generous public and they could use your support. If you’d like to help, there are many ways to get involved; check them out here. Among the ways: you can donate directly, volunteer, create an event such as She’s Listening, participate in a hike, dance or walk. The annual Ovarian Cancer Walk of Hope happens this year Sunday September 7th in cities all across Canada. Find one near you and register on the website.
Keeping giving, everybuddy!
Let’s fill the world with kindness and hope.
love Kat xoxox
She’s Listening II!
She’s Listening, and so is The Harlton Empire! They mentioned us in their blog!
The Harlton Empire promotes creative works by independent artists in the arts/entertainment industry and you should definitely check them out; learn about what’s going on in the community and make contact if you’re a lover of the arts!
Also you should definitely come check out She’s Listening II this Wed June 4 at 8pm at The Cameron House Toronto!
Yippee!
xoxox
Come! She’s Listening II June 4, 2014
She’s Listening II happens Thursday June 4 at Cameron House in Toronto!
Experience Angela Saini, Jessica Speziale, Heather Hill, Melanie Peterson and moi!
Ovarian Cancer Canada and the lives it improves could use your help! Please spread the word! Read more about ovarian cancer and the risks due to do lack of symptoms here on Heather Hill’s post Knowledge Is Power. Please help RAISE AWARENESS and RAISE FUNDS! Hope to see you at the event but if you can’t make it please support from afar! Thank you!
Upcoming Events: Sunday May 25: Climb For Cause
I am very proud to be a part of this fundraiser! I’ll be hosting and singing a couple ditties!
Tom Gancarz is on a mission to raise funds to provide clean water in Tanzania’s community, and he’s doing it in a unique and elevating way! Please check out the story here, connect and support any way you can! Climb For Cause
“THE WORLD IS A BOOK AND THOSE WHO STAY AT HOME READ ONLY ONE PAGE.”
JUMP with DELROSE!
Delrose! A giggling unassuming bright bundle of joy she is. She’s worked very hard on releasing her first CD and it was effort well-placed, in my opinion. I find Delrose’s voice instantly soothing and her music immediately singalongable. It is said that the reason we as humans write and perform music is to attract a group to sing along with us, to gather a crowd and mount a force of voices to keep the lions at bay. If this is true, there be no lions at a wienie roast where Delrose’s Jump be playing. It is sure to inspire a singalong. It is a delightful soundscape for the everyday and I recommend you Jump in and take a listen for yourself!
-Photography by Jeremiah Hill
“JUMP released on April 12, 2014 and Delrose is more than ecstatic to share her music with a wider audience. Her songs run high on emotion. Her performances are heart-felt and true. Music is her way of life. It is what drives her. Singing is her drug of choice and songwriting is her therapy.”
-Photography by Jeremiah Hill
By the amount of glee emanating from this pic of Delrose with Owen Huot and Juan Santos at Placebo Space in Toronto, I’d say Delrose’s musical drugs and therapy are working!
The sounds of Delrose are available for owning on iTunes and for soundscaping on Soundcloud!
For more on Delrose, visit her website!
Why not take a leap and go for a Jump! Get it? Get it!
🙂 love Kat
KAT LEONARD (Kat & The MP3) 