Getting Close...

Hey Friends,

Recording has been going very well. My producer Mark and I have worked hard at recording each track with each musician, within our provincial guidelines of COVID-19. Each musician has given their all and I’m proud to have them on my record.

I also had the honor of having my husband Peter and our sons Lee and Adam sing backing vocals on one of the songs! I’m still beaming with pride and gratefulness for their support.

Lee has come to watch me work in the studio before, but Adam had not,...or so I thought... Adam reminded me that he was with me in the studio when he was 4, and asked if he’d once again get a slurpie. I was quickly reminded of that day...

In 2006, while Adam was 4, our babysitter had backed out and Adam was now going to have to come along to my scheduled recording day. I packed up my piano as well as Adam’s favorite toys, books, coloring books, water bottle, snacks...anything to help keep him busy while I worked.

We got to the studio, and Adam quickly ignored what was offered to him. A shy kid, he kept close to me, clinging to me wherever I was, as I played my piano tracks and sang my vocal tracks. If I was in the control room, he was on my lap. If I was in the booth to sing, he clung to my leg (and I’d remind him repeatedly to be completely quiet while I sang). If we walked from the control room to the vocal booth, he thought we were finished (No). If we walked back from the booth to the control room he’d ask if we were finished (No). It was exhausting. I promised him that if he was patient with me, I’d buy him a slurpie - that definitely helped.

Roughly two hours later, Adam was still clingy but staying quiet and incredibly patient (a trait obviously passed to him from his dad). Adam was with me as I was finishing my part in the vocal booth, and Rick, my engineer, had an idea - I was singing a lullaby, so why don’t we record Adam and I talking? I loved the idea. I held Adam with his head on my shoulder and took a minute or two to just to be alone with him. I asked him if he was tired, he said he was. I asked if we should go and find his bed, and in his tired and strained little boy voice he said, “Yea....let’s go...”. Then he surprised me, piped up, and excitedly said, “When we go, we get a slurpie?!” I laughed and reassured him that he’d get a slurpie. All of what we said was recorded, and I still have that disc in my extensive demo collection. That was the last time he was with me (or wanted to be with me) in the recording studio. Until now.

I had an amazing time recording with Peter, Lee, and Adam. Mark, my producer, previously wrote and recorded our individual parts then sent them to us to learn. The day of recording came, and we had fun listening to each other record our individual parts. Peter and the boys’ appreciation for the work involved in making a record grew, as did their admiration for the quality of songs on the new record. Watching me work, I heard Peter say to the boys, “Your mom’s in her happy place.” He was right (if only I could come here more often.)

All these years later, I’d never have dreamed how my family would be on this record with me. It was an awesome moment, and I’m forever honored and grateful.

And, yes, on our way home from the studio, we once again stopped for slurpies.

The record is nearly finished and we cannot wait to share it with you! Stay tuned...

Keep going, Rhonda Louise