We  did it… The Band Van survived our journey to Texas and back!  We headed from Cape Breton to Toronto for  the CMW Paquin Showcase at The Drake Hotel. I love that room! It was an excellent night. Then we b-lined to the south for our first  (hopefully not the last) SXSW showcase. The weather was amazing and it was quite a trip to be involved in one of the biggest and best musical festivals on earth. The Canadian Blast party at The Paradise Cafe was off the hook. It was great to see Buck 65, Ron Sexsmith and The Sheepdogs on one stage… Canada rules! :)  Many thanks to Company House Records, Johnny Stevens and the the crew from the the Halifax Pop Explosion. Both showcases went great but I must say the highlight of my trip was spending a sunny afternoon in New Orleans. I miss it already.

It feels awesome to be home for more than 3 days for a little while! It will be quite a challenge to chill out and sort out these new tunes in my head after living in planes, tour buses and minivans. Just a little rest before we head off  to PEI for the ECMA‘s. I’ll be quite busy again this year. I was asked to be a part of the tribute for Haywire at the Gala awards show! It is going to be a blast. Before we take off to the bright red mud, we will be performing a rock and roll show at The Upstairs Club in Sydney on April 8th. You can also catch me this Friday in Dartmouth at Montes for the Bands For Bonez cancer benefit, where I will be playing an acoustic set.

Take Care!

Love and Rock

Carmen

We made it to Toronto! Pretty stoked to be in a hotel bed right about now. It is difficult to adjust to touring in a minivan after being spoiled in a huge tour bus for the last month! Still… we made it here safe and sound! We will play tomorrow night at The Drake Underground @ 10pm! I am aware that there are a bunch of fellow East Coasters in Hogtown for CMW, and I am hoping to catch some shows… even though we are only here until Sunday morning. After this, we are off in our minivan to Austin, Texas for SXSW! So excited. Catch up with you soon!

Love and Rock
Carmen

I really haven’t been home to chill out since November 29th. It’s been a crazy year so far… so I guess I’ll take this 3rd hour of a 7 hour flight delay and finish my final post regarding the last month of awesomeness, touring with Rock and Roll legends Heart. Wow… did I just type that out loud? :D

Thank you. Thank you to every single person I’ve met in the last month. Every single soul who sat patiently and attentive while awaiting to see their favourite Rock and Roll Queens rip it up all over the great white north. I am so grateful for this experience. I miss everyone already! I miss the Mega Bus, catering, the crew, soundcheck….everything. No wonder they call themselves Heart….they are surrounded by a lot of them. Their crew is made up of big, beautiful, generous, hard working hearts.

I have said many times that I measure success by the good souls around me. This last month I was overloaded with kindness from strangers, who are now very dear to me. I was also floored by the response from Heart fans as well. Someone had mentioned to me that it must have been terrifying to stand up on stage in front of thousands of people who want to hear Barracuda. Well, I wanted to hear it too! I felt nothing but love from the crowd. Thanks so much to everyone who bought a CD or came to say hello after the show. You are all a part of a dream come true.

I am back Halifax for a little while then we head to CMW for a March 12th showcase in Toronto and SXSW for a showcase with Halifax Pop Explosion in Austin, Texas!

Can’t wait to see what’s next…I’ll be wishing for the best of everything for The Heart Family. Hoping our canoes cross soon ’cause the journey has begun!

Love and Rock

Carmen