You performed at this year’s Canada’s Walk of
Fame. Tell me about that.
I think even I
was surprised by the calibre of talent and success that was sitting in front of me, and on stage with me. I
was really quite honoured to be able to say that, “Wow, I’m actually kind of in that mix.” It’s kind of
overwhelming. I don’t think I’ve ever thought of myself as someone who was really worthy. I think I don’t
have as high of an opinion of yourself as you should. (laughs) I’m such a humble Winnipegger. I think I was
pretty overwhelmed by the experience.
Of
course, my husband was playing with me. I sang a piece of music [“I’m Here (A Song for
Canada)”] that he and I got to collaborate on. I
personally really believed in the piece of music and I loved my performance of it, which I so rarely do. TV
is awful; I hate singing on TV. It just went really well and it embodied a spirit of Canada. It really
did.
(laughs) It’s sort of funny that it was that authentic.
Tell me more about
your new song, “I’m Here (A Song For Canada)”.
We were
collaborating on a song and there was a contest for artists to submit their art piece, their take on Canada,
and in doing so, if they won the contest, their piece would be selected to contribute to the overall piece.
Calum Graham won. We loved his work and his spoken word poetry song. We went ahead and sort of took excerpts
of what he said in his song and they made it into our song.
You mentioned that
you worked with your husband [Raine Maida] on the song. After collaborating together on both your own work as
well as work for other artists, how has that been over the years?
When you are
married to a partner, a business partner, an art partner, it’s really intense. There are ways of it just
being joyful and ways of intensity and conflict. You have to learn a lot of conflict-resolution tools and
sometimes all of that happens in one day. It’s a lot of work and it’s incredibly rewarding because if you
survive it, at the end of it you are still with that person. The achievement itself makes you value your
relationship and your love so, so much. It’s very, very powerful… It’s hard work and it doesn’t always work,
believe me. But I have to say that it’s a tough world out there and to be able to do what I do and have the
support of my husband and that loyalty, it’s so incredibly refreshing. I think I get to have this experience
that is rather rare. It can beat you down pretty hard, and it can be really, really, really tough. It’s great
that at the end of it all, I have him as my support system, as my sounding board.
You’re also busy
at home with your three boys. How have they impacted your music?
Oh my gosh, I was
just telling my manager that I have all of these mixes to listen to for the HBO documentary that’s coming
out, to approve the symphony show song. I tried listening to them last night and I was like, “OK kids, we’re
going to listen to some of mommy’s mixes.” We lit a fire in the fireplace, we set up a spot on the couch,
we’re all sitting there and by the end of it, rather than listen to any of the mixes, we went on iTunes, we
cleared the coffee table away and we had this dance off. We purchased “Whip It”, “Sucks to be You”, “Light my
Fire” for the first time for my kids. It turned into a completely different thing. They had so much fun; they
were so hilarious. I don’t think they could have possibly realized how much joy they brought me trying to
outdo each other with their moves. They are three, six and seven, so it was pretty adorable. That’s not per
say a music business moment but it’s a music family moment and it’s amazing how music embodies who we are.
For the very first time, our kids were a band and they played “Sweet Home Alabama” together, with one on the
drums and one on the piano.
It sounds like
music runs in the family and you’re going to have three little musicians on your
hands.
(laughs)
Maybe.
It’s OK, they don’t have to do that. One is quite scholastic and one is really great in sports. They are far
more developed than I was, like emotionally, they are so highly intelligent so I think that they can really
roll in any circle and I support them in whatever they do.
You’ve been
involved in various charitable organizations. How important has that been for you?
When you become
an artist or you have even a small platform, all of a sudden you get these requests from these people who
need help with these initiatives and within those requests, very quickly you realize there is an education in
what is going on in the world... in terms of how these incredible people are stepping up to the plate to
better others, and to fix a lot of the problems in the world. I found that really, really exciting 16 years
ago, when it wasn’t “hip” yet. I saw that as being more appealing, not the music, but more appealing than the
self-promotion part. The self-promotion part has always made me feel very uncomfortable. It didn’t just quite
fit well by itself. I can do that part of it but there needs to be a balance because I really believe in
being is serving... it’s the gift that keeps giving. I ended up, to me, hitting the jackpot because I’m in a
business where there is an endless amount that can be done to bring awareness to incredible causes and to
enrich your own soul. To become inspired and empowered and educated, for me is the greatest part of my job.
When I say job, I mean the job part of being a musician. The music is kind of a separate thing. A lot of the
inspiring experiences that I get to have out of making that choice, they fuel the personal me and the
personal me then goes to the music. It’s just this really neat equation that kind of comes out of it all, you
know.
Tell me about
growing up in Winnipeg. Do you visit often?
Winnipeg is not
off my radar; I’m there often. I’m very into nurturing the community and all my relationships — past and
present. It means the world to me. I love Winnipeg now more than ever. It’s funny when I met my husband, I
was never leaving Winnipeg… the funny thing was, when I did get to Toronto, I realized that I had been trying
to get to Toronto my whole life because Toronto is just, I don’t know, I love being there. It feels very much
like my other home I was waiting to get to. But now, I love going back to Winnipeg. You can only identify the
person you are and how you became that person later on, in terms of how your city or how your environment
growing up, how that impacted you. I totally get it now. (laughs)
It’s a tough person who comes from Winnipeg. You’re
born facing adversity. It’s a harsh climate and people are very into creating the setting of warmth and
comfort… I think that’s why people are so into music there and they are so passionate. The art community
there is just phenomenal… Everybody that we know is so philanthropy-driven and comes together to make the
community better. It’s a tough place… it’s unbelievable what the city takes on... I’m really proud to be from
there and I understand why I am the person I am because of Winnipeg.
Any favourite
things to do in Winnipeg?
I have to go for
a Kelekis burger, that’s the number one for me. With fries and gravy, it’s my treat that I allow for myself.
It’s my blue moon treat. I really love going to Rae and Jerry's, I grew up going there and it never changes.
It’s legendary and I always know what I’m getting. I get to go now to Winnipeg and play the concert hall. My
experience now, sure I’m on a stage but I get to visit these places that meant so much to me growing up and
we have the beautiful arena there now, the MTS Centre. I got to open the arena singing and performing. It’s
so wonderful that I have the career that I have and I get to go back and experience it at that level. I
always have a great time. I love the Forks. I love getting to be with my girlfriends and stay checked in with
all that and it means the world to me. They know that and that’s awesome. It’s fantastic when I get to go
home. Now taking my kids and seeing family, it’s just great.
What you’re
working on now?
There’s an HBO
documentary about my life and music through the symphony show. I’ve been doing a symphony concert series,
which has been going very well and has been extremely rewarding — A highlight of my career, for sure. An
inside look into growing up in Winnipeg with all my friends and my family. All that cool stuff. Just really
great interviews that show that transition into becoming a signed artist. The symphony show plays and I think
people get a deeper insight into maybe who I am but also why I write the music I write, which was very
meaningful for me to share. It was done in a very authentic and respectful way that I’m very proud of and I
think my family and my friends can be very proud of. It’s very, very cool. I’m really excited to invite
people into my little world… I really do feel that with the documentary, I’m experiencing for the first time
what can be said, using that medium. It really was powerful so I’m very excited to share that with
others.
The live album coming out will basically be a mix of the
symphony show.
Is acting
something you plan on re-pursuing?
There are actors
and they go to auditions every day. They want to be an actor and they want to be able to get into the
character that’s on the page kind of no matter what. For me, maybe fortunately and unfortunately, I have a
different relationship with it in my mind. I have no fear of cameras, I have no fear of going into a
character. However as an artist, I think I would be too picky and would want to only embody a character if it
really inspired me to say something that I haven’t been able to say through music, you know what I mean? For
me, it’s a difficult thing then, right? To become a respected actor that can get to a place where they can
pick those kinds of roles, you kind of need your 10,000 hours. You need to become great at it, you need
experience and you need to be respected as an actor in order to be able to get those kinds of roles. I am not
really interested in jumping through the hoops. I would be picky and choosey and I’m not there. That’s why I
think that the only way to honour that desire to say those things you want to say outside of music would be
to write your own and produce your own. Hey, if I feel compelled, I guess I will. If the right thing came
along and it was something I was inspired to play, I would do that too.
I’m not going to say easy for me but it would be easy for me to
attempt. I’m not scared of it at all. I enjoy it. But I’m a mom and I have this whole career and it’s really
time-consuming. To honour and be authentic to all of them is really, really difficult.
•
Photo Courtesy: Chapman
Baehler
