Last year, Cowichan Valley singer/songwriter Genevieve Charbonneau set out to make a small, simple album full of “B-side songs” that otherwise wouldn’t get recorded.
“I had a really prolific fall… I was writing songs like crazy,” said Charbonneau.
Some she was saving for a future album, others weren’t as strong, but she figured she could make a cheap, simple record with the extras, with the help of a friend and her small recording studio.
But a friend request to the music teacher at her eldest son’s new school earlier this year convinced her to kick her Heart is a Tower CD up a notch… well, several notches.
That music teacher is Jack Connolly, a successful singer/songwriter in his own right with a rock and country background who’s recently returned from Toronto, said Charbonneau.
Going from stranger to collaborator, Connolly convinced Charbonneau to re-record Heart is a Tower to make it a full-fledged album with his help, as well as the help of his students at Shawnigan Lake School and their recording studio.
Now Heart is a Tower is ready for a March 1 release; Charbonneau will produce Connolly’s next album Move Me, scheduled for release in late spring of 2019; and Charbonneau and Connolly have kicked off a mini-tour together, with an upcoming performance in Parksville on Nov. 17.
Providing backup harmonies and guitar for each other’s songs, Charbonneau said she’s excited to share the new partnership, which seemed like an obvious match from their first time on stage together.
Charbonneau invited Connolly to the regular Friday-night jam at her homestead and was quite pleased with the result.
“The first time we sang together was kind of like this click, like we both were like, ‘Oh my God, that was awesome.’ It just sounded so good.”
After getting to talking, Charbonneau shared a track from her upcoming album with Connolly, who later responded something like this she said: “‘It’s a great song, but why does it sound like someone left their dirty T-shirt over your recording?’
“I was like, ‘Oh dear.'”
More discussion ensued, with Connolly suggesting Charbonneau drop the “B-side songs” idea and create a proper album with his help. That is, his and his students.
“I was like, ‘That’s great,’ so it ended up being educational for them,” said Charbonneau.
Charbonneau’s record ended up being one of the first professional projects done at the school, she said.
The album went from mostly acoustic guitar and voice to including a full drum kit, cello, fiddle and bass, as well as some mandolin and banjo, and some back-up singing, of course. Weaker songs were swapped out for stronger ones, and what has resulted is a very personal album with themes of family and love, said Charbonneau.
That meant including some family in the creative process as well.
“My dad and I did a co-write, and then I’m also recording a song that he wrote about my sister,” said Charbonneau. In terms of sound, she said the new version of the album strongly features her voice.
“Probably the biggest difference is the intimacy of the vocals,” she said. “Jack is really good at dialling in to my voice in a way that makes it sound like I’m kind of right in your head.”
The Heart is a Tower album should be ready for release on March 1, said Charbonneau. But, ahead of that, Connolly and Charbonneau will be headed to Denman Island on Nov. 16, Ground Zero Acoustic Lounge in Parksville on Nov. 17, and Blue Grouse Estate Winery in Duncan on Dec. 1.
The performances will mix songs from Connolly and Charbonneau, with each backing up the other. “He swaps between his electric and his acoustic guitar, and I’ll be pulling in the ukulele a little bit for this show… I play mostly acoustic guitar,” said Charbonneau.
Tickets for the Nov. 17 Parksville performance are $15 in advance and $20 at the door, with the doors opening at 6:30 p.m. and the show at 7 p.m. at Ground Zero Acoustic Lounge (8-464 Island Hwy. East).
