As I mentioned in my last post we lost a dear friend of ours named Kacie Wallace (12/19/1986-04/12/2020).  Don and I learned about her death on April 13th and in the days that passed it was revealed (by a member’s post) that she had stage 4 liver disease and she had died in her sleep.  

My heart has felt heavy all week because she was taken from us much too young.  But, she’s not the only friend of mine that has passed away far too young due to natural causes, missadventure (a.k.a accidental overdose) or suicide.  I have known far too many people that are now ghosts that walk among us.

This week’s “World is Watching You” (Episode 05) is taking a more somber note.  For the tribute Matthew Presidente is going to compile video footage & photographs from the shows he & Kacie performed over the years.  He also wants to do a version of Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen and he wants many of the artists that have performed on his show to sing a verse of the song, sing
the choruses, submit the files and footage  to him and he’ll edit it all together.  This takes me back to the shows we did together when we (Don & I) lived in Vancouver because,  Hallelujah was our go-to all inclusive encore song. 

The song I chose for episode 05 is a song I wrote not too long after Don and I moved to San Francisco titled I’m “Only Human”.  It was actually the first song I wrote in San Francisco and it’s a song about leaving all of your loved ones behind because you have the chance to embark on a new opportunity & adventure.  In this case it was my small tribute to Kacie Wallace because she & I  did lose touch for a few years when Don & I lived in San Francisco.  I am glad Kacie and I were able to reconnect in 2019.   I also decided to sing a version of the show’s opening song called “The World is Watching You”.

I have found that during these times where it feels like “Death is Everywhere” (credit- Martin L. Gore from Depeche Mode) sometimes you have to take a look around and love those around you. So, for all of you out there that decided to take a moment to read this blog I hope you all stay safe and stay healthy!

It’s time for a glass of wine. 😉

Cheers!

TCT  

Filming and recording songs for Matthew Presidente’s weekly at home concert series “World is Watching” has been a delightful project to be a part of and a great distraction away from the Corona Virus & isolation.  The notion that two (sometimes) three songs have to be recorded for a deadline has given Don & myself reasons not to sit on the couch and “twiddle our thumbs”. 

This week we are filming & tracking songs for “World is Watching” episode 04!  The songs are “Under the Midnight Sky” (an original by myself) and “Sucha Shame” (a Matthew Presidente original off of his 2015 release “Every Single Sin”).  Matthew will be backing me on piano & vocals and I will be backing Mathhew with Guitar & vocals. 

To record and film Don literally turns our apartment into a filming and recording studio.  During a shoot Don will set up two stationary cameras (for two separate angles) while a
third camera is handheld, he arranges the perfect lighting for the mood of the song and also, to match the lighting in Matthew’s apartment for seamless editing.  We really want you (the audience) to feel like I am in Matthew’s apartment in Vancouver performing together.  Don also makes it so recording the song is as seamless as it sounds.  He sets up my recording/stage area so my microphone, in-ear monitors and guitar are connected to his recording workstation for recording. After a couple shows he has the set up down to a science. 

The process of long distance collaboration has been wonderful.   When we are working on one of my songs I’ll have the track ready, we will record & film my lead, choose the best take, send the Logic music files & video files to Matthew by using “Dropbox” (it’s so easy).  When Matthew receives the files he’ll record his backing vocal, piano track & film the take and then he’ll send it back to us for editing.  After we have edited my song & video we’ll send the final cut back to Matthew so, he can add the song/video to the show. The process usually takes 8-10 hours to complete.  The process is reversed when I am performing backing on one of his tracks.

I know Episode 4 will be fantastic!  Also,  today my online “Tip Jar” has been launched via Paypal!  If you like my work please donate.  Links to the are available on my website and my Soundcloud artist page. 

On a sad note on April 13th, 2020 we received news that our friend and fellow performer Kacie Wallace passed away (not COVID-19 related).  She was a fantastic jazz singer and a wonderful person.  I shared many Vancouver stages with her  and she will be missed.    

As a side note: Since Kacie Wallace’s death was so sudden a tribute could not be added to “World is Watching You” episode 04 so, a tribute to her will be added to “World is Watching You” episode 05.  

So, for all of you out there that decided to take a moment to read this blog I hope you all stay safe and stay healthy!

It’s time for a glass of wine. 😉

Cheers!

TCT  

With Berlin in full social distancing and quarantine mode options to perform live have become  non-existent. Fortunately with a home studio and a partner who is a total techie the possibilities to make music and videos were endless.

Matthew Presidente, one of my best friends & favourite musicians to collaborate with, decided to start a concert series on Youtube called “World is Watching”.  The concept for this weekly Youtube series is to collaborate and do duets with artists/musicians and connect with audiences  The show is pre-recorded and video edited since there are a lot of people involved each week and a no budget facebook live stream can be unreliable and very poor quality.  Matthew reached out to me mid-March to be a part of the show and I immediately said yes.  So, Matthew began working on “World is Watching” in Vancouver on March 18th. Don and I quickly converted our apartment in Berlin into a recording/filming studio to record & film my backing tracks for two of Matthew’s songs “Gracious” & “Valentines Day”. All of the artists/musical guests invited to participate put a little elbow grease and love into the project!  “World is Watching” Episode 01 premiered on Matthew President’s Youtube Monday, March 23rd at 8:00 p.m. (Pacific).

At the same time our friends Steffen Roll & Nina Severin from “Only You Interviews” decided to reach out to the Berlin creative community in regards to starting a new interview series on artists in isolation. This interview series is focusing on how people in different communities are coping with the new reality that comes with a pandemic, isolation and quarantine.  Both Steffen & Nina reached out to me to do an interview and (of course) I said yes.  My interview titled Tara C. Taylor | “because that artist is hungry” | #corona premiered on Youtube on Wednesday, April 1st!

On April 1st Don and I got back to work on three songs for “World is Watching” episode 03. This time Matthew collaborated with backing vocals & piano on “Le Louver” (an original by me),  Please, Please, Please Let me get what I want (a cover by The Smiths) and I tracked backing vocals for an original song by Matthew titled “Glamour”.   Needless to say there is a great deal of effort to produce three videos with multiple camera angles and live off the floor recording with people on two different continents! Don figures it takes about 8-10 hours per final song.  Once again all of the artists/musical guests invited to participate put a ton of work and love into the project and it premiered on Youtube on Monday, April 6th at 8:00 p.m. (pacific).

It’s time for a glass of wine. 😉

Cheers and stay healthy!

Welcome to my blog!  

I have wanted to write a blog for a while and I feel that during this time of isolation due to Coronavirus/COVID-19 would be a good moment to blog about my creative activities, my thoughts & feelings. All this on my website, my platform free of advertising, “news” feeds, privacy breaches, personal data harvesting and clickbait!

I hope you take the time to join me on this introspective & creative journey.

A little backstory…..

2020 started out as an optimistic year.  I had a few gigs lined up, I was sending application packages out to various music festivals and there were plans in the works to tour parts of my home country Canada in the summer.  Then…everything changed.

Don  (my husband/Sound Engineer/partner in crime) and I were in self imposed isolation that started at the beginning of March due to a (non-coronavirus) nasty cold virus we both had. Around mid-March we were over our colds we actually had a chance to meet go out for beers and food with a friend at The Lir Pub one of our favourite local pubs in the Tiergarten-Mitte area in Berlin.

The  city was uneasy with the news of the pandemic spreading but life was still somewhat normal. We did notice that the pub had fewer guests and at around midnight the city
decided to notify bars that thye could only have 50 guests. Lockdown was starting to pick-up pace.

The next night I performed at the Tiki Heart Cocktail Bar & Cafe in Kreuzberg (it was a really fun show! Also, if you are on Facebook the performance was live streamed by Pet Rocks
Music). That would be my last show in Berlin as the city’s lockdown was certain.

Since the lockdown the gigs I have scheduled have been cancelled and the majority of the festivals I had applied to have been cancelled indefinitely.  Also, I had been planning on travelling to Canada for a short tour would not be happening due to quarantine restrictions.

So, what does one do when the bars are closed, stages are silent, isolation is mandated, travel is restricted and the world as we know it has shut down? You connect with your other creative friends online and you improvise!  

As the saying goes: “The Show Must Go On”

Words that I live by.

Stay healthy and be safe.

Prost!