Halifax! Not for the faint of heart!

Entry by vocalist Stephanie Martin
Re: The music of Michael Jackson, January 16 & 17, 2015
Jeans 'n Classics with Symphony Nova Scotia

It was cold on the latest JNC trip to the Maritimes. Not just your regular, dead o’ Canadian winter cold, but arctic vortex polar freeze your wind chill face off cold!

We were in Halifax from January 15th to 18th performing with the sublime Symphony Nova Scotia. 

All JNC peeps present: Jeff Christmas, Mitch Tyler, Bob McAlpine (fittingly), Don Paulton, and on vocals this weekend, singing the music of Michael Jackson, Gavin Hope with backing vocals by Stephanie Martin, Kathryn Rose and Lis Soderberg.

We mostly stayed on the inside of the Lord Nelson Hotel and the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium as we prepared and gave our two sold out concerts. Here is the crowd doing the cellphone/lighter rock concert thing to "I'll Be There".

It was a special birthday weekend for me as my son was celebrating his 15^th birthday back home in Toronto without the one who actually did all the work giving birth (me!). I got KR and Lis to help me send wishes back home.

Click right HERE to hear and see Steph, Lis, and KR singing Happy Birthday to Oliver!

Still photo of us singing Happy Birthday... to see the video, click HERE.

Also, I had invited my best childhood friend Manon from Montreal to join me in Halifax to celebrate our mutual big milestone birthday (guess which one!) ...Hers was in November, mine in April.

I’ve known Manon since I was in grade 2 and we’ve stayed friends all these years through thick and thin, boyfriends, heartbreaks, husbands, babies, careers, aging parents. We’ve weathered every storm together and this cold Halifax chill was not going to stop us from doing a little sightseeing. We got down to the harbour and walked along the famous Halifax boardwalk, then stopped at the gorgeous new public library and enjoyed a warming cappuccino and spectacular view from the rooftop café.

Time for a quick goodbye at the airport after a great weekend and back to our lives and families! See you next time, Halifax. Preferably in the summer! 

JnC Memories: Katalin v.s. Balcony

While visiting Regina recently we stayed in a lovely hotel where the rooms had balconies with an incredible view, so even though I am extremely afraid of heights, I decided that I would indulge.

Just my luck — as I was taking in the beautiful view of downtown Regina, I became locked out!  Funny thing; the bar that usually keeps the sliding door from opening SLID DOWN and I was stuck outside on the balcony.

I panicked for a few minutes, but luckily kept a clear head and soon figured out what to do.  There was enough of a gap to reach in and grab the rod that pulls the curtain back and forth, so I pulled it free (doing a little bit of damage, but not much) and then reached inside with it to lift the bar that usually keeps the bad guys out.

I successfully let myself in, went to bed and had a great night's sleep — thankfully, because the Michael Jackson show the next night was a great success and a very fun evening with the RSO! 

So I guess my parting thought is that if you're ever stuck in a desperate situation, there is always a way out ... or in.    :-)

Love, Katalin

Calgary, Sept. 24/25: "Thriller - The Best of Michael Jackson"

We had a wonderful time in Calgary last month — love that city and the CPO (resident conductor Mélanie Léonard even showed off some Michael Jackson stage moves!), plus the Jack Singer Concert Hall is a favourite performance space. Jack Jamieson has been doing exquisite sound at front of house since before we first started performing there in 1994.

For Gavin Hope — who channeled MJ — this show had a personal connection; Calgary is his home town, and he sang to very appreciative sold-out audiences both nights. (Gavin is a talented photographer as well as a gifted singer; you can see more Calgary pics on his Facebook page.)

We were, as usual, very well taken care of by Laura Garrick and the rest of the CPO personnel, and were very happy to attend an after-party at Teatro on Friday night, complete with DJ “D-Fresh”, Michael Jackson-attired breakdancers (Dustin "Homeage" Lee, Chad Doherty and Matt Ball) and dangerously addictive nibblies. Plus champagne. :-)

(The generous sponsors who made it happen are listed below — thank you!)

However, earlier Friday night it became apparent as I went on stage that my left boot heel wasn’t necessarily going to stay for the party ... so during that evening’s performance I tried not to put too much weight on it and hoped I could find a repair place on Saturday in time for the second show. Calgary, of course, is a place where you could reasonably expect to find a boot repair shop, and I did: the Calgary Shoe Hospital, which fixed the heel in about an hour and put a nice shine on both boots as a bonus.

We stayed again at the luxurious Fairmont Palliser and indulged in some very tasty after-gig snacks at the Oak Room (we sure do eat well in Calgary) while catching up with visiting friends & family ... like I say, it’s a living.

Jeans ’n Classics will be in Calgary again in January 2011 with Canadian guitar virtuoso Rik Emmett ... enjoy!

Cheers,
Lis
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After-Party sponsors:

Teatro

Stardust Event Group

Visual Concepts & Design

Brinkhaus Jewellers

4:33 PM