I’ve always dreamed big and challenge myself to go beyond my comfort zone.  When it comes to something I truly believe in, I will go all out, 100%, full guns blazing.  And for this project, I have pulled out all the stops.  When I was visioning the album and which musicians I’d like to hire for the project, I decided to open to all possibilities.  I am lucky to live in Montreal, where there are an abundance of world class musicians right at my doorstep.  So I knew I’d be working with some of my fellow Montrealers.  I also decided to have some fun and see if I could connect with some more well known musicians that I’d love to work with.

My first call was to a contact who knew the manager of the Bare Naked Ladies.  I composed an email to see if they would consider being special guests on the album.  I did receive an email from my contact who told me he had passed on my email to their manager.  I never heard back.  I kept soldiering on!

My second email was to Harry Connick Jr’s manager.  I have a duet on the album called “Hey There Joe” which I thought would be amazing for Harry.  Amazingly I received a reply email which stated:

Dear Jennifer:

Thank you for your interest in sharing your music with Harry. Unfortunately Harry does not accept music submissions from other writers, based on the advice of his lawyers. This is a policy that we strictly follow, regardless of who is submitting the material. When Harry does choose to record a cover song, it is from his personal favorite “standards.”

Thanks again for the consideration, and I hope you get the Juno!

Sincerely,

Ellen O’Neill

Wilkins Management

I decided to give one more of my favourites a try… Tony Bennet.  I did some research and found the name of his management company.  I actually made a phone call to L.A and left a message on his managers machine.  I also followed up with an email.  I never heard back, but I felt so empowered to have given it a shot!  You just never know.

In the end I found the most amazing musician to sing on the tune.  It was written in the stars.  Stay posted for the next blog to find out who he is! 

So for me it’s all about taking risks, getting out of my comfort zone and opening to all possibilities.  This album has given me an opportunity to take chances and go for the gold!

Jennifer xo