Isobelle Gunn's Blog

Leanna with her cute new hat on the beach at White Rock

Lara and Jer after beachcombing at White Rock...picking up souvenirs for Isaiah

Our plane leaves in four hours.

I can’t believe this time is over! My feelings range between utmost joy at the thought of seeing (and hearing and HUGGING) my little boy again to relief at the thought of sleeping in my own bed and living in my own space to sadness about leaving this gorgeous province with its weather-of-pure-beauty and also mixed relief regret-sadness-relief that this extended, intensive in-studio time has come to an end…

It has been an incredible, indescribable and incomparable journey. Thanks for sharing it with us!

We finished recording one final song today after leading worship with Roy at his home church this morning, which was a real blessing. We’re excited that we’ve learned a couple of new songs we plan on introducing to our home church back in London. Roy is now putting together some quick mixes for us to listen to and reflect on as we head back to Ontario. Our plan is to come back in the fall to finish up…and I’ll probably blog then again. In the meantime, stay tuned to Facebook for some little surprises.  Here’s a few final pics to tide you over…

We might be a wee bit tipsy...maybe.

Roy and Jer jammin' one last time...

Again, thanks for sharing the journey…blessings to you all!

Lara

So today’s Friday…it’s absolutely GORGEOUS weather here again. Warm enough even to dry laundry outside the studio.

That fence has never looked so good!

Multi-usage masking tape making a comeback (move on over Duct Tape...)

We can’t believe we’ve only got a couple of days left!  Tomorrow morning we’ve got a couple of hours off as the studio is being used for another artist for a bit. We’re planning on heading to White Rock to visit with some relatives who live in Vancouver (after Leanna and I hit the local YMCA for some much needed exercise and energy expenditure!)  Then back to the studio for the rest of the day.  Sunday morning we’ll be leading worship with Roy at his church and then heading again to the studio until our red-eye flight back to Ontario!

We’ve been working hard and are so excited about what we’re experiencing and creating here. Roy captured the three of us doing just that yesterday:

Well, Leanna’s just finishing her piano parts for “Melt My Heart,” and I’m up on the glockenspiel, so I’ll sign off for now.

Thanks for reading…take care for now.

Lara

Ah, life in a recording studio!

So, Jer is currently laying the gritty guitar track for “Bloodstained Town,” and Leanna and I are awaiting our chance at the microphone. Our basic approach in the studio has been as follows: First, we take a listen to what we recorded in pre-production and see if we still like what we’re hearing. Then, Roy selects a “beat/click track” for Jer to have in his ear as he lays down his guitar track…which occurs after Jer has selected the perfect guitar to match each particular song. (This choice in itself can take some time, as y’all might have predicted.) THEN after the main guitar part has been recorded to the satisfaction of all involved, we might add another guitar part, or Leanna might lay down some sweet keys. Then, generally speaking, the lead vocalist will take the time to nail the main vocal, followed by bgv’s (background vocals.) I then get the chance to kick in with some percussion…ranging from my good ol’ wooden spoons (yes, they’ve made the recording!), glockenspiel (first time for me!), cabasa, egg-shakers, etc. Roy also often adds some bass, djembe, etc., as required by each song.

As you might guess, a significant amount of our time is spent listening. Leanna and I are both mourning the fact that we neglected to bring our knitting, but I’ve documented in pictures below some of our other down-time activities of choice:

Drinkin'...

...Coffee!

Heady discussions

Er, sleeping...

Lil' Bit O' Larson

Colouring books--for the young and the young-at-heart!

And of course there’s lots of time for missing our Isaiah!  His most recent babysitter (my dear friend Anita and her family) sent some pictures of him yesterday and he friggin’ looks older and bigger already!!! Sigh.  I had a wee cry…but am so glad to see him looking so busy and happy and such a part of things.

And while we miss him greatly (even painfully at times!) we are also enjoying things such as waking up at our leisure (rather than to his sweet little voice proclaiming, “I woke up!  I’m awake.  Mommy, I want a banana.  Daddy, want to make Island of Sodor with me?”), having a shower as long as I want (rather than racing through while Isaiah is held captive in his booster chair with a coloring book and crayons, making his desire to be out and about and playing abundantly clear) , eating meals where we can have extended conversations with each other and other adults and focus on our own gastronomical pleasure, pouring a cup of coffee and leaving it wherever I want to (even on the floor if that’s what I so choose. ) rather than selecting one spot high out of Isaiah’s reach and then needing to remember where that spot is anytime I want a sip, going on leisurely grocery trips and spending all the time I desire on picking the perfect plum without having to physically prevent Isaiah from grabbing another plum (or any other produce within range) and eating it, throwing it, gouging it, etc.  Jer and I even took the time to walk a few blocks down from here to grab an ice cream cone the other night after we were done working for the day…without having to worry about childcare and indulging our desire for an impromptu mini-date!

Anyways, I’m trying to be intentional about enjoying such things rather than focusing on the pain of separation…

Please indulge me, here’s a couple of final pictures of him to end things for the day:

Good morning!  Tuesday finds us focussed on our track “Into the Jordan.”  Jer’s guitar of choice is a Martin D35, one of Roy Salmond’s many, many gorgeous guitars.  This particular guitar was damaged nearly irreparably, but through a series of events and people, found its way into the hands of John Larrivee himself…and after three years of waiting, came back to its owner repaired and ready for guitar connoisseurs such as my hubby to discover and delight in.

And speaking of delight, last night was a lovely night off-and-out! The four of us made our way to Crescent Beach where we found a patio-on-the-beach restaurant and watched the sun go down over the Pacific.  Beautiful.  Mike and I enjoyed some calamari while the less fishly-adventurous Zeyls sampled some taro chips before our main courses.  Then a walk down the beach with an ice cream cone before smuggling a contraband bottle of wine (hidden in Leanna’s purse) down to some rocks and settling in to be lulled by the sea.

Reminds me of this snippet from a poem I read on my and Jer’s first date:

“Is it the stillness of the water that moves me or the movement of the water that stills me?”

They say a picture’s worth a thousand words, so I’ll leave you with these two:

Good morning all…although for most of you I suppose it’s afternoon.

Monday finds us searching for the perfect percussive pundits (I know, close but not quite…) for our current song, which is our third of thirteen. Ah, what a journey!  Leanna’s boyfriend (sweet Mike!) is having quite an education as to the time and effort that go into crafting and selecting the details of every song.  We only have him around for another day or two as he flies out in the wee hours of Wednesday morning.  We started working earlier this morning so that we can get off “early” tonight.  The four of us intend on heading down to the ocean for a pint and some West Coast munchies.  I can feel my soul sighing at even the thought of the sea.  My friend BethAnne (Victoria, BC-based Kayaking guide extraordinaire,  all-around amazing woman and a dear soul mate) used to tell me she could see my steps visibly lighten as I stepped on the ferry in anticipation of its seaward journey.) Anyways, we are pumped about our evening’s adventure…

But still enjoying the day’s adventure as well of course! One of the aspects of this round-of-recording that we’re especially appreciating is that we are playing more of the instruments ourselves.  Five years into our “bandom” and we’re a little less green, a little more confident and a lot more practiced!  So, here are some pics to document this step on our journey…Enjoy!

The Mini-Ukelele Maestro

Tickling the ivories and lookin' hot!

The computer as instrument...the art of blogging!

Check out that wee toy piano!

Rockin' the wooden spoons!

Beautiful Leanna back on the toy piano "for real" this time...

Jer and Roy jammin' with the slammin' bass!

The voice as instrument...back-up vocals and beyond!

Lunch beckons…take care for now, all.

Lara

Well, here we are on Day Four, and we just had our first morning “off” as Roy had to lead worship at his home church today…

Sweet Mike swept Leanna off on a ferry to a lovely little oasis, where he then promptly convinced her to hike up and down a mountain before the sun rose. (Oh, okay, yes, that statement is slightly hyperbolic. SLIGHTly.)

I convinced my husband to join me for a session of Deep-Water Aquafit at the YMCA down the road and around a few corners from the studio…wisely omitting the fact that one of those few corners was, umm, up a mountain of sorts as well. Gorgeous walk (it’s somewhat unseasonably warm here in Surrey at the moment, with temperatures in the 30s, tempered by the slight cool of the incomparable sea air…so, yeah, kinda perfect…), nice little workout and then a hefty, well-deserved breakie at Whitespot on the way back to the studio.

Then a phone call to both my folks (lovely to speak with you guys, mom and dad…I miss you!) and now our free time has drawn to a close.

One of the many wonderful aspects to working in a studio is that it affords us the opportunity to play around with all kinds of gorgeous instruments… For the particular song we’re working on right now (which shall remain titleless for the time being…dad, I said TITLEless, rein it in. Sigh.) Jer is playing a ninety-seven year old Washburn (a lovely parlour guitar from ye olde days) and is absolutely entranced. Check out the look on his face. (You tell me, ladies, should I stoop to being jealous of an inanimate object that’s really really old? We know Jer has an affinity for, er, things (people) that are seasoned…Oh wait, Jer is literally right now sitting in front of me, looking through me and comparing the aforementioned object to a fine wine or a tasty scotch.)

Sigh.

Jer and His Parlour Lady

Okay, I’ll not reveal any more of petty human emotions in this public forum and instead leave you with a few more pictures so you can picture where we’re working.

In the Studio

The Wee Kitchen!

The Sibs Listening Back...Ain't They Sweet?

Oh, and one picture of our Isaiah on a forklift just ’cause he’s so friggin’ cute! And we miss him. So much.

Make it Go, Make it Go!

Thanks for listening…as always, I’ll be in touch soon,

Lara

This morning finds us pseudo-rested and we’ve awoken to overcast skies and cool, sea-tinged air.

Upon resting, I’ve realized that I neglected to tell you about the most entertaining part of our trip yesterday. Allow me to rectify this now:

So Jer and I got through security without much ado, but when we turned back to look for Leanna, we saw her, spread eagle-stanced, standing in the security silo. After picking a doubled-over-with-laughter Jer off the ground, I went to get the story from my poor, now blushing, sister-in-law.

Turns out she (and her shoes, and her earrings, and her necklace, and her multi-riveted belt, and her underwire bra and her naval ring [just kidding]) set off the metal detector wand a few too many times, so the female security officer gave her three options: 1. Take everything off and come through again; 2. submit to a strip search, I mean, pat-down or 3. step into the security silo (or whatever the heck that thing is called). Leanna chose option three and passed that test with flying colours and only afterwards had a wee panic attack wondering if the male security officer who ran the bare-it-all-booth could “see her skivvies.”

Jer reassured her that yes, indeed, he could see her skivvies and much more…in the uniquely comforting way that only a younger brother has in such moments. Sigh. Poor Leanna. I don’t know how she survived in that family of all brothers without me for support.

If that wasn’t kinda funny enough, Leanna’s boyfriend, Mike (who flew out here to be with Leanna and do some business as well) was randomly selected for a “chemical test” when he came through security and found his hands being “swabbed.” His mild “Why me?” was met with an equally mild “Why not?” and subsequent advice from that security officer as to which line to continue through in order to make the best time for his flight.

Ah, live is never dull!

Right now Jer is laying down his first guitar track in the recording booth and it sounds lovely…And on that note, I’ll sign off for now so I can go give my opinion.

Have a great day, all.

Lara

So, here we are in GORGEOUS British Columbia…we just arrived at the studio here in Surrey a couple of hours ago…

Ach, it does my soul good to be on the West Coast again. And that’s for many reasons, not just because here the sun is shining sweetly (rather than attempting to incinerate humanity) and the air is balmy with a hint of the sea (as opposed to suffocating with a touch of murderous intent) and the temperature is hovering gently around 24 degrees (instead of torquing to 45 degrees before many of you ventured to your breakfast tables.)

The other main reasons for my pleasure are (a) nostalgia (having lived in Victoria for a couple of years) and (b) the Pacific Ocean.

But I digress…The point of all this is to let y’all know that Isobelle Gunn has arrived safely at their destination!  Here we are at White Water Productions, working in studio with Producer Roy Salmond.

Roy was gracious enough to fly to Ontario in order to work on pre-production with us in London this past week. (This is because Jer and I could not bear to leave our 2 1/2 year old Isaiah for longer than a week and a half. Which is already pushing it, I’m telling you!)

So Roy has been living at our house on Brighton Street since last Sunday…special thanks to Mom and Dad Zeyl for putting us up (and for putting up with us) AND for watching Isaiah during the day while the four of us (Roy, Leanna, Jer and I) worked on pre-pro in our living room.

Pre-production involved us singing our songs to Roy and then waiting for his invariably incomparable critique, advice, questions, tangents, suggestions, additions, enhancements, etc.  We were able to work on 13 songs in the three days and we had a blast doing it! 

Roy has a wonderfully pithy way with words. It was he who shared with us the quote used as the title for this post, which is Tom Wait’s description of the essence of song-writing.  And it was Roy himself who reflected on what we do as Isobelle Gunn and invited us to “touch and yank at some hearts with good truth.”

Now how’s that for getting who we are and what we love to do with our music?

We are in good hands with Roy and are thrilled that we find ourselves again poised to record another album of songs about which we are so passionate…I am perhaps especially giddy at the prospect of embracing the entire recording process rather than kind of, well, enduring it, as I did last time, being 9 1/2 months pregnant and unable to locate my lungs.

Thanks so much again to all of you who have already supported this project and enabled us (in the healthiest sense of that word!) to, quite literally, be where we are today!!

I’ll sign off for now as the whole getting up at 4:30 am to catch our 7:00 am flight is catching up with me and in my fatigue-induced-state I don’t wish to start offending anyone…

yet.

Take care for now, all…I’ll be in touch again soon!

Lara

Well, it’s been a few weeks since my last post! My apologies for the wait…

Two significant things have happened since our last posting, and I’m thrilled to share them with you now:

One is that we received an anonymous donation of an entire sound system. Out of the blue. Just a week after we performed in two venues where the sound systems in use for the events threatened to derail the entire shows. Just a few days after my dear eldest brother (who had been in attendance at one of these shows) said–in complete sympathy and with full support for what we do, bless him!–that we really needed to get our own sound system in order to truly do what we do, especially given the fact that our three-part harmonies are at the core of our music in a lot of ways and if the volume levels are off and the sound is blocked or muffled, these harmonies are undermined, even lost. He followed up that advice with a very understanding look and the assurance that he knew that a new sound system was just not possible for us to afford at this time, but that he hoped that someday we might be able to do this, etc., etc., etc.

We agreed with him wholeheartedly and tried not to be discouraged at being at the mercy of sound systems. Contending with persnickity sound systems is, after all, a reality for all musicians.  But we recognized the truth of what he was saying and our hearts yearned…

And then a week later it came.

The donation of a complete sound system.

An anonymous donor who declared that he believed in what we did and felt God place it on his heart to help us continue with our music and ministry.

An overwhelming gift.

What can we say in the face of such thoughtfulness, generosity and encouragement?

Thanks feels insufficient, but there it is. The three of us found–and continue to find–ourselves simultaneously humbled and encouraged by this and our gratitude continues to flow.

We initiated our new sound system at a concert we had in Richmond Hill a couple of weeks ago!

The second item of significance in the collective-life-of-Isobelle Gunn is that we are celebrating our fifth anniversary as a band next month. And we’ve decided to celebrate by recording a new album!

As the three of us merely intended to sing together once or twice at a couple of church basement coffeehouses back in 2006, we are full of gratitude for the gift of having been able to sing and grow together for five years! It is amazing, absolutely overwhelming at times, actually, to be able to do what we love to do with people that we love so much.

As many of you may already know from the last email I sent out, the album will be entitled The Raven Flew and we are working as agents of Imago to record it. Imago is a charitable organization based in Toronto, ON which seeks to, among other things, “serve in strengthening a Christian presence in the culture through creative initiatives in art and media.” You can check them out at www.imago-arts.on.ca.

Working as agents of Imago for the purpose of recording The Raven Flew means that people can donate to support the cost of recording the album and receive a tax receipt for their donation.

Since, as I mentioned above,  the whole reality of Isobelle Gunn began through church coffeehouses in London and Hamilton, we are hosting two Isobelle Gunn The Raven Flew Fundraisers in these cities only. The first concert will be held in London, ON on Saturday, June 11, and the second will take place on Saturday, June 25 in Hamilton, ON at Meadowlands Fellowship Christian Reformed Church.

We’ll be sending out more information about Imago and The Raven Flew Fundraisers in the near future…

In the meantime, in light of this reflection on gifts and gratitude, I’ll leave you with this quote from Marva Dawn:

“May the stewardship of our lives honour your gifts of Grace, Heavenly Father.” (From Morning by Morning)

Hello everyone…

So this past Saturday saw us hosting the third concert in our four-concert Brighton Acoustic Series, which essentially sees us transforming our living spaces into a stage and cafe and inviting guest artists to come and perform for about 25-30 guests who are squeezed, I mean, maneuvered, I mean, seated comfortably in that living space.

This particular House Concert saw Stratford-based Singer-Songwriter Ali Matthews open the night off with her beautiful vocals, lovely nuanced delivery and great boots.     She was joined by stellar guitarist and producer Rick Francis.  Thanks so much to all of you who braved the fierce winter elements and came out that night!

The next concert in the Brighton Acoustic Series welcomes Guelph-based Singer-Songwriter Glen Solderholm to our fair city at the end of May…we’ll keep you posted!

I’ll be in touch in a couple of weeks.  Take care in the meanwhile, all!

Lara

PS Speaking of great boots, I can’t help but include this picture of our son, Isaiah, showing off his very own (slightly too large) cowboy boots with much pride and zeal!   He pulled them out again recently when  he saw us getting ready for an Isobelle Gunn show, where we all tend towards cowboy boots as our footwear, and wanted to be like Mommy, Daddy and Aunt Ladanna (Leanna)!

"These boots are made for stompin!"