Singer/songwriter Jane Hawley is just coming out of her self-imposed musical exile with a new record, a new look and a new vibe.
In one of her first guest appearances since the August release of the eight-song CD, Jane Hawley & Aunt Betty’s Band, the country-roots singer is featured in a double bill with Joanne Myrol tomorrow night at LB’s Pub weekly Songwriters’ Acoustic Showcase.
“My style is kind of like Kitty Wells goes out to lunch with the Rolling Stones and Norah Jones shows up for dessert. It’s eclectic,” says Hawley speaking from her ranch situated between Longview and High River.
Born and raised in Toronto in a musical family, she headed west to seek fame and fortune and was soon performing at the Mariposa Folk Festival, the Calgary Folk Festival, Edmonton Folk Festival, the North County Fair and Winnipeg Folk Festival.
In the 1990s she became a western byword for country/roots music and was known in Edmonton circles as a singer for Jr. Gone Wild. But in 1993, she married Cam Sutherland, a bull rider/movie wrangler and a year later they bought a ranch in southern Alberta.
Even after taking on the responsibilities of a rancher, Hawley fronted Calgary’s Beautiful Joe, a five-piece band of the late nineties. But the cynicism gradually set in.
“I hit a wall. I did everything that I could. I had always had my eye on the carrot – the money and the fame, and it wasn’t happening. I guess I just burned out and I had a lot of bitterness,” Hawley says.
Looking to recharge her batteries, she enrolled at the University of Calgary to obtain a second degree as a teacher. From the ranch it was a 1 -hour commute each way, a testament to the mental discipline that had carried her through a two-decade musical career.
At the persuasion of musical cronies and producer Tim Wilson, she applied for a Rawlco Radio grant and was slightly stunned when she received it.
“By the time I got to the end of the degree, I was in a good position. I didn’t have my eye on the prize and I was starting to have fun again.”
From start to finish Jane Hawley & Aunt Betty’s Band, took about two years to complete. But the final product revealed a newfound songwriting maturity as well as a voice difference.
“To me, I’m too nasally, too harsh. I’m conscious of softening it and I’ve done it in this CD. I wanted to round off some of the tones in my songs.”
The eight-track has a blend of covers and originals inspired by rural philosophical musings – songs such as Shopping for Love and I’m Giving In.
But she’s also included three songs for commercial airplay: the Beatles For No One, Jimi Hendrix’s Wind Cries Mary with cello and piano and All I Know from the movie Chicken Little.
“This showcase is going to be great. Joanne and I have more than 20 years of songwriting experience. It’s a life-book of songs on the stage and it will be great.”
The showcase is at 23 Akins Drive and starts at 8 p.m. No charge.
