Just a quick glance at Dale Ladouceur's biography tells you it's almost impossible to pin a label on the Edmonton-based singer/songwriter.
One of a handful of Canadian musicians proficient on the Chapman Stick, she has collaborated with artists such as Bruce Cockburn, Angelique Kidjo, John Hammond Jr. and Valdy.
As a sideman, Ladouceur has played with Bill Bourne, Laura Smith and Lester Quitzau. Most recently, she entertained alongside the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra in their March tribute, The Music of Frank Zappa.
In addition to having spent the last two decades performing before crowds of every ilk, Ladouceur is also one of the area's most outspoken environmental activists, raising serious concerns as a freelance journalist.
She has interviewed Canadian icons such as Peter Newman, Gwynne Dyer and David Suzuki, and covered contentious issues such as climate change, ozone depletion and water privatization. Genetically modified food and corporate crime are next on her list.
But tomorrow night, she's billed as the featured artist at Songwriters' Acoustic Showcase at LB's Pub in St. Albert. And that's an opportunity to enjoy Ladouceur's lust for life through her indefinable blend of jazz, folk and rock.
Now recording her third album in a jazz/funk mode, Ladouceur has a number of new pieces on the go.
"Some I haven't played before and I'll be test-driving them at LB's. Some I've played for a while but aren't on my albums," Ladouceur says.
With a wicked chuckle, she adds, "I have lots of seditious material. Politics play a big role in my songwriting. At least half are about politics - the politics of love, the politics of community, the politics of politics."
One song on her roster is Mercy, Mercy, a pointed jab at Liberal Member of Parliament Pierre Pettigrew when he held the position of Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister.
"He referred to Canada as a 'product.' Imagine the audacity of him looking at this most beautiful country as something you can sell or trade off," she said.
As a kid, Ladouceur led a gypsy life, travelling through many cities across the nation. One year, she remembers going to four different schools.
An older sister that was a bit of hippie introduced her to Gordon Lightfoot's If You Could Read My Mind. "I thought it was the greatest thing."
That moment crystallized her passion for singing, and although Ladouceur learned to play the guitar, the rapport between musician and instrument was missing.
She was first introduced to the Chapman Stick after "a friend of mine got a bootleg video that was a BBC documentary on the making of Peter Gabriel's Security album. When I saw Tony playing it, it was such an incredible instrument - how rhythmically based it was - and the layout, five strings on melody and five on bass. How it was laid out made sense to me."
A week later she ordered the Stick. The 10-string instrument, in addition to a fretless bass guitar, has partnered her through various groups including The Limping Fish, Tacoy Ryde and The Mavens, later transitioning to Dale Ladouceur and the Broke Ensemble.
"I'm definitely irreverent. I love to laugh and there's certainly a bit of whimsy, playfulness and passion in what I do. I feel strongly about a lot of things and I wear my emotions on the outside," she said.
