For a very long time I have intended to prepare some words, similar to those which follow, for a specific purpose The delay in doing so gave me the title for the post and if the outcome is positive I will add some further comments further down the line
In 1969 I set out with a
friend to drive from a small town in Southern Alberta
to Vancouver before sailing north to Haida Gwaii on the Skeena
Prince
The Skeena Prince at Northland Navigation dock,
|
Several life changing
experiences occurred during my time on the islands but within and around them I
did continue to write songs. Writing songs and performing them had become a somewhat
serious preoccupation while I had lived and worked in Glasgow Scotland - and before I had arrived in Canada
Two song related events
require particular mention Using a small reel to reel recorder I had submitted
a tape to a station called CFPR which was located across the water to the east of Haida Gwaii, in Prince Rupert* A letter relating to the songs on that tape is one
of the four in the collage below Quoting the content it says 'We played the
music extensively as you probably heard and found it most enjoyable'
I have no memory or record of
what exactly was on the tape but can speculate with some confidence that one of
them would have been WHERE THE LAST TIDE RUNS
A tape of probably much the
same material, was also sent to CBC Vancouver
as a means of auditioning. The remaining three letters relate to that
submission
The relevant text from each
of them will be placed below it
The four letters as a collage only |
In letter one (top left) I am
being informed that my tape was being returned, that my submission was
successful and - again quoting - 'I am
happy to add that one of the adjudicators was very enthusiastic about it, which
is fairly unusual'. It was signed by
Hilda Wilson. There is no indication of her reponsibilities at the CBC
In the second letter (top
right) with the heading Radio Audition - Popular Variety is the following
paragraph ' Our Board of Judges who are hired on a per-occasion basis from a
free lance pool of professionals and whose judgements reflect their estimate of
the ability of the auditionee, gave the fullest attention to your performance,
and we are pleased to advise that you have been found acceptable by the CBC ' This one was signed by Raymond Whitehouse, Regional Program Director.
B.C
The third letter (bottom
left) is about an arrangement for lunch with Hilda Wilson She also chooses to add
a PS in hand written words Again I will quote ' The Bob Smith* (who writes for
the Sun and has been our 'Jazz' expert for many years - "Hot Air") is
the adjudicator who liked you - and he would like to be included in our
luncheon! So let me know. HW
It is pleasing to provide a separate
copy of the post script
Recalling the fact Bob Smith had
liked some of my material has provided much encouragement over the years And my pleasure has grown as I have became more fully aware of his knowledge and reputation
But returning to the main purpose
of this communication: it is on the back of my distant and long ago contact
with CBC Vancouver and CFPR that I recently decided to make a considered
effort to bring two songs (at least) to the attention of some of the radio stations
in British Columbia After all, the songs do belong there.
But while I wrote lots of songs
during my time in Masset and have written many others which are closely
associated with the islands, I have chosen only two. The first, WHERE THE LAST
TIDE RUNS has been played on the radio in several other countries and I thought
this song was most likely to have some appeal. The second one is entitled ON THE ROAD TO HAIDA GWAII.
The two songs come from
different times. WHERE THE LAST TIDE RUNS was written in the summer of 1970
while camping between the river and the sea along the Beitush Road in Tlell. ON
THE ROAD TO HAIDA GWAII
was written in 2015 on returning to Vancouver from a trip to Masset where I had been staying along
the Tow Hill
Road .
Although it touches on the subject of
love and mentions a Subaru car - it expresses, in the middle section, something
of my deep affection for Haida Gwaii
The words from that section feature
in the image which is alongside the song on Bandcamp
Both songs can be heard in
wav format on the site using the following links https://sheilakcameron.bandcamp.com/album/more-like-a-river-than-a-road-seven-songs-from-glasgow-and-haida-gwaiiIt is the last of seven songs on the CD MORE LIKE A RIVER THAN A ROAD
PS For anyone who is familiar
with my material the delay is understandable and for anyone who might be
interested in the reasons it got sidelined for a significant length of
time, they can be found on the site at www.custtad.com
* http://www.jazzstreetvancouver.ca/artists/61
* http://www.hellobc.com/prince-rupert.aspx
* http://www.jazzstreetvancouver.ca/artists/61
* http://www.hellobc.com/prince-rupert.aspx