Hey everyone!

I am going to be posting new tracks from my upcoming album Lions and Werewolves on April 15th! Tell all your friends to check them out.

I am so excited to unveil them.

thanks for waiting.

much love,

alana

"Time is jammed and flyin' fast." - Rodney Crowell

It seems that every time I come to Nashville I have an album that I lean on for my tears and laughter as I drive around by myself from one co-write to another or to meet some other incredible human being for coffee. Rodney Crowell's new record Sex and Gasoline is my listening post this time. It is speaking the words I can't say and hearing the words I can't speak to anyone.

It was Ryan Adam's Cold Roses last time. Must be a thing.

Last night, I had the privilege of hearing part of Julie and Buddy Miller's new record entitled Written in Chalk, out next Tuesday, and it brought me to tears. Go and get it people... it is important and true and beautiful.

Wrestling with being in one place or continuing to move is the fate of the musician/story teller. Keeping your heart in one piece as you move from city to city is the great challenge... as you care about folks who need their emotional black belt to keep on loving you. It is key for those who love us to believe in the greater good because reflections on the human story are as important as bread and water. We need artists who are living and breathing within the cultural context of our age ... it is so integral to a healthy world and it is a sacrifice to keep going especially when business is in transition and our futures are always uncertain. The interesting revelation on that though, is that everyone's future is uncertain it is just more acutely obvious in art entrepreneurial realms . We're not really in control. We only have our own behaviour to worry about. I have a line in a song I'm working on "Here we are, full grown, with nothing on this earth to call our own... but a point of view and some skin and bones... and its okay."

My new friend Katy Bowser and I were talking about how story tellers are like Wall E ... going around picking up stuff in the world and trying to make something out of it. I've never been one to be put into a box and labeled... (in fact that is the quickest way to get a bad reaction out of me)... but perhaps I ought to start embracing the stereo-type. Whatever that means. I am a cycling, soccer playing, singing, song writing, story telling, traveling, loving, mystery embracing fool, who owns a lot of footwear and I never want to lose the light in me. When my 3 year old friend asks his mom "is Alana a kid?" I fill with the good pride.

To all my fans out there... every time you listen you are partaking in my life and I thank you for it. It will be a pleasure to be spinning on your stereos once again with the new music and coming to your towns and cities and speaking with you about what is new in your lives.


Hadrian my VW Jetta, has been consistent and reliable and so ridiculously good on fuel. I will miss him when I pull into Toronto and drop him off at headquarters. A good car is like a good guitar... you're connected for life. I'm taking him to the Nashville Predator's/Pheonix Coyotes game tonight... I'll say hello to Gretzky for you!

When I was 3 my folks sold their baby pink VW beetle and I ran down the lane after it crying as the buyer drove away with it.

That is me in a nutshell... I'm a 3 year old, chasing cars.

Much love, alana

Autumn came on early I'd never seen the leaves so red Had to rattle these old bones Go raking up the dead The first time I wrote with Sylvia Tyson was five years ago. I was an awkward youngster with a twinkle in her eye walking the cold, cold streets in Toronto, making my way to her warm home.We wrote a song called Old Bones. I remember my grandma McRae was still alive because I called her afterward and told her I had 'used Charlie's name in a song'... Charlie was our old neighbour who was married to one of my grandma's best friends Edith. Edith had red hair and she and Charlie's love story was something out of a novel. Especially because of their bicycle. Old Charlie was an inventor. He had elevators in his house and made all sorts of machines and vehicles. Edith only had eyes for Charlie... through days of alcohol, through days of sickness, they were inseparable. My hair was once that shade of redWhen I was young and freeOf all the girls he could have hadMy Charlie wanted meCharlie had a particular bicycle when he was growing up. Far away from Edith's little home in the Riding Mountains, Charlie was delivering newspapers with his heavy 'hobby horse'. I'm not sure if his bike was stolen or if he had to sell it for some quick pennies, but it ended up leaving Charlie somehow. But eventually, that same bicycle ended up in the possession of Edith. This was before they knew each other. They discovered this well after they were an item. Old bones, old bones, They somehow rise again They flicker in old picture shows The diary where you pressed a rose There's still love and life In those old bones. I just finished Katharine Hepburn's autobiography Me. It was fascinating and sad and wonderful to read how tenacious she was and then how reflective, in her later years. Certain stories from her childhood and younger adult life reminds me of me. She was sporty and wanted to be able to do anything her brothers could. She had a healthy competitive nature. She could run, dive, flip, stand on her head, bridge her back and somersault across the lawn. I was the same. Only I figure skated, did gymnastics, and swam. I love soccer. I've been compared to having the enthusiasm of a young colt before, in the press. I think she might have been too, if a journalist had thought of using that as a comparison. I respect Katharine Hepburn most, I think, for her physical comedy and for still having so much gumption right into her eighties. She was a real adventurer who also had a bit of a fetish for Queen Elizabeth (would have much preferred to play her vs. Mary Queen of Scots). 'I may have the body of a weak and feeble woman. But I have the heart and stomach of a king, and a king of England, too.' So I've got this new album coming up. I'm not sure how the world will receive it. I think it is a work deserving of respect and a work that people will want to listen to. And it was made with every honest fiber of whatever there is of me in the world. I think that is the ticket to existence. Do whatever you choose to do with as much gumption and fire and tenacity as you can. I don't really buy into nonchalance. I think it is lame to pretend that we are cynical about all kinds of success. As thought we don't really care if we make a difference. I sure do. I would be lying if I said I didn't care about what happens in the world or what I do during my lifetime. My hat is off to Sylvia Tyson who let an awkward young upstart into the warmth of her kitchen during the coldest January in Toronto since the world began, to write some songs with her. She is now performing two of our songs regularly in concert, which is an honour. Canada, Sylvia deserves our respect. She should be on one of our coins just for playing Joni Mitchell and Gordon Lightfoot songs before they were known... let alone for her own contributions. She is one of the greats in the world... Sylvia Tyson, Katharine Hepburn, Loreena McKennitt, Queen Elizabeth... I salute you. I hope I can be as brave as the four of you. Much love, Alana PS- To those of you at my show in Portage La Prairie on Saturday: many many thanks for the standing ovation. It is one of the greatest thrills of a performers life!

Hello there! Happy Canada Day!

I returned home from England yesterday, having finished the mixes to the brand new record.  I am very proud of this project.  I am sad this stage is over, but that is a good sign it is finished and ready for the world to hear. (Early '09)

I now have five days until the Cycle of Hope for Habitat for Humanity starts.  We are riding 1600kms to raise money to build a house for a low income family in Winnipeg.

It is getting down to the last few days that people can donate so... if you can, it would be a great help!

Much love,

Alana Levandoski

 

"We have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night."

If the aliens were to look down and attempt to observe and define the act of recording an album... many words may not normally be used in the description. Community. Love. Adventure. Good food. Humour. Wilderness. Football. People being their true selves without fear of abandonment. Amazing talent. Songs being served. Egos being set aside. Hope. Laughter. Snowmobiles. Cathedral towers. Canadian Legions. Aurora Borealis.

These words in combination typically are not connected with the collaborative creative process, but in the case of making my latest contribution to music, these words are married to the experience.

When I decided to take the risk of recording record number two (yet to be named) in an old Anglican pioneer church in my home town of Kelwood, I had no idea what to expect. I wasn't sure if the people coming to make it with me would be bored with how remote the location was, or if the acoustics would suffice. I desired for there to be community and everyone's true nature present in a healthy supportive atmosphere, but I wasn't sure how it would play out.

The vision to make this album with Ken Nelson (Coldplay) sprung up in me two years ago with only a remote hunch that it would actually take place. We never know the future, and we have limited control over our fate but for hard work, tenacity and getting good at the craft we set our hand to. In this case, it turned out that we were all able to come together after a series of hits and misses to make something that just feels like it is going to stick to the halls of music history.

So Ken Nelson, Mark Phythian and Mike Nelson all flew from Liverpool to the prairie wilderness to record an album with me. Eric Paul, Murray (Shugz) Pulver, David 'Soul Fingaz' Williams and the comic genius Milos Angelov all made their way to live in cabins and farm houses in Manitoba for a couple of weeks! My sister made delicious food for us at her cafe everyday. My brother-in-law built a sound isolation booth out of square bales. Loads of my family did tons of driving. My friend Don Benedictson was able to supply me with all the gear we required and was able to help with set up and I am indebted to him! All of us worked hard to make something we are extremely proud of.

I flew over to Liverpool to finish vocals and mixing at Parr St. Studios and have just recently returned to a Manitoba spring.

I have to say it. I love Liverpool! A good part of my heart might always haunt that moody town on the Mersey! I went to a football match at Anfield and saw Gerrard and Torres score very sexy goals... (please... to all fans of other clubs, don't abandon or hate me!). I flew a paper airplane off the Cathedral tower. I went to the Tate and saw Picasso's Weeping Woman. I played football with some very lovely local chaps. Finishing this album was hard work... but a joy... because I got to be in great company.. Ken, Mark and Mike are three of the most wonderful, knowledgeable, thinking, humorous, musical folks I have ever spent time with. I swear I could spend a lifetime trying to be familiar with all of the comedians they are fond of. When things got too heavy in the studio, someone would generally make a very wry, humorous comment that would set us laughing and lighten the mood.

I am back in Canada now. With a very great record that I can't wait for you all to spend time with. It will take time however as setting these things up takes longer than people realize. I told someone the other day, speaking in farmer speak, that it would be like trying to do harvest without having planted the seeds.

At present, I am training to go on the Cycle of Hope for Habitat for Humanity this summer. It is about a 1700km tour of the Great Lakes, sometimes with century rides (100 miles) done in a day. I am also promoting www.1world2wheels.org which is an organization that encourages cycling and mountain biking as a way of commuting, a way of leading a healthy, adventurous life and a way to cut down on the cost of fuel. The cost of fuel not only effects our pocket book, it effects the environment too.

The way I see it, is if I, a musician who has been conditioned for the night life, can get out there and sweat, anyone can.  It would be cool if any of you could write to me and let me know if you are cycling this summer, even just around your community... it doesn't have to be on long treks.

So... new record... and the road... only this time, before I prepare to go out and tour the album, I will be pedaling!

Much love to you all,

?Alana

Recently I read the part in Peter Pan (J.M. Barrie) where Wendy, John and Michael fly with Tink and Peter to Neverland. It takes what seems like days and the whole time, Peter appears more captivated with teasing the sharks in the ocean or flying up to chat with the stars than he is in what direction he is headed. Wendy and her brothers start to wonder if they are ever going to get there... much like children do in the back seat of the minivan today... only in this case, they are too timid to ask Peter "Are we there yet?"

What the children don't realize is that Peter doesn't need to know how to get to Neverland, because Neverland is trying to get to Peter.

I was reading an interview with Leonard Cohen the same day I read that section of Peter Pan. I have heard Cohen say this many times before but it was the first time I likened it to Neverland... "If I knew where the songs came from, I'd go there more often."

I suspect this is what engaging with any art is like. Not so much a mystical spirit is looking to plant an idea in someone's head, but perhaps that there is a world of ideas drawing us near as we go about working at our craft. (In Peter's case, he was working at flying and being mischievous. And crowing. And my hunch is that crowing is an art form.)

Whatever the case, I do feel like this world is much closer to children than any of the rest of us. Which is likely why I still like to read stories in funny voices with my friend who is eight, or why I like to pretend I am an intrepid arctic explorer when I am doing ordinary things like going for a walk in the snow.

Perhaps when we get older we tend to write more about how the Captain Hooks of the world seem to be winning. Some of us might become a "yes man" to the Captain. Some of us might never see Neverland again because we are afraid of being intimate, vulnerable and animated... because we never want to hear or read another bedtime story in our lifetime. I'm not sure, though.

Why does Neverland draw some of us so close we feel like we actually might fly someday?

Why in the world is fairy dust so scarce?

Every day can be an opportunity to work toward becoming more human. Some days are better than others.

I had a wonderful experience last night performing along with Teresa Dut, the up and coming new rap artist Hot Dogg, and Marusala a great singing and dancing group. All of these artists are from Sudan and last night we had an incredible time raising money toward an education fund for some of the Lost Boys and Girls of Sudan living in Winnipeg. Many of the men and women from that tragic account in Sudanese history were present at the show last night. Many of the performers suffered from the civil war that started in 1983. But in 1992 these kids managed to make their way all the way to Kenya on foot... and some others ended up in Ethiopia.

Last night the people I met, (who had experienced such degradation as losing loved ones and then having to travel on foot toward a refugee camp that would become their home for years before being able to come to Canada), were handsome, well-dressed men and women of high integrity. They are pursuing their education with such fervor and passion that it makes me wish they could go on tour and do inspirational speaking in schools!

I found myself saying to someone last night "I can't even imagine"... but I upon further scrutiny of that cliche phrase, I am slowly seeing what a cop out that is. I think as people who believe that love is our calling... that it should come before anything else... that it ought to be our bottom line, we need to expand our imaginations to try and feel what it would feel like to walk for 3 months, desolate, with our parents killed, thirsty, hungry and without comfort. Our imaginations can help us with empathy.

I could barely sleep last night. Every time I fell into sleep I would be wandering through the desert and would wake up with legs that ached like they never have in my life. My mouth was parched. I had spoken into the silence the need to open my imagination to this story and it came to me in my dreams.

The same thread that I kept hearing from all of these people is how happy they were to live in a place that allowed them to be human. To pursue forgiveness and love.

I was humbled to hear from many of these people how the words in my songs were what their heart had felt so many times but it was hard to find a way to say it. Hello! Hello! If you can hear this let me know. O please don't let this go on for too much longer. That chorus echoed in my mind all last week and I had to write it into a song. They told me not to feel awkward about singing these words... that the world needs these words no matter who is singing them.

I come away from the experience of meeting these champions of LIFE with respect and mutual friendship. Nobody who is pursuing being truly human wants pity. We want to be able to look each other in the eye and know there is something similar in each of us. We want to thrive with love, in spite of hatred and loneliness. We want to choose life instead of death while we still can.

The concert was recorded for CBC and will air on November 10th. I know my heart was looking for words in between the songs and I probably bumbled through at times... it was such an honor and I was processing stories I had heard just minutes prior to going on stage.

Hats off to the Found Boys and Girls of Sudan in Winnipeg. And many, many thanks and encouragement for each career and path chosen. The world needs your passion.

Much love,
Alana

To disclaim a very remote semblance of originality, I have had the notion that becoming a pirate (or at the very least a sailor) would be a good idea, very much prior to the more recent pirate craze. This might sound strange and ultimately foolish, coming from a prairie girl, however, if one looks at a map one will see that Manitoba is indeed not a land-locked province at all. We have Hudson Bay to the North of us and I attribute that body of salt water to my haunting dreams of being a wild and intrepid explorer of lands and oceans and living things beyond my land dwelling place.

Perhaps I will (wo)man a ship someday that I would call The Spaniel. I could invite Richard Dawkins and Francis Collins to visit to make it at least more closely parallel with The Beagle. I, particularly leaning toward evolution via intelligent design/Creation (but who am I to believe/not believe in anything? For I am not a scientist and therefore must not be able to base my judgments soundly enough), would in spite of it, remain neutral as hostess and would discipline myself to listen to them speak of Genomes and Man and Ape and Beauty and at some point as they hopefully evolve toward it, Love. I would prefer to invite Roselind Franklin over Crick and Watson, but with the latter being the only one still living, I suppose I could make an exception to have Watson make an appearance for such a momentous occasion. We would after all need someone to counterpoint ethical genetic research with the idea that we ought to farm/engineer out much more than such hinderances as poor eye sight (as Watson has suggested - but I won't speak further for him).

This altogether doesn't sound terribly "pirate" of me. But perhaps I would be a pirate of people. I could plunder New England or Oxford of all of it's brainy folk. I could find my heros and bring them on board to teach me their ways, and ask for their blessing.

Who else would I invite onto my ship? Certainly, the brainiest folk aren't really heroic to me (as having mere brains doesn't necessarily mean you have even a healthy concept of heroism), though they are doubtless useful.

One person I would have welcomed wholeheartedly on board is Madeleine L'Engle. She died a couple of weeks ago.

Her novels changed my life as a child. Quantum physics, multi-directional Space and Time, the Tesseract, Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who and Mrs. Which. Ah, what a world it opened up to me as rationalism was beginning to get it's grey whiskers and was starting to lose it's teeth! Though my closest friends would argue this, based on past actions, I am not opposed to being rational. However, if I were to draw a picture of Rationalism personified in the late 1980's I would draw a weak-kneed, arthritic old man holding up a very large set of dumbbells, attempting to keep his face calm and collected as though nothing in particular is quite wrong.

So, rationalism as rationalism was getting to be an oldster at the time I was reading the adventures of Meg and Charles in A Wrinkle in Time. And I started to make wings to attempt to fly out of trees, off of playhouses and began to dream big dreams, thanks be to the local library and a willing spirit.

Yes, Madeleine would be welcome, but she is gone.

So who would I invite?

One person I heard speak live at a fundraiser I performed at would also be welcome if she weren't gone already. June Callwood. It was probably the most inspiring speech about journalism and free press I have ever heard. I got to meet her and shake her hand.
What a voice and inspiration.

She could definitely hang out and talk on The Spaniel, but she is also gone.

My favourite author, Jane Austen, so clever in her sarcasm even at the age of 21 when she wrote Pride and Prejudice, would add spice to my pirate ship. Maybe I could invite someone on board who would be her equal in disposition and wits and she could finally marry a man worthy of her. We could perform the ceremony on deck! Yarr!

Who would perform the ceremony? So many people can marry a couple these days, but I think it ought to be someone particular. Hmm... someone more recent? Well, I would love to bring C.S. Lewis aboard, but it might be a tad on the ridiculous side to get him to marry them, as his weakness may have been that he held a misconstrued view of women... so Jane Austen, the wonderful feminist writer who put a mirror up to ridiculous Classist behaviour, might need ... hmm... perhaps N.T. Wright, Clive Staple's other in the 21st century. He would do the job quite nicely.

Who would she marry? If Rufus Wainwright were interested, he might match her in wit. But probably not in disposition. I really can't think of who would be good enough.

That reminds me... Judy Garland could rehabilitate on board The Spaniel. But I still can't think of a husband for Jane Austen. No wonder I have an affinity with her.

So Jane, Madeleine, June, Judy and...

I suppose I would have to include L.M. Montgomery and Louisa May Alcott in order to be true to form. They would be so much more interesting to listen to than the scientists.

So Jane, Madeleine, June, Lucy Maud, Louis May, Katherine Hepburn, Martin Luther King Jr, Carey Grant, Plato, Jesus, (wouldn't bring John the Baptist... he would more than likely cause a storm) and...

Wait a minute! Are all my heroes.... dead?

The Spaniel is looking as it did in the beginning. Me, Richard Dawkins and Francis Collins.

I think I'd better call my friends up and see if they can overcome their fear of sharks.

Who would you bring? And where would you go?

Much love,

Alana

PS, Lot's of good music and good times on the horizon. Neil Young Borrowed Tunes 2 out soon! Ireland and the UK here I come in November!
Winnipegers! Be sure to come to my show on October 12th at St Andrews Anglican Church... it is a fundraiser through CBC for the Lost boys and girls of Sudan.
Also on October 19th I will be performing my new songs for The Winnipeg Folk Festival Concert Series.

What is great music? Memorable music?

What does it mean to make art that contributes to society rather than takes away?

If you could name your top ten albums of all time, would you be able to establish some kind of criteria for why? Why do you love them? Why are they on your mind?

As an emerging artist, these are important questions, and not ones that could ever be answered by a text book. Osmosis or instinct or passion doesn't come in a box. Neither does taste.

My brother, who is a photographer and emerging film maker, loves bands like The Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Dandy Warhols... and lately we've both been listening to Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. He is a big Beck fan and a massive White Stripes fan. I agree with him. I think they all make great music.

Why?

Good question.

There has always been a flip side to the mainstream... and the flip side can also be mainstream, it just doesn't sound like it.

As a songwriter, I feel like the world keeps on opening up to me. I feel like amidst all these great bands, that during this revolution, songwriters are going to play a big part. Not in the same way as the '60s, but in a way that holds the writer's torch into the new generation. Bands like Arcade Fire, Metric, Snow Patrol and Coldplay are holding the "band writing" torch with full fervor... and this is great. There are some great solo artists out there too though... who don't get to rely on the strength in numbers thing. Neko Case, KT Tunstall, Rufus Wainwright, Feist, Kathleen Edwards, Sufjan Stevens, Thea Gilmore, Ryan Adams, Hello Saferide, Fiona Apple, Norah Jones, to me, these are some of the future leaders in songwriting and are arguably already leading in many ways.

I am excited to be a part of music today.

As I approach making my own music ... (I will be recording very soon), I think about my own influences. Some of whom I have acquired because of spending time with them and others because I listened to them so much as a kid. There is nothing like the newness of starting to like a band or artist when you are 14 years old and full of passion. That is when I really started to get into Paul Simon, Bob Dylan and CSNY... I had listened to them when I was little but at 14 it was a whole new experience. And then the Zoo TV tour was going on at the time and I watched the U2 Live from Sydney video and my whole perspective on performance was altered forever.

If someone were to ask me what my top 5 favourite songs were ... I know Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down by Kris Kristofferson and Stay (Far Away So Close) by U2 would be right up there. I love My Dear Companion by Jean Ritchie... it is just beautiful. These are the ones that instantly come to mind. It is a wonderful thing to just let them come to mind and not be pretentious about it. Another great song is Trying Not to Be So Sad by Lynn Miles.

I am very excited about the fact that I got to do some writing down in Muscle Shoals, Alabama last December. Great writers down there. And a great vibe. Gary Nichols, James LeBlanc and Billy Lawson were a pleasure to write with and some of the songs we came up with are going to be on the record. I loved working with them because it felt like really writing instead of "making a product". I just don't work that way. But I don't want to sound like a snob either... sometimes I like to go out dancing with friends and just groove to a great bass and back beat and that is all that we need to have a good time. And who's to say where those songs are coming from?

I can't wait to talk more about my record. The human gestation period is normally 9 months... but not generally for recording artists! Most importantly I can't wait for you to hear it. Stick with me... I'll stick with you. Let's enjoy the ride of the next 20 years as GPS overtakes our anonymity and space travel becomes passe ... we can still dig down and make some great art!

Much Love, Alana

PS- Concerning the Neil Young Borrowed Tunes project coming out in September, we will make sure that those out of country can purchase a copy. The proceeds go to Neil and Peggy Young's Bridge Foundation.