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Taking Joni on the road

A tribute to Joni Mitchell, Songs Are Like Tattoos, comes to Whistler as part of WAC's annual Performance Series
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What : Songs Are Like Tattoos

When : Tuesday, Jan. 25, 8 p.m.

Where : Millennium Place

Cost : $24 for adults, $21 for students/seniors and $19 for WAC members

Some of Mia Sheard's earliest musical memories include listening to classical music, The Beatles, Frank Zappa and, of course, the iconic Canadian folk music icon, Joni Mitchell.

"Definitely, I remember colouring to 'Michelle' by The Beatles and singing along, and I think I was about three," the Toronto-based singer/songwriter recalled.

"I have older brothers and sisters, so Joni, as well, we played all the time. And as I got a little bit older, her songs just spoke to me; I would sit on the coach in my living room and just cry to 'Blue.'"

While it may seem like the epitome of teenage angst, Sheard began to truly relate to Mitchell's lyrical content and style, as she got older.

"I would say that any woman in music today probably might not realize it, but Joni paved the way for them," Sheard reflected.

Raised in an artistically inclined family (Mia is the sister of novelist Sarah Sheard and pianist John Sheard) she has definitely followed in their musical footsteps. Though she was classically trained at the Royal Conservatory of Music, Sheard cites influences like the Rheostatics, Ron Sexsmith and Joni Mitchell as central to her own pop style. To date, she has released three albums: "With Love and Squalor" in 1997, "Reptilian" two years later, in 1999, followed by "Anemone" in 2002, which featured Sheard with her working band, and a special guest, Ron Sexsmith, on one of the tracks.

Now, over eight years out from that last release, Sheard is hard at work on her fourth album.

"It's getting there. I had a kid after that," she explained.

"For me, it sort of sucked my ambition out - all of my creativity sort of went into her - so it took me a while to get that back and feel like I had something I wanted to say."

While most of the tracks have been recorded, Sheard still has to do her vocals and mix the album.

"I'm not in any hurry, really," she said, "God knows, it's been long enough! So I just want to be really happy with it before I release it."

So far, the project is shaping up to be very different from her past three albums.

"It's a lot happier, and maybe that's not so great; I think that's what happened to Sarah McLachlan, and my husband, who loves Sarah McLachlan, said that when her albums got happier, he didn't like them as much. I do like dark music a lot, but I would say this is not really as dark as I'm used to," Sheard mused.

"I've had a lot of fun with this, writing the songs, so I'm not as precious as I was, so in that way, it's been a lot of fun."

On top of all of the energy Sheard has been pouring into this latest album, she's also been busy coordinating a touring show, "Songs Are Like Tattoos," which highlights the work of the iconic Canadian folk musician, Joni Mitchell.

The tour actually began as a local night at Toronto's Hugh's Room nightclub, an intimate 200-person folk club that features a wide range of folk music, including Gordon Lightfoot.

"That show was toured and, I think, was quite successful and I thought, 'Well, if they can tour Gordon Lightfoot, you can tour Joni Mitchell, for sure.'"

But Mitchell doesn't seem to get covered a lot, perhaps because her material is so challenging for most musicians.

"Her range is huge, so she sings quite high," Sheard explained, "...You don't realize how wide a range she has and its not always easy for people."

"Same with Elton John, actually, she'll go really, really low, and really high. So, you've got to be able to make that jump, and also just musically, some of her stuff is jazz, some of her stuff is very folky, but her folk stuff is open-tunings, and it just doesn't follow pop structure, really."

Coupled with her "poetic and profound" lyrical content, the variety of genres and influences is actually one of the reasons Sheard loves Mitchell's music so much.

"It keeps your ears alive, because she doesn't go in a direction that you think one might go," said Sheard.

"There's nothing predictable about her music. It's very expressive and her music is like a painting: it follows her words, so you get a visual through the music, as well."

The Joni night that Sheard produced at Hugh's Room was immensely popular, a sold-out affair every time.

"I thought, 'Wow, there are a lot of people who love it and are dying to hear Joni Mitchell's music!'"

So, she decided to take the show on the road, bringing in three musicians: Lori Cullen, Kevin Fox and David Matheson. Each pays tribute to Mitchell by playing from her catalogue, and sharing their own original music.

"So we're going to be playing predominantly Joni's stuff, and then we're going to throw in one of our own to sort of keep the singer/songwriter tradition alive," Sheard explained.

All four will be on vocals, and Fox and Matheson will also be playing the role of the band for the show, which will travel to Whistler, Revelstoke, Kelowna and Edmonton before heading back to Ontario to tour around the province.

"On a practical level, Kevin Fox and David Matheson are both singer/songwriters and they're multi-instrumentalists - David's a really great piano player and guitar player, and Kevin's a cellist and guitar player, and he can play bass," said Sheard.

"So I had to tour with a small number of people and they had to cover as much as they could, so on accompaniment, we've got options!"

The concept has proven to be popular with music lovers of all ages, with people often returning to see the show for a second time, as well.

"(The audience) loves it. They get to hear Joni, so this doesn't happen very often for people. Certainly, that's the impression I get," Sheard reflected.

"Hugh's Room is a folk club and people who go, go there to hear folk," she pointed out, "So there's definitely a large Joni contingent in Ontario, certainly in Toronto. I'm not sure what the west coast is going to be like."