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May 6, 2011
Sweet melodic treats on tap
Harriet Frost’s new venture is a live music showcase.
BASYA LAYE
With winds sharply shifting in the recording industry, making a living as an independent musician can be difficult on a good day. Local singer-songwriter Harriet Frost, however, has been steadily building her musical resumé over the years, seeking opportunities to share her music with the world.
With four albums under her belt, including her warmly received 2010 release Random Days, Frost is unbowed by the pressures of being an independent musician. Her newest venture, with fellow songwriter and musician Rick Parnell, is Musicians in the House, a musical showcase series, which invites local songsters to perform material live at Waves cafés across the Lower Mainland.
Frost has been performing in and around Vancouver and beyond since her musical upbringing in Montreal. “As a child I was involved in children’s theatre and was the resident folksinger in my high school,” Frost said. “I lived in Jerusalem for four years and while attending Hebrew University I became even more engaged in music. I had the opportunity to perform with many international artists. I was the founding musical director for the groundbreaking Gypsies theatre troupe. I was privileged to work with Israeli, Palestinian, European and North American actors and musicians. We staged original musicals, performing in Arab and Israeli communities promoting peace. I returned to North America inspired with a strong vision for my own music.”
Playing music in cafés has its own storied history, from the Greenwich Village coffeehouses of the late 1950s and early sixties, to the independent coffee shops of today’s Lower Mainland, which provide low-overhead opportunities for local musicians to test new material and perform favorite cover tunes. The choice of Waves as a venue came about organically.
“My collaboration with Rick Parnell began this year,” explained Frost in an e-mail interview with the Independent. “Rick is a wonderful songwriter and musician. Both of us had been playing individually at venues across Greater Vancouver. Seeking an opportunity to work together, we met at one of Richmond’s friendliest and most popular coffee dens, Waves Coffee House, in Steveston. We knew that there were too few venues offering local songwriters and musicians opportunities for live performances. The solution was obvious: present a combination of musical artists in a laid-back, intimate atmosphere, right in Richmond’s own backyard. Musicians in the House was thus hatched, with Feb. 26 as the launch date and with a second show on March 12 [featuring] other professional musical talent. We perform there ourselves once a month and book other acts for the remainder of the month’s performances. We are now fully booked through the summer.”
The “reaction has been fabulous,” she said of the first two months of the series. “We are inundated with high-calibre artists who want to be a part of this. The audiences have been blown away by the level and versatility of the talent and are extremely attentive during the sets. Word of our success has spread to other franchise owners of the Waves brand and we have been asked to set up Musicians in the House at the Burnaby Waves location beginning in June on Thursday and Saturday nights. Admission is by donation, there is no cover charge [but] our audience is encouraged to make a donation as we pass the hat.”
Frost has always considered herself to be a musician. “When I first heard ‘Blowing in the Wind’ that was it – I was in for the long haul, and I still am. Musical evolution is constant, living life mindfully as art is the goal,” she said.
“A pivotal milestone in the journey was becoming a parent because I was then faced with integrating and balancing the two identities. So much of a musical career is about being on the road, touring and promoting. I wanted to be home to see my children grow,” she added.
Facilitating that journey and those values has been her producer of the past 18 years, Jim Woodyard, whom Frost describes as “a multi-talented recording artist, producer and instrumentalist.” According to Frost, maintaining the long collaboration was a no-brainer. “He has a family, similar values, and was generous in introducing me to many of Vancouver’s top musicians. Over the years I have worked with them, and have produced work that I am very proud of,” she said.
Responding to the profound changes in the recording industry, Frost has taken advantage of new online platforms available to musicians in a world unbound by former restraints. “My music is available digitally, on iTunes, CDbaby, reverbnation.com and sonicbids.com, and literally dozens of other online music stores,” she said. “I have my own website, harrietfrost.com, and live performances are posted on YouTube. These are all necessary platforms to join the 21st century. In a way, this shift in the music business offers more opportunities to the independent artist, as the web is a world unto itself.”
Frost’s lyrics are noted for their poetry, and her relationship with poets runs deep. One review of her music called her “a keen observer and raconteur,” adding, “Frost crafts her lyrics with the precision of a poet. Her warm, self-assured voice and effortless phrasing, turn the listener into a treasured confidante.”
“There is nothing more inspiring to me than a well-written poem that resonates,” Frost explained. “As a songwriter, with a finite amount of time to tell a story, the poem has always been an instructive form of expression.” And she still finds inspiration from the sources that originally spurred her to make music.
“My playlist is varied,” she said, “yet I still go back to the ‘greats,’ Dylan, Van Morrison, Cohen, Mitchell, Jesse Winchester, there are so many. Lately I am listening to Arcade Fire, it’s my Montreal roots, and the lingering mystique of Harmonium, the most celebrated French Canadian group in Quebec’s history.”
Frost continues to write every day, and she admitted, between “family and various work commitments, I have to be very disciplined about time for music. It’s a challenge.”
Frost’s involvement in the Jewish community also brings her into contact with music. “I am fortunate to have a Judaic education background that has also brought me meaningful work and, for the past 10 years, I have been director of education at Beth Israel Hebrew School,” she said. “I also provide children and adults with b’nai mitzvah training.”
Her song “Jacob’s Ladder,” a live performance of which is available to watch on her website or YouTube, is, perhaps, especially meaningful in its personal subject matter.
“I wrote that to honor my father, whose name was Jacob. He believed he had a guiding angel who saw him through Kristallnacht, Buchenwald, to Israel and finally Canada,” she shared. “I will be recording that song shortly for an American documentary film on the Holocaust.”
These days, Frost’s focus as an artist is “to keep writing, recording and performing as much as I can,” she said, and Musicians in the House is one good way to share her music with as many people as possible. “I would like to encourage people to come to Musicians in the House to enjoy and support our local musicians. On any given scheduled night, you can hear a plethora of eclectic music. The environment is very conducive to enjoying music. We put a lot of effort into the sound and ambience. The menu is pretty good, too! Please go to our website, musiciansinthehouse.com, for more details. I guarantee that you will be in for a treat.”
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