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The Lethbridge Herald Danielle French plays the Tongue 'N Groove By Al Beeber She lived out of her van for three years, talked Burton Cummings into recording with her and spent five years recording her second album. Danielle French, needless to say, has an affinity for quirkiness which she intends to show on another CD she hopes to record next year. French performs at the Tongue 'N Groove Saturday. The southern Alberta native plays music that is enchanting pop-flavoured and atmospheric. It's the perfect tonic for a stressed-out day at the office. Her album Piece has an addictive tune called To the Death with dark background vocals by Cummings, the Canadian music legend who gained international fame with the Guess Who and as a solo artist. "That's always the first question asked," French said of Cummings' involvement, taking a break from one of her many day jobs- this one at a Calgary poetry festival. While recording Piece in a Winnipeg studio, people Cummings had worked with suggested she get him involved. "I met him, gave him my first CD," and the rest is history. While the CD was started in Winnipeg, it was finished at The Banff Centre, where she also works, after the artist secured private funding. Piece has gotten airplay on CKUA and CBC Radio. Cumming isn't the only high-profile musician to lend support to French. She's also gotten support on her two albums from Paul MacLeod of the Skydiggers, Don Kerr, who has played with Ron Sexsmith, Spirit of the West, Lava Hay, Blue Rodeo and Matthew Good. While she now lives in Calgary, French is just as comfortable on the road where she spent many months and drove many kilometres in a mint green Dodge maxi-van. She has toured with a band, but much of her work has been solo. "I do mostly acoustic because I can't afford to tour with a band. You can't get five people to quit their day jobs," she laughs. French started her performing career and has found many places she can call home after criss-crossing North America. While she did experience loneliness, French also discovered she was part of a wider community. "I was waiting for a city to say "this is where you belong" but now I have friends all over the continent." "I guess I'm like a child of the universe." |