Who are you and what do you do:
Julie Fader. I am a (new) mother of a daughter, I am a musician, I play my own songs, I play my friends songs with them, I tour around, I paint paintings, and I cook when I am home.
Current obsessions:
Mastering hot plate/toaster oven cooking (our house is under renovation), hanging out with & staring in wonderment & playing music for & showing things to my baby, domestic living, walks.
A song or a record that will always put you in a good mood, without fail:
Schleep by Robert Wyatt usually does it for me, I love that album.
Tell us about an album or artist you think is really under-appreciated, and why they are deserving of more praise:
Christine Bougie! Multi-instumentalist, writes/plays/records beautiful music. She accompanies many different artists and bands with her abundant talents on lap steel, guitar and drums.
Most played track on your iTunes:
Words We Never Use – Ron Sexsmith. Greg Keelor and I did a sweet finger-picking folk duo version of this song for a tribute to Ron a few months back, I guess I had it on repeat for a few days. I was nervous, my first “new mom” performance.
Most cherished musical object:
It will be our piano when we finally get one.
Proudest moment:
Meeting my baby.
Most vulnerable moment:
The same as my proudest moment i think, but I’ll also say playing my songs pretty much any & every time I play them in front of people.
Your favourite use of a song in a film:
First one (of many) that I can think of was in the film ‘Magnolia’ when the cast begin to sing along to Aimee Mann’s “Wise Up”..I haven’t seen it in years, but it was a particularly crushing moment.
Favourite venue to play in and why:
Massey Hall. It’s legendary and beautiful, and makes me so nervous each time! I have been lucky enough to perform there 6 times now… – holy shit.
Dream Venue to play in and why:
See above.
First band t-shirt you ever purchased from a merch table:
No idea. Slayer maybe?
Band you’d leave your bandmates for:
It was Midlake for a while there, now it’s my imaginary futuristic family band playing a residency on our porch in Hawaii with my partner Graham Walsh and our daughter Frances Pearl.
Album you want to expose your kin to whilst in the womb:
Well I DID play music to my baby in the womb! I played 93 shows (!!!!!) while I was pregnant with her!! Touring mostly in my dear friend Sarah Harmer’s band, and also playing Julie Fader shows, and also guesting with lovely friends like Justin Rutledge, Blue Rodeo, Cuff the Duke, Lou Canon, Wintersleep, and Sharon VanEtten…
The ALBUMS I played repeatedly onto my growing belly with headphones were:
– Music for Egon Shiele by Rachel’s
– Solo Piano by Gonzales
– Trois Gymnopédie by Erik Satie (performed by Ulrich Gumpert)
If for some reason you lost the ability to make and play music, what would fill that gap:
I think I would put my full creative focus on painting rather than my split focus that I tend to give it now. Then I would just paint and listen to music for pleasure, and listen, and listen.. And then probably sing along while I painted.
What was your last dream about:
Last night it was hanging out with Leslie Feist & her band, going to an after-hours party, and playing music. Funny.
