The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
A small town girl yearning for the big city lights! Sounds like something right out of a song, doesn't it? Well, it could be and someday it might be, but for now it is just a sentence used to describe Snow Lake hair stylist and songwriter, Annette Lamontagne-Dawson. Lamontagne-Dawson, who has always had a gift for poetry and has been writing songs for as long as she can remember, looks forward to the day that her lyrical talents take her to bigger and better things. "I've always written songs, but I think it was in '95 that the inspiration became stronger," said the single mother of three. "And after some upheaval in my life in 1998, I realized I didn't have anything left to lose, so I figured, 'hey, I might as well become a songwriter.'" She's made a number of trips to songwriting conventions both in Canada and the States, but the ultimate goal is to someday settle and ply her trade in the home of the Grand Old Opera, Nashville, Tennessee. "I am hoping to someday incorporate my hairdressing and designing talent into becoming a stylist in Nashville," said the gregarious songstress. "I love to make people beautiful, it is such a big part of who I am. And I also love music, so I can't think of a better way to use my talents together. It would be my dream job!" Lamontagne-Dawson says that she's had some great reviews, both in Toronto with her co-writer Roger Boychuck and in Nashville, with just her own lyrics. She was invited to a meeting at Nashville's Music Row while there last July. Her meeting was with the publisher/promoter of the David Ball song "Riding with Private Malone" and she says that he loved her writing. "He told me I had God given talent and that he wanted to help fix me up with pro-writers to co-write with," said Lamontagne-Dawson. "But when he asked how long I would be in town for, I had to tell him that I was leaving to go back to Canada as soon as our meeting was finished. I planned to get back there in September, but money and car problems prevented that. I was down in November and tried to get hold of him, but he didn't return my call. That's the music business. You snooze you loose. But he loved my writing and I am confidant it will happen again." The songwriter, whose tunes fall into the country category, has close to 70 lyrically finished pieces in her repertoire. She has about 20 more started. Seven of her songs are what she calls rough demos and three of them are honed to the point where she feels confident enough to pitch them to a publisher. When she travels to Nashville, Lamontagne-Dawson co-writes quite a bit, but the problem is that she is usually never there long enough to finish a song. "I guess you could say time and money are playing a big part in my progress," she said. "I am quite unusual for a songwriter because I cannot sing or play. Yet I hear the whole song when I write it. I travel to Nashville so I can co-write with others who do sing and play, then they can get our music out there, and do our demo's, which saves me a lot of money." See 'Roots' P.# Con't from P.# Many would think that coming from a small town in the middle of the great frozen north would be a major strike against Lamontagne-Dawson, but instead of being a drawback, she feels her roots are her strong point. "Being raised in northern Manitoba has been one of my biggest assets in this business," she said. "Northern hospitality teaches us to smile and say hi to strangers, we don't assume everyone is an axe murderer. I've made most of the contacts I have because of my small town attitudeÉ usually without even knowing they were big contacts. I talk to everyone; a smile goes a long way in this world" Lamontagne-Dawson receives quite a bit of feedback on her songs. She belongs to a number of songwriting organizations and has attended a fair number of music conferences. She is presently trying to start an NSAI (Nashville Songwriting Association) group in northern Manitoba. These allow her to talk with professionals from all areas of the music business. "I have to say, I have met lots of wonderful people who have helped me out a lot," she smiled. The songwriter feels that it is all about networking, this is why she travels so much. "It doesn't matter how talented you are if you can't get in the door to show the right people. They say it takes seven years to make it in Nashville and this is my forth year at it," she stated. "I hope to change the rules." This musical stylist, who feels lucky enough to be living her dreams, admits that she writes fairly upbeat songs. "I'm a pretty sassy writer," she states. "I get a lot of comments in Nashville. People say that I have a great turn of phrase, and they love my humor." She also claims to write some very deep material, depending on what is going on in her life. However, there have been times when a trivial phrase that some person says will give her an idea. It was a song based on one such idea that got her the aforementioned Music Row meeting. "It was a ballad called "Fill'er up again" that got me that meeting," she said. "The meeting resulted from the promoter hearing me sing it, and let me tell you Ð anyone who has ever heard me sing knows he must have really liked the words," she laughed. Also, by her own admission, Lamontagne-Dawson has some big plans and she makes no apologies for harbouring them. "I often hear that people say they think I'm crazy to have such big dreams and that I'll never make it," states the songstress. "I say, 'the journey is so much fun, who cares?' My favorite quote is 'Reality is for those who never dare to dream.' This is my greatest adventure ever and I can't even describe how I feel when I am a part of this world Ð meeting the people I meet, having my talent validated by people I admire and aspire too." More important to her than those who don't believe in her, are those who do. She counts amoung them a number of close friends, traveling partners, family, and her Snow Lake hairdressing clients for staying loyal while she travels, and most of all her kids. "I can't believe how lucky I am to have kids who believe in me," said Lamontagne-Dawson. "My son Jordie and daughters Jade and Joellee make sacrifices willingly so that I can do this. They make me so proud and I love them so much." "You know I think I am actually lucky to have made so many mistakes in my life because now I am not afraid to fail. I know I can pick myself up and try again. It's not going to be easy, but if my life was easy I wouldn't have anything to write about."
