After my appearance on CKLB this morning, I went back to Lynn Feasey's place where she's been putting me up on the couch since my arrival in Yellowknife last Friday. But today is the day I check into the Explorer Hotel for Wednesday's conference so we borrowed Saied's Subaru again to move me over.
Just as I'm taking the guitar case and luggage out of the hatchback, a young couple breezes past coming out of the hotel. The guy is in Canadian Army fatigues but I recognize the woman as Tanya Tagaq. I first met Tanya 7 or 8 years ago at the Stan Rogers Folk Festival in Canso, NS, where - with nothing but her voice - she brought a whole tent full of people to tears (including me) and we shared part of the trip home. She was delightful. Since then, of course, she's gone on to combine her remarkable voice with other media and with artists from Bjork to Bobby McFerrin to the Kronos Quartet. And here I just bump into her on the street - such is Yellowknife!
While she was excited by various parts of Voyageur I showed her, I was especially pleased to be able to show her the muskox horn on the guitar's rosette, which is from her hometown of Cambridge Bay, Nunavut.
And there was something for her beau too! Captain Casey Balden has a pretty remarkable story of his own - including his service in Afghanistan - and he was a truly lovely guy to meet. And he's a member of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry - whose shoulder tile and insignia is mounted on Voyageur's strap.
Posted at 4:57 PM