The Blues Aint Workin on Me Michelle Canning
Michelle Canning lays down the vocal tracks for her upcoming album "The Next 11 Miles" at the Kentucky Center for Traditional Music on Thursday May 3, 2018 in Morehead, Ky. Photo by Julianna Leach
Despite losing four months of hard work for her upcoming album, Michelle Canning made an opportunity out of a tragedy.
It was "freak accident" said Canning, after two hard drives crashed on the same night, leaving all of the recordings for "The Next 11 Miles" lost to cyberspace.
"The first thing I did was 'okay how am I going to let people know it is not coming out when I said it was,'" said Canning, "so I created The Restoration Project on Facebook."
The Restoration Project is for people to stay up to date on where Canning and friends are in the process of recreating the album.
"It's a way to keep people excited about it and not make it so negative, because really it's kind of a positive thing, because it gives us a chance to start over," added Canning.
Canning's love affair with music began at eight when her grandfather introduced her to the banjo. By the time she was nine, she had been taking lessons and entered her first banjo contest.
"I was really lucky that as a little girl a lot of bands would ask me to come up and play a song with them and so I got a lot of experience performing," said the Massachusetts native.
Michelle Canning lays down the vocal tracks for her upcoming album "The Next 11 Miles" at the Kentucky Center for Traditional Music on Thursday May 3, 2018 in Morehead, Ky. Photo by Julianna Leach,
One of those times brought her face to face with her idol, Rhonda Vincent.
"When I had the first opportunity to meet with her and play with her I was on cloud nine forever," said Canning. "I feel honored that were friends today."
Rhinestones and flowing dresses are part of Canning's stage presence which often reflects Vincent, who once loaned her dresses for her junior and senior prom.
"We ended up having a girl's night on the bus" said Canning. "She had me and my mom and some of our girlfriends, and we were on the bus trying on all of her dresses."
Vincent has since helped Canning as a musician and was featured on Canning's 2015 album "The Flower and The Serpent," with "The Blues Ain't Workin' On Me," whichCanning could hear as a duet of two girls talking about a guy they liked.
"It amazes me that this woman who I looked up to my whole life, who was always a big star in my eyes, was singing on my record," said Canning.
Other aspects of her life, and greatly impacted her music, was when her grandfather passed away from Alzheimer's while she was in the fifth grade. That lead her to begin an annual benefit concert in support of the Alzheimer's Foundation of America.
Canning has since toured in several states in America and performed on two separate occasions in the People's Republic of China.
Michelle Canning lays down the vocal tracks for her upcoming album "The Next 11 Miles" at the Kentucky Center for Traditional Music on Thursday May 3, 2018 in Morehead, Ky. Photo by Julianna Leach,
"She knows how to relate to an audience and to make sure the people in the audience know she's playing for them," said Raymond McLain, director of the Kentucky Center for Traditional Music. "I would stand by her on stage anywhere."
Music has always been a part of Canning's life and has become a refuge for her when everything is not right, which is even more important when it comes to cases like The Restoration Project.
"All of a sudden music is not right because I just lost all my files. I can still use it to bounce back and make a new project again," said Canning.
Since the first recording of the album several changes have been made, the biggest change being the addition of a song called "Butterfly" which has become a crowd favorite.
The song looks back to a time where Canning and her friend John frequented bluegrass festivals where butterflies would always land on him and would never go to her when he tried to pass them along.
"I remember him telling me that he had the cancer, that he didn't want me to be sad and that he didn't believe in God and he didn't believe in heaven," said Canning. "I didn't agree with him and he promised me that if there was a God and there was a heaven he would find a way to let me know."
Ever since John passed away from cancer, when she was about 13, Canning has seen butterflies at every outdoor show she's played no matter the season.
"I think that's John's way of letting me know that there is a heaven and there is a God," added Canning.
Andrew Preston, sound board engineer, and Michelle Canning review the vocal tracks for her upcoming album "The Next 11 Miles" at the Kentucky Center for Traditional Music on Thursday May 3, 2018 in Morehead, Ky. Photo by Julianna Leach,
The song now carries with it the theme of hope throughout the project.
"What I want the audience to gain from the album is an understanding that whatever happens in the future is going to be wonderful, and so I think that song is a good way to incorporate that feeling of hope into the album," said Canning.
Everyone who was featured on the first take of the album were on board with support and advice for moving forward with The Restoration Project.
Through her experience at the KCTM, Canning is confident that she was wanted as an individual instead of just a number because of the support system that surrounds her.
"I don't know [if that supportive experience would happen anywhere else] but I know it would never not happen at the Kentucky Center for Traditional Music," said Canning.
With only a few more things left to record Canning is remaining hopeful towards her future.
Canning has an undergraduate degree in Traditional Music and is finishing up her Master's in Business Administration with plans to move to Nashville, Tennessee for a recent job opportunity.
She will be giving back stage tours at the Grand Ole Opry to those who take the chance to see what the artists are doing and to gain history on the Opry itself.
"I hope to be able to be surrounded by amazing musicians," added Canning. "I hope to really hone my songwriting craft that way."
After 50 years in the music business, McLain has experienced technical glitches and was impressed by the professional mannerisms Canning displayed when she instantly went into the mindset of how to could make the album better.
"I did not see anytime grieving over the work that had been lost," said McLain. "She immediately set about improving on what she already worked on and that experience is never wasted."
Source: http://www.thetrailblazeronline.net/news/article_97499b24-5197-11e8-a709-cf611f4a623f.html
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