Piece by Danielle French

This, at first, may seem like mere name dropping, but those who are neck-deep in Canada’s vibrant musical scene have been quick to line up in support of Danielle ever since 1995 when members of Spirit of the West, Lava Hay and Blue Rodeo, as well as Matthew Good and backing musicians for Sara McLachlan and Barney Bentall, helped on Danielle’s 1995 debut me, myself & i.

Danielle has coupled her well-spent studio time with a relentless work ethic. Constantly touring across Canada and the United States (for three years she literally lived in her mint green, flowery-curtained Dodge Maxivan!), she’s opened for (surprise!) another who’s who list of performers including Burton Cummings, Holly Cole, The Barenaked Ladies, Mae Moore, Melanie Doane, and Lawrence Gowan.

The fruits of those labours are readily visible. She’s been personally invited onto Rita MacNeil’s hit CBC show Rita and Friends, welcomed onto the Calgary leg of Lilith Fair, and was nominated for an AMPIA Award for “Best Song in a Soundtrack” and has garnered several songwriting awards. She’s appeared on the now famous Grrls with Guitars compilation CD and co-wrote “Matthews Birds” with Jenny Allen, which appears on the highly acclaimed Till We Have Faces CD by The Fates, Danielle has also produced videos for “Worthy” and “Scarlett Wishes”, both seeing rotation on MUCHMusic.

Her undying allegiance to film and theatre culminates in a myriad of ambitious undertakings including her release of Piece as part of the Solocentric Festival, co-produced in Calgary with the nationally-renowned One Yellow Rabbit theatre company. And in 2004, Danielle launched the world premier screening of her first short film, Avalon, at the Mutton Busting Festival as part of One Yellow Rabbit’s High Performance Rodeo. Set to one of her original songs of the same name, Avalon represents a true collaborative effort, blending the artistic genres of music, dance (choreographed by Anitia Miotti) and film (shot by well-known Canadian artist/filmmaker Allan Harding MacKay). Avalon has gone on to enjoy screenings at Theatre Junction’s Random Acts Festival, the Calgary International Film Festival and the Herland Festival. Danielle was also one of the musical acts chosen by the Calgary Society of Independent Filmmakers’ $100 Film Festival to produce a Super 8 film to one of her songs, “Fade Away” which was screened at the festival while she performed the soundtrack live.

Additionally, Danielle has been involved in several cross-genre initiatives, including writing music for Vertigo Mystery Theatre’s 2004 production of Innocent Blood and her song “To the Death” was featured in the original One Yellow Rabbit/ Plaid Tongued Devils production of In Klezkavania. She has performed in many guises during various High Performance Rodeo events including co-writing and performing in The Last Six Minutes of Elvis with Calgary poet Kirk Miles; a performance at Denise Clarke’s Sky High Cabaret; a guest appearance at Chris Cran’s Camera Obscura; and performing with local theatre group Obscene But Not Heard during their 10 Minute Play Festival entry of a play written in 24 hours called Udder Madness.

Thanks to a grant from the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, Danielle is currently, working on her third CD, with an anticipated release before the summer of 2006. In the spring of 2006 she will be dividing her time between Calgary, Alberta and Reno, Nevada in order to tour more consistently.

It’s obvious that music, for one who oozes creativity from every pore, is just part of the overall tapestry of expression that is Danielle's life. If you haven’t seen Danielle command the stage (in one of her trademark flower-print polyester dresses - where does she find them all?) you now have a mission.

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