Singer-Songwriter-Pianist-Performer - Robyn McCorquodale - Blog

Home Sweet Home

Thu, 17 May 2012 08:06:11 -0700

Just back from an extended tour of South America, Antarctica and Europe. I’ve said it many times before but it always needs repeating:

I’m incredibly grateful to do what I love to do - travel the world, meet people from all corners of the earth, share music around the globe - AND get paid for it! However, it’s always a special and emotional moment flying back into Vancouver ... Paradise on Earth!

I feel so rich with so many new memories, new places, new faces and new perspectives and ideas to inspire the Dream. After 5 months (and 5 days!) away, it’s now play time. I’m bursting with creative energy!!

More news and artistic works to come ...

Where Do We Go From Here Vancouver?

Fri, 17 Jun 2011 20:20:11 -0700

This was the question posed to me by CBC Radio early this morning. It gave me something to think about long after the interview was over.

I woke up yesterday feeling sad, feeling sick, still in shock from the post-game nightmare that erupted in Vancouver Wednesday evening. I don’t need to relieve the horror now by stating the details. We all saw it or at least heard the news of what took place. Many of us watched it unfold live, in disbelief and disgust. For those of us who live here, we suffer with feelings of shame and embarrassment and a devastating loss of reputation.

My yesterday began in mourning, feeling a tremendous pain that had nothing to do with losing a hockey game. That game, for me, was about unity and the spirit of excellence, no matter which team would come out victorious.

Until the criminals and anarchists are identified and made accountable we won’t know the who’s, the why’s and from where they all came, but I believe that these “thugs” were bent on destruction no matter what the outcome of the game.

Where do we go from here? Where is the hope in all this insanity? I say, in the hands and hearts of Vancouver residents. So many have already responded, have already taken steps to heal our city. They immediately stepped up to the plate during our darkest hours. People who love and care for Vancouver:

Those who stayed up through the wee hours Thursday morning to set up websites to aid in identifying the criminals.

The people sharing digital evidence on the internet to assist the VPD in identifying the criminals. The response from the public has been overwhelming and arrests continue to be made.

The estimated 15,000 residents of all ages who came downtown to help with the cleanup of glass, blood, hate graffiti and litter early Thursday morning.

The many innocent bystanders who showed humanity and courage, some who risked their own safety, standing guard midst the mayhem to assist with the prevention of looting and violence.

The throngs of people who helped those in need while surrounded by chaos.

The thousands of people who left beautiful graffiti on the damaged buildings: messages of love, peace and support for Vancouver .

Our amazing VPD and teams of police officers from surrounding jurisdictions who shut down the riot.

The staff at St. Paul’s Hospital who worked with “military-like” precision to care for the incoming wounded.

The many off-duty police officers and doctors who stepped in to assist.

The general public and its united outpouring of appreciation, thanking the VPD for ending the riot and keeping people safe.

Congratulations to the Boston Bruins for your great victory, taking home The Stanley Cup. Vancouver suffered a huge loss Wednesday evening. However, strangely enough, the worst in humanity revealed the best in humanity, and I believe that unity, continued support and positive action will bring the offenders to justice, raise ourselves up and heal the city we know and love. Together we will move forward.

The Spirit of Excellence!

Sun, 12 Jun 2011 15:01:13 -0700

The Vancouver competition, “What I’d Do To Win Tickets To The Playoffs” is over, and guess what? I didn’t win. It doesn’t matter because a prize much grander than two tickets to a game, yes even an NHL Playoffs game, has come into my life again.

How many times have I said that I love Vancouver BUT I wish the culture here were just a little more about “the arts” and a little less about “Hockey Night In Canada”.

While this sentiment remains true, it is also true that I am over the moon excited about the game(s) remaining with the Boston Bruins and the possibility of the Vancouver Canucks winning the Stanley Cup.

Living a life of music and travel removed me from Canuck culture the last several years, but I reconnected with my city and our Canadian national sport during last year’s Winter Olympics. I had never experienced National unity as I did during Vancouver2010, and no one could argue that the Olympic fever peaked on the final day with our victorious hockey game between Team Canada and Team USA. I watched the game from The Sylvia Hotel in Vancouver’s West End and experienced an amazing celebration. I was part of a gathering of connectedness, fans acknowledging excellence, immense joy reaching newsworthy heights. It was one big love-in that continued to explode on to the streets until long after the game was over. Walls of divide tumbling down as people from every demographic joined in good cheer and fun. Vancouverites, British Columbians, Canadians from across all ten provinces and three territories, together with people from around the world, all engaged and united by the spirit of excellence. I had never experienced such collective enthusiasm, being surrounded by such amazing positive energy.

So here we are today, now heading into the final game(s) of the NHL Playoffs. Vancouver and Boston players and fans primed for victory, as well as people from around the world captivated, cheering for their favourite team. A global connection feeding an immense energy and vice versa. At the core of this magnetic enthusiasm, what brought us all to this very moment, is the talent, focus, skill, drive, hard work, tenacity and everything else that went into bringing two teams together in this final round of competition. The same talent, focus, skill, drive, hard work, tenacity and everything else that goes into reaching any goals in life.

Whether you’re a Canucks fan or are cheering for the Bruins, the ultimate prize for everyone to win here is to experience unity and witness excellence, which I can personally say, is a tremendous gift that uplifts, empowers and motivates me to raise my own bar and set new goals.

With new inspiration to write my next album, let The Spirit of Excellence raise us all up to our peak performance and ultimate success. And in the meantime, "GO CANUCKS GO"!

Red Rain of India

Sat, 23 Apr 2011 07:04:25 -0700

Yesterday, April 22, was Earth Day: a day to inspire respect, awareness and appreciation for our earth. If we want to preserve our natural environment, we need to acknowledge Earth Day Every Day.

Late 2006, I was entertaining onboard a ship touring South Asia and The Middle East. It was an amazing and intense five week engagement. I performed only five shows during my contract, but I was on tour in port most days from early morning until late evening, visiting what was for me a new and fascinating world. With high powered guest lecturers on board speaking on the social, economic, political and cultural history and current tapestry of the regions we explored, it was a highly educational and enriching experience. One engaging lecture given told the story of the Red Rain of India.

While buildings fell in New York City on 9/11 in 2001, red colored rain was falling on the southern Indian State of Kerala. I suspect that all news stories about this event were lost in the wake of one of the worst tragedies to befall North America. However, things were quite different for the people living in the districts of Idukki and Kottayam. Afraid and uncertain as to the cause of the falling red rain, many of the local people ran out onto the streets and fell to their knees in prayer, convinced it was the end of the world.

While we were touring Kerala, coincidentally, the BBC released a documentary on this occurrence that featured scientist, Chandra Wickramasing, one of the leading experts studying the Red Rain Phenomena. Dr. Wickramasing was a guest traveling onboard with us, so I was privileged to have first hand information on this incident that until this time, was relatively unknown throughout much the world. The Red Rain of India never gained widespread attention until 2006.

The cause of the Red Rain of India remains to be a topic of ongoing debate among the scientific community. Explanations have ranged from hypotheses involving bat blood, to meteor fallout, to dust storms, to extraterrestrial life forms and more.

For me, the story posed an interesting question: what would happen here in Vancouver, my home city (where it's known to rain a lot), if one day the sky opened up and red colored water began to pour through the clouds, falling on people, staining our streets, cars, buildings and laundry hanging out on clothes lines?

This story inspired my song, Red Rain: a call to action to address our global issues and save our planet.

LISTEN to Red Rain

BUY Red Rain MP3 at Apple iTunes

See Red Rain of Kerala for more information on this natural phenomena.

The Caribbean: A Runner's Paradise ... NOT!!

Thu, 14 Apr 2011 21:31:38 -0700

In my last post I featured two very cute cotton candy-colored dolphins playing in the water. When traveling, you don’t always come across such unique and adorable creatures. However, what you DO often stumble across are camouflaged earth-tone creatures of varying sizes resembling those scary beasts from prehistoric times. It doesn’t seem fair to discriminate, but how can I begin to ogle over the latter without wishing I were back watching pink porpoises play in the Amazon!

Except for a brief homebound cruise from Africa this past Christmas, it’s been years since I performed on a ship touring the Caribbean. For me, it’s typically a two to three-day journey of minimum four connecting flights, crossing several time zones and filling out a lost luggage claim before I finally reach my embarkation destination.

However, I just arrived back home from an engagement in the Eastern and Southern Caribbean. Most stops I’ve visited before, but every place felt new to me this time, with all new docks, waterfronts and ports leading to overgrown urban jungles of jewelry stores like I’ve never seen before. How any of these stores earn their share of income boggles the mind considering the wealth of shops that overwhelm the typical tourist. How any tourist decides on where to shop and what to buy further boggles the mind considering the few hours we typically have in any port. I guess that’s where the ship port lecturer comes in, because somehow everyone seems to be happy at the end of the day. If this is soon to be you vacationing in the Caribbean, and you wish to buy some unique pieces of jewelry in gemstone paradise, I highly recommend you doing your research in advance. As for me, I bypass the shops entirely on my daily runs exploring the islands.

Yes, judging by looks, laughs, the odd remark and sometimes even cheers from the school kids, I’m a bit of an enigma in port, all dressed in Nike attire, sporting glasses and a ball cap. Smothered in sun block SPF 85, running in excessive heat and humidity on the shady side of the street if there is one, the route is not so conducive for walkers, not alone runners. No one else is running, and given the exhaust fumes I typically experience along the way, even I question my sanity and wonder about any health benefit to my daily adventuring. However, at least I experience the towns, some back roads, meet a few locals, greet a few dogs and get a bit of cardio in while entertaining the natives. All good, unless of course the dogs decide to chase me. That can also be entertaining though certainly puts a damper on my day. Worst case scenario: tetanus shot is up to date. Luckily, in the Caribbean, the dogs are too zapped of energy to care about some foolish foreigner and at most open one eye lid as I pass by. They look at me as if to say, “Crazy pale-skinned girl, you should be on the beach tanning,” then go back to sleep. Whew. Big relief.

I love to experience new places independently by foot, preferably unharmed. Dogs are seemingly no threat in this part of the world. However, the two locals featured above made me stop in my path and tip toe past only pausing enough to get a quick photo. I do believe that these creatures were a lot smaller the last time I was in St. Thomas and I don't recall them traveling in pairs. Just so you know, the one on the left was nearly as long as I am tall, 5’4.” Not your average Hawaiian gecko for certain, though not the humungous gators and crocks I’ve experienced running in Costa Rico and Borneo either so I should be grateful. You see, there’s a lot to traveling, and adapting to the natural habitat can never be taken lightly. I do what I can to be careful. Then again, perhaps next time I'm in the Caribbean, I’ll forego the run and just go buy a Tanzanite bracelet!

Once Upon The Amazon ...

Thu, 17 Feb 2011 20:25:43 -0800

There lived 30 million species of insects, and yes, I recently visited the tropical paradise and seemingly came foot to face with every one of them. Crunch, scream, eeeyooo, ugh!

Now I appreciate that not everyone has the opportunity to visit such exotic destinations as The Amazon Rainforest, and yes, get paid for it. To watch the rare Pink Dolphins play, I’m lucky. I’m grateful, BUT, let’s get real. Pink dolphins are cute and worth cuddling, but only IF you can catch up to one, not alone get a good picture of one. Rare. In reality, their presence is overshadowed by the more than 700 species of beetles, the pesky and worrisome mosquitos and the even more frightening 378 species of reptiles that coexist in this area of the world. Did I say 700 species of beetles? Yes, mostly an infestation of super beetles on steroids.

When on a cruise ship engagement, I love spending time in the fresh sea air. I find solitude out on deck watching a sunrise, sunset, shooting star, full moon, or yes, even a magical lunar eclipse, as we witnessed in the wee hours of December 21.

However, during our stay in The Amazon, time on deck became less as the creepy crawlers became more, invading every inch of our deck space, attaching themselves to the ship’s exterior. Fair enough. We invaded their habitat. Still, for me, spending time in the salty sea breeze suddenly became less appealing than hanging out in the insect-free zone at the espresso bar inside the air-conditioned luxury liner. I’m not a fan of AC but in such cases I make exceptions, especially considering I left my bug spray and anti-malaria meds at home.

On a more positive note, I thank the region’s glorious heat and humidity for my skin and hair that never looked better, and my voice that soared to new heights. My curly locks I’d never known, so grown. My skin fully hydrated and pale, miraculously free from bug attacks. While guests and crew seemed to fall victim to more than one bite, I luckily escaped the insect plight.

It was quite a shock to the system to leave the humid temperatures and return to the wet and grey of a Pacific West Coast winter. That said, I grew up on and love duck weather and there’s no other paradise nicer in the world than Vancouver’s West End, home to squirrels and chipmunks, YAY.

My advice, if you ever decide to pay the big bucks and take an exotic cruise to experience one of the NEW ”˜Seven Wonders of the World’ - don’t pay for a balcony suite!

Stay tuned for more to come ...