Anna Gutmanis

Hi everyone. It's time to resist hatred. I'm sharing with you a video of the live version of my tune "People (Got To Get it Together)" from the album release concert a dozen years ago. Don't let the joy of the live performance distract you from the seriousness of the lyrics. Among the words that best speak to our situation today: "Mr. Man ain’t gonna protect you". Learn to identify the doublespeak of would-be autocrats and their supporters. Organize, fight back against bigotry, and keep listening to inspiring music that envisions dignity for everyone. We're all going to need continued inspiration to keep on keeping on.

I am just one musician with an opinion. I certainly don't have the fame or sway of Stevie Wonder, Stevie Nicks or Bruce Springsteen, 3 singer/songwriters who have influenced me over the course of my musical career. But, like them, I have the right to speak up and sing out about the kind of society I want. Lately, Bruce and the Stevies have had a lot to say, and at this moment in time, so do I.

As a Canadian, I am deeply affected by what happens in the country south of mine. So I'll quote a Canadian singer/songwriter whose work I deeply admire, Joni Mitchell: " Don't it always seem to go / That you don't know what you've got / Till it's gone". To my American neighbours, I say yes, democracy CAN be messy, and it DOES have flaws. But to scrap democracy altogether and vote for authoritarianism would be the worst mistake you could make. Please take Joni's lyrics to heart. Have a say in what your society looks like, because that say could be taken away very easily.

I want to end on a high note with some Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes. Last weekend, John Legend performed a lovely and meaningful song called "Wake Up Everybody", and I would like you to hear the gorgeous original version. As John, Gene and Victor wrote, "No more backward thinking, time for thinking ahead"!

Happy September! An awesome music lover reached out to me to ask for new tunes. I don't have recorded versions of any on hand, but I do have a live version of "Another Way Out" that I've never shared. Music history enthusiast that I am, I'm going to tell you the back story....

On Saturday May 11th, 2013, my then-quartet did a show at The Flying Beaver Pubaret in Toronto with singer/songwriter Kevin Wong and his quartet. The Pubaret frequently hosted many of Canada's top musical and comedic talents, and we had a full house that night. Kevin's quartet played a gorgeous set, recorded by his partner, who then very kindly offered to record a couple of our tunes as well. A video for my song "Another Way Out" was in the works, and I knew we had to play and promote that tune. The song is written from the viewpoint of a bullied queer teen, and the booming album version conveys both the violence directed at the teen and his own anger at the perpetrators. But our quartet had no rhythm section and could not replicate that bass-and-drum power. Instead, we played a mournful version of the song, letting the teen's sadness come through. My three wonderful band mates (Bryn Scott-Grimes, Bob Cohen and Karen Dinardo) always tapped into the mood of the audience and offered solos and improvisations that fit the given moment. The sensitive audience wanted to hear that teen's story and bear witness to his anguish.

I am so grateful that the performance was captured for posterity, particularly because the one-of-a-kind LGBTQ-friendly Pubaret no longer exists. But there are still an awful lot of teens out there who experience bullying. If the poignant live version of "Another Way Out" encourages even one listener to stand up for vulnerable youth and offer support, the quartet and I did a good thing that night.

I am delighted to have my profile and music featured in the HOT Pop Artists category on N1M! As a result, my tune "If You Want A Lover" has re-entered the Top Ten chart for Rockabilly in Ontario. Thank you so much!

Here's the story behind the song. It was 1988, I'd ended a long-term relationship, and George Michael's solo debut album/single "Faith" was constantly on the radio. I was ready for new love and new musical directions. I wrote "Lover" on the keyboard as always, and recorded a keyboard part for the demo, but I knew that the tune needed to be guitar-driven like "Faith". One of the recording session guitarists cemented that opinion and argued that keys detracted from the overall song arrangement except when used as a pad in the chorus. Good decision! "Lover" wound up being the opening track of my own solo debut album in 1989, setting an energetic, happy tone. It was the unofficial second single, appearing on the Canadian Sampler for MIDEM '91 in Cannes, as you'll see in the attached image from the CD booklet.

Each recording project is different, just as every life stage has its joys and challenges. The tunes that I'm writing these days reflect both the seriousness of the times and the joys we need to embrace if we are to survive and thrive. I'm glad that "Lover" has stood the test of time and is being enjoyed all over again. Thank you all, take good care of yourselves and others, and keep spinning good music!

I watched part of the 100th concert of Billy Joel's legendary Madison Square Garden Residency last night. He sounded great. His tune My Life had resonated deeply with my teenaged self several decades ago, and it still resonates with the older musician that I am today. I've found out that the expectations placed on elders, especially women, are no less stifling than those placed on teens. At this point in My Life, I'm expected to begin gently fading away into that good night. But the songs I am writing now are some of my best, so why I should stop? Songwriting is my magical, spiritual journey and a way of processing trauma and senselessness that yields something beautiful. And my already-deep singing voice is becoming richer as I age. So, like Billy, I may no longer be able to hit the higher notes, but that's a very small price to pay for the ongoing gift of music. I may not have attained Billy's level of fame and fortune, but when you, my reader-listeners, reach out to let me know that one of my songs means something to you, it's an amazing feeling. May you all have a wonderful spring - and may I be soon able to afford a return to the recording studio!

Karen Kane passed away on March 7, 2024, just before International Women's Day. It is fitting that her legacy will be forever attached to Women's History Month. Karen audaciously became an audio engineer and music producer at a time when women were shut out of those aspects of the music business. When I returned to music in 2007 after a 15-year hiatus, Karen was the only producer I wanted to record with. I deeply admired her work - after all, she'd recorded with people like Tracy Chapman and Janis Ian. Karen wound up producing several singles and a full-length album for me over the years, and I am very proud of all the music we recorded together. The making of Glimmer In the Dark was a particularly wonderful, magical experience that I'll always cherish. I'd like to think that the Carolina Music Awards Producer of the Year statuette she took home the following year was partly due to her great work on Glimmer.

Right now, I can't quite believe that she's gone, and in a big way, she IS still with us because of the music. But Rock and Roll Heaven also has a new denizen. Karen, I hear that the music up there is great, and I hope you're enjoying it.

Some of you have been writing to ask when I'll drop a new song, and I thank you for your enthusiasm! Rest assured that my muse has been quite active. As an indie artist of limited financial means, I am not yet ready to go back into the studio. But this morning, it occurred to me that I DO have one unheard, professionally-recorded song I can share. Are you ready for a nostalgic trip back to the 90s? My 1992 song "Lesson in Love" was actually a co-write lyrically, the first time I'd done that. The producer with whom I was working at the time wanted to turn my song "Heartbreak" into something more commercial-sounding, and he suggested that we re-write the lyrics together. I hesitated, but became enthused upon hearing who would contribute tracks to the refurbished tune: Debbie Johnson (background vocals) and Don Breithaupt (keyboards). Debbie was a pioneer on the Canadian R & B scene, receiving 6 Juno Award nominations over the course of her career; Don was a rising star, going on to win an Emmy for his work. Listening to "Lesson" for the first time in MANY years, I still deeply appreciate Debbie's gorgeous singing and Don's lovely keyboard solo. "Lesson in Love" received a FACTOR Grant and was included on the FACTOR - A Compilation Of New Canadian Talent 1993 CD. I hope that you enjoy the time-travelling experience of having a listen!

A major music career milestone is coming up for me next month: the 40th anniversary of my first multi-instrument demo recording, "Empire". In January 1984, I was working as a waitress in a .... creperie (not a cocktail bar, thank you Human League), where I'd met a couple of talented singer/songwriter/musicians. Chuck and Andrew formed the core of L'étranger, a socially-conscious Canadian punk rock band. I knew through their song lyrics and activism that both guys shared my concerns about sexism and anti-Black racism, and that all members of the band would lay down strong tracks for the song. The verses of "Empire" told about the ways in which the everyday lives of Black Canadian women are impacted by discrimination, harassment and outright hatred. The chorus made the case that Empire has been built on the bones and blood of people of colour.

I am proud that I wrote and recorded this song 4 decades ago, before the ensuing waves of scholarship on colonialism, institutionalized racism, and intersectionality. Needless to say, circulation of the demo to record companies did not result in any offers. But campus radio liked "Empire", and it charted at stations across my home province of Ontario.

I really and truly wish that the song were not still relevant today, but sadly, it is. I re-released "Empire" in 2017 as an mp3 because it needed to be heard again by a new generation. Please enjoy the video, which contains photos and concert posters from the early part of my music career!

The people who continue to benefit from empire built on bones and blood are pulling out all the stops these days to minimize and even deny the truth. Don't believe those people. When they ban books, seek out those books and read them. And listen to artists who have always told the truth about empire, like Stevie Wonder, Mavis Staples, and Faith Nolan. You'll be energized for the coming year!

In October 1989, I released my eponymous debut album with a live acoustic performance at a small but legendary Toronto music venue. One of the albums I'd been listening to before the concert was Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814. A few days after my concert - on this very date, October 23rd - Janet's team released Rhythm Nation as a single. I was thrilled! Here was Janet calling out racism and social injustice, making people think while she made them dance. As an indie artist making my debut, I'd opted not to put my political tunes on the Anna Gutmanis album in the hopes of getting airplay across Canada. I got my cross-country airplay, helped by the single Then Came You, but I didn't get the breakout stardom I'd hoped for. Janet, on the other hand, released seven singles from Rhythm Nation 1814 and all of them hit top five on the Billboard Hot 100. Even her brother Michael could never equal that feat.

None of this is to imply that putting a political tune or two on my debut album would have made me famous. After all, the challenges facing a debuting indie Canadian musician are very different from the challenges facing an already-famous American artist, no matter the era. I used to half-joke that, to be female and a pop star in Canada, your initials had to be AM, not AG (think Anne Murray, Alannah Myles, Alanis Morissette)!

I do believe, though, that audiences respond to music that is passionately written, recorded, and performed. And since recording my debut album, I have not shied away from speaking my mind musically. I am proud to have released I am who I am, Another Way Out and Inspire, which speak to the prejudices (and joys!) experienced by LGBTQ+ folks; proud to have released People (Got To Get It Together), urging citizens to rise up against brutal oppression; proud to have released Middle Of The Line, telling the story of women who perform endless unpaid household labour caring for children and aging parents; proud to have released - with Artists 4 Racial Equality - Breonna, a memorial tribute to Breonna Taylor and a plea to end police violence against Black citizens.

I have a treasure trove of songs that have not yet been recorded in the studio, songs about climate change, animal rescue, homelessness - and also about love. As my greatest singer/songwriter hero Laura Nyro said, “I don’t accept limitations. I can use whatever I want to in my work. And that, to me, is freedom." Time and circumstances will tell how many of my treasure trove tunes get recorded and released. In the mean time, I cherish you, dear music lover, and I thank you for being a part of my journey so far!

I see that my song "People (Got To Get It Together)", released over a dozen years ago, has been enjoying a resurgence of late. This makes me very happy. The tune urges people to organize and protest when the wealthy steal from the poor and mistreat the earth. Recent events in my home province of Ontario have shown that when enough people and members of the press get upset about democracy turning to kleptocracy, meaningful change can happen. Thanks to near-constant protesting and reporting, a harmful provincial government decision to give thousands of acres of The Greenbelt to greedy developers has been halted. The protected area containing green space, farmland, forests, wetlands, and watersheds will now continue to clean our air and water, reduce flood risk, provide a home for wildlife (including many endangered species) and grow our food.

Ontarians who care about the well-being of others are also in the process of fighting for continued public health care. A recent citizen referendum saw 99% of voters cast a ballot against privatization of our public hospitals. Tomorrow (Monday September 25th), thousands of us will descend upon the provincial legislature to demand an end to privatization, and the scandal-plagued, unpopular government will have to take notice. Canada's Founder of Medicare Tommy Douglas famously stated "unless those of us who believe in Medicare raise our voices in no uncertain terms, unless we arouse our neighbours and our friends and our communities, we are sounding the death knell of Medicare in this country". I agree, Tommy, and I say "People got to get it together / People got to fight". We will fight that good fight and WE WILL WIN!

I recently experienced both an emotional and a physical injury in rapid succession, so I've been thinking about songs that heal. A few days before all of this went down, a song that I hadn't thought about in a long time popped into my head: "Healing, Part 1" by Todd Rundgren. This tune has been one of my favourites since I first heard it over 4 decades ago. It was not released as a single from Todd's 1981 album Healing, and so folks who are not TR fans likely do not know it. Listening to the tune today, it sure holds up. And I've happily re-discovered "Healing, Part 2" and part 3. The lyrics are profound and beautiful. Todd takes the listener on a journey during which she discovers eternal inner strength and peace that she can access during times of trouble. Then, she can become - or resume being - a guiding light for others. Thank you Todd. May we all work toward healing ourselves and shining our light.

Laura Nyro's song "And When I Die" has been giving me a lot of comfort as we continue to lose so many musical greats. The chorus of Nyro's song goes: "And when I die / And when I'm gone / There'll be one child born / And a world to carry on". As I think about Tina Turner's amazing legacy, I wonder who was born on the day that Tina passed away. Somewhere in the world, is there now a child who will become one of the greatest live performers of all time? Was there a child born on May 24th who will speak out against intimate partner abuse, become a role model for women over the age of 40, and be a great ally to the LGBTQ2S+ community? The world could really use more people like that.

The most commercially successful cover version of "And When I Die" was recorded and released in 1969 by Blood, Sweat & Tears. The band's rendition of Nyro's song was a huge international hit. Fronted by Canadian David Clayton-Thomas, Blood, Sweat & Tears had a strong connection to Laura. "Laura used to come to our rehearsals and hang out. Sometimes she'd bring a pizza to the rehearsal place - we were just all pals, and we knew Laura's songs. Even before she got her recording career launched, she was one of the inner circle of people we hung out with" recalls Clayton-Thomas.

So imagine my joy after the "Lately It's Cold" recording sessions when I discovered that Clayton-Thomas also chose to record at Toronto's Number 9 studios. My producer Karen Kane and I were invited to sign the big wall piano at the studio, and half a year later, David Clayton-Thomas' autograph was inscribed close to mine. When I went back to Number 9 to celebrate the Global Music Award I won for "Lately", I had my photo taken in front of that priceless wall piano. I wonder who will add their indelible signature in the future? It may well be someone born on May 24th, 2023.