Laura Rose's cd release party

Laura Rose’s CD Release Party

Friday May 3, 2002

For the debut of Laura Rose’s full length, 11 song CD entitled “Capture The Magic” one venue of choice was The Stampede Corral in Kitchener. The Friday night show would feature all of the songs from the CD (in the order they’ve been recorded) to give the crowd a taste of the selections that had been recorded in the fall/winter of 2001 at the Oshawa based “Howie House of Music” and produced by Jim Hopson of the Wellcraft Music Group. An additional feature was a song written by another local talent, David Martin. Laura has been extremely popular in the Ontario club circuit for the last year and a half and the CD’s completion was the culmination of a dream.

The CD is extremely well balanced, with songs from both established Nashville songwriters and well-known Canadian artists. One particular favourite of mine is the Brokop (yes, I mean Lisa), Rawson & Hill tune “No Reminders”. There’s (perhaps unusually) only one real ballad on the CD, “because they depress me.” Laura explained. But the one included is one she fell in love with when she heard it. “Down That Road” is the David Martin tune that was written with Laura in mind, so she was very pleased to be able to record it. “So Long Leon”, written by K. Tribble, M. McAfee and M. Elliott, had been ‘on hold’ by the Dixie Chicks for their CD but it remained unused so Laura took it instead. She reasons that the Chicks decided that having “Goodbye Earl” and “So Long Leon” on the same CD would be “too many man-hating songs.” “Days Like These” (the last song on the CD) is a collaborative effort between K. Tribble, D. Oliver and J. Witter (yes, I mean our own Jim).

After the first set the band was treated to a break, during which the much enjoyed mingling took place. The second set reverted to their usual high-energy show, with the substantial crowd enjoying the variety of songs from traditional choices like “That’s What I Like About You” (during which Laura really packs a punch) to drummer Dave Menard’s “Liza Jane”. Lead vocal from behind the drums has always impressed me, probably because you don’t see it too often. A surprise choice was the B52’s tune “Love Shack”, a little retro and rockin’ for a ‘country’ show but very well done and a clear indication that Laura can handle whatever comes her way.

With the dancers out in force, the show was very enjoyable and Laura and her group are to be commended for what they’ve been able to accomplish. They work extremely well together and it shows. We wish Laura much success with her CD and we know that when you hear it you’ll be impressed. This is one young woman who deserves a break.

We would like to thank Laura Rose, Cathy Menard, Don McDougall and Red Dog Records for their invitation to attend this much-enjoyed event and for their hospitality. Great job, we look forward to coming out again ‘just for fun’. Thanks to the staff at the Stampede Corral for everything – it’s like ‘coming home’. Thanks go out to Ron Chilton, ‘sound engineer extraordinaire’, for just being you and for your company. All of the elements came together to make it a very fun night for a wonderful young performer. We wish her all the best.

Written by Kim Jamieson

Photos by Wayne Tozzi