A NEW CONTRIBUTION from Port Townsend-based independent multi-media journalist and videographer Jack Olmsted:
Yesterday (June 10), when I was at the Chimacum Farmers Market talking to Jim Queen, head chocolate maker for Chocolate Serenade, about adding some of my 2011 frozen raspberries to his “Dark Chocolate Dipped Caramel” recipe, I kept hearing Scottish singer/songwriter Simon De Voil’s soft songs in the background.
After my chat with Jim, I interviewed Simon (see below the videos) and had him sing two songs.
I thought Simon’s voice would be perfect for Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” (second video). Although he had performed it earlier in his set, he did it again for my Vado HD pocket cam.
From De Voil:
“Music has been with me since childhood, and the songs I write grow with me and tell of my journey through the ups and downs of life — first and foremost they’re my musical diary.
“Recently though, I’ve started to look outward and write about things I see in the world around me.
“I am not a musician in the usual sense; I’ve never been on tour and I don’t work as a musician.
“(The first gig I ever did was in Glasgow, in a music bar. Afterwards some random guy punched me in the face, and I decided that my songs were too precious to play to people who didn’t want to listen!)
“Instead, I work with people helping them sort themselves out; sometimes I sing to them but usually we just talk.
“A few of my songs are about the people I’ve worked with and hold their story rather than mine.
“I’m more of a storyteller than a musician and music is something I have, rather than something I do.”
