Searching For Meaning

Chantal Kreviazuk has one of those rare voices that leave an immediate impression. In the course of a single song, she uses this natural tool to tease us with extraordinarily delicate notes, only to later plunge into phrases delivered with stunningly powerful rawness.

Her third collection, �What If It All Means Something� finds Chantal in a different personal, spiritual and geographic space. We spent a few minutes with her while she was in Toronto, ON performing several live-to radio tapings. Here is what some of it means:

Question: You�re obviously at a very different place now than when you recorded your first album. Has the role music plays in your life changed at all since that time?

Chantal Kreviazuk: I think since I met my husband it�s become more important because he is a real perfectionist and motivates me a lot. He forces me to face music all the time. I can�t play music and then take a break, because my husband will be making or playing music. It�s just always there. I can�t get away from it so I am constantly motivated by it. I think that�s why I ended up with around 40 songs to choose from for this new album.

Question: Is it at all weird for you to hear the old songs? Are they like a time capsule of you in a different place, or have they evolved along with you?

Chantal Kreviazuk: It is a bit like a time capsule. But at the same time the songs have evolved and taken on new meaning for me. I�ve fallen much more in love with songs like �Grace,� �Eve� and �Imaginary Friend� in the past few years. There are also songs I don�t like as much as I always thought I would, like �Wayne.� I don�t like that as much right now... but that�s just now. Things continually change and you discover and rediscover the music.

Question: A lot of your songs come from a painful place or as a reaction to a painful event. When you perform is it part of the healing process? Does it get easier each time you play them?

Chantal Kreviazuk: I wouldn�t describe it as painful or comforting. I find it meditational. When you fixate on a certain emotion or get lost in the music it takes you away from everything else. Any pain or anguish I might be experiencing, be it from that song or other things that are going on in my life, they all fall to the wayside and I�m just able to get lost in the music. It�s very meditational.

Question: For reasons both personal and professional, you�re bouncing between many different cities right now. Do you feel like you have a real home?

Chantal Kreviazuk: Yes, I do. I feel like my apartment in Toronto is just a wonderful little retreat and hotel at home, because Toronto feels like home. I also love my space in California. It�s really healing there and a great space for my family and friends to come and spend time together. I feel very balanced and am beginning to feel rooted in a few places.

Question: What�s it like for you to write for soundtracks as opposed to your own albums?

Chantal Kreviazuk: I very much enjoy writing for film and TV because it�s a little bit of a different canvas and platform. There�s not as much formulaic pressure to it, so it can be a refreshing process.

Question: What about scoring a film? In that case you are dealing with someone else�s artistic vision�

Chantal Kreviazuk: Instead of my own? Well, both have compromises. You still can�t paint too far outside of the line in either situation. They both have their advantages and disadvantages. If you score something, your chances of it being a �hit� or everyone connecting with it are far less than when you make your own album. But, at the same time, when you�re making music for a soundtrack you don�t have the same restrictions of formula.

Question: You�ve been doing more and more acting over the past few years on both TV and film projects. You also did a stint performing The Vagina Monologues here in Toronto. What was it like for you to be alone on stage for the entire length of that solo piece?

Chantal Kreviazuk: You feel pretty naked in a live situation, alone on stage, reciting like that. It�s also very liberating to say and do the things you do in a play like the Vagina Monologues. It was weird � my dad saw it three times. I was all flipped out about that. But he liked it and was able to appreciate the quality of the work I did as opposed to analyzing or judging what I was doing. That was a great thing for me.

By: Author Unknown