Smooth Jazz Now.com :

Liz - Yes, her name is Mary Mann. Chris is dealing with a real hard fight with ALS and he is a huge fan of you guys. I will send you the link if you'd like, there is a little note about the school and his mom founding the school.

Liz - Yes, small world. I would like to say congratulations with "In All Things." I was out driving this morning and I heard Wedding Day Jig on CBC and I guess they were mentioning that everyone will be in the studio next week in Vancouver?

Erin - Yes, we are doing something with Vicki Gabreau. I don't have the schedule in front of me but it rings a bell.

Liz - Well it must be so hectic. You guys just got back from the States, right?

Erin - Great, we were really amazed with the turnout and how many people came out to see us. We have been to these places for example California but not a lot. We were in California with Shania Twain before and when we went to California we were just blown away by the people that came and they either remembered us from Shania or saw us from a PBS special.

Liz - And lots of wonderful feedback on your website too. I have been visiting your guest book and it sounds like you have tons and tons of fans!

Erin - Yes, well we are pretty fortunate and it was nice to spend the worst part of winter down in California and places like Arizona.

Liz - The last time that I saw you guys here was at the "The Fiddle and Strings Tour" and from what I recall there was some alteration to the actual line-up. What is happening with who is on now? I think you had a cousin and a sister-in-law filling in and they were great by the way.

Erin - Okay, there will be eight of us coming out and mostly likely all siblings.

Liz - Well, the fill-ins did a fabulous job. I think one of the substitutes was six months pregnant too at the time if that makes sense to you.

Liz - As always you guys live is an outstanding show and I was checking your website and you have added some two show nights on some Canadian tour spots.

Erin - Yes. They are Cranbrook and Edmonton. It is exciting for us and certainly in our home country to be supporting. It is just amazing. We always love going to the west especially Alberta.

Liz - Well, a pretty rowdy bunch of Cape Bretoner's from what I can remember in the audience, they made themselves known. (Laughing)

Erin - (Laughing) They always do no matter where it is. I think they are pretty proud to be from Cape Breton and rightly so.

Liz - How does it work for you when you are touring because you are all family people now is it just the eight of your or are there like sixty-four with all of the attached family?

Erin - It varies and we travel with children. The last tour we were on we had three children with us. So, they just follow suit and it is a great environment in terms of the people around them. The family is around them and they are very stimulated and geared towards music and tours are very structured so you can have routines with children. It is quite a troop and it varies in numbers but it is nice to be able to travel with the little ones.

Liz - I was going to ask you is there the son of Leahy or Leahy two of the second generation in the works?

Erin - (Laughing) I don't know but I will tell you that they are all very musical and they are very keen and some of them have already stepped in. There is a little girl and she is almost two and singing full songs in her second year which amazes me but I think with the environment and us touring it is kind of reinforced all the time and the kids just naturally fall into that.

Liz - And that was where it came for all of you too was from your Mom and Dad as well wasn't it?

Liz - How long was she able to continue to step? What is the shelf life of a step dancer as it is a pretty vigorous activity.

Erin - That is a very good question. A lot of step dancers have feet and knee problems and it is because of technique. There is a technique that will prevent you from having any injury and a lot of people do not know about this and fortunately our teacher, Gil Roy is his name and he is a Frenchman and lives in Carlton Place near Ottawa and he developed a technique that has worked for him and he has never had a problem. He is in his late fifties and he is still dancing, still teaching and still performing. It is vigorous but if you know the proper technique you won't have a problem.

Liz - Well, that is good news for all your fans for sure because so much of your performance is the whole physicality of it. Doing two shows in one day must just be like doing a marathon.

Erin - It is. When we tour we really focus on health and you become athletes in a sense in terms of the training and the care you have to take to make sure you can do your job. So, we really put a lot of emphasis on health and fitness and getting the rest we need. A two show a day is a big feat and just part of the plan.

Liz - Do you have a team podiatrist or massage therapist on the bus with you?

Erin - Not with us but often will get in contact with a massage therapist wherever we are and often have her come in.

Liz - I am going to go back to the Wedding Day Jig. Did Natalie (MacMaster) and Donnell actually play that at the wedding?

Erin - No, they didn't play it but they came up with this great idea. The bride and the groom will often give a gift to the attendants and they chose to write a jig together and actually print it on paper and add a little bow and that was a gift to all the attendants.

Liz - That is lovely. I don't know if you can speak on his behalf because I know Natalie (MacMaster) was just through Calgary but is there any meetings of the Twains? Are they on separate roads right now?

Erin - Actually Natalie will join us and Donnell is with her on some of her tours so it works out quite well and coincidentally they have been away touring at the same time which works well.

Erin - No. We have about half of the family live in this area and the other half live within a 300 mile radius.

Liz - How did that self produced effort affect the final work and why was it important to do this all on your own?

Erin - When we initially recorded our first CD, we co-produced it with a fellow named Lance Anderson and we had intended on just doing it ourselves and then it was suggested to us by a friend to have a second ear, a different perspective and so we did that. The second CD we consulted some people about producing and a very successful man in the music industry, Mutt Lang, Shania Twain's husband encouraged us strongly to produce it ourselves and to record in our own studio. We took that advice and we did that and naturally there are pros and cons but we found that it forced us to really center our thoughts and to really work cohesively as a group. It has been beneficial to us and we have worked with producers in the past and in a couple of occasions we found that we were heading in two different directions. So, there are enough of us we feel to have maintained a fresh perspective. It doesn't mean that we won't ever work with a producer in the future; I think we definitely will and are open to that but the timing has to be right. We really felt that the "In All Things" project was one that we wanted to nurture ourselves from the very beginning.

Liz - Leahy is pretty cohesive but surely as brothers and sisters there must be some scrapping from time to time. Does that ever happen?

Erin - Yes, we are a normal family as all families are and you disagree, you are all different people. As much as we are similar we have our differences as well and it is just a natural thing. We do disagree and we don't agree on everything and I don't think it would be a very healthy environment if we did agree on everything. So, that kind of relationship between the siblings where we don't all agree is good and it keeps you in check. We have learned to respect each other as individuals and have learned to accept the fact that we do have differences and we don't all agree the same way and as a result that has enabled us to do well as a group. Obviously, we do get along and I think growing up on the farm has a lot to do with how we relate today and work together and when we were young and in a little bit of a fight you just had to get over it and get the work done. I think we have maintained that way of being.

Liz - So, there is no talk of any solo careers or will Natalie MacMaster become your Yoko Ono (laughing).

Erin - (Laughing) No, not that this point I am sure but at some point Natalie will collaborate and that is great. Everyone is pretty committed to the group at this time.

Liz - I have to ask you about "High Places." It is a very unique and diverse as you guys have been tell me about the sound that I am hearing I would like to know more about it.

Erin - When we started recording that particular track it was initially an instrumental and it was connected to another track on the CD called Little Ditty and it proceeded to "High Places." When we were in the studio there was a piece that wasn't complete in writing so we took advantage of some time and experimented a bit and found that the piece was heading in a different direction and it was kind of dictating itself where it was going. So, it became a vocal and the rest of it was written in a short period of time and it had this quality about it that was just sort of intangible and it was defined, yet it had no boundaries. It had a place but to us it was something to as a listener you go into a different space and a different world. We felt that musically it was like that and lyrically it should reflect that as well. So, it is not your typical song structure and it is very unique and we wanted it to reflect the music with the lyric so the music dictated what the lyric said and we were very happy with how it turned out. It is a very special piece for us.

Liz - I am guessing to that Gzowski Medley must have a very special meaning to you as well.

Erin - Yes, Peter Gzowski was a great man and we had a nice association with him. He had us on his radio show a couple of times and then on his television show. His family asked us to play at a memorial service for him in Toronto. That was a selection of pieces that we put together for that particular event. It was a really amazing moment for everyone at Convocation Hall and we started with this slow reflective peace named "Aire." We didn't want it to be a sad presentation as far as what we played musically because everyone has such great memories of Peter. So, we chose pieces that we thought reflected the joy as well and the second piece goes up in tempo and when we started to play it during this event the whole Hall started to clap a slow chant like clap and it was really a special moment.

Liz - I have to tell you that I still can't listen to "Borrowed Time" without getting tears in my eyes. That is an absolutely amazing song and I have seen it live twice and it is just remarkable and so powerful.

Liz - I look forward to seeing you here in Calgary at the end of March. I know that your tour schedule is up on your website and I don't think there is any more room for expansion in your days is there. (laughing)

Liz - I really enjoyed speaking with you and wish you the best of luck, good health and lots of good things to come along with "In All Things."