Friday, March 14   9:00 p.m.
Club 115   (115 San Jacinto St)

  Carolyn Mark - The 1 That Got Away (With It)
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Some things are just meant to be. Birds are born to fly, politicians were born to lie, big fat guys with giant beards were born to ride their machines without getting hassled by the man, and Carolyn Mark was born to make music.

Ever since first taking to the stage as Templeton the rat in her elementary school's musical version of Charlotte's Web, show business has been the main driving force in Carolyn's life. After coming to the obvious conclusion that musicians were much more fun to hang around with than actors, in the early 90's Carolyn formed her first band... all-girl surfy twang popsters, The Vinaigrettes. This was the beginning of a love affair with music, musicians and the road that, even after 15+ years of crazy hard work, still puts the nitro in her funny car.

After The Vinaigrettes, Carolyndid brief stints in such bands as The Metronome Cowboys and The Fixin's before, in 2000, making her Mint Records debut with her first solo album, Party Girl. Since then, and with the help of a revolving cast of Can-Country super stars including, but not limited to, Tolan McNeil, Garth Johnson, Ford Pier, Nathan Tinkham, Corb Lund, NQ Arbuckle, Luke Doucet, Amy Honey, Greg MacDonald, Neko Case and Carey Mercer, she has released four more highly acclaimed albums. As well, she has also travelled thousands of miles entertaining crowds of 4 to 4000... touring Canada, the United States, the UK, Norway and Italy. She has shared the stage with such talented musicians as Jenny Whitely, Hank & Lily, Luther Wright, Sarah Harmer, Kelly Hogan, Lederhosen Lucil, Geoff Berner, Joel Plaskett, The Handsome Family, Neil Hamburger, JT and The Clouds, The Shiftless Rounders, NQ Arbuckle, Wanda Jackson, The Waco Brothers, The Sadies and Blue Rodeo.

September 18, 2007 marks the release of Carolyn Mark's 6th Mint album, Nothing Is Free, described by Carolynas her "woodsy, introspective album". Appropriately enough, Nothing Is Freewas recorded by Myke Hall at Beaver Point Hall (between visits from the ladies drum circle and a teenage karate class!) on British Columbia's scenic Saltspring Island. Along for the ride this time were guitar and bass virtuoso Paul Pigat (Cousin Harley), guitar and mandolin heavyweight Paul Rigby (Neko Case), expert vocalist Emilie Rhone
(Fishing Derby, Antler) and vivacious violinist and vocalist, Diona Davies (Po' Girl, Geoff Berner, ESL). Additional help was ably rendered by Allison Russell and Awna Teixeira of Po' Girl and the mythical Calvin Dick (Neckbeard).

Nothing Is Freeis a woodsy and introspective album. The recording brings an immediacy to the music that conjures up a Sunday evening spent playing instruments and singing songs on the back porch of the cabin. You know, one of those days where everything seems all Emily Carr... and, although the city seems miles away for the moment, it still looms in the corner of your mind, nodding and smirking and saying, "you'll be back". Carolyn knows... not even a carefree getaway to the back woods is free, it comes with the price of eventually having to leave. Fortunately for the listener, her introspection finds many other things too, not the least of which is a (sometimes dark) sense of humour and a willingness to throw caution under the truck, have all the fun humanly possible. While some people are content to rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic, Carolyn Mark would be pleasantly surprised to find an open bar, and would treat us all to one last rollicking sing-a-long before the icy waters closed over our heads.