A local success story: TBL resident Patricia St-onge releases her first album
On July 10, Mansonville native Patricia St-onge released her first CD, Give it Some Time. You might recognize this local ‘Janeof-all-trades’ from the front cover of the BCN in January 2019. Then it was the opening of her Legworks dance studio, now it is a 12-song CD.
In a phone interview, the local singer discussed her album.
She started seriously thinking about releasing a CD in 2018, though music had been a part of her life since childhood. She recalled her grandmother sitting her down to sing ‘churchy songs’ and her dad being a source of music as well.
She confided that after the cancer diagnosis and loss of her mother, it took a full year for her to pick up the guitar again. The aftermath of this difficult time in her life was a big reason why she started writing music. Gradually inspiration started coming back to her.
“I never wrote songs but when I got serious about the album it was right after I wrote my first song.”
When asked about the themes that run through the album, St-onge was clear on the answer.
“The biggest lesson is that you can’t rush things. That’s why I called it Give it Some Time”.
She continued, “The main theme that runs through it is to let things unfold the way they’re supposed to.”
She added that gratitude “was a big thing” for her while working on the album. She expressed that seeing the people she got to work with and realizing how fortunate she was to have a lot of great people in her life inspired her not to take things for granted.
“I really am the luckiest person know,” she mused.
St-onge discussed her creative process when it comes to writing songs.
“It ties in with patience,” she said, since inspiration always strikes at the wrong time.
“I can’t decide that I’m writing a song today” she elaborated, “I’ll come up with the lyrics first or just an idea. Three or four of the songs I was literally walking out the door.”
She laughed as she explained that she had cancelled plans for some of the songs when they popped into her head. Some ideas just came to her and she would sit down and get it out while others took months to put together.
“The first song I started writing was the last song I finished,” she admitted. The first song she started writing was actually the namesake of the album Give it Some time.
She expressed that
Ilyrics are the easiest, and “it comes together when its supposed to.”
The difficulties she faced while creating this album had a lot to do with unexpected setbacks. It was difficult to coordinate with the people she wanted to do backup vocals with.
“Life steps in,” she added, reaffirming that delays were the biggest challenges.
During the process she found herself wondering, “Is the album supposed to be what it is or are you rushing it?” At that point, she figured it just was not time to release it yet. One song featured on the album now had not even been written the first time around.
“I learned patience in a whole different way while making this album,” St-onge stated.
According to St-onge, her greatest success with this album was the relationships she got to build with the people she worked with.
The album is deeply meaningful to her because of the people she involved in it. Her daughters and several family members make appearances.
St-onge swears she is not a crier but she does recall one recording session for the last song on the album Will the Circle be Unbroken, where she got to experience the “little studio filled with people she loved so much”. She said she was overwhelmed with gratitude.
“The whole reason for doing this album was meaning. It was not about rushing through or selling tons of copies, it was about being meaningful.”
She explained that there were other emotional moments in the process, too, and told the story of recording one very poignant song on Mother’s Day.
Throughout the making of this album, St-onge had her mother in the back of her mind. This was especially true while recording A Coat of Many Colours and she expressed that that one was very difficult to get through.
She laughed a little as she remembered asking herself, “Why did we choose to do it on Mothers day?” She took the emotional session as a reminder that sometimes things are just below the surface, and that is okay.
When asked about future plans, Stonge expressed a desire to complete her “creative trifecta”. She has already checked two items off the list: opening a dance studio and releasing a CD. The last piece is writing a book.
There is a lot to say about each song so that is a potential book topic, she explained and added that she would like to share her life experiences, or, write her story.
TBL is very lucky to be home to such an ambitious and talented lady.
The album will be available at Brome Lake Books and Belles Choses in Knowlton.