MUSICAL RISK TAKER
Ever-evolving Catriona Sturton is the belle of the Megaphono
Ottawa musician Catriona Sturton is a firm believer in the value of stepping out of one’s comfort zone and taking a chance on something new.
One of the first times she threw herself off a cliff, so to speak, was in her early teens, when the shy high schooler began going to the home of a much older man in hopes of learning to play harmonica.
The man was the late Ottawa blues legend Larry “The Bird” Moothan, and the experience changed Sturton’s life. She went on to join a band called Plumtree in university, then decamped to Japan and later worked for legendary country star Dolly Parton.
The latest risk she took was four years ago, when she left the Dolly Parton job to pursue her own career in music. As a harmonica player, no less, which isn’t exactly a hotbed of job opportunities.
“The no-safety net is my theory,” the 40-year-old said recently. “When I quit my job, I said I’ll do this for five years, no matter what happens, no matter how tough it’s going to be. In many ways, it’s harder than I thought it would be, and I didn’t think it would be easy. So I’m really glad I made that rule.
“It’s nerve-racking to put yourself out there, and wanting to be better than you are at the moment.”
Things are finally beginning to click in her quest. A CD, Bumblebee, was released two years ago, and she’s been gigging steadily, refining her act into a one-woman-band performance by handling all the parts herself: drum, electric guitar, harmonica and vocals.
Hers is not a bombastic solo outing, but rather an emotional journey informed by her tender voice, bluesy guitar and raw, expressive harmonica. She also teaches harmonica, and is gearing up for a new album.
In honour of her showcase performances at this week’s Megaphono conference, here’s a look at some of the pivotal moments in Sturton’s creative development.
DISCOVERING HARMONICA
Sturton was having a bad day at school so she left and went to a music store looking for sheet music. Instead, she bought a harmonica and spent the rest of the day playing it.
“It’s one of those instruments that makes everything else disappear,” she says. “When I was young, I was too shy to sing, and I think playing harmonica is one of the closest feelings to singing. It’s a chance to be emotional in front of people in a way that I would be too shy to be.”
LARRY THE BIRD
Sturton would save up her babysitting money to take lessons from Larry Moothan.
“If there’s anyone who changed my life, it’s him,” she says, adding that she wouldn’t have joined bands in Halifax or Japan if she hadn’t had the experience of performing in Ottawa bars with Moothan when she was a teenager. Nor would she have applied for the Dolly Parton job without the do-it-yourself experience of organizing shows and doing press for Plumtree.
“Anything I’ve done in my life, I can trace back to his formative influence,” she says. “It was like the Ronnie Hawkins thing — maybe he was seeing something in someone before they see it in themselves.”
PLUMTREE
While studying history at university in Halifax, Sturton heard that a classmate’s band was looking for a bass player. Although she didn’t play much bass, she got the gig and found herself in the middle of Halifax’s thriving DIY music scene of the late ’90s.
Plumtree recorded three albums (to be released on vinyl for the first time on March 10), including the song Scott Pilgrim, which inspired
the popular graphic novel series and Hollywood film.
JAPAN
Starting around 2000, Sturton moved to Japan to teach English and study music. She also played with bands, including an all-girl garage rock band that she once brought home to tour Canada.
Being so far away from home — and scrutiny — inspired her to not only write songs, but also get over her shyness and sing those songs in public.
DOLLY
Back in North America, Sturton landed a dream job of working for Dolly Parton’s non-profit literacy foundation. As the only representative in Canada, the position involved travel, and lots of it. She crossed the country many times in six years, and describes her superstar boss as a “class act in every possible way you can imagine.” Then she quit. “There are those times you think, ‘Life is short, and what if I never tried doing this thing I want to do?’ I had a job I loved. I could have stayed until I retired, but I decided to try to become a harmonica player. I didn’t know if I could do it but I had to try.”