Remembering fondly
Kitchen Criminals’ video on Pictou Proud website dedicated to Fleur Mainville
Video being released today on Pictou Proud website inspired by late musician Fleur Mainville
When Ashley George heard of musician Fleur Mainville’s passing, he immediately put his thoughts to music.
Two years later, he and his band The Kitchen Criminals will launch a music video for the song, Fiddle in Hand, in honour of George’s friend and fellow artist.
The video launch will be done today on the Pictou Proud website and Facebook page designed by Media Ladder, which has been drawing media attention for its positive promotion of the Shiretown.
“It is a song of us, of growing up and her being an ambassador of Pictou County,” said George. “We played together for the past five or six years. She played on my last two solo albums and I played on two of her last albums so we worked together that way.”
George filmed the video about a year ago, but after some production delays he recently got word that it is complete and ready for public viewing.
Since he has been working with Andrew Loscher and Louise Dixon of Media Ladder in Pictou on a video and song for the Pictou Proud movement, they all agreed that the Pictou Proud site will be home for the
video launch.
George said he would usually release a video by putting it on
a YouTube channel and “hoped that people watched it,” but since the video features many
Pictou landmarks and the song is about Mainville, who was an ambassador for the entire county, he felt it was fitting that the release be done through Pictou Proud.
“This is about the community. We really want to connect with local people,” Loscher said. “People of the community need to know about this first.”
George said he has played the song at various events and it is always met with generous applause.
“I get a lot people who say, ‘It made me cry’ or ‘It made me really happy.’”
It is likely the song will be heard again this summer when he and the Kitchen Criminals play local festivals such as Canada Day celebrations in Pictou, the Lobster Carnival and Music Mountain this weekend.
George and Media Ladder, with the assistance of fellow Pictou County musician Dave Gunning, will also be looking forward to the release of the song, Pictou Proud, written and performed by George.
“When he pitched the song, I was thinking, this I great. I can picture him in this little dark place strumming this song, but then Dave Gunning offered to produce it and now the song is beyond compare,” said Loscher. “I thought it was great this way, but the new way is incredible.”
Loscher expects the Pictou Proud song to be released before the Pictou Lobster Carnival, the weekend of July 8-10.