It seems there is no set path one needs to follow to obtain a musical career.
While some spend years toiling away at post-secondary institutions learning the theory and history of song, others spend those years touring small clubs and dingy venues, hoping for a showcase and a chance to be heard by some A&R rep from their favourite label, or any label at all really. Some find instant success through competitions or online fame, and some get a little help from their friends or family members already in the biz. Whatever their entry point, it seems rare that two people ever share the same path, unless of course they're in a band together or are part of a duo.
Niagara-based musician Juliet Dunn takes pride in the unique career path she's followed. After all – it's what helped to make her the artist she is today. While the current list of projects she's collaborating on is longer than most people's resumes, Juliet will be the first to say she was a latecomer to the whole music thing.
She was in her mid-twenties, and living in Paris when she decided she wanted to sing. Perhaps it was the romantic surroundings, perhaps it was something in the air, Juliet says it was just something that occurred to her which she hadn't considered before. She had travelled to Paris from British Columbia once she graduated high school, taking a job in the French city as an au pair. Once that post ended, she went on to wait tables and work in nightclubs, despite not knowing much of the language. It was while working in the clubs, she says, she decided music was what she wanted to be doing.
“I began to take singing lessons, but singing in France is much different than singing here,” she says. “It comes from a more emotional place. It's less about being technically correct than about having the right emotion and feeling in the song.”
While Juliet was learning to sing from her heart, she also was making waves in the local music scene. She began performing as a lip-syncher at a nightclub. The thrill of being on stage further cemented in her mind that it was something she wanted to continue to do, but this time with her own voice. While still living in Paris, Juliet and a fellow singer teamed up to write and record a few of their own songs. After sending tapes out, the response was positive.
“I learned, much later, that the industry almost never works like that. It's never that easy to get a record contract and it was sort of an anomaly that we did,” says Juliet.
One of the songs, a disco-inspired number which drew the attention of the record label, also ended up getting the attention of radio listeners. The little bit of success, Juliet says, didn't last long and soon she travelled home to British Columbia to rejoin her family and try to find success on Canadian soil.
She returned to Canada with her sights set on getting into acting. Juliet performed in several community theatre productions as well as appearing in films and TV shows.
“Community theatre there is not like community theatre in other communities, it's really big there,” she says of Vancouver. “The productions are amazing and they play to big crowds. It's like being in a professional production.”
When Juliet heard that the Shaw Festival, one of the largest repertory theatre companies in North America, would be holding auditions in her area, she said she had to audition. Not having a scheduled appointment wouldn't stop her.
“I sort of crashed the auditions,” she says with a laugh.
At the time, it was then-artistic director Christopher Newton conducting the interviews. The whole thing was so last minute, Juliet says, she didn't even have time to tell her agent. So when the Shaw came calling, her agent had no idea what was going on.
“I had a week to pack up my life and move across the country,” says Juliet, who admits she had never heard of Niagara-on-the-Lake before the move, let alone been there.
She arrived in the picturesque town at night, missing out on fully seeing her new home. It wasn't until the next day that she was able to take in her snowy surroundings.
“I don't know what I was imagining, but it definitely was unlike anything I had expected,” she says, noting she fell in love with the area.
Working at the Shaw Festival, she notes, was a consuming experience, leaving little time for her to be involved in the community or explore her other interests. After two seasons, when she didn't return to the company, she instead turned her focus back to her other passion: music.
Juliet began playing with other musicians in the area. Some she had met through her time at the Shaw Festival and others she met through the local music scene. Hitting the pavement, heading from venue to venue, Juliet slowly started to make inroads locally, gaining gig after gig and building a name for herself in Niagara.
While today she's considered by many the go-to artist for jazz in the area, she admits it took a lot of work and determination to build that reputation in the area. The payoff, she says, has been fantastic.
Through her music career, Juliet has not only travelled the world – spending time performing in Hong Kong, on cruise ships and touring – she also met her partner in music and love, Peter Shea. The two perform together as Shea D Duo, and in other acts including Le Trio Parisien featuring Juliet Dunn, the Kit Kat Kollective, and the Groovers and Shakers – with Juliet teaching Zumba while Shea and Penner McKay provide live drumming.
Juliet says travelling has afforded her many opportunities other than just the chance to see the world. While she was away touring, she'd receive requests from people back in Niagara looking for a performer. While she was unable to perform the gig herself, she would put the people in touch with other artists. This role, acting sort of as an agent, is something Juliet took a liking too and something she says she'd like to explore more of in the future. For her, it's important to have a local music scene that is collaborative as opposed to competitive. It's with that in mind that she embarked on the Twilight Jazz Series. Hosted on Thursday nights at Stella's Dining Lounge in downtown St. Catharines, the weekly series features local jazz artists doing what they do best: performing. In the future, Juliet says she'd love to see it evolve into a full-blown jazz festival here in Niagara.
“It's something that fits so well,” she says of jazz in the area. “This area has a lot of fine dining and great wine; jazz just complements it nicely.”
While Juliet says she doesn't think she'll ever stop performing, the idea of a family appeals to her and she does see herself slowing down a bit in the future. For the time being, things are about to get a little more busy. In addition to her performing schedule, her work as a Zumba fitness instructor and work as a booking agent for some local artists, Juliet has also branched into the world of radio with a gig as a weekend morning show host on Jazz FM.
“It's an opportunity that just came up and I decided to go for it,” she says. “I didn't have any background in radio, but I'm learning on my feet and have great people behind me helping me through it.”
The show, Sunrise with Juliet Dunn, airs weekends 6 a.m to 10 a.m on Jazz FM91. While she's not allowed to feature any of her own music, she says it does allow her to showcase the music of those who inspire her both in the past and in the present. While she said it's not something she would have pictured herself doing, it's something she's grown to enjoy immensely.
While Juliet admits her career path has been rather unconventional, it's an experience she wouldn't trade for the world.