About me
I'm a songwriter and a musician. I'm a mom. I love poetry, drawing, reading, my family, my pets and nature walks. I love being in my garden and roaming the green spaces in my city. I'm an introvert but I love people. Sometimes I forget that and loneliness comes for a visit. When that happens, I quickly head to a nearby coffee shop to coo at babies and make small talk with adults. That makes everything all better.
When I was a little girl, I fell in love with the sound of the piano. It was those Frank Mills T.V. commercials that did it. Yup. Music Box Dancer was my 3 year-old self's muse. We didn't have a piano then, but I dreamed that one day I would play. And, one day I did. I didn't stop until I wore myself out attaining a Bachelor of Music in Classical piano. The piano is certainly my first love. If I miss a few days of playing, things don't feel quite right.
Upon graduating, and in an almost fit of desperation to keep playing music while having a break from the piano, I bought a cheap acoustic guitar. I was immediately fascinated with the asymmetry of the instrument, and that it lacked the visual clarity of the piano's nicely laid out keys. I got lost trying to find my way around those six strings. It was both wonderful and frustrating. Long before I could smoothly navigate from one chord to another, I started writing songs.
I have two early albums of original songs released under my former name of Carrie Hryniw. "Hryniw" is my true last name, but it's such a pain in the butt to say and spell. I changed it to "Day" in 2010, simply because carrieday.com was an available domain and "Day" is - well - easy to say and spell. You can probably find my first two albums on the ol' web. They aren't very good. (You have been warned!) I've grown since those albums. I've even grown since my more recent studio albums. But, that's what creativity and life are all about, right? Learning, growing, evolving.
Currently I'm learning how to record in my little home studio. I've tracked quite a few of the songs that will be on the next album, and a whole lot of other songs that you can listen to on YouTube. I am working towards releasing the new album in 2019, and as I type this up, that means I have five months to achieve my goal. (There will be some long days ahead!) It won't be the typical release, nor the typical album, but that's all I'm going to say for now. Oh, I should mention that I send out a monthly update. If you like, you can sign up here - I'll keep you in the loop with all things upcoming!
As a musician and performer, I get hired to do a variety of different things: house concerts, weddings, birthday parties, corporate events, funerals, celebrations, background solo piano music, background vibe-y music. I don't tour much these days, but I do play shows around the city. My concerts are all about connection. I love telling stories about all sorts of things. I love keeping things spontaneous. I love when I can make others laugh. I love when there is a palpable feeling of togetherness in the room, and we all feel like one big happy family, singing along. Gosh, I sure do love all that.
These days, I mostly perform as a soloist. But if the event calls for it, I can easily put together a duo, trio or four piece band. (I have had the immense pleasure of having worked with a lot of fantastic musicians.)
In late 2018, I ventured over to Patreon where I've been releasing new songs and other creative works on a regular basis. Patreon is a membership platform that allows me to share exclusive releases with the members, or patrons. Patrons help me to have a bit of a regular and predictable income, which helps me to spend more time creating new music to share with them. I invite you to check out the page and the tiers - perhaps you'd like to join the community? I'd sure love to have you.
I feel like I should also mention that I had a website for a number of years (2005 - 2013) in which all of my tours and past shows were carefully documented and tracked, as well as countless blog posts and other musings. In 2013 the website crashed and all of the content was lost in the mysterious ether of the world wide web. It has been a little hard to begin building up website content again. I'm thinking of starting a blog again. I'm thinking of going through old CVs and other documents and inputting all of the data of past shows. Maybe I'll get to it one day...
Let's see...what else can I tell ya? I have a couple of day jobs in tech support, customer service, and audio/video editing. I mostly work from home and my office is in my studio space. As much as I love the option to work in my pajamas, working from home sometimes gets lonely. Which brings me back to mad dashes to coffee shops and cooing at babies. It also brings me to this: I really, really, really appreciate the relationships I have with you, dear listener/reader/fan. I appreciate each and every one of you. So. Very. Much.
Thank you for being here.
Bio
Carrie Day is an Edmonton, Alberta based folk/roots singer-songwriter, musician and storyteller who has gained a reputation for her breathy vocals, poetic lyrics and skilled arrangements that channel raw emotion straight to the listener’s heart.
Carrie Day's songs reflect her calling to create beauty, and understand the world around her, resulting in a unique sound that speaks to universal human experiences of love, loss, joy and sadness.
A sense of wonder permeates Day’s songs, which enhance the listener’s own reflections on life and what it is to be human.
Detailed Bio
Carrie Day is an Edmonton, Alberta based folk/roots singer-songwriter who has gained a reputation for her breathy vocals, poetic lyrics and skilled arrangements that channel raw emotion straight to the listener's heart.
Carrie discovered her love for music at age 10, when she taught herself to play and read music on a second-hand organ and some tattered music books, that her mom picked up at a garage sale. When she was 13, her dad – who had never been much of a fan for the lotto – won just enough money on a lottery ticket to purchase Carrie's first piano, and that is when her musical studies took off.
Day studied classical piano through the Royal Conservatory of Music, then continued her studies at the University of Alberta where she received a Bachelor’s Degree in Music. Upon graduating, Day taught herself to play guitar, and in 2000-2001 studied with a tabla master while traveling in India. Songwriting soon followed, and Day’s talents began to shine in Edmonton’s indie folk/roots scene.
With a style of her own, Carrie Day's sound may be described as a cross between Joni Mitchell and Cat Power. She is an emotionally charged artist with an exuberant stage presence, and a keen ability to capture listeners and warm their hearts. An introvert and shy by nature, Carrie’s songs showcase both her musical talents and her gift of reflection. There is also a light-hearted, happy side to Day's writing, and many of her songs touch on subjects such as spontaneous road trips and trading in a day of work for a day of fun.
Citing musical influences including Sarah Harmer, Feist, Joni Mitchell and Regina Spektor, Day also takes her inspiration from her daughter, who is featured on some of her recordings. Day’s songs reflect her calling to create beauty, and understand the world around her, resulting in a unique sound that speaks to universal human experiences of love, loss, joy and sadness. A sense of wonder permeates Day’s songs, which enhance the listener’s own reflections on life and what it is to be human.
Day has been featured in local, national and international print (including the Edmonton Journal, CBC and Performing Songwriter Magazine), and is receiving airplay on CKUA, CBC, CJSR, Sirius XM, Now!Radio, and international stations as far away as Australia. “A Glimpse of Heaven”, Day’s first music video, was nominated for a 2012 Alberta Film and Television Award. Day has recently been nominated for the 2014 Edmonton Music Awards Female Artist of the Year.
Her self-produced debut album, Pieces of Me, engineered by Nik Kozub, marked the arrival of a serious new talent to watch. Performing Songwriter Magazine noted Carrie Day’s second album, Finding Grace, produced by Day and engineered by Kozub, brought to mind Sarah McLachlan in her Surfacing days. Day’s third album, Immaculate Night (Sound Extractor Studio), was one of CKUA’s top 100 for 2010. Her latest album, Life is Like This, debuted in CKUA’s top ten in November of 2012.
When she isn’t performing or writing music, Carrie focuses her creativity on home renovations, cooking, baking, reading, writing poetry, painting and doing yoga.