A Nakusp businesswoman has got into the Christmas spirit in a big way, singing and producing her own album of Christmas music.
Caroline Fergusson’s CD of Christmas covers, A Family Tradition, is on sale now at her store, the Home Hardware on Broadway Ave.
“I’m excited, I’m nervous,” says Fergusson of her new release. “I’m a shy person, until I have a microphone in my hands. Then I’m king of the world.”
Fergusson started singing at age nine, and recording music and singing karaoke since she was a teen. This is her sophomore self-produced album.
The CD features 18 tracks of Christmas favourites, from classics like ‘Frosty the Snowman’ to modern hits like ‘Take a Walk Through Bethlehem’.
“I did my favourite songs,” said Fergusson. “If I heard it, and I loved it, I would sing it.”
Fergusson recorded the album in a professional recording studio in Kelowna last September. She sang to backing tracks — pre-recorded instrumental versions of the songs.
“Because you’re singing to a karaoke track you can’t change a whole lot,” she said. “Some I made more ‘me’. I have a Frank Sinatra version of ‘Jingle Bells’ on the album. From what I’ve heard from people who’ve listened to it, they say it sounds current, it sounds new, and they like it.
“So it’s a good combination of slow songs and fast songs and people are really enjoying it. Which is nice.”
Fergusson has sent her album to the local radio station in Nakusp, and to the company that supplies her store with its environmental music. They put it on their rotation list, which means her voice may well be heard in stores across the country, serenading Christmas shoppers. She also forwarded a copy to a radio station in Britain, which through a friend of a friend has played cuts from her first album.
Fergusson’s not making the album available on iTunes or other streaming services at this time- it’s a technical and rights hurdle she can’t quite get past, she says. That will come with her next album, which she plans to make a mix of her own music and other cover tunes.
But ultimately, the music world doesn’t hold the attraction of living a quiet life in Nakusp, where she moved with her husband 15 years ago.
“I am always going to work here,” she says from her office in the corner of the building. “I love my job, and even if my singing career took off, I’d still be a Nakusp Home Hardware employee.”
“Though I would like to see what’s out there,” she admits. “You don’t get anywhere if you don’t try.”
A Family Tradition is available at the Home Hardware for $12.99.
