By Will McGuirk
We’re a lot of country round here in the Durham Region so we at Slowcity.ca are always happy to check in on the crew, see how they’re doing, and what, and they’re doing a lot and getting a lot of attention. Much of it at this year’s Country Music Association of Ontario awards taking place in Hamilton this June 2 to 4 2023 (ticket info here).
Robyn Ottolini from Uxbridge is nominated for five awards, and will perform twice during the weekend. Meghan Patrick from Bowmanville is nominated for Fan's Choice, and recently had her debut performance at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville where she now lives. Jeff Dalziel from Oshawa is nominated for Record Producer of the Year, an award he has won several times.
Robyn also has a new track just out, in time for the awards yes, but also for Pride Month, the track is called ‘Katie’s Song’ a tribute to her sister. We reached out to Robyn, with whom we have chatted many times, ( one of the first airings I had of ‘F150’ was when she came in for a quick show at the Kops Records Upstairs Basement) and she very graciously, within a very busy schedule, took the time.
All the best to the nominees but obv best of the best to our homies.
Slowcity.ca: Since we last chatted you have achieved what I would imagine are many of your dreams. But dreams happen because of hustle and hardwork - what have you learned about your journey and could pass on to anyone younger looking to do something similar?
Robyn Ottolini: Biggest thing I’d say to someone younger is trust your gut and keep your head down. It’s easy to question yourself when more opinions find their way to you but keep your head down, be nice to everyone & yourself and let your work speak for itself.
SC: " I'm a hard worker just like my father" Hard work and resilience is key to getting it all done, I know your community of course, and its resilience in the wake of that tornado - talk to me about growing up there and how it shaped you and your work ethic, if at all?
RO: Growing up in Uxbridge was amazing. I was a big nerd in high school but I also loved the music scene after high school. There were tons of bars & breweries to play music at where I was able to put all my hard work and practice to the test. My work ethic definitely stems from my parents though. They just kept their heads down & hustled and made a beautiful life for me and my sister.
SC: There's such a lightness in your songs, a great sense of fun but also honesty - how do the songs come about for you - do you notice things and then songs are how you communicate thoughts on those experiences - or do you create characters and build songs for them?
RO: A little of both. Songwriting is my way of processing emotions & communicate my thoughts to people. Speaking about my thoughts is definitely a lot harder for me but when I have a few hours to put my feelings to a melody, I feel way more secure putting them out in the world. Sometimes, someone does say something random though and it’ll trigger a song.
SC: 'You can't call in sad to work" - what a great phrase - it's true but of course depression is real, and post-Covid people's relationship with mental health is so much more informed - what prompted this song, it's such a brave track too?
RO: I used to go to work very sad & found it especially hard after a breakup. I find people talk about breakups all the time but never that life goes on? That’s the hardest part is that when you’re down in the depths, you still have to provide for yourself. There’s still bills to pay & responsibilities to complete so unfortunately, and hopefully this will change over time… you can’t call in sad to work.