By Jay Scott Kanes
“You never know where a Prince Edward Island musician will show up.” Wayne Walsh, Sandcastle Recording Studio, Borden, PEI
Visiting the tiny Canadian province of Prince Edward Island (PEI) and enjoying its music scene each summer leaves a person badly spoiled. The quality, quantity and variety of pleasing sounds seem unlimited.
Once back at our usual home in Hong Kong, a distant and different part of the planet, my wife and I seldom attend concerts or live-music shows. To our ears, the music performed in Hong Kong, home to seven million people, falls short of that on PEI with its 135,000 folks.
Recently, we made an exception for the Animals Asia Foundation’s fundraiser, Moon Bear Rock, featuring five musical acts at an Irish pub on Hong Kong Island. Most of the highlights came from the Shotgun She-Ras, an all-female country group. In Hong Kong, country music’s a rarity, yet the She-Ras perform songs popularized by the likes of Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn and Alison Krauss, plus their own material.
“What do you think?” I asked, peering across the table at my wife.
“The drummer really impresses me,” she said.
“Me too,” I agreed.
The next day, I decided to investigate the unusual phenomenon of an all-girl country band in Hong Kong. After finding an email address, I sent a message seeking an interview and mentioning that I’d written a book about music (Island Toes A’Tapping, 2006), giving an Internet link as proof.
Later I telephoned the She-Ras guitarist Claire Tallon. “We’ll gladly talk to you,” said Claire, a Brit who grew up in Hong Kong. “When we realized that your book’s about PEI music, some band-members got very excited.”
“Do you even know where PEI is?” I asked, doubtful.
“Of course, I do,” Claire said. “Our drummer’s from PEI.”
If I hadn’t been seated at my desk, I might have collapsed in surprise. “You’re joking?”
“I’m not.”
“Remind me of your drummer’s name.”
“Annette Gallant.”
Although astonished, I believed Claire. The name Gallant fills pages in PEI’s phone directory with many of the listings belonging to talented musicians.
What a coincidence! Then again, maybe I should have suspected when hearing those impressive She-Ras drumbeats.
Footnotes: When told this tale, PEI musician Rodney Savidant made a typical PEI remark: “I’m not certain who Annette is, but it’d be interesting to find out who her parents are.”
So Cairns Media Magazine demanded answers. Annette’s a daughter of the late Julia (Cheverie) and Eric Gallant, the latter a former Kinkora school principal now living in the Souris area. Her brother Adam led the PEI band Officer Girl and later joined Mars Hill.
British lead singer Sholan Tsang and American guitarist Meg Olinger also star in the Shotgun She-Ras.
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