Those of you who have heard Howie Hooper before will know that you should come in again this Friday. The impressive thing about Howie is his commitment as a mainstay of the local music scene – not just playing at many venues around the region, but also frequently showing up just to listen to and support other musicians.
He is a pretty modest kind of guy, but recently when we were chatting he mentioned a rather awesome piece of recognition that had come his way. There is a global initiative called “The Acoustic Guitar Project” wherein somebody has deposited guitars in more than 40 top cities around the world: Amsterdam, Johannesburg, Kansas City, OTTAWA! and others. One day a guitarist in one of those cities gets a tap on the shoulder and is given the guitar for a week, during which they must write and record a song. Then they get to sign the guitar and it is passed on to someone else. You can see and hear Howie’s contribution (as well as many of the other talented artists here in town or around the world – a couple of others have been in Gaia Java in the past!)
With the distinctive low rumblings of a seasoned voice, expressive singer/songwriter Howie Hooper delivers bold, insightful emotionally-charged stories fueled by colourful characters that create captivating, strong and immediate connections. Howie’s songs give a powerful voice to the language of relationships with an honest confidence; capturing a moment in time, leaving you with a lasting memory. Not only writing from the heart, but also from the pain. This Ottawa born songwriter is soon to be releasing a collection of his most compelling songs to date.
In the near future Howie has also been booked to perform at the Ottawa Grass Roots Folk Festival in April (http://ottawagrassrootsfestival.com/ ), and June 12th at the Festival Folk et Guitares d’Aylmer (http://ffga.ca/ ).
What a treat to have Howie coming back in to play and sing for us – don’t miss this chance to hear him live, in the flesh, in Stittsville!
The music nights start at 7pm, and as usual there is no charge, but we do have a ‘jar’ for donations to support the musicians, and we hope that you will buy a drink or two (and maybe something tasty to eat!)
See more details at www.gaiajava.ca where you can also review the listing of upcoming music night performers over the next month or so – everything from University students to seasoned professionals who are willing to come and share their talents with you.
Howie Hooper plays Gaia Java on Friday, April 8 at 7:00pm.
-Paul Jay