| Roxanne Potvin | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 31, 1982 Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada |
| Origin | Gatineau, Quebec, Canada |
| Genres | Blues, Rock, Pop |
| Occupations | Guitarist, Singer-songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals, Guitar |
| Years active | 2002–Present |
| Labels | Alert Canada Inc. |
| Website | www.roxannepotvin.com |
| Notable instruments | |
| Fender Telecaster | |
Roxanne Potvin (born March 31, 1982, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada) is a Canadian bilingual Gatineau, Quebec-based singer, blues guitarist, songwriter and vocalist. Born in Regina, where her father was a TV reporter for CBC, Potvin moved to the Ottawa area when she was two. Potvin has become in continual demand for clubs, festivals, and special events across Ontario and farther afield — Potvin’s schedule has included a flying trip to France for a major festival in 2007, she has played the prestigious Toronto Women's Blues Review show twice (most recently November 2007 at Massey Hall in Toronto) and in 2008 she was nominated as Female Vocalist of the Year at the Maple Blues Awards.[1]
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Potvin has stated that her music has been influenced by her growing up and listening to artists such as: Dinah Washington, Freddie King, Muddy Waters, Big Bill Broonzy, John Hiatt, the Beatles, Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, Solomon Burke, Irma Thomas, Jimmy Reed, the Staple Singers, Ruth Brown, Jimmy Bryant, Charlie Christian, Lonnie Johnson, BB King, Bessie Smith and others.
Potvin made her recording debut in January 2002 when she sang an original tune on Bogart's Bounce, a Northern Blues release by Ottawa's JW-Jones Blues Band. Veteran blues giants Kim Wilson and Gene Taylor of the Fabulous Thunderbirds also appeared on the album.
In 2003 Potvin wrote a canon of songs with which she self-produced, self-financed, self-released, and self promoted her first recording, Careless Loving. The album featured six original songs and four covers by Dinah Washington, Ruth Brown, Etta James and Buddy Johnson. This album helped build her reputation as a songwriter as well as a singer and player. Local writers (and campus and CBC radio) embraced the CD, and Potvin's reputation began to spread.
The Way It Feels (2006), was produced by Colin Linden — a Nashville-based Canadian guitarist and writer with 60 CD production projects to his name — helped bring together a cast of support players that included, in addition to Daniel Lanois, Bruce Cockburn, Wayne Jackson of the The Memphis Horns, members of the Fairfield Four, and one of Potvin's favourite songwriters and singers, John Hiatt.[2][3]
The album received a Juno Award nomination for Blues Album of the Year.[4]
Time Bomb (2007) featured three female blues players, Deborah Coleman, Sue Foley and Potvin. The title track, "Time Bomb", an instrumental where all three women take turns laying down leads. For the next nine songs the women spell each other off taking lead vocals and guitar duties of every third song until they come together again on the final track "In The Basement".
No Love for the Poisonous (2008) was produced by Dave Mackinnon of FemBots.[5] In an extremely favourable review of the album, The Globe and Mail wrote, "Smartly timeless and featuring the most assured songwriting of Potvin's three-album career, No Love for the Poisonous is a wicked success story."[6]
In 2011, Potvin changed directions and recorded Play, an album with a combination of folk, indie rock and pop influences. She collaborated with Black Hen Music director and guitarist Steve Dawson and a crew of Vancouver studio musicians, recording an album of new songs in five days.[7]
Roxanne Potvin signed with Alert Music Inc. late in 2005, and is now managed by industry veteran W. Tom Berry (Holly Cole, Kim Mitchell, Gino Vannelli).
| Year | Title | Genre | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Careless Loving | Blues | Independent |
| 2006 | The Way It Feels | Blues | Alert Music Inc. |
| 2008 | No Love for the Poisonous | Blues | Alert Music Inc. |
| 2011 | Play | Indie rock | Black Hen Music |
| Year | Title | Genre | Label | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Bogart's Bounce | Blues | NorthernBlues Music | sang on one track with JW-Jones |
| 2004 | My King of Evil | Blues | NorthernBlues Music | sang on one track with JW-Jones |
| 2007 | Time Bomb | Blues Rock | Ruf (Idn) | with Sue Foley & Deborah Coleman |