Monday, May 12, 2008

She's living out her dream

By Dan Hilborn, Burnaby Now assistant editor
Published Oct. 1, 2003

Jayne Dinsmore always knew that her shyness was the only thing that stood in the way of her dream of singing on stage.

Her friends and family had always told her she had a wonderful voice, but kind words were never enough to help her overcome that trepidation and actually get up on stage.

"I remember I was even too shy to do karaoke," says Dinsmore, who is best known as the receptionist in the mayor's office at Burnaby city hall.

But all that changed about six years ago when Dinsmore joined the Vancouver Adaptive Music Society - a group formed by Vancouver city councillor Sam Sullivan to encourage people with disabilities to live up to their musical potential.
Dinsmore, who uses a wheelchair because of the effects of rheumatoid arthritis, remembers her fateful first time singing in front of a live audience.

"The first song was Smile by Charlie Chaplin. You know it. 'Smile ... even though your heart is breaking,'" she sings with a full soprano voice that has inspired her parents and friends.

"I remember getting up in front of all those people with no accompaniment.

"There was a whole group of us who all took turns singing just little snippets of a song. I could barely sing it, I was shaking so badly. I was just like a basketcase."

But by the time Dinsmore was done singing, she realized the experience wasn't half as bad as she thought it might be. The next time she got on stage, it was a little easier. And by her third trip into the limelight, Dinsmore was almost beginning to feel comfortable.

Today, just six years after that first on-stage experience, Dinsmore has her own band called Jayne's Gang and her own compact disc - a five-song effort appropriately titled Dreams Come True.

"I'd always loved to sing, but I was too shy," Dinsmore says. "Even when I was 10 years old, I remember my secret dream was always to be a singer when I grew up."

"And it's not like I'm a big singer these days. It's just that I am getting to do something that I've always dreamed about. It's a fun hobby."

After that first experience with the Vancouver Adaptive Music Society, Dinsmore caught the singing bug and was looking for other places to play. That's when she was led to the Myles of Beans coffee house on Kingsway in Burnaby.

Guitarist Jeff Stanfield ran the once-a-month Open Mic night at the Edmonds area coffee house, which offered a casual, laid-back atmosphere to fine-tune Dinsmore's voice. Over a period of months, Dinsmore met other like-minded musicians who enjoyed her taste in traditional music, ballads and classic love songs.

Before long, she had her own band - guitarist Steve Vetter, bass player Russell Sholberg and saxophonist Tony Williams - and, by August 2001, Jayne's Gang played on stage at the Roundhouse Community Centre in Vancouver.

"Everything just sort of fell into place," Dinsmore says. "I found musicians who wanted to play the same music, and we were getting a good response."

Despite its casual beginnings, and the belief that the band will always be just a sidelight rather than the focus of a larger career, Jayne's Gang has enjoyed moderate success. The band was featured on the CBC morning show, and they have played in places as large as the ballroom of the Hilton Vancouver Metrotown.

"It's always a delight for me to play with Jayne's Gang," says bass player Sholberg. "I particularly enjoy Jayne's choice of repertoire, which draws mainly on old jazz standards."

Saxophonist Williams, a founding director of the paramedic academy at the Justice Institute of B.C., enjoys the casual attitude of the band.

"Playing with Jayne's Gang is just the relaxation I need from the stresses of my work," says Williams. "As a band, we don't take ourselves too seriously, and people who listen seem to like that."

Guitarist Vetter says Dinsmore's voice is "sweet and natural" - qualities that shine through on her CD, on stage and when she's answering the telephone in the mayor's office.

And her music reflects her own traditional tastes. The band is at its best when it's playing ballads or classic love songs or old standards such Duke Ellington, Burt Bacharach or up-tempo modern tunes such as Van Morrison's Moondance.

The band has not played much over the past six months, but Jayne is hoping to sing more often this fall and winter. For more information, contact the group by sending an e-mail to jaynedinsmore@ hotmail.com.

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