heck Out My Business caught up with Amy, during her busy touring, writing, recording and philanthropic schedule:

COMB: How would you best describe what the Alive and Awake project’s aim are?

It’s part of my ongoing musical journey, to continue to create music that I’m interested in listening to, and other people seem to as well. It’s music that gets to the idea of joy and strength and healing. I have two lives – I have my musical, creative life; and another world when I’m a very involved advocate for holistic wellness, with a focus on mental health.

So the Alive and Awake project, is a CD and a newsletter and ongoing live appearances.

It’s the idea that self care, taking care of body, mind, heart, and spirit, is something that we all need to do every day if we want to live to our fullest potential.

There are times when you know that you’re just not at your potential. You have to keep the machine in good shape in order to have a transmission.

COMB: How does the music intersect with the mental health aspect?

In times of stress, most of us unconsciously reach for artistic things like movies and TV shows and music. Things to lift our spirits. And I have always been so drawn to the idea that music can be transformative for people.

I think art is just such a gift. I feel so blessed to be able to create, and I want to be able to create until the end of my days.

COMB: What gets you in creative energy?

Walking, bike riding, dancing, swimming.

I’ve been a daily walker my whole life. My brain is so used to going to that creative place when I get into that rhythm. The right side is the creative side; the left side is logical executive side, and you need to kidnap the librarian and stuff her in a corner. Tell her to stop shushing you. Once you’ve safely gagged

her, you’re free to express yourself.It’s good to bring the librarian back in after you’ve made your mess. You need someone to help clean it up, but if someone’s standing over your shoulder and wagging your finger, you can’t create like that.

You have to be able to make a mess. My mother was brilliant. She was a psychologist who specialized in gifted children and creativity, and one of the greatest gifts she ever gave to me, in a family with six children, was to allow us to make a big mess. We always had arts and crafts supplies, and dress up clothes, and we just made a mess. You’ve got to do that. Creativity doesn’t happen in neat orderly cubicles.

COMB: Describe the feel of the new music releases?

The first one, Forever Blue, is very acoustic, very stripped down, very singer-songwriter, no computers, all live players, and very little percussion. When a song is that stripped down the bones have to be really solid. It’s a songwriter’s album.

On some of the tracks I just play piano, which is very interesting because I hardly ever play piano on my own.

When I grew up, I was a very accomplished cellist, and I never felt that my piano playing was as good as my cello playing.

I don’t know why I’ve been so hesitant about playing piano on my CDs. I just did it, and it was really fun for me.

COMB: You’ve worked with Olivia Newton-John on five albums, co-writing and producing. What’s an interesting anecdote?

We started working together in 1987.

She is very spiritual, very compassionate, very spirited. Sometimes we’ll be working outside and she’ll see a flower and she’ll whip out her camera and take a picture of the flower. She’s just very present, a wonderful energy to be around. I’ve learned a lot about generosity from her. She’s very appreciative of the people she works with. She makes sure she lets them know it. Very gracious.

Reaching FoR The SkY: How one singer-songwriter parlayed her talents in several directions Dave Gordon

or more than twenty five years, amy Sky hasn’t stopped writing, performing and recording. In project after project, endeavour after endeavour, she has found unique ways to channel her creative energies.

Some might know her hit songs such as “I Will Take Care Of You” and “Ordinary Miracles” that have frequented the radio dial. Others might know her as a staunch advocate for health issues. She has shown industriousness and resourcefulness that truly say that ‘Sky’s the limit.’ In 1996, Amy released her debut CD Cool Rain, which achieved Gold status in Canada for record sales and spawned four hit singles, including “I Will Take Care Of You”. Since that time, her solo career has included eight subsequent albums.As a multi-Juno nominee, Amy’s songs have been recorded by Reba McEntire, Diana Ross, Olivia Newton-John, Heart, Sheena Easton, Marie Osmond, Anne Murray, Natalie McMaster, Melissa Manchester, The Rankin Family, and dozens of others. Meanwhile, singing is just one part of the medium to get out the message. Sky has lent her name to important causes. She’s a champion of Mental Health Awareness,

having admitted to her own struggles with post-partum depression in 2006. That same year, she agreed to become one of the faces of the Transforming Lives Public Awareness campaign sponsored by the Center for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto. In 2012 she released the long awaited Alive and Awake compilation, coinciding with a newsletter of the same name, so designed to provide tips for greater self-care and mental wellbeing. Sky then partnered with Sunnybrook Hospital in support of the newsletter, creating a website (aliveandawake.ca) that includes members of Sunnybrook’s team of mental health specialists contributing information each month. Amy also has lent her support to other charities, including Parkinson’s Foundation, Princess Margaret hospital, national ovarian cancer Association, The Hospital for Sick Children, Easter Seals, MADD, Gilda’s Club, Covenant House, Ontario Child Abuse Prevention and Zareinu. Between these commitments, she found the time to record and release two new albums this year, Forever Blue, and namaste.There, she covered two classic melodies – Annie Lennox’s “Why” and U2’s “With or Without You” as unplugged piano-vocal ballads. She’s not shy to talk about how her career beginnings were fraught with music executives mystified by how to market her particular sound. It was a road of obstacles, twists and turns, before she was eventually able to release her own music to the public. But with a career trajectory of perseverance, gumption and creative energy, she showed that she can master multiple inspiring projects at the same time.

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