UPDATE: Ginger St. James will no longer be playing on May 19 at the Olive Bistro and Lounge.
Since she was a little girl Ginger St. James has always wanted to be a entertainer, she just didn鈥檛 know which art form to choose.
At the age of three, before she could even read or write, she was already telling jokes and found herself inspired by musicals, cabaret and listening to music at her nanny鈥檚 and granddad鈥檚 place.
As a young girl she enrolled in jazz and tap dance lessons, performed in school plays and even spent a summer honing her acting skills at a summer camp.
Driven by her passion for the stage, she began a successful career as a dancer, actress and model before eventually finding her true passion was in music in 2004.
鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 certain what I wanted to do until later in my life,鈥� said St. James, who also goes by her legal name Deanna Fletcher.
鈥淚 knew I wanted to be a performer, I just didn鈥檛 know what my element would be so it wasn鈥檛 until I started performing with the Steeltown Sirens burlesque in Hamilton, that it really came to me that I wanted to be a performer in a band.鈥�
With only three people in their burlesque dance troupe they started incorporating live bands into their shows and soon after St. James was asked to be a guest singer.
鈥淭hat was really what drove me to keep going, was performing music,鈥� said St. James.
In April she released her second full-length album called One for the Money and is currently on a month-long road trip through Western Canada. She will perform in Jasper at the Olive Bistro and Lounge, May 19.
She said most of the songs on her newest album were inspired while she was on tour through Western Canada the last time around.
鈥淚鈥檇 say the album kind of helped me grow up as a song writer,鈥� explained the rockabilly musician who lives in Hamilton, Ont.
鈥淐arl Perkins has this wonderful song called 'Blue Suede Shoes' so one for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, go cat go and that鈥檚 sort of a mantra for us as performers.鈥�
While the tour is designed to promote her latest album, she said her shows incorporate songs from both her albums as well as covers by Aretha Franklin, Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to be mixing it up a little bit,鈥� said St. James, adding they鈥檙e even going to play some R&B.
鈥淲e try not to stick to one genre we sort of let it fly.鈥�
To see the band take off, head over the Olive Bistro and Lounge May 19 at 8 p.m. Advance tickets are $10 or $15 at the door and making a reservation is recommended.
Paul Clarke
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