Afterlife - Live Session

"It isn't an offering if it does not feel like a loss." -Tara McGowan-Ross

Although it is buried at the end of Perennial, the song “Afterlife” holds the most within it.

I wrote it in the days surrounding the passing of my grandfather, Giustino. The first notes began when my sister and I were driving up to the hospital together; this cloak of a never-again feeling compelled me to hold onto each detail that day.

Though he is not here physically anymore, my love for and understanding of him continue to grow and deepen with each passing day.

He came to Canada after the war, started a family, opened a bookstore, then retired and went back to school so he could serve his community as a counsellor (free of charge) until the end of his life.

The love my family and I have for this man is overwhelming. To sing this song by myself never feels like enough, so I had asked my family to sing with me on the album. When the true scale of our collective grief comes near, my throat wants to close up, like it did when I sang at his funeral. It’s better when we share it.

The live video is out now.

Our little choir consists of Nora Toutain, Christian Henegan-Comeau, and Brontae Elaine Hunter. Annabelle Gagnon contributed piano and vocals. Olivier Cousineau added percussion. We recorded it at Sud-Ouest Recording Services.

Thank you to David Don’t, Joey, Greg Szymanski, Jerome Olivier, Matt Damron, William Poulin, and Ensoul for making this happen.

Giustino has been gone for 2 years now, and I still feel compelled to offer.