We met a couple of years ago at Spinnakers pub. Crossing paths between the tables we were serving and sitting in the sweaty attic break room sharing food from orders i fucked up, and conversations about our dreams. Hers of music, mine of this brand. Conversations interrupted by the little beepers that would buzz when food was ready to be run. I’d get home from work and still feel a phantom buzzing in my pocket. There’s nothing that fuels ambition like being deep in the weeds of serving tables.
A couple of days ago, we hung out for the first time since my Spinnaker serving days so we could collab on something creative. Just like we talked about in the break room that i hold near and dear to my heart. We planned for 12 but she came over at 1:30. No one understands being late better than i do, so i was cool about it. Alice and I had hoped she would play one of her songs, but she said she was feeling shy. Kind of funny coming from someone who performs gigs in front of people regularly. But I totally get it. I feel that same kind of shyness when I talk about this brand. There’s a vulnerability in sharing something that means so much to you. It’s not about being shy, really..it’s about wanting to protect something sacred. Even as she was just tuning her guitar, Alice and I were her biggest fans.
Nicky plays at Spinnakers on Thursdays, and after our shoot, we drove over to the pub and climbed the staircase to the second floor to catch her set. Those stairs and I are old friends, I’ve fallen down them more than once.. usually with a tray of plates in hand, or a little tipsy after a shifts it brought back humbling, happy memories. As I was climbing the stairs with Alice and my not so sneaky link Fin lol, I remembered the conversation I had earlier with Alice and Nicky on my deck about how maybe we’re already living the dream, somehow. Not the full scope of it yet, of course, but in little fragments. Pieces of the life we’re chasing right here in the in-between moments, clocking in and out of our serving jobs.
Nicky’s new single, ‘I should go’ is dropping July 25th. I just did a photoshoot with her. Its Thursday, the sun is shining. Alice is hilarious, as always and she’s moving to Vancouver soon to start her nursing journey. Nicky looks stunning in the dress. And here we are currently existing in a version of life we once wished for. I forget that a lot. And i need to be constantly reminded of it. The fact that we can already sense our greatest potential might mean it’s just around the corner. Maybe we just need to turn the dial up a little bit.
When we got to the pub, Fin leaned over and said ‘someone needs to turn the volume up’, because we could barely hear Nicky over the noise of the crowd. In that moment, the host came over and asked if we could move. I guess Fin’s angels were listening because we got moved to a table just three feet away from Nicky. We could hear her a little better now, not perfectly, but enough to catch the softness in her voice, and feel the difference in emotion coming from her own songs in between the covers.
Spinnakers is soooo lucky to have an earth angel like her performing there. Because one day (and I don’t think it’s that far off) we won’t be asking her to turn the volume up. It’ll already be set up that way. The chatter will fade because her voice will be the only thing anyone wants to listen to.
I’m so glad I crossed paths with her.
We walked in wanting her to turn the volume up and left feeling the same. Because the world needs more Nicky Mackenzie.
Cheers to dreams, and creative projects.