Too (S)late to be Madeleine?: Born and raised in Toronto Ontario, this young singer/songwriter has more than great hooks to show for herself. Barely out of her teens, at 20 years old Madeleine Slate has a repertoire of over 40 songs, has skills on 5 instruments and vocals, and has been performing professionally for 3 years.
Growing up in an insanely artsy household [(Dad who does sing at home, is a teacher, mom is a childrens entertainer/teacher/flute player, and older brother and sister are Gavin Slate (www.gavinslate.com) and Alexandra Slate (www.alexandraslate.com). Oldest Sister Stephanie got an MA in Theatre Art.] Madeleines first words according to Mom were "Ba-Ba black sheep" and they were sung in tune! That was only the beginning though. While growing up, every summer the 4 kids were allowed to rent whatever instrument they wanted for the summer. The summer when Madeleine was 3, she rented the violin and the proceeded to beg for lessons until she was 7 when her parents finally caved.
After arguments over practicing for nearly 10 years, and trying out several other instruments along the way such as: drums, flute, and piano, at 16 she finally found the calling that had actually been around the whole timeguitar. It was also around that time when she finally matured and escaped what some people call a "boy band phase" and started listening to modern acoustic pop/rock artists such as: Hanson (never was a boy band, never will be a boy band), and Michelle Branch; as well as older folk/country acts such as: Johnny Cash, Blue Rodeo and Crosby Stills Nash and Young. Current favourites: Tyler Hilton, Gavin Degraw, and Michelle Branch's new country project, The Wreckers, came later, but made huge influences on the direction of her music.
Beginning her music career with performances in high school, and winning first prize at the Rosedale Heights School of the Arts Talent Show; the very first official show was a songwriters in the round at The Free Times Cafe on June 19th 2004 with siblings Alexandra and Gavin Slate, Peter Linseman, and Donna Ferra. It ended up being such a great success, after which they were asked back to play another songwriters in the round on August 13th 2004 at the same venue and had another extremely successful show.
Responding to the incredible amount of requests for more songwriters in the round style shows, Madeleine, Alexandra, and Gavin Slate booked a weekly residency at the Unicorn Pub in Toronto and called it home every Sunday night for a year and a half. "We had just been there long enough, we all agreed that ending on a good note was the best thing we could do" states Madeleine. 'I needed to branch out and do my own music, not be just another one of "The Slates" anymore'
Since the conclusion of the Unicorn's Songwriter Sundays in January 2006, that is exactly what has happened, with showcasing shows at Free Times Café "Best of the Open Mic", and Loons Open Jam, as well as Headlining shows at The Free Times Café and Holy Joe's; Madeleine is definitely not just another Slate.To Order Copy of "Runway Driving" Demo, Send an Email to:
[email protected] Cost of Demo: 5 Dollars
