Her Sweet Time

She's taking "Her Sweet Time", making music, telling stories, traveling the back roads, never in a hurry; it's like a lazy night by the campfire, or a party in your good friend's kitchen.

Originally from Ontario and Quebec, Beth Miller and Caroline Shooner first met in 1996 on the open stage of the Fat Cat, in St. John's, Newfoundland. Beth bought Caroline a beer, and the rest is a wonderful story…

Poet, arctic traveler and sociology graduate, Beth is the duo's lead vocalist and songwriter ("a strong and original talent", The Great American Song Contest). Inspired by her adventures and her small town origins, her tunes convey in a story-telling style the tender bittersweet quality of everyday life.

Montreal-born Caroline adds to the mix her sweet harmonies and the cheerful twang of her banjo. Part-time rural physician, she shares with Beth an affection for small remote communities, and also contributes the occasional French "chanson".

The girls took to the road in 1999, wandering from Cape Spear to Vancouver Island in their old van Lizzie (may she rest in peace). The trip and a few van troubles inspired the duo's name: Her Sweet Time , a reflection on their new direction in music and in life. From one big island to another, the pair traded the North Atlantic winter storms for February crocuses, and settled in Victoria.

In July 2003, Her Sweet Time celebrated the release of their first CD, a self-titled geographical songbook of Canada. Its mellow folkie tunes and amusing road stories have since seen regular airplay on CBC and various CO-OP and university radio stations.

Following a particularly inspiring trip down the California coast in the summer of 2004, Beth and Caroline felt it was time to shed all earthly belongings and hit the road again. Over the past few months, they have toured across the country and also in Europe, exploring their ancestral roots in Ireland and the Czech Republic. So far, it has been a time filled with wonder, uncertainty and humor (not to mention greasy spoon heartburn). It has also inspired many new songs, which will appear on Her Sweet Time's next CD to be released this summer.

All in all, in Neil's good words: "There's a lot to learn from wasting time".